Misaya Saika's Story

It was that usual time of the year. Canilim's classes are opening and a batch of fresh blood will be moving in. Old students will meet again and maybe few friendships will be formed. Well, if there was one who isn't too enthusiastic on her first day, it was Inori. She had been on this side longer than she was supposed too due to her usual failing marks. Her original batch was now two year levels ahead of her and truth be told, didn't seem to want to interact with her too much.

Thankfully, the administration had given her a chance to catch up. She was to aid in some sort of time travel research in order to compensate for the failing marks. She doesn't care. In fact, she doesn't even mind that she has to repeat. It was annoying, yes but, if she isn't getting what she wants then, what's the point?

The principal had decided to give his speech in front of the crowd, newcomers and old-timers alike. Inori was tasked to handle the technical stuff like the speakers and mikes.
"Welcome once again students! As you may know, this school had been Arioch's center of excellence for several years. As such, we need to maintain a certain level of competency. To start off, let me--"
"--share with you my vision for this school. I, who is in-between our rather dark past and the possible bright future, want to trust that you live up to the task of bettering our school. Take charge and be responsible for yourselves. Your success can only be determined by one person--you!"
God, Inori had actually memorized the principal's entire speech after hearing it again and again. She lip-synched it as she worked on the speakers, matching every word that comes out of the principal's mouth. After a few more minutes of reminders and orientation, the whole class was finally allowed to head into their rooms. Inori did so after tidying up and locking the audio-visual room in the gymnasium. Entering her room, she sat down on her assigned spot in front of the class, by the window. Only a handful of people are in the room, none of which she recognized given that this isn't her batch.
"Oh well, introductions will soon be in order and I'll probably butcher your names so, no biggie."

---

60 years back into the past, Arioch was just a developing city. It was a time of unease as there still existed the divide between commoners and the nobility. The sun had almost set and lights in every pub or tavern was starting to light up, turning the place into an illuminated display of light and shadow. Inside one of them, the Rounders get ready for their task. Yuki Kazahana finished his last glass before slinging his rifle at his back and buckling his sword at his side. A fellow Rounder called out to him as he made his way outside to the stables.
"Yo! I heard you were seen talking with one of 'em ladies. Folks said they saw you give 'er some flowers."
"I only returned a bouquet she dropped. I don't think it's really a big deal."
"Tch, them spoiled brats...always into pointless banter, getting all giddy 'bout love and shit, know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah. Pointless..."
Yuki didn't actually care too much. He simply climbed on top of his horse, Valiant and made his way to the Eastern side to begin his rounds. He remembered passing the train station one time. He picked up a bunch of white roses that he saw lying on the ground. He picked it up and went ahead until he saw her by the station, waiting. What she was waiting for, he didn't know. All that he did was return it to her. Nothing more, nothing less.
"That's just the way things are, huh..."
Sighing as he led his horse closer to drink some water, his eyes caught sight of some animal prints in the soil. Inspecting it further, he could only assume that it was a bunch of wolves.
"Come on Valiant! Hiya!"
He rode on, following the tracks as he made his way up North, to where the train station was. If he could get there in time, he may be able to stop this creatures from doing any more harm.

In a world in the future, you'd imagine that life was so much more easier already. You didn't have to worry about small things- like getting hit by a car or something, but that was still here- and you could be pretty much carefree. Though a certain boy wasn't exactly having a good day.

"First day and I'm already panicking! Dammit, Kurai! Hold yourself together!"
Getting kicked out of bed by your own sister wasn't exactly the best feeling that you experience first thing in the morning. Running and finding out that you're pretty early wasn't a good feeling too. The only good thing Kurai had on his mind was that he got transferred into another section. Kurai sighed, running a hand through his golden hair as the principal drawled on. After the much more boring stuff such as reminders and such he finally found himself able to stand and walk.

Few minutes of walking got Kurai into his classroom, him falling into his assigned seat tiredly. He recognized a few faces, none that belonged to any of his friends- If he had any. He was a social guy, but friendships with him didn't last too long. Plus he was "too crazy" to be left with a bunch of people. The door opening alerted him though, as his attention shifted. Their teacher walked in, and Kurai gulped. It was someone he knew very well from his time in the lab.

Sporting orange hair and a lazily tied side ponytail, she looked over them all. Kurai and her eyes locked for a moment before she turned away from him.

