Parasomnia

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.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Beta-ed by Akiru- chan, give her love on this upcoming weekend; for without her, I would be lost.

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There is a reason why I dislike the snow.
It is too white, it covers everything, and it taints easily; like humanity. Too easily, can you leave marks in it, as you trample across the ground, but it matters not; for the next snowfall will cover it up again, and the marks will be forgotten. Yet, at the same time, I find it fascinating and beautiful to watch. The thick flakes that fall gracefully from the sky and swirl around you as you walk from place to place, and the way that when the sun hits it just right, making it turn almost a blue in color. However, with its beauty comes deadly power, just like the rest of the elements it reins with. And in that sense, can we; human beings, be considered elements as well? We all posses some form of beauty that others find interesting to watch, yet we all have within us the power to destroy and be corrupted.

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Sunlight streamed through the window, slowly crawling across the floor as the sun rose in the sky. It crept over the carpet and made its way up onto a bed where a mound of blankets covered a sleeping body. Annoyingly, the light settled on a pale face, making the figure turn to the side to escape the sun’s bright rays. It wasn’t until the illumination refused to go away that the body sat up in bed and glared out the window.

With a slight groan, the figure pushed back the blankets. As it continued to glare at the paned glass, he could hear faint, muffled yelling coming from the other side, and it was only then that he took notice of the small patches of frost the clung to the window. More yelling was heard and ebony eyes closed in displeasure.

Uchiha Itachi was not a morning person.

He walked silently over to the glass and leaned against the wall as he looked through the window. The outside world was covered in a thick blanket of snow and on the streets; he could see the trucks plowing the powdery substance away so people could drive easier. He looked at the desk where his watch sat and realized that it was seven-fifty. Normally, at this time, he was already dressed for work or perhaps even there already, yet here he stood, still dressed in the clothes he slept in.

Laughter drew his thoughts away from the time and back to the snow covered world. Down below in the gardens he could make out two figures in the snow. They were both bundled in heavy layers from head to toe, but despite the many layers of clothing, they still seemed to be having fun.

Well, at least one did. The other figure stood still as the other dropped to the ground and proceeded to make a snow angel. When the one figure in the snow finished, he held up his hand, trying to get the other to pull him up. A small puff of breath escaped his mouth and he reached his arm out to help the other one up, only to be pulled down into the snow. It didn’t take long for the culprit to dart away quickly and laugh at the male on the ground.

Blond hair poked out from under the snow hat from when he had worked on the snow angel, and now small clumps of snow stuck to the ends. He shook the snow free before he placed a hand behind his head and laughed slightly. However, the figure on the ground wasn’t very happy and tossed a snowball at the blond, hitting him in the face.

Silence settled over the area and Itachi watched as the blond simply stared at the other person for a while before letting out a cry. He scooped up a handful of snow and launched a ball of his own. The other male ducked the object and stood up, patting the snow from his body. He waved his hand and said something before they turned back to the building.

Itachi pushed himself off the wall and gathered some clothes before heading towards the bathroom and away from the childish actions he had just watched.

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A week later, Itachi found himself wondering around the semi-quiet hallways. It was close to eleven and all he wanted to do was find a quiet place to relax besides his room, which had become very boring in the last week. He had finished the book that he had brought with him quicker than he thought, but he figured that was to be expected since he was spending most of his nights reading it. After falling asleep the second night, the usual dream had crept into his mind and tormented him until he awoke. After that, he hadn’t slept for the entire week, choosing instead to read.

Now though, his book was finished and he refused to sit in his room and do nothing, or even worse, try to do something in the common room. The common room held several computers that he had used the first few days to check his inbox and was pleased to see that Kisame was sending daily updates already. However, his pleasant mood was ruined when the weekend passed and the common room was no longer empty.

Instead, it was filled with younger children and teens who wanted the internet to chat with friends online. This alone wasn’t enough to annoy him since he could check the internet in the early morning since the other occupants were still asleep. It was the fact that he was new, and everyone seemed to know that and wanted to know the reason why he was at the institute; turns out little children can be very persistent at times.

Still, despite their persistence, it was something he refused to tell anyone.

