The Covenant.

Author's Note: I've re-read my previous chapters and I'll probably be fixing them up a bit later, but for now, here's the next chapter that has been in the works for a long time.

Chapter 3: Spare the rod, spoil the child…

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Where to go.

Where to hide.

The blonde girl panted, her sneakers squeaking as she made a hard right, slipping into a small alleyway between two apartment buildings. All doors were locked and sealed by now, the owners and landlords activating the required 'guardian angel' system on the buildings, that would keep even a level five demon out. Oh but this, this was defiantly no level five. She didn't know what it was.

The rushing of wings let her know that her little short cut did not fool him, and She cursed, to afraid to look back and see how close he was. Why oh why did she wait for that jerk? When she could have been with Joshua?! She grabbed onto a pole, swinging herself around a corner with enough force that she nearly fell, her hands hitting the cement before pushing herself off again, stumbling and tripping as she attempted to get her feet back.

But that little mishap cost her everything, for by time she found her feet again, the shadow had descended upon her. A Strong hand gripped her wrist, yanking her around swiftly and pinning her to the sidewalk, the other cradling her head in an oddly careful manner before she could crack it against the cement. A pair of mismatched eyes, one gold and the other a mottled red, stared down at her; holding a rather shocking quality.

Intelligence.

"L-Let me go you big oaf!" She yelled, grabbing his hand with her free one, trying to pry it off her wrist. "Let go now!"

"No." He said, his voice soft but firm, and he slid his hand out from underneath her head, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "You really don't recognize me Rosette?" If anything, he thought this form….

"What the HELL are you talking about!" She growled, the blood that had stained his clothing soaking into her own from where their chests touched. In the back of her mind she wondered why he wasn't eating her, like they had always said demons did. They had been particularly bad in Italy, but thankfully she had never gotten very close to one.

Until now of course.

His expression dropped a bit, his grip tightening on her wrist, only to release it once she cried out. "Sorry." He said softly, taking it again before she could use it to wail on him with, pressing the soft flesh to his lips in an apologetic kiss.

Rosette's heart nearly stopped. What…What the hell? "How did you know my name?" She demanded, getting more and more worried as he placed small kisses down to the inside of her elbow, his longish hair tickling her skin. "Hey!" She shoved against his shoulder with her free hand, her fear of being eaten being pushed back by the fate that made more sense at this point in time. He wasn't planning to…

He looked up a bit startled, before giving her a smile that pinched at her chest, reminding her of something. It was almost lonely. "I know more." He insisted, almost fervently. "I know you have a freckle on your inner thigh that almost looks like a heart... and that you hate how your toes knob at the end." He murmured, as if lost in his thoughts. "That you have…had…I'm not sure, a brother. Joshua. That he was special, but not as special as you." His eyes met with hers, "That you wanted to become a doctor to help him, and that you loved stories, and you cant cook to save your life, other then chocolate…"

"What the hell are you? Some type of demon stalker?" Rosette asked, looking truly horrified, having worked her knee up slowly as he had talked, her eyes dropping down nervously as she debated. "What do you want from me?"

"Trust." He said softly, trying to push back the eagerness in it. "Trust me. I'm not going to hurt you." He let go of her wrist slowly as she dropped her hands, pressing them to the cement behind her.

"Well then, I'll have to apologize then." She said slowly, sitting up and inching back, giving him a nervous smile at his confused look. "Because I am." Planning to hurt you that is. She brought her knee up directly into his groin, twisting it just for good measure as the demon gasped, wrenching away in pain, one hand pressed over his injured goods.

Sucker.

"Damn it Rosette!" He cursed, his eyes tearing up as she ran off, shaking his head. That was a low blow, a low blow indeed. He stood as she rounded a corner, out of sight, and shook off the pain. "This isn't working." He muttered, staring at his reflection in the mirror, sighing a bit as he took off.

I'm defiantly not going to get anywhere looking like this… He thought guiltily, before biting his bottom lip. …Though, I could use it for my advantage if…

Rosette looked behind her, almost relieved to see no one there. Maybe she had actually out run him. She grinned, looking back to the front only to attempt to skid to a stop as the demon man landed in front of her, a small grin on his face. She quickly turned around and dashed back the other direction, rounding the corner only to run right into the man she had been waiting for back at the hospital, knocking his glasses right off his face. "Ah SHIT!" She gasped; almost doing a tango with him before latching onto his wrist and pulling him along, not at all noticing that the demon was no longer there. "What the HELL are you doing out here too?"

