A teenager is walking through a town, trying to find a new target. She looks around the small town with disgust.
"Where are they! There is no one here!" she complains as she dodges around a corner.
"What's taking so long?" a voice says from the darkness. I spin around, and sigh in relief when I see Kyo.
"There isn't anyone on our list here!" I complain as I roll my eyes. Kyo looks out at the street.
"According to our information there is." Kyo says. I sigh.
"Well, apparently our info is WRONG!" I say as I walk back toward the street. I feel someone grab a hold of my wrist. I glare over my shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Let me go!" I say. He looks at me with unfazed eyes.
"Listen when I tell you stuff. Now, I want to know something, Tahira." Kyo says. I sigh, and close my eyes.
"What about?" I ask, looking at him with questioning eyes.
"Are you….looking for someone in particular?" Kyo asks, judging my expression. I look up at the sky.
"Yeah….I guess I am." I say as I walk away, thinking about my past.
Flashback
"Wait up, Train! I can't keep up!" a four year old me shouts as I watch my older brother run ahead. I fall to the ground, skinning my knee. I cry out.
A week or so passes, but I haven't found my brother yet. He seems to have up and vanished. I stop, and sway back and forth on my feet. I fall forward, only to have someone catch me. I look up to see a woman.
"Well, guess you have some problems, eh?"
End Flashback
"IRA!" I slowly open my eyes, only to see Kyo standing above me. "TAHIRA! You're okay!" he says as he sighs. I grimace when I taste the blood on my tongue.
*I must have bitten my tongue...* I mentally mutter as I stand up and dust my pants off.
"Well, I guess we should get going t-" I stop mid word when I see a familiar black haired boy walk past our hiding spot. "It can't be!" I shout as I walk toward the spot I had seen him.
"What is it?" Kyo asks, looking around in confusion as to what I'm doing.
"I….saw someone…." I mumble as I walk out of the alley. Kyo rolls his eyes before following me. I walk toward a table with two guys sitting at it. "Unbelievable!" I whisper as I watch the guy with brown/black hair laugh. I smile at how peaceful he looks. I look over my shoulder when I hear someone gasp.
"T….the Black Cat!" Kyo shouts. Both of the guys look at us. They stand up, and the Black Cat walks toward us.
"Is there something you want?" the Black Cat questions as his eyes narrow. "Do you belong to Chronos?" he asks. I grin.
"And what if we do?" I ask, sounding cocky. He grins as he drops his right hand down to his side. He runs it over his pistol strapped to his thigh. I reach over my shoulder, and grab the handle of my scythe with my right hand.
"Then you're an enemy." Black Cat says. I grin.
"Wrong!" I say, giggling. He looks at me, stunned.
"Then why are you here?" Black Cat asks.
"I thought you looked familiar." I say. He crosses his arms across his chest. Anyone else would have missed his shoulders untense themselves. I release my hold on my scythe, and smile.
"Do you really trust these two?" the other guy with….green hair? asks. The Black Cat looks at him, then takes a deep breath.
"They aren't going to hurt us." Black Cat glares at me. "At least, he isn't. I'm not so sure about her." he says. I laugh.
"Trust me. I have no intention of harming you." I say. The Black Cat looks at me with a strange grin.
"Well, this is the first time a minion of Chronos has come and not attacked me as soon as they see me." Black Cat says. I smile.
"We're not here on the orders of my superiors. I came to talk." I say. He sighs.
"Oh, all right. What do you want?" Black Cat asks. I go to say something, only to stop, and look at Kyo.
"Um….how about we meet somewhere?" I question. Black Cat looks at me for a moment, then nods. "Okay, meet at the Calona Shipa at noon tomorrow." I say as I walk away. Kyo follows after me.
"What an odd girl." I hear green hair say as I jump to the rooftop. I run from roof-to-roof.
"What was that all about?" Kyo asks when he catches up to me. I sigh.
"I know the Black Cat." I say.
"Well, he didn't seem to know you." Kyo says. I smile sadly.
"It's been years since I last saw him." I say as I jump over another roof. I stop when I hear laughing. "What do you want?" I demand.
"I want you to capture the Black Cat and bring him back to Chronos." the voice says. I glare at nothing in particular as my cat-like eyes narrow.
"And why….exactly would I do that?" I ask with a smirk on my face.
"Because Chronos has commanded you to do such." the voice yells. I laugh.
"Screw Chronos! I'm leaving!" I say as I run off.
I plop to the ground outside a small house. I walk toward it, and quickly pull my scythe off my back. I cut the door handle off, and walk inside.
*I'll leave in a few hours…after I sleep for a while.* I promise myself. I walk to the kitchen, and run the water. I wet a rag, and lay it over the scar on my left cheek that I usually hide with a bandage. I wince when it stings. *Guess it's not going as good as I thought…*
I fall to the kitchen floor, unconscious.
I wake up, and look around. As soon as I see where I am, I curse myself, and jump to my feet, running as soon as my feet hit the floor. I run out the door.
