Author's note: I do not claim to own any of the characters ^_^ they are a creation that is best kept by it's author. I hope he might read this one day and get inspired to write a sequel to Chrno Crusade.

If you have not read the manga, do so!!! It's good. ^_^ this fic is based roughly off the manga, interspersing some stuff inside of it, so if you're confused that's why.

Denizens of Darkness, Harbringers of Light

A Chrno Crusade fanfic by Nightelfcrawler@yahoo.com

**

Chapter 9: Your  Sacrifice, My Salvation

The moonlight was bright, and reflected strongly over the lakes beneath them, as Rosette sat on the edge of the platform, her feet dangling down off the edge into the distant space beneath.

It was a chilly night, and since she and Joshua had lost all of their belongings when the ship exploded, she only had her jacket to keep her warm. But that didn't bother her, as she stared troubled out across the waters. They were most likely hundreds of feet in the sky…perhaps as much as a mile. She could see the sparkles off the waters below glittering in the moonlight, as stars twinkled merrily on the horizon.

Why were they here? The Sinners had all but ignored them. Sheda had at least shown them where the food was kept, and given them a room to share, it had a bed and facilities at least. But other than that, they were pretty much useless at the moment, and treated as such. None of the Sinners wanted to talk to them, sore feelings still ran deep with this crowd.

Out of the group, the only two Rosette felt she might get anything out of, would be Vid and Sheda, but the latter was busy with her techno geek-dom and the former was nowhere to be found. Jenai and Rizel were laughing it up loudly over a carton of wine bottles somewhere on the upper levels.

Joshua had finally fallen asleep, his body was still weak from recovering…well hers was no better really. She couldn't do any strenuous activity without feeling as if she was going to faint. But her mind was too troubled to sleep…

She frowned and rose to her feet abruptly. Well, no one had said she couldn't wander around then. Her feet knew the way though her eyes strayed wondering if she had gotten lost a few times, before she finally found the inner chamber, where the soft green light illuminated the interior gently.

Chrno was still in the same place they had left him, though his head was bowed slightly, and his eyes appeared closed as if he were asleep. Do demons really sleep…? Rosette wondered silently as she slowly walked up the catwalk towards him. She had seen him sleep in his child form, but then…things were different when his powers had been sealed.

Her footsteps echoed softly, but were buried in the hum of the electric field surrounding him, as she stopped, and sank down to her knees, sitting beside him on the catwalk. He looked strained, even while dozing. The stress lines were creeping further down his face, and sweat ran down his brow constantly.

Why is he so passive about this…he seems so weak…what happened to the fearsome demon who fought Ion a week ago? She was tempted to reach a hand out and touch his face, but she wasn't certain what the green force field surrounding him would do to her if she tried to touch it. Tears welled up. Why am I so useless when it comes to helping him?

She sniffled loudly, rubbing her nose, and didn't notice as she dabbed the tears at her eyes with her jacket sleeves, that Chrno's eyes slid open slowly, and his head lifted a bit.

"Rosette?"

Her head jerked up at the soft voice. It had been difficult to hear it over the hum of the field, but his voice wasn't weak, it was quiet and concerned. Her eyes snapped over to see him regarding her, his deep crimson eyes watching her with worry.

"Chrno…you're awake." She stated, somewhat awkwardly. For some reason she'd thought they wouldn't be able to talk through this thing…or that he'd be asleep and unresponsive to her. The fact that he didn't seem to be affected by either of these situations, threw her off a bit.

He sat up a bit straighter, as much as the binding would allow, and stretched a small bit, then peered over at her with concern. "Have they been treating you well…?"

That threw her again, and she locked her jaw in anger suddenly. How could he be so blasé?! "Well? Well? They've been ignoring us, is what they've been doing." She scowled and glared at him, causing him to pull back a bit, blinking in surprise. "What the HELL do you think you're doing just ….dealing with this anyway! Why did you let them do…THIS to you…" She gestured around at the wires. It was a frightening reflection on the way they'd found Azmaria so long ago, and it didn't sit well with her.

"Ah… well…" He sighed a bit and tilted his head to the side with a distant look.

"I mean… are you OK with this?" Rosette leaned forward to stare at him as close she could to the field. "You didn't even put up a fight back on the ship…or when we got here."

A strange look flickered across Chrno's face, and for a moment, Rosette thought he was going to be sharp with her, and make a rather angry comment, but that look passed quickly, and was replaced by one of resigned reflection. "I couldn't."

