Moon Dragon: Wow, I haven't really written a story in a looong time P. I know you're all curious why I'm putting this up so I guess I'll tell you. Me and my friend made this bet, that if a story I write doesn't get 250 reviews by the end of December then I have to do a punishment type thing. SO! This means everyone who comes here HAS to review! I REFUSE to lose, so get those fingers typing you lazy people! This bet depends on you!

I don't own Naruto or anything relating to it, sadly enough

Note this: this is NOT a NarutoxSasuke romance! They have a strong friendship but that's it! Actually, I'm going to pair Naruto with a character I make up, so when she gets into the picture (not this chapter, later) I'd like some feedback on her. Thanks a lot and I hope you enjoy this

A Hopeless Dream

Chapter 1

Crimson Eyes

Darkness cascaded over the area in a silent, throat-clutching grip. If I even took one breath, opened my eyes for one moment, I swear it might've swallowed me into its depths and never let go. I would just drift for eternity in the bone-chilling graveyard as the silence washed over my senses.

Truth is I had no idea where I was. An internal feeling forbid me to sneak a peak as my eyes fidgeted unhealthily beneath my lids. An imaginary voice drifted into my ears and warned me that I didn't want to find out what was out there. It was as if someone held a knife to my throat and I couldn't breathe properly. Jagged breaths increased rapidly as my heart slammed into my chest trying to burst free.

B-Bmp.

Sweat dripped from my brow and led an icy trail down my cheek dripping down onto the floor. Its sound echoed endlessly wherever I was which didn't help in the slightest to calm my frantic nerves.

I dared not to make a step afraid of what the consequences might be. Would I be punished? Would I be murdered? Would it be alright? Would anything happen at all? Hardening my resolve, I settled on the fact that I wouldn't be getting anywhere just standing there and experimentally put one foot forward listening to the echo it made.

Nothing happened.

Another step. Still nothing except for the sounds of my footsteps being repeated to me. Gaining a little more confidence I strolled about slowly and carefully cautious of my every move. Nothing might've happened, but my heartbeat was still skyrocketing. Its rhythm hummed in my ears and beat its chant over and over.

B-Bmp. B-Bmp.

My eyes were still plastered shut. What was I afraid off? The darkness that had no end surrounded my entire being and made my skin crawl unpleasantly. Curiosity got the better of me as I barely lifted my eyelid to catch a glimpse of anything. Nothing came into view as black was all there was. Slowly but surely both of my eyes had unfastened just to make sure that there really was nothing at all.

Then why wasn't my heart slowing down?

B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp.

I heard a sound off to the distance and whipped my head frantically about. Something was there; I was not alone. More sweat slipped from my pores sliding down my face and coating my arms in a sticky substance. My footsteps hastened as I broke into a sprint trying to escape whatever it was that was there. It sounded as if claws were being lazily dragged along the floor creating a deafening sliding clatter.

B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp. B-Bmp.

Why wasn't there an end to this place? No matter how far I traveled it seemed that I wasn't making the slightest bit of progress. The scraping got closer and closer sending a chill down my spine making the hairs on the nape of my neck spring up.

I kept telling myself 'don't look back.' That was an easy mistake which could lead to my downfall. Just focus on getting out of this place; this God-damned forsaken place. Just don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back…

The noise stopped.

It halted as quickly as it had come. My movements ceased listening as closely as I could. The pitter-patter of a claw-like substance seemed only like an imagination. It baffled me. Just what exactly was behind me?

I glanced backwards doing a 180 in my direction. My breathing hitched and I lost all feeling in my limbs. Why did I look back? What had possessed me to do such at thing?

The darkness was intense, but there was another color streaming out from within it. Two oval, upturned orbs stared right back at him. The malice hidden in their depths left a mental scar in my memory. The way those slitted eyes just slashed their way into your vision was inhuman. Next a pearly white grin flashed itself under the orbs which shook my very core of existence.

BBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmpBBmp

The icy environment faded. Though the images and darkness began to subside those eyes still shook me. Made me sweat and forced tears to sting my own eyes. Those crimson, crimson eyes.

