Chapter Two

The ship was enormous. Three huge decks, five floors of entertainment, and five floors of lodging from what Train, Sven, and Eve could tell when they first got on. After they had found their room, which was not too far in, they put on their swimwear and went to the main pool.

"Eve, here's some sunscreen. I'll get your back."

Sven starting spreading the sunscreen around Eve's back. Though he knew Eve could take care of herself, Sven could not help the daddy vibes that were coming on him. Eve is a young girl and the black bikini she was wearing was too suggestive for his comfort! He didn't say anything though, since Eve could probably kick his rear end quite easily.

"Daddy… I need some sunscreen too!" Train teased.

"You can burn." Sven replied, "I'm not that old yet!"

The pool area wasn't too crowded so they waded in and splashed around for a bit. Eve was tempted to become a mermaid but decided it would track too much attention. Train was doing handstands underwater while Sven just floated around.

"Hey Sven," Train asked him. "Have you noticed?"

"Yeah."

Past the main pool was the huge cafeteria. Far off, part of the second deck overshadowed the bottom deck and leaning against the hand rails was a man with shades and talking on a cell phone, except he wasn't talking. Due to Train's enhanced eyesight developed as a result to his lifetime of training, he could tell that the man was not actually in a phone conversation since his lips were not moving and he had been staring this way for a while. Train sat against the edge and stared right back at the man.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Damn! Has he noticed?

The man had been monitoring Train's group from the distance to see if Rinslet had kept her end by showing up. So far, she has not appeared. Instead, Train was directly challenging him by glaring right back at him.

Oh! Those chilling eyes! How I would have feared him had he been the old Black Cat! But he is still a formidable opponent in his "weakened" state. I will have to be careful. The only reason I even took the trouble to get that so called thief to work for me was so I could avoid a fierce battle. Until my project is "complete", I will have to rely on stealth…

It was surprisingly easy to capture Jenos Hazard. Recently, the number had been seeing this pretty brunette. After forging the respective letters, all he had to do was wait to spring the trap. Though a face to face confrontation with any of the numbers would spell disaster, his abilities were decent enough to knock out an unsuspecting Chronos number.

"Residential floor 2." The man said when he entered the elevator and the boy near the buttons looked up expectantly. "Thank you."

I must get the orichalcum! But, I must be patient. Soon, I will become… invincible!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The man had left and Train relaxed a bit. Sven was on the phone.

"Okay. Yeah. Great! See you in a bit."

"So Sven, was it Rinslet?

"Yeah. She just got here. Gonna meet us here so I guess we can just hang around."

As they sat there in the pool, they watched Eve play a game of keep away with some of kids. Sven chuckled as he saw that Eve was holding back so much.

"She's gotten even stronger huh, Daddy Sven?" Train asked with his usual tease.

"I'm not your daddy." Sven grumbled. "But yeah, she really has. It's still hard to believe she fought alongside us when we took down Creed."

"Yeah…"

"Hey you guys~! Long time no see!" Rinslet greeted with a genuine smile. She was in her bikini and had walked up to them. Though their meeting was through a forced event, she was glad to see them nevertheless. It really had been too long for her liking. "Train! Sven! Where's Eve?"

"She's playing over there." Train answered after receiving a quick hug from the purple haired thief. Sven too received a hug and then Rinslet ran off to greet Eve, who had just finished her game with the other kids.

"Eve! You've grown a lot since last time! You look so sexy in that bikini!"

"…Hi Rinslet…" Eve replied uncomfortably. "Nice to see you again."

Just like every other meeting with Rinslet and Eve, this one involved a lot of hugging. It was awkward for Eve though.

"Rinslet? Could I talk to you for a bit? Alone?" Train asked as he and Sven walked over.

"Um… Yeah! Sure!" She replied and followed Train. Sven and Eve went over to the lawn chairs and settled in.

"Who did that to you, Rinslet?"

"Huh? Did what?"

"That bruise on your back…"

Rinslet shifted her body weight and Train could tell she was thinking fast. He cut in before she could answer.

"How did you get the tickets for this cruise, Rinslet? There was no way you could have actually have bought four of these expensive tickets just like that. Your letter… we never told the address for our summer hideout and our location was secret. No one should have known."

Oh crap! I want to tell them! But… Jenos would be in trouble… aah what do I do?! I don't want to lie…

"Hmph! Well… uh… don't underestimate my skills as a thief! My expertise also includes stealing information as well!"

She hoped that was good enough but it was a weak reply. Rinslet knew Train wasn't stupid.

"Train… I need your help…" Rinslet whispered as she got closer to Train. She pressed up close and brushed his cheek with her finger coyly.

"Huh? Uh s-s-sure!"

"Meet me in my room after dinner." Rinslet said and went off to join Sven and Eve.

Train stood there for a moment to take in what she just said.

What the hell?! She needs… 'help'?! Like… that kind of help?! No… she probably meant something else? That bruise looked fresh though… but wait… what?! I ask her about a bruise, she gets uncomfortable, then I ask about cruise tickets and then she needs 'help'?!

"Train? You alright?"

Eve was standing in front of him staring at him.

"Oh uh yeah… what's up little princess?"

"We are going to eat dinner! Let's go! Isn't it your favorite time of the day?"

Dinner… yay! But… after dinner… how did things turn out like this?! I can't do that! …that… but I already said 'yeah'… why did I say 'yeah'?! Maybe she didn't mean it like that but was talking about someone bullying her and gave her that bruise. She needs 'help' because of the bruise. That must be it!

Finally at ease, Train smiled and shouted, "Yes! Time to eaaaaat!"

The four of them headed towards the buffet.