"DAD, LOOK OUT!" Shizi shot straight up in her bed, hand grasping for nothing. This has been the third day in a row she had these nightmares. It was always the same. She would be fighting in a Great Shinobi War, and turns to check on her father figure to see a blackened silhouette behind him with a huge blade drawn high for the lethal stab to his heart through his back.
Shizi slipped from her bed and padded through the house to Kakashi's room across the apartment. She gently knocked on the door and slid it to the side when there was no answer. The silvery Jonin was deeply asleep, his bed littered with weaponry, and his Make-Out series he loves to read.
"Kika?" Shizi whispers as she walked into his room. She's never been in his room before, seen through the cracks of the door, but never walked through the threshold. She stopped at the edge of his bed and waited to see if he was going to answer her tiny voice. She noticed that even when he was sleeping, he wore his mask over his features. She gently poked his shoulder, her still scared mind thinking he was dead for a split second.
"Kika?" He stirred and cracked open an eye to see who was disturbing his slumber.
"Shizi? What's wrong?" He yawns out and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "It happened again, didn't it?" She shyly nodded, her ears drooped and her eyes on the floor.
"I-I was wondering if-if you didn't m-mind..." She didn't finish because the older Shinobi reached over and swathed her in a hug to bring her onto the mattress with him. His sudden gentleness caused her to cry lightly into his covered neck. Kakashi hummed soothingly as she cried, his long fingers running through her unbraided hair and his free hand to run her back- where he couldn't help but unintentionally cringe as he ran over the raised skin of her diagonal, thickly jagged scar.
"Just breathe, Shizi. You'll be perfectly fine, I promise. C'mon, baby girl, breathe." Shizi followed after Kakashi's smooth breathing until she stopped crying. Her tears dried and she fell asleep against the man's bare chest, gently purring in her own. Kakashi chuckled at her and slowly laid down on his back with the neko held against him. He subconsciously shifted around so he was between her and the door in case someone or something happened, he'd protect her.
"Sleep well, Shizi. I love you." Whispers Kakashi as he sweetly kissed the top of her hair.
"Love... you... Kika..." Shizi mumbles in her sleep as she cuddles closer to the lithe male with her. He smirks in amusement and let's his eyes drift closed. But his peace was ruptured when Shizi started to spasm and whimper in her sleep once more. Kakashi sat up and held the tiny girl to his chest in a loose ball while rocking side-to-side and making gently soothing sounds.
"It's okay, Shizi, you're just dreaming. Everyone is fine, just breathe." He whispers continually in her cat ears until she relaxed almost 30 minutes later. He slowly laid back down, the girl still against his chest. He curled his arms around her frail body and ran his hands through her soft hair. He stayed awake for another hour to ensure she was truly asleep before drifting off himself. Kakashi was surprised when he wasn't awoken by the rising sun like he usually was. Shizi was still asleep in her curled position against his chest like the kitten she was. He gently slid her off his body onto the soft sheets before stretching out and sitting up on the edge of the bed. He pulled a tight muscle shirt over his wild silver hair and went out to the kitchen to make them breakfast. He was just starting to finish up and place the food on plates when he heard Shizi cry out in her sleep again. But this time, it seemed different, she was actually speaking this round.
"No, stop! Please! What did I do wrong?! Stop, it hurts!" Kakashi raced into the room to see what was making her say this, and he saw she was splayed out on her back with her hands up over her head like they were strapped down.
"Shizi?" That's when she started to thrash around in phantom pains and scream at the top of her lungs. Kakashi rushed to her side, kneeling on the bed while gently but firmly gripping her wrists to keep her from hurting herself.
"Shizi, you need to wake up! Shizi!" Her body reacted to his voice, her eyes snapping open but still looked like she was lost in her nightmare. Her stormy eyes started to water and spill over her lashes. Kakashi let her wrists go so he could envelop her in a kind hug.
"You're okay, Shizi, I promise."
"I remember that night, the night Kandahar-sensei locked Gomon inside me. It hurt, really badly. He didn't think I was going to survive the night, he was hoping I wouldn't. He was trying to kill me, Kika."
"But you survived, Shizi. That's what matters, you're here with me and you're okay." Shizi nodded and took in deep breaths to calm her pounding heart, Kakashi's scent filling her nose as she did.
"Why did he do this to me? Why did he make me a freak with a murderous demon inside then throw me out into a hateful world by myself."
"Kandahar's motives are his own. But you aren't alone anymore, you have me, and the team. We'll always be here for you, and we won't ever abandon you. We love you, I love you."
"I love you too, Kika. I'm sorry for bothering you so much." Kakashi chuckled at her apology and tightened his hold around her thin waist.
"You're never a bother, Shizi. Don't ever think you are."
"Thank you, dad."
"For what?"
"Always being there for me, I know it must be hard to live here in Konoha with someone like me weighing you down."
"I wouldn't have my life any other way. I love you and I don't care what others think. You are my everything, my daughter, and nothing will ever change that."
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Monsters
Fanfiction"The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies..." Shizi Yemao's pretty smile hides her secrets and her pretty eyes have cried too many tears. It's scary what her smile has come to hide, and she has gotten better at hiding the...
