1All It Takes

By: Yamiko #7

Hello all! This is my first fic under my new authoress name:grin: The old authoress name was KC1, but I got tired of being involuntarily numbered (I was the first KC, darn it! Make everybody else change their names!...and at least 7 means something to me...) and having an authoress name too short to be a keyword in the search engine. (No more redirecting people! Yay!)

This is also my first Chrno Crusade fic. Yes, for all you ADV-dub people out there, "Chrno." This is actually the original Japanese spelling of the name - the dubbers just threw another "o" in there so we poor, easily confused Americans wouldn't blow up our brains. (Mine officially detonated after watching "The End of Evangelion: The Movie", so I'm not worried about it.) This fic takes place sometime between Episodes 13-14 in the anime (around the beginning/middle of Volume 4 of the manga), happening somewhere in San Francisco before everything goes absolutely crazy. BTW, there will be minor Volume 5 spoilers about Father Remington later on (because that's the version of the story I'm using), so be warned.

Now, without further ado, on to the fic!

Chapter One: Mission

There was murmuring down the hall. A phone conversation, to be exact.

Chrno perked up his ears. Rosette was being louder than usual, which was either a very good sign, or a very bad one. In layman's terms, the difference between greeting her with a smile and running like hell for cover.

Suddenly the conversation exploded. "JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!"

Running for cover it was.

He quickly glanced about the room. Under the bed and in the closet were too obvious. So was out the window - she'd see him running across the expansive yard of Satella's villa anyway. If he couldn't hide, then he'd just act innocent.

So what was "innocent?"

"Sleeping? Cleaning?"

Scratch that. What was "innocent" for him?

"Um...er...I know! Reading!" He was grasping at straws and he knew it. At least it was better than "sitting around and waiting for Rosette to kill me."

Hell, anything was better than that.

Chrno didn't have much time - he could hear Rosette's angry stomping just outside the door. He grabbed the nearest book off the dresser and sat down on a chair near the window, barely taking time to register what it was he was "reading" - "The BIBLE! Of all the rotten luck..." - before opening it and acting interested.

It couldn't have been more than two seconds before Rosette slammed the door open. "GOD DAMMIT! ...Chrno, we're outta here."

Well, at least she wasn't mad at him. Rosette wasn't really one to shoot the messenger - she preferred to shoot Chrno instead. Chrno wasn't sure if he could stand up to the effects of a Gospel, and finding out was not on his list of things to do before he died.

Although, if he ever did find out, it would probably be the last thing he did do before death.

Such a happy thought.

Chrno put the book down, figuring he'd better continue the conversation before Rosette changed her mind and got angry anyway. "Why? What happened?"

"I just got a call from the Sister Kate," Rosette replied.

Chrno tensed slightly. Calls from Sister Kate were never good news...especially if they were about him. She still didn't trust him. She probably never would.

"It's about Joshua."

The knots in Chrno's shoulders got tighter. "A break in the case!"

"Evidently, new evidence on his whereabouts was obtained," Rosette continued in her best Sister Kate imitation, "and we were sent a telegram containing this news, as well as updates."

Chrno frowned. He hadn't seen any telegram in the two days they had been staying here. "What happened to the telegram?"

Rosette sighed. "Evidently Azmaria saw it first. She went out on her own this morning to look for him."

Chrno jumped to his feet. "WHAT!" His mind immediately went to the first thing he knew of that could - and would - cause the young songstress harm.

"Aion..."

The seal on the pocket watch lifted slightly and snapped back into place with an ominous click.

"Don't worry, Chrno. We'll find her," Rosette said quietly, turning to leave the room. The reassuring tone sounded almost wrong coming from her.

"We'll find her," Rosette repeated, sounding determined this time, her tone of voice implying serious hurt to anybody who threatened the Apostle before she and her partner arrived.

Chrno smiled slightly as he followed her out the door. "I feel better already."

He simply hoped the feeling would last.

Okay, so this was a REALLY short chapter...especially by Yamiko standards. (Only 2 pages on Word, jeez...) It'll pick up in the next chapter, I promise...y'know, as soon as I get the next chapter written (Which, as those of you who actually follow my fanfiction (OMG some of you exist?) know, that can take a long time...). I promise it'll be done by the end of next week, at least. (For those of you who care, it's July 6 right now. That gives me 'til July 16 to actually plan the fic out and write the next part.) Satella will also come in, I promise that too...she's too much fun to stay out of it for long. :smile: So please stick with me here, know that I AM trying, read my other fics (shameless advertising, don't ya love it?), and...see ya next chapter!