A trail of bulging wormlike figure runs through the wall and Naruto follows it with his gaze. It ends up at the ceiling and the girl rises yet again. She reaches out her bloody hands at Naruto and blood drips to his face.

The girl submerges back to the ceiling and a voice rings in his head, "The next drops will be yours."

Blink.

Naruto realizes that everything is back to normal and his classmates are looking at him like he's crazy. He frowns at them, "What?" Kiba asks, "Uhm, seriously. You did see something, right?"

"I've been experiencing strange things lately. I—"

A sudden surge.

Naruto drops his head and pulls up the covers, "Can you just leave me alone for now?"

"But Uzumaki—" Sakura tries to stop him from digging deep inside the blanket. But she can't and the blond is under the covers completely. His classmates look at each other and the door opens. Minato and Kushina come in the room and the mother asks, "Why are you with those kinds of faces? Did something happen?"

"Naruto." Minato calls and walks nearer the bed. The girls and the guy gets off their seats and lets the parents get nearer to the bed. Minato shakes Naruto's shoulder and says, "Hey, Naruto. Is something wrong? Why are you enveloping yourself with the blanket? And why is… the room so cold?" Kushina looks around and goes near Naruto, "Naruto? Are you awake? Can you move a bit now? Or did they help you with those covers?"

"I'll call a nurse to adjust the room temperature." Minato goes out and Kushina rubs her hand against Naruto's shoulder. Sakura starts to ask about Naruto's condition, "Uhm, Mrs. Uzumaki. Can Naruto see ghosts? I mean he's been acting weird like he's seeing things we can't."

"…" Kushina hesitates to answer but she replies, "He's not just seeing them. They are coming after him…"

Dreamcatcher Nights

Rei Haruno

Night 2: Dark and Scorching Residence

'In blood and fire, he lies… awake and lonely…'

Kushina has told the three and Minato about Naruto's strange encounters. They are at the lobby since Naruto requested the nurse to take them out and he wants to be alone. Minato murmurs, "I can't leave Naruto here. If only he can move…" Sakura twitches and says, "Uhm, if only he can move? Is he half-paralyzed?"

"No… far worse than that." Kushina whimpers as she gazes at the wheelchair Naruto uses which is with them, "He can't even move his arms. That's why I'm quite surprise he has changed his position when we came. Did you help him?" Kiba shakes his head and says in surprise, "He moved on his own… without any difficulty. Are you sure he's not really faking anything?"

"The doctor gave us a report about all of Naruto's broken bones. With that kind of condition… he won't be able to move." Minato says and the nurse that tends to Naruto comes to the scene. She says, "Uhm, visiting hours are over. It'll be open by 8 tomorrow." The crowd nods and Kushina asks a favor from the nurse, "Can you watch over Naruto tonight? He has this… uhm, he talks about walking during night time. Can you make it sure he won't go somewhere?"

"Uhm, ma'am. I don't think I can help you there. I mean, rumors are no rumors." The nurse looks out for any other nurses which are not there. She whispers to them, "We have lots of patients that are talking about the same thing… walking at the middle of the night. Then they go in the same room to meet either a boy or a bloody room. We have monitored those patients but they are not really waking up to walk. We think they are… getting attacked by the so-called demon boy that calls the patients during night… in their dreams. Just like the other ghosts they complain they are seeing… the girl with dark hair and another girl with red hair."

"One time…" Sakura narrates to the nurse, "He acted differently at the middle of our talk. It seems like he's talking with someone and it's moving at the walls. He is wide awake… and then in a blink he's back." Ino agrees and says, "He even asked who is that thing he saw. And… there is dark-haired girl waiting outside his room. I told you, Inuzuka! There's a ghost girl!"

"Who?" The nurse ponders and repeats familiar hints, "Walls? It must be the red haired girl that crawls at the walls. And even the dark-haired girl is there? And he walks at night? That's not getting good." Her pager rings and she checks. She then apologizes, "I'm sorry I have to go. We'll be doing everything we can. I'm sorry he has to be confined in such a hospital." She makes her leave and everyone decides to leave and wish for Naruto to get better.

000ooo000

The skies have nothing but darkness and the night has come. Naruto pushes the heavy covers off him and he looks around. He murmurs, "Seriously? How come I can move now?" A squeaking wheelchair enters the room with the girl in the dress. He looks at her and asks, "Where are we going?"

"Around." She smiles and she raises her face. Her hair flings to the side and Naruto gets to see her beautiful face. He blushes a bit and she reaches out a hand, "Come with me, Naruto." Naruto shifts to get near the edge of the bed and sit at the chair. She pushes it out the room and to the hallways.

