Chapter Text
Gray.
It was one of those days, in which the gray sky reflected in Nagi's eyes and soul. In fact, he had always felt like this… gray-ish, empty.
Even though today was a date that painted the landscape with some colors, even though it was October 31st and people were in a Halloween mood… for Seishiro, it was a common and dull day, just like any other day in his life.
Putting on his clothes, brushing his teeth and eating his breakfast consisting of a large cup of lemon tea and two soft biscuits, all in his automatic-robotic mode like every day. Absolutely gray.
Sighing deeply and holding his backpack to continue with yet another automatic program in his life, which was going to school. He stared melancholically at the window of his room, his gaze resting on the most vivid thing that was close to him in his life:
Choki.
Green, alive, and friendly.
"See you later, Choki, I’ll be back after school."
He made a peace and love sign that he used to greet his cactus with (and even imitate its shape) and left, locking the door to his house and heading his way.
The way to school and that place itself were infinitely uncomfortable. Everything was just so noisy, with lots of movement and yet so cold. At the classroom, Seishiro felt as dizzy as if he were adrift on the high seas, floating aimlessly in the cold wood of some wrecked, abandoned ship. He longed to find firm land before his eyes, but at the same time he also longed to sink everything at once, letting himself be carried away by the sea's great depths and mysteries.
The sea... the calmness... Eternal rest.
These dark thoughts made the white-haired boy fall asleep at his desk, as usual.
Some time had passed (he had no idea how long), but he was startled from his sleep by a few timid pokes on his arm.
"Hey man, wake up! I'm Hiro Utsonomiya and I am here with a great opportunity for you. Join the swimming team! Our school has been recognized as one of swimming's most promising talents at intercollegiate championships since…"
What a hassle…
Nagi was absolutely sure that his thoughts were completely written on his face and he had no intention of hiding it, it would be a hassle in the first place and there was no reason either. He thought that everyone at that school already knew about his lack of interest in clubs and sports, this guy Hiro must have some problem, maybe myopia, deafness or memory loss, to have the audacity to disturb him.
Calm down and just say no, as always. - He thought, losing himself for a moment in his internal irritation.
"Thank you, not interested."
"As expected of the classroom's undead. Hmph, whatever." The energetic blonde-haired boy scoffed and moved away from Nagi as quickly as he came, making him feel a twinge of something strange in his chest, before returning to his usual nap.
Undead…
____
That day was passing slower than usual, but finally Nagi was going home without his usual habit of playing games on his phone, since it was dead. This made him notice the surroundings of his neighborhood a little more, something he rarely did, since there wasn't anything very flashy around there either.
But today, his neighborhood looked more interesting because of Halloween. Many people were outside their homes, decorating everything, carving pumpkins and putting a lot of effort for the celebration that would come at dusk. This whole atmosphere ended up giving him an old, nice feeling.
As a child, he had a small spark of curiosity and desire to perhaps participate in the festivities, due to everything he had always seen in movies and cartoons in the special Halloween episodes. Many of them had a similar message: "on Halloween, there are no differences, because that's the time where everyone is equally weird.". Nagi liked that, because he could easily imagine himself being included in some way, since he was always called weird by people.
However, as the years passed, along with his parents moving away for their endless travels, this little childhood desire ended up dying within him, along with almost all his feelings and desires in general.
Getting closer to his house, the white-haired young man, lost in his thoughts, ended up stepping on something that makes an audible "crack" like a piece of glass. Looking at the ground, he comes across a rather... strange necklace. It had the design of old fashioned necklaces that Nagi saw some RPG game characters wearing, its chain and lining were silver (Seishiro had no idea if it was actually silver or not), but what really caught his attention was the huge and charming purple amethyst pendant (this stone he knew, thanks to Minecraft) that was unfortunately damaged because of him.
But, even though it was broken, it shined in a very unique and even unreal way, he had definitely never seen such a jewel before.
…Beautiful. Very, very beautiful.
Acting impulsively as he usually did, Seishiro picked up the object and put it in his pocket, thinking about maybe fixing it...? Maybe it would be a big hassle, but anyway… Maybe it would make a great prop for some kind of cosplay if ever there was an opportunity and enough motivation to do so? Who knows… maybe he could even sell it online and make some easy money?
