i don't own Cowboy Bebop

here's the second chapter, PLZ Review! i hope you enjoy

title:A Quaint Conversation

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"He's gotta be the tragic figure standing in the rain, mourning the loss of his beloved. So down comes the rain, right on cue."

- Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman

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"So you're really are a bounty hunter. Who exactly are you after?"

She asks taking a second look at Spike's gun.

"The guy who killed you"

Spike says putting the documents away.

"Ethan"

She says softly to herself, as flashes of the past race through her mind.

"Your brother"

Snapping her out of her thoughts, she starts to question how in the hell he exactly got all this information.

"And how do you know all of this?"

"Your brother has a bounty of W 72,000,000 on his head. We got a lead, and we know he's going to Venus, but what we don't know is where on Venus."

"I have no brother. Now, if you want to live it would be wise to follow me."

She says pointing out the snipers on the roof as she walks away.

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The moon shined through the ominous sky onto the two walking down a dark murky alleyway. They had been walking for an hour or two and Spike could see fatigue setting in on the young women.

"My apartment is just a couple of blocks from here. It's the window with the dark green curtains on the third floor, you see it?"

Nodding his head, he could already see what was coming.

"Hey bounty hunter, I know you see those lackeys of Ethan following us, so I'm going to tell you now, I don't die easily and if you leave me for dead I'll hunt your ass down and kill you."

She said with a weak smile, as she watched the sly smile appear on Spike's face. Nodding, they both quickly pulled out there guns, as if on cue, the "lackey's" appeared.

There was about twenty of them and the gun fire light up the damp alley way. Spattered blood stained the walls around them as the men dropped like flies. It a matter of minuets it was down to five.

"I'm out of ammo"

Anya said as she picked up a big crowbar, the laughter coming from two of the five men just made it easier for her to pick the ones she would kill first. The five men quickly attacked all at once, and the two that were laughing found themselves either with their face slammed against the wall or with a big pipe mark edge across their face. Spike had no problem taking down the other two, leaving the final man looking around in fear at the gruesome deaths of his comrades. The clattering sound of the crowbar hitting the ground made him jump, as his quivering could be plainly seen.

"You work for Ethan Nehru?"

Spike asks slamming the man's back against the blood stained wall.

"He won't talk, even as scared as he is, he won't talk."

Taking advantage of Spike's distraction the guy immediately pulls himself out of Spike's grip and pulls out a small yellow pill.

"Wait! No stop!"

Anya screams, but her screams where in vain as the guy swallows the pill without hesitation.

"Shit! That has a tracker in it along with the poison!"

She yells as she starts to run off. Following her closely Spike notices her change in speed, and without warning she collapses. Kneeling next to her he sees that her wounded arm has gotten worse, picking her up he heads to her apartment window.

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The sound of the medical tape ripping echoed throughout the apartment. The unconscious Anya lie lazily on the couch while Spike picks up the pieces of material off the floor, from where he torn her shirt to get to the wound. Letting her mind and body drift into a dark ether, Spike wastes no time and makes himself at home by raiding the fridge. After getting a nice hefty plate of food he sat down and begins to devour his meal. Half way through he catches a glimpse of a wooden box underneath the open widow he got in from. Grabbing it without a second thought Spike opens the anonymous box. Upon opening a haze of old stale dust creeps through the air, and reveals the mysteries of the box. Long forgotten pictures and letters occupied the box, but only one caught his eye. Picking it up, the shows a young girl around the age of nine in a simple flower dress and hat she held onto as a breeze past by her. The young girl's eyes gazed off to the right onto a young boy probably thirteen years of age. Her radiant smile didn't weaken in the presence of the grave expression that was the young boy, but her smile shined an innocent happiness big enough for the both of them.

"I guess I don't have to tell you to make yourself at home"

Anya said sarcastically, with a smile, but this smile compared to the girl in the photo, which obviously was her younger self, was somehow faded with hardships and the realization of the true nature of man. Her smile diminished as her eyes caught the old wooden box on the table up to the forgotten photo in his hand. But rather than react she dismissed it.

