Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade. If I did, there would be more Joshua and Azmaria moments, and Chrno and Rosette wouldn't have died in the anime(or the manga, for that matter)!

A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long to update! The end of the grading period for my school was Wednesday(March 16, 2005), and I have been working like HELL to catch up. It is currently Friday, March 18, 2005, 5:01 PM. You see how fanfiction can affect your grades? Oh well. I'll catch up sooner or later. I just hope I don't get bad grades on my report card, i've been lucky so far. If I do get bad grades, don't expect me to be updating for a while, because my computer will be taken away and I won't be able to type it up. Aye .. Why did the government have to make school? If we can learn everything from a computer these days, why do kids need to go to school? Anyway, Here's chapter 3! Hope you like!

.o. A note about the swimsuits .. yes, they had them back then. The girls only had one piece suits, and sometimes the men wore something similar to the women's swimsuits, though they also had the ones that looked like shorts, like these days. This story takes place in 1932.

.oo. And a note about the CPR .. I have no clue if they knew about this in 1932. If they didn't, Joshua was acting on impulse. Okay! Read!

oo

Someone Like Me

By Rika(Akiana-chan)

Chapter III: Escapades at the Lake

Sunshine filtered the room through a nearby window, illuminating the face of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenager as he slept. Joshua groaned and rolled onto his side, facing away from the window, and the dreaded daylight that dared to try and wake him. His eyes remained closed, though by this time he was half awake. He breathed in deeply, and let it out again before trying to lull himself back to sleep. He was succeeding so far, but just as he was about to fall back into the darkness of his peaceful slumber, something woke him up .. or rather, someone.

"RISE AND SHINE, JOSHUAAAAAAAAA!" A cheerful voice shouted, the sound filling the room almost immediately. Joshua's eyes snapped open in that instant and he bolted into a sitting position, but was knocked back again by the force of none other than his older sister Rosette colliding with him as she hurtled herself onto Joshua's bed, wrapping an arm around his neck and giving him a noogie. Joshua was angry for Rosette's interferance with his much-needed sleep, but nonetheless laughed and tried to get her to stop her noogie assault on him.

"Rosette .. sister, stop .." Joshua said between laughs, which made Rosette laugh as well.

"C'mon, you've gotta get up! We're going to that lake today, aren't we? And Azmaria's acting a bit weird today, it's as if she's nervous about going to the lake! I mean, come on! It's just a lake, isn't it?" Rosette said with a grin, detaching herself from him and standing next to the bed to reveal that she was wearing a long yellow skirt and an old, loose blouse. Underneath she was wearing her golden swimsuit, no doubt.

Rosette grinned excitedly and bounded over to Joshua's dresser, opening a drawer and digging through Joshua's clothes. She frowned at the piles of clothes that just seemed to be literally thrown into the drawers.

"Damn, Joshua! You seriously need to learn some organizational skills!" Rosette stated as her hand dug through the piles of clothes as she tried to find what she was looking for.

"Nope, not here .." She said, then closed that drawer and opened another one, starting her search over again. Joshua sat up and watched for a moment, then let out a heavy sighed as Rosette slammed another drawer closed and moved onto the next one.

"It's not like being unorganized dosen't run in the family, you know .." He said jokingly. Rosette laughed.

"You've got that right. Chrno's the organized one around here. He always complains when he has to do chores, but he does them a hell of a lot better than I do," Rosette said, then added "No pun intended."

"You can say that again .. " Joshua said with a small smile.

"A-HA!" Rosette suddenly exlaimed. Joshua winced, fearing that his older sister was going to pulverize him. He knew she was capable of doing just that, too. Rosette turned around and grinned at her younger brother, throwing a blue swimsuit at him. It landed on his face and he pulled it off with a glare torwards Rosette. Rosette just grinned even more at her brother's glare.

"Put them on. We're going to the lake whether you like it or not, Joshua." Joshua glared even more at Rosette.

"And what if I don't?" Rosette put on a glare more evil than Joshua could ever conjure, staring at him as if she were going to kill him if he didn't agree.

"YOU'RE COMING WITH US!" Rosette said in a frightening voice that made Joshua cower in fear.

"Fine .." Joshua said in a small voice, then repeated himself. "Fine .." Rosette's jovial grin returned and she walked torwards the door, opening it and stepping out halfway.

"Meet us at the entrance to the forest in 5 minutes .. or else." She stepped the rest of the way out and closed the door behind her. Joshua let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and began to strip out of his night clothes.