Maybe it'll be a good decoration for Choki, until I decide what to do with it, if it's even worth doing anything in the first place. - he thought to himself.
Finally arriving at his house, the boy immediately puts his idea into practice by entering his messy room, with Choki sitting comfortable by the window.
"I'm back, Choki, the day was a pain as always." He sighed, taking off his uniform and putting on his pajamas (which were also his 'home clothes', not that he had a wide range of clothes either). He took the object out of his pocket and approached the window and, carefully so that no thorns could prick him, Nagi decorated his cactus with the new ornament. "But something different happened today, I found this necklace as a gift for you, I hope you like it."
Soon after that, he threw himself on his soft bed, ready for another nap while his cell phone charged so he could go back to his games later. A millisecond before closing his eyes completely, the boy looked at Choki and once again had the impression that the jewel on his cactus shone in a strange, unnatural way, as there were no rays of sunlight in that gray area to cause such an effect. But well, maybe it was a daydream in his already sleepy head.
____
Shattering glass.
Nagi jumped out of bed like a scared cat. He lived alone, and the only glass things in his house were his kitchen utensils, since the windows were made of iron.
Someone was in his kitchen.
I can't believe it, couldn't ask for anything worse… Thieves. What a hassle.
Sneaking carefully, his eyes roamed 360⁰ degrees like the camera in a FPS game, looking for some weapon to defend himself.
For a moment, his own place bothered him, because it was so messy he wasn't able to see the surroundings properly, but he felt relieved when he saw his broom near the door.
Great, I have my weapon now, so I just have to be quick and pray he doesn't have an actual gun.
Gently pulling the door so it wouldn't creak, the boy walks quickly and is internally shocked to see that there was actually someone there, the figure was near his sink. Without thinking much, his arm came to life by reflex and at a surprising speed (even for himself) he struck the person with all his strength from behind.
"Damn, you almost hit me!" The alleged thief smiled sarcastically, making the boy's mind stop working instantly.
To Nagi's astonishment, his fatal blow had only hit the edge of his sink, denting the area. The person there seemed intact, almost as if they were... intangible?
Seishiro was panicking.
The intangible being turned to face him and in that moment he truly thought he was already dead, and perhaps in heaven. The creature was astonishingly beautiful, for God's sake. Nagi hadn't noticed before, but his silhouette was covered in a purple aura different from normal humans (if he could classify it that way) an aura that harmonized with his eyes and hair, which were the same beautiful color and complimented his firm yet delicate-looking face. His "clothes" (more like a costume?) looked like something out of 18th century England or France, a type of blue dress/overcoat that resembled ancient princes' attire and underneath there was like a skirt, with side slits showing his thighs, covered by white pants and black boots on his feet.
Shit, I'm definitely dead.
"Are you here to pick me up?" He said, quietly and slightly trembling, with perhaps the most expressive face he had in his entire life.
"Ha, so I look like an angel to you? I'm flattered, Nagi, but no."
"Wait, how do you know my name?"
"Ah, it's still too early for these questions, all I can say is that I've been watching you here on earth for a while." The entity made an intense expression, which Seishiro was unable to figure out - in fact, everything was difficult to figure out. There were hundreds of questions in his head, so much that he felt like an old PC, such as the ones he had at school. The creature must have noticed his state by looking deep into his confusion-filled eyes, so he felt like he could start explaining himself a little more. "I am an ancestral spirit that helps people who free me from my prison from time to time, which in this case was that necklace you found today. Thank you so much for this. In fact, I'm very happy to finally be able to talk to you."
There was too much information for Nagi, even more so with that melodious voice full of mystery, but his last words were the ones that entered his mind the fastest and made him feel very strange. Even more so because of a big, genuine smile that was directed at him.
"Oh, it was nothing, sir…"
"Reo! You can call me Reo."
"It was nothing, Reo. I only stepped on it by accident, you know." The boy put his hand to his neck, a little embarrassed and not completely believing that he was actually talking to a spirit in his kitchen.
"Accidents don't exist at all…" The figure murmured, with a bit of melancholy, never breaking eye contact with Nagi. One of the main reasons for his chills at the moment, besides the fact that Reo was literally floating in the air.
"Ok, so… from what I understand, you're like a genie?"
"I guess you could say that! I like the way your mind works, you are very creative, Seishiro. I guess you can say that, for today, I can fulfill some of your wishes."
