Rain and Ashes

[leekspins]

[It's the third time this month that she wakes up with a jolt. It takes her a few moments to catch her breath and loosen the knotted blankets in her pale and shaking fist. Slowly her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, finding the familiar shapes and outlines she knows by heart. The table. The picture frame on the dresser. The empty glass. It's just her apartment, and she's alone. But that dream...]

['Woman.']

[Her head sinks into her hands as she sits up. It's been over a year since she last heard Ulquiorra's voice and it still haunts her to remember the look on his face as his body disintegrated into ash right before her eyes. Ever since Shigaraki showed up and she learned what he could do to people, her sleep has grown troubled when she's alone. She has a busy day tomorrow, and she knows she should get some more rest, but looking at her pillow fills her with a quiet dread. She can't bear to see him die again.]

[Ordinarily she'd make herself some tea, or read, or try to figure out more of the riddles in the paper until she's too tired to dream. Maybe she'd even head downstairs and get a head start on baking. But she's restless tonight, and the sound of the rain pattering against her window is oddly alluring. She pulls on her clothes and heads outside.]


[24-Hour Convenience Store]

[By the time she walks through the automatic doors, she's pretty wet, but she still greets the sales clerk with a cheerful smile before heading toward the freezer section to buy an orange popsicle. On a rainy September night. At 2:30 in the morning.]

[And a strawberry milk.]

[The cashier doesn't pass any judgment, just ringing up her purchases while she digs out her communicator, looking at the list of names she knows. She kind of wants to call someone and talk, but... They're probably all asleep, and even if they weren't, what would she say? 'I sure do miss my friend who turned into dust and I'm worried the same will happen to you so please tell me a joke and make me laugh!']

Mm...

[She lowers the communicator, troubled, only to blink in surprise and hastily apologize when she realizes the cashier has been waiting for her to pay. Hastily she digs out a pair of red bills and bows her head before hustling outside. She unwraps the popsicle and pulls up the hood of her jacket. If anyone thinks it looks weird, she'll just say she's getting used to late night patrols.]

-----------------

[Two Hours Later]

[It looks like Orihime was trying to headbutt a vending machine. She's sleeping straight up, arms limp and swung forward, her body tilted into the machine at a perfect 45-degree angle. Her communicator is sticking halfway out of her pocket with a nonsensical message sent out to one or more people:]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chicago

[And there's a popsicle stick hanging out of her open mouth.]

Comments

[Convenience Store]

[hot_handed]

[A loud crash collides with one of the shitty glass doors as Orihime walks out. A few muttered curses and attempting to murder the door later, Bakugou moves to open it, not yet aware of Orihime's presence.]

[leekspins]

[She jumps at the sudden clatter, her heart leaping into her throat, because she's an awesome deputy guardian like that. It does a good job of waking her up! Her head whips around, but even before she lays eyes on Bakugou, she recognizes his reiatsu and swearing.]

Murder-sama?

[She moves herself to stand in the camera's view so the doors will swish open. Was he just craving a snack, or was he having as much trouble sleeping as she was?]

[hot_handed]

Fire Hair?

[He pauses before opening, tugging at his hoodie a little. This rain is hell on his hair.]

You should be in bed.

[leekspins]

SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!

[At least, that's what she imagines he'd say, and it's funny enough to cheer her up. Maybe she'll tag along for a little while if he doesn't have any objections.]

I guess I just needed the fresh air. What about you?

[hot_handed]

Bullshit. SLEEP IS FUCKING INTEGRAL TO THE PROCESS OF HEALING YOUR MUSCLES AND MAKING YOUR BODY STRONGER!!!

I wanted ice cream.

[leekspins]

Ha ha ha!

[Yeah, she feels better listening to him rage about the importance of sleep. The convenience clerk just watches them blandly. In this city? He's seen weirder.]

I bought some snacks too. We can eat them on the way back to your gate, if you like. Or you can stay in the spare apartment again!

[If it's raining in Fayren too, he'll be completely drenched, and that can't be comfortable. ...Or maybe, she quietly admits to herself, she just knows she'll sleep better if he's close by.]

[hot_handed]

Where's the hot sauce?

[The clerk points in the direction silently and Bakugou scoffs at the unhelpful answer. He'll figure it out on his own.]

I won't make you walk all the way back to my gate. You heading back after this?

[leekspins]

[Orihime turns her head toward where the clerk is pointing. Even being able to see, the directions aren't great.]

He pointed toward the last row in the back.

[And she secretly hopes he's going to put the hot sauce on the ice cream. He probably won't, but she still thinks the notion is funny. Her attention gets pulled back at his question.]

Hm? Oh, probably. I was going to walk around for a bit first. I like how it smells outside when it rains.

[She shrugs, smiling.]

[myfayevalentine]

*4.30am isnt such a ridiculous time to be out for some, not when they've just finished a late shift helping out a friend's night club. Faye is making her way home, hoping for a vending machine with something to drink when she sees -*

Orihime?

*Faye heads over quickly at puts a hand on the girl's shoulder - she'll be super pissed if it turns out someone got this girl drunk at let her wander around on her own*

[leekspins]

PWEH!!!

[She jerks upright, blinking blearily as her hands windmill-slap at the vending machine's glowing logo. A pause. Then she turns to look at Faye with the popsicle stick still glued to her lower lip.]

