Ooh, back to the Akatsuki! Some sweet Itachi in this one!
Hitomi tossed and turned in her sleep, when she finally shot up straight in her bed, she threw her hand over her mouth to muffle her cries, shaking all over. She didn't want to wake her teammates, didn't want them to worry themselves over her. She slid out of bed, uncomfortably hot from all her restless movement. She walked out of the door into the living room. It was raining again and it was cold outside in the drafty cave.
She flopped herself on the couch and curled up shaking more from her dreams than the cold, willing herself not to cry. It was just a nightmare after all, it made no sense to cry. They were safe. They were all safe back in Konoha. She closed her tired eyes and hoped hard that she wouldn't dream again. But then, some hopes don't even matter to fate. She drifted to sleep with the chilly wind blowing over her small frame.
When Itachi woke in the middle of the night, simply out for a glass of water, it wasn't in his nature to sleep through the entire night, he heard a labored breathing. He turned around, heading to the living room instead of the kitchen. He peered over the edge of the couch, furrowing his brow as he saw his cousin, shaking worse than a leaf in a blizzard, curled up like a child as she mumbled in her disturbed rest.
He went closer out of curiosity, never knowing her to crash on the couch before and without a blanket on this cold night. She was sweating though and her ninja headband which she never took off, loosened from her leg. She shivered violently and whined sorrowfully. He raised his brows in surprise as he comprehended the words coming from her mouth.
'Don't do it… please… please… Sasuke, wait… Tsunade-sama… save Sakura… he didn't mean to… don't do it, Sasuke.' She struggled, frowning and whimpering as if she was being tortured, tears streaming from under closed eyes. Itachi placed a calm hand on her arm, shaking her lightly, not wanting her to suffer anymore.
She woke with a jolt and because Itachi's hand was still weighing down her arm, she couldn't stifle her cries in time. She scrambled up, confused as to why there was a presence beside her. Itachi tried to calm her panic. She looked so frightened, mismatched eyes wide and trembling violently from her fear. She placed the back of her hand against her mouth, biting on her thumb as she tried valiantly to snap herself into reality.
'Why are you crying?' Itachi asked soothingly, removing her hand from her teeth, concerned that she might bite down too hard. She let him reluctantly, frowning when she heard the words. She pulled back her hand from him using both of hers to hastily wipe away the stray tears.
'It's nothing. Only a nightmare.' She said as if trying to convince herself.
'You said Sasuke's name and the Hokage's and then another girl's.' Itachi explained kindly, careful so that his words would not upset her, having never seen such a vulnerable side to his cousin.
'Sakura. She's the pink-haired girl that was there beside Sasuke when you came for me.' Hitomi said in realization. Itachi nodded, remembering the strong medical ninja that calmed his little brother and healed Akane.
Hitomi wasn't quite sure why she said that. Maybe it was that she had next to no emotional training or that she was shaken up by her dreams or maybe the fact that he was her elder cousin. She didn't really think it mattered at that moment. She looked at Itachi's kind and unknowingly to him, gently smiling face.
'You killed her, in my dream, because she convinced Sasuke to give up trying to kill you. Tsunade-sama couldn't save her and he loved her and Sasuke had no one left, he got so angry and both of you were fighting.' She blurted out quickly, feeling an unexplained wave of trust toward the taller Akatsuki member.
'My brother loves that Sakura?' He asked in surprise.
Hitomi realized he didn't know yet and taking advantage of a way to calm her down, he asked her about it quickly. 'He just decided that he would rather stay with her than leave to get revenge on you. And mother is always trying to tell him that you had your reasons and that you care. He doesn't even get angry, he just plays with Sakura's hair.'
Itachi resisted the urge to smirk. 'How do you know all this?'
Hitomi blushed crimson. 'Spy practice?' Itachi did smirk then.
'I'm glad he's happy.' Itachi murmured, seating himself on the couch beside the leader of Team Prodigy. She stared at him in shock and then she began to bounce. Literally, bouncing and giggling softly on the couch as Itachi watched, amused.
'I knew it! I knew it! You care!' She squealed as quietly as possible.
Itachi waited for her to come down from her high. She hugged her knees, exhausted from her bouncing and interrupted sleep, yawning loudly. Itachi almost chuckled. 'Sleep.' He coaxed her softly.
'Will you wake me up if I have a nightmare?' She asked him hopefully, loosening out into a curled fetal position. He paused for a moment and after a moment's hesitation, he reached up slightly and poked her forehead, nodding.
She yawned again and closed her eyes, going to sleep. Itachi kept to his word but there were no more nightmares, only dreams of her teammates and family in which she smiled peacefully. Itachi thought back to what she had revealed to him, half-wishing he could thank the pink-headed medic for loving his little brother. He turned his head towards a slight sound, seeing a small smile on Daisuke's tired face, though his eyes were bright and awake.
'She was having nightmares, huh? She always does this. I never know why she doesn't let me or Masaru help her. Mostly I think it's because she hates it when she cries in her sleep. That's the only time she hides her tears from us.' Daisuke told the silent Uchiha. He walked towards his teammate, looking down at her sleeping frame. Itachi nodded, recalling how swiftly she wiped away the fallen tears.
Daisuke reached under and picked her up, one arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her knees. She clutched onto his shirt, muttering his name before going back into a deep sleep. Daisuke gave her a slight smile and then one for the Uchiha. 'Thanks for taking care of her.'
The sound manipulator carried Hitomi back to their room and Itachi blinked before snapping out of it and heading back into his room to get more sleep, forgetting about his glass of water completely. All he could think about was how he cared for his cousin just like he did his brother.
