Dreaming and Breathing Each Other's Lies

by Riko Ai Kumagai

Sasuke decides it's time to go and face his brother. But is that what's really happening? Or is it only in their heads?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. I don't own anything about this.

"Run."
The voice was deep, vibrating, echoing. It came from no one where but the back of his own dreaming mind. Sasuke's face twitched slightly, and he took a deep breath, completely unaware of it.
"Run away, little brother."
Sasuke's latest inhale of breath turned into an unsteady exhale, coming out in short, uneven gasps of horror.
"Youre not even worth killing..."
His hands spasmed and closed into fists.
"...Foolish little brother."
Sasuke sat up and gasped. He looked around, breathing deeply, hoping he hadnt woken Sakura or Naruto. Unfortunately, he had.
Sakura's eyes snapped open and she rolled herself onto her elbows.
"Sasuke?" She wiped the tiredness from her eyes. "Sasuke, whats wrong?"
Sasuke only shook his head, not able to bring himself to confess his dream. It was then that Naruto sat up and looked around, saying, "What happened?"
"Nice job, Naruto!" snapped Sakura. "A little bit of a delayed reaction, huh? If youd woken up about ten seconds ago, you would have been up with us. But no..."
"Sorry, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed. "It was weird, like I couldnt wake up when I needed to-!"
"Oh, right! What would you have done if we were under attack!"
The two started arguing, Naruto simply trying to get Sakura to relax.
Sasuke laid back down on the ground from his sitting position. He stared at the gray, overcast bit of sky he could see through the trees, thinking about his dream. Or was it really a dream? Hadnt it been like more of a memory? His brothers horrible words on that awful day that was burned, no, scorched right into his mind. He sighed, and listened to Sakuras and Narutos arguing. He smirked to himself when he heard his name brought up a few times.

Finally, the two of them had stopped arguing and Sasuke still remained detached, as always.
"Man," said Naruto, trying to break the ice. "I wish Kakashi were here."
"Why?" asked Sasuke, sounding annoyed.
Naruto hadnt expected anyone to actually reply. "Uh- I dont know. He would have us talking or something. We wouldnt be so quiet and BORING!" he emphasized the last word, aiming it at the two other genin.
Sasuke sighed again at his partner's stupidity. "Why else?" In all honesty, he was bored as well, and wanted someone to start talking.
"Um...because...my feet hurt," said Naruto.
Sakura and Sasuke stopped and turned to look at him. All he did was put his arms behind his head and grin. The other two turned away again, and Sakura was heard muttering to herself: "Naruto, I swear..."
Sasuke decided that Naruto had nothing good to talk about, so he thought maybe the girl did.
"So. Sakura. Whats going on?" he muttered to her. Behind them, Naruto flushed with envy at Sakura's reddening face.
"Well...not much...I hate all this walking."
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. Its boring."
"And painful!" added the girl.
"I guess," shrugged Sasuke.
After a few minutes, Sakura asked, "Sasuke, what happened this morning? What was your dream about?"
"No- Nothing."
"Yes it was, you don't spasm and twitch and gasp like that over nothing."
No reply.
"Sasuke, tell me. Youve told me a lot of things before, this is just a dream. Tell me".
After a moment- "My brother."
"What about your brother?"
"Just what he said to me the day he killed my clan. 'Run away, brother, youre not even worth killing.'"
Sakura looked down and nodded. "Oh."
She dropped the subject after that. Of course, though, Naruto remembered and wanted to know as well.
"Hey Sasuke!"
"What?"
"What was up with your dream this morning? You woke up breathing all hard."
Sasuke made a loud noise of exasperation. "Nothing!" he exclaimed.
Naruto raised his eyebrows at the boys reaction. "Geez, okay."

