Parasomnia

Human nature is no different from that in which we try to separate ourselves from. We try to see ourselves as the superior species, when in fact; there may be nothing that is superior about us. How can we brag and compare what we have done, saying that we are better than the elements? We take life just as easily as nature does, yet we call nature uncivilized. It is a strange thing to compare our nature to that of the elements, yet we try to become superior to them and control them. However, we don’t control them; they control us. We plan what we wear because of the elements that control the world. We decided where to live because of them and we plan our vacations on them as well, with hopes that they will cooperate for us. We rely so much on them, yet we consider them inferior to ourselves. It is only human nature though, to look down on those on things that we do not understand, and in that sense, we will always be the inferior ones.

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There is an expression in the world that simply states, expect the unexpected. Itachi understood this saying and it had helped to shape his cool demeanor as he grew up, reminding him that sometimes you never know what was going to be thrown at you. His father had once told him that as an Uchiha, he should handle things calmly and sophistically.

That was not going to happen in this case.

Despite his mind yelling at him to move, his body didn’t seem to be listening. It stayed completely frozen in shock as the blond nipped gently on his neck before running a tongue over the patch of skin, and even as a warm hand crept up his chest, he found that he couldn’t move. To make matters worse, his body seemed to respond to the treatment that was being lavished upon it. He opened his mouth to yell at the blond but found no words would escape him.

Instead, he was a slave to the ministrations that the blond was bestowing upon him. That is, until the other hand started to drift further south.

Eyes widened and the realization finally seemed to shock his body out of its stupor. With a quick movement, he shoved Naruto off the bed, making the younger male hit the floor with a loud thud. He sat up in the bed quickly and tried to calm his uneven breath as Naruto clutched his head in pain.

“What the hell was that Naruto?” He asked; tone deadly.

Naruto looked up at him in confusion and blinked a couple times as if trying to get his surroundings. Azure eyes widened and a brilliant flush spread over his face before he scrambled from the floor and onto his feet. His eyes swarmed with something that Itachi couldn’t place and before he could say another word, the blond had vanished from his room.

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The hallways were lit with soft light that illuminated sections of the otherwise dark hallway. The corridors were kept this way so it wouldn’t affect the patients when they tried to sleep, granting them the needed eight hours of sleep. However, it was because of the dimly lit hall that caused Naruto to crash into Kakashi.

Kakashi had a room located at the very end of the hall for the nights that he worked the night shift, and it was his month to do that duty. He barely had time to blink after being knocked to the ground, before the added weight vanished and the figure had disappeared down the hall again. However, even though the incident had been quick, he could still make out the blond, spiky hair before it vanished. He stood up, brushed the imaginary dirt from his pants, and continued down the corridor, pausing only when he met an open door.

He ducked into the room and looked towards the person on the bed, who was staring at the door. “Did Naruto pass by here?” He asked.

Itachi blinked once and finally focused on him, “Hn.”

“Because he just ran down the hallway like the devil was chasing him.” Kakashi continued. “You weren’t trying to abduct him, were you?”

Dark eyes flashed, “I haven’t touched him.” The light cast a shadow on Kakashi’s face, making it hard for Itachi to judge his reaction, but he was sure he noticed the doctors’ body tense slightly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to sleep now.”

“Very well.” Came the short answer and the door was pulled shut, leaving Itachi in darkness once again.

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The morning came quickly for Gaara and he blearily blinked the sleep away. He realized that he had finally fallen asleep as Naruto had predicted would happen, and he crawled out from his mound of blankets. The blond was no where to be found, but judging from the still unmade bed, he could guess that Naruto was getting breakfast and wanted to let him try to sleep some more. Popping his neck, he moved towards the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for breakfast.

He had expected to see a blond blob in the corner of the cafeteria, but only a small number of people floated around the large room and none of them was Naruto. A frown crossed his face and he left the room in search of Naruto. His only other guess was that he was in the library already; trying to devour his new book as quickly as possible.

