"Huh?" Kukyo asked with a confused expression.
"Oh, right, you…" Grace paused, remembering Kukyo's memory issue. After taking a deep breath, she placed her novel on the table next to the couch she was sitting on.
"Well, where should I start exactly? Soulhearts are the essence of our being; they make us who we are…
"The essence of our 'being'—what is she talking about? Could it be…' Kukyo couldn't help but get lost in thoughts while listening to Grace.
"…but it is also different from what we know ourselves or each other to be. It is the heart of not only our souls but also what links our three forms together: the body, mind, and soul. Though it is a link, it can also do more than that."
'More? What more can it do?' Hearing about the Soulheart, Kukyo felt impatient. 'Even without knowing the extension of a Soulheart, can I use such a thing and whatever power it possesses? No, the question is, do I even have it?'
Looking at Kukyo lost in thought, Grace spoke, her voice like the passing of a wave on the beach, washing away all that it touches. "If you want to know, I could teach you."
"Huh?" His face was dumbstruck and yet showed a hint of hope, hope for which Grace had not the slightest clue.
"Perhaps, later we can discuss more about it. For now, let's prepare dinner."
'Ok, let's prepare dinner then discuss later… Wait, what?!'
"What do you mean exactly when you say "Prepare dinner"?" Kukyo's expression portrays concussions.
Seeing his face, Grace smiled and chuckled, "Don't worry if you don't know how; I'll teach you that too."
"Oh… ahhh ok," feeling a bit confused about the situation, Kukyo simply agreed and followed Grace into the kitchen.
***
As both of them prepared, one being an expert and the other a novice, they would exchange small talk, learning more about each other in the process.
Given Kukyo's skills in the kitchen, one might say he should never be there. Even though he had learned from an early age how to cook from his grandmother, with the introduction to new ingredients such as spices, meat, and vegetables he had never heard of, it took him a while to help Grace prepare dinner.
"Wow, you are terrible at this," Grace chuckled.
Kukyo stared at her for a few seconds, smiling and blushing, feeling embarrassed, then averted his eyes and face when he realized.
I'm not that bad, geez… Sigh.
"Well, compared to someone so good at cooking, of course it would seem like I'm bad at it," Kukyo commented, with a compliment.
Grace looked at him, pausing for a second, then said, "I don't think that I'm that good. My mom taught me most of what I know." Her face changed to one of sadness, then, in the blink of an eye, back to smiling happily.
Noticing her almost instantaneous change in facial expressions, he wondered what could've happened to her parents, but thought that it wouldn't have been the right time to ask. Besides, he had a more important question he wanted to ask her.
Why? Why help him, a complete stranger? Even though he was in another world, based on Arthur's and Iris' reaction, he could tell that it was a weird thing to do, yet she did it. She didn't seem to be a fool; in fact, she seemed quite the opposite, yet she did it.
I doubt she has a hidden motive behind helping me, though it would be foolish on my part not to consider it. I have this overwhelming sense that that wasn't the case. Perhaps I'm wrong, but for now I'll continue to trust her.
***
After many setbacks, due to Kukyo's lack of cooking skills, they had finally prepared dinner.
"Well, that sure took a while," Grace said, looking over the steaming pot of food that had just finished, with an alluring aroma.
Kukyo, sitting on the floor, exhausted, inhaled the amazing aroma, pleased that all the work that he had done to help Grace in preparing dinner was not for nothing, and released a relaxing sigh.
"We did well," said Grace, lowering her head to look at Kukyo.
"We? No, you? Yes," replied Kukyo, while getting up off the floor and then brushing off his pants.
"So what do we do now?" Kukyo asked, looking at Grace.
She smiled, covered the pot, and then turned, readying to walk back to the living room. Reaching the end of the kitchen, she said, "Didn't you want to learn more about the Soulheart?"
Kukyo blinked twice, then nodded in affirmation.
"Then let's continue."
***
Sitting on the couch, Kukyo listened intently to Grace, sitting next to him.
"Before, I had called that essence of being that connects us a Soulheart, and that is the proper name, though most call it a Soulplant due to its progressive characteristic."
Progressive characteristic?
"The stage of one's Soulplant depends on many factors; two common factors are age and strength."
Grace continued to explain the basics of this essence, which was new to Kukyo. For one, it was called a soul plant by most because when others had felt such an essence within their body, it felt as though a plant, and the more they progressed, the more it felt as though the plant grew.
Starting out, one could feel their essence of being through meditation, and the more they felt it, the easier it would become to sense it, feeling like tracing one's finger on a wire. For children around the age of 12-16, their Soulplant would be at a beginning stage, feeling almost like a seed; then, as they get older and/or stronger and healthier, it would grow, the invisible strings that keep them together would grow, and they would feel like roots on a plant.
What Kukyo had drawn from this part of the explanation was that names only entailed how others described the feeling, not how it actually was. The essence itself is more aligned with the name Soulplant, since even when you get old, the essence itself wouldn't usually decrease drastically, unlike an actual heart.
"There are also other stages other than the initial one, of course, in which they call 'root,' and then after that stage, you have 'stem,' and lastly, that we know so far, 'flower,'" Grace explained.
"Soulheart/plant can also help us to surpass our normal human limits, enabling some to become superhuman, being able to do amazing things. But even with enhanced abilities, that isn't the only amazing thing that our Soulhearts can help with."