AmyNChan: *pops back into this fandom* Hey, all!
*new Black Cat fans*: WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU ACT LIKE WE SHOULD KNOW YOU?!
AmyNChan: ehe… I guess I have changed my name since I was last here… ^^; This is a rewrite of one of my older stories, What If, that I had put up for adoption. If I'm being 100% heartbreakingly honest, the ending that was placed on my story absolutely crushed me. I couldn't stop crying over it for a very long while.
*everyone else*: SO WHAT?!
AmyNChan: So, all these years later, I'm gonna rewrite it myself. And this time, I'm gonna finish it. If anyone wants to come along for the ride, feel free. I'm gonna leave the last version up, but this will be new, improved, and—most importantly—finished. XD
Train: 14AmyChan/AmyNChan doesn't own Black Cat. XD
At twenty one years of age, he had been known as a killing machine. A living creature who was nothing more than the murdering hand of the council of Elders. He had been known to strike with deadly precision, giving no room for mercy with his fatal blows. He had been a ruthless figure draped in black, the only pinpricks of light piercing his shroud of darkness being his brilliant orange eyes. Those eyes that gave him his name.
But the Black Cat was changing. Ever since he had tasted something that he quickly developed a rapid addiction to.
Freedom.
It was this freedom that had led him to his current situation. Stuck in the jailhouse of the 'masters' he had once so mindlessly obeyed. This dismal grey cell had been his home for the past nine days and would continue to be so for the next eighteen hours.
At least it has a bed... he thought, continuing to make himself comfortable on the said furniture piece. It was the only thing he could really do in this concrete confinement other than work with Hades for the umpteenth time.
A tray was slipped inside. The clattering of noise did nothing for his stomach and the food upon it did even less. It was gross and the only thing this man wished to do was to leave this world of endless greed and murder behind. To cut the collar Chronos had cast upon him completely.
He wished to leave as Train Heartnet, a man free from any bindings he could have incurred in this hellhole. He wanted to cut all ties save one. The entire reason he now longed for freedom was something he simply would not part with.
The man smiled softly as he thought about that woman, his 'food' steadily growing all the colder.
The click of her shoes was the first thing he heard.
"Heartnet."
That was the second. Train turned to see the captain of the Chronos numbers standing there in all her composed and uniformed glory. To her side flanked Belze, the ever-faithful number two.
"Gee, I didn't realize you missed me so much," Train said, a grin coming out to play despite his surprise. "You would have seen me go in about eight hours."
"You have been permitted to leave confinement early," Sephiria informed. Belze made a noise in the back of his throat that caught Train's attention. Before he could contemplate on it further, the captain once again spoke. "While you are permitted to leave, Hades must remain here. Your actions will be limited severely."
Sephiria's hand waited patiently.
I've had Hades ever since I was initiated into the Numbers. No one will ever know this gun as well as I do. If I turn this over now I will never go back, Train thought, his finger tracing the red tassel on the end of his most trustworthy weapon. The metal shone its natural black hue, even in this dark and confined space. He smiled with a somewhat bittersweet heart as he passed the gun along. But that's the point.
"Stay out of trouble," Belze warned as soon as he and Sepheria led him out of Chronos's catacomb prison. Not that the young man needed it; he knew the entire floor plan by heart.
"I can't promise that," Train said as he left the building for the last time, welcoming the sun's warm rays. A sharp contrast to the sharp chill that always draped itself over Chronos.
"He's changed, hasn't he?" Belze asked as the brown-haried man walked away from them, turning his back on the only lifestyle he had ever known. Sephiria did not respond to the question verbally. Instead, she tucked Heartnet's weapon into her jacket and turned to do her next assignment. Belze followed her lead without question.
Inbox full
Train could only look at the message on his tiny little flip-phone. And blink. Twice. Three times. And gulp. And wonder just how badly he was screwed.
Saya Minatsuki, the woman who had introduced him to concepts such as freedom and fun, was the only person who had this number. The phone was new and Chronos could have no viable of its existence. And given that nobody else knew of his existence, much less his phone...
The device beeped at him, demanding to be listened to. He decided to hear the latest message in order to see what he was up against exactly.
