Kin woke up to sunlight.
Not the grey, thin light of his own apartment. Golden. Warm. Coming through curtains he didn't recognize.
He was in a bed. Not his. Softer. Smelled like tamarind and detergent.
Lina's bed.
He didn't remember getting here. The last thing he remembered was the couch. The blanket. The smell of her. Then nothing.
Where is she?
He sat up. The blanket fell to his waist.
He was naked.
His wounds were cleaned. Bandaged. The bullet holes in his thigh and shoulder were covered in fresh gauze. Someone had taken care of him while he slept.
Lina.
But Lina wasn't there.
The room was empty. Her side of the bed was cold. Her pillow was fluffed. Her robe was gone from the hook on the door.
She left.
Panic flooded his chest.
The Quiet Commission. They came while I was asleep. They took her. They—
[System: Emergency Mode.]
His hand shot out. The katana materialized—cold steel, perfect weight, the blade humming with the System's energy. He gripped it with both hands. Rose from the bed. Bare feet on the cold floor. Eyes scanning.
No windows behind me. Door to the left. Bathroom door straight ahead. Living room beyond that.
He stepped forward. The katana raised. Ready to strike.
If they have her, I'll kill every last one of them. I'll—
A sound.
Footsteps. Soft. Coming from the bathroom.
The door opened.
Kin turned. The katana swung—
[Target: Lina. Ally. Despawning weapon.]
The blade vanished mid-swing. Kin's hands closed on empty air. His momentum carried him forward, off balance, stumbling.
He fell into her.
His arms wrapped around her instinctively. His chest pressed against hers. His face buried in her neck.
She was warm. Solid. Alive.
She's not taken. She's here. She's safe.
Lina stood frozen. Her hands hovered in the air, unsure whether to push him away or hold him.
"Kin?"
"You're okay," he breathed. "You're okay."
"Of course I'm okay. I was in the bathroom."
He didn't let go. His heart was still racing. His hands were shaking.
"I woke up," he said. "You weren't there. I thought—"
"You thought what?"
He couldn't tell her the truth. That he'd almost taken her head off. That the System had saved her by a fraction of a second.
"Nightmare," he lied. "Bad dream. I woke up and you were gone and I panicked."
Lina was quiet for a moment. Her hands came up and rested on his back.
"You're squeezing me," she said.
"Sorry."
"You're not letting go."
"Give me a second."
She sighed. But she didn't push him away.
They stood there, naked man and dressed woman, wrapped in each other's arms in the morning light. Kin's breathing slowed. His hands stopped shaking.
She didn't see the sword, he thought. It vanished before it could hit her. She just saw me swing at nothing.
But she had screamed. He remembered that. A short, sharp scream before he fell into her.
"Did you scream?" he asked.
"I... I don't know." Her voice was uncertain. "I thought I saw something. A flash. But it's gone now."
"What kind of flash?"
"I don't know, Kin. Metal? Light?" She pulled back just enough to look at his face. "You swung at me. Didn't you?"
"No." The lie came out smooth. "I stumbled. I was off balance. I fell into you."
She studied his eyes.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Your left eye is twitching."
Damn it.
"I had a nightmare," he said again. "I woke up disoriented. I didn't know where I was. I heard footsteps and I turned too fast and lost my balance. That's all."
Lina stared at him for a long moment.
Then she said, "You're naked."
Kin looked down.
He was, in fact, completely naked. The blanket had fallen away when he stood up. The bandages on his thigh and shoulder were the only things covering him.
"Oh," he said.
"Oh," she repeated. "You're holding me. While naked."
"Would you prefer I let go?"
"I would prefer you put on pants."
He let go. Stepped back. Grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his waist.
Lina's face was red. But she wasn't looking away.
"Your wounds look better," she said. "I cleaned them again while you were asleep. The bleeding stopped."
"Thank you."
"You said that already."
"I mean it."
She crossed her arms. Her composure was coming back—the sharp edges, the strict mask.
