Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I own this story. Hands off.
Author's help: This story doesn't follow the manga or anime in any way. This is an AU (alternate universe) story, meaning this came straight from my imagination, so don't complain if you don't understand it. Just say so in a review and I'll put up a key…yeah…you'll probably need it. Enjoy, but don't forget to review!
My sweet Sinner-revision
Chapter 1 Sweet 230Rosette sat in the puffy armchair across from Sister Kate's desk in silence. She was surprised Sister Kate would actually send her and Chrono on this type of mission. Truth be told, she certainly didn't do well with them at all; it was more where Chrono's logic came in with lots and lots of patience…exactly what she lacked the most.
"Now, I expect you two to leave within the next hour or so. You won't be given a car, instead you will meet someone when you arrive at the train station; they will take you to your destination. Now, off with you." She said briskly as she picked up another piece of paper and began to fill it out.
Rosette stood and walked out of the room, deep in thought.
'Does she really want to send a demon after a Soul Commander? Aren't demon's vulnerable to them? I thought their powers don't work against them because-' Her pondering came to an abrupt stop as pain exploded in her nose. She backed up and looked at the angry Anna that she had walked into.
"Hey Rosette! Watch where you're going next time!" She growled angrily as she shoved past Rosette hurriedly.
'Yeesh, what's her problem? Never mind that, I need to go find Chrono and inform him of our new mission.' Rosette thought as she hurried off, headed to the Elder's house to go pick up her demon buddy.
So they ran…and ran…and ran…and finally made it.
"All passengers boarding the 2:30 train should hurry and get on now; departure will be in a few minutes…don't be late." A loud intercom overhead shouted boredly, speeding them onwards as they struggled to get to the fast-departing train.
"Ticket please." The ticket-man said, holding his hand out expectantly. Rosette looked down, heart filling with dread as she realized that she had rushed off before Sister Kate could give her the tickets…
"Here you go." Chrono said as he miraculously handed over their two train tickets. Rosette gawked.
"Where did you get those?!"
"Um…Sister Kate handed them to me when I saw her in the hall. She said you forgot them." He replied as he stepped up the stairs and disappeared from sight. Rosette blinked. She had forgotten them? She sighed and hurried after Chrono, as he was apparently not waiting on her.
The next few hours passed slowly as the countryside rolled by; smooth plains passed quietly as every now and then a cow would suddenly appear and disrupt the serene hills before disappearing just as fast. It was breathtakingly beautiful though…nothing like the city they had just came from, which was comforting. It looked like nature was allowed to live in peace, unharmed by the humans who inhabited the area.
"We will be arriving in a few minutes. Please take this time to gather your belongings and prepare for a sudden jolting." The conductor said as he pulled heavily on the break, making a deafening screeching sound on the tracks. Chrono winced and rubbed his ear as Rosette blinked away her slumber dim-wittedly.
"Are we there…?" She asked, yawning widely as she stretched out lazily, hitting Chrono in the head. Chrono rubbed the spot where she had hit him, but nodded and stood up. He grabbed the small box from the top compartment overhead, but the train suddenly let out an ear-piercing whistle and jerked to a stop. Unexpected as that was, it made him lose his balance and fall on Rosette. They both blushed furiously before he hurriedly pushed himself off her and grabbed their bags, neither mentioning what had happened, and waited for their door to open.
"Welcome to St. Louis, head of booze and Missouri…in a way. Please watch yourself here, the crime rate rivals that of New York or San Francisco. Enjoy your stay and try not to get mugged." The intercom boomed, making Chrono wince again as it rang through his ears painfully.
"Let's go!" Rosette said as she grabbed his wrist painfully took off for the exit, dragging him behind her as people stared, muttering stuff like 'Oh my, why would a nun be doing that to a little boy?' or 'Poor kid, having to put up with such abuse when he's so young.' Though, he noticed idly, they did nothing to stop her.
As they left the train station, they were shocked to see nothing of the beautiful countryside they had previously seen. Instead, it looked like a concrete city…just what they had left behind in New York. Almost no trees were seen in the city, and tall skyscrapers littered their view.
