"So, what are you doing up?" Small talk, that was a good way of breaking the ice with someone who had worked with the guy who had tried to kill you. Or. maybe not, Ikoma had no clue. He wasn't exactly a 'people person'. Takumi was, though. He was always the one to comment on how weird it was that people often stared at Ikoma, he was the one to tell him that he was average in looks when asked - mainly because Ikoma was confused on why people stared at him so much.

It must have been the glasses with a missing lens, Takumi had said.

God, he missed Takumi. Just thinking about him made him a bit sad. He missed the times when they could run around town without people questioning his loyalty or if he was trustworthy or not. He missed the teasing, he missed how Takumi would point out the obvious (like the fact that Uryuu was leaning against a wall, looking at him with a small smile. Come to think of it, why *was* he smiling at him?)

"Uryuu, you still there?" He waved a hand in the blue-haired man's face, noting how his eyes had re-focused on his hand (were they out of focus to begin with?) and how his smile grew the smallest amount when he realized that Ikoma was within arms reach.

Again, he gave no response, only pushing off the wall and taking the hand still in the air, leading them towards the hunters cabin. Ikoma, being curious as to why Uryuu wanted, didn't attempt to pull out of the grip.

The cabin the Kabaneri found himself in was some-what messy, a few stray weapons left on the floor, one or two pieces of clothes strewn across a few beds (which were mostly occupied by sleeping men and women, other beds were bare of any sheets and bodies). He was led to the back of the cabin, out the door, and up to the roof.

He knew that he should be weary, he didn't know if Uryuu wanted him dead or not. Yet, the allure of the stars seemed to erase those thoughts.

They sat in silence, just looking at the trillions of stars blinking at them. It was quiet, peaceful. A gentle breeze rustled their hair, as well as the leaves of trees, faint light rays were reflected onto the clear water of the lake below them. It made him feel as if he had some semblance of normalcy in his life. However brief this moment may be, he let himself enjoy it, he let himself smile.

Biba had often spoken of the blonde Kabaneri, maybe even more than he spoke of Mumei. So, naturally, Uryuu had wanted to see what was so special about the boy. He took him to the roof, wanting to ask him what had possibly made Biba (an arrogant and cocky bastard if Uryuu was to describe him) so enamoured with him.

He decided on asking him at night, when everyone was asleep, there always seemed to be a crowd of people around Ikoma during the day, and if he noticed this, he chose not to acknowledge it.

Ikoma had been asleep when Uryuu had left to find him, so he just opted to wait for him to wait, it hadn't taken all too long. Crimson eyes had fluttered open a minute after his arrival, it made him smile slightly, he didn't know why.

He brought himself back to the present, looking towards Ikoma. The Kabaneri was staring at the sky, his eyes holding liquid stars in them. It made him look innocent, something to protect. Uryuu sighed. He didn't know how the boy had managed to capture Biba's attention, but right now, that answer didn't really matter to him.

Ikoma was overwhelmed, even if he didn't realize that himself. It's only been 11 days since the battle with Biba, and about 22 days since the fall of Aragane station, so the blonde had most likely been transformed somewhere in the midst of the chaos. And given the scars littered across his chest, he - most likely - wasn't transformed in the way Mumei was.

He was a kid (only 16 or 17 years old), and people tend to forget that fact, at least that's what Uryuu had observed. Mumei was a kid as well, only 12, but people at least remembered the fact. Yet, in turn, it led to more pressure being put on the other Kabaneri.

The boy had to keep Mumei safe, which was difficult to do as she often overestimated her own abilities. So that was another load on top of mourning his recently lost friend, dealing with the mental aftermaths of the countless near-death experiences that he has come across in the span of 22 days. As well as protecting the others from the corpses.

So, yeah.

He wouldn't ask any questions, not tonight. Not yet.

Ikoma needed some peace. And if having Uryuu bring him up to the roof of an iron fortress and observe the stars with him in a comfortable silence helped him, he would do that.

Questions can wait. Helping Ikoma can't, he's still human in the mind.

And he can need comfort, too.