A Historical Moment
Chapter One:
Pompeii
Summary:
In the year 2174 time travel is as easy as a walk in the park. However it can only be achieve through dreaming thanks to genetic modification so nothing done in the past affects the future. Or so it shouldn't until a certain amber-eyed girl continually runs into a green-eyed, perverted alien of a man. Together, they discover secrets the world worked so hard to keep buried.
What is dead, may never truly be dead.
A tiny plate on the wall shone a neon green, lighting the entire darkened room a dim, alien green. Not unwelcome however, as it shone with the latest news, weather and fashion suggestions par the weather. With a grumble I rose from my luscious, warm bed into the cold, morning air as it drifted in through a crack in my open window.
"Ayuzawa Misaki. I swear to the prehistoric age and back, if you don't get yourself out of bed I will throw you into the Ice Age. Understand?" A sing-song yet loud voice called through my door. It was Sakura, one of my two roomates; the other being Shizuko who was quiet and very intelligent. We all attended a small high school and had to live on campus, which I didn't mind as much since it was better than my family home but I missed my mother. My little sister, Suzuna was at a middle school on the other side of the city which she lived at as well so we only saw our mother on major holidays. If that.
Seika High, the school all teens from the ages of 16 until 21 lived, breathed, ate and slept at until their graduation at the age of 21 where they would be paired off with a match chosen for them by the school to live their lives, have a few kids and settle down. Of course, it was always a male/female relationship but I have heard rumors of affairs circulating, but I'm sure these aren't true. My father died when I was young, leaving our family with a huge debt and I can never forgive him for that. See, when someone isn't careful when they Travel in their sleep they can 'Splice' themselves upon reawakening.
Which is what happened to my father.
When someone is 'Spliced' their body is literally torn apart and effectively shredded. They tell us it's what happens when you aren't careful, or try to change important aspects of history. For instance: saving Marie Antoinette from the guillotine. I don't know what my father did to become Spliced but as I said earlier; I will never forgive him.
"Misaki-chan. Hurry up! We have 'The Demographics of Travel' first period with Ms. Honoka and you know how she can be!" Sakura's voice pierced through the metal door yet again, reminding me to get my butt out of bed. Which I did.
With movements that could the fastest robot alive, I was dressed, had my teeth cleaned as well as my hair brushed and was standing in the main area of our tiny apartment dorm. Having three bedrooms, a bathroom and a food creator had its perks. Apart from the price, which was through the roof. All three of us could barely make the rent every month, but it was worth it.
I guess.
See, we don't pay the rent with coin. Oh no, we pay it with a much higher currency. Our Travels. We sell our sleep Travels to rich bastards. They tells us when and where we're going as well as a job and we do it. We have to. Or we don't get to keep our house. Err..dorm. These jobs can be anything from: finding an extinct flower and returning it, slipping a classmate a note or even something absurd like: murdering an enemy. We don't get many of those, due to the fact that they're illegal but the more money you have, the more they turn a blind eye. Waltzing over to the food creator I picked out the simplest, easiest and cheapest meal I could; toast. Plain, buttered toast. It was dry, yes. But cheap and fast. As soon as I heard the little beep I grabbed the toast and raced out the door, leaving an open-mouthed Sakura and an eating Shizuko behind. They can catch up..I hope.
I never realized how difficult it actually was to run with a piece of toast in one's mouth especially when trying to dodge poor people talking away on their Handy's (handhelds) and personal robots. I always pitied the poor things, was our society not boring enough that all you can do is laze around at home while something else does everything for you?
With heavy breathing I ran up the million stairs to the monorail station. The monorails are amazing and I always enjoyed riding it. As the carriages itself are propelled forward at immense speeds, it places down floating tracks as it needs which soon vanish after a few seconds without any weight on it. I would be worried for the birds flying, but the only birds we know are in our Travels and history books. Same situation with anything living apart from us humans. The world is now an inhospitable, concrete slab. All of our cities are in bio-domes and any hope of colonizing another planet died along with our plants, animals and anyone who couldn't get to a shelter some two hundred years ago. After the Great Death, we started using our ocean's water to power our bio-domes but when you have over a thousand domes drinking up sea water at such a fast rate, it's bound to dry up. Which it did, only thirty-seven years after we began living in these domes. Now, we use solar power or what little of it we can salvage through the thick clouds of smog, and whatever people can bring back from their individual Travels. Which wasn't always a lot, considering the rich hired lowly common people to bring back foods, wines and who knows what else.
