Chrono Crusade Fan Fiction ❯ A Contract ❯ Chapter Six: Tears ( Chapter 6 )

A Contract

Chapter Six: Tears

By Selenity Jade

Rated: M

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade or Chrno. Or any other yummy demon.

 

Thanks: Thatz, because you pointed out what I always try to do when forced to be explanatory. Make it at least part of the dialog or something to where it isn't like falling asleep reading it. I tried, so thanks for noticing! And since I make this fic readable by people who don't know the anime/manga, I have to do a lot of explaining sometimes.

 

Pairing: Chrno/Rosette

 

AN: Well, yes, last chapter had the 'leaking' inspired by the manga, those of you who have read the Chrno Crusade manga know what I mean, I'm sure.

 

xxx

 

The golden-haired minister led the pair to Sister Kate's office, wrapping on the door twice before entering. Rosette hesitated before crossing the threshold, the usual nervous fear she always got settling around her stomach at the idea of facing Sister Kate across her desk again. She always yelled at her for every little thing, though admittedly sometimes she did deserve it. What made the fear worse though was that this time, she deserved far more than being yelled at and she knew it. She forged a contract with a demon, something considered evil by the Order, and did it without telling her superiors or consulting them first. She was definitely due some scolding time. She only hoped it wasn't too severe. Steeling herself, she walked in the room with her head held high, the demon she tied herself to following just behind.

 

Rosette gulped nervously as the woman stood up from behind her desk, her eyes fixed on the tall demon behind her. The nun's eyes were cold and hard. Oh, boy, I'm definitely in for it.

 

She glanced over her shoulder to find Chrno staring right back at the woman as calmly as possible. At least he was trying to appear harmless.

 

His crimson eyes flickered to her for a moment at her thought and she flushed, turning back to her superior.

 

"Father Remington, Sister Rosette, welcome back," Sister Kate greeted, turning her frosty look to her two exorcists. "I asked Satella to be here for this meeting as well since she has been a great help." The jewel summoner in question stood up from the chair Rosette hadn't noticed was occupied. I really am nervous if I didn't see her.

 

Sister Kate's gaze moved back to the demon behind her and then down at Rosette. "The information I am about to share is not to leave this room, understood?"

 

She nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am."

 

"This is the most guarded secret of the Magdalen Order, Sister Rosette, Satella, and it is absolutely imperative you do not repeat it. What I am about to reveal to you is known only to the heads of each branch and the Council." The nun moved back to lean against her desk. "The Magdalen Order was founded fifty years ago by Ewan Remington -" her eyes flickered to the priest, "- and never in those fifty years has a higher devil ever set foot in this office. Until today."

 

Satella stiffened, glancing over at the purple-haired man, but Sister Kate gave no one the chance to comment, she turned to Father Remington.

 

"You founded this Order after you took on a demon's legion to save yourself to make amends for your failure in saving Magdalene and you set down rules and a code that must never be broken. The most strict of those rules was that the demon sealed in Saint Magdalene's tomb, Chrno the Sinner, Chrno the Broken Horns, Chrno the Slayer of a Hundred Demons, must never, ever be released!"

 

She glared at the blonde priest. "Now, you left our grounds, took with you our most gifted - if destructive - exorcist with you without a word to anyone and released a demon so powerful that he cracked the Earth in a fit of rage that left a scar known as the Grand Canyon! A demon you yourself were fatally wounded by and couldn't kill even without his horns; a demon you sealed yourself to prevent such wanton destruction and death from ever repeating itself. I want to know why!"

 

Remington ignored the stunned looks he was getting from everyone but the demon in question and simply stared back calmly at the nun. "Chrno is powerful, yes. He isn't wantonly destructive, however, otherwise I wouldn't have released him, Sister Kate. He's always been fairly... nice," he said finally after a hesitation as if searching for the right word. "For a demon. I unsealed him because he was Aion's partner over fifty years ago and no one knows that demon better than Chrno himself. The fact that Joshua also has been fused with Chrno's broken horns is a better reason to free him."