"Right, right. Remember me, old students? Yeah, you've probably seen me. Anyway, for the new students, I'm Momoko Hatsuyuki, your adviser for this year."
After a few introductions, she spoke again.
"Hey, I need your attention for a second, we've got someone coming in from the other section-- Hey. Hey..."
Kurai looked on as the others chatted away before his teacher got irritated.
"Hey, you all! Shut up! We have a new classmate. Name's....Jose McDonald?"
A book hit his head, and he turned to her, annoyed.
"Momoko-sensei!"
"Dammit Kanato I told you to stop fooling around. Go introduce yourself properly."
"Sheesh....Oh, hey! The name's Kurai Kanato, age 16! Great to meet ya all!"
Kurai put on his signature grin, aimed at everyone in the room.

---

A trip 60 years back. The shadows of night had started to sink in, small, glittering stars appearing in the black sky one by one. Here, most people have started to gather back in their houses and creatures of the dark were starting to crawl out of their holes.

So it was strange to see a girl of noble blood out at this time. Tsumi Fujikawa found herself wandering quietly, not sure where to go. As always, that strange man she had met back then was nowhere to be found, but instead of going straight back home, to her garden to calm herself down with a cup of tea, she found herself just walking around.

Grr....

Before she could get lost in her thoughts again, Tsumi heard a growl. Immediately alerted she turned her head, seeing the striking, fearsome eyes of what could only have been a wolf. Her blue eyes widened as she started to back away slowly.

"I knew I shouldn't have wandered out so late...."

Konoha kept her head on the desk. Her head already started to hurt due to her attempt at walking to school in the outside air. It only worsened when white haired girl (she didn't bother to learn her name) came over to her and started talking her ear off to her. It had annoyed Konoha because she never asked the girl over. It wouldn't have been so bad if she talked about an interesting video game but it was over stupid time travel!
'This year is going to suck...'
When she did look up, she saw a slightly familiar sight.
"Aunt Momoko...?"
Shrugging it off, she saw white haired girl stand up next.
"I'm Koemi Shironoa. If you are a time traveller, please come talk to me."
Konoha rolled her eyes at the stupid introduction. Then she noticed that she was up next. She inwardly groaned, wishing that Aunt Momoko wouldn't notice her.
"Uh, Konoha Hatsuyuki. I guess it's nice to meet everyone..."
Konoha then silently sat down.

Hisao had a bad day today. It was bad enough being out on the streets but when he made his usual run, he noticed that the security around the house of the Nobles became even more airtight than usual. He tried to get out as quickly as possible but some guards still managed to follow him, one of which shot him in the arm.
"Give up! Surrender the treasures you've stolen right now!"
"How dare you disrespect Lady Tsumi in that way?!"
"God, shut the fuck up! I'm taking back what those assholes stole from the rest of us! And you can tell your lady to burn in hell with the rest of the goddamn Nobles!"
As he ran, he was soon approaching his usual alleyway. He smirked as he realized that he could lose them in here.

Outside, a newcomer stood as she surveyed the school from top to bottom. Wondering what kind of life she'll lead here, she heads on inside, ready to face the regular life within the Academy gates. She managed to make it just before homeroom. As soon as their adviser, Ms. Hatsuyuki entered the room, introductions went underway.
"Sheesh....Oh, hey! The name's Kurai Kanato, age 16! Great to meet you all!"
"An enthusiastic young man. Seems to be the typical extrovert. Still, gotta hand it to him to try to come off as friendly at the first day."
"I'm Koemi Shironoa. If you are a time traveller, please come talk to me."
"How frank. I wonder if she has any idea about what she is talking about?"
"Uh, Konoha Hatsuyuki. I guess it's nice to meet everyone..."
"So now we have our introvert. The "shy girl" of this class. I wonder if extrovert-kun will get the courage to talk to her."
Their teacher flipped through the next profile and a small frown manifested on her face.
"Hmmm...here again, Inori?"
At the mention of the name, a rather tall girl stood up from her desk and lazily walked to the front of the class.
"Well, well, so this is the new batch? I'm Inori Itsuna. No need to be so formal around me, we're all young anyway, right? Hehe, just kidding. I'm way older than you lot so, don't go around calling me Itsuna-chan or something. If you do that...well, let's just say that I already made reservations in the cemetery beforehand, kay?"
"Inori, please don't taunt the newcomers."
"I was only kidding around, Momoko-sensei."
"Yeah, and that kidding around might make you repeat again."
"......I better not get myself involved with this woman too much..."
A few more introductions later and it was 'her' time to introduce herself. She had to go last since she wasn't from an older batch. In fact, all her records were clean. Not much information was on her. She can easily appear and disappear anytime she pleases.
"All right, our last one is a transfer from the neighboring school, St. Gabriel's. Now, why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Yo! Misaya. Saika Misaya but, you can call me Saya. In fact, I prefer it that way. I hope we all get along."
She finished with a bow and took her seat. Seeing all these people, she knew that it was going to be an interesting year.

