Author's Note: After a long absence, I have returned! *crickets.* Mm... well. I've considered declaring this an AU because I'm having trouble working with the characters' ages. In this story, Lin is younger than Shin. The opposite is true in the anime. (I decided it would make more sense for Lin's loyalties to lie with Vicious if he was younger.) Also, Spike will be leaving the syndicate at 18 or 20... *sigh.* Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not and have never owned Cowboy Bebop. I don't even own Alex or Jim. Alex is the guy in Ballad of Fallen Angels who is holding Faye hostage in the cathedral, and Jim can be any of the identical bartenders... ^.^ And, as always, constructive criticism is greatly, greatly appreciated.

That Day as Well

by jadelitfireflies

Four. (Unnecessary.)

            "So what classes are you in, Spike?"

            Shin's voice rose up to him from the cream-tiled floor where the boy was sitting, mingled with the shouts always present in the orphanage. He was leaned against the wall on the top bunk while Lin played with his shoelaces.

            "Math. English. Whatever else they teach in school."

            "Didn't you go?"

            "Yeah, I went." He kicked Lin's hands away gently. "Annie would've killed me if I didn't."

            "I'm in honors stuff with Vicious."

            He dismissed it. "Waste of time."

            Lin pouted, flopping over the side of the bed. "How come I'm not in anything with you?"

            "You're not even in middle school, Lin."

            "Besides," Spike grumbled, "I've got other things to worry about."

            "Like what?"

            "Syndicate stuff."

            "Ohh."

            Barks erupted from the hallway leading to the long room and a puppy tore through, skidding into a bed. Spike opened an eye - he'd been half-asleep during the entire conversation - to watch lazily.

            "Here, boy! C'mere, Spike!"

            He sat up. "Ehh..."

            The dog ran to Shin, jumping up at him happily, and then hid behind him. Lin hopped to the floor.
            "Oh, Spikey, were they being mean to you again?" He tugged at Spikes - the other Spike's - ear.

            "Wait a minute here... that dog... is Spike?"

            Shin smiled, crouching down to the puppy's level. "We didn't name him, Spike."

            "Spike's a dog-name," Lin giggled.

            "Hey! I'm not going to have some stupid anim..."

            They hesitated as Alex, one of the bullies at their school, walked in. Spike frowned in annoyance - the kid was smoking. How was that fair? If he couldn't without getting caught -

            "Where is that little shit?!"

            The puppy whimpered slightly. The two brothers surrounded it, protecting... and Spike noticed from where he was laying the burn marks on its fur.

            "You." Alex stared angrily at Lin, who was pouting again. "Where's the dog?"

            Spike didn't move. What business of his was it, anyway?

            "I - " the boy's chin quivered."I don't know."

            "Don't lie to me, kid!"

            "Leave him alone!"

            Shin stood to his full height. It was a few inches shorter than the boy before him; at seventeen, Alex had passed the syndicate's final test a year or two early. Rumors said he'd already been set up as a low-level assassin, and of course everyone younger believed it. All Spike saw was the coat, the Red Dragons' coat... Alex wore it everywhere... he never took it off...

            "What did you say? Stay out of this."

            The puppy whimpered again. Stupid dog...

            Spike watched as Alex pushed the two out of the way. Shin stood back up, squaring his shoulders, and Lin sat in front of the dog, which was now under the bed.

            "I said to leave him alone!" Why was Shin doing all of this over a dog? He was trying to be brave, but why? "What did he ever do to you?"

            "That little bastard ate my shoes!"

            The green-haired boy blinked. Yes, Alex's shoes had been chewed on. He snorted in mirth.

            "Why, how terrible that must have been," Spike said sarcastically. Why had he said something? Geh...

            "That you, Spiegel?" A stare in reply. "Heh. We should teach these brats a lesson!"

            "Thanks, but I think I'll have to pass."

            "What?" While Alex spoke, Shin smiled. "You think you're better than me, Spiegel? You're as pathetic as the rest of us, damn you." Spike sat up fully. "That's it, Spiegel! Come on! You can't stay a pansy -"

            He was silenced by Spike's sudden movement, catapulting backward as the boy's foot connected with his head. He crashed into the bed behind him - its hinges screeched in protest - and Spike gripped him by the neck. Alex's cigarette fell to the floor.

            Startled, he hesitated. "You -"

            "No; I'm not like you. Shit yes, I'm better than you. You're just like Vicious."

