“Catch!” the blond shouts, and Nier reacts on instinct, hand darting up to snatch the thing from the air—

And almost drops it, as coruscating blue-violet light bursts forth, swirling around his hand and then expanding, sweeping up-up-up and then down-and-in, sinking beneath his skin in a blazing rush that blinds his eyes and wipes away all sound with a noiseless roar. It’s dizzying. It’s impossible.

And yet…

It’s almost like he can hear someone underneath it all: a tiny, desperate, hopeful whisper just beyond hearing, like someone murmuring in the other room. Like when Yonah was at her weakest, able to do nothing more than tug lightly on his sleeve, or like when Weiss would float a bit away and mutter to himself.

(Yonah… Weiss…)

(He’s all alone, his own life traded for his sister’s survival, Weiss’ physical form traded for their victory—)

Something latches onto those thoughts, curious-fascinated-intent**, tightening about his mind like a snare catching only air, scrambling-scratching claws that find no purchase, a wild desperation to *do something* building beneath his skin, and—

It’s the whatever it is in his hand, Nier realizes with a start; it’s trying desperately to act and yet every time it tries it just… sinks back into him, helpless as a fish in a bucket.

He has no idea what makes him act, or even what he does but it’s like… casting a line, almost. A grab and a toss and a quick prayer, one ear cocked for Weiss’ inevitable comments—

(Except Weiss isn’t here, Weiss will never be here, because this is an entirely different world and Weiss is back in their old one, slowly fading away.)

(Weiss’ life for their victory, Nier’s existence for his sister’s survival, and he would do it all again if he had to, but he’s alone, he’s alone, and they won but he’s alone and he will never be remembered even if he still remembers them!)

His focus snaps back to the present when, just like fishing, there’s a tug. Tension in the ‘line’. A frozen moment between cast and hook, then a sensation like pulling and suddenly—

“What in the world have you gotten yourself into?” Weiss asks, dry and exasperated and wonderfully present. “It has been bare hours since I managed to free you from your fate, and yet I find myself pulled from my rest and back at your side once more! How— good lord, what is going on here?!”

Nier laughs and spins around, twisting in the fading grip of the blue-violet light to search for Weiss, expecting to see the grouchy book floating over his right shoulder as usual, but— but there’s nothing there. “Weiss?” he asks plaintively, desperate to know that his friend is present, that he’s here, that Nier is just… overlooking him somehow, or… or something.

Weiss sighs heavily, accompanied by the sound of flipping pages, and Nier squints past the light. Spots a strange ripple in the air that might almost be the flicker of gilt edges moving swiftly. Focuses on that patch as he reaches out with his free hand—

“Wh-?! Watch where you go grabbing!” Weiss sputters, voice muffled under Nier’s hand as it lands on his cover without warning. His silver detailing is reassuringly solid under Nier’s palm despite it looking like he’s touching only air, and it’s all Nier can do to resist the urge to snatch Weiss to his chest and never let go again. “Get your dirty hand off my cover!” Weiss hisses, twisting away from Nier’s touch as if he can sense the urge to hug him. “Don’t go manhandling a rare tome such as myself like that!”

“What’s the use of a book you can’t touch,” Nier automatically snips back, though he does drop his hand back to his side. The light around him is fading and there’s a sense of… success almost… coming from the presence even as it fades away with the light. It’s a strange sensation, like mist burning away before the sun, and he tightens his grip on the thing the blond threw at him—

It crumbles in his hand, melting away even as a presence brushes against his mind again and then—

It’s gone.

Nier turns his hand and opens his fist, staring blankly at his empty palm; he’s pretty sure that solid objects don’t just melt away like that, but, then again, who knows what sort of weird things this world has. Maybe it’s something common here, some sort of test, perhaps? But no, that doesn’t seem right, judging by the way the blond had been startled by it.

“Huh!” the blond exclaims as he creeps closer, leaning in to stare with wide eyes at Nier’s empty hand. “So it really did— incredible— maybe if I… but no, maybe—”

Tsukabishi clears his throat and gives the blond a pointed look, cutting off the other’s half-voiced thoughts.

The blond coughs and takes a step back, glancing to one side as he rubs awkwardly at the back of his head. “Maa, sorry about that. Uhm… I really didn’t expect that to happen—”

“Didn’t expect what to happen?” Weiss asks acerbically, the air whispering around Nier as his still-invisible friend spins about and positions himself between Nier and the blond. “The light show? The summoning? I have no idea what you did, or what you intended, but by all that is holy—”

“Weiss, enough,” Nier orders before Weiss can insult their very confused looking host any further. He’d really rather not get thrown out on his ear before he has more information about this new world.

The blond opens his mouth, pauses, and then slowly closes it again, his eyes narrowing and his lips pursing into a pale, thin slash as he clearly tries to find where Weiss’ voice is coming from. “Ah, forgive me, but… who exactly just spoke?”

“Me, of course!” Weiss declares, accompanied by the sound of rustling pages. “The almighty Grimoire Weiss, whose mere name can bring kingdoms to their knees!”

Nier snorts and shakes his head. “He talks big, but don’t mind him,” he tells the still-confused blond. “Though I’m not sure… Weiss, why can’t we see you, anymore? We can hear you just fine, and I could touch you, but I can’t really see you.”

“You can’t see me?” Weiss asks in clear confusion, and the faint breeze past Nier’s face is enough to tell him that Weiss has flown in front of his face. “My word, you truly can’t see me, can you?” Weiss’ mystified voice comes mere inches from Nier’s face. “How utterly baffling. I am no longer disembodied thanks to whatever brought me here, but based on the way your eyes don’t seem to be focusing on me, it appears that I am indeed invisible.”

