OK, guys, here'spart 3 of the fanfic, where we found out what happened in Soul Society. It'spretty sad, so brace yourselves:
(disclaimer: For this version of Bleach I’m using- cause it’s my fanfic- the Soul Society is a form of Purgatory which people who die with sins on their soul must stay until they get sent to Ultimate Heaven (which is what happens when they “die” there.) All clear? OK!
Also, this is IchoHime AND RenRuki, OK? OK. If this next chapter makes no sense to you…hey, neither does the manga right now!! This chapter takes place after the current manga arc ends…whenever THAT may be!)
Session 29- Butterfly, Fly Away
The next day- Kurakawa Town, Tokyo….
A knock was heard at the Kurosaki house. 17 year old Ichigo ran out of his bedroom, coming down the stairs and at the same time trying to straighten his tie, calling out, "Dad, I'll get it!" he smiled in anticipation, expecting his girlfriend, Orihime,who would meet him at the front door every morning to walk to school with him. Happily he flung open the door, to be greeted by the sight of a small young woman with short dark hair. "Rukia!" he cried out in surprise.
Issian stuck his head into the hallway, "Rukia!" He cried out. "What a pleasant surprise! Come in, come in!" Ichigo stood away from the door so she could come in. The twins came running down the stairs just then.
"Rukia!" Yuzu cried out, flinging herself at her.
"Hey, Rukia!" Karin gave her a High-5. "Great to see you again!"
Kon came down after them,. "Rukia!!!" He threw himself at her, but Ichigo managed to grab him before he landed on her body and sat him on the bannister with a warning glance.
"Hi, Kon. It’s great to see all of you, too!" Ichigo noticed Rukia was in her gegai form, which consisted of a white skirt and blue sweater. She stopped and smelled the air. "Oh God, is that French Toast I smell?"
"Why yes, we just finished breakfast,“ Issian said. “Would you like some?"
"Yes, please!" she went over and sat on the couch. "I'm getting my appitite back. I haven’t eaten since lunchtime."
"You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday?!" Issian creid out in alarm. "We must remedy that. Yuzu, heat up some French Toast. Would you also like some bacon and eggs?"
"Thank you!"
Ichigo then glanced outside as the familiar form of his girlfriend came running up the pathway. "Orihime, look who it is!"
Orihime’s eyes lit up. "RUKIA!" she cried out as she ran to the couch and hugged her. "Rukia, how great to see you again!!"
"Orihime, it’s wonderful to see you too, you look great!: she smiled. "What's been going on here?”
"Oh you asked at just the right time!" she smiled and pulled Ichigo's class ring from a chain around her neck. "Ichigo and I are going steady!"
"You are not!"
"I am so!!" She hugged Rukia tightly again.
"Oh Orihime, that’s great news! I wish my news was that great."
"Why? What's happened?" Ichigo asked. "There aren’t any more Hollows up there, are there? Or Arroncars?"
"Ichigo..remember what Kiscke said!" Issian warned him. "You don’t have all your powers fully restored yet! Remember what happened last time when you and Chad tried to take the easy way out!"
"I know, Dad."
"Your powers WILL return, but you HAVE to be patient, Kiskue and Yurorichi are doing the best they can to restore them quickly, but it’s gonna take time, she has to go to Uryu in the meantime. You can go back to Soul Society now, but you can’t fight yet."
"I know, Dad."
"Actually, it's nothing like that. No invasions or wars at all so far, Actually the reason I came is..I have a favor to ask you."
"If it’s ours to give, it’s yours, you know that."
Rukia looked down as the twins brought the food on a tray. Happily she started to eat as fast as she could.
“Man, you ARE hungry!” Ichigo said.
“Hey, hey, take it easy!” Issian warned. “You‘ll get a stomach ache if you swallow it without chewing!”
When Rukia had eaten a but she put down her fork."Actually I just want to know this. Can I stay here for a while?"
Ichigo looked surprised. "Of course you can. You can stay here as long as you like. Why, what’s going on?"
"Let me put it to you this way....if the guards come and take me again don’t come after me,. I'll be back here before
you know it."
"Why?"
"Cause that means I'll have STRANGLED Bayakua, but the jury will NOT convict me this time!" Orihime and Ichigo stared at her, surprised.
"Obviously a mercy killing," Kon broke in.
