CHRNO CRUSADE-A DEMON'S SPIRIT
A gentle breeze swept over the field. It was unnoticed by the only inhabitance of the field, a young boy with long purple hair. His eyes were closed and his face was peaceful in sleep. The night sky towered above him, stars shining brightly, guiding those who were lost in the dark. A half moon shed its soft light on the boy, but brought him no warmth. In his sleep, the boy stirred, turning over. his friend, Rosette, had told him that long ago before he had left her, afraid his own powers and what he might do with them. He had once killed her by making a contract with her. It had not been purposeful, but the boy still blamed himself. Two years had past since the chaos had ended and he had not seen her smiling face once in that time. Only in his memories and dreams, which he clung to and guarded so heavily, instead of forgetting like he once had. he asked the young Rosette in his dream.

She looked over at him, the soft smile on her face vanishing for a moment. Rosette seemed to be in deep thought as she looked down at her hands, wondering, no, asking herself how to answer him. After a few long seconds, she opened her mouth and spoke, "…Well, yes…I uh…hmm…What do you mean by that? Just who are you talking about?" she suddenly snapped, becoming herself once more.

He turned away from her, and turned to look up at the stars, his red eyes glowing and reflecting the silver heavens above. A calm had settled over his soul, allowing no emotion past his consciousness. He was aware of everything like usual once more, and not lost in terrible memories. "Me,"

1. Haunted by Memories

Red eyes fluttered open slowly as another wind brushed by. His usually braided hair was down and trailing out around him and hugging close to his slim figure as he sat up. "Rosette…" he whispered the name softly, a hint of everlasting pain in his voice. Chrno dug his fingers into the soft grass around him, savoring the image of the young woman in his mind. He knew she was older now and so he had no way of knowing if she had changed, or even if she was with the Order anymore. He had avoided the Order for so long, not wanting to see Rosette.

Chrno knew that if he did, he would not be able to leave her a second time. The first time, it had hurt so much and so bad that he feared he would go back to New York and find her. After all, she did not know what had become of him. He had left without telling her. He had left saying good-bye to a sleeping figure and none of the Order had seen him since. He now lived in a place where towns are spread out and distant. Everybody knows everybody and recognizes strangers, but does nothing about them as long as they aren't a threat to their society. He was now living with a low profile in Tennessee. Somewhere he believed Rosette would never think to look for him, somewhere he could hide from the truth that he had done her so much harm as to kill her. Not again, no, he would never do something so terrifyingly horrible like that again.

Chrno finally stood, the moonlight casting its guiding light on his body. But Chrno turned his back from the moon and began to trek towards the nearest town, deciding he would eat some late dinner and then go out and practice his fighting skills for a while. Even though he had fled from his past and memories, just as he had done fifty-six years ago, he continued to fight demons and monsters, not wanting to draw attention to the Order. Though somewhere in the back of Chrno's mind, he knew they would someday come here to the peaceful side of Tennessee that was covered in mountains all the way up to North Carolina.

Word would get out that someone was killing all the demons and monsters there, and they would find him. Sighing, he quickened his pace to the small town, wanting to rid himself of the thoughts that had haunted him for the past two years. He had been lucky, escaping the prying eyes that were all over the country in the most unexpected places. But that luck would run out. Even though Chrno had obtained both of his horns back, he chose to remain looking human, but no longer did he look sixteen. He looked older. Like he had with Magdalena, he looked just the same except with longer hair. His demon form, however, never changed and so it remained the same-he remained the same.

Before long, he came upon the town. Streetlights were on and a few house lights here and there. Only one car was driving in the street. Chrno watched in silence as it turned into the nearest diner and parked. A young woman around her twenties got out of the car, followed by a younger woman with beautiful silver-white hair, who nearly the same age as the other woman. He disregarded them as new comers considering he had never seen them before. Chrno was curious, but he wouldn't allow himself to become close to anyone anymore. Anyone he ever made friends with got hurt. He wouldn't let that happen now.

