Riuko: *pants*

Caress: What now?

Riuko: People keep poking me! I'm not a freaking squeaky toy just because I squeak when I'm poked or startled.

Yume: Yes you are.

Riuko: Wah! Yume! When'd you get here?!

Yume: Just now *laughs*

Riuko: Stay away from me! *runs knowing Yume can't keep up*

Yume: No fair!

Train: Riuko doesn't own Black Cat

Caress POV

The next morning, we were sat down around the kitchen table once again, this time, for a conversation I was more than willing to participate in; Rumors and how to bring them down.

"If we're going to bring down Rumors, we need to know as much as possible about their strongest members, the Rumors," stated Sven as he lit a cigarette.

"You know those can kill you right?" I asked bluntly.

"So?" asked Sven. "I've been smoking for a long time, and I'm still very healthy." Then he put the cigarette in his mouth. I shook my head at his ignorance.

"Anyways, where should I begin?"

"How about telling us as much as you know about the Rumors," Train said.

"I meant who should I start with stupid," I snapped.

"How about you work your way up the chain of command," said Sven. I nodded.

"The lowest ranked Rumor; Fans Dance. Everyone calls her Dancey except for Ends, he calls her Fans. Her weapons are two blade-tipped fans. Supposedly, she was a dancer, before some sort of accident. She uses the elegance and grace of her dances to distract her target before slitting their throat. She's cold-hearted, very callous. Like most Rumors, she hates my guts and just wishes I'd die already."

"Sounds brutal," muttered Train. "Are you sure she's the lowest ranked?" I nodded.

"All of the Rumors have special abilities. No one knows where they came from, they just woke up one day and found out they had powers. Dancey doesn't use hers, so I don't know what it is."

"So who's next?" asked Eve.

"Bloody Blades," I said with a look of disgust. "We all call him Blades. He likes to goof of. He had a small crush on me once, probably the only reason he doesn't want to kill me. He can accelerate his body in small, one second bursts of speed. His weapons are his twin blades that he never cleans. It's disgusting. In other words, he's a goofball who enjoys killing. He's the only one who's real name I know; Ryou. He's a reckless moron much like this guy here," I said, motioning to Train, "except Blades enjoys killing."

"Hey!" Train glared at me.

"I don't know Blades' past. We were sort of close, not very. He was the only person other than Ends who talked to me."

"Well who else?" Sven asked, lighting another cigarette. I dowsed the flame with my powers. "How-What the-?"

"Please don't smoke while I'm explaining, this isn't a time to relax," I said, my voice dripping with irritation. "Now, next up is Cold Hands. He can drop his body temperature and the body temperature of whatever is touching his hands, hence Cold Hands. His ability is his weapon, don't get to close to him, I've gotten frostbite on more than one occasion. His heart is as cold as he is. He's mostly used for recon, but he has killed a bit in his time, so don't underestimate him or his brother."

"Brother?" Eve asked. I nodded.

"Yes, he and Binding Chains are brothers. We call him Chains. You remember Chains, he was the one who tried to take me right after you found me." Train scowled and nodded at the memory. "Anyways, he, obviously, uses a long chain. He has many different ones depending on the mission. Eve and I only got the regular chain. For murders, he has a chain with spikes on it. Supposedly, he and Hands murdered their parents in cold blood using their abilities, well, Hands' powers and Chains' chain, the one he still carries around. Chains can heal, very quickly, so he's sent on some of the more dangerous missions."

"This sounds a lot like Tao, are you sure-" I cut Train off.

"They aren't Taoists. They don't seem like Tao users. They were raised normally. Ends personally told me so, and I know when he's lying. He sucks at it." I looked at the clock. "How about we break for lunch," I proposed, "my treat."

"Hell yeah!" Train said, throwing a fist in the air. Sven just scowled as he tried again and again to re-light his cigarette. I shook my head as I allowed the lighter to work, forcing a medium sized flame to erupt from the opening and almost burn Sven. I smirked a little at this.

"That was you?!" He yelled. I nodded, proud of myself.

Train POV

"Well, having to put up with all of them sounds like hell," I said before sipping my milk.

"Not much worse than putting up with you," Caress said, smirking. I glared at her and growled.

"You know what I just noticed?" Sven asked Eve amidst our quarrel.

"What?"

"Those two fight like an old married couple." Caress' face flushed a brilliant shade of red as she turned to counter him.

