Chrono X Angel, Book 8: The Sands of Time

The Sands of Time

ChronoXAngel, Book 8
The Sands of Time
By: Reiko Ayanami

Dedicated in memory of the legendary Akira Toriyama. Your life made the world a much brighter place, and I would not be the author I am were it not for your story about a certain monkey boy and his pals. Thank you for everything, Toriyama-Sensei.

Special thanks to my new editor Blake, for making sure I'm the best writer I can be, and to Chris McFeely and Brian Kilby for their assistance in helping me find the perfect, historically accurate Transformers for that scene later on. Y'all rock.

Prologue:

Ten years ago...

It was sunny spring day, so the teacher had left the classroom windows open to let the fresh air into her 3rd grade classroom. As her classmates chattered around her, Kanata Ishimura sat at her desk with a scowl on her face. There was a new student arriving today, and everyone was talking about her. Her! Instead of the brand new expensive yellow dress Kanata was wearing, her dummy classmates were all jabbering about the new girl. What she would be like, where she was from, if she was nice. It made Kanata grouchy. As a group of upperclassmen in their purple and grey uniforms passed by the open door, Kanata let out a grumpy sigh and twirled one of her raven-colored pigtails. If this new girl was coming could she at least hurry up? The boredom was almost as bad as everyone's misguided excitement.

"Alright class, sorry for the wait," called the voice of their teacher from the hallway, "Little Ms. Tachibana got lost on her way here but we found her!"

"Figures," thought Kanata, "Of course the new girl got lost. Dork."

Into the room came another 8 year old girl, with pink hair in fluffy side-tails, her big blue eyes wide in surprise and a little nervousness. Quickly shepherding her to the front of the room, the teacher helped Usoko write her name in Kanji on the blackboard.

"M-my name is... Usoko Tachibana," she stammered quietly, looking down at her feet, "We just moved here from America. I hope you will take care of me."

Kanata had not been expecting this, the girl was... honestly kind of pathetic in an oddly endearing way. Clearly she did not speak Japanese well yet either.

"Thank you Ms. Tachibana, why don't you take a seat, hm..." the teacher looked around for an open desk.
"Ah I know, how about you sit here next to Ms. Ishimura! Kanata, do you mind?"

That snapped Kanata out of her musings, and the grouchiness returned full force. Before she could protest though, that Usoko girl had already been seated and was opening her backpack up. She looked up and her gaze immediately met Kanata's, causing the pink haired girl to smile.

"Hi, I'm Usoko, wanna be friends?"

For a brief second Kanata almost said yes. Then a wave of disdain passed over her, likely a result of her own negativity she was feeling today. It was only for a moment, but that moment would be the catalyzing moment, intertwining the two girl's destinies forever.

"Ew. No. You? No way."

Dejected, Usoko's smile faded fast, and she turned back to her desk and a part of Kanata almost felt bad for her then. Almost.

In another time and place......

It was sixth period, Historical Literature, when the call came in. The day thus far had been like any other at Tsukiyomi Academy, with classes stretching on and on seemingly without end. Outside the sky was grey and dreary, like most days during late Fall in Fumizaki. Not a drop rain in sight, but the eternal cloud cover could have almost fooled you. The wind blew dried leaves off from the trees, which crackled like newspaper as they skidded across the blacktop. As she looked out over this icky grey day, Kanata involuntarily let out a heavy sigh. She really just wanted to go home, all this junk about the Magna Carta was starting to get to her. She honestly could not remember why she had ever signed up for this class for a moment, but one glance at the seat next to hers reminded her. It was so she could be close to Usoko. As the pinkette sat facing the front of the room, trying not to look as bored as Kanata felt, she reflexively turned her head to face Kanata. No, that was not it, she was looking past her raven-haired classmate and out towards the sky. There, perched in the clouds was some...thing that was radiating energy that felt like it came from each of Usoko's friends! Kanata too felt this being, and shuddered. She could even sense her own energy inside whatever it was, and she did not like that one bit.
As Mr. Araki was about to begin going over the finer details of British law, Usoko raised her hand to be excused to the bathroom, barely waiting for an okay from her teacher. Kanata meanwhile did not need to bother asking, simply walking out after Usoko as their classmates no doubt expected. The pair were rushing through the halls towards the nearest exit, and fortunately for the two of them there were few enough people in the halls that their path was unobstructed. Usoko was the first outside, the wind blowing her pink hair in front of her face momentarily. The red of her uniform's jacket stood in stark contrast to the grey sky and concrete of the main school building. Kanata joined her a few seconds later, and both girls flew up towards the new enemy on the horizon. As they flew, their outfits changed from the red jacket and black skirt of their Tsukiyomi uniform, into their respective Magical Girl forms. Usoko donned her black and blue ballroom-esque dress, while Kanata swapped into her somewhat revealing yellow and silver outfit that resembled a cheerleader's clothes with a knight's visor covering part of her face.
The pair was face to face now with their foe, a girl seemingly around 19 or so, with long dark greyish-purple hair and dark purple eyes flecked with bits of magenta. Her face seemed so familiar, almost as though it contained aspects of each of Usoko's friends. She could recognize Nonami's eyes, Emiko's cheekbones, her own nose, and more. It seemed the only one not represented on this genetic hodgepodge was Sarah, likely due to the Banshee's lack of DNA.
The mystery foe regarded the two magical girls coldly, her eyes focusing more on Usoko than Kanata, as if viewing the pinkette as the bigger threat. When she finally spoke, it was in a voice not unlike Nonami's, but warped in a way Usoko could not quite grasp.