Forgotten Memories Chapter Five

Chrono Crusade

Date Started: November 10th 2004

Sora Kazuma

I awoke early the next morning, the room streaming with golden sunlight. Pushing myself away from Yugo's chest I blushed as I stared down on his sleeping form. He looked so innocent when he slept, so naïve.

Sitting up I realized that no one else was even awake yet. I glanced over, realizing there were a group of bags by my bedside. Shifting my gaze I also saw that Lena had come in some time during last night and had gone straight to bed. I smiled. I hoped she had had fun yesterday.

I pulled the bags up onto the bed, rifling through them. There was a bag of clothes for me, and a bag for Yugo and another bag containing the large gift box with his coat in it.

"What's with all the racket?" The devil lying next to me murmured, sitting up. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he glanced at me. "Sora?"

"These are the bags of stuff I bought yesterday while I was out with Lena and Joshua. Joshua brought them with him last night, just like he promised." I smiled slightly. "If you're around, thanks Joshua."

'It was not a problem my dear.' Was my immediate response and I smiled. Lena was right- he did hang out at this place a lot.

I shoved one of the bags onto Yugo's lap. "That's yours." I told him.

He went rifling through it, glancing at everything. I had managed to get him one really nice outfit, a pair of black slacks and a dark gray button-down shirt, the rest was menial things he needed- socks, two new white shirts and a pair of khaki pants. "You didn't have to buy me anything." He told me.

"Yes I did. I felt bad for being upset with you the other night. And besides, I want you to look good. You're handsome enough, we just need to get you in the right clothes to get you to be able to melt the rest of the girl's hearts." I winked. "Here." I grabbed the gift box out of the bag and handed it to him. "This is yours too."

He hesitated to open it, staring simply at the elegant symbols engraved on the box. He slowly lifted the op, pulling back the tissue paper to find the coat. His breath stopped for a moment and his gaze shifted to me, as if he couldn't believe it. "Sora…this must have cost a fortune."

"A small one yes, but I had help paying it off, so don't worry about it." I told him with a smile.

He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close and kissed me on the forehead. "Thank you. It's beautiful. I don't know what to say."

"Just say you'll wear it for me and I'll be happy." I told him with a blush. I still wasn't to comfortable with the whole kissing business yet and as good as it felt being near him, this morning reinforced that fact.

"Alright then. I'll wear it for you. But only if you wear that robe more often around me."

"You-" I pushed him off, shrugging out of his embrace. He broke out into soft laughter and I smiled.

"I was only joking. No, my necklace looks good enough around your neck." He told me, picking it up off my chest and holding the stone tightly in the palm of his hand.

I blushed. "Well come on. I want to see you dressed in your new clothes."

He rolled his eyes, letting go of the jewel so that it fell softly back against my chest. "Alright then. I'll feed your little desires." He replied, grabbing the coat from the box and freeing himself from the covers. Slinging the other bag over his back he turned, silently leaving the room.

I collapsed back onto the pillows, closing my eyes. I felt safe, warm, protected. Even with him in the bathroom next door I felt this way. I was beginning to like needing to be so close to him.

My thoughts kept straying into his mind and I was curious to know how his clothes fit him, but I can restrain on my thoughts. I knew he would gladly show me what I wanted to see, but I wanted to wait until he came back and showed me himself. I heard his footsteps outside my door and I opened my eyes just as he entered the room.

He had left the coat open so that it revealed the dark gray and black clothing underneath. The shirt he had left partially unbuttoned to show off his lean chest and the coat casually thrown over the clothes gave it an even more tempting affect. The coat suited him perfectly- I don't think I could have found a better one, even if I had wanted to. He had left his hair down, the strands twisting and curling down his back and around his face. He stopped in front of the bed, looking down on me. "What do you think?" he asked after a moment. "How do I look?"

'Like a God?' was my first response and I tried to cover it up, but I knew he had heard it. After that there was no trying to save myself. I was practically drooling anyway and I ducked my head, blushing.

He smirked, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I owe this to you. You have excellent taste in clothes." He replied softly. "Thank you, love." He leaned over, kissing me softly for a moment, before pulling away at the sound of someone shifting in their bed. It was Rosette, who turned over to face us still dead asleep and pulled the covers over her head at the impact of the morning sunlight on her face. I smiled sheepishly at him. "Why does it feel like every time I get so close to you, it always backfires and ends up like we're doing something bad?"

