Parasomnia

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I make any money from this

Warnings: Language, blood, eventually yaoi. Most of my information comes from Wikipedia and other websites, so if some of this information is wrong, please tell me so I can fix it. Also, this story is not meant to offend, insult, or make fun of anyone.

Beta-ed by Akiru chan; I have nothing else to say for you....I'm scared of what's to come xD

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Blue eyes skimmed the pages in front of him while a gentle hand played with his hair. After a stressful month of working nonstop on his manuscript, Naruto had decided to give himself a much-needed break. It had been six days since the dinner with Genma and his agent was coming by tonight to pick up an almost complete manuscript.

He squirmed a little more to push closer to the warm body while outside the wind howled against the building. It was close to spring, but the weather had taken a dramatic change during the night and forecasters were warning of a snowstorm later in the evening. With a sigh, he glanced out the window where he could see the trees in the distance swaying in the wind.

His computer sat on the table next to him and it hummed gently in the background of the room. For the past few days, he had gone to bed with a headache and Itachi had suggested that it was from looking at the computer screen for so long. This only prompted him to take a break and read the book that Itachi had given him.

Naruto had only had a chance to read a few chapters in it before the overwhelming task of rewriting had taken hold of him. Not that he didn’t like it; but after reading the same chapter over and over again, something had to give. So now, he was taking his break, curled up next to Itachi’s warm body. Not that either were complaining though; the raven had even made sure that the agent didn’t know where they were so he wouldn’t bother them.

Pale hands ran through his hair, making his eyes droop slightly and he forced his eyes to focus on the text in front of him. The book was interesting and he loved it, but he was finding it harder and harder to focus. Above him, the raven chuckled and reached over to pull the book from his hands.

“If you’re tired, don’t force yourself to read.”

“But it’s really good.” He protested, “And I can’t help it if you keep playing with my hair like that.”

Itachi’s lips curled into a smirk, “Would you like me to stop?”

Naruto pouted, “That’s a trick question.”

Regardless, the hand didn’t move from his head and he let his eyes close. The blond knew that he was in for a late night tonight and it was probably best to try to catch a quick nap now. Orochimaru was coming by to look over the almost complete manuscript and they planned on working on some small changes before the agent went back to the publishing company.

“What time is your meeting with Kakashi?”

The blond slowly opened his eyes and they focused on the older male, “A little after twelve.” He let his eyes drop again, “What time is it?”

“Eleven. You still have a while until you meet him; I’ll wake you up.”

As nice as the idea sounded, Naruto shook his head and sat up. He knew that the agent was already on the center grounds talking with Tsunade and they had been avoiding him, but his time was up. With a groan, he pushed himself up from the bed and picked up the stack of papers on the table next to his computer. He felt a sly hand snake around his waist before it tugged him back onto the bed and he fell forward with a slight oof.

Naruto raised his head and looked into an amused face. “Someone doesn’t want me to leave.”

Itachi’s hand trailed down his spine, making the blond shiver at the gentle touch, “I feel like your agent and everyone else sees you more than I do.”

The blond let his head drop onto Itachi’s chest while he listened to the strong beat of his heart. The older male shifted slightly before rolling them over and settled his body in between Naruto’s legs, enjoying the blush that crept up on his face. He leaned forward and sucked lightly on the skin presented to him while slowly moving closer to his mouth.

“You know, it’s a good thing they aren’t watching me at night anymore.” He said, “I think I’d give them a small show; you’ve been haunting my dreams.”

Naruto blinked and his face quickly turned red, “Oh really?” He leaned in closer to Itachi’s ear, “Have you been having naughty dreams?”

A deep chuckle vibrated from Itachi’s chest, “I see you spread out underneath me, flushed and panting for breath while I take you over and over again.” He paused to place a small kiss on his forehead, “But I want to wait; or at least until we’re out of here.”

“You just don’t want Orochimaru interrupting us.”

“I also don’t want others hearing you moan my name.”

The younger male smirked, “Possessive?”

Itachi hummed as he pressed his mouth against Naruto’s lips while his hand slipped under his shirt. After watching Naruto run around the center for the past few days, he wanted nothing more than to spend time alone with him. But they had both been busy and it irked him that he couldn’t relax for a minute. While they both took they tasks seriously, he didn’t want the blond to burn out and had decided to use that as an excuse to take a break as well.

He had worked most of his life, resulting in him missing many important things that one should always take time to enjoy. Such as the simpler things in life, like fun and relaxing.