She frowned. "Why not? Don't tell me that Sheda's device thingy was strong enough to stop you from acting."

He paused, and looked thoughtful. "No…and yes…"

Rosette sighed, and crossed her legs. It seemed she'd be here for a while if he was going to play cat and mouse with her questions. "Chrno, come on. We've been together for a long time now, and I know when you're holding something back from me. Out with it."

His eyebrows rose in slight surprise, but he smiled then, and actually managed to chuckle slightly, surprising her. "Haii haai." He waved a hand as much as he could while attached to the wires, and shook his head, fixing her with a whimsical smile. "You're right, of course…" He closed his eyes, and then looked down towards the pool beneath him, where Ion's horns rested, glowing and pulsing faintly with each beat of the power flooding into the reservoir.

Chrno paused for a moment, then spoke softly, and Rosette had to strain to hear him over the electric hum. "You're right, I could break out of this right now if I wanted to…but the thing is, I'm not sure I do want to."

Rosette sighed and put a hand to her head in exasperation. "So lemme get this straight. You're willing to help bring back our biggest enemy…why? I know you guys were pals long ago, but still, this is kinda stupid."

"Is it really?" Chrno turned his gaze back to hers, and Rosette felt a sudden surge of emotion, staring back at those deep ruby depths. "Is it really stupid? I'm not so sure… something tells me that…well I'm not sure what it tells me, but you have to understand, Rosette…" Chrno spread his hands slightly. "I know these people very well…and even now, though our goals opposed one another, we still feel that bond of friendship…Ion was like an older brother to me….true, we drifted apart for a…strong emotional reason, but no matter what horrible things Joshua did, you never stopped caring for him, ne?"

Rosette bit her lip. He was making a good point. The Sinners had been the only family he had ever really been associated with, aside from her and Joshua. And considering how long he spent with them in comparison to being with her, she had to admit she knew how he felt. It was a bond of friendship, of comradary that couldn't be broken easily…

Even when they had fought Rizel, and Jenai… and even Ion…there always had lingered a sadness, a connection. Despite the words said, despite the actions taken, there was always something lurking deeper.

Family…

He'd told her once demons didn't have them. Yet this tight bond of five behaved more like a tight group of siblings than Rosette had ever seen. They squabbled, they fought, they got angry at one another, and even violent. But always by the next meeting, a sort of healing had happened, and that connection had been re-established.

Chrno had hated Ion, she knew…but that was because he had forced him into a position where nothing but tragedy befell him. Yet, somewhere in his memories when she had witnessed them, she had seen Ion's point of view… what could he do, aside from destroy the threat that was presented before his 'family'.

Rosette sighed. Yeah…suddenly she understood why he was agreeing to put up with this, despite having been 'kidnapped' into the position.

"So…you're just going to go through with helping them then… What about us?"

"Ah…well maybe if you ask nicely Sheda will let you leave?"

*twitch*

*SMACK*

Chrno reeled back a bit, and slid his hand to his cheek, staring at Rosette with wide shocked eyes. "N…nani…o…."

Rosette's shoulders were shaking in fury. "You selfish bastard…." She didn't even realize that she'd just slapped him through the barrier without meriting the possible danger of doing so. She was just too furious at the moment. "All you think about is yourself!" She surged to her feet, and with a whirl of her ankles, turned and ran down the catwalk, and vanished into the shadows of the building, leaving Chrno sitting there, tears brimming before spilling over and hitting the cross that dangled around his neck as his head drooped down…the sparkles of tears against the silver was the only light left in the room that brightened anything.

Rosette finally stopped running, when she nearly fell off the edge of the complex into mid air. The only thing that stopped her, was the fact she stumbled and fell to her knees inches away from it, clinging to the support and sobbing hard. That idiot!!! She angrily smashed her fist into the floor, which only resulted in bruised knuckles.

Honestly, she knew somewhere inside of her, that Chrno was rarely, if ever selfish. He rarely thought of himself…he was always thinking of other people before himself. It was either her, or Joshua, or Magdalana, and now Ion… he was willing to sacrifice himself, constantly giving what he could to others, despite the cost to him…

"Idiot…you idiot…" She whispered, tears falling damply onto the metal walkway with soft 'plinks'.

She should go back and apologize to him… This was really the first time she had intentionally yelled at him out of anger, and she wasn't used to having a rift between them like that.

