Disclaimer: I do not own Chrno Crusade.
KopyKat: Yes, it's my first true attempt at a Chrno Crusade fan fiction. I did begin writing another back when I had only read the first volume of the manga and upon looking at it now after I've read up to volume 5 and have seen the entire anime, well, it's not accurate to say the least. Muahaha! Let's see how well I stick to the characters here, though I will have Rosette have a mother (which I will name Maggie). Can't have her life be EXACTLY the same. And Joshua is not her brother here, he's one of her closest troublemaking friends or rather "partner in crime."
April 3rd, 2020 A.D.
Salem, Massachusetts.
Despite this town's dark past dealing with witchcraft and the persecution of witches, there were still some people who practiced the art. Of course now, people did not burn suspected witches at the stake anymore. The witches of Salem were almost considered a tourist attraction, though only a few of the so-called witches were real. Now here comes our story of a young, troublesome girl, who is interested in magic (though her mother forbids it).
Something big was going out tonight and she had gotten the word! A small group of witches were supposed to be trying to summon up a demon, which was EXTREMELY dangerous because the demon could go wild and kill them all.
Eh, a little danger never hurt anybody, a 12-year old blonde-headed girl thinks as she attempts to sneak out the window in her room. Bad thing was, her room was located on the second floor of her house. Luckily for her, there was a tree outside of her window with several large branches, though without leaves, it appeared dead. She carefully slides her body out, feeling with her foot for the branch. She found it, though the branch wasn't exactly sturdy. She shuts her eyes tightly as she feels it bend down due to her weight, but it didn't snap. She opens one eye cautiously before letting out a sigh of relief, "Thought I was a goner there…."
"Rosette!" her mother screams, bursting into her room and surprising the girl.
The branch breaks and she falls towards the ground, landing in a bush, "YEOW!" She lies in the bush and looks up at the window, spotting her mother looking down at her with a worried expression, "Don't DO that mom! Ya scared me half to DEATH! Heck! You could've scared me to death if I landed on my head!"
Her mother, known as Maggie, narrows her eyes a little, "Rosette, you shouldn't be doing stunts like this. You could end up getting hurt. You were sneaking out again, weren't you?"
Rosette sighs, getting up and dusting herself off, "Well, yes, but you can see how that turned out. And I wasn't planning on doing anything bad, I just wanted to go pay a visit to my friend Josh. You remember him right mom?"
Maggie gives a small nod of understanding, "Yes, I do remember him. But I know you Rosette, you and that boy will go wandering around, getting into mischief or looking for witches or something. Both of you are occult maniacs."
The younger girl shakes her head, "Nuh-uh! Josh wanted me to meet him somewhere because we wanted to go check out the bookstore! Seriously mom, you worry too much. It's not like I'll do some strange spell and summon a powerful demon to rule the world with. If anything, I would summon a smart demon and have him do my homework for me! World domination just isn't my thing."
"Ah, so homework isn't your thing either," her mother responds with a sly smile, arching an eyebrow upwards, "I'm afraid that having some demon doing your homework for you isn't going to get you into college."
Rosette sticks her tongue out, "Yeah, well… uh… I'll stuff him into my bag or something and have him help me! So there! And can I go now? Josh is supposed to be waiting for me by now and he's SO impatient!" When her mother seems to be having conflicting thoughts, she makes puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip, "Pwetty pwease? With sugar and a cherry on top? Or would you rather sprinkles or whipped cream? Anything for the best mother in the world!" She grins.
Maggie shakes her head, the corners of her lips curved up in a small smile, "Alright, alright, I'll let you go on one condition. You stay away from anywhere where witches might be and I want you home before 8!"
Rosette grins wider and runs off, "Thanks mom! And by the way, that was TWO conditions!" 'She said one condition, so I'll be back for 8,' she thinks, smirking deviously as she sprints down the sidewalk.
Meanwhile, Josh was waiting at their rendezvous point, checking his watch every so often, Gah! Rosette's late again! He was beginning to get impatient, though patience was not one of his strongest virtues. He soon starts pacing back and forth, nearly wearing a hole into the pavement.
