He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually slept. It had been ever since he'd joined the ANBU that Kakashi had had trouble doing the normal things he had once found so effortless.
But then, maybe it wasn't the sleep deprivation that was bothering him, maybe it was the constant killing, but then maybe it was the blood he was practically bathing in, day and night,
Maybe it wasn't the blood that was bothering him, maybe it was the pain, so constant, and controlling, making every move he made difficult, controlling when he would be able to stand to eat without vomiting, when he could breathe without hearing that odd wet sound, which he had long since deduced was blood in his lungs, he seemed to be getting it fixed every week.
Maybe it wasn't the pain, maybe it was the silence , so deafening, maybe it was the fact that no one was there to tell him that it was okay, that he actually had a reason to do what he was doing, maybe it was the fact that there was no one there to hold him through the night when he wanted to scream as hard as he could, maybe it was the fact that there was no one there to kiss him softly enough to make him close his eyes, so that he could sleep.
But, until he had someone to do that, he could always dream... Or at least try to.
FIN