She lifted her head, suddenly aware of a presence on the back of her neck, and turned her head… Jenai and Rizel were standing there, peering down at her. The cocky blind demon looked interested, though his cheeks were rosy. Rizel, well…she didn't really look anything other than completely smashed. Her face was bright red, a grin plastered on it, and her head was leaning on Jenai's shoulder, as  he carried her.

"Ou…? What are you doing up so late, ojosan…?" He asked, his voice slurring a bit, but still seeming to know what he was talking about.

Rosette wiped her face quickly, and stood up. "Ah…I couldn't sleep."

"Hmm?" Jenai's head tipped over to Rizel. "You should take some tips from Rizel here…she knows how to relax." His grin widened, and Rosette couldn't help but smile a bit. They were so different when not enemies with them.

Jenai turned to head down the corridor again, but Rosette had a sudden thought, and reached out to snag his elbow. The taller demon turned and peered back at her, though he couldn't see her, his other senses kicked in stronger to allow him to compensate. "What?"

"Um…can I ask you something…?"

"Hmm? About Chrno?" Jenai seemed to be able to tell what she was thinking before she herself even knew.

"Yeah…."

"Hmm, well not sure what you want me to tell ya. We've been apart for a while, ya know. Bastard cause a ruckus back here….isn't exactly our favorite person at the moment."

Rosette nodded slowly. "Yes, I know but…" She paused. "Has he ever been different?"

"Different?" Jenai shrugged, as he continued walking. "Not really. He used to be a bit more stand-offish and quiet…he's mouthy now. Used ter kick butt…he's more of a wuss now."

Rosette turned that over in her mind. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"Hmm?" Jenai turned around and tilted his head down towards her. "Well he always was the soft-hearted one of the group if that's whatcha mean. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't wanna face him when he's dead serious or nothing… I saw what he did on the battlefield." A frown passed over Jenais' features. "A hundred demons slain…cause he lost his temper."

Rosette shivered. Yes…she knew the tale…but she still had a hard time imagining Chrno doing something like that.

"Anyway…" Jenai shrugged again. "We all had our quirks… Me, I was the rookie hot-tempered one." He flashed her a grin, and Rosette smiled back. He didn't seem to mind that. "Ion was the cool collected head of the group…Rizel was the conniving one, Vid the stoic backup…Sheda the comedy entertainment, and Chrno the 'heart' of the group… We made a good team."

Rosette sighed a bit. "You seem like you miss it."

"Yeah… guess I do." Jenai shrugged. "But don'tcha let that go spreadin' around…it ain't likely to go back that way… Chrno's got a big grudge, Ion's got a quirky idea that he's better than everyone else, Sheda and Vid are pretty much th' same… Rizel's got a cold chip on 'er now, and me…" He smirked. "I got a lot of issues myself."

Rosette felt a lonely ache in her chest. "I'm sorry…"

"Ah? Why you sorry? Aren't ya the one who was tryin' ter do away with us?"

"It wasn't anything personal…not against you or the others… only…."

"Ion…? Bah, well…I don't blame ya.. givin' softie's horns ter yer brother wasn't my idea…kinda stupid if ya ask me but…" He shrugged. "It wasn't my place ter say so."

Rosette smiled a bit. She really couldn't find any fault with any of them…It was Ion who had ruined their lives…not these carefree friends of Chrno's… true they were accomplices but so had Chrno been… his horns had been the root of all this, yet she couldn't be angry at him for that anymore than she could be angry at the other Sinners for just being a part of the whole plan.

"Well, get some rest, kiddo." Jenai raised a hand and flicked his wrist at her in a farewell gesture. "Ciao."

Rosette watched as the blind demon continued on, carrying Rizel until they vanished around the corner. Suddenly, she understood….and smiled slowly, transferring her gaze out to the stars beyond. Well then…if they had to wait, so be it…

But she would help him see through this.

**

The next week passed by rather smoothly…and though there was nothing for the two siblings to do in Eden,  Rosette found that she was avoiding going anywhere near Chrno…

Why? She knew that she'd been wrong to yell at him, but something just held her back… she wasn't sure what it was, something profound and almost fearful of facing him after the tantrum she'd thrown. She'd peeked in of course, but every time she did, Chrno was resting. It seemed he didn't have much else to do, and having his powers drawn out of him constantly like an IV was tiresome and draining.

So she didn't bother him.