He wasn’t sure what prompted the action though. Whether it was the thought that they would become terrified of him or if they would give him the pity card; and if there was one thing Itachi didn’t want, it was anyone’s pity. This was the reason he decided to stay in his room as much as possible. It didn’t bother him though; he was used to working alone or with those older than he was. Growing up, he was constantly surrounded by older figures and he found that dealing with people younger than himself in a daily, public setting gave him a headache.

Besides the people that liked to annoy him, Itachi always followed a schedule; get up, eat, shower, get dressed and go to work, go home, eat, sleep and repeat. Here, there were rarely set schedules with the exception of meals and the meeting with a doctor once or twice a week. And his doctor knew and loved to get under his skin, although he didn’t allow it to show on his face.

In the two times that he had met the man, he had learned a few things. For example, the man was always late, apologized with the most random of excuses and had an air of cheerfulness around him that irked Itachi. And in the two times that they had met, Itachi had refused to talk about his…feelings, with the man. Moreover, during these set meetings, he was content to sit and read while Itachi glared at him, refusing to let him go until the hour or so was up.

Hatake Kakashi was the doctor from Hell.

Or at least in Itachi’s opinion.

Still, Itachi had been able to sit through an hour with the man twice already without so much as speaking a single word to him, with the exception of an occasional grunt. The downside was that Kakashi was more than willing to just wait, choosing instead to read a bright orange book. While the high-collared shirt hid his mouth, Itachi could still see the laughter in the doctor’s eyes at whatever he was reading, further aggregating the raven-haired man.

Kakashi would have been a good businessperson if he had chosen the field instead of the doctor field seeing as nothing could put the man off.

Itachi shook himself form his thoughts and rounded the corner. He hadn’t found anything interesting yet and had thankfully avoided anyone; in fact, this hallway was completely void of life. His gaze swept across the empty hallway and he realized that there were no doors on the walls either. He retraced his footsteps and found a frosted glass door with the printed words ‘Library’ on the glass. A slight smirk stretched across his mouth as he tested the handles and found them unlocked.

This was something that would keep him busy for a while.

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The library was silent, as was expected and he noticed that the large room was almost void of life. His dark eyes gazed around the library, taking in the blue carpet that lined the floor to the multiple shelves of books that held more than just medical journals. On the right side of the wall were several computers that flashed with different screensavers and the humming of the machines were the only noise in the room.

The only other person in the room was a young blond haired male sitting at the desk next to the door. He was reading a book with his legs propped up on the table and bobbing his head gently to some music that only he could hear. Itachi ignored the male and walked over to the computers that were bunched together against the wall.

The machines were already on and he clicked on the little icon with a fox circling the world. While he waited for the page to open, he glanced up at the male behind the desk who still hadn’t acknowledged his presence and seemed to be lost in his own world. He turned his attention back to the computer and narrowed his eyes at the screen. The words ‘password required’ taunted him and he leaned back in thought. Surely, it would not be that hard to break the password.

Fifteen minutes later, Itachi’s patience had worn thin.

His eyes caught sight of a waving motion to his right and when he glanced up, he noticed that the blond sitting behind the desk was casually waving a slip of paper in the air. He closed his eyes briefly, letting out a sigh of annoyance before standing up and walking over to the desk. When he reached the desk, the younger males blue eyes were dancing with mischief and a fox like smile had stretched across his face.

“You know, if you had asked earlier, I would have given it to you.” He stated, laughter evident in his voice.

Itachi’s face remained calm, “Is that the password I need to log onto the internet?”

“Yup.”

“Can I have it?”

The blond cocked his head to the side and stared at Itachi. “I haven’t seen you before, are you new?”

“Yes.” He answered stiffly.

“Thought so.” The blond stated and waved the piece of paper again, “I’ll give you this if you tell me your name.”

Itachi blinked, that wasn’t what he was expecting. He had been waiting for the dreaded question of ‘why are you here’ and to not hear it was a relief. “Itachi.”

The younger male nodded and handed the paper to Itachi, “Thank you and just bring the paper back when you leave. I would tell you that public sites such as MySpace are blocked on these computers, but I have a feeling that that’s not why you’re here.”

