In which Tetsuro is brave but not necessarily smart, the girls lose their tempers, and everyone takes a bath.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what was going on, but Maetel looked ready to snap and kill everyone at the table. She'd already been mad enough at me. It was why I'd kept my mouth shut for the whole meeting. I wasn't too ready to die at the moment.

On my left, Harlock sat leaning back lazily in his chair, a sure smirk on his face as he aimed both guns at Mr. Zero's eyes. The other man's rifle, which had obviously been polished more than I could ever bother to clean my Dragoon, was locked straight for Harlock. A name was carved into the side of its barrel – St. Elmo's Fire.

Harlock's guns both held gold Jolly Rodgers on their handles. I wondered if he really was a pirate. He didn't look or act much like one, at least what I thought of one. Maybe that was just another one of those derogatory English words. I always got them confused. Maetel had to explain what greenhorn meant after Harlock had called Tadashi that. It still didn't make much sense.

Just as both the men knocked the hammers back on their weapons, I leapt onto the table, grabbing the barrels and kicking up Harlock's second gun. The shots rattled my hands but flew upward to tear holes through the ceiling instead of my head. I breathed a sigh of relief, beginning to shake a bit as I realized how close I'd been to dying.

Harlock tore back in surprise, causing his chair to lean too far and crash to the ground. Mr. Zero and I released his gun at the same time. It clattered against the table as he grabbed my shoulders, turning me to face him.

I thought he was about to yell at me for ruining his shot, but terror was mixed with his anger. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" he hissed. "Are you alright?"

"The shots didn't get close," Harlock grumbled, pushing himself up on his forearms and rubbing the back of his skull. His hat had fallen onto his chest.

Mr. Zero scowled at Harlock before lacing his finger through one of the new bullet holes in my hat and pulling it off my head. "They got close enough."

Harlock glared right back. "Why are you acting as though this is entirely my fault? You went for your gun first."

"Enough," Maetel ordered. She'd spoken quietly, but that made it more terrifying than if she'd yelled. Her brown eyes swam with venom. "We'll continue this tomorrow. Until then, cool your heads. I won't deal with men that can't control themselves. Tetsuro, show Warrius to a room." Her shimmering blond hair flowed behind her as she stormed out, her black heels slamming against the old wood floors.

"Now you've done it," Emeraldas hummed, frowning behind the fingers laced in front of her face. She stood in a smooth motion and moved to follow her sister. "And while you're cooling down, all of you, take a bath and wash your clothes. You look like beggars and smell like the stables."

Was she talking to me too? I never knew with Emeraldas.

Mr. Zero frowned down at himself. "I don't look that bad… Do I?" Tadashi sniffed his shirt with his puffy, red nose. Tochiro sighed. Harlock just shrugged.

"Hey, Mr. Zero," I called.

"Hm? Ah, don't be so formal," he smiled sheepishly, placing my hat back on my head. "You can just call me Warrius if you'd like."

For being so at-odds with Harlock, he'd certainly reacted as though they were related. Harlock had said almost the same thing when I'd called him Mr. Harlock.

"And you can just call me Tetsuro," I offered. "Your room is upstairs. The stairs are back behind the counter of the bar. The bartender will let you back there. You can take the last room on the left – the closest to the window." He nodded in thanks, starting to leave. "But can I have my gun back?"

He blinked. "Oh, that's your gun, is it?" He pulled my Dragoon from the monstrous pockets of his flowing coat. "Here you are."

I took it from him, reholstering the weapon. I really hadn't wanted to give it to Tadashi, but after everyone else had been making fun of him for not having a gun, I'd felt bad.

He probably shouldn't have flaunted his non-existent shooting ability, but they didn't need to be so harsh on him either. It was tough being in a new area, somewhere you didn't know or understand. So I loaned him my pistol, hoping he at least knew something about how to hold it. He hadn't of course.

"Thanks," I nodded as he grabbed his own gun to hook back over his shoulder.

"You're welcome, kind," he smiled.

"But…it's Tetsuro," I murmured as he walked out.

"Yeah," Tadashi huffed. "He kept calling me that too for some reason. I wasn't being all that nice though."

Harlock barked a laugh, plopping himself back in his upright chair. "Those are his terms of endearment. He uses them on everyone. You have to deal with it. He's just odd like that." He didn't seem to be talking about someone he'd nearly killed a few seconds before. He grinned like he was poking fun at a friend.