"You need a shower," she said. "You smell like blood and sweat."
"I'll go to my apartment."
"No. You'll shower here."
"Lina—"
"You can barely stand. Look at you. You're swaying."
He was. The room tilted slightly. His leg felt weak.
"The anesthesia hasn't worn off yet," she said. "From when I stitched you. You'll fall down the stairs if you try to go to your place."
"I can manage."
"You can't." She grabbed his arm. "Shower. Here. Now."
He pulled back. "I'm not comfortable—"
"I don't care what you're comfortable with. You're bleeding on my floor and you smell like a corpse. Shower."
She tugged him toward the bathroom.
He tried to take a step on his own. His knee buckled. He stumbled, caught himself on the doorframe, and then his legs gave out completely.
He hit the floor with a thud.
Lina stared down at him.
"I told you," she said.
"Shut up."
"You can't even stand."
"I'm resting."
She sighed—a long, heavy sound—and bent down. Hooked her arms under his shoulders.
"You're heavy," she grunted, dragging him across the bathroom floor.
"I know."
"Really heavy."
"You're not helping."
"I'm not trying to help. I'm trying to get you into the shower so you stop stinking up my house."
She pulled him over the threshold. His bare back scraped against the tile. The room was small—a toilet, a sink, a tub with a curtain. She propped him against the wall next to the tub.
"Can you stand if you hold onto something?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe isn't good enough."
She turned on the water. It hissed and sputtered, then ran warm. Steam rose.
"I'm not getting in with you," she said. "So you're going to sit in the tub and wash yourself. I'll leave a towel on the sink."
"Lina—"
"I'm not discussing this." She pointed at the tub. "In. Now."
Kin looked at the tub. Looked at her. Looked at his bandages.
"The gauze will get wet."
"I'll change it after."
He sighed. Slowly, painfully, he lifted himself over the edge of the tub and sat down. The water hit his back. Warm. Soothing.
Lina handed him a bar of soap. "Wash. Everywhere. I'll know if you skip."
"You're not going to watch."
"I don't need to watch. I can smell."
She closed the bathroom door.
Kin sat in the warm water and laughed.
It was a quiet laugh. Exhausted. Relieved.
She didn't see the sword, he told himself. She doesn't know how close she came.
But her scream echoed in his memory.
She saw something. She just doesn't trust her own eyes yet.
He washed. Slowly. Carefully. The soap smelled like her—tamarind and something floral.
When he finished, he knocked on the door. Lina opened it a crack and handed him a towel. He dried off. Wrapped the towel around his waist.
She helped him out of the tub. He leaned on her more than he wanted to. She groaned about his weight the whole time.
"You're like a dead animal," she said.
"Romantic."
"I'm not trying to be romantic. I'm trying to keep you from cracking your skull open."
She guided him to the bedroom. Sat him on the edge of the bed.
"Stay," she said.
"I'm not a dog."
"Then act like a person and stay."
She went to a drawer. Pulled out a pair of sweatpants. Old. Faded. Too big for her.
"These belonged to my brother," she said. "They'll fit you."
She tossed them to him. He pulled them on. The fabric was soft. Worn.
"Thank you," he said.
"For the pants?"
"For everything. The cleaning. The bandages. Not throwing me out."
Lina sat down next to him. Their shoulders touched.
"I thought about throwing you out," she said. "This morning. While you were asleep. I thought, 'I should just wake him up and tell him to leave.'"
"Why didn't you?"
She was quiet for a moment.
"Because you looked peaceful," she said. "For the first time since I've known you, you looked like you weren't running from something."
Kin didn't know what to say to that.
So he said nothing.
They sat together on the edge of the bed, shoulder to shoulder, and watched the morning light shift across the floor.
[System Notification – Hidden from Lina]
[Lina Trust Level: 35%. She is choosing to stay despite suspicion.]
[Warning: She saw the katana. She does not believe her own eyes.]
[Next mission in: 161 hours, 20 minutes.]
Kin pushed the notification away.