Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Tenshi Trail: Shin Heart ❯ Vol. Three, Chapter Thirty-One: Beach Story ( Chapter 31 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Beach Story
This trip started out as a random idea from Sakura. Or rather a message that she received gave her the idea.
Let’s back up, shall we?
*Yesterday Evening*
“Hey Sakura,” Spike said to her as she brushed her teeth.
“Hm?” she asked.
“You got this strange letter this morning,” he said. Sakura turned around to him.
“Strange?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I forgot to give to it you before you left. Here.” She walked over and took it from him.
“It didn’t have anything on it,” he said. Sakura read over the paper and paused. Spike gave her an odd look.
“What is it?” he asked. She didn’t seem to hear him ask the question. Her eyes stayed on the last line. She looked up with big eyes.
“We have to go to Sentania!” she said. Her boyfriend blinked at her.
“Why?” he asked. Sakura lowered the paper in her hand.
“I have been summoned,” she replied.
“Huh?” Spike asked. This kicked off Sakura’s mission to the sub-planet Sentania.
“But that’s out of the way,” Jet reasoned with her.
“But I have to go there,” she said.
“Why?”
“I have been summoned there.”
“Summoned for what?”
Sakura looked away some. “I can’t smile.”
Jet frowned at her. “It’s still out of the way.”
“But I really need to go!”
Jet sat back with a little smile. “Fine. Tell you what. You come up with four people who want to go and then we’ll see.”
Sakura’s eyes lit up like the stars. “Thank you, Jet!” She set out to find those four yeses that she needed. Foxy and Faye jumped on for different reasons.
“Nice, I just wanted to show off my new swimsuit!” Foxy exclaimed.
“I needed to get more anyway,” Faye said. “Things are too boring here.”
Kurotio became another yes. “Sure, doll.”
She just needed one more person to say yes. But who? Couldn’t be the younger ones; that’d be too easy. Francesca? Oh like hell she will. She probably laugh right in her face. Spike? Looks like she didn’t have a choice.
“Why do you want me to agree to this trip?” Spike asked. Sakura settled in his lap, leaning in close to his face.
“I’ve already got three people saying yes.”
“Who?”
“Foxy, Faye, and Kurotio. I just need one more person.”
“Why didn’t you ask anyone else?”
“The kids are too easy and Francesca would just say no.”
“So you came to me?”
Sakura nodded. “Please?”
“Is it that bad?”
She nodded again. “Please! I have to go there.”
Spike lowered his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter to me.” Sakura’s eyes lit up happily.
“Thanks!” she said in one breath. She kissed her on the hand once.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. Doesn’t change anything for me.
So, the Bebop set off the sub-planet Sentania. Hello paradise. Nothing but sand and ocean here. Many search for this slice of heaven, but few are able to find it. Faye and Foxy got the chance to show off their swimsuits on the sun beach. Ed and Cherry enjoyed the warm sand. Kurotio flirted around with the many women that passed him by on the beach. The others just hung around and took in the calming scene.
But, Sakura sat under the umbrella waiting. Spike glanced up at her.
“What are you looking for?” he asked. The tenshi-chi still looked out on the vast blue.
“She said that she would meet me here at three o’clock,” she said.
“Meh,” he said. The cowboy lit up another cigarette. She could help but to smile at him. The tenshi-chi used to not understand his smoking, but now she had gotten used to it. Sakura closed her eyes to take in the moment.
Gives me a sense of comfort in a way…, she thought. The sounds of the sea put her mind in further ease. But then, the sound of bells brought her back to earth. Sakura opened her eyes and looked towards the shore. She shook on Spike’s shoulder.
“Spike-kun,” she whispered. “She’s here.” Spike slowly drew open his eyes.
“Who?” he mumbled as he looked up. A woman in a heavy white cloak stood before them. She kept her eyes low to her feet.
“My lady,” she said. “I have been expecting you.”
Calling Towards the Sea