"Hey Kirin. Is it true your brother's coming home?"

The raven-haired girl looked at her fellow classmate curiously.

"I don't know. Is he?"

"I heard the other girls talking; they said he was taking the next train home. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Kirin knew something good was going to happen today. She just knew it. Myde had been gone for what seemed to be so long; she almost forgot what he looked like.

"Did…did anyone say when he'd be here?"

Her friend just shook her head.

"The next train comes tonight. If your mom says so, you can probably wait for it."

So she asked her mother when she came home.

"Absolutely not," was her response. "You're ten years old, and you're still a young girl. You can't go there by yourself at night."

"I wasn't going there by myself. I was wondering if you could come with me. Dad was on the trip with Myde, right? We could both welcome them when they get here."

"The train's arrival is past your bedtime. Besides, they will probably be very tired after such a long ride. You can wait until tomorrow to welcome them." Kirin's mother looked out of her window and sighed. "I just hope they make it home safe."

She seems so sad thought Kirin. That's when the topic crept into her mind. It took all of her courage to even bring it up.

"Mum, Myde used to tell me stories about his father, and…and why he's not here anymore. Why don't you talk about him?" Her mother continued to be silent, so Kirin continued. "I think I could learn a lot from you. You knew him longer than Myde. Why won't you tell me about him?"

"It's because he isn't your father. Rudol is."

"But I already know about my dad. I want to learn more about Myde's dad."

"Some other time. Not now, sweetie."

Kirin looked down and said, "I've got homework to do."

"On a Friday?" said her mother in a puzzled voice, but Kirin rushed up the stairs to her room and locked the door.

Once the door was locked, she slumped down and started to sniffle. It was like her mother wouldn't talk about it at all. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and looked at Tuttles, who was placed on top of a small stack of videotapes. They all had goofy sounding titles that had nothing to do with the contents. She picked one called "In Love with a Beach Ball" and put it in the VCR. The screen showed only two seconds of static before a familiar face appeared on the screen. Myde came close to the camera lens and breathed on it before wiping it clean with his sleeve.

"That's better. (waves) Hey Kirin. Well, we're still here, and we both miss you, right Rudol?"

Her father had his back turned and has talking on a phone. It sounded like he was saying, "I miss you too, love." He was probably talking to their mother. Myde only smiled and pretended to blow kisses at the camera, which made her smile.

"I promise that I'm coming back soon. You'll see. I can't tell you exactly why we're here because…" he leaned close to the camera and said in this insanely serious voice, "If I tell you, I'm gonna have to kill you. Mwahaha!" He then returned to his seat and said, "Y'know that song I was learning to play before I left? Well, I think I got most of it down."

He started to tune up his guitar and said in an announcer's voice, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the talented and handsome Myde is proud to present the song 'Jessica' by the Allman Brothers Band on guitar. This is dedicated to his little sister, Kirin. We hope you enjoy it."

The soft melody felt like it was escaping the screen and entering her room. She hugged Tuttles and smiled. This song was perfect for her. It was happy sounding and it always made her smile. Her feet started to move beneath her criss-crossed legs. She couldn't' help it; she loved to dance. Her mother was always a very musical person, and her father had a way with words. When the song was done, Myde did his usual farewell ritual, which was singing a verse from that Sound of Music goodbye song. This made her smile, too. Her brother always found a way to cheer someone up. His eighteenth birthday was coming up, so she decided to make a film of her own.

With a change of clothes and the camera adjusted and turned on, she sat on her bed.

"Happy Birthday Myde…" She drew a blank. How come he was so good in front of a camera and she wasn't? She threw Tuttles at the lens and said, "Tuttles Attack! Rawr!" She then decided to talk about how she was sleeping better at night, how she and Mum missed him and Dad, and what she was learning in school. She then said, "I don't know when you're getting this tape, but you should know that I miss you. And, my birthday's coming up, too. When you get home, we'll exchange gifts." She waved goodbye and blew a kiss to the camera. She knew he'd like that.

"Kirin, could you come down here please?"

"She's using that tone again," she said to Tuttles. "That can only mean one thing: she means business."

When Kirin came downstairs, her mother was sitting in a chair with a tote bag in her lap.

"Have a seat, love."

Her daughter took a seat across from her, hugging the toy turtle she gave her son so many years ago.

"Kirin, I've given it some thought, and I think we should go by the station to welcome your father and brother home. I brought a blanket and some water in case we needed them. Do you want to come with me?"

Kirin didn't have to think to answer that. Of course she would go. She hugged her mother tightly.

- - -

"Attention passengers, there will be a short delay in our arrival due to an unexpected road block. We will be taking a detour," rang the intercom. Myde sighed in frustration.

"How much longer do we have to wait? It can't be that big of a block, right? Can't they just clear it off and keep going?"

Rudol put down his book and answered, "Perhaps." He then whipped out a deck of cards from his pocket and started to shuffle them. "How about a game of Rummy while we wait? You've gotten better since the last time we played, and I want to see if you can beat me this time."

"I won't accept defeat that easily, old man," said Myde with a grin. "My dad was pretty good at cards himself." He was handed the deck and said, "He taught me a game that guarantees me a 100 percent chance of winning." He then threw the cards into the air. Rudol tried to catch them while they were still in the air, but most of them fell to the ground.

"What sort of trick was that?" spat Rudol.

"52 Card Pick Up," said Myde with a grin. "My dad did the same thing with me the first time we played. I'll help if you want."

"With pleasure," he replied, his voice hinting his frustration.

While picking up the cards, Myde said, "Have you noticed we haven't been moving for the past five minutes? You'd think we'd be moving after finding a detour, right?"

"Perhaps another obstacle came up," suggested Rudol.

"Whatever it is, I just want to get home as soon as possible. Kirin and Mom are waiting for us."

- - -

"Hey Zexion, can I talk to you for a second?"

The young man with dark hair only mumbled to the hooded person.

"Was that a yes?" asked the hooded person.

"Yes," replied Zexion in an aggravated tone. "What is it?"

"What I'm about to tell you is top-secret. No one else, not even the Superior, is supposed to know about this. It's sort of a confession on my part."

"Just spit it out and get it over with."

"When we were whole, I think I was a-"

Before he could continue, another hooded person showed up. It was one of the new recruits, the one the Superior gave special attention to, which ticked the other hooded person off.

"Look, we have two more recruits. I've already spoken with the eldest of the two. You get the other one."

The man groaned. "Is this guy gonna be annoying like Axel?"

"He seems to be more confused than annoying."

He sighed and said, "Fine. I'll deal with this weenie. Will you leave me alone then?"

- - -

"Are you Lillian?"

Kirin's mother stood up and said, "Yes I am. Is there a problem, sir?"

"Ma'am, I regret to inform you that there's been an accident with the train. Apparently there was an unexpected raid, and none of the passengers made it out. I'm sorry about your loss."

Kirin stared at the officer with eyes of disbelief. Her brother couldn't have died; he wouldn't have. She looked at her mother, who only thanked the officer for informing her and sat down. She was silent for a long time until she started to sob.

"Mum, when he said they were gone, he really meant they were…gone?"

"Yes, baby." She embraced her daughter, who began to cry, too. Myde was her best friend, and he was gone…

(Poor Kirin. What do you suppose really happened to Myde and Rudol? What was Xigbar about to say? How does this all connect? You'll find out soon enough.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to type them via the review box. Thank you.)