---

Yuki had followed the wolf's tracks, all the way up North, where a lot of the nobility's houses were concentrated. They had divided and seeing one was in preparation to strike a lady, he rode on, getting in between them with Valiant. He tilted Valiant back, rearing him up on his hind legs in order to intimidate the predator. Not willing to take on a larger beast, the wolf fled, disappearing into the woods.
"Madam, please go back to your house. Ti's way past curfew and who knows what manner of creatures roam at this time of the night."
Without getting off, he advised the woman only to find out that she was the same girl whom he returned the flowers to. The same girl at the train station.
"You were the same girl back then. I know that it isn't my business to ask but, the laws have clearly stated that all people must be in their houses at this time, 'cept for us who have to do these patrols."
Yuki heard the sound of approaching hooves in their direction. Turning around, he saw three more Rounders heading for him. He moved closer and asked why they seemed troubled.
"Barthes, what's going on?"
"Trouble Yuki, it seems that wanted thief had struck again. This time, it was the Fujikawa household."
"Got it. I'll check around the East then."
"Damn that kid, how does he find all this houses anyway?"
"It's a small town Barthes. Everyone knows where everyone lives."
Passing by the girl from earlier, he gave her last words of warning.
"I hope this isn't too much of a troubling night for you madam. I'd offer to take you but, I have to check by the harbor. Collins may be willing to give you a ride. Well then, I bid you have a safe night."
Yuki turned around and rode back to the harbor, to see if he can intercept the thief there. This one may be known for his notorious reputation but, with this many Rounders on patrol, today may just be the day he finally gets caught.

Konoha felt a slight wave of panic go through her as her aunt called her over. She was then handed a... cell phone? She was then informed to have been chosen to wield the time stone.
"Y-You're shitting me, right, Aunt Momoko...?"
The silence started to freak her out.
"Right, Aunt Momoko?! I can't be a time traveller! Hell, why did they pick me?! Why not that girl, uh... Koemi! Why not Koemi?!"
Konoha was completely unprepared for this. She only came to this academy because she was sick of seeing her mom so depressed. And now she was asked to be a time traveller?! This year is getting worse and worse by the second.

Hisao finally managed to lose the guards. Panting slightly, he wrapped his bleeding arm in some bandages he looted from the hospital. He sighed when it was placed on.
'Fujikawa must be getting pretty lax if he's employing rookies. Smug bastard. Who the hell does he think he is anyway?! Is he insulting the common people further by employing retards to guard his stolen goods?! That will not be tolerated!!'
Seething, Hisao stood up again, angry at the whole situation. He could then hear footsteps of a horse. A loud and angry groan escaped from him.
"It's that fucking Rounder again. That means Mercenary isn't too far behind either. Fuck, this is why I needed Saiko to still be alive."
Hisao then jumped up to the roof and ran away from him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
'Try using that horse of yours to catch me now.'

Saya stared down at the students going on about through the rooftop. Gusts of wind disturbed the regular arrangement of her hair and the hem of her skirt as she casually moved a hand to fix it. Glancing at her watch, she stroked its metallic casing. It used to be a bright bronze color, now, she had painted it gunmetal. It looks cool, in her opinion.
"Alright, let's see what else can I tweak around you."
Stroking the sides, she felt some adapters embedded in it. Makes sense at least, seeing as this is the prototype version after all. It can be equipped with all sorts of external features. The main body was also somewhat hollow, making Saya think that there is a hidden function within it.
"Now, what to do with you? Maybe I'll try it out in the meantime."
She chuckled to herself as she slowly made her way down to the grounds.

