Disclaimer: I do NOT own Cowboy Bebop…

Angel's Punishment

Chapter 4: Four is bad luck…

2074, Kenji Morimoto's Estate- Venus

A man in his forties was sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor of his Japanese style big house; he was wearing black Hakama pants and a crimson tank top that half-revealed the shape of a big dragon tattoo on his back. His long black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail at the base of his head; and his ice blue eyes were fixed on studying the rhythmic movements of the bamboo fountain in the small lake in the garden.

He was thinking over the events of the morning, he had been in his private bathroom doing what he was used to doing after he had woken up, since he was a child: washing his face, brushing his teeth and combing his long hair. But that morning something had gone wrong… the comb had broken in his hand. For everyone else that event would have been meaningless, just an annoyance; but to Kenji it had been a sign, a sign of bad luck, and even if he was a heartless killer, nothing could change the attachment to his Japanese origins as well as his insane belief in superstitions.

Moreover he noticed that it was the fourth day of the month and, as the tradition wanted, that was a day of bad luck. Sometimes he told himself that this obsession was just a weakness he needed to eliminate, he knew that this fixation was influencing his actions as well as his whole life, but he couldn't give it up, it was something he had in his blood.

"Something bothering you, sir?" one of the guards asked noticing the pensive state of his boss

"I just have a bad feeling, Toshihiro…"

"Because it's the fourth?"

"Because it's the fourth…" he answered confirming the guard's intuition

"Do you want me to increase the number of men on the perimeter?"

"In all my life I learned lots of things… one of them is that no matter how many men you have in your defense, nothing can stop Fate…"

"As you wish, sir…"

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2074, Aphrodite Motel – Venus

'There are just two targets between me and freedom, now… just two more cowards to eliminate and then it will be all over…'

Faye was standing opposite the mirror in the small bathroom of her motel room; she had just come out of the shower and was examining her reflection. Her physical appearance hadn't changed so much, except for her now longer hair her body was still the same; maybe she was even more in shape than three years before, result of the daily hours of training she had to do…

She felt goose bumps rise all over her skin, partly because of the chilly air of the bathroom, partly because of the tension that was building up in her mind and body. Her stomach was upset and she was sure that if she ate something she would throw up in no time, she was used to those symptoms, they appeared every time she was going to kill somebody on her list. She didn't understand why after three years it felt as if she was at her first murder, but on the other hand it kind of reassured her, it reminded her that after all she was just human, a person with feelings, regrets and hopes that couldn't be completely ignored.

Sometimes she was even scared of herself, of what she had became in the past few years, and now more than ever she was seriously afraid of what would become of her after she would be finished with avenging her lost love. It frightened her knowing that after killing those last two people on her list her life would have been empty, her whole existence would lose its only goal. Faye wasn't used to that… living without a purpose, a point of arrival. Before having her memories back, her greatest target was to recover from her amnesia and get back to where she belonged… she wanted to find out who she really was and that had been the reason that had driven her actions.

Similarly, in the last three years her decisions and actions had been dictated by her longing for revenge, her primary target had been provoking suffering to those who had taken Spike away from her. There wasn't a moment in her days when she wouldn't be thinking about how to kill her next victim, she spent hours scheming her attacks, choosing the most appropriate disguise for the different occasions, and planning for the getaways… she knew she was good, and the satisfaction, that their fear for 'Nemesis' gave her, was beyond comparison.

That had been her goal: making them feel helpless, weak and impotent… she wanted them to experience what she had felt the moment she had came to know that Spike was dead. But now that she was so near to end her work, she couldn't help but ask herself what she was going to do next? What would have been of her life when all the reasons that made her existence worthwhile would be gone?

Faye pressed her forehead against the glass surface of the mirror, her hands supporting her weight on the sink; she let out a sigh misting the mirror and blurring her reflection on it. Her emerald eyes were the only part of her face she could still see clearly, watching deeply into them she could see they were different, something had changed in them from when she was just a young girl, they had lost their light, they had lost their naiveté. Those deep green eyes had seen so much blood, wounds and violence in the last few years, so many lives passed away under their cold gaze, so many tears had been shed by them; and countless times their owner had hoped that those eyes were blind…

The dark-haired beauty closed her eyelids and breathed in deep, the steamy hair of the bathroom felt heavy as it passed through her nostrils to the lungs, it made her felt dizzy and she decided it was time to get out and take a breath of fresh hair, to clear not only her lungs but also her mind. Faye closed the bath door behind her and went to get dressed in the small room she had spent her night in. She put on a short black pleated skirt and a bright green V-necked t-shirt, she gathered up her long dark purple hair and put on a blonde wig. Faye looked at herself in he mirror above the dresser, the fake straight blonde hair reached her middle back, the same length of her real hair, and the bangs almost covered her eyes but it wasn't a problem for her, she put her favorite bloody red lipstick on her lips and black eyeliner on her eyes.

She sat on the single bed and looked at the corner of the room where all her shoes were; she was unsure on what pair to choose… the black high-heeled stilettos, or the knee-high black boots she usually wore for riding. The first ones were elegant and with years of practice she could say they were better than any sneakers for running away from any dangerous situations; and the second ones weren't exactly the most fashionable shoes, but surely the only ones she could wear for riding a motorbike. She picked out the boots and put them on. The leather thigh holster was the next thing she wore, her Glock was always essential for her safety… even if she was quite good with the other weapon she always took with her… the katana.

