Author's Note: Right. I'm evil. Yes, I'll shut up.

Chapter 30:

Creed felt guilty in doing this but Train would leave him for sure if he finds out about his sinful acts and Creed would never wish for that to happen.


The bandits reached the mansion in the afternoon with Jenos and Eve welcoming them warmly at the entrance.

"Hey guys! It's been a while! We were starting to think that both of you have forgotten about us! Come in and make yourself at home!"

"Hello to you too! Sorry we been pretty busy! Besides we can't afford forgetting about both of you!"

They entered and were directed to the living room. Eve wore an apologetic look.

"My parents aren't at home yet but they will be in a couple of hours. Sorry but do you mind waiting for them?"

Train waved his hand lazily.

"Not at all. I should have told you when we are coming anyway. Hope we aren't imposing you."

Jenos grinned.

"Impossible. You and Rin are always welcomed here."

Train gave a nod as an indication of gratefulness.

"Anyways, you and I have nothing to do now so why not another one-on-one battle and let the girls do their girls-thing?"

Train spared a quick glance at the smiling girls.

"All right."

Jenos grinned.

"Hey girls, we're going to entertain ourselves for a while. So enjoy yourself!"

Both of them looked up simultaneously and Rin waved them off gently.

"Sure go ahead, be careful though, both of you. Don't go bullying each other!"

With a laugh, he placed his hand on an awkward Train's shoulders. While walking towards the grounds, he called out to them.

"That's the fun of it!"

Rin gave a disapproved look and shook her head.

"Boys…!"


Compared to the first time, Train didn't fell so lost anymore and was getting more excited as they both got closer to the training grounds. The mansion's training grounds were much bigger than the headquarters but in the aspect of greenery, headquarters' training grounds would have an advantage.

Once they had reached their destination, Train held a clueless look when Jenos started walking and poking around as though he was searching for someone. When Jenos noticed the odd look on Train's face, he grinned sheepishly.

"Have to make sure no one is here before we start using it. There might be others doing their training here for all you know. It will be dangerous if our fights clashed with another's training, even worse another battle."

Train nodded in understanding.

"You didn't do it when I first came here."

"Oh, that was because I was told beforehand by Sephira that the others weren't here."

Train stopped.

"Others?"

"I meant the other Chronos members. Like I said before, only Chronos members are permitted to use these training grounds. The soldiers use a different training ground when they train. We prefer this kind of arrangement as Chronos members fight differently compared to soldiers and we might cause severe injuries if we train together."

Jenos paused for a while in thought before continuing.

"You know that each Chronos member have their own preferred weapon, right? Well, if you put all these weapons together, you can see their uniqueness and sizes clearly. They ranged from a small knife to a gigantic spear but each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages where Chronos members analysed and puts it to good use during battles."

Train nodded with a surprised look. Apparently, there were more to Chronos members then he had previously thought. He felt his respect for Chronos members increased. He would loved to have a one-on-one battle with each of them, it would definitely be challenging. However, he knew it was merely a fantasy and he is more than satisfied that he have a chance to go against a Chronos member right now.

"How many are there, Jenos?"

"You mean the Chronos members? The current total would be twelve."

"Current? You mean new members regularly join?"

Jenos held a thoughtful look.

"Well, is rare to have a new member, you know. Being a Chronos means having a variety of skills, for instance, sharp reflexes during battles, analyzing difficult situations instantly and the list goes on and on. All these skills aren't easy to get unless you are a born genius. Therefore, there are several requirements when a person intends to join Chronos. To make things even harder, a person doesn't just applied for Chronos, instead when a person is deemed worthy enough, he or she will be chosen to enter the ranks of Chronos. So it is considered a major achievement when one is placed in the ranks of Chronos members."

"I see. Are all you then numbered according to your strength?"

Jenos gave Train a mocked-insult look while placing a hand over his chest in horror.

"Hell no! Are you trying to imply that among the 12 Chronos members, I'm the seventh strongest?! What an insult! I'm hurt."

Train was sceptical.

"Fine, drama queen. Would you kindly enlighten me?"

Jenos posed smartly but winced when Train knock his head softly.

"Well, the numbers given to Chronos members are indications of a sequence of memberships. For example, Sephira is number one because she founded Chronos by suggesting a special group of elite soldiers formed for the King's protection. Belze who was second-in-command joined Chronos without difficulty and was number two. I joined the group of six and became number seven. If you talked about strength, truthfully, I don't know because we are always busy and didn't have the luxury of time to compete with each other. Anyways, if you're ever lucky to meet one, then I'll introduce both of you, although not all members are as nice as me or Sephira or Belze."

Train rolled his eyes as Jenos posed again.

"So they have missions all day long too?"

