Dreaming of Screaming
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or Naruto itself.
Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't deny
~System of a Down
Itachi stared into the darkness at the boy's sleeping form. It had occurred to him often that his little brother was a beautiful young man. When the boy was small, Itachi believed that Sasuke would grow up to be more masculine, like their father. However, Sasuke was undeniably feminine. Itachi never felt himself attracted to women, but the femininity seemed to suit Sasuke.
Even in sleep, Sasuke seemed to be glaring. Itachi remembered a day when his darling little brother fell asleep with a smile on his face. The man realized distantly that he was partially responsible for his change of sleeping expression. Why aren't you smiling? Itachi wondered, stepping closer to his brother's bed. "You've won, aren't you happy now?" he leaned down to stroke his brother's beautiful face.
Sasuke awoke with a start. His heart skipped and for a moment seemed to have stopped beating entirely. Itachi is dead. Itachi is dead.
The teen tossed off the covers and threw a punch at his brother, moving to stand. Itachi pushed him back onto the bed roughly. "You owe me." His voice was cold and sent a chill dancing up Sasuke's spine. The boy froze on the mattress, vaguely aware that his feet were tangled in the sheets. The shadowed figure of his brother loomed over him, his face illuminated by the slivers of moonlight sliding through the window.
Sasuke saw the blood on Itachi's face, the same as it was the day he watched the light leave his eyes. Sasuke's stomach filled itself with lead. The man's eyes were dim and glassy with death. A pale hand reached forward to wrap itself around Sasuke's exposed neck. It was icy compared to Sasuke's overheated skin.
"Nng," he winced at the chill. Goosebumps ghosted around his flesh. He wanted to gasp, or struggle, though it seemed the hand at his throat was simply a warning. Itachi was not choking him, but stilling the boy with the firm presence of his hand.
Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, willing himself to wake up. It has to be a nightmare, he told himself. The teen did not wake up. He felt something brush his lips.
"I hate this," the words whispered against his lips and Sasuke tensed. The boy felt his skin break into a cold sweat. Itachi's hand was still on his neck, but the panic told Sasuke to kick and scream and fight!
Sasuke grabbed onto Itachi's arm and tried to pull it away, get the hand off of him. Itachi let out a low, barely audible chuckle, sounding raspy and mechanical. His grip on Sasuke's neck intensified and now he really was choking the boy. It was no longer a warning.
He tried to pry the hand off his neck, nails scraping off bits of Itachi's dead skin. Sasuke kicked his legs, trying desperately to somehow wind the man who was supposed to be dead. He realized with terror that his feet were still tangled in the sheets and struggling only made it worse. Sasuke choked out a whimper as the edges of his vision began to blacken and blur.
"You know," Itachi whispered, lips tickling Sasuke's ear. He repeated those same two words again and again as Sasuke slipped away.
When Sasuke woke up in the morning, he knew that it had been a nightmare. Sasuke was safe and warm in bed. His sheets weren't tangled, they were arranged perfectly the same as when he'd gone to bed the night before. The cold sweat was there, but after such a frightening dream, who wouldn't be sweating?
Sasuke's trip to the bathroom ruined any rational thought. His nightmare was more. His reflection showed him what he didn't want to see. Sasuke had a purple bruise around his neck in the vague shape of a hand and when he looked down at his own hands, he found skin beneath his nails along with dirt and blood.
Itachi's dead skin.