"Are you sure a Soul Commander would want to reside here? I mean, they normally like dark areas, don't they?" Chrono asked uncertainly, not really wanting to go wandering in some dark alleyway trying to find the very thing that would ultimately cause his demise.
"Yes, this is where Sister Kate said to go. Now we need to go find our contact. He should be in a black Ford with silver writing on it." She looked around and "sweatdropped". "Now that narrows it down…"
Every car had fancy silver writing sprawled over it's surface sloppily. Not one car said anything different than what the other said; 'Fantastic Ford Automobiles of the 1900's!' Chrono grabbed her hand suddenly.
"It's over here. Those are illusions meant to trick us…but only a demon could see through those, so I wonder why our contact would want to do that?" He said as he took off for the back of the parking lot, where it seemed more of the annoyingly identical cars resided.
"Who this contact of ours and why would he put up a trap that only a demon could see through if he is expecting someone from a holy reserve…?" Rosette wondered aloud as she looked around at the shiny black cars, a sudden notion appearing in her head.
'Maybe this is where Sister Kate gets all of the cars…nicking them from a parking lot would save a lot of expenses…' She was so preoccupied with her pondering that she didn't see Chrono stop, and, inevitably, walked into him, making them both lose their balance and crash together once again. Rosette landed on Chrono with a thud, earning an answering groan from the demon underneath her.
"Are you the two from the Magdalan Order?" They looked up to see a weird old bloke in a black coat staring at them with beady eyes that hid behind dark glasses, hood obscuring his face from view. Rosette scooted off the petrified form of Chrono and stood up, Chrono following suit more slowly since he had been the base of their fall.
"We are."
"Then you most certainly don't look it. Please follow me…if you can manage from tripping over each other long enough." He said as he stared at Chrono, fury suddenly rushing to his face. He turned and walked off, Rosette looking after him confusedly. I mean, they did just meet him after all…
Rosette looked over at Chrono, not really thinking it would bother him that much since he was a demon; he'd seen worse than that. She was surprised, then, to see him glaring venomously after the man, eyes fixed dead center on him warningly.
"Chrono, what is it?" He looked up, his gaze softening as his eyes met hers.
"He doesn't carry the air of human about him…please be careful Rosette, I'm not sure that he's someone to be trusted." He replied calmly, striding off after the weird man.
'But he's a contact of the Order, so why would he be a demon if he's helping the Order? Wait-Chrono's a demon helping the Order-but that's not what I meant-right? Aargh! I'm confusing myself…' Rosette sighed in defeat and walked after Chrono's disappearing form.
The man led them to a rundown car at the edge of the parking lot and opened the door, which groaned in response.
"Okay chickadees, climb in and I'll take you to where the demon has been witnessed." He said with smugness as they approached. Chrono took a look in side, but reeled from the open doorway looking like he was about to barf.
"Chrono?" Rosette asked, walking to his side in concern. He looked up at her slightly before saying shakily,
"It's okay Rosette, it only smells bad…" He said calmly. She stood and walked over to the car, taking a sniff inside. She stuck her head back out of the car and fixed the demon with a confused stare.
"What?" He asked.
"It doesn't stink in here." She said weirdly.
He was about to answer, but the guy suddenly grabbed his shoulder and forced him to sit down next to Rosette in the back seat. Chrono immediately looked like he was gonna gag.
"We better hurry. Can't tell what the demon will do if it wakes up and finds innocent people to feed off of again." The man said airily, slamming the driver's door and starting the engine. Rosette rubbed Chrono's back as he leaned over towards the window, apparently lightheaded from something in the car.
Rosette really wasn't paying any attention to where the driver was taking them till he actually stopped. Chrono was still conscious in some sense, though it was futile to try and coax words out of him, as he seemed incapable of speech at the moment.
"Are we there yet?"
"You have arrived at your final destination, now get out."
