Detailed Summary: Setsuna has passed grade eight, and it is near the end of the summer. With grade nine approaching, she barely notices, and lives her life through memories of days long gone. She still practices swords, and still devotes herself to protecting Konoka, but as she finds herself thinking about the past and what it was like to be Konoka's hero, she realizes that in this day and age, she doesn't really have to be. With the Kansai Magic Association settled down, and nothing lurking on the horizon, her devotion to her sword is only a symbol of her unwillingness to give up the past, and live a life where she doesn't always need to be prepared to defend Konoka.

Suddenly, it's the night before the first day of grade nine, their last year of junior high, and Setsuna realizes that she has missed out on so many things, missed so many chances to watch Konoka grow up and change, and she realizes, it hurts to one day wake up, and find that the young girl you've sought to protect for so long, isn't a young girl anymore, and doesn't really need your protection anymore.

Time Marches On, Chapter One.

Sakurazaki Setsuna finished practicing her 1000 head strikes, and lowered her sword, her arms burning from her effort. She was breathing heavily, but she was happy. The more she practiced, the more she noticed an increase in her skill and speed, and the more able she was to protect Konoka-Ojou-Sama. She smiled at that, as she sheathed her sword, ending her early morning practice. To some, it was a feat worthy of admiration, to others, it was the same old song, but the truth was, Setsuna had been coming to Konoka's aid since way back when they had first met. Setsuna put her sword and sheath inside her fabric sword case, and slung it over her shoulder, heading back to her dorm.

As she walked, Setsuna stared at the floor, as she remembered the first time she had met Konoka-Ojou-Sama. She pulled up the faded memory from somewhere deep in her brain, and as she walked, she let herself relive it.

Setsuna hugged her wooden shinai to herself, feeling her stomach twist in nervousness as she was led toward the gate. Today she was told she was getting to meet someone new, someone her own age. She was told that her new friend was the future princess, so she must be kind, or face punishment. Setsuna had agreed, not knowing what a princess was, but knowing that she must treat her new friend kindly. As her guardian pushed open the gate, Setsuna felt another twinge of nervousness, and she ducked behind her guardian.

"Now, now, Setsuna, come forth and greet the princess." Her guardian said, putting her hand on Setsuna's head.

Setsuna shook her head. "B-but, Motoko, I-I'm scared!" She said. Her guardian smiled. "It's okay, she's really nice!"

Setsuna looked up at her guardian, unsure, and Motoko smiled, nodding. "It's okay." She whispered. "It's fine."

Setsuna nodded, and stepped out from behind the hakama of her guardian, hearing a ball bouncing against the ground. Setsuna's eyes widened as she saw a young girl about the same age as herself, bouncing a ball all by herself, her long brown hair done up, and a beautiful kimono on.

"U-um, hello, I'm Setsuna Sakurazaki." Setsuna said, bowing. The bouncing stopped, and the girl turned to face Setsuna, looking at her.

"Hello Setsuna, my name is Konoka Konoe." The girl said, returning the bow. She was holding the ball at her waist, but she paid it no mind as she greeted Setsuna.

"Would you like to play with me, Setsuna?" Konoka asked, holding out the ball. Setsuna looked at it. She had never played ball before, and she wondered what she should do.

Her decision was made for her as Motoko gently pushed her forward, whispering in her ear. "Go play with the princess, perhaps you will become fast friends." She said.

Setsuna timidly took a few steps forward, and nodded. "I-I would like to play." She said. Konoka smiled, and bounced the ball again on the ground. "Would you like to play catch?" She asked. Setsuna nodded, not really understanding.

"Okay, but you'll need both your hands for this one!" Konoka said, tossing the ball into the air. Setsuna hurriedly tossed her shinai to the side, and ran toward the ball as it plummeted toward the earth. Setsuna watched it fall, then reached out and caught it in her hands. She stared at it, then looked at Konoka.

"What do I do now?" She asked. Konoka grinned. "Why, you throw it back, of course!" She said. Setsuna nodded, and copied Konoka's earlier movement, tossing the ball into the air. A few seconds later, Konoka caught it, and she smiled. "Good throw, Setsuna-chan!"

Setsuna blushed lightly, and nodded. "Thank you, Konoka." She said. Konoka was about to throw it back up into the air, when she noticed Setsuna's outfit.

"Setsuna, are you a samurai?" She asked, studying her kimono.

Setsuna shook her head. "Not yet!" She said. "But I will!"

Konoka giggled. "Ahh, thats cool!" She said, looking at Setsuna with admiring eyes. "I wish I could be one too!"

Setsuna smiled, lost in the mist of her faded memories, and didn't notice when she rounded the corner, and almost bumped into Asuna.

"Ahh! My apologies Asuna-san!" Setsuna said, making sure Asuna was okay. "I was thinking deeply about something, and I..."

