A Different Fate

by Musal

What if Train didn't know Creed killed Saya? What if he believed it was Chronos? What if Train helped Creed create the Apostles to get revenge on Chronos? What happens when Train learns the truth? CxT

32. New Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or its characters

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"Do you want to save his life?"

Train's golden eyes bore holes into Charden's, Echidna at the Blood Taoist side, smirking heinously next to him. The Black Cat growled and clenched his fists, eyes landing slowly and defeatedly on Lin's bleeding body that laid lifelessly on the cold, dark ground. He glanced to the side and saw Hades resting uselessly next to him, taunting the cat as it sat just out of his reach. Unable to look at the number's stomach which still had the wolf beast's swordtail thrusting through it, Train kept his eyes on Lin's face. That view wasn't really any better since the number's eyes were shut, but there was blood seeping out of every orifice on the man's innocent face.

Train tried to throw himself forward to take Lin in his arms, but was stopped by the chains attached to his wrists and ankles. They were long enough that he could move his arms, but short enough to keep Number X or Hades away from him. Train tried several times to use his Tao abilities to either shield Lin or get his gun back, but there must have been something in the dark, vacant room that suppressed his powers. He even attempted to attack the Apostles leaders with every weather power he knew he possessed, but his ability was being completely stifled by something in the room. He wasn't sure what was happening, since it seemed like Charden and Echidna could use their Tao without a problem. That was made clear when he saw Charden call back a blast of blood he launched to push Hades even further away from him when the gunman tried to reach for it once more.

"What the hell kind of question is that?! Of course I want to save his life! Just tell me what I have to do!" Train shouted, pulling at the chains that bound him to the ground, glancing at his gun every so often to see if the distance between them had changed at all.

Charden matched Echidna's smirk, shuffling his feet forward a little through murky liquid beneath them. It was too dark to tell what the substance was, but Train had a feeling he knew and refused to acknowledge it. Somewhere in the distance, there was a perturbing dripping sound that echoed dismally in the background. It had been picking up speed the longer he was chained up, and it was beginning to drive him mad. Train couldn't see where it came from, but he also knew he didn't have time to search for the noise since Charden seemed ready to finish off Lin at any moment.

Charden chuckled lightly at Train's deadly look and adjusted his glasses. "I think we've already made it clear what you need to do to save his life…"

Train pulled his arms harshly as he scowled deeply at the blood Taoist. "Fine. I'll come with you and Doctor can do whatever he pleases with me. Just save Lin!"

The dripping in the distance picked up a little more speed which for some reason agitated the cat more and he was having a hard time ignoring it. He tried to glance behind Echidna where it seemed to be coming from, but the woman stepped to the side to block his view, making the gunman's heart quake with fear at what she could possibly be hiding from him.

"This is absolutely pathetic, Black Cat. I'm beginning to question what Creed was so obsessed with about you…" Charden's voice was a brutal whisper as he spoke, taking another step towards the slowly dying Lin, the liquid around his feet sloshing ominously.

Train growled louder as Charden moved closer to Lin, pulling at his chains even harder when he saw the blonde man kneel down next to the number. "DON'T TOUCH HIM! I ALREADY TOLD YOU I'D COME WITH YOU!"

Charden looked up at him harshly, but the smirk on his face contradicted the angry look he was giving Train. "That's really what Doctor wants… It's not exactly what we want…"

Train growled. "You just said you were clear about what you wanted…"

Charden chuckled again, not moving away from Lin as he glared at the cat. "Yes… I have been… I want nothing more than yours and Creed's demise."

Upon hearing his ex-partner's name, Train felt his body spark brightly with blue electricity only to have it die down quickly by whatever dampening the room was forcing on his Tao. He felt a rage he hadn't felt since he was an assassin slowly paint itself across his face as he gave the man a murderous look.

"Don't. Touch. Creed."

The laugh he heard came from Echidna, who licked her lips as she glanced over her shoulder. As soon as she did that, the dripping sound increased his speed, matching the rapid racing of Train's heart as he slowly began to piece together what she might have been looking at. Train screamed and pulled at his chains, desperate to break free and protect the two people he cared about more than anything else in the world.

Charden seemed to enjoy his discomfort as his smirk widened. He looked back down at Lin and took hold of the sword that was still stabbed through his gut. The wolf must have vanished at some point since it was no longer attached to the blade, which allowed the Apostles leader to take a firm hold on the handle and twist it slowly. Lin's eyes shot open and he screamed out, his hand clutching at the empty air around him, his gasps weak and feeble as he tried to cling to life.

"T-Train…" Lin moaned painfully before collapsing back on the ground, his arms splashing dully in the liquid that began pooling sinisterly around him. "T-Train… Are you o-okay?"

"LIN!" Train screamed, his voice coming out in a raspy shout as he tried to fight the chains to defend the man.

Lin began choking on his own blood, grasping at the air in Train's directions as he desperately tried to reach the man he loved. "Please… D-don't hurt T-Train…"

"LEAVE LIN ALONE!" Train shouted, pulling as hard as he could against his binds.

Charden looked up at Train, but kept his hand on the sword. "You can't protect anyone, Black Cat. Why do you even try? Do you really think you can take us down?"

The dripping sound in the background picked up more speed as Train's heart beat faster and faster. "BASTARD!"

Echidna laughed again which made his golden eyes flash vehemently at her, pulling his legs roughly as he tried to free himself once more. As he struggled against the chains, he heard another voice coming from behind him, the new one sending chills down his spine and his hair on edge.

"Has he agreed to hand himself over yet?" Doctor stepped behind Train, the liquid around his feet splattering against the cat's back.

Train looked over his shoulder at the man, his eyes burning bright with hatred as Kanzaki smirked dementedly down at him. He spoke to the scientist in a savage whisper. "Doctor…"

"He has, but how long will you need him for? We need to dispose of him quickly." Charden leaned forward a little, which caused the sword to go deeper into Lin, making the number cry out Train's name once more.

Train screamed again and launched himself forward, the dripping sound going even faster as he shouted at the blonde man. "GET OFF HIM!"

Lin gasped for air as he tried to claw towards the Black Cat. "I love you, Train…"

The next laugh he heard came from the Doctor and caused Train to shiver. He felt the man wrap his fingers around his shoulder, squeezing tightly as he leaned forward to whisper sickly in his ear. "What's wrong, Black Cat? Too feeble to help your lover?"

Train yanked his shoulder out of the man's grasp, causing him to fall forward and into the thick liquid that surrounded him. He heard all three of them laugh as Lin screamed for Train again, the cat spitting out the substance and looking over at the number weakly.

"Lin… I'm so sorry…"

It was then Train actually tasted the broth that was in his mouth and wiped at his lips frantically. He stared wide eyed at his blood covered hand, his body slowly shaking as the dripping moved even faster, grating on his last nerves as he tried to peer behind the actress again to see where it was coming from. However, as soon as he looked up, he felt Doctor grab his hair forcefully, pulling his head back so their eyes met.

Doctor's smirk grew even more maniacal as he pulled out a scalpel. "Shall we begin the experiment?"

Train growled and slapped the knife out of his hands. "Not until Lin is out of here safely!"

Doctor's laugh echoed painfully against Train's ears as the scientist tightened his grip on his hair. "I think it's a bit too late for that, Black Cat…"

Train gave the man a startled look before Kanzaki let go so he could see for himself. The cat screamed out in anguish as he saw Lin's body sliced in two, his dead eyes looking at the gunman longingly as his outstretched hand froze in its attempts to reach him. Train lurched forward and threw up into the blood that surrounded him, collapsing forward on his hands as his head sunk low.

"No… No… You said you would save him… You said if I gave you what you want you'd let him go…" Train's voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke, his eyes unblinking as he watched his bile mix stoutly with the blood that covered the floor.

Charden chuckled as he stood, wiping the blood off his cheek with the back of his hand, stepping back over to the actress who seemed pleased with what he had done. "You did not, since you are still alive."

Doctor moved so he was standing next to Train, kneeling on the ground as he took a tight hold of his hair again, pulling him backwards as he gently pressed the scalpel against his neck. "And I've yet to slice you open…"

Train's eyes were inert as he stared into the abyss that resided above his head, barely feeling the scalpel as it slowly cut into his skin. "Do what you will with me, but leave Creed alone… Please… Don't hurt Creed as well…"

Echidna's laugh pierced his ears, but Doctor's hold prevented him from looking at the woman. "If we kill you, we'll only have to deal with a murderous Creed. As much as we'd love to have that killer instinct instilled in him again, there's no way we'd be able to make use of him without you in his life."

Train clenched his fists so tight he drew blood from his palm. "Leave. Creed. ALONE!"

Charden chuckled as Doctor released his hold on Train's hair, letting the Black Cat fall grotesquely to the ground, laughing as the gunman slid against the blood. Train didn't bother to sit himself up since he knew it would only give him full view of the mutilated Lin. However, when he heard a familiar gasp, his eyes shot up instinctively, widening as Echidna stepped aside to allow him full view of Creed's body hanging heinously from a rope.

Creed's entire body was covered in blood, his pale skin turning an inky black as his life force slowly slipped from his body. As the swordsman struggled against the rope that wrapped around his neck, the dripping sound increased its speed and the blood falling from his eyes splashed repugnantly to the floor. Creed used one hand to pull at the noose around his neck, the other reaching out to Train, trying to get to him before Doctor cut into his throat again.

"T-Train…" Creed gasped, kicking his legs wildly as he tried to move himself towards Train. "T-Train… D-don't… D-don't go with them…"

"CREED!" Train yelled as he tried to run forward only to fall face first into the blood again, earning laughter from the rest of the Apostles that had suddenly appeared around him. "LET HIM GO! DON'T HURT HIM!"

