Chapter One: Reset

This work was inspired by Dudette_Mal's story A Future's Shadow. Thank you!

I prefer the original Chinese version, so I will be using those names instead.

A brief list of terms for those who are confused:

Yang Jinghua = You Keika
Duanmu Xi = Tanmoku Ki
Yangning Zicheng = You Shisei/Nei
Duanmu Luoyue = Tanmoku Rakugetsu
Shenlong Zhangxuan = Shinryuu Shouken
Luoyue Jian = Rakugetsu Sword
Yangmingsi = Youmeishi

More will be added as I go along. Updates will be sporadic as I'm writing this as I go.

Utter darkness. Infinite black surrounding him, Yang Jinghua drifted. "Duanmu Xi is gone…I couldn't save him…Why?"

A voice echoed around him, "Do you want to save him, Yang Jinghua?"

Without hesitation, without fear, he answered. "Yes."

A mischievous laugh resounded. "As you wish, enjoy your second chance, little descendant of Zicheng."

"…That voice, it couldn't be!" He tumbled through the darkness, falling endlessly.

He woke with a stifled scream, still reeling from that unending fall. "Hello Jinghua," a voice echoed from above his head.

The former ghost let out a shriek in surprise. Staring at him was his ancestor, the original Yangning. "How are you here? Aren't you still sealed within the Luoyue Jian?"

The spirit smiled softly at him. "The sword was broken, and so I was fully released. Although that has not happened yet in this time, a side effect is that I have remained unsealed, though the Louyue still maintains its abilities and purpose. And so I chose to remain with you."

"In this time, you said," said Jinghua, in a daze. He looked at his hands, smaller than what he remembered, even in the fourteen year old form that he had spent so much time in after death. "When are we?"

"Sometime shortly after your tenth birthday, I believe. Lord Luoyue wanted you to have a chance to save your parents."

"Duanmu Luoyue?" He asked in confusion. "If he's sealed within my blood, why isn't he here?"

The spirit let out a sigh of relief. "It's another side effect of that other time. Your death did unleash him, and though you may be alive now, his seal has been loosened. It's fine though, because he hasn't gone insane again. My presence is keeping him stable and sane. He decided to go watch over his own descendant and see how he's doing."

"Duanmu Xi, he's in the hospital right now! I have to go see him! Does he have his memories too?" Jinghua scrambled out of his covers, falling and making a thud in the process.

Zicheng bent down, helping to untangle the now child from his blankets. "He doesn't right now, but upon becoming the Yangmingsi, he will receive them after the ceremony. You should calm down. Lord Luoyue will let us know if there's any change in his situation. And your parents are coming now, but they will not be able to see me, so do not worry about that." With that, he stepped back, leaving plenty of space between himself and his descendant, fading into a layer of the world that only Jinghua could see through.

And true to his words, Jinghua's door slammed open, his mother and father in the doorway. "Jinghua, are you okay? We heard a scream and a thud, so we were worried that a spirit came to attack you."

He blinked back tears, a watery smile directed towards his parents. They were alive now, and this time, he could keep them alive. He could save Duanmu Xi. The shock was beginning to set in now, but he had to hold it back a little longer. He didn't want to make his parents any more troubled. "Mom, Dad, I'm fine, I just had a nightmare and fell out of bed. I'm not hurt, don't worry."

His mother cupped his face in her hands. "Are you sure? You're feeling a bit warm. Maybe you should stay home from school today, and keep from getting sick."

The former spirit shadow shook his head, "No, I want to go to school. I made a new friend that I want to hang out with after. I'll be fine, don't worry about me. And thanks Dad," he directed towards the man peeling him out of the blankets.

"You're welcome, Jinghua. You can go to school, but if you don't feel well, just let the main office know and we'll come to pick you up, okay? Don't push yourself."

He beamed in relief. "Thanks! Don't worry, I will. Okay, I have to get ready now or I'll be late."

His parents laughed and walked out his door, though still slightly concerned. "Your breakfast is downstairs, so hurry and come eat it while it's still warm."

He nodded his head in response, and finally they were gone. Legs trembling, Jinghua slumped onto the ground, finally allowing the ramifications of everything to hit him. Zicheng went over to him, concerned. He had stayed out of the way during his heir's reunion with his parents, but now he was free to worry about the now child without concern for who could see him.

"Jinghua, it's okay. You have time to change everything, and Lord Luoyue and I will be with you to guide you if necessary. You won't fail." He had finally given into his inclination to hold the child and stroke his hair, in an attempt to comfort him. It was reasonable to panic, considering how the last life had ended, but this time, he would spare his descendant, and his lord's descendant from the tragedy that had encompassed their lives. They deserved far better, even if it was the tragedies had drawn them together again in the end.

