Guilty
"Because he's like a brother to me, and I'm a better brother than you ever were!"
He'd had strange dreams every night since that day. Every night he would stand in the same empty, lightless room, with Uchiha Itachi standing right across from him, watching him, observing him, and he, in turn, observed Itachi. Neither of the two ever said anything to each other. He would always wake up the next morning, with only a vague recollection of the dream, only able to remember Itachi's Sharingan eyes...
When he found out the truth, the dreams changed. He and Itachi still stood in the same room, standing across from one another, and Itachi still said nothing, but Naruto no longer remained silent. At first, there were only rough whispers, but then the voice became louder, more clear, and Naruto realised that it was himself who was releasing that guilty mantra, over and over again, into the silent air.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Itachi didn't say a word.
Naruto refused to tell anyone of the dreams; not Sakura-chan, not Kakashi-sensei, not Bee, not even Sai, who was slowly taking Sasuke's place as his closest friend. Another secret he would never admit to anyone. There were times when he would pass out while training with Bee only to be shaken awake either by the elder Jinchuuriki or one of his animal friends.
"You were talking in your sleep," they would tell him sometimes, though not neccesarily in those exact words. "You kept apologizing. Who were you apologizing to?"
Naruto always blew them off and dove right back into training.
One day, however, the dreams changed. Of course, they started out the same. Naruto suddenly found himself in that same, dark place, Uchiha Itachi standing across from him. He stared into Itashi's eyes guiltily, remembering the last thing he'd said to him. Those harsh, condemning words, that could never be taken back. He remembered the truth that Madara told him, of Itachi's selfless sacrifice, of all the suffering he'd put himself through just for Sasuke's sake. The guilt bubbled up inside him, tearing at his insides until he thought he'd explode. Then, the words burst from his lips: "I'm sorry."
His voice was rough and weak sounding, as though from misuse, but he didn't care. More apologies poured from his mouth.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
His voice cracked and began to rise.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Before he knew what he was doing, he was shouting.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"For what?"
Naruto's eyes, unknowingly filled with tears, snapped open and he stared at Itachi in shock. Had he just... Itachi hadn't moved from the spot, and his facial expression was no different from what it had been before; completely blank. Yet Naruto knew he hadn't imagined it. The voice was not his own and therefore it could not have been anyone's other than Itachi's. Naruto opened his mouth to reply...
And woke up.
Author's Note: This is the result of me wondering what exactly Naruto's thoughts on Itachi might have been after Madara told him why Itachi really killed his clan. This is a one shot, so don't worry about me getting too sidetracked from False Heart. I don't think Itachi was honestly angry at Naruto for what he said. He might have been sad about it, but I imagine he would understand why Naruto said what he said. Naruto, from what I understand, bottles up all of his negative emotions, hence the existence of Yami Naruto. That's why Naruto is crying so easily in his dream.
