I don't own Chrno Crusade or any of its characters.

This is a bit random, but its just a small oneshot. It's supposed to take place towards the end of the fifth manga, so do watch out for spoilers. This is right before Chrno locked himself up after breaking the seal on the watch which caused Rosette to dive into his memories. Anyways,

Enjoy!


The Witch and the Demon

Chrno was a handsome demon, even in his smaller form. His kindness was something Satella wasn't used to, then again Rosette and Azmaria weren't exactly normal. But Chrno…he was something different. Chrno was strong in a way Satella had never seen before; he would always give himself for Rosette, Azmaria, or her without a thought. How could a man, let alone a demon do something like that for a human?

Demon. Chrno was a demon. Chrno was the same kind of monster that tore apart her family and stole her older sister. That word didn't fit Chrno at all. Even in battle Chrno had kept some kind of humanity…that was until two days ago.

Up until two days ago, things were perfect between the four: Rosette, Chrno, herself, and Azmaria. Satella would grab Chrno away from Rosette and press him against her chest in a playful way just to get his full attention. Rosette would get mad, yell and complain, and try to pull Chrno away only to have Chrno tell her that it was okay with a blush across his face. Rosette, usually backed away with her lower lip pouted, and Satella would say something that would make the blush on Chrno's face deepen.

But this time was different; the events that had taken place had changed everyone, and began to force all four people away from one another had come to pass. This time, there was no Rosette, there weren't any dirty comments, and a red dust did not appear across Chrno's face. This was a goodbye.

"Chrno," Satella said.

Chrno turned around and saw Satella behind him with her eyes full of concern. He sent a smile her way, and then turned back around to face the large metal door twenty feet in front of him.

"Chrno!" she yelled. "What are you doing?"

A cold wind blew through the large corridor the two were standing in. This hallway was in the middle of a large hospital in the middle of the large city of San Francisco. It was a simple, old hallway with a cobblestone floor, and wooden walls that were covered in a dim white painting. At the far end of the hallway was a large, haunting metal door that stood out from the plain wooden door stood at the opposite end.

The outer parts of the city of San Francisco around them had been destroyed when Chrno lost control of his powers and broke the seal. Satella had been running around town, helping as many people as she could but when she found a newspaper that reported Chrno's sighting, she had to come visit him. It wasn't too hard to track him down; she had heard that he had been seen walking towards the hospital.

"I'm sorry," Chrno said as he hung his head. "Satella…this is the last time we're going to see each other."

Satella's eyes widened. "What about Rosette?"

"That's why," Chrno's hands formed fists, "this is goodbye."

"But how does that help Rosette?" Satella yelled.

Tears began burning in the corners of her eyes. A feeling of being helpless and heartbreak hit Satella in a large, overwhelming, bundle of emotion that brought small, clear pearls to daylight.

She took a step forward. "Chrno," she whimpered, "what's going on?"

Satella only had a small idea of what had happened during the fight in San Francisco. She knew that Rosette had been placed in a great deal of pain when Chrno broke the seal. He had stayed in his demon form for far too long while he fought, and lost to Aion. Thousands of people had died during the battle, but Satella had no idea what had happened to Chrno and Rosette.

"Goodbye Satella," Chrno repeated. "I can't be around anymore. I can't keep hurting people."

The tears began to stream down her face. "But you're hurting me now!"

"I almost killed Rosette, Satella," Chrno said. "I can't do something like that again."

She couldn't allow the conversation to end like this. She had to say something to Chrno, something that would catch his attention for a few more minutes. Perhaps then, within those few minutes she could convince him to stay.

"I found the demon without horns," Satella said as she lowered her head. "…And my sister. The demon without horns," she shook her head, "it wasn't you." She chuckled. "It wasn't YOU!"

Silence came between the two. Chrno released the fists he had made and began walking towards the metal door in front of him when he felt two warm arms wrap around his neck. He stopped walking, and lowered his chin onto the arms.

"Satella."