But that room was locked and all the lights were off.

Anxiety was starting to race through his veins as Gaara moved down the hallways, trying to locate the missing blond. There weren’t many places that one could hide in the facility, despite its large size. Feeling desperate, he picked up his jacket in the room and went to look outside, where a few flakes of snow were falling from the sky.

He felt a sigh escape his lips when he noticed a blond tuff leaning against the side of the shed and he crossed the snow-covered yard. Green eyes glanced down and he frowned when he realized that Naruto was still in his pajamas and was sitting in the white snow.

“Idiot, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He huffed and his breath escaped in a poof of white smoke.

Tired blue eyes rose up to meet his and Gaara quickly noticed the dark rings around his eyes.

Gaara squatted down so they were eye level, “Why are you out here?” He demanded.

The words were mumbled so softly that he almost didn’t catch them, but he heard the two words that made everything click in his mind. His eyes widened and he cursed to himself, of all nights to fall asleep, it had to be last night.

“Who?” He asked just as softly.

“’Tachi’s.” came the muttered answer.

Emotion swarmed underneath the blonds’ words and Gaara bit his lip. Normally Naruto was so strong and didn’t like to show weakness, but having a relapse always shook him to the core. He moved to sit next to the younger male and felt Naruto lean against him. He stayed quiet as the snow continued to fall and he didn’t try to break the silence, knowing that sometimes, silence was the best answer.

He was content to sit there for as long as the blond needed him to, but when Naruto started to shake from the cold, Gaara dragged him back inside. He knew that he should have done so earlier, but Gaara had decided to respect Naruto’s wish of staying outside. Once inside, he led him to their room and turned the heater up before he tossed some sweats to the blond.

“Get into something warm, I’m going to get you something to eat.”

Gaara glared at him as he started to protest and waited until the blond nodded before leaving the room. When he returned, Naruto was wrapped in a blanket and his shivering had quieted down. At the sight of the food, his stomach growled loudly.

The redhead set the food on the desk, “I have a meeting with Kakashi today; you should probably see him this afternoon.”

“But he’s busy.”

Gaara grunted, “I’m sure he’ll have time for you, he always does.” He pointed towards the food and the thought that he was acting like a worried mother crossed his mind. He shook it from his head and looked towards Naruto, “Make sure you eat and then try to get some sleep.”

Naruto stared at him but Gaara over powered the stare and blue eyes darted to the side of the room, “Fine.”

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A blond head poked into the empty hallway and blue eyes glanced back and forth wearily. After deeming the hallway clear, he casually walked down the hall; pausing to duck into an empty room when someone passed. Once they had vanished, he continued his way towards the end of the corridor, still walking casually.

He knew that he was acting ridiculous, but the thought of bumping into the Uchiha terrified him. When he ran into Itachi, he wanted Gaara next to him; hopefully the redhead would be able to keep the elder male from maiming him. He was sure that the fight would be interesting and there was the possibility of bloodshed, but so long as his plan to stay away from Itachi worked, they wouldn’t have to worry about it.

And it was a plan that he wanted to work.

It was simple; just avoid the Uchiha until one of them left.

His head nodded with his train of thought and a sigh escaped his lips when the doctors’ door came into view. After pressing his ear against the wooden door to make sure Kakashi was alone, he pushed the door open and slipped inside. A single eye glanced up at him as he shut the door and the orange book was lowered slightly.

“You aren’t scheduled to see me for another two days Naruto.” His eyes racked over the blond, “Is something wrong?”

Naruto moved to sit in the chair and dropped into it, “I had a relapse last night.”

The book was set down on the table and Kakashi’s posture tensed, “Is that why you were in Itachi’s room last night.”

“Yeah.”

“I see, I was wondering why his door was open.” Kakashi muttered and laced his fingers together, “Do you know what happened and how bad it was?”

Naruto stared at the carpet, tracing the patterns with his eyes, “Nothing happened. We were both still clothed and when I came to, I was on the floor and Itachi was looking down at me. I think he pushed me off him.”

