Disclaimer: I don't own anything even remotely related to Chrno Crusade, All characters property of Daisuke Moriyama

AN/ Its finally arrived, chapter 2. I know I took a while to get this completed but I'm not one to try and get chapters out as fast as I can type them. Quality not quantity, plus I'm not much into filler chapters so you can expect each update to be a nice fat juicy chapter. I want to thank all the kind people who left reviews for Chapter 1, thank you so much for you kind words it really helped motivate me to get this chapter completed.

Once again, this is a Chrno x Rosette AU piece with a dab (or bucket load) of OOC behaviour.

'Blah blah blah.' – Normal Speech

'Blah blah blah.' – Thoughts

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Intolerable Cruelty Chapter 2 – The Odd Couple

'I can't believe this y'know.' Rosette huffed ' How are we suppose to pass as a couple when you look like a twelve year old!' she snarled swerving the car, narrowly avoiding veering off onto the other side of the road. An audible groan could be heard from her purple haired passenger.

'I'm going to die' Chrno thought pessimistically, after being in a car with Rosette driving he'd realised how precious life really was. 'Not much longer, another half an hour and I'll be safe.' Rosette's driving on a good day was atrocious, but when she was in a bad mood it was down right suicidal. Like right now for example, he feared for his very life, fingers gripping the seat so tight his knuckles were white.

'Hello, this is my darling Chrno, he may look like a young child but really he's older than pretty much everyone here!' Rosette continued her ranting, not really caring if the demon sitting next to her was listening or not. ' I'm going to look like some sort of pedophile!' Rosette gestured wildly, taking her hands off the steering wheel to Chrno's absolute horror. Her companion lunging to grab the wheel as the car started to veer off again.

'Rosette!' Chrno cried 'Please just concentrate on driving, I'm not ready to die yet!' Rosette didn't seem to have noticed that she'd let go of the steering wheel, or that Chrno had practically leaped across her to grab it. A blush forming on her cheeks as she realised her partner was pressed up against her almost lying across her lap.

Around the same time Chrno himself had realised his position on Rosettes lap, his face heated from the close contact. 'Oh no' he grimaced, waiting for the inevitable. 'Chrno you little pervert!'

Chrno nursed a bruised cheek as Rosette was once again focused on the road. 'Why does she have to hit so hard?' he thought sourly. Though deep down the other part of him had decided the lap incident had been worth it, it wasn't very often he got to be so close to his contractor.

He shook his head deciding to keep those other thoughts he was having at bay by going over the current mission. He reached over the back seat pulling out his manila folder with the mission documents tucked inside.

'So we're lodging at a bed and breakfast place called "The Autumn Leaf" right?' Chrno asked not looking up from the folder. 'Yeah, it's suppose to be easy enough to find, we aren't too far now, next exit I think.' Rosette said taking one hand off the wheel and pulling a folded piece of paper out of her skirt pocket. 'Here are the directions we got from Father Remington' Rosette handed Chrno the small folded piece of paper, both hands back on the wheel again.

Chrno unfolded the paper quickly glancing at it before going back to reading more on the small town they were to be arriving at shortly. Clearing his throat he read '" The town of Glenore is known for their festive celebrations, holding between eight to ten different festivals per year, the townsfolk are known for their friendly nature welcoming most travellers." He paused " Virtually self sustained the town's biggest income is derived from the deep shaft mines located approximately three miles south of the town itself."

'Riveting stuff really" Rosette mumbled, stealing a quick look at the manila folder in Chrno's lap. 'You'd think the Order could have given us some useful information, not tourist book stuff'

Chrno ignored Rosette and read on "The town is also closely situated to an extensive Cave system, a sub terrain river system runs through the caves suppling the town with its fresh water"

Chrno read over the last part again, sliding the papers back into the folder. 'Maybe the caves would be a good place to check first, there could be some sort artefact or spell causing the high levels of Astral in the area.' Curious as he was about the whole thing, Chrno couldn't help but feel slightly giddy over the whole mission.

Rosette and himself had been told that it was imperative that they appear to be a completely normal couple. Father Remington had briefed them that they were expected to hold hands, hug, do whatever it took to make the façade as plausible as possible.

"Do whatever necessary to make it believable understand?"

