Author Notes:

+Italic words within quotation marks are characters' thought

+Non-italic words within quotation marks are conversations

Enjoy ^^

POV

"Where am I?" - I ponder while searching my surrounding area for clues that may tell me where this is. But there is nothing but a dark, vast space. So I start walking, not sure where, but I keep walking.

Then there is something: a giant antique rusty double door covered in moss and tiny purple flowers. If the door looks giant from afar, it's even more magnificent up close. The door seems to be made of solid gold and is shimmering vibrantly, lightening the surrounding darkness.

"So mesmerizing," - I thought to myself.

As I look up, the golden door's height is unimaginable. I can barely see the top. With such height, it's surprising that the door has not tipped over. After my neck is tired, I move on to examine the pattern engraved on the door. A flash thought triggers - "I know this place, I have been here before, in my previous dreams."

It takes a while for me to gather enough courage to touch the soft moss, hoping there is no poison and that my touch won't trigger any funny or deadly mechanisms. How strange! I obviously remember being here before, but I cannot remember what would happen if I touched the door.

After minutes of pondering, I finally touch the door, but my hands slip right through it, and my body follows suit.

"Hm…interesting… My body is see-through. Well, I guess this is possible in dreams."

While assessing my body, a shiny red thing catches my gaze. There is a red string* attached to my pinky finger. I feel a small tug as the string vibrates gently, signaling me to follow it only then do I start noticing the surrounding area behind the double door where my eyes meet a bright oval room, radiating with soft rays of yellow sunlight casting from the roof.

Below my feet, the ground fills with deep ocean blue sparkling water, while the surrounding walls are covered in an ocean of tiny violet flowers on an emerald background made of a variety of plants.

"How magical!" - I look around in awe, taking in the magnificent, whimsical scenery that will never grow old no matter how long I look at it. Maybe I want to stay here forever.

My eyes finally rest at the center, where a majestic sacred tree with massive branches is situated, a golden staircase wrapped around it.

Another slight tug.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." - I frown at the red string on my pinky finger, grunting at the demanding little thing.

I "float" like a balloon toward the tree. Upon reaching its base, I once again take in by surprise at the impressive height, so high that the top is so small, like a tiny ink dot. I stop gazing at the distant top and start ascending the golden staircase, following the guidance of the red string of fate.

At the top of the stairs, my heartbeat starts accelerating when my sight falls on a dark figure. The other end of the red string rests quietly on his pinky finger. And just like all my previous dreams, even though I have a direct view of the figure, I cannot make up his face.

I know the figure is a "he" because of the hair and his posture. Maybe I'm very wrong, but "he" is tall and has white hair. That's all I can comprehend. Another thing I notice is that he always has a different pose every time I dream. He would sometimes stand still, or he would have a cigarette between his fingers while leaning against the wall, or he would cross his arms. But today, he does something completely different, something I have never seen before - he is reaching out for me, he is walking toward me.

Like the deepest instinct, I run toward the figure that I do not know. For some unknown reason, happiness blooms inside my stomach like birds being released from the cage - powerful and unstoppable.

However, the more I run, the further he is, and all of a sudden, I fall.

END POV

*Author note: In many Asian cultures, fated partners are attached by a red string, they call it "the red string of fate."

"KIRAAAAAAAAAAA!" - a scream wakes Kira from her nap.

"AHHHHHH! WHO DIE?" - she jolts awake, drool still sticking to the side of her face. She feels pain in her forehead and arms. Upon touching her forehead, the source of her pain falls on the table, keys from the mechanical keyboard - "Damn, how long have I been out?"

"You will if you don't pay right now! Your clock is over by an hour!" - the owner of the internet cafe taps on the computer screen angrily, his nostrils flaring.

"Ey, I was sleeping, I did not use the computer during that time, so it shouldn't be counted, Hiro-san!" - Kira massages her neck and arms, flopping down the gaming chair, grunting - "Also, damn your voice, oji-san, you almost cause me a heart attack!"

"Pay, or I will kick you out! Your choice!" - the owner shouts, earning a bunch of whispers.

She eyes the clock - it's already 11 PM - and decides to call it a day.

"Here, oji-san!" - she puts down what she owes lazily and heads out of the internet cafe - "see you later."

"Ah, watch yourself on your way home, kid!"

Once outside, she breathes in deeply, filling her lungs with nice fresh air. The night atmosphere during summer in Tokyo is completely opposite to the daytime when she first entered the cafe. Right now, it's nice and cool, while it's hot and humid during the day.

Kira spreads her arm, opening herself for the breeze to slip through her hair and clothes while her mind wanders to the moment in her dream.