Silence settled over the room and Naruto glanced up through his bangs to look at Kakashi. The doctor was staring intently at him as if trying to piece things together in his mind and Naruto found himself wishing that Kakashi would just say something.

“Do you wish to stay under my watch for the rest of the week?” the doctor finally asked, “I can use the time to record anything that might happen.”

Naruto shook his head, “No, Gaara slept last night, that means he won’t sleep again for a while. We room together for that reason.”

“I see.” Kakashi answered, “However, should Gaara fall asleep again, we’ll have to put you under watch to be on the safe side.”

“I understand.” Naruto said and stood up. “I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Kakashi brushed the comment aside, “Nonsense, that’s what I’m here for. And if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

He waved to the doctor and left the room in a much happier mood than before. Because of his happy mood, his plan was forgotten and it wasn’t until he turned down the hallway that he remembered it. He stopped midstride when he saw a raven figure leaning against the wall outside his room. The head turned and he was met with cold black eyes.

“Right.” He said and pivoted on his heal, “I’ll just be leaving now.”

“Naruto.” The voice echoed down the hallway, sending chills up his spine. The Uchiha had practically growled his name and that fight or flight gene was kicking in right about now. He took two steps away from Itachi before his body was slammed against the wall.

He hissed in pain and tried to elbow the Uchiha in the stomach, but a pale hand caught his arm. “What’s the matter Naruto? You didn’t think I’d forget last night did you?”

“Fuck you.” Naruto spat out and yelped when Itachi tightened his grip on his arm.

“Did you just think that you would avoid me until one of us left?” He asked.

Naruto blinked, “Funny thing actually…”

The raven growled, “I’m not in the mood for your games Naruto.” He said, “Tell me what last night was about, now.”

“I, I…”

A dark chuckle escaped Itachi’s throat, “What’s wrong, you seemed so brave last night.”

“Stop it Itachi, please.”

Itachi turned Naruto around so he could see the blonds’ face, “Tell me why I should stop.”

“It was an accident!” Naruto cried.

“Yes, because taking advantage of someone is an accident.” Itachi snapped, “You think you can take advantage of me because of my last name?”

Confusion swam in Naruto’s eyes, “What? What are you talking about?”

Itachi faltered for a moment at the desperation in Naruto’s voice, but he shook his head. He had, had too many people in his life try to take advantage of him because of the Uchiha tacked onto his name. He wasn’t sure if people thought it was because he was young or if they just thought he was stupid, but either way, he never let it happen. And because of the past, he was always hesitant to let someone new enter his company or life.

“I don’t know what your last name is.” Naruto continued. “You never told me, so I never asked.”

The raven blinked at the response; he had always assumed that Naruto had known. It wasn’t lost on him that every time he entered a room, whispers would break out but he had simply brushed it off; he had gotten used to it over the years. But if Naruto was telling the truth, than what was last night about? He wanted to believe the blond, but a small layer of doubt had wrapped around him mind, telling him that the younger male was lying.

“My last name is Uchiha.” He spat out, “Does that ring any bells?”

Apparently it did, judging by the widening of Naruto’s blue eyes. Itachi didn’t like to name drop, but he needed to get his point across to the blond so he could understand why he was so mad.

“Itachi, I didn’t-”

Pale fingers trailed up the back of Naruto’s neck and threaded themselves into the mess of blond locks, “You didn’t what? Think that I would mind? You’re just like everyone else; you want the fame that goes along with being seen with an Uchiha.” Itachi paused for a moment, “You think it would be so great, but it’s not. You’re always in the public’s eye and one wrong move can throw you into the wolves.”

Naruto was silent, despite the pain coming from his head where Itachi’s fingers were laced in his hair. If he wasn’t mistaken, it almost seemed like Itachi didn’t like being an Uchiha.

“You’re not even close.” He finally whispered and his eyes rose up to meet Itachi’s, “I thought you knew about my disorder.”

