[Fever Dreams] (Patreon)

Summary- War, it never left any winners. Those that lost never made it back, and those that won wished they didn’t. He couldn’t take it anymore, the dreams still haunted him. Thankfully, his silver-eyed companion was there to comfort him in the sleepless nights. (Naruto/Ruby)(One-shot)Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Rwby or any other anime I use in this story. They belong to their respective creators : Musashi Kishimoto and Rooster TeethFever Dreams

"Is that him?"

"I think it is."

"So he's the one Hero of the fourth shinobi war?"

"Wow, so he's a hero of the Fourth Shinobi War?"

"The legacy of the Yondaime."

"He's amazing!"

Neji!

"He save the world!"

"The greatest shinobi since the great sage himself!"

"When I grow up I want to be a Ninja... just like you."

Sakura!

"Naruto! Naruto! Naruto!"

Sasuke!

"Kakashi, I can't take it anymore, I need to leave, I feel like I'm about to snap!"

"Where will you go?"

"I know some good people, ones I met with Jiraiya-sense, I'll stay with them for a while."

"For how long?"

"...I don't know."

The blue sky wasn't sunny, nor was the grass green, and the flowers weren't blooming. The normally picturesque, serene landscape of the island of patch, a small island that bordered the land of Nami, was a far cry from what it normally resembled.

The sky was dark, clouded in a shadow so thick that the sun couldn't break free and penetrate it. The normally lush green terrain an aura of sadness, one that permeated the air all around it.

Even the sky was crying out, as the harsh rain that poured down rain across his tanned face as it wetted his clothes and blonde hair.

And yet, he still trudged on forward, walking along the long dirt roads that were now muddied for who knows how long. And it wasn't long before he reached his destination.

A large two-story log cabin that rested within a field within the woods. Moving towards the door, he tentatively brought his hand up, before he hesitated.

For what felt like an eternity, he held his knuckles there, hovering just next to where the hardwood door was. Taking a deep breath as he counted to three, he finally knocked along the hard entrance.

Nobody came.

He did notice, however, that the door was unlocked, and when he knocked on the door it had slightly jarred it open.

Deciding to walk inside, he cleared his throat as he called out, "hello! Is anyone home?" He questioned aloud, shouting it in the seemingly empty house!around him.

Waiting there for a few minutes, he then heard light footsteps seemingly approaching towards him. And it didn't take long for him to see the figure he had long since been waiting to see.

A small smile kept across his face, how long had it been since he had seen such beautiful silver eyes? One year, 6 months and 22 days, if he remembered correctly. But then again, who's counting?

She seemed to be just as surprised to see him, dropping a dish she was holding straight onto the floor. As it crashed onto the floor, she looked straight into his cerulean blue eyes, her own eyes widening as she did so.

"Ruby," he smiled, looking towards the face he had longed for all this time.

And it was as if all his worries disappeared in that very instant. The weight on his back lifted, and he could feel the pang in his chest fade away ever so slightly.

When he looked around, he could see that this place hadn't changed a bit. Everything was right where it should be, the books on the shelves, the family photos along the walls, even the dog's bed next to the couch was right where he remained.

Taking a deep breath, he realized why just being in this place, with this company, felt so good. Yes… he was home.

But the words broke him out of his thoughts… as well as shattering his world.

Cupping her mouth, the dark-haired girl questioned. "W-who are you?!" As the world darkened around them both.

A lump in his throat formed, "w-what?" He stuttered out in a harsh mixture of disbelief and confusion.

Before he stepped forward ever so slightly, something that seemed to put her on edge as she backed away.

He stopped, deciding to stand still to make her a bit more comfortable. "Rubes, it's me…. Naruto—" He told her, before he was interrupted,

"No!" Ruby shouted, before she calmed herself, "No, you can't be," she told him confidently, there wasn't a hint of doubt within her voice as she looked at him with a coldness he had never seen upon her delicate face.

"What are you talking about? Of course, it's me." The blonde questioned, before he hesitated, "Don't you… don't you remember me?" He asked, slightly scared at her answer.

She backed away even more, staring out at him in disbelief, "you can't be him, you just can't be," she told herself as she shook her head.

He unconsciously moved closer towards her, "And why can't I? Why can't I be Naruto Uzumaki?" He asked, as her dark hair then shadowed her silver eyes.

"Because… because he died," she whispered out.

He froze, speechless at her words. Before he finally was able to comprehend her words, "what? Rubes I—"

"Stop calling me!" She interrupted, "you have no right to call me that, you aren't him, you shouldn't call me that nickname!" Ruby shouted angrily, as she ran out of the room.

He tried to go after her, but it was as if his feet were cemented in place. He tried to call out, but his throat couldn't form any words. Not only that, but he tried to reach out, but his arms weren't long enough.

