Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

Nightmares

Chapter 28: Nightmares

I was back in the Leaf Village in the middle of the street at night. People were falling before me, crying out in agony. "What is this?" I said. I found myself unable to move, and my heartbeat accelerated. I had seen my fair share of violence, both as a ninja and on TV back in my old world, but this was different. Most of these people were not fighting back. Many of them were civilians. There were children within the mix.

Then I saw him. Itachi stared at me with the cold eyes of the Sharingan. He was young - he could not be much older than Sasuke in the present. "Why?" I said even though I knew he could not respond. This was a genjutsu and likely a memory. All I could do was watch the scene play through.

Itachi attacked everyone with cold calculation, and it seemed to go on forever. Just how many Uchiha were there? I shut my eyes to close myself off from the horror, but the sounds I heard worked up my imagination to show me even more sickening images. "Stop! I've seen enough!" But it did not stop until every single person was dead. At the end, Itachi looked at me with his cold, emotionless eyes again. Finally, I returned to reality.

"Katsumi!" Naruto cried. He caught me as I stumbled back and assisted me in sitting against the wall. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I - I'm fine," I managed to get out. Physically at least. Whether my eyes were open or shut, I kept seeing the images Itachi showed me. I clutched my head, wishing they would just go away. I already hated what he did; I did not need to be mentally scarred by seeing it.

I did not have much awareness through what happened next. Somehow Itachi and Kisame escaped. Then Jiraiya was on my other side, patting my shoulder. "Do not worry, Katsumi," he said. "The danger is passed. Take deep breaths." He paused. "It may help to talk about it. What did he show you?"

"The massacre. He showed me the Uchiha massacre." I focused on my breathing, and gradually my heart rate returned to normal. I had not realized a negative of being a sensory ninja was feeling everything way deeper than everyone else - even from a genjutsu. My senses felt raw, like the lightest touch would cause pain. "I don't blame Sasuke for being messed up. Who wouldn't be?"

"I don't get it," Naruto said. "Why would Itachi show that to you?"

"Good question." I lifted my head from the wall, sucking in a sharp breath at the sudden headache.

"You don't have to push yourself," Jiraiya said. "If thinking is too hard-"

"No, I need to think. If I can make sense of this, it will help me get over it." So, I took a deep breath and analyzed everything that happened. While there were multiple possibilities, the evidence pointed in one direction. "Itachi was warning me away from him."

"Warning you?" Naruto said blankly.

"Before the genjutsu, he showed me his real eyes. He's great at appearing cold and emotionless, but I caught a hint of the same emotions I saw in Gaara's eyes: loneliness, sorrow, and regret. In other words, not the eyes of a psychopath." I leaned my head against the wall again and groaned. "Dang, that makes this so much more difficult. He's hiding something; he tried to scare me to keep me away from the truth. Well, it's not going to work."

"You need to be careful," Jiraiya said in a warning tone. "Despite their similarities, Itachi is not Gaara. He is an S ranked criminal for a reason and not someone you should associate with."

"I know. If it were just for my curiosity, I would be happy to forget about him, but Sasuke..." I glanced over at my fallen friend. "His own idea of closure is only going to make his situation worse. He deserves to know the truth. And I will find it for him." Somehow.