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

Train: We're back

14AmyChan: how was your date? *^_^*

Saya: O/O

Train: -/-

14AmyChan: *^_^*

Eve: what's with the faces?

Sven: MOVING ON! Please read and enjoy

"You sure know a lot about him" Eve looked at Sven, impressed at the fountain of knowledge he had about their new target. It wasn't hard for him to impress her. Just about everything he did was cool—well, except for when he was being old-timey.

The Sweepers had taken the files to a local bar and had talked things out. Sven told everyone about Rujikke—well, everything he knew, which was a lot. The papers were spread out so everyone could see everything.

"That's because I'm the one who made that arrest" Sven admitted, still staring at the photograph on the bar counter. Train and Saya both became a little concerned when their friend soon started staring into space. He soon came out of it, though. "He was stronger than your average criminal, but he wasn't worth a $150 grand bounty! Something must have changed him…"

Sven was sent into his own thoughts, practically burying himself there. "What's with all the paper?" the friendly bartender asked, an amused smile on her face. "Studying?"

"huh? Sort of…" Train was caught off-guard, but soon came back to himself. "We're Sweepers. We're after the killer" Train grinned as he brought his glass of milk to his lips, ready to bask in the white liquid's goodness.

"Huh?" the lady asked, a wave of worry and fear overtaking her face. She soon snapped out of it to warn them. "Forget it mister! Do you know how many cops he's killed?"

"Yeah, but things can't keep going like this, can they?" Train asked, hoping to make a point. He already knew the guy was dangerous, but he also knew that he himself was dangerous.

"I hope not…" the bartender didn't sound too hopeful, though. "I've been lucky so far, but over there" the bartender nodded over to the corner of the room, where a lonely old man sit drinking bottle after bottle of liquor. He was also the only other person in the bar. "At the corner table."

"The old man?" Train asked, having a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach where this was going.

"The killer got his son and grandson both. Now all he does is drink" the lady's voice became remorseful. "I beg him to stop, but he won't hear it"

Train's face became noticeably concerned. Saya caught it out of the corner of her eye. She hated liquor and anything to do with it, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for that old man. She watched as Train suddenly got up and walked over to the corner table where the old man was. "Train…?"

Train couldn't let this man take the wrong path. He swiped away the half-empty glass of liquor with a catlike grin.

"What do you think you're doing?" the old man cried as he tried to regain his lost liquor. His clumsy attempts almost had him fall out of his seat, if it weren't for Train's reflexes, he might have.

"You're killing yourself with this stuff. Have a glass of milk, why don't you?" Train never lost his trademark grin once. Probably because the old man had stopped squirming. Instead, the old man got furious.

"Leave me alone!" he demanded. "You don't even know me, stranger!" Even though Saya couldn't stand the sound of an elder shouting at someone younger than them, she continued to watch as Train finally stopped dead in his tracks. The old man suddenly softened as he glared at his table. "You don't know… You don't know what it's like to lose something more precious than your life… You don't know" the old man kept going on.

Train couldn't say he knew that man's pain. Sure, he had lost his parents at a young age, and sure, they had been brutally murdered before his very eyes, but he almost never thought about that. If he thought of his parents, it would be a they-are-proud-of-me kind of thing. He'd accepted it. Though, he knew what it was like to believe you had lost someone that important forever. And to have the fault be yours makes it crushing.

"I know something just as painful" Train muttered. No one else in the store other than the old man had heard Train. The old man just stared at Train for a second.

"Liar…" the old man managed to get out before breaking down completely. "My grandson…" he managed to get out through heavy sobs. "He had just turned five years old… They were going to get him a birthday present…hic… He left the house with my son…He was l-laughing…s-so h-happy…" the old man continued to sob. "Wh-why? Why would anyone… Why… Why?"

Train simply stared at the man for a few seconds. "Stranger…" Train murmured, but this time, everyone heard it. "I don't know you, huh?" Train's hand rested on one of the man's bottles.

