Author' Note: Okay! There, chapter 2, completely laid out for you awesome readers. Huzzahs for more Train and Eve epic-ness. Well, I've really nothing much else to say. Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: All rights to Black Cat belong to Yabuki Kentaro, the original creator. ...What? Okay, so I did a completely normal, structured disclaimer. So? Something wrong with that? Sue me. Oh, waiiit a minute! Guess what? *points to disclaimer smugly*
Eve grimaced. This...is edible?
She realized that cafeterias aren't exactly renowned for particularly delectable food,-it had certainly been that way at her old school-but.....
Wasn't this crossing the line a bit?
Her thin fingers grabbed the handle of the plastic spork and lightly poked at the soft brown mound that the school dared to call sustenance. It gave off a strong, fishy odor.
If she had to hazard a guess...she supposed it could have been meatloaf. That's what it said on the hanging menu board when she went to buy her lunch, anyway. Before she could further contemplate the grim spectacle before her, however, she heard approaching footsteps coming up from behind.
This time, the frown present on her petite face had nothing to do with her untouched meatloaf.
"Hey, Li'l Princess! Glad you found your way over to the cafeteria. I was lookin' for you, y'know."
She tried not to be irked by his annoyingly cheerful disposition, but, judging from the glower on her face as she turned to face him, she wasn't entirely successful. If anything, her annoyance and reserved manner only served to make Train seem even more amused.
His smile widened as he laughed, "Tryin' to eat? A bit of advice: you should probably bring your lunches from now on. As you can see....this school isn't exactly a top notch five star restaurant."
Eve gritted her teeth.
"Right. I'll...keep that in mind."
She turned around, and, attempting to conceal her aggravation, asked, "Do you....um....really have to accompany me like this? I mean....I'm fine by myself....it's really no trouble."
Train gave a cat-like grin. Eve's brow twitched.
"No can do, Princess. You heard the teacher: I'm to escort through the school on your first day. And, trust me, one thing you shouldn't do is cross Miss Arks. She can get...pretty brutal, if she so desires." His grin was still obstinately plastered on his face.
Eve sighed, and looked back at the meatloaf she had been relentlessly prodding. It looked as if she had no way out of the situation.
Train pointed to the empty space beside her on the bench.
"Can I sit there?"
She nodded, but did not look up from her food.
He sat, and hummed merrily to himself as he uncapped a bottle of milk.
Eve briefly glanced to her side and observed him.
"Don't you...you know, have other friends to talk with right now? I mean, it's just...you don't have to burden yourself over me."
For the first time since Eve met him, Train's eyes narrowed, and for a fleeting moment, Eve saw a dark, bitter expression on Train's previously smirking face.
But before she knew it, it had gone, and Train was back to his gratingly buoyant temperament once more.
"Nah...it's no trouble, Li'l Princess." He ruffled her hair again, causing her to wince. "I'd much rather help you out."
Startled by his enigmatic personality shift, Eve could only stutter in response.
"O...Okay...."
Eve forced down her "meatloaf" in silence, and, during the time in which she attempted not to choke or vomit, she contemplated what she had just seen.
It....was probably just a trick of the light. No way someone that idiotically upbeat could pull a face like that.
She glanced sideways at Train, who was cheerily gulping down the white liquid as if nothing deviant had transpired.
She turned back to her plate and frowned as she chewed quietly.
Yeah. Absolutely no way.
Eve blushed lightly as Train walked along behind her through the hallway, whistling a jaunty tune. She saw people lined along the walls muttering to themselves or their friends and darting their eyes from Train to herself and back.
Eve's face reddened even more as she looked down at the marble beneath her feet.
He...He doesn't have to make such a scene of it! He's making me stand out so much....
As Eve rounded the corner, she winced as she collided with a body.
"Ah!" Her books tumbled out of her arms, and she fell backwards, inevitably about to ram her head against the ground. If not for the fact that Train caught her.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was-huh? T-Train??"
Train's smile slipped slightly, but he forced it to remain as he replied.
"Hey, Rinslet."
The lavender haired girl stared at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open.
"Y-You-"
"Sorry, Rins, but I can't dawdle. Gotta escort this pretty lady to her next class, y'know?"
Eve stared at them.
"Is she one of your friends, Train?"
Train did not reply for a couple moments.
"....Yeah. Yeah, I guess she is."
He walked forward and raised one hand in farewell back at Rinslet.
"C'mon, Li'l Princess."
Eve sighed, exasperated, having just picked up all her books.
"Honestly," she huffed. "He always makes things so difficult."
Eve glanced sideways at Rinslet.
"Sorry for bumping into you," she said, facing her fully in apology.
"Uh...yeah."
Eve turned to follow Train, but a hand on her arm stopped her.
"Wait!" Rinslet exclaimed. "Just...Just tell me something. How did you do it?"
Eve gazed at her inquisitively, cocking her head to one side.
"...Do? What are you talking about?"
Rinslet stared directly into her violet eyes.
"...You don't know?"
She released her arm.
"Then it's nothing. Never mind. Sorry for taking up your time."
Eve glanced at her curiously, then shrugged.
"It's alright."
She hurried after Train, careful not to run too fast lest she trip.
Rinslet watched the two fade into the distance. She bit her lip, worry evident in her visage.
Train....
The long-awaited bell finally rang, and students poured out of the buildings in massive waves, eventually culminating onto the grounds of the school as one gigantic current. Eve was doing all she could not to get trampled.
She found herself roughly pushed from all sides as she attempted to make her way to the front of the school.
The school's....bigger than I first thought.
"Hey, Li'l Princess!" a familiar voice called out.
....Crap.
