Catherine

"Ooh. How interesting?" Catherine said leaning back up against the rough hewn stone wall. She blew a piece of curly black hair out of her eyes and tried again to lean out, to see out of the hole in the wall, without falling into the hole in the floor.

She was partially hidden from view, which was perfect for her "spy mode" which she was currently in. Meaning, She was trying to get a good look at the boy she'd seen earlier coming into the Roman Coliseum.

It had only been a passing glance she happened to take, just to see the outside world from under ground, traveling up to the stands, and she saw a flash of blue hair walking past her. It startled her, so she almost fell into the hole she was getting ready to jump.

Catherine guessed that he was probably there to fight the Millennium Swordsman, whom had recently kidnapped a girl from her home. Catherine didn't care a bout the girl. She was just interested in all the akuma coming out of hiding. And, of course, the blue haired boy. She really hoped he wasn't here to save the girl.

"What'cha doin'?" Saria asked warping in next to her. Catherine jumped. She hadn't meant to take so long.

"Heh…heh, nothing." Catherine said scratching her head and looking away from the hole in the wall.

Saria and Anya we there with Catherine, because she lost a bet with Anya, and ended up doing soul collecting, a job they traded often, but Catherine was having a hard time keeping up with the souls, hence the other two being sent in to help.

"Well, I would get up to the stands because, there is a boy I want you to see." she said wiggling her eyebrows at Catherine. Catherine stuck her tongue out at Saria, and jumped over the hole in the floor, pointedly taking the long way up to the stands. It wasn't that she was mad with saria, she just wanted to absorb as much of the world as she could, before she was called back down to the netherworlds for more lessons in manners, and posture. Catherine hated those.

As she walked the dark corridors, she ran her hands across the old stone walls. I wish I could have been here during one of the battles, she thought idly.

Time passed differently in the netherworlds. Sometimes when Catherine came back out of the darkness, she would find that it had been years since her last visit. So that's was probably why, Catherine never had any friends. Go home, and one day come back to find your friends old and senile.

After climbing the four flights of stairs, Catherine was beginning to wish she had warped just to save the aching in her legs. She paled when she saw Anya and Saria wave at her from the top of the stands, i.e. another flight of stairs.

"Come sit with us!" they shouted. Catherine shook her head and sat down on one of the front bleachers, which had a very nice view anyway.

"You shall not win." The Millennium Swordsman said swinging his great big sword around, waving it at the blue-haired boy. Catherine was back up on her feet, straining over the side just to get a better look.

Down in the middle of the arena, the boy stood, proud and tall. His black coat shifted around his feet with the sudden winds that would come and go. From what she could tell, he carried his sword in his hands, but made no move yet to pull it out.

"You shall not win!" The Millennium Swordsman said again, angered by the boy's lack of response.

Slowly, the boy's other hand reached down and grasped the hilt of his sword, and pulled it free in one smooth movement. His feet shifted back slightly into a fighting stance.

Vaguely behind her, Catherine could hear shouts of encouragement from her two sisters up farther in the stands. Still watching, the faint whooshing of air caught her attention. She glanced up at Saria, but couldn't find her. Anya pointed down into the arena.

Catherine turned back, just in time to see Saria warp down next to the boy, and touch his shoulder. He glanced down at her, and spoke something, which Catherine guessed had to be along the lines of "what are you doing here" because Saria got excited and started rocking back and forth on her toes really fast. She turned around and pointed up at Catherine, glancing once to cast a wicked smile, and then turning her back to Catherine again so she couldn't see what she was saying.

Something similar to a smile crossed, the boys face as he patted Saria on the head, and handed her his sword sheath. He glanced up at Catherine with the same look on his face.

Her heart stopped for a second, then started back up, beating faster than normal. She was quite certain that he almost did smile, but then he turned away, so she never got to see. Those eyes… Catherine shivered. He had dark, scary eyes. Almost like her Father's.

In the seconds that Catherine had been thinking, Saria had warped next to her, and pushed the sword sheath into her hands.

"Hold Mugen's case." She said

"Mugen?" Catherine asked placing the sword sheath on the bench then went back to lean over the rail.

"Kanda's sword." Saria said pointing at the boy-Kanda. Kanda.. Catherine thought happily, waiting for the moment when Saria was back sitting with Anya, so she could roll his name across her tongue.

