AUTHOR'S NOTE - If you've noticed, Train's e-mail is written as such because it mysteriously disappears every time I upload it to the site. Strange things here, yep. Also, I've just found out that Indents and "Right Align" don't work here, so I had to do some tweaking to the format of the story. It's been a while since I wrote something so I completely forgot how things work, haha.

Oh yeah, this one's much shorter than the first chapter. Dozo!

CHAPTER 2 - Sunrise

(GDarkness) - What the hell happened to you?

Roughly two years ago, Train had sent a picture of himself after a week of not conversing with Eve. It was apparent that he was inside a hospital room, on a bed, but what caught Eve's attention was that his right arm was in a cast, not to mention that almost half of his face was wrapped in bandages.

(B-Cat) - I fell?

(GDarkness) - Ha ha, very funny.

(GDarkness) - Come on, tell me.

(B-Cat) - Well…remember what we talked about last time?

(GDarkness) - That arms smuggler you were tailing?

(B-Cat) - Yeah, well, I took him on last week, after chasing a few leads.

(B-Cat) - That's why I couldn't log in last week, sorry.

(B-Cat) - Anyway, as it turns out, he was going to have a big shipment in the docks in town, and it was the only chance for me to get him.

(B-Cat) - He rarely exposes himself, so I took the chance.

(GDarkness) - I'd expect a man like him to have tight security for a transaction like that.

(B-Cat) - He did.

(B-Cat) - They actually got the jump on me, broke a few bones in the process. ;;

(GDarkness) - Geez, Train…

(B-Cat) - I know, I know. But I got him in the end, that's what matters.

(B-Cat) - Princess?

(B-Cat) - Hello?

!!BUZZ!!

(GDarkness) - Go away.

(B-Cat) - Huh?

(GDarkness) - Honestly, you always get yourself in these messes. The last time, you got hit in the head with a mallet. The other time, you almost got ran over a truck! And the other time, you almost got a mountain dropped on you!

(B-Cat) - Yeah, I loved that one…

(GDarkness) - Just take care of yourself, okay? Sven and I aren't there with you.

Eve stopped for a while. She wiped some tears from her eyes. She looked at the time. 10:30 p.m. She didn't realize that it was so late. She had been surfing the web and checking online encyclopedias, as well as watching videos, all while waiting for Train to log in. She realized that she had been waiting for him for nearly two hours.

Only for him to do log in and have him show his injured self.

Sighing, she continued.

(GDarkness) - Sometimes…I wish these were the things you'd leave out once we start chatting.

(GDarkness) - But I know that I did tell you to be completely honest with me, because I'll be true to you too.

(B-Cat) - Sorry. I know you have exams and all tomorrow. You really don't need to be bagged down this.

(GDarkness) - You remembered?

(B-Cat) - That's why I took so long. I was hesitating.

(B-Cat) - Wondering if I should show you this.

(B-Cat) - But I guess I can't. I can't lie. Not to you.

(GDarkness) - There are things called white lies, y'know.

(B-Cat) - Haha. Yeah, well, I can't do that. I am a Black cat, y'know?

(B-Cat) - And like cats, I've got nine lives…don't I? I can't remember how many lives I already lost.

(GDarkness) - Haha, very funny.

This time, though, she really did laugh.

"So he's going to be all right? Oh thank goodness," Sven muttered, heaving a huge sigh of relief.

"Your friend's really lucky," the doctor said, an elderly man with graying hair named Dr. Raymond.

The doctor patted his shoulder, with Sven smiling in return. The two were in the hospital, just outside the room where Train was recuperating. It was night time, though Sven couldn't really tell since the corridors were colored with beige paint and warm white lights. The window at the far end of the corridor showed that it was still dark outside, though. Other than the two of them and some nurses making their rounds, the place was as desolated and as gloomy as a graveyard.

Sven shuddered at the thought.

Ten hours ago, an ambulance arrived at the hospital, carrying the unconscious Train Heartnet to the emergency room, with Sven and Eve at his side. His doctor immediately declared that he needed surgery and since Sven was the closest thing Train had to a relative, he was the one who signed the consent. He was released only an hour ago, and Train was moved to the recovery room. Eve was with him now.

"The surgery was a success. The bullet missed the vital organs, and though he lost a lot of blood, we had a transfusion ready for him. He's out of danger," Dr. Raymond said, assuringly.

"Thanks, doc. You can put the bill on his tab, by the way," Sven said, smirking, pointing his thumb at the door of Train's room.

"You should save your thanks for someone else," Dr. Raymond said, "I would've liked to take the credit, but SHE was the one who discovered that there was more to this than just a bullet wound."

Sven's brow furrowed. He put his cup of coffee down on the couch where he sat.

"Well, after he placed him in his room, she insisted that he underwent an MRI. Considering his situation, it would have been unnecessary, but she insisted. If she was any other doctor, we would have sent her out, but she was a guest at our hospital, a leading researcher in the nanotechnology field."

Nanotechnology? Sven thought, No way, could she be…

"Anyway, we complied with her request and sent Mr. Heartnet to the MRI once his condition was relatively stable. She made a few modifications to the device, by the way, and once he was done with the test…well, let's just say we were glad that we took her advice."

