Journey Through Time
Summary: A year has passed since Chiaki left and Makoto wishes on a star as a last resort. The star heads straight towards her and hits her right in the chest. Now Makoto will have the chance to search through time and space in order to find Chiaki.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' but this fanfic is my original idea.
A/N: This is my first ever fanfic and I hope it turns out well. It will start off a little slow but that is because I need to set the scene. Enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: The Falling Star
The black canvas of night stretched across the sky, stars speckled here and there, creating a portrait of true beauty. The stars seemed to beckon to the people sleeping on Earth's soil but among the city lights, no one could see them. It was a lone figure walking by the river bank outside the bustle of the city that was caught by their immaculate glow. Lying down on the grass her skin gave off an unearthly glow making her appear radiant and almost god-like.
Her chestnut eyes seemed clouded over indicating that she was in deep thought. Slowly she reached her hand up towards the sky trying to reach it. Letting out a sigh as all she grasped was air she let her hand fall limply to her side. "The sky is just like you… No matter how close you feel you are, you can never touch it. Right, Chiaki?" The girl muttered as a single crystal tear ran down her face.
It had been a year since that faithful day that Chiaki left and she felt a need to return to the place where she last saw him. 'I'll be waiting for you.' The words he left behind stuck but as time went by Makoto began to realize that no matter how hard she tried or how much time went by that she would be unable to reach him. What was he thinking when he said that… she had no idea.
"It's not like I am smart enough to make my own time-leap machine, and I don't have anymore leaps left… what am I suppose to do. I wouldn't even know what time to go to if I had leaps. Aghh!" Frustrated, she sits up and glares through tear filled eyes at the ground. "Stupid Chiaki!" She grabbed the nearest rock she could find and whipped it into the river watching it skip several times as she tried to calm down. Flopping back down on the grass she draped a hand over her eyes.
Over the last year she had grown slightly, filling into her female body, she now possessed curves that most women were envious of. Several men have taken not of her now that her hair was slightly longer brushing her shoulders and losing the boyish look. Despite their obvious interest in her she was unable to forget Chiaki and rejected each one. Kosuke was concerned for her since he was now going out with Kaho and wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her. Yet they still play baseball every now and then with the three girls from the volunteer club.
Its funny how she hasn't seen him for a year yet she feels that every passing day makes her heart yearn even more. I mean, she's heard of how distance makes the heart grow fonder, but this is just ridiculous. He lives in a completely different era and unless he is able to come back to this time there is no hope that the two of them will be able to meet again. She should be slowly giving up and losing hope, not missing him even more.
Slowly she removes her hand and looks up at the stars above; one star in particular caught her attention. It almost seemed to grow larger then the rest as time passed and she couldn't help the childish words that fell from her mouth as she stared at it. "I wish with all my heart that I can see Chiaki again." She closed her eyes as she spoke, tears threatening to spill as she earnestly wished for the impossible to be possible.
She peaked her eyes open slowly, as if expecting him to be leaning over her and saying some annoying comment to get under her skin. This was not the case though, she was just as alone as she was before, if not more so now. She turned her attention back at the star to let her frustration out upon its lack of magical qualities when she noticed that the star seemed even bigger. Slowly the gears in her head clicked and she sat up with a start, staring wide-eyed at the sky. That wasn't a star! Clearly it was some kind of meteor or something about to crash right into her. She hurriedly stumbled to her feet in an attempt to live another day.
She glanced back up to see where it was to determine what way to run, but it was too late. She was struck right in the chest and felt all her breath leave her as she was thrown backwards. Hitting the hillside with a tremendous amount of force she felt her head spin. All she could think as blackness over took her was 'Chiaki'.
"Uhn," she moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "I feel like I've been hit by a train." Realizing that she actually was almost killed by a train once before, she decided that this wasn't the best analogy. "This must be what a hangover feels like." Looking around at her surroundings she realized that she was in what seemed to be a hospital room.
Everything was a blinding white and the IV and wires attached to her was a pretty good hint as well. She slowly panned from the window on her left to her right when she saw her mother crouched over in her chair sleeping. She looked exhausted even as she slept and a crease above her brow indicated the worry she felt even in her sleep.