"Damn, she's scary when she's angry .. " He thought back to what Rosette had said about Azmaria acting weird, and he blushed. His mind replayed the scene from the day before at the lake when they had almost kissed, and his cheeks became darker. 'I'll bet that's why she's nervous. But what would that mean? Is she afraid I would try something like that again? Or even worse .. ' He shook his head to clear the thought from his mind.

"You can't start thinking things like that, Joshua. As far as you know, she's not interested," He said to himself, but a part of him didn't believe it entirely; he may have said he thought she would never fall in love with a guy like him in her life, but he also had his suspicions. 'She didn't ask me to stop when I started tickling her .. she seemed to be having a lot of fun ..' He shook his head again. 'No. N-O. I'm just a friend to her, nothing more.' Joshua then heard a knock at his door and quickly pulled an old shirt over the top half of his body, then walking to the door calling out to the one person he was certain would be there behind the door when he opened it.

"All right, all right! I'm coming Roset-" When he opened the door, though .. he saw that it wasn't his sister. Far from her, actually.

Azmaria.

"Az .. " He said, surprised, but still managing a kind look in his eyes torwards her. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks, as it usually did when he was around her. He tried not to look at her, but she was definately breaking all of the rules of dresscode of the Magdalan Order. A lavender one-piece swimsuit hugged her small frame perfectly, and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that ended a little past her shoulders. His eyes wandered over her in shock, and he found himself looking in all the wrong places once more. He averted his gaze to her face, relieved that she hadn't looked up at him yet. He reached his right hand out and placed it gently-but shakily-on her shoulder, which caused her to finally look up at him, the blush becoming even more apparant on her face. Gorgeous. There was that word again. There was no doubt in his mind that she was beautiful. But she was so much more than that; She was gorgeous. She always would be, in his eyes.

"Joshua, I .. " She paused, as if thinking of the right words to say, then started again. "I came to see if you were .. feeling okay." Joshua was taken aback by this display of affection, however small it may be. 'She came to see if I was okay ..' He put on a grin that showed his gratitude.

"I'm fine, Az .." His hand fell from her shoulder, down her arm, and grasped her petite hand in his own rather large one. He squeezed her hand to reassure her. Joshua noticed the slight darkening of the color on her cheeks, and felt his heart leap when her hand grasped his in return. They stared at each other for a moment, smiling as if they were telling each other 'It's all right. I'm here for you.' Neither Joshua nor Azmaria noticed that their faces were once more inching closer to one another, to the point where Azmaria was standing on her tip-toes, and Joshua was leaning down to meet her halfway. Their lips were almost in contact with each other, when ..

"Azmaria! What in God's name is taking so LONG?" Rosette shouted as she came around the corner of the hall, obviously on her way to Joshua's room, and obviously very peeved about not already being at the lake.

Joshua and Azmaria jerked away from the trance they were in, looking torwards the direction of Rosette's voice. They immediately let go of each other's hand, and stepped away, doing anything they could think of to make it seem like nothing had happened. Rosette stood a few doors in front of Joshua's door, and leaned against the said door with an all-knowing smile.

"Is there something going on between you two that I should know about?" Rosette asked, the glimmer in her eyes again. Joshua and Azmaria looked at Rosette, then at each other, then burst out laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Joshua said between laughs.

"Can't a girl go check and see if her friend, who happens to be a guy, without being accused of something happening?" Azmaria did the same. The two started walking past Rosette and out to their meeting spot, at the edge of the forest. In the back of their minds, both Azmaria and Joshua knew that Rosette knew about their silenced feelings torwards each other; Oh yes, they knew in that certain are in the back of their minds .. they just chose to ignore it, and were almost oblivious to the fact that Rosette did in fact know .. almost.

Rosette grinned. This just might be easier to pull off then she originally thought ..

oo

Fifteen minutes later, the group arrived at the lake as planned. They were a little late in getting there, but they had gotten there, and in the book of Rosette, that was all that really mattered. Rosette took a look around the area, staring in awe. Chrno had a serene look upon his face; it was obvious he felt a calming presense here, and knew that they would be at peace. Besides, Rosette was going to be an Excorcist of the Magdalan Order for another month at the least, which meant she never went anywhere without her gun .. never.

