Unfamiliar. Everything here was completely unfamiliar. And that couldn't be anything less than frightening. The young girl huddled in the corner could feel the insanity in her slowly rise up, making her feel like she was about to erupt…
Thomp, thomp. She lifted her head, looked expectantly at the steel door. The handle moved, and the door clicked open. But, it wasn't who she was looking for. No, definitely not. Instead, it was the blue man again. How creepy! People aren't supposed to be blue. It was definitely not normal, and he— or it—just made this unfamiliar place all the more traumatizing. His unseemingly large mouth opened, and in his deep voice, he spoke: "You have a visitor…" Oh, so frightening! Why wouldn't he just leave? He was simply too strange, much too strange…Much to her surprise, he did leave, and after he had, a new head had popped into the room. Maka! "Chrona! C'mon, let's get out of Mr. Corner and go outside," her friend said with a cheery smile while helping her up.
"W-where…?" Chrona asked, squeezing her arm when Maka hadgotten her on her feet. She was actually very happy to see her friend again, but she didn't exactly know how to show it on her face. Maka was just so… familiar. She made the insanity and the frightening atmosphere disappear in an instant. "Welll, Black Star and Tsubaki said they had a surprise for us. He was really excited to have you come along!"
"R-really? Me?" Chrona stuttered, a slight blush on her cheeks. Black Star was a friend of Maka's. Chrona didn't know him so well, and he was a little loud, thus scary. However, an invitation from him made her feel as is she was of friend of his, too. A smile formed on the inside. "Maka!! Hurry up!" An impatient voice came from the hall. Maka sighed but smiled and grabbed Chrona's hand. She laughed lightly as she led her surprised friend into the hallway.
At the front of Soul and Maka's apartment building, Black Star and Tsubaki were waiting. Soul, who was the one waiting for Chrona and Maka in the hallway, greeted Black Star with a series of playful punches and banter. Chrona and Maka were several steps behind him, and to greet them, Chrona bowed down respectfully. Black Star replied to this with a hearty laugh. While pointing he half-laughed, half-said "Why are you bowing like that?! It's so polite I can't stop laughing! Ahahahaha!" This amused him to tears, while Maka seemed almost on fire.
"MAKA CHOP!"
"OW!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"Ah..! Now, we shouldn't start fighting…" Tsubaki, Black Star's weapon, had cut in before Maka could reply. "Today's supposed to be a good day!" Maka looked away in shame whilst Black Star grabbed at his head repeating "Good day? Where are we going…?" Chrona asked in curiosity. Black Star smiled widely. "Karaoke!!" he proudly announced. Tsubaki told me about it and I wanted to try it! Then, I heard Maka and Soul hadn't either, so I invited you guys. Chrona, you too, of course." Chrona blushed a little at the thought that someone other than Maka would choose to invite her. "Thank you..." she muttered.
"Well, shall we go?" Tsubaki said cheerfully. This warmth, this comfortable feeling within… Another newfound discovery, just like when she'd discovered how comfortable physical contact was. This time, she smiled on the outside; no one had been watching her at the moment. A little private moment for her and her new treasure. And… Ragnarok. He'd emerged, somewhat unwanted, and pulled at her cheeks. "Happy, are ya, you little witch?" Chrona looked up at her partner. "Yeah…" She said this, expecting to be hit for her insolence, as she was frequently bullied by her weapon. Instead, his eyes turned a little softer and said "Good to hear…" He realized how unmanly saying something such as that could've been; so he pulled at her face again and followed up by pulling at her hair. Instead of crying out loud, for once, Chrona smiled through his bullying. Ragnarok… he was a friend too.
Chrona caught up to the others, who'd already begun to walk ahead. Such a good feeling, such a happy feeling. Why couldn't I have felt this kind of feeling before? Another smiled formed and she forgot all about her painful past and about the insanity. It was time to put all that aside and look to the future, to her new friends and to further newfound discoveries.
"So… what's a karaoke?"