Ren woke up with commodity strange in his casket.
It was n't pain. Not miserliness.
It felt like a thin thread being pulled from his caricatures to nearly beyond the room.
He sat up on his bed, touching his casket. No crack. No mark.
But the thread was there.
In the coming room, Hana woke up.
Ren knew.
Not because he heard anything — but because the thread quivered, and at the other end, Hana was conscious.
He stepped out of his room. Hana was formerly standing in the hallway, her hair messy, her eyes still swollen from lack of sleep.
They looked at each other.
" You feel it too " Ren asked.
Hana jounced sluggishly. " Like a string from you to me. Or me to you. I do n't know. "
Ren walked closer. Two way.
The thread did n't stretch. Did n't shrink.
Distance did n't matter.
" Let's test it, " Ren said. He walked into the living room. Hana followed.
He stopped. " Now try to feel me. "
Hana closed her eyes.
Ren stood still. also he felt it — like an unnoticeable hand brushing against his studies. Light. nearly nothing.
" Your twinkle, " Hana said as she opened her eyes. " I can feel your twinkle. "
" Me too. "
They stood in the living room. The house was still a mess — slush- stained bottoms, boarded windows, scattered remnants of last night.
But for a moment they forgot all of it.
A knock came from the frontal door.
Ren and Hana changed a regard.
Not indeed seven in the morning.
Who could it be?
Ren walked to the door and browsed through the peephole.
An old man stood outdoors. Messy white hair, thick round spectacles, a wrinkled lab fleece. In his hand was a worn wallet covered in stickers from different countries.
He looked straight at the peephole.
" Ren Kaido? I'm Kei Nakamura. Open the door. "
Ren opened it.
The man stepped outside without staying, his eyes incontinently surveying Ren's wrist — also Hana — also both of them.
" Bond Link, " he said.
Not a question.
" You know about it? " Hana asked, startled.
" I discovered the miracle forty times agone
, " Professor Kei said, setting his wallet down. " But I noway anticipated to see it again. Especially not in kiddies your age. "
He walked into the living room and sat down — on his forefather's rattan president.
Ren nearly stopped him.
But the man was formerly seated, his aspect
softening as he looked around.
" This house has n't changed, " he muttered. " Fifty times agone
, I sat in this veritably president. Takeshi sat over there. We drank tea and talked about the future. "
Ren stood in front of him. " You knew my forefather? "
" Knew him? " Professor Kei looked up. " We were like sisters. Same schoolteacher. Same secret. Same charge. " He exhaled sluggishly. " Until Takeshi chose to run and I chose to hide behind the title of professor. "
He opened his wallet, pulling out old documents and a device suggesting a tablet — its design outdated, but functional.
The screen lit up, displaying two circles of light connected by a glowing line.
" Bond Link, " he said. " Its scientific name is Resonance Bonding. It occurs when a heritage stoner enters a critical state, and the artifact seeks the nearest compatible energy source generally someone emotionally connected. "
His eyes moved to Hana.
" Someone you trust. Someone you watch about. "
Hana sat on the bottom, her reverse against the lounge, hands gripped tightly.
" What does it do? " she asked.
" You can feel each other within a certain compass. Communicate without words. Share feelings, physical condition indeed pain. "
He broke.
" And if one of you dies the other will suffer severe trauma. Conceivably fall into a coma. Conceivably die as well. "
Silence filled the room.
Ren could feel Hana's breathing beside him. Through the Bond Link, commodity flowed — fear.
Hana was hysterical .
" I know this is heavy, " Professor Kei said. " But you need to understand the consequences. "
" I do n't lament it, " Hana said.
Ren turned to her.
She met his aspect
without vacillation.
" I chose this, " she continued. " Last night, when I was poisoned — I chose to live. I chose Ren. I wo n't lament that. "
Professor Kei studied her for a long moment.
also he smiled — a warm, nearly nostalgic smile.
" You remind me of Takeshi. Stubborn. "
Hana did n't respond.
She just sat there, holding her own hands, trying not to shake.
Ren sat beside her.
He said nothing.
But through the Bond Link, commodity passed — warmth.
Hana felt it.
And sluggishly she stopped pulsing.
Professor Kei pulled out a large, worn chart from his wallet. Its edges were rasped, covered with handwritten notes.
