Kai

Screenshot of the Protagonist Kai

**Kai** is the 16-year-old protagonist and the player character in Mutazione. She was called to the island to meet her grandfather, Nonno, after a letter from Mori warned of his failing health. She expects to spend this time reconnecting with him, and is frustrated when he sends her to garden and spend time with the other villagers. Ultimately she learns the lessons her grandfather teaches her and restores balance to the island, forming strong personal ties in the process.

## Family

She is the daughter of Gaia and the grandchild of Nonno and Dora. She has a younger brother named Toby who is only a toddler. Her father passed away two years before in a plane accident.

Mutazione's story begins when Kai sets out to the island to meet her grandfather for the first time. Nonno has ignored his family's letters for years without explanation, and Kai knows little about him. Nonno's hidden intentions are to teach her the lessons he learned as a shaman, and they can clash several times over their conflicting goals. Despite all of this, they have several things in common: both tend to take on blame for accidents outside of their control, both are stubborn, and both are concerned for the wellbeing of others. In the end Kai risks her life to show her grandfather the way back to normalcy when an accident leaves him comatose.

Her relationships with her mother and brother are complex: her father's death required that she take on several of her mother's former roles at home, and while she double-checks that her family will be alright without *her* help as she prepares to leave, she later expresses frustration over these responsibilities. Her mother is increasingly unavailable during Kai's phone calls, and Kai implies that this is standard, but still painful. Kai is pleased when her mother arrives at the end. Toby is mentioned throughout the game, and interrupts both of Kai's phonecalls to her mother.

Kai's father comes up in conversation several times, as his death is a recent wound. He died in an airplane accident, and no body was ever recovered. Kai has frequent dreams of him tending to a garden up in the clouds, and has spent time imagining that he's actually still alive somewhere, unable to return home. By the end of Mutazione's story Kai feels that she has reached a new level of acceptance for his death.

Although she'd never met Nonno before arriving on the island, Karoo (his spirit guide) says that they've met several times, and that he was present when she planted a Wisp Flower seed by her window at home. She is the one who gave him his name.

## Interests

Kai is the captain of her swim team back at home, and appreciates the routine of swim practices, even as she dislikes waking up early. She was initially annoyed when she had to come to Mutazione instead of the regional swim camp she'd been hand-picked to attend. When Miu invites her to go swimming it's seen as a relief. When Miu asks about Kai's self-image, Kai can evaluate the pros and cons of her build for swimming. Kai mentions later that she has a romantic interest in Lucia, a female member of her swimming team. Similar feelings towards Miu are unspoken but implied.

Kai showed a talent for gardening before arriving on the island, having planted a Wisp Flower seed in a gutter by her window and sensed the plant's music.

She is skilled at making paper airplanes, which was a frequent activity she'd once done with her father.