A simple moment in time that took place between Rosette and Chrno. Before Aion appeared to brainwash Joshua.

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Rosette looked up at the bright sky, tugging on one of her messy braids in a thoughtless gesture. She was hoping that her brother was all right, back at the orphanage sick. The image of her sick brother brought a frown to her face as she continued to walk aimlessly through the trees.

He had wanted so badly to come to see Chrno today, but was disappointed that his illness kept him back. So he had handed her a book of his, saying that Chrno would be interested in it.

She looked down at the picnic basket she held, the edges of the worn out leather peeking out from under the checkered blanket that was placed over it.

It was about astrology. She wasn’t very interested in it, but she did know some things about it; about how you sign you were born under molds your personality…yeah, that was about it.

But she was sure that Chrno would teach her about it, once she gave the book to him. He was so interesting when telling them stories, so reading from a book would almost be the same. When he spoke, the words seemed to form, giving her a clear picture of what he was saying. It was so easy to understand him.

Rosette blushed a bit, coughing slightly to rid herself of her thoughts. True, he was an attractive demon, but it was just that: he was a demon. Even if he were human he still would be out of her reach. He was to perfect to be on this planet.

“Rosette, it’s nice to see you again. I see Joshua isn’t with you. He’s fallen ill again?” Rosette squeaked, looking up quickly to see that she had arrived at her destination without her knowing.

Chrno looked at her curiously, head tilted to the side with the waves of purple silk falling over his shoulder. His red eyes studied her, silently asking if she was all right.

She blushed in embarrassment, covering it up by laughing uneasily, her hand scratching the back of her head.

“Oh, hi Chrno. I was just thinking about a few things.” You were the main thing though. “And yeah, Joshua is sick today. He over worked himself yesterday. So he made me being this book for you. He thought you would like it.” She looked over at the basket, flipping over the blanket to pull out the worn book.

“Here.” He took it silently, gazing over the leather cover. His hand ran over the cover, tracing over the golden words printed on top. “So, you want to eat first?” He looked up, his eyes not focusing on her. Then he nodded, his eyes coming back into focus once again.

“That would be nice. What have you brought today? Did you cook anything?” At his grimace she glared, slamming down the basket on the spread out blanket.

“No, unfortunately I didn’t. Maybe I should’ve and shoved it down your throat. That would of taught ya.” She took out the wrapped up sandwiches, placing them down in the middle, next the bread and meat, cheese, and then the drinks.

“There. That was all I could sneak out of the kitchen before anyone caught me.” She smiled proudly, placing her hands on her hips as she adjusted her legs under her. “So eat on up!”

He nodded, reaching out to grab to gently grab a slice of bread. He took a small nip out of it, eyes closed as he chewed thoughtfully. And she took this time to look him over.

His lashes were long, and fell against his pale cheeks. The purple strands over hair fell into his face, making her want to jump up and attack the offending pieces of hair with a knife.

“Rosette? Is something wrong?” She blinked, and the image of the closed eyed Chrno vanished, leaving her with him staring at her.

“Oh, me? Ah, you see, I was looking at your hair!” He tilted his head slightly, and she nodded enthusiastically. “You see, it’s always in your face, and I was wondering if you would let me tie it up for you.”

He reached up, running his hand down the back of his head. “In my way? Well, sometimes it is. But you may if you want.” Rosette beamed, glad that her lie had worked. She reached up, pulling out one of the ribbons of her two braids. She stood up, walking around Chrno to kneel behind him.

She took the long hair in her hands, careful not to pull any small, delicate hairs. Her hands began to twist the hair in the familiar pattern, her hands doing it to her hair everyday.

She hummed quietly as she worked, closing her eyes as her hands continued to move. It was like a dream. She felt herself in this same position years from now, doing the same thing. Only, it would be her husband who she would be behind right now.

She snapped out of her dream, her hands coming to the end of his hair. She blushed angrily, quickly tying up the end before Chrno noticed something.

“I’m done.” She stood up, quickly walking over to her pervious spot, retying her hair into one complete braid instead of two.

“Thank you. I feel better now.” He smiled and laid down on his side, his arm propping up his head as he relaxed. He looked peaceful, she noticed, much different from the time she first met him. He always had a frown on his face before, never opening up.

But then, one day, he smiled. Yes, it was a miracle for her. It was so breathtaking, to see the corners of his mouth stretch out slowly, into a beautiful smile. And it was all over a fight between her and Joshua.

“Hey, are you all right? You’re spacing out on me. Are you feeling well?” Rosette snapped her head up, seeing Chrno had left his spot on the blanket to lean over her. If it wasn’t for his ears, he could’ve been mistaken for a human.

“Oh, me? Yeah, I was just thinking about something. Hey, do you wanna read the book yet?” She watched as his face fell slightly as he gazed to his left to look at the forgotten book.

“Now? Well…” He hesitated in answering.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to read it?” He looked up at her, seeing her expression fall. His eyes widened as she raised his hands.

“No! It’s not that! It’s just….” Again he hesitated. “I can’t…I can’t read.” She blinked, her depression lifting, only to be replaced by confusion, and then understanding.

“Oh, I see…” She looked down at her hands, wondering on what to do. She could always read to him, true, but she had been waiting for him to read, to hear his voice. Then, the light bulb in her head almost popped from her sudden idea.

“Chrno….” She purred out his name, her eyes lowering as she grinned slightly. He raised an eyebrow, dread filling his heart. Whenever that expression came onto her face, the world was at danger.

“Yes?” Her grin widened out to a full out smile, which was in no way charming.

“I can’t teach you how to read! C’mon, it’ll be easy!” He blinked, expecting something more…horrible to come about.

“Teach? Do you know even how to read?” Her smile fell and she reached out to grab a loose stone by her. She raised it above her head, preparing to strike him.

“No! I mean, you can teach me! It wouldn’t be so bad!” He placed his arms over his head, expecting her to hit him. But his words seemed to have made her happy, and she tossed the stone behind her, a smug grin on her face.

“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s get to teaching.” So for the next four hours, she taught him the alphabet, both laughing at his sad attempt to correctly say it. She wrote down letters, words, whole sentences, pointing out what each pronunciation of it.

“Rosette, it’s late. Why don’t you get going back? I-” He paused, the sudden weight on his shoulder making him pause and look down. Rosette had her head on his shoulder, the chalkboard in her hands that her scrawny writing on it. A smile flitted across her face as she breathed out, “Chrno.”

His surprise melted away, and a gentle smile replaced it as he moved slightly, leaning on the tree trunk behind him, Rosette’s head gently placed on his chest. He quietly took off his brown rough cloak, wrapping it around her small body. Then, placing one around her shoulders, he placed the other behind his head while he gazed up at the stars.

“Sleep young one. We can continue tomorrow, and maybe Joshua would join us.”

And no one could ever predict that the tomorrow he spoke of would never come to be.

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Yeah… My first Chrno Crusade fanfic. I also entered this in a contest, so I hope it’s good. Thank you for reading, so please R&R!