1062 years later, a girl named Ririka Moriya had a very strange dream.

In the dream, she stood in the center of a small glade.  Trees towered around her, the sort that she’d seen in pictures of European forests - she didn’t know what they were called, but did that really matter?  The trees stood firm, their green leaves rippling in the gentle breeze.  It appeared to be sunny out, and so many flowers were blooming in the sunlight, dotting the clearing with blue.  

There was an outline to the north, and Ririka squinted to see what it was.  Was that - could it be - a castle?  Yes, it was a Western-style castle, with spires and towers and everything!  Ririka could only feel awestruck - just what sort of a place was she in?  Surely it’s too fine of a place to be wearing my pajamas, Ririka thought.  Stupid dream logic.

“Ririka…”

Ririka whipped her head around, searching for the source of the voice, but there was no one there.  Strange…it seemed like a girl had called her name.  More dream logic, maybe?

“Ririka…”

There it was again!  That voice!

“Um, is anyone there?” Ririka called out.

“So you can hear me?  I’m glad.”

Something flashed in the corner of Ririka’s eye, and she spun around to see a girl standing among the trees.  That was odd - just a second ago, there was no one there.  But as the girl stepped out into the clearing, all of Ririka’s confusion was swept away and replaced with awe.

Clearly, this was no ordinary girl.  Her hair was pale green, flowing all the way down her back, and a white crown adorned with a golden cross topped her head.  Her dress was long and white, with puffy sleeves and plenty of bows and lace.  She held her head high, smiling as the sun beamed down on her.  Ririka wasn’t sure whether to bow or to kneel.

“I’ve been trying to contact you for days.  Still, it seems appropriate that you can only hear me now, right before you turn ten.”

“I - um - I -” Ririka stammered, not sure what to say.  This was certainly one of the strangest dreams she’d ever had (though that one with the hamster and the cheese grater was also a contender).  Finally, she blurted something out.  “Are you a princess?”

“I’m a queen,” the girl replied, though she didn’t sound very happy about it.  She looked down, a frown on her face, and Ririka wondered for a moment if she’d offended the girl.

“I’m sorry.  Was it something I said?”

The girl looked back up at her, then shook her head.  “You’ve done nothing wrong.”  Her voice hardened.  “However…”

Ririka watched as the strange queen raised her hand, sticking out a finger.  Something brushed Ririka’s leg, and she looked down to see a green butterfly flying past her.  It landed on the girl’s finger, and she watched it for a moment, smiling, an unrecognizable emotion in her eyes.

“Ririka, stick out your hand.”

Ririka nodded and obeyed, though she felt a wave of unease rising in her stomach.  Something was about to change, she was sure of it.  Even the wind had stopped, leaving everything in an uncanny stillness.

The butterfly took off from the queen’s finger.  As it flew, the color of its wings began to change, turning into a blue as light as the sky.  Before long, it landed on the back of Ririka’s hand, changing its wing color to a light shade of pink.

“Watch closely.”

The butterfly jerked on Ririka’s hand, its wings turning pitch black.  Without a sound, it curled up, then crumbled into dust.

Ririka jerked her hand back, and the dust fell to the ground.

The cracked, barren ground.

Ririka’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.  As she looked around, she could see that what once had been a peaceful glade had turned into a wasteland.  The grass and flowers had completely vanished, while the trees were dead and leafless.  When Ririka looked up, she could no longer see the sun - the sky was dark, clouded over.

“What - did you do this?” Ririka choked out, turning to stare at the girl.

Again, the girl shook her head.  “I’m simply showing you the fate of my planet - and the fate of yours, too, if nothing changes.”

Ririka could only stare at the girl.  Somehow, she had a feeling that this wasn’t a dream anymore.

“But things will change, Ririka.  You will turn ten today, and -”

“Ririka!”

The girl was interrupted by the sound of a woman shouting.  Ririka frowned - she knew that voice.

