Author's Note: Okay so another story that i've been trying to start for a while. Hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade
Chapter 1
"DIE BASTARD DIE!!!!!" Rosette fired another round in to the two headed demon that was shooting large and likely to be poisonous spikes at her. Sweat poured down her flushed face and her hair blew free of the usual head-dress, giving her a wild look. She cried out in frustration as she just managed to duck another set of spikes. "Chrno! Reload!"
"Coming!" The small, purple haired demon scrambled over the rubble that Rosette and the demon were leaving behind, struggling to keep up with his fiery friend. If only he were in his true form.... he banished the thought from his mind before it could even fully form. He would never risk Rosette's life for his own pride. He finally reached her and handed her another round. She was off again the second her gun was loaded, screaming at the top of her lungs. With each shot the curses got louder and more shocking. A slight blush rose up Chrno's cheeks as he thought of what Sister Kate would say.
The demon finally gave up the fight and (with a rather over-dramatic roar, in Chrno's opinion) fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
"YEESS!!" Rosette threw down her gun and stuck up her arms in triumph. Chrno's half formed smile froze on his face. Rosette never had a chance to hear his warning cry before the large spike flew past her, missing her body by a millimetre. Chrno felt his heart stop as she fell to her knees. He was at her side in an instant.
"Rosette? Rosette, where does it hurt?" He lifted her arms away from her body and paled as he saw blood blossoming at her side. He glanced behind him but the demon was well and truly dead now, the spike being its final attempt to get his own back.
"I'm....okay..." Rosette muttered through clenched teeth. "It just nicked me as it went past,"
Chrno ignored her and ripped the already torn material out of the way so that he could get to her ribs. The cut wasn't too deep but the edges were turning black. His nose wrinkled as the sharp smell of poison filled the air. He scooped her up, ignoring her protests that she could walk on her own, taking the short spike with him. It was only about a foot long and he took care not to touch the end that was oozing a sticky black substance. He carefully placed her in the passenger seat before hurrying round to the driver's side. Anxiously he twisted the keys in the ignition. He had never actually been taught to drive but he'd seen Rosette do it hundreds of times before and how hard could it be? As the car juddered in to life he pressed his foot down on to the peddle. The car sped backwards so quickly he was thrown forwards in his chair and smacked his head on the wheel.
"Crap! Rosette, I need you to tell me what to do!" he glanced at Rosette and sucked in his breath. Her face was paling and she seemed to be trying not to vomit. "Rosette? Are you okay?" She mumbled something under her breath. Panicking he took a look at her side again. The wound was now completely black. "Rosette? I don't know how to drive the car. Can you tell me what to do?"
She shook her head and opened up the car door just in time to throw up on to the ground. Chrno reached out and held her hair back, rubbing her back until she was done. "Are you okay?"
She didn't speak. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was becoming worryingly shallow. He held his hand to her forehead and felt panic rising up in his throat like bile. Her temperature was already well above the norm. Realising that driving was no longer an option, he scrambled in to the back of the car and reached for the phone. Sister Kate answered in two rings.
"Sister Kate, its Chrno,"
"If Rosette has totalled yet another car we are not sending someone to pick you up-"she began immediately.
"Rosette's hurt,"
"How badly?" She asked all business now.
"She was attacked by a demon. The cuts not bad but she's been poisoned," The panic was obvious in his voice now as it rose yet another octave.
"Okay, calm down. I'm sending Remington to get you,"
Chrno reached over and took Rosette's hand. It was freezing cold. He pulled her in to his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She shivered and huddled closer in to him. Her eyes didn't open.
Remington reached them in record time. He helped transfer Rosette in to his car and sped them back to the Order, carrying her up to the infirmary. Chrno reluctantly waited outside while they worked on her, not wanting to get in the way. It seemed like hours when Remington finally came to get him, though in reality it had only been one.
"Rosette's fine," he said quickly. "It's a poison we've met before. She's already been given the antidote,"
Chrno's body slumped against the wall in relief. "Can I see her?"
She was still asleep, her pale lips parted slightly, like she was about to smile or say something. He clasped her hand, which was still freezing cold and gave it a squeeze. She didn't look any better.
"How long does the antidote take to work?" he asked.
"Well she had to take three more doses over the next 24 hours," Remington replied. "But normally by now she should be waking up,"
The familiar taste of panic bubbled up in to Chrno's mouth once again. "Then why isn't it working?"