His fingers worked their way up the tanned chest and when the blond groaned softly, he slipped his tongue past Naruto’s lips. He felt Naruto arch against him as he brushed his fingers against the skin on his chest and he slowly rocked his hips against the younger male.

“Ngh...‘Tachi”

Naruto’s arms draped over his back and Itachi felt his hot breath fanning over his face while he continued to move slowly. Cerulean eyes were hidden under hooded eyelids as the raven continued to move and Itachi leaned down to suck on his neck again.

“Meeting.” He panted out, “I have to meet with Kakashi.”

Itachi’s eyes flickered towards the clock on his nightstand table; the clock read 11:47 and he smirked. “You have time, unless you wish for me to stop.”

The blond let out a whine when Itachi moved again and his body shivered; Kakashi could wait.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“You’re a little late Naruto.”

With a small blush, Naruto sat down on the chair and tugged at his shirt, “Yeah, well, um; some things came up.”

Kakashi grinned and his eye curved slightly, “Yes, you were very busy.”

The blond sputtered while Kakashi spread out some papers on his desk and looked over them. He fidgeted in his seat while silence overtook the room and he looked at the clock. Because of his and Itachi’s actions, he had never delivered the chapters to Orochimaru. With a frown, he tried to calculate when the agent would be leaving and wondered if he would have time to catch him before he left.

“...ruto…Naruto!”

He jumped and shook his head, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I was asking how you’ve been for the past few days. You kept pushing your meeting back for the week and you didn’t have one at all last week.”

Naruto’s eyes glanced at the floor, “I had a meeting with Tsunade; I thought that counted.”

The doctor shook his head, “Even if you have a meeting with Tsunade, you still need to see me at least once a week. We do this so I can make sure nothing has changed.”

He shuffled slightly, “Well, nothing has happened in a while. I’ve been busy with Orochimaru and all that.”

“And Itachi?”

“We’ve both been busy, so there are some days where we don’t see much of each other.” Naruto stated.

Kakashi looked at him before glancing at the papers again, “On average, how much time do you spend with the Uchiha?”

Naruto shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

There was a knock on the door and it flew open quickly, revealing a flustered Orochimaru. His eyes glanced around the room once before they settled on Naruto and he grinned, “Ha, there you are! You have no idea how hard you are to find. Where were you for the last few hours?”

“Uh, no where.”

“It doesn’t matter; the point is that I found you and now we can work on this new packet.”

Kakashi cleared his throat, “We’re not done here yet, Orochimaru.”

The agent glanced at him before looking back at Naruto. He shifted on his feet as if trying to decide whether or not it would be worth it to grab the blond and run or just wait. Finally, his shoulders dropped slightly, “Fine, I’ll wait outside.”

The door closed and Naruto turned back to Kakashi, “Are we almost done?”

“Almost.” The doctor answered, “I would like to suggest that you don’t spend several hours with Itachi at any given point. Due to the uh, closeness you two seem to be exhibiting, I am slightly worried that it may cause a relapse in you. Perhaps you should only see him in limited quantities every few days.”

Naruto frowned, “But Tsunade didn’t say anything about it; she actually thinks it’s a good thing that we spend time together. Something about an outlet…”

“Just for a little while and we can see what happens.”

The blond stood up, “Is that it then?”

Kakashi nodded, “Yes, you are free to go.”

The door shut quietly behind Naruto and Kakashi leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh; it was going to be a long day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto frowned as he walked down the hallway to the library while Orochimaru walked quietly next to him. The agent was happy to start working again but he had quickly sensed that the blond was in a foul mood after his meeting. The older man pondered what had happened in the room after he left that had caused Naruto to look slightly distraught now. He had often pitied Tsunade for her career choice; telling people everyday that there was something wrong with them didn’t seem like a pleasant job.

Still, the blond doctor loved her job and he supposed that was all that mattered. Not like, he could say anything about his own job though. He often had to chase authors around for late chapters while trying to explain to the company why they had missed the deadline. Yes, it was a great way to get exercise, but it grew old quickly.

Naruto however was like a breath of fresh air; and the complete opposite of Jiraiya in the procrastination sector. While they both had a beautiful talent for writing, the similarities stopped there. Jiraiya was often late in submitting his work and was always easy to find. Naruto though, was always prompt on getting the chapters back to him and was; unfortunately, sometimes hard to find when he wanted to be. Maybe he shouldn’t have interrupted his time with Itachi so much.

He was certain that the Uchiha was about ready to kill him, especially after the dinner fiasco six nights ago.