Rosette pulled Chrono out of the car and supported him with her arm as she looked around. It was a dark swampy looking place…with lots of trees. She turned to face the driver, only to find him staring at her fixedly with orange eyes.
"As you see, there is no other Soul Commander in this vicinity other than I. Now, kindly hand over your demon and we'll go from there." The man said as he began advancing on her and Chrono. Slowly, it clicked. The thing that had driven them here was the thing they were after…and it had tricked them.
Rosette backed up, hoping the movement would rouse Chrono from whatever dark place the smell in the car had forced his soul to flee to.
"No, you tricked us!" Rosette yelled, trying to buy time as she pulled out her gun, though she knew it was futile since there were no bullets left in it; she had taken them out before they had left for the train station. The only way she could get some bullets was if Chrono would wake up…
"Hehe, there is no one that can help you now…" It was close enough to reach out and touch her and she still had nothing to throw back at him. Suddenly, Chrono pushed out of her arms and took a few short, yet steady, steps in the Soul Commander's direction. It stopped.
"Well, well. It looks like my poison is not enough to subdue a Sinner as powerful as you. Looks like I have to try other methods on you to get you to conk out…" The guy said as he began to fade into the darkness. Faintly Rosette could hear slithering noises from the direction it went.
As soon as the guy had said that, Chrono ran over to the car and pulled out her ammunition box. He took out several Gospels and Spirits and chucked them at her.
"Hurry Rosette, he's beginning his attack!" Chrono yelled as the noises increased warningly, howls and screeches joining the noise with moans of pain.
"Right. Okay, scum, you had your fun but your games over. Come out and we might have mercy on your fallen soul." Rosette shouted into the cold night air.
As soon as the words left her lips, the noise stopped. She blinked in surprise, but kept her grip on her gun tight in case it was a trap. She looked around, but jumped when a loud hiss erupted in the darkness, shattering the silence and almost making her shoot her gun.
"Chrono, where is he?" Rosette said quietly as he walked back to her side. Chrono was silent for a few seconds as he listened and searched, then pointed to her left. Rosette aimed her gun at the exact location he had shown her, then said,
"Give up and repent from your wicked ways or suffer the effects of turning to the darkness." Rosette yelled out.
"You can't even see me, so why should I give up just yet? I have the two of you cornered and you know it. Now, you will die!" An ominous voice said from the direction her gun was pointed in.
A loud explosion resounded after the voice had died off, making Rosette shoot her gun in surprise. She heard Chrono shout something, then felt the ground rush up to meet her with Chrono pushing her down, heat emanating from the spot she had just been.
Chrono rolled off her and stood up, blood trickling down his cheek slightly from the cut caused by the sudden attack.
"Rosette, shoot the gun!" Chrono yelled as he ran to the side, trying to distract the monster so Rosette could fire her gun.
"Right!" She yelled, trying once more to aim in the direction of the voice.
"Ha ha, looks like you predicted my attack Sinner…but oh well. I think I'll spice up the next one…" A voice whispered from the shadows, confirming Rosette's direction of attack.
"Spice up this, slimy!" Rosette yelled as she shot off several rounds of Sacreds, but they mostly just bounced harmlessly off the trees and car.
Rosette listened intently after the last bullet had left the barrel, hoping to hear the sound she wanted to hear the most…silence.
"Is he dead?" Rosette asked cautiously into the silence that had returned. Not hearing anything from the darkness, she turned to Chrono. As soon as her eyes left the darkness, it happened.
A bright golden light erupted from the darkness, lighting up all of their surroundings. The light took form into a single shaft, swirling and dancing ominously in a single pole of holy power. With a roar, the thing controlling it sent it flying straight at Chrono.
Her eyes widened in surprise, but a scream erupted from her throat before it hit him.
"Chrono, LOOK OUT!" His eyes fixed on the blinding beam of light flying straight at him, surprise on his face.
WHOOSH
The deadly bolt hit Chrono straight in the heart, swirling around and tearing more flesh as it went around, widening the hole considerably. A huge golden-cross exploded over his heart, blinding her sight for a second.
