A/N: Yet again putting off my homework to start this while I still have inspiration (-rambles on-). I love you guys. Thank you so much for your reviews! I didn't expect more than 10 with only 2 chapters and prologue out so far. ;; I really appreciate it. Woo, talk about a motivation spurt. So about this chapter, thanks for those who voted but it's inevitable that you guys must know Chrono's sides of the story from time to time to understand what's going on or maybe I should just intertwine it with Rosette's. I was also debating with myself whether to name my chapters #a/b for different sides but decided to keep the numbers going. I like seeing higher numbers in terms of achievement. (-embarrassed-)

P.S. - Oh the horror of made-up last names! I'll try to make this the only chapter they show up in. x.x

snekochan: To my fellow feline, I am very grateful for your inspiration even though you knew nothing about it. Although there's only been 2 chapters released, I would like to thank you (and everyone else!) for reviewing them all :). I know I haven't reviewed the majority of your chapters but I just started to so same difference! Anyways, sneko's fic New Time, New Place is really good so read and review it if you people haven't already. :D

raspberrysorbet: (-bops-) no more vampire talks! Chrono may be hot (vampires too) but he is NOT one. Stop playing with my head! (rawr) XD

miaka24: Yay thank you! "Only story" makes me feel so very special and about the characters, I didn't actually mean to have then even close to "in character". I'm still unsure because I want to change their attitudes to fit the original form of this story but if you prefer them to be mostly the same as the real series, please say so (same to all of you).

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade or its characters, blah blah. I can see why you guys got tired of typing this so many darn times.

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Golden Mirage

Chapter 4: Arrival

That same day earlier…

Snuggling into the sheets, Chrono moaned into his pillow. It had been weeks since he had a decent night of sleep, but he was successful in his mission nonetheless. He had managed to mark her and regained his full form. Only way to buy time for herself was to reject him, but none of the others had and neither did she. Like Aion said, it was impossible to break the seal once it was made. He smiled slightly in his sleep knowing there was no way she could escape now.

Crickets were chirping soothingly into the crisp night when a shadow crept over to the lump under the covers silencing them instantly.

"Chrono, it's time to go."

"…Few more minutes," he murmured back. The shadow chuckled.

"You'll be late for your first day you know. Besides, I've had it planned so she's set up with you." The top of the covers flew off as Chrono slid his legs over the side of the bed.

"Successful as usual huh, Aion?" The shadow smiled, revealing a row of shining white teeth in the moonlit room.

"She IS the last one, and only you…"

"Yea, I know." Chrono turned towards the window and gazed at the stars. "It's too bad I have to do all the work."

"But that's your advantage. I don't have any control in that matter." Aion turned to look at the sparkling sky as well. A particularly large star twinkled. Her star is still on Chrono's side of the constellation, he noted to himself.

"Chrono, Aion." Sheda popped her head in, ears twitching. "Everything's set. Our luggage is already there. You guys ready?" Aion turned towards the door and walked out, shortly followed by Chrono. Soon, he thought. When the three strolled out of the house, three others were waiting for them. Aion raised his hands for their attention.

"In a few moments, we will be departing for the California coastline (a/n: yes I know it's cheap but I'm not very knowledgeable of NY or other areas nor do I like research). Our era will come in just a year's time. Everything will be ours, however…" he paused looking at a few select members, "in her current state, she is potentially dangerous. As a warning, you WILL do as she says, unless you want to face consequences worst than death." His eyes began to glow darkly.

"Let's go, let's go!" cheered Sheda.

"Whatever." One of the men huffed while the other grunted. Suddenly, each member was emitted a bright golden light from their bodies and began to sprout sharp angular wings, their clothes transformed. Like a rocket, each one shot into the air following Aion's lead.

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Rosette unconsciously slipped off her bed and looked out the window. It was still dark but she had obviously woken up way too early. Her eyes were fixated on the stars when suddenly a glimmer of gold whipped across the sky. On instinct, she folded her hands together and wished for countless impossible things.

"…and at least a decent day today," she mumbled before being knocked out back onto her bed, snoring loudly. Evidently, she never remembered anything before she actually woke up for school.