The atmosphere during the day is extremely different than of the night. She is pushing him across the dark and creeping hallways… those which are bathing in blood. Naruto gulps and asks, "What's your name? How come you know mine?" She smiles and says in a bashful tone, "I'm Hinata. I heard what your parents are calling you and that's how I…"

"Okay, Hinata. Do you know who that guy is? You know… the one I met last night?" Naruto asks and she stops in her tracks. She whimpers, "I am not… I shouldn't tell you, Naruto. But I can tell you one thing." Naruto smiles and then beams at her, "That's better than knowing nothing!"

"This is the realm of the dead or the so-called purgatory." Hinata speaks and it makes Naruto drop his smile, "Everything you are seeing that no one else can see is part of this world. Whenever the patients sleep, they get instantly transported in this world. But in your case, which is same with every critically injured patient, you do not require to be in a sleeping state just to get in the realm." Naruto grows silent as he drops down his head and keeps it down as they stroll across the hallways. Hinata smiles, "You are not yet dead, Naruto. Actually, what you are experiencing is the… comatose state in this hospital. Not even us, ghosts, know the reason behind this… phenomenon."

"In this comatose state…" Naruto whispers but loud enough for Hinata to hear, "Will I be able to wake up?"

"I don't know, Naruto…"

"You think… if we can find the cause of this… I can help everyone else break free?"

"…" Hinata falls silent and then she answers with utter sadness, "If this realm were to vanish… so will we. I do not wish to vanish like this, Naruto… and so does the spirits. But if you wish to help most of the trapped ones, I will be willing to…" Naruto lifts his face and says, "I'll… do something… so you won't vanish with a sad face, okay?"

"Thank you, Naruto." Hinata smiles and Naruto notices something before them. The dark horizon is lit by red lights coming out from a room. It is the same one he entered before. Remembering the rumors, Naruto gulps and tries to direct himself towards the blazing room. Hinata pulls the handles, however, and warns him, "That'll be dangerous… proceeding to His room."

"Let me talk to him…" Naruto smiles and so Hinata pushes the chair towards the blazing room. They reach the front of the blazing room and Hinata touches the knob. But she pulls back her hand in so much heat enclosed in the knob. Hinata says, "So hot and angry… these flames can even scorch one's soul."

Naruto reaches out and touches the burning knob…

Pain. Agony. Sadness. Grief.

It's too much for a heart to take. Naruto's hand is starting to get burnt but then he decides to turn the knob, disregarding the pain and burn his hand is suffering from. The door opens before them and a burning room lies inside. A burning figure is lying at the fire-eaten floor, struggling to breathe and to be saved from the killer flames. Cinders embrace all wooden materials and great heat houses at all metal things. Naruto and Hinata hear something aside from the roar of flames…

A very painful cry of…

A weeping soul.

Naruto tries to get nearer but the chair wouldn't move. He looks at the figure… and decides to shift himself towards it. He hits the baking floor and crawls towards the burning figure. Hinata tries to get in but she can't. She yells for Naruto's name as the blond continues to crawl.

So… hot.

But he endures the pain as the spiky red lights starts to envelope him as well. He reaches out and calls, "Hey! Can you hear me! Roll here!" Naruto starts to feel stronger as the pain gets more intense. He is able to stand up and lunge at the burning figure. He takes off his patient's jacket and tries to takes off the flames from the burning patient. Then other patient stops moving and then a calm and cold voice asks Naruto, "Do you think you can easily extinguish… my flames of hatred?"

"Your what?" Naruto twitches and the flames stop moving as well as everything around them. Hinata freezes along with the wind and flickering of the cinders. The burning patient stands up and Naruto looks up at his face… which is cannot be distinguished by then. The figure has the same voice of the guy Naruto met at the same room and it continues to speak, "These flames are not of nature… they are of my hatred and they will burn for eternity. They will not vanish."

Tick.

Naruto shoots open his eyes and sweat drops run across his face. He pants beneath the blanket and a liquid seems to be dripping from the ceiling. Naruto can move… and so he can conclude that the nightmare is not yet finished. He slowly pulls the blanket off his face… and sees…

Himself.

Heavily burned.

Locked at the ceiling with those sharp barbwires.

Deep wounds exposed much of the entrails.

Some internal organs hanging on the edge…

Naruto is struck by great fear as he stares at his reflection in its awful state. Blood have been dripping at the whole bed and the sleeping reflection seems to wake up. A silent growl and the eyes open. The almost distorted face seems to smile, "Hi, me."

"This… is not happening. I'm… not…" Naruto has tears flowing from his eyes and he yells as he shut his eyes, "Of all things to see!"

"Naruto!"

Tick.

