"Even if I died a thousand times, I'd find you again."
The night hummed with cicadas.
A soft summer breeze, full of sweet jasmine and rain-mingled asphalt, whispered through Tokyo's silent district of Yamato. A boy and girl, side by side, their hands brushing now and then, walked down on under the forlorn glow of a streetlamp, their laughter soft and brief.
Itsuki and Yuki were just two ordinary high school students returning home from their part-time jobs, never knowing that it was the last night of both their lives.
Itsuki slung his worn messenger bag over one shoulder, the strap digging into his neck. He didn't let that bother him. Beside him, Yuki's soft hum filled the silence. It was the same tune she always sang when she felt calm.
"You're spacing out again," she teased lightly as her light brown hair fluttered with the smile she gave him.
Itsuki smiled weakly. "Just thinking about graduation. It's hard to believe that we're almost done."
"Mm," Yuki nodded. "Then we'll finally be free. Maybe we can go somewhere far away from everything."
"Somewhere quiet," he said. "You and me, Yuki. Just you and me."
Her cheeks flushed warm. "You make it sound like a confession, dummy."
He laughed. "Perhaps it is."
She hitted his arm playfully, where it was soft and didn't hurt, but the heat from her touch lasted far longer than either had anticipated.
They arrived at the junction in the street where they always separated, underneath the single flickering streetlamp which cast long shadows on the pavement.
Itsuki hesitated. "Hey, Yuki?"
She turned towards him. "Yeah?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, words getting stuck in his throat. "If something ever happened, promise me you'll – "
He stopped. The sound caught him before he could finish.
A crunch. A faint step behind them.
The type that didn't belong on a quiet street.
Yuki frowned. "Itsuki, did you hear that?
He turned. The shadows appeared to stretch on unreasonably long in the alley behind them.
A figure walked out.
A man, a hoodie pulled down, breathing enough to be heard. A hand held something shining in the lamplight's glow.
Itsuki's heart began to race. "Hey! Who—
The man came lunging at them.
Too fast, too sudden.
The knife glimmered once.
"Yuki!"
The scream pushed its way up his throat at seeing her gasp with wide eyes. Blood expanding like a crimson flower against her white blouse.
He held her tremulous body in his arms. "It. hurts."
He could not catch a breath. The world happened around him, tilting. Both hands pressed down on the wound, but he couldn't stop her bleeding.
"Yuki! Don't even think about closing your eyes!"
Her voice was weak. "Itsuki, it's alright. You'll be okay. Just promise me—"
A light stroke against his cheek with her hand.
"Promise me you'll love someone else for me."
He shook his head, frantically. His vision blurred with tears. "Noooo! Don't say that!"
And again the shadow of the man darkened the room.
Something in Itsuki broke.
He picked up a rock from the ground, and charged, screaming. A knife cut into the side of him, pain blooming hot and sharp; but still he did not stop.
He brought the rock down. Once. Twice. Again.
Hot, metallic blood splattered into his face.
Finally and when silence returned, the man lay on the ground unmoving. Itsuki dropped the rock and collapsed beside Yuki.
She wasn't breathing.
He pressed his forehead against her forehead, sobbing. "I'm so sorry. I don't think I was strong enough. But I promise—"
His voice cracked, and with every heartbeat, its strength faltered.
"I will protect you better in our next life."
It was as though darkness swallowed the world around him.
Far, far away.
Chimes of the wind, and the murmur of voices that were unfamiliar.
"Is he still asleep?"
"Yes, my lady. His vitals appear stable."
A woman's pleasant chuckle. "He really is adorable."
Itsuki's consciousness began to resurface.
A warm atmosphere. A soft light against his eyelids. Gradually, he opened them and stiffened.
A wooden ceiling. A large, gilded cradle.
And floating above him was a smiling woman with golden hair and ocean-blue eyes.
The only thing that came out of his mouth were baby-like cooing sounds. He felt a wave of panic come over him. Turning his head, he looked at the mirror next to the bed. What he saw made his heart stop.
A baby.
The new reflection of his self in the mirror was wrong.
He stared back, eyes wide.
What the fuck?
The body had tiny hands, soft skin, round cheeks.
Why am I a baby?
