1A/N: World Trigger is returning, but that isn't the only thing that's coming back...
He woke with a gasp. His body trembled, his thin sheet slipping from his chest and falling to rest on his lap as he bolted upright, lungs heaving. Sweat dotted his neck and brow, and his burning skin felt feverish. If it weren't for what he'd just seen in his dreams, he'd think he was horribly ill.
Sloppily untangling his legs from his sheet, he turned and moved to the edge of his bed, settling his feet on the cool wood of the floor. He let his shoulders droop and his head sink until he was hunched over, trying to catch his breath. His brain was overwhelmed with sights, sounds, fleeting sensations of touch, and a scent so strong he could taste it. It took everything he had not to crumble, to hold himself together until slowly but surely his composure returned.
Slicking back his light brown locks with shaky fingers, he slowly got to his feet. He stumbled as he stood, and found himself leaning against the wall for support. He was left shuffling, slowly making his way to the door. Only once he reached it was he finally able to stand on his own, and he made his way sluggishly into the hallway.
With silent steps, he journeyed towards the stairs. Momentarily he paused by a door, staring at it as more flashes from his dream streaked through his mind. He shook it off and continued.
Like a zombie he climbed the steps toward the roof, his body exhausted from the dream that left him in a haze. He paused halfway up, out of breath as his legs threatened to give out. He was too tired to be up and walking around, but he was suffocating inside the building. He needed to go outside, somewhere away from the ground and everything on it. He needed to be somewhere open where nothing surrounded him or towered over him, where he could look out and see the world around him with few obstructions.
Once he reached the roof, he crossed the open area to the far edge. The ledge stood a few feet above the ground, a difficult hurdle in his pitiful state, but he needed to pass it to reach the freedom the open air would bring.
It took a few tries for him to crawl up, his body tilting left and right as he fought for balance in the windy night with a body too weak to function properly. However, he kept trying, and soon he was standing.
The gusting winds slipped through his hair, whipping it around his head. His eyes blinked rapidly against the cool assault of air that dried up their moisture, but through his lashes he could see the lights of the city and the river that passed below the Tamakoma building. The chilly wind cut through the thin t-shirt and sweatpants he wore, chilling him to the bone, though the sensation was refreshing. He preferred the cold to the burning heat he had felt when he was inside, something that had made him feel claustrophobic and suffocated.
On the ledge of the roof, he felt his mind ease its frantic panic. The assault on his senses ceased, everything sorting itself out and coming together to form a single thread of images paired with muffled sounds. The smell that had been so strong before had waned to something more bearable, joining the gentle ghosts of touch, a hand on his shoulder, a trigger in his hand, to form a background that brought the sounds and images to life. They made them feel real. Perhaps they would be quite soon.
In the darkness of the night, Yuichi Jin looked up at the moon and sighed. Something was coming, something huge, and it was coming fast.