The Dream Devourer (Kakashi X OC)

A Visitor

Kakashi took a step back in Chiisai's mind. The silhouette of a man appeared before him, buzzing with chakra. It's voice was unlike anything he had heard.

You've been here before.

This wasn't a genjutsu, this was something else entirely. "You live in Chiisai," he said. "Why do you want her death?"

I am trapped here because of her, and I want my freedom. I will take everything from her, as she has done with me.

"You said she trapped you. Is it the seal?"

You are curious.

"Who are you?"

I am her reckoning, her judgement. And you are no longer welcome.

The figure stepped forward, and Kakashi, on instinct, flexed his Sharingan. The figure was pressed back into Chiisai's seal as pain erupted in Kakashi's eye.

Kakashi pulled away from Chiisai and took in a haggard breath. He was back in reality, and his chakra was spent. He rarely used his Sharingan to look into memories, but he had used it twice in two days.

Chiisai looked up at him, searching his eye. "What did you see?" She asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. And I met your friend," he said. "He's a real charmer." He paused, studying her face.

Their faces were inches apart, and Chiisai's gaze flickered to his mask. A strand of her hair hung over her face, and he had the sudden urge to brush it back.

"So," she said, "you saw my memories, huh."

That was the cause for her anxiety, he realized. Which was preposterous, given all that she had been through recently. She cared about how he thought about her.

And what were his thoughts, after seeing those memories? Chiisai had been manipulated most of her life, being a prisoner in her own home, neglected and abused by the people that were supposed to love her unconditionally. There was a fury deep inside him, he realized, of being unable to protect past Chiisai, of having to watch her life unfold and being helpless to intervene.

His tone softened, and he stared down at the book on the table. He opened his mouth, paused, and then said, "I saw some of your childhood, yes. " His gaze shifted to her abdomen. "How are you...How can you act so normally when so much has happened to you?"

She snorted and said, "I don't act normal, Kakashi. I can't stand crowds, or a restaurant with more than five people in it. I take side alleys so I won't have to interact with anyone, and I don't cook because I physically cannot handle the market and the noise of a crowd."

Kakashi leaned back on the couch and tilted his head up to the ceiling. "Why don't you pay someone to go to the market for you? A teenager could even do it, so you wouldn't have to see their dreams." He paused and added, "And you should really learn how to cook- it's an essential life skill."

A laugh escaped her. "You're still worried about that? I'm pretty sure I won't have the time to learn anyway, Farm Boy."

He didn't respond. She was already planning to die, wasn't she? Chiisai was a threat to the village, but in a way he had never anticipated. He wanted her to live, he realized, and he hated that her thoughts had already settled on the opposite. She had been so determined to free herself in the past, but now, she seemed...jaded.

"Sometimes people have to die, Kakashi," she said. Chiisai paused and then said softly, "Sometimes it's a sacrifice worth making. And sometimes, well, maybe they deserve to, and it's just a consequence of their actions."

Memories flickered back to Obito, to Rin, to his sensei. Had their sacrifice been worth making? Kakashi shook his head. "I understand your words, but I refuse to accept it. You feel guilty for something you shouldn't."