Naruto opens his shut eyes and sees a horizon of hallways from a low viewpoint. He feels pain creeping all around himself and he sits up. He looks around and sees the nurse in charge of him. The nurse helps him stand up and says, "You can move! Are you feeling okay now? Does anything hurt?"

"I can… still move." Realizing that it is still part of the nightmare, Naruto whispers and he looks around for a clock. The clock ticks past 1 in the morning. He looks around and the nurse says, "I saw you lying there at the ground. How did you get here? And I saw a broken wheelchair, stumbled around the corner." Naruto runs towards the corner and he sees a broken, rusted wheelchair. It looks like the one Hinata is always with. He pushes the wheelchair and it squeak noisily at the hallways. Then the chair seems to direct to a place on its own and the two follows it, with the nurse thinking that Naruto moves it.

It reaches an empty hallway… and that's what they thought. A big blood splatter marks the wall and the nurse gasps at the scene. She backs off and says, "I'll call security!"

"No need."

The two turns and the chair stops in its tracks. A red haired girl is sitting at a bench nearby… and her waist is bleeding. Then hands starts to rise from the walls… reaching for a hold on either living humans. Then voices of agonizing souls plague the place. The redhead's upper body falls off and the horrible noises get louder. The nurse starts to get hysterical and she tries to run away from the place. But the hallways get blocked by the hands as well. The nurse lands on her ass and stay put in place as she screams. Naruto falls on his butt as well… in creeping weakness. He then watches the upper body crawl towards the nurse and the hands rising from the floor grabs and holds her down.

A somewhat white smoke escapes from her mouth. The white smoke disappears… and the hands start to pull her apart. Naruto doesn't like what's going to happen. He shuts his eyes and calls for Hinata, "Hinata, save me please." Tearing noises comes after and Naruto starts to grieve within him, not being able to help the poor nurse. Screeching sounds appear then and Naruto half-opens his eyes to see what's approaching. The upper body crawls pass him, "You're lucky, Naruto. You're mine… if ever he finds you worth less than what he needs."

"He who?" Naruto asks and the redhead refuses to answer. But then she speaks again before submerging into the walls, "He who… burns and bleeds for eternity." Naruto twitches and everything seems to turn back to normal. Naruto knows the nightmare will be ending and he will come back to his room like how the other ones end. He closes his eyes and remembers the boy at the blazing room.

The same boy that bleeds…

The boy that bleeds in eternal pain.

The boy that burns in eternal hatred.

Tick.

Who is he?

Tock.

No one seems to know.

Tick.

The nightmare ends and Naruto seems to have a sound sleep.

000ooo000

Naruto opens his eyes and the morning sun welcomes him through the curtained window. He looks around and seems to be wondering what causes the chatters outside. He frowns and starts to call, "Anybody there?" A cold breeze runs across his body… and gathers at the foot area. Then the breeze seems to kick the blanket up high and something very cold starts to slide upwards. Naruto looks at the bulging part of the blanket which creeps towards his face.

'Is that a leg?'

A human?

No…

A ghost.

A ghost is creeping beneath Naruto's blanket and the blond can't do anything but to watch it move and feel its limbs creep against his body. The stench of blood oozes from the figure and Naruto seems to have an idea WHO it could be. Like what Hinata has said, he can see spirits from the Realm of the Dead even without sleeping. He calms down and calls, "How am I supposed to call you? Care to give a name?"

"I refuse." The figure answers as it rests its head at Naruto's chest. The cold sensation runs across Naruto's overall but he seems to feel a bit comfortable at the situation. Then the boy runs his hand towards Naruto's chest and the blond remembers the rumors about the bleeding boy. The boy speaks with his normal tone as he seems to pierce Naruto's chest with a finger, "You seem to be quite peculiar, Naruto. You seem to attract spirits even without doing anything. Is it because of your good heart?"

Naruto starts to scream in pain as the finger seems to reach his heart.

Dug-dug. Dug-dug. Dug-dug.

The sound of heartbeat oppresses all noises even the nerve-racking sound of the monitor. The screen is starting to display the noisy red line… but the server computer at the reception does not display any changes in Naruto's condition. Naruto starts to rattle his body in pain… and the boy starts to creep higher. His raven hair comes out from the blanket and the blond sees a good look at his face. Those gem-like onyx buds dazes the azure ones and cold lips comes in contact with the ones trembling in pain. Both close their eyes and the blond's consciousness starts to seep away…

000ooo000

Naruto opens his eyes and finds himself in the nurse chambers. He looks around and sees his reflection at the nearby mirror. He is in an intern uniform and it looks familiar… the UM MedCenter intern uniform. Then he walks out the room and looks around the former medcenter. It looks a lot like all the other hospital of peak seasons. The emergency room has never been vacant and the patients are all falling in line to get a room and doctor to get treated. Then he comes across a nurse and she gives him a clipboard, "We do need interns now, huh. Can you check on the patient at room 723? Report in at the head nurse later, okay?" She leaves after the babble and Naruto examines the clipboard given to him. No name and picture for the profile and the note is, 'Bandage. Bandage. Bandage. We need lots of bandage.' Naruto raises a brow and he walks towards the elevator.