All he could do was be left standing there in the middle of the room as the silver eyed girl left him in the dust. For what felt like hours, he just stood in place, until…

"She's right, you know, this is always how things should have been," a voice called out, as he almost immediately snapped his head to the side. Looking towards where the voice came from, his gaze rested upon what looked like a mirror.

But he could tell something was different…

"Yami!" He recognized the figure. And there, in his hollow reflection, was the person in question.

His expression was colder, much darker than his own. And the normal cerulean blue eyes that held such kindness looked pained, becoming a crimson red. His sclera becoming as dark as the midnight sky.

"H-how are you here?" Naruto questioned. "I thought… I thought I—" he was interrupted.

"You thought you got rid of me?" Yami finished, before the persona gained a devilish grin. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but that will never happen," he told him.

Naruto's blue eyes widened, remembering their previous interaction together. "But in the waterfall… you and I talked, I told you I didn't need you anymore."

But the darkened blonde seemed to only laugh at his words. No, he didn't just laugh, his voice began into a hilarity-filled uproar that he just couldn't stop.

After a few minutes, he was finally able to reign in his emotions, wiping a few tears of joy from his eyes as he did so. "I'm your deepest darkest emotions, I'll never leave you, you think one little talk will change that?" Yami told him.

"Then why are you here? Why now?" The real Naruto questioned.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" He questioned with an evil smirk as he raised his arms."Things are gonna start changing around here," he stated, snapping his fingers as it was then that something started to happen.

"I've decided that I'm the superior between the two of us," Yami told him, as he got closer.

"What are you—?" Naruto questioned, before his mouth clamped up.

The world shook, as if the very fabric of reality was changing around them. And the shadow within the mirror began to inch ever closer, stepping through the divide that separated the two of them. It was as if the mirror were a doorway into another room entirely.

"It's that arrogance that astounds me," Yami stated. "I'm the one who's gotten us through all those dark times. When the whole village was against us, I was the one to bring us through it. When orochimaru released the Ichibi and Gaara threatened our friends, I was the one who was able to give us the strength to stop it!"

"Why shouldn't I be the one who final gets control?!"He questioned.

Naruto took a deep breath, "While that might be true, I still think that I don't need you anymore, I'm happy." The blonde said to his shadow.

"Are we?" The phantom questioned with a smile. "Can you truly say that after all we've seen, after all we've done, that we're truly happy?" He asked.

"Of course I am, I—" Naruto said, before he was interrupted.

"Then why don't we sleep at night?" The vestige rebuked. "Why do we still feel like we're still on that battlefield we left so long ago? Why…"

It was then that he nailed in the coffin. "Why do we still see them every time we close our eyes?!" He asked as Naruto's own blood ran cold.

And Naruto couldn't deny him, all his words were true.

But even then his red-eyed half continued. "I let you take the reins, and look what you've done!" He accused. "Neji is dead! Tsunade was almost critically injured, why do you think she retired from Hokage so quickly? Half the freaking god-damn Shinobi in the nation are dead! All because of a war that only started because of us! Why do you—"

"Enough!" Naruto shouted in anger, as he slammed his fist onto his dark reflection's face.

Yami recoiled from the blow, but he still held his body upright, as his face was angled towards the floor. But even with all the pain, he felt an uproar of laughter rip from his lungs.

"Ha! And I thought I was supposed to be the angry one," Yami remarked, as he snapped upwards and his fist struck down upon his face similarly to what he did seconds before.

As Yami's face struck him, it felt as if he had been struck by Madara's full-body susanoo itself. His body was sent to the ground in a heap.

"So that's how strong you are? You can't even handle a single punch from me," Yami laughed, as he brought his hand to meet his chin.

Angling his eyes to meet his own, tired Cerulean and a sharp Crimson gazed at each other, he continued. "I thought you could handle things, but look at you? How pathetic can you be?"

And as Naruto tried to get up, it felt as if the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders.

"How can the world look-up to someone as pitiful as you?" He questioned, as Yami's leg impacted with his stomach, sending him careening back down.

"Would your parents be proud of the man you've become?" Another blow impacted with his stomach, "Would Konoha still rejoice at the person you truly are?" Another kick connected to his abdomen.

He smirked, "… Would Ruby still love you if she knew how broken you are?"

"Stop it!" Naruto shot his head to meet his chin, sending Yami's head whip lashing upwards.

As Yami stumbled back, and Naruto wobbled his way to return to his feet, Yami still had his smile on his face, even as a bruise formed along his chin.

"Inoichi, Shikaku," he began to whisper out,

"W-what?!" Naruto asked as his eyes widened, his body freezing in place.

"Mabui, Asuma, Neji," with each name his voice began to grow louder and louder.

