The next morning, Kaori woke up to a phone call from Dr. Chris.
When she picked up, Dr. Chris said, "Kaori, there is a huge problem."
Kaori responded, "What do you mean?"
Dr. Chris, in a panic, said, "The lab burned down, and we don't know why. The fire came out of nowhere."
Kaori responded, "Okay, I'm on my way. Let me take Zane with me—he might get some insight out of this."
Before heading out, they checked on Nix and Aqua. They were still asleep, but Lina was awake eating cereal.
Kaori said to Lina, "Sweetheart, we'll be right back. Please, if anything happens, call us And don't make too much noise—Nix and Aqua are asleep."
Lina responded, "Don't worry mom, I got this whole house under control," Lina said, striking a pose with her cereal spoon like a sword.
Kaori and Zane left home and headed to the lab. On their way, they began to question what could have happened.
Kaori said, "Do you think it could have been a machine malfunction or something?"
Zane replied, "It's possible, but there was something off when you were talking to Chris. He sounded worried."
Kaori reacted, "You're right. Let's hurry."
They finally made it to the hospital lab. Inside, the lab was a mess.
Kaori asked Dr. Chris, "What is going on? What happened?"
Dr. Chris responded, "I'm not sure. I was working last night on the blood samples of Nix and Aqua, but I felt tired and went home. Around 10 p.m., I got a call from one of the nurses that the lab was on fire."
Kaori, worried, asked, "What could have caused this?"
Zane, using his military expertise, looked around and found something.
"It seems like the fire started right at that table, but there are no electronics on it."
Dr. Chris added with concern, "That's where I had their blood set up. Could someone have come in and started the fire?"
Kaori, also concerned, said, "Not sure. But did you find anything about the blood that could make someone want to burn it?"
Dr. Chris replied, "I was close to a breakthrough. The blood cells weren't just reacting… they were syncing. Like they were drawn to each other. I've never seen anything like it but I was tired and left. But I was following on my theory—remember when we were talking yesterday? You told me that Nix and Aqua were interacting. That's when I noticed the blood reacting. It started right then."
Kaori said, "Well, that's interesting. What could be happening between those two? Zane, we should go home and check on them."
Zane replied, "You're right. Let's go. Chris, be careful and try to keep this a secret. I might know a safer place for you to keep researching away from the public eye.. I'll call you later with details."
Dr. Chris responded, "Sounds good, Zane. I'll keep you updated."
Kaori and Zane walked out and started heading home.
Meanwhile, Nix began to wake up trembling from what had happened the night before. He thought to himself, "What was that? I must really be like the man my dad saw. But what was that… my eyes glowed purple, and I have no clue what's going on with me."
He got scared. When he looked at his hands, they were a little red. He panicked and ran to the restroom, locking himself inside.
In the other room, Aqua started to wake up too. She felt drained, barely having the energy to get out of bed.
"Am I getting sick again?" she asked herself.
Lina entered the room and laughed, "Are you going to sleep all day, huh?"
Aqua responded, "I'm not feeling good. I don't have energy—I just feel super tired."
Lina measured her temperature. "You seem fine. No fever. I'll call Mom and let her know."
Lina stepped outside to call Kaori.
Kaori answered, "Hey Lina, I'm on my way home. What's going on?"
Lina, concerned, said, "Aqua's not feeling well. She's so tired she can't get out of bed. I checked her temperature—it's normal, but I'm worried."
Kaori replied, "Just hold on. We're almost there. Give me a few minutes—I'll check on her. What about Nix?"
Lina answered, "I'm not sure. He's been in the restroom a long time. I haven't seen him come out."
Kaori said, "We're here. Let us park and go check on them."
Zane went to check on Aqua while Kaori knocked on the bathroom door.
"Hey Nix, are you okay?"
Nix, panicking as his hands were red, answered, "I'm alright… I think."
Kaori, now very worried, asked him to open the door.
Nix hesitated, then slowly opened the door. His hands shook, and fear clouded his eyes. Kaori asked, "What's wrong? Nix, you can talk to me. You're shaking. Come here."
