The sun was low in the sky as a deep orange glow cast long shadows over the park. Hina shifted the grocery bags in her arms, her body sore from a long day of classes followed by the errands. She hadn't planned to linger, but a familiar presence caught her attention as she passed by.
There he was. The boy from the other day - Setsuna.
He was sitting on a park bench, unmoving, his posture rigid as his figure seemed to blur with the sunset. Hina would be convinced at this point that he was some sort of spirit meant to haunt her as the darkness of the night approached the city, but his gaze was fixed elsewhere - a hotdog stall nearby. The vendor fanned the small grill with a faint sizzle.
Setsuna didn't move, barely even blinked. Hina tilted her head, observing him. There was something strangely cat-like about the way he sat there, quietly, intensely focused, almost like a hungry stray, too wary and proud to approach.
She slowly moved closer to him, carefully sitting by his side, the bench creaked softly as she sat down and set her groceries at her feet. The silence remained. She glanced at him, expecting some sort of reaction, a shift, anything. But his reddish-brown eyes stayed locked on the hotdog stall.
"Do you want me to leave?" she asked almost teasingly, the question rolling off her tongue naturally now.
He didn't respond immediately. For a moment his expression was unreadable, his silence stretching long enough that most people would have stood to leave, then finally he shook his head.
"Not really" he replied, his voice low yet surprisingly soft, yet his gaze remained in the same direction.
"You have been staring at the stall for a while now. Are you going to buy a hotdog?" Hina tried to wrap her mind around the situation.
Setsuna nodded, yet he still hadn't moved a muscle to do so. Hina considered the possibilities, maybe he forgot his wallet but didn't want to admit it, or maybe he just didn't know how to approach the vendor, which seemed possible given his personality. Or maybe, just maybe, it was something else entirely, too deep in those lost eyes for Hina to see.
"How about coming to my place for dinner instead?", she broke the silence before Setsuna got lost in thought again.
"Why?", his voice was flat, yet he didn't sound completely disinterested.
Hina shrugged, getting the grocery bags back into her arms, as if trying to show them to him. "Why not? You haven't eaten yet, and it's lonely cooking only for myself."
For the first time, Setsuna's sharp gaze shifted to her, as if something in her words caught his attention. For an instant his face darkened, yet he quickly recomposed himself back to his usual blank expression. He immediately stood up, following her without another word.
–
They walked side by side, Hina's hands gripping the grocery bags she carried, the quiet rhythm of their footsteps blending into the distant noise of the city.
She stole a glance at him. He was a little over ten centimeters taller than her, his thin frame seemed to be almost swallowed by the backdrop of the setting sun. His red scarf, loosely wrapped around his neck, fluttered lightly with the wind, its fabric glowing faintly in the soft light. The scene felt like something she'd see in her dreams, the sky shifting in shades of orange and purple like watercolor on damp paper. He seemed almost otherworldly, as if he wasn't meant to exist in a place like this.
Setsuna returned the glance and, instinctively, Hina’s gaze shifted to the streets ahead. They still felt unfamiliar, everything about this place still was. The narrow alleys, the clean facades of the buildings, the neatly trimmed trees lining the streets.
Her thoughts drifted to her home country, a place that didn't exist anymore. Not really. The construction of the Union Orbital Elevator had taken it all away. The neighborhoods, the bustling markets, the vibrant nature, all razed to make way for progress. What remained were ruins, crumbled walls hidden from the tourists' gaze, overtaken by dust and decay. The towering construction of steel and glass had swallowed entire communities whole, her own included.
For a long time, she settled in a crumbling tenement in the outskirts, where everything seemed to be falling apart. Streets littered with debris was the familiar scenery. Nothing felt solid or permanent. Lives would be snuffed out without warning, as casual as a whispered rumor, followed by the Union government's favorite means of oppression - silence. For survival, safety couldn't be taken for granted. Not the streets, not the people around her.
But here... The Special Economic Jurisdiction of the Union.
Peaceful. Too peaceful, perhaps, in a way that still felt strange to her. People walked unconcerned, they just left the park full of couples chatting on benches, children laughing as they chased after a ball. It was strange, almost disorienting. The safety she felt wasn't something she was used to.
And yet, despite it all, it felt natural to walk alongside him. Even if he was technically a stranger.
She glanced at Setsuna again, the sunlight caught his messy black hair, almost as if casting faint halos of gold around him. His silent figure beside her didn't fit the peacefulness of this place. Yet, since the instant their eyes met, something about him felt... familiar. It wasn't in his words, he barely spoke. It was in his presence, in the way he moved, as if he was always bracing for danger. She recognized that, perhaps because she's lived it too, but maybe there was something else, something deeper. It was as though a part of her had known him for far longer than the few moments they had shared.
