✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

34 | night terrors

1k reads!!!!!!!!!! *incoherent noises*

I woke soaked in sweat, curled up by the fire. It had burned out.

"Hey, what happened?"

Kakashi was kneeling beside me. I hadn't noticed him until he spoke, but as I did, I realised that his hand was on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and turned away, not answering his question.

"I thought the nightmares stopped," he said.

"Why would they?" I mumbled in response, then rolled over onto my front and rested my head in my arms. Kakashi didn't move.

"What happened?" He asked again, quieter this time.

I took a deep breath before responding. "I have this one all the time. It's about the last mission we had together. It's always my brother, and he does the same thing every time. I kill him, and I can't even lower the sword." I took a rattling breath. "Then he turns into my dad, then it's my mom, then it's Tsumari, Teren and Garake in turn. Then it's Naruto. Have you ever cradled the dead body of a child in your arms, and watched him bleed knowing you can't save him?" I decided not to tell Kakashi about him being in my dream. That would probably creep him out. He was a good listener, though, and I almost forgot he was there while I told the story.

Kakashi said nothing, even after I'd finished talking. I was only conscious of his hand still resting on my arm.

"I had nightmares for a while after Rin died."

"And the idiot didn't talk to anyone about it," I mumbled.

"The idiot had no friends," Kakashi pointed out. The pressure of his hand vanished for a second, then I was being lifted.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I demanded. "Put me down!"

"Okay." Kakashi dropped me on the bed, and tapped me sharply on the forehead. "Sleep."

"Wh-" I stared at him as he threw the thick duvet over me and sat cross-legged at the other end of the bed. I suddenly felt very small and vulnerable and dependant, and shrank in the bedding.

"I'll take the floor," Kakashi said calmly. "Sleep well."

"Stay," I said quietly, so quietly I wasn't sure if I'd even said it, but Kakashi stopped and looked at me in surprise. "Please," I added. I needed someone else nearby, and if Kakashi would be down on the floor by the fire, I feared that he'd be too far away.

Kakashi sighed. "Okay."

He sat on the bed beside me and lay down, carefully keeping to one side. I rolled over slightly so I could put more space between us, and have my back to him. Under normal circumstances, I'd be attacking him by now, but I was scared of having the nightmares return and wanted someone close by in case they did.

"Goodnight," I heard Kakashi say.

"Night," I responded, and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, I woke slowly and groggily. That was good; signs of long, deep sleep, which meant no nightmares.

As my senses reawakened, I sensed that something was wrong; or at least, unusual. I turned my head only slightly before noticing immediately that Kakashi was much closer than he had been last night. It seemed that he had rolled over in his sleep, and now had one arm on mine. I was glad he was still asleep so he couldn't see my blush.

I cautiously lifted his arm off of me, being careful not to wake him. Kakashi didn't even stir. I rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom to change my clothes.

The shorts and t-shirt I'd been wearing the night before weren't particularly dirty, but I reasoned that I'd slept in them, so they were probably dirtier than they looked. I had two other spare outfits sealed in my scroll, but only one real option, since one was winter gear. It was a yellow summer dress, not exactly the best outfit for April, but I wore a pair of white leggings underneath in the hopes of protecting myself from the cold.

I picked up a hairbrush next and dragged it through my hair, only to find that it was tangled beyond belief. I ended up in the bathroom for a considerable time longer than I'd meant to just trying to make it presentable.

When I was finally satisfied with the state of my hair, I stepped out of the bathroom to find that Kakashi was still asleep. The clock read 8:30.

I karate-chopped him on the head. "Get up!"

"Ow!" Kakashi moaned, rolling over with his hand on his head. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," I replied. "I'm all ready to go, so hurry up!"

Kakashi sighed, but pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Your hair looks nice."

I wish I could say I responded with something witty, or even just a coherent 'thanks', but I just stood there, dumbfounded. I wanted to ask if he was okay, was he hallucinating, should we go back to Konoha and let the others take care of the mission? Since when did Kakashi compliment people, especially on something as nondescript as hair?

Kakashi was already in the bathroom by the time I came to my senses. I took a few deep breaths and pinched myself just to check I wasn't still dreaming. Unfortunately, this was completely real. Unless it was a Genjutsu; I'd never been any good at catching on to those, with no skill in it myself. Kurenai might have noticed immediately, but not me.

I sat pondering the possibility that I was in a Genjutsu for a while, and Kakashi eventually came out of the bathroom wearing a new change of clothes; exactly the same as yesterday, except his shirt was black, not white.

"How do you tell the difference between a Genjutsu and real life?" I asked.

Kakashi seemed a little surprised. "I can see through it with this." He tapped the bandages that concealed his Sharingan. "But sometimes there's a little something that clues you in, like if you had been put under a Genjutsu to walk in a circle, and you kept seeing the same landmarks."

"Huh," I mumbled in response.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kakashi asked, putting his hand on my forehead.

"I'm fine." I pushed his hand away. "Where are we going today?"

"Well, I was thinking we go up to visit the old man on the hill, and see what our mystery visitor had to say to him."

"Yes, good plan." I stood immediately and picked up my bag, checking that I'd put everything away. "Let's go!"