Rien wasn’t entirely looking forward to this conversation, but he’d promised to tell them everything he knew about Hyun-ki, and they did need to know, if only so they didn’t accidentally frighten her with things. It was, he knew, the only reason Shinji had asked at all. He sat cross-legged on their bed as he [...]

Shinji was trying hard not to panic. Rien had gotten one of those phone calls that morning and while he hadn’t said anything yet, Shinji knew just from the look on his face that he had another mission. When was anyone’s guess, but Rien would tell them when he was ready to, and Shinji wanted [...]

It was a weird day. Shinji woke with a headache that told him he’d probably had phantom pains overnight, but hadn’t woken up. He’d grumbled his way through breakfast and taken his meds, and eventually cheered up but as the day worn on and he grew increasingly tired it started to annoy him again, so [...]

As the days passed, Shinji grew increasingly tired. He slept badly, plagued with nightmares, and woke no better rested than he’d started out, blearily making coffee and crying over the smell of it, just staring at the hot cup, feeling ridiculously wretched and weak. He tried to be strong for Kippei, gathered himself through the [...]

Shinji tried to be calm and reasonable and not do anything completely stupid, like panicking so bad his brain swelled and he screamed the house down and made the neighbours call the police, because that would be bad. But the fact remained, niggling at the back of his mind that Rien was going back to [...]

Shinji rushed up the path from the lake where he’d been paddling all morning by the pier, a smile clear on his face, hair loose and streaming out behind him in wet, sticky strands. He rushed into the cabin, kicking off his shoes and dropping his towel, spotting Rien in the kitchen and running into [...]

It was almost lunch, the following day. Shinji blearily crawled out of the empty bed and into the bathroom, having a quick shower before trying to find some clothes, finally settling on some loose jeans and one of Rien’s soft tshirts with one of Kippei’s jumpers. He still felt shaky and cold and he really, [...]

Shinji went in ahead of them and grinned at the smiling waiter, who just nodded and indicated the table was ready. Shinji had been rather specific about what he had wanted; picking the exact table, positioning it just so, looking out across the lake, little lights in the garden alongside, candles along the runner down [...]

If you went far enough through the woods, whether you followed the nature trails or not, there was a small lake on the other side, with a lonely dock and a fairly nice, if somewhat rocky beach. It was a great place for solitude. Toshio thought it was an even better place for a nap; [...]

Shinji woke early. So early he startled even himself. Worse, he woke in a cold sweat, already stumbling out of bed and hopping out the door in a blind panic, rushing to the front door and checking it was locked, then checking the back door, the side, the windows…he locked everything tight before stumbling backward, [...]