Wound up splitting this one in two - several flashbacks/dreams involved, didn't want to bog it down too much. Thus begins the next arc of the story...Feedback is love!

Chapter 11: Memories of a Dark Night, Part 1

"Kaiya…"

She looked up. When had she reached the Uchiha compound…? She gasped as she looked around - there were bodies everywhere. The metallic scent of blood pervaded the air, mingling with smoke. So many bodies…

"Kaiya…"

One of the bodies was calling to her. She looked down at it - the brown eyes of her teacher, Yuuma-sensei, stared at her. He was lying on his front, his hand reaching toward her. She tried to go him, to take his hand, to call out to him, but she couldn't move her body. Blood dripped from his mouth as he called her name again. "Kai-ya…"

And then he was there, standing over her beloved teacher. His eyes glowed red, his face was cold. He raised his sword. Kaiya tried to yell for her teacher to look out, but no sound came from her throat. The other shinobi brought the sword down on Yuuma-sensei, driving it through the man's spine. Yuuma-sensei sputtered, more blood spitting from his mouth. Despite the distance between them, she felt his blood spatter her feet and legs.

"NO!"

The shinobi looked up at her - she had finally made a sound, she realized, and it alerted him to her presence. His red eyes bore into her blue ones - no, they were black again, cold, but…were those tears?

"ITACHI!"

Kaiya covered her mouth to muffle the scream that tried to escape as she bolted up in bed. Her other hand clenched the sheets around her. She pounded the mattress with her fist, once, twice - she lost count, just kept pounding until the urge to scream had died down. She took her hand away from her mouth and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths.

Once she'd calmed down enough, she got out of bed, standing on shaky legs. She was covered in cold sweat and shivering. Not bothering to change from her pajamas, she grabbed her jacket and slipped on her sandals. She had to get out of that room, to move around. And she had to talk to someone.

Several minutes later, she knocked on a sliding window. The light turned on inside and Hikaru, wearing a plum-colored robe, unlocked it, stepping aside to let her in. "Kaiya? What's wrong?" he asked, though going by her appearance he could guess.

"I had the nightmare again."

"Sit down," he said, guiding her to his couch. "I'll make some tea." He put a blanket around her shoulders - she was shivering. Once the water was ready, he prepared a tray and set it on the table in front of the couch, sitting next to her. "Which one was it?" He handed her a cup.

Kaiya cradled it with both hands, the warmth helping her shaking to die down. "The one with Yuuma-sensei."

Hikaru flinched. Kaiya's nightmare was always a variation on the theme of The Night, but the ones with Yuuma-sensei were the worst. He glanced at his calendar on the far wall - yes, it was nearly that day.

"I don't understand…" she whispered. "I didn't see Yuuma-sensei that night. I didn't know he was there until they told us two days later. But every time…he's calling out to me, and I can't move to help him when…"

Hikaru put his arms around his shaking teammate as she started sobbing. This had become a routine. Kaiya would get these nightmares every couple months or so, though they increased in frequency as the anniversary drew closer. He'd long given up trying to say any comforting words, realizing that simply holding his teammate was enough, and that the episode would pass.

After a few minutes, it did. Kaiya calmed, the shaking and sobbing stopped. Hikaru looked down at her; she'd fallen asleep. With a final rub on her shoulder, he gently lay her on the couch and covered her with the blanket. He returned to his own room - Kaiya would sleep through the rest of the night.

Sasuke lounged in the morning sun, but he couldn't relax. Memories of The Night were plaguing him again.

You are weak…not worth killing…

A hawk flew overhead - one of his teacher's summons.

"Kakashi?" Sasuke reluctantly sat up. "What does he want?"

"Who knows?" He turned around to see Kaiya walking toward him.

"He called you too, Kaiya?" Sasuke asked as he stood.

"Mm," she nodded, then smiled. "Mind some company?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Kaiya rolled her eyes behind his back, but kept pace with him.

They found Kakashi outside a dango shop, talking with Kurenai and Asuma. "Kakashi," Sasuke called. "It's not like you to show up early - what gives?"

"Well sometimes I do…."

"Is the world ending? 'Cuz I can only see this as a bad omen," Kaiya teased, putting a hand on her hip. A slight movement caught her and Sasuke's eyes from inside the shop - but there was no one there. Just two steaming cups of tea and a plate of uneaten dango…huh?

Sasuke scowled. "Let's eat somewhere else - I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked. Kaiya noticed him nod to Asuma and Kurenai, who left suddenly. Her own eyes narrowed, but she stayed with the Copy-nin and Sasuke.

They walked away, Sasuke going on ahead a bit. After a few minutes, Kakashi hung back and addressed Kaiya in a low voice. "Stay with Sasuke," he said. Her eyes widened slightly. "I need to do something…" She nodded. He was gone when Sasuke turned around.

