A/N:I apologize, since it's been a while since I last uploaded anything! This story is high on my priority list-it's just that it's been so long since I worked on it, that's all. Now, shall we head to another important character in the ELD universe-yes, I'm talking about Kouta and Kanae here. I want to try and flesh them out more...they never told us about Kouta's mother, so I want to figure it out myself. Okay, Train is sixteen here and Kaede is nine, so Train will be around twenty-two years old...when she is fifteen-i.e. when he is a Sweeper and is no longer a member of Chronos. Oh, and Sven appears in this chapter...first meeting of future partners Sven and Train . SQUEEEEEEE...

UPDATED AS OF 3/25/19 for clarity, spelling and grammar mistakes and also of errors.

Chapter 7 The Black Cat meets the Detective


The radio's music was quite obnoxious, the lone occupant of the café thought, as he sat at his table, waiting to be served. He scratched his hair with one hand and lit his cigarette with the other. His orange eyes scanned the view outside the window, as if looking for intruders.

'Nothing interesting going on here, I see,' He thought in boredom as he tilted his head back and reclined in his seat. It was always better when nothing happened, anyway. It beat all the nasty crime and drug lords he had to see all the time.

"Sir, you're not allowed to smoke in here," A small voice said, hesitant and trembling, like that of a child who'd done something wrong.

The green-haired man turned his gaze in time to meet that of a woman who stood in front of his table, looking nervous.

Instantly, a light bulb flicked on in his mind. 'Time to turn on the charm.' "Why, hello there, miss, what's your name? You're quite the cute young lady. Are you going to be my waitress for today?" He said as his eyes gleamed.

The woman blushed at the compliment, but she also seemed hesitant."Uh...I already have a husband, sir-and my name is M-Makoto."

"Makoto? What a lovely name that is. My name is Sven," Sven introduced.

"Sven? That's a charming name, too," The lady said sweetly.

Suddenly, Sven heard loud footsteps, almost like that of thunder as another figure came to stand beside the woman, his fists tightening in rage.

Sven could barely even see the giant, as he stood nearly seven feet tall. He had a long brown beard and brown eyes full of rage.

"ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH MY WIFE, BOY?" He growled.

"Uh, uh..." Sven jumped in his seat and muttered out an awkward greeting. "Uh, hi. You're bigger than I thought you'd be. I didn't even notice you-"

"Well, you'd better know it, punk. It's all right," He shot a glance at the dark-haired woman, who seemed more afraid of her husband than of anything else. "Was he flirting with you?"

"No, we just talked over what he wants for dinner," She said nervously.

"Don't you lie to me! Go back in the kitchen, you useless woman!" He boomed.

"Y-Yes, sir!" She said, and then like that, she turned and ran back into the kitchen.

"So, sir, may I take your order?" He boomed.

Sven raised an eyebrow at the odd way he treated his wife, but said nothing. Somehow, a few words came out.

"Maybe you should consider treating your wife with a little more respect."

"WHAT WAS THAT, PUNK?" The man growled.

"I mean, you can treat her however you want!" He yelped.

"What's your name, punk?" The man boomed.

"Sven. Sven Vollfied," Sven answered back.

"Very well then, Sven, here's your menu." The man said, slamming a menu on the table before walking away.

"Call me back when you make up your mind about what to eat."

"I want coffee and a sandwich." Sven stumbled the words out of his mouth.

"Oh, and by the way, put out your cigarette. We don't smoke in here."

"Y-Yes, sir," Sven whined pathetically. '

'As long as he doesn't push that girl too far, I don't think I'll snap. Why must their prices always be so high? Too bad my partner isn't here.'

He smiled as he thought about his partner. He was such a kind man and the two of them had worked together on many cases for so long that Sven couldn't even remember when the two of them had first met. They hadn't gotten along initially, but then they had grown used to each other and become close friends.

The woman returned, holding his coffee, and she set it down in front of him, then scurried off, as quick as a mouse. 'If I wouldn't know better, I'd say he rules her life with an iron fist,' Sven thought, but decided not to say anything.

The door to the cafe opened. Sven raised an eyebrow upon seeing a stranger walk in, wearing a suit and dark pants. 'Well, that's certainly a way to get noticed,' Sven thought as he studied the man, no, boy.

His hair was dark brown and it was messy. Did the boy even put any effort at all into brushing his hair, he wondered? There was a serious look in his eyes.

'A kid his age needs to lighten up,' Sven thought, eying the boy up and down. He appeared to be an ordinary kid, but you could never tell.

"Can I help you?" The man from before said to the boy, who flashed him a frosty stare.

"I'd like something to eat," He said robotically.

"You may sit down. And don't you flirt with my wife," He warned.

His wife, whom Sven realized was the only waitress in the place, came up and offered him a hasty greeting.