"Rukia,..,.I’ve never heard you say anything bad about Bayakuya."
“You mean that pompous, arrogant, self-centered, life wrecker who would rather strut around in his own pride rather than allow people the right to their own happiness?”
“That’s it!” Kon said.
"Well, you can say I’ve come to my senses BIG time!"
"What did he do now!" Ichigo asked.
"Oh, you will NOT believe it!!”
Ichigo exchanged a look with Orihime. "Yes we will." In between bites of food, Rukia explained the situation. When she was done everyone was staring at her with open mouths. Finally Issian’s jaw set grimly.
"Karin, SHUT THAT DOOR. Don’t let any of the neighbors hear." When she did so, he raised his voice, "BAYAKUA, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!! YOU **tut-tut** BASTARD, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!!!"
“Excuse me, Rukia?” Ichigo asked. “I realise that I haven’t been up there in almost two years so may I ask…when did Captain Yamamoto retire and give his post to Bayakuya?!”
“He didn’t,” Rukia said. “Bayakuya just thinks he knows it all and thinks his way is the ONLY way!”
“What were they DOING that was so terrible?! They were having a picnic! So what..”
“He caught them kissing.”
“SO?!”
"Wait, wait, let me see if I got this straight," Karin said. "Toshiro....was kissing...what’s her name?"
"Rangiku.”
"OK, he was kissing Rangiku...and for THAT they got in trouble?! Just for a kiss?! ONE kiss?!"
“Must have been a hell of a kiss!” Kon said.
"It wasn’t just a kiss, it was a kiss between a Captain and Lieutenant. of the SAME squad!"
"So, who cares about that?! "
"Bayakuya...him and his **tut-tut** rules!! He actually said, ' if you would spend more time exploring new strategies instead of exploring your Lieutenant's lips, you would get a lot more done!"
"Why that..." Ichigo said. “Doesn’t he KNOW what both of them have been through, Rangiku especially?! God, I was THERE when Gin died, I saved her from being skewered by Aizen! She was completely torn up, I didn’t know if she would make it.”
“None of us knew,” Rukia said. “In fact if it weren’t for Captain Hitsugaya we don’t know what would have happened to her!”
“Bayakuya should have been thankful or at least happy that she was able to even FIND someone else, no matter who it was!! “
“But they were guilty of Flanderization, which us a strict violation of the code of Soul Reapers!”
“What? So falling in love with someone and finding happiness again is against the law?!”
“If it’s in the same squad.”
“DIDN;T THAT BASTARD EVER CONSIDER THAT’S WHAT GOD MIGHT WANT FOR THEM?!”
Orihime was sobbing quietly. "Oh poor Rangiku!!! Where did she go?"
"Ya mean she’s not with you?“
“No, I haven’t seen her at all.“
Rukia sighed, “No one knows where she went. Apparently Bayakua was gonna tell on both of them to Yamamoto. He actually told Rangiku if Captain Hitsugaya lost his post it would be all her fault. I guess she didn’t want to be responsible for him losing his position,...so she left before he could."
"Oh no!!" Orihime said.
"That **tut-tut** son of a ..." Ichigo said.
"You got THAT right!!! And that’s not all..”
“There’s more?!”
“Hell, yes! Turns out Ise found out what’s been going on with the two of them, and she promptly kicked Rangiku out of the Shinigami Women’s Society.”
“What? Why?” Orihime asked.
“Because you know what a feminist Ise is! According to her Rangiku disgraced the Women’s Society by getting too close to her male Captain and therefore was guilty of insubordination.”
“Figures,” Ichigo muttered. “But isn’t Yuchiro the President of the Women’s Society? Ise’s only the Vice, isn’t she?
What gives HER the right to kick someone out?!”
“Believe me, Yuchiro was NOT happy with her! I got this news from Momo, apparently she overheard everything. The most heartbreaking part was Captain Hitsugaya ran to Yamamoto's office before Bayakua had a chance to go there. The reason being Bayakuya was scolding Rangiku! He just lit into her,and he wouldn’t let her get a word in! He called her name after name, said that now Captain Hitsugaya might be put on probation because of her, if not removed from his post, and she was irresponsible, unprofessional, and not even fit to be a Lieutenant.”
“Hey, people can’t help how they feel!”