"Josh!"
He pauses and looks up to see Rosette running towards him, "Rosette! Where have you been? You should've been here like 10 minutes ago!"
She stops next to him and tries to catch her breath, doubled over with her hands resting on her knees, "Yeah… well… I had to… convince my mom to… let me come!"
Josh nods, understanding completely what she meant. While Rosette's mother was extremely nice and soft-spoken, she was rather strict and did not want her daughter getting involved in something like witchcraft. In occasions like that, her voice might also raise a little.
After waiting another minute or so for Rosette to fully catch her breath, the two begin walking towards the waterfront, which is where the summoning was supposed to take place.
Rosette looks over at Josh, "So, Josh, ya getting scared?"
Josh smiles before laughing, "Me? Scared? I LAUGH in the face of danger! Ha-ha-ha-HA!"
The blonde girl smiles before shaking her head, "You must've seen the Lion King one too many times."
He chuckles, "Yes, well, that isn't my fault. My little sister likes the movie and likes to watch it over and over again. It would drive me crazy if I didn't like it."
"You're already crazy," Rosette mutters before looking up ahead, "Look! They must've already started! I can see the smoke from some torches or something and I can smell them burning incense!" She grabs her friend by the wrist and runs, dragging him along, "We hafta HURRY!"
They arrive on the rocky beach and hide themselves behind a large boulder. It's not that the witches and warlocks weren't friendly, though in this case, they might not want outsiders to wander close. Their main reason for hiding was to stay out of the sight of the demon. Meanwhile, the people performing the summoning were standing inside of a seal that was drawn on the ground, which served the purpose of protecting them with an invisible barrier.
The two children watch eagerly (yet somewhat fearfully) as the summoners begin the ritual and listen to the incantation that the head summoner said out loud. It wasn't until after he had spoken the entire thing the first time that there was signs of magic at work. A circle with a pentagram inside appears on the ground in front of them marked in a red, evil-looking energy. As the summoner continues chanting, the symbol grows a little larger and brighter before becoming nothing but a bright light in the shape of a circle. The pentagram itself was no longer visible. Energy crackles in the air around them as someone, or something begins ascending through the portal created.
Rosette's eyes widen to their extent as she watches what looked similar to a man rise from the portal on the ground. Only things that were 'inhuman' that she could see at the present moment were the horns that rose above his long, pointed and tufted ears. A long mechanism, resembling a spine almost, extended from the back of his head. His hair was a rather unnatural color of violet and was a bit messy-looking, though one wouldn't expect someone who's in hell to be able to drink ice-cold water let alone brush their hair. Both Rosette and Josh let out a quiet gasp when the demon's wings, which had been folded, suddenly snap out to their full length. Ok, so there were many things that were 'inhuman' about him, but take them away and he WOULD look human!
Rosette squints, studying the demon with a sense of familiarity. For some reason, though she had NO clue how it could be possible, she felt almost like she should know this particular demon. His hair and his ears were similar to what a boy had seen in her dreams.
In a reoccurring dream, she saw a boy with pointed ears and long violet hair that went all the way down to his waist in a braid. In nearly every dream, he would smile warmly at her. Sometimes, he would take her by her hand and lead her off in a random direction, saying in a cheerful tone, "Come on Rosette!" She automatically knew in her dream that he wasn't human, but still, she completely trusted him each and every time. Sometimes he would lead her to a tomb that was dark and dreary, other times, he would lead her to a beautiful lake where she suddenly found herself to be more devious than ever and throwing him into the water, despite his shouts and him begging her not to.
Without realizing what she was doing, she stands up and her legs begin automatically leading her towards the freshly-summoned demon. Even Josh couldn't stop her fast enough and he was also afraid of gaining the demon's attention. She reaches out a hand towards him while walking before unknowingly whispering a name that she had never actually said, but yet it just seemed to roll off her tongue like it was natural, "Chrno…."