Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.
Note: This is a (supposed) sequel to 637, and it is suggested that you read that first. Thank you.
Haunting Nightmares
It had taken Sasuke several months to try and get used to the fact that he had actually killed hundreds of people. They had been innocent – wanted nothing but attention. He couldn't help that they were doing a poor job at trying to attain it.
When Sasuke tried to sleep, he could see nothing but the images of the murdered flashing through his head. Images of scared and confused children, images of hurt pupils that had actually looked up to him, and cowarding families huddled together in some corner of some house. With each passing day after the mass murder had been committed, the horrid memory became more clear, more gore, and came more frequently. There were times when Sasuke woke with a start, chest heaving and trembling in cold sweat and Orochimaru would be there, staring. The pale sannin would be sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the Uchiha calmly.
A month had passed, and Sasuke could swear that he was starting to lose it. When he would sleep at night, he would see the nightmare playing constantly until he finally woke up, trembling almost violently. He had gotten used to Orochimaru watching him, so Sasuke paid his gaze or presence no mind when trying to calm himself.
But, on a particular night, Orochimaru decided to do more than just sit and observe. He patiently waited until Sasuke woke from his usual nightmare and reached over to caress a pale cheek in a mockingly gentle way. He smirked as he did so, enjoying watching the expression on Sasuke's face.
It took a few minutes before Sasuke realized that Orochimaru's hand was on his cheek. Managing to frown a bit and glare at his mentor, the teen simply slapped the hand away, "Don't touch me! And why the hell are you doing this to me anyway!?"
"I haven't done anything, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru calmly shooed Sasuke's slapping hand away to cup the cheek instead, "You're the one that killed all of them, after all. Tell me, how does it feel to wipe out entire families and small clans?" Not that he really needed to know what it felt like. He thrived on killing and using other people. Orochimaru was simply curious to find out Sasuke's reaction to what transpired last month.
Sasuke's eyes widened as his mind, one again, drifted back to that bloody night. His stomach wrenched at the memory and he felt like throwing up. What didn't help was that he had the distinct feeling that Orochimaru had been watching him for the past month to see how he would handle what he had done. To see that if he would be like Itachi and simply move on to his next mission or break down completely, which is what was happening.
The Uchiha's stomach wrenched again and Sasuke immediately made a dash for the bathroom to vomit while hoping that, along with his dinner, the nightmares and all of these stupid tests Orochimaru was putting him through would be flushed down the toilet.
Not that it mattered now, though. Sasuke had sworn to himself that, no matter what, he would never become like Itachi. Now, with the exception of sparing Naruto's life on a whim, he had become the one person that he hated most. Thinking about it only made him vomit more.