"Again, I need to say it's too late for that…" Doctor stepped in front of Train, scalpel still in hand as his glasses glinted malevolently in the lone light swaying above them. "Creed's usefulness being alive has reached its end. He'll never truly rejoin us without you and anything more we need from him I can get from his corpse."

"T-Train…" Creed gasped again, pulling at the rope widely as he tried to swing himself over to the cat. "Train… My love, please… Please don't die…"

Echidna turned a harsh glare to the man and kicked him roughly in the stomach making the swordsman cough and sputter, his hands going instinctively to his stomach which made the rope tighten around his neck. He clawed at the rope again, the blood dripping at an intense level as he tried to fight for his life.

"CREED!" Train shouted, the chains cutting into his wrists and ankles, drawing even more blood as he pawed at the air perilously. "CREED! NO! LET HIM GO! YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME! JUST LET CREED GO!"

Charden rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I already told you we want you both dead. The only reason you're still alive is because the Doctor needs you to stay that way… for now. Also, we rather enjoy watching the hope drain from your eyes…."

As Train shot another glare at the man, the rest of the Apostles began laughing again. He looked back at Creed who's struggles were beginning to lessen, his neck bleeding worse than before from the clawing he was doing against the rope. His lithe fingers stopped moving as his arms fell heavily against his body, his face stiffening as his dead eyes stared into Train's, a single, bloody tear dripping down his cheek and splashing onto the floor.

"CREED!" Train yelled again, ignoring the laughter that filled the room as he launched himself forward again. With another tighter pull of his arms, he managed to slip out of the chain, stumbling forward as the Apostles slowly disappeared.

When he felt Doctor try to slice him with the scalpel again, Train growled and attempted to slap at the object. Before he could make contact, the scientist vanished into a wisp of smoke, but his laughter still echoed against the walls. As Train ran forward, he punched the air where Charden was, only to see he too had disappeared. When he turned to Echidna, he glared at the woman and ran towards her, his body walking through a cloud of mist that was once the actress as he finally reached a still hanging Creed.

Not caring to wonder where the Apostles had disappeared to, Train yanked his former partner down and clutched his lifeless body to his chest.

"Creed… Creed, I'm so sorry…"

His sobs bounced off the walls eerily as he rocked back and forth with the man he knew he still loved lying dead in his arms.

"Stupid… So stupid…" He looked back at Lin's body and screamed in agony before burying his head back in Creed's bloody, silver locks.

"Why… Why did you both have to love me…?" He clutched Creed closer, his arms shaking as he tried to squeeze the man back to life. "Why did you both have to die…?"

He pulled Creed away, holding the man's cold face in his hands. "Creed…"

Train brushed a few strands of hair out of Creed's eyes, the locks crunching slightly as the dried blood clung grossly to his silver tresses.

"Creed… I'm so sorry." He pressed his forehead against the swordsman's, his body going cold as he shut his eyes and tried to will himself out of this nightmare. "Creed… I love you…"

Train's eyes shot open as he jolted up from his sleep, clutching his chest tightly as he looked around his empty room in fear. Sweat was raining down his face as he jumped out of his bed, running to the door and throwing it open quickly. He bolted down to Creed's room and nearly broke the door off its hinges as he hurled it open. His heart began beating faster as he saw Creed wasn't there and felt himself start to panic.

Not wanting to accept Creed wasn't there, Train ran into the room and began to take it apart. He ripped opened the man's closet and tore apart his bed, as if Creed was simply hiding. Once the room was thoroughly searched, Train pulled his phone out of his pocket, ready to call the man before he saw an unread message waiting for him. Seeing Creed's name calmed him down a little which gave him enough sense to click the text and read it quickly.

Train sighed a breath of relief as he collapsed on the bed, his hand running through his hair as he tried to tell himself to calm down.

He's at the music school… Of course that's where he is, where else does he go when I'm not home?

Train had been spending the day at the hospital with Lin before Sephiria kicked him out so the number could start his physical therapy. He was starting to do better, but the Chronos leader believed Train would only be a distraction to Lin and he wouldn't be able to concentrate on what he was doing if the Black Cat was around. He tried to protest since he didn't want to leave Lin alone during such a difficult recovery process, but Sephiria wasn't having any of his stubbornness.

That's right, I came home and must have fallen asleep. I only wanted to rest my eyes before I tried to find anyone else, but I guess I passed out…

That was the first time he fell asleep without Creed next to him since Lin was almost killed and apparently his night terrors had decided to come back in full force. He still blamed himself for the condition the number was in and as much as both Lin and Creed tried to comfort him, it didn't change what his subconscious was telling him since these nightmares had only gotten worse.

Lin… I need to make sure Lin is okay. Creed just confirmed with me that he's at the music school so I know he's safe, but now I need to make sure Lin is okay.

Train pulled out his phone to call Sephiria, then growled as it rang once then went to voicemail. He tried again only to get the same results and decided to text her instead. Train stared at his phone impatiently, rolling over onto his back as he watched his phone with anxious eyes. After what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, Sephiria's name popped up to confirm Number X was fine and to stop worrying.

The cat sighed and let his hands fall to the side of the bed. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down as he looked around the room he had just trashed. The cat frowned as he sat up slightly, embarrassment taking over his chest as he slowly slid off the bed.

I know Creed won't be mad at me for doing this… In fact, he'll probably be more worried about me than anything else or even find a way to be flattered by it, but that doesn't make my reaction appropriate. I need to clean it up.

Train hung Creed's clothes back up in the closet, closing it lightly as he turned to the man's bed and made it. Once he was done, he sat back on the bed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. He took another shaky breath and leaned his elbows on his knees, watching the floor as his leg began to vibrate wildly as he replayed the dream in his head. Train slapped his leg to get it to stop shaking, then pulled his phone out again to read the message Creed sent him. He smiled warmly, the name of the man being enough to help calm him down.

He always makes sure to tell me where he is no matter what I'm doing. He wants me to know where he is at all times in case I need him for whatever reason. Usually I don't, but right now...

Train eyed the heart Creed added at the end of his message, his heart fluttering in his chest as he stared at the small image. His friend ended every text to Train that way, a small reminder to the cat of how much Creed loved and cared about him. He knew the silver man only sent a heart because he was worried anything more would upset Train, but lately the gunman had been wanting more from Creed. While the little bit of love at the end of every message was nice and sleeping next to him soothed his guilt ridden mind, his heart begged for more every time he saw the man or even thought of him.

Should I go see him now? That might help calm me down more… It also doesn't look like anyone else is home.

He had made quite a commotion when he woke up, so the fact that no one else came to investigate what was wrong led Train to believe they were all out. It also made sense why Creed would go to the music school since he wouldn't have anything better to do. He also knew his friend was helping Anastasia get her paperwork together since he was going to be taking over her business.

Still, where is everyone else? Creed has the common courtesy to let me know where he is, why can't Sven?

A thought occurred to him and he rolled his eyes to flip through his messages again. He groaned in annoyance when he saw Kyoko's name with a barrage of unread messages assaulting his eyes. Train started blocking her number a while ago since all she did was send him dumb gifs and pictures along with iriatatingly loving messages. At least when Creed did it, it was subtly and sweet. Kyoko's were aggravating and nonstop.

Seriously, can't she take the hint? Isn't it enough already with this annoying crush? She could actually take a note from Creed about how to tone it down.

Train chuckled at the image of Creed trying to calm Kyoko down. It was definitely strange, but amusing nonetheless. He read the most recent message from the girl which confirmed they were out. Sven, Eve, and Kyoko had gone shopping for groceries and Train knew that meant they were going to be gone for a while. Mostly because Kyoko had gone with them and she made everything take longer since she always wanted to extend the food shopping to shopping for something more.

And Sven says I'm bad. At least when he goes with me, we just come home with more food. With her, they end up coming back with clothes or overly cute stuffed animals… Which she often ends up giving to me…

Train groaned, the teen girl annoying him even though she wasn't there. Deciding to bring his mind back to something more pleasant, he went back to his message thread with Creed, smiling fondly at their exchanges, then glancing at the door quickly.

I should go see how he's doing… This text was sent a while ago and who knows what kind of work Anastasia has him doing.

Train stood up quickly and walked towards the front door of the hideout. As he stepped out the door and flashed himself away, he felt his restlessness already subsiding at just the mere thought of seeing Creed soon.

---

Creed frowned as he dug through a pile of papers his teacher had given him, trying to make heads or tails of what was what and how to organize it properly.

"Have you never heard of a filing cabinet, Anastasia? Not only do they help organize, but they're relatively inexpensive and can tuck into any corner of any room quite conveniently." The swordsman looked over his shoulder at the old woman, giving her an annoyed look as he stacked a pile next to him.

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "I told you my wife was the one in charge of the papers. That's why I need you. I need a coordinated mind to help set this mess straight."

Creed chuckled lightly, adjusting his legs on the floor as he went through another stack. "Are you saying you're not coordinated?"

"Yes." She answered firmly, spinning slightly in the swivel chair she sat in. "I'm not ashamed to admit it. I never thought I'd have to worry about it."

Creed frowned, hearing the bit of sadness in her voice and dialing back his irritation a little by teasing his teacher. "Well, now that you've decided to pawn this mess off on me, looks like you still don't have to worry about it."

Anastasia smirked at him, stopping her chair so she could lean over her desk to watch her student sort through her mess. "How exactly do you plan to organize this chaos?"

Creed laughed. "Same way I organized the mayhem that was the Apostles: Lots of time and hard work."