Instead, she and Joshua spent time talking about what they should do in the meantime. They pretty much figured out that the Order either believed they were lost, or hadn't even heard about the accident yet… but either way there would be no indication they were here. With the shield in place, it most likely blocked any signature energies, so the Sinners couldn't be traced. It was a hard situation they were in.

Rosette spent time listening to some of the chat that went around, and picked up some interesting things. Vid was quiet most of the time, but when you got him to speak, he always had something worthwhile to say. He told them that Sheda thought the process would take a year or more, and that in the end in order to bring Ion's consciousness back, they needed the holy energies of an Apostle, otherwise his body would just remain dormant without a soul. Vid didn't know, however, how they planned on finding the right soul.

Rizel was a piece of work. She growled and glared every time Rosette got near, and so the two quickly learned to send Joshua to talk to her. At least she wasn't as offensive towards the boy. They discovered that she had always been the cold one, and held a strong chip on her shoulder for Chrno's betrayal, and thought that they shouldn't even be relying on him to help them out. She often swore beneath her breath that she'd love to challenge 'that bastard' to a duel.

Jenai was actually the most accommodating of the group. Despite having teased and taunted the two at the outset, he was actually a pretty nice guy. He chatted casually with them, laughed, and joked, often falling back to telling amusing stories of their lives to bide time. He had a hot temper, and a fast wit, and Rosette easily came to like him. Joshua was a bit intimidated, but then Rosette couldn't blame him.

Sheda was often busy, and though chipper and hyper every time they saw her, she tended to keep herself locked up in her lab, not wanting to be disturbed. They rarely saw her, and if they did, she was dashing to and fro, jabbering actively to herself before shoving her nose into a box of wires.

So it was by surprise that Rosette turned the corner one morning, and found her standing still, staring out across the clouds with a troubled look upon her face.

"Sheda?"

The cat-demon turned her head as the two of them approached, and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, hi." She turned to face them, rocking back and forth on her heels with that slight frown still on her face.

I wasn't hard to figure out she was worried over something. "What's wrong?"

She chewed on her lip lightly, a knowing behavior, as her hands pawed at the fringe of her lab coat irritably. "Welllllll it's a technical problem." The two siblings exchanged glances as the cat-demon continued. "I originally thought it was a by product of harnessing astral energy… I put all the right filters in, and even tested it… but for some reason it's backfiring now that Chrno's here… I don't understand it at all!"

Rosette blinked a bit. "Backfiring?"

"Some astral energy is leaking out and tainting the system… it's not the usual kind we demons harness, it's the kind you  Apostles use." She nodded at Joshua with a thoughtful look. "And unfortunately that's not the kind that I need to use… but I'm not sure what to do about it… if I don't solve the problem I'll just have to shut it down, and make repairs…"

The two exchanged glances with one another. "Types of Astral? I didn't know there was a difference." Rosette said, scratching her nose.

"Ah well!" Sheda clapped her hands eager for an audience, and grinned brightly at them. "Yes actually there are three kinds!" She hopped up and down on one foot as she eagerly launched into a lengthy explanation.

"The Astral Line is composed of pure souls… and that by itself isn't something that can easily be harnessed. The Apostles are the only ones who can draw directly from it, and use it to their advantage. They are able to draw raw astral out, and use it to fuel their healing, or comforting powers." She nodded towards Joshua with a catty look.

"Then there's the kind of astral that's present in all human beings. The souls that drift down from the Astral Line, and inhabit human beings. This kind of astral is muted, diffused, but just as potent in small quantities. Humans can't harness it, because it makes up their life."

"Then, there's the kind of astral we demons use… because we can't handle the pure Astral that the Apostles can, we use horns to draw forth the astral, and refine it to our own purposes…" She grinned brightly. "Since we're rumored to be descended from fallen angels, it makes sense. But whatever your thoughts, the only way we demons can use astral is if we harness and purify it through our horns…or other means."

"The clock you made." Rosette said softly.

"Yup! Took me a while to figure that one out!" She perked up. "And on that technology I built something that allows me to draw astral out of a demon, and channel it into another source. Wasn't sure it was gonna work right cause I tested it on Rizel, and she's kind of still recovering from… well." She glanced at Rosette keenly and winked, causing the young girl to blush.

Suddenly, Sheda's keen nose twitched, and she whirled around. "Shimatta!" Her green eyes were wide alarm, and Rosette and Joshua turned, surprised as she whipped around, her lab coat nearly tangling her legs up, as she fled down the corridor, the two siblings following her quickly out of curiosity.

