Summary: All of Sasuke's life he had thought the blonde haired blue eyed kid in his dreams was a figment of his imagination, until one night a mission brings him face to face with his dream boy, and he discovers that what he thought was his imagination was really a reality.

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Naruto

Rating:This story is rated M for later Chapters

Author Note: Here's the second chapter. I should also say that most of this story will be focused on Sasuke and what he is feeling but after this chapter we will get to learn more about Naruto and his past as well. I apologize in advance for any errors, Grammar has never been my strong suit. Anyway on with the story!

0~*&*&*~0

Sakura was worried. She glanced at Sasuke once again and observed him as he drove, if you weren't paying attention you would think he looked normal and completely relaxed. But she had observed Sasuke more times than she could count. She could see the tight way he was holding his jaw, his hands gripping the steering wheel and then every once in a while one of those hands would touch his bruised cheek and a look of awe would come across his face again. That one look was full of more emotion then she's seen on Sasukes' face... ever.

"Naruto" Sakura jolted, taken aback by the look on his face and in his eyes, there was a kind of desperation as he said the name with more care and affection that Sakura had thought he was capable of feeling, let alone expressing. She mentally tried to sort through their mutual acquaintances to see if she could possibly match a name with a face but came up blank.

"Who's Naruto?" She asked and after a moment Sasuke face once again closed off and resumed his normal bored expression, he turned away from her to grab his seat belt then after making a big show of buckling himself in he glanced up

"No one"

No one, Sakura hmphed before once again facing forward. Bull. Shit. There had to be somebody and they had to be important if they could make Sasuke react like that, Sakura herself would kill if her name alone was capable of making Sasuke look anything close to that. But she knew no matter what she said or did Sasuke was no longer going to speak on the subject. Out of the corner of her eye she once again saw Sasukes hand come up and touch his cheek, the look in his eyes returning again for a split second before he slammed his hand back down on the steering wheel.

No one huh she thought to herself. Well somebody had to put that bruise there and it had to have been somebody close to him if they somehow landed a punch on Sasuke. She narrowed her eyes in determination

And she, she decided, was going to find out just who this somebody is.

I just can't believe it. Sasuke thought to himself for the millionth time. Does this mean that… Naruto was real? All this time his friend was real? Did that mean that his pain was real too? No it couldn't be, he must have just hit something when he fell off the couch. Yea that was it. That's the only logical explanation. He touched his jaw again, thinking back on his dream

"Did that feel real enough for you? This isn't some dream this is a reality, a reality you left me in alone" His blue eyes flashing, Sasukes cheek throbbing

Sasuke dismissed it, no it just wasn't possible. Because if it was possible, that would mean that Sasuke had left his only real friend to suffer alone and purposely ignored his calls for help. It didn't matter whether he thought Naruto wasn't real he would still be guilty of abandoning him to his fate. Whatever that fate had been. It wasn't real he decided desperately, it was just a coincidence that's all. With that last thought he pulled into Kakashi's parking lot and put his mind firmly on the mission ahead. He got out of the car and opened the back seat to retrieve his pack, vaguely his mind registered that Sakura was doing the same while regarding him with a worried expression. He decided to ignore it, he didn't have the time to try or the knowledge to answer her questions, questions that probably where close to the ones he himself wanted answered. Together they moved to the front door of the apartment building where the others were gathered around Kakashi's huge truck.

"Good now that everyone is here we can get moving" His eye moved over everyone, pausing and stopping on Sasuke shocked at all the turmoil he was sensing in the boy. That combined with the bruise he saw appearing on his face was enough for him to start to worry.

"'Everyone get loaded into the truck, Sasuke come with me" he motioned for Sasuke to follow him across the parking lot out of ear shot from the others.

"What is going on" He questioned the boy and watched his expression as he tried to form an answer

"Nothing" he lied "Just had a weird dream" He mumbled the last part. Kakashi paused, he remembered Sasuke as a boy and the dreams he used to have then. Terrible nightmares that would have him crying out in pain and panic

"Do we need to call-"

"No!" Kakashi stepped back in surprise, Sasuke never raised his voice, ever. Sasuke realizing his error gentled his tone "No, I am handling it" He said then turned on his feet and moved toward the others. Kakashi watched him go and quickly decided to keep a close eye on Sasuke during this mission. He was off his game, something that has never happened before and could prove to be unpredictable. And an unpredictable Sasuke was never a good thing.

