Author Notes: This is chapter 4!! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop, or any of the characters. Therefore, I remain poor and unemployed.

Lost and Found

Chapter 4: Rainbows

The child that emerged was in sad shape indeed. He was rather short and skinny, no older then 5 years old, and had thick brown hair that needed to be brushed. His big brown eyes were puffy due to crying, and his navy blue sweater and black pants were two sizes too big. In his arms he clamped onto a badly sewn teddy bear. The boy was sad and obviously traumatized. Jet couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It was very hard not to after looking him in the eyes. Jet thought, for a fleeting moment, that maybe they shouldn't ask him to relive the details of the previous evening. However, after thinking that, Jet concluded that the only way Theodore would be caught is if they looked for him right away. To do that, they needed leads. This child was certainly a lead, and Jet wasn't about to give him up.

"Hello, little boy." said one female cop to the child. "Are you hurt in any way? Do you need to see a doctor?"

The boy shook his head and squeezed his teddy bear harder. The police in the area were so preoccupied with the boy, Faye and Jet managed to slip into the crowd unnoticed. Nobody spoke as the boy began to say something. Jet felt like he wanted to leave, but the thought of Theodore made him quickly change his mind. He wanted to catch this sicko, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

"W-Where is Mandy?" asked the little boy. "D-Did she die, too?"

The crowd around the boy began to babble. Jet listened carefully and heard someone say "Mandy was the caretaker… we found her in the bathroom…". Jet felt a rush of pity for the boy. He had lost all his friends, and also his caretaker. He was truly, and honestly, the only survivor.

"I'm sorry, dear, but Mandy died to." said the female cop. "You're the only one that survived... can you tell us what happened?"

Jet felt anger rising in his chest. How could anyone be so insensitive? Here was this boy, traumatized and sad, and all the cops could do was ask him to answer their questions. Jet was curious too, but he didn't want to know if the boy wasn't ready to tell anything. Faye seemed to feel the same way, as well. Jet felt her squeeze his arm and swear rather loudly. That boy had been through enough for the day.

"M-Mandy… is gone?" the boy repeated sadly. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he buried his face within his teddy bear. "T-That man knocked on the door… and Mandy let him in… and they went upstairs… but…but… only he came down…"

The entire street seemed to of silenced. There were no birds, no cars, and no talking. There was only the little boy, his bear, and a large mass of listeners.

"H-He said he was gonna' save us…" the boy continued, "…and h-he took a gun out of his coat…"

Faye and Jet exchanged a fearful glance. They knew what was coming next, but hearing it from the boy made it feel like it was happening to them. How could anyone do that to a child? How could anyone be so cruel?

"H-He was shooting the gun… a-and I went into the closet…" the boy described slowly, "There's a hole in the wall, behind the coats… you can move a piece of the wall then put it back… I hid in there every time we played hide and seek…"

The cop that had found the boy nodded his head. Jet shook his head in pity, and Faye swore loudly for the second time that hour. So that was how he had managed to live…

"He looked in the closet, actually…" said the boy, "…but…but he didn't know about the hole… so… so he didn't see me…"

Jet felt sick to his stomach. He could only imagine how scared the boy must have been. The poor kid, hiding in a hole in the wall, listening to all his friends get murdered…

"I-I was scared… s-so I didn't come out…" whimpered the boy to the police woman. "…b-but then I was found by a police guy… s-so I came out…"

With that, the story ended. Jet was surprised that the boy wasn't crying. Faye scratched her nose, not knowing exactly what to say, and the police woman moved forward to give the boy a blanket. The boy was then put into the back of a truck. Most of the police officers went back to searching the building. A few police officers went over to him once in a while, asking him questions and giving him food, but all in all the boy was left by himself. Because of that, Jet and Faye seized the opportunity to ask him a few questions of their own.

"Hey there, kid." said Jet, leaning down so he was eye to eye with the boy, "How are you doing today?"

To ask the kid "how are you doing" seemed like a stupid question to ask. He was obviously horrible, having gone threw such an ordeal, but Jet didn't know any other way to break the ice. He wasn't normally good with kids, and he needed to hurry incase he was seen by the cops.

"Fine… I guess…" mumbled the boy. He seemed tired and sad, but he didn't seem angry.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, kid?" smiled Jet. Faye stood a safe distance away, watching out for any cops that might notice they were there. The boy nodded slowly, and Jet took a breath.

"The man that did all this… he said that he was 'saving you', right?" said Jet.

"Yeah." said the boy.

"So… did he say what he was saving you from?" Jet asked.

"No." said the boy.

"Did Mandy know the man, or did she just let him in?" Jet pressed.

"He said he wanted to adopt a kid, so she let him inside…" replied the boy.

"Oh… then she took him upstairs to interview him, or something?" Jet sighed.

"Yes." said the boy, "She asks a lot of questions before she lets someone take a kid…"

Jet and Faye both sighed. They felt bad for the kid, but at least he had given them his time. The pair turned to leave, wondering what they should do at the ginza, but were suddenly stopped as the boy shouted for them to come back. Jet turned around, wondering what the boy could possibly want, and Faye continued forward, claiming she would meet Jet back at the ship when he was done talking to 'little kids'.

"Hey, mister! Do you have a ship?" asked the boy. His eyes seemed brighter, and he seemed almost hopeful.

"Um.. Yeah, I do." Jet replied. The boy smiled weakly, and he ran back to the truck. Jet shrugged it off, and he ran quickly to catch up with Faye.

"What did he want?" asked Faye, stopping to let Jet catch his breath.

"He wanted to know if I had a ship." Jet replied. Faye cocked an eyebrow.

"He must like jets…" Faye suggested, scratching her forehead, "He probably figured out you were a bounty hunter, and wanted to know if you had one."

"Yeah, I guess so." said Jet, letting out a sigh. "You know…I feel bad for that kid… but at least he's still pretty young. Over time he may forget about this whole thing…"

Faye only nodded to this. They began to walk back to the Bebop, and Jet pulled out his map again. After another 10 minute walk, Jet found himself staring aimlessly out the window of the Bebop control room. Rain was beginning to fall, and the Mars sky was starting to turn gray. Faye walked over to him, sipping on a soda, and stared up at the sky to see what Jet was looking at.

"Maybe there will be a rainbow later?" Faye smiled thoughtfully.

"Lets hope so." Jet replied, moving away from the sad looking view, "God knows we're gonna' need it."

Well, that's the end of Chapter 4. Leave reviews!