The screaming voice still echoed in Khana's head after she jolted awake. It was her own, from not too long ago. Being an ANBU she was expected to deal with a lot of hard missions. And generally that wasn't a problem. Her team was strong. Sure, they'd slipped up a time or two, but who hadn't?
However, their most recent mistake had caused a lot of problems. Khana and the rest of her team had been kidnapped by someone they weren't even looking for. A stranger; someone not in the Bingo book and whom no one had reported rogue. If only he had been. Thankfully, they hadn't lost anyone on this mission. But she was starting to wonder if they had lost something more.
"Ugh," the young woman muttered as she detangled herself from the web of sweaty sheets. Just thinking about this was making her sick. She needed some air.
Sliding out of bed, the kunoichi padded over to the window, lifting it up and leaning out into the cool breeze. The girl was underdressed, as usual, the outside air giving her a refreshing chill. The soft chatter of insects and night birds helped the girl relax some and almost forget. Her boyfriend, Nagato, was outside the bedroom. She could hear him watching a late night show in the living room, but didn't want to bother him. Instead she tried to rub the goose bumps off her arms. A thin tank top and cotton panties weren't enough to keep the chill away, but she could still feel the sheen of a nervous sweat.
The voice of a TV personality drifted through the wall. It was a show the couple usually watched together but Khana had gone to bed early, claiming she wasn't feeling well. And she really wasn't feeling well, her mind still stuck on that night.
The sound of a neighbor's dog whining snapped her back to that filthy shack. Blindfolded and tied up, she couldn't see and she couldn't move. This was the worst position a shinobi could be in, is what she thought. That was before the blindfold had been yanked off by a secondary captor. Then her mind changed.
Her team mate, her best friend, bound, gagged, and naked, was in a much worse position than she was. The woman was whimpering and crying, something an ANBU never did. And when the man forced her to her knees - face in the dirt and ass in the air - she started to scream.
Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window
Go back to sleep
The door behind her clicked open. Startled, Khana whirled from the window with a gasp. But it was just Nagato, coming to check on her.
"Hey," he murmured, letting the door slowly close itself behind him. "I thought I heard something. You alright?"
"Yeah," Khana breathed, turning back towards the window. "Fine."
Crossing the room, the man picked up a light blanket that had fallen to the floor. "You'll catch a cold," he chided, half joking, "walking around like that." Draping the fleecy throw over her shoulders, Nagato wound his arms around Khana's waist. "Another nightmare?"
She nodded. "Same one. It's all I can see."
The Uzumaki didn't think that mentioning how the victim might feel would help the situation. He stayed quiet, wondering if Khana would go on.
"I feel so awful," she continued. "I could've done something! But I thought-I just thought that if we went along with them that no one would get hurt. I thought they wanted money. Or information. Not… that."
Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils,
See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do.
"But then it was too late."
"I know," Nagato soothed, hugging her close. "I know."
"She didn't deserve it."
"You didn't either," he said, reading her mind.
Counting bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
"I know, but just-!" Khana wailed pitifully, clutching her head. "The noises! I can't get them out of my mind! Her screaming…."
Go back to sleep
Go back to sleep
Go back to sleep
Nagato shushed her quietly. "I understand," he told her, even though they both knew he never could. "But it's late," he said, guiding the girl to their bed. "Go back to sleep." Once Khana was settled on her side, Nagato made his way around the end of the bed, pulling off his shirt and pants as he went, before sliding under the comforter. The TV was still on and the lights from the kitchen were leaking under the bedroom door, but those could wait until the morning. This was more important.
"Okay," Khana mumbled, letting herself be pulled in close by her boyfriend and nestling into his chest.
Nagato kissed the top of her head. "I'm here if you need me."
I'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason
I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and your choices son
They're one in the same, I must isolate you
Isolate and save you from yourself
"I do."