Kai walked beside Mani, hands in his pockets, staring at the cobblestoned alleyway as the sun filtered through the sloping edges of the roofs above them, casting dappled shadows that danced like fleeting memories on the ground. The uneven stones clacked softly under their footsteps, a rhythmic echo in the narrow passage, while a faint, cool breeze carried the distant scent of earth and baking bread from nearby homes. Kai's eyes reflected the cobblestones' rugged gleam, their uneven surfaces barely registering in his distracted mind.

He twiddled his fingers in his pocket, feeling the copper coins there, their cold, metallic edges pressing against his palm like unspoken worries.

He wondered where he could begin. He knew he not only had to tell her how he got there but why he was there, in his head, that's how it would make sense because it was tied together. He wanted to tell her without leaving gaps. He began by saying, "My parents and I lived in Galatia together. It was me, my mother, and father living under the same roof. My grandmother lived in Galatia too Father's mother. On the far edge of town. I… didn't go there often."*

"Oh... why?" Mani asked, her voice soft with curiosity, glancing at him as they walked.

Kai glanced at her and said, "Well, it's because my grandmother, the whole town called her… complicated."* They said her emotions shifted and were all over the place."

Mani frowned and asked, "But isn't that just one of the signs of old age?"

A humorless smile stretched Kai's lips, the expression pulling tight like a mask over hidden sorrow, as he said, "You'd think so, but no. Turns out she was always like that, but of course it became worse once she started getting older. She... started to forget things."

"Forget things?" Mani asked, tilting her head slightly as she glanced at Kai, her voice soft with curiosity, the words hanging in the warm afternoon air laced with the distant murmur of the town.

Kai gazed upward, his crimson eyes distant and unfocused, fixed on the vast azure sky where wisps of clouds drifted lazily like forgotten thoughts, the sun's warm rays prickling his skin as memories flooded back.

He answered slowly, voice laced with a quiet nostalgia that cracked at the edges. "Yeah, you know... simple things. She'd forget where she'd put stuff, or mix up people's names sometimes. But she never really forgot who people were, at least, not until... well, before everything changed."Mani turned to him, her eyes shimmering with a blend of curiosity and gentle concern, brows furrowing slightly as she absorbed his words.

"What happened?" she asked softly, her tone inviting, without pressure, the faint crunch of her unfinished apple still echoing in the pause.Kai met her gaze briefly, then dropped his eyes to the ground, the cobblestones blurring underfoot as a wave of hesitation washed over him, tightening his throat like a noose of old regrets. He opened his mouth, then closed it, lips pressing into a thin line, the words caught in his chest.

"My... I..." He trailed off, fingers clenching at his sides, the faint metallic tang of anxiety sharp on his tongue. "One night......well, before that, I—" "Hey, it's okay," Mani interjected gently, her voice a soothing balm amid the street's distant hum of footsteps and chatter, reaching out but stopping short of touching his arm. "Don't worry. If you're not ready to say it, I won't push. Alright?"Kai lifted his head to look at her, catching the genuine worry etched in her expression, eyes wide and earnest, a warmth he rarely glimpsed in the women of the town, who often passed him with cold indifference or outright scorn. It stirred something in him, a quiet resolve blooming in his chest like a fragile flower pushing through cracked earth, easing the knot of isolation that had long gripped his heart.

"No," he said firmly, though his voice softened as he glanced away, focusing on the path ahead where shadows from overhanging eaves danced in the breeze. Avoiding her eyes, he muttered, "It's fine. It's just... not a lot of people ever ask about what happened, you know?"Mani nodded, her posture relaxing slightly, the air between them carrying the subtle, sweet scent of the apple she'd set aside.

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"Oh, I get it," she replied, her words measured and empathetic. Then, with a deeper sincerity that warmed her tone, she added, "But you have to understand, to me, you're not like everyone else. You saved me, Kai. Without you, I wouldn't even be here. So listening to you? That's the least I can do. I owe you my life... and I'm truly grateful for what you did."

Kai shook his head slightly, a faint flush creeping up his cheeks. "I didn't do it for the thanks," he murmured, voice low and earnest, the words tumbling out as if to deflect her praise.

Mani paused mid-step, her eyes meeting his with a soft, knowing glint. "And that's exactly why you're a good person," she replied, her tone warm and unwavering, carrying a quiet conviction that hung in the air between them.

Kai stopped walking, his boots scraping to a halt on the gritty cobblestones of the narrow alley, and turned to look at her fully. Mani took another bite, the crisp snap echoing faintly as she chewed, her gaze steady on him, juice glistening on her lips under the dappled sunlight filtering through overhanging awnings.