Chrno felt his cheeks redden at the implications of Father Remington's words. Remembering how awkward the whole meet had been, Rosette had had a look of pure disbelief throughout the whole briefing. She'd spluttered and stammered but no coherent objections had come out of her mouth. Chrno on the other hand had remained utterly silent keeping his eyes trained on the floor a few feet from where Father Remington stood.

'And the look on his face!' Chrno could clearly picture the expression on Father Remington's face, it was like he took pleasure in watching them both squirm as he revealed more details of mission.

Chrno felt the knot in his stomach tighten, silently praying that he would be able to keep himself under control. Just the thought of hugging Rosette made his heart flutter.

'Okay, I think this is it' Rosettes voice snapped him out of his daydreaming. Chrno looked further up the road to see a small sign reading "Glenore Next Exit"

'Alright, remember we're a couple' Rosette glanced at her partner 'We met at church, we've been together for almost a year now.' The blonde making sure to keep her eyes trained on the road, feeling her cheeks warm a little. 'We came here for a little retreat after hearing about it from some travellers' she finished a little more breathily than she'd intended.

She was beginning to panic 'Give me a warehouse full of demons and I'll take that over this any day!' she thought frantically. She'd never had any sort of boyfriend before so she wasn't really sure on how to act. Though she guessed that holding hands lots and hugging would have to cut it, it wasn't like she knew how to do anything else.

Rosette felt the steering wheel biting into her hands, not realizing she'd been gripping it so tightly. They had turned off the exit and were now driving along an old dirt road. Feeling her shoulders beginning to tense up 'This whole thing is just too weird, they better have a huge demon problem.' She thought bitterly.

'Rosette look.' The blonde's thoughts pushed aside for the moment to look at what Chrno was pointing at; an old wooden bridge. A faded sign hung from one of the support beams. Rosette slowed the jalopy, rolling down the window to poke her head out and have a better look.

"Welcome to Glenore. Enjoy Your Stay"

'You'd think they might have fixed the sign, might get a few more tourists that way.' She quipped, accelerating a little more. The old wooden bridge groaned a little as the car rolled over it. 'Nice sturdy bridge too' She drawled.

Chrno forced a smile, his heart starting to beat a little faster 'not long now, god this better work. Please let this work' Chrno was practically beside himself with how nervous the whole mission was making him. Even with the history he had being named the "Sinner" and all paled in comparison to this new task in his mind.

'Here we go' His contractor spoke, her anxiousness apparent in her voice. Chrno looked as a few houses came into view, a large clock tower visible above the roofs of the small cottages. 'We've arrived.'

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'Well, this place looks pretty normal to me' Rosette said sighing, putting her suitcase on the ground and taking in the small village before her. 'Do you sense anything strange or out of place here?' Rosette turned to look at her partner, no longer in his trademark red jacket and black slacks. He wore a white collared shirt and brown trousers held up with suspenders. A cap covered his head in place of the red bandanna he normally wore.

Rosette fiddled with the skirt of her own unfamiliar outfit. Unaccustomed as she was to being in normal clothing, her Militia outfit had become like a second skin to her almost. Though she had to admit the burgundy skirt and cream blouse looked good on her. The pocket watch resting around her neck as usual, the gold and maroon contrasted with her eyes and hair beautifully.

They stood now in the town square, a fountain gurgled happily in the centre of the village. The clock tower they had seen from the fringes of the village now loomed ominously before them, tall enough so that you would be able to see for miles were you too climb up to the top of it. The whole village looked serene, the only noises heard were of the surrounding forest, birds calling to each other from the great elms that surrounded the town almost protectively.

Townsfolk could be seen going about their business, wandering in and out of the few shops that lined the edge of the town square. A General Store, Barbershop, Tailor, Butcher and a couple other stores appeared to be the totality of the towns shopping district. This was not New York; Rosette found herself a little surprised that they had the few stores that they did. According to the census the population of Glenore was under six hundred.

Chrno looked a little dazed, his pupils dilated. The hair on the back of his neck had been standing on end since they set foot in the small village. 'What's going on here?' He thought, feeling a shiver down his spine; his skin was positively tingling with the amount of Astral present in the area.

'I'm not sure but the Astral in this place is phenomenal, I can feel it all around me'

Rosette examined her violet haired partner a little closer; he looked very much on edge. Not being able to sense any of the astral that Chrno said was all about them.

'What's it feel like?'