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"Hello. Please take a seat all of you," the dean gestured, "I'm Mr. Dufoe, your school dean. Since you are all new to this region, you will be shadowing some of our students at this school. Basically, that means you are assigned a student to follow throughout the school day until the end of this week. It's just to let you guys get the gist of how the school runs. Hold on a moment. I'll be calling them up now." He picked up his phone and pressed a button. Sheda kicked her legs happily while Rizelle, a dark long haired feminine girl twirled her hair around her finger. The others just remained impassive.

"May I please have the following students report to the dean's office?" Mr. Dufoe's voice echoed through the intercom outside the door. "Fiore and Satella Harvenheit, Azmaria Hendrick, Derek Choi, Rosette and Joshua Christopher. I repeat, may the following six students report to the dean's office?" he said, repeating their names again. Earlier, he thought about the related students but decided the new students would bond better in pairs. A few minutes passed before four students ambled in. "Good morning, I'm sorry that I'm short on seats so I hope you don't mind standing. It won't be for long. I'll start for now." Rizelle grew impatient and started to tap her foot. Mr. Dufoe raised an eyebrow at her.

"Rizelle Lambourne is it?" She nodded. "You will be assigned to Derek Choi," he pointed him out. Derek, happy knowing that he had a pretty girl for his shadow gave her one of his goofy grins. She just stuck her nose up at him and looked away. "Fiore, you will get Viede Malone. Genai Adlam will be with Satella. Aion Horatio, you will be with Joshua. Now for the other two…this'll take a moment."

As if expecting her tardiness, he greeted the girls calmly when they came in. "Why hello Ms. Hendrick. Nice of you to actually come, Rosette," the dean added, grinning musingly at her presence. She looked around in confusion, giving him her usual guilty look.

"Um, is there a problem Mr. Dufoe?" She stared at her shoes.

"Oh, of course not. Not this time," he said twiddling his beard hairs, "but I've decided to pick you to lead one of the new students for tomorrow. This is just a meeting so you know who you'll be shadowed by for tomorrow's classes." He looked at his list for a moment. "Let's see, who's leftover…Ms. Hendrick, you have Sheda Nadine." She waved enthusiastically at the shy girl. He wrote down Azmaria's name before looking up at Chrono.

"Ah yes, Rosette," he began, "meet Chrono Auran, your shadow for the rest of the week. You will have time to meet the others at lunch today so please," he turned to the others, "I hope you have a wonderful year here. You guys are dismissed."

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Chrono watched the blond girl in front of him in profound thought off in her own little world. Perfect. So far, the plan hadn't faltered. All of a sudden, he was caught off guard when the girl wheeled around and bumped into him. To him, she was practically falling back in slow motion. Quickly, he took a short step forward and situated his arms in the spot where she was supposed to fall. To his surprise, she was extremely light and easy to hold. Sheda looked around the group and gave Chrono a conspicuous look.

"Ooh, Chrono in love?" she cooed.

He stared down into her clear water-blue eyes before it suddenly hit him. He felt chained down, controlled by an unknown force. Voices reverberated inside his head giving him a severe headache. It was getting harder for him to breathe every second. It felt as if someone was trying to strangle him and he couldn't resist any of it. Right when his supply of air was about to cut off completely...

"CHRONO!"

His senses rushed back to him as his eyes dilated. He shakily stood up, not realizing that he had dropped the girl. What the heck was that, he thought. He bit his lip and grimaced. That wasn't supposed to happen...

"R-Rosette! Are you ok?" the pale girl came running to her side to help her stand only to have her hands pushed away.

"I'm fine!" she spat, glowering at him. She stood up brushing herself off before announcing roughly, "Come on, it's lunchtime. I'm starving!" Before anyone could say a thing, she was already stomping around the corner after the other students. Aion watched as she disappeared and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Don't let her kill you," he whispered softly before following Joshua. Chrono looked unnerved and shivered. To think he'd been that close to death just by her stare, he really couldn't afford anymore arrogant moves. He stood there for a bit, unaware of the ogling girls passing by, and then headed in the same direction. No matter what happened, he had to somehow gain her favor.

