14AmyChan: I don't own anything~! *^_^*
Train: Yeah, we noticed.
Saya: Do you have to do this at the beginning of each chapter?
14AmyChan: well, I have to disclaim it, but I'm not sure if the first chapter is sufficient or not, so I'll do every chapter, just in case. *^_^*
Eve: you are not clear of the rules of this site?
14AmyChan: don't be a bully, write based on other's work, disclaim, and place under the appropriate category.
Eve: very well
Train: when you two are done talking all fancy, you have a chapter to write
14AmyChan: *glares Train*
Train: *gulps* READ ON TO SAVE MY LIFE!
"Whatcha reading, princess?" Train asked Eve, who was sitting at the base of a brick wall, book firmly in hand. It had been ten days since Lunafort Tower. With Saya resting up in the current hotel room and Sven doing research on the current targets, Train and Eve just had time to kill. "Didn't even know you could read" Train continued his meaningless chatter.
"Sven taught me how" Eve murmured quietly as she continued her book, "Predicting Cause and Effect: A Basic Theory and Its Implications". Train caught the elevation in her voice whenever she mentioned Sven, and often teased her for it, so before he could begin, she continued with "the rest is self-taught".
"S-Self-taught!" Train practically came out of his skin with that one comment. This is the same girl who, just about two weeks ago, learned what freedom was. Now she was going on about being 'self-taught'? "Where'd you pick up a phrase like that?" Train demanded, getting the sudden feeling that Eve was growing much too fast for his liking.
"She's something else, isn't she?" came the wistful voice of Sven. As surprised as he was that his friend just appeared out of thin-not fat-air, he couldn't help but notice Sven's fondness over the child. "She read every book in the Elsida hideout in two days," Sven went on as a proud father. "And once she reads something, she never forgets it."
"That's pretty nifty" Train marveled at the young girl's talent. "I can't remember anything past the table of contents" he mourned just as Sven told him never to say that again. But Train wasn't paying too much attention to that. "So?" he asked, bringing the conversation where it needed to be. "What have you got on the targets?"
"Right!" Sven yelped. "I almost forgot. Our targets are on the move."
Did I mention that they were after two very well-known jewel thieves? And that if they were brought in by our favorite sweepers, then our favorite sweepers would receive a bounty of 12 grand? Yeah… those facts might be important to keep in mind.
"It's still too early to act, though" Sven said, his coolness never having left him. "They have to be caught in the act-" Sven finally noticed something.
Train. Looking suspicious.
"What is it?" Sven asked Train, who was-by now-officially giving him the creeps. Not an I'm-going-to-assassinate-you-because-I'm-the-Black-Cat-of-Chronos creep, but a I-just-had-a-great-idea-for-a-game-concerning-my-job-because-I'm-bored creep. And whenever Train got that look and Saya wasn't around, Sven knew there would be trouble.
"Oh, nothing" Train had that sickly way-too-innocent voice for it to be just 'nothing'. "I was just thinking about how the real fun is in the chase." Before it could sink in for Sven, Train had already yelled out. "HEY! OVER HERE! SWEEPERS! WE SEE YOU~!"
Ricky and Johnny turned around to see what the big commotion was about. What they saw was a man-no older than 23-shouting in the middle of the street as if he were a six-year-old. But that wasn't quite what caught their attention. "S-sweeper?" they stuttered shortly before high-tailing it. "IS THIS SOME KINDA JOKE!" they screamed.
Sven could only see money running away. He was just in the middle of letting Train have it when he noticed that Train had disappeared as well. He was trying to get his rising temper under control when he heard Eve's small voice. "So, we just have to capture them, right?" The question had caught Sven off-guard, so he could only glance at Eve, which she apparently took for a "yes". As she sprinted after the three men, she pleasantly asked that Sven let her handle it. Sven was left in shock.
Train watched with glee as his prey did their best to escape. It was always fun when they underestimated his abilities. Even funnier when they thought that he couldn't hear them.
"He can't catch us! We're famous for our speed!"
Train kept pace with them pretty easily. He wasn't even breaking a sweat.
"Besides! He can't fire a good shot in this crowd!"
Train pulled out his gun and subtly waved it in the air for them to see. The bigger of the two practically had his eyes jump out of his head. It was something that Train enjoyed seeing.
"He pulled his gun!" "He's just trying to scare us!"