When it cleared, she saw Chrono lying on the ground, blood pouring from the wound at an alarming rate and quickly forming a puddle around him. The Soul Commander lay in the grass on the other side of the clearing, panting hard.
"Chrono!" Rosette screamed as she took off for the fallen figure of her friend. "Chrono, are you okay?" She cried, kneeling next to him. His hand clutched the wound in disbelief as he opened his eyes slightly to look at her with glazed eyes.
"Ha ha ha, looks like I got you…thanks for the holy power to supply it with, young nun." A voice hissed from the looming darkness as it came closer to her.
"Chrono…" She whispered worriedly as she desperately groped for bullets in her pockets, though she found none.
"Rosette…look out…" Chrono mumbled as his eyes shut peacefully and he fell forward into her, unconscious.
"Wha…?" She looked over at the figure in the darkness, only to be surprised to see it back on it's feet and advancing on her slowly.
"What did you do to him?" She screamed, standing up and balling her fists at the approaching threat.
"He'll die…slowly and painfully…from my poison cross…" Rosette's eyes widened. "And now, you will too." It said as it took another unsteady step towards her, blood pouring from the bullet wound in it's stomach. Rosette grabbed the gun and fired.
KACHINK
"Gah! I forgot I'm out of bullets!"
"Hehe, yes, you are defenseless. Now you will pay for what you did to me, young nun of the Magdalan Order." The thing bellowed as it raised it's hand with a glowing orange finger pointed dead-on at her heart. Rosette covered her head weakly, expecting the huge energy blast to hit her any second…what was there to live for if Chrono wouldn't be there?
BOOM
Rosette looked up at the deafening noise in alarm to see Satella's crystal night throw the huge serpent-type monster across the clearing with an angry yell.
"Rosette, move!" Satella screamed as the thing got to it's feet and charged again.
"Wha…?"
"Come on, Rosette, we gotta move!" She turned her head to see Azmaria grab her hand and start tugging her away from the angry scene.
"Wait, I have to get Chrono." She turned around, and was surprised again to see Father Remington grab Chrono by the collar and quickly dodge the second attack intended to kill the defenseless demon. He rolled a couple of times, then stood up and sprinted to where they were. He grabbed Rosette's hand as well as Azmaria's, and then took off for the car.
"Satella, let's go!" He yelled as he threw open the door and threw all three of them in the back seat, efficiently covering Rosette and Azmaria in blood. Satella turned and ran for the car, batting off another ferocious attack.
"NO! YOU WON'T GET AWAY!!!!" The thing howled as it dropped to the ground, clutching the wound angrily as they drove out of sight, then, finally, it fell over…dead from all the energy it used, and the small holy bullet lodged firmly in it's body.
It was a beautiful day in New York, which explains why Rosette, Chrono, Father Remington, Satella, and Azmaria were out enjoying their summer in the busy city. Sister Kate had given them the day off for not destroying anything, and getting a free car in the process.
They had been allowed to go to the city after she had saw Chrono had fully healed, though, Rosette only put a bandage over it and forced him to say he was all better. Worked the second time, the first time he fell over because Rosette slapped him on the back too hard and sent blood fluttering through the bandages.
Of course, Rosette wasn't just gonna spend the day walking around and shopping…
"Hey, there's a party at Times Square! Let's go check it out!" Rosette called through the thick crowd as she plowed through them, shoving people aside when they didn't get out of her way fast enough.
"Are you sure Rosette? I mean, don't those parties have drinking and stuff?" Chrono called after her as she disappeared from sight. He sighed in irritation as he apologized repeatedly to the many people she had shoved to the ground or into some random building. Father Remington laughed.
"She'll never change." He said as they stared after her bobbing head that wondered aimlessly through the crowd, and, at regular intervals, some heads being thrown to the side as she shoved them.
