Riuko: Hiya

Caress: Why're you so happy, I heard you got a review saying you need to make your chapters longer.

Riuko: Constructive criticism my friend! That and, I had a good reason to make that last on short. I wanted to post it on my birthday, but I hadn't done much, and then my friend called while I was typing and I couldn't focus and I had a gig to play. I play in a fiddling group okay! I also wanted to go to the Fallout Boy concert, but my mom wouldn't let me 'because my dad was already pulling the trailer and she didn't want me backing out of the gig at the last minute, and yet, one of our cellos did. And since one cello was somewhere cause of his church's youth group, we had no freakin' cellos! Do you know how hard it is to come up with a one hour set that we can play without cellos?!

Train: … That was long.

Caress: Yup.

Train: Riuko does not own Black Cat.

Riuko: Now let's begin! Thanks for reviewing LithiumTiger19! I promise this one is longer!

Caress POV

"Give me my shirt Eve! I'm not leaving without it!" I yelled at Eve.

"Sorry Onee-san, but I can't. Sven doesn't want you to leave." I growled at her again.

"I'm sick of just wearing bandages! Give me my shirt!"

"Don't get mad at her Caress, I told her not to give it to you," Sven said nonchalantly. I growled at him too.

"Fine, I won't leave, just give me my freaking shirt!"

"Really," Sven gave me a disbelieving eye.

"Yes! I'm freezing here!" I replied. Sven nodded to Eve and she tossed me my white tee. While I put it on, Eve and Sven caught a glimpse of my back.

"My god Caress, what happened?!" Sven yelled.

"So you saw them huh? My scars," I replied.

"How could we not, they run the entire length of your back," replied Eve.

"On the day I was born, some people from the nearby village burned down my home and killed my mother. I was seriously injured. It was a miracle I didn't die, being only a few minutes old and all."

"And you remember this?!" I shook my head.

"Heavens no," I replied. "Aria-sama, the man who found me and raised me, told me what happened." This was somewhat true. I don't remember that day, and I was told what happened, not by Aria-sama, but my mother. My dead mother. Don't make me explain. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt.

I glared at Sven throughout breakfast. 'That was a really dirty trick, blackmailing me into making me stay.'

"Oh come on," Sven said when he noticed my glare. "It's for your own good."

"What would you know about what's good for me?" I asked. "You hardly know me. All you know is my name and that I'm running from something, and you're still willing enough to help me? That's pretty stupid if you ask me."

"Hey!" Train yelled. "Sven just wants to help!" I gave Train an icy glare. Train, as expected, didn't recoil, but glared back. His glare was much scarier than mine, so I turned away, admitting defeat… for now.

Train POV

All Caress did to any of us was glare, when she wasn't reading of course. I couldn't really blame her, I mean, Sven forced her to stay. But I did agree with him, it was in her best interests to stay with us for a while.

"Whatcha reading Caress-chan?" I asked.

"Don't call me –chan ya' freakin' sea urchin head!" She yelled.

"Geez, someone's in a bad mood today. When I saw you when you were seven, you weren't like this at all. In fact, you cr-" she whacked me with the book she'd been reading before I finished my sentence. She blushed and stood up.

"Don't you EVER say that again Train!" She yelled.

"Ow, fine. Testy much," I replied, rubbing my aching head. She was almost as fast as me, and that's saying something. Then she growled at me, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and walked away, and for a moment, I thought I heard someone giggle. It definitely wasn't Caress. It didn't even sound like her. "That was weird."

Caress POV

After my encounter with Train, I stormed upstairs to the room Eve and I shared and screamed into my pillow. "Goddamn him!"

"Caress!" Said a voice. "Don't use such language!"

"Shut up mom."

"That is not how you speak to your mother young lady!" Said another.

"Sorry grandma," I replied. My grandmother's spirit sighed.

"Caress, you forget. Since our physical bodies are gone, our souls reside in you," my mother said. "And we can see and hear everything that you do."

"Yeah well, it's not like I asked for this!"

"Well hon', that's how it turned out," my grandmother replied.

"Shut up!" I hissed. "I don't want to talk to you right now." The spirits sighed in frustration, but they obeyed. "Stupid mother, stupid grandma."

Eve POV

"So Sven, what are we going to do with Onee-san?" I asked Sven "She can't just hang around us, we can still barely feed ourselves as is."

"Maybe she'd be interested in becoming a sweeper. That way, she could pull her weight." Sven replied.

"That's a good idea Sven," I said as I stood up from my chair.

"Where're you going?"

"I'm going to go upstairs and see Onee-san. I'm going to talk to her about becoming a sweeper, and I think Train made her mad again." Sven sighed

"Wouldn't surprise me. He doesn't know how to keep his big mouth shut." I almost laughed. Almost.

Caress was lying on her bed, a hand to her forehead her eyes shut, and her waist length blonde hair spread out like a fan.

"Did Train make you mad again Onee-san?" I asked.

"Yeah, he just doesn't know how to keep his big mouth shut." This time, I gave a small chuckle. "What?"

"That's what Sven said," I replied. Caress smiled.

"You know, I'm actually kinda having fun hanging out with you guys," Caress said. "I might actually stick around for a while." I smiled. I kinda wanted her to stay with us myself.

"Then how about becoming a sweeper and traveling with us?" She looked at me almost as if she didn't understand the question. "that way, you can pull you weight, by helping us catch bounties." Caress smiled a little.

"I'll think about it."

Train POV

As I entered the kitchen from our safe house's small library, Sven just shook his head.

"What?"

"You really have no idea how to treat women do you?" He replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"What'd you say to tick her off so bad Train?"

"All I did was bring up the first time we met. She was seven, going on eight and I was ten. Zagine-" Sven gave me a funny look. "The man who murdered my parents and taught me how to use a gun." A wave of realization crossed over Sven's face and he motioned for me to continue. "Anyways, Zagine and her caretaker knew each other, and not in a good way. They hated each other. Caress was this small girl and when I looked at her she started cr-"

"TRAIN! I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING THAT UP!" Caress yelled as she whacked me across the head with a book.

"Fine! Ow!" I held, clutching the back of my head.

"Somebody struck a nerve!" Sven laughed.

"Urusai!" (Shut Up!)

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices bang like the angels sing,
We're singing
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,

Caress cocked her eyebrow.

"What is that?" she asked as Eve handed her a phone that was going off.

"That's your phone."

"Again, what?"

"Since you're going to be our new partner, you'll need a way to keep in contact with us. You do want to be a sweeper don't you?" Sven asked. Caress smiled and nodded.

"If it means taking down people like Rumors, I'm in!"

And that's how Caress became one of us.

Riuko: It's done!

Caress: It's still a little short.

Riuko: It's like 900 words!

Train: I got to have a section in my point of view!

Caress: Why is he such an idiot?

Riuko: *shrugs* Dunno, but it definitely makes him more appealing! *starts having a total fan girl moment in a corner*

Train: *twitches* Is this going to be like Kyoko all over again.

Caress: R&R