A long shadow glided through the air of an ancient world, weaving through wisps of cloud and leaving a trail of silvery dew drops behind, suspended in the air. The feeling of being human was lost, for the time being, as well as any sense of time. It was only this moment suspended like those dew drops from the clouds. The ground below couldn't be seen, though that was probably due to the fact that the shadow never looked downwards, only straight ahead. But suddenly, that lost sense of time returned, and the painting of clouds that surrounded the shadow on every side seemed to waver-flickering in and out of consciousness like a memory that was trying to play out, but couldn't. And a voice that could have been both male and female, mental as well as external, spoke.

"This was a peaceful time.."

The shadow couldn't tell if that voice was coming from itself. Suddenly plowed through another cloud up ahead before the peaceful scenery of the sky vanished totally, being sucked into a black void the long shadow spiraled into..and for a moment, all that could be heard, and even sensed, was the sound of someone breathing raggedly.


The sky glowed rose-gold, faintly illuminating the buildings rising up on either side of Amedoru as she walked through the village with downcast eyes and with her feet dragging. There was that nagging clench deep down in her gut again, the one that never failed to alert her to danger, and she had been feeling it for a while now. But it was..strange, this time. She couldn't even remember when she had started walking through the village, as well as why she was even doing so in the first place. Her gut instinct was one she never doubted, but this time felt different,off, simply because she hadn't sensed any sign or presence of danger at all.

At least, not yet.

The ground was coarse and dusty underneath her bare feet, though the absence of her shoes wasn't a concern... though it did make a niggling thought jerk at Amedoru's memory-almost like a reminder of something. There was a heavy fog of silence all around her-the kind of silence that made a high-pitched whining sound erupt in one of her ears. It was so unlike the village she knew that bustled with life and laughter almost everyday. Amedoru finally lifted her eyes from the ground as she thought to herself and cast them side to side, eyeing the buildings she passed by with an ever-tightening ball of nervousness winding up inside her. And there was something about the buildings that she noticed, something so obvious and disturbing she couldn't believe she had overlooked it the first time.

They all looked to be on the verge of collapsing.

Paint-peeled walls and broken down doors of solemn buildings replaced the ones she saw everyday that usually looked to be full of warmness and comfort. A low, cautious sound hummed in her throat, but Amedoru didn't dare to open her mouth. If she did..she had the feeling something bad would happen, something bad that would disrupt the silence around her. Something bad that would find her before she found it.

Where was everyone?

What happened to the village?

..why was she alone?

All these were logical questions that should have been asked..but weren't. Maybe it was because Amedoru was too lost in her confusion to come to terms fully with the situation she was in..or maybe it was because she knew exactly what was happening, and she was trying to figure it out silently.

She passed by the large window of a clothes shop, and her somber and confused face stared back at her from all the shattered cracks and fragments. It brought her back from whatever daze she was in, because as soon as she looked into her reflections eyes, her head recoiled back, and her reflection did the same.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself quietly as her voice came back to her.

She searched her reflection, but jumped as another crack zig-zagged down the full length of the mirror out of nowhere. Being superstitious was never really a part of Amedoru's personality.. even though she never fully dismissed certain stories Kakashi used to tell her as a child.. but as soon as that racing crack in the mirror stopped, Amedoru tore her eyes away from the sight and hurried on her way. To where, she wasn't sure. The buildings up ahead were the same ruined ones as the buildings being left behind with every footstep , and Amedoru's quickened pace gradually began slowing down until she came to a complete stop right there in the middle of the street.

..the completely straight street that was missing all the twists and turns and corners she was sure she had traveled through at least a hundred times.

Now the feeling in her gut intensified, making Amedoru wrap an arm around her stomach as beads of sweat began forming on the back of her neck. There was a mantra being chanted mentally that was telling Amedoru to calm down, but she couldn't help it. She was starting to feel scared. A longing to find someone, anyone, became too powerful to hold back, and as Amedoru unwound her arm from around her stomach she started walking forwards again with heavier footfalls. The pricking pain from her raw fingers oddly helped to settle her nerves and helped her to keep a calm mind, just like her brother always seemed to have.

Her brother..

That was probably the one person Amedoru wanted to find the most now. He would be able to explain what was happening...and Amedoru wouldn't feel completely safe until she was with him.

But then, something happened. She could hear them.

Her team.

Her friends.

The people she considered family.

