A/N: This is a Nightmare Inspector based fanfiction.

He was exhausted. He had to stay awake. He had to be stronger than this.

Chitose heard the labored breathing of Tsukishiro in his ear. He tightened his grip on Tsukishiro's hand and pulled it further over his shoulder. Blood dripped to the ground. Tsukishiro coughed.

"Hey, don't die on me yet." Chitose said. Tsukishiro didn't answer.

Tsukishiro needed help desperately. He was losing a lot of blood from the stab wound. He would die at this rate. His skin already felt really cold. Why did he have to do that? It wasn't that Chitose wasn't grateful to Tsukishiro, he just didn't understand why Tsukishiro did it. He just had to get home and then—

Home. Where was home? He was supposed to be dead. He couldn't go back to his old home. Where could he go? No one who knew him would accept him. He was dead. He was alive, but he was dead. It made his head hurt to think about it. He heard Tsukishiro cough again. They needed to get somewhere, but they had no money. Chitose was too scared to go home, but maybe he could go to the Delirium. At least there was warmth there, and it was free. They might not understand, but he could go there. Kairi would simply think he was fantasizing, right?

"Come one, Tsukishiro," Chitose whispered, "It's not far from here. You can make it."

No reply again. Tsukishiro's wound was causing him great pain. Was he even conscious anymore? He certainly did feel heavier than before. At least he was still breathing.

The Delirium was definitely warm. Chitose lay Tsukishiro against a wall. Shima has got to be awake. Hopefully he'd help them. Chitose took this time to look at Tsukishiro's wound. Blood stained his clothing. It wasn't what he usually wore. Actually, that boy had given Tsukishiro new clothes. Foreign clothes, but Tsukishiro dressed like a foreigner anyway. Then again, so did Chitose when he was a baku.

Chitose absent-mindedly wiped some of the sweat from Tsukishiro's forehead.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry! Are you waiting for Kairi?" A boy asked. It was Shima. He ran to the stairs and shouted for Kairi, then came closer to Chitose and Tsukishiro. "Welcome to the Delirium! Sorry, Kairi's always fanta... Oh, you're..." Shima's voice failed him for a moment when he got a good look at the two people on the ground in front of him. "Hiru... ko? And... He... Took me away from Kairi. Why are you here? You're supposed to be..."

"Dead?" Chitose finished Shima's sentence. "Yeah. I am." He looked back at Tsukishiro. "Can you get me some bandages, Shima?"

"Uh... Sure." Shima said quietly and ran into the back to get the requested item.

Kairi hadn't come down yet. He was probably lost in fantasy. Shima returned with a medical kit and set it next to Chitose.

"So... What happened to him?" He asked wearily.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Chitose said quietly, unbuttoning the bloodstained shirt. He had no idea how to dress a wound, but he hoped it was rather simple. Put some alcohol on it and then bandage it, right?

"I'll help." Shima muttered. He couldn't help but wonder what was so unbelievable that Chitose wouldn't even tell a person who worked at a place where fantasies came true.

Tsukishiro groaned. Where was he? His chest hurt. He looked around. Where was Chitose? Was it all just a dream? Had Chitose not come back? Was he still... Tsukishiro's thoughts were cut off as someone entered the room.

"You're awake. That's good." Shima washed some cold water over Tsukishiro's face. He winced. "Hiruko told me that you lost your baku powers. You're probably hungry, huh?" Was he hungry? He couldn't tell. He felt sick, really. "I'll make you something. Do you drink tea? I guess you wouldn't know. I think an omelet would be nice..." Tsukishiro stopped listening to Shima ramble on. Where was Chitose? He made a promise to him. He had to protect Chitose.

"Where is... Chitose?" He muttered, surprised by how weak his voice sounded.

"Chitose? He's with Kairi right now. Kairi wanted to know what happened." Would Chitose really tell Kairi what happened? It was pretty unbelievable. A witch, a wish, a price.

"What's wrong?" Shima asked.

"I promised him... I need to find him." Tsukishiro tried to get up, but pain ran through his body like electricity.

"Woah there! Stay down! You shouldn't move! If you aren't a baku, then you'll die from blood loss. That would make Hiruko really sad, right? He carried you all the way here. He's worried about you, you know!" Shima said. Tsukishiro didn't quite understand himself. Why did he have to find Chitose? Why did he want to be with him? What possessed him to go to that place... Her shop? He gave it all up in her shop. He should have died there. Died. The word made him shiver with both excitement and detest. He was human. He could die now. But if he died... He couldn't see Chitose.

"Tsukishiro." Tsukishiro looked up. Chitose was standing next to him. "We should go now. Kairi gave me some money. We can't stay here any longer. I can't keep avoiding it. I have to go to the... that place."

"The Silver Star Tea House?" Tsukishiro guessed.

"Yeah. There." Were those words now taboo? Or was Chitose just scared? What was scary about the Silver Star Tea House? That was his home. Didn't he want to go there?

Chitose helped him up. "You look better." He said quietly. "Can you walk?" He held out his hand to help Tsukishiro up.

"Yeah. I think I can manage." Tsukishiro took it.

"Wait... You really shouldn't move!" Shima protested.

"We can't impose on the Delirium anymore, Shima. Neither is a customer." Chitose said flatly. They left without another word.

Shima could only stare at the door that those two had entered and left by. It had been a full twenty-four hours. If Tsukishiro was still a baku, he would have been fine. But he wasn't. He was human, for whatever reason. Surely he would die. Shima shook his head. Was he happy that Tsukishiro would die? Perhaps he was, because Tsukishiro had made him a door again. Tsukishiro had taken him from Kairi. Kairi had brought him back, but Shima could never forgive Tsukishiro for what he had done.