Walking into the diner, Chrno looked around and spotted a seat. He headed towards it, taking long, quick strides. When he was in front of it, he sat down in one of the seats and waited for the waitress to come by. Sitting there, waiting he glanced at the few people in the all-night diner. The two women that had just come in were a few tables down. The silver haired girl was facing him, while the other had her back to him. He noticed, now in the light that the older woman had blonde hair that shone under the dull orange-yellow light that the lights on the ceiling gave off.

Now as he looked closer at the two, they looked strangely familiar…Suddenly something Chrno's mind clicked. He knew who those two were. It was Azmaria! And the other woman had to be…no…Chrno's red eyes widened in horror. How had they found him? How had Rosette found him? Shifting in his seat, he looked away from them, determined not to show them he was there. Maybe it was just an odd coincidence. Or maybe not…Giving the two women another quick look, he noticed they were speaking. With his better sense of hearing, he was able to pick up on their conversation.

-

Rosette sat down in the chair, sighing with exhaustion. Looking over at Azmaria, she put her head down on the table and spoke in a bored and tired tone, "So…we're here and now what're we supposed to do?" she yawned widely, glancing around. There weren't many people in the diner, just a few. Her eyes landed on one lone figure nearby. He was covered by shadows and so it was hard to see his face. But then, she realized she wouldn't be able to anyway. He was turned away from her. Rosette swallowed roughly, thinking that he looked so familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.

"Well, for one, we're getting something to eat," Azmaria replied with a smile. "And then we'll find a place to stay for the night here. Next we're supposed to contact Remington and tell him we're here-we were supposed to do that first…but seeing as you had to spend most of our money, we'll use it to buy food. Then we'll find some money-eh?" Azmaria peered closer at her friend and noticed that Rosette was fast asleep. "Rosette?"

"Can I get you anything?" a kind voice asked from beside Azmaria. The young woman turned in her seat to see the waitress looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Yes please, we'd just like a hotdog and maybe Rosette needs a coffee-as you can see-she fell asleep on me," Azmaria laughed nervously, feeling uncomfortable in such a new place that was away from everyone else. The waitress nodded and replied, glancing at Rosette, "Alright, I'll get your order in just as soon as I get the next few people's orders filled out,"

The waitress walked over to another table. Azmaria watched her go with a sigh, but she stopped quickly, her eyes widening. For a second there, she could have sworn she had seen…no, her eyes had to be playing tricks on her. He was gone, and more than likely dead…she hadn't seen him in two years-and nor had anyone else, not even Rosette, who was still heartbroken over the matter of his leaving her without even a good-bye.

Looking away from the waitress, Azmaria looked at Rosette. She raised her hand off the table and rested in on her sleeping companion's shoulder. She shook Rosette, saying, "Rosette, wake up-I just ordered for us,"

"Chrno…" Rosette mumbled in her seat, burying her head further into her arms. Azmaria sighed once more. Even now, after two whole years, Rosette had not let him go, but even as Rosette suffered everyday, Azmaria knew that the exorcist believed that Chrno was gone forever, dead. But Azmaria also knew how hard it was to let go of someone you cared deeply for. Often she had see Rosette with her brother, obviously trying to forget Chrno, knowing it would only hurt her worse with every thought.

-

When Chrno had ordered his meal, he retreated to the shadows once more, determined not to let anyone see him. So, he knew now that Rosette and Azmaria had been called in for duty, but for what, he didn't know, and he knew they still worked for the Order. Though Chrno had never expected Rosette to leave the Order anyway. Looking out the window, he saw the dark shadows the reined over night cast upon the quiet town. As Chrno looked outside, he noted the sudden lack of stars and the cover of the moon. It was going to rain soon, that much was clear.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a flash of lightning flared across the sky. Through the brilliant blue-white light and the light sprinkle that had followed, Chrno noticed a lone figure standing in front of the diner, across the street. The figure had a clock on and was hidden in the shadows. 'Odd…' he thought, his red eyes narrowing. He had never seen this person before. 'Could he be some demon in disguise? Could this be why Rosette and Azmaria had been called out to a place like this? Or is that…' Chrno shook the thought from his head. No, it couldn't be, he hadn't seen one in such a long time…but it there was always possibilities that the clocked figure outside was a Pursuer disguised as a human, or hiding its demonly features from everyone.

