A/N: Just FYI: from this chapter on, there will be some references to one of my other fics with characters of my own creation, so if you want to know all the details, read "Learning to Deal" ch. 2.
Again, stealing any chance I can get to write. ;)
I didn't realize this until recently, but FanFiction isn't letting me type in my *'s to show a time interval. So I'm experimenting, hopefully it'll work.
Thanks to everyone & please enjoy =)
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"Hey, you!" Chrona suddenly heard a commanding voice shout from behind her as she spun on her heels. "Hah, I knew it was you."
Chrona's eyes widened as she gasped in dreadful recognition. She twisted her head around to face her addressor. Her eyes were met with a woman who she considered quite lovely.
"Well, long time no see." The older woman said approaching her, "That is you, isn't it, Chrona?" When the woman's voice changed from that of overexcitement to that of softness, Chrona finally realized who this person was.
"M-Misses Blake's m-mother…!" the girl gasped as her stomach suddenly growled. The demon sword wielder didn't even realize how hungry she was as she held her waist in embarrassment.
The lady chuckled a bit before addressing the blushing girl. "Well, I'll take it that you'd fancy a bite to eat?" she teased playfully, "Come on in." the brunette forcibly invited by dragging the pinkette inside of what looked to be a small café. Before she knew it, the sword master was hauled inside, plopped down, and was instructed to wait for food and drink. Chrona tried to object, but the woman had disappeared into another room and out of earshot.
Chrona sighed in defeat. What should she do? Well…what could she do? She did know this woman, although somewhat, so it would be rude to just leave, even though she felt impudent by staying and imposing. Now she was even more confused!
Chrona suddenly flashed to another time she was very confused. It was late afternoon, and the pinkette had just departed from her best friend's Maka's apartment and was heading to her new home – Shibusen, when she caught the sound of an eerily familiar noise. Without thinking, she followed it, to find a small child alone, crying in a park she had never been to before. Completely run on instincts and feelings that were foreign to her, the girl befriended the small boy and saw to it that he was returned home safely. Not without a certain shinigami coming to the rescue and unintentionally striking up a fire of jealousy within the little boy who came to be known as Blake.
Chrona looked back on the memory fondly; it was something that warmed her heart and soul. She wished that everyday could have been feathery and light like that one. However…fate was not so kind…
The girl sullenly took in her surroundings, trying to focus on there here and now. It served as a good distraction as her big magenta eyes travelled over the interior of the small café. It was fairly small, about the size of Class Crescent Moon if the large bleachers were to be removed and replaced with rows of booths with tables. Chrona was sitting in one of the outer rows of booths that rested next to a wall of open windows. She peered outside of them to see that they were decorated by strung up lavender colored curtains. Each table had a thin vase in the center, the flowers in them varying from table to table. She did not know much about flowers, but she knew she liked them. The tiny plants in front of her were very pretty and seemed to have a calming affect on her. She leaned over the side of the table, resting her head in her hands and just stared at them, unbeknownst to the soft smile that crept its way to her face.
"So you like them too, huh?" a voice from behind her sounded as she snapped back from her trance.
"Ah! …..Um, yes…" the pinkette answered as the woman from before took her seat on the opposite bench of the booth Chrona was sitting in.
Now more aware and focused, Chrona was finally able to get a good look at the mother of the crying boy she had met in the park. The woman had long, rich chocolate colored hair that came in loose waves, framing her face in a unique and pretty way. It reminded her of Blake's hair, though his was more pin-straight. Though what most resembled his mother in him were his eyes. Chrona remembered them; they were a beautiful deep blue that seemed to hold the whole world and all the hate and joy it brought in them. She felt she could have stared in them forever, and now she was seeing them again in this woman.
"What is it? Is there something on my face?" the ocean eyed lady questioned.
It took Chrona a moment to register what was going on around her enough to respond, "…H-huh? Uh, …oh! Oh, no! T-there isn't…" she stuttered nervously.
"Ah, well that's good." She said, relaxing, "I just hate it when I run around all day with something on my face and no one tells me. Then I get to go home and see what a nut I look like in the mirror and wonder just how many people got to see me like that. And also why none of them didn't even bother to tell me!" the woman ranted, making the girl shrink in her seat a bit.