Faye loathed that sword, it was the reminder of what she had lost, the instrument who had taken the life of the one person she was most attached to, but the thing she hated the most about that sword was that it had once been owned by Vicious. She didn't know much about Spike's past life in the syndicate, and she had seen the silver haired man just once… but it had been enough to understand what kind of person he was… hell, referring to him as a person was even too much, he was the ghost of a person, a damned soul who had been betrayed by the one he loved the most, deprived of that part of his heart that was able to feel emotions, just to have it replaced with pain, rage and hate.

Julia…

It had been all her fault, she should have chosen between Spike and Vicious… but she couldn't, she hadn't wanted to lose either of them… and as they say: grasp all, lose all… she had wanted them all for herself, and she ended up with losing the both of them… at the same time. The blonde angel had ruined so many lives she wouldn't even imagine for being such an egoistic bitch… thank God in the end somebody had finally shot her; Faye couldn't even remember how many times she had regretted not having done it herself when she had met the blue-eyed lady for the first time.

The ex-bounty huntress shook her head, almost like she wanted to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts that were going through her mind; she put on her black leather jacket and after taking up the katana she closed the door of her room, and left the motel determined to find a cab that would took her to the next man on her list: Kenji Morimoto.

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"Toshihiro?" Kenji called his personal bodyguard.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to do something for me…" his voice was full of solemnity.

"Anything, sir."

"A few weeks ago I got in touch with a person who claims to be in possession of Vicious' katana… you know I've been looking for that sword since when it was stolen three years ago, that person is coming here today so I can see the sword…"

"Do you want me to search him for guns?" the guard asked not letting his chief finish the speech.

"On the contrary, Toshihiro… I want you and all the others to stay out of this; it's something I need to do on my own."

"But if you don't know who he is, how can you trust him?" Toshihiro sounded almost worried.

"That's not the point, I know perfectly who she is… but she doesn't know I know…"

'She?'

"Sir, is- is she Nemesis?" the name felt almost heavy as his tongue and lips spelled it, they rarely mentioned the infamous female assassin; it was a taboo topic: nobody talked about it, but it was constantly on everybody's minds. A chill ran down his back as Kenji nodded his reply.

"But how did you know it is her?"

"Only Vicious' sword has such a flawless and powerful blade, I know it well and only his katana could have killed those men with that precision… Nemesis is using his sword, but she would never imagine this meeting is a trap; she has probably seen my advertisement on the web and agreed to meet me just after she saw my name on her death-list… she believes she will catch me by surprise, but it's her turn to be surprised" he explained.

"You've seen what has happened to every man or woman who has met her… she's a demon."

"No, she's just an inexpert little girl who likes to play samurai… I don't know why she's doing what she does, but I plan to find it out as soon as I get her… but I don't want any help in catching her, I don't need it! If she beats me it'll mean I have underestimated her skills, shame on me… but, please, stay out of this" Toshihiro had known his boss since forever, and he had never seen him lose his coolness, he'd never seen him beg; but as he looked into his blue eyes he could tell that for the first time Kenji Morimoto was pleading.

"It will be done, Morimoto-sensei…"

"Arigato…" was his sincere reply "I just hope that for once my superstitions are wrong…"

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"We're here, madam…" the taxi driver woke Faye from her reverie; Venus always made her feel a little lightheaded, and not only due to its characteristic plants, famous for being the cause of Venus' disease; but mostly because it was where he was buried, she went to Gaia-city every two weeks to lay some flowers on his grave, and she was grateful that Jet had decided not to bury him on Tharsis-city… it would have been too much even for her.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked in a surprisingly polite tone for the rude woman she used to be in the golden days on the Bebop.

"Two thousand Woolongs, miss…" she handled him the money and got out of the cab. Faye stared at the massive wooden gate before her, her hand gripping possessively onto the katana she held in her grasp; she took a few steps forward and reached the doorbell. A deep male voice answered her, questioning about her identity.

"It's Daryl Evans… I'm here for the sword" she responded with a half-truth. The gate opened in front of her letting her eyes gaze upon the amazing garden it hid; as she walked towards the entrance she also noticed with slight surprise that there weren't many guards.

'It will be easier for me to get away…" she said to herself letting a small smile appear on her lips.

The emerald-eyed woman knocked twice on the wooden surface of the door and waited for someone to answer; what she didn't expect was that Morimoto would answer in person.

"Finally we meet, Miss Evans… I'm Kenji Morimoto" he said courteously looking at her with gentle sapphire eyes.

"Nice to meet you, too Morimoto-san…"

"May we get in... ladies first" Faye entered in the house, it was a beautiful place, full of expensive typical Japanese furniture and objects; there were also lots of weapons on the walls, probably centuries old memorabilia that had cost him a fortune.

He led her to his office and closed the door behind them, Faye was getting more and more suspicious as the time passed, she didn't see any armed men in the house, something kind of strange for an ex-Syndicate member who probably had lots more than a single enemy. She was staring at the door lost in thought when his voice interrupted her wondering. The ex- bounty huntress eyes fixed on his turned figure as he spoke to her.

"So, what does a beautiful woman like you do with such a dangerous sword, Miss Evans?" Kenji faced her, an arrogant smirk placed on his lips before he continued on.

"…or should I call you Nemesis?"

A/N: sorry for the cliffhanger… I know I promised there would be a fight, but I had to split up the chap in two… next chap is almost done, I'll send it to my beta-reader as soon as possible, till then we'll have to wait…

And THANKS for the fantastic reviews! You make my life worthwhile … so keep on reviewing!