Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Tenshi Trail ❯ Vol. 7 Chap. 76: Fuji Tale ( Chapter 76 )

Fuji Tale

Spike rose to his feet staring. “Who the hell are you?” he asked. The woman kept her stoic face. “My name is Pancha.” she answered. “My mistress in expecting you at this address.” The new woman drew out a light lavender card and handed it to Spike. The cowboy took the care and read it silently. “Hollyhock Tea House. 275 Moonsweet Lane. Directions on the back.” the card read. Spike turned it over to read more. A soft scent of wisteria greeted him as he did so. When the cowboy was done, he looked up at Pancha cautiously.

“My mistress expects you now.” the woman spoke up. Spike wasn't ready to trust her just yet. “And what about her?” he asked gesturing over to Sakura. Pancha gave him a little smile. “Don't worry my lord,” she said. “I'll take her home.” Spike still didn't trust her. Pancha could see that. “It's okay,” she pressed on. “She'll be fine.” After a few silent arguments, Pancha walked away with Sakura and left Spike standing alone.

The cowboy walked along the barren roads. The sun had long quit its job for the day. Night was starting it shift. “This better not be a trap or a joke!” Spike thought coldly in his head.

Soon, soft music filled the budding night's air. Spike froze a moment. He knew he was getting close. The next thing to do was follow the lights. The cowboy looked around above him. Brightly colored lights decorated the sky. Spike just smirked to himself. “This better not be a trap!” he thought again. Then, the cowboy picked up the pace and began running.

Spike ran until he came to a tall building. It was bright red and white with blinking gold lights. The scent of wisteria blossoms heavily greeted him from inside. Above the cowboy read the sign, Hollyhock Tea House. Spike smirked to himself. “Found it.” he said to himself. Then, the man headed inside.

Spike to a check-in desk. A woman in her late thirties sat there in boredom. The cowboy approached her. Hand the receptionist the card. Spike did that and the woman scanned the lavender. She handed it back with a small golden key. Spike took the items, thanked the receptionist, and hurried straight to the stairs.

Follow the stairs to room 295. Spike forced himself to keep going despite the cold. The hall was completely dark. How the hell was he supposed to find any room in this place? Finally, Spike smelled wisteria blossoms again. That only meant he was getting closer! The cowboy rushed down the hall. He came to room 295 at long last. The door is unlocked. Spike drew in a deep breath and opened the heavy oak door.

“Congratulations, Spike,” s woman's voice spoke up. The cowboy slowly opened his eyes. The room looked like a suite. Everything was still dark. But, Spike saw clearly this time. He looked around for a bit. “Just walk to the sound of my voice.” the woman spoke again. Lost, Spike did so. He finally found the speaker. A woman was sitting on a floor cushion. The cowboy moved closer for a better look.

She clearly wasn't human. But what was she? That question was only the tip of the iceberg. Spike looked even closer. The woman looked just like Sakura! The cowboy blinked wildly, but the picture didn't change! Okay, this really had to be a trap! “It's not a trap.” the woman assured. “Come, sit down and I'll tell you everything.” Uneasy, Spike sat down on a random floor cushion. The woman smiled sweetly.

“Congratulations Spike,” she said again. “You followed my directions well. And as a prize, I will tell you everything.” Spike didn't clearly trust her. The woman reached into her sky blue kimono and drew out two pictures. She handed them to the cowboy. Spike looked at them quickly. His face fell into pale shock! These were the pictures that he had received last month. The first picture was of what looked like Sakura over the black fire when she was younger and the other one was of her lying over the white fire. Right then, the cowboy had many questions again.

“Where the hell did you get these?” Spike snapped aloud. “Heaven,” the woman replied. “I sent you a copy of each. The first one is of KuroSakura when she was first born. And the other one is of Sakura herself.” This caught the cowboy's attention. “And the letters?” he asked frantically. The woman nodded softly. “I forwarded them to Sakura.” the woman explained. Spike became suspicious. How did this broad know about him and Sakura?

“But why?” the cowboy demanded. The woman was still calm. “I wanted to open both of your eyes to the truth.” she answered strongly. This threw Spike into a new whirlwind of confusion. The woman's mood changed into somber and cold. She was now ready to tell her tale.

“Years ago,” the woman began. “I was known as Kameko in Heaven. I lived in peace with my lover. We lived together in loving bliss. One day, my lover saw the mystics in living realm and was disgusted. He came to me frustrated. `Kameko-chan,' he said. `Humans have come to misuse mystics. They should live as equals. Even our own misuse our tenshi-chi.' Then, he turned to me again and asked, `What would you like for your birthday?' I coyly answered, `A child.' He smiled his devilish smile at me. Then, my love tightly embraced and said, `Okay, a child you shall get.' I thought he was joking then.

“For the next few months, my love was buried in his work and research. I didn't bother to question him because I knew he wouldn't tell me anything. So all I did was bring him food and watch the door in silence. Finally on March eighteenth, my love came out to me. I rushed forward in delight. He just smiled and stepped aside. What I saw next surprised me. It was a young tenshi-chi. She looked about twelve or thirteen with golden blonde hair. I could tell she was a fighter type. I was completely amazed. My love kept smiling. `Happy birthday, baby.' he said in his usual sexy voice. I embraced him wildly. I held the tenshi-chi like she was my own daughter.

“The first few years were great. But then, I noticed a change in my lover. He wasn't happy with our tenshi-chi. I even heard about him destroying her. I begged him not to. We comprised and put her to sleep for eternity. I was sad, but my lover assured me that we would start fresh. For the next few months, my love was buried in his work and research again. I just brought him his meals and waited as usual. But this time, I could tell something wasn't normal. My love was gathering materials that didn't consist with the usual practice of making a tenshi-chi. We argued about it, but he assured me that he had made up his mind and was still going through with the plan. I let him do with heavy doubts.

“On the centurial cherry blossom festival, I was going to experience the best gift I could ever receive in my life. My love came to me and playfully covered my eyes. Once I guessed that it was him, he came in front of me. `I've got a present for you.' he said. `What is it?' I asked. `Come with me,' my love announced. Then, he took me by the hand and dragged me down to his lab.

“I found Sakura-chan as a five-year-old girl sitting perfectly on his desk. Right then, I instantly fell in love with her. She smiled at me with joy. My love nudged me. `Like her?' he asked in pride. `I love her!' I breathed out. My love kept smiling. Sakura, my love, and myself lived as a happy family. But that too was short lived. I noticed a change in my love. He was getting too armored with Sakura. Even though he didn't act on his feelings, they were too strong to hide. The tenshi administrators were constantly watching us and waiting for the right moment to take Sakura away from us. My love's attitude towards me got colder and colder. Soon, he didn't love me anymore. My love broke up with me but he wanted me to stay to help take care of Sakura. So I did with a big heart. But then, the war came…”

Spike sat there in silent shock. Why did this all sound familiar? It almost sounded like he had lived this before. But did he and how? All while she was talking, the cowboy couldn't help but remember some of the strange dreams he had all summer. They matched this lady's story perfectly. Had she been stalking him and Sakura all of the time? The woman kindly smiled. “You don't remember, do you?” she asked. Spike looked up in confused shock. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Remember what?” The woman just kept smiling at him.

See You in Space, Ghost