SUMMARY: She was at the center of everything. No, she was the center. From her branched the past, the future, and so on. She hadn't always known that was her destiny. But eventually, she knew. It was just too bad it was too late when everyone else realized what her path was.
PROLOGUE
She was almost there. Just so close to finishing. It was useless, what they had assigned her. She had figured that out as soon as she had heard of the project. She even reported so. But to keep her precious research, she needed another concept. Inspired by her high school days, she had proposed the creation of such a device she was working on. She had been backed with a full, perhaps even excessive, force of researchers that she was at the head of. But one by one, they all left. They never gave her a proper reason. All they could say was, "Sorry, Konno-sensei".
But she didn't blame them. If she didn't blame them, there was no need to forgive them. They needn't have said sorry. Because she knew this was always meant to be her project and hers alone. It was all that was left for her. She had given too much to the damned thing to back out now. She would only get something back when a prototype was finally created.
Her sister once asked her why she was so determined to work on such a hopeless project. Miyuki went into the medical field, and became an accomplished surgeon, what with her caring and logical disposition she had developed over the years. But she couldn't understand. Because she didn't know the truth. She didn't know enough, Miyuki couldn't know enough. Only her older sister had the ability.
After she had entered the world of physics, she had surprisingly understood most concepts easily. Added to her deep determination, she had been quickly labeled a prodigy. At least, she was in Japan. In America, however, she was scorned as an ignorant foreigner. So she persisted there as well. Eventually, she became a world-renowned figure is the field of physics, particularly toward her theories on time. But it still wasn't enough. She relentlessly pushed and fought her way to the top, to the point where she was employed by the government as a researcher. Within there, she still found ones higher than her on the endless chain of researchers. The difference was she wanted the top. She needed it. And she used everything she knew, everything she had to prove she deserved it. When she found it wasn't enough, her mind soon overtook the primitive hypothesis, and sometimes theory, against her and refined it almost to the point of perfection. All just to see him again.
But when she finally reached the zenith of her career, she was forced back to reality. There was no one above, also meaning no one to challenge her, no goal for her to overtake. And she reached the first real impediment for her to face. So she went straight to the source: her inability to develop all her theories over the years into an actual object that could be used. She requested the allowance and resources from the government for her project. They refused the first time. Over and over, she pursued her dreams until they finally recognized the merit of her project. But even then, she needed something to rise over. Eventually, she broke the barrier of her era and exceeded her supposed "high point" of her dedication.
And even then, she hadn't found her true purpose. But she had now. And she was following what was set out for her – with perhaps a few twists of her own along the way.
She suddenly remembered something her dear aunt had said to her long ago when she was overworking herself.
"When you feel like there's no answer, while at the same time, you know there is, just close your eyes and let your mind wander. You may be surprised at how useful it may be."
Gently closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she though back to happier days. More specifically, she imagined her high school life. When she first met Chiaki, when they – Chiaki, Kousuke, and herself – became best friends, and when she first started time-leaping. As the multiple scenes and emotions filled her now complex mind, a solution slowly pieced itself together somewhere to the side. And, just like that, it was completed. But she could enjoy her memory montage for just a little longer.
An hour later, it was completed. At 11:31 in the evening, the two prototypes for time-leaping were completed. It was a much smaller than the one Chiaki had showed her so long ago, but she figured it would increase in size over the years that would pass before his time, for convenience. That is, if they ever were able to procure either prototype in the first place. But she also knew that it wouldn't even be attempted to be improved upon until much later. For the first time since she was a teenager, she time-leapt.
Twenty-three minutes later, she returned. She placed the device in a locked box of her own creation, secured by a code only a select few knew. Just in case they couldn't get the box to open, she left blueprints and a summary of her research for the future researchers who would be just as bright and creative as she. Finally, she wrote a note addressed to those who would search for her in a language that would be understood by no one in her era. At the very bottom, in the same odd language, she wrote a small greeting to one specific person who she knew would eventually read it.
Maybe they might even figure out the code to open her box.
With a final enigmatic smile, she disappeared. The time read 12:00 AM. Left on her desk was the box that contained one of the two time-leaping prototypes and her note stuck onto the top of it with a piece of tape. A separate strip of paper was glued onto the box. It only read one confounding message.
Love, Makoto.
A/N: Yes, I should be working on my other stories. Yes, this should be much longer (though it is the prologue). And yes, the summary makes no sense whatsoever. No, Top Ramen does not fall from the sky randomly, unfortunately for some of my friends.
This idea popped into my head while I was re-watching the animated movie while thinking about my Hikaru no Go story (yes, almost no relation at all). Suddenly, Akira's capability as a prodigy mixed with the main character (namely Makoto) and a genius Makoto appeared. It's not the most realistic idea, but I figured the experience must have affected her life drastically, especially since she would have eventually realized there was no way she was going to meet Chiaki naturally following the timeline.
Well, please tell me what you think! Sorry if it's not to your tastes!