Now boarding monorail to Seika. A robotic female voice droned, Seika hosts a wide range of attractions such as: The Seika High School and the Seika Café which hosts a wide variety of delicious treats. Right. By 'delicious treats' it means barely passable rations so old it could break your all of your teeth.
At the same time.
A horde of people squished me and pulled me into the carriage. The monorail may be heading to Seika but it was the only rail that was cheap and went everywhere. Too bad it only ran twice a day: once in the morning and once again in the evening. You miss it and you're out of luck. Sure hope you brought your walking shoes 'cause you'll need them. With a start the monorail sped off from the station, gaining more and more speed every second. You could almost see the tiny people racing onto the platforms trying to get on. Almost being the operative word when in reality you saw stretched faces. But when the only thing to look forward to was sleep in this world, you found the little things to be the most enjoyable. I dropped my bag to the floor and dug around, searching for my well-worn book that I brought back with me when I went to the 1990's when I was a child. Boy was that a strange time. With a content sigh I turned to the first page and began to read, already knowing each page by heart but I loved it all the same. Or I would have, if the long screens decorating the inside of the rail didn't beep and switch to a news channel where a news reported was screaming into a blue Handy with tears running down her face. Huh, something not perfect on the Web for once.
"Breaking News. I am here in the Chicago Dome in America." Well, that was interesting. We never got reports from outside Japan. Now that we were all in domes however, we all spoke a universal language. A lovely mix of English, Japanese, and French. Don't ask me why. It's just how it is.
"The dome is breaking down. I repeat the dome is breaking down! They have run out of oxygen, power and water. Everything has been severed, we are trying to figure out whether it has been tampered with or not but we are trying our bes- Oh gods above. What's happening?! What's happening to them!? Please, please help us. This...this..Oh gods. They're..they're ea-" The transmission cut out abruptly, followed by a man in a suit behind a desk.
"Reports are filing in that the Chicago Dome's basic necessities have been shut down but they are being reset as we speak now. On to our top story: A new time period has been unlocked to all for free. Ancient Egypt is now open for free." The fake smile the newsman wore fooled no one. People who rode the rail were the poorest of them all and we saw through the lies that were being force-fed down our throats. Shizuko and Sakura didn't though since they were from middle-class families and every time I tried to explain it to them, they would just smile, pat my head and tell me to stop making up stories. Oh, if only I were making it up.
Last stop. Seika High. The automated, female voice croaked out as I stepped out of the rail and onto solid ground once more, wobbling slightly. It always happened after traveling such high speeds but inevitable. Like the tides. Or so they used to say. I let my mind wander to the news report of that poor woman in Chicago as my body automatically took me to my destination after three years of walking the same way everyday save for Mondays, which were sacred days now though they were despised in the past. Strange things do happen.
My bag banged against my knees with every step I took towards the monochrome, square building ahead of me but all I could think about was what happened on the rail. That's never happened before, and I doubt it will ever happen again. Entering the huge doors I walked straight towards my classroom not bothering to change my shoes. Apparently, Japanese students used to do that but not anymore. It was a culture thing and the only culture we have is living through other time periods. Standing in front of the blue, electrical barrier I typed my name in to a small box to the right of me and let it read my hand-print because you know, wouldn't want anyone missing school. As I walked over to my seat I noticed something: very few people were talking. Normally, everyone is screaming about and having a good ol' time talking about their Travels the previous night, except for today. Only when I spun on my heel after sitting down and glanced at the front of the room did I notice it.
There was more footage.
Of burning domes.
No one spoke. No one moved. I doubt anyone breathed as we all sat there, stone still watching people die. Something flashed in the corner of the screen and I quickly appraised it. It was a flag painted on metal with writing underneath. The flag I couldn't make out but the writing shone bright, drawing eyes towards it. It said: Berlin.
I knew one thing was for certain: Chicago wasn't the only one dying.
XxXxXxX
After that news broadcast the school dismissed us with only a few curt words. Tapping my chin I continued to walk the long distance home. How strange that two domes were burning on the same day, however I doubted this was the only time it has happened it was the first time it was on the air for all to see. Though I hoped that some people may have survived it while Traveling. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but when we Travel our body, mind and souls Travel. Meaning any injuries, bruises or bumps we receive are still there when we wake up. Speaking of traveling, my Handy beeped as soon as my thought finished. Digging it out of my bag I knew it was a job request, since it was the middle of the day and jobs usually came in at this time. Whilst balancing the Handy in the pal of my hand and my bag over my shoulder I scrolled through the description with my thumb.