"Kanda?" She squeaked unable to form a full sentence. Saria laughed and patted Catherine's head like she was a little girl, because funny, Catherine was the eldest out of the three of them.

"Yes, Kanda." Saria said. She grabbed Catherine's shoulders and turned her around so she could look Saria in the eye.

"Listen very closely. There are hundreds of akuma closing in on the coliseum. Anya and I are going out to fight them, because once they get in here, Kanda's dead. So, every other wave, Anya and I are going to trade you off, as a rotation. Till then, stay here and be sure to get all the akuma that slip through the cracks." Saria said kissing Catherine's face. Anya warped in next to them and threw her arms around them both shouting, "Family group hug!"

Saria slipped out from underneath Anya, and stuck her hand into the netherworld and rummaged around searching for her bow. She pulled it out, and then stuck her hand back in and fixed a few things. "remind me when we get home to clean my closet." She said.

They all had gifts from their father. A few of them, like warping and reaching, were used commonly. But others weren't accessible until they were married or going to get married, which, according to Lord Death, wasn't going to happen for another century or so.

"Innocence…activate." Saria said. Her bow- Daikyuu- glowed bright emerald green and moved turning longer and adding sharp ends for close combat. The green light spread up her arm and got rid of her right sleeve up to her shoulder, so the veins of innocence was visible for all. Saria grabbed a ribbon from the netherworld portal that lead to her closet, and tied the long strands of blood red hair, so dark it was almost black, up. Her bangs flopped into her face as she tilted her head to the side and said, "See you out there." and warped out running right.

Anya sighed. She was the middle child and was often roped into the antics of the youngest. Anya turned back to Catherine, her white curls bouncing lightly.

"I guess that's my cue!" She said cheerily. Anya was so sweet and innocent looking, that it was a surprise when she came back from soul collecting covered in akuma, and sometimes human blood. Her white curls would be stained red, and she would have a pink tint to her pale skin for a few days. The only color to her face were her bright violet eyes, that always seemed to make her smiling even when she was getting ready to kill something. During the winter, when their father would allow it to snow in the ballroom, she would almost disappear in the white fluffy snow. Especially when she wore her white cloak.

Anya reached into the netherworld portal leading to her closet, and pulled out her anti-akuma weapon. Cheerily, she said, "Innocence activate!" The short sticks in her hands would glow the same emerald green, and both her sleeves would disappear to her elbow, making it easier for her to wield her whips-Soumu. She saluted Catherine and warped out, running right like Saria.

KandaKandaKandaKanda. Catherine said in her head so fast it sort of became a chant. She pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders as the cold night wind bit into the skin on her neck making her shiver. She had been out into the battle field outside the coliseum many times killing dozens of akuma, sometimes with Anya, other times with Saria. It had been three days, and Kanda was still fighting. He hadn't stopped once yet.

That can't be good for him. Catherine said biting into her sandwich, she had warped back to the netherworlds for. There were other ones for when one of the other girls would come in and get some rest, and eat, trading off with the reserve.

He's got to stop soon. Catherine hoped. Around the coliseum, the other girls and Catherine had lighten the torches to add more light for the battling contestants, but sadly attracting more akuma than necessary. In the few seconds that the females had together, they decided that it was for the best to keep the fight fair.

Catherine bit her lip, huddling closer for warmth. She would go inside, but she wanted to watch for as long a she could keep her eyes open, which wouldn't be much longer. Father, please don't let him die. She begged in her head. He was Saria's friend. For how long, no one knew. But that probably wasn't all of it.

Every time the Millennium Swordsman came close to hitting Kanda, Catherine's heart sped up, double time. She left for her turn fighting, worried that when she came back, she would hear the Millennium Swordsman say to the kidnapped girl, "No one has yet surpassed me", and she would find him lying in a pool of his own blood. Catherine knew that if she asked, her father would bring his soul back for her, on the promise that when he woke up, he would serve the night court.

Even thinking about Kanda's death, Catherine had cold tears slipping down her face. After trying to get her out of control breathing, under control, she heard the Millennium Swordsman say, "I release you this time traveler."