Oh, Faye-san. Good morning.

[Because this is normal.]

[myfayevalentine]

*Faye frowns as she looks at the popsicle stick and reaches a hand out to slowly take it from her lip and toss it away in the nearby bin. She assesses the girl quickly, frowning all the more. She doesn't smell like alcohol at least*

Girl, what are you doing here? You been drinking?

[leekspins]

[Orihime stares blankly at the thin stick of wood as it plunks into the trash. Faye has good aim.]

...Thank you.

[She rubs at her eye and blinks hard before she lets the question soak in.]

Me? I don't think so. I'm underage.

[She's pretty sure popsicles and strawberry milk don't have alcohol in them.]

But I must have been pretty thirsty if I fell asleep here, ne? Ha ha...! What time is it?

[Still dark, so she doesn't think she's been here all that long.]

[myfayevalentine]

Okay. Good. You should keep it that way.

*Because underage drinking is bad everyone, okay? Faye takes a deep breath, keeping her frustration at bay, then shakes her head*

It's after 4am, that's for sure. And that is not the time of day that girls should be wandering around on their own at night. It's not safe.

*Then she looks at the various drinks in the machine*

What do you want?

[leekspins]

I'm a deputy, it's okay...

[She rubs at her eyes again, refusing to yawn. Were she more alert, she'd note that Faye is doing the exact same thing Orihime is, except with greater coherence. Instead she's distracted by the question. What did she want...? She must have dozed off while trying to make up her mind.]

...I think...it was either ginger ale or Super Caffeinated Heart Explosion Blast. What about you?

[myfayevalentine]

Sweetie... That's not the point. A pretty girl, fast asleep, alone in the city...

*She raises a brow at Orihime's suggestions. No way*

You're getting a ginger ale.

*Faye moves forward, getting a ginger ale for Orihime and a milky sweet coffee for herself. She passes the bottle to Orihime, watching her carefully*

[zenoh]

[ 4:30 is not too early for Ayame. It's this time that she starts jogging to get ready for the day. Passing down the route where Orihime fell asleep, Ayame blinks as she stops her jog to attend to her exhausted friend. ]

Oh my, what happened to you?

[ She utters to herself, placing a hand on Orihime's shoulder, poking Orihime's neck with a slight surge of energy to wake the girl up, feeling like putting something cold against her neck. ]

Orihime. This is not the place to sleep. Come on.

[leekspins]

Uwaaaaahhhhh!

[She nearly jumps out of her skin, the violence of her start dropping the popsicle stick from her mouth onto the ground. She stares at Ayame, confused and disoriented for a moment.]

I was sleeping? ...I guess I was...

[She looks at the vending machine, brow furrowed. She doesn't remember stopping here. Maybe she's more tired than she realizes.]

Are we baking today? I can't remember.

[zenoh]

We were, but it's cancelled for today. My teacher is out sick.

[ She comments with a bit of cheek despite her expression remaining calm and gentle. She gently rubs Orihime's shoulder before letting go. ]

Late night patrolling?

[leekspins]

Hee hee...! Don't worry, I never even catch colds. I'm in good health!

[Just a little restless, that's all. She still gets plenty of exercise and maintains a pretty robust appetite for a 17-year-old girl. She appreciates Ayame's kindness, though, smiling warmly at the shoulder rub.]

I was trying to get used to it. I didn't think it would be too bad since I usually wake up early to start baking, but...here I am, ha ha! I guess it's something I'll have to work on more gradually.

[Action] (Hope this is okay!)

[xlvii]

[As Orihime leaves the convenience store, she might get the feeling that she's being watched. A few minutes later, a familiar large bald man silently appears from around a corner, a briefcase in one hand and an umbrella, held out in offering, in the other. 47 remains silent for the moment as he looks at his friend, though he does allow himself a small raise of his eyebrows. What's she doing out this late?]

[Action] (Yup, it's fine!)

[leekspins]

[Funny, she's wondering the same thing about him. Running a greenhouse doesn't typically call for being out in the rain at this hour. ...Which makes her think he had a shady deal for some special fertilizer and that's what he's got in his prestigious briefcase.]

Ha ha ha...!

[Ahhh, she's tired if she's laughing aloud at her own unvoiced jokes.]

Thanks, Ford-san. I'm okay!

[Action]

[xlvii]

[He'll just hold the umbrella over the both of them, then.]

You're up late.

[He doesn't really have a more diplomatic way of putting it.]

[Action]

[leekspins]

Mm. Looks like we both are.

[And she's not sure she's ready to try and explain it. Besides, it's dumb. Bad dreams aren't real, and she'd just feel like a little kid if she admitted that they were bothering her this much.]

What's the briefcase for?

[She doubts he's going to a meeting at this crazy hour.]

[Action]

[xlvii]

May I ask why?

[He glances down at the briefcase when she asks about it.]

Equipment. [And by "equipment", he means "sniper rifle".]

I'm... keeping an eye on things.

[Action]

[leekspins]

Like a vigilante?

[She can't imagine he'd still want to do assassin-for-hire work here of all places, so she's going to assume he's just keeping an eye on the city and shooting troublemakers in the head.]

[And if she doesn't answer his question...well...it's because she's not really sure how to explain it, or if she even wants to. Better just to focus on him for now, in her opinion!]