its been almost a week since Emma basically threatened him and, the entire time, Emma has been acting like nothing happened

"Hi, Norman!" Emma greeted the white haired boy innocently

"... Hi, Emma" Norman greeted awkwardly as she walked up to him happily

"You're forgetting to smile" Emma whispered, earning silence from the white haired boy

"Emma" someone called out. The two kids turned to see none other than Peter Ratri approaching

"Oh! Hello Father!" Emma greeted her father cheerfully

"Emma, would you be a dear and come with me? We need you to help us restrain an experiment" Peter smiled at his daughter

"Oh. Um.. I- I don't think-"

"Come on, Emma. I work all day with a busy schedule. The least you can do is help me a little" Peter said, his words laced with a gentle tone that almost sounded... Forced?

"Oh... I'm sorry.. Of course, father..." Emma replied as she walked away with her dad, a look of hesitation etched on her face

{~'∆*∆'~}

Norman sat in his room, reading a book to keep himself occupied, like he has for the last few days

Then, there was a knock on the door, which interrupted his train of thought. He looked up and Emma walked in

"Norman!~ Hi!~" she exclaimed

"hi.." Norman replied coldly as she walked over to him and leaned on the wall

"Whatcha doin'?" Emma asked curiously

"reading" Norman said

"reading what?" She asked, tilting her head

"That parts none of your business" He snapped, clearly getting annoyed with her

"Woah, woah, relax, Norman!" Emma giggled

Norman just scowled at her

"I'm just here cause I wanna introduce you to someone!" Emma suddenly grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the room, earning a yelp from Norman. They then stopped by a room not too far from Emma's. The gingerette approached the door and knocked on it before barging in anyways

"Oh, Rosie!~" she called out in a sing-song, almost mocking, voice "I have a surprise for you!~"

In confusion, Norman peeked his head into the room. Sitting on the bed was a girl. Her eyes were two different colors, one brown and one lilac. Her skin was dark yet had lighter patches visible. Her strawberry blonde hair was short, almost in a pixie cut

She looked different but he could recognize her anywhere

"Rose..?" Norman whispered in disbelief

"N- Norman...?" The girl let out a gasp

The boy ran up and hugged her, in which she immediately returned the gesture in tears

"Awwwww~ such a lovely family reunion~" Emma smiled, a sarcastic touch in her voice as she interrupted

"What- how- ... Why did you bring me here.." Norman asked, accusatory and on his guard, not letting go of the girl's hand

"well, I thought I'd introduce you to Rosie over here to give you a little friend" Emma giggled "but it seems like you two already know each other!"

Rose and Norman looked at each other then back at Emma

"Look, I'm not trying to threaten you or anything... Oh wait. I am!" The gingerette took a step forward and looked Norman in the eye "if you do anything, and I mean anything, to try and escape, I'll make sure you never see your precious sister ever again"

{~'∆*∆'~}

Norman was walking around with his sister in tow. The nicest thing Emma has done so far is give them liberty to walk around but not enter any rooms

As they walked, they heard two familiar voices conversing

"Father, I'm just not sure if I want to keep this act up..!" Emma exclaimed in a hushed tone

"Emma" Peter said in a cold, uncaring voice, out of character for when he spoke to his daughter. For Norman and Rose at least

"You're a Ratri. Act like one" he said, his words dripping with annoyance and malice

"But..!-"

"No buts. You either get your act together or I'll have to do it for you"

"Father, I beg of you, please listen to me..!"

"Fine! Go on, speak"

"Father, please, I don't want-"

"Emma, this isn't about what you want, it's about the needs of the System. You are the family's next head, act like it or so help me!"

{~'∆*∆'~}

Emma stood silently in her room, consumed by a feeling of anger and something more. She fell to her knees as tears started falling. I'm crying, Emma thought, why am I crying? She removed her gloves and wiped her tears away

"What's wrong with me..?" Emma let out shallow laughs, wiping away her tears "am I going insane? Is this.. Really what I am?" she laughed on the floor. Suddenly, she heard knocking on the door but didn't bother to turn around

"Emma? Is that you..? Are you alright...?" Rose's voice asked from outside

"I'm fine" Emma scoffed, her voice laced with hate

"... A- are you sure..?" Rose asked

"I said I'm fine!" Emma yelled, turning her head towards the door. The girl on the other side went silent

"Okay..." the girl outside said meekly before staying quiet and walking away

Emma turned back and stood up. She approached the vanity next to her bed and glared at herself, a wreck and a monster

A Ratri

"There's something wrong with that girl" she heard Norman's voice from outside, nearby "all you tried to do was help"

"... I.. I know, but she might be going through something... I heard her crying..!" Rose said, her voice cracking and doing that little whine it does when you're about to cry

"Rose..." Norman said softly "Rose, some people are just... Like that, y'know?"

"I know...." Rose sighed, her tone sounding defeated

Emma's eyes narrowed slightly, annoyed at their useless banter. She wiped away the tears and walked towards the door, opening it calmly. She peeked her head out with an innocent smile on her face

"Would you two mind shutting the fuck up?" She asked with a mockingly cutesy tone

"Oh..! Uh, s.. Sorry about that..!" Rose stammered

"Go to your rooms to have this conversation or something" Emma huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes as she went back inside and shut the door. She could hear their footsteps receding as they walked away quietly

"Ugh.." Emma groaned "Good riddance..." 

She huffed and went over to her vanity, where a mauve ribbon and necklace with a pink porcelain pendant sat unused. The gingerette picked up the ribbon and let it tangle in between her fingers, the material slightly worn from years of use

"Such a peculiar woman... I'll never understand her way of thinking..." Emma wondered aloud to herself

"Maybe I should pay a little visit to the training facility soon"