He glanced down quickly, shyness flooding him anew, heat blooming in his cheeks like embers stirred to life. With each subtle expression she made, the slight tilt of her head, the way her eyes crinkled with genuine interest, he couldn't help but notice her beauty, radiant and unassuming, stirring a flutter in his chest that quickened his pulse.

These feelings budding inside him weren't entirely new, a familiar warmth he'd glimpsed in fleeting crushes before, but he'd always shoved them down, convinced they were forbidden luxuries for someone like him, unworthy, pointless. *What's the use anyway?* he thought, a bitter edge twisting the spark into something aching and unresolved.

Mani watched him for a moment, her chewing slowing as she swallowed, then prompted gently, "You were saying..."

Kai blinked, snapping back to the present with a slight jolt, as if pulled from a distant reverie. "Oh... right."

He drew a deep breath, the air filling his lungs with the town's mingled scents of woodsmoke and distant baking bread, then exhaled in a slow sigh that carried the weight of buried memories. "My father..."

He hesitated, the words catching like thorns in his throat. "My father was one of the town's guards, in Galatia, where we lived back then. He protected the townspeople from aggressive outsiders, sorted out problems right there. But... there was an issue. Folks started saying he was too rough with them. No one really liked him, some even despised him."

Mani's brows furrowed slightly, her free hand absently twisting the apple stem. "What do you mean?"

Kai glanced away, his fingers clenching at his sides, the rough calluses pressing into his palms as he gathered the resolve to continue. "Well... he was harsh with people. He'd lock them up without hearing them out, no second chances. It was the law, sure, but they hated it, they hated him for it. When it came to enforcing rules, he turned cold, wouldn't listen to any excuses." A wry, pained smile tugged at his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "The funny thing is, I didn't realize any of that until later. To me... he was kind. Gentle with me, my mother, even Grandma."

He spotted a fork in the alley ahead and pointed to the right. "Oh, we turn here."

"Okay," Mani said softly, turning with him onto a narrower street that seemed nearly empty, just a carriage wagon with no horses and a stall long abandoned, its awning sagging like tired shoulders.

Kai kept walking, eyes fixed ahead. "One time… my father locked this troublemaker in the dungeon for a few days. His name was Gerald. Everyone knew he caused problems. He was… unhinged. Seriously." He swallowed. "But some people backed him. And he *hated* my father. Really hated him."

He paused, then went on, quieter now. "One night, I was in bed… and smoke filled my room while I slept. Woke up choking. Couldn't breathe." His voice tightened. "By the time I got out… it was too late."

He stopped walking. Stared at the cobblestones like they might swallow him whole. His fists clenched at his sides.

"I saw them," he said, voice cracking. "They'd already been killed."

Mani stopped too. "Oh…" Her eyes widened, not with shock for show, but with quiet horror. "Kai… I'm so sorry."

He didn't look up. Just stood there, shoulders hunched, the shadow of the overhanging roof falling over him like a shroud.

"I just… stood there," he continued, voice low and rough. "They were lying on the floor, lifeless. The furniture was smashed. Looked like my father tried to fight back… with my mother beside him." He swallowed hard. "I didn't hear a thing. Not a scream. Not a crash. Nothing. And when I saw them… there was blood on the floor. And the house… it was burning around them."

"I couldn't do a thing," Kai said, eyes fixed on the cobblestones. "I was scared. Couldn't move. Didn't even cry."

He didn't tremble. Didn't break down. Just stood there, face hollow, eyes dull, like someone who'd learned long ago that grief doesn't always make noise.

"This happened a long time ago… but it still scars me."

He swallowed. "The townspeople tried to help. Poured water, threw sand, but it didn't matter. The fire… it was magic. Burned hotter. Wouldn't go out." His voice dropped, rough at the edges. "So the house burned. And I burned with them."

Mani's breath caught. "What? What do you mean, *burned with them*? How did you survive?"

Kai looked at her. A smile touched his lips, but it was thin, pained, full of regret. He let out a short, hollow laugh. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," Mani said softly. "I'm listening."

Kai turned his gaze upward, toward the narrow strip of sky between the rooftops. "That's when I found out… no matter what happens… I just… can't die."

Mani's eyes widened, not in disbelief, but in startled realization.

Kai saw her expression and braced himself. *Here it comes,* he thought. *She thinks I'm crazy. Just like everyone else in Aria.*

But what he didn't know was this: Mani already knew.

The Soul Eater had whispered it long ago: He's the one who doesn't die."*

Her surprise wasn't about the truth.

It was about how easily he'd given it away.

*He just told me his deepest secret… like it was nothing.*

*Does he really believe I'm innocent?*

*Or is he just that naive? That trusting?*

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