AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.

Proofread by: Author and Kyluxia

A bit of a recap and explanation as to what the nightmares can be expected in the future, as well as a bit of a reminder of something else the twins have been working on.

Chapter 41: Nightmares foretold

The list of nightmares turned out significantly larger than Sakura had imagined. Starting in chronological order, with their fight against Orochimaru. Heikō had explained in simple terms what the nightmares would entail. When it came to Orochimaru, the nightmares mostly involved horrific "what if" moments where they never managed to escape from him. At the time, they had still been crushing on Sasuke, so a big part of their dreams had also centered on their worries about what might have happened had they failed to push Sasuke out of the way when Orochimaru had given them the cursed seal. Otherwise, it usually consisted of them losing the struggle against the seal during their mental battle against Orochimaru's chakra, or losing both their teammates and on some occasions, being the one responsible for their deaths. Some variations including Sasuke sacrificing himself to save them. A testament to how highly they had thought of him at the time, combined with their worst fears becoming true.

Following the struggle against Orochimaru, it was the awakening of their abilities concerning Natural energy. The lethal potential of their abilities had been terrifying, something they had discovered with the death of the first person they used it against. Heikō had actually found the many grotesque transformations and deaths that their mind conjured in the nightmare's fascinating, not as phased by it as Sakura imagined she should have been. Although, Heikō had been lucid and aware that it had been nothing more than a nightmare, so she could understand her point of view. The mind was an interesting place, capable of a lot more than she had previously imagined, not accounting for their Kekkei Genkai. It was understandable that Heikō would have been curious to see what their mind could conjure up using a disgusting and traumatic memory like that. Apparently, it wasn't all that impressive and rather unrealistic in Heikō's opinion, even if she found it creative.

Moving past Heikō's macabre fascination of the nightmares spawned of their first kill, the next series of nightmares had apparently been concerning their preliminary round. It had been mild in comparison to the other nightmares they suffered, but it had still been enough to cause nightmares apparently. Although it mainly seemed to consist of them unable to use their new powers or being brought up against other opponents that they couldn't beat as easily as they had Shino, usually resulting in failure. Going up against Gaara was probably the worst, as it included them drowning in his sand, or slowly being ground up by it.

The worst might have been the guilty dreams Sakura could expect, spawned by the fear of their own power before they learned proper control. There were apparently a lot of nightmares when the same power had accidentally, or intentionally been used on friends, family, or other allies in the preliminary, even against people they logically couldn't have ended up fighting during them. Like Kakashi, the Hokage, and even Orochimaru.

After that came more nightmares based on their training and multiple stays in the hospital, the worry about the removal of the cursed seal, and their changing biology. More "what if", worst-case scenarios, and worries. Heikō didn't think that those dreams would end up being much of a problem, but they still qualified, even if they weren't something they had dealt with for long, due to the other nightmares that had still been plaguing them at that point. Fortunately, unlike Heikō, Sakura would be dealing with her nightmares in a far more manageable quantity, ensuring that they didn't all pile together as they had for Heikō.

The next set of nightmares were a logical conclusion if one remembered what happened next. The attack on Konoha. Heikō admitted that those nightmares would likely be the worst, especially since she herself was incredibly uncomfortable with them. Not only was there plenty more death caused by them that Sakura would have to deal with, but Heikō had suppressed Sakura's feelings during the attack, resulting in a lot of self-doubt and suspicion towards Heikō once Sakura had found out about what Heikō had done. More nightmares of being controlled by someone considered close, murdering others you considered close, losing control, and possibly killing themselves as a result, naturally weren't the kind of nightmares one would consider tame.

Sakura was left worried just imagining what suffering through those nightmares would be like, something made worse by the knowledge that she knew they were coming, and that there was no escaping it. Even more unfortunate was the knowledge that it didn't end there.

The last collection of nightmares were, fortunately, the last, but still not something pleasant to be reminded of. Kabuto's torture and experimentation. It was something that Heikō informed her, fortunately, wasn't something too different from reality. It would still suck, but at least the torture had been something they had already dealt with in real life. There were only three diverging nightmares from that collection that Heikō thought Sakura should brace herself for. The ones where Kabuto eventually broke and brainwashed them, turning them against their village. The nightmares where he somehow kept them alive after killing them, leaving them an undead abomination that even after escaping, were no longer accepted anywhere by anyone. The worst ones, however, were the ones where they were borderline rescued. Found at death's door, only not to make it through the journey back to Konoha, dying in front of their teammates.

Apparently, when it came to nightmares, the body was an expert in turning against itself to make them stronger. It was disgusting and horrifying in one, to know that their own mind protected itself by torturing itself, trying to build up a resistance to whatever scared it using their dreams. A way to desensitize them to the horrors through simulated, safe, and repeated exposure to a perceived threat to be better prepared for the future. A biological process where the subconscious fought the conscious part of their psyche. It was completely stupid and inefficient, but apparently completely necessary, according to the dangerous buildup of spiritual fear Sakura had collected from Heikō trying to spare her from the bothersome process.

