Is there a moment in your past you just want to forget? Maybe something you locked away. That one memory you never want to remember. The one that keeps you from falling asleep. That dam moment your subconscious just pops it into your mind, where it cripples you, makes you have to shake your head to try and lodge it away back to the dark recesses of your mind.

"I have one of those."

Lightening flashes across the sky, illuminating the room, illuminating the crimson pool surrounding the man on the floor. There in that now dark room is a small boy and a dead man. In that moment of blinding light that boy saw everything. The blood spilled around the cold pale corpse. The gray hair now matted to the crimson tide. The way the body was curled into its self almost in a desperate plea for someone to help him. The blood, so much of it, from one wound.

But the thing that will always be burned into the boy's mind, the eyes, the glazed and blank stare he received from the man he called father.

[Kash POV]

Ha startle awake by a scream, pulling the glock from under his pillow, forcing his tired eyes to adjust to the dim lit room. In that moment he cant recognise his own bedroom or the person to his right. All he knows is theres a threat in this bedroom. A hand on his shoulder, making him leap from the comforting warmth of covers, training his gun on the target.

"Kash..."

Huh? I know that voice.

His eyes finally adjust to see down the sights of his 9mm. The look of fear on her face makes him turn, looking for whats making her so frightened. Thats when it hits him,

Im the threat, what the hell am I doing?

Dropping his arms to his side, he risks a peek at her,

Will she still be afraid of me?

Studying her closely he can see her face has color back in her cheeks.

"Kash, its ok. It was just a nightmare."

That soft, sweet voice.

Where have i heard those words before? Why are they so familiar?

He didnt notice her approach nor did he hear the comforting words she must have spoken. Because in that moment he remembered just what it was that woke him.

A scream. A scream for help.

He can feel her pulling him gently back to bed, the warmth of her small hands on his,

Did she hear it too?

"Shhh...Im here."

She must have heard it. Hell, I'm sure everyone on this street did.

Shes tried to calm him down, the rapid labored breathing that bounced around the room made the dogs on the floor whine softly.

Should i tell her what i saw? No. I cant. She has too much on her already.

When he had gotten the warning call from the Chief he refused to leave Mick's side. He felt watched and on edge, making his already high paranoia rear its ugly head with renewed life. Mick of course had not heard the conversation but she knew something was wrong. Her ability of reading him like an open book was an annoyance at best but when she openly called him out in the bar, saying:

"Just tell me what's up, the last time you acted this way was when i lost my virginity. You wouldnt let anyone within a 10 ft radius of me."

He, of course, had taken a moment to ponder on her analogy. She wasnt wrong, he had been pissed when he heard the douche bragging to his equally douchey friends in the locker room. At that time he had just recently lost his father to suicide and had pushed his friends away from getting too close. Mick at that time had been there the most for him and in a desperate attempt at trying to be alone with his self loathing he had mentally and sadly enough, physically, shoved her away. But when he had heard those dickheads making fun of Mick he lost it, taking out all his pent up frustration and anger on them, the end result was him being suspended from school for a week.

"Ma, Mick, nothings wrong."

Of course she knew he was lying, hell he didnt even sound convincing to him either, but she just went along with it.

Now how they ended up sharing a bed, platonicly if course, was also his doing. He didnt want her to go home to her house, especially considering they knew where she lived. So he had convinced her to stay at his place, making up some crap story about his pack of hounds missing her. Obviously she knew he was bullshitting, he needed to work on his lying, but like always she complied. For the life of him he couldn't understand why Mick seemed to just follow his blatant lies but didnt care so much as long as she was safe.

In all honesty, which at the moment with him was sparse, his house was probably being watched too. But unlike Mick's humble abode he had a security system. Sure his alarm system would bark at cats on the street and sometimes chew his furniture but it was a deadly system. His pack of trained K9s was once apart of the Konaha Police force, some even still were but mostly retired. Now if you were to take a good look at them individually you would probably laugh your ass off than be scared (well except Bull). But together they were a force to be reckoned with.

Pakun, Bull, Urushi, Shiba, Bisuke, Akino, Ūhei, Guruko.

All ranging in size to Pakun the smallest to Bull the largest. Now he hated to brag but he was damned pleased with himself. He had made sure Mick was safe, well until he pulled a gun on her. In his half asleep state, that and the general paranoia surrounding Mick, his nightmare had made him react to a threat he perceived was in the room. He was ashamed -Horrified- to find that the killing intent in that room was him. It wasnt the first time he had woken up pulling a gun but it was the first time he'd ever pointed it at Mick. His finger almost pulled that dam trigger out of reflex.

"Kash?"

She sounded worried, not that he could blame her, he did almost shoot her.

"Hm?"

Dam, he shouldve pretended to be asleep. How the hell would he be able to explain himself if she asked?

Oh im sorry i almost shot you. You see i have these nightmares-

He blanched at himself inwardly, feeling like a coward. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes but the room was dark enough to hide her features from him. Would she be upset? He might have been.

"Get off my pillow."

He laid there in stunned silence just staring at her hiden face until a small chuckle escaped him. Unable to stop himself he let loose a true genuine hearty laugh, holding his stomach as his head flopped back on the said pillow. Mick had a way with words when it came to him, something he didnt have much tact for with her or anyone else for that matter. She knew him so well, something that normally wouldve bothered him, he prided himself on being an enigma.

The pillow was ripped out from under him causing his head to thwack the wooden headboard. Mick snorted, mostly in amusement, he sat up rubbing his tender skull with a arched eye smile.

"So violent."

Mick gave him a blank stare for a few seconds before it formed into a grin.

"sorry."

They sat in silence for a long time, neither one wanting to break the quiet tranquility. But both wanting to be there for the other through the pain they bared.

"Mick."

The redhead glanced at him with raised eyebrows, his heart pounding as he opened his mouth. He knew what this question was going to do, but he needed answers and she needed to lean on him. He wanted to show her she wasnt alone in this battle.

"What happened during the time when you were captured?"