"It's obviously having some effect. She's stopped vomiting and her fever is coming down," he reasoned. "It's just taking her longer to heal,"
"But why?" Chrno caught the awkward look on Remington's face and felt something inside of him drop slightly. "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"The watch is draining her life source, making it harder for her to heal," When what he really meant was that Chrno was draining her life-force. "But don't worry. She'll be fine by tomorrow,"
Guilt washed through Chrno's entire being, making him feel sick. He grasp on Rosette's hand tightened. This was his fault. Not only hadn't he protected her, he was the reason she wasn't healing fast enough.
Closing his eyes, Chrno listened to Rosette's heartbeat, feeling more calm with each beat. It was almost back to normal now. But with the calmness came dark, painful thoughts. They were the same thoughts that always crept up whenever Rosette was affected by their contract. The same thoughts that plagued him late at night when there were no distractions. What if...
What if he had never made the contract with her? What if he'd protected her and Joshua better? What if he never used the seal again, no matter what? What if he just killed himself now and save what little was left of her life? What if he finally did the right thing and left? Normally common sense caught up with him before he could get too depressed. He couldn't have predicted the situation with Joshua after all and it had been Rosette who had insisted on the contract. And hadn't he promised her he would help her find Joshua? How could he leave her if she still needed him? But underneath this was the real reason he couldn't leave. How could he leave her if he still needed her?
He tried to reassure himself with the usual lines. Yet for some reason this time he couldn't make sense of them. Rosette didn't need him to find Joshua. Not with Sister Kate and Remington and the whole Order behind her. She didn't need him, even if she had convinced herself she did. She was just a child really. He needed to be the responsible one for once. He'd promised to protect her. Well he wasn't doing a great job of it at the moment was he? Suddenly another thought rose to the surface of his mind, as unwelcome and deadly as the rest of them. What if the best way to protect her was to leave her?
"Where are you going?" Remington asked curiously as Chrno suddenly rose to his feet.
"I have to take care of something. Watch Rosette for me,"
Remington watched the small demon walk away, frowning. For a couple of seconds he wondered what Chrno was up to. But then Rosette murmured something in her sleep and once again all of his attention was on her.
***
When Rosette woke up it was completely dark in the infirmary except for a single strip of moonlight illuminating her bed. Having woken up so many times in the familiar room, Rosette didn't ponder over her injury for long. Whatever it was didn't hurt so bad as others had so she must be find. Besides she was still numb and slightly groggy from the drugs she'd been given. Her hand automatically flexed, seeking the familiar warmth of Chrno's. When it found nothing she turned, frowning. He was there, of course, sat by her bed, leaning away from the light so that his face was hidden in shadows.
"Chrno?" She tried to pull herself in to a sitting position but pain shot through her side.
"Don't try to move. You'll open up the stitches," There was something scarily flat about his voice. It sent a shiver down her spine.
"Stitches? Only me, eh?" She joked lamely, gently pulling herself up higher. She waited for him to tease her or tell her off. Anything but this silence. "So...how long was I out?"
"Just a day,"
"A whole day wasted. I'm such a klutz,"
When this too was met by silence Rosette began to feel nervous, though she had no idea why. They sat in a tense quiet for a long moment. Rosette was about to speak when Chrno began.
"Rosette. I'm leaving."
For a split second Rosette said nothing. "Okay. Can you bring me some food when you get back? I'm starving!"
"No. I mean I'm leaving the Order. And...and I'm not coming back. Ever."
In the silence that followed his statement Rosette felt her small world start to slowly fall apart, piece by piece. First her lungs cut off, then her heart accelerated to pick up the slack. She tried to speak but there was a lump in her throat that refused to let any words out.
"Why?" She finally managed.
"I'm a danger to you. Every day we spend together I put your life in danger."
"Don't be stupid, I-"
"I'm going to travel. Find a way to break the contract. I might even be able to find away to give you back what I've already taken. But you won't see me again,"
Rosette's body stiffened as he stood up. She grabbed as his arm, her eyes swimming, and pulled him closer to her. She could see his face now and it scared her. There was a dead expression in his eyes. They looked like when they first met in Magdalene's tomb.
"Chrno. Please," she begged, sobbing freely now. For a second it seemed as though Chrno was wavering. He bent down so that their faces were an inch apart and gently pressed his lips to her.
"I'd rather die than watch me draining your life anymore," he whispered against her mouth. "Goodbye,"
Then he was gone.