The woman laughed and slapped the desk. "I was hoping you'd say you were going to persuade the papers to go away!"

"If only…" Creed mumbled as he scowled at a document with faded ink. "Have you seriously never gone through any of these? Honestly, this is absolutely absurd."

The woman smirked. "Nope! That's ten years worth of paperwork you're combing through."

Creed gave her a pleading look as he held papers in each hand, shaking them in her directions. "Whyyy?!"

Anastasia looked away from him stubbornly. "Because my job was to teach. I refuse to worry about the finances and other nonsense that goes into running a business."

Creed sighed and went back to what he was going. "Good thing this building is paid off… And you live in the upstairs section, right?" Seeing his teacher nod, he felt a bit of relief. "Guess that makes sense why I'm not finding a lot of financial stuff here. That's a blessing in disguise."

Anastasia cocked an eyebrow at him. "How so?"

Creed set another stack to the side of him, stretching his legs out to rub them since they were starting to fall asleep from sitting on the floor for so long. "Well, if this building wasn't paid off and you didn't live in it, you might have been on the streets and jobless long ago."

Anastasia smiled wistfully. "Nah, she made sure I was well taken care of before she left…"

Creed frowned at her, continuing to massage the feeling back into his legs. "...Was she sick?"

"Yes." She replied, turning to look at a picture of her wife that still sat on her desk. "We knew it was coming, but we still weren't ready. I will say, she hung on for quite a while. She said she refused to die until she knew I was going to be okay."

Creed smiled warmly at his teacher. "I can see why you loved her so much…"

He couldn't help but see the similarity of his relationship with his beloved to Anastasia's with her wife. Even though he wasn't in a relationship with Train, he knew if the situation the woman described to him applied to them, there was no way he'd die before he knew his Kitten would be well taken care of. It also wasn't too far off for Train to need a little help after Creed left. His love may have been lucky, but he didn't think things through and Creed had to bail him out of a lot of risky situations.

I really don't think Train realizes how much I protect him from near death situations. Or he does and just trusts me to keep him safe. But, I don't protect him from just fatal scenarios. Train needs financial help as well and I know Sven would make sure he's taken care then in regards to that, but I don't think my soul would ever rest if I didn't know my Kitten was set for life in all aspects. He can really be so reckless sometimes…

Creed smiled fondly at that thought, his mind slowly slipping away to images of his precious cat, forgetting he was trying to comfort his mentor.

Anastasia knew the look on Creed's face too well and chuckled. "Making comparisons? I swear, I don't think you think of anything else other than your beloved cat."

Creed sighed and went back to rubbing his thighs. "Sorry… Old habit…" A thought occurred to him that he decided to voice out loud. "Did Rinslet know you lived here when she broke us in for the first time?"

Anastasia scoffed at the mention of her former student. "Of course she did! Why do you think I was so angry at her?! And still am!"

Creed chuckled. "Sorry I asked…" He paused for a second, seeming to think about his words before he spoke. "I'm also sorry for bringing up such sensitive subjects. I know how you don't like talking about that stuff…"

Anastasia brushed his words away. "You don't need to apologize and I don't need comfort. I've made peace with it and I'm ready to see her again."

Creed felt his heart break. "Why do you keep saying such ominous things like that? I thought you were expecting to outlive me."

Anastasia laughed. "I'm starting to rethink that. If I prevail longer than you, I'll have to deal with all this rubbish paperwork."

Creed wasn't happy that she was trying to change the subject to be more lighthearted, but knew better than to go against what she wanted. "Are you threatening to off yourself if you have to deal with all this alone?"

Anastasia gave him a tenacious look. "That, or I'll just have to fake my death to get away from it all."

Creed rolled his eyes. "And Train says I'm dramatic." He sighed and went back to his menial task, leaving his legs stretched out as he spoke. "I don't think that'll be necessary. Most of this is receipts from buying instruments and other supplies or payment for student lessons. And it looks as if your wife set it up so your bank pays the bill on time for you. I don't know how she accomplished that after so many years, but it's impressive."

Anastasia smiled adoringly. "She was very impressive…"

Creed smiled adoringly at his teacher. "Sounds like you were quite lucky to have her."

"I was." Anastasia watched as Creed's mind began to wonder again and decided to throw one of the balled up discarded papers on her desk at him. "Really? Even simply hearing the word 'lucky' makes you think of that man?"

Creed caught the paper skillfully and threw it in a nearby garbage can. "Much like the Greek language, I can trace any word back to Train."

The old woman smirked. "Sounds like a super power."

"Of sorts…" Creed said, still smiling as thoughts of his beloved danced through his head. "As I said before, I'm glad she worked out your finances before she left because you should have enough to buy a filing cabinet, so… take the hint."

Anastasia sighed. "Yeah, yeah…" Seeing Creed was still smiling, she decided to push further into what exactly her student was thinking about. "Is this making you think of how you could set up your beloved financially for the rest of his life?"

Creed pouted. "Maybe…" He glanced at the woman's knowing face and sighed. "It's not like I'd really be able to do that in our current position. Sweeps don't exactly set you up for life. It's just a way to pay the bills."

Anastasia smiled widely at him. "This place makes more money than you realize. Once it belongs to you, you'll be able to live happily ever after with your love."

"Only if Train comes around…" Creed said dolefully.

Anastasia frowned deeply at him. "From what you've been telling me, he's coming around more and more every day. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was your boyfriend."

Creed brushed brightly, smirking down at the paperwork surrounding him. "He certainly acts like it sometimes."

The music teacher smiled and nodded. "Then don't fret. Happiness is just around the corner."

"And once again, your words are haunting. I don't know if I'm willing to accept that happiness if the cost is your life." Creed sighed and flipped lazily through a few more papers.

Anastasia seemed a bit surprised to hear that. "You wouldn't take a blissful, stress free life with the love of your life if that meant an old woman who has been ready to die for ten years finally got her wish and kicked the bucket?"

Creed grimaced. "Your portentous words shake my heart. I wish you'd dial it down a smidge."

The woman chuckled. "You can't outrun death forever. And no one knows this better than a woman who has experienced all life has to offer and has lived for far too long."

Creed didn't like talking about how exactly this school would become his, but apparently Anastasia was intent on it. "Anything else on your mind? I'd rather talk about something else than your impending doom."

"Like I just said, everyone's doom is impending. I'm just one of the few being realistic about it." She continued smirking at him, not caring at all that he didn't like the topic of their conversation.

Creed sighed loudly, making sure his teacher knew how upset he was about her words. "Guess if I want to make sure Train is set for life, I need to start discussing my will."

Anastasia snickered. "Especially if you intend to take the Apostles down." She thought about what she said, then decided to spare her student a little by changing the subject slightly. "How's that number of yours doing?"

Creed grimaced. "Lin's okay… Train's been visiting him every day and keeping us updated, but… Nothing really good to report yet."

Anastasia frowned. "But is there anything bad to report?" Seeing Creed shake his head, she smiled. "Then don't fret. I may not know him well, but he seems like a tough guy. How is your beloved handling it?"

Creed's grimace changed to a grin as he thought about his beloved again. "He's… okay…"

He knew that his expression betrayed his words. Train was still immensely worried about Lin, but that worry led to night terrors his love couldn't control which made him seek comfort in Creed's arms over and over again. Every night his Kitten couldn't sleep, he crawled into the silver man's bed and cuddled against him desperately. As much as it pained Creed to see his cat in pain, he was overjoyed to be spending every night with his love.

It's been another two weeks since Train came home the first time and almost every night he's ended up in my bed. Nothing other than caresses and cuddles has happened, but that's more than enough to quench my thirst for Train… At least for the time being. Anastasia is right, the line of our relationship is beginning to become so blurred I don't actually know what I would call us anymore.

Creed had been close to Train before the fight with the Apostles, but lately it had reached a level where he was beginning to question whether or not they were together. While there was no sexual aspect to their relationship at the moment, his Kitten had been treating him as if they were lovers again. As much as Creed was dying to make love to his beloved again, he wasn't going to push it, but he could tell Train had been wanting have sex with him again as well.

There were a few almost moments, but Train always manages to change those into gentle touches and snuggles instead. As happy as I am to hold him in my arms again, I really wish he'd just admit what he felt for me already.

It was becoming more and more clear to Creed how Train felt about him, but he was still pained by the fact that his love wasn't ready to say those words out loud again yet. It was killing Creed to know how his cat felt and still not being able to be with him, however, he understood. If Train wasn't spending time in his arms or comforting Lin, he was on the roof of their new sweepers hideout, talking to his best friend for advice.

We've been back to normal for the last two weeks which is a nice change of doing nothing after over a month of isolation. It feels good to be doing sweeps again, but Train's heart hasn't been fully in it. He's been too distracted.

Anastasia allowed her student this moment to be lost in his thought, but after a while she decided to finally interrupt. "I can't help but notice your relationship with him has been… progressing. And it seems like your life is back to normal for the most part."

Creed tried to hide his smile as he nodded. "We decided it was for the best to get back to our normal lives. We can't prevent the Apostles from coming after us and hiding away was only driving us mad. They'd eventually find us anyway, so we may as well live the lives we want to live. If we don't, they win."

We can't live our lives in fear. That's what they want.

After having a discussion with Sven and the rest of the sweeper group, they all hesitantly agreed to working with Chronos, but there was a consensus among them that it was time to stop hiding. They knew the Apostles would track them down at some point and everyone was losing their minds staying in one place for so long. Train also needed some normalcy back in his life. Not being in their normal hideout and not being able to do sweeps combined with the stress of not knowing every day if Lin was going to recover was making his beloved lose his mind. They all agreed that getting back to normal was in the best interest of the group.