This is interesting.
"Why only today, though? Haven't you reached the maximum magic rank in your world yet?"
"You're pretty greedy, man." The purple-haired laughed amusedly. "Let's say I only reach my 'maximum ranking' on Halloween, that's why I'm so happy that you freed me today, I have my HP bar full to spend on you." He winked at the boy, pleased to see that the adaptation of his vocabulary to correctly convey the message to the human without giving too many details was indeed successful.
Wow. He's like the most overpowered RPG character in flesh and blood, this can only be some kind of dream.
Even with the fear of believing what his eyes saw, he decided to stick to the creature. What could he lose, after all?
"I understood. But you got one thing wrong Reo, because I'm perhaps not the most creative, I don't have much of an idea of what to ask you now, actually…"
After hearing this, Reo stopped floating in the air like he had until now. He, as told to the boy, had spent time observing him, so he saw how lonely and unhappy he was. Precisely for this reason Reo expected a flood of requests from him, and the fact that he had nothing in mind kind of saddened him a little and made him happy at the same time.
Despite everything, he still has a pure soul.
"Don’t worry if you don’t have something in mind right now! I wonder how messed up your head might be, so anyway… Just trust me, I guarantee that your Halloween will be the best ever, it's a promise, Nagi."
Nagi was starting to think that maybe that spirit had some kind of mind-controlling power, because those words filled with confidence almost made him believe that he was a real person, for a second. Or maybe it was just his inner self holding on to the fact that this was the first time someone had been so… kind to him.
Thinking about it too much was becoming a pain, so he just reached out his hand towards the purple figure in front of him.
"...Okay, I trust you."
Unfortunately for him, the other's grip never returned to his hand despite Reo's failed attempt. However, the sparkle in his eyes that he got in return was enough to make this little Halloween promise come true.
____
"One more time! I think this one will suit you, Nagi."
The aforementioned sighed lazily, the guardian spirit's first big idea for that day was to choose a costume that Seishiro liked, but that was taking a little longer than he imagined, as it was already the twentieth outfit he tried on and Nagi didn't exactly feel like himself. But at least Reo could idealize the fantasies in his mind and bring them to life in a short space of time, thanks to his magic. His powers worked based on his own feelings and willpower, and, as said before, it had a greater peak of strength during Halloween.
Nagi saw (again) a small purple vortex open between Reo's hands along with his eyes, rotating with what seemed to be some kind of small diamond-shaped scales around the circle of energy, and from there, another outfit appeared. Without caring about their presence, he put them on without ceremony, unlike the purple guy who always seemed a little shy about it and turned around in a whirl. As he looked in the mirror, he really liked what he saw. It was a werewolf costume, but not a very literal one: He had a blue coat with sleeves and collar decorated in black and gold, over a gray shirt with a small neckline and a silver chain decorating the top.
It had been a while since he had looked at himself in the mirror like that, well, in his entire life he had never heard compliments about his physical features other than his height. He was the weird one at school, he never received even a measly chocolate for Valentine's Day. Satisfied with his own appearance, his eyes even gained a little extra shine, without him noticing.
"Thanks, Reo, I liked this one."
"You look beautiful, Seishiro." He moved around the other, carefully analyzing the details of his creation and the small expression of happiness on Nagi's face. Even though he no longer had a heart, veins and blood circulating in his "body", Reo felt a positive vibration circulate throughout his spectrum, feeling proud to see his little plan start to take effect on the boy before him. A satisfied smile appeared on his face when he noticed soft shades of red on the human's cheeks, due to his sincere compliment.
Not that you don't always look beautiful, you know.
____
"Nagi, let's do this!"
It was already around 7pm, that means it was already dark enough for the young people in the neighborhood to leave their homes in the cold night to go trick or treating.
Leading the boy out of the house, Reo summoned a pumpkin-shaped basket for Nagi and interestingly another one, apparently for himself as well. This caught Nagi's attention.
"Wait, are you going to go with me?"
For a moment, a spark of insecurity arose in Reo at this question.
Is he bothered by my presence? Or is it some problem with my appearance?
In those moments he was grateful for not being human anymore, because he was able to better disguise his rapid changes in emotions, so as not to show his vulnerability in front of the one he was supposed to protect.
