"Teacher Carrie."

Carrie froze, the soft voice surprising her. Quickly wiping away her tears, she turned to the girl kneeling beside her mat. "Yes?" she asked in her muffled voice.

"Teacher Carrie, it's me...Mika."

Carrie nodded and smiled in the darkness. "I know. What do you need?"

The girl shuffled her feet. "Actually...I thought maybe it was you who needed something..."

Carrie grew even more alarmed. "What?"

"I heard you crying." Mika was blunt.

Carrie grew alarmed. "I see." She hesitated before explaining lamely: "I had a bad dream." She was glad for the darkness now. Her eyes would give away the lie. It will alarm the children.

"Teacher Carrie..." Mika's voice dropped. "Are you worried about Teacher Fao?"

If only you knew... "No, Mika," Carrie replied carefully. "I'm not worried."

"Because if you are, I'm sure Hokuto-sama will give us--"

"NO!"

The sharp exclamation brought stirs in the children's sleep and a surprised look on Mika's face. "But..."

"He'll return," Carrie went on, softly this time. She hugged the girl. "Go back to sleep. Don't worry about anything."

Mika hugged her in return, then returned to her mat and curled up to sleep once more.

Carrie sighed. It was hard, keeping the truth from them. Yes, Teppei and the others did win against Rafaelo. But they were never coming back.

Never.

All of them...

All of them were dead!

Carrie choked on another sob. She had found the ruins a year before, only a few days after Rafaelo's defeat and the Empire's fall. Misha's remains on top of the tower...Kotaro Takamiya's dead body, scorched...

Carrie had run.

Everybody was dead. She might as well be, too.

But she was alive, living for her promise. She could remember that boy, Teppei, who risked his life for his promise.

His promise to save his brother.

Now, she was willing to do the same thing. She was willing to commit herself to these children, even if it hurt. Even if her soul was already town apart by the harsh reality she faced.

Because she loved these children. Because they needed her. Her.

Now that Fao was gone...

Tears were falling again from her face. Blindly, she ran to the altar, grabbed the precious violin case and opened it.

The violin that sat there for a year was shining.

Carefully, she picked it up and placed the edge under he chin. Then, she positioned the bow over the strings. She began to play.

Music filled the dead church. Its sweet melody rose, as if reincarnated. Quietly, yet determinedly, the notes began to fill her soul, to wake her dead self.

Swiftly, her fingers worked. Music after music, she played, her eyes closed while her fingers manipulated the bow and strings. She didn't even know she could play an instrument, let alone the violin! She just felt. In one touch.

Many minutes passed, she did not notice. All she knew was that the music was her, and she was the music. It ran deeper than her relationship with her B't.

That moment she knew: this was oneness.

When she opened her eyes, the children were awake, quietly watching her. The sun was starting to rise outside. She had played for an hour.

Carrie smiled at the children, who smiled back. "I think," she announced, "that we should make a kind of reminder for Teppei, Teacher Fao, and for the other Shireisshou."

Everybody nodded and agreed to her suggestion.

"That way," Mika said above the voices, "when they come back, they'll be glad."

"If they come back," one replied quietly.

Suddenly, the church was hushed again.

Carrie turned to the boy who spoke. "They'll come back," she told him confidently.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because..." Carrie stopped, then turned to the rising sun, peeking out of the mountains. "Because the sun still rises...just like when Teppei Takamiya came, bringing hope for you and the new world."

Her voice was soft, but she was heard by everybody.

Slowly, the children got up, planning for the new day.

Content, Carrie placed the violin on her shoulders once more and played another piece.