 

"You freed a demon ever other demons are terrified of and brought him here for information?" the older Sister asked aghast.

 

"And his help, yes."

 

Rosette was simply astonished. Father Remington was really over fifty years old? Chrno was that powerful? He caused that huge-

 

::I wasn't in my right mind at the time.::

 

She felt the guilt and self-loathing so keenly she nearly choked on it.

 

"Excuse me," the German woman interrupted. "I agree with Sister Kate. Demons are not to be trusted. How do you know, Father, he won't kill us all if he has done all that in the past?"

 

"Because of his anger at Aion initially. Aion harmed Chrno, too. I felt that the enemy of my enemy would make enough of a difference to allow him to want to work with us. Now, I know he's safe because of Sister Rosette."

 

The golden-haired nun flinched as her superior's flinty gaze found her. "That brings me to you, Sister. After five years of exorcising demons, after seeing the horrors demons have done as well as those contracted to them, you sneak around and forge a contract with the most powerful demon in known human history!"

 

"I joined the Order for one reason, Sister Kate," Rosette stated with conviction, though her voice lacked the tone to support that conviction when faced with the other nun's anger. "To save my brother. Chrno can help me with that. I did it so that my brother's life can be saved and I will not go back on my decision. If Chrno still had horns, he wouldn't need a contractor, but I'd have still asked for his help. He is not evil, Sister Kate." Her voice gained volume until the last sentence was spoken with more frustration and emotion than she had ever shown in front of an audience before.

 

Everyone in the room started at Rosette in surprise, including Chrno.

 

"Not evil-!" Sister Kate sputtered out.

 

"As you pointed out, I have been exorcising demons for years now. I know evil. Chrno is not."

 

"Why does the devil not speak for himself?" Satella archly asked, glancing at the red-eyed demon in question.

 

"What should I say?" he answered in that calm, empty voice of his. Rosette knew from the expressions on Sister Kate and Satella's faces they didn't expect his voice to be pleasant. "I am a demon and most of the demons you people in this Order see are evil, twisted legion without names, identities, empty of everything except hunger. Demons view humans as lesser animals, like cattle. To cattle, humans are evil. To humans, demons are. Demons are a threat to you and you should fear them. So what should I say?"

 

"For a beginning, if we allowed you to stay here, will we be putting our people in danger?"

 

Chrno snorted. "Killing humans has never been my past time. I will not harm anyone here, except in defense of my contractor or myself."

 

Rosette glanced at him in surprise, but he ignored her, crimson eyes intent on Sister Kate.

 

"And you will not break the contract?"

 

"Contracts need both parties willing to sever it. If Rosette wishes it, I will break it, but I will not until then."

 

"Sister Rosette," the older Sister turned to the blonde. "If I didn't allow him here?"

 

"I will leave the Order."

 

The dark-haired nun sighed, glancing at Chrno. "Sister Rosette will leave if I force you out. How do you inspire such loyalty?"

"It is my power she needs, nothing else. For her brother."

 

Feeling his sadness, Rosette looked up at the demon behind her in puzzlement. His voice gave no hint of his emotions, but she felt it and it made her eyes sting with tears.

 

"Rosette!" Sister Kate exclaimed in shock as tears fell down her cheeks. In five years, she hadn't once allowed herself to cry in front of the people who had taken her in. Not once. Both Sister Kate and Father Remington were shocked, though the priest shot the demon a suspicious look.

 

Chrno's gaze snapped down to his contractor when the other nun cried her name and she covered her face with her hands to hide the tears. She heard him curse in his mind with such ferocity that it made her laugh a little through her tears.

 

Chrno began to panic and Rosette knew Remington had seen that when his deep, infectious laugh lit up the room.

 

"I'm okay!" Rosette tried to assure them. "Just had a tiring couple of days, I guess. I just got all emotional." She hiccuped, tears still falling as she hid behind her hands.

 

Sister Kate frowned. "Sister Rosette, are you... okay?" she asked worriedly.