"Because fate hates me." Yugo let out a dramatic sigh before shooting me a tigerish smile. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"More training. I was put on call effective yesterday, so if they need my help, and I'm sure they will, I'll have to be ready to ship out ASAP." I told him.

"I see." He said after a moment, and I could hear him trying to grasp the understanding of what I did.

I touched his arm lightly. "Hey," I said softly. "You don't have to if you don't want to. You can…stay here all day and put up with Andrea's persistent jabbering."

He rolled his eyes. "I am so looking forward to that." He replied, mocking her irritating tone. I broke out into giggles. He put a hand to his forehead; brushing stray cyan locks out of his eyes. "Wonderful," he replied, his fingers running through to swipe at his spiky bangs and controlling the drool in my mouth. "Go devil hunting or be tortured by one."

I smiled. "Well it is you're choice." I stood up, grabbing my bag. "It's my turn to play dress-up and don't you try anything that might allow you to see me, you pervert."

"Me?" his eyes widened as if he could believe I could call him such a thing. "Please. I just think you have a wonderful figure, and should show it off more, my dear. Those nun robes hardly do anything for you."

'Yes, I agree.'

I looked up, startled. 'Joshua! I thought you had left already!'

'Oh, I am far away. Even you're dog boy couldn't sniff my trail out. I'm just biding my time until Lena wakes up, and you two make for a pretty amusing and entertaining show to pass the time.'

I huffed. 'Well don't you be peeking either. I know you sound far away, but if you can talk to me, it means you can see me as well. Keep out of the ladies room.'

'I wouldn't dream of it Sister Sora. My only obsession lies in the bed not three feet from you.'

I looked over, seeing Lena snuggled into the covers, her thick black hair spread out around her pretty face.

"Sora…?" Yugo asked. I could tell he was in my head, but somehow he couldn't pick up the connection to Joshua. "What is it?"

"It's nothing. Just Joshua, wishing me good morning." I replied.

"Uh-huh." His handsome face went sour. "I don't like the fact of another man, a devil, talking to you in your mind, especially when I can't hear what's going on."

'Sorry to have upset him. I see his reasoning. I will keep quiet for the remainder of my time spent mind reading at the church.'

I went to reply but he had already cut me off, blocking me out. Glaring over at Yugo, I narrowed my eyes. "Oh nice work. You scared him off."

"Good, I'm glad." He crossed his arms. "The guy doesn't need to be talking to my woman anyway."

"Your-" I started in retaliation and stopped. These days, I was seeming more and more like his woman. "I'm going to go get dressed. You do what you want." I slammed the door as I left, hoping I hadn't woke up Lena and Rosette with the large sound.

I got dressed and came back to the room, finding Lena and Rosette already awake.

"Where's Mia?" Lena asked, blinking her eyes at the surprising bright sunlight.

"She stayed with Remington last night, I would gather." I replied. Yugo was lying back against the headboard, his arms crossed, staring out the window.

"I see." She replied, staring around at us. "Wow Yugo." Her face lit up. "You look really good."

His face brightened and he smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Ugh…what time is it…?" Rosette mumbled, still not awake.

"Quarter after seven." I told her.

She blinked. "Wha…T!" she jumped up. "I was supposed to be in Sister's Kate's office fifteen minutes ago!"

Chrono opened his eyes slowly. Sitting up he stretched, his arms leaning up against the wall as he got off his spot on the floor. "Well, you better get dressed them Rosette. This is important."

"Morning you guys." Mia smiled, throwing open the bedroom door, just as Rosette dashed out of it, mound of clothes in her hand. She blinked. "She's not up yet…?"

"What's going on Mia?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"She's got a meeting this morning with Sister Kate. It's been a while, but a lot of research has been done on the Apostles and she's finally being able to give a complete de-briefing on the case she took up with Azmaria." She explained, leaning in the doorway.

I was surprised they hadn't informed Kate of the information yet. I had known about the case involving Azmaria Hendric when I had first left, three months earlier. Then, it had just been reported that an attack had occurred in Portugal and that the attack might have been linked with the Prophecy of Fatima that has been sealed away for some time now. I was originally the one placed on the case, and had received the entire details prior the incident, including pictures of the small child. It was at the same time, reports of the destroyed village came in, and I was the only agent not handling some important case, so I was sent to neutralize the devil Yugo. I smiled faintly over at him, taking in his handsome form. Thank God I had not taken the Apostle case seriously.

"But still a de-briefing isn't all that serious. It takes little to no time. Why was Rosette so worried about being late?" Lena asked her.