Meanwhile, the woman began to coo quietly to him, completely unaware of Itsuki's mental breakdown. "Welcome to the world my dear little Leon."
Leon.
The name bounced faintly off the walls of the newly born mind.
Just like that, Itsuki started a second life as Leon Ashwell, the heir of House Ashwell, a noble family in the Searulian Empire.
Fifteen Years Later
The sunlight poured through the tall arched windows of the Ashwell estate onto the smooth marble floors, casting golden rays across the polished surface.
Leon was in front of the mirror doing the clasp of his tunic, it was dark like the rest of him: dark hair, gray eyes, a calm expression that had its own steeliness.
He had accepted it long before - he was reincarnated in another world.
Yet the past never really let go of him.
Sometimes he dreamed of the streetlight, of her hand slipping from his.
He clenched his fist. "I swore to protect her. Not this time."
"Leon?" There was a knock at the door.
"Yes?"
"Young master, breakfast is ready," the maid said softly.
"Coming," he said, strapping his sword at his waist - not out of necessity, but it was routine.
And he went down the goes great staircase into the dining hall. At the head of the long table sat his father, Duke Cyrus Ashwell, collected and regal. Next to him was Duchess Carolina smiling kindly at him.
"Good morning, Leon." she said.
"Good morning, Mother. Father."
After a moment of silence as they shared breakfast, Cyrus set his fork down.
"You've grown, my son. Sixteen this spring, yes?"
"Yes, father."
Cyrus eyes were sharp, but kind. "Tell me, Leon, what do you wish to become?"
Leon paused for a moment. "A swordsman. The strongest in the empire."
His mother blinked. "The strongest?"
He nodded. "Strong enough to protect everyone I care about."
The silence that followed was thick, but warm. His father regarded him, and then smiled faintly.
"In that case, I shall enroll you in the best academy that the empire has to offer."
Leon's eyes went wide. "You mean...?"
Cyrus stood to his full height, the morning sun glinting off his signet ring. "Yes. Aurelia Academy. The place where the Empire's greatest blades are forged."
Leon's heart began to race.
Aurelia. Where legends were born.
And perhaps, a place where fate began again.
The Journey to Aurelia
Days later, Leon stood atop a hill that overlooked the imperial capital.
Below was a vast city of spires and domes shined in the northern light of midday. Silver armored knights marched along the streets while vendors called out amongst throngs of people. Banners declaring the phoenix's crest waved proudly.
His carriage rolled over the cobbled path, pulled by two drakesteeds with shimmering scales.
He peered outside his window at the horizon.
"I wonder if she's out there too." he whispered.
It was an involuntary thought, one that felt different than simply an involuntary thought. The promise he made that moonlit night still bound him, stronger than any oath he could've made.
Aurelia Academy- One month later
Before him loomed the great gates of Aurelia: tall arches of silversteel with runes from ages ago and softly shimmering under the crack of dawn.
The courtyard was filled with students- young nobles and foreign prodigies as well as mages with glowing staves. Each of them sported the school uniform, with the phoenix insignia-the Empire's bright burning flame.
Leon exhaled and calmed his heart.
"So this is it."
Taking a step through the large gate.
The marble tiles reflected the sky underneath his boots. Above him, magical lanterns lazily floated, glowing with blue light. Mana and excitement energized the air around him.
This is not just a school, he thought. This is a forge.
Where heroes were forged.
Where destinies aligned.
And perhaps somewhere outside these walls, the girl he hadn't been able to save was staying at that very moment to meet him a second time, maybe.
The First Step
That night Leon stood at his dormitory window and looked down on the lights the city.
A full, silvery moon shone brightly in Aurelia, eerily familiar.
He pulled out his sword, a slender blacksteel blade that curved like a crescent moon– a relic from the Eastern lands of Yamato.
He practised the stance from before a different life.
Step. Draw. Slash.
The blade sang its path through the air in clean silence.
As he resheathed the blade, his silhouette in the reflection wavered, and for a brief moment he swore he saw another behind him.
A girl's silhouette.
Her mouth moved without sound.
"Don't forget me."
Leon blinked, and she was gone. The sword shook just a little in his grip. He peered inward and uttered softly, "I won't." The moonlight caught the edge of the cold blade as he stood on the precipice of a new fate, once again a vestige of someone else. The journey had just begun.