Waking from the Nightmare

The warmth from the covers surrounded her. She could feel the sun heating her face as she rolled to the side while her head began to spin. The world around her was blurry as she opened her lavender eyes. She blinked a few times before it slowly started to clear up. She squeezed her eyes shut while the pain overwhelmed her mind. A groan escaped her lips as she held her head in one hand and used the other to push herself up. The mattress shifted as she moved. A hand was tenderly placed over hers. Her eyes snapped open to see a man. A look of concern was covering his angelic face. His mismatched eyes had worry flowing from them. She smiled reassuringly to him.

"It was just a strange dream, Kakashi." He smiled back at her and nodded.

"Do you remember it Aiko?" She shook her head as she laid back down. He laid back down beside her and pulled her closer to him as she drifted off into a light slumber.


"Aiko-chan!!!!" She turned, her soft white hair tickling her cheek as she did so. A young man with sunny blonde hair came running to her.

"Naruto-kun." She smiled at him as she launched himself into her arms. His orange clothing contrasted with her plain white dress and the plain red thin jacket she wore over her dress. The sleeves flared out after her elbows, reaching all the way down to her palms as she hugged her cousin. His slightly tanned and smooth face beamed up at her. The young man laughed as he let go of her and looked over his shoulder. She followed his gaze to see an older version of the blonde. "Yondaime!" She bowed as he came closer. He rolled his eyes at her reaction.

"Iie! You're my niece for goodness sake! And you married my pupil, Naruto's former teacher. You don't have to bow. After putting up with Kakashi I should be the one bowing." He smiled as she giggled behind her hand.

"Not funny, Atsushi-sama." Her husband sighed as he appeared next to her.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto beamed. She smiled at her husband.

"Kakashi, where were you this morning?" he sighed and sent a pointed glare towards his former sensei.

"I had a mission." She tilted her head to the side, showing that she wished to know more. "Nothing big. Just had to guard something for awhile. Anyways, I was wondering what was for dinner." She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"I see. So you can go out and eat before hand?" The Yondaime and Kakashi started to laugh.

"Niece, you've got to have more faith in your cooking!" Her uncle laughed. "You're one of the best cooks there is!!!!"

"I just wanted to know so I could laugh at the other Jounin." Her smile returned as she thought of the food.

"Well, I was just going to make some stir fry." Kakashi smiled and pecked her on the cheek.

"Thanks. I've got to go turn in my report." He bowed to his uncle-in-law and disappeared.

"Ano,ano! Can we go eat with Setsuko-nee-chan?!" Atsushi laughed at his son's behavior and shook his head.

"No, your mom already went to buy ingredients." Naruto pouted as he and his father left her sight to head for the home of the Hokage. She smiled as she thought of her own mother.

'I should go see her and dad.' She turned and began to head for the small house they had in town.

" . . . . bensha . . ." Aiko turned around, startled by the whisper behind her.

"Hello?" There was no response as the wind blew through the trees in the small clearing she had been walking through. Aiko brushed some of her hair behind her ear before slowly continuing with a watchful eye.


Aiko knocked on her parents' door only to have no response.

"Odd."

"Aiko-san!" She looked over her shoulder to see one of her parents' neighbors waving at her from across the street.

"Konnichiha!" She greeted them as she stepped off the porch. "Do you know where my parents are?"

"You just missed them. I'm not sure where they went."

"Arigatou." She bowed to him before wandering through the city. Her feet carried her body through crowded streets while her mind drifted away. No thoughts really came to her mind. It was just blank. There was nothing. Minutes seemed like seconds. Soon she found herself in front of the mission assignment table.

"Hatake-chan?" She blinked, snapping out her mindless thoughts and looked at a young chuunin.

". . . hai?" The chuunin looked at her, confused.

"What are you doing here? You aren't a ninja." She blinked before looking down embarrassed.

"G-gomen." The chuunin, coming to his own conclusion gave a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. Your husband doesn't have any dangerous missions." She looked up at him, surprise before smiling, deciding to go along with the idea.

"I know but . . ." The chuunin laughed and waved off the notion.

"Konoha is at peace. We have a good healthy flow of missions but none are dangerous. The other villages are the same. Everything is fine. Sometimes I think that shinobi are starting to become too extreme for all we have to do." She smiled and bowed in thanks before leaving. She began to make her way to the market, surprised at where she ended up. 'Odd . . . I've never really needed to check what missions Kakashi would get. None of them have ever been dangerous.' Her mind halted.

"Wait . . ." She muttered under her breath. "None?" She frowned, unable to place the uneasy feeling. She stopped as she passed an apple stand. An image flashed before her eyes.