Saya and Sven, who had been watching, suddenly stiffened. "Train…" Saya's voice was tense, but no one heard it.

In a sudden move, Train's arm swung up and brought the bottle to his lips, the harsh liquid running down his throat.

"Hey! That's powerful stuff!" the bartender yelled.

"He doesn't even drink!" Sven and Saya both cried of shock.

The old man simply sad there, looking baffled. That was his last bottle of liquor…

Train gasped a lungful of air when the bottle was empty. "Can I drink or can I drink?" he asked nobody in particular. It was half a shout, though. He looked the old man straight in the eye as he began talking again. "How's that? Now we're drinking buddies…and…you can't call me 'stranger', okay?" he bargained. Then he smiled. "Listen to me, buddy. That demon who got your boys, I'm the guy who's gonna make him pay!"

For the first time since they laid eyes on the man, he looked hopeful. He looked ready to hope for life again.

"ugh…" Train moaned again, hanging over the couch. "I feel awful…"

"Yeah, well you chugged half a bottle of liquor" Saya said from next to him. She couldn't smell any alcohol on Train, but she did know a hangover when she saw one. A couple of her 'friends' from a long time ago had gotten drunk and she was the only one smart enough to bring a camera. But the evidence had long since been burned.

"Think next time, idiot" Sven scolded. He should have known by now that whenever Train was around, there was always some kind of mindless activity involved.

"Really" Eve agreed with Sven. She made mental notes to never touch this 'liquor' stuff. If all it did was give you a headache, why would people drink it in the first place?

"ugh, et tu Eve?" Train asked as he covered his face, silently begging sleep to take him once more. He had been out cold a few minutes after the old man had left, and when he woke up, Saya was carrying him. He didn't say he didn't like being that close to her, but the only times he ever let his feelings show to her was when they were about to go into Torneo's mansion or when they were playing. But his head hurt too much to think about any of that much right now.

"What are you doing, Sven?" Eve inquired, having just finished a book and wandered over to where the older man was. He was in front of a lot of equipment and all of it looked neat.

"Hm?" Sven asked, looking over at the small child. "Oh, listening to police radio. This is the best way to get fresh information."

Once again, Saya noticed the girl's fascination with every word that Sven said. Saya thought it was cute how she seemed to follow him around like a baby chick. She smiled a little smile as Train asked if there were any new leads.

"Another cop was killed on Apto Street this afternoon…" Sven listened to the radio for another second. "It was our guy."

"No rest for the weary, then?" Train moaned.

"None for the hung over, either Train" Saya confirmed, smiling at the scowl that smart comment earned her.

"Yes, it's time to start planning" Sven said, shutting off the radio and turning to his companions. "How are we gonna take Gyanza down?"

"A plan… right on…" Train managed to not groan as noticeably as he finally sat up.

Sven tried not to be sarcastically amazed at Train's ability to act like a complete idiot. "First, we have to find him" Sven pointed out their first step. "I suggest fishing"

"Fishing?" Eve asked.

"It's a sweeper term" Train talked to clear his head. No one stopped him. "You lure your target out, then reel him out. You use yourself as bait, that's fishing."

Eve 'ooh'ed of understanding. "Yes, though using yourself as bait is a risky strategy" Saya pointed out. "Isn't that a method used for pleasure killers?" she asked.

"Yes" Sven said.

"So our guy's in it for the thrill?" Train asked, his eyes showing that he was awake now. "He's not a grudge-killer or a terrorist?"

"I doubt it" Sven said. "Our guy's been slaughtering small animals for fun since he was a kid…" he paused a second for this new bit of news to sink in for his friends. Then he continued. "If he's suddenly gained some sort of power enhancer, he might escalate to hunting humans."

"Power enhancer?" Train's ears perked. "Like what?"

"I don't know, but considering the number of cops he's killed, he's not the same Gyanza he was when I arrested him" Sven mused. "Which is why we need a plan. Saya, would you mind being the bait?"

The same time Saya said "sure", Train asked "why?"