 

xxx

 

Chrno stared down at the top of his pretty contractor's head in panic. She was reacting that strongly to his emotions that when he felt sad she cried? He reached out a hand, hesitated, glancing at Remington beseechingly.

 

Smiling, the priest nodded in encouragement.

 

Taking that as a good sign, Chrno touched her shoulder, turning the sobbing girl to face him. "Rosette..." What did one say to a girl who was crying your sadness because you were unable to?

 

"Eh, I'm okay, Ch-Chrno," the young woman said through her tears. "I just can't seem to stop." She had her head bowed so that the top nearly touched the center of his chest. He felt her shoulder shake under his hand and when she leaned into his chest, he let her sob his grief onto him.

 

He glanced up to find the other two women in the room staring at him with closed expression and his own hardened.

 

He looked over to find Remington grinning. "What happened, Chrno?" the priest asked, amused.

 

Feeling Rosette bury her face into his shirt, tiny hands gripping the fabric as she tried to hide even more against him. She was embarrassed about crying and was using him as a shield to hide it. He absently wrapped an arm around her shoulders, keeping the other free in case he needed to move quickly if they offered him violence. She didn't stiffen at the contact, so he let his hand rest at the base of her neck, holding her to him so she could hide without seeming to hide. "It's my fault, Remington," Chrno admitted finally.

 

"I guessed that. Something we said made you upset or remember something upsetting, and she picked up on it. This is the result, I take it?"

 

"Yes," Chrno answered simply. ::Rosette?:: He looked down at her.

 

::This is so embarrassing!::

 

He released he was responding to her state when his hand started rubbing the back of her neck and stopped. He hadn't ever had to deal with sobbing women before, let alone one that was crying for him. ::I'm sorry,:: he told her as tenderly as he could, trying to find a way to express it in words and failing. It was all he could say, simply an I'm sorry. Then again, maybe it wasn't needed. It meant something to him that his sadness had a release in her, anyway.

 

"Chrno!"

 

He blinked, glancing at the amused priest. Sister Kate and Satella were not, though. "There have been problems with the contract?" the nun asked carefully.

 

He gave a wary nod. "Side effects. I have yet to use astral since the contract, so I do not know how it will affect her then. She is simply reacting to my thoughts and emotions for now."

 

Sister Kate looked doubtful and he knew she doubted he had emotions, but he let it go. He didn't care what she thought of him. "Well, we will discuss that later. Now where should we put you?"

 

"How about with the Elder?" Remington answered. "Since everyone knows Rosette brought a demon back with her, it will make the rest of the Order a bit more at ease and the Elder isn't one to be cruel."

 

Sister Kate nodded thoughtfully. "That is a good idea."

 

Chrno stared at Remington rebelliously. If they are trying to keep me away from my contractor...

 

"No, Chrno, we are not keeping you from her. Her room is with the militia, not the girl's dormitory, you are free to visit her there any time you wish," the priest told him, correctly interpreting the look.

 

"Father Remington!" Sister Kate exclaimed.

 

The minister put up a hand to forestall her arguments. "I insist. He'll want to be sure she's okay any time he feels the need and he is helping us as Satella is."

 

"Agreed," the nun said reluctantly. "Under protest."

 

"Now, let's go see the Elder."

 

xxx

 

Rosette released a very unbecoming squeak of surprise as she was swept off the ground by Chrno's strong arm and held against his side. Faster than she thought possible, he had the Elder in a grip by the shirt.

 

"Chrno, stop!" she cried at the same time Remington did.

 

The demon hesitated, his attention moving from the old man to the woman in his grip.

 

"He wasn't attacking me," she told him. "Well, not in the way you think. Please let him go."

 

Chrno's violet eyebrows raised in disbelief, but complied, setting the man down and releasing Rosette.

 

The nun suddenly clobbered the old man. "You pervert!" She felt Chrno's surprise at the sudden violence. She simply gave him amused, twinkling eyes, before turning back to the dirty old man. "What do you have to say for yourself this time?"

 

"I didn't even have time to see anything before the demon grabbed me," the Elder protested. "You are so mean to spoil an old man's fun."