Her brother and her best friend.

It was all of their voices, rising and lowering in blood-curdling pitches. And they were..screaming. Screaming like they were in the worst pain possible-like they were..like they were dying. Amedoru's hands entangled themselves in her hair as she clutched at her head in despair. The front of her head began to ache as the screaming kept intensifying, filling her up from the inside out as she felt her eyes widen so large they felt like they would pop right out of her skull.

"No..no no no"

This was one of her greatest fears. The people she cared about were in trouble, and Amedoru couldn't help them. And she was loosing them-she could feel it. Amedoru choked on her own breath as she tore off down the road with her arms pumping and her face contorted in fear. Her heart following a close pattern: race, stop, shatter, repeat.

"Shikamaru! Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke!" she cried, glancing around wildly "Kakashi! Where are you?!"

She waited a moment for a response, but the only voice she heard was her own as it echoed back to her. Distraught, broken, desperate.

Scared.

Amedoru came to a slow stop as she spun on her heel slowly. As she did so the screaming finally shut off fast and clean, like flipping a switch. Silence came again, but this time there was something else to fill the void-Amedoru's own, ragged breathing. Her body stiffened as someone shuffled up behind her, and she ignored the instinct to take off running again, blinded by the possibility of who it could be.

She should have ran.

"Naruto, what happened? What's wrong?" Amedoru asked frantically as she ran up and grabbed Naruto by the shoulder, worried eyes scanning all over his face. It was completely drained of all color, and his eyes were dull and lifeless-lacking the fiery, contagious spirit in them that Amedoru admired. There was no other way to describe it. Naruto was..lifeless.

And Amedoru just couldn't accept that.

"Naruto, come on! Talk to me!", Amedoru shouted as she stepped up to Naruto again and grabbed him by his arms, giving him a hard shake. And while that dead expression on his face didn't change, the unmistakable sound of something like a low whine hummed in Naruto's throat. "That's it, you can do it!", Amedoru said again, this time in a softer voice..but when something moved from the corner of her eye with that same, slow shuffle like Naruto had..Amedoru turned her head to the side mechanically with her heart hammering in her chest again.

"Not you too.."

Sakura's face mirrored every last detail of Naruto's blank expression, right down to the eyes-lifeless, empty, dead. The eyes were the worst part.

"W-what happened to you guys? Where's everyone else?" Amedoru asked as she looked between Sakura and Naruto, but the both of them just stood there and watched her blankly. "Where's Sasuke?"

Simultaneously, Naruto and Sakura opened their mouths and screamed. It came out as one long wail, filled with so much pain it was unbelievable, especially since neither Sakura's or Naruto's face changed during it all. It was like their voices did all the describing for them. There was no need for them to show it outwardly.

Naruto and Sakura started to advance towards her. No..no, it wasn't Naruto and Sakura. It couldn't be, it made no sense. None of this made sense. Nothing was ever going to make sense.

Amedoru brought up her hands in front of her as she started taking steps backwards. Her eyes lowered down to the pouch at her hip briefly. But just the thought of using a weapon to defend herself against her friends made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't give up on them yet. There had to be something she could do.

There was more distance between Amedoru and her teammates than she thought, giving her time to concoct an impulsive idea like she usually did in most worst-case scenarios. But as she tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground, the truth became clear. She had nothing.

"Naruto..Sakura..this isn't you!" Amedoru said, and it was strange to her how strong her voice sounded. It wasn't completely lost over the sound of screaming. "Whatever this is, you have to fight it!"

Naruto and Sakura's face didn't change, but they both stopped walking towards her. And Naruto..Naruto looked like he wanted to say something, like he was trying to force the words from his throat...but he just couldn't do it. Right at that moment all Amedoru wanted was for her friends to snap out of it. All she wanted was for Naruto's eyes to light up again, for him to smile his lopsided, goofy grin at her and say "believe it!" like he usually did. All she wanted was for Sakura to get that annoyed look on her face that made that one vein stick out before she smacked Naruto upside the head with all her might. For Sasuke to walk up to them all as he shook his head and called them all idiots, even though Amedoru could always see the hint of a smirk around his lips afterwards. All she wanted was for her brother to come and save the day like he always did with his usual, warm eye smile, with Shikamaru right beside him, bumping his shoulder against Amedoru's..but there's a fine line between what is wanted, what is needed, and what is actually given.

At least..there's supposed to be.