Itachi’s mind froze as the words sunk in. Now that he thought about it, Naruto had never mentioned his reason on why he was in the institute. “You never told me.” He answered, feeling the irony sink in as he released his grip on Naruto.

Azure eyes blinked at him as if trying to see whether or not he was lying. Naruto knew that almost everyone in the wing knew about his disorder, it seemed that the only people who could keep secrets in a place like this were the doctors. You tell one person, they would tell another until the entire building knew about you. He had always assumed that someone had informed the Uchiha about his case.

A sigh escaped his lips, “Follow me.”

The raven narrowed his eyes but followed after Naruto, it wasn’t as if he had anything to lose. The blond took him down to the lobby area before asking the secretary at the front desk for a key. She rummaged through a desk drawer and dropped it into his waiting hand before telling him to enjoy the garden. After obtaining the key, Itachi found himself outside in the snow once again.

The blonds’ obsession for the snow was starting to get on his nerves.

But Naruto didn’t stay in the courtyard; instead, he started walking to the right side of the building, gesturing for Itachi to follow him. Once the raven rounded the corner, his eyes widened at the large, green building that Naruto was currently unlocking. He followed Naruto in through the door and after the door was shut, felt the temperature rise considerably.

“They don’t let a lot of people come tromping through the greenhouse, we’ll have better privacy here then in the hallway.” Naruto answered as he cleared off a spot to sit down. “Plus, this is my favorite place to stay besides the library.”

Itachi grunted and leaned against a counter. He wasn’t one for gardening, but he could appreciate the lingering aroma from the flowers; it was much better then smelling medicine all day long. Perhaps when he went back home he would invest in a plant or two.

He pulled his eyes away from the hanging plants and back to the blond who was inspecting a sunflower that sat next to him. “Why did you bring me here to talk? We could have talked in the library if you needed privacy.”

A smile flashed across Naruto’s face, “The walls have ears and mouths at times. I don’t want my secret all over the entire building.” He said and set the flower aside. “Do you know what sexsomnia is?”

Itachi shook his head, “No, but I can guess.”

Naruto chuckled, “If you’re thinking along the lines of sex then you’re somewhat right. Sexsomnia is just a fancy word sleep sex, where people engage in sexual acts while they sleep.”

“Please don’t tell me…”

“I’m not making this up Itachi.” Naruto stated and his humor vanished, “That’s the reason I’m here. Gaara is my roommate since he’s an insomniac and doesn’t sleep. He watches me during the night to make sure I don’t try anything or hurt myself, but usually his sleep cycles come about once every few months. Last night just happened to be one of those nights.”

Itachi was silent as the blond sucked in a breath, “When it first happened, my parents just thought it had something to do with my hormones, but after a while my dad started to suspect that it was something else. He’s a children’s psychologist and researched some information before taking me to talk to a doctor. I was sent here so the center could watch me.”

Cerulean eyes darted to the ground, “You can’t even begin to imagine how hard it is for me to fall asleep without being scared. I never know if I’m going to wake up in a stranger’s bed or find myself forcing my will on some innocent person. It’s been a while since I had a relapse, I’m sorry I ended up doing that to you.”

Itachi shifted slightly, he wasn’t good dealing with people when they were upset. Even when Sasuke was younger and had a bad day, he would always send him off to their mother. He didn’t know what to do when they started crying and he felt slightly awkward trying to comfort them. But seeing the blond distraught tugged at him in a way that confused him.

He found himself standing in front of Naruto and running his hand through the blond locks. He had often seen his mother trying to comfort Sasuke and he tried to remember what she did, but found that he couldn’t produce the same results. The blonds’ shoulders were still tight and he refused to make any eye contact with him, choosing instead to focus on the ground.

“Naruto.” He muttered softly. The younger male didn’t respond so he grasped his chin and forced his head up, “I’m not mad at you.”

