Chapter 31: Twenty-Nine

'What?'

Puzzlement filled the mind of the Homunculus. Her core hummed and her mind wondered as she glanced at a pair of soft, hazel eyes.

Did she think she was alive? It was a simple question. Rose thought the Reaper would want the simple answer of 'no' as most did not see homunculi as living objects. But there was sincerity in those eyes and in that voice.

She thought about her life until now.

Had she been alive when she met Idris Hunbrey? No, she had merely been ordered. Had she been alive when she met Lux and Maria? Only confusion had filled her at that point. Had she been alive when she fought with the S.O.S? No, the only objective on her mind was simply to make enough money to survive for the next few days.

"Think it?"

She chuckled as one specific memory popped into her mind. A time when she had no worries, a time when she lived the moment as if her troubles were nonexistent, a time when her mind was as free as a soaring bird. She was within the slums, barely making enough money to keep herself alive, but . . .

"Sipping Rose Tea and chatting with Elsa. . ." She smiled. "I had never felt more alive."

The muzzle of the weapon shuddered silently. A few seconds passed as both stared at each other. Emerald. Hazel. They looked at one another, both silently judging the other. Then, the muzzle left her forehead and the weapon clipped to the side of the female's thigh.

A sigh fell.

"Do you have a name?" The Reaper asked.

The homunculus raised a brow.

"Rose, just Rose."

"Very well, Rose, I'm Shana Striker."

The Reaper stood, looking down at her, frowning with furrowed brows before tapping her ear.

"Striker to base. The target used a slew of mana bombs to blow both themselves and the homunculus up. I assume they feared being tried for having gone against a Reaper's mission. Should I retrieve the bodies?"

She lied with a straight face and tone.

Arthur's voice came quickly from the other end. "Mana bombs?. . .how bad are the damages?"

"Bits and pieces, Arthur, bits and pieces of charred bodies. There's hardly anything left."

"No point in bringing burned limbs anymore then, Striker," A voice replied from the com, "The mission is over and the homunculus is out of the wrong hands. Record a feed of the area and return to base. . .hopefully you're not demoted."

"Roger and out, I've been thinking about getting out of the force soon, anyhow."

"Wha—"

The com clicked quiet and the Reaper turned to Rose.

"I'll do this much," She said, "Looks like I need to fake some corpses though, that dump might be nice. Either way, I wish you luck in this world, Rose. Don't die and maybe we'll meet again."

She turned to walk but, then, momentarily stopped to glance back.

"By the way—I don't know how you got it—but don't rely on only your Gear so much. Those things will hinder you if you're not careful, and they are best used in a Dungeon, anyway. It might make you strong, but your battle intelligence will decline. I recommend a Pulse Pistol and a Mana Shield to aid you. Maybe a Glove Armament too. You should widen your range."

The homunculus watched as her opponent, an opponent she couldn't hold a candle to, an opponent she had mostly struggled against, rode back on her silver jet.

'I want to be stronger. . .' She thought.

That powerlessness, that feeling of having the fate of her life in the hands of the girl, was worse than being ordered. Rose had fought for her life yet Shana had still beaten her while fighting merely to capture the homunculus.

It was a bad taste.

When she had managed to return home and dragged herself to sit up on a chair, her pad blinked open as she called the only person she thought she could confide with.

"Hey yo, what—the hell?"

The voice was abrupt and jarring. Of course, it made sense. She did not look all too well right now. Dirtied hair matched bloodied clothing, placed together with her unwelcoming expression, she certainly did not appear well off.

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"Hello, Elsa," She said.

"What the fuck, don't hello me, you look horrible—wha—what happened to you?? Don't tell me the sandworm ate you up and spat you out?"

She had only contacted her when she took the job, there had been no time to tell her that that had gone well. She had been caught up with the girl that could control 3 spirits.

"I ran into a Reaper. . ."

"And they fought you? And you survived?! Sorry, but I don't buy it."

Rose laughed lightly, 'Of course, it's unbelievable even as I think about it,' and slumped into the chair a bit more. It was less of a fight and more of a one-sided assault. She had only lived because she was allowed to, she frowned, her emerald eyes filled at that thought. 'I'm still so weak,' her core hummed lightly, the memories came in, from her birth until now, and she suddenly felt quite unsure of herself.

"Hey, Elsa."

"What is it? Heck, why are you still on call, go get cleaned up and, and, oh what do homunculi need to get healed again? Some mana orbs right?? Do you need some? I have a stash."

"No no, just. . .let me listen to your voice for a while. Can you let me be that selfish?" She asked.

There was silence for a moment as her core hummed, softly in her ears. Then, Elsa's voice came back, lighter and softer than anything she had ever heard.

"I'm here for you, Rose."

The homunculus smiled, wishing to cry. Those words were enough to calm her anxiousness.

"Mhmm. . ." She nodded.

There was a momentary silence.

"Mind if I sing for you?"

She raised a brow. "Sing? You can sing?"

"Y-yeah, I haven't really done it in awhile though."

She smiled. "Please."

"Okay—hold on."

There was some clanking, a deep breath, and soon, a guitar's strum rang through the night as Rose listened. The riff climbed high then fell back down. It chilled at a pacing tune for a bit, skittered quickly and jumped like a frightened cat. Then, it became so soft and faint, and soon, a voice came through, melding together with the instrumental.

"We make way under the moonlit night~Dark times blind our sight, yeah, I don't think we should cry, no, I don't think we should cry—"

There was a breath and the strum picked up. The voice grew softer.

"The next day comes with a bright sky."

It stopped.

"And that's pretty much it," Elsa laughed, "I—my brain can only come up with that right now, y'know?"

"You made it up on the spot?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's good."

A cough rang. "Ahem, yeah, thanks."

"No," Rose smiled.

"Thank you."

So, this was what a friend was—she thought, rather glad to have met her.

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