"Duh, it’s obvious! I am a guardian spirit, I will not leave you alone for a second tonight, treasure."
Disguising his shyness, Seishiro, as always, placed his hand on his neck, embarrassed by the other's words.
Treasure… - he shyly thought.
"I'm just saying because you, well... you are a spirit. Will it be okay for you to appear in public? Speaking of which, will other people be able to see you too? And if they do, I think you would give a heart attack to half a dozen old ladies from the neighborhood."
"Ah, so that's what you were trying to say! You're very funny, Nagi." Reo laughed, feeling silly for being insecure when the other was only worried about himself and the old ladies in the area being scared by his presence.
"You're the first person to tell me that… thank you, I guess." Seishiro looked away from the other, feeling happy for yet another compliment from the young ghost. He wondered if Reo was a very kind being and acted like that towards all those he protected when freed, or if all these compliments were unique and genuine for him. As he had nothing to lose, his poor human heart unconsciously preferred to believe the latter, even without knowing exactly why.
God… There is no way that such a cute human like him actually exists.
These kinds of thoughts had been running in Reo's mind since their first encounter, and the feeling only got stronger.
"You don’t even need to thank me, that’s just reality. To clarify some of your doubts, yes, only you can see me, Seishiro. But let's say that I still have a few tricks up my sleeve to interact with your reality…" He smiled with amusement, a touch of mischief in his voice. Observing the surroundings and the moderate flow of young people and children passing by, Nagi was slightly startled when he saw Reo's form condense into just purple smoke, leaving only white pupils visible, moving at great speed, hovering above a person (which Nagi took a while to remember was a boy from her school) like a cloud. This cloud swirled around his body and entered the boy's body like a strong gust of wind, but imperceptible to humans other than Seishiro, who felt chills when he saw the eyes of that boy (who, if he remembered, was called Isagi Yoichi from the class next to his) with completely purple pupils shining due to Reo's sudden possession, calmly coming towards him.
It's incredible what he can do with his powers.
Seishiro thought about how incredible it could be if he had powers like that, maybe he would take advantage of it to possess a very rich man who would never need to work in his life and would just lie down and play games all day, getting massage and head rubs.
Reo, on the other hand, felt every fiber of the other person's body as if it were a pen-drive obtaining all the data from a machine. His thoughts, feelings, desires and his terrible taste in fashion. But in any case, being on solid ground again caused him enormous nostalgia, even if it was in a different skin.
"Hello, Nagi, how am I?" He smiled and walked around, one hand on his waist as if he was showing off a rare piece from some important fashion show. Young Isagi wore a modest and simple vampire costume with small fake teeth prosthetics.
"Not bad.. But I prefer your true form, Reo." His big, brown eyes looked up and down at the boy who had black hair, medium height and simple clothes along with (now) pink cheeks from embarrassment.
Damn, the downside of being with a body is that my feelings are exposed now… the purple-haired entity thought.
Despite the slight embarrassment at his protégé's straightforward sincerity, Reo felt over the moon upon being praised by him.
"He's going to be fine, right?"
"Oh, he surely will, don’t worry. I'll only use it to go trick or treating with you, a small time for me to do any harm even if I wanted to. So, are you ready for our trick-or-treat journey?!"
Even though it wasn't Reo's own hand, Nagi reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers while holding the pumpkin basket in the other, and the feeling warmed him inside. The way he seemed to orchestrate every word, every touch and everything just to amuse him that day was messing with him to the point that he didn't even think about the effort he would have to make to walk around, his apathy completely taking a backseat.
"Yes, boss."
And so they left, hand in hand, like two happy children going from door to door repeating the classic slogan of that commemorative date to earn some sweets. At first, Seishiro was very embarrassed to interact with people, focusing more on trying to deliver a bodily performance, taking advantage of his werewolf costume, making gestures with his stuffed claws and some attempts at scary faces (which, in the other's opinion, they only made Nagi more adorable), leaving the possessed boy to deal with the communication part since he was quite extroverted and charismatic, as expected from an ancient and powerful spirit.
But from the fifth house onwards, Reo's cheerful energy helped him to be able to loosen up more and even to want to say the catchphrase along with him, which seemed to surprise both of them.