"Dammit! What the hell was I thinking! I shouldn't have gone there!" I complain as I run toward the restaurant I told Black Cat to meet me at.
I get there, and walk in the door. As I look around, I take in everything and everyone in the place. Once I'm satisfied that it's safe, I walk to the table that the two of them are sitting at.
"Glad you could come." I say as I flip a chair around to sit on it backwards. They both look at me with surprise.
"Why isn't your partner with you?" Black Cat asks. I shrug.
"I left Chronos. Last night after I talked to you." I say. When I look at them again, I see surprise on the green haired man's face and confusion on Black Cat's.
"What do you mean you….QUIT?" Green hair shouts, looking at me with confusion. I sigh.
"Just what I said. I'm done with Chronos. Sick of taking orders from a bunch of oldies!" I say with a shrug.
"So why did you want to talk to me?" Black Cat asks, watching me carefully. I smile.
"Oh! Well, I was j….." I'm cut off when a bunch of men slam the door open. They walk into the restaurant, and begin to shoot everyone. My instincts kick in and I grab my scythe. I put it in front of me, and stand in a defensive position.
"What in the world are you doing?" Green Hair shouts as he peaks out from behind the wall. My eyes narrow to slits.
"Danger." I mumble as I go to take a step forward, only to feel someone grab and pull me back. I look over my shoulder to see Black Cat.
"Calm down. Control it." Black Cat whispers into my ear. I look over my shoulder at him. His eyes widen when he sees my eyes.
"Agh!" a guy's voice says from be the door. I turn my head to see an older man lying on the ground with blood running from the side of his mouth. I watch it flow down his face.
"B…..blood!" I say as my eyes change to more of a gold color than their normal green. I slowly pull my scythe forward until its bent sideways.
"What are you doing?" Green Hair asks. I completely ignore him as I walk toward the strangers. I hear Black Cat talking about how the old man is worth some major money, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was more focused on what the strangers were doing to the guy. I sneak up behind them, and cut seven of them across the back, killing them instantly. The old guy gasps as he watches them fall forward.
"Let the heavens fall as you go!" I growl at the rest of the men as I charge at them. One gasps as I pull my hood up.
"It's the…..the….Hell's Cat!" the guy yells as he runs out the door. I watch as the rest of them run off.
"Well, that was…..interesting." I murmur as I sigh. I run my left hand through my bangs. I look at the old man, only to see Black Cat and Green Hair standing next to him. I squeak when I see blood running down his face. "Gah!" They all look at me in confusion. They watch as my eyes flash between green and gold.
"What's the matter?" Black Cat asks. I close my eyes.
"Can someone PLEASE get rid of the blood running down his face! I can't look at blood without going nuts." I say, looking away from them. Green Hair sighs.
"All right, you can look now." I hear Green Hair say. I look over my shoulder, and smile.
"Thank you." I say. They look at me, and nod. "Um….I hate to impose, but do you have a place for me to crash?" I ask. They look at each other before nodding. I smile. "Thank you again." I bow my head. "I am in your debt."
"I wouldn't go that far." Green Hair says. I watch as Black Cat picks the man up, and walks to the door. We run out the door with Black Cat carrying the old man on his back. We get to a small house, and go inside.
"Well, we're safe for now." Green Hair says as he takes a cigarette out of his coat pocket. I yawn.
"Where can I take a nap? I'm exhausted." I say, looking at Green Hair. He looks at me.
"I think we should introduce ourselves first." Green Hair says. I sigh.
"All right. Well, my name's Tahira. How about you?" I ask, looking at them.
"My name's Sven." Green Hair says. I look at him with a questioning look.
"Can I ask, why do you have green hair?" I ask. He glares at me.
"Cuz that's what color I was born with." Sven says, sounding angry. I grin.
"Did I hit a nerve?" I ask, sounding cocky. Sven goes to take a step forward, only to get stopped by Black Cat.
"My name's Train Heartnet." Black Cat says as he steps between Sven and I. I glare at him for a moment before taking a step back.
"Fine. I won't." I say. Sven looks at the two of us with confusion.
"Won't what?" Sven asks. I look at him.
"Hurt you." I say with an evil grin on my face. Train hisses at me. I raise my hands up in surrender.
"You're kind of an odd female, aren't you?" Sven asks. I look at him with blank eyes.
"I get that a lot." I say. I look at Train. "Where can I sleep now that we have all the introductions out of the way?" I question as I yawn again. Train walks off. I watch him round a corner before following him.
I catch up to him, and follow him in silence.
"Well, here we are." Train says as we stop in front of a door. I look at him with a smile.
"Thank you, Black Cat." I say. He looks at me with wide eyes.
"Don't call me that again! I'm no longer Black Cat. I'm just Train Heartnet now." Train commands. I nod my head.
"Okay. I'll remember that." I say as I open the door in front of me.
"Hey Tahira?" I hear Train question. I glance over my shoulder.
"What is it, Heartnet?" I ask. Train looks at me with confusion.
"Where do I know you from?" Train asks. I put a pointer finger up to my mouth.
