Disclaimer: I can only wish Naruto was mine...so I could do all sorts of things with--i'll stop there. hehe

Summary: Something was wrong. Someone was playing tricks with his mind, why else would he have dreams of killing her? His nightmares led him to watch over her each night...
Pairing: Sasuke x Sakura
Rating: T...nothing drastic...

Sleepless Nights

by DreamDevourer

Most people would label him as a stalker.

What else would you call a young man who sat on a tree branch each night looking at a girl sleeping?

He, of course, didn't consider himself as stalking the girl. He was merely keeping an eye on her.

And besides, it wasn't just any random girl he watched sleep every night. It was the pink haired, emerald-eyed girl. It was his teammate.

It was Sakura Haruno.

His coal eyes lingered on her sleeping figure. Only her pink locks were visible, the rest of her body was covered with a white blanket. The covers moved along with her uneasy breathing. Her body turned, now her back faced the window. Not even a minute went by before she turned again. Her restless movements caused the blanket to drop onto the floor. Her long, lean legs were bent upward to her chest, her body now in a fetus position. One of her hands tightly clutched the pillow underneath her head, while the other was awkwardly stuck under her upper body.

He crouched on the branch with an uneasy feeling. She was having a nightmare again, and from the looks of it, it could be the same one she started having three nights ago. The first few nights he started watching her—two weeks ago—she was fine. She slept as restful as any ninja with blood on their hands could.

Hell, if any ninja was able to sleep peacefully after killing a person then that ninja would not be considered normal. Even he, himself, had trouble sleeping. The people he killed—good and bad—haunted his dreams every night, and it reached to the point where he couldn't take it anymore.

Normally, he was able to have a few hours of sleep even after everything that has happened in his life but four weeks ago everything changed. He had started to have weird dreams—no they weren't simply dreams, but thoughts. It was like he was awake, while sleeping, scheming of ways to kill his teammates.

At first he had assumed they were indeed just dreams brought upon his past troubles, but soon those dreams had ventured into his waking life where he found himself in her room with a katana in his hand, ready to kill her.

And then he had killed her.

Had stabbed fragile body repeatedly.

The bed was covered with red blood, his hands painted with her blood. Her body was torn, limp, and a corpse. And had he felt any remorse? Not one bit. He had left her room, his next target was his blonde-haired teammate. With blood all over his clothes, he had walked steadily to his next destination. Halfway there it had finally hit him—what he had just done.

His eyes had flared red, flames surrounded his body. The indestructible flames that activated themselves incase he was in trouble burned down everything around him and then he had found himself in his room, on his bed. His body had been covered with sweat and he had rushed to her apartment. She had been sleeping peacefully. Not a single blood spilled, nothing.

So it had been a dream—he figured. But no way could a dream—a nightmare be so real. The second night he had been hesitant to go to sleep, but after the long training hours with Naruto, he couldn't help himself. This time, the moment he had reached Sakura's apartment, the flames activated and he was awake again.

Something had been messing with him, or someone. It was nearly six in the morning when he had finally finished inspecting every inch of the Uchiha district for any possible clue. A genjutsu must have been at play for his Amaterasu to active so freely, especially in his sleep. And although it had only activated in his dream, it still meant something was wrong.

That same day, he dared not to go meet with any of his teammates. After having those dreams about her, how could he look her in the eye and not fear that he might strike her right there and then. And Naruto? He had been next on his list of people to kill. He had no idea why he was having such dreams…until the third night.

The only reason he had allowed himself to fall asleep that night was because he was sure Amaterasu would activate and wake him up. This time, he found himself in her room again, hovering over her body. Everything was the same as the previous two nights. Well, almost everything. There were voices—ones he didn't recognize—that were telling him to kill her ruthlessly. That she deserved to die. That she was a traitor. That she was worth nothing.

The voices had taunted him until he held the cold blade of the katana against her soft skin. When he had made no move to stab her, the voices returned, telling him that she was planning on leaving him. That she and the rest of the team were planning on kicking him off the team, and not just off the team but out of Konoha. He was a traitor after all. He had no real home. The Uchiha district had long been forgotten. No one needed an Uchiha's help. No one wanted to befriend a cursed Uchiha—a damned Uchiha.

The grip on the handle of the katana had tightened, his teeth had clenched hard. His eyes had flared red and just as he had raised the katana to attack, he was awake in his bed.