Something inside Amedoru killed her instinct to keep moving away from Naruto and Sakura, and at first Amedoru wondered if it was because even her body knew that trying to get away wouldn't do any good, that it wouldn't bring Naruto and Sakura back... that it was pointless, because someone was already pulling her back on her feet by her underarms.

"S-Shikamaru, oh my-" Amedoru spluttered in relief as she turned her head to the side.

Shikamaru didn't answer her, instead opting for constantly glancing back over his shoulder with eyes that were stressed and calculating. It was like he was waiting for someone to attack.

"Come on, we gotta go" Shikamaru said in a hushed voice as soon as Amedoru was back on her feet, and he grabbed her hand and gave it a firm tug, one that Amedoru resisted at first.

"I can't leave them" Amedoru said as she looked back at Naruto and Sakura..but they were gone. There was no trace they were even there, no footprints, no scent.. "T-that's not possible. They were just here, you saw them!"

"We gotta go, Amedoru" Shikamaru said with sadness in his voice, and this time, when he tugged again on her hand, Amedoru let him lead her away.

Unless she was under a gen-jutsu, she saw no explanation for Naruto and Sakura disappearing like that. Especially when the fastest they could go was a staggering shuffle. Buildings whizzed past, the gates of the village coming into view up ahead, and Amedoru squeezed Shikamaru's hand tight, just to make sure he was real...and also because all they had to cling onto for the moment were each other. It gave her hope again, and she even started to feel a little safer.

Amedoru kept silent until both she and Shikamaru were concealed on all sides by darkly illuminated trees, the quiet sound of the leaves rustling past them providing a familiar, comforting sound.

"Everyone's gone, aren't they? Your team..my team.." Amedoru said in a quiet voice, and Shikamaru gave a small nod from beside her. "Shikamaru, where's my brother? And how did you find me? Naruto and Sakura back there..they weren't themselves."

"I don't know" Shikamaru said quietly. " But we can't stay here. Whoever's doing this..I think they're closer than we think."

Amedoru stopped abruptly on a branch, and not long after, she heard Shikamaru do the same.

"I don't know either", she said as her eyes cast downwards. "And it's starting to drive me crazy. We can't keep running like this, what if everyone else is back at the village? They need our help."

Shikamaru remained silent, and it bothered Amedoru a great deal that she couldn't fully express to him just how concerned and worried she was. She was pretty sure half the things that came out her mouth didn't make sense..just like everything else that was going on. The only thing she could process at the moment was that the two of them were all that was left, and that they were running. And that doing so had to mean that whoever destroyed the village..and possibly everyone in it, was far too powerful for either one of them to even hope standing against, even together.

But no matter how powerful the enemy, Amedoru knew she and Shikamaru would never run from it, like they were doing now. They would never leave their friends behind. Even if the chances of beating the enemy were zero to none, Amedoru knew that she and Shikamaru would go down swinging, right to the very end.

"This isn't us" Amedoru finished as she lifted her eyes..and the sight before her made her blood turn to ice.

Shikamaru was gone.

Breath staggering and with a hand outstretched like she could somehow pull Shikamaru back to her, Amedoru turned around slowly, only to find herself back at the village..and this time, all the broken down buildings from before were enshrouded in angry, bright orange flames. Fire was everywhere. Smoke traveled down Amedoru's throat and up her nose, and she began coughing uncontrollably, stumbling for a moment as she became lost in her senses. Even with her eyes shut from coughing she could still make out every last detail of the flames eating away at the buildings. But despite it all, she could only think of one thing.

Naruto

Sakura

..and now Shikamaru.

All of them had vanished right before her eyes. And Amedoru had had enough.

Whipping out a kunai from her pouch, Amedoru covered her nose and mouth with an arm. The metal handle of the kunai was beginning to burn her hand that was wrapped around it. She wasn't even sure why she had it out. She still didn't know what she was fighting, exactly..and she couldn't see it. But as if in response, her eyes began to get that feeling again-the one where her vision tunneled tight until it improved drastically. Colors became brighter and more truer, in a sense. And more detail could be seen, enough to see her way through all the black smoke around her.

"I'm not scared..I'm not scared.. "Amedoru chanted in a loud, angry, determined voice like that alone could drive back the flames and smoke.

