Fic.
I felt like writing! So here is a small fic.
Sixteen Deaths in the Life of Robin Sena
972 words, spoilers for the entire series.
01. Kazuya Misawa
A Witch and a human in holy matrimony was a bitter pill to swallow. Misawa's indifference towards his fiancée was no surprise, given the man he turned out to be; but the flagrancy with which their union was presented had made Robin's throat twist with disgust.
It twists even more, now that she realizes the source of her bitterness.
02. Kazuma Kurata
An immortal Witch was a novel idea at the time, one Robin couldn't fully wrap her head around. A person who only found the strength to live through love was, too, but now she thinks that might have been what fueled Kurata's desperation in his final moments. It still feels strange now, to find that idea sympathetic.
03. Sayoko
Robin had actually been watching her for over a week.
Looking back on it, her feelings of betrayal were not from Sayoko trying to kill her, but rather at the idea that someone Robin had thought of as a possible friend might have turned out to be a Hunter's target.
04. Eiko Yano
Robin knows there is no point in regret, because there was little she could have done to prevent what happened. Still, on rainy days, she can think of nothing else.
05. Chie
Do Witches have real emotions? It was a question that ran through Robin's mind as she watched Chie willingly burn to death with her dolls. Does it matter? was the question that followed.
She knows the answer to the first query, but isn't sure about the second.
06. Kudou Mamoru
Even now, Robin's most vivid memory of that case isn't the way the boy looked when the Factory workers came and took his parakeet from him. It was the guilt that crossed Dojima's face. In the end, the only way she could justify the need to Hunt a small child was to remind herself that he was a murderer--and that he had upset someone she considered a friend.
07. Akio Kurosawa
Although Robin's illness had zapped her of her clarity, the question he posed to her was one she couldn't stop focusing on. What is my destiny? Robin wonders, if he had not died, would they have been able to speak about it? About what force could give them their Craft, what God would want them to live in confusion and secrecy and pain?
But the answer is no. Kurosawa would have still been taken to the Factory, like every other Witch. And the questions inside Robin's mind would have continued to persist.
08. Aki Yoshioka
A sister. There's no physical resemblance between them, and Robin knows that Aki's proclamation was meant for her twin, Saki, but afterward Robin's daydreams lingered towards the idea of an unknown network of relatives possessing her Craft. It was a terrible thought; that she could be connected to an entire family of Witches, each one another name in the STN's database.
Robin considers she would have liked to have met them, if they did exist.
09. Yutaka Kobari
"He was truly my son." Robin's still not sure what that means. But then, she's never been a parent. The barely-concealed rush of emotion hidden in Master's eyes spoke more volumes than she was prepared to read.
10. Juzo Narumi
A Witch driven mad with their craving for power: this is a tale Robin's heard many times. But there will always be something so tragic about this Witch, whose only salvation after running for his life was the Craft that would ultimately undo him.
She fears she will share his fate someday.
11. Methuselah
Robin could scarcely imagine an eternity of loneliness, only finding comfort in 300 years of painful memories. In time, such feelings of despair could be overwhelming--and she expects it to be, given the future of isolation that awaits her. Were you happy that you chose me? she poses to her. The answer is always the same: There is no happiness for our kind. This world does not endear us any more than it endears parasites.
She only needs to delve into the centuries of tormented memories hovering in the back of her mind to know that for certain. But she trusts Methuselah's word, and does not pry.
12. Shirou Masuda
The tears she shed were not out of hatred or disgust, but out of a devastating feeling of losing hope. The idea that her life at the STN-J could continue as peacefully as it had, maintaining that comforting sense of normalcy she had grown to accept--it was gone as soon as the flames enveloped his body.
13. Kannosaki and Hitomi
When Robin thinks of her parents, she is overwhelmed with feelings of anguish and regret, feelings that are too chaotic for even her to understand. Todou's reckless, hurtful ambition and Maria's unswayed love and hope made Robin. That's all she knows of them.
When Robin thinks of family, of people who love you unconditionally, who want the best for you no matter what kind of person you are--she thinks of the last dinner in the Kannosaki household. And has to hold herself still to keep from shaking with sobs as she remembers that night.
14. Takuma Zaizen
It was not for Zaizen that Robin regretted. It was for every misguided, terrified Witch she Hunted without remorse under his guise, that she allowed herself to feel sorrow. It was for the souls who could not find rest because their bodies had been desecrated and used to destroy their kin. As the elevator went up in flames, Robin closed her eyes and mourned not for him--but for her own.
She is determined that his ghost will be one of the few that does not haunt her.
15. Higashi Yuuji
The worst part is, she can't even remember what he looked like. Try as she might, the only thing she can recall is the smell of sulfur and sand. To her memories, already so full of regret from names and faces of people she condemned to horrible fates, he was just another lost soul.
