It was approaching 3:00 AM. The town was silent, save for the far away calling of a cat. Inoue was sitting against the back of her sofa, where Ishida was, finally, sleeping peacefully. Strangely, her eyelids weren't even drooping. Her mind was too loud for that to happen, awash with confusion. This boy had die- well no, she supposed, disappeared 6 months ago, only to reappear at her door, a ghost of himself. She supposed she could be angry at him, for not telling her he was alive. She could be. That was a change, she thought. A couple hours ago she couldn't have been anything.
She stood up, shaking her head. She wouldn't be any use if she was tired. She turned to go to her room, but her eyes fell on the sleeping boy, she could still hear a faint croak in his throat whenever he breathed in. She'd put an old blanket around him, as nothing much remained of his cloak. His brow twitched suddenly, and he started muttering, his breathing growing shorter, more irregular.
"I…did it…" His whole body tensed up and his cries became louder. His knuckles were white, gripping the blanket tightly, "Leave…them…"
Nightmare, Inoue thought. I don't blame him.
"Ishida-kun." She sat on the edge of the sofa, and placed a hand over his. "It's only a dream, you're safe here."
But his movements only became more distressed. An arm shot up to cover his eyes, and his moaning increased in volume. "Wait…stop, STOP!"
"Ishida-kun." No change. His legs were kicking wildly, as if running from an invisible enemy. She tried again, louder. "Ishida. ISHIDA."
He was nearly shouting. "WAIT! STOP IT DON'T TOUCH HER! WAIT GOD DAMMIT"
"URYUU!"
An eye flew open and he jolted upright, his face a picture of terror. Inoue wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into an embrace.
"You're safe. I promise."
Hesitantly, he reached his arms around her.
"S-sorry Inoue-san, I- I haven't really slept well in- since everything ended."
"Mm."
"Ah-" Ishida seemed to suddenly become very aware of the position he was in He fumbled his hand around on the table next to him until he found what remained of his glasses. "I-I'm sorry, I'm keeping you up aren't I?" He faltered, making a point of covering his face while adjusting and readjusting his glasses.
"Don't worry about it, Ishida-kun." Inoue almost laughed. Thank God he was still the same awkward person. Then she paused. "Do you… want to talk about your dream?"
He went quiet, and looked away. Should I have asked? Inoue mused, a concerned look spreading across her face. She was about to apologize for her rashness, when he spoke:
"It-it's always the same dream." He began, voice quiet, shaking. "I relive that day. About what they could have- what they still could do."
Inoue gasped. Six months of the same nightmare. And there'd been no-one he could talk to, no-one who could comfort him. Any anger she might have had evaporated. He turned to face her again. "Yeah. They're still out there. That's why you can't tell the others, not yet. I'm sorry this is all- all my fault, I-" He jerked his head away and started coughing violently.
"Hey, don't strain yourself. It was stupid of me to ask, just- tell me when you're feeling up to it alright?"
"Y-yeah, thanks." He murmured, embarrassed. Inoue smiled sheepishly at him and yawned. "Oh- sorry Ishida-kun."
"No it's ok. If you're tired then please don't over exert yourself on my part." He reassured her. She flashed him another apologetic grin and got up for her room. Back to silence. Back to the cat.
Said black cat was currently pacing up and down a wall, about a hundred yards from her door. It seemed to be rather annoyed, and its tail twitched impatiently. "Dammit Kisuke," it muttered, "Can't you be on time for once?"
"Oh come on Yoruichi-san, that's not fair," joked a blonde man stepping out from an alleyway. "You know full well that my shop's on completely the other side of town."
"I appreciate it's your nature but now is really not a time to be joking." The cat hopped down onto the man's shoulder. "You called this meeting because you noticed, I presume."
"Yes, it appears that the Quincy has returned to us. Normally I would be thrilled at Ishida-san's arrival but this time," He mused, adopting a more serious tone, "This time it appears he is not alone."
The pair began walking through the streets. Neither of them spoke for a long time. They didn't really need to. They'd known each other long enough to guess what the other was thinking. The wind picked up and it started to drizzle. Rain… the man pondered, pulling out an umbrella, odd for July isn't it? Yoruichi shook her fur. Damn rain. A thought struck her and she spoke suddenly:
"How long, Kisuke?"
"Until what?"
"Until they find us."
"Well," The man stopped under a streetlamp, smiling at the reflection in a puddle at his feet, "It appears they already have."
