Endings and Beginnings
Tawny
I'd gone on like this for about two months now: making sure my reward money, whenever I got a job done, went half-and-half between my bank account and my parents' account. Things still seemed to be going downhill, though, so I think either Father didn't want to take charity or he was using it wrong.
Then one day, after I broke up a gang, I heard a voice behind me.
"Impressive."
Turning around, I saw a strange guy with a really tall top hat and weird sunglasses. "What do you want?" My question choice was deliberate; I didn't particularly care who he was, unless I was actually interested in what he had to say.
And he probably didn't care what I thought. "I am Chardon. My leader wishes you to join his elite force to cleanse the world of evil."
That sounded at least a little scripted. "Well, tell your leader that I'm not interested, and he can go look elsewhere." Then I turned around and started walking away, twitching my weapon around my waist.
"You may want to reconsider, Tawny. Creed isn't the most accepting of men."
I didn't break stride, but I wondered how he knew my name. "He can blow it out his ear for all I care."
I didn't hear anything else for another few days. Then internal chaos broke out when I got home that night.
My house was on fire.
Somehow, I just knew my parents were inside and that there wasn't anything I could do for them.
"I did warn you to reconsider."
I spun around. That creepy guy Chardon was standing there!
"Creed and the Apostles of the Star could have prevented this from happening."
"If Creed," I said slowly, "was hoping that having nothing to come back to would make me join them, then I'm sorry to shatter his hopes. I'm going to go rogue, and stop at nothing until he's brought to justice, one way or another."
Then I ran off again, this time to my special tree to get my things. Even if the house did get salvaged, I didn't want to live there anymore: too many memories. All my important things were in that suitcase, or on me. Therefore, I would have no problem hitching rides to different towns and continuing my job even freer than before.
Now, all the money I earned would go to me.
While still in the tree, suddenly the full enormity hit me, and I burst into tears.
After traveling a few days, I ended up in Sanjo City. The news reports in the bar were talking about some cease-fire thing. Then I heard a name from someone in the bar: Chardon. Something about a celebration.
Okay, I started eavesdropping shamelessly right then, mostly because I thought I recognized that guy's voice.
Then another name I recognized turned up: Creed.
A little bit of an argument that was totally unrelated to the original subject started, and I tuned them out again. Studying my charm bracelet, I thought about what I'd heard, and who I'd supposedly been listening to.
Was that really Sven?
Explosions started going off, Sven ID'd them as "them," and said he had to find Train. I stood up and walked out. This "Train" had to be similar to me in some way, and besides, if he was as good as Sven – to my ears – implied and had some problem with Creed, then I wanted to meet him.
I found him. He was standing on one edge of the street, pointing a gun at Chardon and some girl I didn't know, so who else could he be?
That girl was pathetically in love with him, though clearly not on his side, and Chardon was really trying Train's patience.
Then a whole section of buildings went down!
All I could do was watch.
Then I chased after Train, because I wanted to see what was going on.
I really didn't know what was happening. Maybe that was because I got there at the same time as Sven. Though all of a sudden, Sven took a shot for Train, who was tied up with a centipede-type thing!
I ran over along with two girls. I know a lot of shouting happened after Creed and his friends left, but otherwise I was kind of dazed.
Later, I heard a story about Sven's eye. Apparently, it was given to him by his old partner.
Wow. So that's what happened after he saved me.
The next day, Sven and Train got in a fight. Finally, I decided I'd had enough.
"Knock it off!" I hit them both with a swing of my whip. "Train, if you really care, I'll make breakfast for you. Sven, that was uncalled for."
They both stared at me. Train just looked shocked that I'd lashed him, but Sven…
"Have I met you before? Is that why you're still hanging around?"
I sighed softly. "Here," I slipped my charm bracelet off my wrist and swung it over on my whip, and it landed right in his hand. "Take a guess."
Sven
I looked at the charm bracelet in my hand. Is this some sort of a joke? It was a simple silver thing, with little waving-cat charms on it. Wait…lucky one next to the clasp, followed by white, red, black, yellow, and pink, in that particular order… I reached into my pocket and pulled out something I'd just left there since that one day: a tiny lucky waving cat charm a girl had given me, along with her name, to thank me. "Tawny?"
She cocked an eyebrow at me with a half-smile. "Took you long enough."
"Friend of yours, Sven?" Train teased.
"I saved her life several years ago, some time before I got my vision eye."
She nodded.
"What are you doing out here?"
She tried to sound casual, but I could hear pain in her voice. "Well…the Apostles of the Stars killed my parents after I rejected an offer to join them, and now I'm thinking I want revenge on them in some way. Mind if I join you? I'll buy meals."
"She's in!" Train yelped.
Train
It wasn't just the meal ticket that made me say she could join. It was how much she reminded me of Saya. I couldn't say why, she certainly didn't dress like Saya with those leotards, but she reminded me of her.
Tawny
We started driving to the next town. Sven was driving, Eve was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Train and I were in the back. Train was asleep, and I'd started leaning on him for no real reason other than that he was there and softer than the door.
Then I dozed off while still leaning on him.
Our next stop had Train eating bread crusts while we found out that the guy we were looking for had been picked up by someone claiming to be the Black Cat.
Eve and I went for a walk to get some stuff for Sven's arm, and we heard that this "Black Cat" guy was in danger. By coincidence, we ran into him, and we warned him.
Somehow, Eve managed to take out the guys who'd been threatening the fat bastard.
We spent a bit longer with him. He'd somehow convinced himself that he really was the Black Cat, and that the two of us were sisters and orphans. He offered for us to stay with him.
Then he changed his mind, and Eve suddenly pulled him down from a series of gunshots!
It was the creepy guy with a freaky face-mask and a cowboy hat who'd shot Sven, and he remembered Eve! Even scarier, he remembered me!
Big tubby decided to stand between us and him, and I was positive he was going to die. Then I heard the craziest rap song being sung outside.
Train? Who told you that you could sing? Because you can't.
He and creepy-face started duking it out with their guns, and Train was avoiding every shot - parrying them with his own gun, dodging, or shooting the guy's bullets!
Whoa...
Tawny...are you in love with him?
...Yeah...
...Just don't make a fool out of yourself like that short girl from the Apostles of the Star.
I closed my mouth right after Train won. How was I going to tell him what I thought of him?