Once he entered the lunch area, he found himself to be completely lost. This place was huge! He whined softly and decided to walk around in hopes of finding her out of sheer luck. He looked down at the pocket watch resting on his chest and checked the time. He still had twenty minutes left to find her in the crowded mess. One particularly brave girl recognized him as one of the new students and tapped him on the back. He turned around giving her a sharp glare that screamed, "What the &#$ do you want!" She squeaked and jumped back in fear.

"Are…you lost?" she asked, her voice considerably higher than usual. Suddenly realizing where he was, he softened his eyes and nodded.

"Do you know where the cafeteria may be?" he inquired, changing his tone of voice. The girl regained her confidence immediately and sent a quick gleeful smile back at her friends.

"Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed his hand. Behind her back, Chrono just sneered at such a bold attempt to flirt with him but allowed her to steer him through the crowd. He was too busy trying not to step on anyone when the girl made an abrupt stop and pointed over some heads. "You need company in line?" she asked hopefully.

"No thanks," he replied distractedly. She pouted and walked off dreamily.

There she was. It actually wasn't that hard to spot her, seeing that she had on the glummest face in the area. He stalked over and noticed that she was looking at some kind of card. Moving quietly behind her, he looked at the tiny photo on her ID card.

"Nice picture."

The girl's eyes widened and she jumped forward, finally noticing the light breathing that had been on her neck a second ago. She apologized profusely to the large boy in front before turning to face him.

"What do you want?" she huffed, looking away. He really didn't like this type of attitude, but he had to.

"I have to follow you…" He shuffled his feet nervously. "Sorry…" He crossed his fingers, hoping for her to sympathize.

"For what," she interrupted him. He took a quick peek at her face. Crap, no pity there. He looked down at his shoes thinking of what to do next. He was still planning when she perked up and said, "It's alright you know. Besides it's only your first day here isn't it? I should treat you then." She smiled warmly at him. He cocked his head silently and made a mental note to stay on the good side of bipolar people. Mood swings just weren't healthy.

She was still staring at him strangely causing him to sweat nervously. She giggled and he turned away indignantly. What was so funny, he sulked. Before he had another thought, she grabbed his hand and ushered him forward in the line. Now at the front of the line, she leaned on the counter and slapped down a $20 bill.

"1 Full pepperoni pizza with olives and sausages, 2 pink lemonade bottles please, and that'll be it," she ordered as she tapped in her ID number.

"T-That much," Chrono stuttered. Holy cow, his eyes bugged. Not only was she a bipolar lethal weapon, but she had a huge appetite. NOT a safe combination for him at the least.

"Of course! It's my usual."

"Who's it for?" he asked, hoping for the not-so-obvious answer.

"Normally for me but since you're my guest for the rest of the week, I'll treat you today to let you get the hang of things," she pointed out.

The lunch lady came back with the food and change. Grabbing the box of pizza, she nudged him through the exit and led him to a bench.

"Alright, first things first. Don't do that weird stuff you did back there with me again. Got that?" She shot a look at him. He nodded quickly. "Good, fast learner huh? You better be if you want to live through me." He winched as if he'd been mentally whipped. She looked up from her part of the pizza. "Wosh wung?" she asked mouth full with food. He shook his head. The girl was too preoccupied with her own thoughts and missed his exasperated sigh. This was going to take a long time, he thought. Having to stick with such a dangerous presence, he was thankful that he had a little over a year left.

"OH MY GOD!" squealed a short blond who quickly pounced on him. "Rosette, how'd did you pick up such a cute boy!"

"I didn't," she mumbled, "Dufoe left his bum in my care."

Another girl ran over and grabbed his hands introducing herself, while the last girl, a brunette took her time gliding over to him. They began to poke and inspect him and irritating him more than expected. Through all the fuss, he managed to throw her a pleading look for help. He waited, interested in her reaction but she did nothing. Cursing softly, he decided to pull his pathetic act again. He quickly blinked and contorted his face, allowing tears to form. A second before one could fall, Rosette smashed down her finished pizza box and pulled the girls off him. Works every time, he smirked.

"Mary! Stop bothering the poor thing!" Rosette slapped away her friend's wandering hands. "Chrono IS another human you know. Give him a break. He probably thinks this is considered rape in his country."