"Train, if you don't answer this phone right now, I swear I'm going to—"
If the tone of voice did not scare him, the way the phone seemed to have cut off in just the right place certainly did. That was never a good sign. He checked a message before that.
"Train! Pick up your phone! A text, something! When you get back we're gonna have a conversation about letting your friends know when you decide to go and skip town!"
He pressed a few buttons on his phone to see when these delightful messages were sent. Three days ago.
How long has she been trying to get through? He only wondered a moment before his silent question was answered by a familiar ring. He could let it go to an inbox that was already full and give her time to cool off or he could answer it now and get the brunt of it over with on his way home.
He hit the button to answer the phone. It was better to get it over with now. Besides, if she had not calmed down by now, there was no way a few hours would do anything to lighten the load of anger.
"Hey Saya," he greeted casually.
"Train! Where have you been?" Saya asked from the other side of the connection. "I've been trying to reach you for days!"
"I got into a bit of trouble."
"Trouble? With who? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'll tell you what happened when I get back."
"Mou… you better hurry, Train! I have snacks!"
The line then went dead in Train's ear. He blinked before slipping it back into his pocket. And she harped on him for bad manners.
"Diskenth," the second Number said, calling the assassin forward. Creed paid him little mind. He was preoccupied with one thing and one thing alone. Train was out of confinement far sooner than planned. The man with the silver hair grit his teeth. It was that witch's fault.
"Diskenth! A new assignment!" he barked once more. Creed turned a disgusted eye at the man. A new assignment indeed.
Perhaps now was a good time for an assassination. Or two. That damned witch would pay dearly.
Train knocked on Saya's door as he was accustomed to. The woman almost never wasted a second when it came to guests; even with as rarely as she received them. This appeared to be one of those instances where she could make the person wait for as long as she liked.
"Saya, if you're trying to make me wait as retribution, it won't work," Train said to the door, knowing she would be lying in wait for him. He waited impatiently and wondered briefly if the girl had gone out of town for another sweeping job or if she had perhaps gotten herself shot after all.
"If you got shot—"
"How much faith do you have in me, exactly?" a familiar voice chastised from the left. He turned to see the woman's head popping out of his own apartment. He rose an eyebrow, but he need not worried about her not explaining. She always seemed to have something to say. "It wasn't locked, so I thought I might do some house sitting for you. It's only fair. Don't worry, I didn't touch anything important."
There was nothing important in that apartment; she must have touched everything. He followed her inside.
"What are you really doing here?" he asked as the door clicked shut behind him. His kitchen was filled with grocery bags. Each one—he was sure—held at least three different types of snack foods. The woman grinned cheekily.
"House sitting," she answered. "And waiting for you to tell me why you decided to drop off the face of the planet for so long. And not even a phone call? Really? If I had half a mind I'd slap you right now for being so inconsiderate!"
"Are you telling me that you don't have half a mind?" he quipped. That one got him a slap on the head. It did not hurt, but the nineteen year old sweeper woman was fuming.
"That was just mean," she said. Train merely grinned as she continued to rage at him nonverbally. When she had calmed down a little bit, she continued with something slightly more sensible. "When you were on the phone earlier, you said you got in a fight?"
Like that, he knew it was time to explain. His joking tone eased down a little bit and he recalled what exactly had gotten him into such trouble in the first place. Mercy. Freedom. Independent thought. And he knew it was worth it. Being his own man was worth the consequences he would probably continue to face.
"Chronos doesn't like how I've been dealing with my assignments lately so they decided to put me in a time-out and take my gun," he explained. Though his words were light, the message behind them was somber. Saya seemed to take it in stride. "The head of the numbers…I'm pretty sure she let me out early without anyone's permission, though I don't know why."
"I thought you said she always followed her instructions to the letter?" the woman recalled.
"She does. She's the Elders' favorite, I think," Train said. He frowned. "I think she wants me out of there. If there's anyone who picked up on what's been happening with me, it would be her. She'd know I wouldn't tangle with Chronos or spill their secrets, so she might not see a reason to kill me unless the Elders demanded it. She might be using her power to give me a choice. The Elders wouldn't suspect her to do that, so she'd be off scott-free."