Hmm so this is where he has been hiding… Thought Kakashi as he observed the terrain in front of him. They had parked the car a few miles back not wanting to draw attention then went the rest of the way on foot. They currently were observing the coordinates their Intel had given them behind the cover of trees and bushes a good distance away from the assumed entrance. Apparently Orochimaru had taken up residence in an underground hideout in the middle of this dense forest, the only indication of a human presence being the few tire tracks and broken twigs left by foot prints that they had observed on the way in. Kakashi scanned the entrance one more time and then looked up at the setting sun before he turned back to his group.

"Ok team were going to wait here until we have the cover of nightfall, we should be close enough to detect any movements by the enemy if they discover were here and try to leave or make a move. Once it's time to move were going to set Sasuke and Sakura up at the entrance, Sakura your job is to get us through the door, once you do that Sasuke will take the lead and you'll give him back up, Neji and Hinata I want you guys to go scan the perimeter and see if you can detect any other exits or entrances, if you do then when they go in each of us will be stationed at one to take down anyone trying to escape. After we give Sasuke and Sakura about ten minutes to observe the inside situation we wait for their call to see if we should go in after them otherwise we play back up from the outside. Is that understood?" They nodded in unison.

"Good, then Neji and Hinata, go make your rounds. Sasuke and Sakura rest up while I keep watch." Neji and Hinata nodded before dashing off, Sasuke leaned back against a tree trunk and gazed up at the sky, his thoughts once again returning to his dream.

You can save me….

How? How could he possibly save him when he didn't know who or where he was or even if he was real! Plus you can't contact people through dreams! That's crazy, sure there are other crazy things that people can do, but the possibility that he can make contact with this boy through dreams! He laughed to himself that would be-

"Hey Sasuke, do you want to go over our strategy for when we get inside?" Sasuke dropped his gaze from the sky and found himself looking directly into Sakuras eyes. She was smilingly at him warmly and if Sasuke was a different person he would have smiled back, but because he was who he was all he did was stare.

"What's there to go over? We get in, we fight, we find Orochimaru, we fight again, we may kill or die, if we don't we gather all the evidence we can find, and then we get the hell out of there." He yawned "You have my back and I'll have yours just like always" He finished, Sakura blew out a breathe and then nodded

"Yea I guess you're right, we've been team mates forever, our moves are already in sync to the point I can almost tell what you're going to do before you do it" She held his gaze for a second longer "But… It's because we've been teammates for so long that I can tell…Something is off with you Sasuke. I noticed in the car and it hasn't gone away. Whatever it is it's throwing off your concentration. I know you don't want to talk about it, especially with me, but before we go in there tonight you need to have your head on straight. This battle is going to be tough, Orochimaru is not an easy opponent, I need to be able to count on you" She then quickly turned and walked away, not wanting to hear whatever Sasuke was going to say next.

Sasuke just stared after her, taken back by the tone she had used and the words she had said. Sakura almost always spoke to him in an annoyingly flirtatious voice and never did she reprehend him or go against what he said. The fact that she did so now let Sasuke know that his mood must be seriously off. He had to let this dream stuff go, there was nothing he could do about it now anyway. He leaned his head back against the tree and tried to clear his mind

Sasuke looked around the dark room, waiting for his eyes to adjust, this room was different than the other, and it was bigger and had two windows in the ceiling. In the center of the room was a hospital type bed surrounded on the sides by tables with instruments and on the bed was-

"Naruto!" Sasuke move toward the man and took in his unconscious form. He was dressed but his clothes were caked with blood, some of it dried and some of it fresh. His hair was slick with sweat and blood as well and his breath were uneven and ragged as though it was painful for him to breathe. Sasukes hands hovered over his body uselessly, he had no knowledge of medicine and didn't know where to begin. Would he hurt him more if he tried to help? He ran his hands through his hair and sighed trying to decide his best course of action. First things first he needed Naruto to wake up and tell him what happened

And who Sasuke had to hurt for putting him in this state

He leaned down.

