Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Tenshi Trail: Shin Heart ❯ Vol. Two, Chapter Thirteen: Aijin Pt. 1 ( Chapter 13 )

Aijin Pt. 1

Did you forget something that you lost a long time ago? Was it close and dear to your heart? Why did you forget about it? Did it have bad memories tied to it? Or did something take its place?

*Nightmare Begins*

Spike wandered around in the darkness with a fresh cut bouquet of red roses in his hand. He seemed to be searching something or someone. He couldn't remember who at all. He just knew he had to find someone or else he would be lost in the darkness forever.

Suddenly, a great white light lured him over to itself. Like a moth to a flame, Spike walked right over to it. This light formed into a thin blanketed tunnel. The cowboy felt as if he had been walking for miles and miles on end by the time he came to the other side. At the end, the great pink bunny with huge white wings and black holes for eyes greeted him. The cowboy looked on confused.

“W-Who are you?” he asked. The bunny turned its little head to him.

“You love her more than me, don't you?” it asked him in sad desperation. The cowboy looked at her really lost. He couldn't understand what it meant by that. Before he could speak, a black fire shot up from the ground and consumed the bunny right before his very eyes. The cowboy wanted to turn away or run, but he couldn't. His feet just wouldn't give to let him go. The flames finished itself savage meal. Behind them, left the bunny in a new terrifying form. It was now coal black with glowing red eyes. Though it looked very frightening, the bunny seemed to be so sad with pain. Spike wanted to reach out and touch the poor suffering soul.

Suddenly, the cowboy and bunny heard gun clicks. They looked up and saw a whole like of angels armed with shotguns. They all were targeting the bunny. The head of the firing squad stepped forward. She rose one arm up into the arm.

“Ready!” she commanded. “Aim, fire!!!” Spike's eyes widened.

“No, don't!” he yelled. It was too late. The angels all pulled their triggers and shot the blackened bunny until it fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Spike watched on in pale horror as the bunny returned to its normal state in death. This cold nightmare kept repeating itself over and over again without any reasons to be had. Why did she have to die? Oh, why did she have to die?

*End of Nightmare*

This trial of fire started with a virtual message to Spike. No return address on anywhere on the disc. It had no picture attached to it. The message only contained audio. The cowboy looked at the disc. Okay, then. A message for him with no picture or return address. He looked over at his bed. Sakura slept on peacefully. The cowboy turned his attention to the disc. No picture, no return address, and his girlfriend was still asleep. Alright then, do come in!

Spike went down to the den and plugged the disc into the box. Static came through at first. The cowboy could barely hear anything. He tried adjusting the volume with no success. The volume was still too soft. Perhaps the disc is scratched? Suddenly, a strange message caught Spike's attention.

“Spike, come and find me. I miss you!” a woman's voice came through the static. Spike's eyes widened. He tried to rewind the disc back, the system jammed and the disc got ejected. The cowboy sat back uncertain. “That sounded… Julia…” he thought. What's going on? This didn't add up. Was that really Julia on the disc? Where was Julia? Did she really send this disc? Spike popped the disc back out for a closer look. Seemed so surreal… Made it worth the trouble of looking for the truth. But, what about Sakura-chan? He walked back to his bedroom and peeked into the door. The tenshi-chi still slept in their bed. The cowboy gave her a little smile. He knelt over her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

“I'll be right back,” he whispered. “There is something I have to find.” The cowboy slipped out the door and disappeared into the pre-dawn hours.

By sunrise, Sakura woke up and looked around. Spike was nowhere in sight. Confusion invaded her face.

“Spike-kun,” she mumbled. “Where did you go?” The tenshi-chi looked and noticed the disc on floor. “What's this?” she thought. Sakura picked it up and looked at it. She knew exactly what this was. She had Spike, Jet, and the others play it on the TV. Sakura herself wondered what was on the disc. So, she climbed out of bed, went down into the den, and plugged it into the box. She too heard the same message that her boyfriend did.

“Spike, come and find me. I miss you!” a woman's voice came through loud and clear this time. Sakura froze cold in her place. A bitter feeling crept into her heart. “Spike-kun…” she thought. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed her right in the chest. Sakura clutched her chest in pain. She gasped in pain.

“Oh God!” the tenshi-chi thought. “What's happening to me?!?” She shrank down into a little ball. The pain slowly began to crush her. The Shin heart had started to try and activate itself. Then suddenly, the pain subsided. Sakura slowly sat up on her knees. She looked all around her. “What just… happened there?” the tenshi-chi thought. Her attention turned back to the box. A new determination came into her head.

“Right,” she said to herself. “I'll go find Spike-kun and ask him about it.” The tenshi-chi got up off the ground and went back to the room she shared with the cowboy to get dressed. Once that was accomplished, Sakura left the Bebop in search of her lover. They both had seemed have taken the bait.

Spike made it out into the city. The day looked grim and flooded with rain. He looked out into the crowd of people. He couldn't see her at all. That woman was never easy to miss. Hell, the very scent of her was tattooed on the cowboy's brain. Even Vicious couldn't forget her if he tried. Julia was both a mirage and reality at the same time.

As the electric clock chimed in the background, Spike found his old love standing in the rain with a big red umbrella over her head. She looked just as beautiful as she did in his memories. The cowboy blinked hard. This time, it wasn't a figment of his imagination. Julia was real and waiting for him. Spike broke through the crowd to make it over to his former lover. Julia looked up and saw the cowboy coming towards her. At first, she had nothing on her face. Spike made his way to his beloved. A smile came onto the woman's face.

“Julia!” Spike gasped. She walked over to him and embraced him in her black-clad arms. She cuddled up close to his chest.

“Oh my darling,” the woman murmured to him. “I missed you so much!” Spike leaned his chin atop her head. He wouldn't let her go for dear life. He now had his answer! She really did send him that mysterious disc. Maybe fate had brought them back together.

“I missed you so much too, Julia!” the cowboy replied. He had just walked into a trap with Julia as the bait. He and Sakura were soon to be doomed.

Meanwhile, the tenshi-chi wandered around the opposite side of town looking for her boyfriend. She couldn't really grasp it all just yet, but she had a gut feeling that something was wrong. Suddenly, her chest began to ache again. Sakura gasped out in pain as she clutched her blouse tightly.

“Oh!!!” she cried. “Not again!!!! Why does this keep happening to me?” She nearly fell to the ground in pain. The shin heart was pounding along with her heart, trying its best to awaken. The rabbit had fallen into the trap.

“You don't look so good, princess!” someone remarked out loud to her. Sakura paused and slowly looked up from her pain. Five demons stood before her smirking. They looked like hungry wolves about to descend about the hopeless injured rabbit. Sakura looked at them nervously. Who were they and what did they want with her? This didn't look good at all. The rabbit angel herself had fallen into the trap. They both had fallen into an impossible trap that they couldn't have any hope to escape from.

To Be Continued…