The Dream Devourer (Kakashi X OC)

Going Against Orders

Kakashi awoke with a start, and bolted up out of the chair. His breath came out in gasps, and he stared down at his hand, expecting to see gore.

No blood, no nightmares, no haunted memories- he was alive, and he looked around, waiting for Kuroi to appear once more.

It had felt like days trapped behind that seal, and his Sharingan had given out from pushing Kuroi back. So much chakra- it had suffocated him, had choked the air from his lungs as he saw his worst memories come to life around him.

Kuroi had taken him, had locked him away. He shouldn't be here. How did he escape?

No, he realized, he thought he had seen a nightmare- a glimpse of Chiisai's face, covered with tears. He had been dying, and she had poured her chakra into him. She was in despair, and he had wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, to hold her hand. But he had fallen into darkness and woken up here.

And Chiisai- Chiisai-

He turned, and saw her unconscious on the table. Inoichi stood behind her, his face filled with concern as he watched him. The man's lips were moving, and Kakashi realized he must be in shock.

Kakashi bent over Chiisai. He cupped the side of her face with his hand, brushing her bangs back with his thumb.

He shouldn't have gone inside her mind. He had been worried, and desperate, and had wanted to save her. And in the end, she had ended up saving him. And now she'd likely die because of it.

He had let his emotions get the best of him. And look at what it had caused.

Inoichi said, "Kakashi?"

Kakashi pulled away from her, and finally looked up at him. He shook his head and said in a ragged voice, "Her seal's broken, and her chakra is loose. It's going to take control over everyone if they fall asleep."

And then there was Kuroi's words- that he had provoked enemy ninja to come and find Chiisai.

It was then that two things happened simultaneously.

Kakashi smelled blood, and singed skin, and Chiisai opened her eyes. She sucked in a lungful of air as Kakashi saw blood spread across her dress. A groan escaped her lips, and her hand went to her waist.

Kakashi took hold of her hand, but she seemed not to notice his touch. Her arms suddenly were twisted with thin burns, as if she had been injured from the inside out.

He said, "Chiisai, can you hear me?"

Her head rolled to the side, towards his voice. Her body twitched, and she groaned again, saying, "You real?"

"I'm real. I'm here," Kakashi replied. His own voice was haggard, and he coughed, clearing his throat. He let go of her wrist and said, "I'm glad to see you awake."

She squeezed her eyes shut, and he couldn't tell if she had heard him. But then her body spasmed, and she arched her back with a cry.

"You're alright, you're safe now," he said. Inoichi watched them as he added, "I'm going to look at your wound."

"She's being attacked from inside her mind," Inoichi said. "I've never seen anything like this."

"It's difficult to explain," Kakashi replied.

He slid the hem of her dress up past her tight fitted pants. He cursed under his breath and pressed his hand to the wound. It was deep, and to the left of any major artery, but it may have hit the small intestines. The skin around the wound was red and blistered, and she cried out again as he pressed his hand to it.

Warm blood seeped through his glove and stained his hand as he kept pressure on it. His eye went up to Inoichi and he said, "Have you sent a bird to the Hokage yet?"