"What do you mean?"

"The new test results showed that his body…particularly his bones were heavily saturated with nanomachines."

"What?!" Sven exclaimed, rising from his chair.

"I'll be frank with you, Mr. Volfied, this kind of method…" Dr. Raymond stopped to wipe the beading sweat forming on top of his bald head, "Someone doesn't want your friend to just die…he or she wanted him to suffer first."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"It's a Type-P. It operates in stages; the last one simulates pneumonia, but it accelerates the usual pace of the disease roughly ten to twenty times. Judging from the make of the machines, they were supposed to trigger an hour ago, if proper interventions weren't made," someone said, stepping into the conversation.

She had long, blond hair that fell to her waist, tied to a neat ponytail. She was wearing a black blouse that tightly hug her slender figure, and jeans that accentuated her slim legs. On top of those she wore a long white coat similar to the one Dr. Raymond was wearing.

She adjusted her glasses, and her dark crimson eyes looked at Sven. "Hi, long time no see," she said.

"You two know each other?" Dr. Raymond asked.

"Yeah," Sven said, facing who apparently was Train's savior, "Hello, Dr. Lunatique."

Eve's eyes slowly opened. She was still feeling groggy, and she felt like she had a slight headache. She looked around.

The room was small, with a dull beige color on the walls and ceiling. There was a small TV set hanging on the far corner of the room, and underneath it was the air-conditioner, humming softly as it cooled the room.

Too cold, in fact, Eve noticed, if it weren't for the blanket around her.

Did she fall asleep? Why was she in a room like this in the first place? From the looks of things, she fell asleep on a chair while resting her head on the nearby bed. She was in a hospital…

"TRAIN!" The realization nearly made her jump, but it did immediately wake her up. She looked at the bed; there was no one there.

"I'm here," a voice said. She quickly followed it back to its owner.

Train was standing by the window, his back turned, his gaze fixed outside. He had bandages wrapped around the upper half of his body, and his right forearm still had an IV attached to it.

"You shouldn't be up; you're in no condition to…"

"Quiet, take a look," Train said, motioning her to come closer. She went by his side.

"What are you – " she trailed off, and saw what he was talking about.

Rays of sunlight heralded the coming rise of the sun, the golden orb slowly appearing from the horizon. The black skies were gradually turning into a shade of blue, the dark clouds slowly being colored white. The buildings around them, dull and gray, even seemed to glow with life as the sun's rays touched them. The swaying trees surrounding the hospital were awash with bright verdant green as it seemed to joyfully welcome the new day.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," Train said, his gaze still fixed outside.

Eve was looking at him, though.

There he was, right at her side, merely a few centimeters away. Had he grown shorter... No, she was the one who grew taller. Back then she barely reached his chest, but now she was at least level with his shoulder. His hair was still as ruffled and crazy and spiky as ever, his golden eyes seemed to glint in the sunlight, and around his neck, tied with a bright red sash, a bell.

He's here.

He's really here.

And he's all right.

"I've seen plenty of sunrises in my travels, but somehow, this beats 'em all," he said.

He turned around to face her. Eve slowly looked up.

He was smiling his usual grin. She'd seen it probably a hundred times already, but this one felt like it was for the first time.

"I'm back," he said.

He's alive.

"Princess? Princess? Why are you, why why why are crying?" Train blurted out, panicking.

Even Eve was late in noticing that tears were streaming down her face. Embarrassed, she quickly looked down, her golden hair hiding her face.

"Princess? You okay? Huh?" Train felt helpless. He knew nothing about handling situations like this. He'd rather have himself thrown into a chaotic gunfight with his hands tied behind his back than stop a girl from crying. Her shoulders were shaking due to her sobbing, and she didn't show any signs of stopping.

Still panicking, he looked around, saying, "Man, where the hell is Sven? Come on, Eve's…"

He stopped. Eve had come closer to him and buried her face in her chest.

"Princess?"

"Idiot…Idiot…Idiot…" She repeated, again and again, her voice more broken with each word.

"Sorry," Train mumbled.

"Idiot…jerk…I told you to be careful," she said, in between sobs.

"I know."

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and just allowed her to cry. Train had never seen her cry before, though. Train was used to Eve being quiet and emotionless and calm and cool, not like this.

She's grown up.

She was much taller than before, and she still maintained her shoulder-length hair. Her black clothes felt a little moist and cold; were these the same clothes she wore yesterday? He thought. He placed his hand on her head, patting it gently. Even her hair was a little sticky and the strands clung to each other. It was raining yesterday, he remembered.

Was she here all this time?

She pulled herself back from Train. She stood a small space from him, and her head was still lowered.

"Princess?"

All of a sudden she raised her head, and surprised Train with a big, heartfelt smile. Even Train felt a little warmth creep into his cheeks when he beheld her beautiful smile this close.

"Welcome home, Train," she said, her voice cheerful and glad.

She's beautiful.

Even Train was shocked when he thought that, but he didn't let it show.

He just smiled in return, and said, "I'm back."