"Yup! Usually in the crimes department though. If a crime is troubling a village or gets out of hand, then Chronos members are sent to find and fix the source of the problem."

"Why is it you are here and so free then?"

Jenos shrugged.

"Every single Chronos member is actually stationed at a village so they can clean up any mess any time if something really happens. I'm mainly in charge of this area as Sephira and Belze deal the political aspect but in times of emergency, they will assist too. And for being free, the only trouble right now is the bandits but no actions will be taken if there is no trouble."

"Jenos, there's something else that I want to know. Hopefully, you have the answer to my doubts."

Jenos gave the bandit a questioning glance.

"All Chronos members and their weapons have their respective numerical tattoos, like Excellion, right?"

Jenos instantly knew what to expect of the next question.

"I'm unsure whether you are aware but my weapon, Hades, have a numerical that is similar to yours…"

Train trailed off and Jenos scratched his head as an indication of thinking.

"This gun has endured several damages, no matter how serious they were, and it never breaks, right?"

With a clueless look, Train nodded.

"I used Hades to attack, defend and parry but Hades never received a single scratch, let alone breaks."

Jenos folded his arms in front of his chest with an air of understanding.

"All right, that confirms it. Hades is definitely made out of Orihalcon."

Train came to a complete stop.

"Orihalcon?"

Jenos nodded without hesitation.

"Orihalcon. The strongest material in the entire kingdom. And for your information, Chronos members' weapons are all made out of Orihalcon. Not only that, this material is rare and the kingdom had to use a lot of resources just to find the material. Hearing this, Train, do you think that obtaining such a beautiful weapon from the outside is possible? No markets in the town are selling this kind of weaponry which makes Chronos members even more respectable and feared."

Train shrugged.

"For all you know, I may have stolen this somewhere."

Train paused and added for emphasis.

"I am a bandit."

Jenos let out a defeated sigh.

"Chronos' roman numerical numbers may be clearly visible for some, like Sephira and Belze or they might be less visible like mine."

Jenos pointed a finger at a spot below the right collar bone where Train was sure where his tattoo was located. Jenos took a serious stance.

"Eve told me about yours. You can't deny the fact that you have one too, Train, and that's more than enough proof."

Upon hearing this, the senior had unconsciously grabbed onto his coat which hid his tattoo perfectly. Jenos patted his shoulder in a soothing manner.

"Is that why your father presented that coat to me? He really thinks that I'm a Chronos member?"

"Correction, he knows you are a Chronos member without any doubt. Sooner or later, you need to face the truth, Train."

With a small humourless smile, Train continued walking again.

"That's why I'm here."


"I can't believe his attitude!"

Eve had just finished telling Rin about her first meeting with Michael as they moved to Eve's room with tea brought up to them.

"Exactly my thoughts."

Rin huffed in annoyance as she recalled Eve's story.

"My goodness, what an arrogant idiot! Thank goodness you show him who was smarter, Eve!"

Eve smiled at Rin who finish the tea in one gulp with obvious annoyance.

"I don't know how the meeting with Jenos between Elizabeth went but I assume is similar but less action as Jenos is a perfect gentleman when dealing with younger girls."

"That's understandable. What did she call him again?"

"Future husband, darling and so on."

Rin burst into laughter as she imagined Jenos' mortified look in hearing Elizabeth's pet names for him and Eve couldn't help muffling her chuckle.

"How can you stand it when they come over to have dinner with you every day, Eve?"

Eve shrugged.

"Well, it really can't be help. The King and Queen are pleased when they come over with their parents. Besides, as the King's children, we wouldn't want to destroy the ruler's reputation, would we? That would create chaos and disrupt the peace of the village."

Eve tapped her chin slightly as if in deep thought.

"Actually, now that I think about it, our cousins don't really know about our identities."

Rin looked at Eve, shocked.

"Don't they know that your father is the ruler of the kingdom?!"

Eve gave a defeated sigh.

"Yeah, I know how you feel but you can't blame their parents. I'm sure they told them about it. Maybe they just forgot about it or they weren't listening carefully. Anyways, it doesn't matter much but is amusing to hear them boast about their wealth."

Rin gave a silly grin.

"That's because even if they were to combine their wealth, your cousins can't beat your own personal fortune, right?"

Eve nodded and they went silent for a while. Rin spoke up again.

"How about their parents? Are they nice?"

"Surprisingly, their parents are really nice, Rin. Jenos and I like them a lot. The couple are humble, caring and loving towards us and every time after their visit, they always apologized for any trouble that Michael and Elizabeth had caused. Their father is constantly working abroad and hardly has any time to teach his children the proper manners and their mother is physically weak. Although the father reduced the number of his trips of working abroad due to this reason, Michael and Elizabeth had grown to an age where they have independent thinking. It's really a pity."

With a nod of understanding, she placed her cup down.

