A/N: I apologize for not updating sooner. I was busy and also suffering from writer's block on this chapter, but I got through it! :D
I would like to take a moment to thank Soulless Ghosty for suggesting an idea for this chapter. I was stuck for ideas, but when I read her review, I was like, "Oh, hey! I could do a chapter with that in it!" Thank you, Soulless Ghosty! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs used in previous chapters. I don't own Black Cat, either. Just so you know, there are some slight spoilers for the anime that are touched upon in this chapter.
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Train was lying on the kitchen floor, unconscious and covered in blood. Saya gasped and stood there, too shocked to move. Eve seemed to be the same way. Sven observed the teeth marks on Train's abdomen while Saya was praying to the heavens that Train wasn't dead.
"The wolf did this to him," Sven said after a few minutes. "He knew that we were gone."
Saya knelt beside Train and put her ear close to his heart. To her relief, it was beating ever so slightly. She sighed and closed her eyes. "He's still alive," she said out loud.
"Train wouldn't die just because of a wolf bite," Sven said. He then picked Train up, placed him on the couch, took off his shirt and wrapped his wounds. Sven then put Train's shirt back on. Eve wrapped ice in a cruddy towel and put it on Train's head to serve as a cold compress. Eve read by Train's side while glancing at him from time to time. He seemed at peace, breathing slowly but steadily. Train stirred a few hours later.
"Saya? Sven? Eve? When…?" He couldn't finish his sentence.
"Hey," Sven said while he flipped the page of the newspaper that he was reading. "You're finally awake."
"Yeah," Train said. "How… how long have I been out for?"
"A few hours," Saya said.
"The wolf attacked you," Eve said.
"I know," Train groaned. "I remember it happening. It hurt like hell."
"The marks are pretty deep," Sven said.
"Do you think they'll scar?"
"No, probably not."
Train was relieved. Saya sat down near Train's head. Train looked up at her as if to say, "What are you doing?" She moved his head so that it was on her lap. Train gazed into Saya's eyes contentedly and fell asleep a few minutes later.
With the rate that their relationship is progressing, it probably won't be long until they fall in love, Sven thought. Eve, Train, and Saya's thoughts were along the same lines as Sven's.
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When Eve, Sven, and Saya were absolutely certain that Train was okay, the phone rang. Saya answered it while Train got frozen kale out of the freezer. He then took dry-roasted peanuts, red pepper flakes, and tamari-toasted almonds out of the closet. Train then put said items in a bowl and started eating them.
"Train, what the hell is that?" Sven asked as Train took a bite of the salad.
After he finished chewing, he said, "It's a salad. I like it. It helps my eyes, too."
"Kale is a type of cabbage that is very high in vitamins K, A and C, beta carotene, magnesium, copper, calcium, and many other minerals and vitamins. In short, it is very good for you."
Sven looked at the title of the book that Eve had read aloud from. It was called The Many Benefits of Kale. Sven sweatdropped. That's what she's reading?
Saya hung up the phone, looking uncertain.
"Is something wrong, Saya?" Train asked.
"My parents called. They wanted to see me again."
Train gasped slightly. He knew about Saya's past. To put it lightly, Saya's relationship with her parents was far from pleasant—very, very far.
"What do you want to do?" Train asked.
"I guess I'll go, but I want you guys to come with me."
Sven nodded. An hour later, the sweepers hopped in the car and drove to where Saya's parents were staying.
When they were at the house's doorstep, Saya rang the doorbell. Saya's father answered the door.
"Saya?" he asked, shocked that she had actually came. Train caught the irritation in his blue eyes. His deep brown hair looked greasy. Did he even shower before we came? Train thought, momentarily grossed out by his appearance. He thought it not normal to answer the door looking dirty. Train thought that it gave people a bad impression—who would want to come into someone's house when the person who answered the door looked unclean?
"Hi, Dad," Saya said. "I came, just like you asked me to."
"That's wonderful," her father said. Train could hear the strain in his voice and wondered if Saya's father really wanted them there.
A little while later, after Saya's parents kicked Saya, Train, Sven and Eve out, Eve said, "They clearly did not want us here."
"Sorry, guys," Saya said. "I thought they wanted to see me again, but I guess not."
"It's okay," Train said. He smiled. "Parents are moody like that." Saya found herself smiling at his words. Her hand bumped his twice and he held her hand. Sven noticed the gesture and smiled contentedly. He decided not to say anything and let Train and Saya be.
Train felt his feelings for Saya intensify as he looked into her blue eyes.
Sven shouted, "Train, watch out! There's a car coming!"
Train managed to wrench his gaze away before he found himself almost squished by a car. Adrenaline tore through his body and he jumped back, feeling his heart hammer against his ribcage with astounding force.
The black SUV that had nearly made Train into a sweeper pancake skidded to a halt a few feet away. Four men and one woman dressed in black jumped out.
The first man was about 6'2" with black hair and brown eyes. His name was Ken Morris. The second man was 5'7" with blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was Alexander Zimmerman. Riley Schumacher, an average-sized man with slightly gray hair and hazel eyes, followed Alexander out of the back door. Quince Schneider, a short, pudgy, loudmouthed man with black hair and green eyes, stepped out of the car. Winona Bell leapt out of the car. Her long brown hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, streamed out behind her and her slender feet hit the ground. She held up a large gun which, to Train, looked odd. Maybe she's got that huge gun because she's so small, he thought.