So the thoughts to brutally kill the girl weren't his thoughts to begin with. No, someone had been putting those thoughts into his head while he slept. Their voices and genjutsus had been embedded in his conscious mind somehow without him knowing. Had they been planning to actually make him kill the girl for real? Had they been trying to brainwash him through his dreams?

Who was they anyway?

He had sat on his bed for hours, trying to find reason as to why this was happening and why he, one of the strongest genjutsu users alive, couldn't find the source of his nightmares. He had told himself he'd give it one more day until he goes to Kakashi for assistance. On the fourth night nothing happened. He hadn't dreamed of killing her, nor had he heard those voices again. His plan to see Kakashi was discarded.

So maybe it had been all in his head.

Once that week was over, things went back to normal—whatever normal was. And although he wasn't forced to have those nightmares, they still came. Though this time they really were just nightmares. No one was controlling his dreams any longer. How could his subconscious recreate those dreadful dreams? How could he freely dream of hurting her? Killing her? And not just her, but Naruto and Kakashi as well. Though he had never dreamt of killing them, their names still had lingered in his mind, as if after her they were next.

The second week, he had allowed himself to sleep no more than three hours, afraid that he might dream about her again. He would walk around the village and somehow would always end up at the footsteps of her apartment building. By the end of that week, he had decided he would watch over her at night, just to make sure nothing would happen.

Two weeks later, he still was guarding her at night. He would wait until he was certain she was asleep before sitting in his usual spot on the tree that was but a yard away from her window. He'd lower his chakra to its lowest point and just stand watch, or rather sit watch. Most—if not all the time—watching her sleep so soundly would put him at ease and he'd fall asleep. Her breathing acted as his lullaby.

So here he was now. No one knew that he was here—how would he explain himself? He wondered how long he would continue to do what he was doing. Was it even healthy to be doing this? To fill his mind full of her sleeping images? At times his brutal images of her being killed at his hands would be replaced with images of her sleeping safely in his arms.

Was that why he continued to look after her? So that he could continue to dream of her? Not the gruesome dreams, but the sweet, calming dreams. Dreams of her in his arms…

His eyes narrowed as they flared into crimson red. He watched her with cautious eyes. She was moving restlessly now and in the blink of an eye she was sitting in her bed, a shuriken in hand. Her trembling hand released the shuriken, it dropped onto her lap. She ran both hands through her tangled pink locks.

Wait, was she crying?

He was one second away from rushing into her room, but stopped himself just in time. How on earth would he explain himself to her? She'd freak if she knew he had been watching her for so long.

As she slowly stood up, her black tank top rose above her naval. She pulled it down and tied her hair into a ponytail. Grabbing the shuriken with a trembling hand, she walked into the bathroom.

Hearing the sound of rushing water, his body slowly started to relax. He swiftly landed on the ground and started to walk away from the apartment. He'll come back once she was sleeping again. There was no point of him being there when she was awake. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself while awake.

The next night was one he wasn't prepared for.

She had left the window opened tonight, something she rarely did. And for some reason he found the opened window to be inviting. He had reasoned with himself for a good two hours—it was already one in the morning—to not go inside, but her sleeping figure was so alluring. Her breathing was hypnotizing. He wanted to watch her closer.

Against his better judgment, he crouched onto the windowsill. His right hand rested on the window frame, not that he needed to hold onto anything to keep his balance. He was a ninja after all, all he needed was a little bit of chakra.

And then she her eyes flickered open.

He froze.

She smiled.

"I thought someone was watching me…" she murmured, very slowly sitting up in her bed.

Did he just fall into a trap? How long had she known he had been watching her? He shouldn't have moved from his spot. He shouldn't have deluded himself with images of her safely in his arms…he had gone to watching over her incase she was in any danger, to watching her for his own enjoyment.

"Neh, Sasuke-kun come inside and close the window, it's a bit chilly."

Sasuke obeyed without a word. After closing the window, he stood as still as possible.

"Seriously, Sasuke-kun, all this time I thought I was being stalked! And having such weird nightmares…but it was only you all this time?" She laughed without humor. He didn't miss that fearful look in her green orbs. "Why do you spend your night outside my room, Sasuke-kun? Is there something wrong?"

Biting the inside flesh of his mouth, he shook his head.

