Disclaimer: I own Chrono, yes I do! I'm a liar, how 'bout you!

Author's Note: See chapter one or chapter seven.

X

Ticks of the Clock

Questions

X

"Um. . . Rosette? Chrono?"

Both the exorcist and her devil looked up in surprise, the nun working tirelessly on darning her spare robes; Chrono reading a rather thick book. They beamed happily upon noticing Azmaria at the doorway, looking timid but oddly determined all the same.

". . . Yes?" the purpled haired demon prompted cheerfully, placing a bookmark in his novel and setting it on his Contractor's bedside table. "What is it Azmaria?"

The girl began fiddling with her overly large sleeves, taking a few timid steps into the room. "Uh. . . There's. . . something I've been meaning to ask you two. . ."

"Oh?" Rosette disposed of her sewing happily, most likely having been looking for an excuse to get rid of it for the past few hours. "Well, what is it?" she chirped, patting the mattress beside her. Chrono scooted over a bit, giving the apostle just enough room to fit snuggly between her best friends. "If you need anything, you should go ahead and say it. Don't be afraid!" She beamed toothily, in a way that only Rosette could.

Az continued to hesitate, her cheeks pink, but steadied her resolve upon looking into her "big sister's" good-natured blue pools. "W-well. . ." she swallowed, voice wavering slightly. "I was just wondering. . . Uh. . . Where. . ." She jammed her eyes shut, forcing the question out before it escaped her again. "Where do babies come from?"

". . ."

The silver haired child's lashes slowly fluttered open, fixing her gaze upon the nun- who had just blanched, eyes the size of dinner plates.

"B- b- wha. . . ?" She shot Chrono a pleading look, begging that he save her. The demon, however, was too busy massaging his temples to notice her frantic gaze.

"Great. . ." he muttered distractedly, trying fruitlessly to hide his burning cheeks, "You think her stepfather would've told her something, but nooooooooo- ! He had to be a lazy SOB and get slaughtered by that stupid Lejarie idiot. . ."

"You think I don't know that?" the nun snarled under her breath, yanking the boy's collar so that they could converse heatedly behind the girl's back. "And she was in band camp before that, dammit! Don't they teach kids anything these days?"

Mildly worried that the Sinner and his lover might have snapped, Azmaria craned her neck in an attempt to see what was going on behind her. Her curiosity was almost overwhelming, by this point. "I'm wait-ing!"

"Don't rush me!" Rosette snapped before immediately returning her attention to her devil. "Chrono- you're, like, over 100. So you go and tell her!"

"What!"

"Do it!"

"What does my AGE have anything t-?"

"I said DO IT!"

He sighed deeply, face a horrendously vivid shade of maroon. "Okay, okay! I'll do it. . ." Taking a deep breath, both he and Rosette straightened, steeling themselves for what was to come.

The apostle beamed apprehensively, glancing from one to the other, head tilted and blinking slowly in anticipation.

Chrono opened his mouth- !

And then closed it again.

Opened it- !

Closed it.

Open-

Closed.

Paused.

And then grinned tautly, hopping off the bed and grabbing the girl's hands; tugging her forward. "And that's all you'll ever need to know about where babies come from!"

"Huh?" Az stiffened in shock, beginning to struggle vainly when Rosette joined in- pushing her towards the exit from behind. "B-but you didn't tell me anything!"

"Exactly!" both chorused, snapping the door shut in her face.

And that was how it would be for a long, looooong time.

(Note: All right, this idea- in its entirety- belongs to Lillian Claire, who added this little parody in script format to the end of one of our e-mails. And geez- I laughed SO hard when I read it, I just had to write it up for all of the CC fandom to enjoy. So credit to you, Lillian Claire-san! XD)