"So they're coming over later?"

Eve nodded.

"Is that when your parents are coming back?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

Rin waved her hand quickly.

"Don't worry about it, Eve! It isn't your fault! Anyways, I won't be that troubled!"

"Why would you say that?"

Rin gave a cheeky grin and a thumbs-up.

"Michael isn't going to bother me anymore as I gave him the brush-off at the party and I'm positive that Elizabeth doesn't want to socialize with me. Only the boys need to worry about them and that goes for you too!"

Eve gave a discontented sigh.

"I wish I was as straightforward as you. Maybe then I wouldn't have so much trouble. Michael is capable in giving me high blood pressure and is killing me. Literally."

Rin pat Eve's shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"Look at the brighter side, you got Michael only. Just ignored Elizabeth. She will be busy."

Eve held a clueless look in respond to Rin's cheeky grin.

"Busy making the boys' lives miserable. After tonight's dinner, Jenos and Train will definitely have parthenophobia! The fear of young girls!!"

The girls couldn't help but laugh as they imaging the boys going into hiding when girls walk by.

"Whoa!!"

They paused.

"Wasn't that Jenos? Have they started playing already?"


Jenos had managed to dodge a bullet just in time as he felt it grazed his skin slightly but still couldn't stop and rest. How could he? There was a swarm of bullets heading his way!! This was getting ridiculous! Since when did he start getting defensive?

Oh right, when Train had brutally started with offensive right at the beginning of the battle…

His big plan of beating Train to submission without wasting too much time went to the drains when he had allowed the bandit to move first. He shouldn't have done that, look at the tight situation he gotten himself into! He never underestimated Train when it came to fighting but he didn't think that there would be such an apparent gap between their respective skills after that short amount of time. Compared to the previous battle, the bandit had improved. Drastically improved. He knew Train's already-fast-speed had already upgraded to god-like speed, thus, exceeded his expectations.

Jenos had tried keeping up with Train at the start of the battle but after figuring out that he wasn't making much progress, he had stopped. He tried using different methods but it didn't work out well.

At the first part of the battle, Train had started with some long distance attacks which Jenos had deflected easily but when he looked up, Train was already long gone. He made a fatal mistake in anticipating that the bandit will attacked from the back but found no one when Jenos had swiftly turned. Then it happened. He felt his head connected with a solid object. Said object was in the hands of Train Heartnet who had attacked from above.

Recovering quickly from dizziness, he swung Excellion upwards in hopes that he will catch the bandit off-guard. Being airborne, he knew the bandit is at a major disadvantage as he would be unable to defend his vital spots. However, when Train had not only stopped his attack by breaking the wires with his bullets but also vanished in a blink of an eye and later reappeared at Jenos' rear for another attack, Jenos was speechless. With a swung of Hades, Jenos felt the wind knock out from him and was send flying across the field and finally hit a tree. Jenos lay there for a while still amaze and started laughing. Train gave him a dense look and approached cautiously but halted when Jenos stood up wobbly.

"Jenos?"

The Chronos member just shook his head a few times and straightened himself.

"Nothing, just laughing to myself. Let's continue."

Jenos straightened himself and got into an attack stance. Satisfy that Train was ready; he launched an attack which Train responded by jumping back quickly while letting out a rapid fire of bullets. Jenos dodge the incoming bullets and with a shake of his hands, Train was faced with several wires heading his way. Effortlessly, he evaded the attack and advanced upon the Chronos member but quickly stopped when his opponent smirked at him. Expecting something, he swiftly scanned his surroundings and saw Jenos had combined the wires to form a thicker and stronger wire which was heading his way.

Jenos smirked in satisfaction as he watched the now-thicker wire make contact with Train's waist and pulled him back to collide into a few trees. Due to the impact, dust surrounded them and with a tug, Jenos felt his wire had trapped something around a tree.

"This brings back memories."

He briefly recalled that he had once trapped Train to a tree before. Feeling that Train wasn't struggling, he curiously walked towards the forest.

Jenos however, immediately stop when the dust cleared as he realized with dread with what he had trapped against the tree. Hades was tied tightly against the bark and Jenos could imagine the gun was mocking him. And with anticipation, Jenos took in a punch aimed for his jaw. He felt the wind leave him again and was thrown due to the impact to the spot where Hades was located.

Knowing that his opponent is not equipped his favourite weapon; Jenos quickly take advantage of the situation. He stationed near where he could keep an eye on Hades to prevent Train from retrieving it and swiftly send his wires to Train.

The bandit knew very well that he was unofficially 'screwed' without his weapon in this current situation with the wires coming at him at such a speed. Taking note of his disadvantage, he smirked slightly and almost broke into laughter as he knew it was well worth the risk to punch Jenos. Anyway, back to the task on hand, he could take this opportunity and train himself physically without depending on his weapon. The more independent without Hades, the safer he would be in the near future. Nodding to himself, he silently braced himself on the upcoming attack and went into a defence position.

