14AmyChan: I don't own anything~! *^_^*

Train: So, what's up with that last chapter?

14AmyChan: ?

Saya: *reading Black Cat vol. 2* Train's arm came off?

14AmyChan: well, my story is loosely following the manga, but I wanted to make some changes as well. Sorry if it's annoying, but it's done. ^^;

Eve: Please continue with the story.

14AmyChan: okay. *^_^*

Sven ran up to the lump that had just come out of the pond. The lump was black and had red coming out of it. Upon closer inspection, he could tell it was Train and Saya, both unconscious. Train had his arms around Saya and was holding her tightly, and both were sopping wet with both water and blood.

"Are they going to be all right?" Eve asked, having followed Sven to this scene.

"If we get them to the hospital quickly" Sven said, hoisting Train over his shoulders. "They'll be just fine. Would you mind grabbing Saya?" Sven carried Train and led Eve with Saya to the car. Once inside, he made a dash to their underground hospital, but not so fast that he would attract the attention of the cop cars arriving on scene.

Exactly what was going on here?

Train woke up early the next morning, his wounds having healed relatively quickly. Although he didn't leave Saya's side, it was apparent that the young man was brimming with kinetic energy.

Saya still slept through half the day, having received multiple wounds. When they had arrived at the hospital, it had seemed that Train's condition was worse by far, with all of the obvious cuts and it seemed that one of his arms had been fractured in the fall; yet a closer examination on Saya had revealed that she had gone through quite a lot of internal damage. Aside from the obvious bruises and cuts that covered her face, her neck, her arms, her legs, and any other possible area that Creed could have reached, Saya's insides had been messed with as well. They showed signs of intense stress, as if they had been almost crushed under their own weight and then saved at the last minute. To any doctor, it was apparent that Saya was in excruciating pain, and she could have very well lapsed into a coma, but no one knew for sure.

"Are you going to calm down at all?" Sven yelled from inside the kitchen, where he was now preparing lunch. "I'm making food!" Sven yelled in an attempt to get Train to come out of Saya's room. Through the open door, Sven was able to see Train pace back and forth in front of Saya's bed, waiting for her to wake up.

Train just continued pacing, deep in thought. Why had Creed done this? And where was he now? If Creed had died from that one shot, all of their problems would be over, but Train highly doubted that a single bullet like that would kill that psychopath. Even if that bullet did have the uncanny ability to burst into his opponent…

Thump! Train was instantly pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle whack on the head. Turning to find Eve holding a book, Train was cut off from talking because Eve had spoken first. "Sven's been trying to talk to you for the past two minutes" she informed him. Clueless, Train looked over at his partner, who was trying to resist smiling at the childishness of Eve's action.

"You need something?" Train asked, more than just a little angry at all of his unanswered questions.

"Answers" Sven said. "What happened last night? You haven't said anything since you woke up and it's not funny." All he got as a response was a questionable glare from Train. "You could tell me, or I can take away lunch" Sven said as he flipped the rice-filled pan, making sure that the waft of fried-rice-flavored air made it's way into Train's nose. Even two rooms away.

Train was really hungry, and he hadn't been fair to Sven. After all, it was his bullet that had struck Creed down in the end. But Train wasn't ready to give answers. He didn't have any himself. There was nothing to say. Creed was pursuing some goal that involved killing Saya. That was enough to make Train seethe with anger, and yet it wasn't enough. After Creed Saya, what happened next? It seemed like Creed had some higher goal, and killing Saya was just a stepping stone to reach it…

"I don't know exactly what's going on" Train said, being as blunt as possible. "We have the same maniac on our tail, but it looks like he's resorted to something far worse than a few assassins' tactics." Train paused. He thought back to Creed and his sword. What was it that made his sword invisible, and why had Creed brought up chi? That was only used in- No… it couldn't be… not even Creed would sink that low… right…? It wasn't impossible, giving that he was going on about witchcraft, and the sidekick…

"So what is he using, Train?" Sven asked, pulling his partner back to earth. Train was still silent for a minute, and then he finally answered.

"I think Creed is using Tao…" Train finally said. It was obvious that Train was wary of even saying the word, but Sven and Eve, who had pulled her face out of her book (FalseFreedom), were left clueless. Train continued to fill in his friends. "Tao is an ancient art, only given to those who can handle it, the Taoists. It's not to be underestimated, but it can't be overestimated, either."

"Why?" Eve asked, carefully marking her place with a bookmark. Sven, finished cooking lunch, divvied out the food and started passing it out.

"Back when I was a number, the captain told me the war between Chronos and the Taoists" Train said.

"They took on Chronos and survived?" Sven asked, beginning to see the real and fatal threat that these 'Taoists' posed. And now Creed, already a dangerous psychopath, was one of them…

"Apparently" Train said, finally sitting down on the edge of Saya's bed. Sven handed Train a plate, and Train just held it as he continued to explain. "The Taoists thought that they had the right to dominate the earth, and challenged Chronos directly. They assassinated some of the top guns."

"The Numbers?" Eve asked. As a new member, she hadn't been told much of Chronos, only about the numbers. The only thing she knew thus far was that Train had been an assassin once, just like her.

Train showed a dry smile. He, Sven, and Saya hadn't wanted Eve to get too entangled with Chronos affairs. Yet, he explained it all. "No, some of the elders. The elders run the whole Chronos organization, and we Numbers were only supposed to do what they wanted." Now that everyone was on the same page, Train continued. "Chronos didn't like that so much, so we went to war with the Taoists."

"And Chronos won?" Eve asked, and everyone could tell she was making mental notes of the entire conversation and its seriousness.

"Yeah, but only barley" Train said. "Only three of the Numbers survived the war. And now there are more Taoists in the world." After that last remark, there was a long pause. Everyone knew the situation was serious. Everyone knew that this was no time to joke around-

Munch,munch. Train started digging into his food as if nothing serious had happened at all. As if it were just another conversation. After downing the plate of rice, he smiled. "But we still have our own problems, so why should we worry about ancient history?"

"That's the Train-kun we all know" came a weak voice from behind Train. Everyone turned around to see Saya's eyes flutter open. A weak smile graced her bruised face. Although all were glad to see her awake, none was more so than Train, who was next to her in a heartbeat.

"Saya! You're awake" Train grinned, his shoulders slumped into a relaxed position. Saya smiled back at him and tried sitting up. It was a little tough for the battered and bruised sweeper, but she ended up standing. She was changed into a white yukata with pretty pink flowers on it.

"Yeah, did anyone see my cat ears?" Saya asked. She turned her head around, looking for the lost ears.

"Oh, these?" Sven asked, handing them over. "They were right next to you guys and Eve grabbed them for you."

"Thanks, Eve" Saya smiled, putting the cat ears on her head and smiling. The entire atmosphere had lightened.

"And thanks for the bullet, Sven" Train grinned. "Where'd you ever think to make them explode?"

"It was no problem" Sven said, finishing his food and going back to the kitchen to make something for Saya to eat. "But we get back to sweeper business as soon as possible; we haven't had a payday in a while. So you might want to clean your guns."

Train and Saya looked at each other and smiled. "Same goes for you, too" they said.

Eve opened her book again. As she read, she couldn't help but think about how she liked her new family.

14AmyChan: Okay… I wanted to try and get the story of Tao out of the way, so that's it. ^^;

Train: so, it's all just fluff?

14AmyChan: *shrugs* it depends on how the readers view it. *^_^*

Eve: family?

14AmyChan: yep~! *^_^* *glomps Eve*

Eve: ^^

Saya: R&R, PEOPLE~! XD