Alright, here's the promised follow-up aside chapter to the previous review.

As of this writing, I don't know how long it's going to be. Probably not very, but it depends on how things will go. I hope you enjoy.

Away we go.

/

Crona didn't understand why some people hated the snow.

It was very pleasant to look at. Watching the white, fluffy flakes float gently to the ground was very soothing for him. He also enjoyed listening to the crunching sounds it made when he walked in it, and he'd seen a lot of kids out playing in it. Making snow angels, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and so on. If they could enjoy the snow, why couldn't everyone?

However, now that Crona had put some thought into it, perhaps it wasn't the snow so much as what came with it that people didn't like.

"Eeeeeegh! Man, it's freezing out here!"

Crona winced slightly as his companion for the time being turned and gave him a curious look.

"Crona, aren't you cold dressed like that?"

"I-I'm OK, Mr. Albarn…"

Crona didn't really want to explain why all he had added to his usual attire was a white scarf. Seeing as how Ragnarok could regulate the black blood himself, he never had to worry about feeling too cold. Though he wasn't really sure he wanted to discuss that with Spirit, especially since he was covered in about four different coats.

Crona never really liked to admit it, but he was more than a little intimidated by Spirit. Sure, Maka had told him that he was pretty much harmless, but it didn't change the fact that he was the Death Scythe. Not a Death Scythe, like Marie or Soul, but the one personally chosen by Lord Death himself to be his weapon. There had to be a reason behind that, even if Spirit didn't seem like the right choice.

More importantly to Crona, of course, was the fact that he was Maka's father. They may not be on the best of terms, but that still meant something. And considering how fiercely overprotective Spirit was, Crona wanted to at least try to get on his good side.

Though, dragging Spirit out to Ukraine may not have been the best way to do that.

"So…you sure you want to do this?" Spirit asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm sure, sir…" Crona answered. "I just thought it'd be a good idea to…have someone come along, just in case…"

"I get that this is important to you and all, but…no offense, but you're not exactly a popular guy around here, Crona…"

Sadly, Spirit was right. Crona had already noticed a few people deliberately avoiding him as the two of them walked through the village. One or two of them had expression of total fear on their faces. Clearly, many of them still remembered him from the last time he had "visited".

Crona couldn't blame them.

"And not that I'm complaining or anything…" Spirit continued, (even Crona could tell that this was a blatant lie) "But why me? Don't you usually get Stein to go along with you on these things?"

"…I don't want him to know I'm here." Crona answered.

That was partially true. It wasn't so much that he didn't want Stein to know that he was there, but more that he thought it wasn't such a good idea. Considering how his little plan could go wrong, Stein would be in serious danger if he was there.

Spirit gave him a suspicious look, but shrugged. "OK, whatever, but that still doesn't explain why it had to be me. Why not Sid, or Azusa? I mean, Maka would make more sense than me. I hardly know you."

That's sort of the problem… Crona thought.

"Well, OK, I know of you, of course." Spirit continued. "And I know that you're a close friend of my daughter…a very close friend, in fact…"

Oh crap. Crona quickly realized that this might not have been the best idea.

Spirit crossed his arms, eyeing Crona. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you two without each other at all lately…it makes me wonder what exactly is going on…"

Crona looked ahead, surprised that he was thankful at what he saw.

"Mr. Albarn, we're here…"

Spirit rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, I'm not going to fall for that one-"

"N-No, really, we're here."

Spirit looked up at what Crona was looking at, blinking slightly in surprise.

The dilapidated house looked as though it had been there for generations, and had earned something of a reputation among the locals as a haunted house. Which naturally made it the perfect hideout for any criminals or other ne'er-do-wells.

Crona was perfectly aware of that, of course.

"…this is it, huh?" Spirit said.

"Yeah…this is it…" Crona responded.

"…you know that she's probably dead and gone, right?"

"I know, sir… but I have to do this. …I have to move on."

Spirit stared at Crona in mild surprise, before looking back at the house.

"…guess that explains why you didn't want Stein to come along…"

He then sighed, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Alright. Go do what you have to do. I'll be out here if you need me."

Crona looked at Spirit, surprised that he was so eager to help out. He then gave a small, polite nod.

"Thank you, sir…"

He then turned and marched towards the house, soon stopping in front of the door. He gave a short exhale of breath, before opening it and stepping inside.

