Chapter 1: A Catalyst, of Sorts

Everything held a beginning (asparkabreathasigh); a moment in time in which they were created. Some things, however, did not have beginnings as their very cores. These incomprehensible things had something similar – similar, but not quite – as their very essence; they held the middle, or even the end, as their very center.

They began with a catalyst. A trigger; a switch. A series of events eventually meshing together into some distant, half-forgotten memory before it came crashing down in a breathless whirlwind of chaos and sheer, unadulterated pandemonium.

Sometimes – sometimes, not often – the catalyst is a happy thing; a smile, a kiss, a laugh. Other times, it isn't. Things that had catalysts as their essence rarely ended with happy endings, even more so if they begin with something not quite as happy. If anything, they are tragedies and bittersweet nostalgia.

It was simply chance that her death was the catalyst.

She remembers that day with terrifying clarity; remembers the shrieking of tires and the crunch of her bones. She remembers the sound of laughter quickly morphing to that of horror; remembers the deafening, blinding pain that followed with every broken bone in her body.

She remembers each and every minute detail.

To think, this was how she would end.

The day began on an ordinary note – that is to say, not really. She is a promiscuous woman, free and bound not even by the laws and unspoken rules of society. She is Kyra, and she is a pixie born in the form of a human.

So she stirs, and she sighs, and she awakens. Her eyes landed on the man sleeping beside her and smiled softly to herself. They traced the man's form as she committed his features to memory – from the roughness of his hands to the messy brown locks framing his face. She sighed, and turned to face the woman beside her.

Hair the colour of chestnuts brushed against her cheeks and she smiled upon spotting a freckle dotting the woman's neck. She committed her every feature as well, and moved to get up.

Her feet were silent as they landed step by step upon the wooden floorboards, her mind drifting back to the two figures laying in her bed. She rather liked them – might even consider dating one of them in fact. But they weren't exactly single, and she wasn't exactly the most faithful or morally-inclined person.

So she waved the thought away and set to making breakfast, resigned to the fact that she would probably never get married or have a normal relationship. Footsteps thundered in the stillness of her home not long afterwards and she greeted both individuals with a smile and a plate of food.

"Have breakfast before you go. It'll be a while before my family get back anyway."

The man smiled timidly at her and the woman grinned back, digging into her food with gusto.

She waved both of them goodbye an hour or so later, packing them some food to take home. At exactly 10 o'clock, her family returned from their vacation and she turned to greet her parents and her siblings with hugs and obnoxious kisses.

She immediately went to take a cold shower, leaving the house not long after in clean, moderately-fashionable clothes, the scent of cherry blossoms left in her wake.

"The troll finally emerges from her cave."

The blonde glared at her and she grinned cheekily, sending a wink to the brunette sitting across her. He laughed along, ignoring the death threats muttered by the irritated blonde.

"Rude."

"We love you too, Ellie."

She muttered another threat beneath her breath and tried to calm herself down, before immediately dumping herself into the seat beside her.

"Can't kill the birthday girl but I can and will definitely strangle you if you keep laughing, Devon."

The man's laughter cut short at the threat and raised his hands in surrender, smiling timidly at the blonde.

"Well, technically her birthday was like 2 weeks ago."

"Yeah, but I was off on a trip around Europe. It's only been 3 days since I got back. Oh – Ellie you have to come with me to Greece next time. It looks absolutely amazing."

The blonde smiled wryly at her as she stole a fry from Devon's plate.

"I'd love to but I'm on a tight schedule right now. University's a killer."

Devon scowled, slapping her hand away from his plate.

"That's what you get for taking Medicine. Should've went for Economy instead."

"Oh shut up Dev."

"How's work, Dev?"

"A massive pain in the ass. The higher-ups keep interfering with our arrests."

"Might've been my fault. The ones recently put on trial are incredibly useful – can't exactly let my rats get caught now can I?"

He scowled at her.

"You're the one pulling the strings? Dear God, you've got your fingers in so many pies. You're an informant; not a criminal mastermind."

"Might as well be. Networks are useful things – and pricey. How'd you think I managed to get the money for my trip around Europe?"

He sighed in defeat and it was Ellie's turn to laugh.

"She majored in law, Dev. Law and politics. It's bloody ridiculous."

"Politicians are nosy and arrogant. I decided to give up on chasing after that and just put my skills to use on the grey area between legal work and illegal dealings. Very profitable."

Kyra grinned as he rubbed his face tiredly, more than satisfied with the headaches she caused him.

"Anyway come on. Time to go – I heard Hibari Kyoya's seiyuu is in town and I really want to meet him."

"How did you even find out about that, Kyra? We're in London, not Japan."

"Through thorough abuse of my highly intricate information network for personal gains."

They stared at her, and Ellie burst out laughing again. Devon snorted.

"Well, at least she's honest about it Dev."

"I'll get the bill." Ellie volunteered, immediately waving over a waitress.

"You don't have t –" Devon started, only to be cut off by the blonde.

"It's the least I could do to make up for being like half an hour late. Besides, we can't exactly let the birthday girl pay right? Just wait for me outside. I'll be there in a minute."

They did, and left as soon as she paid. They chatted about trivial things like Ellie's crush on a guy in her class, Devon's failed date and Kyra's latest one-night stand. Devon shook his head in defeat as they crossed the road; Kyra laughing brightly and Ellie running like she was being chased by the devil himself.

That's when things go horribly wrong, you see.

She hears the sound of tires screeching and she turns – only to see a car heading straight for a girl no more than 5 as she scrambled to catch up to her mother.

Her eyes flickered towards the traffic light and confirmed that it was still green for pedestrians. She paused and hesitated before running back - towards the girl, and pushed her out of the way.

There was a crack; loud and sickening. She felt numb when a fire suddenly ran through her; searing and white-hot. Then she was burning, and her ears were ringing as red spots painted her vision.

A scream pierced the air, and it took her a moment to realize it was hers. Her friends' faces entered her field of vision and, for whatever reason, she saw the two people she was with last night. They stared at her in horror, shock and sadness clear in their faces.

Then she can no longer hear, and she can no longer see, and the pain slowly recedes until nothing is left.

(She wonders what might've been, if she would've been happy being in a relationship with one of them.)

She breathes her final breath, and it feels like she is floating high up in the clouds.

Then she is plummeting to the ground and she is free and flying.

Then she awakens, and the wail of an infant comes from her lips.

(She is born anew, and she remembers nothing of her life.)