Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Tenshi Trail ❯ Vol. 7 Chap. 79: Purgatory ( Chapter 79 )

Purgatory

Kameko spoke again. “Do you remember the Purgatory war, Spike?” she asked in a strong voice. The cowboy was ready to say no. But then, he hesitated. How could he answer? Was it a false memory? Or was it really one of his memories from long ago. Kameko smiled at the confused human. “Here,” she said softly. “Maybe this will help you remember.” Then, the angel pulled out a vid disc and set it on the floor. Spike watched closely. Kameko then held out her lovely pale hand and began chanting over it. A faint blue light arose from the disc. A picture soon appeared in the light. The next moment was startling for the cowboy.

 

*Visual Starts*

The fields were gold and empty. White cherry blossoms were just in bloom. It was clear that this was Purgatory. Everything looked serene and perfect. (An uneasy feeling came over Spike. He knew this part too well. The sea of blood was soon to come.) Then, the ground began to shake. (The sound was indistinct but Spike knew what was coming already. After all, he had dreamed about this so many times. But why? What was somebody trying to say?) An army of angels came onto the battlefield. The battle was soon to begin.

The angel solders were rushing forward to battle. They were ready to attack. The moment was intense. Anything could snap in a heartbeat. Another army was approaching. They were as dark as night. The army had no horses, just their weapons. Gabriel rode forward with his horse. “ATTACK!!!” he yelled. Then the battle began.

(Spike watched the countless bloodbath for what felt like hours. He had seen it so many times, but it was still too painful to bear and watch.) The soldiers were dropping like flies on both sides. (But as the cowboy watched, he noticed something again.) Sakura's father was still fighting again. He had his bow and arrow in hand and was fighting away. “I must make it back to Sakura!” he thought as he kept shooting. (Spike respected him with no understanding to it. But he flinched in pain for he knew what was coming up next.) Then within the bushes, a child yokai hid slyly. He had a blowgun to his lips. The target was Sakura's poppa. “This will be a great shot!” the yokai thought. (Spike wanted to scream out a t this point. But didn't because, he knew it would be pointless. So he sat quietly in pain.)

The yokai child drew in a deep breath and blew a dart out of the blowgun as hard as he could. The poison dart sailed fast and hard. (Spike watched closely numb. He wished he could turn away. But he just couldn't. Something was drawing him to this repeating event.) Finally, the dart struck its target. The poison dart struck Sakura's father in the back of his left shoulder. The angel gasped out in pain. (Spike watched in silent pain as he touched his own shoulder. Why did his shoulder always ache without warning? Did Sakura's father have something to do with it? And if so, how? Kameko just watched Spike quietly. “I think you do know, Spike,” she thought. “You just don't remember too well.”) Two other angel soldiers rushed to Sakura's papa.

“My lord!” they called in unison. They grabbed him and held him. One of them saw the cause. “Pull it out!” Sakura's father yelled. “But my lord,” the first soldier began. “Pulling the dart out will cause even greater harm than good!” “I don't care!” Sakura's daddy yelled. “Pull the dart out, damnit!!!” “Okay…” the soldier said reluctantly. The other one held him still. The first soldier pulled the dart out with great force. Sakura's father gasped out in pain. He began sinking to his knees. The other soldier picked him up. “It's the poison!” he exclaimed. “Don't worry about me!” Sakura papa exclaimed. “Let's just attack those bastards!” “But my lord!” the angel soldiers exclaimed yelled. “I'll be fine!” Sakura's dad yelled, “Let's just go!!!” And there all three of them rushed back to the fights. The war dragged on. (Spike watched on in disturbed fascinated. He also caught onto something painful.) Sakura's father was getting weaker and weaker. The poison was slowly draining his life away. His breath grew labored. The angel slowly grew dizzy. He was growing numb. And his battle wounds were adding more to the damage. His comrades were telling him to stop and rest. But he refused and kept battling. It was all a matter of time…

By sunrise the next morning, the fighting abated. 2,000 corpses lay everywhere. The wheat gold fields were stained dark red with the blood of both sides. The only thing that remained constant was the cherry trees and their lovely white blossoms. The battle nurses began treating the injured. Sakura's daddy was lying on the ground dying. A fifteen-year-old angel nurse rushed to him. The soldier couldn't see anything anymore. The poison had taken away his eyesight. He reached up and felt the girl's face. The nurse grew nervous. Sakura's father smiled. “What a sweet face!” he whispered out. The nurse covered his mouth. “Don't talk!” she snapped. “Save your strength!” The girl began her work.