 

Crimson eyes stared at the unafraid old man.

 

Father Remington chuckled. "Chrno, this is the Elder, our resident genius and pervert. He likes to peak under the girl's dresses. All of the girls are able to protect themselves around him as he's relatively harmless." Chrno growled as the Elder made another move toward his contractor's chest and Remington sighed. "This is where you'll be staying. Elder, meet Chrno."

 

The old man stopped trying to grope Rosette and blinked owlishly at the violet-haired demon. "So you're the demon everyone is saying Rosette freed."

 

"I didn't!" Rosette protested. "Father Remington did. It's not like I did it on accident or anything. I only made a contract with him. Everyone acts like its always my fault when bad things happen and they're all afraid of Chrno so of course it's my fault too."

 

The Elder chuckled. "Well, you my blossomed beauty are my favorite weapon's tester and so when they malfunction I let you take the blame."

 

"I know! It was not my fault that demon was released on Order grounds. You were the one who put it into a bullet! Yet I got bathroom duty for a month. It just isn't fair."

 

"I do have a new kind of Spirit I'd like you to try out here somewhere..."

 

"No!" Rosette and Father Remington cried.

 

"Ah well. You're no fun. So, we're going to try attaching horns to this one?"

 

"Attaching them won't be the problem. It's how well they'll work," Chrno stated absently, glancing around the cluttered, dusty workshop.

 

"Well, so long as you allow me to do some tests on demon astral absorption, I'll see if I can't come up with a better idea later."

 

Chrno's suspicious flared so fiercely Rosette jumped.

 

"So Chrno, first, that room over there will be yours. It's a bit dusty, but otherwise clean, and it has a bed. Just be careful of my experiments, I use a lot of blessed objects and holy items that could be quite painful to you."

 

"Holy water burns like acid, holy items don't affect us much."

 

"You know," Rosette began. "I always wondered why we don't use crosses often."

 

"Something about holy water is deadly to us, but I can pick up a bible or crucifix with no problems, even blessed ones."

 

"We'll experiment with that later," the Elder stated to Chrno's horror, then grasped the tall demon by the arm and dragged him to the far side of the big room where a silver box sat on a cluttered, wooden table. Inside the box lay a pair of shimmering horns that looked like they had been carved by seashells or pearls.

 

Rosette watched Chrno stare into the box nervously. "What type of demon did these come from?" the devil asked.

 

"Rosette," the Elder prodded.

 

The nun glanced into the box and gasped. "You kept those!" She threw the Elder a disgusted look. "You'd save anything, wouldn't you?" Turning to Chrno, she explained. "The very first demon I killed was what we nicknamed the Mermaid, since that is what she looked like. You know, from the legends of seamen seeing maidens in the water with fishtails? She looked exactly like that but with horns. Those horns. We've never seen another like her since and she required even new recruits like me to join in the fight. I shot off her horns and that is what killed her. I knew the Elder had examined her body, but to keep her horns for this long..."

 

She felt sick. She knew that demon needed to be stopped, but it was the first thing she had ever killed before. She hadn't even stepped on bugs as a child. It still bothered her, even after all this time, to snuff out any life. Even a demon's. She just did it because she knew she was saving more lives than the one she was taking. But sometimes she wondered, was it the right thing to do?

 

Staring into the box, she began to doubt.

 

xxx

 

Chrno could feel remorse from his contractor. She had been forced to kill and she felt guilty for it, like he often had. She was remembering her first kill with pain - a familiar pain. A human feeling pain at killing a demon. This woman was as strange to her own kind as he was to his. She felt the same remorse he had at death and she pushed onward despite it. Like he had.

 

This woman was a danger to him, he realized suddenly. When Aion had begun to fear Magdalene's possession, he had killed her after Chrno refused to do so. Aion hadn't regretted it even though he had liked the woman, he just did it out of necessity. Like most demons, Aion had no problem killing. Aion would still be furious with him over his rebellion against their goal and would resort to any means to make Chrno suffer for it.

