By Candlelight, a naruto fanfic

Candlelight
A Naruto fanfic featuring Kabuto Yakushi and Sasuke Uchiha (and a snake)
NO PAIRINGS
A/N: Spoilers for "Rescue Sasuke" arc. Also, this is a bit drabblish, I think... There are no pairings, yaoi or otherwise, unless you read them in yourself. Reviews are nice, as always. :3 But this is kind of old, so don't tear me apart or anything. Still, it'd be good to know whether I stayed in-character. In my experience, it's a dangerous business, writing with characters you fangirl obsessively...

Shck-slk.

One by one the fondly familiar faces passed before him, each new vision bringing a timid, tender memory.

"No…"

Shck-slk.

One by one, the faces twisted in pain and shock.

"Please… No!"

Shck-slk.

One by one, the precious memories were transformed into a horrible pangs of regret and deep grief.

"No!!"

Shck-slk.

And still that wretched noise continued, punctuated by the wrenching sobs of a child.

A silent figure stood at the foot of the young boy's bed, impassively watching the trembling form that whimpered softly beneath the covers. Cold black eyes glinted faintly behind thick, round glasses, betraying nothing but a stony indifference in the glow of the dim candlelight. Behind the mask of unfeeling nothingness, however, the medical ninja's quick mind was pondering the perplexing problem before him.

Suddenly, the sickening cycle of once-known faces was interrupted.

Shhck--

A cry of pain that was his, and yet not his broke the horrific train of painful, faded memories. He looked down to find a ring of blood spreading slowly across his clothing.

--sssllllk.

He looked up, face twisted in agony and glossy with tears. Pain much deeper than the physical spawned the cry he gave at the face that now met him.

"Brother…!"

A cry of pain that seemed too real to be the result of a dream fell upon Kabuto's ears, causing him to flinch involuntarily. For a moment his guard had dropped and the shape of his deepest part had been revealed. At least in that brief lapse he had been a young child again, watching with wide and frightened eyes as his parents were killed in his very presence. The noise of the kunai knives sinking into their flesh surrounded him, playing over and over like an irritating song. The cry of his past self rang in his ears, echoing exactly the pained outburst of the young boy caught in his nightmares. A rising feeling of nausea put a panicked light into his eyes, as he struggled to fight it.

Barely had the moment come, however, before it passed, and the chilly mask of stone had returned to its place.

The decision formed. He could not ignore it any longer. Whatever the outcome, something needed to be done.

He lay on the ground, trembling with a mixture of deep anger and an even deeper sense of loss. A sharp pain struck his shoulder; his brother's blade had pinned him to the floor. He lay there, tears pouring down his cheeks, and mouth twisted into a rage-filled grimace, glaring up at the stranger his once-fond companion had become.

"…Why, Itachi?! Why did you have to change?! What could have possibly made you so mad you wanted to kill them? Why…why do you want to leave--?" A sob interrupted his words, and he fell into a silence broken only by soft whimperings.

The shadowed face of the Uchiha heir remained impassive, and his voice betrayed no hint of emotion. "Because, Sasuke, I am the same as you."

The younger Uchiha drew a sharp breath, hurt puzzlement washing over his features.

"You want power. You will seek it. And one day…you will find it." He paused, hand still gripping the blade that now bore his own brother's blood, and leaned closer. "When that day comes, you will kill me. Until that day, hate is all you have to hold on to.

Hate me, Sasuke. Hate me and know what true strength is."

"N-nooo! Ita…Itachi! Don't lea--" There was a sudden noise, and Sasuke's eyes flew open. He lay there for a moment, trembling and panting, his body steadying only after the last tendrils of the nightmare released their hold on him. The young boy sat up, one hand clawing desperately at his shoulder, where the mark of his curse glowed like a coal. His dark eyes roved around, blinking away unnoticed tears and desperately seeking to find some source of light in the shadowed room.

"Good, you're awake." A second candle was added to the one that had nearly burned out at the bedside, shedding a dim but welcome light over the room. "It's lucky I'm the only one you woke up, with all the racket you were making. Orochimaru-sama doesn't take well to having his sleep interrupted." The silver-haired medic turned from the candle with a smug grin.

Ah… It's just Kabuto… Sasuke scowled, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Even if Kabuto had been the only person to witness the nightmare, it was still embarrassing. Embarrassment quickly turned to irritation, and it showed in his snapped response. "What the heck are you doing in my room anyway? Mind your own business; go back to bed." The boy flopped back, turning so that his black hair hid his face. Despite his harsh words, his voice still bore traces of the terror his dreams had placed him in, trembling more than it was wont to.

Kabuto's expression showed no change; although Sasuke couldn't see him, he could somehow hear the smirk in his voice. "Fine, I'll leave you to your own company, since that's what you seem to like best. Just do me a favor and change out those sheets. I don't want to have to deal with your bratty attitude when you don't get any sleep because of them."