            Lin's eyes widened. What did that mean, huh? Vicious was like Alex? But Vicious had never hurt him or Shin - he hadn't hurt Spike -

            "Spike," Shin warned, "you have to let him go."

            It soon became a non-issue. Alex punched him in the chest and Spike let go, wheezing.

            "Little bastard." The larger boy scowled, straightening his coat, and walked out of the room. "You stay the hell away from me."

            "Spike, you okay?"

            When Shin clapped him on the shoulder - as if in congratulation - he felt drained. The pain in his chest reached for him, bringing him back to reality... Why had he done that? Why had he even gotten angry? Worse: if Vicious was stronger than him, hadn't that been a compliment? He swallowed in a haze.

            "C'mere, Spikey..." Lin cooed it to the space under the bed, but the dog wouldn't come out. Spike's head jerked to the side only slightly.

            "What time is it?"

            Shin's hand came off his shoulder. "It looks about five."

            He nodded once before leaving.

* * *

            Vicious leaned against the dumpster, staring. They'd been out of school for a while now (a few hours?), and he'd seen most of the kids leave - Spike and Shin had walked by, his half-brother glaring icily... Well, Shin waved. It didn't matter. There wasn't any reason for him to wave, anyway. Where was she?

            The fence sat a few yards away - maybe twenty - bordering about the school... It sounded briefly, rattling about the hinges. And was that her? The girl, the chapel girl? It was cloudy but wasn't raining. The filtered sunlight hung by her hair, turning the blonde to a greenish-grayish color. He couldn't decide.

            When she walked past him, he waited a moment. He placed his glasses in his shirt pocket. Vicious exhaled deeply and swung out onto the sidewalk, shadowing her.

            The girl began to walk faster. His gray hair marred the focus of one eye - could she sense him? Was she afraid? Her arms trembled slightly, gripping her books - hair swept off her shoulders from rushing - he snickered, amused. Affectionate. (Chiding.)

            - She stopped, as did he.

            "Please don't... follow me any longer."

            His eyes widened in anger. Was she really that stupid? She would address him without turning?

            "You're too polite." He refused to catch up with her if she wouldn't face him. "You should have seen if I was dangerous."

            "I did see."

            He scowled. "I could have killed you."

            "Don't flatter yourself, Vicious," she said over her shoulder, mocking him. She turned to him then.

            "Julia."

            "You're not wearing your glasses."

            They began walking together, accepting mutual defeat. His hands fit neatly in his jeans pockets; the fabric of his white-and-blue checked shirt bunched up around his wrists as he walked. Julia's pants and coat were brown, causing it to seem as if she were wearing a tunic - the bottom of both articles billowed out and shifted with the wind, canvas-like.

            "You're coming with me," she commented after a moment.
            He didn't miss a beat. "Where are you going?"

            "It doesn't matter. Home."

            "You have one?"

            Silence. Julia turned down an alley and the sudden lack of sunlight bathed them in a shade of blue - just where was she going? There was a door, and she was opening it, but that didn't mean anything. He followed her inside without a word but hung back by the doorway, and as his eyes adjusted to the room he found himself staring at a pool table; near the side wall, a bar. Interested, he blinked at her.

            She ignored him. "Jim? Jim!"

            A man came from around a corner, drying his hands. "Ah, what's up, kid?"

            "Is the game still on for Thursday?"

            "Sure is." Jim nodded to Vicious. "Who's your friend?"

            Vicious stared at him for a moment before looking sideways. Julia paused, adjusting the striped balls in the triangle until they were all straight.

            "You know the policy," she said slyly, and - in tacit understanding - they exited the place.

            Quiet. They didn't really need to say anything, did they? Did she already know about his brother? The syndicate? Could she tell by the way he handles himself - the way he spoke and acted, the way his shoes scuffed against the sidewalk slightly, expressing more than words - that he had been destined from birth only to kill? She could tell, couldn't she... It was unspoken (wasn't it?) but she could tell he was really just a stray animal, and she couldn't get rid of him... couldn't ever get rid of him...

            And her? Her? His hair brushed against the side of his face, and he resisted the urge to swipe it out of the way. If he moved, he'd risk it... her saying something... reprehensible...

            At the street corner, they paused to wait for a few cars to pass by. As the sign suddenly flashed white, the small figure of a person their signal to continue, he broke away his half from the pair and, in his - their shared - silence willed himself to return to the one place he felt the least welcome. (Welcome? What was that?)

            The Yenrai Household.