Chiisai stepped towards Kakashi and hesitated. The lava monsters launched themselves at him, their movements shaking the walls. Returning her gaze back to her father, she tried to appear calm and in control, though that was the last thing she felt. "Why are you doing this?"
"I assume you already know a few of them, Small Crow." He looked at her thoughtfully as he rolled up his sleeves.
Her hands tightened into fists. Memories flooded her, of his grip on her wrist. The smell of iron, the taste of blood. Fear crossed her eyes, and Chiisai shook her head, turning her attention back the Kuroi. Just looking at him made her angry, the fact they looked so much alike made her want to scream. He had never regretted hurting her or her mother, she realized. He was still the same, even without his physical body. And she still wanted him gone.
He crossed his arms when she didn't respond, tilting his head as his dark eyes glinted with amusement. "My eyes are set on a much higher goal than revenge." He shook his disapprovingly. "And you shouldn't try to hide your fear, Chiisai," he scolded. "It's written all over your face. But that's how I raised you, didn't I?"
Pointing a finger at him, she said with bitterness, "You didn't raise me. You kept me a prisoner and used me to betray the village."
A crash rang through the room as Kakashi engaged against the monsters, his vest almost completely scorched off.
"You still don't know a thing, do you?" His voice was low, but his soft tone was what made her focus back on him. "Everything I did was to keep you safe, as hard as that might be to believe."
She released a bitter laugh and said, "Really, that's what you've decided to go with? We must have very different memories." Her eyes reflected her frustration. She couldn't help but glance over at Kakashi, but she knew he could take care of himself. She hoped.
Kuroi stepped towards her, his footsteps light on the marble floor. "Your ability was discovered by someone after you stepped into his dream one night. He confronted me and blackmailed me, saying he was going to use you for his own purposes unless I cooperated with his demands."
She blinked in surprise. A chill ran down her spine, a distant memory of pale skin and snakes rising to the surface.
"I made you tell me your dreams so you wouldn't be turned into a monster by a madman." He paused, and for once, something like remorse flickered across his face. "I guess it seems you think me the madman and monster now. It was difficult trying to get you to talk. It was a hopeless situation, really. I did go a bit mad, knowing I couldn't defeat him…And how hard you resisted me…It was a scenerio made for disaster." He shook his head. "No matter what I did, the end product was always suffering. But that's all about to change."
"You should have told the Hokage," she muttered. "You should have protected me and the village instead of letting your own fear control you. I remember. I remember you took me to him." She shook her head, tears threatening to spill. "You gave me over to Orochimaru so he could run his tests on me!"
"Watch your tone, Chiisai," he growled. "And I did protect you. Did he take you? Corrupt you? Curse you? Did I not lock you away to make sure no one else could find you?!"
"Look," she wheezed as she threw her hands out, "you don't need to do this! Why make everyone else suffer?" Six Paths, she had to buy more time. He radiated her chakra like a furnace, and she still suffered the effects of eight palms.
"Suffer?" His tone hardened. " I'm making their dreams come true! What suffering can there be when everything you want is right before your eyes?" His wife appeared next to him, her smile radiating at Chiisai as she grabbed Kuroi's hand. Chiisai staggered back as she extended her other hand towards her daughter. But then blood dribbled down her chin, her eyes turning glassy as she stared on. Chiisai gasped at the familiar sight, but the image dissipated like mist. His tone was dark as he finished, "I am the Baku. If real life comes back to haunt them, I'll be there to take it away. I'll weave their dreams so they won't feel pain."
"You're forcing them into a world that's not real." She took a breath. Her eyebrows furrowed as she added, "You can't play god."
"You think they we're living in the real world, always in fear and distress?" He shook his head, his brown hair falling over his eyes. "The world of a shinobi isn't living. It's surviving for the sake of the village, it's trying to survive in a world where you aren't appreciated." He glanced up at her now, his eyes softening. "You yourself can't deny this, Chiisai. I've seen it through your own eyes. It even happened to Kakashi's father."
She didn't respond. Avoiding people, isolating herself, she had done it all to protect herself and the village. The secrets that she held and the nightmares ever before her eyes. Pain was not a word unfamiliar to her. But when her eyes met his, memories of his abuse flooded her vision, reminding her of what her father truly was.
He extended the palm of his hand, showing a bubble of the different dreams in others' minds. All were laughing and smiling, oblivious to their true circumstances. "In this world, you can be loved and appreciated like everyone deserves to be." His gaze returned to her as the bubble popped. "And I will make up for what was failed in reality, what I failed to do myself with you. This world is corrupt and causes others too much pain. Here, everyone will be appreciated. Everyone will be loved. And all I need for that is you."
He pulled his hand back, his eyes closing as he whispered, "Your death will complete my revenge. Chiisai, you will be the sacrifice for this new world."
But before he could act, Kakashi was behind him, shoving a kunai in Kuroi's chest. Kuroi gaped down at the blood soaking his shirt. They had been so enveloped in their conversation that Kakashi had been forgotten. Kakashi was now in front of Chiisai, his eye trained on the enemy.
"Erasing the past will not fill up the emptiness inside," Kakashi said evenly. "And rejecting reality will not save what you seek."