A pale white arm with a strange light blue tint to it was reaching up and grabbing an apple off a recently burned tree with several blades sticking out of it.

She blinked and held her head as the image disappeared. She decided to simply use what she had at home. Her pace was faster than normal, her wish to get home overwhelming. She brushed passed people, weaving through the crowd without actually hitting a person.


Aiko was almost running through the forest. She tripped over a rock, sending her tumbling over the grass and down a hill. She rolled to a stop right in front of a lake. Aiko used her arms to push herself up and looked at her reflection. A sharp exhale came right before another image flashed before her eyes.

She was looking down, an arm twisted behind her back. In the reflection she saw Kakashi, holding her arm back. It startled her to see the reflection different than her. Dark green hair in a bun, blazing red eyes, strange colored skin, and a black gi.

Just a quickly as the image appeared it left. Aiko stared at the water, her eyes wide as her mind failed to grasp what was happening.

" . . . . suko . . ." Her head jerked up as she looked for whoever the whisper belonged to. Aiko shook as she stood before breaking into a sprint. Aiko saw her house and ran faster. As reached her door she threw it open and slammed it shut, knowing it was useless in keeping out the images but she still tried. She leaned against the door as her mind slowly began to calm her. She sighed and leaned against the door, not wanting to think of the images or whispers.


Aiko chopped the vegetables as she prepared dinner. She fought for control of her mind, trying not to let it drift. But it was battle she lost. Her mind drifted away, not really thinking as she mindlessly carried out her task. What was happening? What was she hearing? What had she seen? A sharp pain spread from her hand as she looked down. Her blood pooled out of her palm as stared at it. She watched the warm crimson liquid drip off onto the vegetables. A familiar feeling started to surface. She concentrated on the blood, amazed by it. For some reason, she could see it taking shape in her mind. She could feel the blood start to boil on her hand as it began to move.

"Aiko!" Her head snapped up, her gaze resting on her husband. He rushed to her side, pressing a dish towel over the wound.

"Kakashi . . ." Her mind was dazed as she tried to place what has happening.

"Come on, let's get that taken care of." He spoke to her, worried as he stared at the wound. Aiko let her gaze drop back down to the towel as red seeped through.

"Ah!" Her mind grasped the pain clearly as she let her husband pull her to the bathroom for bandages. She bite down on her lip as he washed the wound before pouring hydrogen peroxide onto it. He quickly wrapped a bandage over it. Though red quickly stained it, it was no wear near as bad as the amount of blood on the towel. "Gomen." She whispered, saddened by her accident.

"It's alright. I'm just glad I came home when I did. You aren't one to space out like that." She blushed from her embarrassment before smiling weakly at him.

"Gomen." She repeated, tears starting to trail down her face. "Gomen. Gomen! Gomen!!!" She sobbed as her husband pulled her into a hugged while trying to calm her.


"Sing? Why?"

". . . I found her grave."

". . . . are you sure?"

"Yes. It's her."

"Take me there."

". . . here it is."

". . . it . . . it's so . . . barren."

"I know. I don't think they wanted to honor her after you." The soft and gentle sound of a woman's voice filled the air. No words, just sorrow in her notes.

"Aiko-san?" She looked up at the doctor treating her wound.

"Hai?" He smiled at her as he cleaned off the blood the healed wound. Not even a scratch was there after he finished healing it. "Arigatou." With that said, Kakashi lead her back to their small home.

"You seem to be out of it today, does it have something to do with your dream?" She smiled at him.

"No, I don't remember the dream. I just I'm just tired."

"Don't worry about dinner, I'll make it today." She smiled softly at his offer and accepted. She pushed aside the images. Those strange images weren't real. Her life was perfect. Why would she try to mess with it? No, she would live the wonderful life and think nothing of those images.


Aiko turned the pages in her book listening to the rain outside.

"I don't recall anything about rain." She looked up upon hearing Kakashi.

"Is something wrong?" He looked back to her and shook his head.

"No, just surprised." He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I'm going to go and speak with the Yondaime." She nodded, watching him put his shoes on and leave.

An eerie silence had fallen over the house. The only sound was when Aiko turned the page. Kakashi had been gone for some time but she paid no mind. Hatake Aiko continued to read and listen to the rain. The wind howled outside but she paid no mind. Only when the power went out and she was left in the dark did she put down her book and stand. She listened as the wind picked up while she neared the door, to get some candles from the hallway. Aiko gently opened the door, only to scream. Hands shot up to hold her head as her bloody scream filled the air. Eyes filled with fear stared down at the blood covering the ground and walls. She wasn't in her house. She was somewhere else. No door back to her room, no way out. Forehead protectors littered the floor, torn and scratched with blood on them. Further down bodies became a giant sea.