And if the Apostles come for us, we'll just have to be ready. I can't keep asking my love to compromise his free will because of a few terrorists. You can't tie my Kitten down for too long. But… that does sound like something I'd like to try...

The old woman smirked and snickered. "If you live your lives in fear, the terrorists win, right?" Seeing Creed nodded and chuckle with her, she continued. "I'm glad you're back to business as usual. At least for the most part. Although, I can't say I don't miss privacy. How many Chronos agents are going to follow me and my students?"

Creed sighed and gave his teacher a sympathetic look, setting another stack aside in front of him. "Sorry… It's the best way to keep you safe."

"And ensure Chronos catches the Taoists. Trust me, I understand the reason for it, but it doesn't make it any better." She rested her elbow on the table as he stared at the picture of her wife.

Creed frowned as he watched his teacher sympathetically. "It'll all be over soon…"

The woman laughed loudly. "Yeah, because you all will be going after them soon. Is there any actual plan set up?"

"Even if there was, you know I couldn't tell you about it." Creed began idly looking through another stack of papers, aware he was beginning to lose his organizational edge.

"Whatever…" Anastasia mumbled as he glanced at the clock on the wall.

Creed sighed, rubbing his eyes, then his back as he spoke, glancing at a pile of papers that contained staff information. "After reading through these papers, it looks as though you're not the only teacher here. Is that correct?"

Anastasia laughed and shook her head. "Correct! I only teach the students who interest me the most. The rest of them are normal teachers with normal lives and they teach normal students. That's where the money comes from. In my old age, I only have the energy to teach the students who already know enough."

Creed smiled knowingly at her. He knew that was going to be her answer, but wanted to hear her say it nonetheless. After meeting who her students were, Creed knew that she didn't spend a lot of time teaching anyone who was less than advanced. It seemed like she took on students who had traumatic backgrounds and used music as therapy to help heal them.

She's more like a music therapist than a music teacher. I knew her school must have stayed afloat for another reason.

"If you really want me to run this place, you'll have to introduce me to the other students and teachers anyway." Creed wiggled his legs, groaning as the feeling finally began to return to them.

Seeing what time it was and seeing her student beginning to lose focus, she stood up shakily, feeling weaker than usual, but making sure to hide it from her pupil. "Haven't you been dying to meet my new obeo student? She's due to be picked up by her family any minute. She's using one of the practice rooms right now."

Creed's eyes lit up a little at the thought of meeting the newest addition to their strange music family. "Really?"

Anastasia nodded and walked back from around her desk. "If you really insist on meeting the rest of the cast in this strange musical I'm running, let's start with our newest one. Come meet the young oboe player." She stopped at the door before she stepped through as a thought occurred to her. "I understand why Chronos is watching us… But will they be watching the other uninvolved members of the school?"

Creed stared at her for a second as he tried to think about the answer to her question. "Chances are there will always be surveillance on the school, but I doubt Chronos will be following any uninvolved people. At least for the time being. I think they'd rather focus their attention on the students and staff who I have been in direct and consistent contact with."

Anastasia gave him an ambivalent look before nodding in understanding, then gesturing for him to stand and help her walk. "Come help an old woman make her way down the hall."

Creed smiled at her, then attempted to stand and fell back down. He frowned and rubbed his legs again, shaking them a little to get the feeling back. "Looks like you might need to help me."

Anastasia rolled her eyes and chuckled. "What good are you if you can't walk me?"

Creed smirked at her, using her desk to help him stand as he shook the feeling back into his legs. "I would assume you still need me to go through your massive amount of papers. That seems more pertinent than helping you get around. After all, you'll outlive us all, won't you?"

Anastasia returned his smirk and watched as he struggled to stand. Once he was up, she reached her hand out for him to take. Creed smiled at her and took the hand offered to him, allowing the woman to lean against him as they walked down the hallway. As they made their way, Creed heard the practice rooms they passed by filled with music and smiled. He always enjoyed being surrounded by the melodic sounds the school had to offer, but now that he was beginning to take a leadership role, he was getting more attached to the place.

It's always so wonderful being here and listening to the beautiful sounds it has to offer and speaking to the bizarre people that choose to attend this peculiar place. It warms my heart to know Anastasia cares and trusts me enough to leave the school to me.

Creed shook his head to stop himself before he began to think of what leaving this place to him meant happened to her. As thrilled as he was to know his teacher wanted him to take care of her pride and joy when she was gone, he hated knowing at what price the responsibility came with.

It's such a conflicting feeling. I'm excited and honored to be given this opportunity, yet I don't want it to happen since I know that means she will be gone.

"Thinking about your love again?" Anastasia said as she smirked up at her student.

Creed sighed sadly. "If only… Those thoughts would be more pleasant."

Anastasia frowned at his face as she realized what he was thinking about. She smacked him with her cane and smiled warmly at him. "I'm still here, remember?"

Creed gave his teacher a small smile and nodded. When they reached a door that he could hear the distinct sounds of an oboe behind, his ears perked and he looked through the small window. Creed peeked through the glass and smiled at the small girl sitting on a chair facing the upright piano in the small practice room.

Anastasia watched Creed's fascinated eyes and nudged him towards the door. "Go ahead and knock. She enjoys company while she plays."

Creed blinked at his teacher, then back at the door and knocked lightly. The small girl stopped playing and turned to look through the small window and beamed merrily at Creed. She waved excitedly, then stood up and opened the door with such force, it startled Creed into jumping slightly. The girl laughed loudly at him, making the silver man blush slightly in embarrassment as he looked away from the child.

Anastasia chuckled lightly at the man, then addressed the small oboist. "Aliane, this is Creed Diskenth. The pianist I was telling you about."

Creed eyed the girl, noticing she was chewing gum even though she had just been playing an instrument that required the use of her mouth and wore no shoes and baggy clothes. Her long blue hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, her grey eyes gleaming splendidly at him as she smirked wildly. Despite the fact that her clothes and general appearance made her look homeless, she was a rather pretty young lady and was sure to turn out to be a beautiful woman when she got older.

The girl named Aliane put out her hand for the swordsman to take. "Pleased to meet ya! I've been looking forward to seeing the famous pianist in person. Sergey won't shut up about you. Is he your boyfriend or somethin'?"

Creed widened his eyes, then sighed as he covered his face in shame as Anastasia laughed again and answered for him. "No, but he certainly wishes that were the case. I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to hear you say that. In fact, I hope we didn't just blow a dog whistle to summon him."

As if Creed actually believed that, he glanced down the hall, then sighed in relief. Aliane laughed, then cleared her throat to get the silver man's attention again. Creed looked back down at her offered hand, then took it firmly in his own, smiling cordially at her.

"Pleased to meet you as well. I've never met an oboe player in person."

Aliane laughed again as she clutched her instrument in one hand. "Oh boy, I hope I live up to the hype! That is if there is hype… Is there hype? What have you heard about us?!"

Creed blinked at her, then chuckled lightly at her dramatic behavior, reminding him of his beloved. "All good things, I assure you. Do you mind if I hear you play a little?"

Aliane nodded. "Do you know Williams' 'Oboe Concerto in A Minor'?"

Creed frowned a little as he thought, then nodded his head. "A little. Honestly, it doesn't matter what you play. I'd just like to hear you play."

The young girl nodded then gestured for the two of them to enter. It was a small room, but there was enough space for the three of them. Creed led Anastasia to the chair next to the girl and Creed chose to sit on the piano bench. Aliane wet her lips a little, then began to play the piece, entrancing Creed in the robust, keen sound of the instrument. That acerbic music it created was actually what interested the silver man so much about the oboe. It sounded so unlike any other instrument in the world and never failed to captivate him.

When she was finished, Creed clapped politely, still smiling brightly as he spoke encouraging words to her. "That was amazing! How long have you been playing?"

Aliane thought about his question, as if it was difficult to answer before finally answering. "About eight years. I started when I was nine, but stopped for a little when I was fourteen. I only picked it up again recently which is why my parents brought me here."

Creed nodded, still smiling as he spoke. "Why did you stop?"

As soon as he asked the question, the room's air grew thick with awkwardness and unease. Creed frowned slowly as he looked between his teacher and the young girl, not sure why they had both suddenly gotten so quiet. He began to wonder if he said something he shouldn't have and tried to make up for it.

"Is that… A sensitive subject?"

Anastasia watched as Aliane curled into herself a little, frowning sadly as she reached out to grab the girl's shoulder gently. "You can trust Creed with your story. Trust me, he's lived it all."

The girl looked at her teacher, then sighed and nodded slowly. She kept her eyes on the floor as she spoke, resting her oboe on her lap, fingering it stiffly while she told her life's story. "My… My family and I fell on hard times a few years ago. Both my parents lost their jobs and we lost our house to a fire. On top of all that, we were taking care of my grandfather who has Alzheimer's. We were living on the streets until recently…"

Creed felt his heart break at the girl's sad face, watching as she turned her head so Creed wouldn't see the single tear that fell from her eye. The swordsman frowned deeply at her. "Where are you staying now?"

Aliane winced a little, her voice shaking as she spoke. "My mom and dad were able to get jobs recently, so we're able to afford a small motel room. The only reason I'm here is because Anastasia offered to teach me free of charge."

Anastasia smiled at her as she patted her back kindly, but kept her eyes on Creed as she spoke. "The same deal I offer all of my special students."

Aliane laughed bitterly. "I hate the pity party you've thrown me… but I appreciate it nonetheless."

Creed watched the girl for a second before trying to give her a sincere smile. "Anastasia doesn't pity us. She's just an old woman with a kind heart. We're all lucky to have her."