She glanced back at the spiky haired, animated youth, who waved at her the moment he saw that she noticed him.
"...Train."
He caught up to her, and smiled.
"Going home?"
She paused for a second, before replying.
"Yes."
His golden eyes brightened as he said, "Want me to walk you home? It's no trouble, I don't have anyth-"
"Hold it," Eve interrupted.
"I thought you were only supposed to help until school was over? Now that it is, you don't have to-"
"Aw, come on, Li'l Princess," Train cut in. "Don't be so cold. It's not as if I did it 'cuz I had to; it's because I wanted to."
Eve closed her eyes in frustration, and gritted her teeth.
Can't this guy just take a hint?
"L-Look, it's not as if I don't....appreciate the thought...but you really don't need-"
"Train!!" A voice punctuated.
Train's eyes narrowed slightly at the intrusion.
He smiled at Eve.
"Hold that thought, would you, Princess?"
He then glanced back up at the speaker.
"...Hi, Creed."
A hand brushed across silver hair, as cold, sharp blue eyes widened in delight.
Eve observed Creed's grin stretch itself wider. She couldn't help but notice that the effect was drastically different from whenever Train smiled; more feral and deranged, somehow.
"Ah, every day when I come to see you, I am not disappointed! You are as wonderful as ever, Train-!" Creed's jubilant exclamations were truncated, however, as his icy eyes narrowed and he scanned Train with urgency from head to toe. He no longer smiled, and he frowned in confusion.
"....What has happened to you?"
Train's gaze was half-lidded as he responded.
"Dunno what you're talking about, Creed. Sorry, but I'm kinda busy. Come on, Li'l Princess." Train placed a hand at Eve's back and pushed her along with him towards the school gates.
"H-Hey! I never said you could-"
"Train, who is this?" Creed seethed, his voice sturdy and calm, but betraying the slightest hint of malice.
Train did not once stop, and his hand persisted in prodding Eve along with him.
"Just a classmate, Creed. No one you need to concern yourself about."
He turned left when he reached the sidewalk, and the last thing Eve saw of the campus, before it was completely obscured by the brick wall constituting the perimeter of the school, was Creed's frigid, piercing glare directed rigidly, directed solely, towards her.
Once well away from the entrance, Train let his arm fall back to his side.
Eve frowned.
"Train....what was that all about? Who was that?"
"Ah, that guy? No one in particular, really," he grinned. "Just someone I know. Creed Diskenth, a junior like me. Come to think of it, that would make us both about a year older than you, huh? You're a sophomore, right?" He blithely inquired.
"Y-Yeah. He was kind of....peculiar. Why was he all-?"
"Never mind that about him, Li'l Princess. Just....you'd do well to steer clear of him, alright?" His voice remained cheery, but Eve distinguished an underlying tone. She had been in Train's presence long enough to know that he wasn't telling the whole truth. At least, there was something he was keeping from her.
"Right....Is he your friend?"
Her words seemed to have a small effect on Train. His rather long hair cast a shadow over his eyes, and he stood in solemn silence for a few moments.
"...No. He's not my friend."
Train continued to brood for a few seconds. Suddenly, Eve regained her previously forgotten mindframe.
"Hey! I keep trying to tell you: when did I say it was okay to walk me home?? Your job ended when school ended! For once, I'd like to have peace and quiet to mys-"
Suddenly unable to speak, as if her next word died in her windpipe, Eve widened her eyes. For she had just caught a glimpse of Train's previously overshadowed face.
Cold, deadly fury was etched in every niche of his expression. His golden eyes had turned completely molten with an unprecedented ferality. Wild anger rendered his pupils to slits, like those of a feline.
It was Eve's light gasp that seemed to snap Train back to reality. Immediately, as if it had never been there, the furious expression melted away, and Train's usual hearty demeanor was back full swing.
"Sorry-did you say something, Li'l Princess? I didn't quite catch that." He smiled. There was no hint of the cold, stony sorrow that had existed only moments before.
Eve continued to gape for all of three seconds, before shaking her head violently, both as a negative to Train's question, and to snap her out of her reverie.
"N-No. Never mind."
Train raised an eyebrow in bewilderment, but shrugged, and continued to walk.
Eve stared at his back. His leather jacket billowed in the slight, breezy chill of the afternoon.
This time, she was absolutely sure of it. Even if he had only appeared that way for a brief moment...Eve remained certain of what she saw.
She shivered. Slender arms rose up to rub the opposite shoulder for warmth.
Train Heartnet....she mused quietly to herself.
Despite the blaring alarms in her brain, despite the flashing, incandescent warning signals going off in her mind, one after the other, Eve merely clutched her sweater more tightly to herself and continued to face in Train's direction, resolute.
And she took one step.
And she took a second step.
And she followed him.
Author's Note: Phew! There! Not too late of a release, I hope.....I suppose I'm reasonably satisfied with how it finally turned out; to be honest, this chapter gave me a lot of difficulty, and I tinkered with it, and tinkered with it....with the end result still not being that lengthy. Oh well. Quality over quantity, I guess. Hmm. One thing perturbing me. I hope I haven't made Eve or Train seem tooout of character. I mean, with the different setting, what with it being AU and all, and each character's inevitable altered background, there's bound to be some OOC-ness going on, but I hope I haven't fiddled with them too much. They're still the Eve and Train everyone know and love, after all. Can't take their trademark charm away, now can I? Well, reviews would be greatly appreciated. 'Till next post!
Random quotation of the day:
Stated by the smartest, most intuitive person I have ever had the pleasure of being even slightly related to in some small way: "My life's ambition is to become a philosopher. Simply because philosophers are always right."