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Pre-dawn lasted forever, just like dusk's afterglow went on for over an hour the evening before.

The morning chill had nothing of summer in it, or at least nothing that Ryu associated with summer.

He dressed James, who had fallen asleep in a chair, in a second blanket and walked over to the other side of the house. The music had changed character, and he guessed a lot of the kids called it a day by now. A few probably spent the rest of the morning in pairs doing things they incorrectly believed their parents knew nothing about.

'Kids! It's about time you got a clue how you came to be our kids in the first place.' He smirked and stared down at where the party was still going on. 'Well it's your party. I'm too old for that crap.'

Pre-dawn. He once spent one waiting for a friend to wake up all those years ago, but that time the party ended long before that.

'Damn you scared the hell out of us. The magic couple to the rescue.' Ryu smiled at the memory. A good one born from something bad. 'The magic couple, huh. Guess you still are.'@@