Looking away from the window, Chrno knew that he would not be able to stay out of town on a night like this. It wasn't so much that storms bothered him, it was just that if he got soaked in cold rainwater and stayed out all night, he was likely to get sick. Sighing at the predicament, he wondered if he was fated to meet Rosette again.

Shrugging the thought off, he pulled the dark cloak he now wore closer to himself. Chrno reached up to brush away purple strands of hair from his eyes just as the waitress returned with his order. She sat the plate before him and nodded in greeting. He gave her a small smile back and handed her the money that he knew he owed, but said nothing as she carried the other plates to another table.

Just as Chrno picked up the fork that had been left on his plate so that he could eat the spaghetti he had ordered, he noticed that the waitress had gone to Rosette's and Azmaria's table. Azmaria had a frantic look on her face. He heard her muttering, "Where's our money?" to herself. "Rosette! Get up! I think you have our money!"

"Huh? Wha's the matter?" Rosette mumbled, her voice drowsy with sleep. She lifted her head up to see the waitress looking at them expectantly. She had set the plates down on the table, along with the coffee, but was holding out her hand. Chrno had been going to this diner for so long, that he had learned the night waitress rarely spoke to anyone except newcomers. When he had first come in, that was the first and the last time she had spoken to him, obviously requiring he knew what he wanted before she came.

"I can't find our money!" Azmaria snapped a little sharply as she dug through her pockets. This seemed to wake Rosette up. "You lost our money?" she growled, clearly not in a good mood. "Now how are we supposed to contact Minister Remington? Hm?"

Chrno rolled his eyes, holding back a laugh at Rosette's tone. By the looks of it, she would fall over asleep any second now. Just as he was about to return to eating and forget about them, he found himself speaking aloud, "I'll pay for it," As the words escaped his lips, Chrno immediately regretted it because all three of them turned to look at him. He turned away.

"Hm, you two turned out lucky that someone like him would pay for it. Surprised he even spoke to someone two broke and lowly women like yourself," the waitress glowered. She was clearly not happy.

Chrno felt his blood begin to boil at the insults directed towards his friends. For a moment, he thought about saying something back, but instead, he took out the money from his pocket and counted up ten dollars. He sat it on the edge of the table, never looking up at them. "Keep your damn change and shut your mouth, that is not how your treat people with money or no money at all," he hissed through clenched teeth. As he thought about it, Chrno reflected that the waitress was lucky Rosette was half sleep; otherwise she might bite her head off.

"Thanks…um…who are you?" Rosette asked through half closed eyes. She got up to walk over to him, but sat back down instead, deciding that she'd rather just sit there and go to sleep. Chrno smiled sadly at her innocent question. So she didn't recognize him, but maybe come morning, she would remember him and realize who he was.

"Just someone who lives around here," he replied slowly, picking up his fork once more. He overlooked the waitress as she snatched the ten-dollar bill off the table and stalked off. All the while Chrno could feel a pair of eyes on him, but he knew very well they weren't Rosette's-no, she was too busy eating her hotdog and gulping down her coffee to pay attention to him, satisfied with the knowledge that he was a 'stranger'. No, those pair of eyes did not belong to Azmaria either. She was looking at Rosette with a surprised look on her face.

The eyes that looked at him so intently were the ones that belonged to the cloaked figure who stood out in the rain, watching, waiting, and not moving. Within a few seconds, Chrno came to understand that the person outside was indeed someone who was not looking to do good in the world. He wasn't sure what it was, or if it was even human, but he sensed the evil, but not the demonic aura he usually sensed around demons, so this person outside was not a demon. So what was it?

Finishing his meal rather quickly, Chrno stood up, careful to keep his face hidden from Azmaria and Rosette, hurried out of the diner. But just as he turned to open the door, he glanced back at Rosette. She had finished everything on her plate and was looking around with curiosity. His hard red eyes softened for a few seconds, and then, he turned and left, leaving the person that had been watching him to stand in the steadily increasing rain. Chrno headed towards a hotel, wanting to reach one fast.

Okay, here's an explination for my lack of knowledge: I've only read Volumes 1-5 and parts of 6. Val is helping me out cause she's read all of them-so, sorry if I have anything incorrect, if I do, I'll try and make up for it in Chapter 2.