But it was worth it.

Orochimaru held back his laughter as they entered the library and settled down on the plush seats. He eyed the packet in the blonds’ hands and waited until Naruto was settled in the chair before holding his hand out.

“You’re like a little kid asking for candy.” Naruto said with amusement in his voice.

“I enjoy nice things.” He answered as the packet was set in his hand. With a quick flick of the wrist, the top was opened and he pulled out a thick set of papers. “I’ll review these now and you can look over this new set tomorrow.”

Naruto cocked his head, “Why not now?”

“We’re on schedule right now; I don’t see any problem with you taking some time off. Go outside and get some air or something.”

“You sure? I can help with something if you need it.”

“I’m fine; enjoy the day off. Trust me, you won’t get many more.”

The blond looked uncertain but left the library anyway. It was only one o’ clock, he had nothing else planned for the rest of the day, and as he made his way back to his room, he remembered Kakashi’s words. He frowned at them and wondered why the doctor would tell him that, but Tsunade said nothing on the subject. And if that was the case, who should he listen to? Well, Kakashi never said when he was supposed to start staying away from Itachi.

“Oof.”

He grunted when he ran into a solid body and rubbed his forehead, “Hey Blondie.”

It took a second to place the voice before he answered back, “Fishy friend, how are you?”

Kisame grunted at him and tapped him on the head with the binder he was holding, “You know, whatever Sasuke says about you, I disagree with him. I don’t think you’re a negative influence on Itachi at all.”

“You just like it ‘cause he’s not so grumpy anymore.” Naruto grumbled.

“Grumpy is a good way to put it; although I think that gives him too much credit.” Kisame said with a laugh before leaning down so they were eye level, “But seriously, I love you and all for what you’ve done for him, but if you break his heart, I’ll stick Samehada on you.”

“Samehada?”

There was a small snort from Kisame’s left, “Samehada is Kisame’s dog.” Itachi said as he moved around the taller male to stand next to Naruto, “He’s a Papillon breed.” (1)

Naruto bit at his lip as his shoulders started to shake and it didn’t take long for him to start laughing hysterically, “A Papillon; are you serious? That tiny dog! No way.”

Kisame sniffed, “Samehada isn’t little and he can be very aggressive.”

“I’m sure.” Naruto gasped out as he leaned against Itachi for support. “Man, I was expecting a Boxer or a Doberman, not a Papillon.”

“Moving on….” Kisame said but huffed as Naruto continued to laugh.

“Can’t…breathe.” He cried as tears streamed down his face. He turned around so his back was to the older man and tried to compose himself before turning back again while he wiped at his tears. His mouth still trembled a little but his laughter had quieted down considerably, “Okay; I’m good now.”

“Just remember what I said.”

Naruto’s face turned serious, “I understand. And while I can’t promise that I won’t hurt him on accident, I will never hurt him purposely.”

Kisame inclined his head towards the blond, “Thank you.” He glanced at Itachi and held out the binder, “I’ll stop by in a few days to pick that up.”

He gave them a small wave and moved past them. Once he vanished from the hallway, Itachi turned to the blond, “Should I even ask what you two were talking about.”

“Nope,” The younger male said with a smile, “But I think you should know; you have a good partner.”

Itachi blinked and before he could question the statement, Naruto was pulling him towards the stairs, “Come on, let’s go outside before the storm hits.”

The raven allowed himself to be pulled down the stairs while silently pondering the conversation between Kisame and Naruto. He had come in at the last moment, in time to hear his partner mention the tiny dog that he kept for company. But judging from the serious tone that Kisame was using and Naruto’s last comment to him, he had a sneaky suspicion that they were talking about him. And if memory served correctly, his partner was always concerned about his welfare.

He huffed at the older man who was probably half way to the company by now.

Naruto glanced back at him and cocked his head; wondering if Itachi was annoyed with him. He pushed the door open and sucked in the crisp winter air, smiling as his breath fanned out in white puffs despite the lack of snow on the ground. Dark clouds floated overhead and he couldn’t wait to take advantage of the snow tomorrow. It would be the last storm until spring hit again and he wanted one last chance to enjoy the cold snow.

“You know, you’ve been here for almost two months.” He said as he let go of Itachi’s wrist and darted out into the garden area.

The trees were still bare and it would be another month until spring snuck up on them, but he could wait for it. Spring meant that Gaara would be leaving since there was no actual cure to insomnia, just treatments to help the redhead sleep. He had been given some medicine to take, but they were making sure that he didn’t become dependent on the pills before they released him. So far, Gaara had been adjusting to the medicine well and had even attempted to fall asleep without it once or twice.