But then, faster than a blink..it all vanished. All that was left was complete darkness, so much that Amedoru couldn't tell whether or not the solid thing she was standing on was the ground. She lifted a hand and found she could see it in the darkness. The illumination it gave off was faint, but it was enough to make out all five fingers and even the bright pink, raw parts around the cuticles that had been picked at mercilessly.

Amedoru blinked once just as dark, loud laughter echoed around her, making all the muscles in her body clench so tightly it hurt.

It sounded familiar.

As soon as Amedoru's eyes were opened again, the first thing she saw made her brows furrow together in confusion. At first it looked like a misshapen pile..but as Amedoru's vision focused more, she realized she was completely wrong. It was a pile..but from bottom to top, it consisted of everyone she knew and cared about. Faces she saw everyday were there-the man who ran the shop where she and Shikamaru got their hot chocolate from, that old couple who owned the book shop..even Iruka-Sensei. All of their bodies thrown on top of each other carelessly.

And as soon as Amedoru saw who all made up the top half of the pile..as soon as she saw the dead, glassy eyes of Lee and Gai..the top of Naruto's blonde head, with Sakura's, Sasuke's, and even Gaara's lifeless forms nearby..as soon as she saw the full view of Shikamaru's still body with his eyes and mouth opened like he had died in the middle of a shout..something inside her snapped so much that she was blind to the still, watching figure sitting right at the very top of the pile, with his feet rested flat on Shikamaru's chest.

Amedoru sprinted towards the pile with tears blazing down her cheeks and with her eyes wide with shock, all the while screaming and sobbing at the same time so that a horrible sound filled the air. She threw out an arm as she neared the pile, and even from the distance remaining she could see herself approaching fast in Lee's doll-like eyes. But just as she was about to close that distance, the shadowed figure leaped down from the top of the pile of bodies, landing so close to Amedoru she nearly smacked right into his chest.

And the scent that man gave off..it was too familiar.

Amedoru looked up slowly before locking eyes with a pair of reptilian, icy, evil ones.

"It's you..y-you did this.." Amedoru whispered as Orochimaru began nodding, his mouth splitting wide open into a grin. Once again she found herself taking steps backwards, and something inside her was arguing for her to stop, that it wasn't like her to be doing so, even though she wasn't as brave as she would like to be...but at this point instinct was the main controller of Amedoru's mind.

Another step..and another..

She tripped over something and fell backwards, landing hard on the ground. Amedoru twisted her head to the side to see what it was, all the while Orochimaru began a stream of cackling again.

"So sorry you had to find out like this..though I must say it was only a matter of time."

Amedoru locked eyes with Kakashi's lifeless ones...and if not for his un-covered Sharingan, it would have been onyx vs onyx. An identical pair. Amedoru took in the sight of her slain brother, who was lying chest down, arms on other side of him. The kunai in his hand was covered in blood. That's when Amedoru felt the cool liquid she was sitting in, and as she raised a shaking hand, all she could see was the color red. It was everywhere. All over the ground, or the darkness, or whatever it was..it was all over the back of her brothers flack jacket. It was in his hair, it was running down the sides of his face.

"Looks like big brother won't be here to save you anymore" Orochimaru crooned. " And all because there was no one there to save him.."

It was all her fault.

It was all her fault.

All

her

fault..

Amedoru didn't realize she had moved, or that she had shifted into an animal form until the rage-filled sound of her loud growl sang back to her in her own ears..until she felt herself slicing through the air as she leaped for Orochimaru..until she felt his iron grip around her throat that forced her to release her jutsu.

Orochimaru leaned in close, licked his lips, and then whispered into Amedoru's ear.

"You put them in danger. And it's all..your..fault."

"NO!" Amedoru wailed as white light filled her vision, and the hold around her throat released as felt Orochimaru being repelled far back away from her with the sound of crackling lightening surrounding her, racing across her skin and through her hair.

Kakashi's chilled blood started to drip from her fingers, and she collapsed on her knees as she began to shudder violently with a wail building up in her throat. Her brother was dead..they were all dead..

Smoke filled Amedoru's lungs again as she blinked. She was back in the village, the light from the flames still eating away at the buildings making the memory of being surrounded in complete darkness sound completely ridiculous.

"This isn't possible..t-this..w-what..?" Amedoru stuttered as she picked herself up from the ground with tear tracks drying on her face.

"There she is!" A voice behind Amedoru shouted, making her whirl around to face it. It was a random villager..and he was completely unharmed. In fact, it was like he was oblivious to the destruction of the village behind him.