Ayuzawa Misaki
Destination: Pompeii ~ 79AD (CE)
Mission: Collect a priceless emerald necklace from Senator Alypia Waelka
Description: The necklace is a gold chain with an emerald in the shape of a teardrop on the end. The Senator never lets it leave her sight but you may be able to get close enough to take it from her. Once the chain has left her neck and she calls for her servants will you be brought back. You have a time limit of two Travel days before you are brought back. If you do not complete this, your pay will be docked. Best of luck.
Added notes: Be on guard around her husband, sons, and household. They are very high up in the Roman hierarchy.
With a discontented sigh I threw my Handy back into my bag. Stealing a necklace? A little faux pas for my taste but whatever it means to keep our home. I just hoped I remembered enough on Roman times. That was the one with the pyramids right?
XxXxXxX
Not right. Not right. Damn, so many rules I had to learn but whatever for the job. The description said I had two Travel days, which roughly translates to eight hours of sleep minimum. Knowing I would get an excuse from tomorrow's lessons always sweetened the deal slightly but still, I didn't want to mess up my sleeping cycle too much. Who knows what might happen? Rubbing my eyes I left my textbook open on the common table we all shared with a small note telling the other two as to when I would be heading before dressing into my comfiest sweats and tank top and crawling into bed. Letting my eyes slowly drift shut.
With a startled yelp, I found in place of a cold breeze a warm, almost tropical breeze brush my bare shoulders. Sighing I glanced down at my stola, which resembled a long tunic-like dress with chunky straps and a small, rope belt around my waist. Protecting my feet from the burning hot ground was a pair of leather sandals which were actually quite comfortable. My stola was a flattering pink which contrasted my pale skin nicely, I also noted that pink was the color of virginity but I brushed that thought off quickly. They chose everything we wore, from the clothes to the sandals to even the undergarments. The pink was not a coincidence. Or so I hoped it was a mere coincidence, though I was usually wrong. Throughout all of my Travels, I learnt that even though you appeared out of nowhere and you look completely strange and perhaps even unwelcome, you have to walk like you belong there. Which is what I did. I strutted my way through the Forum, a large open square where sports and markets took place. Much like the Greek's Agora. However, I found the Roman's had more spirit in them, being the war-like state that they were as soldiers marched through the streets and young Roman children played with wooden swords. This is where humans belonged, in the open air not confined into tiny bio-domes to slowly wither away and die. Relishing in the screams of merchants and traders I merely walked and walked and walked in circles glancing at the market stalls every so often.
"Oh! Senator Waelka. How is your husband faring? I hope the gods are kind on his trip to Rome." A grizzly male voice spoke from over my shoulder. Hold it, Waelka? I knew that name. That was the woman I was supposed to be stealing- achem...borrowing that necklace from. Who would've thought she would be right behind me? Spinning on my heel I took in her beauty, her eyes were a deep blue and her hair was the color of golden wheat. Her stola flowed around her petite body like water and being the lady I truly am, I couldn't help but stare. Especially when she turned her body slightly and a necklace caught my attention. It was exactly as they described it to me: a gold chain and an emerald in the shape of a teardrop however they didn't mention how utterly beautiful it was to behold and I almost wanted it for myself...almost. While I was staring at her necklace I didn't really notice her walk up to me until she was right in front of my face, her beautiful blue eyes staring into my boring amber ones.
"By Venus, you are beautiful." Her voice barely reached my ears as I took in what she said. Without a moment's hesitation I was already bowing from the waist, bending my knees slightly and replying:
"Not as beautiful as you are, Senator."
"Oh silly child. I only hold the title of Senator because of my husband. Now let's look at you." She explained quickly, whilst inspecting my body for what I could assume would be slave markings or gold bangles representing marriage. She smacked her lips together and wrapped an arm through one of my own, "I'm so rude sometimes. What is your name, dear child?"
"Misa- Misara." I quickly replied, "Misara Ayuzaro." I gave her the first name that came to mind, remembering to place my first name first and not my last name as is the custom back home.
"Wonderful, you must be Sakoya's daughter? Perfect, my son is looking forward to wedding you." Her voice sung out gleefully as I tried to process what she said.
"My apologies, but marriage? I do not recall any of-" My mind began working, that was their plan, get me into the family and then I would steal the necklace. I was about to agree with her when the ground began to rumble and shake, an earthquake. We sometimes get them back home but very rarely. Within moments Alypia's guards had surrounded us to protect us, shouting something about getting back to the villa. I counted to myself while rocks rained down from the buildings.