"Because," the blonde's smirk widened. "She's requesting to be put in charge of the case concerning the whereabouts of her younger brother, Joshua Christopher."

I heard Lena's audible gasp and she looked over at me, her eyes full of fear. She hadn't told Mia, only because of the girl's closeness to Father Remington. And if Remington found out that Joshua had been making trips back and forth to Manhattan to see Lena, the news would spread to the rest of the Order and it could possibly be used against Lena later. It wasn't that we were hiding it because we didn't care about our friend; it was because of the risk that would be made if the upper level of the Magdalene Order found out.

'Stay calm love. Mia does not know. You and Lena are getting all upset for nothing. Chrono is keeping his mouth shut as well. Her secret is safe.'

Mia blinked. "Lena, is something wrong?"

At that moment, Rosette poked her head through the doorway. "Chrono, come on! We're already late!"

He shot her a sheepish grin. "Alright, sorry. Sheesh." He waved to us all as he got up. "See you all later!" he called as he dashed out the door.

Mia sighed, shaking her head. She shot Lena a look. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine." She nodded her head.

"Alright. You all should get up and go get food. We have orders at nine, and Sora," she looked at me. "You're included."

"I figured."

She smiled and waved. "Well I have training this morning in the fog room. See you all later!"

We watched her go, before Yugo huffed. "Who is she anyway?" he asked.

"Mia is Father Remington's partner." Lena told him with a smile.

"In more ways then one." I snickered.

"Sora!" Lena's cheeks blushed. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. "That maybe true too, but Mia is also the senior Miltia member in charge of the female soldiers. She's our boss when our ranks have to report for a massive battle."

"But… she doesn't look much older then you two." He pointed out.

"She's not." I responded. "But she has been here the longest. Ever since she was five, she's been in the Order's care. She transferred over from the Chicago office a few years back and has been Father's love interest ever since."

"I see." He stood up, dropping the situation for now. "Lena, we'll leave you to get dressed. Sora, you're stomach's growling. We should get you some food."

"I hate it when you know exactly what's bothering me." I muttered with a blush.

"Well come on." He grabbed my hand, whisking me out the door. "See you later Lena!" he called.

"Sorry for getting on your case earlier." He responded as we headed across the green. I ducked my head slightly, my eyes catching the flared sides of the jacket, which was flapping silently against his ankles in the morning breeze.

"It's okay." I told him.

"I…got jealous. I apologize." He told me with a smile. Looking up I smiled back and his gaze shifted back toward the church. Suddenly he stiffened. "Oh no…"

I looked in his direction, spotting Andrea and her groupies perched on the bench just beside the hall door, in feverish conversation. As we got closer, the black-haired girl in the group, Katherine, looked up, her brown eyes staring at us for a moment in surprise. She tapped on Andrea's shoulder, whispering to her. The girl in the middle looked up and her green-eyes widened.

Yugo's fingers tightened around my wrist. 'It will be alright.'

"Good morning." Andrea replied, her voice sugary-sweet, practically drooling over Yugo.

"Good morning." He responded, his voice dripping with charm.

"Morning." I nodded.

"Molly, Katie and I have the day off duty. We heard that Sora goes back to work today. Why don't you come spend the afternoon with us Yugo? The three of us we're going to go have a picnic at the lake." Andrea told him, her voice oozing with need. I was tempted to strangle her.

"You should come with us." Molly smiled.

"Yeah," Katherine followed their lead. "It'll be fun."

Yugo smiled, though I could feel his annoyance. "I'll think about it."

Molly and Katherine looked at Andrea, who was trying not to blush. "Really? Thank you Yugo."

"No problem." He shot them a handsome grin and I cold see all three of them melting into the wooden bench. "Sora," he turned to face me. "I'm going to head over to the bath house and clean up a bit. I don't feel right wearing these beautiful clothes when I know I look bad myself."

"You look fine to me." Andrea replied.

Yugo shot her a small smile, though I felt him becoming more irritated by her. I myself was wishing I had my gun loaded on me. "I won't be long," he told me, stepping back. His hand tugged on my wrist and slowly let go, turning and walking back off onto the green.

Before I was jumped by the three young girls I hurried inside, but it was no use. I was being followed. "Hey, you!" it was Andrea's voice that called out to me sharply.

"Don't you know its wrong to annoy a militia member? We don't carry heavy ammunition on us for no reason." I replied, ignoring her, continuing down the hallway, thanking the lord it was empty and everyone was either asleep on in the dining hall.