---

Still in pursuit, Yuki rode on, his eayes already set on the running thief. He watched him climb through the rooftops in order to avoid getting caught on the ground.
"Impressive. But--"
Yuki drew out the rifle saddled on his back. Filling it with gunpowder, he took aim at the thief. Just then, he was suddenly made aware of another man moving on the roof. He didn't seem familiar but, he was pursuing the thief as well and with a pistol to boot.
"That's not going to do any better."
He muttered under his breath as he and Valiant rode down on the alley, following the two in their escapade. He passed them by and managed to find his way to an open square. Taking his rifle again, he aimed at the beams holding the roofing together. Firing a couple of shots, the roof gave way, unable to compensate the weight of the two. As the deed was done, the other Rounders have finally caught up to him.
"Took a bit long? They're over there, at the collapsed mill."
He pointed to the collapsed mill where he had the two fall. There were some hay around it so their fall must have been cushioned somewhat.
"I'll leave the rest to you then."
Turning around, he left it to the other Rounders to come and pick up the men. He was well aware that Rounders are currently competing for captures but, seeing as he was fairly outnumbered, he allowed the three more Rounders there to claim the capture. One of them recognized the pursuer.
"Hey, this is the Fujikawa's hired guard right?"
"Aye. Let him off and cuff the kid."
The two roughly pinned Hisao to the ground and tied his arms. Turning to the other guy, they asked him what they have in store for this kid.
"Well, this is the rascal you were looking for. We'll let you handle him."
"Hey, this one stole from the Fujikawa's right? Why don't we take him to them?"
"Good idea. Hey pal! Guess it's best to take this kid to the manor for questioning eh?"
The Rounders presented to accompany this man to the mansion where, this thief will be judged.

As Yuki decided to leave the arrest to the three other Rounders, he soon found himself traversing down the eastern side of the city, where the harbor was. He did manage to chase of a single wolf but, there are others out there for sure and he also wanted to remove the tracks. When the deed was done, he made his way to the common residential area to check. There were some stray dogs but, no wolf. He was caught aware of a creaking from a nearby shack. Slowly, he made his way there to check. Nothing.
"Probably just the wind..."
Turning around to leave, he managed to get a glimpse of a girl running towards one of the alleys. She was wearing weird clothes; for one, her skirt was too short.
"Hey! What are you--?!"
Turning his horse around, he chased the girl up to the alley. She was fast but, he reckoned that he can overtake her with the horse. As he finally reached the alley, he saw no one.
"What the...?"
Puzzled, he strode down and searched around, looking at the corners and the roof to see if the violator was still hiding somewhere. No one. Just, still silence.
"Must be the dark playing tricks on me again."

---

As the fabric slowly faded away, Saya leaned her back on the railings of the rooftop. Chuckling a bit to herself, she wondered what kind of excuse she would have had to pull out if she got caught.
"Things sure are different way back then..."
Glancing at her watch, the battery was depleted for the time being, indicating that she needed to charge it now.
"Well, that's enough leaping for me today, I guess."

---

As Momoko was discussing something with the two kids, Kurai and Konoha, Itsuna walked in, carrying some papers to the table.
"Sensei, we are supposed to take a trip to the "Shaft" tomorrow and yet, you haven't done the necessary paperwork yet!"
Inori reminded their adviser. Noticing the two kids, she gave them a slight wave of the hand.
"So, you're the new blood. Hah, I guess I should elaborate. The Shaft is the slang term that we use to refer to the museum a few blocks from here. It is a tradition that students of this school visit it on the second day of classes to get a "better appreciation" for the history around here. I guess, you guys aren't fond of these things, yes?"
Inori made small talk as she waited for their teacher to finish the paperwork. The time is almost midnight and she just wants to go home now.