"Jiraiya, Sakura , Sasuke!" Yami shouted, "All these people died just for your sake! You got these people killed! Why should you be alive when they aren't?!" He said, as a blow impacted his face.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto snarled, his fist extended outward.

But even as Yami still got back up, blood leaking from his mouth as he did so, his cruel smile never faded.

Wiping the crimson liquid with his hand, he looked towards him, his teeth glistening as he flashed Naruto his open red palm.

"You got blood on your hands…"

… he was right.

His hands were soaked in the vile crimson liquid. And even as he jolted awake, rising up from his bed, that was the one though that came to the forefront of his mind.

He rushed towards the nearby bathroom, twisting the sink's knob to release its clear cold water. Staining the metals and porcelain around the countertop as he did so, uncaring of the consequences of his actions.

As he tried to wash the crimson off of his palms, the water doing nothing to scrub away the staining blemishes that lay across his hands.

His breath was ragged, sweat poured across his face, but he paid it no mind.

Apparently, his loud actions seemed to wake the other occupant within the next room, and she blearily made her way to the bathroom door.

Rubbing her left eye in a feeble attempt to wipe away her sleepiness, as she used the door frame as a crutch to help her remain upright.

"Naruto? What are you—" it was then that she began to realize the situation.

"R-ruby…" He quivered, his voice sounding a far cry from his usual self.

He held out his hand, showing his bloodied palms towards her. "It won't… it won't go away," he said, uncaring of the tears filling in the corners of his eyes.

It was at that moment that his legs finally and knees gave out. Ruby tried to catch him, but she was just barely able to make it in time before his body completely hit the ground. This left his and her body colliding together as Naruto's back hit the tile bathroom wall.

A thought entered the forefront of his mind as his body now rested upon the corner of the bathroom floor.

Yami was right… he was truly pathetic.

A shell of his former self, a far cry from the person he used to be, the person everyone else looked up to.

But it was only then that he felt his girlfriend wrapped had her arms around his body. "It's okay, Naruto, you don't have to hold it all in now," she whispered to him in their shared embrace.

The tears that once filled his eyes finally let loose, falling down his face as he cried into her shoulder.

"It's okay, I'm here, it's not real," she told him, as he released all of the built up pain he'd previously been holding in.

He didn't know how long they had sat like that, but Ruby only whispered comforting words into his ears as his sorrows poured out of him.

"… Ruby," Naruto sighed wearily, "I am so sorry," he apologized.

Ruby moved her head up, as she had previously been resting her head along his beating chest. Her eyes met his, an unearthly silver met a tired ocean blue.

"There's nothing to apologize for," she told him, giving a slight peck along his lips, noticing something as she did so.

As she then connected their foreheads together, "Naruto, you're burning up," she told him in concern, analyzing his raised temperature.

"A cold?" She noticed, "Naruto, how long have you slept?" She asked worriedly.

"I don't know…" Naruto answered honestly, "what time is it?" He questioned.

Ruby didn't know either, biting her lip, she decided to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind.

"Naru, are you… alright?" She asked quietly, she didn't know what was going on with him. She'd heard him wake up on some nights such as this.

Sometimes he's wake up in a cold sweat, and she'd ask him the same question, and he'd tell her it was just a bad dream.

But dreams didn't have such an effect on such people. Dreams were just that, dreams.

But what he'd been experiencing was something much more, she didn't know what was going on with him, but she wanted to help.

"What?" He asked in shock, "Of course I am!" Naruto told her resolutely, before he looked into her her eyes, seeing the slight tears that were filling up in her eyes as well.

"It's just…" he looked off to his side, not ready to meet her gaze. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "it's just that I feel like I'm still there, that I never really left and I…" he trailed off, unable to find the right words.

He noticed when she cupped his cheek, turning his head ever so slightly, just enough so their eyes could meet once again.

"Naruto, it's okay if you don't feel fine," she told him. "You've gone through so much, much more than I can ever understand. I just wish I could help you through it," Ruby said as she caressed his whisker marks.

Naruto smiled slightly, "just be there for me," he requested, "just like this."

"Okay," she obliged, as they sat on the cold floor holding each other for who knows how long.

Before another thought struck her mind, "want to go back to bed?" She asked.

"Sure, this is getting slightly uncomfortable," he laughed a little.

Getting herself back up, Ruby held out her hand to meet his own, as he saw the moon's light teacher her silvery orbs, his breath hitched. He took it, using it to hoist himself get off of the ground.

But as they walked towards the door, Naruto had one last thing to say.

"Rubes," the blonde spoke up, gaining the black and red haired girl's attention.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"I love you," he told her for the first time, as the girl's face lit up in a bright blush. "I just thought you should know that." Naruto said.

"Iloveyoutoo!" His girlfriend squeaked, rushing out of the bathroom and into their shared bed.

Naruto chuckled, the pant in his chest was still there... just lessened.

The End.