"It's a well-suited job for a dog-eyed bitch like you."

I cringed, turning around to look at them. That was the last straw. "Do you want to know what happened to the last person that got in my way? I replied, slowly stalking toward the trio. "I shot her. Point-blank, straight in the head." Of course, I was lying completely. I had never had a love interest before and definitely not a love rival so this was all new to me. But what they didn't know wouldn't harm them. For good measure I thwacked my palm up against my thigh, the sound of my hand harsh off the side of the metal gun. Let them know I wasn't playing around, because, seriously, I wasn't.

They all took a step back, Molly and Katherine hiding behind their leader. Andrea swallowed, but her eyes were determined. "You can't scare me. I know you wouldn't shoot us, not with Sister Kate and Father Remington in the building."

I stopped a foot or so infront of her. "You want to try me?" I asked, keeping my voice calm. This was amusing.

She gulped but her eyes flashed with anger. "You keep away from Yugo, you hear me?" she said, cutting around the danger and getting straight to the point. "You might have brought him here, but that doesn't mean anything! He's free to make his own choices about who he wants to be with, and I'm sure you'll find the answer won't be you."

I huffed. "Silly girl. He's not interested in a relationship with you." I was trying to sound haughty, when I really wasn't sure how to go about it. I wasn't used to the 'fighting over the boys' type of arguments. This was way to new to me. But telling Andrea off was something I found I liked.

"Yeah, and how would you know!" she replied hotly, her cheeks flushing.

"Because he told me. Do you really think he's going to go with you and your friends this afternoon? He's my partner. He'll be accompanying me on my missions."

She hissed, literally, like a cat in a fowl mood. "That's not true! You're lying!"

"It is. He'll be accompanying me on my missions from now on, so your little plans of dating him have all gone sour. Better luck next time, with someone else." I turned, heading back down the hallway. I felt satisfied with my verbal beating of her ego.

"I won't! I won't give up!" she replied, surprising me. She was beyond anger now, and I liked that fact that I had set her off. "I'm not going to just hand Yugo over to you! He will be with me! He will want to be with me!"

I smirked. The words were cutting, but I couldn't resist sending some more heavy-hitting back at her. "Andrea, I believe Yugo has chosen who he wants to be with. And I believe it was me, when he gave me this necklace." I held up the chain of it so she could see, not that she really needed to. The diamond inset in the silver was two and a half carats and it shone in the dim light like a lantern secured around my neck.

She recoiled as if I had hit her. "He…" her voice was drained of emotion and I felt a sense of accomplishment. Finally, her arrogance had cracked. "He gave that to you?"

"I probably wouldn't wear the gaudy thing if he hadn't." I replied. "It's to important to me." In more way then one. I smiled as I saw Molly place a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Well, now that the princess has finished throwing her morning tantrum, I'm going to get something to eat. See you all later!" I replied, heading off down the hallway.

As soon as I turned the corner, I ran to the dining hall. Heaven forbid Miss Arrogance decided to come back for round two.

I took a seat at the table after grabbing my plate of food. I had just taken a bite when the warmth of steam filled my mind and thoughts of Yugo in the shower drifted in. I shook my head. 'Will you stop that!'

He laughed. 'You were surprisingly harsh on her. I don't think the devil himself could have done a better job cutting her down to size.'

'That's what she gets.' I replied, chomping on a piece of toast. 'I don't take to well about people telling me what I can and cannot do.'

'I just think you were offended because she wants me.'

I choked on bread. 'That wasn't it at all!' I huffed, blushing.

'Ooh, I'd say it was, by the flush of those red cheeks.' He teased. 'You can't handle another woman after me. Aw, that's so sweet!'

'Yugo…' I growled.

He went silent for a moment and then I heard his gorgeous laughter. 'I have company.'

I dropped my fork. The signs he was getting at radiated Andrea. 'What? Where?'

'Just outside the building. Her and her friends. Think she wants to see me, or a little more of me then any well-schooled church girl should be asking for.' He was thoroughly amused by this. 'Think I should give her what she wants?'

I jumped out of my seat, startling everyone nearby. 'WHAT! Yugo, if you do, I'll-'

'You'll do what my dear? Because anything you might do, I might like.'

I raced for the door. If he was going through with this, I was going to kill him. 'You are such a pervert.'

'I'm a devil love. Don't you think it's in my nature?'

I growled. It was in his nature to be a stubborn, over-possessed idiot, whose one job in the world was to tease the hell out of me.

