While the wind whistled past her ears, she could see the faint shadow in front of her. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't catch up. Her breathing got shallower and her heart sped up until it felt as if it would burst, but the shadow was still too far away from her. She knew that she couldn't stop running, for the black figure on he ground could be linked to that person. The person she had been searching for this whole time. So many months of searching, and he was right in front of her. Why couldn't she run faster? Why did it feel as if her simple sneakers had turned into lead boots? Didn't life understand that this was finally the moment for her to accomplish her dreams and find him?

Apparently, praying your heart out while racing through a crucial situation will end up in your favor. One step after the other, she could feel herself getting closer. A few more steps and she would have caught up to him. The girl reached out a pleading hand. Every passing second felt like an eternity as her hand grew closer and closer. Finally, after all that time of searching, she could see his face. It has been so long that his image had turned into a blur. But she knew that if she saw his face, she would recognize him. No matter what, she would find him and know that it is him no matter how much time has passed. She would do it.

Twelve inches.

Six inches.

Three inches.

Two.

One.

The boy stopped running so abruptly that the girl ran into him. She could feel her eyes starting to cloud up as the boy slowly turned around. And when he finally did… She couldn't see his face. Did he have no face? She rubbed her eyes furiously, trying to wipe the tears out of them to see clearly. As she was raising her head to look at him once more…

YUKI

Yuki jolted out of bed, her breathing uneven and sweat beaded on her face and body. She licked her dry lips and could taste the salty taste of tears on them. Yuki felt her face tentatively and sure enough, there were tears streaked down her cheeks and down onto the pillow she was laying on. She sat there for what seemed to be like hours, and covered her face. The tears didn't seem to have an end to them as she shook in sync with her sobs.

I had that dream again… The dream where I always see him, but I can never stay asleep long enough to see his face. My brother… What did he look like?

Laughter was heard outside of her cabin, and Yuki was thankful that none of her Legion-mates were inside while she had her breakdown. She cautiously slid out of bed and dressed into her purple camp shirt, black shorts, jacket, and shoes. Yuki carelessly and quickly combed her hair, putting it up with a red ribbon. She splashed her face with water a couple of times to get it to look less puffy and red. In about a total of about fifteen minutes, she was out the door.

KARMEN

Karmen stared gloomily into the distance, blocking out all of the chatter and laughter. He had that dream -no, it was a nightmare- again. Or was it more of a memory? The fire, the yelling, the crying, the sudden death of his family… They all seemed so realistic when he dreamt about it over and over again.

The boy shook his head, trying to empty his head of the thoughts. He glanced up, spotting a black-haired girl walk out of her cabin. He smiled and waved to her, signaling the girl to come over and sit next to him.

"Hey Karmen," Yuki greeted, her eyes twinkling. "Did you sleep well?"

Karmen shrugged, narrowing his eyes slightly as the girl sat down. Yuki was trying her best to act normal, but he could tell that something was wrong. He knew her a lot better than she thought. "Eh, not really. I had a bad dream, but enough about me. What about you? It's obvious that you didn't have a dream about ponies and rainbows."

Yuki brushed some of the hair out of her face, hesitating and taking as long as she could to answer. She simply shook her head and looked away. Karmen leaned forward, trying to look at her in the face.

"C'mon now, you know you want to tell me," he pestered. Karmen puffed out his cheeks and pouted immensely, trying to lighten her mood. Yuki couldn't hold it in any longer, and she burst into laughter. Karmen smiled successfully and hugged her gently and reassuringly. "Come on Yuu, tell me what's wrong."

The girl stared at him gratefully with her large gray eyes. Today, her beautiful eyes had a tint of blue in them. Her long hair bobbed as the girl nodded, taking in a deep breath. She fluttered her eyelashes, making Karmen blink, speechless for a second. It took all of his willpower not to look away. "Karmen…" she simply whispered.

Before the boy could respond, he heard almost silent footsteps heading their way. Karmen froze and slowly turned around, releasing Yuki from his hug.