It dings and he fills in the spaces the persons left for him. A patient is within the crowd… Hinata with her three IV drips and her nurse. He gazes at her and she looks back… smiles… and descends at the next floor. She then says before the elevator closes, "See you… mister."

A long time before Naruto had the chance to get to the seventh floor and walk towards the room he needs to check up on. He then knocks and says, "I'm going in." He opens the door and the raven boy sits at the bed, staring at the open window. Just like the first time he saw the teenage boy. But he has these thick bandages running around at his wrists, arms, ankles, and legs. Thick sterilized cloths are plastered at both cheeks.

"Uhm, I'll be… I'm—"

"Just proceed." The raven snaps and looks at him. The gem-like stones for the eyes seem to be dead, so dull that it seems no soul is present. Naruto gulps and it feels like he knows exactly what to do. He proceeds on with his business… and finished in less than thirty minutes. He then looks at the dead eyes and asks, "Uhm, my name is Naruto. What's yours?"

"…" the boy refuses to answer and Naruto sighs in disappointment. But then he answers, "Sasuke. You are the first one to ask…" Naruto smiles and writes 'Sasuke' on the clipboard. He happily asks and tries to get the boy interested, "When is the last time… someone visited you?"

"…" the boy remains silent for a moment and then flings to him, "No one has ever visited me. Why do you care?" Naruto twitches and drops his head being filled with compassion. He sits down at the edge of the bed and holds the boy's hand, "Do you feel lonely?"

"…" Sasuke blushes and looks away. But his hand squeezes Naruto and the blond says, "You don't really have to feel lonely. Sometimes, there are things that you need to go through alone. But at the end of the line… the people you love will be waiting for you." The raven looks at him and asks, "Where is this… end of the line? Is when that spiky line turns straight… and red?" He refers to the line displayed by the monitor and Naruto knows what he means. He changes seat from the edge to beside the boy and pulls Sasuke closer to a hug, "No. That's not that line."

"I need to find it… before everyone… kills me."

"Kill you?" Naruto twitches in surprise and Sasuke answers, "Everyone thinks I'm scary and… I should be dead by now." Naruto gives a broken gaze at the raven and he drops his head in the emotions that are trying to flow in. Is it pity? The depressing atmosphere drowns anyone who enters the room. This must be pushing Naruto to do something about it… since the boy is indeed… haunting him. Naruto then replies, "No, you are scary and don't give up. There are just some people who think those who suffer… should just vanish away. And I won't let them… hurt you, okay? So don't worry."

"… Promise me."

000ooo000

Naruto has just reported in and he is on his way towards Sasuke's room. A weird feeling of being followed comes to him. He looks around but nothing is there. He shrugs his shoulders and continues to walk. In a corner, a hand tugs Naruto to the side and someone grabs his neckline. Naruto growls and exclaims, "Who are you? What do you want!"

"He-hey." The four male interns whistle and one holding Naruto punches him at his stomach. Too much pain for him to take and he falls unconscious. The leader, the one holding Naruto, says, "Come on, boys. Let's play." They carry Naruto somewhere… and danger is on its way.

[End of Chapter Two]

Itachi: I see. The akatsuki will be hosting the end comments in the first five chapters. *a placard with the words 'NO OROCHIMARU INCLUDED' pops from the side*

Kisame: *picks up the placard and throws it away* Heh. She's been abusing characters for a long time… and I don't want to make it to the list. Let's start the comments.

Hints of SasuNaru and NaruHina shown at this chapter. NaruSaku is hinted at the first and Anti-NaruSaku at the next chapters *a devil (which appears to be me) laughs at the background*. SasuHina and SasuKari will come by at other chapters. But she wants to emphasize that this is a SasuNaru fic. But she'll include some of the competitive or existing pairings as well for some more flavors.

My, she knows lots of portmanteau.

Itachi: You wouldn't want her to mention every Naruto pairing portmanteau there is. Let's go, Kisame. *a post with a sign of HEAVEN THIS WAY == appears nearby*

Kisame: This fic seriously doesn't have many comments, huh. That ends the end comments for chapter two. Read the next chapter to know what happened and what happens next. *crumples the crappy paper I gave and throws it at me*