"Yeah…I hope not." Chrono laughed as he took off after her, though he didn't push people out of the way; they moved out of the way with a simple 'Oh what a sweet boy…' Yup; that's why it was best to look like a kid…no one ever really suspected you of doing anything bad unless you were, like, a delinquent or physco…
At the party, they found Rosette strolling along looking at merchandise for sale, and quickly dragged her away from the cheap junk and their even worse perverted salesmen. They meandered through the stands and stuff casually, but suddenly Rosette stopped, and it soon became obvious to all of them why.
"…AND IF YOU CAN DRINK ALL 85, without succumbing to alcohol poisoning, THEN YOU CAN GET $200 ALL TO YOURSELF…!" A salesman called, trying to attract some customers to try his new beer and hard liquors. Rosette turned evilly on Chrono, who backed up at the sight of the evil glint in her eyes.
"No; I hate alcohol and I'm not doing it…at all." He said firmly as Rosette's smile faded.
"Please Chrono? I really need the cash…" She whined pathetically as she clasped her hands together in front of her. He shook his head as her eyes began to water and spill over.
"No." At Rosette's tearful gaze he said, "Normal humans can barely manage, maybe, 40 before dying of poison, so you'd think they'd get suspicious when I drink 85." He reminded her. She continued to whine, however, and people were starting to stare.
"B-but Chrono, please?" She whined as (fake) tears started trickling harder from her eyes. Chrono sighed; why must she always do this? Yeah sure, make him die instead of her.
"Fine." He said in an exasperated tone as she began to bawl all-out. She cheered up immediately and the tears 'miraculously' vanished. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the black-market seller. (Alcohol was illegal at this time due to the alcohol prohibition act)
"He accepts!" She yelled happily in the guy's face as Father Remington, Satella, and Azmaria walked up behind Chrono, looking amused and curious. The alcohol seller looked stunned, then amazed.
"WE HAVE A CONTESTANT!!! -He looks a little underage, but we'll overlook that- NOW STEP IN HERE YOUNG MAN, AND WE'LL BEGIN!!!!" He boomed as he held up Chrono's hand in victory as people began to gather around in interest. The man tugged at his arm and pulled him into the dark building, his 4 friends following him closely as Rosette snickered.
"Now, sit down and well begin…after we find someone to count! Never learned all the numbers properly, so do we have a volunteer?" Several people raised their hands, but the guy chose some freaky looking man that wore a long brown coat and a hat that covered his eyes. "Right! Step right up and we'll begin."
-84 shots later-
The marketer looked amazed that Chrono hadn't succumbed to his 'expected death' as they had put it. Why would he? It took 864 shots to make him drunk and he knew his limits fairly well, given that he'd spent the a lot of time with the Sinners.
They partied hard, with even harder liquor in store and all their contests…sometimes going over his limit in an all-out contest against Rizelle or Viz…always regretting it when the sun came up… Yeah, he'd say he knew his limits fairly well. But, given that, why would a measly 85 do any harm?
"One more!" The guy called as he poured the last one. 'I hate alcohol…' He thought wearily as he chugged the last one boredly, not in the least drunk.
"HE DID IT, HE DID IT!!!" The crowd roared as Rosette screamed in delight and accepted the fat wad of cash from the befuddled tapster. The odd man that counted the shots laughed the hardest out of them all, and Chrono thought he heard him mutter something but when he turned, the guy had vanished. He blinked in confusion as Rosette shoved the money in her pocket, but he didn't get a chance to look for the guy as she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him off the chair.
"Let's go! We have money now, so we can buy whatever we want!" She yelled as the excited people poured out of the small cabaret and continued to party without missing a beat. Chrono followed her wearily. 'Why did I agree to that? I can't stand alcohol…and it's been awhile since I did any of these kind of contests…' He thought as he strolled after her, not really feeling like running at the moment. Father Remington, seeing as how the demon didn't look like he was feeling too good, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You feeling okay?" He said as he smiled down at him.
"Yup, fine." He stretched lazily as the sun hit his shoulders warmly. His eyes weren't dilated, and his words weren't slurred in the least Remington noticed with some surprise; he had expected Chrono to be drunk…or something along that track. "It's just that it's been so long since I've drank something so strong…when I was with the Sinners, we'd have drinking contests, like, everyday." He laughed at the memories softly as it hit Remington just how much he must miss his Sinner brothers and sisters.