“Sweetheart,” Sakura's daddy said. The nurse paused. “Hai?” she asked. “Take my heart…. out…” he managed to say. The nurse grew panicky. “My lord!” she exclaimed. “That would be worse!” “I…. don't…. care…” Sakura's father forced himself to say. “You must…” He coughed hard. The poison had gotten to his vocal chords. It had eaten at his lungs too. Soon, Sakura's papa would drown in his own fluid. The nurse caught on to why. “You sure you want to do that?” she asked. “Ha…. i…” Sakura's father managed to say. He hacked and wheezed again. The angel nurse tightened up. “Okay! I'll do it!” she said. Sakura's poppa smiled. “Ar…. iga… to…” he forced out. The nurse lightly covered his lips. “Easy now.” she whispered. The soldier had lost his voice forever. The angel nurse gathered three other nurses to help her. She gave them explicit instructions. (Spike tried hard to listen. But it was like listening to a TV on mute, only without a remote.)

Then the main nurse took out her gold dragger and cut into the soldier's chest. She separated the arties and veins from the heart. Two of the nurses cleaned the poison out of it the best they could. They repeated the process with his soul. Unfortunately, ninety-eight of his soul was lost to the poison. “My lady,” one of the nurses said. “His soul is too poisoned to do this.” “We can't clean it either.” the other one said. The main nurse stood up. “Then we'll break up his soul and take the non-contaminated parts out,” she said. The other two grew shocked. “But sama!” they exclaimed. “That's never been done!” “But we must!” she exclaimed. Silence came and went. “All right, we'll try it.” the second one said. The main nurse nodded.

She turned to the fourth nurse. He stood in deep thought. The nurse was a tall strong boy. The main nurse eyed him. “Can you break his soul?” she asked him. The male nurse said nothing. He just stood forward and took out an arrow. The nurse stabbed it right into the soldier's soul. The soul began to break. The other three nurses watched closely. The soul broke into small pieces. The poisoned pieces became ash but the clean ones remained. The head nurse quickly gathered the pieces before they flew away. She put them and the heart in her cherry blossom scented scarf and tied it tight enough so the knot had to be cut. She looked up and said: “Arigato guys.” “Doshimate.” the nurses replied. Then they went away.

The main nurse angel was left all alone. She looked at the soldier's body. He looked ever so peaceful. The nurse swallowed hard. “I shall not fail you!” she thought. Then the nurse left the battlefield. The nurse walked down to the creek. The scenery was tranquil and green. Except for the stream of life, everything was quiet. Spike kept watching with interest. The nurse said a quiet prayer. (So quiet that it was deaf to Spike's ears.) Then the nurse paused and took out the wrapped goods. She quickly dropped them in the water. The angel nurse watched the soldier's heart and shards of his soul float away.

*End of Visual*

 

The image evaporated into the air. Spike looked at the Kameko. “Who the hell are you?” he asked in an icy fear. Pieces of a life that was unfamiliar but yet so familiar to him flashed before his very eyes. It was like he knew Kameko and Sakura from long ago but couldn't trace where. Was this why he couldn't make Sakura his woman? Did he really know Kameko and Sakura from long ago? Or was this a false memory?

“Right after Heaven received the casualties of the Purgatory War,” Kameko finished. “When I heard my former love's name, I secluded myself into the swamps of Ronahon. There, I mourned my loss of him. Even though he didn't love me anymore, I still loved him. Eventually, I wasted myself into nothing due to lack of Heaven's proper care and died.” Kameko sat up straighter. “Today,” she went on. “I am now known as `Kaze-san.' But, that's not the point! Sakura is in grave danger!” Spike quickly jerked his head up. “What the hell do you mean?” he asked. Kaze-san rose to her feet. “Heaven and Hell are after her!” she exclaimed. Spike felt sick all over. “But why?” he snapped. Kaze-san tried to calm him back down. “Her power will fully awake any moment now and wipe out the whole mystic race.” she went on. “The only way to stop the power is to break her seventh chaka.” Spike sat still again. He knew what that meant all too well. Get the tenshi-chi straight into bed with him and bang her. But, could he rise above this boundary he couldn't explain and actually make love to Sakura? And how would he feel about her afterwards? Would she be his forever or just be another one-night stand with a pretty face?

Then, something caught Spike's attention. Kaze-san was fading away! “You must hurry!” she cried out. “Or everyone will be dead!!!” “Hey, wait!” Spike called out. “What makes you think I can save her? Why can't do?” “Find the answer in your heart!” the ghost angel called out. Then, she vanished into thin air. The cowboy sat there in silent shock. Could he actually sleep with Sakura and save her from destruction?

See You in Space, Ghost