"Terms of endearment?" Tadashi scowled.

"Kind means kid or child. He has a soft spot for kids."

"I'm not a kid!" Tadashi fumed. I had to agree there. I was getting pretty tired of being treated like a child.

"You don't have to tell me that," Harlock shrugged.

"Guess I should bathe," Tochiro muttered in thought. "Do we have a tub somewhere?"

"You wouldn't be bothering with it if it hadn't been Emeraldas who said that," Harlock said.

"What!? T-that's completely untrue!" A startling blush lit up his face.

"Well, I have to go to work anyway," I shrugged. "Y'all can go ahead and take baths now, and I'll get one when I'm done."

"You have a job?" Tadashi asked as I stepped off the table.

"Yep, I work at the station."

"You work on the trains?" he gaped in awe.

"Kind of," I smiled, ducking behind my hat as I pushed through the doors. "I'm more of an apprentice really. Don't know that much yet."

"Do you think I could get a job with you? I mean, I don't know how I'm going to get money after this whole thing. I thought about being a mercenary like that Zero guy, but I'm not much for traveling."

That was for the best. He'd get himself killed almost instantly as a mercenary if anyone was willing to hire him. He was a bit scrawny like me. We didn't paint an intimidating picture.

"Well," I frowned. "Maetel got me my job, so I don't know if she'd get you one too."

"Maetel? How'd she get it for you?"

"She owns the station," I said, trying to hide my smile as his eyes grew wide. "Yeah, she owns a whole stretch of the rails out here. You know, 'Queen of the Railway.'"

"That's why she's called that?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "What did you think it meant?"

He furrowed his brow in thought. "I'm…not sure. I guess I thought she just rode on them a lot."

"She does that too," I shrugged.

"Yeah, that's how I met her," he nodded.

"Me too."

We stepped outside. The air was growing colder with the blanketing night. The oil lamps around the town kept it in a soft yellow glow. Somewhere out in the distance a coyote howled. This area wasn't like Mom had said America would be. There was a lack of rolling green fields and crystal-clear streams. I'd been told that there were places like that. Just not here.

I didn't mind it here. The townspeople said that once spring really set in, the plants would shoot back up and it would be so hot out, all the black dogs and horses would refuse to get in the sun. I'd waded through winter and most of fall. Only a few more weeks until that promise of spring. Hopefully we'd all live through this brawl so I could see it.

"Guess I'll head up if you're gonna work," Tadashi said. He was the first person to not comment on how late I worked. "But, hey, you're pretty good with your gun, aren't you?"

"Yeah…a little." Actually I thought I was pretty damn great with it, but I didn't want to sound too full of myself.

He kicked at the dirt with a huff. "Then do you think you could teach me to…you know, shoot?"

"Someone's going to need to," I laughed.

"Hey, I'm sure I could be great with a little practice!"

"Yeah, maybe with a lot of practice."

He puffed his cheeks menacingly. "Fine, I'll just ask one of the other guys to."

"Don't ask Tochiro," I called at his back as he stormed off.

The conductor was waiting for me when I arrived. He jumped up, flighty as ever, and raced to meet me. "I just got a telegram from this big rail line," he said. "They want to see about connecting to us directly!"

"Oh?" There wouldn't be a track to connect to if those men had their way, but I didn't need to stress him out by saying that. "Which company?"

"Eh…" The conductor tended to be absentminded, even aboard his train. Though he took the same route every three days, he'd still stumble on the stops. He was a stocky man who tended to keep his hat pulled low and his collar pulled up. Most of the time I had trouble making out his face. "The one with the initials," he finally recalled.

"SDF?" He nodded excitedly as I let out a low whistle. "Maetel'll charge them quite a bit for that. They'll have to want it pretty bad." Maetel did own a good chunk of rails. It was no wonder those other lines wanted access. First one to make a good deal with her would be better off for it. They'd have to win her interest though.

"They said they'll send someone down in a couple weeks to see if they can work out a deal. Isn't that great?"

It was just another thing to worry about. "Yeah," I faked a smile. "I'll bet that will bring a lot of new people into the town too. Maybe a pretty girl for you." I nudged him in the side as I moved past and laughed as he stuttered behind me.