Quince was the leader of the group, which was known as The Jumpers. Their specialty, as one could probably guess by their name, was attacking people at moments when they least expected it. Today, these four sweepers were their targets.
"Well, well, well," Quince began as Ken, Alexander, Riley, and Winona surrounded Train, Sven, Eve and Saya with their guns cocked and ready to fire, "who do we have here?" Before anyone could answer, he continued, "Let's see… the Black Cat, a bio-weapon, a former IBI agent, and a sweeper."
"How did you know who we are?!" Sven demanded.
"We do backround checks on all of our victims," Quince said.
"Vicitms?" Train asked. Dammit! What the hell did we get ourselves into now?!
"Yes, you heard me right—victims." The thought hit Train that they might not be able to get out of this predicament alive. He suddenly realized that he had seen their faces on a bounty list a few days ago.
"You do realize that you're all wanted criminals, right?" Train asked.
"In fact, yes, we do," Quince said. "How much is our bounty, Winona?"
Winona replied, "30 thousand."
"That's a pretty large bounty," Sven said.
Ken smiled. "Damn straight."
"Too bad we're all armed," Saya said. She took out her cocked Beretta 93R and it glimmered in the sunlight. Don't hold back there, Saya, Train thought as he took Hades out of his holster and cocked it. The Orichalcum gun also shone in the sunlight. Sven held up his attaché case and the machine guns that he had installed into it came shooting out with a touch of a button. Eve turned her hair into nanoslicers. She figured that she didn't need them, but you never knew what your bounty was going to do.
Quince felt that he and his gang were going to win this fight.
Winona shot at Train, and he blocked the shot with Hades. Saya then shot at Winona and the bullet buried itself in her leg. Winona fell with a groan. Winona's always the first one to go down, Quince thought with irritation. Ken shot at Saya, and the bullet connected with her shoulder. Train then shot a bullet through the barrel of Ken's gun and destroyed it. Ken pulled out an emergency pistol, but Train also destroyed that. Eve changed her hair into fists and knocked out Ken.
Quince pulled out a pistol and quickly shot at Sven. Sven blocked the shot with his attaché case and made the machine guns fire quickly. The bullets made quick work of Alexander and Riley, clipping them in multiple places. Quince sighed. Why did his gang have to be such sissies? He now knew that he wasn't going to win this fight and felt it best that he surrendered before any more damage was done.
After turning in the gang and getting their $30,000 bounty, the sweepers ate at Marcy's Diner, and as usual, Train managed to eat most of the bounty away. Saya then suggested going to Pan Pan Pan and visiting Layla.
"Welcome to Pan Pan Pan! How can we help you today?" Layla asked. The kids echoed her words.
Layla then handed the sweepers a menu. Layla then recognized Eve from seven months ago when she had first met Eve. Leon had been with the Apostles of the Stars and Tim had been left to protect the group by himself.
"Eve!" Layla walked over to the table where the sweepers were sitting. She had put Leon in charge of greeting the customers while Layla was busy talking to Eve. Leon had obliged, but was slightly annoyed. Why did he, a former Apostle of the Star, have to greet customers? Why couldn't Tim do it? Leon sighed to himself, knowing fully well that Tim wouldn't do something like this. Tim would probably mention his manliness and start going on some sort of rant about how he was too manly to greet customers for a bakery.
A woman with long red hair and green eyes walked by wearing a purple t-shirt and denim shorts. She paused while looking into the window. Leon was about to open his mouth and say, "Welcome to Pan Pan Pan! How can I help you today?", but she walked away before he could do anything.
Totally taken aback and angry by the woman's apparent lack of courtesy, Leon thought angrily to himself, I thought that people would've learned some manners by now! How could she just walk away from me like that?! Sheesh! The rudeness of some people!
"It's been a while, Eve," Layla said. Eve nodded.
"I missed you too, Layla," Eve said.
Layla gasped at the sight of Train and Saya sitting close together. "Aww!" she gushed. "You two are so cute together!"
Saya smiled and Train turned a light shade of pink. "Thanks," Saya said.
It was Layla's turn to smile. "I have to go serve the customers now. Leon doesn't look like he's having any success. Talk to you later!" She walked away and returned to the front of the bakery.
Train ordered a chocolate cupcake, which he split with Saya, Sven ordered a cup of coffee, and Eve ate a black and white cookie.
They headed back to the hotel and hung out for the rest of the day. After ordering a pizza, they all read their books. Train had finished James Patterson's Cross Country and had heard that there was another book in the same series called Alex Cross's Trial. He made a mental note to go to the library with Eve.
They all fell asleep soon after. Sven dreamed about being on a beach with Tearju. Eve dreamed that she was riding a horse through a grassy plain, then stopping to drink from a stream. Saya dreamed that she and Train were moongazing from the rooftops while drinking bottles of milk. Train dreamed that he was in a meadow with Saya. He found a cherry blossom tree and settled under it with Saya by his side.
A small smile crept onto Train's face as he slept. Thoughts of the wolf didn't cross his mind for once, and he eased into a peaceful state of mind. Things were actually calm, and that was a rarity in the busy life of a sweeper.