"It's just so irritating! And - ! Oh-!" she abruptly halted her words, the flames around her disappearing almost instantly as she finally noticed how uncomfortable she was making her guest.
"Heh, sorry about that." She apologized with a nervous chuckle. "So, what's a young girl like you doing wandering around here at this time?"
To be honest, Chrona wasn't sure what she was doing there herself. But she had to say something. "I…I g-got lost…o-on a walk…" she half-lied.
"I see." the brunette hummed, "So, where're you headed?" she asked, pulling out a pen from behind her ear and a napkin from her side at the table.
"Sh-Shibusen." The girl responded.
"Hm? Shibusen, huh?" the woman catechized, a gleam of excitement in her eyes, "Is that where you go to school?"
"Ah, m-mmn." The demon sword wielder nodded in reply, feeling another burst of excitement coming from the woman opposite of her.
"Oh, wow! Really?" she almost yelled, hands slamming on the table, a wide grin on her face, "Does that mean you fight for Shinigami-sama? Have you met him? What kinds of things do they teach there? Well, to fight of course, silly me. Are you a good fighter? You look like a normal girl to me. Are you a weapon or a meister? Oh, this is so exciting!"
Chrona was leaning as far away from the woman in her seat as she could, feeling all too much attention on her. It's not like she was anything special… She really didn't see why this lady was so interested in her…
"Momma?" a small voice sounded from the corner of the room along with the slow rhythm of light thumps of feet traveling down a set of stairs. Chrona recognized the voice. "Why're you being so loud?" the voice asked, sounding very drained and a bit closer than before.
Chrona began to twist herself around and lean over the edge of her seat to better peek at the one who was addressing the nice lady across from her, though she already had a lingering suspicion of who it was. When the sight of a tiny boy with ruffled brown hair came into her line of vision her suspicion was confirmed.
"B-Blake…?" Chrona almost whispered, not even realizing she had until the sound of her own voice lightly hit her ears.
The boy blinked a few times before peering out the sleepy eyes he was rubbing. "Eh? C-Chrona-oneesan?" he exclaimed as a bright smile spread on his face.
"Onee-san!" he yelled again happily as he ran to her and hugged her legs once she stood, "Onee-san! What're you doing here?" the little boy asked in pure delight as he lifted his gaze from her dress to her face.
"She got lost while on a stroll and I happened upon her on the sidewalk." The boy's mother answered for her, enjoying the cute seen between her son and the young girl.
"Really?" Blake asked looking up at Chrona.
"Yep! Lucky, right?" Blake's mom answered again. Chrona found it strange that she could be in the literal middle and topic of a discussion and yet not able to contribute. "And guess what? She's a student at Shibusen!"
"Whooooaaaaa!" Blake cooed in awe, "Really, Onee-chan? That's so cool!"
"Um, …yes." She responded, pretty sure it was her he was addressing. "I…I go to Shibusen."
"Wooooooww! So cooool!" the boy admired, "Hey, momma! Can I go to Shibusen too?"
"NO WAY!" the teen and child heard two voices burst; one coming from the boy's mother and the other coming from the girl's partner. Everyone stopped talking to look up and stare at Ragnarok who seemed to make his appearances at pretty random times lately.
"R-Ragnarok…" his meister began with a tiny smile, relieved at seeing him finally.
"I-It's the mean monster again…!" the now terrified brunette boy yelled as he lunged away from Chrona, pointing at the top of her head.
"Wha…? Monster?" his mother gawked, staring at what her son was referring to.
"That's right, you better be scared!" Ragnarok bellowed, full of pride.
"Ah, n-no…th-this is…" his meister tried to correct everyone, but was unheard amongst all the commotion.
"Ahha! So cute!" Blake's mother squeeked.
"Hey! Don't call me cute!"
"Yeah! That thing's scary! And it's got Onee-chan!"
"You got that right! She's mine."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Whoa, it can talk!"
"Of course I can talk!"
"E-Everyone!" Chrona finally blurted loudly, unable to handle everyone's yells being thrown at her. They all seemed to stare with more disbelief at the usually shy girl than they did at the random talking black blob that came from her back.
