Saya Minatsuki

Saya Minatsuki (ミナツキサヤ Minatsuki Saya) was an accomplished sweeper, and friend of Train until she was murdered by Creed Diskenth.

Appearance
Saya had short, bob-cut dark brown hair with bangs that fell to her big, aquamarine-colored eyes. She wore various, modern, everyday outfits, but her most frequent outfit was a white, long sleeved summer yukata with a pink flower pattern, a yellow obi sash, and geta sandals. With every outfit, she wore a round glass bead on a string around her neck.

Personality
Saya was a happy-go-lucky girl who believed that everyone deserved a second chance. She was very optimistic despite her dark past and all the hardships she went through before becoming a sweeper. She was also carefree, doing whatever she wanted, with no one telling her what to do, or how to live her life. This was reflected through her "stray cat" lifestyle. Moreover, Saya was very selfless as she took care of Train (who was a stranger at the time) when he was injured and sought to protect some children from Creed despite being fatally injured. She was an inspirational person that managed to change Train from a cold-blooded murderer to an easy-going sweeper.

History
Saya did not have a happy childhood. She was heavily abused by her parents, resulting in her having amnesia at age 10. The earliest memory she could recall was waking up at a hospital and after that, she was passed around by relatives and orphanages. She also endured many hardships before becoming a sweeper.

While on vacation, Saya found the notorious Black Cat injured on the streets because he hesitated to kill his target because his target was holding a child. She nursed him back to health and the two became friends. Train became fascinated by Saya's "Stray cat" lifestyle, influencing him to spare the targets that he was supposed to assassinate. As a result, the elders of Chronos decide to lock Train up for 10 days.

Creed, who was watching the two from a distance, resented Saya "diluting" Train and making him "weaker". He went to her apartment and tried to kill her, but Saya managed to escape and lead the man to abandoned alleyway, with less people. Saya used her reflect bullet technique to injure Creed by ricocheting her bullets around the abandoned alleyway. However, though he was surprised that he was hurt, Creed did not seem to be affected by the pain. Right after that, a group of kids appeared in the alleyway as they were using it as a shortcut to get to a fireworks show. Though Saya attempted to get them to flee, Creed, taking advantage of her distraction, struck Saya with his blade in her abdomen, delivering a fatal wound. Creed then decided to punish the "naughty" children, who were shaken and petrified by the event. As Creed was about to kill the children, Saya found some strength to reach for her gun, aimed, and shot Creed's katana at the spine as he raised it up to prepare for a strike. As a result, Creed's blade broke near the Tsuba (hand guard), allowing the children to run away. Creed then grabbed the main piece of the broken blade (despite it cutting his hand) to stab the half unconscious Saya through the heart, but as he was about to do so, Train showed up and punched Creed, sending him flying. Creed retreated, seeing his low chances of survival against Train. Before passing away, Saya told Train to forget about her.

The event was forever engraved into Train.

Alliance Arc
While Train is trapped in Doctor's Warp World, Saya's spirit shows up to help him return to the real world. She later reappears during Train's final battle with Creed, who is enraged at her sudden appearance. She tells Train to not give up as only he can stop Creed. With her help, Train defeats Creed once and for all.

A Carefree Tomorrow
Life returns to normal for Train, Sven,and Eve. Train reveals that he has lost his Rail Gun ability and believes that it was actually Saya who had given him that power to defeat Creed. With Creed defeated, there was no more need for the Rail Gun.

Anime Plot
Saya meets Train while singing her lullaby on a rooftop and befriends him (taking his milk in the process). She teaches Train that he has a choice between killing and not killing, causing him to have a more human outlook on life. They then begin to have regular meetings on the same rooftop.

Train also begins to disobey orders from Chronos after befriending and talking with her, one example being when he decided not to kill Eve, remembering Saya's words. Train's new way of seeing things (thanks to Saya) eventually causes him to leave Chronos and later become a sweeper. Saya takes the job to capture the Apostle of the star member, Preta Ghoul, for a bounty of 1.8 million dollars. However, as she fights him, his hands nearly touch her head, which would've resulted in her disintegrating. However, Train shows up in the nick of time to save her. He angrily tries shooting Preta, proving it to be useless, so Saya shoots down a large object which crushes him.

Later, she and Train decide to meet at a carnival to watch fireworks. However, as she waits for him, she is confronted by Creed, who believes she has bewitched Train. Using his "imagine blade", he kills her, and she dies in Train's arms as he cries. Her death throws Train into a rage, swearing revenge on Creed. He tries then vows to end Creed's life, like how Creed ended Saya's. Saya appears in Train's dreams and her spirit guides him after she dies. Train holds a violent grudge against Creed for killing her, however, he eventually gives up his thirst for revenge, knowing that was not what Saya would have wanted, and that Creed was not worth turning back into a killer, something that both he and Saya did not want to happen. At the end of the series, Train moves on, letting his former best friend, go, therefore allowing Saya to rest in peace. Although he does let her go, Train never forgets about her, the person who changed his life for the better.

Equipment and Abilities
Marksmanship: Saya chose to fight with a pistol, which looks like a M93 Raffica/ Beretta 93R with a lanyard which is also on Train's gun, Hades, and believed that she controlled its actions, not the other way around.
 * Reflect shot: Over the course of five years, Saya learned to fire bullets that ricochet off hard surfaces and strike opponents at odd angles and different velocities. It requires heavy marksmanship experience and a great deal of projectile calculation. Train later uses this skill to commemorate his beloved friend.

Train Heartnet
Saya was Train's best friend, and the reason he is who he is today. She deeply cared about the then assassin, and considered him to be her only friend. Before dying, she told him to forget about her and move on. Even after her death, her spirit continued helping Train in escaping the wrap world, and aided him in his final battle against Creed.

Trivia

 * When Kentaro Yabuki was naming Saya, he looked at her face and the name just popped into his head out of nowhere.
 * Both Winry Rockbell of Fullmetal Alchemist (only the 2003 version due to Brotherhood having a new set of seiyuu) and Kyouko Iwase of Initial D have the same Japanese and English voice actor combo as Saya out of coincidence.
 * Saya appears on the cover of volume 20 with blonde hair.
 * She is one of the few characters to have a chapter named after her.