He hadn't picked up on her heels hitting the hard floor for some reason. Was he thought lost within his thoughts that he had allowed someone to sneak up on him like that? But as Chrno lost himself in his thoughts again, he felt a sudden wetness on his right shoulder that caught his attention.

"Why couldn't it be you?" she whimpered. "If it had been you that took my sister…I could," she paused for a long minute, "but it's him, Aion."

Chrno closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Satella."

"Then why," she hugged her arms around Chrno's neck tightly, "are you leaving me?"

"I have to."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do." Chrno nodded slightly.

"Please," she begged. "I don't want to lose another person because of Aion."

Those words struck a deep cord within Chrno. Aion had caused so many people so much pain and anguish in the years he had lived, and Chrno always ended up running into the people that had suffered. This was just another case of torment that hit too close to home for the blue haired demon.

Chrno brought his right hand to Setalla's wrist. The moment his fingers touched her bare hand, she loosened the grip around his neck; with the pressure away from his neck, Chrno turned around to face her. He looked up at her with a gentle smile on his face.

"Chrno," she whispered. "What are you—"

"Take care of yourself Satella," he said. "Watch over Rosette for me."

"I will," she said through a fit of tears. "I promise I'll protect Rosette."

"Thank you."

Chrno closed his eyes and rested his head against Satella's shoulder. She lowered her head down to the left side of his face and rubbed her face beside his. He wrapped his arms around her, and placed his hands above her shoulder blades.

"I'll miss you," Chrno whispered. "I know that you have to go now too."

Her eyes widened. He was right. Because she was a bounty hunter, she couldn't get herself involved anymore then she had already. The Magdalene Order would not allow her to see Rosette; she had asked to see her earlier but no one would tell her where to find the blonde nun. But even though Satella couldn't find Rosette, she thought that she could still do something with Chrno. What? She didn't know exactly, she just didn't want to say goodbye to him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I understand."

"I care too much about you…to let you go." She increased her grip on Chrno a bit more.

His fingers dug into her clothing.

"But I know," she began, "I know that you are doing this, whatever it is, for a good reason. Please take care of yourself."

He nodded. "I will," he said.

Holding Chrno this way hurt. The feel of Chrno's skin against deepened her wanting need for him. The smell of his hair burned through her nose until it became a part of her soul. And the sound of his voice echoed through her ears endlessly saying the same goodbye over and over again. How could holding someone hurt her so badly? This was something she and Chrno did all the time to play with Rosette but it had never felt this way. Then it hit her, this only hurt her because she knew that she had to let him go.

Satella pulled away from Chrno and gave him one last smile. He gave her another smile as he stepped backwards. They looked at one another for a few minutes before Chrno turned his back on her and began to walk towards the door at the end of the hallway.

"Be careful…in whatever you're doing," Satella said.

As Chrno neared the door, Satella turned around and ran down the hallway as fast as she could. Her heels began to hurt, but it was no where near the pain she felt when she had held Chrno to her chest. The pain shot up through her legs, up her back, and lingered around her shoulders until it traveled around front to her heart.

Was her heart breaking? No, it wasn't physically possible for someone's heart to break but the pain she was feeling was coming from her chest. There weren't words for the pain in her chest that fit better; her heart had to be breaking for that was the only way to describe the feeling. But…why was her heart breaking? Did she care that much for Chrno? Did she love him?

Chrno. She thought as tears cascaded down her cheeks. This can't end here…I won't let it.

Chrno opened the door, took one last look down the hallway at Satella's back, and then walked into the room where Remington stood with a large cross against the back of the room.

He closed his eyes. Goodbye Satella, Azmaria…Rosette. This is for the best I promise all of you.

He walked into the room, and closed the heavy metal door behind himself as Satella closed the wooden door at the opposite end of the hallway, leaving it empty. With both doors closed, and the hallway now empty there was nothing remained but a silence. A silence that remained unbroken with two doors that held an unbroken, unsaid, relationship that would never come to light.


R&R please!