They burst into the central room, and Rosette gasped a bit, as she saw smoke rolling up from the console at the bottom.

"Kyaaa!" Sheda leapt down lightly between the catwalks, making it down in record time, and slammed her hand on the button to terminate the machine quickly, then grabbed the extinguisher next to the wall and sprayed it on the wires.

The glows all died out, the humming stopped, and everything was quiet, save the slight sizzle and smell of burned cords. "DAMN IT!" Sheda threw the extinguisher down with fury, and stared at the mess. "This will take days to repair! I should have watched the levels!"

Rosette glanced over in Chrno's direction, and frowned. He still hadn't moved. She walked up slowly and knelt down beside him, now that the force field was gone, and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Chrno?" But his eyes didn't open this time.

"Ne… Sheda…" Rosette's voice was tinged with worry, and the feline perked her head up and trotted over.

"Araa…? He's still asleep? He's been that way for two days now…" Sheda reached forward and grabbed a hold of his chin and lifted it up, and her eyes abruptly widened. "Oh my…"

Red welts lined the side of his face, creeping down from his horns, and trailing over his cheeks and forehead, mostly all surrounding the clamps holding the transponders wrapped around his horns in place. Rosette recognized the holy burns immediately, and looked up at Sheda accusingly. "That wasn't supposed to happen, I take it?"

"Araaa…" Sheda looked actually worried. "No, it wasn't… this is very strange. It shouldn't be feeding back and affecting him…" She sighed. "Ara… well he looked like he needed a break anyway…."

Rosette felt a tight feeling in her chest. How long had the holy energy been poisoning him? If the machine really had been overloading, then he must have known it, but…she'd avoided talking to him, and she doubted any of the others had come down to speak with him either, so he had suffered in silence.

Tears came to her eyes as her heart was plunged into guilt.

Sheda grabbed a hold of Vid, and had the larger man scoop Chrno up once she had disconnected the cables. Rosette and Joshua followed in silence, as Vid headed out, and down the corridors towards the bedroom area, chose one that was all the way at the end of the row, opened it, and stepped in.

Rosette wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't anything like what they stepped into.

Their own room had been bare of anything aside from the basic metal furniture that Sheda seemed to have discarded from her lab at one point. It was simple, and plain, and very boring.

This room…well let's just say it was the exact opposite.

There was a thick layer of carpet on the floor, a deep crimson color, as if blood had seeped up from the floor cracks, and become a soft cushion under their feet. Deep mahogany tables and chairs lined the side where ornate long velvet curtains curled up on the side of large windows that opened looking out over the drifting clouds below. A double posted bed was set in the center of the room, covered in gold and ruby trim, with black satin sheets pulled over the coverlet. There was even a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Wholly crap." Rosette uttered out loud. "Don't tell me this is Chrno's room…" It…well just didn't fit him.

"No." Vid replied as he lay Chrno down on the bed. "Chrno dwelled in the room you are currently staying in. This was Ion's."

Rosette blinked and glanced around. Well…it made sense. Everything in here reeked of artistic flair and the touch a fine gentleman associated with Stella might bring to his home. It was overly grandiose and exuberant, and reeked of old cigars, brandy, and tangy cologne.

Vid turned and eyed the two then silently turned and walked out, leaving them be without a word.

Rosette sighed, and walked over to the bed, and glanced down at Chrno as he lay slumbering quietly. The streaking burns on his face were still striking against his skin, but they were no longer looking as puffed and fresh. She sighed in frustration, and began to pull the sheets over him, and re-position him so that he was more comfortable. She glanced over at Joshua, who had fixed her with a strong even look.

"Don't say it." She snapped at her brother, only causing him to raise an eyebrow at her. "I don't wanna hear it."

"Neesan…" Joshua sighed and walked over to the side of the bed, peering down at Chrno once, before lifting his gaze to fix on Rosette's face with that 'look'. "You need to talk to him. Now's the time to do it." He patted her shoulder lightly, then turned and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.

Rosette sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Damn that boy…" She smiled faintly, and shook her head lightly. He was right though… it was probably her fault this had happened…because she had been avoiding him.

