[As soon as the name comes out of his mouth, Alpha looks away, staring intently into her cup. Honestly, she knew this was why he wanted to talk. She was surprised he hadn't asked about it before. But that didn't make the subject any more pleasant. For a minute she didn't answer, taking another sip of tea and gazing around the room. This was something that meant a lot to Cube, she knew, and she hated to see that it was upsetting him. But she didn't know if she could explain it properly - she didn't even understand all of it herself. Finally she sighed and looked back at him with an apologetic little smile.]

When Cube went home, do you think we stopped being family until you came back? And while we're here, does that mean the people in our worlds stop meaning anything? [She shook her head slightly.] It doesn't work that way, does it? No matter where we go or what happens, those feelings stay the same.

[She stared down at the table and stumbled, just a bit, over the next few words. But she didn't stop smiling.] I'm not sure...if me and Saburo are friends anymore. That's up to him. But, if you ask me if we're still a family...that's not something you can just turn off, you know? It doesn't have anything to do with getting along...it's something that we just are. As long as two people are still connected, I think...they'll always be family.