14. Sins That Were Forgotten

Aion set Shader down in South Carolina Charleston-a ghost town, really. He scanned the area, making sure no one had followed them. "Destroy the paper, Shader," he ordered her, turning to look back at the demon, who was suddenly looking rather uneasy. Aion, noticing this quickly, asked, "What is it?"

"Well…uh, the paper, Aion. It uh…kinda slipped out of my hand while we were flying," she mumbled, looking at Aion sheepishly.

"WHAT?" Aion roared, and then calmed down, "Well…maybe, if we're lucky, no one has it and just thinks it's trash."

'I wouldn't count on that…' Shader thought, sighed heavily and just agreeing with Aion.

-

Chrno drove for what seemed like hours and not once did they get stopped by a cop, which shocked Rosette beyond belief. As she sat up front, one of her hands remained curled around the piece of paper. She was tempted several times to uncrumple it and read whatever it said, but each time she stopped herself when she saw Chrno. She was afraid that it might have something on it that Chrno would get even more upset about because it had come from Sarin.

When night fell and midnight was approaching, the others in the back, who were a little crowded, had fallen asleep, hungry and thirsty, but at least they were no longer in danger. Chrno and Rosette were the only ones awake, Chrno staring intently at the road ahead. "When did you learn to drive?" Rosette finally asked, breaking the silence.

"About a year ago-it wasn't easy either," he admitted, glancing over at her. There was a soft, gentle smile on his face.

'Whatever was wrong with him this morning has obviously passed,' Rosette thought, and then spoke aloud, "Well at least you were smart enough to think about hot-wiring a car. But Chrno…what happened today? You got so upset…I haven't seen you like that in a long time,"

Now Chrno's smile faded as he spoke again, "I'm sorry if I worried you, Rosette. It's just that Sarin surprised me, is all. And he scared me. Scared me more than I'd ever been scared in my life," Chrno couldn't stop. He had to let someone know his feelings. "When I saw him taking you away, I was terrified. Terrified of losing you. I mean, I can sense how powerful Sarin was. And I didn't think I could catch up with him. And so I forced myself to reach him…but when I did, he dropped you Rosette. I thought you were going to die-or Sarin would catch you once more…

"And when I used a time barrier on him and caught you-when I hid in the shadows and he just came out like that, I hadn't anticipated it. And then he started talking about Lilith-the woman who was my mother…Aion and me-our mother. I didn't know that anyone ever knew Lilith as a human…never…and then Sarin goes on about how he had grown to hate her. That was how he became the leader of the Sinners…he is the most powerful demon, Rosette. Stronger than Aion and I combined…I don't know how I'm going to kill him.

"He can bend the atmosphere with the flick of the wrist. He can make things burst into flames with his anger. He can kill many, many people just my willing it to happen. And I'm afraid for you, Rosette. Very afraid…I'm not going to lose you again,"

By now Chrno's eyes were filled with tears. In his mind, he could see it. See it clearly-very clearly. It was the memories Aion had wiped from his mind. It was what he had forgotten about Sarin. And now he remembered it.

Wiping his own tears away, Chrno apologized quietly as silence descended upon the two. After a few minutes, Chrno pulled over onto an abandoned dirt road. "Let's get some rest, Rosette. We have a long drive tomorrow."

He bent down and detached the two wires he had used to hot-wire the car and then sat back in his chair, leaning against the window. Rosette blinked, sighing heavily as she leaned against her door, looking at Chrno. It seemed like an eternity as she sat there in the dark, looking at the demon who had seemed to be sleeping.

"You know, Chrno…I've missed you so much over the years and I thought, for a while there, I couldn't live without you. But then, I remembered your promise. You said you'd come back, even when everyone believed you were dead, I held you to that promise. You kept it, you came back, but…you're different…You isolated yourself from everyone and everything and carried on a life of killing demons, but you didn't have regular conversations with anyone…Why did you change so much?" she whispered aloud her thoughts as she stared at the demon. Chrno had changed out of his true form a long time ago and was in his adult human guise.

Rosette sighed, looking away from Chrno and pressing her cheek against the window. "I want the old Chrno back…" she whispered before falling asleep.

-

About two hours later, Chrno awoke from a nightmare. He looked around in the dark car, wondering where he was for a moment, but then it all came back to him. Relaxing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked over at Rosette. Her hair was down and she looked peaceful. A smile grew on his face as he looked at her resting so peacefully. 'At least she's having good dreams,' he thought without envy.

He looked away, but in the corner of his eye, something crumpled and white caught his eye. Turning back to Rosette, he noticed a piece of paper that was laying next to her sleeping form. Reaching over, he grabbed it and carefully unfolded it from its many wrinkles and creases.

Looking at the paper, Chrno's eyes widened in shock as he began to read it, instantly recognizing Aion's handwriting:

I will not say this aloud, so as you read this, say nothing of it. The demon, Sarin, who is after you, Shader, is a Sinner. He is the ex-leader of the Sinners, but you would not remember him. Long ago, I wiped your memory because of the dangers this could bring about. Most likely with Chrno. Now I fear what would happen if he discovered the truth all over again.

Sarin was a friend to him in Eden, but things had begun to change. Sarin began to grow more aggressive and angry when we spoke of Pandaemonium and killing her. I understand why he would get so upset over it, but he grew ambitious. He wanted to slay the demon who had corrupted Lilith-my mother.

Chrno, who usually hung out with Sarin on a regular basis, got into a fight with our first leader. It wasn't a pleasant sight to see as Chrno began to lose himself in his anger. Sarin, knowing exactly what was happening, knew what was going to become of the fight.