------

Naruto gasped for breath bolting straight up in his bed. Cold sweat kissed his skin as he swayed his head back and forth discovering where he was. His bed-sheets hugged him protectively as he held a hand on his pounding heart.

"A dream… It was just a dream," he reassured himself. His blood pressure returned to normal as he sat there silently trying to catch his breath and revert it back to normal. His sapphire eyes swept the room coming across things that have become so familiar to him. The way the sun peaked through his window shades tinting the room in a brighter color, his clock fastened to the wall which read 8:15, and his clothes and belongings sloppily discarded about the floor not leaving an inch of carpet in sight. The vision calmed his nerves.

Slipping a hand into his spiky golden tresses he felt the moisture from his sweat residing in it and made a distorted face in disgust. Everything felt sticky and uncomfortable as he threw the sheets aside and leaped up from his resting place.

"I really need a shower," he mumbled to himself, stretching his arms on the way to the washroom. Casting aside his baby-blue pajamas and turning the water pressure on he let the warmth engulf him and sighed happily with a smile plastered on his features.

It was so opposite of his nightmare. There he felt only darkness and a sickening chill, but here under the tepid waters massaging his skin he was overwhelmed by warmth and comfort. He stood there for a while grinning foolishly realizing that the dream was behind him. Grabbing the soap he lathered himself up ridding himself of the horrid, bitter sweat.

As his fingers worked at his scalp massaging the shampoo into the golden locks he thought back to how long this had been happening. Really, he couldn't remember that far back; the days were all starting to blend together. Was it a week ago? A month ago? No, it seemed like two months. Yeah, that sounded right.

These nightmares were scattered throughout the week. Sometimes he witnessed them every tantalizing night, sometimes there were a few days in between them. Sometimes they were all of that shady, bone-chilling place, and sometimes they were other things that frightened him just as much. The cause of these images in his sleep was undetermined.

As the water drifted from a heated sensation to a cooling flow Naruto turned the pressure off as the left over water swirled down the drain. Droplets clung to his slightly tanned skin and traveled a journey descending his body to join the stream that disappeared with the others. Stepping out of the shower he grabbed a towel and wrapped himself from the torso down after using it to soak up the water residing in his hair that immediately shot up.

Running a hand across the mirror to sweep away the foggy mist he gazed at himself. Under his eyes, though barely noticeable, were bags giving him a tired expression. If he didn't find a way to make these nightmare disperse the bags might grow more noticeable which he prayed wouldn't happen. There was only one person who knew what was going on and he didn't need more people knowing.

Hurriedly brushing his teeth and throwing on his black and orange clothes he stepped out of the room and into his kitchen to fix up a quick batch of ramen. Opening the cupboards he sighed disappointedly.

"No…" he groaned as there was nothing contained within the wooden confinement. His stomach let out a low growl and he cupped it with his hand in a hopeless attempt to silence it. "This is the worst!"

Strutting across the room around the table multiple times he wondered what to do. Lately he had been trying to save up on money so he didn't want to go out and buy something to consume. A glimmer of hope flashed across his mind making a smile break out onto his face. Ginning stupidly he realized he could just mooch off of one of his friends, and who better to mooch off of than Sasuke?

Before he dashed out the door he took a side trip to his desk picking up his headband with pride. The metal reflector shinned from the sun's rays coming in from the window giving it that sparkling touch. Fastening the black sash around his head he adjusted it until it fit just right. The he headed out onto the streets jogging lightly towards the Uchiha Estate knowing his friend would be awake. To Sasuke it seemed like a crime against humanity to sleep in.

As he made his way into the Uchiha Estate Naruto noted how different it was when he was just a little kid. It was so long ago he almost couldn't recall it from memory. Back then there were Uchiha's everywhere basically littering the streets. Sure, all of the buildings were still there, but the people were different. Sasuke being the only Uchiha left had to make the other buildings go up for sale or rent, which the space was taken over almost immediately after the… incident.