Chrno often thought that Rosette was engaged to her gun, and not to him. But he didn't let that get to him. That was the everyday typical Rosette that he knew .. and that he loved with all of his heart. He wouldn't change her for all of the astral energy in the world; he loved her just the way she was, and he made sure she knew that every day that she spent on this Earth with him. Rosette would always whine and say something along the lines of "Again? Chrno, this is the seventy-millionth time you've told me that you love and cherish me this week!", but he knew that Rosette enjoyed his displays of affection torwards her, and she returned it just as much .. usually with a more physical gesture, like a kiss, or an embrace. Rosette wasn't one to voice her feelings. She just could never find the right words to explain exactly how she felt, which Chrno knew would take her forever to explain to him, even if she could find the words. Rosette was impulsive. It never took her a long time to find something to do to express the way she was feeling. He knew when she was angry(Everyone did, for that matter), he knew when she was sad(Though she rarely ever cried. It would take something intense to make her shed a tear), and he also knew when she was so happy that she felt her heart would burst(He loved her the most when she was this way). Rosette made him happy. She made his heart melt when she smiled, and tore his heart into shreds when she frowned, or cried as she so rarely did. It was usually hard for other people to know when she was covering a sad emotion up with cheerfulness; But Chrno could always see right past it, and try to help her through the rough time as best as he could. That's what he was there for, and he knew that's what he would always be there for. He sealed the first part of his new contract when he proposed to her, and when she accepted his proposal to become his wife, and to be with him forever. The bond was, still is, and always will be there. It started when she was only twelve years old .. and it would continue as long as they both shall live; the basic idea of marriage.

"Chrno! Chrno!" Rosette said excitedly, breaking the devil out of his thoughts. Chrno looked down at her with the smile that he saved only for her. Rosette knew this smile well. She had seen it every day since the day they both had admitted their feelings to each other, and started the journey of their relationship .. or had she seen it many times before that? She knew she had been seeing it for an extremely long time, and that was all she needed to know. He loved her. And she loved him. Their feelings were the same, and she knew, deep in her heart, that they would always feel the same way. Rosette grabbed Chrno's hand and tugged on it like a young child, silently asking him to follow her. Chrno gladly complied, and followed her to a secluded area, away from the other two lovebirds. She sat down and motioned for him to do so too.

"Chrno," Rosette started, "When I went in there to get Azmaria and Joshua, they looked as if they were hiding something."

"So .. do you think ..?" Chrno asked, startled, and a bit dissapointed that he couldn't help in getting them together. He was secretly relieved when Rosette shook her head.

"I don't think so. Joshua can't keep a secret, remember?" She asked Chrno, who nodded in reply. Rosette was referring to when she and Joshua had first met Chrno, when they were only eleven and twelve years old, when they were still living at the Seventh Bell Orphanage near where Chrno's supposed 'resting place' was. Joshua always blurted out things that he wasn't supposed to say, even when he didn't mean to. Joshua may be a a lot calmer than his older sister, but he could be just as impulsive.

"I think something happened between them. It may have been a bit different than how they were acting at lunch yesterday, but it had its similarities. They're getting closer to admitting how they feel. Our job is to give them a jump start." Chrno thought this over for a second or two, then nodded again.

"This changes everything .. So what do we do now?"

Rosette grinned mischeviously. "Anything we can do to get them together in a somewhat awkward situation."

"HEY! What are you two talking about over there?" Azmaria called from her sitting area at the edge of the lake, where she was sitting next to Joshua.

"Things you kids shouldn't know about!" Rosette called back, treating them as if they were a lot younger than they really were. Joshua rolled his eyes.

"Ha-ha, funny Rosette. Really, what are you two talking so seriously about?" Chrno looked at Rosette and smiled. He had a cover-up story for a situation like this. He pulled his fiancee closer to him and wrapped loving arms around her.

"It's nothing really, we're just talking about .. what we're going to do on our wedding night .." He looked into Rosette's eyes and smiled, seeing a smile of approval cross her face. "Isn't that right, love?" Chrno added, to make their tale more believable.

"You better believe it!" Rosette replied and leaned up to place a kiss on his lips, which he gladly returned. Azmaria and Joshua made a face.

"Get a room, you two!" Joshua joked, but still looked a little bit disgusted.

"Agreed." Azmaria said softly. Rosette and Chrno broke their kiss, and looked to the two of them with a grin.

"Joshua, you'll talk about it as well when you're engaged. It happens to all couples," Chrno stated. He already treated Joshua like a younger brother, although he wasn't legally his brother-in-law until the day of the wedding.

