Chapter 1: Happy Birthday to Me
Rei Hikari awoke with a start.
His breath came sharp and shallow, fingers digging into the thin sheets beneath him as though the dream still had teeth. It took several seconds for the pounding in his chest to slow enough for the room to return to itself—morning light through half-drawn curtains and the faint hum of distant traffic.
Today was his eighteenth birthday.
Rei swung his legs off the bed and trudged into the bathroom. Cold water bit his skin as he brushed his teeth. He leaned closer to the mirror, studying his reflection.
Ice-blue eyes, flecked faintly with gold. Long white hair that bled into blood-red tips.
His vision pulsed.
For a heartbeat, the reflection wasn't his.
A fox—sharp-eyed, grinning like it knew a secret—flashed across the glass.
Rei recoiled with a hiss, nearly dropping his toothbrush. When he looked again, it was gone.
"…Happy birthday to me," he muttered, rubbing his temples until the pressure eased. He rinsed, tied his hair into a loose braid, and shoved the moment into the same mental drawer as the other unexplainable ones.
Cordae High was already loud when he arrived. Today was his last day of school.
And the launch of Parallel.
A one-month beta for the world's first fully immersive VR—no headset, no controller. A neural interface that dropped your mind into a game world. The hype was worse.
Rei didn't care about the hype.
He cared about the restart.
He'd barely sat down when the classroom door slammed open.
"REI HIKARI! HOW DARE YOU NOT CALL ME ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?!"
His chair screeched as he jerked. Becca Integra stood in the doorway with one finger pointed like a prosecutor and violet eyes blazing with mock fury. The grin tugging at her lips ruined any attempt at intimidation.
Rei deadpanned, "Good morning to you too."
She dropped into the seat beside him with exaggerated force. "Do you know how rude it is to turn eighteen and not inform your favorite person?"
"You found me anyway."
"Because I care," she said, then leaned closer. "Also because your birthday is on the same day the beta starts. Fate is shipping you with trauma."
Rei snorted. "That's not how fate works."
"That is exactly how fate works," Becca declared, and launched into her Parallel rant like she'd been holding her breath all week. Classes. Skills. Legendary drops. Creature taming.
"I'm going Beast Tamer," she announced. "I will have a parade of adorable murder-fluff. And then I'm getting a unicorn."
"A unicorn," Rei repeated.
"All the motherfucking unicorns will be mine," Becca said, utterly serious, then punctuated it with a dramatic fist pump.
Someone cleared their throat at the front of the room.
Becca's posture snapped upright. She smiled with blinding innocence. "Hi, Miss Connors."
Miss Connors stared like she was deciding whether desks could be legally classified as weapons. "Ms. Integra. Sit down."
Becca sat, still grinning, and slid a folded note onto Rei's desk without looking.
Don't die without me.
Lunch came with cafeteria chaos and the usual chorus of seniors acting like the world owed them something. Rei claimed a corner table with Becca, Jake Sullivan, and Jasmine Integra.
Jake was broad-shouldered, loud, and friendly. Jasmine sat quieter, eyes tracking the room like she was listening to everything at once.
"Did you get in?" Becca asked, leaning forward.
Rei hesitated, then nodded.
Becca's eyes widened. "You did? Oh, you're screwed. I'm coming over tonight. You are not dying alone in a virtual fantasy world."
Rei pointed his fork at her. "You didn't get in."
Becca's grin went razor-sharp. "Who said that?"
Jasmine's gaze flicked up. "Becca…"
Becca waved a hand like details were optional. "I have ways."
Rei opened his mouth to ask what that meant, but movement near the vending machines caught his eye.
Three older students had boxed Jasmine in as she stood to toss her trash, blocking the aisle. One of them said something Rei couldn't hear over the cafeteria roar, but Jasmine's shoulders tightened, and Becca's smile vanished.
Rei was on his feet before he realized he'd moved.
"Hey," Rei called, voice bright. "We doing the 'stand in a semicircle and be embarrassing' thing today?"
One of the seniors turned, sneering. "Sit down, Hikari."
Rei didn't. "Tempting. I'm trying new hobbies."
The shove hit his shoulder. Rei took the step back on purpose, let the guy commit, then drove a fist into his jaw. Someone grabbed Rei's shirt from behind; Rei twisted and slammed an elbow back hard enough to make the grip loosen with a wheeze.
The cafeteria exploded—shouts, chairs scraping, trays clattering. Pain flared across Rei's knuckles. A fist clipped his mouth; his lip split, and he tasted blood.
Becca was there a second later, dragging Jasmine away with one arm while yelling something that sounded like a threat and a promise.
"Rei!" Jasmine's voice cut through the chaos, thin and panicked.
"I'm good," he called back, which was a lie, but it kept her moving.
By the time staff swarmed in, two of the seniors were on the floor and the third was trying to pretend his nose wasn't leaking. Rei stood there breathing hard, hands shaking, blood on his knuckles.
He looked at Jasmine.
She was safe.
That was enough.
That evening, Rei's apartment smelled like chicken, rice, and whatever mystery seasoning Becca insisted "made it taste like victory." She'd claimed his couch like conquered territory and resumed her unicorn campaign between mouthfuls.
"I'm telling you," Becca said, waving her fork, "I don't care what anyone else does. I'm getting my unicorn."
Rei lifted an eyebrow. "All of them?"
"All the motherfucking unicorns," Becca confirmed, serious as a judge.
Rei laughed, then winced when it tugged at his split lip. Becca's eyes flicked to his bruised knuckles.
"You're really cute when you're being heroic and stupid," she said, far too pleased with herself.
Rei choked on his drink. Becca laughed and patted his shoulder like she hadn't just fired that directly into his ribs.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and Jasmine stepped in carefully, a small plastic bag in hand.
"I brought first-aid stuff," she said, then added, quieter, "and snacks."
Becca's expression softened. "Jas."
"I wanted to," Jasmine said.
When the dishes were done, two identical black cases sat on the coffee table.
The neural links.
Jasmine hovered near the armchair, worry written all over her face. "You both… you're really doing this."
Becca squeezed her sister's shoulder. "You'll be right here when we come back. Easy."
Jasmine nodded, grip tightening on the bag. "I'll stay. The whole month. I already told Mom I'm 'studying' at Becca's."
Becca snorted. "Technically true. You'll be studying two idiots."
Rei's throat tightened. He looked away before it showed. "Thanks," he said quietly.
Jasmine met his eyes and gave him a small, steady nod. "Just… come back."
Rei sat on the couch and positioned the neural link at the base of his skull. The device clicked into place with a soft magnetic pull—firm, final. Becca mirrored him, bouncing her knee like she couldn't sit still even for this.
For a second, she looked serious. "Hey, Rei."
He glanced at her.
"Don't be a hero in there," she said. "Be annoying. Be clever. Be you."
Rei exhaled, something unclenching in his chest. "That's terrible advice."
"It's perfect advice," Becca shot back, then flashed that grin again. "On three?"
Jasmine perched across from them, eyes fixed on both of their faces.
Becca lifted her hand. "One."
A low hum returned under Rei's skin, vibrating through his bones.
"Two."
His vision pulsed—sharp, warping at the edges—like the world was holding its breath with him.
"Three."
"Log in," Rei said.
Becca, half a heartbeat behind him, added, "Save me a unicorn."
The world went black.