"He left?" Sasuke frowned. "What was the point in meeting him then?"

So he was tailing someone…that explains the hot tea at the shop. Kaiya shrugged. "Eh, who knows with that guy?" She smiled. "Want to get something to eat? My treat."

"Not hungry," Sasuke said. He started to walk away.

"Suit yourself," Kaiya said. She followed him.

"I don't need a babysitter," Sasuke called over his shoulder.

"Too bad," she retorted. "You got one anyway." Sasuke just groaned and kept going. He knew better than to try and get away from Kaiya - she was too fast, and could always catch him.

As they approached his destination, Kaiya paused. "The Uchiha compound…it's that day, isn't it?" She looked at Sasuke with concern. He stopped but didn't answer. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. With everything going on, I lost track of what day it is."

"What does it matter to you, anyway?" He scowled at her. "You're not the one whose entire clan…Just leave me alone!" He shook.

She met his gaze calmly. "No, Sasuke, I'm not the one whose entire clan was killed. But I promised back then that I would not leave you alone, so tough luck, kid. You're stuck with me today."

Sasuke clenched his fists, remembering the last time she'd said those words to him.

Sasuke woke up in an unfamiliar white room. Where was he? He tried to lift his arm, finding an IV attached. The hospital? Why…what had happened?

"Sasuke? You're awake…" he looked to the source of the voice, and was confused again. Curled into a chair in the corner of the room was Kaiya. She looked worn - her face drawn, dark circles under her reddened eyes. She was cradling her wrist, which was wrapped tightly in a splint.

"Kaiya-san?" he asked. "Why are you here? Where's Nii-san?" He almost never saw her without Itachi nearby.

She didn't answer right away. It looked almost like she was fighting with herself. "Sasuke…" she started.

"Why am I in the hospital?" he continued, looking around the room. "Where's my mom and dad? What happened?"

Her eyes were wide. "Sasuke - you don't remember?"

"Remember what -" He tried to sit up, but flinched; his bandaged shoulder stung where the shuriken had grazed it. Shuriken…Blood. Dark streets. Sharingan eyes, staring down at him…"No…"

Kaiya could only watch as Sasuke clenched the sheets around him, memories flooding his mind. The terror…running through the streets…his mother and father lying on the floor, covered in blood…

"No!" He leapt from the bed, tearing the IV from his arm. He was out the door before Kaiya could leave her chair.

"Sasuke!"

He ran to the compound. It couldn't be true…it was all just a nightmare, right? A terrible, terrible nightmare. There would be Uncle and Auntie, who always greeted Sasuke on his way to and from school, and his father would be at work in the police station, his mother folding laundry fresh from the line…but there was yellow tape blocking the entrance to the compound. He ducked under it, running toward his house.

The entire compound was silent - even the birds had stayed away. He slowed when he reached his house. He walked cautiously through the door - also blocked off with tape - and called out. "Okaa-san! Otou-san! Where are you?" His voice held a note of panic. He found his parents' room, door closed. He reached for the knob with a shaking hand, forcing himself to turn it. As the door swung open, his mind flashed to bloody, broken bodies on the floor…and a figure standing over them. "No…"

The room was empty, but there were chalk outlines and dark stains on the floor. Blood stains. "No, it can't be…it didn't happen…" He ran from the house, but only got so far as the deck before doubling over. He heaved, emptying what little was in his stomach. "It didn't happen…It can't have happened…Nii-san…Nii-san, where are you?" He heaved again as he remembered the figure standing over his parents' bodies. It was his brother. Itachi…

Itachi had done this.

His heaves turned into screams, screams turned into sobs. He hadn't been strong enough - he couldn't protect them, he had been too weak to avenge them…

He barely registered the steps coming behind him until they were mere feet away. He turned sharply with a cry to defend himself against the intruder, throwing a jab. His fist was blocked and caught. Blue eyes met his tear-filled black ones. Kaiya had blocked him with her bandaged wrist. Her face showed some pain, but she held onto his fist. His arm went limp, along with the rest of his body. She kneeled leaned forward, gathering him into her arms as he clung to her shirt, sobbing and whimpering.

"They're all gone…" he cried. "I couldn't defend them…they're gone and I'm alone…"

She held onto him tighter. Tears leaked from her own eyes. "No," she said, her own voice shaky. "You're not alone, Sasuke. I promise you, you'll never be alone."

After a few minutes like that, standing at the entrance of the compound, he finally spoke. "I need…I need to go in there alone. Please let me do this."

She nodded. "I'll be right here."

And so starts the arc of mysteries...

Next Time: Memories of a Dark Night, part 2. A look at (part of) Kaiya's experience of The Night. Stuff gets stirred up. A mystery resurfaces...