'Human', he mused. That was an absolute understatement.

All of a sudden, he was bombarded by a second wave of excited probing from the girls. Aggravated again, Rosette bopped them all on the head and dragged him away.

"You need to stand up for yourself squirt. I'm not going to be your babysitter for the rest of the year." She stared hard into his eyes. Chrono stared back. He could see the surface of her eyes smoothing over like an iridescent bubble. Shaking her head, she had him walk next to her to her next class rather than behind her. He glanced at her on the way. So, he made another mental note, she treated him like an equal. Nothing more…nothing less. She would prove to be an interesting…

Chrono sighed, cutting through his own thoughts. School was so pointless. Then again, humans were so clueless about the world, the REAL world. They probably wouldn't figure it out even after they died. With all these thoughts about them, he really needed to think about how to get her to release it. Frowning, he stared at the board hoping for a logical answer but expected nothing back.

The bell trilled followed by the noisy shuffle of relieved students . Rosette stood up and stretched as he stifled a yawn. Thinking too much made him really tired. It'll eventually work out, he hoped.

Catching his attention, Rosette asked, "Can you find your way out? Or should I show you?"

"I know the way," he replied.

"Ok, good. I'll see you tomorrow by the office then?"

"Yea. Bye…Rosette." Her eyes widened at the mention of her name.

"Ha hah, finally started using my name hm?" she teased, "It's about time. It took you over 5 hours just to use it once you know."

She tapped his nose playfully. He wrinkled up his nose and backed up as if he'd just stuck his nose over a bottle of vinegar. She laughed and waved good bye as she let the door slam behind her.

Walking contentedly towards the parking lot, she smiled. Although she didn't want to admit it, not only was he considerably good looking compared to most guys, but by the air he carried around him he obviously always seemed to get what he wanted. Now that she had a legal slave following her everyday… the thought suddenly made her break into a mischievous grin. She wasn't going to let him have his way especially when she was going to make sure to exploit him and everything he had.

-End Chapter 4-

A/N: Ah, sorry if this chapter was just a repeat of the last chapter! Although I finished this a day earlier, I'm releasing it sooner than I planned. Hopefully, I'll have time to think up the next chapter ya? I'm very very very satisfied with the reviews :3. Oh gosh I have butterflies in my tummy (-stares at reviews-). Oh. My. God. (-squeals!-) I swear I check my stats page more times than the amount of letters I've used so far. Alright, I know people prefer to "get it on" with stories, but I plan to drag it out a lot so be prepared to endure fillers! (-grins-) Sooo…R+R! A happy authoress makes happy (and angry) readers and vice versa.

P.S. – Uh, at the time that I typed the p.s., I think I suddenly hit writer's block…I know I had most of it imagined in class already but, omgsh I think I forgot it XD. So much for trying to update every 2-3 days. Also, a warning. I might have started off too far and fast into the story (but you guys seem fine with it) so the next few chapters may be very slow (but productively fun!).

-Golden Moment #1-

(Ok, you ask what this is? Well it's exactly what you read it as. A golden moment (Kodak?). It basically ranges from my random thoughts to side stories that would be strangely awkward to add to the real thing. From time to time, I'll add these (due to my own boredom) at the end of chapters for your (and my) own amusement. I find that little short side stories help relieve me from cliffies if there happens to be one, so please enjoy!)

Inner Posh: Finally, done with another chapter.

Posh: (-grins-) Ooh! I'm so excited to see what happens next!

IP: Hmm, I didn't expect that at the end when I finished this chapter. Never thought about that when I first came up with this idea.

Posh: What's going to happen now then?

IP: …ask yourself.

Posh: But YOU'RE the one writing the story. How am I supposed to know?

IP: I AM you fool. I know just as much as you do stupid.

Posh: So if we don't know…how do we write it?

IP: Go daydream. It'll come soon.

Posh: (-smack-) You go dream for me. I'll sleep.

IP: No.

Posh: Stop rambling already and end the chapter.

IP: …

-End GMom#1-

Note: Whoa, I have notes plastered all over my chapter. I apologize in advance! But yes… FYI, I wait just as anxiously as you guys do to see what happens next. So far, I like it and you guys better too. Or else…