Truth About the Black Cat

Truth about the Black Cat
By: Tazzy
Rating: R
Author’s Notes: This is based off of “The Black Cat” manga and not the anime, which I haven’t sen yet. And it is purely my twisted imagination that created this heritage for Train.


The door burst open, causing Eve to look up from her latest book and her pink eyes widened at the sight of Sven Vollfield supporting a stumbling Train Heartnet as the younger man blinked his strange golden eyes, a dazed expression on his bloodied face.

“What happened?” asked the genetically engineered child as she cautiously approached them, dark eyes flickering to the unique gun still held in Train’s firm grip, and the Roman numerals for thirteen engraved on the black metal glinted in the light, almost mockingly.

Sven sighed as he placed Train on the couch, the gun resting in Train’s lap as Sven eased his jacket and shoes off. “It was suppose to be an easy job,” grumbled the green haired man, unfastening the holster from Train’s leg before fetching a bowl of water and the first aid kit. “Unfortunately, one of the targets had a fondness for grenades, and Train ended up partially buried under a wall.”

“Head hurts,” moaned Train, his golden eyes fluttering closed as Sven carefully washed the blood off his tanned skin, and the white clad man’s one eye flickered over his partner’s face, taking in the lines of stress that marred the youthful features.

Kneeling next to the couch, Sven gently brushed the dark brown hair off of Train’s face and placed a soft kiss on the wrinkled forehead. “It’s okay, Train. You’re safe,” soothed Sven, his voice soft and husky as he continued to pet the unruly hair. “Let it go.”

Eve watched as Train sighed and seemed to just melt into the couch as he relaxed. Her eyes grew wide at the subtle shifts in his body, not use to seeing someone else shape shift, even though she could rearrange her cells to create whatever was needed. Two black cat-like ears emerged from the unruly hair that darkened to an ebony color while the nails on his hands lengthened slightly into wicked looking claws. The one-eyed man unfastened Train’s jeans and pulled them down slightly, barring a dark thatch of curly hair before Train sighed in relief as a long, black tail appeared, trailing over the side of the couch with the tip softly twitching.

A cool washcloth was placed on the cat man’s forehead before Sven folded Train’s clawed hands over the custom gun that was resting on his chest and stood up. He glanced at Eve and motioned for her to follow him to the far side of the room where they sat at the table, Sven leaning back in his chair as he pulled his hat off, being careful not to disturb the black patch over his right eye.

“Is Train going to be all right?” Eve asked, her young voice colored with concern as her eyes flickered over to the sleeping cat man. “And how did he change like that?”

“Train will be fine once his head stops hurting, Princess,” soothed Sven with a smile as he lit a cigarette. “As for how he could change like that, it’s part of who he is.” He grinned and brushed her blond bangs out of pink eyes. “Just like you can change when you want.”

Eve blinked with a faint frown on her youthful face. “But humans can’t just change like that,” she protested, looking up at him in confusion.

A small chuckle slipped out of Sven as he rubbed his chin, feeling the fain rasp of his goatee against his fingers. “Normal humans can’t, but Train isn’t normal,” he explained. “He’s half human and his other half is something called a neko.” He held up a hand, forestalling any further questions. “Train will be able to explain better when he wakes up.”

Eve was silent as she processed this before nodding and returning to her book. Train would explain everything when he woke up or Eve would simply bug him until he did.

@@@

Unable to help it, Sven’s gaze drifted back to his partner and sometime lover who was quietly resting on the couch, only the flick of an ear at some noise or the twitch of his tail revealing that he was still awake instead of asleep. Despite the exhaustion Train must be feeling, the older man knew that the infamous Black Cat wouldn’t be able to rest until he was alone in a room that he had personally secured, the instincts a left over habit from Chronos.

Relaxing in his chair, Sven closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted back to his brief meeting with Karl, the mayor of Rubeck City, and Belze Rochefort of the Chronos Numbers...


Sitting in the outdoor café, Sven eyed the two men approaching his table with a wary brown eye, feeling the faint throbbing in his temples that was left over from the extended use of his Vision Eye, and nodded to them as they sat down. The one man was an older gentleman in his fourties who was known as the Mayor of Rubeck City, but Sven knew that not only was Karl an elite member of Chronos, a secret organization that controlled one third of the world’s economy, but also helped take care of Train when he was younger. The other man was younger looking, in his thirties with long blond hair and sharp, chiseled features that looked like he never smiled.

“Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Vollfield,” greeted Karl once the waitress had deposited their drinks and left again. He held out an envelope and Sven reluctantly accepted it, a frown on his face in response to the mayor’s cheerful smile. “While Train didn’t want to accept the full reward, as mayor of this city, I felt it only proper to pay you in full for the job you completed.”

“Train told you to use the money to help rebuild the city,” protested Sven, not wanting to feel indebted to Chronos even if they were the employers for a Sweeper job.

A soft laugh slipped out of Karl, his dark eyes twinkling. “What he didn’t know was that a budget is set aside each year for bounties on various criminals. This money came out of that budget and has absolutely no influence on the city being rebuilt or not,” explained the older man, spreading his hands in a ‘so there’ gesture. “Train might have wanted to do this job as a favor for me, but I am also a practical man and know that Train never really had a head for financial matters.”

Slipping the envelope into his white jacket’s pocket, Sven glanced at the silent Belze. “If that’s all you wanted to tell me, why bring a Number with you?” he inquired, tipping his head slightly at the blond.

“I came because I wanted to tell Train that while the Old Men might bear him ill will for turning into a stray, I believe it was the best choice for him,” remarked Belze, his voice a soft rumble as a touch of tenderness crossed his face before it was buried under an emotionless mask again. “The fact that he hesitated on one of his last assignments because his target was holding his daughter proved that while he is extremely skilled, he was not cut out for the life of an assassin. What might have happened if next time, his target had been either a child or a woman who was seen as a threat to Chronos?”

Taking time to light a cigarette, Sven tried to get his thoughts in order at this information. He had known that Train had left Chronos, but made it seem like Saya had talked to him and shown him what life outside of being a “house cat” was like. He hadn’t known that it had anything to do with a child.

‘But that makes sense considering Train’s devotion to duty,’ mused Sven, taking a long drag on his cigarette as he studied the two men sitting across the table from him. “I’ll pass the message along. I think he’ll be glad to hear that not everyone in his past is out to kill him for turning into a stray.” He snorted, a cloud of smoke billowing form his nostrils like a dragon. “Bad enough Creed and his crazies are after him.”

Belze nodded his head, a sad look in his eyes. “If the Old Men had been smart, they would have eliminated Creed when they had the chance and now their mistake is coming back to haunt them,” he agreed. “I have sent back my report to them already about Creed gathering Tao users around him like loyal subjects.”

Sven lightly tapped the ashes off of his cigarette as he took a drink of his coffee. “Creed’s also a Tao user,” he stated in a flat voice, ignoring the look of shock that flashed across the two men’s faces. “According to Train, he’s modified his sword and can now create an invisible, razor sharp blade for it that can expand up to eight meters.” Smiling, he stood up and dropped a couple dollars on the table to cover his drink and a tip. “Just thought you’d like to know.”

He tipped his hat and started walking away when a hand lightly grabbed his jacket sleeve, and he looked down at the Roman numeral II on the back of the skin. He turned to find Belze holding out a sealed bag of dried leaves, an amused smile in his eyes. “You might find that you’ll need this in the next few weeks,” remarked the larger man as he stood up. “The full moon’s coming up and I bet you don’t have anything to calm Train down with you.”

A quick look stated that the bag was store bought and the seal was untampered while the label on the bag announced that it was dried catnip from a local herbal store. “Thanks. I was going to go hunting after this, but you saved me a trip,” replied Sven, taking the bag with a small smile as he thought of how his partner would go crazy trying to find the bag of catnip before curling around it, purring in a blissed out state. “Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure.”

Touching the brim of his hat with a finger, Sven nods at them and leaves.


A soft mewling dragged Sven out of his thoughts, and he looked up to find Train twitching on the couch, having finally fallen asleep while Sven was lost in thought. Putting out his cigarette, the green haired man cautiously approached the couch and gently ran his fingers through the black hair, smiling softly as golden eyes blinked up at him in confusion.

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” soothed Sven, kneeling down next to Train and staring into sleepy golden eyes as the cat man turned over, his tail idly swaying through the air above him. “Eve’s gonna want some answers when you feel up to it.”

Train leaned into the hand stroking his hair as a mischievous smirk spread across his face. “I’m certainly feeling up to something,” purred Train, reaching out to wrap a hand around the back of Sven’s head and pulling him closer to nuzzle his neck. “How ‘bout a shower and then bed for both of us. You must be exhausted after that fight.”

Chuckling, Sven pulled Train to his feet and lead the younger man into the bathroom. “Not exhausted enough,” he replied before the door shut behind them.

The End...