As his breath became lightly labored the ninja slowed down and began to walk as his destination came into view. Although it wasn't the size of a mansion, Sasuke's house was still fairly large compared to the average household. That pretty boy even had a mini sized training grounds in his backyard. It didn't even require a second thought to know where Sasuke would be.

Not even caring that he barged onto his property without permission Naruto made his way to the back of the house spotting his target. Sasuke was in his usually navy attire as the prodigy practiced his shuriken. There were several targets scattered along the trees and each shuriken hit their mark perfectly without flaw. The golden haired ninja smirked in a way which would make the Uchiha proud as a devilish idea formed in his mind.

Sasuke held only one metal weapon left in his palm as he gazed at his target off into the distance. If he squinted just right he could make out the bulls eye. Steadying his hand he threw it watching it glide through the air right into an orange blob.

"Ow! Oh, you got me!" the clone shouted dramatically before disappearing with a poof. Sasuke's perfect posture faltered as his shoulders slouched wondering what had just happened, although having a faint idea.

"Sasuke, how could you do that to me I thought we were friends!" Naruto complained, clamping him on the shoulder giving a disappointed expression. Bottom lip pouting out and eyes wide he just shook his head as the Uchiha sighed knocking Naruto in the head lightly with his fist.

"Only you, Naruto. Only you," he repeated with the faintest hint of a smile touching his lips. Naruto gave a foxy grin letting out a chuckle. "What are you doing over here? Trying to steal even more of my food?" When Naruto did nothing accept smile he knew his inquiry was right. "Since you're not even going to pay me the least you could do is gather up the weapons I threw," he said, turning his back strolling into his house.

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms giving a mock glare. Kicking the dirt between his shoes annoyingly he got to work scurrying around the trees plucking the shuriken from the bark they were latched in. Knowing he must've missed a few after several minutes he shrugged and headed back to the house where the wonderful scent of ramen drifted out of. He figured if Sasuke seriously needed more to practice with he could just go out and buy dozens upon dozens of shuriken with his endless budget.

Sliding the paper door open Naruto walked straight into the kitchen which he spent countless mornings eating his friend's food. Lazily draping himself in a chair next to the table he waited patiently with his foot fidgeting in anticipation. As soon as Sasuke's appearance came into view with something steaming in his hands Naruto grin broke out so wide it almost wasn't supported by his face.

"You're a savior, you know that?" he praised swiping the cup-of-ramen and chopsticks and began shamelessly slurping them down. The dark haired ninja didn't reply as he sat across the table with an apple in hand. Munching down on the healthy snack Naruto could only offer him a weird glance.

"What's with you? Are you on a diet or what?" he questioned, eyeing the apple suspiciously. Sasuke rolled his eyes smirking.

"Some of us actually care about our health and don't eat ramen for every meal, shocking, I know. Besides, I'm not much of a morning eater," he replied taking another small bite. His companion laughed.

"If I wasn't so smart I'd think you're a girl. You're so tidy and healthy; it's against the natural male code of life!"

"You? Smart? You barely pass for average," he joked enjoying how his guest scowled and continued eating. They sat there together in silence for while eating their snacks. No words passed their lips as the comfortable silence loomed over them. The only sounds made were Sasuke's crunching and Naruto's slurping. Just as he finished gulping down the rest of the cups containments Sasuke spoke softly.

"You look tired," he noted pointing out the fact that his eyes were bagged just slightly. Naruto couldn't help but grin; Sasuke was the only one who paid enough attention to notice such a small difference in his appearance.

"What else is new? I had another one last night," he spoke referring to the nightmare. The Uchiha merely nodded in understanding not knowing what else to say. "Is this natural? To have so many of the recurring dream so often? I mean, it's not always the same, but it's always a nightmare."

"It's just a figment of your imagination, it's can't hurt you no matter how hard it tries."

Naruto nodded this time feeling slightly calmer after hearing his friend's words. Still though, just the memory of those crimson eyes paralyzed him to the core.