“Rangiku actually left in tears! Later Captain Hitsugaya ran out of Yamamoto’s office, I don’t know what happened but he then went to see his Grandmother for something, and went to Rangiku’s house...but she was already gone.“
“Gone?
“Gone. She just disappeared! He went to the office, and all that was left was her mantle folded neatly right in the middle of the desk , her necklace she always wore that she left with him, and a note. He showed it to Momo and she told me what it said. It said,
'My Dearest Love, I know what we were doing was wrong, but I also know we can’t help how we feel..I know I can't. I love you so dearly...you were the only one who could have saved me from drinking myself to death after the Winter War and what happened with Gin. You opened my eyes…you were there when I needed you…you showed me how to love again…But I can't risk being responsible for you losing your post. You've worked too hard to get where you are and I’d never forgive myself if you got exiled to Rokungai. Please don’t try to find me..just remember I love you, and I always will forever. I'm doing this so you'll be safe." Orihime bawled when she heard that.
“That‘s so awful!!!"
"That's not fair!" Yuzu cried out.
"Tell me about it. It gets worse. The entire 10th squad went out on Strike!"
"All 200 of them?!"
"Yep. When Captain Hitsugaya was giving them the news Byakuya walked in and said they ought to be pleased she was gone because now they could buckle down and start acting like a real Squad, they could always get another Lieutenant. Right after he said that they threw their swords down right in front of him and walked out! They don’t WANT another Lieutenant! Not long after that the 5TH Squad went on strike, lead by Hinamori, who only stopped to give Bayakuya QUITE an earfull! They all just walked out! Then Renji quit.”
"Renji quit?! He always had dreams of becoming a Captain!"
"Yeah.but he walked out anyway, Rangiku‘s his friend too...he actually said that if it meant having to work under that jackass Bayakuya it’s not worth it anymore. So now he’s working for Kiscke in his shop, he‘s renting a room upstairs from the shop...and I walked out on Bayakuya myself!"
"YOU did!"
"Yep. I love Rangiku too! I stormed into his office and told him exactly what I thought of what happened and what I thought of him!! I stormed right in. At first he said in his cold manner to not storm in and not slam the door. I said I couldn’t believe I wasted so much time defending him now that I NOW what kind of jackass he is, I said to him that what he did had to be the most heartless, self-centered, inconsiderate, horrible thing!! I told him I couldn’t BELIEVE he was my brother and I had wasted so much time defending him, I actually upended a few chairs in my fury, took down his calligraphy, and tore it up!“
“Right in front of him?!“
“I liked it too…and for the final blow I told him I was dating Renji."
"Must have gone into conniptions over that!" Kon said.
:"You have no idea! I called him so many names..and for the coup de grace I slapped him right across that face. Took off my Kuchiki ring, threw it at him, disowned him, and told him I never wanted to see him again! Of course the moment I left Captain Soifon AND Yurorichi stormed right in! Apparently Captain Soifon told Yurorichi all about what happened too. Luckily I got out of the office before the carnage started in droves."
“So THAT’S what that thunderstorm was last night!“ Ichigo said.
“Yeah, luckily I was busy packing up all my stuff and leaving along with Renji, so we missed the whole thing. But from what Yurorichi told Renji Bayakuya’s office was NOT a pretty sight when they were done!“ She sighed, "It's a big mess now. We’re all so scared and worried about Rangiku!! Members of Squad 10 have been combing practically the whole world looking for her. Poor Captain Hitsugyaya is beside himself with sadness and worry. He's trying to throw himself into work, but it's not working, Hardly anyone is talking to Bayakuya or Ise, Captain Yamamoto is routinely scolding them both, mostly because the 10th and 5th Squads are protesting right in front of his office, and God Isn’t too happy either. It‘s all messed up!"
"Poor Rangiku...I hope she's alright.." Orihime said. “But..why didn’t she come down HERE? I don’t understand…why didn’t she come to ME,I would have gladly given her a place to stay!”
“She didn’t come here at all, Orihime?”
“No,she didn’t, she hasn’t been to my house at all! “ Orihime stood up and stared out the window. “I would have given her a room. In my own home, I would have given it gladly. Why didn’t she come to me?”
“Maybe she thought you were still mad at her..”
“Mad at her for what? I was never mad at her!”
“Maybe because she listened to Yamamoto when he said you turned traitor. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven herself
for doing that.”