Sixteen Deaths in the Life of Robin Sena
972 words, spoilers for the entire series.
01. Kazuya Misawa
A Witch and a human in holy matrimony was a bitter pill to swallow. Misawa's indifference towards his fiancée was no surprise, given the man he turned out to be; but the flagrancy with which their union was presented had made Robin's throat twist with disgust.
It twists even more, now that she realizes the source of her bitterness.
02. Kazuma Kurata
An immortal Witch was a novel idea at the time, one Robin couldn't fully wrap her head around. A person who only found the strength to live through love was, too, but now she thinks that might have been what fueled Kurata's desperation in his final moments. It still feels strange now, to find that idea sympathetic.
03. Sayoko
Robin had actually been watching her for over a week.
Looking back on it, her feelings of betrayal were not from Sayoko trying to kill her, but rather at the idea that someone Robin had thought of as a possible friend might have turned out to be a Hunter's target.
04. Eiko Yano
Robin knows there is no point in regret, because there was little she could have done to prevent what happened. Still, on rainy days, she can think of nothing else.
05. Chie
Do Witches have real emotions? It was a question that ran through Robin's mind as she watched Chie willingly burn to death with her dolls. Does it matter? was the question that followed.
She knows the answer to the first query, but isn't sure about the second.
06. Kudou Mamoru
Even now, Robin's most vivid memory of that case isn't the way the boy looked when the Factory workers came and took his parakeet from him. It was the guilt that crossed Dojima's face. In the end, the only way she could justify the need to Hunt a small child was to remind herself that he was a murderer--and that he had upset someone she considered a friend.
07. Akio Kurosawa
Although Robin's illness had zapped her of her clarity, the question he posed to her was one she couldn't stop focusing on. What is my destiny? Robin wonders, if he had not died, would they have been able to speak about it? About what force could give them their Craft, what God would want them to live in confusion and secrecy and pain?
But the answer is no. Kurosawa would have still been taken to the Factory, like every other Witch. And the questions inside Robin's mind would have continued to persist.
08. Aki Yoshioka
A sister. There's no physical resemblance between them, and Robin knows that Aki's proclamation was meant for her twin, Saki, but afterward Robin's daydreams lingered towards the idea of an unknown network of relatives possessing her Craft. It was a terrible thought; that she could be connected to an entire family of Witches, each one another name in the STN's database.
Robin considers she would have liked to have met them, if they did exist.
09. Yutaka Kobari
"He was truly my son." Robin's still not sure what that means. But then, she's never been a parent. The barely-concealed rush of emotion hidden in Master's eyes spoke more volumes than she was prepared to read.
10. Juzo Narumi
A Witch driven mad with their craving for power: this is a tale Robin's heard many times. But there will always be something so tragic about this Witch, whose only salvation after running for his life was the Craft that would ultimately undo him.
She fears she will share his fate someday.
11. Methuselah
Robin could scarcely imagine an eternity of loneliness, only finding comfort in 300 years of painful memories. In time, such feelings of despair could be overwhelming--and she expects it to be, given the future of isolation that awaits her. Were you happy that you chose me? she poses to her. The answer is always the same: There is no happiness for our kind. This world does not endear us any more than it endears parasites.
She only needs to delve into the centuries of tormented memories hovering in the back of her mind to know that for certain. But she trusts Methuselah's word, and does not pry.
12. Shirou Masuda
The tears she shed were not out of hatred or disgust, but out of a devastating feeling of losing hope. The idea that her life at the STN-J could continue as peacefully as it had, maintaining that comforting sense of normalcy she had grown to accept--it was gone as soon as the flames enveloped his body.
13. Kannosaki and Hitomi
When Robin thinks of her parents, she is overwhelmed with feelings of anguish and regret, feelings that are too chaotic for even her to understand. Todou's reckless, hurtful ambition and Maria's unswayed love and hope made Robin. That's all she knows of them.
When Robin thinks of family, of people who love you unconditionally, who want the best for you no matter what kind of person you are--she thinks of the last dinner in the Kannosaki household. And has to hold herself still to keep from shaking with sobs as she remembers that night.
14. Takuma Zaizen
It was not for Zaizen that Robin regretted. It was for every misguided, terrified Witch she Hunted without remorse under his guise, that she allowed herself to feel sorrow. It was for the souls who could not find rest because their bodies had been desecrated and used to destroy their kin. As the elevator went up in flames, Robin closed her eyes and mourned not for him--but for her own.
She is determined that his ghost will be one of the few that does not haunt her.
15. Higashi Yuuji
The worst part is, she can't even remember what he looked like. Try as she might, the only thing she can recall is the smell of sulfur and sand. To her memories, already so full of regret from names and faces of people she condemned to horrible fates, he was just another lost soul.