"Trick or treat..?" Nagi said, looking at the middle-aged lady with a little fear of the reception due to the woman's not-so-friendly appearance, due to the lack of lighting in her house it looked a lot like she had just woken up from a good nap. He understood the feeling very well, so he wouldn't be so upset if she refused to give them the sweets.
A few seconds passed before the answer came, an investigative look alternated between himself and Reo/Isagi as if he could decipher their biggest secrets and inner sins behind the lady's huge bottle-bottom lenses.
"Oh, I'll be sure to have some sweets for you young lovers." A small smile formed on her cute, wrinkled face as she filled both baskets with sweets.
"Oh ma'am, we're not lovers at all!" Reo/Isagi exclaimed nervously. Nagi was a little upset by this answer for some hidden reason that he couldn't define, although he was also taken by surprise.
Why such a quick response, though?
"Oh, no? Forgive me, then, I just remembered myself and my late husband looking at you, we used to wear matching costumes just like you do now…"
A tone of longing and sadness echoed in the woman's voice, which ended up touching the hearts of both boys who exchanged a sad look with each other.
"We are very sorry to hear it, ma’am." Nagi's naturally apathetic voice sounded melancholic, matching her facial expression.
"Anyway, I wish you a great Halloween. And remember: make the most of the company of the people you love."
The woman's sweet words once again had a fatal effect on the hearts of the young men, who were already leaving saying goodbye and thanking their hostess for everything, especially Reo.
He knew that with every minute that passed closer to midnight on all the clocks in the world, his magic became more and more powerful because his deadline for staying there was also approaching. It was a pain he had carried for a few decades, but he would never get used to it.
Leaving this bitter feeling aside, he glanced at Seishiro who also appeared to be a little down, and this immediately worried him.
"Nagi? Is everything fine? You seem bothered by something… you can ask me for whatever you want for today, remember."
"I…"
The white-haired boy didn't exactly know how to put into words the discomfort he felt when Reo told the old lady that they weren't a couple, because they really weren't and that was stupid.
But he felt like he should be honest with the one who was doing everything for him today. It was the least he could give him in return, right?
Blue eyes covered in a violet glow watched him with concern and tenderness, awaiting his response, reflecting the light of the full moon.
"I am bothered by what you said to the old lady."
"Hmm?"
Reo had to take a good few seconds to remember the entire dialogue he had just had, due to the great impact of the last sentence she had said that had really stuck in his head.
'Oh ma'am, we're not lovers at all!'
Was that it?
"About us not being lovers, you mean...?"
"I think so. You didn't lie about that, after all we... met today. But I think it was more because of the speed at which you said it, as if it was already in your mind Reo."
That was it.
Reo's eyes widened as if his emotions were going to spill out of them. And without him noticing, his spirit actually overflowed, out of the poor boy's body that he had used as a shell until that moment.
A large curtain of smoke and violet glows radiated from him, scaring Seishiro as he looked in admiration, but he was unable to sustain that gaze for long, as the intensity of the glow that covered the other only increased. It made him feel déjà-vu, how this feeling was the same as when he saw the necklace that imprisoned Reo earlier.
He shines just like that pendant. Or actually almost like the sun now… I can't look properly.
A few seconds later, the glow finally let Nagi's eyes do their work again, but he felt betrayed by them now.
And now. It's time for you to know the whole truth, Seishiro. The time when I reach the peak of my power.
Reo was there, in front of him. In flesh and blood. The proof of this was his silky purple hair moving with the cold wind that was blowing. He wore another outfit, it was some kind of scientist costume, with a modern cut colored mostly white and gold, a satisfying contrast to his beautiful eyes.
His eyes..
It was the second time that day that Seishiro thought he was looking at an angel.
Isagi's body was already free, walking confused and apparently without any memory out of his sight, not that he could take his eyes off the boy in front of him, nor did he intend to. He only came back to reality when he felt two strong yet gentle arms surrounding his body, feeling as if he was going to melt inside too due to the symbolic sentence he would hear next.
"Hello, Nagi, nice meeting you again."
He reciprocated that good feeling by hugging him back, with the same intensity. Reo held him with so much strength and affection that it seemed like Seishiro would escape forever if he didn't, he absolutely didn't want to leave that hug.
"Reo.. What happened? How did you manage to get out of that spirit form?"
"It so happened that you freed me for the second time, my treasure."