"Why do you think that?" Saya asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to her if she actually is doing that for you, but if she follows her assignments down to the letter, what do you think will happen if you're forced to tangle?"
"She'll show me no mercy and do her best to kill me," Train said plainly. He took one of the snacks and opened it up. He took a bite as if this were a normal occurrence. "As to why I think that, let's just say that number II likes to choose when to be secretive and when not to be."
Saya seemed to mull the information over, carefully taking it into consideration. Train did not rush her, but chose to eat yet another snack. He wondered if she had planned to take them back to her place later had he not come back so soon. He did not see a toothbrush or overnight clothes, so it was entirely possible that she returned to her apartment for the night and only watched his during the day.
"Does this mean you're quitting your job?" she asked. Had it been anyone else, he would be certain they would be too ashamed of asking to even look him in the eye. That was one of the reasons he was glad this was Saya. She at least had the dignity to look at him squarely with those honest eyes of hers. "You said it wasn't that simple last time we spoke. But now that it is… what do you want to do?"
Train thought about it for a moment and smiled. He had a choice. A viable option to disappear from Chronos. He cast his gaze out of the window, knowing that if he left he would most likely never return.
"I'd like to stay long enough for the festival," he decided. A split-second decision. The first of many, he hoped. "After that, I think I'll leave this town. What about you? Chronos may know about you, and if they even suspect you of being behind what's going on—"
"Ah, that reminds me," she said, interrupting him. "I was going to tell you earlier, but you went ahead and got put in time-out. I was already planning on moving. Payment plan on the apartment is already set and I'm mostly packed."
"Packed already?" he asked, bewildered. "Where were you planning on going?"
She shrugged, a grin on her face. "Anywhere and nowhere. I didn't really think that far yet. I've already made my mark on this town, so it's time to pack up and move on. Try something new, ya'know?"
Train nodded, but his mind was moving swiftly. She had already planned on moving away. Perhaps he should cut all ties to this life of his, after all? No, he did not want that. He would at least like to spend more time with Saya before her move. She was truly his only friend, but she was also as free as he wished to be. Would keeping her close be one of those burdensome ties down she spent her time attempting to avoid? The same ones he was trying to sever now?
"But the thing is…" she continued. "If you're leaving too, we could travel together. It'd be fun!"
"When were you planning on skipping town?" he asked. Previous thoughts of leaving her behind after all vanished from his mind as she took a moment to think.
"Honestly, I was waiting for you to come back so I could talk to you, but I paid to stay as long as tomorrow afternoon," she said, a finger on her chin. "So if you wanna hit the festival, we could do that. A night of fun before we skip this place for good."
She smiled with a spark in her eye and a carefree air about her. She reached over to one of the grocery bags and took a round snack from it. He watched as she ate into it with no cares in the world and smiled.
He was one step closer to his freedom. And he was happy with that.
"Sounds good to me."
He walked calmly through the building as though he had every right in the world to be there. To an onlooker he was scanning doors, possibly looking for the entrance that would lead to a relative or friend. He quickly found it, however, and stepped politely forward. His hand raised to knock twice, then let it fall down to his side.
There was nothing behind the door. No sound, nor any sort of indicator that his prey was present.
With anger flashing through his eyes, he raised his foot to kick the wooden slab into pieces.
"What do you think that was?" Saya asked. She and Train had spent most of the afternoon deciding whether or not to go north, south, east, or west in their impromptu adventure. She was favorable towards the ocean while Train wanted to explore the forested area near their town a bit.
The splintering crack from just down the hall broke their contemplation.
"Dunno, I'll check it out," Train answered. Before she could protest or talk about coming along, he disappeared out the door.
Saya frowned. There was a good chance that Chronos had been sent after him after realizing him gone. The festival was due to start in a few minutes, right at the time he was supposed to have been released from his cell from what he had told her. It was quite possible that the leaders had sent one of their own to dispose of Train.
She checked to make sure her gun was still safely stashed in her yukata. It was. She walked towards the front door, preparing for a fight. What she did not expect was Train to come back and grab her wrist, pulling her in towards the only window in the apartment above his couch.
