"Darling," Ai's voice cut in immediately. "That's not passive essence bleed. That's active communication. The Fragment isn't dormant anymore. It's responding."
"To what?"
"To you. To your emotional connections. Every time you bond with someone, the Fragment stirs. It's trying to reconstitute itself through you."
Akira exhaled slowly, his hand moving to stroke Aoi's hair. "Did she say anything else?"
"No. That was it. I... I don't remember much aside from that." She pressed closer to him. "Do you know who she was?"
"Maybe." He didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to scare her more than she'd already been scared. "I'll figure it out."
"Akira." She looked up at him, her expression serious. "If something's hunting you... if something dangerous is coming... I want to know. I want to help."
He kissed the top of her head. "I know. And when the time comes, I'll tell you everything. But right now, I need you to rest. To recover. Can you do that for me?"
