Chapter 1 Rewrite (co-written by CrystalCard)
He blankly stared down at the small object in his hands, it appeared to be a highly ornamented pocket watch but Negi knew better. It was the Cassiopeia. A perfect fusion of magic and science. An instrument that allowed the user to travel through time and space. The tool that would help rescue Asuna.
The child teacher turned around and noticed that his class was standing ready. Negi no longer saw the girls as his students, the people he needed to protect, but as his comrades, the people he fought alongside with. He wondered if this was how his father felt, standing with people who were willing to protect each other every step of the way, just before entering war.
"Is everyone ready?" Negi asked.
"Yes sensei!" the class chorused.
"Then let's do this!"
Negi pumped his magical energy into the fragile device, activating the instrument. Its hands began to spin wildly at insanely fast speeds before the group disappeared. They were off, to rescue a friend and ally and change their future.
{~~~}
Chao, having used the Cassiopeia in the past, knew how travelling through the space-time continuum worked. They should have arrived at their destination hours ago, but they were still heading back in time. Her teacher was still channeling incredible amounts of magical energy into the time machine, hurtling them farther into the past. Chao knew that the Cassiopeia would soon be leaching energy off the other time travelers to make up for that amount once her teacher stopped or ran out of energy to channel through it and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Once the Cassiopeia ran out of energy to feed on, it would drop them off energy less and vulnerable. It could be anywhere in time and space, past, present or future. The closest they could probably get to their designated destination, or ever their own time, would be several centuries into the past or future at least.
It was times like this Chao wished that she never built that watch.
{~~~}
Konoha was a village full of activity both day and night for those of all ages. There was always some part of the ninja village where something interesting was going on, whether it was the toad sage being chased out of another bath house or the slug princess gambling away fortunes. But every once in a while, there is a night that is peaceful and quite. When the only movement are the stray leaves rustling in the wind. It was these rare nights that Ibiki lived for.
Ibiki many appear as a cold-hearted sadist but he truly took pleasure in the simplest things in life. Kanoha's peaceful nights were one of them. It allowed him to reflect on all the hard work the village's shinobi had put in to maintain this peace. It was proof that Konoha was safe, to be able to have a goodnight sleep and dream cheerful things. It was also proof that the village's security was one on the best there was.
CRASH!
Or then again, maybe not.