“But…but Aizen tricked us! He tricked all of us. He tricked ME into going with him to Hecho Mundo in the first place
to protect you….only to find out he was going to destroy you anyway! How can I be mad at her for being tricked when I was tricked? Oh, I’m not mad at her, I could never be!!” She sniffed. “Oh Rangiku, I could never be mad at you! Oh, where are you?”
“How’s Toshiro doing?” Ichigo said.
“Oh, he’s a mess. He tries to hide it as best as he can, but we can all tell he’s hurting so much. Only Ikkaku is in there helping him now.”
“Ikkaku?! I didn’t think he liked Rangiku!”
“Actually he feels kind of responsible for what happened. I guess he feels guilty for all the times he fought with Rangiku or called her a fruit loop. He’s Captain Hitsugaya’s acting Lieutenant until they find Rangiku to try to make up for it. Captain Zuraki gave permission. We tried to tell him he didn’t have anything to do with it, but he still feels guilty…and no one’s taking to Bayakuya!!”
Issian then stood up. "Rukia, you are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like," .
'Can I?"
"Of course.”
"I can stay here, I can really stay here?"
"Of course," Ichigo said. "You can bunk with the twins, like you used to. You can even come back to school again."
“That’s a great idea, Rukia!” Orihime said. “If you brought your uniform you can put it right on and come with us now! We can get you re-enrolled!”
Rukia smiled from ear to ear. “Excuse me,” she stood up, walked to the door, and pulled out two large suitcases from just inside the door from where she had left them. Issian smiled.
“Welcome home, Rukia!”
Later on after Rukia had donned her uniform the three of them headed out for school, meeting Chad, Uyru, and
Tatsuki so they could walk together like they usually did. They turned their heads when thy saw Ichigo and Orihme.
“Hey, Ichigo,” Tatsuki said. “Orihime?’ Orihime gave her a look and turned away. “Hey, come on, Orihime, you still mad? Orihime look I didn’t mean it when I told Ichigo I could make him call me sensai..honest. Look, I’m sorry I said that, OK?”
“What?” Rukia whispered from behind Orihime
“I’ll tell you later,“ Orihime whispered before turning to Tatsuki. “Don’t tell ME, you insulted MY boyfriend!”
Tatsuki sighed. “Ichigo, you know I didn’t mean it when I said that. Look, I’m sorry I said that…”
“ALL the things you said to him?” Orhime asked.
“AL the things I said to him, OK?”
“AND for knocking him through the wall and hanging him out the window?”
“AND for knocking him through the wall and hanging him out the window. Honest, I Take it all back. You’re right, I’m wrong, I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
“It’s up to Ichigo. I do if he does.”
“Yeah, I do,” Ichigo relented. “Besides, we got bigger things to talk about then that!”
“Oh? What?”
“Well, we got some news! Look who’s back!” He stepped to the side so they could see Rukia standing behind them.
“Rukia!” Tatsuki cried out.
“Rukia, nice to see you again,” Chad greeted her.
“Hello, Rukia,” Uyru greeted in his usual dry way.
“Hi guys,” Rukia said.
“Rukia, what brings you back to us?” Tatsuki asked.
“You’d never believe it,” Ichigo said. He and Orihime related everything.
“He did WHAT?!” Tatsuki asked. “Because he was dating his Lieutenant?! So what,why is that a crime?! You cant date who you want to?”
“Apparently not in the Soul Society,” Ichigo said,.
“Not in any branch of the military according to Bayakuya. Flanderization is what he calls it, you get involved with a member of your Squad you don’t put the Squad first.”
“That’s crazy!!” Tatsuki said.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Ichigo said.”I was THERE, I saw how bad Rangiku was! It’s a blessing she could find anyone else. You’d think he’d have a heart just ONCE and make an exception!”
“I don’t believe that,” Chad said.
“I do,” Uyru said. “Believe me, I can believe it.”
“How…I mean..is he ALLOWED to do something like that?!”
“I didn’t THINK so,” Ichigo said.”But apparently he thought he was! His status, his power, and his sky high nobility all got to his head.”
“I’m not surprised,” Uryu said.
“Ironically it looked like Captain Yamamoto was going to make an exception, but by that time Rangiku was gone.”
“And this guy is YOUR brother, Rukia? I mean…he’s YOUR brother?!”
