Chapter One

They handed the four teenagers in and gained a minimal reward – but it was enough for a few days worth of food and accommodation. Train took the kitten to the vet and was given some medication to give the kitten for the pain of its minor wounds.

"It could have been far worse." Train explained to Sven and Eve when he arrived at the hotel room. "But I need to get her cleaned; the vet told me that if she were to begin cleaning herself and swallowed any gasoline she could end up in a far worse situation." He placed the kitten in the bath, leaving her there as he went to change his shirt and place his gun in a safe place before he would return.

The kitten looked around herself and fought the urge to lick at her fur. The white bathtub was far too large for her to jump out of, not that she was planning to – the taps were too high for her to reach as well, but she walked over to inspect them.

She turned sharply at the sound of the bathroom door closing and Train's amused chuckle as he walked over, a black tank top on, his black pants still in place. "You know the inevitable, don't you?" He asked as he knelt beside the bath.

She stared at him. Was he assuming that she was scared? Or worried? Not much at all. She walked over as he offered his fingers again and she licked them.

"Sorry that I took a while. I just had to throw down some food or I would have fainted." Train admitted as he turned the taps on and the water poured into the bath.

On an instinct, the kitten jumped at the splashing water, not caring that it was still cold.

Train smiled. "You're a strange cat. Most of you guys hate water."

The kitten looked up at him with her green eyes, still a little dull from her ordeal. She mewled.

His smile widened and he lifted a bottle of hotel shampoo upside down over her back and began to scrub her clean. The kitten shut her eyes in contentment, feeling the petrol being scrubbed off her fur felt better than she thought it could. The water was warm, the shampoo was surprisingly nice and when she looked up at Train, she decided that she could trust whoever this guy was.

When she was cleaned and dried, Train carried her out of the bathroom and placed her on the table.

Sven raised his eyebrows. "She cleaned up pretty well." He noted.

"Yeah." Train agreed. "A good wash and brush was all it took." He placed a plate on the table in front of the kitten and poured some milk into it. She greedily began to lap it up. "And once she's eaten she'll be even better."

"Are we still going to find that bounty of ours?" Sven asked as he took a mouthful of noodles.

Train shrugged. "I suppose we should."

. : . : . : .

Weeks past them by and they caught bounty after bounty and only managed to receive the minimum amount that would usually be expected for a group of three Sweepers. The kitten stayed with them, and slowly she began to grow, but slower than they had expected.

"Kittens are usually full grown by the age of nine months." Eve muttered from behind her book when Train pointed it out one day as they were driving to their next destination.

"Well I guess that's okay, then." Train muttered, still scratching the kitten's chin gently.

They had called her 'Emerald' for lack of a better name. She didn't reject or love the name; she just took it in her stride. She didn't go anywhere near Sven, she'd sit on Eve if Train was unavailable, but Train was by far her owner out of them all.

"You really do attract cats." Sven had said.

Every night, Train would climb onto a roof with Emerald and he would share a bottle of milk with her, setting the bottle down beside him, on its side so that she could lap at the opening. One night, he was nearly asleep on the slightly slanted roof when Emerald nudged his elbow and he looked at her through one eye. She stared at him with her glowing emerald eyes.

"Train." She whispered.

Train nearly fell off the roof when his name slipped through her lips. He stared at the black kitten, who was now looking at him with mournful eyes. "Did you just –?"

"Talk? Yes." Emerald replied. "I always have been able to, Train."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Train asked, gaining some composure as he automatically pulled the kitten into his lap.

She licked her lips nervously and looked up at him. "I was afraid."

"Whatever for?" Train asked, astounded. "How could you be scared of me?"

"I asked those boys for directions and they were going to set me alight." Emerald replied.

Train sighed and pet her head. "Don't remind me. But I see your point."

"Don't tell the others, please. At least not yet. I don't think they'd understand just yet."

Train smiled down at the kitten as she looked out at the starry sky, her short fur being gently brushed by the breeze. "You have my word." He promised as he lifted her onto his shoulder and headed back towards the hotel room. "You know." He said. "We've been sleeping together for weeks now."

"Don't make me dig these claws in." She threatened.

He chuckled softly. "Nah, I wouldn't have it any other way." He admitted.

"Really?"

"Of course." He replied. "So, Em, why do you think you're able to talk?"

Emerald sighed. "I wish I knew, Train. I've been thinking about it really hard, but I just can't think of a possible, valid reason." She opened her mouth, made a small sound, but thought better and closed her mouth.

"Tell me." Train said, looking at her with one of his gold eyes.

She gulped. "Well, I was thinking, that I'm acting much too human to be an actual cat. I was thinking that maybe….I'm a person."

