Riuko: *yawns cutely* I just finished hosting my 16th birthday party. Not even half the people I invited came, but it was awesome. Best party of my life. But now I'm really exhausted.

Caress: Shut it Riuko. No one even knows what you're talking about.

Angsty: I do. I was there.

Riuko: *hides behind Train*

Train: WTH?!

Riuko: I'm still scared of you Angsty!

Angsty: …?

Riuko: You guys know Umicon (I think that's how it's spelled)? Well Angsty is forcing me to wear a gothic Lolita dress and a sailor suit (you know, like from Sailor Moon), as well as have me cosplay Hinata and get a picture taken with a random Naruto! That and I'm mad at her for injuring Train in her story.

Angsty: *snickers* But torture is fun.

Riuko: It's a miracle I have an innocent mind *sighs*

Caress: Riuko doesn't own Black Cat.

Train: That still didn't explain why she hid behind me!

Train POV

Two days came and went and frankly, Sven and I were getting a little skittish about Caress. The princess probably was too, but she didn't show it.

"I can't take anymore!" I yelled. "I'm going out and looking for her!"

"Now Train, think before you damn caution again," said Sven. "Do you even know where to look?"

"Ummm… she headed towards the forest. I could start there."

"It's been two days Train, she could be anywhere by no-" he was cut off when the front door opened and shut.

"I'm back," said a tired female voice. I peeked around the wall to see Caress! Her blond hair seemed to be a darker shade than I remembered and she was covering something on her back. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll eat later." Then, as she walked by, I noticed splotches of blood in her hair and two holes in the back of her blue tank top.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later. I'm too tired." She never told us what happened.

Caress POV

I sighed and flopped down on my bed, unknowingly dabbing the blood on my back with the sheets. As I lie on my bed, my back still slightly bleeding, I thought of the past two days as I drifted to sleep. Not only had I become a full angel, but the day after, I'd become a full human. My hair had turned brown and my eyes faded to a dark hazel. That's why I was gone for two days, because I look different as a human, and surely everyone would begin to expect something was up. They probably already did.

I'd managed to wash off most of the blood that covered me after I changed into a human, but blood is really annoying to get out of things. Thank the lord it rained yesterday. It saved me the trouble of having to find a river or pond to wash off in. And after I transformed back, all of the feathers disappeared, except for one; that one feather in each batch that never gets soiled with blood. I use those feathers to increase my power or as spiritual items such as powerful rosary and crucifixes. They're useful for other things too. Within seconds, I was asleep.

Train POV

"Am I the only one who saw that? Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that," I said after Caress went to bed.

"You aren't Train. I saw it too" replied Sven. "What the hell happened that she could be beat up so bad and not even care?!" I shrugged.

"I dunno. Why don't we ask her?"

"She's asleep," the princess replied.

"Then let's wake her up," I snapped.

"You saw her Train," growled Sven. "She was exhausted! Waking her up would just make things worse."

"Then let's ask her when she wakes up." Sven shook his head.

"Train, you're an idiot!"

"Wha-Why?!"

"She obviously doesn't want to talk about it. She'll talk when she's ready."

"Fine," I grumbled.

Caress slept for a whole twenty-three hours! That's even more than I sleep! And even then, when she came down she was tired! Does she have some sort of sleeping disorder or something?!

"Morning guys," Caress yawned as she returned from her day-longnap.

"Its afternoon," Sven replied from behind a newspaper.

"Oh well," Caress groaned as she went into the fridge and grabbed some fruit.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked. "You should eat more than a little fruit."

"Of course I'm hungry! I haven't eaten in three days! But I want to go out and get my own food with my money instead of raiding your fridge!"

"Alright geez. Cranky much."

"What'd you say," she asked, holding up a fist threateningly.

"Nothing." She glared at me, and then went back to her blueberries.

"I told you Caress," Sven started, "you aren't going to use that money."

