A Ninja's Path (Kakashi X Reader)

Chapter Forty Six

Warning: Abuse and suicide are mentioned in this chapter

You dreamed of all things dark and hopeless.

Kakashi being thrown from the roof, heartbreak in his eyes.

Your parents walking away from you for the last time, forcing you to watch as they disappeared into the night forever.

Aunt Fuyu coming to retrieve you, her eyes cold husks of grain compared to their once rich sable color. She had told you to pack your things, giving you only five minutes to collect whatever belongings you could. And exactly when your time was up, she had hauled you out of your childhood home, screaming and crying for your parents.

The first time she had hit you was on the way to her house. She had you slung over one shoulder, your bag in her other hand. When you wouldn't shut up like she told you to, she had thrown you to the ground and backhanded you across the cheek. Hard. It was a full month before the bruise had finally faded away.

And as you tossed and turned in your sleep, you remembered every single lash and blow you had endured up until Aunt Fuyu's death.

And then you felt a presence. A dark looming figure not in your dream, but above your bed as you tossed and turned.

You didn't know how long they were there, but you didn't dare open your eyes. Your breathing had already been unsteady due to your nightmares so you didn't try to steady it.

You rolled to your right, hand sliding beneath your blanket to the kunai you kept hidden between your bed and the wall.

As soon as your hand wrapped around it, you turned onto your back, breathing sporadically.

The presence was still there, as if it was watching you, trying to figure out what to do.

You tightened your grip on your blade, judging the distance between you and your intruder, how and where exactly to aim your kunai when you attacked them.

There- you heard them shift. About three feet from your bed, breathing steady. They were tall, nearly six feet.

You adjusted your position again, grateful that you didn't need to maintain a still, steady position. That your nightmares at least offered you an easier way to fool the intruder into thinking you were still dreaming.

You breathed in deep, and as you exhaled, you lunged from your bed, blade poised to carve through the intruder's stomach. But your kunai met nothing but air.

As you adjusted your eyesight, it revealed your dark room void of anyone other than yourself. Whoever had broken into your room had escaped before you could attack them.

If anyone had even been there at all. After deeming your apartment secure and at least temporarily safe, you plopped down on the edge of your bed, heaving out a long sigh.

You had a feeling that you wouldn't be going back to bed. Your safety was at risk, you needed to stay alert. Besides, you had no intentions of experiencing those nightmares again.

You glanced at the clock- 2 am. The Council didn't specify when they would summon you in the morning, so you decided that you would leave at 5 am. They had plenty of spies across the village to alert them of your departure and route toward the administration building.

You knew those spies watched you now, leaving you to wonder why they had allowed an intruder into your apartment. Perhaps they had not noticed the attacker? Or maybe they were instructed not to interfere with your life? Whatever the reason, no Nightmares attempted to stop whoever broke into your apartment. You didn't particularly care now. What's done is done, now you just wanted to take a shower. To wipe off the layer of cold sweat that covered your body.