"Naruto" He said in his friends' ear, his eyelids fluttered uselessly but he showed no other signs of waking. "Naruto" He said again putting more force behind his voice. Naruto moaned

"Sasuke?" He said in a low voice before slowly opening his eyes. Sasuke watched his gaze move around the room before finally landing on him. "Sasuke" He repeated, his face showing his confusion and also his relief "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important. What happened to you? Who did this?" There was a slight edge to his voice put there by his barely leashed anger. Narutos eyes seemed to be growing heavier

"The creator…" He's eyes were slowly closing, Sasuke reached out and touched is shoulder.

"What's his name Naruto?" He asked again, Naruto's eyes briefly focused on his

"It's-" There was a thunk outside the door, they heard voices moving closer toward the room. Naruto's eyes widen in panic

"You have to go" He said "You have to go NOW" He reached out and shoved Sasuke's shoulder just as the door cre-

"Sasuke" Hinata said her hand resting on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke sat up with a start and turned toward Hinata in a daze. She looked back at him, the worry clear in her expression

"Um Kakashi wanted me to wake you and tell you that we didn't find any other entrances or exits to the hideout" She whispered, he nodded still somewhat taken back by his dream. Hinata started to move away when Sasuke stop her

"Wait Hinata, can I ask you a question?" Her pale eyes watched him carefully then she sat down and waited. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how he wanted to start this. "Well, this is going to sound strange but, have you ever heard of someone being able to contact another person… through dreams?" He asked. Hinata leaned back slightly and Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her expression was thoughtful and nonjudgmental. He knew he was right to ask her over anybody else. Hinata never judge anyone, he didn't think she had a cruel bone in her body, she was also the only female that he had worked with that hadn't tried to get in his pants.

"No I can honestly say that I haven't." Seeing his downcast expression she quickly added on "But just because I personally haven't heard of it doesn't mean that it's not possible, no matter how impossible it sounds. There are somethings in this world that can't be explained"

"Yea but the most realistic answer would be that dreams, no matter how realistic, are dreams that you yourself created in your own mind. Even if there are things that can't be explained 99.9% of the time the realistic answer is the right one" Hinata nodded slowly

"Yes that's correct" Sasuke turned his head away from her and stared out into the forest. He knew all of this, he was one of the most realistic people on the planet. So why was he even asking? Still… it wouldn't hurt to look up Naruto's name in the system when he got back from this mission. The name couldn't be that common and maybe if he could figure out how his obsession had started and where the dreams were coming from he could get some peace.

"Sasuke…" Hinata said in her quiet voice

"Hmm?" He answered and watched as she played with her fingers for a while before answering.

"Well… is that all you had to ask me?" Sasuke paused, for a moment he was worried that she was hinting that she wanted him to ask her out, but when he looked closer at her face he realized that he was making her nervous and that she wanted to leave but was too nice to just get up and go like other people would. He smirked it wasn't often that Sasuke had females wanting to leave his presence.

"Yes Hinata, you can go" He could almost feel her relief as she quickly got up and moved away.

Sakura stood nearby in the shadows. She had been listening to the whole conversation, first out of jealousy that Sasuke would want to talk to Hinata over her but then she grew curious over what was being said. It had been a weird conversation to say the least. Why had Sasuke asked Hinata advice about dream communication? Why had he asked Hinata advice about anything? Sasuke was a very private and smart person, she had never heard him ask anyone advice about anything. He usually took what others had to say and then made his decision on his own in his own time. Everything about Sasuke today was different, but even with his increasingly erratic behavior he had to have had a good reason to ask Hinata what he had. Sakura thought about the conversation again dream communication. As far as she knows its impossible for two people to be able to connect through dreams. But as she had said before Sasuke must have a good reason for asking about it which means he has likely experienced something recently that has made him curious about the ability. What had happened though...

"Team" Kakashi called for their attention. Wordlessly they all gathered around him. "We've waited long enough, I want everyone to fall into their positions. Neji and Hinata didn't see any other indication that there was a separate escape route. It's a little suspicious so I'll remain out here even after Neji and Hinata follow Sasuke and Sakura in to make sure that no one tries to escape or follow and block you guys in. Is there any questions?" Silence "Good then lets move"

Sasuke and Sakura fell into step beside each other and began to move soundlessly toward the entrance. Years of team work had made them so in sync that they didn't even have to look at each other to know where and what the other was doing.

