Her fingers tightened around his vest as Kakashi leapt over the dead bodies. Just a little over a week ago she had been in this position.
Minus the corpses and being in a dream of course.
Kakashi said, "There's a barrier around every mind that's under Kuroi's control. It's a living thing that sucks you into the dream world."
"And he's also able to control their bodies, like with Koshuu," she replied sadly. Her eyes were still closed, but the smell of rotting flesh smothered the air. Each breath was a struggle, and all the while Chiisai leaned closer to Kakashi, her lips almost brushing his neck.
"Hai," he nodded. "Your abilities work somewhat like the Yamanaka Clan, so it's possible Kuroi could use his shadow clones like the mind transfer technique."
She contemplated a while before replying. "He must have cloned himself and placed them inside each person then. It makes sense." She had controlled Kakashi's body just an hour ago while looking for him.
He frowned but continued on. "All the information would go back to the original, which is in your body. Destroying the original will destroy the clones, which should wake everyone up."
"Damn, you really are a genius, aren't you?"
"It's actually not that difficult if you have ninja experience," Kakashi replied.
She rolled her eyes and instantly regretted it. Was this dream just an endless pit of death? "Well, now that we've got that down, should I take us back to my mind or should we make some sort of attack plan? I for one vote on leaving this place." Her eyes suddenly lit up as she tugged on his vest. "Hey, stop. I'm sensing the dreamer."
He halted, dropping her down beside him. She gazed over the valley of the dead, her eyes roaming over the endless number of cadavers. "I can't pinpoint his exact location, but he's in that direction," she raised a finger west. "Is this chakra I'm sensing?"
"It's likely. Especially if each person has a different signature." The ninja lifted up his headband, his red eye opening as he scanned the horizon. "There," he said. He grabbed her and sprinted to the dreamer. Soon, they could see one hand sticking out amidst the bodies, reaching towards the sun as muffled screams rose from underneath the ground.
A light flickered in the air, causing both of them to stop. It shot across the sky like a comet, leaving behind a trail of shimmering blue. The glittering color widened over the valley as it rained down over the land silently, like a drizzle on a gloomy day.
"What is that?" Chiisai whispered in awe. The bodies disappeared as the shooting star continued on, the lamenting smell of death fading around them. The light continued to fly overhead, devouring the nightmare. "Crap," she muttered as realization set in. The blue drizzle erased the dream like water on chalk. Chiisai took a hold of Kakashi's hand. "Forget about the dreamer. We're about to step into another dream."
Before he could reply, the light shot back the way it came, aiming low as it headed straight for them. Kakashi pulled Chiisai back. The light took human form as it grasped the hand of the dreamer, pulling him out of the nightmare. The light enveloped him, leaving only a silhouette in the eyes of Chiisai and Kakashi. The man fell to his knees, his head bent down in reverence as he sobbed, "Thank you, Great Baku. I can't…I-"
The Baku laid a hand on his shoulder just as the dream shattered. Kakashi and Chiisai fell below, only mere dots in an endless tunnel. Suddenly, their feet made contact with new ground as sunlight enveloped them. Kakashi caught her arm as she stumbled. "Always hated that transition," she muttered as she regained her footing.
Kakashi's voice was calculating. "That was Kuroi."
With a frown, she muttered, "So my father made himself the savoir of his own story? That's-" She paused. "That's surprising."
Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "You thought he'd make himself the villain of his own world?"
She raised an index finger as she turned away. "Wait just a second. My mind's on the verge of exploding."
"You do know the predictability of human nature?"
"Look," she sighed, "I used to step into people's shoes every night for fifteen years. The few times I stepped in my father's I was…There were consequences." Her tone rose as she crossed her arms.
Kakashi's voice was calm, his eye steady as he replied softly, "But you never wanted to see him as a hero."
She turned to him then and met his eye. "A child always starts out seeing their dad as a hero. You know that yourself." She shook her head. "Let's just find the dreamer." Chiisai headed down the street, making Kakashi follow. "The dreamer is a ninja that was mentally scarred by the The Third Great Ninja War. There are several people who have the drowning-in-dead-bodies-nightmare, and all are around their late thirties or early forties."
Kakashi's voice was serious as he asked, "How do you plan on defeating Kuroi?"
"With tug-of-war." She veered out a villager's way, keeping her head down.
The jonin raised an eyebrow and stopped. Chiisai looked back to Kakashi with an annoying glance. Raking a hand through her hair, she stopped and elaborated. "My powers are linked to my chakra, which my father has taken a lot of. He'll try to take the rest of my chakra and kill me. Once we're connected, I'll tug and- Hey, The dreamer's on this road." She glanced at the houses as people walked by.
"The Hyuga clan lives here."
"Then it's Hiashi," she nodded to herself. "His Byakugan works on us, so we should be careful." Mischief showed on her face as she whispered, "Actually, what if we woke him up?"
He raised an eyebrow. "By killing your father's clone? Isn't that the opposite of lying low?"
"At least we'd be doing something productive." She glanced around, noting how citizens glanced their way. She nodded and grabbed his arm. "We've stood here long enough. This way."
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"Well, at least he made it easy for us." She paused to gulp some air. Her calves burned as she added, "But this is the stairiest place I've ever seen.".
