Uryuu didn’t know what to expect when he followed Rerugen and Ren out to the little green area just behind their home. It was shared by several other buildings, and was clearly some sort of community area; there were several wash-tubs set upside-down to drain, and a couple clotheslines that had clothing pinned to them. …
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Just like he promised, Erich returns as the sun breaks the horizon, Alexis at his side and the hoshi no tama once more tucked beneath his chin. They find Ishida Uryuu sitting up in bed and scrubbing at his face, hair wild from sleep and exhaustion dragging at his shoulders. He squints out his window …
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Erich paced restlessly around the edge of the room, trying desperately to reconcile the suspicion that Ishida was one of his descendants and how woefully uninformed both boys were about the transformation. It didn’t make sense, not after all the effort Alexis went through to document everything, from their history to the practicalities of their …
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Ren led the teens to their home, sliding open the door and stepping through with a gesture for the others to follow. “Tadaima, Mami, Rerugen-san!” they called out, tongue nearly tripping over Erich’s name. It had been more than a year since Erich had been Rerugen within the walls of their shared home, but until …
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By the time they made it to the village square, where Orihime had set up her shields to defend everyone and was now healing those few who had become wounded, the wolf was already there. One of the villagers was kneeling on the ground, her arms wrapped tight around the wolf and face buried in …
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Ichigo grunted and stumbled forward under the weight of several little Hollows, blade sweeping out to split the masks of those in front of him. He gave himself a shake, sending the little gremlin-shaped things flying every which way, and purified some of those as well. They were honestly pretty inconsequential, so weak even a …
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Oh, Kaito… It’s okay to be a little like your father, you know. Ven‘s original message (Reposted with permission)
I need to stop tempting fate, Uryuu thinks faintly while staring up at Getsuga in blank acceptance. She’s looming over him, her long neck arched and her head tilted in curiosity, examining him like a cat examines a new toy. He’s never been so close to a wyvern before. Never truly appreciated how large they …
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Erich is unsurprised when he arrives near Ishida’s home the next evening to find the teen stubbornly awake despite the hour. It’s tempting to simply turn around and leave without approaching him, but Erich resists. He’s already been seen and introduced himself and he doubts that Ishida will write it off as a strange dream. …
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Erich watches over the young Kurosaki every night, examining the state of the boy’s soul for any hint of change. It’s safe to say he’s grown attached; with every nightmare he eats he understands more about the boy and his life, and Erich— Erich can’t help but admire the boy. He’s so young, so determined …
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They begin that night. Erich devours the boy’s first nightmare and Alexis pulls free a fragment of the hoshi no tama, no bigger than a grain of rice. She holds it out to him, perched on a claw, and Erich breaks off a fragment of his Self to wrap around the divine gift. A baku’s …
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The week passes both too slow and too fast. Erich and Alexis continue their rounds. The teens continue their restless, broken sleep. The man continues to watch. But there are other visitors. Kitsune linger just within his senses, their curiosity piqued by his visit to their kami. Sometimes he even catches sight of a snow-white …
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It repeats. Night after night they bound between the teens, working to give each as much sleep as possible. Night after night Erich worries over the first boy, the teen with fire-orange hair and torn soul. He and Alexis do what they can, press fragments of their Selves against his soul like makeshift bandages, but …
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His wandering is not due to starvation. Humans live so crowded together, packed in tiny homes stacked one atop the next, that he could glut himself on nightmares every night and never eat them all. He bounds from home to home, following the murmured cries of ‘baku-san, baku-san’ to those who want their dreams eaten, …
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The courtyard is cramped, jammed full with every active knight, mage, and prominent fighter in the castle. It’s enough to make Uryuu uncomfortable, standing shoulder to shoulder with people he neither likes nor trusts, but there’s nothing for it. At least his tormentors usually leave him be during gatherings like this, not after the first …
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