Lia stood with Sephiria as they watched Rinslet and Jenos escort Kyoko back home now that she had been pardoned.
Jenos waved at the pair, sending Lia one of his rare genuine smiles before he climbed in with Rinslet. Lia could see the purple-haired woman barking something at Jenos, possibly telling him off for some flirtatious comment he'd thrown the thief's way. She shook her head at her brother's antics.
Lia herself was going to head straight back to headquarters to rejoin the other Numbers. Her work with Kyoko was done, and it was time to get back to the Numbers' assignment to take down Creed and his Apostles.
"I heard Xiao Li may have found Creed's base." Lia began, and Sephiria nodded.
"We will provide you with a full debriefing on the helicopter and you can catch up on the ride back." The Captain of the Numbers informed the younger woman quietly.
"I've already started devising a plan, with some suggestion from Number X as well, that you can also go through. Then, when we return, I expect you to prepare yourself."
"Of course." Lia answered smoothly, and Sephiria added pointedly, "And get your injuries properly healed. I want a report stating you're cleared in the next three days."
"Do we have the time for that?" Lia asked, frowning as she looked at her superior.
"That is the minimum number of days it will take for your injuries to be satisfactorily healed, judging from what I can see." Sephiria replied lightly.
Lia raised a brow. That wasn't what she'd meant and she knew Sephiria knew that too. But, if Sephiria was telling her she had at least three days, then that was all Lia needed for now. Most likely, the reason and rest of the information was in her debriefing packet.
"You know, Lia," Sephiria began suddenly as they watched Jenos's helicopter leave. "That girl… Kyoko Kirisaki. She reminded me of you just a little bit."
"You think I am that idiotically... blithe?" Lia asked, and Sephiria laughed softly.
"No." She corrected with a small smile. "I suppose I should say, her carefree attitude made me think of who you used to be. Who you could have been, if not for…"
Sephiria trailed off meaningfully and Lia stiffened.
"I swore my oath to serve Chronos." Lia said, the coldness returning to her voice. "I will not break that promise, Captain."
"I am aware of that, Lia." Sephiria answered, now staring up at Jenos's helicopter as it flew away. "And I am glad to have your services. But, I am not unfeeling no matter how callous I must often be - for the greater good of Chronos."
She turned and fixed those clear eyes back on Lia's once more.
Lia tensed even further and she broke eye contact first as Sephiria said gently, "I am aware of the fact that you would be healthier and have a better life away from Chronos. Your personal reasons for joining the Numbers made that clearer than anything else."
Lia didn't meet her superior's eyes, staring instead after Jenos, while Sephiria finished quietly, "And I am sorry that despite knowing this, I cannot allow you to leave."
"It doesn't matter, Captain." The young woman's voice was devoid of emotions once more as Number VI turned and faced her captain. "I have chosen my path. And after Creed has paid for his crimes, the past will be just that – the past. And it will be done."
Sephiria nodded and, with a small bow, Lia dismissed herself. The Number walked with her head held high as she stepped into the waiting helicopter but Sephiria remained in her place to watch Lia for a moment longer.
Despite Lia's cool response and her apparent ease in returning to her cold, professional demeanour, Sephiria could see the cracks that had formed from being around Train again. The once perfectly polished act was already starting to crumble, and Sephiria was certain things were only just beginning. It would only get worse from here, and Sephiria knew in her heart of hearts that Lia was not going to be prepared.
But what could Sephiria do? She'd spoken the truth; she could not allow Lia to voluntarily leave Chronos.
And yet, Sephiria was also acutely aware that it was unavoidable that Lia was going to snap before the war against Creed was done. Train's personal agenda and Sephiria's plans would ensure that they met the Black Cat again in the chase to capture Creed Diskenth, possibly in the most emotional encounter yet.
Lia would inevitably be ripped apart and left raw when that happened; Sephiria knew that well and she was resigned but prepared for it.
But how would Lia stitch herself back together? That was the key question.
Would Train help her? Would Lia let him? Would they find another beginning through this ordeal? Or would Lia be able to help herself as she had failed to do when she was two years younger? Would she and Heartnet find their closure at last?
Or would they forever remain broken and in pain?
'Heartnet… Lia…' She thought to herself as she finally walked forward to board her copter herself. 'For you two who have gone through so much in the last three years… I wonder if you will be strong enough to see this through.'
Two and a half years ago
"Train! I can hear you moving inside; I'm coming in!"
The door to the worn, one-room flat was flung open and its occupant looked up from the bed and at the fuming woman in a pink and white yukata standing in the doorway.