When the wires were just an inch from him, he retreated and jumped over the wires swiftly and ran to the side. With the wires blocking, Train was forced to run a full circle before he got close enough to Jenos. Aiming to for another punch, he jumped over another set of wires and intended to strike from above. Intended to. The punch never connected with Jenos as the Chronos member has smirked at the last minute.

"Too careless, Train!"

Train managed to side-stepped a wire that suddenly came out from nowhere. He winced as he felt the wire cut deep into his shoulder's skin. Too surprise to leap away, Train traced the wire to the ground and realized what had occurred. Jenos had hid a single wire under the long grass to protect himself from close-range attacks which Train had planned to focus on.

Pain from the shoulder shoot through Train's body which brought him back to reality with his unfavourable conditions. Looking on, he saw a trail of blood roll down from the wire and gracefully, he leaped away from the menacing wire. He placed a hand over his injured shoulder and gave a small smile to his opponent.

"Not bad, Jenos. I didn't expect you to have complete control over the movement of the five wires. I have underestimated you and pay the price dearly with a minor shoulder injury."

Jenos gave a 'peace' sign.

"Thanks for the compliment. I guess I have paid my share too."

Pointing to the bruise that was fast appearing on his jaw, several minor cuts and other parts where Train have struck, he let out a pout.

"It seems through this entire battle, my share of injuries is more than yours which annoys me greatly. At my own incompetence, of course. You have improved greatly from the previous battle and I can hardly catch up with you. You deserve higher praise."

"Your words mean a lot to me, Jenos. A lot. I hope you are aware of that."

Train gave a small sincere smile in which Jenos gave a thumbs-up in response.

"However, you need to retrieve Hades if you plan to defeat me here and now."

Train examined his small wound while smiling.

"Now THAT is a tempting thought but I'm afraid I must decline your suggestion. I will defeat you without Hades."

Jenos smirked as he heard Train's words.

"Interesting. I want to see you try! Come if you dare!"

Jenos flexed his fingers and Train crouched into his stance.

"Watch me."

With that, Train again vanished instantly. Not wanting to get caught twice, Jenos immediately shot his wires upwards. Airborne, Train evaded the oncoming wires and Jenos cursed slightly. Desperately, Jenos wrapped the wires against more trees and turned its' direction back towards Train.

Feeling the change within the air current, he again avoided the wires and with agility, he grabbed upon the wires and slide towards Jenos whose mouth had dropped in disbelief but quickly snapped back into focus as the wires came charging towards the bandit again. Train immediately swung himself and allow the wires to pass him by and let go when he entered Jenos' radius. He swung a fist which was quickly evaded as Jenos leaped back. Train backed off to only appear behind Jenos and with all his might, he punched Jenos upwards and the unfortunate Chronos member landed on his butt.

With a laugh, Jaden brought up his hands.

"Enemy surrender. Please be merciful because I'm too young and is getting late."

Train gave a low chuckle in respond to Jenos' reply and went over to help his friend.

"You are never too young for this. Wait a minute while I get Hades before I help you out."

The bandit turned to walk toward his gun but stopped when he saw wires reach out and wrapped themselves around Hades. After securing itself, Hades was immediately pulled back and Train caught hold of it when it was suddenly released in front of him.

"No need to thank me."

Train turned and smirked at the man.

"I didn't intend to give you my thanks anyway. It was just a few steps away."

Train placed Hades back to his gun holster and hoisted Jenos up and steady him.

"I decided to save you from walking those few steps and no thanks were given? Ungrate-! Whoa!"

Jenos landed on his butt and glared at the bandit from his position. Said bandit held his hands arm and gave a small innocent smile.

"Oops. I slipped."

Jenos pouted as Train hoisted him up again.

"Need help walking?"

Jenos mocked-glare at the senior who gave a small chuckle.

And small jokes and insults were shared among them as they returned back to the palace.

"You sure you don't need help?"

"Shut up."

-End-of Chapter-

Reviews:

icecoldprincess: Thanx for your compliments and support! I hope you will like this chapter too!!XD Thanx again for your review!

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Sammy: Well, here's the new chapter!! Thousand of thank you(s)!! Thanx again for your review!

KyoxSakiFan: Ta-da!! The latest chapter! I hope you enjoyed this!! Thank again for your review!

-Yue no Kitsune-: I don't want to spoil the surprise about the ending, so you just have to wait!XD However, Eve wouldn't gain her powers in this fic as I'm pretty complicated with the nano-technology. I apologized for this but thanx for reviewing!

BlackCat246: Thanx for your reviews as well as ur supportive and encouraging words!!XD