Oddly enough, the boy's eyes softened. "It's all right."

"You're not that bad-looking. If you want, I can give you a special discount." She said before offering him a light smile.

Sven sweat-dropped, it was obvious that she was attracted to the young boy, but who wouldn't be? Any man would kill for those looks of his. Although, she was married, so it was sort of weird for her to be hitting on such a young kid.

'Ugh, he's probably a ladies' man. He'll take all the women away from me,' Sven thought before he hit his head on the table.

'The ladies don't want me because I'm too old...'

'Also because you smoke,' his mental voice added.

His partner always irritated him about smoking, too.

"What would you like to ea-" She said, talking to the dark-haired boy, but she never finished her sentence.

Suddenly, the husband smacked Makoto, as a huge red welt appeared on her face.

"Y-Yosuke...y-you don't have to do this, not in front of other people..."

"Shut up, ya bitch!" The man spat. "You're my wife. You belong to me and me alone. I don't want to see you flirting with other men. You hear me? I don't want to see you flirting with her, little runt."

He pointed at the boy, who just scowled.

"See, that's the kind of attitude I want to see," He said. "You look like the kind of person who'll put up with anything."

The boy merely grimaced before turning his gaze to meet Sven's. Much to his surprise, he approached Sven's table. "Hello there, officer," He drawled.

Sven's eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Your card is sticking out of your pocket. You should keep better tabs on it," The boy replied coldly. Sven looked down in disbelief and realized that it was indeed sticking out.

"Ah, my, aren't you a sharp kid?" He said, adjusting his hat.

"So, what do you do? Are you a cop?" The boy asked.

"Yep, I catch the bad guys, and I also try to get the ladies!"

The boy just hit his forehead. "I bet a lot of them avoid you," He said dryly.

Sven gasped. "How dare you, kid!"

The boy smirked.

"Why don't you smile, kid?" Sven asked.

The boy turned his golden eyes to meet his-golden eyes, how unique. They were slitted, almost like a cat's. Wait, alarm bells were going off in his head. Golden eyes? Where had he heard that before?

"Smile? I don't need to smile," The boy said, but smiled as the waitress approached.

"What would you like to drink, sir?" She said softly.

"A bottle of milk would be just fine, thanks," He said as he smiled at her.

"I saw what he did to you." He said as an afterthought.

The woman looked up, startled, "What?"

"I said, I saw what he did to you. You shouldn't let him treat you like that."

"It's all right. I'm his wife, so he has the right to do whatever he wants with me."

"No, that's not the way you should look at it." The boy said, but paused when the man came up and handed him his plate of food.

"Here, punk." He turned to his wife and smacked her in the face. "If I see you talking to him again, I will kick your ass. What did I tell you the first time, ya stupid bitch?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm sorry..." The woman whined.

Sven noticed how angered the boy seemed, but he somehow remained calm as he spoke.

"Stop manhandling her."

"I'm not going to let an outsider like you get involved, kid. Here's your food, again. Make sure you eat all of it." He said before practically dropping it on Sven's table.

The boy blinked for a few moments as he studied his own food and then sat down. He touched the food for a moment, but then he stood up. "I don't need it."

"What? You're going to eat that food!" The man snapped.

"Like I said, I don't need any of it." He knocked the plate of food onto the ground, spilling every last bit of it.

"Don't you dare waste food, you little piece of crap," The man boomed as he picked up the boy by the lapel of his shirt, "You hear me, punk?"

"Dear, put him down, please, there's no need to-"

"Shut up, you stupid bi-"

"Don't you say another word to her," the boy remarked darkly.

He glared at Yosuke.

Somehow, the man shivered upon seeing the look in his eyes.

Sven had to shiver, too. The boy's eyes were devoid of emotion, almost like there was a killer lurking underneath that gaze.

"Sure, sir...sure...uh, you can leave if you want...please do leave." He begged.

"I won't be coming back," The boy said darkly, and he paused by the door.

"You ought to know how to treat your women. Women are not your playthings."

"I couldn't agree with you more. Maybe you should join the police force. You seem like you'd be good at it. You seem good at intimidating people." Sven said approvingly.

A wry smile crossed the boy's face. "No thank you. I already work." He said ambiguously.

"Work? Doing what?" Sven asked.

The boy chuckled. "They say a man never reveals all of his secrets."

"True," Sven said. "My name is Sven...Sven Vollfied. Nice to meet you."

"Oh," The boy said.

"I'm afraid I won't be needing the milk, either." He spilled it as well.

He turned to walk out the door.

"You sure you don't need any lunch? I could pay!"

"Nope." The boy said coldly. With that, he left, leaving behind a confused Sven.

'There's something not right about that kid. But he seemed pretty nice for being so quiet.'

A little while later


"Yo, Annette, any customers today?"