"I noticed something when I was going over his file" Sven decided to answer Train's question. "He prefers women and children. He's a typical pleasure killer. He's looking for weakness, vulnerability, so it works if Saya is the bait."

Train couldn't argue the logic, but he didn't want Saya to be the bait. Call it overprotectiveness or whatever. Sometimes he had to remind himself that she had been at this a lot longer than he had. And she had already agreed, so it wouldn't do any good to argue…

"Can I go along?" a voice piped up. Everyone turned to Eve, who had just spoken. "Women and kids, right? I can protect myself when he shows up-"

"No way!" Sven argued instantly. "It's too dangerous!"

"That's right!" Train argued as well. It was one thing for Saya, a seasoned professional, to go. Was he worried about her? Absolutley. Did he think Eve was up to the challenge? Not quite yet.

"This can be scary stuff!" Saya joined in the putting down of the idea. She didn't feel that Eve was ready yet. Yes, she had helped with some of the smaller bounties, but she could really be killed this time.

"I'm not scared" Eve protested against the three adults. "When I saw that old man crying, I understood what a Sweeper's job is all about."

"Oh?" Sven asked, ears perked. Had Eve matured far quicker than he had thought?

"A Sweeper's job is to catch the bad guys and give people a reason to stop crying" Eve's statement touched every one of the adults in the room. For Sven, it was a marker that Eve indeed knew what was going on around her. For Saya, it was a reminiscent of her sentiments about the job when she first got it. For Train, it was an example of how she knew the gravity of the situation and was still able to want to help. "Isn't that right?"

"Princess…" Train thought he was going to warn her again, but he was cut off.

"Please! I…I want to help" Eve insisted again. "Please…? Let me help?"

"Are you sure it's gonna be okay?" Saya asked Train. Eve had gone with Sven to go over safety and he wanted to make sure that she could use her powers properly before letting her go out with Saya on the mission.

"'All a Sweeper needs is a genuine desire to help', right?" Train asked, looking over to the woman on his right. She looked insanely worried, as was he. But he decided that maybe the princess was working her way through whatever she was trying to do. Saya smiled at his comment.

"I can't believe you remembered that…" Saya sighed. She didn't expect it when a strong hand pulled her closer to Train. Her head soon found itself on his shoulder and his head became comfortable on her own. "T-Train?" she couldn't believe she stuttered like that. He had just taken her by surprise, that was it, right?

"Let me pretend…" Train murmured in her ear. He wasn't sure if she caught it or not, but she suddenly became less tense. He couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.

"And what exactly are we pretending?" Saya asked, finding herself comfortable leaning against Train. Even though she was on his shoulder, she could hear a faint heartbeat. It was beating with a steady thump-thump. It was a sound that put her at ease.

"That everything's a little different… We're not running from Taoists…" Train threw the idea out there. "No one's trying to hurt us or our friends… So, will you let me pretend…?" he whispered in her ear.

"Only if I get to join in…" Saya smiled. She turned her head slightly and saw Train's beautiful amber eyes. They shone oh-so-beautifully. Saya knew that she loved those eyes. The heartbeat she heard. The warmth she felt. The hand that had somehow found hers. The lips that searched hers out. She loved it all.

She wanted to pretend that she could have it all forever, free from worry.

14AmyChan: FLUFF! *^_^*

Train: O/O

Saya: O/O

Eve: Where are Sven and I during this little 'fluff' moment?

14AmyChan: You two are still going on about safety. You don't hear/see/sense anything happening in the other room~! *^_^*

Sven: I assume that Train is being a gentleman? *getting gentleman's fist ready*

Train: I WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING!

Saya: THAT'S RIGHT!

Eve: what are you all talking about?

Train, Saya, and Sven: nothing!

14AmyChan: It's not anything you need to worry about, Eve-chan~! *^_^*

Eve: oh… well, please take a well-educated opinion of this chapter and please put it on the link below. Thank you.

14AmyChan: 2 CHAPPIES IN A ROW~! *^_^*