— Age Six —
Class began with the usual rhythm.
Caelum sat by the window, quietly organizing his pencils in a perfect line. Beside him, Lysia tapped her feet beneath the desk, half-listening to the teacher and half-doodling bunnies with swords in her notebook.
They always sat together.Left side, third row.That was their spot.
The other kids never even tried to sit there. It was understood:Caelum and Lysia were a pair.
Always had been.
But today, something changed.
The New Girl
"Class, we have a new friend joining us!" the teacher chirped.
The door opened, and in stepped a girl with curly brown hair tied in bouncing pigtails and bright amber eyes.
She waved dramatically. "Hi! I'm Mina! I like candy, space cats, and really smart boys."
Some of the kids giggled.
Lysia raised an eyebrow.
Caelum blinked once and went back to organizing his eraser shavings into geometric shapes.
A Bold Attempt
"Hmm…" Mina scanned the room with her hands on her hips.
Then she locked eyes with the empty desk behind Caelum and Lysia.
"Oh! Can I sit there?" she chirped.
The teacher smiled. "Of course, Mina."
And that was when Lysia felt it.
That strange twinge in her chest.
It wasn't sharp.
It wasn't loud.
But it curled in her stomach like a knot of soft fire.
Mina plopped into the seat behind them and immediately leaned forward between them.
"Hi!" she said directly to Caelum. "I'm Mina! Wanna share your ruler?"
Caelum paused, ruler mid-air, and glanced at Lysia.
Lysia didn't look up. But her grip on her pencil tightened.
Her seat.Her space.Her Cael.
Recess Under the Tree
Later that day, during recess, Caelum and Lysia sat under their usual sakura tree.
Their bento boxes sat between them.His had simple egg rolls and rice balls.Hers had stars made of carrots and a little panda rice mold.
They ate in silence for a moment.
Then Lysia said softly, "That girl's weird."
Caelum glanced at her. "Mina?"
Lysia didn't answer. She just popped a carrot star into her mouth and stared straight ahead.
"She talks a lot," he added mildly.
"And she leans too close," Lysia muttered.
Caelum blinked. "Does that bother you?"
Lysia turned toward him and pouted — not angry, but a little puffed up.
"Of course it does. You're mine, Cael."
He tilted his head, expression soft. "…Yours?"
She nodded, cheeks pink but serious.
"You've always been mine. Since we were babies."
"And I don't want anyone else trying to take your hand."
The Pinky Thread
Caelum didn't say anything.
Instead, he held out his pinky.
Lysia looked down at it.
Her heart fluttered.
Slowly, she wrapped her pinky around his.
They didn't say a word.
But that tiny thread between them — stronger than any ribbon, spell, or law — tied tighter than ever.
System Log – Possessive Bond Affirmation
[GENESIS CORE SYSTEM – OBSERVER MODE]— Event: Jealousy Emergence (Mild)— Subject: LYSIA GREY— Soul Synchronization: 54.9%— Possessive Memory Echoes Detected— Emotional Signature: Gentle Yandere – Innocent Phase— Comment: "Even at six years old… she feels what loss once felt like. And she's never letting go again."