"It's my money, I'll do whatever I damn well please with it," she hissed before storming out the door.

Caress POV

"Why those no good, jerk-offish, sons of-AGH!" I yelled to myself. I didn't care that people were staring at me like I was some sort of crazy person. Train and Sven just pissed me off so much! At the local Sweeper's Café, the men eyed me oddly. I couldn't blame them. There aren't too many women sweepers in the world. And there aren't too many female sweepers who can stroll into a sweeper's café like they own the place either. Acting all high and mighty was just my way of blowing of steam and hiding my fury at once, and let me say, the people at Rumors didn't appreciate it one bit. I walked over to the wall with the local targets and snatched up a random one. The guys nearby laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You think you can take on Kiley McLaren," one of the men laughed. "That's hilarious!" I almost pulled out my gun and aimed at him.

"I'm in a bad mood pal. I wouldn't piss me off if I were you."

"It's true, she has a terrible temper." I looked up to see Train, sitting at the bar.

"Stalker."

"I'm not a freaking stalker! I came here to help you with your target," Train replied. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"And what do you mean I have a bad temper! I am perfectly capable of controlling my anger, most of which lately, is caused by you!" My yelling continued until one of the sweepers stood up and poked Train in the head.

"Yo Black Cat, long time no see." Train stared at the man a moment. The guy had a lot of muscle and bore kite-shaped earrings on each ear. His hair was blond and spiked and in his gloved hand, was a glass of water.

"Hey, it's Thunderhead."

"You know him Train?" I asked as I walked over.

"Yeah, he was part of the Sweeper Alliance that helped to bring down Creed."

"Oh, the Garbell Commando guy."

"I'm right here," the man growled. "Hey Caress."

"Wait, how do you know him?!" Train asked.

"He watched Eve while I got my license."

"Thunderhead watched the princess? I didn't think she needed supervision."

"I just helped her get in, and my name's River, not Thunderhead."

"You head reminds me of thunder, so it makes sense," I replied.

"What is she, your sister?" River growled.

"No, I'm just a friend. I started traveling with Sven, Train, and Eve about a month ago."

"No, you've been hiding for a month. You joined us two weeks ago," Train corrected.

"Two weeks, that's not very long, and hiding from what." I glared at River with a similar coldness to Train's Black Cat glare.

"You probably haven't heard of them yet. They're as quiet as Chronos, but they're pure evil. All of their members are SS-ranked bounties. I've visited a couple Sweeper's Cafes in the last two weeks and only one had bounty papers on even one of them." I pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to River. "Of course, it's not surprising that he's the one in trouble. He never could resist a good fight."

"Who?" Train asked.

"Bloody Blades, or Blades for short. His real name is Ryou something. The bounty was $180,000." (A.N. The original name of Bloody Blades was Blades of Blood, but I didn't want to sound like I was copying Inuyasha, so I changed it.) River spit out his water. "And they think that locked away in my genetic code is a power that can help them take over the world."

Riuko: Finally! I'm done. Sorry, even now that school's over I'm busy. My fiddling group is really demanding. Oh yeah, if you live in Gatlinburg, we're stopping there on tour to play in the parade on the 4th of July. We're going to be in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Look for Fiddler's Restrung. We rule! That and, if you know a kid named Brent Decker, hate his guts.

Caress: Why?

Riuko: He and I used to be friends until he dropped me because I ruined his social status! I mean, we'd been friends for 3 years and he said he'd written my name on his list of best friends. I freaking hate him! *starts crying* He-He made me cry for a week straight.

Angsty: That's right. He hurt her bad. He's scum. So hate him!

Train: That still doesn't explain why she hid behind me earlier!

Caress: R&R.

Riuko: Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Angsty: *clears throat*

Riuko: Oh yeah, I didn't create Rumors. Angsty came up with all the Rumors characters, their powers, and their personalities. Except for World's End, I changed him a little for my story.

Angsty: Thank you.