Chrno looked at his blonde contractor thoughtfully 'its hard to explain' he said pausing for a moment 'the best way to describe it would be its like a tingling sensation all over. Kind of like when your foot falls asleep'

His contractor seemed satisfied with the answer, turning away from him and picking up her suitcase again. ' Well we better find this bed and breakfast place before it starts to get dark.' Chrno looked up at the clock tower, the time read five forty-five. It didn't feel like it was getting late but the first orange tinged clouds had started to settle on the horizon. 'Better get a move on then' he thought, the inevitability of the mission's main requirement of himself and Rosette was starting to settle in. He felt like butterfly's were starting to come to life in his stomach.

'There it is!' Rosettes voice brought him out of his thoughts, sure enough, just outside of the town square and along a pebble path a cottage with the sign "The Autumn Leaf" stood no more than fifty feet from them. Rosette hurried off towards the cottage, Chrno giving a small sigh followed closely behind, his own suitcase in hand.

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'Hello, is anyone home?' Rosette pressed her forehead to the flyscreen of the door, hoping to see some sort of movement from inside before knocking again. 'Anybody here at all?' Rosette tried once more. 'Boy I don't know how they run a business successfully when no one is home!' Rosette huffed, leaving the door to check the windows ' Poor etiquette if you ask me'

Chrno placed his suitcase next to Rosettes on the veranda, deciding to try the door for himself. He thought it might be best if he did the talking when the people came to the door 'IF they come to the door that is' he thought to himself. Glancing to where rosette was now, her face firmly pressed up to one of the windows. He wondered vaguely if that could be considered invasion of privacy or not.

Just as he was about to knock the door swung inwards, grunting in surprise he almost lost balance, as his knuckles struck nothing but air.

'Welcome!'

A young woman stood before him smiling cheerfully 'How can I help you?'

'Uh-' Chrno was momentarily lost for words, clearing his throat loudly 'err- we're booked to be staying here for the week, under the name of Christo-'

'Oh yes Christopher!' the woman cheerfully interrupted 'we've been expecting you, I apologise if you were waiting long, its hard to hear the front door in some parts of the house'

Chrno looked the woman over; she looked to be in her mid twenty's, she had pleasant features and warm brown hair, which was tied into a neat braid. Just as the purple haired demon was about to introduce himself the woman poked her head out the door. 'You must be Rosette! You're room is ready if you'd like to come right in dear'

To Chrno's mortification, Rosette still had her face pressed up against one of the windows trying to peek inside. Obviously not having heard the woman, Rosette continued her searching 'You know I'm pretty sure there must be someone home cause I swear I could have heard movement a minuet ago, maybe I should go around the side'

Rosette whistled, taking one last look before turning to her partner 'Hey Chrno come check this out, the stuff in here looks rich, maybe this wont be so bad after a-' The blonde froze mid sentence, the colour draining from her face as a young woman stood not a few feet from her, a hand extended in greeting.

'Miss Rosette, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Miranda Baits and I'll be taking care of you this week' the woman's saccharin rich smile seemed to knock back any words of shock from the nun. Rosette extended her own hand shakily, her face quickly filling with colour once more. A very bright vermilion, Chrno noted slightly amused. Though embarrassment quickly pushed aside the comedic value of the situation.

'N-nice to meet you' Rosette squeaked, realizing the woman must have heard everything she said.

'As I was about to say, please both of you come in and I'll show you to your room' The woman gestured to the door, Rosette walked over to her suitcase wanting nothing more than to disappear, She looked to her partner for sympathy but received none. In fact the only thing she got from the purple haired demon was a look of exasperation akin to the look a mother gave a particularly over excited child.

'Oh dry up' she thought, shooting him a withering glare. Hurriedly walking in the door before her partner could further scrutinize her.

Chrno sighed, picking up his own suitcase and following the blonde haired girl into the house. Miranda looking at him brightly as she held the door open for the pair, Chrno smiled apologetically at her as he walked past. Hoping things couldn't get any worse or embarrassing, which of course he was wrong.

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'This is you room' Chrno and Rosette both poked there heads in, inspecting the room quickly before turning back to their hostess. Rosette hadn't been completely off when she'd said the place looked rich Chrno thought. The place wasn't draped in purple and gold velvet but all the furniture looked finely crafted, and the polished floorboards seemed to bounce the light just right, making the whole house look soft and homely.