“WAS my brother, Tatsuki. As of this moment I’ve disowned him! I never want to be associated with that name, I never want to be CALLED that name, I don’t wanna have anything to DO with him, his name, his family EVER AGAIN!! He and I are DONE forever!!”
“So..what are you gonna call yourself, Rukia?”
“Oh, I’ll think of something.”
“Better think of something fast if ya wanna get re-enrolled in school,” Tatsuki pointed out.
“Ya know, Rukia,” Ichigo said slowly, “Seeing as how you’re gonna be living with us from now on, how about taking OUR last name?“
“Yours?”
“Why not? You’re gonna be living with my family, I already think of you as another sister..no reason why you can’t become one officially. We can talk to Dad about adopting you when we get home.”
Rukia smiled from ear to ear. “Thanks, Ichigo. I appreciate this so much!” She went over to give him a hug. “I owe ya one….brother.” They were unfortunately interrupted by an unwelcome “Yeep!” Slowly they all turned just in time to see Chizuru rubbing Orihime in her usual morning greeting.
“HELLO, Orihime!! You’re looking as lovely as ever!”
Tatsuki made a move toward Chizuru, "Look, Chizuru how many TIMES have I told you, Orihinme is dating.."but Rukia quickly stopped her.
“Tatsuki, please, let me. I need this!”
Tatsuki slowly stepped back. “Be my guest.”
Rukia quickly moved to the back of Chizuru and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hi, Chizuru.”
She turned back.”Oh, Hi, Rukia….wha….whe….R…RUKIA!!” she stared in shock at the short dark haired girl with her hands folded in front of her with a cold grin on her face. “Uh, Rukia! Well, nice to see you again, when did you get back?”
“Oh…quite some time ago.”
“Well…you’re looking as lovely and voluptuous as ever…”
“Oh thank you…now how about you let go of Orihime?!” Chizuru did so and backed away carefully….just in time for Rukia to pound her right in the face and knock her unconscious to the ground. “That was VERY theraputic!”
“Come on, we don’t want to be late for school,” Uryu said.
Chad looked at the knocked out Chizuru and shook his head.
“Leave her down there,” Tatsuki said, “Save US the headaches today. Besides Rukia’s been through enough without having to deal with HER!”
“Tempting,” Chad said. “But no, we can’t,” he picked up Chizuru and carried her toward school.
“Hey, Rukia can work off some aggression on her this afternoon!” Ichigo pointed out.
“Just what I need, brother,” she agreed.
Orihime deliberately lagged behind the rest. She stared up at the sky with tears in her eyes again. “Poor Rangiku….I hope she’s alright.”
Ichigo put his arm around her confortingly. “She’s a tough lady, Orihime. I know she’s OK, wherever she is..”
Meanwhile on the Bebop…
“And that’s basically training according to Ikkaku!” Rangiku finished up, causing Faye to laugh like crazy.
“Oh man, that guy is crazy!!”
“I know!! And he called ME a fruit loop sometimes!”
“Oh, YOU?! Please, the shiny one is calling the mirror bald!” Both women were sitting on their respective bunks, where they had been all day. They had stayed up pretty late talking and had continued after breakfast. Rangiku was wearing black stretch pants with a grey sleeveless top. Faye would tell Rangiku about the many adventures she, Spike, Ed,and Jet had had chasing after bounties, weather they had gotten away or not. Rangiku would tell Faye about the people she had known in the military. Of course Faye couldn’t help but notice she had looked a but sad telling some of them, and there were pauses. But Faye decided to let them be for now, mostly cause she was having such a great time, just sitting on their beds, chatting like schoolgirls. In fact, this was one of the reasons that Faye had insisted on Rangiku coming to join the team.
She needed a best friend.
Ordinarily Faye had considered herself a pretty independent person, dependant on just herself and not trusting people too much. But now that she realized she basically had no home, no family, and nowhere else to go she came to trust the guys more. Despite the occasional tiffs she still had with Spike every once in a while she did feel like she belonged…except for one thing. She had never had anyone she felt really close to. Even though she was friends with Jet and Spike, she could see they were already best friends, and neither one of them was hers. Ed was far too young and she was her niece now anyway. She had thought numerous times that a best friend of her own might be nice…and now here was her chance to have one!
The computer beeped out loud. “Bounty, bounty,” Ed called out. Spike, Jet, Faye, and Rangiku all ran into the room.