Even Kiba seemed to be handling his own problem relatively easy. Akamaru was working wonders for the brunette and was now an extension of his body. He never saw Kiba without the dog and even when he left it somewhere, the animal would sniff him out. There had been a small case where Kiba relapsed slightly and for that, he was being kept an extra two months, but he was free to come and go whenever he wished.

A thick cloud of white escaped his mouth as he looked up at the clouds, eventually Kiba would leave too.

He wondered how long it would take him to leave as well and what would happen after that. It often frustrated him when he wasn’t able to make any progress, especially when all he wanted were answers on how to make it stop. But even more recently, the heavier thought on his mind was what would happen once he left. Would he leave before Itachi, or would the raven leave before him?

And what would happen after that?

“It’s almost spring.” He said.

Itachi looked at him curiously and moved closer to wrap his arms around the smaller body. He didn’t know what was going on in Naruto’s mind, but he could see it weighing heavily in his eyes. “What’s troubling you?”

“Nothing.” He answered and tilted his head back, “What makes you think something is bothering me.”

The raven placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, “Because your eyes look troubled. Like you feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders.”

Naruto chewed on his lower lip in thought and after a while spoke softly, “The future.”

Itachi’s eyes darted to the side at the words. He knew that he wasn’t talking about the unpredictable and uncontrollable thing that surrounded their world, but instead the thought of ‘what next’. Two months they had known each other and while he didn’t believe in finding ‘the one’, he knew that he couldn’t see himself without the blond anytime in the near future. But that didn’t mean that things wouldn’t change. There were many variables that couldn’t be accounted for and trying to say that they would always be together was impossible.

“I can’t say that I’ll always be there,” He started and felt the blond stiffen slightly, “But I promise to never leave you purposely.”

The younger male shifted in his arms so he could turn around and pressed his face into Itachi’s chest while his arms circled around his waist. He knew what the raven was trying to say and even if it was slightly reassuring, it still wasn’t a direct answer. Comparing his other relationships to this one, he knew they were different and he desperately wanted to hear Itachi acknowledge it. Even if it wasn’t those three words that everyone tossed around so carelessly, he wanted to know that he wasn’t just going to leave him. Now that Itachi had a small taste of a relationship, he was worried that he might wish to seek out someone else.

He had seen it happen before and he’d be damned if it happened to him again.

There was always a reason why he was cautious when dating; he’d seen too many people hurt because of this thing called love. More often than not, it was because one of the partners wasn’t into it full heartedly and left for no reason. And most of the times, he was on the end where he watched the other walk away. But despite his promise to ignore the feeling of attraction, he couldn’t stop it himself from trying one more time with Itachi.

He wanted Itachi to be different, he had hoped, and somewhere in the corner of his mind, he knew he was different. Nevertheless, he wanted the raven to say it, to reassure him that it wasn’t a half hearted attempt.

Insecurity can either make a fool out of you or make you a very wise person.

A gentle kiss was placed on his head and he peeked up cautiously to see dark eyes smiling at him. The bell for dinner rang and Itachi’s arms unwound themselves from Naruto’s waist and drifted down to grasp his hand. He tugged at it carefully and after a moment’s hesitation, Naruto followed him.

‘I trust you Itachi and to you, I’d give my heart; but I beg of you to be careful with it.’

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they entered the cafeteria, Gaara was waiting for them at their usual table along with Orochimaru and Kakashi and the Uchiha arched an eyebrow. Usually the dark haired agent was long gone by dinnertime and Kakashi rarely ate with them.

“What are you two doing here?” Naruto asked, sliding into a seat.

Orochimaru placed a hand over his heart, “Why Naruto, you sound like you don’t want us here.”

“I was just curious.” He mumbled.

“Tsunade won’t let him leave because of the incoming storm. It’s supposed to be a strong one.” Gaara answered, “I take it that I’ll be dragged outside tomorrow morning to play in it?”

Naruto grinned, “You know me so well.”

“Naruto could hardly sit still in his meeting today.” Kakashi said with laughter in his voice while he rested his elbows on the table, “I take it that means the story is coming along nicely?”

Orochimaru nodded, “It is. Naruto is extremely diligent when it comes to working on his edited chapters. It doesn’t take much for him to complete the chapters that are returned to him.” He chuckled, “He’s much better at time management than his godfather. Since I’m staying here tonight, I can work on it during the night and it can be finished by tomorrow.”