Train put up a burst of speed and then stopped suddenly. He aligned his shot just right. Taking an extra second as a precaution, Train finally shot the bullet through the unsuspecting crowd. Now, rest assured that these bullets wouldn't kill their targets, no.
The bigger of the two thieves, who had been shot by the bullet, suddenly had an onslaught of tears flow from both of his eye sockets. As if his face had been shoved in a large bucket full of freshly chopped onions. It made Train chuckle. Not so much when the smaller guy pulled a gun in the middle of an already panicking crowd. Train was at a loss…
A small shadow leapt up behind the smaller of the thieves and brought her hammer down on his head. Hard. All the while saying how he shouldn't pull a gun and how dangerous it was.
Train could not help but once again be amazed at the powers of a little girl. Of little Eve.
"Wow, princess" Train looked at the good-sized bump on the smaller thief's-Johnny's-head. The bump swelled largely, but there wasn't any actual damage. "You're good" he praised her, this having been her first time helping in any Sweeper work. "Now all we have to do is turn them in." Train looked around at the crowd who was-by now-chilling out. From the crowd came Sven, a pleasant sight for Train. "Svenny! Eve and I already got 'em!"
"Swell…" Sven's voice trembled with-as Train soon figured out-anger. "NEXT TIME WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN!" Sven demanded as he whacked Train over the head.
"He didn't have to hit me…" Train kept muttering as he waited on some steps. Sven had toldhim not to move, but when has Train ever listened to directions?
Train looked around and noticed a lot of street vendors around. Train decided that it would be good for his poor, unexercised legs to walk around and see if there was a good bargain somewhere. Sven and Saya would be glad-he hoped.
Pretty soon, Train came to a clothing vendor and noticed that they were selling Yukatas. That silly dress-thing that Saya wore most every day. While the sales man kept pitching some line about festivals, Train thought back to the day he had first met Saya, when he had almost died and Saya had saved him from literal death, and the death he had been living for a long time…
Part of him wondered back to a day where he and Saya had talked about something important to him now: stray cats.
"What's wrong?" asked Saya, not really caring if she were being blunt, but Train didn't mind. It was nice to be blunt sometimes, so he was just as blunt with his answer.
"I'vebeendoingalotofthinkingoverthepastfewdays…" hestartedout,surprisedthatSayahadn'ttakensomekindofbadjabattheline. "…aboutmylife.WorkingforChronos…obeyingorders…isthatallI'mmeantfor?Idon'tknow…" not anymoreTrainfinishedhisthought.Healmostdidn'tnoticeSayacomeupbehindhim.
"Train, there's something I've noticed about you…" Saya opened. Train had no idea where the conversation was going now that Saya had control… "…and it bugs me." Saya was right next to Train now, but he couldn't say he minded that much.
"Train, you never smile. Ever" Saya stated the fact like it were the world's biggest crisis. To Train, it was nothing new. There wasn't anything to smile for. There was no light in his life. But it didn't make any sense why Saya would be so uptight about it. He asked the most intelligent question he could.
"Huh?"
"What does that tell you?" Saya asked him in return. Before he could think of a viable answer, Saya came up with one for him. "If you were happy, you'd smile."
"I think we're similar" Saya stated boldly, her smile never leaving her face. "We're independent. We don't like being bound to anyone or anything, like stray cats."
Saya giggled as a sudden thought hit her. "And we can be a bit of a nuisance, too!"
Train took it all in and mulled it over. What she was saying made sense. Why had he never thought of it before now? Because he was blinded by hate and Chronos? "Saya, I think you're onto something…" he muttered before turning away. If his mouth muscles had allowed it…he believed that he would have smiled right then and there.
Sven and Eve came back with the money, and Train happily joined them for lunch. Afterwards, they all left to get to the hotel. As they were walking down the street, an old acquaintance of Train's just happened to be on the same street…
14AmyChan: I DID THE CHAPTER! *^_^*
Train: stray cats?
14AmyChan: well, Black Cat was originally going to be Stray Cat, but Yabuki sensei made some changes to it and called it Black Cat *^_^*
Eve: oh…
14AmyChan: and in it, Train is a Tao master *^_^*
Train: THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
14AmyChan: and this is why you are awesome sometimes~! *^_^*
Train: thank yo-WAITAMINUTE!
14AmyChan: hehehehe! *^_^*
Eve: Please take your formulated and well-educated opinion of the chapter and place it in the link below. This cause will trigger an effect known to many as "the next chapter"
14AmyChan: PLZ R&R~! *^_^*