[ghost]

He's shoving his way through the crowd, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of her before it's too late.

He won't be late.

(Except he already is, for his time is long gone.)

Another ten minutes pass before he finally makes it to the front of the pit. He feels out-of-place amongst the crowd of screaming pre-teens and socialites; they're dressed in fresh clothing, whilst he still wears his hospital garb and tattered jacket.

(His hat is gone.)

He sees her -

and stares. (Why won't she look at him?)

She's different; the excitable girl, prone to bursting out with joy - a cheerleader, he remembers - replaced by something that could have been hewn from granite.

Cold. Emotionless.

Ice queen.

She only notices him halfway through the battle; perhaps, she could feel his eyes. She turns, and meets his gaze.

(The red is starting to recede.)

She stops moving.

(The fractures...)

As she's stopped battling, the opponent quickly wraps up the battle and is declared the winner. She couldn't care less.

Muttering starts.

(...are beginning to heal.)

But strangely enough, her gaze...

(Outside, a man curses as he fumbles with a small box; he drops it, and a small band of metal, adorned with a sparkling diamond, tumbles out.)

...holds no recognition.

[note]

I'm going to call this story complete. Might post one more chapter, an epilogue of sorts, but I just want to wrap this up.