The early afternoon sun was far too gentle today—not strong enough. It wasn't even warm out, it was cold. Cold enough to see your breath manifest briefly in the air and vanish before you. That was what Mika hated most about Northern America. It was too cold for a girl born in tropical conditions.

But the cold at least helped her once a sweat was worked up when outside. Like now, when she kicked the soccer ball to her friends.

"Dominik," she called, gently kicking it with the toe of her shoe. It strayed but he scrambled over just in time to stop it. And as he did, he coughed loudly and had to stop to catch his breath, hunched over with his hands on the knees of his wet, grass-stained pants.

"Are you okay, Dominik? Do you need to take a rest?" Lily quickly came over to him and placed a hand to his back. He shook his head fiercely, hand over his mouth as he tried to prevent the oncoming coughing fit.

"I-I'm fine," Dominik finally said, clearing his throat. "We can continue!" He kicked the ball back to Mika who wedged it between her sole and the ground as it came.

She shook her head. "No, I think we should take a break. I'm feeling a bit winded myself. Don't you, Mei?" Mei, who was tying her hair back, immediately caught on and nodded. "Definitely. You had us running up and down the playing field!"

Dominik gave a small smile, eyes lighting up. "I did?"

"Yeah!" Yong Soo joined in. "Geez, we might be more tired than you!" He plopped down onto the grass with a loud, labored grunt. "Best to take a rest, yeah?" The other teens agreed in a low murmur of yes's and yeah's but Dominik would have nothing of it.

"No! I-I'm fine, see?" The boy began to kick the ball around again. Mika sighed and stretched, going to play with him again. Dominik was never the type to suggest they continue playing; he was more of the type to encourage resting, since he was so frail. But in cases like these where they pitied him, he'd push until they were convinced that he was alright and that his condition hadn't bothered him at all.

The ball was kicked powerfully to Mika and, caught by surprise, she went for it, skidding on her side on the wet grass. She kicked it with her toe, sending it through the air. Before she could register what was happening, it skimmed over Mei's head, forcing a frightened squeal out of her, and slammed into the head of a passerby. One on a motorcycle. His bike tipped and he fell with a loud shout, head hitting the asphalt and that was all Mika saw when she wiped the grass's water from her eyes.

"Mika!" Lily went to help her up but their eyes were set on the biker who'd fallen over.

"Shit, that's my fault, isn't it." Without waiting another moment, she pulled herself to her feet, with Lily's help, and went over to the street where the biker lay. The others followed and they peered over the fallen bike at the man sprawled in the street. He groaned, holding his white-haired scalp in his hands, and pulled himself up with a bit of difficulty with the cheap bike crushing his left leg. The kids jumped back and he stood up and walked onto the curb, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

And the moment he opened his eyes, Mika held her arms out in front of the others, almost in protection.

"What's the big idea," he asked with a slight sneer in his raspy voice. "What hit me?"

"A ball," Mika answered quickly. "We were playing and I kicked it and I'm sorry." Words were coming out in a jumbled mess and she cursed herself for not knowing why. What made him so peculiar to her?

"Well, you should watch where you're kicking! If this street was busy today, I coulda been killed!" he snapped, causing Dominik to hide behind Lily, who hid behind Yong Soo.

"I—Right," Mika said, brows furrowed. "And it was acciden—"

"I-It was my fault," Dominik spoke up, peering around Lily's hip. "I kicked too hard and she slipped trying to get and—and it was an accident!"

When crimson eyes fell on him, his angry expression softened at seeing his light hair and pale skin. Just like him. He rubbed the back of his head, averting half-lidded eyes to the side. "I…Alright. I guess it's fine. Just watch what you're doing, 'kay?"

All but Mika nodded, bewildered by the strange-looking man as he nodded to them and picked his bike up. He murmured a curse at the scratches in the metal and quietly apologized to the bike. "Baby," was the only thing Mika heard. As response she released a tiny chuckle before covering her mouth.

Gilbert whipped his head around at her, glaring. "What?"

"'Baby'," she spouted, covering her mouth.

Impulsively, he abandoned his vehicle and went to grip Mika's collar tightly, dragging her up onto the tips of her toes. "Is there a problem with loving my bike?" he growled. Yong Soo stepped forward to push Gilbert away but the older man pushed him before he could get a chance.

"No," Mika said, uncovering her smile. "Just that that bike's not worth being called baby."

"Excuse me?" The madder he got, the higher he lifted her. "What'd you say, you brat?!"

"Let her go!" Yong Soo kicked Gilbert in his side, causing his grip to unclench and Mika landed on her feet. They watched the man cringe and hold his side. "You little chink," he managed through gritted teeth. He stepped forward, to Mika, as if to grab her again but Yong Soo stood between them, glowering. "Leave. Now," he muttered, fists gripped at his sides. The threat (to deliver another kick) was set in stone and Gilbert knew he meant it so he backed off.