"Well what are we standing here for? Let's finish this!", another voice shouted, making Amedoru whirl around on her heel again.

But instead of finding another random villager, she was met with a sea of faces, all glowering at her with hatred. She was surrounded.

Amedoru couldn't form a single word right as all the villagers began closing in on her, most of them holding some type of weapon that was already raised to strike at her. She noticed movement stirring among the crowd, pushing and maneuvering until another group pf people stepped through the front line and directly into Amedoru's line of sight.

"No..no, you were all dead. I just saw you, it was my fault!" Amedoru choked as the new line of people began advancing towards her, all of them with sorry faces.

Hinata

Gai

Sasuke

Naruto

Sakura

Lee

Gaara

..Shikamaru and Kakashi.

Her brother was the one advancing towards her the most, with both his arms held up, palms facing her.

"Easy, Amedoru..easy."

Amedoru shook her head as she took a step back. This didn't feel right..it wasn't right. This couldn't be her brother walking towards her..this couldn't be her friends all looking at her the way they were..it couldn't be.

More people began flanking her brother on either side-Chunin and Jounin, though it felt like they were all coming at her from all sides.

"Sorry, kid" Shikaku said, and for once that stoic expression he shared with Shikamaru was completely wiped from his face, leaving only regret.

"Little Hatake..", Gai said with tears in his voice as he walked up right next to Kakashi, placing a hand on his shoulder.

They were ghosts about to take their revenge, that had to be the only explanation for everyone being there.

A muffled sob pricked at Amedoru's ears, making her eyes flick to the side. Shikamaru was gritting his teeth together with tears glistening in his eyes. Naruto, Lee, and Sakura had them too.

"I'm sorry", Amedoru whispered as tears of her own filled up her eyes, making her vision go completely blurry. She was grateful for it. She didn't want to see anymore.

A sudden, quick jolt to Amedoru's abdomen made the breath completely leave her body. And as she started falling backwards, somersaulting through the darkness from before, the last thing she was able to make out was Orochimaru standing before her..his face changing rapidly from his own, to Kabuto's..and then to Sasuke's, with that curse mark all over him.

The sky wasn't rose-gold anymore. It was a deep, deep red.


Kakashi's eyes twitched underneath closed eyelids as one of his hands clenched into a fist. He wasn't dreaming, and he wasn't awake either..but still, there was something in the air that made his body want to go into defensive position, even if he was asleep. A disturbance of some kind. Kakashi's hand clenched itself even tighter. But then gradually, it loosened up until it laid completely flat again.

That's when he heard it.

Terrified, hysteric screaming made Kakashi shoot up straight in bed, and for a couple of seconds, he couldn't move a muscle. His mind began racing as he stared directly into the blackness of his opened door, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the screaming, and more importantly, who was screaming in the first place. And after those few seconds of complete disorientation, Kakashi finally reacted.

With his heart hammering in his chest, he snatched the kunai he kept underneath his pillow before scrambling out his bed, peeling his cover back so swiftly he nearly tripped himself up. He called out Amedoru's name as he flew down the hall, swinging himself into Amedoru's room with his kunai raised. The first thing he saw was Amedoru's opened window, and the idea of an intruder made Kakashi look at Amedoru's bed. It was empty, and it was a mess. The sheets were rumpled, and one corner of it had detached itself from the mattress it covered. Amedoru's pillow was at the foot of the bed, and her covers were a twisted jumble that cascaded down the side of her bed.

And right next to the bed was his sister screaming madly, lying stomach up like she had fallen.

Kakashi immediately rushed over and knelt next to Amedoru on the ground, eyes scanning over her thrashing form as he looked for any injuries. He couldn't see anything physically wrong with her..but she was still screaming. And then Kakashi figured out why.

"Amedoru, it's alright! Wake up!", Kakashi shouted over his sisters screaming, pressing down on her shoulders to stop her from thrashing.

Kakashi kept calling out to Amedoru, but she just wouldn't snap out of it, even when he gave her a few firm shakes by the shoulders. And the screaming never died down either, but Kakashi could tell she was going to scream herself hoarse from how scratchy it was starting to sound.

