"Cross, are you sure this is the right station?" Maria asked, holding down the hat on her head.

"Yes! I'm sure of it!" he shouted. Unfortunately, due to the intense wind combined with the loud whistling of the trains, Maria, who was beside him, couldn't hear the boy's voice.

"What? What did you say?" she yelled back. The General turned to Georges and asked the Finder if he had heard Cross, but the Frenchman shook his head.

The redhead groaned and looked at the girl walking next to him. He made a face after seeing her cheerful expression.

"This is just like the first time I boarded a train!" Mary exclaimed. To make sure the golem wouldn't fly away, she held him tightly to her chest.

"It was super windy, and Maria was afraid I'd fly away!"

"I'd love to see that." Cross snorted as he looked around the station.

Ignoring the older teen's remark, she spoke again.

"It was also that day," she continued—the wind finally dying down. "I finally felt like I belonged with them."

The redhead looked back at her but said nothing.

The pair stopped in their tracks. Mary cautiously let go of a very happy Ur-Canpy. She smiled. The girl looked behind her. Georges had let out a sigh of relief, and Maria was fixing her hat.

"Hey, did Maria wear that hat when you were with her?" Mary asked. The hat in question was a black brimmed hat, decorated with golden embroidery. Just like the General's Exorcist uniform.

"Yeah. I rarely saw her without it," he replied.

Mary let out a breathy laugh. "It's the opposite for me. She barely wears that hat. In fact, the last time she wore it was when the three of us were in Holland! Years ago!"

"Really?" Cross raised his brow. "She already had that hat when I first met her, but the embroidery was silver. She had the silver changed to gold when she was promoted."

"So you knew Maria before she became a General?"

"That's right, and she hasn't aged one bit."

"Huh?" Mary tilted her head. "But if you've known her since you were a child..."

Cross smirked. "That woman is much older than she looks."

Mary always had her suspicions because of the way Maria would act sometimes, but it was still odd to get a confirmation. She thought of asking Maria about the secret of her youth but shook the idea away. Sister Theresa told her that asking a woman about her age was improper. But would it even count as asking about her age when the young girl was more interested in her appearance? She didn't know. The more she thought about it, the worse her head hurt. Mary decided she'd think about a different aspect of Maria instead.

Observing her changing face, Cross looked at her quizzically.

"Maria... she's always so lively— so full of energy." Mary smiled as she looked back at the Exorcist. "I like that about her."

"I don't." Cross put his hands in his coat pockets and closed his eyes. "It's overwhelming."

A sly smile formed on Mary's face. "I bet she really doted on you back then, yeah?"

Cross flinched.

"Shut up."

Her smile turned into a wide grin.

"Is Mr. 'I'm too cool' getting embarrassed?" she teased.

"Nope! Not at all!" He vehemently denied, fidgeting with his glasses.

Before Mary could tease the older boy more, the blaring of a train whistle caught their attention and more importantly, Cross's attention.

"Looks like my train's arrived he said as Maria and Georges finally catch up to the duo.

"Oh, already?" Maria frowned. "Ah, how cruel fate is! I had hoped to have more time with you." she sighed dramatically.

The redhead made a face. Mary looked at him from the side and snickered.

Maria's frown quickly turned into a bright smile as she clapped her hands together. "So be it! I'll wait until the next time we meet."

"As if I'd let that happen!" He crossed his arms and let out a huff.

Georges smiled softly. "Lord Cross, last time you said that Lady Maria and I found you on the streets."

The teen's demeanor shrunk. His face turned a light shade of red as he looked away.

Mary stared at the older teen. She had been so busy looking around at the new sights and the station that she even forgot why she was here in the first place. After almost a year with them, Cross was returning to his priest training.

"Will you keep in touch?" Mary asked.

Cross stared at her. For a moment he contemplated on whether to keep up his (failing) act or accept defeat. In the end, he sighed and nodded.

"I'll try." He muttered.

Mary smiled.

"Good." she nodded in approval.

The train whistled once more, signaling that it would leave shortly. The trio said their farewells to Cross.

"Don't get into too much trouble!" Maria shouted out to him. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied; the boy waved his hand as he walked away, into the train.

Maria smiled, her eyes shielded by the glare of her round glasses. Mary looked up at her, and then at the leaving train.

"Good luck, Marian," she said, her voice drowned out by the sound of the black train.

He would need that luck soon enough.

-

*NEW* A/N: hello hello it's me again! Chapter 31 has been resting in my drafts for ages at this point... I really need to finish it lol

A/N: Don't worry, Cross will be back! This was simply his introduction ;)