"Train's not in; he left yesterday for an assignment and hasn't gotten back yet." The young woman in a sky-blue summer's dress answered, tilting her head as she observed her visitor's stormy blue-green eyes.
"Did something happen, Saya?"
"Yes! Jules, hear me out!" Saya cried out, throwing herself into the room and tackling Jules where the silvery-eyed woman was seated on the bed.
"You see, I was going after this new bounty, but then… and then… and he had the nerve…!"
Jules laughed as she listened to her friend's ridiculous tale of woe involving her target, several bullets, a fish, and a bottle of milk.
"Really, Saya, I don't know how you manage to get yourself into these kinds of situations."
Jules then chuckled, shaking her head and causing her long, loose blue hair to fly about a little. "Well, actually, I do."
"Hmph!" Saya huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "You didn't see it, though! Argh, just thinking about it gets me so mad!"
She began to rant again, making Jules laugh once more.
"Stop laughing at me!" Saya cried, whirling on her friend, and Jules just shook her head in amusement again.
"You let in quite the firecracker, Jules."
Both women turned to the door, Jules grinning and Saya scowling petulantly. Train just grinned back, his gold eyes shining with amusement as he noted Saya's annoyance.
"Why are you causing a racket in someone else's house anyway?" Train asked, pretending to sound annoyed as he dropped his overnight bag by the door with one hand while shutting said door with the other. "And here I was hoping for a nice, quiet, peaceful afternoon at home-"
"Oh, please." Saya scoffed though her eyes twinkled with mirth. "More like you just wanted to spend time alone with Jules."
Jules's face went a little pink at that while Train answered sarcastically though he wasn't quite able to keep his amusement out of his tone, "Or maybe I was trying to get away from you, Saya."
"Why would you?" Saya asked innocently. "When I'm so nice, and wearing an adorable yukata…"
"And crass, and louder than a market rally." Train teased, and Saya dropped the coy act to say indignantly, "Hey!"
Jules laughed, pushing aside her embarrassment as she joined in the fun when Saya began pelting Train with his pillows and then jumped on him. The three yelled and laughed as Train rarely did, enjoying each other's company for a while.
Eventually, however, it was dinnertime and they were hungry enough to put aside their playful banter and shoving in favour of chatter while they prepared dinner. Saya took a small step back as they did, watching Train and Jules with a small smile instead as the pair moved about the kitchen with practiced ease.
They didn't notice her watching and it always amused Saya secretly how much the two highly trained 'agents' (Train had never disclosed his official job title and Jules's role at Chronos had never been brought up; though Saya knew enough about Black Cat to guess) missed when it came to the other. How they failed to notice the little signs like the way Train's eyes softened when he looked at Jules or the way Jules's smile was just a little brighter when Train was around.
It was also a little frustrating to the impulsive Sweeper to observe the way the pair treaded carefully around each other as though afraid of breaking something. Saya sometimes thought about forcing them to move faster when it was obvious their feelings were mutual, but she also knew she had the subtlety of a bulldozer. And she didn't want to push them.
Train was just starting to come out from the shell he had been when she met him. And from what Saya had gathered, Jules had ended up in trouble after being torn between familial loyalty and personal values - a much greyer area than right and wrong.
'One step at a time.' She thought to herself, her smile widening as she watched Train ruffle Jules's hair with that slight smile he reserved for Jules alone and Jules looked up at him with those eyes that didn't look the same way at anyone else.
'They can take things one step at a time.'
Little had the three friends known then just how drastically things would change in just two months' time.
How they would be ripped abruptly apart, and how Train and Jules would be left haunted and broken because of the consequences of one, single night that rocked and ended their simple life.
Present
Outside Tearju's house
Train stood determinedly at the edge of the lake, just inside the forest and about ten minutes walk away from Tearju's house.
"Heh, it's been a while since I've worn these clothes." He grinned as he looked down at himself with amusement.
He'd dressed in his regular adult clothes, and it looked like he was swimming in fabric. His long white shirt alone looked came down to his calves in his child's body, while his pants couldn't stay on his hips. Train simply let them pool around him; that wasn't what was important at the moment anyway.
"It's probably better to start by wearing my old clothing." He mused to himself.
Tearju's advice for him to change back was to imagine himself as he had been before.
"Using your imagination… You need to use your mind to create a strong image of your original form." Tearju's had explained. "Your imagination will result in currents that will be transmitted through your nerves and received by the nanomachines."
Unfortunately, Train's concentration span was equivalent to that of a goldfish while he was inside the house where there were so many distractions.
So now, here he was in his old clothes, far away from the others around whom he was naturally inclined to settle into his goofball mode with.
