Rin awoke with a weird feeling in her stomach-something wasn't sitting right already, but she couldn't face it. Everywhere felt cold. Rolling in the bed sheets to her right, Rin tried to find some source of comfort and warmth...something that had been there all the moments before now. Her body shivered from the cold that she felt.

Archer?

With a quickening of her breath, Rin stood up in bed, holding the blanket close to her body.

"Archer?"

Still, there remained nothing but silence. She was lost and starting to feel panic setting in. Surely I would have heard the shower if he had started one. Maybe he is somewhere else in the house...He wouldn't just leave. I need to calm down...Maybe take a shower after last night.

After last night... She couldn't deny that something very important and desired had happened. However, she may have aged, but she had no idea how to deal with the new aspect to her relationship with Archer. Something would have changed doubtless, but how they would handle it she had no idea.

Rin got up and quietly walked into her bathroom. There were signs of it having been used, but there was really nothing else to notice.

So, he obviously took a shower. At least that means I didn't imagine last night...I'm not crazy, and I just need to calm down... He has to be around here somewhere...

Rin ran a hot bath for herself, pouring Jasmine and other fragrances in the water. It was an attempt to force her body to calm and pace itself. She was jumping to conclusions. Archer couldn't have just ran off like that...

I said that the last time, and he ended up disappearing forever.

Rin took deep breaths. She sat in the tub and let the water flow over her; its rising heat seemed to slowly bring her feeling as it escalated. She was feeling comfortable again. Her body was beginning to attempt to relax. There was something on her mind that she had ignored until now; her mind being overtaken by the fear before now.

What was I dreaming of last night?

Rin couldn't place it. She had never had a dream like that before. It was completely surreal, and it honestly didn't feel as if it were a dream. It felt like a memory, and it didn't feel as if it were her memory. It was something far more personal to someone, but she was struggling to remember it.

What was it? There was something important in it...Why can't I remember?

She struggled, searching her brain for any thought; she felt as if she were grasping at shadows. She pressed her hands to her temples for a moment.

Think Rin... you can remember this...

Slowly, the dream from the night before began to trickle back into her mind, becoming more and more vivid as she remembered it.


Rin was standing in the rain. She couldn't feel it on her body, but it was easy to spot. She could imagine how cold the world was. As she examined the darkness around her, she realized that she was in a graveyard. It disturbed her a little, and it brought back memories she hadn't cared to really revisit. However, she felt a presence in the distance, a little to her north, and she began walking towards it.

As she neared where her feet seemed to carry her with determination, she began to feel an extreme feeling of loneliness and something else... She walked until she saw a figure bent over in front of an effigy in the grave. It was near the edge of the graveyard, and it was a beautiful statue. It was an elegant display made of beautiful marble. However, she couldn't make out the name on the grave. She didn't dare to really near it though; the person at the grave seemed to be very deep in thought, and she didn't wish to disturb someone having such an important moment with a lost loved one.

Rin neared a little closer, just to make out the figure. She could only see a man in all black standing at the grave, looking down at it. He seemed to be just standing there, thinking.

The loss must have really pained him... but why does this really matter to me?

She looked around to see if maybe she was to notice something else, but couldn't find anything. Her silence was broken by the sound of movement. The man had begun to rest on one knee in front of the grave and was talking to it. She couldn't make out the words that were being said, but she could see that he looked distressed. He stayed like that before punching the ground near the grave. He sat like that for a moment before standing up again. He delicately ran his hand over the name on the stone before leaning against it. He quickly turned around and headed off to his right. Rin followed the man with her eyes until she saw him get on a motorcycle and ride off.

I can probably near the grave now...

She attempted to walk towards the grave, curious as to who it belonged to, but she couldn't get any closer. The more she tried, the more she seemed to be farther away from it. She grew frustrated, but never tried. She began running, but it never seemed to matter; the grave was always farther away. Much to her dismay, the scene began to disappear from before her eyes, as if it was fading to black. As it did so, Rin became distraught, but she noticed that the feeling of loneliness and its unknown counterpart had disappeared.

Finally, the black that surrounded her gave way to a new scene. She was in a battlefield. It was obvious from the appearance of it that there had been a great fight. There were bodies strewn about, and there seemed to be a group of uniformed men versus what seemed like regular people. Some great fight had occurred here, and it mirrored many that she had seen in history books.

What happened here?

She could feel her feet leading her towards a building in the distance. The building looked like a facility, and she was apprehensive of just strolling into a building during a battle. The atmosphere carrying a pressure that only comes from many willing to die for a cause, all determined for the battle.

Despite her complaints, she couldn't stop from entering the building-her entrance being far easier and less dramatic than she feared. Rin found herself feeling loneliness and the feeling she couldn't place just yet, but she also felt a small amount of resolve.

What is this? Who feels all of this at one time?

Confused by the scene, she hadn't noticed that her feet had carried her up a stairwell and into a large room. It seemed to be an office that had a lot of technology within it, but Rin didn't think too far into it; ahead of her was the man that she had seen in the graveyard. She felt pain from him, and she knew it was more than physical. She watched from a distance, afraid of what she was seeing.

The man, somewhat hidden by some shadows, delicately reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Actually, from Rin's spot, she could see that the small object was a photo. The man smiled at it before gently caressing a specific part of the photo. A single tear fell down his face as he tilted his face back. The man clinched the photo before talking a small amount. He grabbed at the center of his chest, not far beneath his neck, with his other hand. He seemed to feel a sudden peace, and, in its absence, Rin recognized the other feeling: regret.

She listened as she heard a single, "I'm sorry" escape the man's lips before he transpired. He felt to his knees and collapsed on to the floor face first. Rin instinctively ran towards the man, but immediately felt as if she shouldn't have. She felt something and saw the photo on the ground next to the man. She quietly reached and picked it up, trying to do no damage to something that was so valuable to him in life. The picture was a wedding photo, but it seemed like a candid and informal one; the kind that you see the photographer take when the couple isn't paying attention. It was the man (although she couldn't make out the features, Rin assumed it must be him) and a very elegant, beautiful woman. They were smiling at each other, and Rin felt overwhelmed by the photo. It was as if someone had captured love in a picture. You could tell that this moment and nothing else mattered to these people. They loved each other in a way that Rin envied.

What a shame that he lost her. This photo doesn't look old either, so it had to have been recently too. This is tragic... Why am I seeing this?

Rin quietly set the photo down, not wishing to see anymore. She felt grief so badly that she wished to leave. She hated this feeling and had done everything to overcome it. Its return was unwelcome. The scene began to fade to black, and she took one look around again. She felt calm in the fact that she was leaving this scene, but scanned the room to see if she could recognize anything. Surely, there was a reason that she had seen this. Before the room faded completely, she took one look back down at the body beside her. She saw a chain from his neck.

He must have clinched the necklace...that is what I saw.

She looked closer to see a silver chain, a little worn, leading to something. For a moment, she thought she saw the jewel at the end of the chain: a single red jewel.

No... I'm imagining things...There is no way.

Rin opened her eyes quickly.

It cannot be.

She quickly drained the water and grabbed a towel, hoping to get some answers.

"Archer? Archer?! Where are you?"