Nix decided not to tell her about last night. Instead, he showed his hands.
Kaori gasped. "What happened? Your hands are so red. Did you get burned or something?"
Kaori looked at Nix's trembling form and felt her stomach twist. She'd seen burns before—but not like this. And not with a child who'd already been through so much.
Nix lied. "No… I just woke up and they were hurting."
Kaori grabbed some cream and rubbed it on his hands. "This should help. Let's go check on Aqua. She's not feeling well either."
As they entered Aqua's room, Nix saw how pale aqua is and eyes barely open, he tripped and touched Aqua's hand. Suddenly, she regained her energy, and his hand pain vanished—though they remained red.
Nix asked, "Are you okay, Aqua?"
Everyone could see the concern on Nix's face. Aqua noticed too.
"I'm feeling a lot better," she said, though she silently wondered, "Why do I feel better when we touch?"
Before she could ask Nix how he felt, Lina jumped in, "How are you feeling, Nix?"
"I'm better," Nix replied. "Kaori gave me a cream. I woke up hurting but it's way better now."
Aqua felt relief that he was okay, while wondering why she was so worried about him.
Kaori broke the tension. "Alright, if you're both feeling better, come downstairs to eat. Then we'll go to the store for school supplies."
Lina asked, "Do I have to go? I want to stay and work on a project. Also can we order pizza for dinner today?"
Kaori laughed, "Are you going to tell me about your project? Sure—you can stay here with Zane and ill pick the pizza on our way back."
Nix's eyes lit up. "Wait—did you say pizza? That's the best news I've heard all day!"
"Extra cheese and pepperoni?" Lina called out from the living room.
"And onions!" Nix added quickly, then turned to Aqua. "You like onions on pizza, right?"
Aqua laughed softly. "Honestly, I'll eat anything that isn't soup right now."
Kaori chuckled. "Alright, deal. School shopping first, then we raid the pizza place. Let's go."
Everyone agreed.
After breakfast, Kaori took Nix and Aqua to the store to shop for school supplies.
They first stopped at the clothing section so Aqua could try on her new school uniform. As she stepped out of the fitting room, Nix's eyes widened—she looked beautiful, and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
Aqua noticed and tilted her head. "Hey, are you okay?"
Nix responded nervously, "Y-yeah, I think so…"
She gave him a puzzled smile and stepped closer. "Nix, there's something I should probably tell you. I've noticed how you've looked at me since you moved in… but I have a boyfriend at school."
Caught off guard, Nix lied, "I wasn't looking at you like that or anything…"
Aqua felt a strange weight in her chest, a hint of sadness she didn't understand. Nix, meanwhile, masked his hurt with a forced smile. Suddenly, the air in the store turned cold—Nix's sadness unconsciously manifesting a new power.
Without realizing what was happening, he stood and walked outside.
Aqua watched Nix walk away and pressed a hand to her chest. Why does it feel like I just hurt someone important?
I have a boyfriend… don't I? Then why does this feel wrong?. She didn't want to let him walk away.
She followed and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"If what I said hurt you, I'm sorry. I just… I don't want this to ruin our friendship. You mean a lot to me, Nix. Please don't be sad."
Surprised, Nix lied again. "Don't worry, Aqua. I'm fine. I'm happy for you."
He turned and walked to where Kaori was waiting. "Hey Kaori, I didn't find anything I liked. I just grabbed a few shirts. I'll use the jeans I already have."
Kaori noticed something was off but didn't push it.
As he stood outside, rain began to fall. The water on the ground shimmered and began to freeze. Realizing what was happening, Nix took a deep breath and calmed himself—just enough for the ice to melt.
When Kaori and Aqua came out, Kaori asked, "Are you okay, Nix?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking. Actually… could you take me to visit my dad sometime?"
Kaori, sensing the pain in his voice, replied warmly, "Of course, Nix. Whenever you want."
"But it doesn't have to be today," Nix added, trying to lift the mood. "Remember—you promised pizza."
Kaori smiled, and Aqua gave a small sigh of relief, unaware that her words had left a deeper mark than she realized.