That seemed to perk Aliane up a little and she nodded at the silver man. "I guess you're right. Thanks!"

Creed blinked as her whole demeanor began to chance almost immediately, not sure how she was able to go from morose and forlorn to perky and peppy that quickly. He glanced at Anastasia who gave him a strange look, as if she didn't want to say anything in front of the girl, but would fill him in later.

Creed turned back to the girl and smiled again, watching as she picked up her oboe and began playing another piece. "Do you know 'Fantasy Pieces' by Nielson?"

Aliane did not stop her playing as she turned to Creed, nodding wildly, not seeming to care that it ruined the piece she was performing. He looked at Anastasia for permission and when he saw the woman nod merrily, Creed stood. "Would you like to play it with me? I've been dying to have an oboe player to perform with."

Aliane looked at Creed, finally pulling her oboe out of her mouth as she pouted. "Won't my parents be picking me up soon?"

Creed looked at Anastasia since he didn't know the answer to that question and wasn't sure why she directed it at him. The woman rolled her eyes and chuckled as she answered the girl. "They're usually late and even if they do show up, I'm sure they won't mind waiting for you to perform with Creed."

Aliane's frown quickly changed to a happy smile and she nodded rapidly. She jumped out of her chair and ran towards the door then down the hall. "Let's use the piano on stage! I've been dying to play there!"

Creed blinked as he watched the girl go. "She's assuredly absurd…"

Anastasia smirked at her student. "She has borderline personality disorder. Her parents told me that before I decided to take her on to make sure I knew what I was getting into."

Creed frowned at her, then at the door where the girl had run through. "Her story is… so tragic. How have they been able to manage her disorder along with her grandfather's Alzheimer's all while being homeless and jobless?"

Anastasia let out a long, sympathetic sigh. "They're definitely survivors. Music helps her stabilize. I figured you'd be able to relate to that."

Creed nodded. "I guess a bit, but I don't have anything diagonisably wrong with me."

Anastasia chuckled as she took the hand her student offered her to help her stand. "Have you ever been to a psychiatrist?"

Creed smirked at her. "Don't you count?"

The woman shook her head. "Sorry, I don't have the qualification to properly diagnose you. Even if I did, I'd probably just tell you that you're crazy."

Creed snickered and helped her walk out of the room. "Then I guess I'd want a refund."

Anastasia scoffed at him. "You'd have to give me money first to get a refund."

"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!"

The two of them rolled their eyes together as they heard Aliane's impatient voice call them down the hall. Anastasia motioned for Creed to move a little faster, which he did unwillingly. He was starting to notice the woman was getting slower and weaker lately and even though she refused to address it or talk to him about it, he had no choice but to act like he didn't see her declining health.

When they reached the stage, they saw Aliane swinging on the curtains and giggling merrily. Anastasia sighed, but did not correct the girl's behavior knowing it wouldn't end well. She gestured for Creed to sit her in a chair in the front row, then smiled at him and nodded. Creed understood what she was silently telling him and turned towards the stage, stepping onto it and in front of the piano. As soon as he sat down, Aliane jumped to the center stage, then took a bow as she popped the gum in her mouth.

She pointed her oboe in the air and stood triumphantly. "Let's do this!"

Creed couldn't help but giggle at her dramticiness. While he felt bad laughing after learning she had a disorder, he also could tell she was genuinely happy to be playing on the stage at that moment with a real piano. He only hoped he could keep her in that state of mind knowing the smallest of things could potentially set her off. Keeping that in mind, Creed took a deep breath, then turned to the girl and smiled gaily.

"Ready?"

Aliane nodded and shoved her obeo in her mouth, beginning the piece before Creed was actually readly, despite asking her if she was. However, he was able to catch up to her quickly and played alongside the girl. He watched as her mood seemed to shift again, the music working its magic on her troubled mind much like it did on his own. The silver man smiled at her, enjoying the sound of the oboe and the presence of the small girl, elated to see how playing her beloved instrument appeared to work wonders on her.

When their song ended, Creed heard clapping coming from the entrance of the recital hall and looked over quickly to see his beloved standing there, walking down the aisle towards the stage. His heart started beating faster as he watched Train approach them, jubilant to see his Kitten surprised him with a visit. He wasn't expecting to see Train until later tonight since he figured his love was going to be spending more time with Lin.

Did something happen to Lin? No, Train wouldn't be smiling like that if something happened to him.

"Hi, Train!" Creed said excitedly, standing up quickly as he locked eyes with his beloved. "What are you doing here?"

Train's face contorted a little uncomfortably as he glanced between Anastasia and Aliane on the stage, the girl giving him an odd smirk the closer he got. When he reached the second row of chairs, he leapt over the chair next to Anastasia and took a seat next to her. "I was kicked out of the hospital so Lin could do some physical therapy. I offered to stay and help, but Sephiria said I was too much of a distraction."

I don't want to tell him about the nightmare right now… Not in front of Anastasia and a girl I've never met before.

Creed frowned at his love, already able to tell something was wrong with Train, but his cat clearly didn't want to talk about it right now. He assumed that was because of the other people in the room, so he decided not to push the subject.

But he'll talk openly about Chronos in front of a stranger? Train, you really are obtuse sometimes.

Creed was going to scold his beloved for speaking so openly about Chronos assassins in front of Aliane, but realized the girl wouldn't understand what he was talking about anyway and decided to let it go. Instead, he contented himself with the vision of his cat, thrilled Train had come to see him instead of going home.

Creed smiled lovingly at his cat. "I can't imagine I'd be able to concentrate with you there either…"

Train blushed and looked away from the man, scratching his cheek as Anastasia chuckled next to him. "N-No one was home anyway and I knew you were working hard to get Anastasia's business into order."

Creed giggled. "Did you even check to see if anyone was home?"

Train's blush got even brighter as he wrapped his arms around the chairs next to him, looking up at the ceiling and doing his best to ignore the increasing volume of the old woman's laughter next to him.

"Y-yes, I did… Kyoko sent me a message saying they went food shopping. You know how long that takes..." Train mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.

Creed giggled at his love. "Since when did you start reading Kyoko's messages?"

Train glared at the man. "I was checking your message and it got me curious as to what everyone else was doing and since Sven never texts I had no choice but to dig through her love filled nightmare."

Creed rolled his eyes. "Okay, Train, whatever you say…"

Train pulled out his phone and held it in the air for Creed to see. "It's true! See for yourself!"

Creed squinted a little as he made his way to the edge of the stage, bending down slightly to see his beloved's phone. When he saw a picture of him and Train reflecting on the screen, he giggled again and gave his cat a knowing look. "All I see is a picture of you and me…"

Train's face turned even brighter as he nearly dropped his phone, trying to lock it and hide it before Creed saw he also still had his message up.

Anastasia was laughing as she rolled her eyes at the cat. "Why don't you just admit you wanted to see Creed? As amusing as it is to watch you sweat and avoid the truth, it'll save you the embarrassment."

Creed laughed merrily at his beloved as he turned a glare at Anastasia, the woman returning it tenfold. Wanting to lessen the tension, he addressed what his love had said earlier. "So, Lin is starting physical therapy? That's good news, right?"

Train looked slowly away from the woman and nodded at Creed. "Yeah. He's getting better. It's a big relief."

Creed smiled and nodded. "It is…"

The silver man suddenly saw Aliane make a movement next to him as the girl dropped her oboe and leapt off the stage, landing right in front of the Black Cat with an intent look on her face. Her dramatic motions also brought Train's attention forward, his golden eyes locking onto her grey ones as she smiled euphorically at him.

"Creed… Is this your boyfriend?" Her smile was wide as she spoke, as if she was being bewitched by the cat.

Train felt his whole body get hot and knew his face was turning an even brighter shade of red. "Wh-what?!"

The girl reached out and pinched his cheek, squeezing it a little as she giggled merrily at him. "He's so cute! That other guy I thought was your boyfriend wasn't bad either, but this one is definitely adorable! Much more handsome than that weirdo."

Train felt his heart freeze a little at the girl's statement, blinking as he tried to gather what she had just said. "Wh-what other guy…?"

Anastasia did not let go of his cheek as she spoke. "That Russian guy, Sergey. He talks about Creed a lot so I thought they were a couple."

Train felt his face pale a little and leaned over so he could look at Creed, as if he wanted to hear the silver man say that was not true. Creed sighed adoringly at his kitten and shook his head subtly. "You know it's not true, Train…"

The gunman's anxiety subsided a little, not sure why he believed this strange girl's words anyway, but relieved to hear his former partner acknowledge he was not dating the clarinetist. He made a strangled noise when he felt the girl jump onto his lap, pulling both of his cheeks in opposite directions as she beamed rhapsodically at him.

"I really hope you say you aren't Creed's boyfriend. You're too cute to be locked down with someone else!" Aliane continued laughing at his face, even though Train had no control over what it did due to her overbearing hands.

Train did his best to give her an odd look, then felt his face get hot again as he locked eyes with Creed. The silver man's eyes were burning brightly with hope, silently begging the gunman to say it was true, but knowing the chances of that happening were slim. Even Anastasia was looking at him curiously from the corner of her eye, as if she was half expecting the golden eyed man to say it was true.

The cat felt himself beginning to sweat, not sure how to answer the question even though he knew what the truth was. It was hard to outright say no with Creed's sanguine eyes pouting at him and Anastasia' knowing smirk next to him, but what made it even harder was feeling how fast his heart was beating at the idea of being with Creed again. He felt his breath pick up speed a little bit and knew if the girl wasn't half blocking his face, Creed would be able to see how bright with embarrassment his face was shining.

