Everything had gone as normal—they'd done it hundreds; no, thousands of times and nothing had been any different. It was only as the night went by that things began to change. Both of them had managed to slip into sleep, even with how things were. They both had a lot on their minds, and so much had happened in a short space of time. Kukyo had come back after fourteen years of being away and having not seen each other—of missing each other that entire time. Of finding out that strange things were going on in the estate and that they both had been assigned to take a look at it and see if anything was happening and to take care of it if there was. The memories of the mission they had done together so long ago coming back to them; well, when they first met in general and when Daraku had gotten away. The memories of Kukyo's life in the estate, and how things had been for her before she had met Kakashi.

To be honest, when they had settled down, neither of them had been sure if they would be able to get to sleep—or if it would be easy to do so. That it might take them half the night to finally fall asleep, or it would be in bits and pieces, waking up after an hour and remaining awake for a while, only to fall asleep again. So to simply drift off like they did, after only a few minutes…it was surprising, to say the least. They were grateful for the rest they were getting, and at least Kakashi had remained that way. His sleep had been unbroken, with nothing disturbing him, unlike the night before, with no dreams—it was all blank. Whether the estate was having that effect on him, or he was just determined not to think about anything, he wasn't sure—but it was definitely better this way.

It wasn't the same for Kukyo, however. Although back when she had agreed to help out on the mission with Kakashi, her sleep had at least calmed, it had never fully gone away. It had faded when she travelled for those years after she left, only having a night here and there when she heard rumours or felt she was getting close. But now she was back in the estate; now the surroundings were just like they used to be and she was dealing with the idea that someone might be doing something here…it was causing them all again, and it didn't take very long before the images began to appear before her eyes. Just like always it was surround sound and high detail—like she was living it, and she knew it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Even if it faded to something she only had now and again, it would still remain. She would never be able to fully get rid of it, and when she did have it, it would always be as awful each time, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The images, the sounds, the memories…they all circled around her, everything she had experienced and gone through, reminding her of the pain and loneliness. Kakashi had saved her from it and taken her away, but he couldn't get rid of what had happened for all those years before he had turned up. Her nightmare continued, and she began to jerk and twitch, soft cries coming from her mouth as it started to overwhelm her. A frown of pain appeared on her face, tightening in distress but unable to get away from it; locked in her nightmare with nowhere to escape. She tried to run—to find a place to hide from all of the torment, but there was nothing. There was no way for Kukyo to tell herself it was just a dream; to use a technique to force it to the back of her mind and brush it aside like it didn't matter, because for her, at the moment, it was real. It was all occurring all over again.

She struggled against her bonds, the ninja coming towards her…

And she woke up, for a moment still unable to breathe, having to force herself to inhale and tell herself it was possible. She was dripping in sweat, shaking terribly and her heart was pounding in her chest, irregular and much faster than it should be. Her pupils were dilated as she glanced nervously around the clearing again and again, searching for her invisible pursuers, until abruptly her gaze landed on Kakashi. It was never something that had happened before—she had never had a nightmare, woken up and he had been there. But he was something good in her life that was utterly different to what was in her nightmares, and what Kukyo now focused on, slowly allowing her to stop shaking and her heartbeat and breathing to begin to return to normal.

But she wasn't right. She couldn't just sit here, lie back down and go to sleep—at least not yet. She needed a little more time first. And as such, Kukyo did what she'd done ever since she was young and she'd had those nightmares: she got up and went for a walk, passing by everything in the camp and heading into the trees. But it was as she did so that Kakashi's eyes flashed open; his dreamless sleep and years as a ninja meaning he was easily awoken by her movement, and glancing over to see her leave, he instantly got up to follow. This place didn't exactly put him at ease either, and so he couldn't imagine what it must be like for her.

As such, he followed on behind, not immediately revealing his presence, however. To begin with he simply watched her, seeing the way she stared aimlessly through the trees, walking in no particular direction and with no particular goal. She had something on her mind—and it wasn't anything good, and with how it was their first night staying at the estate, Kakashi got the feeling he knew what it was, finally deciding to talk to her, and so, going up to Kukyo, she snapped her head round in surprise, having had no idea he'd woken up and seen she was gone. But feeling a little guilty that he was now awake, she began apologetically,

"Sorry—did I wake you?"

But Kakashi shrugged at her words, shaking his head at the idea of Kukyo waking him up as he responded gently,

"I wasn't exactly sleeping deeply to begin with. But…are you okay? This place makes me feel unsettled, so it can't be easy on you. Is it making you have nightmares?"

Glancing down, she smirked, though Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he instantly noted it wasn't a happy one. It was accepting, enduring—knowing there was nothing more she could do, and this was evident as she said simply,

"I always get them anyway. It always haunts me. My father's still out there…and I don't know where he is."

Kakashi paused as Kukyo said this. He hadn't forgotten about Daraku; anything but. They had spoken about it earlier today and how he felt guilty about how having not managed to stop him—or at least capture him. Kukyo had placated him by saying she had never blamed him, and that if anything it had been more her fault because she hadn't been able to face him up front. She had comforted him, and they had moved on in their conversation, with Daraku moving to the back of his mind. But he had still been there—and with those words, he was only brought to the front once more. Kukyo had said she had been looking for him while she travelled, but had never come across him; but that one day he would want to take revenge on her. It was as this thought crossed his mind that Kakashi now spoke up and replied,

"Wait—do you think it's him?"

Kukyo considered it—not that she hadn't already from the very moment the messenger had approached her to tell her about what was going on in Konoha. Right from the beginning as she headed back to the village she had thought over the idea. She knew Daraku would want revenge on her, after all, and he had used the estate as his headquarters, doing all the experiments from there. Even if he wasn't fully going to make a move from there, there could be something he wanted to get. But there was a lot to take into account, and she knew it. She had to be rational here, prompting her response to be calm as she said,

"I can't sense him nearby. But this place…it just heightens things for me."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Kukyo glanced up to see Kakashi smiling down at her, being able to tell even through his mask. And with that one action, she felt the last after effects of her nightmare slipping away, and smirking back at him, she stated softly,

"Come on—we need to get some rest," before they both began to head back to the clearing, Kukyo knowing one thing for sure at least—

She wouldn't be able to do any of this if Kakashi wasn't here with her.