The sun dipped low behind the buildings as school emptied into the quiet street. Kael walked alone, hands at his sides, his pace steady and unchanging. Footsteps echoed behind him—faint, then clearer, then matched with his own.
He didn't look back.
"You're following me," he said, voice calm, flat.
"Geez. And here I thought I was being subtle," came Lina's voice, breathy but casual as she quickened her pace beside him. "No 'hey, Lina, what a coincidence'? You've really changed, you know that?"
Kael didn't respond. He kept walking, eyes straight ahead, his mind filing the moment away without any emotional tag.
Lina walked beside him for a few seconds in silence before trying again. "You always used to walk faster when you were annoyed. I guess that's… not a thing anymore?"
Still nothing.
"Right," she mumbled, lips pressing into a faint smile. "So. You always go straight home after school now?"
"Yes," he said.
"To your sister, right? Aria?"
"Yes."
A moment passed. She tugged her bag strap nervously.
"Do you remember me?" she asked.
Kael's head tilted slightly, but not toward her. "You're in my class. You gave me a notebook. You were the first to notice behavioral changes."
"Not the answer I was hoping for," she muttered under her breath, then added louder, "But okay. At least you remembered something."
They reached the narrow street where Kael lived. The buildings here were older, quiet. Unassuming. Lina glanced around, noticing the worn paint on the fences, the overgrown grass that lined the sidewalk edges.
"I've been here before," she said softly. "When we were… well, back when you talked to people."
Kael said nothing.
The door creaked open before they reached it. Aria stood there, holding a mug of tea, eyes narrowing ever so slightly at the unfamiliar girl beside her brother.
Kael walked in without a word. Lina paused awkwardly at the entrance.
Aria blinked. "Friend from school?"
Kael didn't stop walking. "She followed me."
Lina winced. "Wow. Thanks."
Aria raised a brow. "Is that true?"
"…Mostly."
Aria shrugged and stepped aside. "Make yourself at home then, Miss Mostly."
Inside, the living room looked recently rearranged—probably from the agent activity. Some things were still out of place. Lina's eyes swept across the space with silent nostalgia.
"You still have the same couch," she said. "You used to complain it gave you neck pain, but you refused to let your sister get rid of it."
Kael sat on that exact couch. He said nothing.
"I used to think you were just being dramatic. Guess not."
She stood a little closer, arms crossed. "You know, you weren't always this quiet. You used to talk a lot. Especially when you were nervous. You'd ramble about the weirdest things—like which side of the bread burns first or whether ducks had accents."
"I have no record of those conversations," Kael said plainly.
Lina let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah. I figured."
She walked slowly across the room, tapping the edge of the table. "I don't want to keep testing you. I just wanted to see if there was still… something. Anything."
Kael watched her quietly. "Your presence here has no defined objective."
That made her freeze. Then she turned, this time not smiling.
"Of course it does," she said, voice lower. "I'm not here just because I miss the old Kael, okay? I'm here because I'm already tangled in whatever you're mixed up in, and I'd rather not be the only one left out in the dark."
Silence.
"I saw the things you did. That wasn't normal. None of this is normal. And if I'm involved, even just a little, I deserve to understand it."
Kael leaned slightly forward. "Understanding is not a guarantee of safety."
"Yeah, I'm starting to see that," she muttered. "But maybe if you weren't so emotionally… non-existent, you'd understand what it's like to be scared for yourself. I'm not here to protect you, Kael. I'm here because being near you might be the only way to stay alive."
His eyes flicked to her for a beat. "Logical."
"…You don't have to sound so robotic about it."
Aria walked in, drying her hands on a towel. She looked between them and asked flatly, "You staying for dinner, or just here to poke the emotionally absent?"
Lina smiled faintly. "Just visiting."
Kael stood. "Your visit is complete."
Lina's smile froze. "That's your way of saying 'leave,' right?"
"Yes."
She picked up her bag, gave Aria a polite nod, and turned to go. But before she stepped out, she glanced over her shoulder.
"You know, you're really hard to give up on. Even like this."
Kael didn't respond.
As the door shut behind her, Aria sighed. "That one's going to keep coming back."
Kael sat down again, stared at the blank spot on the wall. "She's already part of it. She knows too much."
Aria raised a brow. "You sound like one of those shady government guys."
"I learned from observation."
She rolled her eyes and walked off.
Kael's gaze remained steady on the wall. A faint hum in his chest pulsed—no emotion, no longing, but a flicker of purpose. Lina had inserted herself deeper into the threads of his present.
He didn't know if that would become a problem. But for now, it was data. And data was useful.