Chrono X Angel, Book 6: Branching Paths

Chapter 3

The last time Emiko had ridden on a passenger train it had been in the coach seats, and her trip had been far more harrowing as she was returning to Fumizaki from the village of Nazonoyuki to confront Midori who at the time was an out of control Revenant. This time though, she had gotten herself, Usoko and Kuroko first class seats on one of the nicest bullet trains she had ever been on. As it pulled out of Fumizaki's Nuparu Station, she was already getting comfortable in her luxuriously soft seat and settled in for the six hour or so long trip ahead of them. The trio was on their way to Lake Kesshō, and more specifically the Matsushiro Inn where they were staying. Though the forecast was calling for inclement weather the evening of their arrival, Emiko paid it no mind. The Inn was all-inclusive, everything one needed for a vacation was within its walls, so there was no need to go outside unless one wished to get an up close view of the crystal lake, or perhaps go skiing on the slopes. As none of them had any interest in winter sports, and only Usoko had any real interest in seeing the lake from the shore, they would be relatively alright in a worst case scenario.

They were seated two to a row, with Usoko taking the window seat next to Emi, and Kuroko taking the one behind her, while the Oni sat in the aisle seat and retrieved a book from her travel bag. She had been meaning to catch up on this, a biography of one of her favorite bands called "Razor Heart", a rock band from 80's San Francisco that she and Rei (especially Rei) were big fans of. As she picked back up where she had last left off, Emiko noticed Usoko shifting in her seat as if in concern.

"Everything alright Uso-Chan?" She asked, though not taking her attention away from the paragraph she was on.

"Y-yeah," answered Usoko carefully, "I just uh... I'll be right back okay?"

The train was in motion now, but before it had started moving, Usoko had sensed a very familiar energy board down a few cars down. Carefully, and making sure to keep her own energy low so as to avoid detection, she made her way towards that car. Entering, Usoko found herself in coach and noted that it was rather oddly empty. Before she could make her way to her target, she was approached by one of the attendants.

"Are you having trouble finding your seat, Miss?" She asked. Usoko shook her head.

"I think I saw a friend of mine board earlier and just wanted to say hi to her," she half lied. While what she said was technically true, she opted to leave out the part where she sensed her own daughter-from-the-future's energy board this train. Quickly she spotted Misato's blue hair, though... oddly, there appeared to be pink streaks in it now?

"Hey Misato," whispered Usoko into the half-oni's ear from behind, causing her to jump out of her seat in panic.
"Whoa calm down, it's just me!! Er, the good me! Sorry if I spooked ya!"

When Usoko got a look at Misato's face then, she got a little... concerned for her daughter. Her eyes were sunken, and her cheeks were gaunt. She looked even more shellshocked than she usually did, which was saying a fair bit given the horrors she had seen in her life.

"U-Usoko, hello," she replied quietly, "What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

Usoko explained the trip she was on with Emiko and Kuroko, and how they were going to relax for a few days, though not mentioning the reason why as she was not sure how public the knowledge of Emiko's dad's death was yet.

"Y'know, we had planned to bring you along too," continued Usoko with a cheerful smile, "Kind of a big ol family get together, you know? So what do you say?? Come with?"

There was a look of pain that crossed Misato's features for a moment before she returned to her usual expression.

"I... I would..." she began but her words were cut off as the attendant that Usoko had just spoken with began writhing on the ground and screeching. Her arms twisted and extended, nearly doubling in length and ending not in hands but large gnarled claws. Every part of her seemed to follow suit, stretching out with skin taut against her bones. Blood began dripping from her razor sharp tusks and her hair turned white as snow.