I headed out of the hall, sprinting across the green in the direction of the men's bathhouse. He chuckled. 'You humans are so predictable. I have fun toying with you sometimes.' There was a cold edge in his voice that I didn't like. Something I had barely heard out of him since we had come to New York.

'And when did you become so high and mighty, Wandering Sinner?' I replied, picking up his nickname, which I threw back at him when I was being dead serious.

'I've always been high and mighty love, you just never realized it.'

His voice had changed. I stopped in the middle of the green. 'Yugo…what are you up to?'

'I'm going to scare these girls away from me. I'm sick and tired of being followed around by them. I'm sick and tired of being bothered by humans. I want to go back to the forests for a while. I can't stand being cooped up here.' It was his true voice in my head, but he had not transformed. He was just drawing energy in without breaking the seal.

'Yugo…' I swallowed. 'You never showed that you hated this place, and putting up with everyone.'

'Because I did it for you. Because I know what it means to you. But it's getting to me. I grow more and more frustrated everyday.' He sighed. 'I haven't meant to do it. It's just been happening.'

I stared back at the church. Three weeks. I had been home for three weeks after spending three months in the wilderness.

'I know it's a lot to ask, but I need to get away.'

I closed my eyes. 'Alright. I'll talk with Sister Kate after the mission briefing this morning, and see what I can do. Just…leave Andrea and her friends alone. Come back to the boarding house. I'll be waiting there.'

'Thank you Sora. I appreciate it.'

I returned to the boarding house just as Lena did. "Hello again." She smiled and I managed a small one. "What's wrong?" she blinked as I opened the door.

"Yugo…is upset about being locked in here at the church. He wants to go back out to the forests." I explained, grabbing ammo for my gun.

"That's understandable. Joshua doesn't like the cities either. Says it's hard on his ears. Yugo's a wolf devil, right? It must be harsh on him too."

I blinked. I hadn't even thought of that. "Yeah, but I don't know what to do."

"Just ask if you can work on a case out of the city every now and then. It's not that big of a deal." She shrugged.

I nodded. "That might work."

The door opened and Yugo enter, his damp hair tied back into a braid. "Hello ladies." He smiled. "Are you ready to go to the meeting?"

"Yep." Lena smiled.

She led the way while Yugo and I fell in back. 'Is it true that you hate all humans?' I asked him after a minute.

'No. I like Lena, and Mia. Rosette's all right if she's not running her mouth. I'm particularly found of Remington though.'

I smiled. 'Father Remington is nice. I'm glad you like my friends though.'

'I will admit, if it wasn't that they are your friends, I probably wouldn't look at them any different then I do all other people.' He replied after a minute as we neared Kate's office.

"This is where I leave you two." He responded. Grabbing my hand, he brushed his lips along the back and smiled. "See you both soon."

"He's so cute." Lena flashed me a smile as we entered.

Remington looked up and he smiled at us both. "Ah, good morning you two."

"Morning Father Rem!" Lena grinned and I smiled.

"Hirelena," Kate said, putting down her pen and getting straight to the point. "You are to investigate a case on the east side of Brooklyn this morning. Apparently there have been rumors of a poltergeist uprising in a particular building and we need you to find it and destroy it. Sora will be accompanying you so that she can get back into the swing of things."

"Yes mam." Lena replied, taking the official papers from the Head sister.

"That is all." She replied, nodding her head.

"Sister…Kate?" I swallowed. "Is it alright if I talk to you for a moment?"

She stared at me in surprise, but nodded slowly. "Very well then."

Lena patted me on the arm as she exited. "I'll be waiting on you then." She told me as she left the room.

Remington sat down his cup of tea, looking over at me with calm cerulean eyes. "What is it Sora? Something bothering you?"

"Actually sir," I swallowed. "It's more like something is bothering Yugo."

Kate's eyes narrowed. I knew I had her full attention now. But Remington just stared back at me. "How so?"

"When we first were doing research on Yugo, I discovered that he was a wolf devil, given wings from his demonic mother who could transform herself into a raven. He's lived outside in the wilderness all his life-"

"And it's killing him to be stuck inside here." Remington finished.

I nodded slightly. "He's not used to the city, the sounds or the sight of it. He feels like he's trapped, and like any cornered animal will after being caged, its attitude starts to change. I know now that he's been hiding it from me, but he's been growing more and more frustrated with each passing day of being stuck here with almost nothing to do."

"Why don't you take him on your cases with you? It should give him more then enough to do." Remington told me.