"I-I'm not…I mean, he…R-Ragnarok isn't a m-monster." She stuttered out before they all could get riled up again. "H-he's my partner and weapon."
"Oh, yeah? Then prove it." Blake challenged Ragnarok directly.
"Ke! You got it, runt!" the demon sword replied before liquefying and re-solidifying into his weapon form. His master grabbed onto his hilt in midair and quickly swung his point down to the floor to show no indication of using him.
Both mother and child's mouths formed small O's of slight understanding and amazement, before they began to further interrogate.
"But wait a minute, then why did he come out of your back like that?" the now very confused woman behind Chrona asked, "I've seen weapons before, and they looked like normal people when not in their weapon forms."
Chrona did not feel like answering their questions, it just made her feel like a freak. A freak of nature who only disgusts herself and others.
"I…I…" she mumbled nervously, "W-When I was very small…I was trained to…to fight. …Believing that it would make me stronger…Ragnarok was melted down…and put i-inside me…" she finished in a quivering voice. Was it really the best choice to tell them? They surely must hate her now…just like those kids at school… Unlike them however, Chrona would miss them dearly.
"Oh, Chrona." came a soft, understanding voice. It reminded Chrona of Maka's voice. "Come here, dear." The beautiful brunette woman invited as she wrapped her arms around the girl.
Needless to say that Chrona was taken aback, this was not at all what she had expected. She almost felt like crying. How could they accept her so easily? Maka… Kid… Everyone… How could people this kind even exist…? Chrona buried her face into the woman's shoulder, taking in the softness and warmth of it all. Was… Was this what a mother's embrace felt like…?
The emotional girl was suddenly torn from her thoughts at the familiar sensation of tiny fingers wrapping themselves around her own. She looked down to see Blake gaze up at her, his big blue eyes full of concern. She smiled down at him reassuringly as he mimicked her expression.
"Th-thank you…" she whispered almost inaudibly.
The motherly woman held Chrona out by her shoulders, giving her a smile of her own.
"Now then, you said that you were lost, right my girl?" the older woman asked cheerily, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, earlier I scraped up some directions for you. Here you go."
"O-oh, thank you." The sword wielder thanked again accepting the napkin with slightly messing and confusing scribbles on it. Ragnarok took his chance to return to his meister while the attention was not focused on him, feeling rather bored and sleepy.
"Wait does this mean you're leaving, Onee-chan?" Blake half whined.
"Y-Yes. I-I'm sorry." The teen apologized. She did need to return to Shibusen, it was getting rather late, though she felt saddened to leave such nice people. Blake dipped his head down with a pout, trying to restrain his instinctive childish tears. "I-I sorry. I…really do have to get back home now…"
"But that doesn't mean that she can't come around again, right?" the tearing boy's mom half stated and half asked the strange girl at her side.
"W-Well, …I guess n-not…?" she tried, picking up on the slight hinting but not fully understanding. She was willing to say anything to make the child's tears in front of her go away.
"R-Really?" he questioned, a bit of hope ringing in his wavering voice.
""Y-yes." She confirmed, though she wasn't sure of the possibility of it herself, "I-If you'd like me to."
"Yeah!" he exclaimed immediately, "Be sure to okay! It's a promise." She nodded her head in reply, mirroring the smile she had caused on the young boy's features.
"Well then, it's settled. Now say goodbye to Chrona-chan, honey." Blake's mother told him sweetly. He obeyed, though half-heartedly.
"Be sure to come back." Chrona heard a soft whisper tickle her ear as she turned to leave. "Anytime, for any reason. You'll always be welcome here."
Chrona spun on her heels with shocked eyes as she stared at the woman and child in the doorway of the café. Her eyes softened at the sight of their friendly waves and smiles as she wondered if she could ever return there.
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A/N: Tell me how it's going, if theres any mistakes, and/or what you'd like to see. I have general idea of what I want to happen, but I've begun to question how I want to end it. The lengthy way that might be so confusing that it doesn't necessarily even have an end? Or the shorter, super fluffy ending? I usually don't ask for reviews (tho I really like them), but I am now only because I could really use the input 0-o
Thanks a bunch to all my supporters and readers! Bye, bye =)