“Why are they blocked?” Itachi asked as he took the paper.

The blond grinned, “Do you want the library turned into another common room?” he asked, “There’s a reason this place is always so empty.”

“You’re here.” Itachi pointed out.

“And so are you.” Was the answer along with a shrug, “I like books compared to the junk offered online.”

Itachi was silent but nodded his head in agreement before he walked back to the computers. After logging onto the internet, he quickly made his way to his email and grimaced when he looked at all the new mail that was in his inbox. He felt slightly bad for looking at items that pertained to his job when Tsunade had told him not to, but she didn’t understand how important it was that he stayed in contact with the company.

Kisame obviously questioned him about it, in some form or another, in every email he sent. It was always something subtle, but after working with the man for a few years, Itachi could read Kisame well. The man often joked that he should relax more or hinted that Itachi might get in trouble in the emails, but never flat out told him to stop.

No one ever denied Itachi anything.

His father once told him that what an Uchiha wants, an Uchiha gets.

And Itachi was defiantly an Uchiha.

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Itachi leaned back from the computer an hour later with satisfaction dancing in his eyes. He was able to clear out his email and work with Kisame on a new proposal that had come up earlier in the week. Now the only thing left to do was find a few books to read before he could leave.

Ebony eyes glanced towards the door where the blond haired male was still sitting at the desk. A pink tongue was poked out at the side of his mouth and his eyebrows were furrowed in thought while blue eyes danced across the text on the page. Itachi felt the corners of his lips twitch at the sight before he stood up to go wonder around the massive library.

There were countless shelves filled with books that made aisle ways and Itachi quickly found a section that interested him. He was surprised that the library had recent books on the shelves and pulled a black bound book from the shelf. After skimming the summary on the back, he set it aside and continued to scan the rest of the bookshelf.

A while later, he had a small stack of books that would keep him busy reading for a few weeks. He made his way to the front desk and set the books on the wooden surface.

Blue eyes blinked up at him for a moment and Itachi could see the blond hesitate for a second, as if torn between finishing the page he was reading or take the books from him. Finally, he slipped a piece of paper into the book and set it aside before glancing at the tall stack of books.

“Room number.”

Itachi raised an eyebrow, “273.”

The blond hummed softly as he entered the number into the computer and peaked up at the raven before answering the unspoken question, “We need to keep track of who checks out books for a few reasons and since we don’t have library cards or anything, I need your room number and name. Next time you come by I’ll remember you, but since this is your first time.” He trailed off and grabbed the first book on the stack.

“This is a good series.” He muttered under his breath as he typed in the title.

Itachi’s eyes roamed over towards the book the blond was reading before he came to the desk and tilted his head a bit to read the title. The blond must have seen him and answered, “It’s a really good book. If you like these,” he gestured to the stack in front of him, “Then you’ll probably like this one. I’m supposed to get the final one in a few days from my godfather.”

“You like to read.” Itachi stated; his lips twitched with amusement. He found that he liked talking with the young blond haired male; he was one of the few who talked to him without asking too many questions.

The blonde-haired male laughed, “Yeah. Doesn’t help that my godfather is an author and can get tons of books for me.” He glanced at Itachi, “What about you?”

“I like to read when I have the time.”

The other male cocked his head slightly, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why’d you get so many?”

“I can’t sleep at night.” Itachi answered, as the last book was stacked.

Azure eyes looked at him and Itachi frowned at the male. He felt like he was being inspected for something and his frown deepened when the blue eyes narrowed.

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’ll get in trouble if the staff finds out that you’ve been skipping out on sleep.”

Itachi growled, “What are you talking about?”

The blond shrugged, “You don’t have difficultly sleeping at night; you’re making sure that you don’t fall asleep for some reason. I’d guess a nightmare or something like that.”

“How do you even know that I’m here for a sleeping disorder?” Itachi stated.

A small twinkle of amusement appeared in the otherwise cold blue eyes, “You’re very easy to read, Itachi.” He grabbed the set of books and set them on the carpeted ground next to the desk, “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you check these out.”

“Why.”

“You may be having problems sleeping, but running from whatever it is that haunts you, won’t help you get out of here.”