'The bathroom is down the hall on the right, we have a communal washroom but seeing as you're our only guests for the week you'll pretty much have it to yourselves' Miranda motioned for the pair to go into their room. The room was spacious but not too big, a queen-sized bed was situated beneath the window on the far wall, the window spanned the size of the bed, a view of the surrounding forest added a little more colour to the room. A small chest of draws was situated on either side of the bed, old-fashioned oil burner lamps served as decoration on each.

A pine wardrobe was placed opposite the bed and a mirrored dresser stood closest to the door, the whole room although fairly modest had a cosy feel to it, the window above the bed filtered in the sunlight through floral patterned curtains. Bathing the room in a soft golden light.

'Wow this is really nice!' Rosette exclaimed, forgetting her earlier shyness. She placed her suitcase at the foot of the bed then plopped herself onto the bed itself, the springs giving a quite squeak. 'This is better than anything at the Ord-'

'-dinary house where you normally live!' Chrno cut Rosette off before she could finish her sentence. Rosette slapped her hand over her mouth unconsciously, 'stupid stupid!' she berated herself. 'You haven't even been here an hour and you nearly let the cat out of the bag!' The blonde mentally thanked Chrno for being on his toes.

'ha ha, yes very true!' The nun laughed nervously, 'Well I better get my things unpacked!' placing her suitcase on the bed she started to rummage through, her back turned to both Chrno and Miranda.

'yeah, I best do the same' Chrno followed suit, deciding it better to change the conversation entirely. Glancing at Miranda expecting to find suspicion on her face the demon was relieved to see the same bright smile she'd greeted them with earlier.

'Well I best leave you two love birds alone to settle in, dinner will be served in an hour but I'll give you a holler when it's ready in case you forget'

Chrno nodded in thanks to Miranda giving a small wave as she closed the door. His attention then turned to the Blonde headed red faced nun nervously hanging up a blouse.

'That was close, you need to be more careful or they'll be onto us!'

' Oh put a sock in it!' Rosette retorted, her face still pink from her earlier mistake. If there was one thing she hated more than anything it was being wrong, and she hated it when Chrno pointed it out to her. 'It was a one off and wont happen again, besides I wasn't the one dribbling like an idiot!'

'what are you talking about?'

'oh don't act so naïve! I- uh- you-' Rosette was trying hard to find some ammunition against her partner but wasn't have much luck, pointing her finger at him accusingly. 'you!'

'I what?' The purple haired demon stood expectantly. Waiting for the blonde nun to fire some poorly thought of insult his way. 'You never were one for on the spot comebacks Rosette' the corners of his mouth lifting a little. 'She looks pretty when she's flustered' the thought flashed in his head before he could beat it away with mundane other things.

'uh- we better unpack everything' Chrno cleared his throat uncomfortably, earning a suspicious look from his blonde haired partner. 'then we can sort out sleeping arrangements' a slight pink kissed his tan cheeks lightly, the butterflies had once again awoken in his stomach.

'Sleeping arrangements? ' Rosette queried, curious as to why her partner was looking flustered, and curious as to why there were sleeping arrangements. 'You can sleep in the other room!'

'Rosette, what other room?' the Demon deadpanned 'we're a "couple" remember' he gestured to the queen size bed sitting silently in the room. His face still felt a little hot, he turned away putting his hands to work unpacking his own suitcase, refusing to entertain he idea of them sleeping in the same bed. He threw a look over his shoulder to Rosette, unable to hide his amusement when he saw the look on his partners face.

'Oh-' Rosette stuttered, her face flushed. She was a sister of the cloth, such things were not allowed at the order. 'Then again since when do I ever abide by any rules set by the order' she chuckled a little, the embarrassment fading, she wanted to have a little fun with her purple haired demon. She was only too aware how prone he was to getting extremely embarrassed by things like this, especially if they concerned her.

Rosette turned from the wardrobe 'Chrno' she cooed, sauntering over to the bed. 'What if it gets cold at night? I'll need someone to keep me warm' she sat on the edge of the bed, patting a spot next to her with her hand. ' I wonder who that someone could be?' she teased, her glee growing as she saw her partner's posture stiffen.

As for poor Chrno his face felt like it was on fire, he knew Rosette was baiting him. She loved making him squirm, he hadn't known when she'd discovered she could do it but it had become a favourite game of hers. If there were an argument she didn't want to lose she'd use similar tactics on him. Using his embarrassment as a weapon, he'd lost more battles than he'd like to admit to his contractor.

'Oh settle down you rube' Rosette sighed, the game was over 'you're sleeping on the floor.'