"Who won?" He asked, trying to change the subject before his feelings radiated to the demon and making him sad. Chrono laughed.
"All of us…it just depended on the days we had them. It really gave us a strong immune system." He laughed again and Remington smiled and opened his mouth to say something but stopped, unsure of what to say. "I miss them so much…" Chrono said softly, before running after Rosette, smile faded considerably.
Thirty minutes later found Rosette, Father Remington, Satella, and Azmaria walking away from the party happily and at ease.
"That was so much fun! We should really do this more often!" Azmaria laughed joyfully as Rosette, after thirty long minutes, finally noticed the small boy responsible for their fun was missing.
"Where's Chrono?" She asked, more annoyed than worried. They all shrugged. Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Then let's go find the runaway." She said as she turned and marched back into the thriving party, fists clenched.
As she wandered through the party, she heard a weird noise coming from the alley and started walking towards it. As she got closer, it sounded like someone was puking…kind of. What if someone needed help? She rounded a corner in the alley just in time to see Chrono slide down against the brick wall.
"Chrono?!" She yelled as she ran forward, annoyance fading away to worry. He looked up and she could see he was slightly pale and shaking. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she fell to the ground next to him. He smiled weakly.
"I'm fine…it's just…that I don't like alcohol that much, and it made me sick since I haven't drank any in such a long time…" He said quietly, getting quieter as he continued. "…and that poison…" He whispered as he laughed a little. Why was he laughing? She checked his temperature worriedly; it was hot.
"Why didn't you say something before?" She asked quietly as he closed his eyes tiredly and seemed to pet something at his side.
"It wasn't that big of deal…no need to make a commotion over something I can handle." He said as he slid down the wall further, ending in a half sitting-half reclining position. He laughed a little.
"Why are you laughing?" She asked, trying to see what he was petting, though he stood up before she could, holding something in his jacket. "What is that?" She asked, standing up herself.
"Nothing. Let's go home, I'm tired…or at least give me a ride home if you want to stay out." He said as he began to walk out of the alley. She sighed. No point in forcing something out of him when she could find out later, not to mention he was sick, so she should probably be gentler with him for awhile. She stood up and followed him slowly out of the alley.
"Chrono, dinner!" Elder called as he banged the spoon on the side of the pot. Rosette peered cautiously at the bubbling slime, unsure if it would explode or not though she expected it to any second. "Chrono! Come on!" Elder yelled impatiently at the demon to get there so dinner could start.
"Can't you be more kind? I mean, he is sick…" Rosette said angrily, glaring at the Elder, who appeared to be ignoring her. The Elder blinked a few times, then said,
"Maybe I'll go check on him." As he walked off, oblivious to whatever Rosette had said. Rosette followed despite herself, curious to see what was wrong with the purple haired devil. When he opened the door, she gasped.
Chrono was sleeping silently on the bed, a small white furball sleeping next to him. Rosette blinked. 'Is that a…puppy?' She thought as she shoved Elder out of the way and began to walk towards him. As she drew closer, she saw it clearly outlined against the soft blankets.
A small puppy no bigger than her hand was asleep next to her partner, head resting lightly on his shoulder as it curled next to his ear. It was so cute! Her fingers itched to grab the puppy and cuddle it between her arms tightly.
Resisting the temptation, she shifted her gaze to Chrono, who had his eyes closed peacefully and was sleeping quietly; she watched his chest rise and fall softly, no movement stirring his resting body. She heard the Elder tapping his foot impatiently, so she put her questions aside for a moment.
She reached her hand down and gently brushed his cheek, saying softly,
"Wake up Chrono, time for dinner." His cheek was slightly hot, but she shrugged it off without much thought. Slowly, his red eyes opened, revealing tired, slightly dilated eyes that came into focus on her face wearily.
"Rosette," He said as he yawned and stretched, making the puppy squeal as it's warm head rest moved away from it, much to it's displeasure. He laughed as he sat up, picking up the small bundle of white from under the covers that had buried it.