It was slightly worrying to consider the rate at which they had collected these nightmares at. It spoke volumes about the implications of the stress caused by their occupation, and possibly implied just how unsuitable their chosen career was for someone raised with a civilian mindset.

Naturally, the Haruno siblings weren't going to let something like these nightmares keep them from continuing down their chosen path, but it was still something worth noting and considering. It spoke volumes about the Shinobi occupation, as well as the world they lived in that this kind of result was considered normal. It was easy to forget that things used to be worse and that they were as few as only three or four generations away from what was now considered history. The third Hokage was still alive and had been there before the founding of Konoha during the warring era. A time considered chaotic and far more dangerous than the relatively peaceful and far more structured lives they enjoyed now.

It was slightly horrific to know that things had been much worse and that even their current situation was likely an improvement over what other teenage Shinobi had experienced before them in the past.

With a shudder, the twins decided to abandon that train of thought before it gave them new nightmares before they even began dealing with the ones they already had and turned in for the night. Ironically, unaware that they would, in fact, have nightmares, just not concerning what they had imagined.

It was funny, really, considering how mild their new nightmare was compared to what they had been expecting to deal with in the future. Apparently, their conversation concerning said nightmares and their worries concerning training had given birth to a nightmare montage where they continually kept messing up in their training with disastrous results. While it was still bad enough to be nightmare material, from a different perspective, it was incredibly fascinating to analyze and consider how their subconscious imagined and constructed chakra techniques in their dreams.

It was actually rather inspiring to see the odd failure of a Rasengan, consisting of a hollow sphere made up of outwards facing spikes that exploded in a devastating and gory result. It actually gave the twins new ideas and possible things to try out. The most interesting part was the imagined seals. Horrible, incomplete, yet surprisingly creative failures of seals, arrays, and formations greeted the twins with what proved to be actual sound Fūinjutsu theory. While writing of words usually seemed to escape them in their dreams, the seals they saw were perfectly clear, rather than vague or smudged. Even the kanji or other symbols remained perfectly clear, which the twins attributed to the standards of perfection that had been ingrained into their calligraphy lessons. Fūinjutsu was remembered not just as words with meaning attributed to them, but perfect lines, brush strokes, arm movements, and visual representation. It was almost sad to see it perverted into the tragedy of seals they saw, even if some of them introduced radical ideas and theories that they wouldn't dare to try in the real world without consulting Jiraiya. The attempts at three-dimensional seals however were disappointing. Their lack of real knowledge in the area showed, and didn't provide them with anything more than wondering just what significance an added dimension could have in their Fūinjutsu.

Naturally, as a result of their nightmares, the Haruno sisters found that they hadn't managed an easy night of rest, awakening tired, and unfortunately early in the morning.

Doubting that they'd be able to fall asleep again with any ease, they instead decided to meditate. While they had never stopped meditating, they had done so a lot less recently, attributed to their lack of progress in unlocking any more tenketsu points. Yet, surprisingly, in the early hours of the morning, just before sunrise, tired and trying to distract themselves, they managed to find insight, and surprisingly open a few additional tenketsu.

Sakura, managing to unlock a total of five tenketsu in swift succession. The first one, located within their right Soleus muscle, followed by the second tenketsu located by their Sacrum. Continuing, she managed to unlock a third tenketsu located in their left eye. Next came a fourth tenketsu located within the palm of their right hand, about where they estimated their Hamate bone to be located, followed by the fifth tenketsu located at the tip of their little finger in their left hand. Each new tenketsu bringing with it the assuring, temporary sensation of their body awakening, each in their own way. It was interesting to note that for the brief moment that the tenketsu in their left eye opened up, they could see through their closed eyelids. At the very least, that was what it felt like. Checking their memories didn't help in distinguishing if they had happened to open the eye for a moment, or actually seen through their eyelids.

Heikō on the other hand only managed to open two more tenketsu. The first, located in their left foot, located next to the fifth Metatarsals bone, while the second ended up being located about where the Talus bone in their right foot was located.

Besides the tenketsu located in their left eye, none of them seemed all that exciting, but they each still represented the twins making progress on their path on The Golden Path they had chosen to pursue. Already proving just how viable the method was, despite the supposed time it was supposed to take just to unlock a single Tenketsu using meditation to find the right order. Besides, now Sakura was suddenly the sibling ahead of the two concerning how many tenketsu they had each unlocked. Although, it was only by a single one. Either way, the sudden burst of progress was very encouraging, and precisely what the twins needed to get their minds off of the nightmares that awaited them, allowing them to meet the new day in a good mood.

AN: The entire tenketsu thing was kind of side-lined for a while it feels like, no? Well, it was never forgotten, don't you worry. After all, it's kind of in the name of the fic, so I do have a constant reminder of what this entire thing is about.

Kyluxia here. Have any of you folks out there had a lucid nightmare? Until next time.