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'Thanks so much for having us, we're sorry it was on such short notice but it really was a last minuet decision.'

'Think nothing of it, travellers are always welcome here in Glenore' Miranda gestured for Chrno and Rosette to sit. Chrno had been sure to keep track of the time so they wouldn't be late to dinner. Having walked into the dining room a few minuets shy of six o'clock. Both him and his blonde partner had washed and changed clothes before heading to dinner. Rosette was now in a blue skirt and white blouse, the demon wearing a beige shirt and black trousers.

They sat around the dining table, a white tablecloth draped elegantly across the varnished pine. Rosette was seated opposite Chrno, their feet almost touching underneath the table. Miranda sat at the head of the table, not settling down until all the food had been placed on the white tablecloth. Rosette couldn't deny, the food placed before them look positively delicious, roasted duck it looked like, a plate of baked potatoes and pumpkin sat alongside a jug of gravy. Sour cream, peas and freshly cooked bread rolls, Rosette was practically salivating.

'We still we can't thank you enough-' Chrno nudged Rosette slightly, becoming concerned as he saw the look of one who'd seen an oasis in the desert cross his blonde contractors eyes. Rosette seemed to snap out of her dream, nodding in agreement to her partner's words, though not really sure if she'd heard what he'd said at all.

'Oh please its nothing we enjoy the company, especially when its such a young and handsome couple as yourselves' Rosette and Chrno both blushed at her words, The demon sneaking a quick look at his contractor seated across from him. Not surprised to find her fiddling with her napkin, eyes averted.

'Why I remember when Callum and I were your age, we had the same lovers sparkle in our eyes' This cause the violet haired demon and the blued eyed nun to blush even more so. It was Chrno's turn now to find entertainment in his napkin much the same as Rosette had.

'Speak of the devil' Chrno and Rosette both looked up as a young man in no more than his mid twenty's walked into the room, moving to Miranda and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

'Telling tales again dear?' The young man moved to the seat at the far end of the table, grabbing a napkin and elegantly draping it over his lap as he sat down. The motion almost fluid as though he'd had years of practice.

'Of course I am dearest, its what I do best remember?' The young woman quipped, a gently smile on her lips. 'I want you to meet our latest guests, Rosette and Chrno' Miranda gestured to the pair who now stood in greeting. Chrno extended his hand, the young man shaking it firmly before gently taking Rosette's in a similar mana.

'Pleasure to meet you, I hope you enjoy your stay here.'

'We will, its so nice of you to take us in' Rosette smiled at him, blushing a little as his hand still held hers gently. 'He's very handsome' she thought to herself, he had lightly tanned skin and bright green eyes. His hair fell just below his ears and was a rich brown colour. Not quite as exotic as her best friends purple braid and crimson eyes but still a handsome man if she ever saw one.

'My wife and I have been taking care of couples just like you two for close to forty years now, we'll be sure to try and make your stay as comfortable as possible'

'forty years?' Rosettes smile faltered as the words left the young man's mouth. Callum let go of her hand and took his seat; she hadn't seemed to notice at all and still stood hand extended as if he'd never let go.

'Rosette?' Chrno's voice brought her back to the dinner table, three pairs of concerned eyes looked up at her. Clearing her throat gently she smiled brightly and lowered herself to her seat. 'Did he just say forty years?' Maybe she had just misheard him and he'd said four years and not forty. Her ears were playing tricks on her, she dismissed what she had heard as being part of her over active imagination. 'Boy, not eating for half a day does strange things to your head!' she thought, pushing the niggling doubt to the furthest part of her mind. Though she couldn't help but still feel the doubt niggling at her.

'So tell me, how did you two meet?' Miranda asked, indicating to them both to start eating.

Rosette wondered vaguely if Chrno had heard what she did, but still figured it must have been her mind playing tricks on her. Food was sure to make her think straight again. Taking note of the sharp look she received from her purple haired partner to watch her table manners as she began to pile some food on her plate.

'Water Rosette?'

Rosette nodded as Callum poured her a glass and then Chrno's, thanking him politely. Watching as her friend lied to their hosts about their meeting, where they were from, what their plans were. Part of her felt a little guilty, as these two kind people were so trusting. The nun silently prayed that whatever was going on in this town didn't have anything to do with the Baits.