 

He could not have any sort of feelings of kinship with this girl. Aion would not hesitate to take someone simply because they were important to him. He'd use it against him and he suddenly felt real fear. His contractor could come to mean something more to him if he let this continue. He had always been soft-hearted, so his protectiveness of her hadn't made him worry overmuch. After all, he had a duty to watch out for her, she was giving her life so that he could live. Though if Aion was truly fixated on her, she was already in danger and it wasn't because of him.

 

But the way the contract's side effects were growing and it frightened him. It already felt as if he were betraying his unique feelings for Magdalene. She had awakened him to love and while her death was not fresh in his mind, he still grieved. The time he had spent sealed passed slowly for him, after all. The pain had dulled with time.

 

But to find a girl he was compelled towards immediately and in only two days know that this girl could become much more to him? He was startled and panicked. Was love so fragile, so fleeting that as soon as another woman came into his life, the old love faded away?

 

He still loved Magdalene; he knew it, felt it, and missed her. But this woman's mind was so startling with her desire to protect her brother, her pain and guilt and remorse over any death, so much like his own, and yet she was so completely different from Magdalene's gentle personality.

 

He knew he'd protect his contractor, what he hadn't counted on was wanting to. Was she simply a comrade, a friend like Aion and the rest of the Sinners had been or another love? He hadn't even gotten a chance to know her yet. Or maybe it was both? Could two people who loved be friends too?

 

Rosette gave him an odd look and he locked his mind down. ::Please tell me you didn't get everything I was just thinking!::

 

She shook her head and he sighed in relief. ::I just felt surprise, fear, and confusion. Then I heard something about two people who loved being friends too. To answer that question: yes, Chrno, the best relationships are built on friendship, trust, desire, and love.::

 

He gave her a half-smile. ::Thanks.::

 

::You're welcome.::

 

"These came from a demon with a dolphin-like tail, right? A woman on the top, dolphin tailed, and four breasts?" Chrno asked Rosette aloud for the benefit of the other occupants of the room.

 

She nodded.

 

"Well, she wasn't a legion, so that's good. Her name was Seedhill."

 

"You knew her?"

 

"She was in Pandemonium the last time I saw her, which was just before Aion and I rebelled with the rest of the Sinners. She was a love of mine."

 

Rosette winced. "I'm sorry I killed your lover."

 

Chrno shook his head, sending the purple braid over a shoulder. "I didn't really have any emotional attachment to her. It was a way to pass the time."

 

"I'm still sorry. Must be odd seeing part of your lover in a box."

 

Chrno glanced at Rosette. "Maybe lover isn't the right word, but I can't think of another that isn't really crude. The bad news is Seedhill was a weaker devil. So I guess we'll see how this works. I'm going to switch to my natural form." Staring into his contractor's blue eyes, he switched to thought. ::If I run out of astral, my form will automatically switch back, but I should have enough warning to tell you to unseal the watch. We shouldn't need it though. I don't want to test that until we figure out where these side effects are coming from exactly.::

 

She nodded, hand reaching up unconsciously to clasp the watch in nervousness.

 

Chrno released his restraint, his real form emerging. He could feel the power flowing through him, felt Rosette step out of the way of the long, metal appendage that settled behind him. He nearly flushed. He had forgotten to leave that out with the wings. He left it alone instead of messing with his form.

 

::Is that a tail?:: he heard his contractor muse to herself.

 

"No, not exactly," Chrno replied, startling the men in the room. He ignored them and reached out for the horns. He released the clasp again his head so that the still open wounds where his horns should be were exposed and set the base of Seedhill's horn against one side. He felt her legion react to his and almost snap into place as it fused itself to his head, and like a parasite, it burned so painfully he fell to a knee in surprise. He could bear it, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

 

He forgot to block the pain from his contractor.

 

She screamed for him.

 

xxx

 

AN: Well another chapter! I've almost caught up to all the written pages I have.

 

Fic Plug: The Curing Kiss by Snoosh (http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/2668743/1/The(underscore)Curing(unders core)Kiss) - It's a nice read. ^_~ Unique for the most part and it is fairly good. Check it out.

 

Lovies!