The curtains by the open window fluttered in the night breeze, mocking her. The room was empty and he was gone.
Panic began to swell up in her veins, pulsing through her like a drum. Ignoring the pain she threw herself off the bed and limped to the open window. She screamed his name over and over in to the night, crying out for him. When the other Sisters came to see what was happening she ignored them, fighting them off even as her stitches tore. Because there was no pain that compared to this. She called for him over and over, pleading with each Sister in turn to get him. As the sharp prick of the needle broke her skin and the sedatives took over her mind she pictured his face as he left and the gentle touch of his lips. The way they had tasted of regret and guilt and sorrow. They told her what her heart already knew. He wasn't coming back.
***
Remington paced around Sister Kate's room, the tense silence making him edgy. Behind her desk the stern faced nun stared straight ahead, her expression blank. Niether of them jumped when the harsh shrill of the telephone broke the quiet.
"Sister Kate speaking. Yes...I see...no thank you very much. Goodbye," She glanced up at Remington's strained face. "They haven't seen him." As the priest continued his frustrated pacing Sister Kate sighed. "We've had calls from over ten branches. No one has seen him. It's been two weeks. I think we need to face the fact that he isn't coming back,"
"No. He wouldn't do that for Rosette," Remington said firmly.
"Maybe he's doing it for Rosette," Sister Kate suggested gently. "She said he didn't want to hurt her anymore. Maybe this is the best we could have hoped for,"
"What, Kate? Rosette refusing meals, having to be sedated to stop her injuring herself by going to look for him, screaming for him in the middle of the night? Is that the best we could have hoped for?" He demanded.
"This is something she will get past. What doesn't kill you..."
Remington glared furiously at her for a moment before sighing. He knew she was right. Even if he did think what Chrno did was the most foolish, wrong thing he could have possibly done for the girl, no one could question his intentions.
"Are you going to tell her or am I?" he asked quietly.
"Together?"
He nodded.
Rosette was sat by the window sill when they arrived. She refused to sit anywhere else during the day. Her hopeful face fell as she saw their expressions.
"Still nothing?" she asked. Remington shook his head. "Well, he'll turn up. Once he gets hungry or something,"
"Rosette-"
"Don't be thinking he's going to get off easily when he gets back. I'm going to punish him for all the trouble he's caused,"
"Rosette, stop." Sister Kate fixed her with a stern stare. "Chrno isn't coming back,"
Rosette shook her head, tears springing instantly to her eyes. She turned her back to them, no longer willing to be a part of the discussion. Remington approached her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "He did what he thought was best for you. Now you need to honour him in that. Let him go. It's what he wanted,"
She didn't show any sign she had heard him.
"Oh stop sulking and move on!" Sister Kate snapped. This seemed to bring her out of it. She turned to glare at the nun, pure hatred in her eyes.
"I can't move on! I need him!" she yelled, her cheeks flushing.
"And what about Joshua?"
Rosette stopped in her tracks, a stab of guilt hitting her stomach. She hadn't thought about that. "I can search for them both." She said stubbornly.
"Don't be childish," Sister Kate snapped. "Chrno is a grown demon. He can take care of himself. And clearly he wants you to stop looking for him. Focus on Joshua. He's the one who needs you,"
Without another word Sister Kate left the room. Rosette tried to glare after her but the truth in her words was still ringing in her ears. Remington sighed softly. "She's right you know," He waited for a few more minutes then followed after her.
"I know," Rosette whispered.
***
The next month passed without much ado. As ordered, Rosette resumed her training, going along for missions with her new partner Sister Louisa. She quickly reverted back to her usual cheerful, clumsy self, aggravating Sister Kate and knocking down buildings. When she went on missions she was joined by her new partner Sister Louisa and sometimes Azmaria. If anyone asked her about Chrno she simply told them that he'd gone away for a while but would be coming back soon. She believed this as much as she believed she would find Joshua and bring him home. Of course Chrno would come back. He was just feeling a bit sorry for himself and needed some time to think things through. Once he realised what an idiot he'd been he'd come running back, tail between his legs. But then Rosette remembered the look in his eyes before he left and that ever present twinge of doubt began to play on her mind.
"Rosette? Rosette!" Azmaria shook Rosette's shoulder gently, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry," she smiled apologetically. "What were you saying?"
"I just said that you should talk to Elder about his new weapons. He said he needed someone to test them out,"
"Yeah I'll do that," Rosette replied vaguely, already staring off in to the distance again. She saw the worried look on Azmaria's face and sighed. "I'm sorry, Az. I've just been thinking about stuff,"
"Chrno stuff?"
