14AmyChan: I don't own anything~! *^_^*
Eve: So, what are your two favorite pairings of Black Cat?
14AmyChan: You sure you really want to ask that?
Eve: Yes.
14AmyChan: Train and Saya, and-
Train: DON'T TALK ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE!
Saya: ME TOO!
14AmyChan: I like to call them the 'milk couple' or the 'cat couple'. It's just so cute~! *^_^*
Eve: All right, on with the story…
Saya woke up to streaming light entering the tree. At first, she didn't know which way was up, but give her a break, she just woke up inside a tree for Pete's Sake! Then she noticed something slightly heavy and black on her. It was Train's coat! Saya looked all around for Train, but he wasn't anywhere inside the hollow tree, which-for the first time-actually felt hollow.
Snap!
Saya pressed herself against the wall of the tree, ready to attack with… nothing. She had nothing to defend herself with! Aurgh! Then she smelled a fire, and the scent of berries. And tuna fish? Saya's head peeked out of the tree for a split second. It came back a color that would have put crimson to shame. Yes, she had seen Train shirtless before, but that was when she was trying to keep him from dying! This was totally different!
Saya heard Train get up, so she tried to regain the natural color of her face. Train peeked his head in. "Saya, are you okay?" he asked walking to her. Saya looked at Train and instantly held up his jacket. A silent, but pleading, gesture for him to put it on. Thankfully for Saya, he did. Unfortunately, he also noticed the slight incline in her temperature that had nothing to do with a fever. And again, misfortune was on Saya's side when he placed his hand on her forehead, seeming to check her temperature, which didn't help.
"You're burning up" Train said, growing more concerned for his friend's health. Maybe he did run too fast last night… What if she was sick? What would they do then? "I'm fine" came Saya's stubborn response. Train decided to believe her. After breakfast, they were going to go into town for a change in clothes. If they looked more like travelers, then they might throw off Creed and Chronos and buy at least a little bit of time…
All through breakfast, which was berries and tuna fish, Train was eerily quiet. It didn't scare Saya, but it did make her feel like she should be on guard. Train was usually quiet, but at least he talked a little bit with her. Now he made a cemetery seem lively. Apparently, she would have to start the conversation.
"Mind telling me why we hightailed out of our homes?" Saya asked, pulling Train out of his thoughts. It took him a second to register that Saya was asking him a question. Train tried pulling himself together so he could talk to her without letting her worry. "Someone was after you…" was all Train could say. If he went on, he would probably tell her that she would have died, and Train did not like that possibility at all.
Saya already put two and two together. If it were some measly criminal after revenge, Train probably would have let her handle it. So that left someone in his organization. That would mean that her life was in danger. Train's protecting me Saya made the realization, but didn't let it show. After all, she was still peeved that he didn't call her at all for the last nine days. But he was slowly making it up, he just didn't know it…
"I see" was all Saya said in return. Train mentally slapped himself for even trying to keep anything from the sharp sweeper sitting across from him. He needed to get better at that if he wanted to protect her. "So, what are we going to do?" Saya said, once again pulling him from thought. "If we have some of your people after us, we're going to need a plan." Saya already put all of it together. Train really needed to get better at this.
"We're going to do some running today" Train said finally. He looked like he was mulling something over again, and it made Saya nervous for some reason. "Don't worry, you get to run if you want" Train said, putting out the fire with a small bucket of water he had next to him. I didn't even notice it… Saya thought as she put another two and two together. '…if you want…' he said. Was he really offering her another piggy-back ride after what happened yesterday? Saya decided to let it go and walk inside the tree. She just took a moment to check the spot where she fell asleep to make sure it didn't look like someone slept there the night before.
"All right" Saya said coming out of the tree. "I'll race you, loser treats winner to some lemonade."
Train smiled a little bit. Was Saya always this infectious? "You're on."
.../.../.../
"That was refreshing!" Saya said as she took another swig of lemonade. Train just felt humiliated. He, the Black Cat, got outdone. In a race, but still. Oh well, move on Train reminded himself as he looked down. He was still in his black 'assassin outfit'. And Saya, well, she usually wore that…thing…he forgot what it was called again. It was just this weird dress she wore all the time. The first place they needed to go was to get a change of clothes. The town looked weird, but it was all right.