"Well, maybe you saw me in Chronos. I was there when you left." I say with a shrug. I walk into the room, and close the door.
*I think I'm going to wait to tell him.* I mentally sigh as I fall back on the bed. I'm dead asleep as soon as the pillow hits my head.
I wake up, and look around. Once my eyes look at the door, I see Train standing there.
"What do yuh want?" I ask in a slurrish voice. Train comes out of the shadows with a determined look on his face. He looks at me.
"What were you dreaming about?" Train asks. I look at him in confusion. I open my mouth to say something, only to shut it with a sigh. I close my eyes for a moment. When I look at Train again, I have a determined look on my face as well.
"I was dreaming about my family." I say. Train looks at me with surprise.
"What happened to them?" Train asks. I look up at the ceiling.
"My parents died when I was young, but I lost my brother when I was a little older." I say. Train thinks about that for a moment.
"What was your brother like?" Train asks, eyes widening. I stand up.
"Well, he cared about me a lot. He was always there when I needed him." I say with a shrug as I pull my scythe holster onto my back. I strap it there. "That is, until we got separated." I look at him with a critical eye.
"Could it be?" Train wonders. He looks at me with wide eyes. "Tahira?" he asks. I look at him.
"Huh?" I question. He's quiet for a moment before he questions.
"You're my little sister, aren't you?" Train asks. I smile.
"Yeah." I say with a nod. I run into his arms.
"I thought you would find a better home if I left you with that old lady." Train says as he holds my out at arm's length. "But obviously it didn't help." he sighs, and closes his eyes. "You ended up the same as I did." he says. I laugh.
"Yeah, I did. Even though I had no idea you belonged to Chronos when I first joined…" I sigh. "Well, got recruited, that is." I pull away from him.
"What do you mean, recruited?" Train asks. I look up at him.
"What? Did you think they had Kyo with me just for shits and giggles?" I ask. Train sighs.
"I never intended for you to come to Chronos. I knew what would happen if you did." Train says. I look at him with confusion.
"What will be happening?" I ask. Train looks me in the eyes.
"If you would have found out that we're related, they would have threatened us to hurt the other in order to get what they wanted." Train explains. I shrug.
"They valued us too much to actually go through with it." I say. Train looks at me. I open my eyes, and grin evilly. "Who do you think took over for you when you left?" I ask. Train's eyes widen.
"They made you the new XIII?" Train asks. I shake my head.
"XXIII, actually." I say with a grin.
"I'm surprised they'd actually chance such a thing." Train says. I look at the ceiling. Suddenly, we hear someone hollering up the stairs.
"Come on, TRAIN! We have to go!" we hear Sven's voice yell up the steps. I look at Train, who shrugs.
"That's Sven for yuh." Train says as he opens the door. We walk out of the room.
"We can talk more later." I say as we walk into the living room.
Twenty minutes later, I'm standing on the steps of the house with Train and the old man, known as Harry. We're waiting for Sven to come around with the car. Suddenly, Sven appears, holding his stomach. The old man runs toward him. My eyes widen when I realize that it's an imposter.
"Wait!" Both Train and I yell. Harry turns around, only to have the imposter shoot him four times before they disappear. I plug my nose when the smell of blood fills my nostrils. I look to see Train bent down next to Harry…growling.
*Oh FUCK!* I curse as I watch him run off in the direction the imposter had gone in. I sigh as I run after him, knowing full well that the old man is dead.
I catch up to him a few minutes later. When I look in his eyes, I see his eyes narrowed dangerously.
*Is that what my eyes look like when I'm angry?* I mentally wonder as we come to a stop by the guy.
"I knew you would follow me." the man says when he turns around. My eyes narrow. Within a second, I have my scythe out, and take a defensive position. He looks at me, and smiles. "Ah! The great Hell's Cat!" he says as he examines me. Train looks at me in surprise. I grin evilly.
"So what? It's your funeral." I say. The man sneers, before turning to look at Train.
"You on the other hand, I have no clue." he says. Train grins.
"Maybe this will help." Train says as he draws his pistol off his hip.
I watch as the battle passes, not really paying attention. That is, until I feel a bullet embed itself into my shoulder. I yelp and clench my shoulder.
"TAHIRA!" I hear Train shout. I put my hand out.
"I'm fine. Finish this up." I command. Train hesitates for a moment until I hiss at him. He looks at my with sorry eyes as he runs at the guy again. I collapse to the ground, breathing hard.
I open my eyes to see the ceiling of what looks to be a car. I sit straight up.
"Where am I.." I yelp again, and fall back onto the seat. I look to my side to see Train's head.
"You were wounded, and we carried you. We're leaving this town." Train says as he holds out a box. "Want an onion bun?" he asks with a smile on his face. I smile back and grab one.
"So where are we headed?" I ask. Train smirks as he sits back in his seat.
"Our next job." Train says. I'm quiet for a moment.
"Can I join?" I ask. Train glances over the shoulder of his seat.
"Of course!" Train says. I smile, and lay back down. I slowly fall asleep, thanking the heavens that I had finally found him.