Feeling too pressured by himself and the musicians to answer the question, Train instead decided to address the girl that was currently sitting on his lap and abusing his face. He pushed her hands away and cocked an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

The girl's face did not change as she began to play with Train's hair instead. "I'm the newest member of the music family Anastasia has created. I play the oboe."

That didn't really answer Train's question and he was beginning to get annoyed with her affectionate behavior and was about to push her off when he felt Anastasia grab his arm firmly. He looked down at her and saw the warning look on his face, but wasn't sure what she was trying to tell him and glanced over at Creed. Seeing his eyes matched the cautionary look the woman had, Train decided to leave the girl be and rephrase his question.

"Got it. But do you have a name?" Train said as he tried to pull his head away from her.

"Aliane! But you can call me Buttercup. And I'll call you Sugarplum." She giggled at her own comment, twirling his index finger around Train's spiky hair as she spoke.

Train made an uncomfortable noise and looked to Creed for help. The silver man simply shrugged his shoulders and stepped off the stage elegantly, walking over to his beloved as he tried to untangle the girl from his hair.

Creed giggled and helped Anastasia stand, ignoring the scowl his cat gave him. "That's what you get for being so cute, Sugarplum."

Train narrowed his eyes at the silver man, then sighed and pushed the girls hands away as they tried to pinch his cheek again. "I'd prefer if you didn't call me that. I have enough nicknames I go by, I'm starting to lose track."

Aliane laughed loudly and pinched his cheek again. "He's funny, too. Cute and funny! I like him."

Train groaned as he looked back at Creed. "Why are you okay with this?"

Creed shrugged his shoulders as Anastasia adjusted herself on his arm. "Same reason I've made peace with Kyoko. Do I really need to be worried about a young girl with an innocent crush?"

"You may not, but I am." The voice came from a new person who had apparently walked in while the three of them were distracted by the girl's overly friendly behavior.

Train turned around to see three people standing there who he could only assume were the girl's family. They didn't really look anything like her, but after everything he had seen, the cat wasn't one to judge. The woman who was standing there was very tall, almost cowering over the man next to her and had long, purple hair and steel blue eyes. Her arms were locked with the shorter man, leaving Train to believe they were together. The man's green eyes bore holes into the cat's face, making him lower himself in the chair, trying to hide from the deadly gaze he was receiving.

The man's voice was booming, conflicting how small he looked standing next to the purple haired woman. "Aliane, get off that stranger's lap. It's time to go."

Train made a strangled noise as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and glared at the man the gunman was sure was her father. "Awww, but whyyy? We were having so much fun!"

"Speak for yourself!" Train said through strained breaths, glaring at Creed and Anastasia who still seemed to be enjoying his discomfort.

The tall woman giggled as she walked down the aisle with the man, her voice much more serene as she spoke. "Now, now, Sweetheart, let the poor man go. It looks like his face is changing colors."

Aliane frowned and lessened her hold on the Black Cat. "Yes, mother…"

The man rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Nica, I don't know why she listens to you over me time and time again."

The woman named Nica smiled down at him and pinched his cheek lightly. "That's because I speak to her calmly. You need to change your tone of voice."

He sighed in frustration as they approached the group. "I can't help how I speak. That's just my voice."

"Watts' voice definitely isn't one that will be discovered for its musical talent anytime soon!" Everyone's attention was brought back to the entrance where an old man was standing, leaning on his cane as he watched from afar.

The man known as Watts glared at the senior, but did not respond to his comment. He stood in front of his daughter with his wife and put his hand out for her to take. "Aliane, let's go. We're late enough as it is."

Aliane pouted at the man's hand that was offered to her and latched back onto Train's neck. "Late for what?"

He sighed in frustration. "We're not late for anything, I'm just saying that we're late to pick you up. And I want to leave."

The girl's pout did not change as she ignored the choking noises Train was making. "Well, I don't want to go! Things just got interesting."

Watts glanced at Train, eyeing him up and down suspiciously before he spoke. "Who are you?"

Anastasia responded for the cat since she had a feeling he could not. "That is Train, one of my student's…. Companions." She saw the light blush that graced Train's cheek and glanced up at Creed who was smiling merrily at her carefully chosen title for them. "The student I am referring to is standing right here. This is Creed."

Watts looked at Creed and nodded cordially, then turned back to Train. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take my daughter back."

Train mumbled his words as the girl stuck her tongue out at her father. "You're more than welcomed to her…"

"Oh, is this the Creed you've mentioned to us, Anastasia?" Nica smiled brightly at the man, ignoring the angry looks her husband was giving the gunman.

Anastasia laughed and nodded as she patted Creed's arm. "Yes, this is the prodigy pianist who is slowly taking control of the school. I wanted to start introducing him to other students and teachers since this will all be his in the future, so I decided to start with your lovely daughter."

Creed frowned at her, wanting to change the subject and decided to do that by offering her hand to the woman. "Pleasure to meet you. Your daughter is certainly… unique."

Nica laughed splendidly and shook the hand offered to her. "She gets easier to handle as you get to know her. You'll learn what her triggers are soon enough." She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Aliane argued with Watts, a frazzled Train desperately trying to get out of the middle of it. "Just… Don't act like how her father is right now and you'll be fine…"

Creed noticed the girl getting angrier and angrier by the minute and was about to step in to protect his beloved before Nica stepped forward and spoke soothingly to the girl. "Aliane… Remember what we talked about?"

Aliane glared at her mother, then back at her father as she clung a little tighter to Train. "I don't want to leave… All we're going to do is sit around the motel room with nothing to do..."

Train felt his heart break a little for the girl on his lap as she slowly slipped into sadness, not sure how she was able to go from angry to depressed in a matter of minutes. He leaned over to look at Creed again who's sympathetic look mirrored his own. The silver man locked eyes with Train, then frowned knowingly, as if he was trying to relay a message to the cat that he didn't understand. However, he got the picture to not treat her how he did Kyoko and stayed put, allowing Aliane's mother to take control.

Nica smiled peacefully at the girl and crouched down so their eyes met. "Sweetheart… I promise we'll find something for you to do. You know we won't let you become bored." Seeing that didn't work, the woman sighed and placed her thin hand on the girl's cheek. "I want you to shut your eyes and count to ten, taking a deep breath in with each number. We need to control your emotions before you react impulsively."

The girl frowned deeper at her mother, but when she felt the hand placed on her face, she nodded her head and did as she was told. When she shut her eyes, she leaned against Train's shoulder a little, counting quietly in her head as she took in a deep breath with each number. When she was done, she opened her eyes and turned back to her mother, nodding appreciatively as she lessened her hold on the cat once more.

Train took a big, silent breath of air, hoping that it wouldn't remind the girl that he was still there and rubbed his neck a little. He saw Creed let out a sigh of relief as well and smiled warmly at him, happy to see his friend relax a little now that the oboist was under control.

Watts made another annoyed sound and crossed his arms. "Can we leave now? It's getting later than I wanted and if we want to eat something today we have to leave now."

Nica gave him a warning look since she knew that comment was something that would set the girl off again, but it was too late as Aliane was whining and clinging back onto the Black Cat once more.

"We're going to the soup kitchen again?! You said we would have real food tonight!" The girl's voice was frantic as she spoke, her eyes cutting through her father's face.

Watts growled, clearly not as good as his wife at helping the girl control her emotions. "We don't really have a choice. We haven't been able to work this week and if we don't want to be on the streets again, we have to."

Train felt his heart sink at their conversation, beginning to understand a bit more what Creed wanted to tell him about the girl that he couldn't while they were all standing in front of them. When the two of them locked eyes again, the cat gave the man a curious look, not sure what he was trying to ask him, but knowing Creed wasn't really asking for permission.

"Why don't you come have dinner with us tonight?" Creed smiled sweetly at the family as he spoke.

Nica blinked at the man's offer. "Really?"

Creed nodded. "I've been meaning to try out my cooking on someone other than Train. He likes everything I make."

The silver man's statement seemed to make Watts uncomfortable. "Do you two… live together?" When he saw Creed nod innocently, he frowned. "What exactly is your relationship? I'm sorry, but 'companions' is a bit vague for me. I'd like to know more about the man my daughter seems to be disturbingly attached to."

Creed's eyes immediately fell back to Train's trying to gauge his reaction and overjoyed to see his Kitten was blushing brightly again and trying to stammer out a response he thought would be acceptable. In the past, Train was able to confidently say they were friends or even sweeper partners, but now it seemed like a loaded question to ask him. That thought delighted Creed beyond belief since it meant his beloved was having a hard time voicing what they were anymore.

He can't deny that we don't act like just friends. We get mistaken as a couple by strangers all the time now and right now is no different. The only thing we don't do that lovers do is have sex… But I can tell Train wants that as well.

Nica noticed the discomfort the gunman was experiencing and smacked her husband in the chest. "That's a rude question to ask, Watts! It's none of our business."

Watts rolled his eyes. "Jeeze, I'm just curious. If we're going to be at their house I'd like to know if they're married or something."

Nica glared at him again when she saw Train's eyes widen hysterically. "Why would it matter if they're married?!"

Laughter coming from the aisle brought everyone's attention to the old man who had apparently decided to make his way towards them since they weren't leaving yet. "The look in their eyes screams lovers!"

"DAD!" Nica shouted as she gave the laughing man an angry look.

Train launched his eyes back at the old man, his face turning an intense shade of red as he tried to make a coherent sentence. "Wh-what makes you think that?!"

Creed giggled at his love's respond, his heart fluttering wildly as he openly flirted with his cat. "You really want to break the old man's heart by telling him he's wrong, Train?"