"Train—"
"Looks like we won't get a chance to hang around for the festival," he muttered. The window opened smoothly, unlike when she had tried many times over the past week and had found it unyielding. "Even worse, that was one of Chronos's assassins knocking at your door."
"Wait, so that huge crash was—"
"Your apartment," he finished for her.
"I can finish my own sentences," she protested as she followed him outside. He was kind enough to wait for her on the ground. She knew he could run much faster than she, but he was not running yet. He was trying to blend in with his surroundings. She did the same, walking at a casual pace as if they had not just come down about four stories via jumping out of a window. She looked around and saw a few people already coming out of the woodwork to watch the fireworks that would happen later that night. "Train, this assassin they've sent… will he care about the civilians?"
"Probably not. He's a nutjob. From what I heard from his ranting, he's acting on his own, too," he said. They made their way through the crowd at a pace that was at once hurried and somehow not alarming. Yet. They maneuvered around a small group of people as they walked down the street.
"Then we should find some place more isolated to fight. Somewhere where he can't take a hostage if things go bad," she said. "My first instinct would be to find an alleyway just in case I needed a few tricks."
"It's a festival, Saya," Train said as he led the two through a bit of a heavy crowd. "Alleyways are used as shortcuts for kids and stuff. Trust me, an alleyway is the last place you want to fight him."
She supposed he knew this from the multiple assassinations he had completed.
"Into the woods, then?" she asked. She could already see the tree line approaching at a steady pace.
"Into the woods," he agreed. She was about to say something when he suddenly stiffened and stopped. She would have asked why had she not seen it. Or rather, her.
She was beautiful. About her height and short blonde hair. Her eyes were obscured by the mere fact that she was turned away from them, but she saw enough to see that her face was heart-shaped. Her voice was soft yet perfectly clear. Her posture screamed that of a natural leader.
"Heartnet. Whatever lifestyle you choose, know that it will be observed by the council. You will be closely monitored and should you choose to make yourself a threat, you will be ended. Along with your life, you may leave with Hades. It is no longer a weapon of Chronos."
Saya watched as the woman passed Train a gun. The very same one she had seen him carry on his person all the time. The one she had returned to him upon meeting him and healing him. It was strange to know it had not been with him, but she wondered if he would accept it now. Now that he was leaving.
"Chronos isn't known to just let people go," Train said as he took the gun back. Its black metal somehow managed to reflect the colorful lights that were already exploding in the sky. How had she not noticed them? "Not in this sense, at least."
"The elders still see potential in you," she said. "Should you choose to return into their fold, they would rather have your talent preserved than wasted."
"And you?" Saya asked. A firework popped in the air, showering them all in its colorful lights. "Where do you stand on this ordeal?"
There would have been silence for the next few moments. Instead, there was the chatter of friends as they passed to go to a food stand. Instead, there was a family of five who were walking leisurely towards a game. Instead, there was a baby's cry and a mother's consolation. Instead, another firework popped in the air. Instead, there was the ambience of normalcy where the tension of life-and-death should have existed.
"You've tasted freedom. And freedom has changed you," the woman said. "And if you are to protect your freedom, you will need a chance and a gun. What you do with these opportunities is entirely up to you. Goodbye, Heartnet. Farewell, Saya Minatsuki."
Before either of them could say another word, the woman was gone.
"That was quick. I guess I know where you learned it from," she said, only taking a moment to glance at the spot where the leader of the Chronos numbers had once stood. She did not have long to marvel as Train had taken her by the hand and begun walking once more. "Train?"
"Chronos knows about you and we still have an assassin on our tail," he said by way of explaining. "We'll deal with him in the woods and then figure out what to do next."
The way he spoke about it was difficult to describe. Unhurried, as though he were planning his next move with cold tact. Forceful, as though he were thinking of something unpleasant. Strained, which is a tone of voice she had never heard before.
She could not decipher it, but she would go along with it. She would see for herself just how much Train had changed over the past three months.
AmyNChan: So, the intro's a bit different and I've already swallowed about four chapters. XDD Anyhoot, I hope you all enjoy even though you know what's to come. *^_^*
Saya: Please read and review!