“Twice in one week?” Jet asked.
“Hey, let’s not ask questions, let’s just be thankful,” Spike said. “Who is it this time?’ Ed brought up the information. “Hmm…looks like more jokers trying to smuggle Red Eye.”
Rangiku looked up. “Red Eye?”
“Yeah, you weren’t around when we dealt with Red Eye the last time. It’s a brand new drug that you aim right at your eye,” her eyebrows went up. “You aim it at your eye and a little hose comes out, and you squeese the drug from the hose into the eye.”
Rangiku shuddered. “Uugh!”
“Yeah, the bad part is it makes the one who uses it ten times faster than he was before.”
“Yeah, only you could take that guy, Antonio on after he took it, Spike.”
Rangiku smiled. “I don’t think you’ll be the only one, Spike. In the military, my Squad was known as one of the fastest around.”
Spike looked at her with his eyebrows raised. “Really?”
“Oh yes. That was 10th Squad’s specialty. We were KNOWN for speed!”
“Well, you may have a chance to demonstrate,” Spike said, standing up. “You ready for your initiation?”
“I couldn’t be more ready,” Rangiku said, taking her sword and sheathing it on her back. “Let’s go!” she and Faye headed for the RedTail.
“We’ll see how she does with this,” Jet said.
Jet lead the way in his Hammerhead. “According to what Ed brought up in the computer, those jokers were last seen on Mars. I’ll send you both the info.”
Spike studied the map that was sent to him. “OK, according to this, they didn’t get too far. I’m guessing these guys are gonna try to push it at the first place they land.”
“Or they might be meeting with a dealer somewhere.”
“Yeah, that too. From what I remember their code for Red Eye is tomato juice, so my guess is that they’re gonna meet up at some bar.”
“Ya know, there’s a bar not more that ten feet from where they were last spotted, my guess is that’s where they might be.”
“OK, let’s go there first. Spike, you and I will take the back. Girls, you listen in at the front.”
Faye ad Rangiku looked at each other and smiled, Faye especially. SHE saw Rangiku in action, but she knew the boys hadn’t. “Just wait!” she thought eagerly.
When they landed their ships Spike and Jet casually waked into the bar in the back and sat down pretending that they had been there for a while. Spike took out his special spy glasses and looked around for the suspects. The girls meanwhile walked up to the front and casually ordered drinks.
“So, Rangiku,” Faye said, leaning against the bar. “Tell me, how are the bars where you come from?”
She smiled. “Oh, they’re great. I was definitely a regular there.”
“Were you really?”
“Yes, really,” her eyes got a faraway look to them and she fingered a small silver heart shaped locket that dangled from her neck. “The drinks tasted so great, and well…I was the first to admit that I did get drunk quite a number of times..”
“Oh?” Faye asked, amuzed. “How drunk?”
“Ya know.,I can’t remember.. But my Captain can!” She fingered the locket again and Faye could have sworn her eyes were starting to glisten before she blinked them away. “The finest man anyone could ever know..” she whispered softly before clearing her throat. “Anyway, I would get so drunk sometimes he would follow me to the bars JUST to drag me home!!”
“That bad, huh?”
“Well, believe me, not as bad as a few of my fellow soldiers!”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. One of them, Ikkaku, the one I was telling you about….he would get so drunk that he would go to the karaoke machines and sing his heart out…and cause some windows to break!” They both laughed. Soon a whole gang of rugged muscled men came into the bar, A few of them sat at the bar, some pulled up tables. One in particular stared at Rangiku, then stood up and leaned against the jukebox.
“Hey, Babe,” he called out to Rangiku. “Hey, this jukebox got anything on it from Dolly Parton?” Most of the men with him laughed. Rangiku slowly slid off the stool and sauntered over to him. He grinned and put in some money.
Rangiku looked at the selections and picked one. Soon soft rock filled the room. The guy grinned,. “Wanna dance, Babe?”
“Why, you don’t have any rhythm!” she went back to the bar amid the ‘Ooohs’ of the others in the bar. Faye smiled and gave her a high-five, liking her more and more. Even Spike had to grin at her retort.
“Come on, come on, morph already..” Jet mumbled, fiddling with the glasses he was wearing. Soon the image that was reflected in them began to change and morph until the same picture that was in Ed’s computer was staring back at him. “That’s the guy we’ve been looking for!”
