Rei Ryugazaki believed that there was no such thing as magic.
He was a science lover to say the least, a fan of the practical and realistic. He didn't have time to waste on fairy tales and make believe. He would marvel at the world's beauty, because that was the only thing that truly mystified him so much. As a child his parents would take him on little trips to different places, teaching him how certain things came to be and why it was so important to ensure that he was grateful for the life that he had. And he was. And now Rei was a grown young man of seventeen years, and still had a burning passion for the beauty of everything.
'Hey, did you hear; apparently, there's gonna be a star shower tonight!' Squealed a girl at the end of the class, after a good two hours spent doing a practice assignment, with Rei sat near the centre of the class. The girls weren't too far from Rei, but he couldn't help but wish to himself that they chose to be a little bit quieter.
'Don't you mean a meteor shower?' Asked the girl's friend, her hair in a neatly kept ponytail, dark red and eyes the same shade.
'No, you heard me! They say that this only happens every thousand years, so we should count ourselves lucky!' Piped the other girl, her pale orange messy bun somehow in one shape, pale blue eyes gleaming brightly at her friend.
'That sounds like a prank.'
'Look, I got the information from the internet. Ninety-six per cent of their stuff is real.' Grinned the girl with her bun. Rei couldn't help but roll his eyes
'Like that weird legend you were telling me about?' Asked the girl with the ponytail. The girl with the messy bun on her head gasped suddenly as Rei made to stand up in his seat.
'Oh my god, I didn't even realise that they're connected!' Squealed the girl as her hand flung into the back of Rei's head. He flinched slightly as he felt a slight stinging pain in his head, rubbing the spot gingerly where the girl swung surprisingly hard.
'Chigusa! Honestly, you could kill someone like that.' Nagged the girl with the ponytail. Chigusa let out an awkward chuckle.
'Eh, sorry about that, Ryugazaki. Didn't see you there.' She added. Rei simply shrugged his shoulders at her. The girl with the ponytail shook her head at her friend. He knew the girls relatively well, being stuck in the same class as them for two years in a row, but he had grown used to their odd conversations by that point.
'You need to be more aware of your surroundings.' Sighed the girl in defeat. Chigusa looked offended.
'Says you, Gou! The one who gawps at the guys sport teams when they flex their muscles.' Pointed out Chigusa in a matter of fact tone. Gou scowled at her, pointing a finger at her dangerously.
'First of all, it's Kou. Second, I do no gawp.' Snapped Gou.
'I'll leave the two of you alone.' Said Rei cautiously, as he packed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder and quickly headed towards the door.
'Hey, Ryugazaki!' cried Chigusa.
'Yes?' asked Rei.
'During tonight's star shower make sure you catch one!' Demanded Chigusa. Rei couldn't help but softly laugh at her naïve stupidity as well as her overgrown innocence. He didn't believe in the probability of the impossible. But he nodded at her nonetheless as he left the class.
'Of course.' He called out to the two of them. Chigusa looked at Gou, a mildly smug impression on her face.
'What?' She asked. Gou rolled her eyes at her with a faint smile on her face.
'What was this legend again?' asked Gou in defeat. Chigusa's eyes glowed at her with the upmost joy.
'Apparently from what I've heard, if you catch a star during a star shower, you get to live with your soul mate, but I'm pretty sure there's more to it. It's really rare though when it happens.' Groaned Chigusa, as the two of them left the classroom and closed the door behind them.
'Because the legend isn't real.' Gou sighed.
Rei watched from his bedroom the window as the sky grew darker from his desk, finishing his studying for the night, dressed in black pyjamas with a lilac hem and dotted with butterflies. His room was the right size and well organised, with books neatly stacked on his desk and his bed covers without a crease in them, his clothes hung up on his wardrobe in a professional manner. It was a room he was proud of, to say the least. But he watched the sky for a moment, his desk light omitting a soothing light that washed over him. He couldn't help but stare as the stars slowly came into view, one by one with every blink that drew him to the window. But there was one star that shone particularly brighter than the others.
'Goodnight, Rei.' Whispered his mother from his bedroom. Rei blinked himself out of his apparent daze and smiled at his mother.
'Goodnight, mom.' He said in return, as his mother smiled back at him and closed the door whilst he turned off his desk lamp. He turned to the window and saw that the star that had drawn his attention was now gone. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge in his gut. But he closed his curtains slowly, and with that made his way to his bed, placed his glasses by his bedside table and laid underneath the bed covers, and the minute his head rested on the pillow he found himself drifting off to sleep.
That night, Rei found himself having a rather odd dream. In his dream he was walking in the dark, and for a moment he thought that he was alone. But there was a glow that was by his left, and when he looked he saw someone walking with him, humming to themselves as though they were alone in the dark.
The person was a boy who looked his age, hair the colour of summer and a smile to match. His eyes were closed as though he was sleeping, but Rei saw that his eyelashes glittered. The boy was wearing all white trimmed with gold that glistened in the glow that he was emitting from himself. Rei felt his heart race and his voice catch itself in his throat, and for some reason he didn't know why. But he swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
'Excuse me.' Said Rei in a rather timid voice. The boy stopped humming and opened his eyes, looking in Rei's violet eyes. Rei had to stop his mouth from opening in awe. The boy's eyes were a glowing white, with swirls of pale pinks and blues, silver specks scattered. The boy smiled at Rei and laughed.
'Hello.' Said the boy in a pleasant tone. Rei felt his cheeks grow hot suddenly and cleared his throat.
'Where are we going?' He asked.
'I can't say, I'm afraid.' Replied the boy. Rei frowned at him.
'Why not?' He asked. The boy turned his head away, a sheepish grin on his face.
'I don't know where we are.' The boy said admittedly. Rei sighed heavily. Of course, he thought, this is my subconscious. If I don't know where I am, then this person won't know either.
'At least this is a dream.' Sighed Rei in relief. The boy frowned at him this time.
'Not it's not.' The boy said, glowing a little bit brighter. Rei scoffed lightly at him.
'I'm pretty confident that this is a dream.' He stated. The boy looked at him, a confused expression on his face and his head titled. But then he smiled and stopped in his tracks, with Rei suddenly stopping with him.
'Alright then.' Said the boy softly, reaching for his trouser pocket. He pulled out a small pin, a glittering gold butterfly, and pinned it to Rei's pyjama shirt. Rei made to stop him, but for some reason he felt that it would be wrong to stop the boy, and merely watched what he was doing. When the boy was finished he took a step back, a satisfied expression on his face. Rei stared at him warily.
'What are you doing?' He asked, gently stroking the pin.
'Proving a point.' Replied the boy, suddenly taking a step towards Rei. He stared into Rei's eyes long and hard, and Rei felt himself transfixed by his gaze, taking note of the swirls in the boy's eyes, as though his eyes were the homes to the stars that he saw in the sky that night. And then the boy kissed Rei's cheek ever so gently, and Rei felt his body tense and his face grow hot. The boy giggled softly.
'See you soon, Rei.' Sighed the boy. Rei frowned, and then his eyes widened in realisation.
But when he opened to ask the boy how he knew his name, he found himself in his own bed as his alarm beeped at him continuously, his dark blue hair wild and unkempt. Rei blinked himself away and rubbed his eyes heavily, the dream that he experienced a strange one at that. He went to stretch when he heard a gentle thud on his bed. His eyes followed the sound. Rei froze in his bed.
A single golden butterfly laid before him.