I shook my head. "He wants no part in anything that deals with killing devils. Apparently a friend of his was killed mercilessly by humans and he resents it, even in me and will not stand to be any part of it."

His brows furrowed. "I see."

"What… exactly are you asking for Sora?" Kate spoke up. "Time off? We need your help. We're under-staffed right now as it is."

"I know that Sister Kate. I'm requesting, as a part of the militia, that I be assigned to cases dealing outside of the city and in the country more often. It will give Yugo a chance to get out of here and go off on his own while I'm tracking devils, and I should be more then qualified with the time I spent out there chasing him down." I swallowed.

She was quiet for a moment and then she nodded. "Understandable enough. I'll see what I can do for you then."

I let out the breath I was holding. I should have trusted Sister Kate and Remington more with this issue. "Thank you." I bowed my head. "Thank you both."

"It was not a problem, I can assure you." Remington waved it off. "But Sora, can I speak to you out in the hallway for a minute, alone?"

I blinked. "Sure."

We exited Sister Kate's room and the priest led me further down the hall, so we weren't just outside bugging Sister Kate. "It's a good idea to be getting Yugo out of here every once in a while, but in the mean time, why don't you get him a job?"

"A job?" I blinked.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled sheepishly. "Of course, you run the risk of him losing his job or worse if it's found out that he's a devil. But for the most part, the city is an excellent place to live because of it's many job opportunities. I'm sure that if you two were to look, you're sure to find something for him."

"I see." I nodded. "Thanks for the help Father. I'll let Yugo know and see what he thinks."

"It's not a problem. I know I'm more understanding then Sister Kate." He winked, making me blush. "So I'll try to help you two in any way I can."

"We appreciate it." I smiled. "See you later."

I was crossing the green, heading for the front gate where Lena had the car waiting, when I suddenly felt someone's presence inside my head. I froze. 'Who's there?'

'Sora? Is something wrong?'

'You're becoming more and more perceptive, dear.'

I sighed. "Joshua," I said aloud so that both Yugo and him could hear me. ' You scare me, every time you do that. I wish I had some way of knowing you were coming.'

'Unfortunately not. You're contracted to someone else. Talking with you through your mind is rather difficult, due to all the firewalls and barriers that Yugo has installed. Still, I don't mind talking to you.' There was a hint of a smile in his voice. 'But mere conversation is beside the point. I overheard your little talk with Father Remington-'

'Which doesn't surprise me.' I cut in, amused.

He laughed softly. 'I'm sorry. Couldn't help it. But, I overheard your conversation and I think the idea is a wonderful idea.'

'What idea?'

'The idea of Yugo getting a job. If he's refusing to join the fight for the Order there's more options open to him then you think. You should take him by that restaurant, the one you, Lena and I visited the other day. The owner, Mr. McHopson, is a devil. He runs the lounge upstairs for devils and the restaurant downstairs for humans. He's always looking for help.'

My heart skipped a beat. The restaurant, Venice, was one of the ritziest restaurants in Manhattan. I don't think even the Magdalene Order could figure out that it was run by a devil. He seemed so nice when we first met him. And yet, this was perfect. If I could get Yugo a job there, we wouldn't have to hide the fact that he was a devil. It would be a known fact and he wouldn't have to worry about hiding anything.

'My thoughts exactly.' Joshua replied with a smile. 'You and Lena run along now. You have a job to do and little time to do it in. Take your friend with you, and swing by the restaurant on the way back.'

'I will. Thank you Joshua.'

'Don't mention it. Its what I do for friends.'

"Sora?" I turned, at the sound of Yugo's voice coming up behind me. "Is everything alright? You had me worried when I suddenly lost connection with you."

"I'm sorry. Joshua and I had something important to discuss." I smiled apologetically. "Anyway, I talked to Sister Kate. She's going to be putting me on cases out in the country and the wilderness more and more often now, so that you can get out of here and relax."

His face brightened. "That's good news."

"In the mean time, Father Remington suggested you get a job."

He raised an eyebrow. "A job?"

"Yeah." I blushed. "It will get you out of here and get you doing something so you're not dying of boredom." He looked so cute right now, puzzled but thinking over the idea. "Joshua says he might have a place for you to work. That one restaurant where we were at, when that devil attacked Lena and me…"

"The bar tender's a devil. I gathered him to be the owner." Yugo supplied.

"Right. He's looking for help. You could work there and not have to worry about hiding your identity."

"But Sora, I busted through that guy's window. Joshua massacred that guy on the lounge floor and we didn't exactly stay to help clean it up." He replied.