"Amedoru!" he called again, this time with panic clear in his voice. It was like trying to bring somebody back from the dead, Kakashi thought briefly, but pushed it away. It bothered him. And the state Amedoru was in..it was starting to scare him. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this panicked before, not including the numerous times he almost watched Amedoru get herself killed, that is. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!", Kakashi shouted, and Amedoru's body convulsed violently to the side, like she was having a seizure, almost. Amedoru was so deep into her nightmare that for a few moments Kakashi debated with himself over whether or not to use his Sharingan to bring his sister back to consciousness. It would be like a sedative, almost, with the way he could use it to force Amedoru to calm down. But Kakashi was glad when he decided it would be futile. He never wanted to use the Sharingan on his sister. Ever. And besides..the chances of it working were zero to none. Amedoru would have to be awake and conscious for it to have any effect on her, and the way things were looking now..the idea of her coming back seemed impossible.

But then Amedoru's eyes snapped open. But instead of relief, Kakashi felt nothing but a new wave of terror. Her eyes were open, but they were wide and unseeing. She was still trapped inside her nightmare. Amedoru's eyes began flickering rapidly to the sides as her screaming shifted into something like a wail.

''m-my fault..its all my fault!"

That was all Kakashi could make out among the other things Amedoru was wailing. He looked right into her glazed-over eyes, and a thought came to him. The chances of Amedoru being under a Gen-Justu were unlikely, but he had to do something. His sister was suffering before his eyes, and Kakashi had had enough. He moved his hands from Amedoru's shoulders and placed a hand on either side of his sisters face. And as he did so, her back arched up from the ground as she wrapped her hands around Kakashi's wrists so tightly it made him give a small grunt. This was a special strength with which Amedoru was using to hold onto her brother-the kind of strength that was animal, that came from fear and adrenaline.

"Release!", Kakashi shouted, and Amedoru went limp, her eyes fluttering closed slowly until it looked like she was sound asleep.

Kakashi didn't let go of Amedoru's face as he breathed heavily, feeling the slickness of the cold sweat that covered Amedoru's face. She was soaked to the skin all over, it looked like. Kakashi doubted it would take long for Amedoru to come around, but he still didn't know if he should try and wake her yet. But suddenly Amedoru's eyes snapped open, and she jerked upright with that tight hold still around Kakashi's wrists. She glanced wildly around her until she realized her brother was there.

"Y-you were dead. Everyone was dead..Orochimaru k-killed..everyone was gone. It was my fault" Amedoru stuttered in broken fragments as she began hyperventilating, involuntarily squeezing Kakashi's wrists again as she gasped for breath.

"Ssh, it's alright. You're alright", Kakashi reassured as he brushed away the few stray tears resting just underneath Amedoru's eyes with his thumbs. Amedoru had stopped talking, but she was still struggling for breath. "Ame, look at me", Kakashi commanded softly. Amedoru looked at him after a few seconds. " Breath with me, alright? It was just a dream. You were dreaming, everything's okay now."

Kakashi took a deep breath, and Amedoru copied his movement. The both of them sat there like that for a few moments, breathing together until Amedoru had calmed down...though she was still shaking. Kakashi moved so he was sitting next to Amedoru, and he grabbed the side of her head with a hand and used it to rest her head in the spot between his neck and collarbone.

"Do you want to talk about it?", Kakashi asked carefully, but Amedoru shook her head.

"Something bad is gonna happen", Amedoru said instead. " I don't want anything bad to happen again, Kakashi."

"It was just a dream", Kakashi reassured again, almost like he was comforting himself as much as he was his sister. "It was just a dream.."

Kakashi sat with Amedoru for a long time, softly talking to her about random things-anything to take her mind off whatever it was exactly she had dreamt about- until gradually, he could hear her breathing settle down, and couldn't feel her body shaking anymore. She was finally asleep again. Kakashi looked down with concerned eyes, staring down at his sisters still sweaty face, her brows lightly creased together.

With a sigh, Kakashi carefully scooped Amedoru into his arms and laid her gently back onto her bed, pulling the cover over her. He walked over to the open window nearby, and as he stared out into the darkened treeline, his face turned stony. Amedoru hadn't had nightmare since she was just a little kid..at least, Kakashi was certain of it. But Amedoru never had one as bad as this, that much he knew without a doubt. Amedoru's nightmares were always silent, and she was always the one to come to his room in the middle of the night, asking to stay with him until she felt better to go back to her room and sleep on her own . It was a nuisance back then, Kakashi admitted with a sigh, but he never minded. All he cared about was that Amedoru felt better afterwards, and that she always knew she could come to him when she felt scared.