"Who are you…"

THUD…BANG…BANG…THUD…UGH

Kira's mind is flying high until weird noises echoing from a small alley draw her attention. Her eyes narrow, thinking of 2 possibilities: Either someone is conducting a dirty act in public, which she can peak and report. Or there is a fight, which is also a dirty act, which she should also report and run.

With clear escape plans for either situation in mind, Kira slowly and cautiously approaches the alley. As she glances at the alley, the situation is way more severe than she thought. A group of thuds is beating up a kid. However, at a closer look, there seem to be more bodies of thuds on the ground.

"Damn….that kid is strong. Right, maybe he would be able to hold his ground when the police arrive. Let's not get involved, Kira. Right, let's call the police and go home. Yeah, let's do that." - without further delay, she takes her crappy flip phone and dials the police number.

UGHH..

A painful low growl together with a stabbing sound makes her blood turn cold.

"Seriously, stabbing a kid? These guys have no dignity as thuds at all!" - she makes up her mind. After reporting the location to the police and adjusting her baseball hat to protect some of her identity, she gets involved - "Oi! Five against 1, what are you, a bunch of pussies?"

"I'm so fucked! These are no random thuds. These moves, these movements, they are professionally trained. Who is this kid, what had he done to be chased by these people?" - Kira wipes the blood off the corner of her mouth, eyeing the black-hair kid behind her who is leaning against the trash bin - "Oi, can you stand, kid?"

"Who the fuck do you call kid?" - he grumbles in an intense deep voice.

"Um…um…who cares! I'm trying to save your ass so be thankful, asshole!"

"We are still in deep shit, I don't see how you are…ugh…saving me." - he grunts, blood spilling out of the stab wound.

"Shit, stop talking and put pressure on it." - the amount of blood on the ground startles her - "How can he still be conscious after losing that much blood?"

"Oi, we are still here, love birds." - the thuds smirk, baseball bats hanging on their shoulders. The leader whistles - "I want their heads."

Despite the advantages of being small and flexible, Kira struggles to protect herself due to the size difference. If she is hit, they both would be doomed since the "kid" is in no shape to fight or run.

As Kira is praying for her life as she is about to do something very stupid, a familiar shrieking noise stops right in front of the alley.

"Oi, where the hell have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you." - a figure with a helmet riding a motorcycle yells.

"Kami-sami, thank you! Brother, help!" - tears prick from her eyes, her savior has arrived. No one can beat her brother - "Oi, kid, we are saved! See, I told you I will get us out. Oi, oi…."

The black-hair kid grunts.

"Who is he?" - her brother steps into the alley, ignoring all the armed thuds as if they were nothing and pointing at the kid behind her, his eyebrows twitching under the dark helmet, his voice spreads chills down Kira's spine.

"Someone I just happen to bump into. Brother, aren't you going to help?" - Kira dusts her clothes, questioning her brother, seeing that he has no intention of saving them.

"OI, FUCKER! HOW DARE YOU IGNORE US? GET THEM!" - the leader yells but none follows. On the contrary, a deadly and heavy silence envelops the entire atmosphere. He turns around to look at his subordinates before yelling again angrily, almost popping his eyes out of their sockets - "What the fuck are you doing? I . SAID . GET . THEM!"

"Boss…" - a bold follower stutters incoherently - "that…that…guy is…is..him…"

"What?" - he looks at the figure, completely oblivious to his identity - "Speak clearly or I will kill you too! Who is that fucker?"

"He…he…he is..he is the Black Cat..boss" - the underlings swallow hard and take many steps back, putting as much distance between them and the figure as much as possible. They don't want to die today.

"Fuck off" - Kira can feel the air moves with just two words from her brother's mouth. The atmosphere becomes heavy, and the killing intent is intense. Even though it's her brother, she cannot help but also break into cold sweat. Within minutes, the alley is completely clear of people except the 3 of them, and a few moments later, the ambulance arrives.

"Let's go home before Mom and Dad find out you are out late gaming again! And clean all that black stuff off your hands." - her brother mumbles while starting his motorcycle's engine, never once taking his helmet off.

"Yeah yeah…" - Kira takes one last look at the ambulance before climbing onto the back of her ride back to the real world.

Hi everyone! I'm back with the sequel to my first story, "Eternal," as promised. Although this is a sequel, but you don't have to read the first book to understand this one. But if you want to take a look, please feel free to, I would really appreciate it.

For this book, the story will take place in the world of xxxHolic. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I adore old mangas, especially those that not many people know about. I was surprised to find that the fandom for xxxHolic is almost nonexistent. Let's fix that :).

As always, please feel free to leave any comments or just simply say hi. I love hearing from everyone. And if my story makes you feel better, please leave a vote so I know ^^! Thank you all!