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She shot upright with a gasp, her heart racing as the remnants of the nightmare clung stubbornly to her thoughts. Even after waking, she could still picture the fox's eyes and hear its furious roar. The room around her was dark and quiet, illuminated only by the pale moonlight slipping through the curtains.
Mito swallowed hard and stretched her hand across the bed. The instant her fingers brushed against her husband’s back, some of the tension left her body. A long breath escaped her as she settled slightly, reassured by his presence beside her.
She closed her eyes and listened to the steady sound of his snoring. It was a habit she had teased him about countless times before, yet she had come to find it strangely comforting. The familiar sound reminded her that he was safe and close enough to reach whenever the fox’s hatred became too difficult to bear.
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The Valley of the End still lingered in his mind, and the death of his old friend and enemy. Time had dulled the sharpest edges of the wounds left behind by that battle, but it had never erased them completely. Some nights the destruction, the loss, and the overwhelming hatred of the battle returned in vivid detail, making sleep impossible.
Hashirama stirred beside her and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed her sitting awake almost immediately. There was a brief moment of understanding between them before he shifted closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
Mito leaned back against him, resting her head on his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat echoed beneath her ear while his arms held her securely. Neither of them felt any need to speak. They had shared these restless nights often enough to understand what the other was feeling.
Together they sat in silence as the weight of their nightmares gradually eased. Eventually exhaustion caught up with them, and they drifted back to sleep in each other's arms while the moon continued its slow journey across the night sky. Truly love was the only way to combat the fox’s hatred, Mito thought.