A breeze ghosted over Kakashi's face as he thought to himself, and it lightly wavered the little beads of sweat that had formed on the side of his face. Nightmares weren't new to Amedoru, but the sleepwalking still was, even though it hadn't happened in a while. But the fact that both were still happening to his sister concerned him. And there was still the fact that Amedoru had woken up only thanks to the release jutsu..even though there was no one there to put Amedoru under a gen-jutsu in the first place. That is, no one was there when Kakashi had shown up. There was still the fact that Amedoru's window was open all the time. Someone could have gotten to Amedoru easily without Kakashi realizing it at first. Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes narrowed. No..if someone were to come in through Amedoru's window, he knew he could get to them before they could even reach Amedoru's bed. But there was still the nightmare itself that made Kakashi think harder. It was difficult to understand Amedoru while she was stuttering, but he could understand clearly that Orochimaru was there in her nightmare.

"..young Amedoru seems to posses certain..qualities that I find particularly unique.."

Orochimaru's voice slithered into Kakashi's mind. He still wasn't sure why exactly Orochimaru had been so fixated on Amedoru that day of the Preliminaries, and it unnerved Kakashi to no end. But if Orochimaru was really after Amedoru, he would have went for her during the attack on the village the day of the final rounds. He would have made a direct attempt and come after Amedoru personally by now...like he did with the Hokage. Like he suspected he would do with Sasuke, soon enough. But the fact that he was present in Amedoru's nightmare had to be coincidence..but what if Kakashi's suspicions were right, and Orochimaru was the reason Amedoru couldn't wake up? What if Orochimaru had somehow figured out a way to cast a gen-jutsu on Amedoru from wherever he was hiding out at? It still didn't add up.

Kakashi scanned the line of trees again and saw no one there. But he still shut Amedoru's window quickly, anyways.

He walked back over to Amedoru's bed and sat down slowly, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees. Amedoru was sound asleep, turned over on her side so that she was facing Kakashi. Strange things were happening to her, there was no reason to deny it anymore. But no matter how much Kakashi tried to make the pieces fit, they just wouldn't. And he could tell Amedoru was trying to do the same thing every day. He could see it.

He noticed the way Amedoru's brows were still lightly furrowed together, like she was concentrating hard on falling asleep peacefully, and Kakashi let loose a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. He was Amedoru's older brother, and it was his job to make sure nothing hurt her. It was his job to make sure things like this didn't get the chance to happen. It was his job to make sure he had the answers, instead of struggling to find them, along with his sister.

"I'm not doing a very good job, am I?", Kakashi asked out loud as he eyed Amedoru's sleeping form.

When she didn't shift, didn't respond, Kakashi leaned over and brushed back some more sweaty tendrils of hair that were sticking to her face. And before he could pull himself back, he leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

He would stay with her the rest of the night, just in case she had another nightmare. Besides..Kakashi knew that even if he were to go back to his own room, he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, even if he tried.


A young Amedoru jerked softly awake, and as she sat up slowly with her cover clutched tight in her hands, she scanned her eyes around her room. Nothing there, just like always. She tried settling down and going back to sleep , but her mind kept racing to no end. There was only one solution-only one sure way to put her mind at ease.

She crept down the hall softly until she came to a stop at her brother's door, and she peeked in through the little crack his door made before stepping inside. Kakashi was lying on his stomach, and Amedoru walked around his bed until she could see his face. A part of her wanted to turn around and walk back to her own room solely because she didn't want to wake up her brother when he was sleeping so peacefully. Even at her young age she knew the job Kakashi had required all the strength and energy he had, and she didn't want to be the cause of something bad happening because he was tired on his next mission. But another part of her, the stronger part, was a scared little kid who just wanted to go back to sleep.

So, swallowing dryly, she reached out and lightly shook Kakashi by the arm. His eyes opened slowly not long after.

"Nightmare again?", Kakashi mumbled in a groggy voice, and Amedoru nodded once.

Without turning over, Kakashi reached out with an arm to peel back his cover, and Amedoru hurried to the other side of the bed and took the blanket from Kakashi. She turned over on her side, making sure to leave plenty of space for her brother, and allowed her eyes to close after a few minutes of listening to Kakashi's soft breathing. That, and just the simple fact that her brother was near, was enough to finally make her mind come to a soft, rolling stop.