The continued their ascent. Kakashi said, "Stairiest?"
"Yeah, I make up words," Chiisai panted. The stone steps had been carved right into the mountain side, and far ahead stood a temple. Already she could see the Baku statues at the entrance- monsters with elephant trunks, tiger paws, an ox's tail. The dream devourer. She shook her head and added, "You have a problem with that, Farm Boy?"
"On the contrary, I find it cute," he replied with a smile.
He passed her up, his breath steady and his steps even. She glared up at his backside, realized she was staring, and turned her gaze back to the stares. Had she been checking him out? No, he just happened to be in front of her, she rationalized. There was no way she could be checking out the Copy Ninja of Konoha. Finally, she made it to the top with calves twitching and chest heaving. The Temple offered shade, and she quickly leaned against a pillar, taking in the cool mountain air.
"You know the plan?" Kakashi stood beside her without even a drop of sweat showing.
"Of course I know the plan," she responded. "Just...I'm preparing another plan...Just in case we meet the dreamer." She pushed his shoulder with an annoying glance, and a spark flared at their contact.
"What did you just do?" He gazed down at her as he touched his shoulder.
She looked up at the massive wooden doors. "I gave you my back-up plan. Ninjas have those, right?"
"Obviously." He pulled out a kunai and stepped toward the entrance. "Be careful."
Chiisai nodded as she placed her hand on the ornate handle. The Baku's face was carved into it, it's trunk curling in. She opened the massive door. It creaked under her weight. Sunlight filtered into the massive room. Kuroi stood in the center, with guards stationed around him. "I see you're finally done playing my games, Chiisai." He smiled and beckoned her forward. "Come on then. I'm right here."
She hunched her shoulders as Kakashi said, "Remember the plan."
She nodded. As the guards came at them, Kakashi flew into battle, tearing down each enemy that came near. Chiisai lifted up her hand, extending her fingers as she concentrated her energy. Her chakra linked with the guards, and she tugged, pulled her chakra back. The guards shattered like glass before them.
"I want my chakra back." She extended a hand again as chakra shot out and encircled the fake Kuroi. Her body jerked forward as the cord of chakra tightened. Eyebrows furrowed and hand in fist, Chiisai yanked back, pulling her chakra out. Kuroi raised an eyebrow, materializing weapons and sending them flying at her and Kakashi.
Chiisai flung up a shield over Kakashi as he made his way toward Kuroi, forming a flurry of hand signs.
Kuroi narrowed his eyes.
Kakashi reached Kuroi right as someone rammed into Chiisai. Her chakra faltered and flickered out as she slammed into the temple floor. She looked up to see Hiashi Hyuga come at her with eight palms. The room crackled with a fire jutsu, and heat hit her skin. Hiashi came at her again, and she stumbled back. But she was too slow, and her body was thrown against a wooden beam. Chiisai fell to the ground. Her eyes widened though when she tugged on her chakra. Nothing happened, and she realized too late that she had been hit with Eight Trigrams. She couldn't move, and she could only look up as Hiashi stepped towards her.
"Kakashi!" She shouted but failed to get to her feet. The woman tried to grab him with her chakra, but it was no use. Her chakra flow had been disrupted by a real Byakugan user and she no longer had the energy to move.
Kakashi was suddenly in front of her, his eye trained on the Hyuga. Chiisai glanced to the middle of the room and saw Kuroi on the ground, unmoving.
Hiashi paused and surveyed the room, his eyebrows furrowed. His voice low as he whispered, "I'm dreaming."
Her eyes widened as the ground shook beneath them. The ceiling cracked, and the structure came tumbling down. Kakashi grabbed onto her as the dream crumbled around them.
"My chakra isn't working right now." Her voice sped up. "You have to get us out of here!"
Kakashi's eye widened as he gathered her in his arms. "Was that your back-up plan- giving your chakra to me?"
"It should do all the work if you just picture my body!"
Kakashi nodded and closed his eye. The dream continued to shatter around them, and suddenly the ground caved in beneath them.
"Kakashi!" she yelled earnestly as her fingers clenched his arm.
They fell.
"Kakashi!"
His feet hit marble as it echoed across the room.
The ninja sat her down as he caught his breath. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "I was just hit with eight palms. Wait- is this my mind? Where are we?" She stepped in the open layout, holding her stomach as she cringed. "It looks like a palace."
"Chiisai," Kakashi's voice was stern. "You're chakra needs time to recover and that's time we don't have."
She blinked at him. "I'd say we made progress since we woke someone up. Why so worried all of a sudden?"
"He means me," a familiar voice resonated against the walls. "And you're out of time." Kuroi shot out a beam of chakra at Chiisai. It came like a third arm, moving at an alarming rate. She stood frozen, eyes wide, but Kakashi brought up a wall of earth in between them.
"Nothing can save you as long as I rule the dream world." Kuroi extended his hand as the wall oozed into lava. Two monsters rose from the melted ground, their eyes and veins a fiery red as they went for Kakashi, their footsteps singeing the floor. Kakashi's hand went to his eye. He had used too much chakra within the dimension, and he cursed as he was forced to fight against the creatures.
Kuroi turned his attention back to his daughter. They made eye contact, his cold eyes piercing her wide ones like a double-edged sword.
"Now," he smiled, "you're mine."