"And you'll be forced to talk about it with your future husband, Azzy!" Rosette joked, which got a look from Chrno.

"Forced, Rosette? Oh no, I never have to force you to talk about it with me," Chrno said jokingly, though every word was true. "You always welcome the conversation!"

Rosette giggled. "Guilty!" They engaged in another liplock, only letting it go when both Joshua and Azmaria were looking away from the 'grotesque sight.' They looked to each other and grinned, standing up quietly and sneaking in back of the two oblivious teenagers, who were looking into each other's eyes, whether they realized it or not. They were lucky that neither of the two noticed them, or their plan would have been spoiled. Rosette looked to Chrno and nodded, mouthing the words "One .. Two .. Three!"

On the third count, Rosette put a hand on the back of Joshua's head, Chrno put a hand on the back of Azmaria's head, and they both pushed their faces together to that their lips met for a moment. They both pulled away quickly, however, their faces bright red. Once they had gotten over the shock of what had just happened, however, they both turned to shoot angry glances at Rosette and Chrno, who were laughing insanely at what they had just accomplished, but more so at the look of their faces, not to mention the bright color that they had become. Joshua and Azmaria stared at them for a few more moments, seeing that they weren't going to stop laughing anytime soon, then looked to each other and grinned evily, each knowing what the other was thinking. They got up silently, like the two before them, and walked stealthily to the back of the pair of laughing hyenas, looking to each other once more before Azmaria mouthed the same words that Rosette had mouthed before her. Before Chrno and Rosette knew it ..

They were sopping wet. Joshua and Azmaria had pushed them into the lake while they were having their laughing fit. Now it was the younger two's turn to laugh. Chrno and Rosette resurfaced with angry glares directed at Joshua and Azmaria. The two caught sight of their glares and immediately stopped laughing. Chrno spoke first.

"Joshua .. Azmaria .. " Chrno started, but before he could finish, Rosette intruded.

"THIS MEANS WAAAAAR!" Rosette yelled at the top of her lungs with playful anger, though it was enough to convince Joshua and Azmaria that they were going to be dog meat in a matter of minutes. Before they knew it, they were being pulled into the lake and splashed with vast amounts of water. Joshua laughed, splashing them as much as he could, but after a few seconds he noticed that Azmaria wasn't there .. Wait! Azmaria wasn't there .. Joshua turned around with a gasp, which caused Rosette and Chrno to stop splashing and look to see what was wrong .. and then they noticed.

"Azmaria!" Joshua gasped, before diving underwater in his frantic search to find her. Rosette and Chrno soon dove in after Joshua, joining in the frantic search for their friend. Half a minute later, Joshua resurfaced, carrying a limp, pale-skinned Azmaria in his arms. Luckily, he was close enough to the edge of the lake so that he could get her to land without any trouble. He layed her down on the sand, climbing out of the lake and kneeling beside her at rapid speed. He didn't know much about medical techniques, since he was healed by Chrno's horns and not some miracle medicine, but he knew enough to know how to check a pulse, and to perform CPR .. that was the least he could do. He checked her pulse, which was weak, but was there nonetheless. He put his ear close to her heart, listening for any sign of a heartbeat. By the time he figured out that Azmaria has breathed in water, Rosette and Chrno had come to stand in back of them, holding onto each other for fear of their dear friend's life. Chrno looked to Rosette.

"Rosette, run back to the order. Get the doctor." Rosette nodded and ran off quickly in search of the Order's only doctor. She, as well as Chrno and Joshua, hoped that the doctor knew the meaning of the word 'emergency.'

Chrno watched until Rosette was out of sight before looking back to Joshua, who was by now trying to breathe air into the girl's lungs. If anyone had doubted before that Joshua truly cared about Azmaria, this would undoubtedly change their mind. Chrno saw then just how much Joshua loved and cared for Azmaria; he may not be able to express his feelings for her just yet, but he would do anything for her. Stubborn people could see this act of heroism and still say that they were only friends, nothing more .. but if they could see the look of worry on Joshua's face, the tears in his eyes .. they would understand. Chrno certainly did. He had his doubts about it when Rosette had first brought it to his attention, but now he realized ..

Those two were meant for each other.

Azmaria may not have been awake at this time, but he knew that if it were the other way around, she would be doing the exact same thing. She wasn't as impulsive as Joshua or Rosette, but if Joshua were in trouble, she would jump at the chance to save him. That's exactly how they felt about each other. It was himself and Rosette all over again.

