I Can See You

Disclaimer: Disclaimer? Let's not and say that I did. Ahh... okay. I don't own Bleach. In fact, Bleach owns me. Anyway, I got to thinking about how Ishida must have always been able to see hollows even when he was little, and even though, when I was young, I knew the howling outside was just a dog, for him... it could very probably have been a hollow. Talk about nightmares.

Ishida Uryuu woke up with tears in his eyes.

A piercing cry faded into the night as he bolted upright. A shudder passed through his body, a feeling of terror that he was all too used to. He pulled his blanket up around his chin and clenched it there, trying to steal comfort from the warm fabric. The night was cold, though, and the wadded cloth only chilled him further. Another cry tore the air, a plea filled with heartbreaking fear and pain.

Ishida squeezed his eyes shut as tears coursed down his cheeks. He gasped in broken breaths, willing the sounds to dissipate, but they did not.

He finally gathered the courage to sit up. His hands shook on the window sill and his heart beat painfully against his rib cage. He felt like he was going to be sick, but it didn't keep his eyes from focusing through the glasses he hadn't taken off that night, from seeing a glimpse of a face in the street outside his window, a meeting of gazes, a mutual realization.

I can see you.

Ishida held the child's gaze—out of obligation? Of mercy, of fear?—until a darker shadow lunged in front of the girl. Their locked gazes were torn apart at that moment, and a final scream—so cold that it froze his blood in his veins and sent a wave of dizziness through him like a knife—echoed in the air before gurgling to a whispered stop. She had looked about eight. She looked his age.

"I'm s—sorry," Ishida murmured. He fell away from the windows, supporting himself with his hands over his wrinkled blankets. Fresh tears built in his eyes and slipped down.

He'd heard people say that humans feared what they could not see.

For him, that wasn't the problem. He feared the things he could see, the things that others weren't aware of, but that he saw as clearly as the sky above him.

He feared these creatures of death, and yet he could do nothing to stop them. He was only a child; helpless, and all he could do was steel himself to look into the eyes of those victimized by the creatures, offering them silent solace in their last moments.

To look into their eyes...to let them know they weren't alone...that someone else shared their pain.

For now, that was all the young boy could do.

He curled up, shivering, under the blankets. The sky rumbled with distant thunder, even though there was no hint of a storm outside. He tried to sleep but his eyes wouldn't remain closed, memories of that final scream echoing in the black abyss and forcing him awake. The covers suddenly seemed inadequate. His whole body shuddered violently, trying to rid itself of a cold that had seeped into his bones. More than that, it tried to banish the memories.

I can see you...

Ishida wanted to feel human warmth. He wanted to hear soothing words.

He wanted to know he was still alive, that he was not alone.

But his mother was not here. If he went to his father, the man would simply say that fear was a trait held only by the weak. It was what he always said.

Despite that, Ishida got up from his bed. Unwilling to part with his blanket, he dragged it with him, wrapping it around his slender frame like a cape ten times too big for him. It trailed several feet behind him as he walked away from his room to another one, far down the hall and around a corner. Ishida Ryuuken had arrived home from work a few hours ago, and the light from his room seeped from a half-open door, where a large textbook lay open under a lamp. Ishida peeked in.

His dad lay asleep across the thin blankets, only half-covered by them. The severe expression lingered on his face even in rest. Ishida tiptoed into the room. Every footstep sounded unbearably loud. Adrenaline sliced through his veins.

He didn't want to know what would happen if his dad woke up.

With the fingers of his small hands shaking, he tugged the covers over his dad. The warmth of the light around him calmed his fears as exhaustion closed in, reminding him how little sleep he'd gotten.

He knew he should have left right away, but couldn't bring himself to, and before he knew it, he'd sunk down to the floor in a loose sitting position, arms crossed on his father's warm mattress, chin cocked onto it at an awkward angle. He promised himself that he'd leave in just a moment, but his fingers clenching the blanket slowly loosened as sleep overtook him.

I will become strong. Soon... one of these days I'll do more than just watch. I promise.

He sank tentatively into the warmth as his fingers tightened over his father's, giving no thought to what would happen when morning came. For now, he just needed to know he wasn't alone.

Notes: I know this is just a little itsy bitsy thing, but I couldn't help writing it. Ishida is one of my favorite characters, and he was unbelievably adorable when he was little. (huggles him) Anyway, I'd love any thoughts at all. Please Review?