Blessed Crusade (CC/DtbB RP)

[Meryck]

There was a shuffling as a dirty blonde peered in, green eyes blinking at Crysta. "Is it safe to come in now, Mom?" The head-detective chuckled.

"Yes, your sister's finally gotten some food in her. No more being a monster."

"Y'know I can hear you, Crysta."

"I know, dear. Eat your breakfast."

"Meh." Reg obliged, ignoring the soft chuckle from Ran as she did so. Corey came all the way into the kitchen, stopped, and blinked in surprise at Chrono.

"Um...hello."

[Elf]

Chrono twisted in his seat, spotting the blond boy as he shuffled into the kitchen. His and Reg's hair colors were drastically different, but their common blood was obvious in the topography of their faces. So this is Reg's brother...

He offered the 12-year-old a warm smile, glad that his lengthy hair currently covered up the missing eye. He knew he already looked freaky enough; there was no need to scare the poor boy further. "Hello," he greeted pleasantly. "You must be Corey. I'm Chrono. Your mom--and Ran--said I could stay here for a while..." He glanced over at Crysta, a little unsure how to proceed.

[Meryck]

Corey blinked, then looked at his adopted mother. "Ah--"

"Yes, hun, I'm aware he's a demon. Get a plate and grab some breakfast."

"...'Kay." He promptly shuffled over to the counter to grab a plate and the cup of milk sitting out for him. Both Ran and Reg chuckled this time, continuing to eat.

[Elf]

Chrono blinked. Just like that? Wow, he thought, this family really has seen their share of strange stuff...most people might have had a heart attack at finding a demon at their breakfast table. Then again... He glanced at Ran over his coffee mug. A demon at the breakfast table was something Corey saw every day.

Chrono suddenly found himself wondering how many more days he'd wake up like this--at the Valentine breakfast table. His brow furrowed a bit. He'd been audacious--was still being audacious, in a way--but he had his reasons, ones which the mistress of the house had accepted. But how long would he stay here, really? How long did he have a right to stay...?

Ever since Rosette, Chrono had drifted hither and thither as if with the wind, more content to keep moving, to do good where it was needed, than to stay in any one place. The only place he ever went back to with consistency was Old Chicago, once a year, in March...But now, the future suddenly felt more uncertain than ever, a twisting maze that spiraled off into an unknown world of color.

Chrono sipped his coffee, expression closed.

"So," he ventured, "what's the plan for today?" His eye lingered on Ran.

[Meryck]

"Hopefully, nothing", Reg responded as she finished her breakfast, back to her usual self.

"Don't get your hopes up, dear. According to reports, a couple of Bound demons have been running around downtown."

"...Aw, hell."

Corey sighed as he sat down next to his adopted mother and brought a couple pieces of french toast to his plate. "You act like this isn't a common thing, sis."

"No, I act like I wish it wasn't a common thing." Ran wisely stayed silent.

[Elf]

Chrono's eye narrowed, scowling into the black, reflective surface of his coffee. Demons Bound in a Contract by Summoners, was it? Looks like I got into town just in time.

"How many?" Chrono's voice was low and businesslike, though he didn't look up from his coffee. "Do you know what classes or types they are?"

[Meryck]

"So far, three, and, well..." Crysta sighed. "They seemed to be of the Dragon Court attack-demon variety. Mindless, huge, and mean. Only reason it's only been sightings is probably BECAUSE of the Contract."

Upon the words "Dragon Court", Ran froze, looking up sharply in alarm. Reg looked over at him, worriedly. Corey flinched.

It was a family agreement; The Dragon Court was made of monsters, save for the exile who had just finished his fruit salad.

[Elf]

Chrono's gaze flitted back and forth between each member of the family, observing the effects of what the words "Dragon Court" did to each of them. It was clear what their opinion on the rest of Ran's clan was. That meant they should have no problem with Chrono's typical policy when running into Contracted demons: kill the demon. The Summoners may have been idiots who didn't know what they were getting themselves into, but they were still human. Allowing their demons to run amok would kill them, more quickly than they could have bargained for, most likely.

"Right." Chrono set the coffee on the table; he still had a good fourth of it left. He pushed back his chair and stood, grabbing the blanket to keep it from slipping off of his shoulders. "Thank you for breakfast and coffee. I'll be down in about ten minutes." He turned and exited the kitchen, his soft steps trailing up the stairway.

[Meryck]

Ran looked over at Reg. They both nodded, stood, and went to prepare as well. Crysta blinked, sighed, and took a sip of her coffee, resolutely. Corey groaned.


"I see we're the only ones in the house who realize just storming into everything is a bad idea."

"That's nothing new, dear. Finish your breakfast."

[Elf]

Later that morning...

Chrono had lied; it had only taken him five minutes to get ready to go. After all, he only had one set of clothes, and like most men could shower in all of thirty seconds--the rest of the time was taken up with detangling his mass of hair.

As he walked side-by-side with Ran and Reg, a light morning breeze picked up a few of the purple strands, playing with them merrily before passing on its way. Chrono looked a sight better than a Chia Pet now with his hair straight, held in place by the headband that also hid his empty eye. The other eye roved back and forth around the city streets, betraying his vigilance under a mask of calm.

He'd had the idea of changing to his full demon form, of letting his wings loose and scanning from above for any signs of the Bound demons. But he didn't want to be the instigator of this fight, for one thing. For another, his black silhouette against the sky could not only send people into a panic, but could land him in the newspapers...again. And for a third, leaving Ran and Reg's side was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Besides, if or when it came to a fight, it only took an instant to shift; there was no need to go parading around Downtown with his wings and horns in full view of the public.