"Why don't you start in the state in which you can concentrate the best?" Eve had suggested when he'd asked the girl for advice on imagining controlling nanomachines.
Train smiled as he stood now in the peace and quiet, only the sounds of nature around him.
"The state where I can concentrate the most is…" He grinned to himself.
His left hand wrapped swiftly around the decorated handgun that was slung on his hip, and Train drew the gun up before his face.
"… Of course." He murmured to himself. "When I'm holding this."
Hades. Train held the gun before him, the gun aimed up to the starry night sky above.
Despite the fact that it was a reminder of Chronos, his gun had also served him too well for Train to harbour any dark feelings with it. Not even the XIII engraved in the gun's side could dredge up the bad memories. Not to mention…
Train closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he entered into himself.
As he held Hades in his hands, he could almost feel the smaller, slightly softer hands tracing gently along the gun as he replayed the happier memories of his life; memories he hadn't visited in over two years. He could almost feel the feminine hands beneath his own, the skin on the smaller hands slightly calloused from training yet softer to him than any fine silk, and Train lowered his gun so that he was pointing it forwards.
In his memories, he recalled how he'd bent down to place his cheek against Julia's as she held Hades. Her hair, always down and long behind her back at that time, tickled his face but Train still enjoyed rubbing into it like a cat. His hands were wrapped over hers, adjusting her aim and helping her to fine-tune it… although that had just been an excuse to justify how he was holding her in an embrace. And she'd known it.
Her musical laugh rang in his head as Train smiled now just as he'd smiled back then when he'd held her in his arms while they 'practiced' shooting at a target during one of their more relaxed training sessions. Both Train and Julia took their real sessions seriously, knowing the importance of keeping in shape and maintaining honed skills – after all, in their line of business, one millisecond off could cost them their lives. But it had been nice to have some downtime every now and then, and just having an easy hour to play around had been one of their favourite ways to pass time.
Train's grip tightened on Hades now as he held the gun in both hands, the memories calming him and centering him. He remembered the way Julia always smiled when she saw him, her silver eyes twinkling; the way her cheek felt so soft each time he kissed her there; the way her fingers traced his face as though memorizing his features. And how she'd burnt the memory of her touch on him into his very soul.
"Mr. Train…" Tearju's warning echoed in his head as his breathing slowed and Train focused on nothing else but his steady heartbeat.
"Operating nanomachines is not a simple task. Even the slightest confusion will cause a reaction. You must not believe it's impossible. Believe in your feelings, and you will definitely return to your former self."
Train listened to his heart as it beat a steady rhythm.
'This is the first step.' He thought to himself as he held Hades before him.
'What Tearju said is not easy at all… but no matter what, I've always believed in my own powers. I have never had any doubts there. Believing I could do it… I will definitely make those words a reality. After all…'
Train opened his eyes, the moonlight catching a gleam on the golden hues as his lips curved up in a cat-like smirk.
'There's someone I have to go back to.'
Meanwhile
Inside Tearju's house, Sven and Eve stood protectively in front of the blonde scientist as they faced their latest foes.
The evening had started out relatively quietly. After Train had left to try concentrate on his own, Tearju had explained her relation to Eve and work for Torneo, ending in how she had left the project before her clone, Eve, was 'born'.
But just as Eve and Tearju had come to terms and gained peace with each other, they had been interrupted. Creed's right hand woman, the beautiful but dangerous Echidna, had come herself to apparently recruit Tearju to the Apostles of the Stars.
The professor had firmly declined and things had gone downhill from there.
First, there was the strange ape Apostle, Eites, who had somehow managed to turn into Tearju thanks to his Tao. Then, deeming her no longer useful, Echidna had ordered Tearju's death. The Shooting Star Unit squad that had accompanied Echidna to Tearju's house had started to attack at Echidna's command.
Sven and Eve had managed to hold them off for now (it had to be when Train was out) but now the Squadron stood in a semi-circle around them and was raising their guns to fire at the same time at Sven and Eve.
But if Sven and Eve tried to dodge the barrage, it would mean leaving Tearju, who was behind them, unprotected. There was no way to win – either they were going to die or she was.
Tearju saw the same thing and she cried as she took a step forward, "Mr. Sven, Eve! Don't worry about me-!"
"Die!" One of the Shooting Star Unit soldiers shouted as he made to press his trigger.
But before he could, there was a sudden explosion as something hit the soldier's chest with a bright flash of light, smashing right through the thick armour that not even Orichalcum had been able to penetrate.
"Ugh… huh?" The soldier groaned, his front smoking and charred, before he fell back, unconscious.
*A/N Song of the Day: Dear You - Thanks from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The link is: /YeC6kButXcQ