That morning, the sky was a delicate blue hue that couldn't be bottled. The summer heat was approaching, and a warm breeze was passing along the island of Yumekoji. An alarm clock feature activated on the stereo downstairs, rousing fifteen-year-old Kajai from his sleep. 

He rolled off the bed, still wrapped in his comforter, his vision obscured by his hair. After a moment of squirming, he made his way to the bathroom. It was a short walk from his bedroom, just beyond the stairs. The speaker above his mirror was synced up to the stereo in the living room below, and he sang along with the current tune.

"...running with me under that umbrella...under this summer rain..."

He tackled his hair first, brushing it and setting back into a ponytail, or 'foxtail' as he called it. Once he was done washing and brushing his teeth he put on his summer uniform, singing along with the radio's music all the while. After a silent breakfast of honey toast and tea, his morning ritual was almost completed. Only one thing was missing...

The phone rang. He rose his chair and walked over to the rotary phone, a feature left over from before the house's renovation. He pressed the old green receiver against the side of his face.

"Happy Birthday!" The caller greeted excitedly.

"Thank you." He looked down at the floor, trying to hide his embarrassment from unseen eyes.

"You're becoming a real grown-up you know! Taking care of yourself and working hard." Her voice wavered slightly. "I can barely recognize you as that little boy I met not long ago."

He heard sniffling. Kajai stared at the receiver in disbelief, as if he could see her in it. "Naoko-san, are you crying?"

"N-No..." Despite her protests, he knew the truth. As she paused, he imagined her wiping tears from eyes. "Are you still going ahead with it?" There was worry in her voice now. "That trip?"

"Yes." He tried to sound sure of himself. Any trace of doubt would undoubtedly lead to more tears. "It's the anniversary after all. I'm going to keep going, no matter how long it takes."

There was another pause.

"Naoko-san. I'm going to be late."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Just...Please be careful."

"Yes..."

After they both said their goodbyes, he hung up the phone.

"Time for school..." Kajai sighed.

He cleaned his dishes, grabbed his backpack and headed for the entryway. At the front door, he slipped on his shoes and grabbed his collapsible bike. "Bye...house."

Kajai lived on a small hill on the island Yumekoji. It was located off the coast of Honshu, and not far from Chiba--a quiet town with a population of 400 people. Kajai was sure he had met every resident of the island at least once. He rode his bike up to the school gate, folding it down again and chaining it up with the others. The school had been built during the Showa era, and sat at two stories, but was the second-most modern thing the town had to offer. The most modern building, of course, was the 'Familia Mart' convenience store that had popped up next to the bay.

"Good...Good...Morning."

A greeting meant for him went ignored as he set up his bike.

Kajai walked into the school, upstairs to his classroom, and sat in his seat without offering a word to another human being. But that was normal. At some point, Kajai had slowly started giving up human contact. As he grew older, he found forced 'hellos' and feigned interest to be entirely too tedious.

This desire for distance was accepted by those around him. His classmates referred to Kajai as the mysterious 'half', due to his blue eyes. A rumor had spread through the school that if you could keep his attention for more than ten seconds, you would have good luck on your next assignment. Kajai wasn't sure what the correlation between getting his attention and good grades was, or when the rumor had started.

He spent most of the day staring out the window. That particular day, the sky was clear and blue, despite being in the middle of the rainy season. He daydreamed through his studies and slept through lunch. Only during gym did he put in the effort, and when it came time to clean the classroom he was meticulous in his work. Not concerned with the school's cleaning standards, he kept at until he was satisfied.

Once the school day came to an end, Kajai pedaled away from the school and into town, not stopping until he hit the wharf. He parked his bike along a rack outside the ferry station and walked down towards the docks. Several boats sat at the port, adjacent to a row of local shops. 

Fisherman hauled their catches onto the shore as Kajai made his way to the edge of the wharf, walking along the wooden planks that bordered the shore and sea. There, he found the person he was looking for, a middle-aged man lying in a small white boat. A bucket hat obscured the man's face from view, but his gentle snoring gave him away. The vessel looked to be decades old. Kajai held back a sigh.

He wouldn't worry. He had done his research. It would be fine.

"Excuse me." He moved closer to the boat, standing over it as it rocked back and forth. "O...jisan?"

There was a snort.

"O...ssan?"

The hat moved.

"Occhan?"

With a grumble, the fisherman sat up in his boat. He blinked sleepily at Kajai, and the teen watched as realization slowly took hold.

"Today?" The man blinked.

"Today." Kajai nodded.

With no more to say Kajai hopped into the boat, pulled the map from his backpack, and the two set out to sea.

The boat ride was not long. Kajai alternated between looking at the map, the GPS, and the sea around him. They were moving further away from civilization, and closer to the open sea.

It was cooler out here than on land, and the only sounds were the boat's motor and the lapping waves.

The wind blew Kajai's bangs into his face repeatedly, and he pushed them aside.

He could feel fear ebbing up from somewhere deep inside him. But where was it coming from? The wide waters that surrounded him? The isolation that awaited him? All he could do was watch as the boat moved closer to the island.