He glanced down at the two children patrolling the streets with him. Part of him was curious as to their fighting techniques; how did they manage to hold their own? Another part of him reminded that part of him that even though his horns had been attached to his head for seventy years, there was a period of fifty-four years before that when he'd been hornless and had fought just fine. And another part of him reminded that part of him that he was here to prevent these kids from having to fight at all. They were only children, after all, and no matter what the circumstances, children shouldn't have to fight.

Chrono froze. His good hand fell upon Reg's shoulder, holding her back; his half an arm stuck out in front of Ran, stopping him. "Listen." The demon's pixie-like ears twitched, tuning themselves to the sound of something big, something very big, sniffing and snuffling within the shadows of an alleyway to their left.

[Meryck]

The detective duo halted and listened as told. Reg, being human, could only make out an odd snuffle, but it was enough to make her put her hand on her gun, ready.

Ran began breathing through his mouth. To someone unaware of what he was, this wasn't terribly significant. However, those who did know were aware he was technically of the Reptilian variety of demons, and Reptilian demons could "taste" the air much like a mundane snake. Ran had enough dignity and sense not to do the whole "tongue flicker" thing, however. Thankfully, breathing through the mouth worked just as well.

The air "tasted" like Dragon Demon, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just him. Reg and Ran glanced over at each other. Ran nodded, grimly. Reg's lips pressed into a thin, apprehensive line.

It's too damn early for this crap.

[Elf]

Chrono saw the look flash between the two, the affirmative nod from Ran. His face set into a grim mask. He took the first step forward, putting a yard or so's distance between him and the children before stepping into the alleyway.

The moment he did, he reflected that this would not be a good place for a fight. The alley's entrance was taken up by two dumpsters, one pushed up against each wall, with only enough space between them for one person to walk at a time. If they got attacked by the demon at the end of the alleyway, they'd be boxed in.

The street outside the alley would be a better place for a fight; it was a minor sidestreet, and fairly deserted this morning, with only one or two cars of office workers parked on either side. However, the street itself was short, and on either end of it traffic whizzed by unabated.

Chrono could feel the demon's aura much more clearly now, and he was sure it was exactly as Crysta had said it'd be--big, mean, and stupid. The only thing going for Chrono was that it hadn't noticed him yet. He paused in the gap between the two dumpsters, very much not wanting to let the two kids get boxed in here.

[Meryck]

The girl noted that the elder demon had already forgotten he was handling two people who had dealt with things like this monthly, at the least periodic.

Reg, of course, had stepped in right after Chrono and, of course, was forced to stop when he did. Ran, however, used the fact that the dumpster lids were closed to his advantage, hopped up, and lightly slithered up to and past Chrono. He lightly leapt to the ground and shut his mouth, returning to breathing through his nose- the smell of alley was nasty, but the "taste" was far worse.

The snuffling ahead stopped. Ran would have given anything to have been the kind of demon who could see in heat at that point.

He slipped into the shadows ahead. There was a pause after he vanished into the darkness before a mindless whisper of the Guard Demon, so rumbling it might as well have been a mere feral growl, came.

"EXILE...."

An opposing, serpentine hiss erupted slightly before the sound of a wall being smashed- though by who it was uncertain. Reggie paled.

"Aw, hell."

[Elf]

Chrono let out a low hiss, barely audible except to Ran, who it was intended for. It was a 'don't go in there!' sort of hiss, but the Draconic demon paid the Time demon no heed.

And then that low, rumbling growl, the hiss laced with hatred, and the crash. Chrono would have facepalmed had he a hand to spare.

"Ran--!" Dumb kid! The air around Chrono flashed.

The air only seared with light for the briefest instant, and when it died, Chrono's form had changed. The headband vanished, revealing three crystalline red dots set in his forehead in the shape of an upside-down triangle. His ears tripled in length, tapering to long, fuzz-lined points, and his horns sprouted just above the ears. A black cape lay draped over his shoulders, leaving his chest bare, the back of it splitting into several long coattails right around his waist and hanging down to his legs. His black wings were folded down, looking part of the coattails themselves. A peculiar crackling noise sounded as the skin on his right arm's stump split into honeycomb patterns, and suddenly, a hand regrew from the stump. It didn't look quite right, though; the skin was discolored and grayish, with white and black veins, and hairline splits with that same honeycomb pattern, running through it.

The darkness was a problem. Sure he could sense the difference in the demons' auras well enough, but he knew a hothead like Reg would want to shoot, and he'd rather her not shoot at something she couldn't see. He threw his palm up, towards the fray. Vween! Demonic power emanated from his hand, lighting up the alleyway with a flash.

"Ran, get BACK!" The regrown hand began to shift again, long nails forming wicked claws. The nails of his other hand lengthened to match.

[Meryck]

If Reg hadn't seen things like that all the time, she would have been impressed. Maybe. The claws were cool, she'd give him that. She scrambled forward, cursing both the fact she was a human and slower than both the boys and the fact that she was going to have to hang back until she was in a good area to shoot.

(Considering she was sure the boys wouldn't want to be hit with the residual anti-demon debris. The fact that her bullets turned into scatter-shots on impact was both a helpful and unhelpful flaw in design.)

Ran and the Guard Demon had apparently mutually attacked each other. This could be seen by three simple facts:

1) Ran's right sleeve had been torn off, his entire right arm now cut up by fangs and bloody.

2) The hole in the wall was the size of the eyeless, wingless, hornless dragonoid demon.

And 3) Despite all this, the bigger demon was currently being stunned due to the fact Ran's heel was buried into the back of it's skull.

The young demon looked up as Chrono snarled, eyes glowing a slight yellow from the residue of the light flash. He decided that he probably wasn't going to want to be anywhere near the elder demon's attack, took his heel out of the demon's skull, and bounced back, slightly, letting Chrono have plenty of room. The Guard Demon had just enough time to start picking itself up before Chrono got there.