The Past part 1

[A/N: Since it seems to be a little confusing, let me clarify. Rika is Hikari's previous life. Rachel is her girlfriend that died a few weeks prior to the start of chapter 1. This chapter was so you guys could get a feel for Hikari's character in her past life while also introducing the main love interest.]

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(POV Rachel)

"Kukuku, it seems the dark forces have conspired against me and have sealed me in this illusionary realm. You! Forest fairy! I require your assistance to break through this maze, so that I may return and seek vengeance against my foes!" A girl with stunning blue eyes, though a little reddened likely by the dried tears on her face, said while haughtily pointing at me. Interrupting me while I was reading in the forest close to the park.

'Thinking back on it, that sure was one hell of a way to ask someone for directions.' I thought to myself while reliving old memories. I never thought that whole "life flashing before your eyes" thing was real. Despite the immense pain I'm in, my thoughts are surprisingly calm.

"RAY! Please, just hold on a little longer! The ambulance is on its way, okay!?" I can barely make out the words being spoken to me, but I obviously recognize the voice.

Struggling a bit, I barely crack open my eyes through the pain and gaze up through blurred vision to meet those same beautiful blue eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Although I usually would think even her crying face is cute, my heart 'or what's left of it anyway' clenched seeing her this distraught and not being able to comfort her.

"R-Rika.." That was all I could muster out for now. I at least wanted to tell her I loved her before I go, but it looks like that might be impossible.

As my consciousness drifts in and out, I go back to reliving old memories.

That was my first meeting with the strange girl named Rika. At first I wanted nothing to do with that lost child. I was already going through my own problems at the time, and I didn't feel like playing with a delusional little girl.

My parents had recently divorced, and I just moved to a new place with my mum. So much was changing, and I didn't have any choice in the matter. I didn't know why I couldn't talk to my dad anymore. I didn't know what he did wrong. I didn't know why I had to go to a new school. I didn't know why I had to leave behind all my friends.

Mum refused to talk about things. I felt confused and alone. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with someone else's problems. At least, that's how I felt at first.

But, as my luck would have it, the new school I would attend just so happened to be the same one she went to. It wouldn't be my last time running into the odd girl.

At first I'd only catch a glimpse of her now and then around school. She somehow always stood out in a crowd. She couldn't be called drop dead gorgeous or such, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone that didn't think she was the embodiment of cuteness. Or maybe that was just my own perception of her? Hard to say. I'm pretty biased.

To put it simply, she was a chunni. Always saying and doing strange things. Always battling some dark forces or the occasional corrupt hero. She was a strange but lively girl.

She always had a smile on her face and brought life to any room she was in. Of course, a few people made fun of her. We're expected to drop those delusions by the time we enter middle school, after all. But she just shrugged off the bullies and continued being herself. I secretly admired her for that. Eventually, once they realized they couldn't break her, they just left her alone.

But I couldn't help but notice that even though she looked so happy and cheerful, she was always alone. The other students didn't really ignore her per se, but no one would initiate a conversation with her either. It was strange to me. How could someone be so cheerful and isolated at the same time?

Perhaps I only noticed because I was also alone most of the time. I was going through a goth phase at the time, and people generally avoided goths back then. None of that 'big tittah goth GF' stuff that's popular today.

I never could keep my eyes off her and as time went on, I unknowingly started to actively seek her out in the masses. Maybe it was just to take my mind off my own problems, but I became fascinated by her for some reason. She was a conundrum I wanted to figure out.

It wasn't until a year later that I finally had a class with her for the first time.

"Hey? By any chance, do you remember me?" I don't know what came over me, but I was the one that approached her first. At first I planned to just observe her like last year, but seeing how isolated she was up close like this made me take the initiative.

"Eh? Me? You?" I didn't know why, but it genuinely annoyed me how she seemed surprised someone was talking to her. Though I thought her flustered face was kind of cute. It was the first time I saw her break character, even if she recovered rather quickly.