Naruto shook his head at the comment but a small tint of red graced his cheeks at the praise. He grinned, “Well, I have a good roommate who makes sure that I get my job done; and I’m not too sure who I fear more; Gaara or my crazy editor.”

The agent leaned forward and grasped Naruto’s hand, “You, my little blond, have nothing to worry about. I’ll make sure to protect you from all that your crazy editor has to offer; for you are like a fair maiden who needs to be protected.”

“Maiden!” He squawked, “I’m not a girl!”

Gaara snorted, “Maybe not by outward appearances, but we all know what you play in your relationship.”

The blond flicked Gaara off with his free hand while Orochimaru smirked, “But fear not, for your agent is like a knight and he will fight for you.” He leaned in closer and gently kissed Naruto’s knuckles.

There was a sound of glass breaking and everyone turned towards the noise. Orochimaru frowned; maybe he had gone too far. Despite the calm façade that was Itachi’s face, pieces of glass littered his plate and the table was wet with water.

Silence settled over the table for a moment before Kakashi stood up, “Uh, let me get you a new glass.”

Once the doctor vanished, Orochimaru shifted forward slightly, careful not to set the Uchiha off. “Itachi, you should know that I have no desire to make a move on Naruto; you shouldn’t worry about me. Or Genma for that matter.” He added as an after thought.

Naruto stood up and moved to sit next to Itachi. He carefully turned the hand over so he could see the palm and his eyes skimmed the skin for any cuts. There were no visible cuts on the surface, but he should still have Tsunade look over it. A bottle was set next to his elbow and he looked up to see Gaara standing next to him with a small jar of cotton balls.

“Tsunade’s office was unlocked.”

Naruto smiled and thanked his roommate before taking the cotton balls from his hand. He turned his attention back to Itachi who was staring at his hand with a blank face, but he could see the tense jaw muscles bunching up. With a ‘tsk’, he poured the liquid onto the fluffy ball and dabbed at the skin. The raven hissed at the stinging on his hand and tried to jerk his hand away but Naruto had a tight grip on his wrist.

He was forced to sit quietly until Naruto finished. Once the cap was screwed back on, he reached forward to bring the blond closer and pushed his lips against Naruto’s. After a while, he pulled back, his hand grasping the back of the blonds’ neck and Naruto panted for breath. “You’re my maiden.”

A paper cup dropped in between their faces and Naruto blinked at the creased surface before looking up. Kakashi glanced down at him and a small smile flickered to his lips, “This one shouldn’t break.”

They parted slightly and Itachi took the offered cup. He sipped at it, grimacing at the taste that came from the paper. “Thank you Kakashi.”

“Anytime.”

Itachi pushed his plate aside since it was covered in glass shards and plucked a meatball from Naruto’s plate. The blond huffed at him but slid his bowl over so Itachi had better access to it. They ate in silence while outside the beginnings of the storm sounded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour after dinner, Itachi stifled another yawn and Naruto looked up at him. “That has to be the tenth one in the past three minutes.”

“That’s impossible.” He stated, “I’m certain that you can’t yawn that many times.”

The blond sat up and crawled closer to Itachi. “You look tired.”

He didn’t try to argue, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open and the warmth from Naruto’s body wasn’t helping. The blond was reclining on the sofa next to him while he read over the papers that Kisame had given him. Naruto was busy marking some papers that Orochimaru had given him and comparing them to his latest chapter.

“I think I’m going to bed.” The Uchiha said and paused as the lights flickered due to the storm, “If the weathers calmer tomorrow I’ll go outside with you.”

Naruto grinned at him, “Okay.” He chirped and leaned over to kiss his cheek, “I’m going to stay here and finish this packet; I’ll see you in the morning.”

Itachi made a soft noise and debated about staying for a few more minutes, but as another yawn escaped his mouth, he decided against it. He stood up, dropped the blanket on Naruto’s lap, and bid him goodnight before walking to his room.

Exhaustion tugged at his body and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under his warm sheets. He sluggishly brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas before collapsing onto his bed. Within minutes, he was sound asleep, dead to the world while the storm ragged on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The clock outside in the hallway showed that it was ten-thirty already and Naruto stifled a yawn. He knew that if either Kakashi or Tsunade caught him now, he would be in a lot of trouble for staying up so late at night, but he planned on going to bed after this. In his hands, he had the last chapter of his book and all he had to do was drop it off in the library where Orochimaru was working.