"What's that supposed to mean!" She hissed.

"You really had to go that far," I hissed to Sven. Our anger was no longer directed at each other, but at Sven. Several seconds later, Sven was lying on the ground with two large, round bumps on his head, while I was restraining a still fuming Caress.

"Let me go!"

"If I do, you'll beat him to a pulp," I replied calmly. She wasn't easy to restrain, and that's saying something coming from me. "Princess, a little help here please?" Eve walked over and lifted Sven back up onto his chair and sat back down. "Hey!"

"I helped."

"I meant help with the fuming psychopath!"

"Who're you calling a psychopath," Caress snapped, redirecting her anger towards me once again. I quickly released her and fled to the safety of a nearby tree, which, considering her abilities, wasn't actually safe. I saw her hair swirl a little and I soon found myself in an awkward position on the ground.

"Ow," I muttered. "Again?"

"Come on Onee-san, I'm done eating," Eve said, grabbing her sleeve. Caress immediately calmed down and turned to face Eve.

"Okay, is Sven ready?" Sven nodded. "C'mon Train, get up."

"You're the reason I'm in this position," I hissed.

"What do you want me to do, help you up?" she asked mockingly.

"No," I said as I slowly stood up. "I want you to stop making me fall from trees."

"The first time wasn't me," she replied. "But it was funny."

"Shut up," I snapped. "Let's just head back to the safe house." Caress smirked in victory.

Caress POV

"Now, where did I leave off?" I asked.

"You just told us about Chains and Hands," Sven said as he lit another cigarette. I put it out.

"If you want to live to die of lung cancer another day, stop smoking while I'm talking!" I snapped.

"Fine, geez woman." I smiled.

"Now, I believe we're at the third in command; Thorned Rose, or Rose. She was the one who captured Eve and me. She's… emotionally unstable. Setting her off is certain to kill you if not seriously injure you. Her heart was supposedly broken by the man she loved and she went downhill from there. She can make vines and thorns out of her body, and when she's in a good mood, flowers. She can re-grow entire limbs in minutes by changing the vines of her body to flesh. By far, I think her power is creepiest." Everyone nodded. "She hates me because she works really hard and I still got moved to second-in-command before her. Stay as far away from her as possible. Do not, I repeat, not, engage in battle."

"Alright, we get it, stay away, so who's next?" Train whined.

"Well, I was second-in-command, mostly because Ends wanted a close eye on me and I was not to be harmed, but I gave up that rank long before I officially received it. After me there is but one, World's End; the mastermind behind Rumors. His goal: to create a world where those who commit unnecessary acts of violence are tortured past wanting to die. As sweepers, we catch wrong doers and put them in jail, but Ends, he wants them to pay. It's like his personal vendetta. His power is his mind. He is not only brilliant, but can implant images in people's mind. He uses that technique for brainwashing. Since my mind is… not entirely human, he can't brainwash me, but he can place images in my head. He showed me his entire story in gruesome details. While, after learning his past, I can understand why he wants to make his ideal world, I do not agree with it."

"What happened?" Train asked.

"It's better I show you rather than tell you, but even with one of my feathers, which I can use to record memories and enhance my powers, I won't have enough power. I'm too drained. To put it simply, he was targeted when he was a child by a group of people who wished to… dissect people like him and find out what went on inside them. Before he graduated from high school, he turned them against one another using his powers and they killed each other. His powers could accomplish his goal, but alone, they would take too long. That's why he needs the power of an influential being, like my grandmother, to enhance his powers. Theoretically, he can tap into my grandmother's powers through me, but the power surge he intends to create, since it is against my will to bring her out, would mean the loss of my life. Besides, even if I did survive, he'd have me disposed of. I'd die either way." With that said, I shrugged.

"How can you be so non-chalant about that?" Train yelled.

"About what?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.

"About talking about your death!"

"I was never entirely alive to begin with. Three-fourths doesn't make a whole human Train."

"What are you really, that death can seem so natural to you?" He growled.

"I find the idea of dying as scary as anyone else, considering my fate after death is worse than that of most. You don't have the right to talk." Then I walked out of the room to the safe house's library.

"Wow. That was blunt and indecipherable at the same time." Train said.

"That's just how she is apparently," said Sven as he lit his cigarette.

Riuko: Thank you for reading! I'm surprised no one has questions. Oh well, I guess that's good. That's one good thing in my life. *sulks*

Caress: R&R.