"Ahem, o-oof course I-I remember you! How could one as great as I forget my first loyal follower!" So she doesn't remember me? Judging by how her eyes are frantically darting back and forth while trying to avoid my own, I'd say that's a good bet. But suddenly she gained a look of recognition on her face.

"Ah! Of course I remember!" Oh? Did she? It made my chest feel a little weird to hear that. I wonder why?

"Kukuku, as expected it's you." She let out a weird laugh before covering her eye with one hand. Although it was pretty cringe, I thought she looked kind of cute.

"You are…" She started slowly

"I am…" I couldn't help but to be pulled into her mood. Why is she making this suspenseful?

"SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED!"

"JUST SAY IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER!"

"Oww!" I ended up karate chopping her head. I don't know what came over me, but it felt appropriate.

That was our second meeting and the start of a long relationship. I would later come to find out that she is just really bad at remembering people's names. Even if she had learned it only a few minutes ago.

After that we started hanging out practically every day and she seemed to grow a little brighter every time I saw her. I was sure that one day she would actually glow in the dark, but it hadn't happened yet. I still expect it to happen one day, though.

She was an interesting girl to be around. It took awhile for me to understand everything she was saying, but after a few months I more or less qualified as her official translator. You'd be surprised how many different ways she could say she was hungry.

Spending time with her also allowed me to forget my own home problems. I was old enough to start understanding what happened with my dad. It left me disgusted and afraid. I didn't want to think about it much, and dealing with her antics was a great distraction.

No, it was more than a distraction. I genuinely enjoyed talking to her. I enjoyed her company. The way she laughed. The times she would get flustered and break character. The way she pouted when she didn't get her way.

We had been together for a few years now and I could tell the way I looked at her changed.

I wasn't stupid. I knew somewhere along the way I fell for her. That said, I had absolutely no idea what to do about it. I didn't even know I liked girls, though I guess I shouldn't have been surprised after what happened with my dad. His 'games' had been going on a few months before Mum found out.

I was at a loss of what to do. I wanted to be with her, but I also didn't want to ruin what we already had. I wasn't given too much time to think about it before I got some shocking news.

"Rachel~! I got asked out on a date!" She came to our usual meeting spot under a tree, really excited. So much so that she even broke character again. Something that had been happening more frequently nowadays.

I barely remember what happened at that time. I was far too shocked to process things properly. As she went on and on about what to wear and what she should do, I was having an internal crisis. A part of me wanted to support her like the 'Friend' I was supposed to be. While a larger part wanted to do everything in my power to keep her from going, even if it meant pushing her down and taking her for myself right then and there.

But one look at her bright smile was enough to quell all (most) of those naughty thoughts. It was then that I realized what it truly meant to love someone. I only wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. But unfortunately, I was only human. I was selfish. I wouldn't give up that easily, but I wouldn't get in the way either.

So I helped her get ready while also planning in the back of my mind how I could win her back. It was only one date, nothing was set in stone. She barely even knew the guy from what she said, so there shouldn't be any feelings involved. I still had a chance.

I don't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate that life had other plans for her that day.

She was still living at the orphanage at this point and obviously wasn't very well off, so I offered to drive her to her date with my mum's car. It was in walking distance for her, but I insisted on taking her myself. That's what a good 'Friend' would do, right?

I also hoped to scope out the 'competition', if you will. I wouldn't leave her with just anyone unsupervised. Even after all these years, I was still pretty much the only friend she had, so someone had to look out for her. Call me overprotective, but anything could happen. I had been forced to take karate lessons since moving here, so I was confident in a fight if it came to that.

To this day, I applaud myself for that judgement call.

He asked to meet at a movie theater for the new premiere or something. I would much rather watch anime than a live-action movie personally, so I didn't care too much.

It had rained last night, so she wore pink rain boots, blue jeans, a long sleeve black-and-white striped shirt covered by a pink coat. She looked really cute. It really complimented her blonde hair. As a recovering goth I was, of course, an expert in make up so I helped her in that department as well. I thought she looked fine without it, but she was strangely adamant about having some on. Several times I had to reaffirm my decision not to impede her happiness and make my move on her yet.

