Train Heartnet stared at the small orange container on top of the black table.
"Commander what is this?" He asked Sephiria Arc, number I and commander of the Chronos numbers.
"..They're pills …to help you with your stress."
"I'm not stressed." Train grabbed the bottle and studied it. "These are prescription drugs? Are these …Antidepressants?" You could hear an undertone of anger under his normally cold and collective voice. "Commander I'm perfectly fine."
"We've noticed some… problematic behaviors of yours. And we think you would be more comfortable if… it was under control."
"Commander I'm fine!" This time you could easily hear the anger in his voice. "Give me one reason why you think I could possibly be depressed."
"You isolate yourself; we've heard reports of you training yourself nearly to the point of exhaustion and torture, you have abnormal sleeping patterns, not to mention your extremely pessimistic philosophy, you-" (a/n these are actual signs and symptoms of depression, I figure training yourself to the point of torture is similar to self-mutilation)
"I'm not depressed! I just don't like people, I train myself to keep myself on top of my game, suffering makes you stronger, in order to do that I need to simulate pain and suffering that's help me get this strong in order to get stronger, of course I don't sleep normally cause I work at night,-"
"Enough. Heartnet, I'm ordering you to take these."
"And if I refuse?"
"Disobeying a direct order? are you willing to face the consequences? Prepare to be reprimanded?"
"I'm not taking them."
"…Heartnet …You're not leaving here without them." Train glanced at the tightly sealed door with two heavily armed erasers standing in front of it.
"What are you gonna do? Force them down my throat?"
"We will if we have to." Sephiria stared him down calmly. "You will take them. We cannot risk having a Number committing suicide on us."
"I'm wouldn't-"
"Enough! You will take those with you and you will take them at home."
Train begrudgingly shoved the container into his pocket. "Happy now." He snapped sarcastically.
"You're dismissed."
Train headed home. He had a rough day, he already completed a full assignment and having to be lectured by the commander and told he needed medication was just what was needed to make a rough day even worse. Of course what he found when he got home didn't help either.
The moment he opened the door to his apartment, he found he wasn't alone.
"Hello Train" said Creed Diskenth, who was sitting on his couch in the dark apartment.
"…Creed, long time no see. What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" Train commented dryly.
"You really ought to find a better place to hide your spare key." Train's former partner, remarked happily swinging Train's spare keys in a circle on his finger. "The roof is just too predictable."
"Why are you here?" Train growled rudely.
"Can't I just stop by to visit a friend?"
"I'm not your friend."
"Don't say that. You know it's not true. I'm sure you missed me just much as I missed you."
"… Don't even start that crap with me, tell me now! Why are you here?"
"I told you I just dropped by to visit."
"This isn't your district; you're not allowed to be here. Go back before you get yourself caught."
"Why should I?"
"You do realize there is no consequence for a Number to kill an eraser. I suggest you get out of my sight before I decide to use my new 'privileges'."
"My, you're aggressive today. Had a bad one? C'mon tell me what's wrong."
"... You would not believe what I've been ordered to do."
"What?"
Train took the prescription bottle out of his pocket and slammed it down onto the countertop.
"Are those-?"
"Yep"
"Let me guess, they're antidepressants."
"..."
Creed laughed. "Well are you going to take them?"
"No way in hell. I don't trust them."
"So then what are you going to do with them?"
"Throw them away, flush them down the toilet." Train shrugged.
"You can't do that. They'll catch you for sure."
"Are you telling me I have to take them?"
"Of course not, you just need to get rid of them strategically. So they won't notice."
"How?"
"What you do is you throw away the way amount you're supposed to take each day, at the exact same time every day, so you can get in the habit."
"And what do I do when I'm done with the bottle?"
"Refill it and keep going. They'll never catch you."
"Are you telling me to waste money on a prescription I'm not going use?"
"You're a Number now; don't you have extra money to burn?"
"That's actually a good idea."
"See, everything will work out. Trust me."
"...they gave you something too, didn't they?"
"More than one something."
"You don't take them do you?"
"Would you trust pills they gave you?"
"No"
"See my point."
"Get out."
"Alright, I'll leave you. It was nice to see you again." Creed got up and began heading towards the door. "
"Wait." Train held out his hand. "Creed. Keys."
"Oh~, I forgot." Creed tossed Train back his keys.
"How did you find out where I lived?"
"It's a secret." Creed said closing the door behind him.
"Hey!" Train ran over and opened the door to chase after him but Creed was already gone without a trace.
Explains so much.
I began to worry when I noticed in my fanfics "partners" that Train sounded like he was clinically depressed. And after talking to my friend who watches the anime it turns out I'm doing good because he sounds clinically depressed in that too.
It was an old joke I heard on the dA that Creed should be on some type of medication. And that's where this bad idea was born.
Creed definitely start taking something in the end of the anime.
Maybe Train start taking antidepressants when he became a sweeper. That would explain why his personality did a 180.