Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Unveiled Emotions ❯ Overload ( Chapter 5 )

A room full of weapons. Her father selling them to terrorist groups. She was trapped in a room underneath the floor. She remembered the resonating sounds of bullets as her father tried to kill her. The bird perched on the headless corpse of her father...She sat up in shock, her hand clasped close to her chest as she tried to regulate her breathing.

Silently she stood up, being careful not to awaken Vicious. She walked over to the closet and quickly put on the first thing she could find then ran out of the room. She passed the watchful shadow of Vicious' bird and pushed herself to run faster, the reality of her father's cruelty playing over and over in her mind. She ran out of the house, down the driveway, and then stopped suddenly at the big iron gate looming in front of her. She glanced around in hoped of finding a way out then sighed. Vicious was extremely thorough in his security system so she had no means of escape. In short, she was trapped.

She heard a rustling in the bushes and panicked. Was there someone lying in wait for her? This new situation on top of everything else terrified her. She tried to scream but found that something was covering her mouth.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not some serial killer or anything," Stinger said as he removed his hand from her mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Rei asked. "Let go of me as well."

"Sorry. I could ask you the same thing. I find it strange that you're running out on him."

"I'm not."

"What were you doing, then?"

"My...my father wanted me dead. I was so scared in that room watching the ceiling cave in on me. I was being shot at by my own father, a person whom I thought cared for me very much."

"So you remember."

"I saw that bird perched on his neck, its claws digging into my father's lifeless skin!"

She suddenly grabbed him and wept profusely in his arms. Singer's eyes grew wide at her unexpected action and comfortingly ran his fingers through her hair. He spoke softly to her as he tried to calm her down. His ears twitched as he became aware that they were not alone. He hoped that Vicious would believe the truth.

"A rendezvous," Vicious said coldly and Stinger tried to pry Rei off of him.

"It's not that at all. Look at her. She's hysterical," Stinger said as Vicious walked up to them. He ripped Rei from Stinger and pushed her sharply to the side. She wiped her eyes as her breaths came in gulps. She tried to calm herself down but it wasn't working. Vicious drew his sword and pointed it at Stinger.

"You're time is up."

"I told you, it's not what you think it is."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because it's the truth."

"Why should I believe that you're capable of telling the truth?"

"What would I gain by lying to you Vicious?"

"You tell me."

"Must we go through these mind games? I'm not lying to you. Can't you see yourself that she's hysterical? She's remembered everything. She was trying to leave."

"Don't lie to me."

"Would you just shut up for a moment?"

Stinger dodged Vicious' attack and leapt to the low branch of a tree with Vicious close behind him. The training sessions had paid off and Vicious was quickly closing the gap between them. Stinger's gaze darkened as he realized that there would be no way out of the current predicament he was in, aside from unleashing his full power. He paused for a second, his ears sticking straight out from his head. He concentrated as he let go of all self-control. His body became covered with fine fur as he opened and closed his hands, showing off claws that were much larger than anything Vicious had seen before.

Rei took a deep breath of air and wiped her eyes. She glanced up at the tree where Stinger had just leapt from to the roof of the house and cringed at Vicious' string of thoughts. She shivered as the security alarm was triggered and watched helplessly as Stinger ran for his life on the rooftop. She felt sorry for him. Granted that he had baited Vicious too many times, but he was completely innocent now. There was no reason for Vicious to act this way. There was no reason for him to be...jealous. Rei gazed up at Vicious in surprise. He was actually jealous of Stinger. He was being protective of her. Perhaps entirely too protective, but protective nonetheless. He cared about her. He truly cared about her and his actions spoke so much louder than his words. But his current actions were still unjust.

"Vicious, please! He's telling the truth!" She cried and Vicious gazed down at her. She took a step back at the sight of the emotions in his eyes and fell to her knees.

"It doesn't matter whether he lies or not. He's been escaping death for entirely too long. Even if it was a mistake, he should not have touched you," he said darkly and Rei watched in terror as Vicious pursued the Regal Taliban. There was nothing she could do. His mind was made up and she could not talk him out of it. She couldn't stand it. His thoughts of death...Stinger's panicked thoughts...Her father being slain...

"Stop it!! Please!! I can't take any more of this!! Must I hear this over and over? Must I see death over and over? Is that my only fate? If that is true, then I was better off living on the street not knowing what the next day would bring. You may not be able to physically kill me, but you're certainly able to destroy me mentally."