The old, retired engine was where I'd left it. It had been just as broken before I'd taken it apart. If I could repair it, Maetel had said, I would repay her for taking me in, giving me food, work and shelter. It was my train, kept in the back lot tracks with all the extra cars. Beautiful black beast of an engine – the 999. I'd make sure it could run again.

After a few hours of little progress and plenty of grease, I headed back to town. A bath didn't sound all that bad at this point. The bar lights were on as always, but there was a bit more bustle than usual.

A roar of commotion swam up just as I stepped up onto the porch. Without further warning, Emeraldas smashed through the swinging doors, dragging Tadashi along behind her by the collar of his shirt. "Hey-hey!" he snapped. "Let go! You're mad!"

A crowd swarmed after them, Harlock grinning as he stepped out. Tochiro trailed at his heels, having changed into some clothes that were obviously too big for him. Warrius followed after everyone else with a new outfit of black on. His hair was still somewhat wet. Apparently only those two had followed Emeraldas' orders.

Without a word, she dragged the screeching blond to the railing of the porch. Maybe it was because he was so small or maybe it was because she was really that strong, but somehow she lifted him and tossed him over the rail into the water trough below.

Everyone burst into laughter. Even Warrius seemed hard-pressed to hide his snicker. I had to laugh and snort at his expense. He was soaked, shivering in the frigid water. Before we could react, Emeraldas turned, grabbed Harlock, and yanked him over too. Tadashi didn't have time to do anything but kick himself into the corner of the deep, wooden basin. Even then, he took a boot to his shoulder.

I probably should have run then. Even as she grabbed the front of my shirt, I still wasn't sure what was going on. I followed them both, the heel of my boot hitting Tadashi's chest, and my skull slamming into Harlock's. My vision filled with stars. My nose filled with icy water.

"Now when I tell you to take a bath," Emeraldas warned darkly above us, "don't think you can get out of it just because I'm 'some woman'."

I had a feeling this was Tadashi's fault. He needed to stop getting me in trouble.

Someone lifted me out before I could manage to drag myself back into my right-mind. "Fräulein, as much as I agree with you, it would be best if we didn't have them catch colds at the moment."

He helped Tadashi out too, who stood bent over, wincing and shivering along with me. Harlock rubbed his forehead, the second time today he'd taken a hit to the head. Warrius sighed and shook his head but offered him a hand. "You are an idiot," the mercenary muttered.

"I know," Harlock smirked, taking the hand. "But it's more fun that way." Warrius' eyes widened for just a second before he was jerked head-first into the water alongside the pirate.

He scrambled to resurface as Harlock laughed. As soon as he was up, he tackled the pirate and forced him back underwater. Who were the kids again?

Emeraldas stormed back into the bar, Tochiro following her with a nervous smile. I could only imagine what he could say to calm her down.

After a few minutes of nearly-drowning, they were forced to stop and clear their lungs. Suddenly they didn't seem interested in killing each other anymore, as though they'd fought out their grudge. Despite their lips turning blue, neither man seemed too worried about the cold.

"I feel bad for the horses," Tadashi muttered.

"They'll live," Harlock smiled, resting his elbows on the trough's edge. "You guys alright?"

"Been better," Tadashi huffed. "Sorry I made that bitch mad." He earned himself a scowl from Zero.

"Sorry I fell on both of you," I nodded.

"Sorry I was thrown on you," Harlock smirked.

"You deserved it," Zero growled, throwing his ruined cigarettes to the side. "Now I have to take another bath." Harlock only laughed.

"Well, if I'd known throwing you all into a water trough would have made you friends, I would have done it myself at the beginning." Maetel appeared behind us, her eyes shining with amusement. A small pile of towels rested in her arms. Sometimes, I swore she was an angel.

"You'd better not get colds," she ordered playfully. "I need you all healthy so we can get this plan off without a hitch."

"You've got a plan?" Zero asked.

"I might." A curious smile played on her lips.

This story is srs binuss. Please excuse my dumb. Hmm, Tetsuro is the most logical of the guys. Something's wrong here. Probably because all the others are busy being idiots. Someone's got to help the girls keep the average IQ up.

The next chapter will have something actually happening in it I swear. I'm terrible about tiny transition chapters. Young cowboy Harlock will only be serious when he's forced to.

I tried to force an acronym into SDF, but I'm drawing a blank. Best I could get was Southern Department of Freight. Might work.