"I'm going to bed; we'll talk about your bounty later"

And with that, she left into the shadows of the room.

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All was calm and sound asleep as the darkness still consumed the sky. It was 4:30 a.m. and only the creaking sound of an opening door could be heard. A bare foot appeared attached to a slender leg, it seemed sleep claimed all but one, as Anya tip toed through the living room. Dwelling in a moments step as her eyes lay upon the lengthy exterior residing on the couch. A smile crept onto her features as she soon forgot all motives; resting against the window she decided to take in its view. The city below was dimly lit, contrasting off the murky sky.

"Let me ask you a question bounty hunter, if life is the only thing that matters, if it's so precious, then why must I kill one, to insure that others will be able to live this life that is so valued?"

Her voice soft and almost fragile, she fully knows this question was asked in vain because sleep has once again claimed everyone but her. Sighing she takes her eyes off the slumbering bounty hunter onto the night's sky.

"Spike."

Turning her head in a reaction to the voice she thought would never come.

"What?"

She asks still a little surprised that he was awake at this hours.

"My name, it's Spike"

He states not moving from his position on the couch.

"Spike, ok then. Well, Spike, did you know that couch folds out into a bed?"

She asks smiling widely at his mistake, as she keeps her gaze out the window.

"So was that a rhetorical question or do you want me to answer it?"

He questions with a sly smile on his face as he sits up.

"So you were awake"

She says turning to him, his form hidden away in the shadows of the room. With silence resting between them, the room seemed like it was filled with conversation, because both parties didn't seem the least bit annoyed by it.

"So, you're going to kill him"

"Yes. But not because of what you're thinking"

There was no pause or silence, there was never any when that question faced her, because she knew if she hesitated, she would hesitate when the time came.

"Then why are you?"

But for this question there was hesitation, because for this question it would take opening door she didn't care to open. Her gaze went to the window after she readjusted her self in a sitting position.

"I will kill my brother not because he tried to kill me, because back then if he wanted me dead all he had to do was ask it of me. The reason he will die by my hands and only my hands is because of one reason and only one……so that I can touch the grave of my parents again."

This answer surprised Spike in a way he thought it couldn't, and he found his self readjusting to the floor along with Anya.

"What about the guy from the earlier?"

He asked changing the subject, which to him was a very wise move as he could see the heat in her eyes from expressing her reason.

"Xander? Well, I knew his sister very well, and before she died she asked him to take care of me. It's funny because he's working as the right hand man for my brother, but I'd probably be dead if it weren't for him. He believes just as I do, that only I have the right to take my brother's life, and he would die to make sure that finished what I started."

A quaint smile softened her features as she thought about the few good memories of the past.

"Do you love him?

"Love? No, not for him. I have never known love anyway; love is a trait that my mind has not yet met."

Her gaze meets his and her smile softens again.

"But your eyes, they give you away. What was her name?"

His head leaned back on the arm of the couch as he prepared his self for a knowledge rarely given.

"…….Julia. I was never afraid, or feared anything. Didn't fear death, life, loss, nothing. Then I met her….and, it was like everything changed. I was afraid. She made me feel, fear, and….happy, I was truly happy."

"……..and then, she faded away."

"……yea….."

Her statement came right out of his head; they were almost one of a kind. They were the tragic figure standing in the rain mourning a loss. The thought of this made him want to laugh a little, but all feeling of laughter subsided, when he gazed upon her, graceful figure. The moonlight shined on her just right, and it made her glow with an absolute flawlessness. His mind snapped back to reality as she slowly stood.

"You'll need help"

He said stopping her in her tracks.

"What about the bounty?"

She asked without gazing back at him.

"It stands whether he's dead or alive……….. but that's not why"

"I understand"

She says glancing back at him with a quiet smile, as she continues to walk to the kitchen.

"Hey, do you want any-

Silence cut through her sentence as her eyes gazed out the window in the midst of closing the curtains.

"We got to go now!"

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i hope you like the chapter, i'll try and update soon. Plz Review:)

and tell me what you think.

-slim