One Above All

Chapter 3: A new home and she...

Kishibe looked out of his bedroom window at the buildings and houses bathed in the morning sunlight.

He hadn't slept much during the night, mainly because the sofa wasn't comfortable enough to sleep on, and because at the moment his bed was being used by an intruder he himself had brought.

He stopped watching the city that was slowly waking up to give his full attention to the little individual who also seemed to be waking up from his long sleep.

The little one's eyes moved with difficulty as he kept them closed, signaling that he was about to wake up. And just like that, the eyes of the child Kishibe had rescued opened.

Upon waking up, the child felt a strange sense of calm, as if everything he had experienced was just a dream. As if none of it had ever happened and his brain had played a trick on him in his realm of dreams.

What happened? Had everything from yesterday really occurred?

His mind convinced him for just a few seconds that everything that had happened was actually a nightmare, and that his mother would come through the door to tell him that breakfast was ready. He would have believed it if this wasn't his room...

He raised his body halfway, sitting up in bed, his eyes wandering around the room, vaguely taking in his surroundings.

There was the bed, of course, very comfortable and large, big enough for two people to sleep in; someone as small as him looked a bit insignificant lying in it. In front of him was a television, to the left was a small worktable with many scattered papers, and to the left was a large wardrobe, large enough for two people if it were shared, but if only one person used it, he couldn't imagine the mountain of clothes it would hold.

'Where am I' he thought drowsily as his eyes continued to scan all around, as if some object in the room could give him the answers he sought. He glanced briefly at the clock on the table next to the papers and could make out that it was 6:30 AM.

"Good morning" he heard a stern voice beside him. He quickly tensed up, turning his head to see Kishibe's composed and calm face looking at him steadily and blankly. Kishibe was sitting in a chair by the window, still wearing the same outfit he had seen earlier, the white T-shirt with straps on the shoulders and those strange things at the back that seemed to be absent now.

"G-Good morning" he responded, still very nervous; he still didn't like this man. Firstly, he felt uneasy knowing that this man had been watching him sleep for who knows how long, and secondly, he didn't know why he was still around.

"Did you sleep well?" Kishibe asked. The hesitant child nodded without knowing how to respond, feeling very uncomfortable discussing this with someone he barely knew and who tended to be scary.

"That's good" Kishibe continued seemingly without discomfort. "I can't say the same for myself. After all, it's impolite to bring a guest into your house and not provide them a proper bed."

The child then realized where he had slept, and his cheeks started to redden with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry!" he exclaimed in a rushed tone, burying his face in the blankets to hide his embarrassment.

Kishibe merely shook his head. "That doesn't matter." He stood up from his chair, which creaked with the movement, walked to the door, and grasped the knob, but before exiting, he turned his gaze back to the child "When you're ready, you can take a shower. The bathroom is to the left of this door. Then wash your clothes and come downstairs. There are some things we need to discuss."

After saying that, Kishibe left the room, his footsteps fading behind the walls and gradually becoming inaudible.

The child was finally alone. He stared at the door for several seconds, questioning whether that conversation was real or not, wondering if it was just a product of his imagination. Perhaps this was still a dream.