"Come child...come to me...come and release me"

Here we go again, I thought. I've heard this voice almost every night since I was five years old. I suppose its part of a nightmare, but when I wake up I can only remember that voice..and sometimes a big pair of golden eyes. When I was younger, I would go into my big brothers room and lie down with him until I felt better, but now I either sit outside or take walks through the small forest behind our house. Other times I meditate, focusing my chakra into flowing steadily from one body part to the next. The voice from my dreams doesn't sound threatening, but it still gives me the shivers. I stopped telling my brother about the voice a long time ago so he wouldn't worry, but every now and then he'll ask me about it. Sometimes I get the feeling that he doesn't really believe me when I tell him I don't hear them anymore.

Right now I'm sitting on the window ledge staring out into the faint line of trees illuminated with moonlight. Everything is still and quiet, but if I focus really hard I can hear light snoring coming from my brothers room down the hall. I smile to myself because usually he doesn't get a whole lotta sleep for various reasons. Scanning the forest-line again I notice a shadowy figure half hiding behind a tree. I lean forward trying to get a better look when something pops up in front of me.

"Ah!"

I crash to the ground, pulling my intruder with me. Thanks to the moonlight I can finally get a good look at his face. "Wow I think I'm losin it. Shoulda known it was you, Shikamaru."

His lip turns up at one corner of his mouth into a smirk. "If I was really an attacker, you'd be dead".

He helps me up and we both turn to look at my bedroom door, expecting my brother to fly in with all his ninja fury. We hear him turning over in bed before everything is quiet again. Gee, I really would be dead. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked Shikamaru.

"Not really. I got bored. Lets go do something."

I knew we had class tomorrow, but Shikamaru and I have been doing this kind of thing for a long time . Though usually he doesn't just pop up at my window.

"Alright."

After I slip on some shoes and make sure a few weapons and such are intact, I walk down the hall to my brothers room with Shikamaru behind me with his hands in his pockets. I push open the door softly, releasing the breath I had been holding when I see that my brother is still asleep on his side.

"Mmm..Amedoru... don't stay out too late. And tell Shikamaru I say the front door still works." He says just as I'm about to turn around and leave.

Shikamaru lets out an "Hmph."

"Don't worry, Kakashi. I wont be long," I say before turning around and closing the door softly behind me.

People say I look a lot like Kakashi, especially Gai-sensei, which is kinda funny because I don't think anyone's ever seen my brother without his mask on. Kakashi and I share the same spiky, silvery-grey hair, though I let mine grow to a little past my shoulders with bangs to frame my face on either side. I also have this stubborn cowlick on the back of my head that refuses to be pat down or smoothed over. Aside from that we both have the same onyx eyes with tiny specks of grey in them. I really don't remember much of my dad, or my mom for that matter. Kakashi told me dad died when I was around four years old, making Kakashi 13, and that mom died right after I was born. Ever since then Kakashi's been raising me on his own. Even though he and I don't spend much time together, I know he loves me. When he has time, he'll train with me and help me out with some jutsu techniques I have trouble with. Other times we find a spot to sit down and read together, me having a different book because according to Kakashi, I "wont understand what the story is really about." The one thing that makes our bond different from most people is the fact that we can feel each others pain. Literally. There are only a few people who know about it, like Shikamaru and a few of Kakashi's friends. None of us know why, or how it happens though, except for the fact that it only happens when one of us is seriously injured. For example, when I was seven years old, I accidentally walked right into a trap hidden under a pile of leaves, getting my leg broken as a result . Kakashi had come running, explaining to a panicking Shikamaru that he knew something was up as soon as he felt the burning in his leg. After getting it bandaged up at the hospital, Kakashi piggy-backed me home, telling stories to help me forget the pain. If I had to pick one person to be the one who I admire most, it would, without a doubt, be Kakashi. I hope one day I can be a great ninja, and even a great person like him.

As for Shikamaru, well he's my very best friend. I wont deny it, he's lazy and kinda complains a lot, but that's just a part of who he is, and he changes for nobody. It's one of the things I admire about him. I guess I can say that we balance each other out, learning things from each other in doing so. I can always count on him to be there for me, and I know he knows that I'm always gunna be there for him. We've been best friends since we were six, ever since we started the academy. We usually spend most of our time together, whether it be lying down in the field watching clouds, or running around Konoha doing whatever. Every now and then he'll challenge me to a game of Shogi, which he always wins at. He's got one of the most intelligent and strategic minds out there. If I could sum up our friendship in one word, it would be this : Infinite.

I make sure to lock the front door on our way out, breathing in a lungful of the steady night air. I didn't get a chance to look at the clock before we left the house, but I'm guessing its around 2:00 am. I don't have any idea where Shikamaru and I are going, but its something I've gotten used to. Whenever we take walks like this, its usually to nowhere in particular. We walk until we decide its time to go home and retrace our footsteps to get back. On occasion we also like to go down to the lake to skip rocks and watch this family of ducks that have a nest inside a small cave by the embankment. There's four of them, including the mother. They never show themselves during the daytime, which is really weird, so Shikamaru and I try to get a good look at them in the nighttime when they all waddle out from their nest to play in the water. There's one duckling that stands out from the rest. While the others are a frosty white, he's a dark, chocolaty brown. He rarely joins the rest of his family in the water, instead opting for sitting on the embankment, watching. I think he's afraid of the water. One day I hope Shikamaru and I will get to see him face his fear.

There are a few lights on along the street, and a few shops are still illuminated and open for business. Our walk is silent until Shikamaru says

"You were up because of that voice again, huh?" He was the only one that knew about it aside from Kakashi.

"Yeah. I've been fine for about three days until tonight."

I look up and see two moths fluttering under one of the streetlights.

"You make it sound like there's something wrong with you." Shikamaru says, and I make a small sound somewhere between a laugh and a scoff.

" I've been hearing voices since I was five. Of course there's something wrong with me."

Shikamaru thinks a moment before answering.

" Well, I guess we're all just a little crazy then."

One of my favorite shops is still open, and Shikamaru and I walk inside before ordering a hot chocolate that's always available no matter what the season is. We've been here so many times that we always get our drinks for half price. I think over what Shikamaru told me about hearing the voices before raising my mug up to him.

"To my best friend, who is wise beyond his years."

He smirks before lifting his cup to meet mine. "Hear, hear, young silkworm."

And as our mugs clink together I think to myself that I would wither away if I didn't have Shikamaru. After we finished our hot chocolate, we walked around some more, deciding to head back when the big clock that stands by a small bookshop tells us its almost four o'clock. Shikamaru walks me to the door, letting out a big yawn as soon as I unlock it.

"Wanna sleep over? We're both gunna have to get up in a couple hours anyway" I say

"Sure" he says before following me inside. He shuffles kinda slowly towards my dads old room, stopping routinely to get an extra blanket from the shelf next to the bathroom. I peek inside Kakashi's to check on him. He looks like he's asleep but I know he can still hear me.

"I'm back, bro." He gives me a thumbs up before telling me good night.

My dreams are free of voices the rest of the night.