“Ok, so how do we approach him?” Spike asked.
“We’ll take the front and the ladies can bring up the rear,” Jet said, taking the glasses off. He stood up and casually walked over to the guy he was staring at through his glasses, casually sitting down next to him,. “Yo,” he said casually while Spike staid a few feet from him and leaned against one of the tables, folding his arms casually. “This where ya buy the tomato juice from?”
The guy looked over at him. “Yeah, we got some. You interested?”
“Yeah, in fact. Ya get pretty tired of vodka and whiskey around here, not enough of a buzz. I’m in the mood to have a mix myself.”
The guy smiled. “I got what you need right here. But the light here is a bit dim. Why don’t we go outside where it’s brighter and I can show you just what kind I got?”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary…” Jet said casually. He wrapped his metal arm in a stranglehold around the guy’s neck. “Hand over the Red Eye, buster and no sudden moves, you got it?”
“Geez, it’s a bounty hunter!!” Another guy cried out, standing up. Some gang members pulled out guns, another tried to run, only to be blockaded by a spinning hook kick knocking him clear to the ground.
“Ooooh….ehhhh…” the guy mumbled, holding his head in his hands. When he looked up he gasped in horror as the one person he did NOT wish to be there came into focus. He grinned a sly grin.
“You guys going already?” he asked smugly.
“Ooooooohhhhh…..shiiiiiiiiitake mushrooms…SPIKE SPIEGAL?!?!”
“Very good, you got one of us..you know HIS name?” He said pointing to Jet.
Faye and Rangiku then ran over to the goons. Faye pulled out her gun, “Don’t try anything understand?!”
“Yeah, I understand,” said the one who she was pointing at. “And here’s my answer!” He pulled his own gun out…but before he knew what was happening a sword seemed to come from out of nowhere and sliced the gun in half! He whirled around to see Rangiku standing there with the blade of her sword pointing at his throat.
“You’re too slow,” Rangiku pointed out to him.
“Geez, bounty hunters with SWORDS now?!” Rangiku just grinned at that. “Oh, I get it now…ya can’t USE a gun, can you?”
Rangiku’s face hardened. “What’s THAT supposed to mean?!”
“It means due to those **tut-tut** implants you so generously gave yourself ya can’t possibly operate a gun! Ya can’t see IT and ME at the same time!!”
Rangiku’s voice lowered to a dangerous tone.”For your information, these are REAL!”
“HA, in your dreams, **tut-tut**…oh excuse me, TOOTS..or rather…in MY dreams!”
Faye’s face hardened. “Pal, you do NOT wanna do that!” She quickly whirled around and shot his friend’s arm before he could shoot her first. “You don’t wanna do THAT either!” Next thing she knew two tables were upended as bullets began flying and Faye jumped behind a counter, shooting back. She got one in the shoulder and shot the hand of another.
“Yeah, you heard me, **tut-tut**, you don’t think I don’t know why you got cut to have those **tut-tut**? To try to catch men off guard so you can act like Robin Hood once they’re distracted! But in case ya didn’t catch on I didn’t fall for it.”
“Oh too bad, I’ll have to try harder than!” Without another word Rangiku kicked him right between the legs, twirled him around and aimed the sword right at his neck. “Don’t make any sudden moves, or ou’re gonna regret it. I’m pretty good with this sword, and I’d be more than happy to give you a demonstration!” With that she traced a huge ‘R’ on his back, making sure he could feel it.
“YYYYYYEREEEEEOOOWWW!! YA GOD **tut-tut** **tut-tut**!!!” With that Rangiku knocked him out with a punch to the head knocking him out cold. “Jet!” she called out. Jet tossed her a pair of cuffs.
Meanwhile Spike was engaged in a one on one fistfight with another goon. The guy was throwing punches left and right which Spike expertly ducked before countering with a roundhouse kick to the gut and elbowed him in the spine when he came up for air. Slapping on some cuffs he felt another guy come running up to him with a switchblade. Spike ducked, grabbed the guy’s wrist and flipped him over, causing him to land right on one of the tables. He turned around to see another goon reaching for the Red Eye while coming right at Rangiku, but before he could rush over to help Rangiku began to duck and dodge his punches almost as fast as him! Spike tried to look at her eyes to make sure SHE wasn;t on Red Eye herself! No..as far as he could see her eyes were still bright blue, but she was dodging every blow and kick before firing back herself. Spike coudn;t believe it, especially when she brought out her sword. The guy on Red Eye took out a switchblade and came at her throat, but she blocked it with her sword, flicked it away, used her sword to cut his arm severely, before knocking him down. He whisled, clearly impressed. Rangiku looked at him and smiled as Spike tossed her some cuffs.