“But earlier-”

Itachi fought to keep the scowl off his face; he wasn’t good at admitting he was wrong. Getting distressed again would only further upset the blond. “I was mad earlier, but for different reasons. I can’t fault you for something that you couldn’t control.”

Doubt was still etched into the blue eyes and he settled into a spot next to Naruto, “Do you know why I’m here?”

The blond shook his head, “I don’t think anyone knows.” A smile tugged at his lips, “You’re too mysterious.”

“Hn. I have my reasons, just as you have yours.” He said, “I killed my parents about seven months ago. The doctors said that I have homicidal sleepwalking, which resulted in my parents’ death.”

“Homicidal somnambulism.” Naruto said, and blushed slightly when Itachi glanced at him. “I told you my father looked at the information. I was curious as well, so I looked at some of his books, they talked about a case in there.”

“I see. Perhaps my brother should read that book.”

“You never mentioned your brother.” Naruto said, “Is he that guy that was with you the other day? ‘Cause, no offense to him or anything, but he looks like a shark.”

Itachi smirked; he had heard the comment several times before about Kisame looking like a shark. “No, that was my business partner. I haven’t seen my younger brother since the night of the accident.”

“Oh. Was he, um, injured?” Naruto asked hesitantly.

“No, I was able to still my hand and wake before that thanks to him, but he blames me for their death and is still upset that I wasn’t punished any harsher.”

A snort sounded from Naruto’s throat, “That’s ridiculous. You couldn’t help what happened that night. Stranger things have happened in the world that we can’t explain or predict. It’s not like it was your fault or anything.”

“I still killed them Naruto, he has every right to be upset with me.”

Naruto shook his head, “Well, I forced myself on you, but you’re not mad at me now.”

“That’s different,” Itachi stated, “Murder and ra-, ah, what you did, are two different things. Besides, you told me the reasons behind your actions.”

Naruto stood up and looked Itachi in the eyes, “You can say it, I know other people do. Forcing myself on someone is rape, but let me ask you this. If rape is defined as unlawful force against someone’s will, then is murder considered to be a form of rape?”

“You can’t compare them Naruto.”

The blond shrugged, “Maybe not, but either way, you know about the reasons concerning last night and you even said that you can’t fault me for something I can’t control. Is it so hard for your brother to come to this conclusion as well? You stopped me, just as he stopped you.”

Itachi was silent. He knew that the difference between the two of them was that he actually killed two others before his brother. Dark eyes flickered towards the blond and something uneasy squirmed in his stomach. What if they weren’t that different and someone couldn’t stop Naruto, just as his parents couldn’t stop him.

The thought settled uneasily on his mind; not for the fact that Naruto could have forced himself on someone. But at the thought that Naruto had to be burdened with that knowledge for his entire life. Knowing that it was something he couldn’t control and always fearing the next time it could happen; just like himself.

He stood up from his spot and walked towards Naruto, gently placing a hand on his head, “Just leave it be Naruto. Sasuke is free to be mad at me if he so chooses so.”

“I still don’t think it’s fair.” Naruto grumbled as his eyes glanced around the greenhouse. He walked towards the back of the building and dug through a drawer before moving back to the sunflower he had been sitting next to. With a quick snip of the scissors, the flower dropped into his waiting hand and he turned around.

“Here. It doesn’t really have a smell, but it’ll help lighten up your room.” He said, “Make sure to give it lots of sunlight and it’ll be fine. Don’t overwater it or it’ll die and that’s the only one left.”

Itachi blinked at the offered flower before reaching forward to take it. He noticed that Naruto was holding a short, thin-necked vase in his other hand and he looked back towards the now bare flower. “Why didn’t you cut the whole stem off?”

Laughter sounded from Naruto’s throat as a smile stretched across his face, “I have my reasons. Come on.” He started towards the door and Itachi followed after him, carefully tucking the flower into his jacket.

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ItaNarulover - thanks for the review, it made me laugh and realize that I hadn't posted the new chapter yet. *hugs* When I get back home tonight I'll post chapter six too.