Finally breaking away from the hug, he looked him in the eyes with a clear desire to cry stamped in the deep violet. "This is all part of a curse that was placed on me by my father, many years ago. He was a powerful king of a prosperous land who technically loved his people and his family. Until the arranged marriage he arranged for his firstborn son was ruined, because the young prince had fallen in love with a commoner from the village." He explained, taking his hand to Nagi's face and caressing there while smiling in a sad and passionate way.
Reo…
"Since it was unacceptable for a prince to be interested in someone outside of royalty and someone of the same sex, I was placed in an ambush, kidnapped at the behest of my own father, and had my body burned to ashes on the public square... Such a miserable, stupid city. Everything happened on October 31st." His voice choked and he sighed deeply, still feeling the pain of those cruel flames in the depths of his soul.
Nagi felt his heart break into a thousand pieces, but he continued listening to the explanation attentively without interrupting, holding tightly to Reo's hands.
"But luckily with the help of Ba-ya, one of the Palace maids who always looked after me and, secretly, a very powerful sorceress and fortune-teller, she made me that necklace and blessed me with the following prophecy, before I was captured:
'Young master, as long as you wear this stone under your skin, your body may be lost but your spirit will always be conscious and will never disappear from this world. Your love and that of your beloved will never disappear either, no matter how much everything in the world tries to separate them , time will always make you two find each other again.'
"So… that's it. That's why I already knew your name and everything about you. I've been watching you for a long time and meeting you too. What happens is that whenever a reincarnation of yours frees me from the necklace, if you don't declare your feelings for me in some way, I can't get out of the state and become human again. That's why I wanted to thank you again for…"
In the end, Nagi ended up interrupting him, but without a single word, he simply pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. Reo was so surprised that he was scared by his own heartbeat, a lack of habit of feeling that, feeling life through his body. He was alive! Alive and finally kissing the love of his life. His hands automatically went to Seishiro's shoulders, intensifying the contact even more, pouring all his passion into smacking sounds on the taller's lips, which left him absorbed at unimaginable levels, channeling part of that delicious sensation with his hand tangled in his partner's purple hair.
He wanted to live in that feeling. Live in Reo's soft lips and let himself be swallowed by his passion, forever.
When the kiss ended, Reo's eyes went to the sky and the moon high in the sky reminded him that, although he was now in the arms of his lover, he would be forced to stay away from him again due to the divine punishment that haunted him. In not long he would return to his small, shiny, ornament-shaped prison, which was decorating a cactus in Nagi's room.
"Unfortunately, Nagi, I only have a little more time in this form and to be free of the necklace again. These are the effects of my father's curse… i'm sorry."
Seishiro's eyes saddened when he heard that, although he already knew from an early age how much Reo reinforced the "for today" that most likely he wouldn't be able to have his company for a long time.
This was very cruel.
"You lied to me then, Reo…" He looked down at the ground, but still wrapped his arms around the shorter man. "You said that, today, you would be able to fulfill some of my wishes with your magic."
Reo's heart stopped for a moment.
So... you telling me that what I did wasn't enough?
"Yes, and that’s what I did! I did the best I could. I don't understand what you're trying to say with that, Nagi." His delicate eyebrows tilted in utter confusion and fear. Had he not been clear enough to his treasure that he would only be present for one day? Or was Nagi just rejecting him... but he had taken the initiative to kiss him, right?
Reo hated feeling lost like that.
"It’s just that… you won’t be able to fulfill my greatest wish." To the surprise of the purple-haired man, when Seishiro raised his eyes to himself again, there was a trace of tears forming, threatening to fall.
"I wanted you to stay here with me, Reo. But not just today... I wanted to be with you every day because you brought color to the empty and dull life I've always lived. That's love, isn't it? If so, I.. love you."
It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off Seishiro's shoulders. Expressing himself in this way and really putting out everything he felt with all his intensity during those hours next to each other was liberating. After the story that Reo told, it now made a lot of sense for him to understand why he felt those feelings so strongly now, because they were accumulated feelings from other eras, the same love that had been increasing mana and HP for a long time and now exploded in itself as an ultra-combo.
Nagi's arms hugged him again and Reo only felt tears flowing from his eyes like a trickle, in complete shock, unable to believe what he had just heard.
He couldn't be happier about something.