Dropping her off a little away from the building, I finally got a look at her date. He looked like a typical pretty boy jock or such. Definitely not my type, but I could for certain say he was attractive if not stupid looking. But I was sure I recognized him from somewhere. When it finally hit me-

"Wait? Isn't that the meathead dating Tasha?" -It was too late.

Before I could register what happened, she already had a bucket of water (I hope) thrown over her head by some people coming out of the alley nearby.

This was all just some plot to humiliate her in public.

They mocked, pointed and laughed at her as if it was the funniest joke told all year. It seems like the reason she wore make up was at his insistence. I knew she was secretly worried about finding no one to love and didn't want to mess this date up. I should have been more attentive. Maybe I would have noticed something was up from the beginning if I wasn't so focused on myself.

When I saw her only smile, with some barely noticeable tears in her eyes, just taking it like always, something snapped inside me and before I knew it, my fist had already met someone's face. There was a sickening crack and some blood that followed, but I couldn't care less in that moment.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" I shouted at them and they all looked stunned. Very few people in school actually heard me speak since I was going through my phase. I bet they're just surprised I'm not mute. After realizing it was me, a few of them scoffed while a couple of others were looking over the meathead's broken nose.

"It's only the emo bitch. What? Come to save the 'princess' from the 'evil dark forces'? HaHaHa," Tasha and a few of the no name goons started laughing like the pack of rabid hyenas they were.

I wanted to fight, but that first punch calmed me down a bit. If I took it further than this, we'd probably get arrested or something. I might not care much, but Rika is an orphan. She wouldn't have someone to bail her out or money to hire a good lawyer.

"You know what? That's not a bad idea. If you don't want her, I'll take her myself." Maybe it was because of the adrenaline, but at that moment I couldn't care less. I turned around, ignoring her shocked expression, and planted a kiss right on her lips. It was just as soft and sweet as I imagined it would be.

"Fucking dykes,"

"Gayyy!"

"Shit, that's kinda hot…"

"My nwose!"

I could hear the masses making noise, but I was too busy savoring the moment. This was our first kiss and could be the last, after all. I'm not optimistic enough to think this is all it takes to win her heart. After enjoying her lips for a few more seconds, I pulled back because we still needed to breathe.

"Well, what do you say, princess? Would you allow your knight to rescue you from the evil dark forces of the basic bitch empire?" I asked her grandly. Rarely did I play along with her like this because it was pretty cringe, but if it made her happy, I had no problem being cringy in public.

"Huh? Wha- Huh? Eh???" It seems like she needed a minute to reboot. Her face was red like a tomato while she stammered back and forth, trying to remember how words are made. She looked absolutely adorable. I wish I didn't leave my phone in the car, I don't want to forget that face.

"Good enough for me! Let's go!" Maybe if I move fast enough, I can still get a shot.

"Wait! Ray!" I didn't give her any time to think anymore, and I scooped down and lifted her up by the knees into a princess carry. Might as well go all out if I'm going to be doing it. She protested at first, but then just covered her flushed face with her hands and made cute whining noises while I took her back to the car.

That said, I can be very vindictive, so of course I wouldn't let it end with just that. After putting Rika in the car I was preparing to drive off, but I noticed that the group of trash was still close to the road and conveniently they were right next to a large puddle that had been made from the rain last night.

So of course I did what anyone in our situation would have done and drove right through it, causing the lot of them to get soaked from head to toe in muddy water. Truly poetic justice.

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[A/N: I figured it was about time to introduce our main love interest, so here ya go. Kind of took awihle because I ended up changing what her powers are going to be in the next chapter so I had to go back and edit some things.

Originally she was going to reincarnate as a genderbent tokoyami and basically be Raven from dc. henses the name Rachel. But this was the plan before the goddesses became a thing so I felt the need to change things up. That said tokoyami will still probably be genderbent in the story but she won't be a love interest until part 2 when I allow for a harem to develop.

As for who Rachel will turn out to be? I mean if you've read some of my other stories I bet you can make a guess. She's like my top 3 waifu's so it would be a disservice to not include her at this point.]