" Ouroboros formerly has three vestiges, " he said. " They need nine further. One is with you — heritage. Another is then. "
He refocused to a spot south of Japan, deep in the ocean.
" The Ryukyu Trench. At the seabed lies an artifact called Aegis — a guard said to be impenetrable. "
Ren goggled at the position. " We've to get it before Ouroboros? "
" Yes. But you're not ready. " Professor Kei folded the chart. " You need training. You need to learn how to control Legacy. You need to fight as a platoon. You need — "
He broke.
" Need what? " Hana asked.
" You need to enter Nova Academy. "
Ren set.
Nova Academy. The most prestigious idol academy in Japan.
A place he'd only ever pictured of.
A place that had always been closed to someone without Kai.
" Your forefather was the top graduate of Nova's first class, " Professor Kei said. " He'd no Kai. But he graduated. And he came one of the topmost icons noway recorded in history. "
commodity stirred inside Ren's casket. Not the Bond Link.
Pride.
And fear.
" Can I really do it? " His voice was coarse.
" You have heritage. You've formerly copied three capacities. You have a Bond Link with Hana. " Professor Kei stood up. " That's further than enough. "
He looked at Ren, his aspect
establishment.
" But more importantly — you have the same heart as your forefather. That's commodity no academy can educate. "
He walked toward the door.
" Registration opens in two weeks. Use that time to train. I'll shoot you accoutrements "
He opened the door, also broke.
" One further thing. "
Ren awaited.
" heritage will attract those who crave absolute power. " Professor Kei looked back at him. " Be careful who you trust. "
also he left.
The door closed.
Ren and Hana remained in the living room.
The house was still messy. The bottom still dirty.
But they did n't care.
" Nova Academy, " Hana said. " You're really going? "
Ren looked at the cuff on his wrist.
heritage.
His forefather's heritage.
A source of power — and trouble.
" Grandpa believed I could, " he said still. " I do n't want to fail him. "
" also I'm coming with you. "
Ren turned. " Hana — "
" Do n't start. " she cut him off. " We've a Bond Link now. We're a package deal. Wherever you go, I go. "
Ren wanted to argue.
But through the Bond Link, commodity flowed — resoluteness.
Hana would n't back down.
" Alright, " he said. " We go together. "
Hana smiled. For the first time that morning, her hands did n't fluctuate.
That autumn, they started drawing the house.
Hana swept the remaining glass shards. Ren mopped the dirt- stained bottom.
They worked in silence.
But the Bond Link carried commodity between them — not words, not images.
Just calm.
While moving a recently installed press, Ren set up commodity hidden behind it.
His forefather's tablet.
He'd forgotten to hide it.
He opened the last unlettered runner.
Ren, my grandson.However, you may have formerly faced your first battle, If you're reading this. You may have felt the weight of heritage. You may have met those who wish to take it from you.
But flash back this — true strength is n't in the cuff. Not in the Kai you copy. True strength lies in your heart and in the hearts of those who watch about you.
noway forget that.
I'm always proud of you, Ren. Always.
Ren closed the tablet.
His hands did n't fluctuate this time.
He placed it on the shelf, beside his forefather's print.
" We'll be okay? " Hana asked from the doorway.
Ren looked at her.
Her hair was messy. Her clothes were dirty. She was still holding a broom.
But she was then.
She did n't leave.
" We'll try, " Ren said.
Hana smiled. " That's a veritably politic answer. "
" I learned from Professor Kei. "
Hana laughed.
For the first time since the attack she truly laughed.
That night, Ren could n't sleep.
He sat on the rattan president — his forefather's president — gaping at the night sky through the boarded window.
From Hana's room, the Bond Link carried commodity.
Not restlessness.
Not sweat.
Just presence.
She was there.
His phone bucketed.
A communication from Professor Kei
" Nova Academy enrollment opens in two weeks. Use the time to train. I'll shoot accoutrements hereafter. And be careful — Ouroboros may assign watchers. Stay alert. "
Ren replied
" Understood. "
He set the phone down.
On his wrist, heritage glowed noiselessly.
Two weeks.
In two weeks, he'd face the biggest test of his life.
But he was n't alone.
In the coming room, Hana slept.
Through the Bond Link, he could feel her twinkle.
Steady. Calm.
Ren closed his eyes.
For the first time since his forefather's death
He slept without agonies.