Chrno was a fool for taking on Sarin. An idiot. Sarin nearly killed Chrno, and said next time that Chrno dared interfere with any of his plans-no matter how insane or unpredictable they could be-he would kill him. I knew Sarin could be heartless to humans, but to someone as close to him as Chrno, I could not have imagined-in his point of view anyway.

You should realize that Sarin is the deadliest and most powerful demon alive. He is stronger than Pandaemonium, and Chrno and I. When he threatened my brother, I gathered all of you up and we planned to throw Sarin out. But first, we had to do something about Chrno. He was seriously injured and at the time, still bleeding everywhere. Eventually, we used our powers to heal him, but even now, he is still scared by that fight.

Sarin is the Sinner of Death. He claims he decides every ones' fates. No one could change whether they lived or died if he decided it. Yet, strangely enough, he had a growing sense of compassion towards human women. That is where Chrno gets it from, I see now.

I only wish we had killed Sarin when we had the chance. I was going to, for Chrno, but Chrno told me not to. Told me that it was wrong to kill our father. And so I let him live.

Surprised? Well, yes, Sarin is our father. Lilith obviously mated with a demon and had demon children. But she was susceptible to a demonic presence. Pandaemonium corrupted her soul and she became a monster. And thus, Sarin left her-before we were born. Later, we were taken with him, living in a hell with him. He is one of the first demons and the last alive. Well, then we all began to meet the rest of the Sinners, but what you know as Chrno completely breaking us out of Pandaemonium, isn't because he lost his temper. It is because Sarin past on his strength and willpower to Chrno. Chrno's loss of temper caused him to reopen an age-old wound that was created upon birth. A different demonic presence lives in Chrno, a bloodthirsty side. That was born of Sarin's love for death.

But as I said earlier, Sarin has an odd attraction to human women. He spared many women, trying to find one that could become his new 'Lilith', I suppose. And now, I am afraid to say, Chrno's lady friend, the nun woman, is his newest target. I believe that if he sees that his son loves such a woman, he must have her for his own.

And not only that, Sarin can use the girl against Chrno. As I had with Joshua. Except he will do much worse. Young Rosette is in the most danger she could possibly be in. Chrno will protect her, I am sure. He has before. But that means nothing. He cannot match the powers of Sarin. Once Chrno is dead, I am sure Sarin will take the young girl for his own use-for he is a monster now. A bloodthirsty, ruthless monster that must be killed.

And Shader.

Never speak a word of this to Chrno or his friends. He can't know the truth. Not yet at least.

Chrno dropped the piece of paper, his breathing suddenly heavy with shock. His hands were shaking as he looked over at Rosette and then at himself. That monster was his father? Swallowing roughly, he tried to contain himself as he looked back over at Rosette. She was undisturbed and unaware of Chrno's sense of horror.

He reached out towards Rosette, his fingers resting on her cheek. Her skin felt cold to the touch. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, Chrno caressed her cheek, thanking the Lord that she was safe and with him and not with Sarin. Chrno found himself leaning further towards her. He felt his fear ebbing away and he drew closer to her. He wasn't shaking as much either. It was like Rosette was healing him. Letting him forget his shock.

"Rosette," he whispered, removing his hand and leaning back against the door once more. His eyes were glued on her. He felt so helpless sitting there. They should be hiding not stuck in some car! No…they shouldn't be hiding at all.

They should be at the Order having a good time and spending time with one another. Instead they were here. In the middle of Arkansas.

Chrno's eyes widened as he heard Rosette mumble something. Her blue eyes opened slightly, and then they flew open. "Ch-Chrno?" she yawned, looking at him. "What are you doing awake." Rosette brought one of her hands to her mouth as she yawned, and that was when she seemed to realize she was missing the paper. Looking around, there was a confused look on her face.

"Looking for this?" Chrno asked, holding the paper up, his eyes narrowing. Rosette only nodded meekly. "What are you doing with it?" he looked at her questioningly, crushing the paper in his hand as he relaxed once more.

Rosette blinked and responded quietly, "I snatched it from Sarin. I was going to read it later, but I guess you did that for me…so what did it say?"

"Nothing good, if that's what you mean. It's a message from Aion to Shader. How that bastard Sarin ever got his hands on it, I'll never know…" Chrno grumbled, his fury, shock, and anguish returning. He tried to hide it, but it was impossible.

"What's wrong?" Rosette demanded, knowing Chrno only swore so harshly when he was upset or mad. "Did it say something bad?"

Chrno nodded.

"What?"

"I can't tell you, Rosette…I'd prefer you not know," Chrno responded, turning away from her.

"What do you mean you'd prefer me not know? You always told me things in the past! Why are you acting like this, Chrno? Why have you changed so much? Have you forgotten who you once were?" Rosette snapped, her voice suddenly broken as she voiced her earlier thoughts to the demon. She turned away from him, unable to face him.

A/N: Eh…some people think there's a break between Chrno and Rosette. There's a minor one, yes, but it MIGHT get repaired. Who knows? Not me! Not you! XD. Well, any of you guys surprised? Heh-heh. Originally, I never planned this, but the idea popped into my head. Aren't I mean? But it makes sense, doesn't it? Well, I gotta go! Bye! Oh and…I might put some fluff in the next chapter. Depends on how many reviews I get/grins wickedly/laughs demonically/ Well, Ja ne (bye).

Next Chapter: 15. Facing the Facts and Changes

Next day (for me)-YAY! My Ipod's charged! Now I'm listening to I Write Sins nit Tragedies by Panic at the Disco. (starts typing next chapter…)