She sighed, and sat down on the bed beside him. Good grief it was certainly big enough! She didn't even dare let her mind wonder what Ion DID in this thing…geh…

Instead, Rosette pushed Chrno's hair back from his face, and her eyes fell on the cross sparkling from it's position around his chest. How odd… She thought, as she gently touched it, lifting it up for a moment, then dropping it back down. This doesn't harm him, yet…

She rose abruptly, and walked over to the sink and poured a bowl of water with one of the ornate copper basins, and retuned, dabbing one of the towels in it, and laying it over Chrno's forehead with another sigh. Damn that idiot… she thought for the umpteenth time.

This time, his eyes flickered a bit, then cracked open, and squinted over at her.

"Rosette…?"

She jumped a bit, and turned her eyes towards him with a guilty look on her face. "Ah…hi. How are you feeling?"

"Mmm…" He commented mutely, closing his eyes again and sighing slightly, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I'll manage." His tone was rather muted, and almost frigid towards her, though she could see he was fighting to keep an open face about him.

Rosette sighed and fiddled with her hem with two fingers, playing with a loose fray there. "Look… Chrno… I'm sorry. I was really a jerk to you, and it was wrong." She realized that she wasn't looking at him, but she knew if she did so, she might not be able to finish with a steady voice. "I guess I never really gave your feelings much of a thought before…it was always about me, and about my goals. Now that those are accomplished, I guess I'm still used to being the focus of attention, ya know?" she smiled lightly, but felt the corners of her mouth trying to tug back down. "You know me…attention hog, always stealing the spotlight…To not be able to do anything to stop them, or help you…it's frustrating and… I guess I kinda took it out on you by accident. I'm sorry."

A gentle pressure under her chin, forced her head upwards, and she couldn't help but bring her gaze up as well to match, and meet his eyes with her own. She saw emotional pain mirrored there, with sadness…but also relief, and something else… Her eyes widened in faint confusion, as she saw just the faintest bit of color in his eyes, that just didn't belong there…blue?

But it was gone when he blinked, and Rosette decided it must have just been her own eyes reflecting back at her through his.

"N…nan da." She spoke quietly, as he continued to hold her chin tilted upwards, with two fingers held lightly touching her skin.

He sighed lightly, and then a smile passed over his face, as he shook his head lightly. "You don't have to apologize, Rosette…"

She bit her lip. "No, I do. I feel as if I've been taking advantage of you without thinking about what you felt about everything… These guys are your friends… Joshua and I have seen that in the week we've been up here. I think I kinda understand why you're doing this now…though it's still nuts."

She heard a soft chuckle from him, and the pressure under her chin left as he lowered his hand.. she was almost disappointed that he did so. "Yeah, I guess you have a point…" His form rippled once, and shifted back down into his human guise, wearing something slightly out of date, to replace his ripped clothing. Rosette recognized it from his memories, the tight dark gray high collared sleeveless shirt, tight pants, and loose belt with boots…the outfit he'd worn when traveling with Magdalana after leaving the Sinners. At least in this form, the burns didn't show. They were minor injuries, though his astral was low from the drain, Rosette knew he'd heal it quickly enough. He was strong, after all. Stronger than she gave him credit for half the time. He had the habit of underplaying that strength, though.

Rosette stood up, and glanced back at him. "So… I guess Sheda's giving you a break for now…while she fixes whatever went wrong with that thing." She shrugged. "I'm still not sure what the heck she was talking about."

"What did she say was wrong?" Chrno slid out of the bed, and stood, taking time to steady himself for a moment, to make sure he was well enough to get up.

"I dunno." Rosette opened a box on the dresser peering in, and making a face, closing the lid quickly. "Something about the wrong kind of astral feeding back through the system or something." She peered back at him. "You knew that though, didn't you?"

He flushed a bit, scratching his nose. "Er..well somewhat…that accounts for the burning sensation…"

"No shit." Rosette glowered at him. "It's like someone was pouring Holy Water into your veins…"

He shrugged. "No harm done… I'll be fine soon enough."

"Yeah well…it looked worse than you make it sound." She sighed a bit and threw him a rather irritated glance.

He just shrugged again, and joined her, while his eyes roamed around at the surroundings about them.

"Ion's room, huh?" Rosette folded her arms, blowing some of her hair out of her face. "Rather extravagant ain't it?"

Chrno chuckled. "He always enjoyed things like this." He ran a hand over one of the mahogany tables that had some crystal glasses still resting with stains of red wine in their base. "It doesn't really surprise me."

"Your room's boring as hell."

Chrno raised an eyebrow back at her, glancing over his shoulder with a curious expression. "My room?"