"Oh? I thought that maybe you were assigned to watch me or something…" She shrugged, leaning back. "Though I'm not sure why I thought that, it's not like anyone is after me or anything…and even if there were, Tsundae-sensei should know better than to send someone to guard me. I'm capable of taking care of myself."

He was listening to what she was saying, while at the same time he wasn't. Why was he feeling anxious? And why on earth was he reaching for his shuriken hidden in his pants waist.

His heart started to beat fast. He swore it was the only thing he could hear—his heart drumming. How easy would be to act upon his dreams? His blood was rushing to his head, why was he thinking of killing her!?

"Sasuke-kun? Hello? Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." Her voice snapped him out of his gruesome thoughts. He sighed with relief, he hadn't done anything. He hadn't attacked her. They were just thoughts...

"Sasuke-kun?"

He narrowed his eyes at the girl that now stood in front of him, waving her hand in his face. "Hn."

"I asked, what are you doing here? Seeing that you weren't sent here to watch me…"

It took him a while to comprehend what she was asking. Why was he here? God help him for he was almost about to say he was here to kill her.

"I couldn't sleep," he responded shortly.

"Ah, you too?" She chuckled, walking back to her bed.

He watched her every move, and doing so, his tensed body started to relax. It was nothing. His thoughts were nothing. He had already concluded that everything was a dream. Maybe he has yet to have recovered from those nightmares. Though soon, very soon, his nights will go back to normal.

She laid on the left side of the bed and then patted the other side.

Sasuke's brows knitted with confusion as to why she was motioning for him to come closer.

"Well, come on then. We'll sleep together tonight. And don't give me that look, I promise I'll keep my hands to myself." Although she was smiling, it didn't seem like she meant any of it to be a joke. Something was bothering her, he was certain of it.

When he made no move to join her, she frowned. "Please, Sasuke-kun, just for tonight. I really need to sleep with someone or else I'm going to lose my wit." She pulled the covers over her body. "I haven't been sleeping well these past few weeks," she explained.

Pressing his lips tightly together, he took one hesitant step forward, and then another, and another. Before he knew it, he was laying on the bed, keeping a good one foot distance away from her. He placed one arm under his head to act as a pillow, seeing she only had one. And the other rested on his stomach.

"So what is keeping you awake?" she asked moments later as she stared up at the ceiling.

He shrugged.

Knowing he wasn't going to respond, she sighed and closed her eyes. "Good night, Sasuke-kun."

His hand was grasped by a warmer, softer one. And then it was laid in the empty space between them. Never had he held hands with her, nor touch her like this. Coming in contact with her body while training was different than this.

Why was his body warm all of a sudden? His face felt like it was on fire. He let his eyes shut and a small smirk appeared on his face when she murmured, "Sorry, I broke my promise…only for tonight though. Really, I promise."

He didn't mind.

The next night, she broke the promise again.

He had waited for her to fall asleep before actually sitting in his usual spot on the tree, but she had faked it. The moment he was on the tree, she was standing by the window with a small smile on her face. He wasn't that surprised, he had secretly hoped she'd wait for him and invite him in again.

"Well…if you are going to sit out all night, might as well come in…"

It became a ritual. They trained in the morning, had lunch, completed their respective ninja duties, and by nightfall he would end up outside on the tree, awaiting for her to let him in. And each night, she would get closer and he wouldn't push her away.

Her head rested on his broad shoulder, while her hand rested on his chest. And he made sure his own hands were securely wrapped around her waist.

His dreams were filled with new images. Images of her warmly laying in his arms. His nights were becoming peaceful and his nightmares disappeared, but hers were just beginning.

Because someone had to complete the mission...

To kill Team 7.

Hi readers!
Hmm...a hint for anyone of you who were confused....Sasuke started having nightmares first...but the "voices" didn't actually leave for good...they simply moved on to a weaker mind—Sakura's. Which is why she was now having nightmares and not him...but he doesn't know...and will not know...and those nightmares could very well turn into real-life actions...she may hurt someone...

Also...This is not meant to be a one-shot, nor a chapter story. It is actually a preview for a possible story. Think of it as a trailer (like trailers for new movies). I hope that you somewhat enjoyed reading this. It is my first time writing a fanfic.

I decided to post a full chapter story, it is called Killer Nightmares. It's based off this plot.

Thank you for reading,
DeeDee

Updated: 2/2/09