Chrno was brought back to reality when he heard Azmaria cough up some water. Joshua held his finger in front of her nostrils to find that she was breathing again and smiled widely, relieved that she was alive .. and that she would live with him for a while to come. By this time, Rosette was returning with the Order's doctor. The doctor ran to the young girl's side, opposite from Joshua, who wouldn't leave her side, even if he was going to be killed for it. The doctor checked Azmaria's pulse, as Joshua had done earlier. and felt that a pulse was there, beating stronger than when the boy on the other side of the girl had checked it. He listened to her heartbeat, checked her breathing, and determined that everything would be back to normal shortly, and that Azmaria would be fine.

"She's been through quite a scare today, so she needs to get some rest. Bring her back to her room, she'll be in bed for a minimum of 2 days, maybe longer. It's just until she gets over the shock. I'll come check on her every afternoon." The doctor said, nodding to Joshua as if telling him it was all right for him to lift her and carry her back to her room. Joshua immediately complied with this request, lifting her carefully off of the ground and walking back torwards the order, the lovely girl in his arms breathing softly against his neck, soothing him of the scare that he had shared with her, as well as his sister and future brother-in-law.

oo

It was a little past three in the morning at the Magdalan Order. Moonlight still shone brightly outside, and filtered in through the window, illiminating the innocent face of the sleeping sixteen-year-old, shining off of her hair, and making her look like an angel. The blonde nineteen-year-old boy sitting in a chair by her bedside would have taken notice of her angelic features, had he been awake at the time. Azmaria's brown eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the darkness of the room, and finally resting upon the sleeping boy's face. She smiled, reaching out her hand to take his, the sudden movement, though it was small, causing Joshua to wake. His blue eyes gazed at her, and he smiled, showing that he was glad she was all right.

"How long have you been here?" Azmaria asked softly.

"Since we got back. You almost drowned." Joshua replied, just as soft. Azmaria nodded.

"You saved me?" Joshua nodded. Azmaria flashed a beautiful smile at the boy who had saved her life .. the boy she secretly loved, but was too shy and afraid of what he felt to try and tell him.

"Thank you .. I owe you a lot, Joshua."

The two were silent for several moments, before Joshua broke the awkward silence once more.

"Azmaria?"

"Yes, Joshua?"

Silence.

"Joshua?" Azmaria tried again.

" .. Never mind," Joshua said kindly, and brushed Azmaria's bangs away from her angelic face. "Get some rest, okay?" He said softly.

"Okay." There was another few moments of silence, before Azmaria broke the silence once more.

"Joshua .."

"Hmm?"

" .. You can .. sleep in the bed with me if you'd like .. you can't get any rest if you're going to stay in that chair all night .."

Silence once more.

"Are you sure?" Joshua asked, to which Azmaria answered

"Of Course." Joshua smiled gratefully and climbed into the bed next to Azmaria as she scooted over to make space for him.

"Goodnight .." Azmaria whispered to her best friend. She was shocked when Joshua wrapped his arms around her small frame, but accepted the protective guesture, smiling.

"Goodnight, Az." The two fell asleep shortly after that last word was spoken, enjoying each other's company while it lasted. They enjoyed it now, for they would probably never hear the end of it from Rosette and Chrno when morning came.

oo

A/N: It is 3:52 AM on Wednesday, March 23, 2005. It took me 2 days to write this, and 3 days of homework to finally get it finished! Be joyous, all fans of this story; This may be the last chapter of this story for a while to come. Tomorrow I get my report card, and I am almost certain that I won't be on the computer for quite a while. Anywhre from 5 to 9 weeks, actually. I will be writing more of this while I am away, though! You can bet Chrno's horns on that! So if I don't return in a while, please keep up the hope! This story will be completed, if it's the last thing I do! Oh, and thank all of you for the reviews! Big thanks to Kisho Myst, who has rewiewed this story twice, and I hope will continue to review! I get the feeling that Kisho is this story's stalker now. xD Oh well, a lot of stories have stalkers. Thanks to everyone! Please leave me more nice reviews while i'm gone!

Next Time: Since Chrno has realized just how deep Joshua's feelings for Azmaria run, he decided to have a talk with him, to try and persuade him to finally admit his feelings to her! Unknown to Joshua, though, Rosette is doing the same for Azmaria! Will they finally be able to admit their feelings and live happily ever after? Find out next time! Stay Tuned!