1...2...3..4..5...6...7, this was a long tremble. I counted up to twelve before it finally stopped, my worried eyes found the Senator's distressed ones but as soon as I saw her inner fear it was replaced with a mask of propriety. Straightening herself up she took a hold of my arm and began dragging me down stone streets all the while telling me about how excited she was that her son would finally have someone to keep him company. Although I was only half listening as my the cogs in my mind began turning. In 62AD there was an earthquake in Pompeii and roughly 17 years after that Mount Vesuvius erupted, blanketing Pompeii in layers and layers of ash, so that would make it 79AD that Vesuvius erupted...Which was when I was sent to...and judging by how long that last earthquake was I would guess that Vesuvius is waking up, very very quickly and would erupt soon. And I would be stuck in the middle of it all. Gods have mercy on me.
"Misara? We're here." Alypia's voice called out happily, she reminded me of Sakura, but I pushed that thought away before I could get homesick. As we walked up the stone path to the villa I noticed it was impeccably designed and maintained with sprawling gardens to the left and right, oh how I missed greenery. I had been doing mainly office and factory jobs as of late and I was glad for this miniature vacation of sorts. The large doors opened as we neared them and my jaw dropped to the ground. Before me was a large, crystal blue pool with the villa situated around the pool. The whole place felt like a dream.
"I know it's a lot to take in, but I can't wait to introduce you to my son. There he is! Taku! Taku! Takumai get over here this instant! Or so help me Jupiter I will- Oh good." Her tiny screaming fit ended abruptly as I saw this 'Taku' walk around the corner, scrolls held in the crook of his arm and his golden blonde hair strewn across his face and facing skyward. He was attractive, to say the least.
"Taku, meet Misara. Misara, Taku." She pointed to the both of us in turn, "His full name is Takumai Waelka, but we call him Taku." A large smile spread across her face as she excused herself. As she made her leave I fiddled with the short length of my stola which rested just above my knees, though it covered everything I suddenly felt very exposed under his piercing stare.
"It's lovely to meet you, Takumai-san." I bowed at my waist slightly, only then realizing my mistake by adding the honorific on the end. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID.
"Takumai-san? My mother told you to call me by Taku. Misa." Oh gods, even his voice was drop dead sexy. No. Stop that Misaki, you're here for a job. As I straightened myself from my bow, I could feel him running his gaze down the length of my body, and in that moment it felt more intimate than anything else.
"D-do you mind!?" My voice sounded forced, even to myself as my face turned a bright red and it wasn't from the heat.
"Nope." With a wave over his shoulder he turned on his heel and left. That stupid idiot.
I stomped my way the opposite of the way her was going, just to prove a point. However, this was a stupid reason especially when I realized I had no flipping idea where to go. She approached a young woman with a copper collar around her neck and beautiful bangles around her arms.
"Excuse me, I'm not sure where I am supposed to be. My name is Misara Ayzaro, and I'm a friend of Alypia's." I smiled sweetly, but then quickly grimaced as her face contorted into fear. I watched her bow to the ground then spring back up and motion me with her hand to follow her. With no other choice I did. We walked quickly, quietly and efficiently which was just how I liked it until we reached a beautiful red door. The young woman raised her fist to knock only to jump back when it opened unexpectedly, greeting us both were a pair of empty green eyes. This woman bowed and left me to face this stupid idiot I thought I lost.
"Misara, what a pleasure. Do come in." His voice sounded sickly sweet and the rolling of his eyes only added to the fact that he was being sarcastic. I chose to ignore it however and with a shrug of my shoulders I made my way into his room which consisted of a beautifully intricate four-post bed with cushions of either end, which were supported by slight waves in the wood. It was stunning, the tapping of my sandals against the floor was the only noise until I sat down on the bed expecting a hard mattress but was instead greeted with a soft, squishy one. Lying down on it I shut my eyes and my mind ran through all that had happened today, I was content. The shuffling of feet were the only sounds in the room and shortly I found the mattress dip down with extra weight followed by a warm breath running down my neck. Shooting my eyes open I was greeted with green eyes and a sly grin as Taku's face was a mere fingertip apart from my own.
"W-w-what are you doing?" A shaky voice asked, which turned out to be my own.
