Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, merchandise, etc.
THIS WAS NOT STOLEN FROM 13BLOODMOON13. I AM 13BLOODMOON13, SO IF ANYONE WANTS TO ACCUSE ME OF PLAGIARISM, YOU'LL ONLY SUCCEED IN MAKING YOURSELF LOOK VERY, VERY STUPID. IN CASE YOU DON'T REMEMBER, WRATH FLAMESOUL WAS OUT OF COMMISSION BECAUSE I FORGOT MY DAMN PASSWORD. 13BLOODMOON13 IS MY BACKUP ACCOUNT FOR THAT SITUATION.
This is my first shot at writing an ItaSasu-ish fanfiction. It was inspired by an amazing DeviantART doushinji called The Ties That Bind Us by PhonyProphet. This isn't a romantic incest-type pairing (although ItaSasu is my Yaoi OTP), it is one of the ideas that came to my head when I read the first three pages of the doushinji. Knowing me (or not knowing me, that makes it more fun to pull new styles on you guys), you can bet that sort of fanfiction will be very unromantic. Unless you're sadistic/masochistic/sadomasochistic.
I will incorporate in my fanfiction the words from the three pages that inspired me to write Nightmares Do Not Scare Me. They will be in bold italics.
Enjoy!!!
Nightmares do not have thoughts.
"You have… become strong… er… otouto…"
I stared down at my hated older brother, reveling in the blood that still pooled around his body, the way his hair clung to his face, the way his brows knotted together in pain.
Finally…
Suddenly the scene changed, and now he and I were both younger; he was thirteen now, and I eight. He stared up at me with dead eyes that were devoid of any light and smiled a grim, agonized smile; it was the face of a man with no regrets, and who dos not fear the darkness of Death's embrace.
They do not have opinions.
"They… they would be… proud of you… otouto… They would be… very proud…"
"No," I choked out, suddenly sick with fear and regret. I hit my knees and knelt over him, trying to save him, crying because his blood refused to stay in his body.
"I am… proud…of you, too…"
They cannot feel. And it is because they cannot feel…
Again, the scene changed. I stood over my brother's body, in the place where he had fallen in our last battle, staring at his unblinking eyes.
And then the dead eyes blinked, and my brother's corpse rose and turned to look at me. Suddenly those lifeless eyes glowed with unspoken hatred and accusation – emotions that, had I been awake and still experiencing this horror, I would have known would never appear in my brother's eyes.
"Murderer," he whispered, and his voice sounded dry, as though he needed water. It was the voice of the dead, the voice of a ghost who is either too afraid or too vengeful to leave the world of the living just yet.
"No," I yelled, stepping back away from him, "No!"
"Murder," he whispered again, "All I ever did was for you. I lived in pain and disgrace for your sake. I destroyed my family for my village. I never betrayed any of you – and yet you hunted and killed me as if I was an animal."
"No," I moaned.
"Murderer."
That they cannot hold grudges.
Once more, the dream shifted, and I was thrown into my brother's Tsukiyomi. My brother's genjutsu ravens flew all around me, cawing and growling, their calls slowly turning into accusations in human words.
"Murder!"
"Traitor!"
"Kin slayer!"
"Bloodthirsty!"
"Murder!"
"Stop!" I screamed, and held my hands to my ears. The screams of the ravens only grew louder, until I thought the sound waves would crush me…
They do not visit you every night and watch you.
"Niisan!" I screamed, sitting bolt upright in my bed. My chest rose and fell in rapid succession, almost in time with my racing heartbeat. My eyes darted around the dark room, searching for an enemy that wasn't there.
Something slammed against the wall that divided my room from Suigetsu's.
"Will you shut up already?" his muffled voice demanded from the other side of the wall. There was a light sound of mumbled cursing, and then it was silent again.
I relaxed only a little, then lay back on my pillow and stared aimlessly at the low ceiling.
They cannot make you bleed every ounce of a subconscious fear that never used to exist.
I didn't dare close my eyes. Like a child who's been awakened by the crashing thunder, I was suddenly afraid of the darkness that I had once taken solace in.
And that's exactly what this terror is, I told myself, sounding like an exasperated mother in my head. Childish.
Something flickered in the corner of my eye; an eerie, pale light shone dimly on the floor and walls.
I turned to face the source… and froze.
There, in the door of my room, was a ghostly, lucent figure with long, black hair and deceptively lean shoulders. His skin was tan, lightened by the subdued white light that seemed to come from his body. He stood leaning against the doorframe, arms folded, and face critical and disapproving.
Niisan…
They are not real. And most importantly, they are not alive.
"What do you want?" I asked in a voice that was barely steady.
The specter said nothing, and instead continued to stare at me, never blinking, never changing positions. His eyes never left mine, and yet I knew somehow that he would vanish if someone else were to try to enter the room.
"Answer me," I demanded. Now my voice did shake as I focused instead on controlling the volume.
Still, he did not respond. His mouth remained the tight line that it had been before, and if the wall pressing into his back caused any discomfort, he didn't show it at all.
They do not keep me awake.
On it went in that pattern, for what seemed to me like hours. I would ask a question – why he was here, why he wouldn't answer – and he would in turn refuse to offer even the most minimal change in his appearance.
Finally, when I was certain he would never leave, that he would simply stand there until I fell asleep, he spoke in the low, dry whisper from my nightmare.
"Why are you afraid, Sasuke?"
I flinched at his utterance of my name, but looked up to meet his gaze again, trying to talk myself out of my terror.
He was suddenly at the side of my bed, one ethereal hand on my shoulder, eyes now more concerned than judgmental. I couldn't stop the tremors that rocked through my body, though every one of my muscles was already clenched in terror.
"What do you want?" I demanded in a voice so tremulous it was hard even for me to recognize it as my own.
They are not endless. They are not horridly vivid.
A sad smile turned the corners of his mouth up, and then he poked my forehead and vanished. The air around me whispered. As I listened, I heard the words that used to be the greatest fear I had as a child.
"Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe some other time…"
I spent the rest of that night staring at the full moon outside the window, shivering when the wind would blow around me. My terror rose and fell with the wind, and by twilight I had barely slept at all.
When the first eerie gold lights of dawn crept into my room, I turned away from the window and finally went back to sleep.
Nor do they obstruct my sleeping patterns.
Itachi stood by a small stream, his arms outstretched as I ran to him, his kind smile gracing his features like they always used to.
"Niisan!" I cried, but the dream shifted, and suddenly my brother lay before my feet, bleeding to death from wounds that were not present before.
He looked up at me with that same kind smile, only now the smile was contorted with regret and with pain.
"Forgive me… Sasuke… otouto…"
"Niisan!"
I am not a child.
I woke with a scream, calling my brother's name as I had last night. Again, I woke to find my room darkened with the night's cold shade. Again, Suigetsu slammed on the wall to demand that I be silent.
Again, I stared aimlessly around the room, shivering with the intense fear of a prey animal waiting for the predator to either attack or leave it in peace.
Again, with horrific clarity, my brother came to me, standing against the doorframe and staring until the sun rose.
And again, I was frozen in the terror of this bloody nightmare.
Nightmares do not scare me…
A/N: This is my first attempt at an ItaSasu fanfic, so please be kind with your reviews. Again, this story was inspired by and incorporates lines from a DeviantART doushinji called The Ties Tat Bind Us, which is drawn by PhonyProphet. Credit for the lines and inspiration go to PhonyProphet (whose gender I am currently uncertain of, or else I would have put either him or her instead of his/her name).