Asuna shrugged. "It's okay, Setsuna-san." She said. "No worries." Then she smiled. "Ahh, I can't believe it!" She said. Setsuna looked at her, worried that she had done something wrong. "What?"

Asuna grinned happily. "The day after tomorrow is the first full day of grade nine classes, our last year of junior high school!!" She said. "And not only that, Negi has applied to be our teacher, and the headmaster said yes! He also let the whole class stay together!" She said. "It'll be like grade eight all over again!" She said. "Ahh, our last year...we'll have to party hard to make up for it!"

Setsuna smiled. "I thought last year you said that grade nine was for serious work, and grade eight was for screwing around." She said.

Asuna nodded. "Yeah, but now that I think of it, serious work doesn't sound fun, so this year will be all fun!" She said.

Setsuna nodded. "Oh, by the way, where is Negi-Sensei?" She asked. Asuna nodded in the direction she had just come from.. "Should still be at Evangeline's resort, it's only been half an hour, so about only half a day over there." She said.

Setsuna nodded. "Ahh, I see."
"Why?" Asuna asked casually. Setsuna shook her head. "No reason, just, Konoka-san is with him, so I want to know where he is." She said. "To make sure."

"Huh? Konoka?" She asked. Setsuna nodded. "Yeah, she's learning magic from him." She said.

Asuna nodded. "Ahh, I see..."

Setsuna nodded, then bowed. "See you later Asuna." She said, heading for Eva's resort. Asuna waved over her shoulder, and disappeared around the corner.

"Y-you want to be one?" Setsuna asked, unsure of what she meant. Konoka nodded, smiling. "Yeah! If I can wear a cool kimono like yours, and use a sword like you, then I think it would be fun!" She said. Setsuna smiled. "Yeah, but it's a lot of hard work, although, having my own shinai is pretty cool." She said. Konoka laughed, and tossed the ball to Setsuna. "Catch, Setsuna!" She said. Setsuna laughed, and took a few steps backward, head tilted up, arms outstretched, hands reaching toward the ball.

She caught it, and threw it back, watching as Konoka's kimono rippled against her as she ran forward, to catch Setsuna's awkward pass.

"Ahh, G-gomen nasai Konoka!" Setsuna said, bowing. Konoka giggled. "It's fine, this makes the game more fun!" She said. Setsuna nodded. "Ahh, I see." She said. Konoka grinned at her, her chocolate brown eyes lighting up. "Hey Setsuna, would it be alright if I see your shinai?" She asked.

Setsuna looked over to where it lay on the ground, and she went over to pick it up.

"You want to see it?" She asked. Konoka nodded. "Yes, may I hold it?" She asked. Setsuna nodded. "Yeah, sure, it's fine." She said. She passed it to Konoka, holding it with one hand by the handle, and Konoka took it with both hands. As soon as Setsuna let go, Konoka dropped it, not expecting it to be so heavy.

"AHH! I'm sorry Setsuna!" She said, worrying that she had broken or damaged it. "I didn't know it would be so heavy!"

Setsuna laughed. "Ahh, it's fine." She said. She bent down and picked it up, holding it in her right hand. "Would you like me to help you hold it?" She asked.

Konoka noddexd. "Yes, please." She said. Setsuna got behind her, and put her arms over Konoka's shoulders, holding the shinai out in front of her.

"Hold it like this, see?" She asked. "Hook your left pinkie under the handle like this, and grip it near the top of the handle with your right hand, and extend it out...There you go!" Setsuna said, letting go. Konoka held onto it for a few more seconds, then tried a swing with it. Once she got it going though, she found it hard to stop, and the heavy shinai pulled itself out of her grasp again.

Setsuna laughed, and picked it up, patting her on the shoulder.

"That's okay Konoka." She said. "I did that too my very first time!"

Konoka grinned. "Really?" She asked. Setsuna nodded. "Yeah, actually, I did something worse. I couldn't even hold it my first time, but you managed to hold it and swing without struggling too much!" She said.

Konoka smiled, then laughed. "Thank you Setsuna!" She said. Setsuna smiled at her. "No problem!"

"Can you show me some moves?" She asked.

Setsuna looked down at the ground, then back at Konoka. "You sure?" She asked. Konoka nodded. "Yeah, I want to see what kinds of things you can do with it!"

Setsuna nodded, then hefted her shinai up. She held it in front of her, and imagined that she was standing in front of her target dummy. After a second of planning out some basic moves, she lunged forward, slicing through the air, leading with the tip of her shinai. From there, she stopped, and dropped her left shoulder, sliding her left foot back and ducking her head for a shoulder height left bound slash. As she raised her head, she caught a glimpse of admiration from Konoka, but she was concentrating too hard for it to have any effect. She threw in a couple more side slashes, then downward strokes, and finished off with some parrying and handle-clashing with her invisible foe.

