"Halt," I heard from the shadow-drenched hall, "State your business."
"Sorry," I murmured dangerously. "But your luck's just run out."
Before the guard could utter another sound, I pounced and slit his throat. Once he was safely dead, there was nothing left to do but burn the body beyond recognition. Then, I could pass it off to Chronos as Train. I would get my promotion and he would go free.
The last thing I did before I left that place was call in to Chronos. I told them that Number XIII, Train Heartnet, was terminated and the corpse was in the building. No, he hadn't had his gun with him. No, I didn't know where it was.
As I walked home, Black Cat's gun in hand, I thought about what I'd done. Well, not so much 'what' as 'why.' I still had no clue why I would protect him. What had that small touch meant to me? More importantly, what had it meant to him? Why had he pulled me so close to him before he left? What was he going to do before the guard came? Who the heck was this 'Saya'?
I unlocked my apartment door and stepped inside. I went straight to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. What I saw was the same exact thing I saw every time I looked in the mirror; Black hair cut into a bob that angled down to the chin, green eyes, too-pale skin. Nothing much that stood out, or would be noticed by someone like Train.
All of the sudden, I knew that I wanted him to notice me. I wanted him to look at me and think I was pretty, or something like that. For a moment, an image of his bewildered eyes flashed into my mind. They'd looked that way just before the guard had shown up. It reminded me of how his arms felt around my waist, and I could've cried out. Thinking about it made my heart ache more.
Sighing, I retired to the bedroom to change out of my bloody clothes. Before I walked in the door, I had Jinsoku out and ready. There was someone in my house, in my room. They had to be taken care of.
A familiar voice came from the darkest corner of the room, where my bed was; "Never tell a stray cat to leave, Misaki. They'll stick around just to see what happens."
I flicked on the light. Train lay sprawled out on my bed, holding a bottle of milk that could only have come from my refrigerator. I can't say I wasn't surprised- and pleased. The sight of him lessened the pain in my chest.
"I couldn't stay away once I discovered your refrigerator was stocked with milk," he joked.
I shook my head disdainfully, but I knew I was smiling. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
"Is that a threat?"
"Do you want it to be?"
He sprang up from his comfortable position and shook his head. Slowly, he advanced.
"I'm not really sure what I want right now . . . " he sighed.
His eyes were burning, just as they had when he'd held me before. I dropped my sword and took a step towards him. Then another. And another. Soon we were mere inches away from each other. He's the one who closed the gap.
"I'm not sure what I want," he whispered, "But I'm pretty certain I want you."
His milk bottle crashed to the floor and shattered, his newly free hand went to my waist. The other one was already there. Instead of bumping foreheads, this time he tilted his head to one side and inched it closer to mine. I wasn't positive of what he meant to do, but I didn't protest.
"Misaki . . ."
"Yes?"
"Shut up and let me kiss you."
I heard the smile in his words, so I decided to play along.
"Sure," I laughed. "Go for it."
As soon as his lips touched mine, electricity just like the shock from earlier coursed through me. I'd almost forgotten how good it felt. He must have felt something, too, because after a few seconds, he wasn't content with just holding me by the waist. He picked me up, still holding the kiss. I was quite surprised when he did this, and almost screamed. Instead, I held on for dear life and tried not to think about how high off the ground I was.