Train turned to glare at Creed, ignoring the somersaults his stomach was going when the silver man winked playfully at him. "Don't you start, Creed…"

Creed shrugged his shoulders and smiled teasingly at his beloved. "You'll know when I've started, Love..."

Train knew Creed had been noticeably trying to woo him again, but this was the first time he attempted to do so in front of strangers. He knew how he felt about the swordsman, but he still hadn't reached his final conclusion of what he wanted out of their relationship yet, so this evident, amorous banter they shared combined with the fact that the rest of the people in the room seemed to believe they were lovers was making it even harder for him to continue lying to himself about what his heart was screeching at him to do.

Don't flirt back, don't flirt back. Especially not in front of people. Control yourself, Train. Now isn't the time or place.

His thoughts were cut off as Aliane tightened her hold on him again, as if becoming possessive of him. "Hey, don't flirt with my new boyfriend!"

Train gave the girl a startled look and tried to pull her hands off him. "Since when did that happen?!"

She laughed at him. "Since I decided it right now and you haven't made it clear that you're with Creed."

Train looked at Creed again who was smirking at him, as if waiting to hear the cat deny it. The gunman glared at him again since he was sure Creed knew he wasn't going to deny or accept it which seemed to entertain the silver man beyond belief.

This is starting to feel reminiscent of the start of my relationship with Lin. I won't say what we are, even though it's clear to everyone else what we are.

"And that is why I want to know what we're getting ourselves into if we accept this dinner invitation. I don't like how quickly attached my daughter has gotten to this man." Watts kept eyeing Train dubiously.

Creed's smirk never left his face as he watched his love try to free himself from the girl's arms and the man's gaze. "Train has that effect on people. Try as you might, you can't escape his bewitching charm. Trust me, I've tried."

Train tried to look at Creed, but found that every time he did he felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. The fact that Creed was giving him such a deeply loving look made it harder, so he decided to avoid eye contact with the man and he shook his head wildly. "W-we live with a few other people… It's not just us."

Creed's wickedly amused and adoring eyes stayed locked onto his love's face as he spoke, reading every emotion that passed through Train's face as if his expressions were a best selling book. "We live with three other friends. One of them is a girl about your age, Aliane. And I can already tell you have a lot in common."

Train gave the man another glare, but knew it was weak since he was having a hard time controlling the fondness he knew he felt for the man showing in his eyes. He was about to open his mouth to say something to Creed, but was cut off by Nica's optimistic, joyous voice.

"Well, I'm sold! We accept your kind offer, Creed."

Watts shot a glare at his wife. "Nica… Didn't you just hear me say I'm uncomfortable about it?"

Nica nodded. "Yes, I did. But, I chose to ignore it in favor of a free meal with friendly company."

"I'll be there too, if that helps ease your nerves, Watts." Anastasia added in quickly, knowing neither Creed nor Train were going to deny her. "They've been wanting to have me over for a while now anyway. Plus, I'd love a free meal as well."

The old man laughed and beat his cane on the ground. "If it's free it's for me!"

Before Watts could object, Aliane threw her arms in the air in victorious glee. "YAY! Real food with my new boyfriend!"

When she latched back onto Train's neck, the cat yelped and struggled against the embrace again. She seemed a bit happier now, so he wasn't as concerned with his rejection of her advances as he was before. Her mother and grandfather laughed at her, but her father glared at Train once more, making the cat swallow nervously.

"What time should we be there?" Nica asked as she turned towards Creed.

Creed's eyes finally left his love as he addressed the woman with a warm smile. "How does six sound?"

Nica thought about that for a second, then nodded. "That gives us enough time to clean up before we head over. We may not have much, but we can at least make ourselves look somewhat decent."

Seeing Creed nod in understanding, she turned back to her daughter and offered the girl her hand. "Now that you have a promise to see this man later, will you finally leave with us?"

Aliane nodded enthusiastically then finally jumped off Train's lap, making the cat yowl quietly in pain as she pushed away from him. She took her mom's hand and followed her back towards the entrance, turning around to wave excitedly at Anastasia and Creed. The old man followed slowly after them, his laughter never stopping which gave Creed and Train a bit of unease. Watts was the last to leave, giving Train one more stern look before finally following his family out of the recital hall.

Once Train was sure they were gone, he turned to the two musicians and gave a strange, yet alarmed look. "What the hell was that all about? Who are those people?"

Creed giggled at his love. "New friends, apparently."

Anastasia watched the door for a second, making sure they weren't going to come back before answering Train's question better than Creed had. "Aliane is my newest student. She's a troubled girl and I think you can gather from that conversation her family has fallen on hard times."

Train frowned and nodded. "I'll say… What was all that about a motel?"

Creed responded to him before Anastasia could. "I'll explain it on our way home. Let me get Anastasia back to her room before she passes out."

The woman rolled her eyes at Creed, but felt herself getting a bit lightheaded and didn't want either of the men to see it. She pushed herself off of Creed's arm and took a seat in the chair that was the closest to her. "Stop worrying about me. I actually just remembered Aimee is coming to practice here in a few minutes. You two head home. I'll see you at six."

Creed blinked at the woman as she rested her head back in the chair and shut her eyes. "Are you okay, Anastasia?"

The old woman opened one eye and looked at him. "Yes. Now you and your beloved better get going so you can prepare for the small dinner party you just so generously opened your home to."

Seeing the unsure look in her student's face, she decided to open both of her eyes and give him a reassuring look. "I'm fine, Creed. Go home."

Even though he didn't believe her, Creed knew if he pushed the subject further it would only end in a fight, so he decided against it. Instead, he took his teacher's advice and turned to Train, seeing the blush on his ambrosial cheeks after hearing Anastasia referring to him as Creed's beloved and sighed blissfully.

I can't believe how adorable he is. He also didn't correct her use of words or even show uncomfort about hearing them. Oh, Train, why must we continue to play this cat and mouse game? We all know what the future holds for us.

Anastasia gave Creed a knowing look and nodded kindly at him which was the last bit of encouragement he needed to offer Train his arm. "Shall we, my dear?"

Train's blush got even brighter at Creed's offering arm and syrupy words, but he rolled his eyes despite his charmed smile. "What have I told you about calling me that name?"

Creed only widened his smirk and leaned a little closer to his love, enjoying the flustered look his Kitten was getting at their closeness. "You've said nothing about it, my dear Train. In fact, you've been uncharacteristically silent about it."

Train swallowed and tried to shake himself of the warmth filling his chest and unknowingly took the arm offered to him. "Whatever…"

Creed grinned as he wrapped his arm around his love's elbow, leading him down the aisle towards the exit. "I'm still not hearing you say you dislike me calling you 'Dear', my darling Train."

Train gave him a teasingly smirk and subconsciously pulled the man a little closer to him. "Oh, so now it's 'darling' instead of dear?"

Creed giggled and rested his head on Train's shoulder as they walked. "It's whatever you want it to be, Train."

Train chuckled and felt his heart beating even faster when Creed's breath brushed against his neck, a pleasurable chill going down his back at the warmth of the man standing next to him. "And what if I'd like to be called by my name?"

Creed giggled again and pinched his love's cheek jovially. "I don't think I haven't called you by your name. I just keep adding a loving descriptor before it, my sweet Train."

The cat playfully batted the man's hand away as he felt his arm slowly fall to his side, aware Creed's hand was following his own. "And what's with all these possessive words you're using? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were coming on to me."

Creed lifted his head slightly to wink at his love. "What gave it away, Beautiful?"

Train blushed at Creed's sweet words and felt his skin layer itself in goosebumps when the silverette poked his nose and rested his head back on his shoulder. "Whatever…"

Anastasia watched as the two stepped out of the recital hall, smiling when she saw Train tangling his fingers around Creed's as they walked through the door. She nodded approvingly, content to see her star pupil was slowly regaining the happiness and bliss he once had with the only man he ever loved. She also knew Train was going to be at peace once he finally gave into what he already knew his heart was desperately in want of, so she couldn't see any downsides to their future coupling.

It's soothing to know they'll both be in good hands when I go. I'd hate to die believing Train was still avoiding the inevitability of their future.

She sighed as she pulled out her phone and to text Aimee to come and get her, then rested her head back against the chair she sat on. "If I could have one last wish, it would be for those two to finally give into their heart's desires and complete each other once more… Once I was assured of that, I could see her again peacefully."

---

"Next time we're putting on this stupid little family show, could you not speak with such a sweet sounding voice?" Watts laid on the motel room bed, balancing the dagger on his finger aptly. "And while we're on the subject, could you not lock arms with me? That was way too much intimate contact for me in one lifetime."

Nica glared at the man through the mirror, touching up her makeup before they had to leave to meet the Black Cat and his hopelessly devoted ex-lover. "I'm simply doing my job. It's not my fault I need to make up for your harsh attitude and deadly looks. We're supposed to be passing off as a loving family, remember?"

Watts glared at her, tossing the dagger in the air, then making it disappear and reappear in his hand again. "I don't think anyone will believe that. You need to take acting lessons from Echidna if we're going to make this a convincing story."

Nica returned his glare, her eyes flaring slightly with a bright purple as he spoke. "Maybe if my leading man actually gave a shit about pulling this off, I wouldn't have to be so over the top…"

Watts rolled his eyes as he flicked another dagger out of thin air and threw it at the ceiling. "Don't call me your 'leading man'. It insuitates we're something more than reluctant partners."

"UUUGHH! Would you both shut up!? I'm trying to concentrate!" Aliane was currently drawing a picture in her scrapbook, kicking her legs in the air as she leaned over the paper. "And stop throwing your stupid daggers! You're not impressing anyone!"

