Disclaimer: I own Chrono, yes I do! I'm a liar, how 'bout you!
Author's Note: See chapter one or chapter seven.
(WARNING: Mild spoilers for the end of the anime.)
X
Ticks of the Clock
Left
X'It's been four months. . .'
Mary had to consciously choke back a sniffle as she stared out the bleak dining room windows, watching the rain fall heavily against the ground. '. . . but it feels more like four years.'
Had it really just been this past summer that they were all laughing together? Teasing and jibing and worrying and praying together? Poking fun of unintentional innuendo and weaving tall tales to irk her? The young exorcist could still hear their voices haunt the halls. . . the giggles and curses and whispers both privatly and publicly shared.
Rosette. . . Chrono. . .
Whenever she thought of them now, all she could do was cry. Sure, she was glad that they had found happiness—that they had been together, in the end. But. . . what now? What about them? Claire and Anna? Azmaria? The other sisters?
. . . her. . . ?
It was still hard to believe that Rosette wasn't just going to crash through the door at any minute; a ruined jalopy to her name as she yelled obscenities at anything that moved.
"ARGH!"
Giving a jolting jump, the small blonde whipped her head towards the speaker; bright blue eyes wide with surprise. She wasn't the only one—the other sisters who had been quietly dining seemed to have been struck by the same momentary shock, yelping and crying out in horror. But though they all started to move, Azmaria was the first to take true action.
"Lessa! Melissa!" she gasped, notably worried when she spotted the girls. Jumping to her feet, she rushed towards the sodden, angry pair; both of whom were trudging rather resentfully through the hall doors, leaving pools and puddles the size of oceans in their wake. "Jeepers, what happened!"
"Sister Kate, that's what," the older of the two grumbled darkly, trying fruitlessly to wring out her curling hair; eyes flashing. "She was having kittens just because we made a mistake or two out on field today! Give us a break— it was our first time, you know?"
Whispers shot through the crowd like sacreds; women of all ages exchanging meaningful glances. "I see. . . what kind of mistake was it?" Claire inquired kindly, offering a hanky to the smaller, sneezing sister.
"Well," Melissa honked out, trying to peal her shoulder-length locks off of her cheeks and throat, "it— that is. . . it was more. . . er. . .plural then that." Smiling a bit nervously, she and her partner dropped their empty guns onto the table. "We crashed the car into a building 'cause the storm made road visibility so bad . . . and sorta took the building with us. Eh heh. Heh. . . " The teen's grin wavered, unnerved by all of the blank stares she was receiving. "Hey!" she grumbled defensively, "It was an old building!"
"Yeah— Lissie's right!" Lessa insisted firmly, squeezing a waterfall out of her dress. "Those stupid cops had no idea what they were talking about. . . and that traffic jam wasn't our fault. . . neither was the explosions half way acro— okay, maybe we played a little into that one. . ."
". . ."
The two girls cleared their throats rather guiltily, seating themselves on opposite sides of the closest table; avoiding the gazes of their fellow exorcists. Lissie began chewing her bottom lip; Lessa fiddling with her headdress and fingers. Both were beginning to look sick to their stomachs, worry clawing at their eyes.
Silence; a silence only broken by the steady 'drip. . . drip. . . drip. . ' of the exorcists soggy outfits.
Lessa swallowed, shifting nervously in her seat as the unspoken question finally wormed its way out of her mouth. "We're. . . uh. . . not gonna be kicked out. . . are we?"
". . ." A second class member with tight brown curls suddenly smiled; fixing her glasses with a kind snort of amusement. "I doubt it," she confessed gently, nodding meaningfully at the others. "I mean, what with how HER first jig went. . . right, Jinny?"
"Good lord!" another girl agreed with a laugh, causing both Melissa and Lessa's faces to tighten with bewilderment. "And that was perhaps her most contained mess!"
Anna nodded, patting the two newbies on the back. "Deanna and Jinny are right," she assured cheerfully. "The Order has seen a lot worse." Turning to the others, the redhead barely managed to contain a loud guffaw. "Remember the time she destroyed a whole block?"
"My favorite story was when she and Chrono sunk the Statue of Liberty!" a militia member by the name of Erin cheered, hiding a giggle behind her hand. Her partner, Summer, nodded frantically before adding: "But that time she managed to break all of the chapel windows with a rubber band was a close second."
"Huh—?" The two soaked members exchanged puzzled glances, then frowned. "Who are you talking about?"
All of the other sisters gasped loudly, looks of joy and mock fury on their faces. "WHAT! Why, Sister Rosette of course! Haven't you heard of her?"
"Er. . . should we have. . . ?"
"!" The twins Zena and Nina began snickering rather evilly, weaving their way to the front of the crowd in order to crouch low and snigger: "Oh my God, just listen to this—!"
And listen they did. Nor were they the only ones; from the furthest corner, Mary, too, listened—listened for what felt like hours as her peers ranted and raved and relived the entire story of Rosette and Chrono, each blunder and blessing, each fit and fight. Some defended the epics and others reacted like she would have, until every one of the sisters was laughing and beaming and feeling so much better.
It was. . . sort of strange. 'They're having such fun,' Mary mused silently, resting her chin in her palm. 'In fact, it's almost like Rosette. . .! '
That was when she realized something— stunned bewilderment causing her stomach to tickle and her cheeks to flush.
Almost like she. . .
'. . . You never really left, did you, Rosette?'
And for the first time in nearly four months, Mary felt a true smile tug on her lips.
(This one refused to write itself correctly, but I still think it came out reasonably well. I had fun adding all of those new sisters. . . Hey, there's more in the Order than just Rosette, Az, Mary, Claire, and Anna, you know. XD But speaking of Mary, yes, this one was supposed to revolve around her. I really felt bad for her at the end of the anime series; she was so sad when Rosette disappeared. I think Mary really respected, loved, and even idolized Rosette— I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the characters.)