The nurse's eyes softened as she waited for his answer, fingers resting lightly on the clipboard. The faint beep of the monitor beside him reminded Kaito that his body was still fragile, even if his mind refused to rest.
"I feel… alive," he said finally, his voice dry but steady. "Which is strange, considering I shouldn't be."
The nurse gave a small smile, one that carried both professionalism and relief. "That's good enough for now." She adjusted the IV line gently. "You were found unconscious near the eastern woods. Severe dehydration, exhaustion, and multiple bruises. You're lucky."
Lucky.
The word felt foreign.
Claire shifted closer to the bed, her small hands gripping the edge of the sheet. "You scared me," she said softly, not accusing—just honest.
Kaito turned his head slightly to look at her. "I'm sorry."
The nurse glanced between them. "Claire, why don't you sit over there for a moment?" She nodded toward a chair near the window.
Claire hesitated, then obeyed, though her eyes never left Kaito.
Once they were alone enough, the nurse lowered her voice. "My name is Elena. I won't ask questions you're not ready to answer—but I need to know one thing." Her gaze sharpened, just a little. "Were you running from something… or toward it?"
Kaito's fingers curled against the sheets.
Images flashed through his mind—Ama's warmth, Akira's smile, the weight of the blade in his hand, Taro's lifeless eyes beneath the mask. His chest tightened.
"I don't know anymore," he admitted.
Elena studied him for a long moment, then nodded as if that answer confirmed something she already suspected. "Rest," she said simply. "We'll talk later."
She turned to leave, but paused at the door. "And Kaito?"
"Yes?"
"You weren't brought here by chance."
The door closed.
Silence settled again—thick, heavy, watching.
Kaito exhaled slowly, staring up at the strange ceiling where branches stretched above white lights. A hospital built into a tree. Just another thing that made no sense.
His vision flickered.
For a split second, the room changed.
He saw faint lines—thin, thread-like patterns weaving through the walls, the floor, even the air itself. They pulsed softly, like a living thing. His breath caught.
Then it was gone.
"What… was that?" he whispered.
Claire slid off her chair and crept back to his side. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
Kaito's heart skipped. He turned his head sharply toward her. "You know what I'm talking about?"
She nodded, serious now, far too serious for someone her age. "Mom says not everyone can see the threads. But when they do… it means something's waking up."
Kaito swallowed.
Outside, the wind stirred the leaves of the massive tree, and somewhere deep within its trunk, something creaked—as if listening.
Kaito closed his eyes, a single thought echoing in his mind:
Wherever I am… my journey isn't over. It's just begun.