"Taking a look at what's mine." Was the only reply. Shaking my head as well as my arms I tried to free myself, only for Taku's hands to capture my wrists and wrench them above my head as he stared into my amber eyes as if looking for the secrets of the universe. Of course I had to tell him that.
"You won't find the secrets to the gods in my eyes, pervert. So, get off of me." I tried futility once more to free myself from his grasp to no avail. I could only squirm my body as his face closed the small distance between our faces and his lips found my own. Who was this pervert to steal my first kiss? My hand curled into a fist ready to slam this man into the ground before with a sudden realization I recalled that school had actually been useful for once and taught me how to go about something like this. So, instead of destroying him which I would still like very much to do. I played along, which wasn't as hard as it should have been.
Damn.
Opening my own mouth I ran my tongue along his lower lip, nibbling on it slightly to which he responded with opening his own mouth. We engaged in a possessive struggle for control until I decided to let him win whilst doing this, he let go of my wrists and instead placed his hands behind my neck and waist as he shifted me onto his lap. What a pervert. Curling my fingers into his golden blonde hair I tried to tell myself that this was only part of the job and that little feeling inside of my chest was nothing. Running my fingers down his arm and down his chest was glorious, as all of his muscles were toned from swimming and I could only assume were a beautiful sun-kissed gold from the sun here in Pompeii. The kiss was cut short and I almost sighed in disappointment..you know, to give him the benefit of the doubt of course. However, a moan felt its way up my throat when he started kissing along my jawline, down my neck and along an exposed collarbone before returning to my lips once more as I shifted my hips slightly whilst sitting on his lap. I felt something poke into my inner thigh, running my fingers down his abdominal muscles I felt along his pocket, only to be greeted with a key and a small dagger on his hip. Smilling against his lips I pushed him back down on the bed, grabbing the dagger in one motion and placing it against his neck whilst my other hand grabbed the key.
"Looks like little Misa has some teeth." He spoke coyly as if knowing a secret that I didn't. Stupid pervert. Grinning down at him I leaned closed, reaching over him to tie his arms with the rope belt that had somehow been discarded on the bed. I wondered where that went. Standing up from his body was more difficult than it looks, especially when he wraps his legs around your waist while trying to get up. However, by some miracle I stood and unfortunately, I didn't have another rope.
"Now, now Taku. You best stay there until otherwise, savy?" My pirate twang sneaked into my question. Damn it all. I made my way over to the door, taking one last look at the man tied up on his own bed and after tucking the dagger into a small pocket in my stola I made my way out, to look for the bloody necklace.
Which as it turns out, was no trouble at all. Considering that Alypia was bathing in the large pool that the villa surrounded. As I walked around the pool, I found the necklace under a pile of her discarded clothing. Quickly placing it into the pocket with the dagger I tried to come up with ideas as to how I would be able to get her to call her servants. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long because as soon as I had the necklace in my pocket I heard her sing-song voice for a servant to bring her more grapes. Hopefully that counted.
It did. I felt my toes tingling, then the rest of my body as I found drowsiness overcome me. It was stupid of me to stand, but what choice did I have? The last thing I remember before falling asleep and ending my Travel was falling into warmth and emerald eyes fill my vision.
XxXxXxX
I awoke to a cool breeze, and a note pinned to my blanket:
Congratulations Ayuzawa Misaki.
Your rent for this month and the next has been paid. You did splendidly.
~ M
That's the first time I've seen a note before. Or even an initial. Something was going on and as I thought back the only thing different that I could recall was the fact that Taku was there. Thinking about him made my face burn a bright red. Thank goodness I wouldn't remember anything about my Travels come proper morning, which wasn't until a few hours since it was still dark out.
Or so I thought.
A/N: This has to be the longest chapter I've ever written. 5,015 words not including this Author's Note. Hehe, this is also my first Maid-sama fanfic so yes, I know it was a little OOC but these are different times...literally! I did write this between the hours of 1am-3am so please don't be too harsh when judging my beautiful spelling and/or grammar.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Maid-Sama. Which stinks. But you know.
Question time:
Where would you like to see done next chapter? I'm deciding between Ancient Egypt or the 1920's. But if you have any other ideas let me know because every 5 chapters will be the reader's choice. That's right. You'll get to decide where you want to see them. It can be anything..and I mean anything. I'll post more information about it next chapter.
Don't forget to read, review, recommend! Every review helps me become a better author, and more reviews may mean faster updates. Mwhahaha. Constructive criticism is always welcomed but flames will be extinguished.
Ja ne,
Snowy XxX