"That's all I know right now." She said. "But soon, when Motoko thinks I'm ready, she's going to teach me 100 Cherry Blossom Cut!" She said. "And I have to learn soon, because soon she's going away to stay at an all girls dorm, some place called Hinata Inn, or something, and I won't be able to see her as often." She said.

"But you'll still be here, right?" Konoka asked, picking up her ball. Setsuna nodded. "Yeah, and I'm glad, because your my new friend, and I want to play with you lots!" She said, smiling. Konoka laughed. "Yeah, me too!"

Suddenly, a new voice cut through the air, and it brought Setsuna to stiff attention.

"Setsuna! Our visit is over, collect your belongings and come!"

"Yes, Master Motoko!"

Setsuna turned to Konoka, and rested her shinai on her shoulder. "Well, I have to go, but hopefully I'll be back soon so we can play some more." She said. Konoka nodded. Setsuna bowed, and started walking away, slightly sad that the visit was so short.

"Bye bye Se-chan!"

Setsuna turned, and saw Konoka waving to her. Setsuna waved back, then Konoka took off running toward her, catching up to her in a few seconds. Still, she didn't slow, and she crashed into Setsuna, taking her into her arms and hugging her tightly.

"Come back soon!" She said, letting go. Setsuna smiled, and nodded. "I will, don't you worry."

Setsuna opened Evangeline's door, knowing that if they were inside the resort, then it would be pointless to knock. She walked through the house, and down into the basement, walking onto the summoning circle marked out on the floor. A second later, it activated, and she closed her eyes against the bright light that assaulted them. When she opened them again, she was standing on the same summoning circle, but now she was inside the resort.

She looked out across the open sea, far below her, and saw tiny magical blasts going off, flashes of light that were obviously Negi-sensei's Sagitta Magica. She tried to spot Konoka and Negi, but she couldn't see them. She sighed, and started walking across the high bridge, the lack of handrails and guards no bother to her.

A few minutes later, she came into the resorts large open front area, and as she sat down on the ground near the building, she could see Konoka and Negi both releasing magical arrows into the sky. While Konoka's magicks were mostly geared toward healing, Evangeline had insisted that she learn some good offensive spells, just in case anything happened.

Now, Konoka was mastering the unincantated 99 Magic Missles technique that Negi was fond of. It was a huge magic drain, and would probably make Konoka pass out if she were to use it outside of the resort, where the air was magically enhanced, but for each time she used it inside the resort, she got more used to the drain it put on her, and she gained another small amount of control over her vast magical powers.

"Again!" Negi said, carefully watching her to see if she was getting tired. "This time, if you're feeling up to it, do the unincantated 99 magic missles, then do it again, launch another volley of magic missles!" He said. "B-but don't push yourself too hard, I don't want you to get sick or hurt!"

Konoka laughed, and Setsuna smiled upon hearing it. They still didn't know she was sitting against the building, about ten yards away, so this gave her the chance to observe Konoka as she practiced.

"Don't worry Negi-kun, I'll try my best!"

With that, Konoka faced the open arena, and a few seconds later, released 99 Magical Missles, firing them into the sky. Before they had even reached the top to explode against the "sky" of the resort, Konoka released another volley, and it was a beautiful sight to watch the 198 Magical Missles fly through the air. Negi clapped, happy that she had gotten both off, and Konoka watched them all explode against the roof of the resort, gasping at the sight of two Magical Missles that had collided in mid-air and had exploded prematurely, only a couple hundred feet above their heads.

"Excellent, Konoka!" Negi said, pleased with her progress. Just then, Evangeline came out of the doorway next to Setsuna, and she looked at her, surprised.

"When did you get here, Setsuna?" She asked. Setsuna looked down at the small girl. "About five minutes ago, just in time to see Konoka launch off two volleys of unincantated Magical Missles." She said. Eva laughed. "Hah! That's nothing! Boya ain't pushing her hard enough." She said. Then she smiled. "Well, no matter, I'm about to take over her training, and give her a lesson in pain."

Through pure reflex, Setsuna's hand shot to her sword, but then she realized that even Eva wouldn't really hurt Konoka, so she relaxed.

"What are you going to be teaching her?" She asked. Eva shrugged. "I've an idea..."

Setsuna watched as Eva walked out onto the field, and she slunk back behind a supporting column, so that her presence wouldn't be known, and inturrupt their practice.

"Guess what Master?" Negi said excitedly. "Konoka-san just launched two volleys of Magical Missles, unincantated!" He said.

Eva cracked that evil smile at which she was so proficient, and laughed. "Well, Boya, I must admit that you are a fine instructor, and you're raising her magical stamina just fine, but you haven't done any pain stamina training." She said. "If she gets hit in battle, she'll crumple!"

