As they pulled into the parking lot of the building, neither said anything. Mary had a smile on her face as she climbed out. She followed closely behind Seto as he climbed the stairs.

"There might be a little mess," he said "it was Kano's turn to do chores this week." Seto swung the door open. Kido was fussing away in the kitchen, and Kano, as usual, was nowhere to be seen. The floor's usual coating of dirt around the front door had been swept away. "Hey, we're here!" Kido whipped around. Her surprise quickly turned into a smile.

"You're back! I wasn't expecting you two for another few minutes," Kido let out an awkward laugh. "Sit down." She used a wooden spoon to point them to the kitchen table. Seto pulled a chair out for Mary and sat down next to her.

"Kido, this is Mary," he said.

"Nice to meet you," said Mary, blush spreading across her face. "Seto has told me a lot about you." That was a little bit of a lie. Had he really said that much about Kido?

"Where's Kano?" Seto quickly tried to change the subject.

"I don't know if he'll be joining us tonight," Kido pursed her lips and turned back to her cooking. "So, Mary, what do you think about school?"


Kano didn't show up until dinner was in full swing. Mary was saying something about her gardening when he entered. He tried to sneak in, but Kido caught him in the den.

"Hi Kano, what have you been up to?" She ringed her voice with innocence.

"Nothing." Kano stood frozen like a deer in headlights. "Who's this?" He pointed at Mary.

"One of Seto's friends from school," Kido smiled while Mary bowed her head.

"Oh. I was just going to bed."

"Really? Are you sure you don't want something to eat?" Kido's voice was rising in pitch.

"No, I'm fine. Honest," he said. "Come on. I'm tired as hell."

"Kido, just let him go to bed. If he can't eat now, he can fend for himself later," Seto interjected, playing the moderator. "It's no big deal." A wave of relief swept across Kano's face. Kido softened a little bit as well.

"Fine. Go to bed. See what I care. It's only six anyway," Kido said, setting her hands on the table. "Goodnight." Kano disappeared behind the doorframe. "What an asshole." She drank her soda.


Mary said polite goodbyes to Kido, thanking her for dinner. She followed Seto out to the car, clinging to his sleeve in the half-darkness. They climbed in on opposite sides. She didn't say anything at first. At first, they rode in silence.

"Your sister doesn't seem to like your brother."

"It's stupid, I know."

"It's not stupid," She said quietly "because she shouldn't hate him."

"She doesn't hate him. It's just stupid because neither of them like what the other one does. It's stupid because they're just being annoying teenagers like they are. One day, they'll be over it."

"Are they sad?" Mary let the question hang in the air. "About what happened? Have you told them that it isn't their fault?"

"They know that it isn't their fault," Seto said.

"But what if they don't? What if they hate each other because they think about their own responsibility for something outside of their control? If she was sick, it isn't their fault."

"She wasn't sick, Mary," Seto coughed "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay."


When he got home, Kido was still picking up. He tried to sneak past her like Kano, but that didn't work for him either.

"What does she know about us?" Kido asked without turning around.

"That we're like her. Not much else."

"Then her red eyes do something too?"

"Yeah," Seto thought about his experience with them that morning "scared me half to death the first time."

"So what are they?"

"They froze me for a few minutes. Like the medusa."

Kido nodded "She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she really is."

"Don't let anything happen to her, okay?" Kido finally turned around to look at him.

"I promise. G'night, Kido."

When he reached the hallway, he could hear Kano shifting around in his bedroom. He was muttering some stuff under his breath and Seto thought about what Mary said to him earlier. They're making do. They don't think any of this is their fault. It was a few years ago, anyway. We're recovering.

Seto sat down on the end of his bed and bounced up and down a little. Mary's bed was soft, and he wondered if she was hiding underneath a mountain of sheets, like it was normal to think about. He didn't know her until a few days before. He hardly knew her at all. But she was soft and kind and Seto couldn't help but falling asleep with only her on his mind.