The main room looked almost exactly the same as it did when Crona last saw it, all those months ago. The table and chairs were exactly as Crona left them, though someone had removed the food that he had left behind. The beds at the back were left untouched, and the curtains were still pulled over the windows, covering the room in darkness.

There was still a large stain on the wall, covering most of his drawings. It had faded in colour since that day, but it still gave the wall an unnatural tinge.

Some part of Crona almost expected to find Medusa's body still there. He wasn't sure why, but it made him nervous that it wasn't.

He walked forward, stopping in front of the chair he had sat in on that fateful day. He placed his hands on the back, leaning against it.

After a few seconds of silence, a low gurgling noise was heard as Ragnarok uncurled from Crona's back.

"Hey." he whispered. "You sure this is such a good idea?"

Crona sighed. "Ragnarok, I told you, I have to do this."

"Yeah, I know, but this isn't really safe, is it? I mean…we don't know where she is."

Crona stared down at the table, not responding.

"Look, all I'm saying is that she could still be around here." Ragnarok explained. "You know how slippery she is. She could've done that whole "soul fragmentation" thing she did before and is just lying in wait here."

"And she could also have escaped and is hiding somewhere else." Crona added. "I know…believe me, I've thought of this…"

"…and you still want to do this?"

Crona frowned, looking back at Ragnarok.

"This has to end. I'm tired of her hanging over my head like this. I can't keep living my life thinking she's going to come back and ruin things again. I have to move on."

Ragnarok stared at Crona for a few seconds, before nodding in reply.

"Yeah, you're right…but I'm gonna stay out here, just in case."

Crona smiled slightly, then looked away from Ragnarok. He looked into the darkness of the room, carefully studying the area.

Ragnarok was right in that she could be lying in wait. Perhaps this was another trap of hers, lulling Crona into a false sense of security before returning yet again. Or maybe she was too weak to actively attack again, and she was waiting for him to return due to having no other choice.

Whatever the case, Crona knew that it didn't really matter.

No matter what, this had to be done.

"…I don't know if you're here or not…" Crona whispered. "If you are…then I want you to listen."

He straightened up, no longer leaning on the chair.

"…fifteen years. For fifteen years, I lived with you. I followed you. I did whatever you asked of me, no matter how horrible it was, or how much I didn't want to do it. I obeyed everything you said for what was my entire life. And I thought that that was supposed to be love…"

Crona paused, taking a second to gather his thoughts, before continuing.

"But that wasn't love. Because you never showed me anything that could be considered that. We weren't mother and child. We were master and slave. I was a weapon to you, an object. Less than human. You never really explained to me what love was supposed to be, but somehow I knew…you weren't showing me love."

Crona pulled back a bit, moving a little closer to the door.

"But you knew I wanted that. You knew how badly I wanted love. So you constantly baited me with the idea that I would finally get it from you. Over and over again, until I eventually gave up on the idea. I thought that there was no chance of me ever experiencing what motherly love is supposed to be…"

He glared instinctively into the darkness, remembering what he was about to say.

"And then, when I had given up…you used that against me. You knew I had reached the point where I gave up hope. So when you did finally show me love…you knew I would react the way I did…"

He shivered slightly, remembering what had happened.

"…but that wasn't love either. That was just an act. That wasn't real. It was all just part of your plan to make me a Kishin…because that's the only reason I was born…"

Crona didn't see Ragnarok give him a sympathetic look.

"…I now know what love is supposed to be. And it wasn't because of you. It was thanks to the people you were training me to fight against. They showed me what love is, and it wasn't what you did for me. You wouldn't even let me call you mother…"

Crona took a quick breath, preparing himself for the next bit.

"…so, I won't."

He stared into the darkness, hoping he at least seemed confident.

"I no longer consider you my mother."

He waited for something to react to what he said. When nothing happened, he continued.

"A mother is supposed to take care of her child. She's supposed to nurture them, raise them so that they can survive on their own. All you did was keep me alive, so that I could fulfill whatever purpose you had in mind for me. You made it so that you were the only one I could rely on, even if I didn't want to. …but things are different now."

He turned, facing the door.

"I don't need you anymore."

There was still no reaction from the darkness, so Crona continued.

