"I...know I do. She's a good kid." Kaji looks down slightly, but he can't hide the tiny proud smile that comes to his face.

"When I first got here, I would have told you that Ib was better off with anyone but me. But." How does he want to put this? Kaji sips his tea, suddenly remembering the talk that he and Ib had in his office.

"I was angry. Angry that whatever is bringing people here chose her for a role that seems to involve a lot of fighting. Because I've seen so many children that weren't allowed to be children. And I realized that if I didn't stay with her, she might up with someone who wasn't angry. On her behalf. Who just accepted that she should fight. And so the best thing that I could do was to give her as much of a childhood as possible. Home-cooked meals. A garden out back. A pet penguin?" Kaji laughs a little.

"I don't know how much of that she had even before she came here."