"Looking for you!" Chrno said truthfully, feeling guiltier for tricking her like that. He moved fast, she had no idea…. "Come on, this way." He said quickly, tugging her back another way, keeping the pace up, fleeing from the non-existent pursuer. Finally He spotted the door of his apartment building, and the little hatch that lead into the basement that he had made sure would always stay open. He let go of her hand and slid in easily, holding open his arms for her the moment he hit the ground.

The blonde girl looked at him nervously, before sliding in, surprised at how easily he caught her, and cradled her against his chest. "Well then…Sorry for being late…" He said with a small laugh, letting her feet touch the ground as he looked down at her, smiling warmly.

"Stupid." She said half angrily, half embarrassed, her cheeks hot. "You didn't have to come through all that you know." She stepped away from him, rubbing her arms as she peered up at the window they had come in through. "Do you think he followed us?"

Chrno coughed a bit, before shaking his head. "No I don't. Come on, lets get out of here." He took her hand lightly, leading her up the stairs into the building, just as the security systems began to shut off, people peaking out their doors in relief…

Was it just their imaginations or did attacks keep happening more and more lately…

"How did he get past security?" Rosette mumbled, unconsciously tightening her hold on his hand as the stepped into the elevator, Chrno pressing the button for the top floor.

"Without raising the alarms? I don't know." He replied, frowning. "They've been coming from the subways, where the signal isn't as strong." He leaned back on the wall of the elevator, hoping to god that wasn't the demon that had been mentioned earlier that day. He should have gone down there before it could get out on land…. He didn't want to think about what must have happened to the unit sent down there to take care of it…

"Well then they should make it stronger down there!" The blonde huffed; turning her eyes to the man she was with. "Put a transformer down there or something…"

"I'll see if we can." He assured her, smiling as she gave him a curious look. "My partner and I, the one you met in the hospital, work on protecting the city from demons." He said slowly, smiling wider at the look he gave her.

"You?" She asked, pointing and he nodded.

Well that must have impressed her.

"Well your doing a really crappy job!" She jabbed at him. "How many attacks have we had this month? What the heck are you doing?"

"Ah…" He said hesitantly, holding up his hands. "There are things we still have to perfect…"

"Like what? Just fill the town with the same stuff the barrier is made of, it won't hurt humans and then the demons would just go kapoof!" She made the motion with her fingers, before wiggling them as she put them down near her hips to emphasize the bits falling apart.

Despite how much he loved this girl… that… had scared him a little bit.

"We cant.." he coughed, "Do that though."

"Why not?" She demanded.

Oh other then the fact that I would explode right before you, as would most of Remington…

"It can have adverse effects on humans. Like standing under an X-ray all your life." He explained quietly, before the door opened. "Come on in…your soaked with blood." He motioned to her clothing, the red ooze dotting his own clothing from catching her.

"Not the first time." She muttered, when one worked in the medical field, being covered in blood and even feces didn't really bug you. He led her along to his apartment, hesitating for a moment before looking at her with a faint blush. His apartment was a mess, from the day's shopping and his almost pack rat way of keeping things. "What's wrong?" She asked, lifting her eyes up to him.

"Its really messy." He laughed a bit, scratching behind his ear. "I almost don't want to submit you to it."

"You should see my place." She grinned at him, nodding for him to go ahead. Chrno smiled lightly, before unlocking and opening the door, offering for her to go first. The blonde stepped through the doorway, looking about the old fashioned apartment curiously, her eyes being caught immediately by an old broken pocket watch.

"Oh." She stepped quicker, as Chrno closed the door, watching her with fond eyes. "Wow…" She scooped the pocket watch up, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her that she had seen this before. She wiped a bit of the dust off the shattered face, only to wince as she cut her finger, a few droplets falling inside the clockwork. "Ouch!" She shook her hand, sticking it in her mouth with a whimper.

Chrno could feel it the moment it happened. After all, the thing was still connected to his soul, despite not needing energy from it. His breath hitched, and without seeing it, he knew that the face glowed faintly as the blood sank into it, remembering its purpose. He quickly stepped up behind her, one arm coming against her side as he leaned on the counter, and the other carefully plucking the clock from her hands, checking it quickly to make sure nothing funny had happened. It would be an understatement to say that he was very relieved to see that it wasn't open and that the hands were still, thank god. It was silly to think that a contract could have been made without both of their consent.

But he couldn't help but worry.

"Hey, I was looking at that!" She exclaimed, pulling her finger from her mouth to reach for it. "It looks familiar, I can't quite place where its from."

Familiar? His heart sped up a bit in hope, and he slowly lowered it to her eyelevel. "Don't cut yourself again, alright?" He chastised, dangling it from the chain before her.