"You weakling." She turned, seeing a strange woman appear out of air and float beside her. "You summoned me from my sleep to learn how to be a demon god and then you go and you fell into this trap so easily." She landed with a light thud, looking over the massacre before the two. "I liked you before you fell to love." She sighed and turned to look at Aiko.

"Who . . . who . . ." The woman arched a delicate eyebrow.

"Hmph, to think that the title and power of the wind fell to you. You can not even remember me, Bensha, the original." Bensha held Aiko's face firmly as she stared into her eyes.

"L-l-let me go!" Bensha looked at her, disgusted, before shoving Aiko to the floor.

"The wind remembers when you said you wished to be the prince. You wished to be strong and independent. Look at you now. Falling all over yourself. You are a disgrace to the powerful being you once were. I liked you the way you were. And that's saying something. I do, after all, despise humans." Bensha shook her head in shame of Aiko. "The snake has twisted your mind. And you let him. You fell into such an easy trap. Because life was too hard for you. Pitiful. How could you ever become a demon god is beyond me." Aiko rose up, angry.

"How dare you!!!!" Bensha slapped the woman back to the ground.

"How dare I?!" She barked. "This from one who no longer wishes to live. One who withdrew from the world. You gave up."

"I did no such thing!" Aiko snapped. Bensha sneered at her.

"Please. The man you gave up your soul for, the man you gave your happiness away for, the man who was taken from you, you abandoned him. You tried to cast aside your humanity!!!! Had you truly done that the snake would never had even gotten close to you! And this illusion he made would have done nothing."

"You are insane! What illusion, what snake?" Bensha looked at her in annoyance.

"Do you want Kakashi to die? Do you want Yoko to die? Naruto? Because without you waking up they will! They are all that is left. That army you assembled is almost destroyed. The shinobi that remembered and fought with you are almost gone completely. If you wish to save Konoha then stop falling for such a trick." Aiko tried to grasp the woman's words. 'Kakashi, Naruto, Yoko? Yoko . . . who . . . The Uzumaki clan!' Her mind slowly began to clear. The images began to connect with others. Memories flooded her mind.

"The snake!" She hissed. Uzumaki Setsuko stood next to Bensha. The long detached tan sleeve was not there, her wrist guard was missing, and she had bangs and no forehead protector. Other than that, she was the same woman who entered Konoha only to find Orochimaru in control. "How do I get out of here?!" She demanded, flames of hatred burning in her eyes. Bensha rolled her eyes.

"You foolish mortal. You are no longer tricked by this illusion. Now think, for this jutsu to work, one must believe it and it must be a perfect life, one they would never want to leave." Setsuko was silent. Finally, she spoke.

"I see." Bensha nodded with a smirk.

"Now I will take my leave. Do not wake me again." The woman disappeared in the wind.

"Aiko!" She turned to see Kakashi.

"Gomen Kakashi-kun. This isn't my world. You aren't my Kakashi." He stared at her in disbelief.

"Why would you want to leave? Isn't it perfect?" She shook her head.

"It is perfect for Hatake Aiko. I am Uzumaki Setsuko." She smiled sadly at him. "I can't be the princess. I have to be the prince." Kakashi stood there, unable to look away. "Right now, a battle for Konoha is going on. A battle to save it. I can't abandon Konoha for this illusion. Everyone is fighting. I have to fight too. I'll be fighting for Konoha . . . and myself." She looked down as sorrow filled her heart. "Part of me knew this was a dream . . . but I didn't want to listen."

"I . . . I understand." She looked back up to him before he kissed her forehead through his mask. ". . . . I would have done anything to protect that life. If it had been real." She smiled at him.

"So would I." Setsuko stepped away as he watched her end it all. She held out her hands as she felt her power surge through her. She looked at him one last time before she began to end her world. "Kakashi-kun . . ." She turned away, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Goodbye . . . Setsuko." She forced her eyes shut, crystal tears ready to fall. Strange ancient markings appeared beneath her feet as she began.

"Powers of Wind, grant me your power. Break this world. Shatter it beyond repair. Let it fade into darkness, let it destroyed. I call upon, as Uindo Bensha, the mighty powers of the wind. Let no illusion stand against the wind." The world began to blur, burning away. Setsuko felt her dark fire cleansing her mind. Destroying the perfect life to send her back. "Goodbye, Koi." With a bittersweet smile she watch Kakashi fade away, giving her sad farewell smile as she broke through the barriers around her mind.