The door opened and a nurse walked in, taking note of the sleeping figure in the chair she closed the door quietly before turning to the bed. The lady let out a soft gasp as her hazel eyes met with Makoto's. Regaining her composure, she approached the bed with a smile on her face. "Good morning Konno-san. It's good to see you are awake. My name is Haji Sakuri. How do you feel?"
"My head hurts, but that's about it." Makoto replied unsurely. "What happened? Why am I in a hospital?" A look of pure confusion crossed her face.
"So you don't remember?" Makoto nodded. "I see. Well, you were found unconscious by the river by a concerned citizen. They brought you here. It seems that you hit your head quite heard although we aren't sure how. You mustn't walk on those slops at night because if you trip and fall, things like this happen." Makoto tried to remember what happened. She could recall going to the spot where she and Chiaki said goodbye, but after that… nothing.
"I will tell the doctor you are awake. He will come in shortly and give you a once over. If everything checks out then you will be free to return home." The nurse gave one last smile as she strode out the door. She paused before exiting and turned back to Makoto, "By the way, the person that brought you here said that that toy was with you when he found you. It was nice of him to bring it with you so that you don't lose it." And just like that she was gone.
Turning to the table the nurse had gestured to, what she saw made her pupils dilate and breathing speed up. Sitting there next to her was what looked like the walnut that held the time-leap charge. The only difference is that this device was silver and had an oval divot in it where something appeared to go, maybe a jewel? Also, its size was about twice as big. It was then that the events from before flooded through her. Slowly she picked up the baseball sized object.
Although it looked to be made of silver, the object was soft and almost squishy. That explains how it didn't hurt too much when it hit her. Although she could tell that there was a definite bruise where the device hit her. She quickly looked at her arm in excitement! 'Maybe I can time-leap again!' Yet, her arm held no numbers on it. Immediately she deflated. "Maybe this one works differently since it looks different from Chiaki's. I'll have to try and figure it out when I get home" she muttered to herself. She placed the object back on the table as the doctor walked in, a small smile graced her lips.
"Finally! I'm home! I need to call Kosuke and go play some baseball; that bed made me so sore." Makoto yelled out as she walked through the door.
"Oh no you don't" her mom said sternly. "You are going upstairs to relax. You heard what the doctor said so I want you to try and take a nap while your sister and I prepare dinner." You can tell by how she stood with her arms crossed and eyes shinning with determination that there was no room for arguing. Begrudgingly she stomped her way upstairs and into her bedroom to grab a change of clothes.
She placed the time-leap machine (at least that's what she assumed it was, maybe a new version.) gently on the dresser next to her bed and picked up a black tank top and short cotton grey shorts. It was a simple outfit but she was going to be stuck in the house so she didn't see the need to put on anything better.
She walked into her bathroom and stretched her arms above her head in order to relax her muscle. A pain shot through her chest from the movement and she immediately brought her hands to press against the middle of her chest, willing the pain to go away. As it slowly ebbed away to nothing more then a slight throb, she carefully tried to ease her shirt off from the night before.
What she saw shocked her beyond belief. As she expected, there was a huge bruise on her chest but it wasn't the combination of blue and purple that disturbed her. In the middle of the bruise was an oval jewel. It was a striking gold and was about an inch and a half long. Makoto's face twisted in one of sheer horror as she realized it was actually imbedded in her skin. Unsure of what to do, she quickly changed and went back to her room.
She grabbed the 'walnut' as she decided to call it and looked at the divot she noticed earlier. It was the exact same size as the jewel she now sported. "What on Earth is going on? What is this thing?" Makoto was starting to wonder if this thing really was from the future and used for time-leaps or maybe something from an alien ship. I mean if traveling through time is possible, then anything is, right? 'Don't let your imagination go wild Makoto. Think. What could this be?' She rubbed the jewel on her chest subconsciously as she thought about the possibilities. 'And to think I thought my wish would be answered and I would actually be able to see Chiaki again, I wish I could go to the future…'
Suddenly, the jewel began to glow and soon engulfed her in a blinding light. "Wha-AHHHHHH!" she shouted. As the light disappeared, all that was left behind was the walnut.
"Onee-san, is something wrong?" Miyuki peaked her head through the door looking for her sister. "Makoto? Makoto, where are you?" She hurriedly searched the upper floor for her sister but found no sign on her. Concern consumed her and she hurriedly ran downstairs to confront her mother. 'Where could she be…'