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'That was one of the best meals I have ever had!' Rosette exclaimed, patting her stomach and grinning. 'But I tell ya what, I couldn't eat one more mouthful, I'm as full as a boot!' the blonde flung herself lazily onto the bed, rolling onto her back and grunting contently.

'I'm surprised you managed to keep your manners, I thought you were going to start devouring the food as soon as it was placed on the table!'

'Oh shush you, no faith in me at all!' Rosette cried, hurt that her partner didn't think she could hold it together at all. ' I thought I did wonderfully tonight! No slip ups, no foot-in-mouth.' She continued ' I was a picture of eloquence!'

Chrno turned to look at his partner, now propped up on her elbows, a look of indignation on her face. 'Ok ok, you did good' he sighed, not wanting to pick a fight as he was utterly exhausted from the whole day. 'We learned a fair bit from the Baits tonight, Callum said there is a festival coming up, its might be a good chance to have a look around whilst the rest of the town is busy in preparations'

'Mmm sounds great' Rosette muttered sleepily.

'Yeah I think we ought to start first thing tom-' Chrno stopped as he heard a sleepy yawn elicit from his contractor. 'Okay, how bout we call it a night?'

'Sounds like a plan' Rosette yawned again, rubbing her eyes. Rosette was already in her nightclothes, having come back from dinner and gone to change almost straight away. Chrno had changed not long after. They had bid goodnight to their hosts, both deciding a good nights sleep was in order.

Rosette had settled underneath the covers of the queen sized bed but found she was still uncomfortable. Propping herself up on her elbows she peered over the side of the bed to look down at her partner.

'Comfortable?'

'I'm ok' Chrno answered though in truth he wasn't in the slightest. All he had was one pillow for his head and a blanket to soften the hard wooden floorboards. 'I'm going to wake up very sore tomorrow' he thought gloomily. Giving his contractor a toothy grin 'I've slept on stone for longer than you've been alive, I think I'll be fine' he said finally.

Rosette looked down at her best friend, fairly sure he was lying to her about being comfortable. Her mind ticked over 'yeah, but this is not the same'

Her purple haired partner looked up at her thoughtfully, appreciating how nicely her golden hair framed her face. 'true, but I'm fine really, its ok.'

'Liar' Rosette reached down and playfully flicked the side of his head. 'This is wrong but I don't want him to be uncomfortable' she sighed 'listen you can sleep up here on the bed with me.' She sat up patting the empty space next to her.

'Really its fi-'

'I don't care, you have no choice' the nun cut him of promptly 'you'll be of no use to me on this mission if you are too sore from sleeping on the floor to do anything'

Chrno was now sitting up, giving the blonde a questioning look. 'Are you sure that's appropriate?'

'Why are you making this harder than it needs to be' rosette thought moodily. 'Look, you sleep on top of the covers and stay to your half of the bed and it'll be fine' she finished impatiently. Thankful of the darkness as she felt her cheeks warm a little.

'Ok' he gave in

'Now I really won't be getting any sleep' Chrno thought, picking himself up off the floor. Hoping he could keep his thoughts on the mission and not the fact that he was sleeping in the same bed as his contractor. A layer of material being the only thing separating them… 'Stop it' he warned himself.

Rosette scooted over, still feeling the heat in her face. 'Good, I knew you'd see it my way' she said with satisfaction.

The nun and the demon settled into their respective sides of the bed, Rosette underneath the covers and Chrno on top. Chrno had to admit the bed was much better than the floorboards, a little sigh escaping his lips.

'Goodnight Chrno' Rosette mumbled, sleep making her mind a little hazy.

'Goodnight Rosette' Chrno answered, sleep not quite getting a hold on him. But he knew he'd eventually have to calm down and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.

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Rosette was having the most wonderful dream; she was the queen of England and had servants waiting on her hand and foot. She was dressed in the most expensive and exquisite gown and adorned with precious jewellery. And there she was seated at a grand table in an enormous hall with food on platters as far as the eye could see.

'Yes please I'll have some more tart' she mumbled, feeling herself start to wake from her dream 'no I don't want to leave, I've only just begun dessert' she cried. It was always like this, she almost never got to stay, her body wanted to get up but her mind wasn't ready to come back into the world of reality.

'not fair' she said grumpily.

The nun opened her eyes slowly, squinting as she adjusted to the light that was filtering in through the curtains. She felt wonderfully refreshed and not at all sleepy like she normally did back at the order. 'mm, good mattress' she garbled patting the bed slightly, she was going to look forward to waking up feeling this good for the rest of the week.