The girl frowned as well.  “Looks like our time is running out.  I’ll make it quick.  Ririka, you are -”

“Ririka!”

There was that voice again.  It sounded just like -

“Ririka, wake up!  You’re going to be late!”

- her mother.

Ririka jerked awake, her eyes snapping open.  The girl, the forest, the castle - all had disappeared, and she was back in her room, as usual.  Her mother was looming over her bed, glaring at her.

Ririka glared back.  “Why’d you wake me up so early?  I was having this dream…”

“Early?” her mother snapped.  “Ririka, I’ve been trying to wake you up for ages!  It’s twenty minutes until school starts!”

“Tw-twenty minutes?”  Ririka gasped, checking the clock.  Her mother was right - she’d slept for way too long.

“That’s right!  So, if you don’t want to be late, hurry!”

“I’m on it!”  Ririka jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.  If she could get ready in ten or twelve minutes, maybe she wouldn’t be late!

Her mother sighed as she walked out of the room.  “That girl…”

A few minutes later, Ririka had brushed her teeth and gotten dressed, and now she stood in the living room, trying - and failing - to put her curly blonde hair up in a ponytail.  “Jeez, why can’t my hair settle down for one minute?” 

“Maybe you’d be in less of a panic if you’d gotten up earlier,” her father suggested, not looking up from his newspaper.

“She was up all night playing on the Super Famicom again,” Ririka’s little brother, Shou, muttered.  “Not that she’s getting any better.  I couldn’t sleep because of all the noises.”  He was telling the truth - Ririka could tell by the tired look in his eyes - and yet he’d somehow managed to get up and get ready before her.  Not that he needed to; his school didn’t even start for another half hour.

Ririka’s grandmother looked up from the kitchen counter, where she’d been buttering Ririka’s toast.  “Let me guess, Super Metroid?  Have you beaten Kraid yet?”

Ririka beamed.  “I did!”

Her grandmother ran over to her and the two clapped their hands together.  “You did it!  Finally!  How was it?”

“Well, I had to keep jumping on the platforms, and then I hit him in the eye, so he -”

Ririka’s mother coughed loudly, reminding her of the time.

“...We can talk about it later,” her grandmother said softly, walking back into the kitchen.  Before long, she came back with a slice of buttered toast.

Ririka sat down and shoved the toast into her mouth.  She took large bites and chewed quickly, but that didn’t seem to stop her mother from hovering over her, eyes narrowed.

Ririka swallowed a mouthful of toast.  “What are you expecting me to do?  Run to school with the toast in my mouth?”

“Yes, pretty much,” her mother replied flatly.

Ririka crossed her arms.  “Well, I won’t do it!  I’m not some anime girl.”

Shou giggled.  “Yeah, Ririka’s definitely not an anime girl.  Anime girls get boyfriends.”

At the word boyfriend, Ririka’s father looked up from the newspaper.  “B-boyfriend?  Who said anything about that?”  He leaned forward, staring at his daughter.  “Ten years old is much too young for a boyfriend!”

That’s right!  I’m ten today! Ririka realized.  How had she forgotten?  A smile lit up her face, and she was about to say something when Shou spoke again.

“Don’t worry, dad.  No boy would ever date Ririka!”

Ririka stood up, her toast forgotten.  “What did you say?”

Shou only stuck out his tongue, then raced up the stairs.

“Come back here, you little -”  Ririka was about to start running after him when her mother stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Ririka, we don’t have time for this,” she said.  Ririka sighed, then sat back down and took the last bite of her toast.

“Besides, it’s not like you’ll never have a boyfriend,” her grandmother said, smiling.  “There’s always Seiya.”

“Seiya’s my friend, and we’ll never -”

“Oh, so not Seiya?”  Her grandmother winked.  “There must be some boy you like.  How about Kanou Nozomu?”

Ririka jumped in her seat, her cheeks flushing.  “It’s not like that!”