"Ah," Gilbert grumbled, turning back to his bike. "I don't have time for you arses anyway." Faster than intended, he seated himself and rode off before the traffic could build up.

And when he left, Yong Soo swatted a hand at the back of Mika's head. "You are so contentious," he said, when she looked at him questioningly. "That's not something Roderich wants Dominik to pick up."

"I won't," Dominik piped up. "I don't even like fighting."

"And that's good," Mei said, patting his head, "Maybe you won't have to." She turned to Mika. "Maybe everything with Ivan will be over before he grows into adolescence."

"Yeah, maybe," Mika held her arms out and shrugged her shoulders, almost rolling her eyes. "But I doubt Ivan would let this rivalry slide. He's insane, and we're not so he'll drag us into any of his fights. We might go crazy too. Why'd you say that?" Quickly changing the subject, she gave Dominik a quizzical look.

He fiddled with his fingers. "W-Well, it was my fault. I didn't want him to yell at you."

"Getting yelled at is something I'm used to; it's not like some freakish stranger on the street is going to hurt me."

"What makes him freakish," he asked as they headed out of the park. He must have thought that it was because he was albino. That wasn't the case—far from it, in fact.

"That fact that he would call an old, rusty bike like that his 'baby'."

Everything whispered from Yao to Roderich was a tedious crack in Elizabeta's wall of patience. And the more she waited, the more annoyed she got. The occasional glances that the other gave her made her uncomfortable. Absolutely nothing had been said to her for more than half an hour and the silence was corrosive. She could feel herself wearing away with boredom.

When Roderich finally pulled away from Yao, who left for his office, and sat next to her, she lit up and shot him a multitude questions, none of which he gave a direct answer to.

"No—No, listen: I know you're skeptical about this. So Yao decided to leave it up to you, whether or not you'll join us is your choice." Roderich seemed calmer and more composed than before, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Elizabeta wondered what happened. "What do you think," he asked, a bit anxious.

Good question; what would she do? If she did decide to join, she'd be abandoning her friends, the people she grew up with and cared for. Never mind what Ivan would do to her, she worried what would happen to them once she was on the other side. She couldn't be there to keep Peter from being slapped when his training would start, or be there to help Gilbert study, or…Elizabeta's mind was running wild now. The things that Ivan could do to them didn't have limits.

If she didn't join, she'd be stuck where she is now—indecisive about her completing a mission she agreed to do, something that she recited an oath on. She would still be a coward in her own eye and if she didn't pull through, everyone she loved would see her as one too. She was sure of that. There was no way out.

However. If she were to join them—the people she'd been warned all her life were powerful, vicious, bloodthirsty murderers—there was a slight chance that the rest of them were nice like Roderich and that they'd be able to help end all of this nonsense. Wasn't that the priority of the training? To end the rivalry and declare a winner?

Elizabeta bit her lip, looking at Roderich who was still expecting an answer.

"I—"She exhaled as she tried to find the proper words. "Let me sleep on it."

He stared for a moment, brows almost furrowed in confusion. "Hold on. Let me just put this aside. Exactly where?"

"Where what?"

"Where are you sleeping?"

"What does it matter?"

"What does it matter?" His brows rose. "I know your name, you're still here with me after at least seven hours."

"What's your point?"

"I care about you now." He lowered his voice to say that. "Someone like you doesn't get around easy in this place alone."

"Someone like me?" He winced when she rose her voice defiantly. "I'm a woman—"

"Exactly! You are." Unfortunately they were attracting attention but Roderich, now in a frantic mess, felt the need to get his point over. "A strong, independent woman, I'm sure. And you are obviously attractive in every way but that won't make anyone treat you the way a lady should be treated! And you don't know how cruel they can be, they'll tear you apart!"

Elizabeta stared at him wide-eyed, surprised by his outburst.

"The same way he'd intended to last night," was how he finished, voice shaky, staring hard at her.

The suffocating silence that followed shortly after was quickly broken by soft murmurs. "He wasn't lying about that—" "Damn, the whole thing was the truth, then—" "Fuck, who knew Edelstein had the balls—" "We should leave." "We should."

When they filed out, Elizabeta exhaled. "Okay. I get it. I can't defend myself."

"No, clearly you don't get it because that's not what I'm saying." Roderich sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You can, I'm sure—"

"You're sure."

"Yes."

"I can, Roderich."

"Well, if you could, I've never seen it!" The moment it was out, Roderich regretted it. The appalled look on her face made him cover his mouth. "Th-That came out wrong! I didn't mean that!"

"Roderich." The glare she gave made him shiver.

"N-No, what I meant was that how you handled the situation the previous night was all I know of you. And Elizabeta, you ran." Her eyes widened. How did he know, she thought. "You bumped into me last night when you were running from that man." His voice was firmer now, seeing her anger deteriorate. "And based on what I've seen of you, if you could defend yourself, you would have. I know you would have."

Elizabeta remained silent for a brief moment, before leaning back, pouting her bottom lip. He was far smarter than anyone she'd ever seen or heard. She'd been read like a book in a short matter of time.

