Demon Fever --- Chapter II

By: Lexa

Author's Note: thank you all so very much for your dear reviews... I really never expected to get so many reviews for one chapter!! And special thanks to Ari Kitsune who was so kind to proof-read my poor writing... arigatoooou!!! .

And don't worry- I'll definitely finish this story. It might take some time, for right now, I'm still thinking on some details of the plot which turned out more difficult than expected, but... hang on with me, and I'll go on. Some nice reviews, however, might help me to go on with writing a little earlier .

Chapter II

Sitting on her bed, the young nun used the quiet action of combing her blonde hair to calm herself after the fight, and to chase away the worries for her partner.

There was something sooting about the regular motions, and slowly she got tired; so it startled her even more when she heard a small noise outside her door.

Immediately she was on her feet and creeping toward the door. There was no need for a weapon, for no demon would manage to get past the security systems the convent was surrounded with . . . except for one.

As she opened the door, her blue eyes met Chrno's tired gaze.

"Chrno?!"

"Rosette . . . " he whispered, taking in her white nightgown and her loosened hair, before his legs gave way again and he slid down the wall next to her door.

Breathing heavily, he pressed his eyes closed trying to fight the lightheadedness that was washing over him.

In an instant, Rosette knelt beside him and touched his uninjured shoulder, trying to get him to look at her, and thus noticing how burning hot his pale skin was. "Chrno . . . You've got a fever"

He didn't seem to hear her. A barely audible whisper was all the response Rosette was getting. "I'm . . . cold . . . "

From one second to the next, the shivering started, until his whole body was trembling violently.

This was confirming what his fever-bright eyes had already told her: Chrno was seriously ill.

Rosette made up her mind after a second of pondering.

"Chrno," she touched his cheek, and slowly his eyes opened to look at her again. "Come in. You'll sleep in my bed tonight."

"But . . . Sister Kate won't like it . . . " he protested weakly.

The young nun stamped her foot. "You're sick, and I don't care what Sister Kate says! I won't let you go until I know what this Epitaph causes," she vowed, and Chrno realized that pure worry was the reason for her harsh words, so he didn't resist when she carefully pulled him to his feet and led him into her room.

Aside from this, he felt far too weak and tired to struggle. . . .

After the blonde girl had put the trembling demon to bed, she carefully tucked him in like a mother would her child, smiling a bit as he closed his eyes, and decided to stay awake for a while, since her bed was occupied anyway.

Not that she would have minded to share it with Chrno . . .

However, as the night passed his condition got worse, and the fever rose to a point where delirium started.

Rosette had dozed off in her uncomfortable position on the chair next to her bed, but his slight movement brought her to full consciousness again, and she noticed that he'd opened his eyes.

"Chrno, how are you feeling?"

His voice came out cracked between ragged and rapid breaths, "It's so . . . hot . . . I'm . . . burning. . . ."

Her worry turned into true fear for her demon partner as she laid her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

The young nun bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do.

Since the Epitaph was the obvious reason for his condition, it seemed best to fetch the Elder, or maybe Reverend Remington. However, watching Chrno's unnaturally bright eyes flicker from the ceiling to her face and feeling the heat his skin was giving off, she didn't dare to leave him alone.

Suddenly, his fingers twitched, and slowly he lifted his hand to gently cup her cheek.

"Chrno, what are you -?" she wasn't able to finish the question, for what he did next caught her completely off-guard. All of a sudden, with a swiftness she was surprised he still possessed, he sat up, grabbed the back of her neck . . . and kissed her.

At first, the blue-eyed girl was too surprised to resist . . . and then, she didn't want to.

For kissing Chrno wasn't unpleasant at all, warm and soft . . . until she realized what she was doing and, blushing, pulled away quickly, making him sink back on the bed.

The movement seemed to have deprived him of his last strength, and he simply closed his eyes without giving any comment to what he'd just done.

"W-what?" Rosette stuttered, until she reminded herself that he was ill and it was just the fever.

Though part of her felt sad with that thought.

She reminded herself to contemplate the kiss later, for it had told her truly how bad his condition was.

She had to fetch help.

Since Reverend Remington's room wasn't as far away from hers as the Elder's, she decided to get him first.

