In somnis veritas

Kakashi dreams.

Most nights, they are ordinary, every day dreams- just his mind regurgitating the day's events back at him in a series of nonsense segments. These dreams are filled with strange challenges from Gai and images of Jiaraiya's face superimposed on the body of a giant caterpillar. They mean nothing. These dreams are also filled with images of his students: Naruto proclaiming himself future hokage; Sakura proclaiming her love for Sasuke; Sasuke proclaiming nothing- but even in dreams his eyes speak more eloquently of his goals and ambitions than his voice ever has. Kakashi watches them run through their training exercises; in his dreams, he can gloss over the parts where their teamwork is not up to par. Those dreams always end quickly, sometimes glossed over entirely. Sometimes, he'll even find himself replaying scenes from whatever dirty novel he is currently reading; these dreams amuse him, because even in his fantasies he is nothing but a voyeur, content to watch but unwilling to participate.

He thinks, after dreaming these dreams, that he should look into acquiring a social life. In the end, he always decides it isn't worth the trouble.

Some nights, usually after returning from a mission, Kakashi dreams of death. It's always the same: he finds himself wading across battlefields lined with the accusing faces of his fallen comrades, hip deep in the blood that pours from their open wounds. There is an island on the horizon, rising above the river of blood, and there is always someone standing on it, waiting for him. He can feel hands clutching at his ankles, trying to drag him down, to drown him, as he strugles to reach higher ground. And always, just before reaching his goal, he stumbles. As the hands pull him down, the identity of the figure on the island is revealed. Usually, it is his sensei, looking on sadly as Kakashi is dragged under. Sometimes it is Rin, whose tears leave silver tracks across her face as she watches him drown. When it's Obito, he wades into the river to save Kakashi, and Kakashi drowns screaming at him to go back, to save himself. The last thing Kakashi sees then is Obito, staring back at him as they both sink down into a darkness that is colored sharingan-red.

He wakes from these dreams with his heart pounding and his chest tight, but Kakashi can't blame the dead for haunting him. He goes about his day with a little more slouch to his step and spends an extra hour at the memorial stone. He is accustomed to the guilt.

It's only when he dreams of being a child again, and the incredible warmth and strength of his father's smile, that he wakes with tears in his eyes.
----------

A bit on the awkwardly sentimental side; I liked the idea in my head, but I'm not sure how it looks on the screen. *shrug* We'll see how I like it after I clean it up, I suppose. it does count as a finished drabble, and it only took me about an hour to write. That's a new record, I think. Excitement!

Need sleep now. Sleep, not watching Cowboy Bebop. Damnit, brain!