"Sorry," she finally said quietly, breaking the silence.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"For snapping at you. For burdening you. For just…" She placed her hands on her face, over her eyes and rubbed them, running them down to her chin. "For everything. I've known you for less than half a day and I'm already a bother."

Roderich blinked. "You're not. You—You're…anything but." He was picking his words cautiously now, to make sure he didn't say something he didn't mean to again. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have blown up." Because I don't want you getting hurt, he thought. "Listen, putting this argument aside, I…will let you stay at my house. For as long as you need to."

"And the decision?"

"Sleep on it. I'll let Yao know." Roderich, frustration gone now, sighed, running a hand through his hair.

She smiled. "Thank you, Roderich."

"Sure," he muttered, closing his eyes.

Elizabeta would have to get to know at least some of them as soon as possible, so that she'd know whether or not it would be a wise choice to join them. Her head hurt. She'd think about it later that night. About how she'd get herself out this mess. About she'd help end it all. About how Roderich had called her attractive.

In the midst of the night, Mika still lay asleep, staring at the ceiling. She didn't move and she couldn't because if she did, there'd be a 90% chance she'd jab a limb at Mei. The bed they shared in the small room was nothing more than a compromise; back when Yao was ordering beds for them all, he couldn't afford another bed for Mei. She and Mika had no problem with each other so they agreed to sleep in the same bed. Neither of them minded, considering they were both pleasant, restful sleepers, but with a sudden sleeping disorder there was barely any room to shift positions.

Mika sighed, sitting up. Mei was asleep and snoring softly into her pillow, her long hair a mess of brown splayed over the blankets. Mika rose and carefully get off of the bed. She stepped quietly out of the room and down the hall, floorboards squeaking softly under her weight as she walked. Might as well make some tea, she thought tiredly. She could soft golden light at the end of the hall, meaning that someone was already up and about downstairs.

She glanced at the 2-dollar round clock hanging on the wall next to the bathroom; it read 0211. Two hours past midnight and someone else was awake. Unusual, she thought but still walked to the end of the hall and down the wool-carpeted steps, hand sliding down the smooth railing as she went.

When she reached the bottom, Mika looked on into the kitchen and saw Yao sitting up on the counter and sipping a mug of something hot. He wore no shirt, despite the cold seeping through the kitchen window and his hair spilled down his muscular back. Best go back up, she thought, silently turning.

"Who's awake," Yao suddenly called in hushed Chinese.

"Me," she answered in English, sighing and turning around again. Yao smiled warmly, eyes hazy, and Mika suspected it wasn't from sleep—the rhythmic crescendo of the bed creaking in the next room could confirm that.

"Mai, what are you doing out of bed? It's late."

"I know. I've been awake since I lay down."

He seemed a tiny bit panicked but smoothed it over with a layer of subtlety. "But I thought you said you were tired." Yao placed his mug on the counter and came over to her. Mika fought back to urge to grimace; she could smell the sex on him.

"I thought I was. But I don't feel tired but I…also do." Mika averted her gaze.

"Sounds to me that you've another case of insomnia. Like when you were younger."

"No."

"Yes. Only now I don't understand the reason. When you were younger, you were insomniac because of the prior events with your mother." Yao pulled her by the wrist to the kitchen when she tensed at the final word in the sentence. "Traumatic event tend to cause insomnia. In our current case, there aren't any. Unless you're still troubled by the past."

She shook her head, seating herself on the island counter. "No, I'm over it." Yao leaned on the marble surface next to her, elbows supporting him.

"Maybe you're in love."

"Impossible."

"It is possible."

"Unlikely."

Yao smiled. "People like you fall in love all the time. It happens unconsciously, you never know when it happens. It just does."

"There are hundreds of other reasons why I'd have insomnia and I can tell you, it's not that."

"Mei told me about the guy in the park today."

"And?"

"I think you're in love with him."

Mika recoiled, scooting away, brows furrowed in dismay. "You're insane. Why would I—"

"You're blushing."

Her hand shot up to feel her warm, rougedface, almost flushing a darker shade if it weren't for the annoyance welling up within her. "If you'd been there and seen him, you wouldn't be saying that. Why on earth are you pairing me up with a complete stranger?" She turned and ran upstairs and into her room, closing the door a bit too loudly. Mei almost woke up, eyes opening briefly before drifting shut again. Mika slid into bed again and lay down with her back turned to Mei, sighing softly.

Yao was still in post-orgasmic high, she decided. If they'd been talking in any other time in which he was sober, then he'd tell her that her insomnia was possibly caused by a remnant of her childhood trauma. And as for the man in the park, he'd say to stay away from him if he were seen again.

Mika's eyes fluttered shut, silently begging her insomnia to at least allow her two hours of sleep. Luckily, she did fall asleep but unluckily dreamt of the strange biker she'd encountered in the park that day, Gilbert, who, unknowingly to her, suffered the same sleeping disorder that night.