The dreams came back that night
Not memories
Just twisted reflections
His brother's face
Burning
Smiling
Screaming
Begging
Then the sound
That terrible cracking sound like bones snapping underwater
Shigure jolted awake gasping
His fingers curled around his blade before his eyes even opened
The city was quiet
Too quiet
Not the peaceful kind
The kind that warned you something was waiting
Just outside the frame of your vision
He stood slowly checking the shadows around him
Nothing moved
Nothing breathed
But something watched
He stepped out from the alley feeling the chill of unseen eyes on his back
There were no stars tonight
Only a thick sick sky full of smoke and ash and guilt
Every step felt heavier
Not from pain
But from weight he couldn't shed
He saw a woman kneeling near the edge of the street
Whispering to a body covered in cloth
Her child maybe
Or her husband
Or just someone she wanted to believe had come back
He didn't speak to her
Didn't offer comfort
What could he say
He didn't even believe in healing anymore
Only survival
And even that was beginning to rot
As he walked away
Her sobs turned into laughter
Broken shrill unstoppable
Like the city had finally cracked her too
Shigure didn't look back
Even silence screams
He'd just learned to stop listening