Kirin's doctors appointment had been uneventful - well, not entirely. She had "accidentally" kicked the doctor's stool out from under him when her mother wasn't looking - the act got her an approved smile. They both hated going to the doctor. Her mother more than her. Especially after the incident four years ago...

"Just a respiratory infection - nothing too serious, Mrs. Volkov," the doctor said, then he gave her mother a prescription for some medicine and shooed them out the door and called in the next patient.

The ride home was equally uneventful - save for the phone call from her mother's friend saying that her and her son weren't going to make it until next week. They stopped at the pharmacy to get her medicine then continued on home. When they got there, they discovered that - after finding a note written by Damian on the fridge - her father and brother had decided to have an unexpected Boys Night Out, and wouldn't be back until a little after ten. Kirin and her mother did the only thing they could. They had a Movie Night (since Kirin was sick, and couldn't leave the house - save for a return trip to the doctor's office if her condition got worse). Currently, the two of them were snuggled up on the love seat watching Mighty Joe Young and eating popcorn. When the movie ended, Kirin went over to put in a different movie when she heard the tell-tale sound of police sirens and screeching tires approaching. She didn't even have time to shield her eyes when a familiar 1969 Dodge Charger, and its law-abiding pursuers, raced by in a blur of color. It gave her a small headache.

"And here I thought Jasper was going to be a quiet town."

Kirin didn't flinch - she was used to her mother popping up out of no where.

"At least it won't be boring," she said, and turned away. Looking down, Kirin saw that her mother had already replaced the Mighty Joe Young DVD with a disk from their Land of The Lost collection, so she went back and curled up on her spot on the love seat, and waited for her mom. Her mom sat down a few moments later, she pulled Kirin close before playing the movie.

"I was scared, you know," her mother said, suddenly. "I was afraid that it was going to be something bad like before."

Kirin sighed, scooting closer. "That was four years ago, mom."

Her mom's grip on her tightened. "...I just don't want to lose you."

Kirin could almost feel her mother's fear. It didn't surprise her, though. It made sense that her mother would be afraid, the incident four years ago wasn't the only time her mother had come close to losing her due to a serious ailment. The first time it had happened, she had got a really bad case of pneumonia when she was four and a-half months pregnant with Kirin and Damian. It landed her in the hospital for weeks, and she almost had a miscarriage. Then there was the incident four years ago, when Kirin was diagnosed with a brain tumor - it nearly killed her but luckily the treatments had worked and she made a full recovery. Laying her head against her mother's shoulder, Kirin breathed in the scent of her mother's homemade perfume, eyes closed: strawberries and something else she couldn't quite make out - she never could - she didn't have the nose for the stuff. Kirin mentally shrugged, oh well, she thought.

The two of them stayed like this long after the movie was over, and a while longer after her father and brother came home. Kirin pulled away from her mom's side, said goodnight and fell in step behind Damian as the two of them walked up the stairs to their rooms. No sooner had the two of them reached the top, the familiar sound of things falling to the kitchen floor with a clang stopped them dead. Groaning, Kirin waved goodnight to her brother, and walked into her room and shut the door.


Kirin woke to the sound of someone prodding her awake. She opened her eyes, only to see Damian leaning over her. Narrowing her eyes, Kirin sat up and yawned.

"What do you want, Damian?"

A smile spread across his face, it was the kind of smile that told Kirin that her twin found a way to get them into big trouble.

"Guess what I found out when dad and I were at K.O. Burgers?" he asked hurriedly.

Kirin crossed her arms, and said, "What?"

Her brother's stupid smile broadened. Not good.

"They have night racing!"

Kirin was sure her eyes were as wide as saucers, then narrowed into a heated glare. Night racing meant trouble, and trouble followed Damian around like a lost puppy.

"Don't you even think about it, Damian Volkov!" she hissed, throwing her covers off. "Don't you remember what I did to you the last time you participated in such races?! No? Well then, let me remind you-!" Her fist connected with his gut - not hard enough to knock him out, just enough to leave him winded -, sending him to the floor in a black heap beside her bed. Looking down at him, Kirin sighed deeply, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Why did she have to have an such idiot for a brother? Let alone as a twin? Made no sense.

"Look, Damian," she began, slowly. "The last time you went night racing, mom and dad almost found out - and you were almost caught by the police. Do you really want to do this, again?"

Damian picked himself off the ground, clutching his gut. "Come on, Rin, just one race?!"

Kirin shook her head. "No."

Damian gave her his famous 'beg face'.

Kirin closed her eyes, and groaned. "Fine," she said, and held up her index finger. "Just one race! If anything goes wrong - and mom and dad find out - you're taking the wrap." No sooner had she said that, Damian wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kirin rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"All right, Mr. Hazard, that's enough hugging." She pushed her brother away and pointed towards the door. "Meet me out front in five minutes, I need to grab some things." Damian nodded his head vigorously and headed for the door.

After he left, Kirin face palmed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I'm going to regret doing this." She said, and proceeded to get around for the race.