“But you talk about him all the time…”

“Really, it’s not like that!  I -”

“Whatever it’s like, you’ll be able to talk about it after school,” Ririka’s mother snapped, leaning in between the two.  “It’s time to go.  Here, Ririka, I’ve got your backpack.”

Ririka grabbed the backpack, then hurried to the door.  “Bye, mom!  Bye, grandma!  Bye -”

“Hurry!” her mother insisted, opening the door and practically pushing her out.

Ririka huffed, then began to walk.  It was a nice spring day out, sort of breezy, just like in the dream.  Right, she’d had a dream…what was it about?  Hmm…  There was a queen, and a castle, and a butterfly, and…I can’t remember anything else.  

Well, there were more important things to think about than dreams, right?  Like boys.  Her grandma was right - there was a boy she liked, and his name was -

“Ow!” Ririka cried out, holding a hand to her head.  A second ago, someone had just yanked her ponytail, and she was pretty sure she knew who it was.

“What the hell, Seiya?” she hissed, spinning around to face the boy behind her.

Seiya smiled.  “Sorry, but your ponytail was just begging me to pull it.”

“It was not!”

Seiya ignored her.  “By the way, you were singing in the bathtub yesterday, weren’t you?  I have to say, your tone was a little -”

He was cut off as Ririka whacked him across the face with her backpack.  “Pervert!”

Seiya stumbled back, reeling.  “It’s not like I was peeping!  When I went to the bathroom, I could hear you all the way from next door!”

His words fell on deaf ears; Ririka was already running off, her face flushed.  She could hear a passing couple laughing.  Seiya, you idiot!

Nurse Angel.

Those were the words Kanon repeated to himself when he was on the verge of losing his composure.  Whenever his emotions threatened to overtake him, he reminded himself of his mission: find Nurse Angel, aid her in battle, save Queen Earth.  Save Helena.  

Nurse Angel, the warrior of legend.  Strong and beautiful, with honor and grace.  When it seems that all hope is lost, she will come to drive back the evils that plague the multiverse.

“Kanou?  Are you all right?  You look worried.”

Nurse Angel, the messenger from heaven…

“Kanou?”

…is not this girl, unfortunately.

Kanon shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts.  That girl who always followed him around - Miyuki Kuwano - was looking at him worriedly, her head tilted slightly.  Her two closest friends (Kanon couldn’t remember their names) stood behind her, their heads tilted to the exact same angle.

“Do you need anything?  Water?  A snack?  I could go get you something,” Miyuki offered.

“I’m fine,” Kanon reassured her.  When she opened her mouth again, he held up his hand.  “Really, I am.  I don’t need anything.  But thank you for the offer.”

Miyuki smiled.  “Oh, think nothing of it!  We are your fanclub, after all.”

Kanon could feel a headache coming on.  Again with this whole fanclub thing…and it wasn’t just these three girls, either.  It seemed like the entire female population of White Dove Academy was following him wherever he went.  It’s all right, I need to be more patient with them.  They just want to help.

…But they don’t know how much danger they’re putting themselves in just by being near me.

Kanon almost jumped when he heard footsteps behind him.  Calm down.  I’m in front of a school, it’s only natural that people would be walking by.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that had been bothering him for days - the feeling that he was being tailed.  It wasn’t a matter of if Dark Joker found him, it was a matter of when.  And time was running out.  Helena had exhausted herself sending him a short telepathic message earlier in the morning.  If her condition continued to deteriorate, she might not be able to manage even that in the future.

However, what she’d said in the message gave him hope: I’ve identified Nurse Angel.  Her name is Ririka Moriya.  She goes to White Dove Academy, just as we suspected.  Find her.

But there were so many girls at this school, and Kanon couldn’t just go around asking everyone their name.  How was he supposed to know which one was Ririka Moriya?

An idea occurred to him.  If Miyuki wants to help me so much, I’ll let her.