The agent was staying the night due to the raging winter storm outside and was going to crash in Tsunade’s office. The blond doctor had refused to let him venture out onto the roads as the storm grew more intense and had offered her office instead. She had her own small room in another wing where she watched other patients and was fine with letting an old friend sleep on the couch. When asked why he couldn’t have her room, Tsunade simply delivered a hard blow onto his head and happily muttered something about missing the old days.

Naruto paused as the wind screamed outside, making the trees scrape across the brick. It sounded like a person screaming as compared to the wind and he shivered slightly. He couldn’t remember a storm being this strong in a while and he wondered if Itachi would mind if he crawled into bed with him. The thought brought a small smile to his face before he continued on his way to the library again. No matter how strong the urge was in his mind, he didn’t want the raven to have a heart attack the next morning.

The elevator arrived with a soft ding and he walked into the small box. After he pressed the correct button, he leaned against the wall and sighed; he knew he should have checked the library first instead of Tsunade’s office. He had thought that the agent would have been in the office, working on the final draft as well, but the room was empty and he didn’t want to leave his chapter there. One time when he was younger, Jiraiya had left a completed chapter in the empty study at their house and a curious five-year-old Naruto had decided to make snowflakes out of the paper.

Ever since that incident, his godfather had never left chapters in empty rooms for fear that another snowflake accident would happen again.

Because of the past issue though, Naruto had learned that one should always hand deliver the papers into a humans’ hand. This way, said human would be responsible once the chapter was handed off.

The elevator stopped on the correct floor and Naruto stepped out. His shoes squeaked on the freshly waxed floor and he wondered if he could ice skate on it with his socks. He shook his head and pushed the thought aside while he walked down the hallway.

He didn’t see a light underneath his door as he moved by it but he knew that Gaara could still up, probably listening to the storm rage outside. Another scream of wind made him jump and he almost contemplated ducking back into his own room. It wasn’t that he was scared; but it was creepy in the center at night and he kept expecting someone to jump out from a room. Maybe he should grab Gaara; the redhead would protect him.

A soft chuckle escaped his mouth and he continued down the hallway; there was nothing to fear.

Naruto’s eyes flickered when one of the shadows further down the corridor seemed to move. His footsteps faltered slightly as the lights flickered from the storm and he rubbed at his eyes; he could have sworn that he saw someone. After staring at the spot for a while longer, he convinced himself that the lights were playing tricks on him and he continued walking with a slightly faster pace.

Maybe he would stay with Itachi tonight.

After all, the raven’s room was closer to the library, meaning it would be a shorter walk back. And there was nothing wrong with wanting to snuggle next to a warm body. He would just make sure to wake Itachi before he crawled into bed with him.

Two doors down from Itachi’s room, a lithe shadow materialized from the darkened corridor and Naruto nearly screamed. He sucked in a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart and opened his mouth to yell at the person about scaring him when the words died in his mouth. The winds outside had quieted down and in the silence of the hallway, the blond could hear the soft dripping noise that fell on the floor and despite the dim lighting; he could see what the liquid on the floor was.

Blood.

His eyes trailed up from the multitude of blood splatters on the floor and they settled on a sharp object that jutted out from a clenched hand. More blood drops dripped from its pointed tip and fell to the floor with a sickening splat. The noise was loud in his ears and he felt his breathing start to speed up again as the air escaped his mouth in quick gasps.

He was too focused on the knife that he didn’t realize the figure had stopped and had called his name.

Naruto jerked backwards as the shadow took a step toward him and his body tensed. The papers in his hands dropped to the ground in a flutter of white and his eyes snapped up when the figure took another step closer. His mouth struggled to form words and a scream tried to tear out of his throat, but it was locked in fear. It seemed like his mouth and brain were working against each other and despite his mind screaming betrayal, nothing came out.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed locked in place, but his brain and mouth finally connected and he felt his lips start to move. But as the name tumbled out of his mouth, a sharp pain erupted in the back of his head and it was only then that he realized that the shadow had moved. The blond fell to the ground and cried softly as his shoulder hit the hard floor. Naruto watched as the shadow drifted closer and he tried to blink away the black spots that were slowly closing in on him.

A warm, wet hand pressed against his pulse point and his eyelids struggled to stay open. Dark eyes flickered red from the glare of the emergency exit sign that hung in the shadowed hallway and they glared down at him before his world went black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1. Papillion are 8 to 11 inches in height and weigh but are supposed to be very good watchdogs.