The former spirit pulled himself together slowly. "You're right. I can break apart once everything is done. Now, I have to go to school, and then find Duanmu Xi. And I need to figure out a way to keep in contact with him, so when we eventually move away, we can still talk. There won't be any long separations like last time, and this time, I won't let Zhangxuan sacrifice himself like that for our Xi." He stood up, but smiled softly at his ancestor. "Thank you, Zicheng."

The swordsman looked away in embarrassment. "It's fine, now hurry and get ready. I'll fix your hair for you."

"All right."

Jinghua sighed in relief, glad to be out of school. As much as he enjoyed being back in time, the mind-numbing drudgery of education was not something he had missed. Though he was surprised to note that he did have a better understanding of everything he was learning than his first time around. Maybe it was because he could understand why he would need it in the future.

But that was beside the point. Jinghua could finally talk to Zicheng and Luoyue in order to get the full explanation as to why he was back in time, more than a decade before his actual death. And he could find Dianmu Xi. Ever since he had awakened in this time, he could feel the Yangmingsi. The connection was not what it had once been, but he could feel that the other was in pain.

Finding an abandoned section of a playground by the woods, he turned to face his invisible follower. "Zicheng, you said Luoyue sent me back so I could protect Duanmu this time. Why?"

The swordsman looked away from the sky; turning to answer his descendant "Lord Luoyue is on his way to explain, but basically, it was because your souls are tied. And because the both of us are tied to you specifically, it was easier to drag your soul back."

The first Yangmingsi appeared at that, deciding to pipe in. "And you two got yourselves into the most amusing messes. It would be entertaining to watch you stumble out of those again, and make new ones."

Jinghua looked at him deadpan. "So you were bored."

"That's right!" And then the grin on his face slid away to be replaced by something more serious. "Both of us owed you a debt, for unsealing Zicheng, and returning my sanity to me. And the two of you suffered so much and were gone so soon, we wanted to give you a chance at happiness. With the two of you here, with knowledge of how this can turn out, your lives can be changed for the better."

Jinghua studied the older man's face, judging his sincerity. Not feeling anything suspicious, he nodded. "Thank you. But what did Zicheng mean by Duanmu Xi remembering only after becoming the Yangmingsi? Why am I remembering so much earlier? And why can I still feel his soul?"

"You can still sense him?" Zicheng asked in surprise.

"Yes, but it's duller than what it could be." A hand came up to brush his chest, the spot where he could feel the connection to his partner.

Luoyue walked around him, examining something beyond the other two's mortal perceptions. "Ah," he said at last. "You two truly are quite the interesting pair aren't you? It seems that a bond between a spirit shadow and a contractor can withstand even the reversal of time. The bond has weakened due to Duanmu Xi's death in that previous time, but is still intact and can be fully re-established to its previous strength. Of course, as Duanmu Xi is not currently aware of the previous events, the bond will remain dormant on his side until he is awakened."

"Oh," responded the former spirit shadow in stunned realization. "I guess that makes sense, considering the countless times we just created a new contract over the others. But you were with him today right? Where and how is he?"

Luoyue frowned in displeasure. "He's in the hospital right now, affected by an attempted blood transfusion. And his mother isn't handling the situation well at all."

Jinghua leapt up from where he sitting in a rush. "She authorized a blood transfusion?! She's a Shenlong and his father is/was the most recent Yangmingsi. How does she not know about his intolerance for impurities?"

The frown darkened even further, and a glimmer of insanity began to spark in his eyes. Zicheng touched his shoulder in reassurance, and that glimmer retreated, leaving only the righteous anger behind. "It seems she wants to believe he is a normal child rather than one with a heavy burden that my line carries. From what I can remember of your life's memories, she wanted you to stay away from little Xi after hearing you mention spirits. I believe that confrontation with your parents happened right before you woke up with these memories. Truly, such a foolish woman. Willful obliviousness to the point of causing harm to her child- she cannot let go of her pride."

The child rolled his eyes in impatience. "Maybe, but that just means I have to sneak into the hospital to see him without her knowing for the time being." He pressed a clenched fist to his heart, his eyes going hazy as he focused on his internal bond. "Right now, all I can feel is pain and loneliness. He needs me, so I'm going, with or without you guys, got it?"

Zicheng smiled slightly in pride. "Of course we're coming little one, don't worry. We're right with you."

"Good, now let's go before it gets too dark and my parents start worrying." Wait for me Duanmu Xi, I have a promise to keep.