Sei tossed and turned in her small bunk bed. She had turned in shortly after the girls had finished cleaning up after dinner. The trailer had seemed too empty without Kyohei, so she had called an early light's out and changed into a pair of panties and a night shirt with the French flag on it. But she had felt wide awake, a soft pain twisting in her stomach, and she didn't know why. No, she did: Eriko. Seeing how Kyo smiled about her, the light in his eyes, the tone of his voice when he mentioned her name…all those things were tiny daggers going into her.

Could those cops be right after all? Had she paid him exorbitant wages and replaced his scooters and done everything conceivable to cater to his needs and wishes because she wanted to … because she thought he would show his gratitude by…

'Get a grip, girl,' she admonished herself. 'Suzuki will have you planning your wedding next. You admire his ambitions and want to help, and you're replacing property your field commander has destroyed. You'd do the same if Leo's car was wrecked, or if Meg's cowboy hat was burned to crisp. You are NOT in love with Kyohei!'

So why wasn't she sleeping? Not because of Eriko alone, she decided, but because of everything hitting her all at once: Eriko, Subject Zero, and Suzuki all together. Who wouldn't have a little trouble sleeping? Yes, that was it. She was jumpier than normal and the unresolved questions about Eriko were making her paranoid where she should have merely been curious. Once Suzuki had lost interest and this Subject Zero business had been resolved - in other words, once Jo had blown it to bits despite her orders (again) - and she had met Eriko in person, everything would be fine. And Kyohei needed a young woman his own age. Scratch that - a girl his age, because Kyo was a boy. Yes, that made sense. 'He needs a life away from me,' Sei thought, 'a life where he can pursue his dreams and be safe and happy. And he will be in the long run. Now that that's settled, get some sleep.'

But telling herself that didn't make sleep come any quicker. At midnight, she rolled onto her back and turned on the light on the underside of the cabinets above her bunk. The light illuminated the snap shots she'd taped to the cabinets underside: All candid snapshots of Kyohei and the girls Sei had taken when the others weren't looking. Kyo was usually in the foreground and near the center of each shot, but that had been merely a coincidence.

She sat up on the edge of the bunk, worked her feet into her favorite pair of bunny slippers, and pushed her door open, surprised to see lights still on. She shuffled into the living area where she found Jo sitting on the sofa and watching the gun camera views of fight with Zero's cybot on the room's giant flat screen TV.

Sei sat down next to her. "Horror videos getting dull?"

"I'm trying to-" Jo broke off when she saw Sei's feet. "Bunnies?"

"Bunnies. What?"

Jo turned away. "Whatever."

"You were saying?"

"I'm trying to get inside the enemy's…thoughts, and I'm not liking what I find there."

Sei thought, 'So not only an expert at armed and unarmed combat but a strategist as well? Where did you come from, Jo? Who are you?'

Sei said, "You think you know what it's up to?"

"Not specifically," Jo answered, "but whatever it's doing, I feel it's been planning this for a long time, and it is specifically targeting us. It has been all along."

"Why?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Really?"

Sei didn't miss the meaning of that one word. "It is true that in the past, I have provided information strictly on a need-to-know basis," Sei said, "but in this matter, you know as much as I do. I have no idea what this thing could want with us."

"We have to figure it out, and fast," Jo said. "This thing is ten moves ahead of us and we don't know what the game is. But it's planning something big. It's waiting for the time of its choosing to hit us really hard. If we can't take the fight to it before then, we're in for a world of hurt."

"Great. No pressure."

Jo raised the remote and clicked off the video and then the TV. "This is boring. It's the waiting that gets me. I'm turning in." She got up and walked past Sei, then stopped and turned back. "Sei. Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why won't you let Kyohei quit?"

"Any question except that one."

"Why's that topic off limits?"

"What do you want to know, Jo?"

"He quit the first day, Sei. You brought him back."

"We agreed he should come back."

"No, we agreed he was a good cook and not a bad guy. You said you thought we could get him back, and the next morning you went back to the school and got him. Amy told me he asked if that could be his last day, and you made him come back by buttering up his ego."

"Are you saying you don't want him around?"

"No. He is a good cook, and I like him personally. But he keeps ending up in the field, where he can be a liability, although I confess not so much lately. But he doesn't feel comfortable here. You've heard his little gaffs. He may be a growing boy with active glands, but staring at your breasts will only make up for so much. Maybe he'd be better off in a regular job, and Bailan could find us a good cook with a military background who could handle himself in the field if needed."

"Jo, you are my field commander," Sei said in a low, steady voice, "and in operational matters I trust your judgment. But how I choose to run my household is my business. Kyohei is our friend, and you are concerned for him. That's admirable. But I would appreciate it if in the future, you keep your nose out of household business. Clear?"

"Clear. But Kyo's not the one I'm worried about, Sei."

"Oh…Just go to bed!"

Jo nodded and headed for her room.

Sei cursed. "Thank you Detective Suzuki," she hissed. "I'm never going to get to sleep now."