Although she was sorry to wake him up in the small hours of night, Rosette had no other choice. She was certain that Sister Kate, wouldn't be the right person to help Chrno.

The Reverend, however, cared for the purple-haired demon and had always supported him and his Contractor.

Quietly she knocked on his door, but got no reply.

She knocked again, but stronger this time, however, still the room stayed silent.

Growing impatient, Rosette knocked for the third time and called out the Reverend's name as loudly as she dared to without waking up her fellow sisters.

This time, the rustling of fabric and the faint ray of light coming out of the keyhole told her that her call had been heard, and seconds later the door opened.

Obviously the blonde man had been in bed, for his hair was mussed from sleep and he blinked a few times against the bright light, until he saw Rosette and was awake immediately.

"Rosette? What's wrong?" Her fear was evident in her eyes as well as in the nervous clenching of her hands.

"Reverend Remington, I'm sorry to wake you up like this, but . . . Chrno's ill, and I don't know what to do anymore."

"He's what?!" It took a few seconds for the man to realize that a demon couldn't get ill just like that, and thus how serious the situation was.

He nodded. "Wait a moment, and I'll just get myself some decent clothes."

Rosette's eyes wandered over his pajamas, and she blushed unwillingly. "A-alright," she murmured and turned away.

It didn't take him long to get dressed, and soon they were heading for Rosette's room.

"He's got a terribly high fever," Rosette said, "And it seems to still be rising . . . "

"I'll look at him," the Reverend promised, consciously not asking her why the devil stayed in her room overnight against Sister Kate's direct orders.

Nevertheless, as he stood next to her bed, it seemed obvious why. The fever had painted hectic red stains on Chrno's cheeks, his face was distorted in what might a fever dream, and cold sweat stood on his forehead.

It really looked dangerous. "Do you have any clue what might be the reason for his condition?" Remington asked.

As a small sob was the only reply he got, Remington turned to the young nun and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"It's all my fault," she whispered. "I. . . hit him with the Epitaph tonight, by mistake . . . "

The blonde man's eyes darkened. "Let me take a look at the wound, please," he said. Driven by fear for her partner, Rosette immediately obeyed and loosened the bandage around Chrno's shoulder.

She hissed as she saw the injury from earlier that night. It looked inflamed, as if it was widening slowly, and an unhealthy red, just like a blood poisoning, was spreading underneath Chrno's skin.

"Epitaph . . . I'll go fetch the Elder, you stay with him," the Reverend ordered, his low voice frightening Rosette more than anything else.

While she waited for Remington to return, Rosette looked at the purple-haired boy next to her and wondered if it was all right to pray for a demon.

As Remington walked back from the Elder's accommodation, he pondered how to best word the news he was bringing to Rosette.

He knew how much the young nun cared for Chrno, and vice versa.

He'd known it from the first moment he'd seen the two of them together, after the incident with Joshua.

For Rosette, Chrno was the only thing left of her life before it had taken such a cruel turn, before she had been deprived of everything she had: her friends, her home, her brother.

And he had to admit that it was hard not to like the red-eyed demon.

He was kind, easy to smile and to laugh, very protective for everyone in need. But he was a demon, and thus, most people who didn't know him feared him instead for the power resting within him, afraid that it might erupt.

Nonetheless, Remington had realized long ago that there was only thing that could bring Chrno to take on his true form. Rosette.

Only if Rosette convinced him, like after Azmaria's kidnaping, or if something or someone hurt his precious Contractor. Only then would Chrno change into what he really was.

The reverend sighed as he paused for a moment in front of the blonde girl's chamber door, before knocking quietly and entering.

Her eyes, up to now fixed on her ill partner, turned to look at Remington imploringly, so hoping that he would bring good news, a cure for Chrno . . .

"How is he?"

"Still not better, on the contrary . . . " She continued to look at him questioningly.

The man sighed again.

"Rosette . . . I spoke to the Elder, and he told me about the Epitaph."

"What does it do?"

His long silence as he took some steps toward the bed to look at Chrno told the nun that something was wrong.

"What does it do?" she whispered, scared.

"The Epitaph . . . is a bullet that contains . . . holy water. It is released after entering a demon's body . . . to dissolve him from within."