"The people back in Death City…they're my friends. They care for me, and I care for them back. That place is my home now. You are not important to me anymore. All you are is another enemy. And, if you are still alive, if you threaten them, I will kill you. Not because of who you are, but because you're a threat. That's all."

Crona took a few steps forward, heading back to the door.

Once he reached it, he put his hand on the doorknob. He paused, wondering if he should say what else was on his mind.

It was a bold declaration to make. Not that he hadn't already been plenty bold as it was, but this was potentially world-changing. Still, he had come this far, so he may as well keep going.

"…I made a decision that you might want to hear."

He turned his head, looking back into the room.

"I want to end the war between the witches and the meisters."

Crona didn't notice Ragnarok's eyes widening in surprise.

"…I don't even know how I'm going to start, but I thought you should know that. …maybe that's why you did what you did to me. So that I could end the war and rule over what was left, as the Kishin. You see, that's what's been the most difficult part of this. The fact that I don't know why. Why you ever thought to do any of this to your own son…"

Crona sighed, his expression hardening again.

"But it doesn't matter now. I didn't make that choice because you wanted me to. I made it because I wanted to."

He paused, still expecting a reaction from something in the room.

When nothing happened, he decided to properly finish.

"That's all I have to say…so if you're going to try to stop me, now's the time."

He glanced at Ragnarok, who readied himself to transform at a moment's notice.

The two of them stared into the darkness of the room, anxiously waiting for something to happen. Crona could feel Ragnarok gripping onto his shoulder, and realized he was doing the same to the doorknob.

A few seconds passed, the tension growing even more. Crona almost wished Medusa would appear, if only to finally confirm his suspicions. If only to make him stop fretting over if and when she would strike next.

A few more seconds, and Crona breathed a small sigh of relief. If Medusa was there, she would've made her move by now. Wherever Medusa was, she wasn't here.

Maybe she really was dead and gone. Maybe she was recovering somewhere far away from here. Maybe she was hiding somewhere else, waiting for Crona to return so she could strike.

Whatever the case was, Crona would deal with it when the time came.

He opened the door and stepped outside, never to return to that house.

/

Crona carefully raised a hand and rapped his knuckles on the door three times, before pulling back and placing both hands behind him.

There was silence for a few seconds, before Crona heard footsteps coming towards the door.

It slowly swung open as Marie peeked her head out from behind it.

"Oh! Crona!" she exclaimed, walking out from behind the door. "I wasn't expecting you today."

Crona fidgeted slightly, giving a small nod as an answer.

Marie tilted her head. "Crona? Is everything OK?"

Crona looked away, face flushing slightly.

"U-Um…I-I just heard about it today, so I didn't really know what to do…b-but I still wanted to do something, so…"

He then pulled his hands out from behind his back, holding a bouquet of assorted flowers out in front of him.

"…happy birthday, Marie."

Marie's eyes widened in surprise, before a smile appeared on her face as she took the flowers from Crona.

"Oh, Crona…these are lovely!"

She placed the flowers close to her face and gently inhaled, taking in the pleasant scent. She then moved the bouquet away to happily reach forward and hug Crona.

"Thank you so much!"

Crona blushed while hugging Marie back. "Y-You're welcome…"

The two pulled away from the other, Marie smiling warmly at Crona.

"D-Do you really like them…?" Crona asked.

"Oh yes, I love them!" Marie eagerly answered.

"W-Well, it's just…I didn't know what you wanted for your birthday, so I just got those…"

Marie sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Crona, your lesson for the day!"

"H-Huh?"

"It's not the gift, but the thought that counts."

Crona tilted his head as Marie leaned forward to look at him.

"I'm happy that you thought to get me something, so I'm not all that worried about what you got me. Because you cared enough to get me a gift, I'm thankful. You see?"

Crona stared at Marie for a few seconds, then slowly nodded in understanding.

"Y-Yes…"

Marie smiled again, before putting an arm around Crona's shoulders and leading him inside.

"I'm going to put these in some water. Then I'll make some tea for us, OK?"

Crona nodded, his face heating up again.

Even though it had been a rather small gift, just the fact that Marie wore a huge smile on her face, and was clearly so happy at the gesture…

Crona couldn't help but smile himself at how good it felt.

/

OK, kind of a corny end, but whatever.

Next review will come soon. See you then!