[center][b]Sector Z - Golden Mercenary Barracks[/b][/center] It was decided. The squads would deploy as soon as Hector gave the clear, although the first squad was already setting out to begin the mission. In the barracks, as the commotion died out due to the departure of the mercenaries, Ishigo sat on the top bunk of a lone bed in the back of the room. The room was soon void of all mercenaries, and Ishigo was pleased to have finally found what he was looking for: Solitude. It was extremely rare for him to ever find the time to simply rest and find peace. No, Ishigo was always out and about, always finding a way to help those in need. It took a lot out of him, but by now he was used to it. Still, as he lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, he wished that he could have more moments in which all he needed to do was lay back and dream. Dream about things that once were or things that may be. As his eyelids grew heavy, Ishigo took a deep breathe and relaxed, feeling his consciousness slowly fade from him as he slipped into another dream in the shadows of his solitude. --- [i]~Ishigo sat upon a bale of hay, staring out the half-open barn door. It was raining, the random patter of the raindrops being the only noise filling the otherwise quiet air of the emptied barn. Ishigo rarely took his gaze away from the hypnotic precipitation, but every now and then, he would look down at his feet, realizing how small they were. His eyes would then dart towards his outstretched arms and he would look upon them as if they weren't supposed to be there. "I'm... this is..." he said quietly, realizing he was lucidly dreaming. He was a young child again, and he could tell it was a dream, but it was also a memory. A wave of nostalgia had worked its way into the forefront of his mind, and now he was reliving a memory. He knew, no matter how lucid he was, he could not change this memory. It was the most haunting aspect of the past: What happened happened. And that was it.[/i] [youtube]vg2Icy2GeaE[/youtube] Suddenly, the barn door swung open a bit, only to reveal Ishigo's father, drenched in rainwater, rushing in. He took off his hat and tossed it to the ground, and proceeded to take off his vest and wring it out. He then turned to Ishigo and gave him the warm, reassuring smile that he was famous for. "Rain caught me while I was workin' the fields y'know? Gotta keep an eye out for the waters these days. Spring likes to surprise yah." Ishigo's face slightly lit up with a faint smile and he got up to run back to the back of the barn and retrieve a blanket for his father. "Pa, yah already gotta cold. Stop workin for a bit, please?" Ishigo said softly. His father took the blanket and simply chuckled. As he dried himself off and then wrapped himself in the blanket, he sat down next to Ishigo and put an arm around him. "Now, Ishigo, y'know I've got work to do. Can't letta lil' sneezer get me down, y'know?" Ishigo chuckled and nodded. His father then looked out the barn door and sighed, speaking out once more. "Plus, I've gotta work twice as hard now, since yah mother's pregnant." Ishigo smiled again and looked to his father before speaking, "So... did yah pick a name yet?" His father smiled and looked back to Ishigo, "Nah, we're still deciding. Why? You wanna name the lil bugger?" Ishigo chuckled and nodded, "I have a cool name in mind. But..." His voice trailed off as he looked away and then sighed, giving up at the thought he was about to express. His father looked at him and raised a brow, "What now? What were yah gonna say Ishy?" Ishigo shook his head and looked down, "It's nuffin, Pa." His father chuckled, "Now c'mon, Ishy, yah gotta be straight with me here. You aren't jealous of a newcomer, are yah?" Ishigo chuckled and looked back, "No, pa, it's just... What if the baby doesn't like me? And, what if you're still sick when it comes? We need to make sure everything is done so the baby can have a good life. Ma's prolly gonna be tired after sendin him here, so that means it's up to me, right?" Ishigo's father simply stared at his son with a surprised expression. "Ishigo..." He shook his head as he realized what his son had been worrying about, and then chuckled softly, "...you're somethin' else, boy." Ishigo smiled slightly and then looked up, "Wh-what? Did I do somethin wrong?" His father chuckled and looked down at him. "Nah, yo. Listen. You've been given a great gift by the gods. You know what that is?" his father spoke with a very calm and gentle tone, relieving Ishigo of the worries he had. Ishigo looked up and shook his head "Nah... what is it?" His father then smiled, "You're a hero by heart." Ishigo chuckled at his father's words and then shrugged, "I'm just a kid, pa." His father then nudged him with his elbow and spoke again, "Look, lil one, you're right. Everything's gonna be a helluva lot harder when the lil bugger pops up, but its ok. We've got the spirit of Valira coursing through our veins. You know what that means? We don't back down in the face of nothin. No matter how hard it'll be, I know you'll be able to handle it, Ishy. [i]You're[/i] gonna have to take care of the lil bugger. [i]You're[/i] gonna have to protect 'em, make sure that nothin tries to hurt 'em, y'know? I've tried my hardest to be the best father I could be for yah - to teach yah, and guide yah, but truth is... you've taught me. You're special Ishigo, and I think - no, I KNOW you'll be the best big brother this little bastard could have." Ishigo stared out at the rain, nearly zoning out as his father spoke, but he absorbed every single word and committed it to memory. He knew those words would guide him when the time came, and he was relieved to have been spoken to. "Thanks.... pa." His father chuckled and held him close as he, too, looked out at the peaceful rain, "No prollem, Ishigo." --- Ishigo's eyes opened as he took a deep breath; his rest was short, but it was enough. He didn't like delving too far into his memories, as the happy ones were reassuring, but they were all cut short by a darker ending. Instead, Ishigo sat up and smiled faintly, remembering his father's words. Jin's voice broke his inner peace as he sounded out from nowhere, "[b][i]I can read your inner thoughts, Ishigo. The ones that you try not to pay attention to? The speculations, the 'what if's, and all. Let me tell you something: dreaming is a beautiful thing, but there's a line between dreaming and hoping. If you lose sight of that line... you'll only make yourself miserable.[/b][/i]" Ishigo sat there, emptying his mind as he chose to ignore his kage. He was about to get up and resume his duties, but in the distance he could hear the steady crescendo of a very familiar noise. At first, he felt the growing wave of swishes that eventually evolved into the arrhythmic pattering he was so comfortable with. He lay back down and sighed, closing his eyes and smiling as he slipped away again, lost to the sound of rain outside.