The silence in Kaito's apartment was thick. The only sound was the low hum of the refrigerator.
Mai placed her empty plate on the floor beside the beanbag. The food had taken effect. The fog of hunger had lifted, and with newfound energy came clarity. And with clarity came questions.
She looked Kaito in the eye. He was still leaning against the opposite wall, his own empty plate balanced on his knee. He looked like a man waiting for the inevitable.
"Right," she said, her voice steady for the first time in days. "Thanks for the eggs. They were... edible."
A near-compliment. Kaito just shrugged.
"Now," she continued, leaning forward. "Explain. What... are you, Kaito? And what is this 'Fia'? Am I crazy, or are you?"
Kaito closed his eyes. The dreaded "talk." The demand for exposition. It was a monumental effort.
"Ooh! Ooh! Let me explain! My turn!"
Fia materialized, sitting cross-legged in the air between them, vibrating with excitement. "Kaito! Tell her! Tell her you're the 'Transdimensional Chosen One'! That you were selected from billions of souls to save worlds using your cynical charm and hidden heart of gold, and that I'm your beautiful, brilliant partner!"
"Shut up, Fia."
Kaito opened his eyes and looked at Mai. His expression was one of pure exhaustion. "I'm not crazy. Neither are you."
He paused, as if searching for the lowest-effort sentence. "The answer is Option C: the universe is."
"That's not an answer," Mai shot back, her patience wearing thin.
"It's the only one I have the energy to give," Kaito said. "She," he gestured to the air beside Mai, where Fia was now making faces at him, "is Fia. A Goddess. Or an AI program. Or a hyperactive ghost. Whatever. She's the personification of a 'System' that kidnapped me from my peaceful life to 'fix' paradoxes."
Mai stared at him, processing this. "Fix... paradoxes?"
"Yeah," Kaito yawned, as if he were explaining basic math. "Apparently, teenage emotional problems, like yours..." he pointed at her, "are tearing holes in the fabric of reality. Your 'Adolescence Syndrome' isn't just metaphorical; it's literally causing a quantum leak that, if uncontained, will, I don't know, make bunnies the dominant species."
He gestured to himself. "I'm the 'Chosen One.' Basically, I'm reality's reluctant IT guy. I get sent in to fix people's emotional routers."
The apartment fell silent. Mai stared at him. She didn't laugh. She didn't call him crazy again. She was an actress; she'd read stranger scripts. And, considering she was literally turning invisible, his explanation was the only one that fit all the surreal facts.
"A goddess... named Fia... who's my fan..." Mai recapped slowly. "And you're her... IT guy."
"Exactly."
"And... why you?" she asked, the real logical question. "Of all people, why a... a... you? You don't seem... heroic."
"THIS!" Fia shouted, leaping to her feet in mid-air. "This is the best part! It's because underneath that cynical, lazy shell, he has a heart of—"
"Because I'm apathetic," Kaito interrupted, his voice cutting through Fia's. "I don't get involved. Apparently, that gives me a high resistance to paradoxes. I don't screw things up by caring too much. I'm... stable. I'm the opposite of all of you walking emotional disasters."
The logic was horrifying, but cold and clear. She was so defined by what others thought that she was disappearing. He was so indifferent to everything that the universe chose him as an anchor.
"Right," Mai said finally, leaning back into the beanbag. She sounded like she'd just accepted the world's most insane reality. "I believe you."
"Great," said Kaito.
"So... what happens now?" she asked, her voice softer. "You explained. I ate. The 'Forced Dinner' mission is complete. Do I... do I leave?"
She sounded almost hopeful.
[SYSTEM ALERT!] Fia's voice, suddenly, lost all its cheer. "Kaito... Oh, no. This is a problem."
"What now?" Kaito thought, annoyed.
"The Dinner Mission is complete, yes," Fia said, her mental voice strained. "But the Main Mission, 'Anchor Existence,' is still only at 24%! The dissipation rate has slowed to almost zero, but it hasn't stopped! The System says it's because you're close!"
Kaito felt a new headache coming on.
"If she leaves your 'perception radius' for too long... say, more than a few hours... the dissipation rate starts right back up. And fast. And since Sakuta can't see her anymore, you're her only anchor."
Kaito looked at Mai, who was watching him, waiting for an answer.
He let out the deepest, most pained sigh of his life. "No."
The hope on Mai's face withered. "No?"
"You can't leave," Kaito said, sounding like a doomed man. "Apparently, my apathy is the only thing keeping you solid. If you leave my apartment for too long, you start disappearing again. And I suffer a 'painful reversal'."
Mai looked at him, horrified. "So... what?"
She looked around the tiny apartment. "I... I live here now? With you?" She pointed at the beanbag. "On your beanbag?"
Kaito looked at his beanbag. His one place of peace. His throne of apathy. Now occupied by a problematic, invisible actress.
"How. Problematic."
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