Negi nodded. "I-I know Evangeline, but I haven't the heart to put her to pain!" He said. Eva pushed him aside. "Then step aside, Boya, I will gladly have the heart to show a bit of pain to this little flower!"

Konoka flinched as she caught sight of Eva's bared fang, and she knew that Eva could be a little excessive in her training, for she had often healed Negi's wounds that he had recieved in training with Eva, but she knew that she couldn't back out of it now.

"Well, first lesson in pain:" Eva said, holding up a finger. "If you can deal it out, you can take it in." She said. "Any attack you can launch, you have to be prepared to take as a direct hit."

Konoka nodded.

"So we'll start with those 99 magic missles at which you're so proficient." Eva said, pacing the floor. "Launch those, then, after a period of five seconds, call out 'Return!', and take the full force of your returning missles." She said.

Konoka gasped. "I-I have to...?"

Eva shook her head. "No questions, just do it!" She said. "Negi's already done it, both in training and when he wanted to launch an attack on Chachamaru." She said. "When he didn't have the resolve to attack her, he recalled his magic, and took the hit himself."

This hardened Konoka's resolve, but she still wasn't sure she could do it.

"I..I..."

Eva smiled, and leaned in close to Konoka. "Consider this a rite of passage." She said. "Everyone goes through it, hell, even your beloved Setsuna did."

This was the final hook, and Konoka steeled her resolve. "Okay, I'll do it!" She said.

"B-but, Kon-"

"No helping!" Eva said, clamping her hand over Negi's mouth. "Unless, you're willing to exchange blood for help. For every magic missle that you take for Konoka, I get a shot of your sweet, delicious blood."

Negi shook his head. "No, I would gladly exchange, but this is something Konoka must experience for herself." He said. "You are right, we all did, and it's something that has to be done."

Eva nodded. "Good." She turned to Konoka. "Go, now, before I double your task!"

Konoka nodded, and immediately launched the missles, surprising everyone with the speed of her unincantated spell. Konoka took a deep breath and started counting to five, watching the deadly glowing missles fly high into the sky.

"...Three...Four...Five! Return!"

The missles turned, and rolled back through the sky, setting a course for Konoka, streaking through the air toward her faster than she would have imagined possible. As they came down to earth, and leveled out, speeding toward her, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, knowing that impact was milliseconds away.

All 99 magic missles struck her in the chest, and knocked the wind out of her, throwing her backwards. She cried out as she felt the impact bruise her skin, and the magic force it's way back into her body, which was not a pleasant feeling. She just had time to register the sensation of flying backward through the air, before she realized she was going to hit the stone steps behind her really hard. She tensed up, and squeezed her eyes closed, thinking that Setsuna had done the same thing some time before, and had survived. She was going to also, and what would really make it worth it was that she was going to tell Setsuna all about it, and hope that Setsuna would be proud of her.

A few seconds later, and her feet gently tapped against the ground, and she could tell she was in an upright position. She waited for the impact, but it was surprisingly gentle, as her head and body hit something semi-soft, and a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Konoka opened her eyes, and realized that someone had caught her, keeping her from falling onto the ground.

"Are you okay, Konoka-Ojou-Sama?"

Konoka's eyes widened, and she spun around in Setsuna's embrace, throwing her arms around Setsuna's neck.

"Se-chaaaaaaan!" She said, holding on tight to her friend. "Thanks so much for coming!"

Setsuna blushed, and released Konoka, but Konoka still held tight to her, hugging her. "Are you alright, Konoka?" She asked. Konoka nodded happily, looking up at Setsuna. "Yeah, I'm fine..." She trailed off, and her mouth opened slightly, as she looked into Setsuna's eyes.

"A-Are you okay, Ojou-Sama?" She asked. Konoka nodded, then smiled. "You're so beautiful, Se-chan!" She said, hugging her again. Setsuna blushed. "Th-thank you, you also are very beautiful." She said. Konoka grinned, her chocolate brown eyes shining in the sunlight.

Suddenly, Eva was beside them, glaring at Setsuna for catching Konoka and preventing her from getting any more hurt by her magical arrows' impact.

"Take your yuri-con self somewhere else, Setsuna!" She said. "I won't have any of it in my resort while I'm trying to train Konoka!"

Setsuna blushed at her words, while Konoka merely giggled. "So, where were you before you came here, Se-chan?" Konoka asked, ignoring Eva.

Setsuna felt the loss of contact as Konoka let go of her, but she said nothing about it.

"Ahh, long story short, I was training again, and this time I..."

A/N: Well, this is the first chapter of my fic titled Time Marches On. It is planned to be stretched across four chapters, but it may flow across more as more ideas come to me. For now though, four is the planned number, so please read and review accordingly. Thanks for reading!