There was no response. Sasuke lay still for a moment, as if deciding between pride and comfort. In the end, he apparently decided that trying to make up for his lack of rest on his bed's sheets -- which were sticky with sweat (and tears, though he would never admit it) -- was worse than the humiliation of agreeing to the medic's suggestion. Still wearing an irritated scowl, he climbed stiffly out of the bed and stood there, glaring at Kabuto and trying to keep himself from shivering at the sudden burst of cold brushing across his bare chest and arms.

The silver-haired ninja, seeing that Sasuke was clearly not planning to remove the sheets himself, bit back a smart remark and set to the task. He was too tired to fight with the boy over something so insignificant, and anyway Sasuke's stubbornness was such that an argument would probably just end up in a stalemate - which meant the sheets would stay damp and dirty, which meant the Uchiha wouldn't be able to get some much-needed good rest, which wouldn't bode well for his attitude in the morning.

Rubbing his arms to try to stay warm, Sasuke stood by as Kabuto removed the sheets from his bed. He was mildly surprised the medic didn't put up more resistance, but didn't waste too much time thinking about it. Besides, he was too distracted by his dream; it had been a very long time since he'd had a nightmare like that. Not since before his Team 7 days back at the Leaf Village. It's this blasted darkness… I really don't understand why Orochimaru gets so much joy out of creeping everyone out like that. I mean, would it kill him to put in some real lights…? Even though it had been almost a month since he'd arrived at the Sannin's lair and begun to train under him, Sasuke still wasn't used to all of the powerful shinobi's strange obsessions. Still, he was willing to put up with Orochimaru's oddity if it meant achieving his goals.

"Must have been some dream." Kabuto's nonchalant voice pulled the boy's attention back to the present. "You sounded like hell, with the way you were crying out." The silver-haired young man straightened, glancing sideways at Sasuke from behind his glasses.

Sasuke couldn't read the expression, or the intentions behind the comment, and thus his only response was a stony glare.

Sighing to himself, Kabuto glanced down at the dirty sheets lying in a bundle on the floor before turning and walking out the door. "I'll get some clean ones… You can take care of those tomorrow."

A few minutes later, the silver-haired shinobi returned to find Sasuke sitting on the edge of his bed with his chin on his fist, scowling at the wall across from him for no particular reason. The curse mark had finally calmed down, resuming its normal black color. Rolling his eyes at the young ninja's seemingly perpetual state of irritation, Kabuto tossed the stack of clean sheets onto the bed, feeling a passing pleasure at the Uchiha's slight jump.

"Dangit, what's wrong with you, sneaking around like that?!"

Kabuto walked past the black-haired boy, ignoring the dirty look being shot his way. "Maybe someone should try paying a little more attention to their surroundings instead of focusing all their energy into boring a hole through the wall with their glare. Here," the medic-nin continued, cutting off the angry response forming on Sasuke's lips. "Take these." He set a plastic cup containing two small white pills on the bedside stand.

Sasuke eyed them suspiciously, remembering the pain he'd endured the last time he'd accepted pills from one of Orochimaru's servants. "What is it?"

"Medicine. It'll help you rest." The older ninja absently pushed up his glasses, tilting them so that the light reflected off of the glass and hid his eyes, and his voice grew a bit quiet as he continued. "I don't have anything to help the nightmares, but at least this will help you fall and stay asleep."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, surprised at what could be interpreted as a desire to help. He frowned. No, not a desire to help; that couldn't be it. Kabuto probably just wanted to keep him quiet so he wouldn't be bothered by the noise he was making. Unsure how to respond, he shrugged indifferently. "Okay."

The medical ninja turned towards the door. "You can make your own bed, right? Do try to get some sleep… Orochimaru-sama has a full schedule for you tomorrow."

Sasuke lay on his freshly-made bed, watching the flickering of the candle on his bedside table with bleary eyes. The empty cup sat next to the candle. He blinked slowly, his eyelids becoming heavier each time as the medicine began to take effect.

...Kabuto left the candle...
Idiot.
Now he won't have a light.

The young ninja's breathing grew steady and even as sleep overtook him, this time much more peacefully than before.

Kabuto sat on the edge of his bed. His room was shrouded in black, as he was too tired to bother with finding another candle in the dark. Besides, after serving someone like Orochimaru for as long as he had, a ninja got used to the lack of light. It had been hard in the beginnig; he'd been no better off than Sasuke was. The medic removed his glasses and set them carefully on the bedside table. But time changed things. The Uchiha would get used to the darkness. Pulling the tie out of his silver hair and tossing it in the general direction of the table, he flopped back onto the covers, brushing his bangs out of his eyes out of pure habit.

As he lay there, staring at the inky blackness, he wondered for a moment whether his eyes were open or closed. In the unending shadow, he really couldn't tell.

Deep in the shadows, a soft rustle barely perceptible to even well-trained human ears was the only thing denoting the presence of the snake that slithered off to its master, unheeding of the darkness, and bearing a report on everything it had witnessed.

A/N: Moral of the story? Orochimaru watches people in their sleep. D: