One night, I had a strange dream.

A dream of my past life—when I fought as a magical girl.

The lonely battlefield. The despair. The final resolve.

And—those eyes fixed on my back.

“Mai… Mai…”

When I awoke in the morning, a lump of black hair was pressed close to my face.

It was Rei.

Like a cat, he had crawled under the blankets, rubbing his cheek against my chest.

“…Rei? What’s wrong?”

“…I had a dream.”

His trembling voice told me enough.

I didn’t need to ask.

It had to be memories of his past life.

From that day on, Rei became… a complete clingy shadow.

In class, he clung to the seat beside me.

During breaks, he refused to let go of my arm.

In the cafeteria, he even told an upperclassman sitting next to me, deadpan, “Go away.”

“Rei… could you give me a little space? I can’t even go to the bathroom like this…”

“…No. I feel anxious when you’re not here.”

“Ughhh…”

The whole Academy was buzzing.

“Look, Rei’s stuck to Mai again.”

“It’s cute… but kinda scary too…”

The rumors spread in no time.

Soon, he was known school-wide as Guardian Spirit Mode Rei.

But I knew the truth. This was temporary.

He had remembered loneliness. He had remembered fear.

And right now, what he needed most was someone to stay by his side.

“…Alright then. Today, I’ll stay with you all day long.”

“Really…?”

“Really. I won’t go anywhere until you’re satisfied. I’ll even hold your hand.”

“…Th-thank you… I’m so happy…”

That day, we spent time together like it was a date—

visiting the library, strolling through the magical plant greenhouse, and picking out cookies at the campus shop.

When we were surrounded by baby magical creatures, Rei’s face softened, just a little, into something warmer than before.

“Mai… thank you. In my past life… I never had days like this.”

“But now you do. And we can make as many of them as we want.”

As our hands pressed together, I felt a warm mana flicker to life in my chest.

Macikado Mai, age eight.

A day of being inseparably close to my brother, bringing light into the shadows of his past.

A springtime memory, glowing with quiet warmth.