Chapter 1: The Passage Through Time

The group of girls giggled as they gathered into the inside of the forbidden forest. The thrill of simply entering made them feel high above the clouds, and what they were about to do next would be even more so…witchcraft.

It all began on the way back home from school. They found a book of spells on the floor, almost as if it had waited there especially for them. Now all they could think about was casting a spell to test the validity of the curious book.

A girl with blonde wavy hair flipped through it, and then stopped. "This one!" she exclaimed. "Akira should do this one!"

A girl with long black flowing hair and nervous green eyes stepped forward. "Why me?" she asked.

"Because you have a witch's name, if anyone of us can cast a spell it'll be you," she gave her a cruel smile. Akira had no other choice but to comply with the girl's wishes. After all, the girl knew her secret.

"What's the spell?"

The girl smiled a happy smile, "It's a time travelling spell! Just remember that you are going to Japan in 1853, specifically Kyoto."

Akira nodded her head, took a deep breath and read the spell from the book.

"Deus de caelis,

concede mihi voluntati meae.

Duc me ad terram ceciderunt fortes,

ubi potentia nihil est postero honorare ... "

Streams of light emerged, surrounding Akira, and then she was gone.

***Japan 1864***

She ran and ran as fast as she could, but she was no match for them. She didn't even know why she was being chased after. One moment she was in the forest with her friends playing with a book of witchcraft that they found. Now she strange men wearing traditional Japanese attire were after her, in the middle of an alley way.

She hit a dead-end. There was nowhere else to run. The men who were after her were laughing, proud that they had caught her. "It's over now, so why not be a good girl and tell us where he is hiding."

The girl's spearmint green eyes widened, shocked by their words. What are they talking about? Who is he? She tried to be brave and responded, "I-I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice trembled and her heart beat furiously. She was in no place to reject them, but she honestly did not know anything.

Upset the two men went on, "Stop lying to us! A pathetic little girl like you can be killed at any moment! NOW TELL US WHERE HE IS!"

The girl said nothing. She trembled of fear. The two men were losing their patience with her and pulled out their katana. "Now look girly, we can either do this easy way or the hard way."

The girl froze in her place. Swords? Why do they have swords? They terrified. She was in an unknown place, with unknown men who had old weapons. Something told her that the spell worked and that now she was stuck in the place she chosen on a whim. What was the place and time again? She didn't remember but her attackers did not take her silence kindly.

"Well then I guess it'll be the hard way!" One of the men lifted the sword up and was about to pierce it through her flesh. She readied herself to either dodge or run when a voice called out from behind the men.

"Now that's hardly fair. How can two rogue samurai kill a poor, defenseless woman?"

Two men with light blue haori were at the entry of the alley. One had cold azure eyes and deep indigo hair, tied in a loose pony tail on the right side of his face. He was silently analyzing the situation. The man who had spoken had brown hair tied behind him with grass-green eyes, wearing a smirk in his face. It looked like he was having fun.

"Mind your own business!" yelled the second rogue samurai.

"I'm afraid it is our business," said the man with brown hair. "You see we are on patrol and it's the duty of the members of the Shinsengumi to protect the young woman there."

The man with indigo hair told his companion, "Don't kill them, Souji."

Souji laughed maniacally. "You're no fun, Hajime-kun."

The second rogue samurai was the first to swing his sword and the four samurai engaged in a short battle, for the battle was quickly won by the men in blue. The girl simply stood there watching red blood stains splatter onto the men's clothing and her kimono. As Souji and Hajime finished, they directed their attention to the girl. Souji grinned and looked at the girl. "I guess you're not afraid of a little blood are you."

The girl stared at them wide-eyed, but then turned her gaze. She did not want her eyes to show the men that she was lost in fear. You're wrong, were the first words she thought to say, but the words the stayed in her throat, instead the girl shook her head.

"Why were these men after you?" Hajime asked the girl in a firm voice, as if announcing to her that lying was futile.

She shook her head again. She didn't know.

Souji laughed and continued, "Don't give us that. We have been spying on these guys for a while now. They don't attack people randomly."

"I – I don't know," she managed to whisper. They didn't buy it. In their eyes, the girl was far more suspicious than the rogue samurai. Neither of these two men would risk their life to capture her unless they had a good reason.

Hajime swiftly moved his sword to her throat and spoke, "I suggest you tell us unless you wish for it to be forced out of you."

The girl gazed to the sword. The smell of blood and iron was overwhelming. Her vision began to blur. Her limbs became heavy, her breathing slowed. Tears flowed from her cheeks.

"I don't know," she whispered again, "one moment I was just walking, and the next I was being chased after. I don't even know who he is."

"Who is he?"

"Gladium dominis nivis et cerasa," she unconsciously replied.

She collapsed of both fear and exhaustion not realized that she had just given Souji and Hajime the answer they were looking for. Unfortunately for the men, the answer only created more questions as they did not understand the language she had spoken in. They figured it she was just trying to give them a hard time.

Souji sighed in frustration. "That wasn't a real answer. Well, I guess we have to take her to headquarters to question her even further"

Hajime walked over to the girl's body as Souji spoke. As he cradled her into his arms, noticing the girl was pale. Her black hair was burnt and there were traces of bruises on her arms. Whoever she was, she knew something that their enemies wanted to know. And knowing what their enemies wanted, was something they needed.

End Chapter 1 ********

Author's Notes:

So this completes the first chapter of my first fanfiction ever. Yay! I know everything is unclear now but I promise I'll make it better as the story goes on. And for the spells she says in the chapters they're in latin(cuz it sounds cool). Please review my story and tell me your honest opinion on it. I am a very critical person and so I take criticism in open arms to improve my writing.

P.S. Here are the translations of the spell and the answer she gave to Saito Hajime, and Okita Souji.

Magic Spell - "God of Heaven, grant me my wish. Lead me to the land of the mighty fallen, where power is nothing next to honor ... "

"Who is he?" -" The Sword of the Lord of snow and cherries"