Itachi froze and suddenly, he did not like talking to this man. Everyone had always told him that he was a hard person to understand and had more secrets than anyone; yet this man, this young teen had seen almost everything. He glared at the male, promising death in his eyes if the books weren’t given to him, yet the glare had little affect on him.

“Naruto, its lunch time.” A voice said from the door and Itachi’s eyes flickered to the side along with the other males.

A red head stood in the doorway, calmly regarding the two. His light green eyes were narrowed at Itachi; silently sizing him up before they shifted towards the other male, the one he had called Naruto. Itachi could see his eyes soften slightly at the blond, but his body was still rigid, as if he was waiting for someone to attack him. Dark rings surrounded his eyes and suddenly the comment the blond had made earlier made sense to Itachi.

A grin stretched across the blonds face, “Finally, my stomach was starting to eat itself. I’ll meet you there in a second, as soon as I finish up with him.”

The red head nodded and left the room, leaving Itachi to glare again at the other male.

“Naruto,” he said softly, “I want to check out those books.”

“Nope. And can I go as far to venture that you are probably breaking other rules here as well?” Naruto asked.

“What makes you say that?”

Naruto pressed his lips into a thin line before letting out a sigh, “You sure are stubborn.”

“As are you.”

A grin flickered across the blonds face, “True, but I’m going to tell you this, whether or not you want to hear it. Despite what you may think, these people here really know what they’re doing. Shocking, I know. But since I can only guess that you don’t like it here, you probably think that they don’t. In order for anything to work, you first must try it and learn that you can’t always stand on your own. Sometimes you need the help of others first before you can help yourself.”

“Do you speak from experience?”

“Perhaps.”

Itachi grunted and watched as Naruto circled the desk. He jumped when he felt hands placed on his back and stumbled slightly when the blond pushed him forward.

“Its lunchtime, meaning the library is now closed.” Naruto stated in an official tone and pushed him out the door. “We’re open Monday through Saturday and our hours are nine to three, thank you and come again.” He poked the raven in the back, “But you, you can’t come back until you decide to help yourself.”

Itachi’s eyes flashed angrily, “And what right do you have to tell me I need help when you’re here as well?”

Naruto turned the key into place, locking the library with a resounding click, before he turned to face Itachi again. “I may be here as well, but I’m willing to let people help me, unlike you. We’re all here for some type of problem. Being angry about it and distancing yourself from others won’t help.” Naruto started to walk down the hallway but paused and glanced back at Itachi,

“Please think about what I said. I’d hate to tell Tsunade or Iruka that you’re violating the rules; you seem like a nice guy.” He hesitated, “And the only reason I would tell them, is because if they found out I was the one letting you skip on sleep, I’d get in trouble. That’s one side I never want to see of Tsunade ever again.”

Itachi watched as Naruto continued down the hallway, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets and humming happily. His stomach growled at him, telling him to get something to eat, but he ignored it for the time being.

For the first time in his life, he was denied something he wanted.

Something stirred in the pit of his stomach as he made his way back to his room, and it wasn’t hunger. No one liked to be told that they were wrong, in any shape or form; it was just human nature, but his mother had once told him that that was how people learned. His father would probably be rolling in his grave if he ever found out that Itachi was acting so simple-minded and would probably tell him to take this as a learning experience.

He felt disgusted with himself for allowing himself to sink so low and he felt like the time that his mother caught him trying to sneak cookies in the middle of the night when he was much younger. He had tried to deny that he was getting more cookies, despite the evidence behind his back. A chuckle escaped his mouth; he was acting like a child again. Denying what everyone was telling him, when he himself knew that it was a lie. It seemed that despite how mature everyone told him he was, he still had some growing up to do.

There is a saying that you learn something new everyday.

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A/N: So, I know that Itachi is a little ooc, but I’m trying to make him seem, I don’t know, a little more human. I think that is why this chapter took so long… On that note though, do not expect a chapter next week. I'm leaving for a week long meet on Tuesday and I'm not bringing my computer with me. Unless I can get something up within the next few days (which is highly unlikely), nothing will be posted until I get back. But you can read my new one shot to help pass the time...haha, I kid.