'Better wake Chrno' she thought quickly, they had a big day ahead of them and needed to get a head start on things.

Rosette turned to wake up her partner, reaching over to give him a shove or two. The nun froze solid when she laid eyes on the sleeping form next to her. Her short, violet haired demon was gone, instead lying in his place was a rather full grown man. The blonde's breath caught in her throat, issuing a strangled gargle. He had the same purple hair as Chrno, and tanned skin but her mind screamed at her that this was not her partner. This was some impostor lying next to her in Chrno's nightwear.

The serene morning was suddenly shattered as a shrill scream cut through the silence. Nearby birds flew from their perches high up in the trees, rabbits sprinted for safety under shrubbery. Even the sun seemed to flinch from the sudden outcry.

Back in The Autumn Leaf a very blissfully unaware demon was assaulted by the sound of panic-stricken screaming. Crimson eyes flew open just as a rather heavy book was hurled in his direction, a sharp pain lanced across his ear as the book found its mark.

Mind clearing quickly, he launched himself out of bed, franticly looking around the room to find his attacker. He stopped in confusion as he saw a very terrified Rosette backed to the far side of the room grabbing nearby objects and screaming madly.

'R-Rosette?' Chrno ducked as the young nun flung a comb at him, he gingerly took a step towards her. This only seem to make matters worse as his contractor's state became more distressed

'-whoareyouwhathaveyoudonewithhim?'

'What are you saying?' Chrno couldn't understand what was wrong with her. She looked like she didn't even recognize him.

'Rosette what's wrong?' he asked again, dodging a shoe that was viciously thrown in his direction. The shoe making a loud thud as it hit the wall behind him.

Rosette glanced around frantically for more things to throw, she had no idea who this was but he'd picked the wrong nun to mess with she thought savagely. 'Who are you?' she screamed at him again 'What have you done with Chrno?'

'Chrno?' the purple haired demon was perplexed. 'Its me Rosette, I'm Chrno!' Chrno took another step towards Rosette being careful not to frighten her anymore than she already was. The nun seemed to have run out of things to throw at him. 'Thank God' he thought to himself.

Realisation hit the blonde nun like a freight train 'how?' she frantically reached down to look at the gold pocket watch that hung around her neck. The watch was slowly ticking, he wasn't using her astral. 'How can this be possible?' she demanded.

'Rosette what are you talking about?' Chrno was starting to get worried. He had no idea why Rosette was acting like she'd seen a ghost. The fact that she wasn't telling him what was wrong worried him even more so.

'Look in the mirror Chrno!' the nun cried, her fear of him gone as she took a step towards him. He towered over her now; very similar to how he looked when he was in his true form. The pyjamas Chrno had been wearing the night before were now very torn in the arms and the legs were up around his knees.

Chrno turned to the dresser, hearing a rip as the nightwear he had on tore as he moved. What his crimson eyes met in the mirror made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, his reflection was not of a young boy anymore but of a full-grown man. To be truthful it was his false adult form he'd used before he'd lost his horns. 'The Watch!' he thought frantically, feeling his heart relax a little as he saw Rosette shake her head, she must have already thought of that.

None of this made any sense at all; both the nun and the demon could only stare, this shouldn't be possible but it was and by right Rosettes pocket watch should be draining her life away but this wasn't happening either.

'What the hell is going on here?'

To Be Continued…

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Well there we have it, chapter 2 completed! This is like double the size of chapter 1 and still not much has happened! I'm so mean for leaving it on a cliffhanger; I'm dying to tell you what happens! But alas…you must wait till its posted ducks as random pieces of furniture are thrown at her hehe, yes I'll hurry I promise D

A/N: I really wanted to add more to the last few scenes but I'm really cut for time and had to leave out a lot of things I really wanted to put in. I have relatives over for Christmas and thus have had almost no time to finish this. So I apologise if it's been written too hurriedly, I'll more than likely go back and republish this chapter at a later date.

Next chapter: Rosette consults Father Remington about Chrno's change but is told to suck it up and continue with the investigation! But how can you do anything when you're swept away in preparations for the towns' latest annual festival ' The Lovers Moon'! (How lame am I? P)

Merry Christmas and New Years guys and I'll see you next chapter, please review and tell me your thoughts, constructive criticism always welcome! Have a great New Years everyone!