Rosette nodded.
"He'll come back," Azmaria assured her, though it sounded more like a question.
"Oh definitely," Rosette said confidently. "But I was thinking. I can't really sit around and wait for him to snap out of this guilt thing he's going through. So, maybe while we wait for a lead to Joshua, I could look for Chrno. I mean, I know Sister Kate said it would be too difficult but for all I know he's probably looking for Joshua too so eventually we'll end up in the right place, right? Who else would have a better chance of finding him?"
"Mm..."
"What?"
"Well... Chrno's a demon right? And a high ranking one. If he doesn't want to be found..."
Rosette nodded. She was probably right. Chrno had already proved he was capable of hiding out for extremely long periods of time without any human contact. Hadn't she found him in Magdalene's tomb. He said he'd been there for fifty whole years. Rosette wouldn't even be alive in fifty years.
"I just can't stand doing nothing!" She cried through a mouthful of stew, (even Chrno's disappearance couldn't ruin her appetite). "It makes me edgy,"
The two girls finished the rest of their dinner in a thoughtful silence. Rosette shivered as an anxious feeling began creeping through her. Like something was off. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. Most of the Sister's had already finished and left and the hall was quietening down now. The only sounds were the clatter of cutlery and the low din of conversation from the remaining nuns. She began to shift agitated. Why did she feel so uneasy? Suddenly it hit her. It was like being plunged in to an ice cold pool head first while boiling hot water pumped through her veins. And yet she was strangely calm. Slowly, she reached down and held the lifeless pocket watch in her hands. The face was black, no longer ticking away. And the metal was too cold considering it had been sitting against her warm flesh all day.
"Az," She muttered. Unable to say it, she simply pointed at the watch. Azmaria's face instantly paled.
"It's not ticking," She stared at Rosette, her own expression reflecting the blonde's horror. "Do you feel...?"
"No. I feel fine. I think,"
"Then why isn't it ticking?"
Rosette couldn't move. It was like the night Chrno left all over again but ten times worse. She clutched at her chest as though to stop it from falling apart.
"Chrno," She choked.
"It can't be. He wouldn't be so stupid," Azmaria whispered, afraid to speak it aloud.
"He said he'd rather die than drain my life anymore," She was already struggling to breath properly. She ripped the watch from around her neck and began thumping it against the table. "Work you stupid thing!!"
"Maybe it's just broken?" Azmaria suggested weakly.
"If it had broken I would be dead right now! This is the only thing that stops Chrno completely using up my entire life force!" Rosette yelled, still banging the watch. She suddenly jumped to her feet and stormed out of the hall.
"Where are you going?" Azmaria cried, struggling to keep up with her.
"Sister Kate." Despite the fact that Rosette would normally rather chew off her own arm than go to the nun for help, she wasn't stupid. She needed someone who knew more about this stuff. She burst in to the office without knocking. Father Remington was there too. He instantly ran to Rosette when he saw the look on her face.
"What's wrong?" he demanded. "Why are you crying?"
Was she? She hadn't even realised. She handed him the watch and waited for him to offer some explanation that would make everything okay again. Some piece of information that would explain why the watch had stopped ticking that wouldn't include any sacrifice on Chrno's part. She watched his face curl in to a frown. A long moment passed.
"Rosette-" The resignation in his voice was enough to crush any hope.
"No. Don't say it. There's something else. Some explanation for all of this."
"I'm sorry."
Before he could say another word, she clamped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. She wouldn't listen. If they didn't say it then it wasn't true. She didn't fight when Father Remington pulled her in to his arms or even when Sister Kate insisted on her having a full medical examination to check she wasn't actually going to die at any moment. She refused to speak to Azmaria who took her up to bed and sat with her for a while. When she told Rosette three days after the watch stopped that Sister Kate would be holding a special assembly in Chrno's honour she didn't comment. A week after the watch stopped she got out of bed for the first time. She dressed herself and headed out to the large grounds that surrounded the main buildings. She walked until she came to a quiet patch of trees behind the old chapel no one used anymore. Then she crouched down and dug up the earth with her bare hands until she had a decent sized hole. Without any emotion she dropped the pocket watch in to the mud and covered it up again, patting the ground down so it was smooth again. She didn't leave any marker to remind her where she'd left it. She wouldn't be coming back for it again.
Let me know what you think :)