"That is possible and valid." Train said. "Anything is possible these days. Take me for example: I used to be a feared assassin for Chronos and here I am, catching bounties without killing them – not to mention that I didn't even kill my greatest enemy when I had the chance."

Emerald smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

"So, any clues as to why you're a cat then?"

"None. I have no memories. I woke up in an alleyway with no sense of direction." Emerald admitted. She sniffed, feeling a funny sensation behind her eyes. "I feel as though….as though I should be able to cry, but this body just doesn't work that way." She lay over his shoulder, burying her head into his jacket. "I have this hole in my chest and I don't know how to fill it."

Train took her off his shoulder, cradling her like a baby on his forearm and held her close to his chest. "I'll help you find a way to fill it." He promised. "But first, let's sleep."

Emerald let out a delicate yawn and snuggled against his warmth as he opened the hotel window and slid in. Sven was sleeping on the nearby couch and Eve had taken one of the single beds and was nearly invisible under the blankets.

Train lay on the other bed, setting her down the pillow beside his head. "Whoever you were before now, Em, I know that you were someone good, who had a good life and people who loved you."

"How do you know?" Emerald asked, doubting his every word.

He poked her nose gently, grinning from ear to ear. "Because I know you." He replied. "Cat or not."

Emerald felt the strong need to cry again at his words. He was so sure of them, why couldn't be completely believe them? She leant forward and licked the tip of his nose in appreciation and then jumped from the pillow to snuggle under the blankets at his side.

As he drifted off to sleep, she watched with glowing emerald eyes. She watched as his breathing evened out from his climb from the roof to the room – his body relaxed and his arm curled around her tiny form. Her heart was pounding with a forbidden attraction and she shook her head to try and force the thought from her mind. She lay her head down in the crook of his elbow and closed her eyes.

. : . : . : .

"You know." Sven said, as he swallowed a mouth full of food. "I'm surprised that Rinslet hasn't come around to bother us for nearly two months now."

"Maybe it's the cat." Eve suggested. "We've had Emerald for a month and a half now and she usually comes around every two weeks."

Train frowned. "You guys have it all wrong. She doesn't bother us. She bothers me. I'm the one that's always pulled the deepest into her schemes." He said as he picked up a chip and lifted it to the neckline of his shirt, looked around and dropped it straight into Emerald's waiting mouth.

The restaurant they were eating in had a strict intolerance to animals, so Train had snuck their little pet in – causing her to blush deeply and hide her face in the cloth of his inner shirt in embarrassment.

"Hey Train, can I talk to you about something?" Sven asked.

Train looked up from feeding Emerald another chip, he blinked twice and then nodded. "Sure, what's up?"

"You've been talking to the cat lately." Sven noted.

"I tend to talk to you as well, but you don't find that unusual." Train said as he passed another chip to Emerald.

"No, Train. I mean. You ask it questions and then you act as though you gain a response. You're like a five year old girl with her dolls." Sven said.

"Maybe I can just tell what Em is saying to me." Train defended.

"I'm just saying that it's confusing and a little frightening. Someone else might assume that you've lost your mind." Sven explained. "I'm just making sure that you're alright. Eve was a little concerned, that's all."

Train looked at Eve, astonished and confused – Eve usually didn't care too much about Train. "You're concerned, Little Princess?"

"Not in the slightest. He's just being a man and trying to hide his worry." Eve replied dryly, not looking up from her thick leather bound book.

Train turned and glared at Sven. "I'm fine, Sven."

"Maybe I should talk to them, Train." A voice suggested.

Sven started and looked around. "What was that?"

Train sighed. "Alright. Let's pay and go back to the hotel. I need to speak with you guys in a private place."

Once they were out of the restaurant, Train placed Emerald on his shoulder where she would be more comfortable. They entered the hotel room and Emerald jumped onto the desk and sat down while Train sat down nearby so that Sven and Eve would sit in the right place – the couch just across from them.

"Okay, guys, the past week or so, I admit, I've been talking to Em as though she can talk back. And this is because she can." Train explained.

"What?" Sven asked.

Emerald stood up and walked towards the edge of the table. "It's true, Sven."

"And I'd been right when I said that she didn't like you because of your dirty habit." Train muttered as Sven pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it. "She hates them because one nearly killed her."

"And I told you that I wasn't going to give up my way of life because a cat didn't like me." Sven said defensively, lighting the cigarette and taking a huge puff of it.

Emerald hissed softly and took a few steps back. "That's so gross. It smells disgusting."

"Why are we talking about my habits?" Sven asked.

"Because you decided to light one up." Eve replied.

Sven frowned and stood up to walk out of the room. "I'm going for some coffee."

Emerald looked down at her paws. "Was I being too hard on him?"

"No." Train replied instantly. "I never much liked the habit either. It was about time someone said something to him about it."

