AN: Sorry this took so long to come out. I've been busy with life and stuff lately... But here it is and the next chapter can be expected semi-soon. The more reviews I get, the faster it will come out. Thanks for reading!
Ino threw herself down onto her bed with a tired sigh. She closed her eyes, a happy smile on her face. Sasuke had been released from the hospital and into her care and now he was going to be living at her home until she could get him to remember his past. Initially, Shizune and Tsunade had considered Naruto or Kakashi to keep and eye on him, but he had requested Ino. This was probably for the best, considering he would be living off ramen and spoiled milk at Naruto's, and he would be by himself a lot if he had stayed with Kakashi, as the jounin was busy with missions and training. So now Ino had an extra bed in her room and a new roommate. She smiled again, feeling rather pleased with herself.
The door to the room opened and Sasuke stepped in, wearing a pair of pajamas he had borrowed from Naruto. Unsurprisingly, the shirt and pants were the loudest shade of orange Ino had ever seen in her life, and she imagined they would probably glow in the dark. Ino sat up and grinned. Her mother had initially been a little cautious about letting the teens share a room, but Inoshi had told her not to worry: they were both good kids and they wouldn't get into any trouble. Her mother had eventually given in and even taken a liking to the Uchiha, as he seemed to appreciate her cooking much more then her husband or daughter.
"If you need anything, wake me up," Ino said, yawning and getting under the covers as Sasuke did the same. The dark haired boy nodded, watching quietly as Ino rolled over, her face hidden from him by her pillow.
"Thanks Ino," he said quietly.
"No problem," she said with another yawn. "Night Sasuke."
"Night."
But he didn't fall asleep. He didn't want to slip over into the dream world his confused mind had created for him. They had been plaguing his sleep and they scared him. Besides, you could never control what happened in dreams or when you would give in to-
"Come son, come to dinner," a man's voice said. Sasuke opened his eyes. He was at a long table with hundreds of people. They were all staring at him with wide smiles on their faces, steaming bowls of… something in front of them. They were all pale with dark hair and eyes, just like his own. The man who had spoken looked very familiar, almost as if-
Oh. This was his family. But there was an empty seat next to him. A woman- his mother- suddenly noticed and said:
"Where is our oldest son?" She turned her back and yelled "Itachi, darling, come to dinner!"
A door slammed open behind Sasuke and a shadowy figure stepped out, holding their hands out in front of them. His hands were covered in red blood.
"But I've been preparing my feast," he whispered in a hoarse voice. He suddenly looked up and Sasuke locked eyes with him. The other boy's eyes were as red as the blood on his hands and had three extra pupils. Sasuke gasped, icy fear flooding him. He couldn't move. A thud behind him made him jump and he spun around. He gasped. Everyone at the table lay face down in their soup bowls, the contents splattered on the table. It was the same color as the boy's eyes. Panting with fear, he looked down at his own bowl and saw the boy's eyes looking back at him.
"Fear me," the boy's voice said. "Fear me, and grow strong in hate."
Sasuke spun around to see that the boy had changed into a tall man with long black hair. He ran his tongue over his lips hungrily. His eyes had slitted pupils.
"Join me in the quest for power!" his voice hissed and suddenly the back of the boy's neck exploded with white hot pain and he collapsed, grabbing the back of his neck and screaming in pain. Suddenly it faded and he could feel himself being carried away somewhere in a basket of sorts. He wanted to get out. It was dark and he couldn't move much. The claustrophobia was getting to him and he tried to see through the dark, trying to find a way to get out. There was a hissing, slithering noise and something moved across Sasuke's foot. He yelled, startled and tried to back away. A large snake suddenly reared up in front of him and hissed, baring its fangs.
Suddenly he was toppling out of the basket and fell to the floor. The snake was gone. He stood up, gasping for breath. Suddenly, someone lashed out and hit him in the face, sending him flying backwards. He crumpled to the floor and slowly pushed himself up again. He looked up, confused.
"Naruto?"
The blonde boy was panting hard, his eyes red and slitted, an evil looking red aura surrounding his thin form. The whisker-like marks on his face were dark black now and his incisors were elongated and fang like. He looked like some kind of- Oh. Ino had said he was a fox demon, come to think of it.
"Brother, why are you still fighting me?" the blonde rasped, gasping for breath. Tears were in the corners of his red eyes. "Please come home. Sakura asked me to bring you back. We miss you."
Suddenly, Sasuke felt himself move towards Naruto, his arms lashing out, fists smashing into Naruto's body. He couldn't control himself, horrified as he watched the blonde teen yell out in pain as he felt bones break under his fingers. He let out a yelp of pain as Sasuke's fist slammed into his nose, breaking the cartilage as blood spurted from it. Just as fast as it had started, Sasuke stopped, panting. He slowly opened his eyes.
Naruto lay motionless on the ground. He had killed him.
Sasuke gasped. He couldn't have. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground above Naruto, looking down at the boy. His eyes were wide and staring, back to his normal blue color. It began to rain. It was impossible, he couldn't have… Blood was smeared on Naruto's face. Gasping in fear and horror at what he had done, he staggered over to the lake and looked into the water's surface. Even as he felt the rain coming down on him, he could still somehow see his reflection perfectly, a scared pale faced little boy with blood and dirt on his face.
But even as he watched, the image shifted to that of the red eyed boy, the murderer, whose hands had been covered in blood. It changed again, so now the smiling snake man with the slitted eyes was staring at him. It changed back to the teen, then the boy, then the man. The images began to change faster and faster until they were just a blur.
And Sasuke couldn't tell the difference.
He screamed.
Sasuke's screams woke up Ino, who looked around and quickly ran to his side, leaping onto his bed and pulling him into a hug. The boy was looking straight ahead, his black eyes wide and bloodshot, the screams ripping from his throat in a high-pitched cry of terror.
"Sasuke," she said gently, hugging him gently. She pulled him closer as he began to sob bitterly, turning his head so he could cry into her shoulder. The door opened and light streamed in as Ino's parent's entered, looking worried.
"Ino, is everything okay?" Inoshi asked. "Is he okay?"
"It was a nightmare, Dad," she said, gently holding Sasuke in her arms as he buried his face into her shoulder, almost as if he was much younger then he really was. "Just a nightmare."
He nodded. "Do you need any help?" She shook her head and her parents left, closing the door behind them. Ino rubbed his back comfortably, trying to get him to calm down and tell her what happened. His sobs were getting quieter as he clung to the girl's shirt.
"You okay?" she whispered gently.
"N-Nightmare," he choked, breath coming in hitching sobs. "I-I'm fine. Promise." He sat up, letting her break her hold. He wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve. Ino watched him, waiting for him to say more. "Sasuke almost killed Naruto."
It wasn't a question. Ino nodded.
"Yeah, he did," she said quietly.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm okay. He's okay." She grinned and said fondly. "It'll take more then that to kill that idiot."
Sasuke grinned shakily back. "I'm sorry I woke you up. It was stupid."
"It's fine. What I'm here for, right?" she chuckled and yawned. "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight Ino."
Sasuke didn't want to fall back to sleep. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
The mark on his neck was starting to hurt.
AN: Comments? Questions? Concerns? Review please!
Next chapter: You're hiding something from me, aren't you?