Were perfect together Sakura thought as she watched them move why can't he see that? They reached the entrance and after a quick look around Sakura couldn't detect any trip wires or other traps set in place around the door, they had already checked the area before hand for video cameras. This is all very suspicious she thought as she cautiously moved toward the door, she put her hand to the outskirts of the door and felt around for any sort of device that if, by opening the door, she would alert their presence. She felt nothing so she bent down and began to work on the lock itself, after a few minutes of her slowly moving all of the tumblers into place she tried the handle and the door slide smoothly open. She held her breath and waited to see if she could detect any movement inside, she half expected an army of soldiers waiting for them but she saw nothing. This is easy... way too easy. She nodded to Sasuke and they both slide into the tunnel and began to move down the medieval style hallway. They moved slowly at first, listening for any sounds that would indicate were Orochimaru might be within the hideout.

"...does it seem really... quiet to you?" Sakura asked. Sasuke had been thinking the same thing, he hadn't expected to hear tons of people having a party but he had at least expected footsteps or guards by now.

"This place it feels like it's been abandon" He answered "Like it was abandon a long time ago" He and Sakura continued to move down the hallway until they came to a fork

"Which way do you think?" Sakura asked she was beginning to feel like this mission was a lost cause and that they-

THUNK

Both Sakura and Sasuke turned toward the crashing sound

'What was th-" Another loud boom sounded through the tunnels. Sasuke began running down one of the dark stone torched lite hallway toward the sounds. the hallway seemed to stretch forever with no end in sight, after awhile his blood was pulsing loudly in his ears and his lungs burning. As he ran he chased away the eerie feeling that he had done this all before, that he had been through this exact same hallway and done the exact same thing, but that was impossible. He continued his fast paced run even as his legs began rebelling at the punishing pace he had set he refused to slow. He was on a mission, he had to find Orochimaru and bring him to justice, the snake had to be in here somewhere. Sasuke could almost feel his presence but he knew he was running out of time, he might already be too late. He continued running and running before coming to a stop when the hallway once again spilt into three different directions. Shit, now what? He didn't have time for this

he needed him

Sasuke shook his head, again shaking off the feeling of Deja vu. Where the hell had that thought come from? He heard Sakura come up behind him breathing just as hard as he was.

"Shit" she gasped "What way do you think he is?" They both looked at each individual tunnel trying to search for any indication as to where Orochimaru might be. As they search Sasuke heard a faint cry coming from the tunnel on the left.

"Help… Me" Sasuke paused and focused on calming his ragged breathing as he listen harder to try and determine the direction the voice was coming from. It felt like countless hours ticked by while he waited, even though in reality it wasn't longer than a minute, then finally he heard it again "Help… me… please" He turned to the left and almost unconsciously set off at a pounding run, once again ignoring his protesting muscles, his heart racing, he heard Sakura cry out behind him before she too broke into a run, not wanting to leave him alone without back up.

he had to find him NOW

Finally he saw a door at the end of the hallway and ran full speed at it, for the first time in his life not caring about traps or trying to analyze all the outcomes of the situation before he acted. His heart in his throat when he finally reached the door and pushed it open, feeling a rush of relief when he discovered it to be unlocked. He glanced around the dark room and waited for his eyes to adjust. Then he saw him on the floor, pale and thin with his blonde hair plastered to his face by sweat and blood.

He took in the room that he was so familiar with even though this was his first time here, everything was exactly as he imagined it. He glanced down at the passed out boy once again. Even as he continued to stare at the real life version of Naruto his mind struggled to gasp what could not be possible.

"Who's the boy?" he heard behind him and he gazed wild eyed at Sakura

"You see him too?" He asked, Sakura looked at him in confusion then back at where Naruto was lying

"If we're talking about the passed out blonde in the corner then uh yea" She answered

Sasuke moved toward him and knelt down staring at the mans' face, his breath caught in his throat, his features looked so familiar but there was no way... Finally the mans' eyes opened and Sasuke was awed by the spectacular shade of blue that looked back at him. The man parted his cracked lips before the corners turned up into a smile, Sasukes heart twisted at the sight.

"Finally" Nauto said "You found me" then he promptly passed out once again. Sasuke sat there staring at him in a daze, he felt Sakura come up behind him

"Do you... know him?" She asked. Sasuke just stared and stared and stared waiting for either the man to disappear or for himself to wake up but neither happened.

"This is impossible" He muttered but the longer he looked at Naruto, the more he began to realize that the impossible seemed to be all too possible.