A Voyage Across Time

Chapter 1 - A Voyage Across Time

The sound of sirens loudly filled the space station. Each beep seemed further and further as they went on. The alarm kept going on and on. Red intermittent lights reflected in the holographic glass. 

At the west wing, metal clanking would’ve been heard if not for the gaping hole in the wall. The top of the station was burning brightly with blue flames as a strange half-moon-shaped object approached. 

At the east wing, the only part of the space station still upholding, Keisuke and Sakura were only focused on reaching a breakthrough in their research, one that would finally end, yet start everything again at once. 

They both knew that as they relentlessly worked. The numbers in front of them endlessly poured, and their screens flickered in-between switching programs.

“Parameters all set!” Sakura said, fixing her glasses.

As soon as she said that, the yellow glowing machine in the middle turned on violently, spewing lightning at anything electrical or nijistonic. Its concentric base sucked the temperature out of the room with each spin, shutting down every last function of the room and of the station with it.

“We did it. It’s finally time,” Keisuke stated, sighing. “Good job, Ms. Assistant.”

“Yes, Prof. All our efforts will finally pay off. I guess see you in another timeline? In a world with her in it.”

“Yeah. The world might’ve become almost perfect, but it isn’t without Cho-chan.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that a million times. I just wish that you would’ve given a little more of your attention to me,” she grinned teasingly. “Maybe in the next timeline?”

“I see you’re still as lively at the end as ever, Sakura.”

“And you’re still not flustered, even just a little?”

“You gotta do more than that for that to happen,” Keisuke said, wryly smiling.

Sakura chuckled and held her fist up towards Keisuke.

“See you in a bit, Keisuke.”

“Yeah, take care.” Keisuke replied while completing their fist bump.

The machine clocked, and time reached 12 AM.

As they both stared into the yellow light, space and time became distorted, their timeline twisted and turned, and they were pulled in by the light. Unbeknownst to them, however, another individual lurked and sneaked in the station, therefore being sucked in the machine along with them, before the space station ceased to exist.

A chilling sensation ran down Keisuke’s spine as time reversed and his surroundings changed. His twisted reality soon became clearer as he regained his vision and the rest of his senses. Opening his eyes, Keisuke fervently observed his environment before starting to think and ponder. 

In front of him were holographic screens containing lessons on nijistone, nijistonic energy, how it’s used, and the history behind it. 

When did we learn about this again? It should be our first year in high school, right? Which means, so far, it seems like our calculations were correct and the time change was a success.

To the sides Keisuke could see all the human and niji-human, or in other words, alien students he once had as classmates. The sturdy walls of the classroom were imbued with nijistone, making them be able to change colors over time, depending on the time of day and the temperature. The tables were the same old, made of wood and metal, and their chairs were floating nijistones with a comfortable polyester filling carved into them.

Everyone and everything is how I remembered. Now the only one left..

He could feel tugging on the back of his shirt. Turning around, Keisuke saw her childhood friend and one and only love.

“Kei-kun, could you help me out with that resource material later?”

..Cho-chan, it’s been a long while. How long has it been since I’ve been called that?

A heavy weight lifted off of Keisuke’s shoulders. He was happier than ever.

I never thought I would actually be able to achieve the impossible. To be able to see you again after all this time, it’s truly a miracle.

He was happier than ever, but he also remembered all the pain and hardships he endured, along with the memory he never wanted or liked to think back to. The day Cho passed away. It was surreal to see her cute smile, her beautiful blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, and her enchanting green eyes again. Keisuke stared at Cho for a few seconds wordlessly, after which he began tearing up.

“Eeh!? Kei-kun, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. I’m just proud of you for finally taking your studies seriously,” Keisuke replied, chuckling as he wiped his tears.

“Mmm! You scared me there for a second, dummy! You know I have to graduate high school if I want to go to an art university.”

“I know. You want to be a mangaka, right?”

“Indeed! I might be a bit of an airhead, but I’m going to give it my all!”

Keisuke smiled and nodded.

“Alright. I’ll help you study later.”

“Thanks! With your help, I know I’ll be able to make it. I’ll seriously give it my all!”

I know. That’s also part of why I love you. Back in the first timeline, I didn’t end up helping her, saying things like ‘I don’t know how to teach someone’ and ‘You’ll understand better if you learn by yourself’, and thus this was the time I began to distance myself from her. Why? I don’t even know myself, to be honest. My brain back then was different. Maybe it was embarrassment, or the pain of not being able to tell her how I feel, or perhaps I didn’t think she would accept my feelings due to low self-esteem? Whatever was the case back then, I’m not about to make the same mistake twice.

“Aaah! Why is this lesson so hard? Do you think our parents had it this rough as well?” Cho asked.

“Could be. Incidentally, what is today’s date?”

“Hmm?” 

She tilted her head.

 “It’s the 1st day of May; did you forget?”

“Ah right, thanks! And what year is it?”

“Uuum? Is this a trick question?”

“Higashi-san! Fujimori-san! Please stop chatting in my class!” Akamine-sensei, their homeroom teacher, interrupted them.

““Sorry, Akamine-sensei!”” said Keisuke and Cho in unison.

“Jeez, you’ll have exams soon, and this lesson will be a part of it, so you better listen carefully!”

“Thank you! We’ll make sure to study properly,” Keisuke replied.

“Good. Now, where were we again? Oh, right. So, about how we managed to solve climate change with the help of nijistone…”

Instead of listening, though, since Keisuke knew all this already, he shut off his mind once again.

I’ll just check the year after class. Sakura should transfer in a few days, since nowadays the paperwork can be done really fast. Now that I think about it, why do we still call it paperwork if we don’t even use paper all that much? Eh, whatever.

After class was done and everyone was about to get up from their seats, Akamine-sensei turned her holographic board back up, calling out to the class.

“Wait a minute, guys! I almost forgot,” she started.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, Keisuke and Cho included, and turned their attention towards Akamine-sensei.

“We have a transfer student today who has just arrived.”

Sakura? That was faster than I thought. Or wait, did she get sent a few days earlier?

Whispering could be heard throughout the class.

“Ooh! What kind of student are they? And why are they transferring so soon after the school year just started? What do you think, Kei-kun?” Cho asked.

Similar questions popped up in the minds of their excited classmates as well; nevertheless, Keisuke just shrugged and intently watched the figure slide the door open. However, the person that emerged was not the one Keisuke was expecting. Instead of someone with brown hair and glasses, or a human walking in, it was a blue-skinned niji-human with white hair and a pair of sharp red horns.

What?

"Hey, sorry for being late! My name's Noa; I come from the Blue Clan, and I absolutely love blueberries."

What's going on!? Where's Sakura? None of this happened in the first timeline!

"As for why I transferred here, hmm… let me just say that there's only one thing I love more than blueberries."

What is she talking about?

"Or rather, should I say one person?"

Noa spoke confidently as she walked beside Keisuke's table.

Huh?

Noa smugly grinned at him with only her little fang out and then walked past to Cho's table, clinging onto her from the side. After that, Noa declared:

"This girl is all mine!"