"Oh come on. What are you? My father?" She said, taking it from him gently, looking it over. It was so familiar. "Where did you get this?"

"From a friend. A very long time ago." He said, taking her arm gently and lead her to the couch, allowing her to sit down. She did so, sitting legs splayed and her elbows resting on her knees, examining it with fierce determination to place it.

Chrno watched her with anxious eyes, waiting for something, though he was slightly disappointed that his true form hadn't triggered the same reaction. Maybe it was because she was scared out of her mind….

"AHAH!" She crowed, making him jump in surprise, blinking as she shoved it in his face. "This! I know what this is!"

"…" He blinked, before urging her on. "And that is…?"

"It was that prop from that Twilight Zone episode right? The one that froze time?" She grinned, taking his suddenly flat expression as admitting that she was right. "Hah! I knew it! I used to watch that show all the time…" She grinned, fingering the clock curiously. She was sure that was it…

"Oh." He coughed, scratching the back of his head. "Well…" He lifted his eyes to her, mismatched eyes locking with blue, questioning. Was there nothing that she remembered? "You can have it if you like…" He whispered, lifting the chain and placing it around her neck, letting it rest against her chest, before sitting back, looking down at her.

Her eyes seemed to blank out a bit, like she was thinking very hard, before she suddenly placed her hands over his, a curious look on her face. "Hey Chrno, what's your phone number?"

"W-what?" He asked, startled.

"Your phone number…I mean, you saved my life, its only normal that we should stay in contact…" She shifted a bit uncomfortably, one hand to the clock about her neck. "But if that's to personal your email or something…"

"Oh no!" He said, a little too quickly, closing his fingers around her hands and cupping them together, enjoying that simple touch greatly. "How about this, go take a shower and I'll get you something clean to wear and write down both my phone number and email address. Alright?"

She nodded, her cheeks warming at the contact of his hands, and the way he looked at her. "Sure…you do have a lock on the door right?"

"What? Oh, yeah..." He turned red, letting go of her hands to fiddle with his shirt, standing up. "Come now." He walked over to the shower, quickly pulling things he didn't quite want her to see (underwear and the like) under his arm and set a new towel to the side. "I'll leave your clothing outside the door alright?"

She nodded slowly, standing up and following him into the shower, looking at the large tiled room. For such a out dated apartment, it was really handsome and masculine. She turned pink, taking the towel and bundling it against her mouth in embarrassment, sighing as she set it down again and turned the shower on stripping as soon as she made sure the door was locked.

What was it about this guy that made her feel so funny, like she should tell him something, but didn't quite know what…

She carefully took off the clock, making sure to avoid the glass, before setting it down on the counter, undressing and stepping into the hot shower to rinse off all the blood and grime that was stuck to her. Ugh… she rubbed her hands down her stomach, trying to pry the gunk off of her, frowning at the black specks that refused to come off.

Scrubber brush…don't tell me he doesn't have an … Ah there we go.

She frowned as she pulled the brush away from her red skin.. The black spots were still there… She shivered, not sure quite what to do about them. She'd have to wait and check the books about them later… She washed her hair quickly with his shampoo, before shutting off the water, and stepping out, wrapping the towel delicately about her.

"Chrno?" She called out, wet hair sticking to her skin, before she opened the door, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of him, setting clothing down in front of her, paused as if caught in the act.

Time, who had never seemed to be all that fond of him, paused at that moment, allowing him to take in the sight.

God she was beautiful, graceful legs sweeping up to hide her upper thighs from him behind the dark towel, blonde hair sticking to her shoulders and cheeks, golden skin still wet and perfect. His eyes moved up to her face, focusing on her soft pink lips (he tried very hard not to look at the shape of her chest through the towel), biting down on his own. He wondered in the very back of his mind what would happen if he took her into his arms right then and there…

And then the door slammed shut again, breaking the spell, her scream of indignation ringing in his ears. He shook his head, clearing it of his rather dark thoughts. "Ah! I'm sorry!" He felt his ears burn, and he quickly placed the clothing down, stepping out of the room. "I didn't hear you, I'm out…"

Stupid, what the heck was that? He fidgeted uncomfortably, eyes darting towards the room once more…

Rosette leaned against the door, her heart pounding a million miles a minute. All right then… that was just a bit embarrassing… She creaked the door open slightly to make sure he was gone, before reaching out with her foot and dragging the clothing into the bathroom. She changed quickly, discarding any bit of clothing that had the black and red gunk on it. Finally she stepped out, in one of his long button up black shirts and a pair of red swim shorts, the only thing that would fit her in his closet besides his boxers. Chrno had a trim waist, but was still larger then her by quite a bit, so his shorts hung low on her hips. His socks went up to mid calf, and she felt quite a bit like a little girl again, wearing her father's clothing to bed.