"Hey little guy, you hungry?" The little puppy yipped in response and wagged it's tail happily. "Then you better not eat the Elder's cooking. Made me sick for weeks when I first tried it; nearly killed me it did." He laughed again, and the puppy wagged it's tail harder.
"Chrono?" Rosette asked so quietly she could barely hear herself. He heard her, however, and looked up at her, eyes twinkling with laughter. "Where did that puppy come from?" His smile faded, replaced by sadness.
"I'll explain it to you later. Now, let's eat!" He said in false humor as he stood up and setting the puppy on the floor as he began to walk towards the door, puppy on his heels. Rosette was confused, but she followed after the demon nonetheless.
At the table, the three sat in silence, eating what they could though the Elder was pretty much devouring anything that caught his hand, and, well let's just say that Elder's cooking stunk on ice, so it's not exactly a disappointment. Though, the silence couldn't last when Rosette had a question to add to her list of 'repeatedly asked questions to Chrono', so she asked it once more.
"Where'd the puppy come from?" She said as she chewed the slimy stuff cautiously, unsure if it would break her tooth or not since you couldn't exactly see what was in it. Chrono glanced up, sad face returned in the full, then looked back down at his plate again. He said it so quietly she almost didn't catch it.
"Today's my…birthday." He murmured softly, but Rosette caught it and spit her mouthful of food at the Elder as she choked.
"W-what?! It's your birthday? Wait! What does that have to do with the puppy?! How old are you if it's your birthday?! How come you didn't tell me?!" She said as she stood up, eyes wide with amazement. She was learning something she didn't know about the little demon.
"When a demon turns 230 years old, like 16 in your age, then the demon is given a protector to guide it…but they're normally just low-class legion, not animals…but…you get a white animal if you're pure, and if you don't have that much time left…" He trailed off as he looked away from her and stared sadly at the floor.
"I…don't get it." She whispered, confused.
"It means that there's something killing the demon…and the puppy is a sign of that upcoming death." He said as he stood up, avoiding their surprised gaze.
"There are many animals that you can give to the pure demons, but when one receives a white puppy, it means that they are sick or something is killing them slowly…and the puppy is given to guide and protect the demon in the last few…" He stopped, conveniently avoiding telling her how long he had left, it would only depress her anyway. "For the short remainder of it's life."
"They are a gift of God, meant to remind them of their purity and duty. At one time there were 12 pure demons, but now the numbers have decreased so much…" He shook his head slightly, then walked over to the puppy and picked it up.
"So you say…you're gonna die…?" Rosette said, tears filling her eyes as she looked at him. He smiled a little.
"This puppy is connected to my life force…so when I die it will die along side me. It can also be a watch, able to tell…how the other half is. Though when I am tired, he may be full of energy and like wise as well; same thing goes for hunger, sadness, happiness, and anger. When I may be one of those, he may be opposite. He can feel my emotions when he wants, but he has his own soul and emotions."
"He also helps me gather energy from the Astral Line, so I no longer need a contract." He said as he began to walk for the front door. Rosette stepped in his way angrily, still full of questions.
"What do you mean you no longer need a contract?! It still exists doesn't it?" She asked as real tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks softly. Chrono looked away.
"When a demon receives an animal, it terminates all…energy connections. I no longer need your energy to fight because…" He trailed off as he wiped his eyes slightly. "I will always protect you Rosette, but now I can do it without using your soul in other words." He brushed past her and walked out the door as she stood in shock.
'Chrono…are you really gonna die?'
End Chapter 1, Sweet 230Hey! Hope you liked the chapter even though it was long and confusing. This story is gonna be a long one, with even longer chapters in the future. Okay, I know it's a cliffy and all, but I'll update as soon as I can. I'm not that busy right now, but I am occupied with several other full-time tasks, some to be mentioned as an excuse in later chapters. Merry Christmas! GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! This story written with the good help of my best friend, DoveofDarkness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!