The somewhat familiar, rocky shore came into view and Kajai could feel his heart thudding in his chest. Would he finally get his answers here?

"This the right one?" The man asked, breaking his silence for the first time since the journey began.

Weathered signs poked out of the large black boulders that bordered the island. They gave different warnings; the place was abandoned, the island was uninhabited, trespassing would be punished. Kajai remembered these signs. This was definitely the right place.

"Yes." Kajai slipped his equipment back into his backpack. "Thank you, sir. I'll only be a few hours, I promise."

The older man's eyes raked over him as if seeking answers that Kajai could not give.

"I'll come back," He replied after a moment. "Before sunset." He added, revving the engine.

"Thank you." Kajai gave a slight bow. He felt guilty for making the man come all the way out here. This was illegal, after all. Still, he tossed his bag towards the shore. Putting one hand on one of the boulders, he pulled himself on top of it.

Kajai looked back at the fisherman just as the boat pulled off, hitting the young boy with a light spray of water. The droplets glittered in the sunlight, and he blinked as the water hit his face.

The boat moved further and further away. He looked up at the sky.

"No turning back now..." He murmured, pulling himself onto the next boulder and the next, before he set foot on the black sand. This small island, covered in patches of grass and moss. It was disrupted by signs, borders, broken glass and too small for any settlement.

This was where Kajai was found, five years ago.

Kajai could still remember that day. It was now his oldest memory. He had been only nine years old at the time, running across an empty beach. The air had been chilly, and the wind whipped sand into his face. Something burned brightly in the distance. Still he ran, and from what, he currently did not know.

Suddenly something struck the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

He woke up on blackened sand, full of fear and all alone. Splintered wooden boards, plants, and glass suggested something had once stood there, but there was no building, no belongings, no food. Just Kajai, and the remains of dying fire.

Now Kajai was here again, seeking answers. Why this island? Who had brought him here? With no one to answer his query, he felt the need to return each year, until he found the answer.

Moss now grew on those old wooden boards. With each passing year, it seemed the traces of his time here were disappearing.

He spent an hour walking the island's perimeter. Nothing much had changed since he had last visited. Occasionally he looked out at the sea, wary that the coast guard might suddenly appear. Eventually, he sat in the grass and looked up. There were hardly any clouds among the wide expanse of blue, the same blue as his eyes. Were his parents travelers? Foreigners beckoned here on exploration? He was already fluent in Japanese when he woke up on the island. Was his mother Japanese? His father? If only he could remember...

He sat there for a moment longer, before pulling supplies from his bag. He set down a blanket, put up a large umbrella. He pulled out a notebook and pen, hoping to jot down anything that suddenly came to mind.

He closed his eyes and waited. All he wanted was some sort of spark, a feeling, an idea, anything. After what felt like forever, something grazed his cheek. He opened his eyes and pulled the foreign object from his face. A lone flower petal. He stared at it. No flowers grew on the island.

He looked out at the sea. "Must be from an island nearby." He decided.

The wind picked up, carrying the petal away. He sighed.

And then, he heard the distant booming of thunder. Kajai crawled from under his umbrella. "What?" That couldn't be right. He had checked the weather forecast several times. Today was meant to be clear. Up above, faster than he had ever seen, the sky began to darken. He watched in confusion.

As if to chide him, a gust of wind suddenly knocked him back. Kajai latched onto the handle of his umbrella. He squeezed his eyes shut as gales of wind continued to assault him. It was if a large industrial fan had suddenly been set on him.

Thunder continued to rumble above, followed by water droplets, until Kajai found himself in the middle of a large and sudden storm.

With no means of shelter prepared, Kajai could only cling to his belongings for support. 'This was so stupid!' He thought, teeth clenched. 'What was I thinking!?' Small pieces of debris struck him as heavy wind and rain pelted the island. And then, out of nowhere, something hard smacked Kajai in the face. He was knocked backward onto the sand, his head throbbing. He curled up, pressing his face against the ground and shielding the back of his head with his hands.

And just as quickly as it had started, the storm disappeared.

Wiping sand from his face, Kajai kept his eyes shut. He began to crawl and pat the ground, feeling for his backpack. Instead, his hand found something soft. Curious, he cracked one eye open.

There, under his hand, was a small leather-bound book. Immediately, his heart began to race. He sat back, rubbing sand from his eyes. He picked up the book gently as if it were likely to vanish at any moment. Never in all his years of searching this place had he found such a thing.

He stared at the book. Despite its leather cover, it was held together with stab binding and coarse red thread. The binding suggested that the book was read right to left...Or was that left to right? The symbols on the front did not resemble any language Kajai had ever seen.

And yet, the longer Kajai stared, the more the symbols made sense. He read the text aloud.

"Moon...Cel...Celestial journal, Tsukihime Himiko."

He cracked the book open, and sand trickled off the pages and into his lap.

"The month of Octubre, day 33rd. Himiko Hecate is born to Castandra of Tsukihime and Herxes of Maelstrom. This book is gifted to them by Himiko Diana, child of Thoth."