They turned a corner and Hina's apartment building came into view, small and unassuming, tucked between the taller and more modern structures. Hina guided Setsuna inside as the sun dipped lower, the surreal glow of twilight faded into the soft blue of dusk.
–
The apartment felt detached from the city outside, almost like stepping into another realm. Setsuna stood awkwardly by the entryway, observing the white walls as if they had drained the color from the world. The furniture was sparse and utilitarian, save for empty mugs on the counter, like an almost blank canvas with coffee spilled on it. Clearly she hadn't moved there too long ago. It isn't like Setsuna’s own place was any less empty, but the air felt still, sterile, as though it resisted any connection to the life outside its walls.
Hina moved to the kitchen, setting her grocery bags on the counter.
"Make yourself at home", she encouraged him though there wasn't much to make a home of.
Setsuna stepped forward and settled into one of the two mismatched chairs surrounding a single table in the center of the room.
Hina began preparing dinner, her movements deliberate but unhurried. The rhythmic sound of the chopping and stirring soon filled the air. Setsuna watched her with an intense gaze, though he wouldn't admit it, that had an oddly calming effect on him. The faint smell of stew soon began to soften the clinical chill of the apartment, wrapping it in something warmer. Setsuna remained unmoving, his hands resting on his knees.
Soon she set a generous portion of stew for him. As the earthy aroma of the dish rose to his face and the warmth spread through his hands as he held the bowl, he didn’t hesitate and dug in without a word. Setsuna ate quickly, almost as if he hadn't had a proper meal in days. A dribble of broth smeared across his chin, but he seemed unaware of the mess he was making.
Hina watched him quietly for a moment, before starting to eat her portion slowly. Eventually, she mustered the courage, leaning forward slightly, her soft voice breaking the silence with a tone of curiosity. "Can I ask where are you from? You don't seem like you're from here... And Setsuna F. Seiei is a rather uncommon name."
For a moment, the tension in his shoulders grew visible. Hina wondered if she had overstepped, but he finally spoke while his gaze got lost on the wall.
"Azadistan", his voice was quieter than usual.
Hina watched him carefully, noticing the way his eyes turned away, as if hiding something. But she simply nodded, not pressing further. Despite his reaction, Azadistan made sense, she was well aware of the turbulent state of the homeplace he claimed. One of the many places that suffered thanks to the Orbital Elevators. Their fossil fuels got deemed useless by the advent of solar energy, causing an economic crisis, civil unrest and, inevitably, war.
"I'm from Saturn", she said after a pause, her voice almost too calm for such an absurd statement. "I'm an alien."
Setsuna's spoon stopped mid-motion. His eyes flickered towards her, but her expression remained blank and Hina didn't offer any clarification. Setsuna remained quiet, his spoon resumed its quick rhythm.
It wasn't the truth, of course. But she had never truly belonged to the area close to the Union Orbital Elevator, either. She was half-Japanese, back in her home country she grew used to the casual cruelty, the whispered slurs, the cold stares, and even after moving to Japan she knew she was still an outsider. Saturn was as good a place as any to claim as her own. If anything, it felt more real to her than Earth ever did.
When the last traces of the stew were gone, Hina carried the dishes to the sink. Setsuna remained seated, his gaze fixed downward, but she noticed the streaks of sauce and broth still clinging to his chin and cheeks.
“You have got food on your face”, she warned him, in response he immediately tried rubbing his face with the back of his hand, only to completely miss the spot.
With a sigh, she retrieved a handkerchief and approached him cautiously. He looked up as she neared and, for a split second, he flinched slightly and raised his arm defensively to block her, but halfway through the motion he hesitated. Slowly, he lowered his arm, letting her continue.
Hina gently wiped the mess from his face, her movements slow and careful, light and almost hesitant. The warmth of her touch, even through the fabric, seemed to catch him off guard.
When she was done, she brushed a strand of his dark hair off his face, her hand resting briefly on his head. "You can come back anytime," her voice almost whispered. "If you're hungry or if you ever just... I don’t know, feel alone or something."
Setsuna didn't respond. He didn't know how to. He simply stood and left without a word, the sound of his footsteps fading into the night. Hina watched the door close behind him, her expression unchanging.
"He's really just like a cat...", she mumbled to herself and turned back to the quiet emptiness of her apartment, the faint softness of his hair lingering on the palm of her hand.