"Of course," Kiros muttered to himself as the car slowed to a stop right outside of Timber. The heat hadn't worked for the entire drive, but had just decided to kick in the moment before he ran out of gas.

The radio was still on, scanning automatically through the local stations as the car began to give out. He caught tidbits of the news and of songs as the stations changed. "...result of the war..." "two hundred Galbadian soldiers..." "gas prices on the rise..." "died in a car crash early yesterday..."

"Nothing but good news as usual," he commented ironically.

"...reach me out then, you will know that you are not dreaming..." the radio went on.

Kiros tuned in the last station when he heard the familiar melody and voice. He smiled as the song ended. He'd met her a few times himself before "Eyes On Me" had been released. There was dead air on the station after the song, and it gave him an eerie, lonely feeling, so he switched off the radio and got out of the car.

It was, he thought, about two in the morning and he now had to walk a few blocks into Timber, instead of driving in a nice, suddenly warm car. He would also have to leave the car there, go to the Timber Car Rental, and have them come and get it. He wondered how much they would charge him for that little favor. He also wondered whether, if he mentioned the fact that the heater had been broken, they'd give him a break. But then again, he didn't like to harp on things like that.

"Try to be a nice guy," he muttered sarcastically to himself, "try to give people a break, save a little girl..." He remembered that he didn't want to think about the weird scene with the little girl, and her father, who seemed familiar to him for some reason, even though he hadn't gotten a good look at him.


Snow began to fall as he walked towards Timber. Kiros once again pulled his coat tighter around him. "'Damn this cold weather' is right," he said to himself. He hated the cold.


-------------------


Timber Car Rental had been kind enough to ride the few blocks out of town and tow the car back without charging him for the fuel. They understood that there were no gas stations on the way from Deling City to Timber, and Kiros was thankful for that.

By the time he had walked into the business district of the city of Timber, most of the shops were closed anyway, and the Timber Hotel was a few steps away. He was hungry, but the idea of sleeping in a warm bed took precedence over eating, so he stumbled tiredly into the hotel and once again used a credit slip.

The young girl behind the check in desk at the hotel was pretty, and she asked him with a smile if he would need anything during his stay.

"I'll let you know," he said, not wanting to be rude to her. It had been a long time since a stranger had been even remotely friendly, and he didn't want to discourage it in anyone. "But," he said under his breath as he walked toward the elevator, "I think you're a little too young for me."

Kiros awoke suddenly in his dark hotel room and found himself reaching for his katal beside his bed before he was even fully aware of what he was doing. He fumbled around in the dark and unfamiliar place with his hands, before coming in contact with the cold steel blade on the dresser. He held his breath, listening intently for whatever might have woken him up as he slipped his hand, quietly as he could, into one of the katal, and gripped the internal handle.

"Just nerves," he told himself, as he allowed himself to breathe again and let go of his weapon. But as he turned the light on, he realized that he still had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't shake. Something just didn't feel quite right, and he began to wonder if he had simply been alone for too long. Since parting ways with his comrades a year or so before, he hadn't really been close with anyone. In fact, when he thought of it, he realized that not many people even knew he existed anymore. He had always been quiet and tried to stay in the background of each situation, but had never been so isolated for such a long period of time. He assumed that anyone who had known of him would have filed him under "Missing In Action" and forgotten about him. Well, almost anyone. He realized with a small amount of surprise, that he had probably talked to himself more than he had talked to anyone over the last year.

He sighed and turned over. He could see the barest, faintest lightening of the dark sky, from the part in the curtains. The clock on the dresser across the room read 4:23 A.M.

Something was wrong; he could feel it in his chest, and his shaking hands.

He was too tired to get out of bed. It was obscenely cold out there and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep. But they wouldn't stay closed. He sat up and toyed with his unbraided, wavy hair.

"Damnit," he muttered, and got out of bed.


---------------


Kiros wondered what he must have looked like, should anyone see him as he walked down the deserted street. His coat was so bulky over his old sweater, he almost mistook himself for Ward as he caught his reflection in the window of the weapons shop. He wondered what Ward was up to, and just then, he missed him terribly.

As he stared at his reflection, almost mesmerized by it, he realized that he even looked lonely. He narrowed his eyes and tried to make his most impressive dangerous face, then laughed at himself and continued walking. He could hear a train in the distance, approaching the bridge ahead of him, and he wondered who would be taking a train at this hour, where they could be going and for what purpose. He wondered what kind of lives they would lead.

"Train train, take us away," he sang under his breath. But his own low voice sounded eerie and uncomfortable, so he stopped. Besides, he reminded himself, he couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle on it.

He came to a halt on the overpass above the train tracks. He saw the light of the train heading for the tunnel under him, and the figure of a man, from what he could tell by the broadness and height, swaying precariously on the small ledge outside of the guard rail.

Kiros was physically startled and almost reacted immediately, but a quick thought told him that a sudden movement could scare the other person even more, and send him falling toward the train tracks. He didn't think that the fall alone would be enough to necessarily kill someone, if they were very lucky. Damage them a great deal, yes, the man would be looking at some broken bones at the very least. But the oncoming train would crush him flat.

Kiros didn't know what to do. He knew he had to do something, but couldn't risk scaring him by calling out to him. He also knew he couldn't waste any more time.

"Hey," he said softly. The man, who had dark hair, which seemed to be tucked into his collar, didn't seem to hear him. He walked a little closer. "Don't - don't be startled or anything, okay?" Kiros said quietly. "You're kind of in a dangerous place there-"

"'S'alright," a rough, shaky voice answered. "Not gonna jump..."

The train was nearing the tunnel, slowing down, but not enough that it would stop in time, should the man fall onto the tracks. Kiros came closer as the man swayed. The hand he had been using to hold onto the guard rail fell away limply, and now he was balanced on the small ledge. A small gust of wind would be enough to knock him off. Kiros was now right behind him; he could see that the man was shaking, and he found that he was shaking as well. He had come out for a walk because he couldn't sleep, and now he was about to watch someone throw himself in front of a train.

"Not gonna jump," the man repeated as the train came closer. "But I might fall..."

He let himself go limp and began to fall forward more quickly than Kiros thought he would have. Without even thinking about it, he reacted, and managed to hook the man's sleeve with his fingertips. It was enough for him to grab onto his arm and pull him back.

The man didn't resist as he pulled him back over the guard rail. He only seemed semi aware of what was going on anyway. His head fell forward and his shoulder length black hair fell out of the collar.

"Mother of Ifrit," Kiros said, breathing hard and shaking with adrenaline. The man fell to his knees, and Kiros with him. The train passed under the bridge below them, sending a gust of wind up through the grating, which blew the man's damp hair out of his face.

Kiros almost fell over in shock.

"Laguna," he whispered.