I recounted the details—the special room, the extensive scanning, Washington's strange behavior when I mentioned not knowing anything about my father. Every piece of the puzzle seemed to have jagged edges that didn't quite fit together, like someone had taken fragments from different jigsaws and forced them into place.
"And they gave you that," Kimiko pointed at the monitoring bracelet on my wrist.
"They said it's standard for late manifestations," I explained, running my thumb over the sleek metal band.
"There's nothing standard about this, Satori. Nothing at all."
"You think they're tracking me because of my father?"
"I think," Kimiko said carefully, "that it's quite a coincidence that you suddenly manifested an Aspect after eighteen years as a Zero, right as you're about to take the entrance exam for New Vein Academy. The same academy where your father's research partner's granddaughter is the current star."