“Miyuki,” Kanon began, “do you know a girl named Ririka Moriya?”

Immediately, Miyuki’s face scrunched up in disgust.  The two girls behind her followed suit. 

“That barbarian?  Trust me, Kanou.  You don’t want to associate with her,” Miyuki replied.

One of the girls behind Miyuki - the tall one - nodded.  “She’s completely clueless.”

“If you want to meet someone, just ask Miyuki.  She can introduce you to someone much better,” the other girl - the short one - added.

Who? Kanon snarked internally.  Herself?

“But who is she?” Kanon asked.  “What does she look like?”

Miyuki sighed.  “If you really want to know, she’s in the fourth grade - in my class, actually.  And she - oh!  Speak of the devil, here she comes!”

Kanon could hear footsteps again, fast this time, as well as the sound of two voices - a girl and a boy.

“Will you leave me alone for once?”

“For the millionth time, I wasn’t peeping!  You’re just really loud!”

“Are you trying to apologize?”

“Well, I -”

“Because if you are, then you suck at apologies!”

Kanon turned around - just in time to feel something ram into his chest.  It was a girl, the girl who’d just been talking.  Ririka Moriya.  She stumbled back, still panting from all the running she’d done, and Kanon took that moment to get a good look at her.  She looked to be around the same height as Miyuki, with brown eyes and curly blonde hair in a ponytail.

Ririka bowed.  “I’m so sorry!  I didn’t see you there, and I was being careless, and -”  She stopped, looking into Kanon’s eyes.  A blush slowly spread across her cheeks.  “Oh!  Nozomu!  I, um -”

Miyuki butted her way in between the two.  “Moriya!  Excuse yourself!”

“But I already -”

“It’s not that simple!” Miyuki snapped.  “Kanou is important!  On the other hand, you…”  Miyuki looked Ririka up and down, glaring at her every detail.  “...are not.”

Kanon took a step back.  “Really, it’s fine -”

“No, it’s not fine!  She just -”

Miyuki was interrupted as a boy with rather messy brown hair - the one that Ririka had been shouting at - slid between the two girls and bowed to Miyuki.  “Please excuse her, she’s very inexperienced.”

Quickly, the boy stepped forward, backing Miyuki towards Kanon.  “She won’t do it again, really.”  He turned to Kanon.  “Please forgive her, um -”

“Seiya, don’t be an idiot!  His name is Kanou Nozomu!” Miyuki hissed.

“Nozomu, yes,” Seiya continued.  “Please forgive her.”

Kanon could only chuckle.  “Of course.”

Seiya slumped over, letting out an audible sigh.  Then, without missing a beat, he grabbed Ririka by the elbow and pulled her towards the school.  “Come on, go!”

“Seiya, you’re so smooth!” Ririka said, laughing, as she ran with him.

Miyuki glared at the two even as they ran out of sight.  “Barbarians…”

“That girl, Ririka…” Kanon began.

“Really, I don’t think she’s the kind of girl you’d want to know,” Miyuki said for the second time that day.  The two girls behind her nodded in agreement; Kanon had almost forgotten that they were there.

“No.”

Miyuki stared at Kanon as if he’d just sprouted wings.  “Huh?”

“I want to know more about her.”

The tall girl spoke up.  “She’s a nuisance.”

“She can’t do anything right,” added the short girl.  “She can’t even tell when a boy likes her.”

Miyuki stuck her chin up in the air, letting the sunlight gleam on her rather large forehead.  “She wormed her way into this veritable academy completely by accident.”

Despite the girls’ comments, Kanon smiled.  Though he didn’t know Ririka well, he could still tell that he was being misinformed.  From the moment Ririka had bumped into him, he’d known that she was different than the others.  He couldn’t exactly tell how, but there was just something special about her very presence.  Fitting for the reincarnation of a legendary hero.  “Ririka Moriya…”

I’ve finally found her.

The one that will save us all.