"He's just being a defensive male." Eve added.

"No surprise there." Train muttered. "Come on, Em, Lil' Princess. Let's go and get something to eat." He picked up Emerald from the table and carried her while leading Eve to the door and letting her leave before himself.

. : . : . : .

Months passed and Emerald had barely grown, she was still the size of a five month old kitten. She still shared a bottle of milk and slept by Train's side at night – her heart beginning to pound when he'd look at her in a particular way or compliment her in a peculiarly kind way. She had even become useful when catching bounties. She was bait mostly, or distraction – even though Train hated the idea of her being involved.

"It doesn't feel right that I eat the food and don't assist in getting the money that pays for it." She'd said to Train one night, staring up at the sky. "I want to do my part, and there aren't many other options open."

Train sighed and picked her up from the tiles of the roof and let her rub the side of her head against his cheek. "Just promise me one thing, okay?"

"Anything, Train."

"Don't get hurt, okay?" Train asked. "I don't know what I would do without you now." He let her stand on one of his hands as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a hot pink ribbon with a round gold bell hanging from it. He placed her on his thigh for a moment as he fastened the bell in place. "There, now I know that I won't lose you."

As Train touched the bell to let it ring a brilliant sound, Emerald wished that she could cry. She rubbed her head against his cheek again, purring deeply. "Thank you, Train. Thank you."

She turned her head, intending to rub her head on his other cheek, but her kitty lips brushed over his and a bright light shone from between them. She could hear Train yelling out, not in pain, but in horror.

"Train!" Emerald cried, blinded by the light.

When she opened her eyes she felt a warm presence beside her and she sat up to see a deep brown kitten a little larger than herself, lying there on his side. She frowned and walked around and saw that whoever the cat was, he was wide awake, staring into nothing, frozen.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emerald asked, wondering where this cat had come from, or more importantly – where had Train gone?

His gold eyes focused on her and he slowly sat up, his red ribbon and gold bell hanging loosely from around his neck. "Em?...Why are you so much bigger than before?"

Emerald gasped as he said her name, jumping back. "Train?"

"Yeah?" Train asked.

Emerald gulped. "Um, Train, look down."

Train frowned and did as she said and he froze again. "No. No way. Not another transformation!"

"Train, what happened?" Emerald asked.

Train was still looking at himself, trying to see his back. "I'm not really sure, but this can't be good."

"I'm sure you're referring to the fact that you're now a cat?"

"Not just that." Train said, tilting his head to the pile of clothes that belonged to him – Hadis still in its holster. "I can't leave all of that up here."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

"Go back to the room, go through the roof door if you need to. Get Eve. I'll watch over my stuff." Train sighed and sat down, his head bowed.

"Train?"

Train looked up. "Yeah?"

She nuzzled the thick fur of his neck. "I'm sorry."

Train smiled and nuzzled her back, not believing just how easily the action came to him. "Nah, it's not your fault. We'll work this all out, you'll see." He said, pulling back. "Now, go. We can't waste time."

Emerald nodded. "Right."

Minutes later, Emerald returned, Eve carrying her. Eve piled all of Train's clothing into a bag that she had bought with her and carried both of the cats back to the room, where Sven was already awake, smoking a cigarette. He looked questioningly at the two cats that were placed on the table in front of him.

"Look, Sven – "

Instantly, Sven lost all control, his laughter shook the room, doors off their hinges.

Train sighed and waited for his partner's laughter to quell until he started again. "I've been in this kind of situation before. The problem is that I don't know what kind of transformation this is."

"I don't know anything because I have no memories." Emerald added.

"The point is: we need to do some careful thinking." Train said as Eve fixed up his bell so that it was tighter on his neck. "I'm more concerned with us being able to eat and having me out of action."

"I'm sure that Eve and I can handle catching bounties for a while." Sven reassured Train.

Train looked down, feeling completely pathetic, no matter how much he tried to tell himself that everything was going to be okay, he just didn't have a clue. Being turned into a kid was one thing – he could still go around doing human things. Being a cat was a completely different story.

Eve and Sven returned to their respective beds and Train and Emerald opted to sleeping on the lounge.

Emerald lay down far from Train, slumping down, guilt weighing her down.

"Em? Are you okay?"

"This is all my fault." She sobbed, unable to cry.

Train walked over and nudged her head with his nose. "Nonsense. I said so before, we'll work this whole thing out. I promise."

Emerald looked away, unable to believe him this time.

He licked her temple softly and lay down beside her. He hadn't known Emerald, or whatever her real name was, for long – in perspective. But something was changing, something that he hadn't felt since before Saya died. It wasn't just care or concern, it wasn't a distant memory of the affection he felt for his parents.

This was something else, and his heart began to pound faster as his mind put together the pieces.