Jet meanwhile was busy with his group of goons. Reaching into the pockets of the guy who he had grabbed he found case after case of Red Eye. “Well, lookie here. Two, four, ten, twelve, you got a whole factory here in your jeans! Hey, Spike, we got ourselves a live one here!” Using his metal arm he managed to bend back the guys arm and twist it a bit, causing him to drop to the floot in agony. Jet held his gun on him. “don’t ya move or you’re gona get it in your other arm, got it? Oh, whiskey, don’t mid if I do,” he grabbed the guy’s half finished glass. “don’t mind me, I’ll help myself!” before chugging it down. He turned just in time to see a whole bunch of the guys friends charging at him with loaded guns. Pulling out his own, he started firing joined soon by Spike. Back to back they carefully shot down the bunch, making sure not to kill them.
Faye had jumped out from her hidden place behind the bar and both she and Rangiku started punching and kicking the rest of the man surrounding them. Faye noticed one last guy trying to sneak out the door while trying to old a baggy overcoat closed. Going by instinct she took careful aim and shot…spilling loads of Red Eye on the ground. Smirking slyly she made her way over to him.
“Well, well, where do you think you’re going?” the guy frantically dropped to his knees and tried to pick up the vials…only for Faye to step on his hand, causing him to scream. “Oh, sorry, did that hurt?”
The guy shakily stood up. “Yeah…does THIS hurt ya **tut-tut**?!” He promptly took a swing, only for Faye to dunk and shoot him quickly in the leg. “YAAHH..oh ya **tut-tut**!!!” Standing up he tried to grab her, only for Rangiku to punch him in the face.
“Don’t you DARE call my friend a **tut-tut**!!” she yelled. Faye smiled, took her shawl and filled it with the Red Eye as Rangiku dragged the lasy guy back inside and added them to the pile. “Here’s the last one!”
Spike took in the sght of what was around him, and gave a long low whisle. “Hey, Jet, look at this!”
“Yeah,I think we got all of them!!”
Faye smiled and patted Rangiku on the shoulder. “And we have Rangiku to thank for it!”
“You were great too, Faye!”
“But you were amazing at fighting these jerks, especially that one that took the Red Eye.”
Rangiku shrugged. “I told you, my Squad was known for being one of the fastest.”
Faye smiled at Spike. “So, Spike, what do you have to say now?”
Spike looked around him at what he saw and his eyebrows went up. He waked over to Rangiku and held out his hand. “Welcome to the Bebop!”
Rangiku smiled snd shook his hand back. “So, does that mean she can stay?”
“Are you kidding, I hope she never leaves!” Jet said. “Come on, these guys have an appointment with the police station, and it’s rude to keep them waiting!”
As they were leaving with their bounties Jet put his hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Spike-O my friend, I have a feeling things are gonna be better for us!”
“Ya think?”
“Oh yeah. Rangiku’s becoming our own good luck charm!”
Later that night Rangiku tossed and turned in her bunk, unable to fall asleep. She looked across the room at Faye in her bunk, but she was already sleeping deeply. Rangiku sat up in her bed and stared quitly out the window at the stars that were glistening down. Her eyes traveled, looking for one star in particular. One extra special one. Finally she found it…a light blue star that seemed to be directly above her head, shining down upon her. Her eyes tendery glistened with unshed tears and without even looking her hand trailed up to feel the heart shaped silver locket that was around her neck. Three words softly came from her lips.
“Good night, Toshiro.”
Sad ending to the chapter, isn;t it? But there will be more parts to come!
COWBOY BEBOP FOREVER!!
MAY YOU GO ON FOR 10 MORE YEARS!!
Never underestimate a girl- never underestimate Balsa!
YOU CAN'T STOP THE BEBOP!
Don't let go....Durarara, FLCL, Big O...
See ya, Space Cowgirls!
Bleach 
's side over Toshiro's side, so that makes sense.
No one can cheer him up even a little
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