Looks down at me with those shifting eyes that never quite settle into patterns I can predict.
Then his fingers find my chin.
The touch is gentle—lifting rather than forcing, guiding rather than demanding. But the effect is anything but gentle. Heat blooms where his skin contacts mine, magic responding to proximity with the particular intensity that defines bonded pairs. My breath catches as he tilts my face upward, forcing eye contact I couldn't escape even if I wanted to.
"I'll leave it at that," he murmurs, voice dropping to registers that feel like physical touch against my nerve endings. "Don't be too mean or annoyed with my opposite side."
Opposite side?
What—
"He likes to be called Kai, by the way."
The statement lands with weight that makes my thoughts stutter.
Kai.
Another name.
Another... personality?
"Koi reminds him of koi fish," Koishii continues, something flickering behind his expression that might be amusement at his other self's expense. "And he isn't really calm in nature."
Two names.
Two versions.
Two aspects of the same being, separated by whatever fractures centuries of isolation carved into his psyche.
I should probably feel alarmed.
Should probably recognize the warning signs of instability that could prove dangerous under stress.
But instead...
"Can I callyouKoi?"
The question escapes before conscious thought can intervene, the nickname feeling right in ways I can't articulate.
He seems genuinely intrigued—eyebrow arching, head tilting slightly, those shifting features settling into something that might be curiosity, might be pleased surprise.
"Why?"
The single word carries genuine interest rather than dismissal.
I consider my answer carefully, drawing on knowledge accumulated across years of survival that required understanding symbols and their meanings.
"Koi fish are significant in history," I begin, organizing thoughts into something approaching coherent explanation. "They represent perseverance—swimming upstream against currents that should defeat them, transforming into dragons when they reach their destination against all odds."
His eyes hold mine with intensity that makes my skin warm.
"They symbolize courage in the face of impossible challenges. Determination that refuses to surrender despite centuries of struggle."
I pause, letting the parallel settle between us.
"And I feel like, even though I have no clue how you're bonded to me... I'm about to discover the history that's wishing for our paths to entwine, aren't I?"
The question carries weight that extends beyond simple curiosity.