As the trio walked in silence toward their destination, Sasuke thought about his brothers other words he had said that day.
"When your eyes are like mine, come before me."
Sasuke's eyes were now so much like his brothers- the sharingan, of course, but also the things they had seen. He thought...maybe...now was the time. To go see his brother. Maybe now. But where was his brother?
They were walking toward another village, but when they got there, most were dead. Bodies everywhere. Sakura screamed, and Naruto gasped.
"What!" he exclaimed furiously. "What happened?"
Sasuke was being reminded of his own clan. And then he saw a young child, around seven or eight, huddling in a corner over two adults.
"Your parents?" said Sasuke, walking over to the boy.
The kid nodded, and tears streamed off his face.
"Its okay. Youll get over it. I did." He thought for a moment. "Well, sort of."
The little boy only cried harder.
"Hey- who did this, anyway?"
"A boy, he was maybe eighteen. He had a sharingan eye, but I dont know how he got it."
"What! Sasuke shouted. No way!"
The kid nodded.
"Where did he go!" demanded Sasuke, towering over the little kid.
The boy cringed back in the corner and hyperventalated.
"Tell me!"
"Sasuke! Stop it!" snapped Naruto, seeing the fear Sasuke had provoked in the kid.
Sasuke knelt down. "You need to tell me. Where did he go?" he asked solemnly.
The boy pointed toward the forest. Looking closer, Sasuke saw footprints.

"I'll catch him. I'll kill him, okay?"
"Th- thank you."
The older boy nodded, then stood. up.
"I have to go. It's Itachi."
"Wha- what?" stuttered Sakura.
"I know. But he's here, and I have to go see him."
"Sasuke, I don't know if that's the best-" began Naruto.
"I know what Im doing, you idiot!" With that, Sasuke ran toward the forest, and follwed the footprints.

About half an hour after he had started following the tracks, he heard someone walking. They were walking slowly, like they were just out for a nice hike.
"Itachi!"
The man up ahead turned around, his black hair flowing around his face. It was definitely his brother.
"Brother?"
"No! Dont call me that, you...you sick freak!"
"It is you. Back at last. Have you come to join me?" Itachi spoke slowly and carefully, his voice dripping with malice.
"No! I've come to kill you! I see you're still out destroying peoples' lives and screwing with their minds! Little kids! Do you always leave one to be tortured?"
"Not for the last couple of villages," Itachi answered like they were discussing the wheather. "But I thought it might be fun if I left one this time."
"Shut up!"
"Sasuke!"
The boy looked over his shoulder. "Dammit!"
Sakura and Naruto had followed him. "You can't do it on your own," called Sakura.
"Well, you'll only get in the way!"
But Naruto attacked. Itachi blocked it easily, sending Naruto flying into a tree. He threw a kenai to nail him to the tree.
"Should I kill these two? Especially that ugly girl over there."
"No! You leave them alone!"
"All right, brother. I strike you a deal. If you join me, Ill let your friends go. But if you dont, Im killing them, and making you watch."
"Then what? Youll kill me?" taunted Sasuke.
"No, because then Id only be doing you a favor. Id let you go, and let your mind suffer for the rest of your life."
Sasuke glanced down. "Sakura, get out! Just get out of here!"
"But Sasuke-!"
"Sakura, get the hell out!"
"But what about the blondie over there?" said Itachi.
"I- just let him go. Let Sakura take him."
"Will you join me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not if you want your friends to live."
Sasuke stared at the ground. "I...then..." he looked up at Itachi. "I hate you. I've always hated you. But you know that. And you don't care."
Itachi just shook his head.
"Yes. I join you."
"Good."
Suddenly, a bright flash of light flashed all along Sasuke, consuming him, Naruto was thrown from the tree directly into Sakura, who was thrown backwards. She pushed the boy off and stood up to see Sasuke collapsing, turning away from the light, with one tear escaping from his eye.
"Sasuke!"
The call was long and drawn out. She cried for his freedom, for the darkness in his life, for all he had gone through, for the sickness of his brother. But most of all, Sakura cried for Sasuke. The white light was growing brighter, reaching a climax- and then it was gone.
Sasuke had appeared by his brother, and felt an indescribeable evil running through him.
"No!" cried Sakura. She was crying insanely, without hardly realizing it. "No! Please!" She stopped and bowed her head, sobs shaking her whole body.
"No..."

Sakura and Sasuke sat bolt upright, gasping and panting for air in their shock. They were in different rooms in their village, in a bed, but they had both had the same dream. Neither of them knew the other had had the same one...and they would never mention it to each other for as long as they knew one another. They didnt want each other knowing that they were in their dreams.