Prologue
The first thing that Kaoru noticed was the wailing of the sirens.
They sounded distant...like they were miles away from him.
Gradually, the fog lifted from his mind, and he recognized more of what was happening around him.
And he wished he hadn't.
Crying. Screaming. Blood. Tears.
What happened?
Slowly, very slowly, he managed to open his eyes. He winced in the brightness of the noon sun. His eyes scanned his surroundings wildly, desperately searching for information on what was happening. Finally, his eyes settled on Liza Hayashi—his girlfriend, his one true love, and one of the two most important people in his life. She was on her knees, her head buried in her hands, her entire figure wracked with heart-wrenching sobs.
"Liza—" Kaoru struggled to sit up. All of the blood rushed to his head. "Liza, what happened?" She didn't appear to hear him.
Kaoru managed to move over to her.
"Liza, I'm ok, just tell me what hap—"
He stopped. He stared at his hand.
It had gone right through her.
He had tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulders...and it went straight through. Like she was made out of thin air.
Or maybe he was.
"Liza, Liza listen to me! I'm right here! Can you hear me? Liza!"
"Kaoru!"
Kaoru turned and saw his twin, Hikaru, running towards him.
"Hikaru, thank God! I don't know what's happening, but—" Kaoru stopped talking again, staring down at himself in wonder. He had run to embrace his twin, but went right through him again. He turned around and gasped at the sight.
No.
It couldn't be.
No!
He saw his body, bruised, broken and bleeding on the ground.
"Maybe it's a dream," he murmured, running over to his body. "This has to be a dream. Crazy things happen in dreams, right? Maybe if..." He tried to reposition himself back in his body, willing his spirit to bond with his person. It didn't work. Dizzily, he stood up and looked down at his form.
It was no use.
He was dead.