Author's Notes: Set in part two of the Naruto manga. Spoiler alert!
The Only Eyes
By Nessie
There is always hissing in his ear just before Sasuke fall asleep; not that he really sleeps. Even if the members of Hebi are loyal to him now, there's no telling when or whose loyalty will shift (he is always somewhat wary of Karin for other reasons). It isn't, also, that he believes Orochimaru is nearby.
It's his own psyche anchoring him. Too much dreaming throws him off, unbalances him, because any vision of battles experienced or training endured can give way to green eyes, staring, unwavering and solemn from a far-below ravine.
The only eyes Sasuke wants to focus on are sunken, red and black, passive. Eyes he hates. Eyes he intends to watch as they close for the final time.
She bothers him more and more as of late. It is interesting, in a way; he finds her annoying even when she isn't there. She smiles at him because of him, and he knows that perception of her is skewed. She showed no sign of crying at their impromptu reunion in the Land of Grass, and she definitely did not smile at him.
But he thought he had seen...in eyes that were older, maybe, but still the same—
Sasuke started, wide awake. It was a reflex, he thought, adrenaline coursing in him. The brain's reaction to his dozing, misinterpreting it as his body dying.
Sakura.
Sunrise would come in an hour, and Hebi would then be on the move again. He had no time for errant dreams.
Not even of green eyes, whether or not they were the only eyes worth dreaming of.
The End