Kuroi flicked his hand, and Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kuroi moved just in time to stop the real Kakashi, a smile playing on his lips as his hand covered his wound. "Substitiution. But you're slow, Copy Ninja. You're low on chakra, aren't you?" Kuroi stepped back, allowing his own chakra to extend from his fingertips as is went for Kakashi. Their eyes met, and now Kakashi stood frozen, unable to move under Kuroi's gaze.
Chiisai's eyes widened. With all her strength, she took the last steps in one bound and jumped. The two locked eyes before she slammed into him, his body still restrained by Kuroi.
And then she realized her chakra was back in control. She could feel it flow through her now, waiting for her demands as it pulsated new life.
If she were a kunoichi, she would have used the opportunity to her fullest extent. But she wasn't a ninja, and in that moment there was one thought- only that she needed to protect. Her hand grazed the side of his face, the spark of her touch felt through his mask.
She tried to crack a smile as she whispered, "I guess I liked you more than I thought." Her hand fell away, her fingers seemingly tracing his jawline as Kuroi's chakra grazed her back. In that moment, Kakashi could do nothing but stare into her dark eyes as her body was pulled away from his, her tears cascading down her cheeks. The ninja could still feel the lingering warmth of her touch, lighting a fire deep inside him.
Still under Kuroi's control, Kakashi screamed inside his head as he watched her back arch. Her chakra was forced out of her, extracted like a tailed-beast from a jinchuriki as it was absorbed by her father. Kuroi smiled and shrugged, saying, "Well, this will work nicely."
Kuroi looked once more at his daughter, shaking his head as he said, "You always were irrational, Chiisai. You always did the first thing that came to mind."
But she didn't respond. Her life was being drained away from her, making her numb and frantic as she tried again and again to reign in her chakra, to pull back what had originally been hers. But nothing happened. Her father had taken too much of her chakra for her to fight back. And he had been sealed with her chakra for years. Was she really so weak? Had she really just failed everyone?
Their faces appeared as her world started to fade, the words of the villagers' aspirations echoing behind her eyes from the dreams she used to watch over.
"I will be Hokage one day, just wait and see!"
"I just…I just want you to notice me."
"My ramen's made with love- that's why it tastes so great!"
"Don't worry, Mom! I'll be the best ninja yet!"
Chiisai's consciousness faded like a leaf in the wind, but still she clung on to her last thoughts. Just one more time, she wanted to visit their dreams again, to touch the fabric of their feelings, to feel their minds echo their hearts. But she had failed them all, and she would never see them again.
No, she thought. This couldn't be it. These people deserved far better. Their dreams were what got her through the first years of her torment. And now they needed her. She had to protect them, no matter what the cost!
But the light faded from her thoughts and she could no longer feel her body. There must be something she could do. She had to protect them! It couldn't end like this, it couldn't…
This wasn't how it's supposed to be.
She had failed them. Itachi...Kakashi...And now everyone would pay.
That last thought she could muster was that she would never finish that cheesy romance novel Farm-Boy had suggested. And for some reason that hurt her more than she ever would have thought possible.
Kuroi sucked the last ounce of chakra from his daughter, his smile growing wider as he felt her power surge within him. Her body sagged and fell to the ground as the last trail of her chakra was reabsorbed.
Kakashi could only look on as her body fell, hit the ground with a thunk, rebounded slightly, and then sank back into the floor. Her long brown hair fell over her frozen face, and he thought of the all the times she had brushed her hair back absentmindedly.
Now she would never be able to do that again.
Kuroi let go of Kakashi, his mind now focused on his newfound power. The ninja no longer mattered, and Kakashi was instantly forgotten. With all of her chakra, her father could now capture all of Konoha's minds as soon as they fell asleep.
The ground crackled around him and the air fizzed, the sheer power radiating from him affecting the dream. Her chakra healed his wound, drying up the blood that leaked out. He disappeared, leaving what was left of Chiisai's mind to end what he had begun.
Kakashi sank to his knees beside Chiisai. His fist came down hard on the marble floor, causing it to crack and splinter under his weight. His head bowed, he closed his eye, fighting down the familiar emotions that swallowed him up. Slowly, he pulled half of her body into his arms. She was limp and empty, only a shell of what she used to be. Her head tilted back and her hair parted to reveal her expressionless face and her wide gaping eyes, her cheeks still wet from her tears
"You stupid girl," he whispered raggedly. "You weren't supposed to do that."
He traced the side of her face, silently cursing and begging that she come back to him. Her skin was cold to the touch, unlike the fire that burned inside him. He willed her to feel his warmth, to open her eyes as his fingers sank into her arm. But this nightmare around him was real, and Chiisai didn't wake up.
He brought his face close to hers, brushing her hair back for the last time as he kissed the top of her forehead.
Against his instincts, Kakashi laid her back down. He backed away slowly, though he couldn't tear his eye away from her. No, he couldn't linger like this. But what could Kakashi do while stuck in the shell of Chiisai's mind? She had been the key to this mission, and now she was no more.
He turned away from her, holding his face in his hands. The mission was failing.
What had they done?