Nier makes a noise of agreement and reaches up, his fingertips brushing across one decorated corner of Weiss’ cover. “Pretty solid for a piece of air,” he says with a touch of amusement. “But I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s like this.”

Weiss huffs and swirls away, likely back towards the spot he usually occupies near Nier’s right shoulder. “Desist in your constant efforts to touch me,” he grumbles. “You will leave my cover a mess.”

“I washed!” Nier retorts with a roll of his eyes. “Besides, it’s not like anyone can see you right now anyway.”

“It’s the principle of the matter,” Weiss grumbles. “I will know that my cover is filthy, and that is all that matters.”

“Right…” the blond starts to say, then trails off awkwardly as he stares at Nier and the air around him, the silence stretching awkwardly until Tsukabishi clears his throat again and the blond twitches, a sheepish smile curling at the corners of his lips. “Ah, sorry, sorry. I’m Urahara Kisuke, just a mere humble shopkeep. And you are…?”

“Nier. I’m a…” Nier hesitates, wondering how best to encapsulate what he actually does; weapon for hire isn’t broad enough — many of the townsfolk wanted him to fetch things for them, not kill Shades, after all — but courier isn’t entirely correct either, and neither is collector—

“He is an annoying busybody who butts into other people’s problems in an effort to solve them,” Weiss cuts in before Nier can decide. “Please tell him no whenever he tries, it will be good for him.”

“Weiss! It’s important to help others when we have a chance,” Nier says in exasperation. “It’s the only way we can all survive, given the state of the world.”

Urahara fishes a fan from his sleeve and flicks it up over his mouth, clearly attempting to cover his amusement even though his pale eyes practically shine with it. “Maa, I’m sorry to say that I’ve already made use of him—” he twitches again as Tsukabishi crosses his arms over his chest— “Though I probably should have asked, I’m sorry! It’s just that I had a thought, and it seemed like it might work, and it did, so I’m sorry for not asking but it was really important,” he says all in a rush, words spilling out so fast that Nier has to work to understand them all.

“That thing you tossed at me?” Nier asks once he’s pretty sure he’s understood. “Sorry that it disappeared like that—”

“Nonono, that was good, that was what I hoped would happen!” Urahara babbles, then ducks his head, his shoulders rounding towards his ears and his expression turning awkwardly sheepish. “Ah, though I… could have— should have asked first,” he says a touch slower, gaze focused to one side instead of on Nier or Weiss. “It was… well… it was something I made when I was younger and much more foolish,” he admits. “And it worked, it did! But it was…” he trails off, gesturing vaguely with his fan, as if uncertain how to explain it.

Nier considers the man, and then thinks back to what happened when he caught the thing; he might not know anything about this world, or about what the thing was, but that amount of light, and the fact that it brought Weiss to him when the other was not only in another world but had already given up his physical form…

Well, something like that had to be powerful, didn’t it? And he certainly knew what lengths people would go to for something coveted, whether that be a rare jewel or power.

“And so you decided to toss your mysterious object that other people clearly coveted at the complete stranger that you hadn’t even introduced yourself to yet,” Weiss grits out, pages fluttering and then snapping closed with a distinctive thump. “How positively droll. What if it didn’t do what you expected, then? Would you have—mmph!”

Nier sighs and raps the knuckles of one hand against Weiss’ cover, even as he keeps his other hand pressed tight to the face-like decoration; he knows it’s not how Weiss actually speaks, but at least doing this gets his intent across in a way that completely distracts Weiss from whatever cutting words he was about to say. “Ignore him,” he tells Urahara, following his own advice as Weiss’ muffled, querulous voice spits curses at him. “Though he does have a point. You said you hoped it would disappear, but what made you think it would?”

Urahara’s pale eyes fix on his hands for a moment, before the man huffs and pulls his gaze up to Nier. “Ah, well… see, it was a sort of ‘wishing stone’, but most wishes would be easy for it to fulfill,” the man says with a sort of nonchalance that tells Nier the subject is both highly important and highly touchy. “But you, who came from an entire other world… I was hopeful that it would, ah… ‘burn itself out’, so to speak, while it tried to grant your wish.”

There’s more to it than that, Nier suspects, remembering the way the whatever-it-was sank beneath his skin and became helpless to do anything until he helped it; he doubts that bit is part of the usual process, though he’s not about to ask after the particulars right now, not when Urahara is clearly disinterested in telling him the whole truth. Which is… well, it’s fine. He doesn’t need to know every secret under the sun.

Still, it did give him Weiss back, which is more than enough reason to forgive Urahara for using him like that.

“Maybe lead with asking, first,” Nier settles on, tightening his grip on Weiss as the book tries to wriggle free. “I don’t mind helping out, but I do like knowing what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“Ah… right, right, I’ll keep that in mind,” Urahara chirps brightly, relief clear in his posture. “Well, now that we’ve gotten all that awkwardness behind us, how about some food?”

“Food sounds good,” Nier answers, amused by the obvious change in topic. Still, he is hungry — it’s been a long few days, and the chance to actually relax and savor a meal is one he’ll never turn down — so it’s fine.

(Maybe he’ll even be able to convince himself that this is all real.)

(The shower was nice but distinctly odd.)

(Food, however…)

(Yes, maybe a meal is exactly what he needs right now.)