Precious

Purin-chan: Last warning – this has spoilers for most of the manga. If you watched the anime, you won’t understand a lot of it. One-shot.

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     "Excuse me, miss."
     It’s cold here…
     "Miss?"
     I don’t like it…
     "May I see your ticket, please?"
     She opened her eyes, squinting at the blurry scene in front of her. She rubbed her eyes until they were able to focus, then noticed the man standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her head throbbed with a migraine.
     The man seemed to be getting a little impatient. "Your ticket, please."
     Ticket? "Um, I don’t have…"
     He smiled gently, seeing that she was responsive now. "Oh, I just need information on the life you led. We need to know which souls still have chains linked to the real world. Occasionally there’s a mishap or two…"
     The last comment finally snapped her to her senses. Memories came flooding back to her almost instantaneously. Her brother…she had been searching for her brother. Yes, that was it.
     She gazed up at the man with an insipid look. "I was searching…for my brother."
     He frowned. "Is that all you remember?"
     More memories appeared in her mind. Years at the Seventh Bell, then a vague incident… Then, arriving at Magdala and spending years there as a sister. She finally found her brother.
     "I finally found him, so I don’t have any regrets," she answered.
     A genuine smile appeared on his face. "Welcome aboard," he said before walking away.
     She looked around the train. Most of the people looked old and had obviously died of natural causes.
     She paused. How did she die again…?
     More faded memories flowed back to her. Her last memory… She had been fighting…yes…and she was trying to save…
     Who was it she was trying to save? The face was faint and blurry.
     She leaned her head back and gazed out the icy window. There were endless amounts of snow, far beyond what she could see, and more continued to fall. The trees were bare and darkened by the shadows caused by the dim clouds above. The entire scenery seemed to radiate gloom and death.
     Someone was out there.
     She blinked again and tried to squint her eyes so she could see what it was. "Oh, it was only a tree…"
     It must have been a tree.
     Continuing to stare out the window, she began to have a feeling of nostalgia. There must have been another memory from a train she had been on… Oh, yes. She was pursuing her brother on a train and had been attacked…and separated from her companions.
     Someone had come to her rescue. Who was it?
     She began to feel frustrated. There was always someone in her memories, but she couldn’t remember who it was. And the more she thought about it, the more pain she felt in her chest – the more her heart began to ache.
     But she had only lived to find her brother. No one else was as precious to her…
     Or was there someone else?
     She couldn’t remember.
     A couple of children ran through the aisle. They seemed to be playing and enjoying themselves, and oddly enough the other passengers weren’t bothered.
     She smiled. Another faint memory came to her. A memory of having gone to a festival…
     Two people were there…no, three. She danced with someone…and then they all took a picture.
     Picture?
     She reached behind her and pulled out a photograph. Ah, so this is it.
     There was a woman on the left and a girl on the right. She stood next to the girl.
     But the fourth person was blurry.
     And when she looked at it, her heart ached a little bit more.
     She went back to gazing out the window. Seeing her friends in a picture would only remind her how much she missed them. It would be better not to look at it.
     Rosette…still…alive…!
     Her eyes widened. What was that voice just now? It sounded so familiar…
     "Are you sure you don’t have any regrets?"
     She turned her head to the source of the other voice. The lady sat across from her with her hood hanging over her face. She couldn’t get a clear look at what the lady looked like.
     She must have been listening to her life’s explanation earlier. "Were you listening?"
     "Yes."
     Her facial expression went from alarm to a peaceful one. She was somewhat glad to know that someone here was concerned about her. "I was able to recover my important person so… I am happy," she answered.
     The woman stared at her for a while, then said, "You’re not being honest with yourself."
     She was somewhat insulted by the remark. "What do you mean?! I’ve done everything I needed to do, so… You have no right to say that!"
     A brief pause ensued. "Then… Why are you always looking off afar?"
     "I…" She couldn’t answer. Why has she been staring out the window?
     "Who is it you are looking for?"
     Yes, she was looking for someone, a person whose face couldn’t be identified in her memories, someone who was always close to her…
     She stood up abruptly and ran towards the back of the train, hoping that person would appear before her and answer all her questions. She threw open the backdoor and ran outside…
     But to no avail.
     She was dead.
     It all came back to her in a flash. That smiling face. That gentle voice. His comfort. His warmth. His everything…
     Chrno…
     Tears burned in her eyes. She had lied. She wasn’t happy. Her important person was left behind. She was alone. She was separated from him.
     There were things she wanted to tell him – things she wanted to give him. He meant so much to her…and she didn’t want to let go…
     The tears streamed down her face as her heart wrenched in pain. "Chrno…"
     Aion!
     Her crying stopped. It was his voice! From where…?
     Rosette is still alive!
     She looked around her. He was close; he was very close.
     She won’t lose…! To anyone! Not you, not Pandemonium!
     A glow came from her chest. She looked down and noticed the pocket watch dangling from her neck.
     It still linked them.
     The contract.
     She still had a connection to him!
     A smile grew on her face as she took the ancient artifact into her hands. "Thank you…" she whispered, holding the seal to her heart.
     She will definitely come back!

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