The door was thrown open, Remington stepping inside and tugging his jacket off, throwing it on the couch as he ranted off, not at all noticing the girl who had nearly jumped out of her skin when he had entered. "Alright Chrno, I know that you were in a rush but leaving the scene like that before anyone could get there to find out what had happened—" He stopped, looking down at the startled girl for a few moments, as if not sure what to do. His eyes scanned over her quickly, taking in her current clothing, only to narrow his eyes as Chrno stepped into the room, startled and shirtless.

"Ah…Yuan…" The demon said slowly, turning red as he glanced at Rosette out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't say that he hadn't fantasized about this before, her dressed in his clothing... as if they had just…

His eyes widened at Remington's accusatory stare.

"Oh no!" He waved his hands at him, his blush extending far more then it had been. Oh god, if only… "It's not like that. I can explain…"

"Oh can you?" Remington frowned, taking his jacket from where he had deposited it on the couch, and looped it over her shoulders buttoning it up as he spoke. "I apologize, I didn't know you had come to visit."

Rosette turned a faint shade of pink as he buttoned up his jacket around her, looking up at him curiously. "I didn't really have any choice. Your friend here saved me from this psychotic demon…"

The blonde man raised an eyebrow, looking curious as he looked over his shoulder at the blushing Demon. "Oh really? What did the demon look like?"

"He was tall…" She said, looking off to the side, "With long horns and a spine like tail. He swore he wasn't going to hurt me…" She shuddered, working her arms into the sleeves to rub her bruised wrist. "I thought he was going to do worse…"

Chrno swallowed sharply, guilt bubbling up in his stomach. He wasn't….

Remington gave Chrno a half look, before sighing, "Where do you live Rosette, I'll drive you home, its rather late." She nodded slowly, looking over at Chrno.

"So…" She said uneasily, "Not even your email?"

"Oh!" He jumped, realizing that he had forgotten, before scrambling for a pen, taking the her wrist and scooting up the sleeve, gently writing both his number and email address on her arm, only to blink when she took the pen from him afterwards, writing hers on his own skin, nibbling her bottom lip as she did.

"There." She smiled up at him, before placing a hand to her chest where the pocket watch sat, "And thank you, for both things."

"Go get your shoes," Remington said softly, nodding as she looked up at him and went for them, sighing a bit about bossy men, and disappeared into the bathroom, to pick up her stuff and put her shoes on. "Now, what part of what you've done is considered controlling yourself?" He asked, turning to Chrno with cool blue eyes.

"I…I couldn't help it." He replied, eyes guilty. "She saw me with that thing…when she ran I couldn't help but follow her." The blonde man just looked at him, before pointing at his chest.

"You have black there." He said simply, little black specks dotting his chest.

"Yeah, from that demon." Chrno said in annoyance. "Spores from its blood, it's trying to use my astral to regenerate its body. A common trick legion use. I'm to strong for it though, my body will push them out by the end of the day."

"Lucky you." Remington responded drolly, looking towards the bathroom. "In both aspects."

"I just wish she remembered everything…" The demon sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "It would be so much easier."

"You think so?" The ex-priest leaned against the wall, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Everything? The knowledge of two lifetimes, and of the time between both. They normally classify that as madness. The human brain cant hold all that information and still function properly. " He closed his eyes carefully. "If she was to remember, we would have to work on selective memories, slowly, or else we might do more harm then good."

Chrno nodded slowly, not sure if he completely understood. But then again he was a demon, and he functioned differently then they did…

"Alright." Rosette said quickly, sticking her head out from the bathroom, where she had stuffed her bloody clothing into her dirty pants and held it almost like a purse. "I'm ready."

"Good." Remington replied quickly, smiling at her as he led her towards the door. "I apologize for all this trouble you've gone though."

"Nothing you can do about it now." She said with a little shrug, looking back at Chrno before waving to him as she left. "Goodbye Chrno! I'll call you later."

He waved back, looking a little lost as she left. Funny, now that he thought about it…. He had never told her his name…

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Homg, Did I actually Update? Homg? Its amazing? Honestly I've had about 3/4ths of this finished for about 2 years, Life has just been so incredibly busy. You guys know how it is. I graduated from high school and Now I'm in the Military. So extra time standing duty, I was able to wrap the rest of this chapter up and start on the next one. I plan on picking this story up strongly again, so the wait for the next chapter wont be so god forsaken long awaited. I really apologize to you guys, and thank all my faithful readers who still care about this story. :3