"Vid said that the one Joshua and I are staying in was yours. Not much there."

"Well…there wouldn't be after this long, Rosette."

Doh! She felt her cheeks burn with shame as she realized she'd failed to overlook that single most important point. Of course after his defection they would have probably cleaned out whatever belongings he'd had left. She wondered then, what his room would have been like… She threw a glance at him, watching as he strode slowly over to the windows, staring out while putting one hand up to the glass in a nostalgic posture.

The door crashed open, startling them both, and Rosette whipped her head around, while Chrno turned, with a startled expression on his face.

Jenai stood there, looking rather cross, with Rizel not far behind, Vid, and Sheda peeking over and under the bulk of their comrades to see inside, Joshua squished against the door, looking a bit spooked by their sudden arrival, since he'd been standing outside patiently waiting for his sister to return.

Rosette threw a glance back at Chrno worried by this development, then back to the Sinners bristling in the doorway. What was going on? The tenseness in the room was practically smothering…

"So…" Jenai's voice was cold and emotionless as he regarded Chrno with a slight snarl of his lips. "Up and about, like nothing happened, are ya?"

Chrno remained silent, lowering his hand from the window slowly, regarding them with a mixed look on his face.

Jenai snorted. "Che…" His lips curled up more. "You have a lot of gall, softie. That bitch changed ya too much." Suddenly with a slight blur of motion, Jenai vanished, and Rosette could feel the rush of wind shoot by her as the demon rushed Chrno faster than her eye could trace.

What followed had to have been the shortest battle she had ever witnessed, and the least exciting one, as most of it happened so quickly, it couldn't be seen. There was blurred motion, followed by the sound of a crystal vase tipping over to shatter on the floor, and a solid smack as Jenai's body was pinned against the wall with force enough to rattle the paintings hanging there. Chrno had reverted to his true form once more, and was practically fuming with energy rolling off of him, in crackles of black, red, and blue. His right hand encircled Jenai's throat, talons on the verge of drawing blood at the back of the other demon's neck, while Chrno's left hand had warped into a sharp blade, aimed directly at Jenai's throat, the tip just barely touching the adam's apple, as Jenai swallowed hard.

"Enough." Chrno's voice was quiet, but reeked with deadly intent, as his wings snapped out with force enough to ripple wind into Rosette's hair. His tail was curled tightly around Jenai's right wrist, and Jenai seemed to realize that doing anything with his other hand would result in several puncture wounds in other places.

"I can stomach your insults aimed at me…but not at Rosette, Joshua…or anyone else." Chrno's eyes were narrowed darkly, slits of light showing out from them with deadly intent. The burns on his face stood out still, but Rosette could see they were almost faint enough to pass off as shadows. "If you want my help, keep your damn opinions to yourself."

Jenai gulped once more, and had his eyes been visible, everyone was certain that they would have been wide open in surprise. As it was, he didn't seem altogether sure what to do in this situation. Chrno had taken him by surprise. A long silence droned on, as everyone held their breath, waiting to see what the cocky demon would do…

Finally, Jenai smirked, and laughed out loud, not a cruel taunting laugh, but a relieved boisterous one. "Yer not half bad, Chrno… and here I'd thought you'd lost yer edge… Guess ya proved me wrong." His left hand reached out, and clapped Chrno's shoulder firmly, and Jenai grinned across at his companion. "Welcome back."

Everyone's breath released slowly in relief, and Chrno took a step back, lowering his hands, and allowing them to warp back to normal, and his offensive posture dropped, as a faint smile flashed over his face. He didn't like fighting his friends, and now that he'd cleared up that little misunderstanding, it seemed the only one who held any hostile intent towards him still, was Rizel, as she glared mutely, and stalked off without a word down the hall.

Rosette sighed in relief, and lowered her hands from where they had clenched her jacket out of reflex. Sheda bounded forward, as Jenai brushed his coat off casually. "Maaa that was exciting!" Her hands zipped out and snatched Chrno's hands as he turned, and she stared intently at him, a curious look on her face as she raised her green eyes to match his crimson ones. "Saa…." She ran her hands over his, a cunning look crossing her face. "Now this is interesting…holy burns on your hands that weren't there before…" She raised an eyebrow at Chrno, as he pulled back quickly reverting into his human form. "Hmm curious, curious!"

Rosette blinked, but said nothing, though her mind was filled with sudden questions. What was going on…and what did it all mean?