'Fights are expected there. It's nothing new. The owner wasn't surprised in the least. It's not a big deal.' Joshua replied, immediately tapping back into my mind. I resisted the urge to jump at his sudden presence. 'I'll put in a good word for you.'

"Joshua's going to talk to the owner for us and see what happens."

He frowned. "I don't want to be given this job if I don't deserve it."

"It'll be fine. And him talking to the owner still isn't going to affect whether the guy is going to hire you or not. So," I grabbed his wrist, dragging him toward the waiting car. "You're coming with me."

"But Sora-" his eyes widened. "You know I won't help you with your mission."

"You don't have to. You can put up a crucifix barrier for us. It's nothing big, nothing that will kill. It will just give us an upper hand on exterminating the devils responsible for summoning these spirits." I told him, continuing to drag him along.

"Devils summoning poltergeists?" He paused. "Alright. This time, I'll help you. But only because it's not right to let spirits wander in the human world for to long. They become ghouls the longer they stay here, consumed by agony and jealousy over the living."

I smiled, turning to hug him. "Thanks Yugo. We could use the help."

He blushed unexpectedly, and then smiled. "No problem."

With Yugo on our side, the mission took roughly half an hour. It was grunt work to what I was used to, but Sister Kate wanted a report back on my abilities and if they were suffering. Sadly to say, they weren't at all. Yugo tracked the devils for us and set up the barrier, after it was activated, it was only keeping him out of the green light so he wasn't paralyzed and shooting down the offending devils. A team of Order officials showed up to take over the scene and the three of us slipped out before we were buried in the cleaning up of the place as well.

Lena knew the location of the restaurant and she drove us over there, parking in an alley behind the place so that we could get out before traffic got too bad.

Entering the place we found the lobby and the bar relatively empty. The bartender looked up from cleaning his glasses, his eyes shining behind his glasses. "Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you would be in."

"Morning sir." I swallowed. He didn't seem like a devil, not at all. He had dark blue eyes and long gray hair pulled back into a ponytail on the back of his head.

His eyes danced over us for a moment before they stopped on Yugo. "You must be the lad Joshua was speaking of." He set down the glass, holding out his hand. "I'm David."

They shook. "Yugo, sir." He responded politely.

"David please." He told him with a smile. "Joshua told you of your predicament. Its understandable why you don't want to help your contractor-"

"Wait a minute," Lena blinked. "You know Sora and I-"

"Work for the Order? Yes. It was evident when I first met you, and Joshua confirmed my theory. Besides your robes give it away." He pointed out.

Lena and I looked at each other with a sheepish grin. We were wearing official robes. "But sir," I spoke up. "You're a devil right? Shouldn't you be against us?"

"I don't particularly agree with some of us. Most of the offenders the Magdalene Order goes after have done something wrong in one way or another. They deserve what is coming to them." He picked up the glasses he had been drying, putting them underneath the counter on a shelf. "True, I may be a devil, but I've never done anything wrong in my whole life. I would rather get arrested by the police for committing a misdemeanor then be wanted by the Order for doing something satanic. I can guess most of us who are wanted by the Order rarely try to give ourselves up."

I caught a wave of surprise in my mind and looked over at Yugo, who was staring at the old bartender's back with a shocked expression. I'd never seen such conflict in his eyes before.

"You, dear lad," he turned, staring at Yugo, amused. "Are a hot-tempered one, I can tell. And you don't deal very well with humans. I can sense that from you as well."

"Your… a mind-reader." Yugo replied, taking a step back.

Mr. McHopson nodded his head slightly. "It's a couple of traits I'll have to break out of you." He looked over at the front door. "What I'm looking for is a waiter, someone, who can work three days a week at night. It's not an easy job, I'll tell you and it will wear at your patience quickly. You'll be working down here on the first floor, taking care of the human customers. To a devil it seems like de-grading work, but you might find that you like it. I've spent most of my life, serving humans, and it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. After all, it's left me as the owner as one of the busiest restaurants in town." He smiled.

"It really is a beautiful place." Lena told him.

I looked over at Yugo. "What do you think?"

He was thinking over it, balancing the weights of it in his head.

"I will tell you now Yugo," Mr. McHopson rested his arms on the counter. "You won't be the only devil working here. My son, Michael and his friend James both waiter for me as well as the rest of the human staff, and they can show you the ropes if you wish."

When he didn't respond, I laid my hand on his arm. 'Yugo?'