The middle-aged woman looked up from where she was cleaning a cup with a rag and smiled. "Oh, good to see you again. Where's your partner at?"

"He's out on another case. I'm by myself today." Sven said.

"No lady friends?" She teased.

"No one besides you," He teased back.

"Now, now, you know I'm not looking for any more relationships."

Sven's face fell.

"Now, now, don't get so depressed, Sven. You need tips?"

"Yeah, well not really...I ran into someone strange at a cafe and..."

His eyes widened as he realized that he had seen a strange symbol on the boy's neck as he left. It almost resembled something in Roman numerals. The hairs on the back of his neck rose up.

"There was a boy; and he had a number on his neck," He explained.

Annette's eyes grew sharp. "Come again?"

"It was just a number on his neck, Annette, isn't that just some kind of tattoo?"

He noticed her eyes sharpen. "What exactly did this number look like?"

"Well, it was a Roman numeral, but he seemed rather nice, so I don't see what's-"

"Sven, you are very lucky indeed. I believe you crossed paths with a member of Chronos. One of their erasers, I assume."

"You mean I just let a criminal go?" Sven exclaimed.

Annette just chuckled. "Criminals come in all shapes and sizes. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were the charming ones. How old was this boy?"

"Eighteen, maybe even sixteen."

"And what was his roman numeral?" She pressed.

"Uh, thirteen."

Another smile crossed her face. "Well, then, I'd say you were extremely lucky, Sven."

"Why?"

"Because...that boy is one of the most feared assassins of all, Black Cat."

"I've heard of the Black Cat." Sven said, his jaw agape in shock, and then it hit him.

"You mean to say that I actually ran into the Black Cat?"

"You did, but you were fortunate. You crossed paths with the Black Cat, and yet you weren't killed."

"He knew that I was a police officer, too." Sven confessed.

"Criminals like him know how to sniff out police officers. That's how they avoid being caught," Annette said.

"Chronos claims that they're doing justice, but in reality, they're nothing but criminals. Did you hear about that orphanage killing? They say that two children are missing and two are dead. The sole survivor was shot in the leg and now he's a cripple. He claimed that a crazy guy went in there and shot most of the kids. I believe that the kid's somehow connected to it."

"That's pretty grim. Who would kill children?"

"Who knows? A depraved sort of individual. Watch yourself, Sven. The world isn't the safe place you imagine it to be." She said.

As Sven walked out, she joked, "Are you sure you won't need something to eat?"

"Nope, I already ate." Sven said.

"And, please don't smoke in here." She chided.

"Bad habit."

"One of these days, smoking's going to kill you," She said matter-of-factly.

"I know," He whined as he walked out, his mind still on the mysterious assassin he had just met.


Kouta was bored. No, he was extremely bored. His dad had refused to let him out today.

For some reason, his dad thought that he and his little sister would become the next victims of the orphanage killer.

"No, dad, you're paranoid," He whined as he stared out the window, but his eyes widened upon seeing a dark-haired boy pass by their house.

For a moment, their eyes met. Kouta swore that there was a strange aura emanating from him, and then he was gone in a flash. He blinked.

"Hey, stupid brother, what're you looking at?" A voice said, whiny and bratty.

Kouta sighed as his sister joined him. His seven-year old sister was annoying and a pain in the butt. She stared at him, with violet eyes full of questions. "Nothing."

"Big brother's stupid. He went and got yelled at again, didn't he? Mr. Bun Bun thinks so, too." She said before sticking up her stuffed rabbit.

"He isn't real." Kouta retorted.

Kanae just kicked him in the shin.

"Kanae, what have I told you about your habit of kicking people? I told you not to do it."

"Bleah. Onii-chan's an idiot." She said.

Kouta slapped her in the face. "Don't you ever call me stupid. I'm the older brother, so you should listen to me!"

"Why should I listen to the older brother when he's the stupid one?"

Kouta slapped her again just as their father walked in.

"Kouta, what did I tell you about hitting your sister?"

"Not to do it," Kouta whined.

"Go to your room."

"But dad-"

"I said, go up to your room."

Reluctantly, Kouta obeyed.

"Kanae," Kouta's dad said, "You mustn't provoke him so much. You know Kouta hasn't been the same since his mother died."

"But mama's up in heaven now." Kanae said.

"Yes, she is, and that's why she expects you to be a very good girl, okay? She wouldn't be very happy at you being bratty again."

"I can't help it. I want to cheer him up. I don't like seeing him depressed. I don't want to see Yuka! She's creepy, hitting on my brother like that! They can't get married, they're cousins!"

Kouta's dad sighed. "I know. She's just spacy. She'll grow up. But as a kid, my sister said the same thing about my dad."

"We have a weird family." Kanae huffed.

"Tell me about it." Kouta's dad said. "Right now, you should just try and cheer up your brother, okay?"

"Okay."