Watts turned to her furiously. "Since we're talking about what annoys us, don't you think you're going a bit overboard with this little crush on the Black Cat? He obviously still has feelings for Diskenth, you know there's no way he's going to return your fictitious affections."

Aliane gave him a curious look as she paused her artwork. "Who says it was fictitious?"

Watts glared at her, sitting up slightly as he clenched his fists. "What…?"

Aliane smirked at him. "What? Getting protective, father? If you wanna talk about toning down our loving family act, let's start with your cliche protective father persona." She rolled onto her back, taking the scrapbook with her that held a picture of a certain legendary gunman she met today. "Back to what I was saying before… Charden never mentioned how cute Train Heartnet was going to be. I was not ready to fall in love today."

Watts' face contorted in a distrubed frown and he rolled on his side, his daggers vanishing as he turned away from the girl. "I hardly think Charden notices stuff like that…"

Aliane giggled brightly as she sat up quickly and crawled to the end of the bed with the backboard. "I think his relationship with Echidna proves your unfounded theory otherwise."

Watts growled at her and sat up quickly to give her an infuriated look. "You know what I mean. Don't make me say it."

Aliane smirked at him as she leaned against the backboard and tried to finish the drawing of her crush. "It doesn't matter what or who he's attracted to, he could have still acknowledged the adorableness of the Black Cat to give this poor, young girl a warning. Creed even mentioned how people seem to fall under the Black Cat's charm with ease."

Watts sighed. "I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Aliane sighed as well, but hers was far more annoyed since she was beginning to lose her patients at the man's closed minded attitude. "I acknowledge Nica is a beautiful woman and I can see how men fall for her with a simple bat of her eye."

Nica gasped pleasantly and clutched her heart, looking at the girl in the mirror as she smiled happily. "Thank you, dear daughter!"

Aliane winked at her, then continued her thought. "However, that fact that does not mean I have the urge to sleep with her. Unlike how I feel about the Black Cat…"

Watts growled a little as he addressed the girl. "You're aware he's the enemy, right? He also thinks you're a child and as I stated before, there's clearly still something in his heart for Diskenth. You have no chance in hell and even if you did, there's no way Charden would consent to it."

Aliane rolled her eyes. "Like I'd wait for him to give me consent. I'd barely wait for Train to give me consent, what makes you think Charden has a say in what I want?"

Watts winced at the idea of Aliane not waiting for the Black Cat to give consent, then spoke in a disgusted tone. "Are you saying you'd force yourself on the Black Cat?"

Aliane's eyes twinkled pervertedly, then she shrugged her shoulders and went back to her drawings. "Only time will tell…"

Desperate for a change of subject, Watts turned back to the woman who was touching up her makeup in the mirror. "Are you nearly done? I'd rather get this night over with…"

Nica sighed and set her eyeliner aside. "If you'd just embrace this as our lives for a while, it'd be much easier to work with you and this mission would go much smoother…"

Watts glared at her through the mirror. "The idea of being a family with this lot of miscreants is sickening beyond recognition for me. The sooner we lock down the Black Cat, the better."

"Amen…" Aliane mumbled as she finished her drawing of the man in question and eyed her artwork favorably.

Nica sighed and finally turned around to face the girl without the help of the mirror. "Do you really have feelings for that man?"

Aliane sighed as she clutched the drawing of Train she made to her chest. "It may just be a physical attraction, but I'm slowly starting to see the answer to that question is yes."

Watts shivered and addressed the woman. "You do realize how wrong that is, right?"

Aliane nodded. "Yes. But it's not like I can control it. The heart wants what it wants."

Nica frowned at her comrade. "I thought it was all an act…"

Aliane shrugged her shoulders as she stared at the picture she drew of Train and addressed the older woman. "The desperate, clingy teenage girl part might have been an act, but the attraction behind it was not."

"Are you prepared to kill him when it comes to it?" Watts' voice was grim as it spoke, since he knew that was the future for the Black Cat.

Aliane glared at him, still holding the scrapbook above her head as she spoke. "If it comes to that, yes. But, I certainly hope whatever drug Doctor has cooked up for him will sway him in our direction. I'd hate to have to hurt my beautiful Sugarplum so early in our relationship."

Watts rubbed his eyes in agitation. "Don't start calling it a relationship…"

Nica frowned at both of her comrades and went back to making herself look acceptable for the night. "While I hate what we've been ordered to do as much as you both, at least I'm taking it seriously. Would it kill either of you to at least change your clothes?"

Aliane gave her an offended look through the mirror. "You know I need to wear these clothes to make myself look younger. What would I do if my precious Black Cat sees how well endowed I actually am?"

Watts pulled his hair in frustration. "Oh my God, shut up about Heartnet!" He then looked at his pretend wife through the mirror and glared. "There was nothing wrong with what I was wearing earlier. We're supposed to look homeless and destitute, remember?"

"Yeah! That's why I'm still not wearing shoes!" Aliane lifted her feet in the air as evidence.

Nica frowned as she began to apply her mascara. "You may be right… But that doesn't mean I have to accept it. After all, my facade requires me to be at least a little bit vain, right?"

"That's all up to you, my dear daughter!" Kenneth entered the conversation, closing the door of the bathroom behind him. "Luckily, I can act like my normally abnormal self throughout this whole ordeal!"

Aliane sighed longingly as she began sketching another picture of Train. "If only I didn't need to act like a girl with a personality disorder… It's offensive."

"To you or to people with the disorder? Cause I'd go with the latter." Watts tossed her a curious look. "Are you sure you're acting that bit? You seem to be taking to it quite well."

Alaine scoffed at him. "How dare you?! I'm a perfectly normal human being!"

"Keep telling yourself that if you want to believe you are at peace." Nica rubbed her eyes in frustration, despite knowing it was going to mess up her makeup. "Are you even sure you want to be sane with this insane crush you have?"

Aliane gasped at her. "Et tu, mother?! There is nothing wrong with the love I have fallen into today!"

Watts ignored the conversation in favor of the old man that walked into the room and sat in a chair near the bathroom. "I thought you were dead… Good to see you're not… I guess."

Kenneth laughed, then made an offensive gesture at the man with his hand as he slammed his cane on the ground. "It'll take more than endless dribble from incompetent idiots to kill me!"

"By the way, why do we have to stay in a motel for real? Can't the Apostles afford something nicer?" Aliane said through a pouted scowl, resting her head against the headboard as she glared up at the ceiling.

Watts sighed and rubbed his temples in annoyance. "We're trying to cover our bases, remember? Charden said in case the sweepers get suspicious and start to follow us, we need to make sure we're staying in a shitty motel to get them off our tracks."

Aliane rolled her eyes as she slumped against the headboard. "I don't remember him saying that…"

"That's because you never listen to him!" Watts yelled as he sat up to give her an irritated look. "I swear, it's like you have gum in your ears sometimes!"

Aliane stuck her tongue out at him, then reached over to the bag resting on the nightstand next to her and pulled out another piece. She tossed it into her mouth and chewed it obnoxiously, then blew a bubble in the man's direction. Watts grumbled at her, then rolled so his back was facing her again, looking at the curtains that blocked his view of the outside world.

"Why did I ever agree to this plan…?" He mumbled under his breath, ignoring the giggle Alaine threw at him.

Alain, still smirking at the annoyed man's back as she rested the back of her head in her hands. "By the way, I'm sleeping in the tub tonight. No offense, Nica, but I need my space."

Nica blinked at her. "And you think you can get more space in a bathtub?"

Aliane nodded. "Yup. I'm not a large person. Just give me a pillow and I'll figure it out."

"Oh, so you both get your own space, but I'm still stuck snuggling Father Time?" Watts glanced over his shoulder at the women, eyes frustrated as he spoke.

Aliane rolled her eyes. "Well, unless I can convince the Black Cat to let me sleep with him tonight, I am not sharing my bed tonight."

Watt growled. "I said shut up about Heartnet!"

He threw one of his daggers at Aliane who turned a transparent shade of blue and laughed merrily as the knife that embedded itself in the headboard behind her. She turned back to her normal hue and plucked the weapon out of the wood, picking her teeth with it and smirking at the man's obvious anger. She was sure he must have known the dagger wouldn't hit her which was why he threw it. Even though he couldn't stand her, Aliane knew Watts would never kill a fellow comrade. No matter how much he hated them.

Nica growled and turned to face her teammates, aggravated with the constant bickering they seemed to insist on falling into. "Could we please just put aside this damaging babbling for the night?! We've already gained the trust of that old bat. Now is the night we can get on the good side of Diskenth and Hearnet. We can't ruin it with our innate hatred of each other."

Aliane grinned as she ran the dagger through her hair. "I'd love to get on the good side of the Black Cat…"

Watts rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at her this time. "Shut it. You know what she meant. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Instead of allowing the object to phase through her like the knife, Aliane caught the pillow and glared at the man. "I know that. But I also know that if Train falls for me and decides to rejoin the Apostles because of it, it'll solve all our problems since that just means Creed will follow him as well."

"Unless Creed tries to convince him out of it and we have a whole new war started!" Nica shouted, then took a deep breath to calm herself down, realizing what she said made no sense since she was sure the Black Cat would never fall for someone as messed up as Aliane. "Listen… We're here on strict orders. None of us can let our feelings for each other or our enemies get in the way. Understood?"

Seeing them all nod their head except Kenneth who had apparently checked out of the conversation and was talking to himself merrily, the woman glared, then turned around to finish her work. "Now be quiet while I finish putting my face on. Even if we fail, I'm not going to lose while looking like a homeless troll."