'Working for humans…the thought disgusts me.'

'Then don't worry about it. We'll try some place else.'

'No. I won't find another deal as good as this one. I'll be well protected here as well as well compensated. You've been taking care of me, despite the fact that I've been trying to take care of you. If I'm to remain in this human form for the length of this contract, I need to be able to take care of myself and then you.'

He let out a short breath. "I have one condition sir." He said finally.

"Let's hear it then." He said lightly.

"Because of Sora's job…if she needs me, I have to go to her, no matter what. Despite what I'm doing." He replied.

Mr. McHopson smiled. "Lad, I figured as much. It is your duty to protect your contractor at all costs. It is fine."

"There will be some times that he will be accompanying me on missions outside of the city, and we maybe gone for a few days. Is that alright with you?" I told him.

"It's fine. I'm willing to work around your schedule as long as he's willing to work with me." He smiled.

"When do I start then?" he asked.

"Why don't you stop by tomorrow if you can, and we'll talk more about the job in general. I'll put you out into the restaurant for an hour or so to see how you do. Michael will be assisting you." He looked over to the back door. "I think, he's here now." Walking over to the door reading 'Employees Only' he yelled into the back. Seconds later a young man materialized in the lobby.

"You called Father?" he was tall, probably Yugo's height in demon form with long raven hair and violet blue eyes. His eyes shined behind his thin-framed glasses. "Oh, I didn't realize we had company."

'Wow…He's cute.' I thought, before I even realized my mind could be read by more then one devil in the room.

The man chuckled. "Thank you for the compliment mam."

I blushed. "You… can read minds too!"

'Bet you feel like a complete idiot now, huh?' Yugo cut in, his voice bitter with jealousy.

"Michael, I would like you to meet Sora, Lena and Yugo." Mr. McHopson responded.

"Nice to meet you all." He responded with a smile.

"Michael, Yugo is going to be working here with us. It's going to be your job to help him out."

"No problem." He nodded slightly.

It took us another hour before we got out of the restaurant and back to the car.

"Well this is interesting." Lena smiled, starting up the car. "Yugo's got a job!"

"Yeah, right." He said softly, looking out the window. I tried to comfort him by placing my hand in his, but he went quiet for the rest of the ride back to the convent.

We had barely made it to our quiet room when the door was thrown open. "Good evening!" Rosette grinned, standing in the doorway. "Guess who passed the miltia test this afternoon?"

I sat up. "You've got to be kidding."

"That's right. It was-" she suddenly glared at me. "Hey, that was cold."

I grinned. "So you're in the miltia now, huh?"

"That's right. And my first case is to go look for my long lost little brother Joshua. Yeah!" she explained. "I'd also like to introduce you all to our new roommate."

Pushing past Rosette, a little girl with long silver hair and crimson eyes stared back at us.

"Azmaria!" Lena, Yugo and I said at the same time.

She blushed. "H-Hello everyone…"

"Miss Hendric passed the test to be an exorcist. We have a new member to the team!" Rosette replied.

"Well…this is somewhat cause for celebration." I smiled.

"I say we go to Father Remington and ask if we can have a bag of the chocolate candy he brought back from Germany." Lena said.

"Chocolate?" Rosette started drooling. "Alright then team, I'm on a search and recover mission. See you all in a few!"

I smiled as she ran off. I knew Rosette would beg Mia and Remington to the point where she got some. Azmaria chased after her while Lena burst into giggles. I looked over at Yugo, but he had gone off again and was sitting there by himself, his mind lost in thoughts as he looked out the window. It was a cloudy night, hiding the moon and stars from all view. I wondered if his foul mood had something to do with the turn in the weather.

Author's Notes-cough…hack…- Hello again everyone. As you can probably tell, Sora's sick…again. This time it's the flu. It's a plus because I have plenty of time to write, but it sucks because I'm so weak. So it's been an hour or so of writing and then three hours of sleeping for the last two days. But anyway, we actually touched on Chrono Crusade official storyline this chapter! Yay! Tried to stay away from the mush, but to no avail. I liked chewing that Andrea chick out, that was fun. -evil grin…which turns into more coughing- Let's see…next chapter Sora and Yugo go out on a mission to the country only to come back and find that Rosette's gained a new enemy/ally, Satella, the jewel witch, and her you'll-love-to-hate-him handsome contracted devil, Sieg! Until next time, Sora's going to go pass out trying to beat a boss in Arc the Lad 2. Later!

- Sora Tokumi Kazuma