"Saya" Train said, pulling her out of her lemonade-bliss. "We need to get some shopping done." Saya didn't expect this, then she looked at what Train was wearing. Having all-black in a desert-range would probably let people flag him down. He probably wanted to blend in a little bit. "Okay, but I'm not getting anything other than a yukata" Saya said as stubbornly as she could before getting up and walking around. She heard Train follow her. It made her feel a little important.
Train ended up dragging Saya into a small clothes store that was pretty thrifty. Saya ended up getting a yukata. This one was black with white paw print designs all over it. Train found a long white tee-shirt, but it came with a blue jacket that had some sort of-whaddya call 'em?- the looked like cat dishes sewn into the side. When Train felt them, they were heavy and solid. They might come in handy one day… Train got that along with a pair of jeans that were a darker blue than the jacket.
Much to Saya's surprise, Train paid for everything, including her new yukata. How did he get all that money…? she silently wondered. Train paid for all of it and then sold his old clothes. Except for his jacket. Saya wondered why he kept it. He already had a new one…
"Hey, look!" Saya said suddenly. They just got out of the store and something caught Saya's eye. "It's a bunch of game stands, almost like the carnival at home!" Saya exclaimed, dragging Train over to the various stands.
Train just let himself be pulled around to the various stalls. All he ended up doing was watching, for the most part… until…
"Train-kun!" Saya cheered with that infectious grin. "Watch this!" she said, twirling to a specific game and slapping down some money with an air of confidence. Train watched as Saya got the rules on how to win a golden prize on her newest prey: shoot the bottle. This game was a little different, the bottles were stacked pyramid-style on a moving platform and if you shot all five of them down in one shot, you got a golden prize. If it took two shots, you got a silver prize. If it took three shots, you would get a general prize. You only got three shots.
Train stood back a little bit, but watched as Saya prepared the small wooden gun to be shot. The bottles started to move. Saya got ready to shoot. She aimed at a spot on the wall and waited. Then she fired.
Four of the five bottles went down. Train was left in shock. It wasn't like Saya to miss a mark. He scanned over the golden prizes, but he couldn't see anything that Saya would want. Just as his eyes moved to the silver prize rack, he heard another shot from the wooden gun.
The last of the five bottles fell. "Well, ma'am" the man in charge of the stall said. "Please choose a prize from the silver prize rack, none from the general or the golden." To Train, he sounded lazy, but Train knew better than to judge from a voice. From now on, he would have to be extremely careful.
"That one" Saya said, pointing at the prize she shot for. She didn't want any of the golden prizes and none of the general prizes caught her eye. She nearly jumped with glee as the stall worker handed her the set. Train raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on her choice of prize.
It was a set of stuffed cats. A white one and a black one. On the white cat's neck, there was a bell with a red ribbon; on the other hand, the black cat had an identical bell, only with a blue ribbon. On the back of the ribbons were clasps. Most likely so that if the owner wanted to switch the bell collars, they could. The cats were sewn together, so they couldn't be pulled apart.
Train watched as Saya gently removed the red bell collar from the white cat and handed it to Train. Train took it and held it while Saya took the blue bell collar from the black cat's neck and placed it around her own. Train had a vague idea of why Saya gave him the collar. "Do I have to?" he asked as they walked around from stall.
"Yep!" Saya said in a, what she hoped was commanding, tone. She watched as Train sighed and put the collar on. It fit, which was really neat. "Now we're both stray cats!" Saya said once he got it on. She smiled just because.
Train couldn't believe that's what she was getting at. That's Saya for you… Train thought as he submitted to a smile. As soon as he let it come out, he shoved it back. He needed to concentrate. They couldn't run forever, they needed transportation.
Train's eye caught a ride just as soon as he thought of the need. It was a motorcycle with a 'For Sale' sign on it. Train walked over to it and inspected the bike. It was in good shape, and it wouldn't need a lot of gas to go far, far away. It would cost him most of the rest of his money, but it was a good investment… "Saya," Train asked, turning around. Saya was right behind him, smiling. "Are you against bikes?"
"No, why?"
14AmyChan: I hope you liked it~! *^_^*
Train: Yes! I miss the old bike.
Saya: 'old bike'?
14AmyChan: Yep~! *^_^*
Sven: When are Eve and I going to show up?
14AmyChan: That might take awhile…
Sven: oh…
14AmyChan: I'm working as hard as I can, so please don't be down~! *^_^*
Train: REVIEW AND YOU GET MILK!
Saya: How are you going to get the milk to them?
Train: oh…
14AmyChan: just please review~! *^_^*