All It Takes

By: Yamiko #7

Hello again and welcome to Chapter Six! I think I may be going for a record here...how many death threats can one authoress get in her review mailbox? I'm not really sure I want to know... 0.0

I apologize for the ridiculously long wait between chapters...:gets on hands and knees: Sumimasen! Sumimasen! Sumimasen! This chapter is the hardest one for me to write (I can't do stuff like this without getting repetitive, it takes effort to make it turn out passable), and it doesn't help that I'm tired (my fault) and have summer homework (not my fault). So please know that I am indeed trying my best, and please keep reading!

Chapter Six: Surrender

Chrno opened his eyes slowly. It was dark, almost too dark to see anything. He hadn't the faintest clue as to where he was. It didn't help that his vision was blurry and his head was throbbing as though he'd been recently kicked in the face.

Oh, wait, he had.

God damn it.

He leaned against the wall, trying to find a position that didn't hurt his injured lung too much. The wall was cold. Hell, the entire room was cold. Freezing.

Chrno stared down at his wrists and ankles, which had somehow become chained and heavily shackled while he was unconscious. He may as well get used to the temperature, and the idea of unwilling imprisonment while he was at it. It wasn't as though he was going anywhere anytime soon.

He wondered idly if Rosette was okay. He would have worried more, but he found it strangely difficult to focus on anything at the moment.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Rosette's voice popped into his head. "Chrno!" she called. "Chrno!"

Chrno jumped slightly and coughed several times, trying in vain to clear the unsettled blood from his throat and mouth. 'That kick must have jarred my brain,' he thought faintly. 'How can I be hearing her voice if she's not here?'

"I have no idea," Rosette's voice responded, "but I can hear you too, so let's make the most of it."

Chrno slid lower on the wall and chalked Rosette's voice in his head up to either the onset of mild psychosis brought about by brain damage, or the numerous unknown powers of the pocket watch. Either way, he was in no shape to worry about it. "Where are you?"

"I have no idea," Rosette replied. "It looks almost like a prison cell, except with carpet. I had no idea these old mansions came equipped with holding cells...must be a real bonus on the real estate market."

Chrno smiled slightly at that one, reassured of his partner's well-being. Nothing too horrible could have happened if she was still making jokes.

"Where are you?" she asked him.

"No idea." Chrno shivered slightly - was the room getting colder? - and forced himself to move enough to look around. His vision was still hazy, but he would have noticed if there had been furniture. There was nothing in this room excepting him and his shackles. "In an empty room, I guess." He figured letting Rosette know he was chained would only make her worry more than she needed to. After all, he was strong. He had lived for a long time and escaped from Hell. Now more than ever, he could take care of himself.

Right?

He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as best he could. It wasn't his imagination - at least, he didn't think it was - the room really was getting colder. He began to shiver again, much harder this time. The shaking forced blood from his ripped lung up his throat, and he choked on it, unable to draw breath, until he was afraid he would suffocate.

He couldn't hear Rosette anymore. Sudden fear tightened a knot in his stomach. He eased himself slowly onto his side and curled up even more tightly. Tears slid down his cheeks, and blood trailed from his mouth. God, he was scared.

The temperature dropped another notch.

"Rosette," he called quietly, as though his voice could reach her. "Rosette, where are you?" He didn't know when he had stopped choking. He didn't care. "I'm hurt -" he shivered. "- I'm cold -" He shivered again. " - and I'm scared," he whispered. "Where are you, Rosette? Where are you?"

He was no longer shivering; he was shaking and trembling too hard for it to be called "shivering" anymore. The blood from his mouth had formed a small puddle under the curve of his neck, cooling on the stone floor. He put his head between his knees, dragging his face through that pool of blood. He was too far gone to notice, or to care.

All he saw was darkness. But he wasn't afraid of it any longer. If anything, the darkness was inviting, beckoning him towards its depths.

Come, Chrno. Come and be safe.

He fell slowly into that darkness. He was too tired to resist. He didn't want to. The darkness was his escape from the fear and the pain and the fatigue of his body. He wanted that escape. He wanted it more than anything.

He finally closed his eyes. He was tired, so tired...

And so very, very cold...

The Chrno fans of the world are going to kill me after this one, I just know it. It will get better, I promise...in fact, it'll get better next chapter. This I know for a fact. (Probably because I'm the one writing the next chapter.) If you don't like this chapter, you can just forget that it even exists (after you review, of course...hint hint). Just think of puppies, or kitties, or something that makes you very happy...

Ew. Not that, you freak. Ew, ew, ew.

And for those of you who actually like this bleeding freezing angsty stuff (OMG you exist?) and are disappointed at the length, or rather, lack of length, of this chapter...well, go write your own angst. This stuff is HARD. It took me two hours to do less than two pages worth of it. I stayed up past midnight for this! ...Well, I stay up past midnight every night, but still. I tried.

And that's enough ranting for now. I need some sleep. See you all (hopefully very soon) in Chapter Seven!