"Momoko-sensei, what part of "THESE PAPERS ARE NEEDED RIGHT NOW!" don't you understand?! You're really inconsiderate and careless with your actions. These have been lying in your desk for WEEKS and you didn't do anything about it. When the time comes, those honchos will blame me, Kiminari and all other members of the development staff for this lack of progress and tardiness, not even considering the fact that maybe the head researcher herself is rather sloppy with work."
At that moment, Inori finally flared up, thinking about the repercussions she'll face thanks to this sloppy-ass adviser. The teachers aren't usually blamed for this kinds of things; usually, it's always the student staff. And it's not going good. Several of them have dropped the project altogether due to the lack of incentive and the sermons they always get, leaving only Inori, Kiminari and a handful of students to complete the Driver Project.
"We've already taken the fall thanks to the wrong assignment of the Prototype version. Even if it's obviously a screw-up among the officials, the school has decided to place the blame on a good 40% of the development team and kicked them out of the school. If THIS isn't turned in by midnight, might as well see me and the others for the last time."
Now angry, Inori slammed the paperwork on their teacher's desk, turning around to leave. She glanced at the two time travelers and sighed. Without facing their teacher again, she calmly retorted back.
"This isn't asking too much. Just this once, all we ask is that you stand up for your own responsibilities instead of having the team take the fall every time. You lost a relative, we understand that. You cannot afford to get ousted from this project. But, please consider that a lot of students also have their own lives and also suffered trying to cover up the messes of you officials. I'm not going to do any more explanations on your behalf. You sign it and submit it yourself."
With that, Inori turned to leave the room, slamming the door behind her. She quietly grabbed her stuff and walked outside the gates. Passing by a nearby convenience store, she caught sight of another girl, seemingly in a squabble over something at a vending machine.
"But sir, I just need the appropriate change to insert here. I'll replace it with these pennies."
"Stop bothering me! I don't want that kind of currency, get lost!"
The man left abruptly, leaving the other girl down, kneeling in front of the vending machine. Feeling rather sorry, Inori handed her the appropriate coin.
"Here."
The two each bought something and proceeded to drink while seating on a bench outside the store.
"You're that new transfer student, Misaya Saika was it? Liking the academy so far?"
"So-so. As of now, I kind of prefer the exclusivity of St. Gabriel's than Canilim's more open atmosphere. Canilim's cafeteria serves better food though."
She took a sip from her can. Inori eyed this shorter girl a little before taking a sip from her own.
"You actually like the cafe food? Personally, I don't like what they serve there. Their meat all seems like chicken. Tasteless, eeehh..."
"Different strokes from different folks. I like cafe food and convenience store food because I don't have anyone to cook for me at home."
"You don't have any parents?"
"They're still around just, not with me as of the moment. My house is rather far so I had to rent a dorm."
"What dorm is it?"
"It doesn't have a name. It's just a regular apartment that was renovated and turned into a dorm."
"Okay."
Tossing the empty cans into a bin, the two bade each other goodbye.
"Before I forget, my name is--"
"Inori Itsuna. Doesn't want to be called Itsuna-chan. I was paying attention you know."
"Heh, good for you then. Well, I'll see you around Saya. If I feel like it, maybe I'll make you lunch."
"Really? You'd do that?"
"If I feel like it."
As they both walked out of each others' view, Saya fumbled around the plastic bag she got. There were some parts there as well as some soldering wire. She knew what she wants to do with it.

It was a common tradition that the students visit the historical museum a few kilometers North of Canilim. There, the details regarding how Arioch ascended from a small, backwater community grew to be one of the most economic cities around. Inori had visited this place lots of times already so, suffice to say, the novelty has already worn off.
"Boriiinnnggg...There was actually a time when I would've been excited at coming here. Now, it just seems monotonous, seeing that this place rarely changes."
Inori sighed as she walked around with Saya. On the other hand, Saya seemed a little bit excited at seeing all these rare artifacts. There were cannons, old style rifles, dresses and such. On the side of each exhibit is a short passage describing the item and maybe the wielder of each.
"Hey, Inori-san? Let's check out that wall over there. The one with the sword and rifle."
"I don't mind but, haven't you seen enough rifles already? There's a whole rack of them there if you're interested in the old weapons."
Nevertheless, the two moved closer to read the details on the wall. Well, at least Saya did. Inori had already read it several times that she almost memorized the passage. Almost.
In what seems to be a dark chapter in Arioch's history, we now enter the event known as "The Rounder Uprising". Discontent with the divide between nobility and peasantry, the other citizens started massive revolts and arson on the noble residences. A majority of the peace-keeping task force, the Rounders, also joined in the protests, bringing their weapons with them. A few still chose to do their task and try to maintain order, leading to the "Battle at the East Harbor". Several people were killed in the incident. The items above belonged to a Rounder who fought for the nobility.
Saya and Inori looked up and inspected the items. A dusty red scarf, a dark blue jacket with a bullet hole in it and some weapons. The rapier is now rusted and seems to be on the verge of collapsing into dust already but some inscriptions can still be read on the handle.
"Now, I haven't noticed that before."
"Can you read it?"
"KZHN - 003. What's that? Did he mistake this for a rifle or anything?"
"No, this probably refers to his position among the barracks. The letters may be his initials or something."
"You know a lot. Are you some kind of history nerd or something?"
"Maybe. I kind of like studying history."
The two headed off to view the other exhibits, as freshmen start to crowd around a tour guide that gives them the details of each exhibit.
"Hey Inori?"
'What is it?"
"Do you have a dress, by any chance?"