𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧- 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥
Some people don't know what they have until it's gone.
But what about the ones who do know?
The ones who never took a damn thing for granted? Who tried their hardest to hold on, yet could only look helplessly...
"I know you wanted to find a reason to live. But it's not too late. You can still find it. It doesn't have to be me."
For a moment, he didn't move. His eyes—those cold unreadable eyes—held mine in a grip tighter than any chains. But then, just for a heartbeat, I saw it. A flicker. A shadow of the man he used to be. The man who believed there was something better, something worth saving. The man I remembered before everything went dark.
Then he stepped forward.
I froze as his hand reached out, the back of his fingers brushing against my cheek as if he thought I'd vanish like smoke if he touched me too hard. But I was real. I was warm. And his breath hitched, just barely, as he'd finally convinced himself I wasn't some cruel hallucination.
"You've grown so much since the last time I saw you," he murmured, his voice low, almost reverent.
I swallowed hard. His gaze roamed over me, taking in my longer black hair, and my height—now only a head shorter than his. His words felt heavy, laced with something between pride and sorrow.
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"You look just like your mother," he whispered, his thumb brushing along my jawline. "But... there's something of my master in you too."
The warmth of his touch chilled me to the bone.
"To think you were alive all this time," he continued, his voice darkening, the softness in his eyes vanishing like it had never been there. His hand dropped from my face, curling into a fist at his side.
"Gozen lied to me."
I felt the air suck out of the room. My breath hitched, and I stared at him, wide-eyed. 'Grandpa...? What did he do?'
I knew Grandpa had something to do with my years on Kame Island. The gaps in my memory, the fog that refused to clear—it all pointed to him.
'But why?'
Chrollo's eyes darkened, his face twisting with something dangerous. "He never trusted me. Never even liked me. Maybe he thought I'd corrupt you." His voice dropped lower, venom seeping into every word. "He even sealed your memories of me ten years ago to make you forget you even have a brother."
My stomach flipped. That's right... before meeting Chrollo five years ago, I had forgotten all about him.
"Maybe he was right," Chrollo said, almost to himself. "Maybe I am a bad influence." His lips curled into a bitter smile. "That's why I kept my distance, Ringo. I had protected you from the shadows."
My heart clenched. 'Protected me?' My mind flashed to that night—Omokage's schemes, Greed Island... The Phantom Troupe was there whenever she was in a pinch. But during her visit to NGL... The Chimera Ant, the blood, the pain.
