A/N: Slight spoilers from Volume 17 are in this chapter. To all of my lovely readers and reviewers out there, I thank you for supporting me and continuing to read my story. I hope that I will hear from you all in future chapters. Until then, happy reading! The next few chapters will be written from the character's point of views, starting with Train's.
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Train was excited to see the members of the Sweeper's Alliance again. It had been seven months since he had last seen them, and he ran through a mental list of their names and faces to refresh his memory. Train sucked in a breath of fresh air and let it out quietly. They were still in the Adonian Sea, and the smell of salt air was starting to grow on him.
Once they were there, Train saw Kevin McDougall and shouted, "Kevin!"
Kevin turned around and somehow ended up getting Train's foot smashed into his face.
"Kevin!" Eve shouted as Kevin went sprawling.
"Ow!" Kevin muttered as he righted himself. "Criminy! You don't hold back, do you?"
"Heh! Sorry about that," Train said.
Kevin doubted that Train was sorry in the back of his mind, but accepted Train's apology anyway.
Silphy stifled a giggle and Gallom laughed out loud. Lacdoll stared blankly, unsure of what event had just occurred. Sven blinked a few times before laughing, and Eve was asking Kevin if he was okay. Saya was shocked that Train had actually kicked Kevin in the face, and she pulled him aside and asked, "How hard did you hit him?"
"Not hard," Train said.
Saya nodded. "What will they say when they know that I'm going to be a new member?"
"Don't worry about that," Train said while sliding his hand around Saya's. "I'll take care of it."
Saya nodded and realized that Train had his hand in her hand, but didn't take it out. She enjoyed Train's warmth. Mundock noticed this and decided to say, "Hey, who's this young lady?"
Train didn't take his hand out of Saya's and said, "Guys, I'd like you to meet the newest member of the Sweeper's Alliance." He looked at Saya in a kind manner as if to say, "Well? Aren't you going to say hi?"
"Hi," Saya said. "I'm Saya Minatsuki. Nice to meet you all."
Kevin nodded. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Kevin McDougall."
Train gave Saya a look that said, "See? What did I tell you? With the way this went, they'd probably accept you even if I wasn't here."
Saya replied with a glance that said, "Yeah, right. They're probably saying that just so that you won't be mad at them."
Train just grinned warmly.
"Welcome, Ms. Minatsuki," Toma Fodou said.
River said, "We're glad to have you here." He went on to introduce everyone.
"I'm proud to be a part of you guys," Saya said.
River suggested that they should all go to the local pub and get something to eat. Once they went there and were seated, they started telling each other what happened while they were apart for the six months. When it was Train's turn to tell the other anxious sweepers what had been going on, he said, "Well, not much has happened."
"Come on!" Kevin said. "There has to be more than that!"
Train sighed quietly before saying, "Well…" He went on to describe how Saya and Lloyd had come back to life. He concluded with saying, "So that's what's happened so far—well, up until now, that is."
After two hours of casual talking, the sweepers left, happy to see one another again. Train, Sven, Saya and Eve stayed for a little while longer to help Tanya clean up the mess.
"Brother!" Woodney exclaimed as he busted into the pub.
Oh, crap, Train thought as he was engulfed in Woodney's embrace.
"Let go of me!" Train said while futilely squirming and trying to get out of Woodney's strong grasp. Train shot Woodney mental missiles, hoping that they would work but doubting their success at the same time. Woodney finally complied with Train's missiles and let Train go.
"Man, have I got a job for you guys!" Woodney said.