"I love you too, Nagi. The proof of this is that I am here, now, and that I have always been here for all these years too." A big smile formed on his ethereal face, certainly joining the list of the most beautiful things Nagi has seen in his life. "And I will always love, for all eternity. Please, don't you ever doubt it."
This time Reo took the initiative in kissing the taller one, trying to make the most of his taste before leaving for another indefinite period of time.
"There's still something... I wanted to do… before you leave." Between the passionate kisses, Reo almost cried again when he saw for the first time a beautiful happy smile that his partner showed himself. His goal was more than fulfilled, seeing Nagi happy was his personal paradise.
"Your wish is my command, my love."
____
That was the last thing the Guardian Spirit imagined Nagi would ask for.
Cycling together, flying.
"I imagined you were the romantic type due to your personal tastes in films and manga, but I never thought you would ask for that, Nagi." Reo laughed, riding the bike with the help of his magical power. The white-haired one was in the back seat, hugging him and contemplating the beautiful landscape around them. The brightness of the moon and stars looked like a post-impressionist painting.
"Maybe I am…"
Seeing everything from above made him feel like the world's main character, one of the many feelings he never thought he could feel, and which was brought to him by his beloved guardian, from whom he didn't take his hands off for even a second. Not because of the fear of heights, but because of the imminent fear of him leaving, at any moment, even though it was inevitable. He took advantage of his position and placed his chin on the shoulder of the boy in front of him, who couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
After some time strolling throughout the city on that sublime ride literally in the sky, little by little Reo's body began to no longer be tangible in Nagi's arms and to "peel" with that same pattern of diamond scales like the ones he had seen earlier when seeing him summon things.
No, please. Don't take him from me…
"Reo…"
Nagi's sad voice once again made the other's eyes water. He stopped the bike in mid-air, turning erratically in the vehicle to look for what might be the last time at his partner.
"Seishiro, I’m sorry. I'm sorry to have to leave now, it hurts me more than those flames that covered my body years ago." Despite all the pain in the words, Reo didn't cry and kept his smile firm, although it wasn't as bright as before. "I'm just going physically, but I'll never leave your side, and neither will you leave me. We are connected by something much bigger than this world."
The tears that weren't in the purple eyes were now in the gray ones.
The bike was disappearing too.
In an act of pure desperation, they shared one last kiss.
"Never forget that.. You are perfect the way you are, it's fine if you stay as yourself, Nagi. I love you…"
"I love you too, Reo. Thank you for making me feel alive, thank you for giving me a reason to live."
His hand tried to grab Reo's, but it was too late. Their eyes met for the last time, as the traces of the guardian now hovered in the unknown of the sky, most likely returning to the necklace in his home.
It was a pain to see that this was actually happening. He disappeared, along with the bicycle and now Seishiro found himself falling slowly in a huge current of wind many meters above the ground, with a sinking heart.
Reo, I will wait for you.
His eyes closed tightly, his feet never touching the floor.
Black. Now everything was black.
____
Loud sounds entered Seishiro's consciousness, making him squirm instinctively.
Huh? Where am I?
The stubbornness of his heavy sleep fought for him to go back to sleep, but a voice ended up waking him up at once.
"Nagi, wake up! We have training today, you don't get to become a world champion by waking up late for class!" His cover was ripped away from him, at the same time he received a gentle pat on the head from none other than his first and only beautiful purple-haired partner.
Reo? So... was it only just a dream?
"Oh, I thought you said I was great and perfect the way I am." He stood up with a big yawn, making the other laugh at his audacity.
"It will be even more perfect when you are ready and get in the limo with me. Come on, I'll help you put on your uniform."
"I love… The way you take care of me, Reo." Looking at him in admiration, after all that dream he had, Nagi was able to learn that he would enjoy all the time with Reo, and would be even more thankful for it. Thankful for his attention, his care and his love.
"Wow.. are you okay, Nagi? Did you wake up on the right foot today? Haha" Visibly taken by surprise by the taller man's comment, the one with purple eyes felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
"I'm great, I just had a dream that was a little more intense than usual."
"I hope I was part of it, then!" Reo winked, as if he knew something that Seishiro didn't.
In the pocket of his uniform suit, a necklace with a beautiful amethyst pendant shined like never before.
Nice meeting you again, Nagi.