She glanced up quickly, bouncing over to the rail, she saw the Millennium Swordsman back away from Kanda, heaving greatly. Catherine had forgotten about how tired the Swordsman must have been. Kanda nodded, and backed off too, reaching a few steps before dropping to one knee, only being supported by Mugen. His shoulders heaved, and before she knew it, Catherine was kneeling next to Kanda.

"Are you okay?" she asked handing him Mugen's sheath. Kanda slipped Mugen slowly back into it's case. Kanda nodded tiredly. He looked half starve and half dead.

"I need some sleep." he said.

"No, Really? I wouldn't have guessed." Catherine said before she could slap her hand over her mouth. "I didn't say that." she said at Kanda's surprised look.

"Yeah…you did." He said lurching to his feet. He leaned heavily on Mugen, using it as a cane.

"Well, I did…but…I…didn't…mean it?" Catherine said uncertainly. Had she meant it?

"There. Wasn't that nice?" he said moving faster than Catherine would have thought at his stage.

"Well…I suppose so. If that's what you call nice." Catherine said. She wasn't sure where this conversation was going.

"It's not."

"Oh." Catherine was silent. Following Kanda silently through the entrance, out into the star filled sky. Kanda wasn't using Mugen anymore by the time they reached the field where Saria and Anya waited with their innocence weapons drawn and waiting.

Catherine whistled sharply, getting their attention. Saria stood up and motioned for Anya to do the same. Kanda graciously pauses and waits for them to get close enough before asking how many akuma they had killed.

"Umm…a lot the past few days, but none so far." Anya answered. She had dark rings shadowing her eyes. She looked beat.

"Go home and get some sleep. You look dead." Catherine said touching her face. Anya sighed, and disappeared, warping out.

Saria looked at Kanda and blinked tiredly.

"Did you win?" she asked yawning in the middle of her sentence. Kanda shook his head.

"I'm going back as soon as I get some sleep." he said. Catherine turned and narrowed her eyes at him. Tempting fate once, isn't good enough for you then. She thought bitterly.

Saria looked off into the distance, seeming to go off into Lala land. "Isn't that your Finder over there?" she said pointing. Kanda and Catherine turned around. There was indeed a tiny human waving his arms at them in the distance.

"It looks like it." Kanda sighed. "Ugg. That's a long way to walk." he said.

"We could warp and make you puke your guts out." He looked at Saria.

"Let's do it. There's nothing there to puke." he said. Saria and Catherine shared a look. They knew. The each grabbed one shoulder of Kanda and warped.

They appeared in front of the Finder, scaring him half to death, when Kanda bent over heaving hard.

"I told you so." Saria said. They had warped to a tiny cottage out in the middle of nowhere. A little old lady welcomed them inside, and showed them to a room in the back where they put Kanda, who had passed out after heaving so hard.

Catherine unzipped his coat, and pulled it off him. She pulled off his boots too, and tied the laces together setting them out side the window, after getting a whiff of them. A night outside would do these poor boots good. She thought. After noticing the light sheen of sweat covering Kanda's body, Catherine decided to leave the window open to get some cool air into the room. She folded his coat neatly, and set it on a chair that was set near the bed, placing Mugen on top. She exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Saria, and Kanda's Finder were sitting around the table drinking something hot, listening to the old woman who was sitting in her rocking chair, knitting something without a shape.

"And so goes the story of the Millennium Swordsman and Lady Sandra." she finished as Catherine leaned up against the door frame. The old woman looked up at her with concern.

"How is he doing, dear?" she asked looking back down to knit another row.

"Umm…you can ask him when he's awake." Catherine said shifting her coat. She motioned for Saria to follow her.

"Leaving?" the old woman asked confused. Catherine nodded.

"But aren't you worried about your husband?"

Catherine's breath stopped. She forced a smile to her face, as Saria slapped a hand to her mouth, trying to muffle the giggles. The Finder glanced at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No!" Catherine cried shaking her head fast, "We…aren't married. I barely know the guy!" The old woman pursed her lips, then smiled.

"If you aren't now, you will be." Red hot embarrassment shot up Catherine's neck coloring her face a nice shade of red.

"I don't think so!" she said grabbing Saria's hand and pulling her out the door trying hard not to start laughing herself.

"I'm going to tell him that the next time we see him." Saria said.

"No you aren't." Catherine said fiercely, warping home for a hot bath and some quality time with her pillows.