Disclaimer Part I: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me. Aster and Dayandhi also belong to me. As unlikely as it would seem at first glance, this is a continuation story, not AU.

Inuyasha: A Fugitive Fairytale

Chapter Seven

Bebopping Along

It was heartbreaking really.

The dog demon looked so forlorn, so beaten. And slightly pathetic. What happened to the raging foul mouthed demon who nearly destroyed the spaceship? Inuyasha was not a pleasant sort of person, or demon rather, to be around. In fact, he was horribly rude and arrogant. He was quite unlikable most of the time.

Yet there he sat.

Back against the door.

On the other side Kagome would be sitting in that exact position. Close enough to touch if not for the metal door that separated them. She spoke to him softly, telling him all about her journey. Entertaining him with stories of the little fairies, Salt and Pepper. Talking about how close she felt she was to figuring out how to create a weapon out of her own energy. Whispering how much she missed him and that everything would be fine now that they were together. Comforting him, though she is the one that sits in a jail cell awaiting an execution. Promising that they would get home.

Together.

The girl was interesting. Very few people were comfortable with demons, or half demons in Inuyasha's case. Yet she trusted him more than any other. And he, in turn, was head over heels in love with her. People were such foolish creatures. They deny love, thereby denying themselves happiness. And why? Fear? Pride?

In less than five hours, the starship would arrive at the Court. Kagome would be taken into custody and tried. And most likely convicted. A conviction would almost certainly lead to death. In the best of all possibly solutions, Kagome could be taken back to her home and her memories of the hanyou and the rest of her friends would be wiped out, and the portal to their worlds destroyed. It was the solution that Aster was currently trying to negotiate. She was meeting resistance from the prosecutor, who seemed to dearly enjoy the prosecuting aspect of his job.

Ah, what the two needed was a guardian angel.

Or, at the very least, a friend with a dubious background and skills in thievery. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a key card.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance."

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"Perhaps I could be of assistance."

"What do you want, Fox?" growled the hanyou in annoyance.

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome in an admonishing tone.

Kurama leaned against the wall of the cell and dangled a small rectangle object. "I thought you would be interested in helping your young miko to escape."

Inuyasha shook his head violently. He stood to guard the door. No way was he letting that fox near enough to Kagome to tempt her to try the door again. Hearing her yelp of pain when she tried had nearly killed him. "No. When she touches the wall it zaps her. We tried."

"What's going on out there, Inuyasha?"

"I would caution against noise," the obnoxious fox demon said.

Kurama shook his head, then flipped the card and slid it into a tiny slot in the side of the door. Amazingly, the door opened. Who cared how? Inuyasha reached out and grabbed Kagome, yanking her to him.

"Are you okay?"

Quickly he used all his senses to try and gauge her health. They had taken her from him before he had a chance to see for himself that she was unharmed. Sniff sniff. No scent of blood. No visible bruising. She looked too tired though, there were dark circles under her eyes (which were slightly bloodshot). Of course, that was from the crying she denied she was doing while she was trapped in that tiny room.

With a relieved sigh, Inuyasha drew Kagome into his arms, letting himself surround her. It was good to have her back. It had been too close. He had been too close to losing her.

"I'm fine, Inuyasha." She didn't let him go. In fact, she held on to him tighter.

"Ahem."

"Go away, Fox."

"Pardon me," he said anyhow, causing Kagome to turn her face from where it was buried in Inuyasha's chest (the fox would pay for that) to look at the red haired jerk. "But it would be wise if we did not linger. I am certain that our hosts will soon notice that the lock on the cell has been deactivated."

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and with one swing had her in her place on his back.

"There is a small emergency vehicle in the cargo bay," Kurama said.

It irked him, but Inuyasha followed anyhow.

"What about Pepper?"

Kurama smiled at Kagome, which rankled Inuyasha's nerves to no end. There was no reason to be smiling at Kagome. No reason at all! Because then Kagome will just smile back, and he'd get the wrong idea and it would be the whole wolf thing all over again! The last thing he needed was some other demon like Kouga thinking they could claim Kagome as their mate.

"Pepper wished to serve as a distraction while we made our escape, Higurashi-san. She also felt that finding her friend, Salt, easier since they have ways to track the Tripper."

Dang it, Kagome was smiling at the fox.

"It's Kagome, please call me Kagome."

Now why does the fox get a smile when he messes up her name, and Inuyasha gets sat when he calls her other names? It just didn't seem very fair.

Disgruntled, Inuyasha followed Kurama as they raced through the ship. It was irksome that the fox was quick. Not as fast as he was, but still… He was pretty decent in a fight. Not as good as he was. But he was so… so…. So nice! And he always smelled of roses and smiled. Kagome liked that sort of thing. Inuyasha couldn't wait to get off the ship to get away from Kurama. The more distance he put between the fox and Kagome, the better he'd feel.

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It was hard to believe, but she was actually going to miss the little fairy. Pepper was sweet and cheerful (except for when they lost Salt). And she was sweet. Hopefully they would meet up again. Of course, it was a strange thing to wish since if they met up again it would mean that they met up with the two time police. All the same, Kagome would like to see Pepper again. She, at least, had a good disposition, unlike the snarling dog demon in front of her. What was his problem?

"I said 'NO'!"

"Please, Inuyasha, be reasonable."

"I AM being reasonable, fox! I ain't killin' ya am I?"

"I only wish to help the two of yo…"

"You mean help KAGOME!"

The miko shook her head. She didn't know what was the matter with Inuyasha. He was acting like Kurama was the enemy! But Kurama was the one who found their little emergency ship. And Kurama was the one who was most likely to have success in piloting the thing.

Something in Kurama's eyes flickered. And for just a moment, Kagome thought they were gold. She blinked and they were back to green. The stress must really be getting to her. And Inuyasha's absurd, and increasingly loud, accusations weren't helping.

"Just get in, Inuyasha."

Kurama smiled gently at her. "We are running out of time. Please, board the ship and let's be off while we still have an advantage. I am uncertain how long Pepper will be able to keep them from noticing that Kagome is no longer in her cell."

"I SAID…"

"SIT Boy!"

Whump.

It had to be done. Kurama looked a bit startled, but didn't ask any questions as he helped her drag the cursing dog demon into the small space craft.

Kurama quickly settled into the pilot's seat and began punching buttons after studying the buttons and other gizmos for a few seconds. Kagome was more worried about getting Inuyasha secured for take off. She'd seen those movies where the centrifugal force would slam people against the walls. She didn't want to risk having him getting a concussion, or breaking the walls of the ship with his hard head. Why couldn't he just let her tie him up in peace?

"Stop that! Quit it, Kagome!"

"Don't be a baby."

"Are you crazy? Get that thing off me!"

"INUYASHA!"

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"Just great."

Faye tore up the ticket in her hand. She knew she should pick up a new bad habit, gambling was expensive. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a winning streak. Now she had to decide if she wanted to head straight back to the Bebop, or wait until Spike and Jet cool off. After all, she was certain they found out about the missing woolongs by now.

But gambling was familiar. The world had changed so quickly all around her, gambling seemed to be the only thing that felt like she wasn't… lost. It gave her hope. Hope that she could finally pay off all those debts that would kill her once the creditors found her. How did she end up in such a mess?

"Oh leave it alone, Inuyasha! Kurama already apologized!"

Faye slid into the shadows as voices came closer. Quietly she drew her weapon. They seemed a bit too loud to be bounty hunters.

"I apologize about the fuel. I did not realize the gauge was reading empty."

"Stop apologizing, Kurama. It's over and done with. We've escaped so everything is fine, right?"

Escaped? Could they be convicts? Maybe her day was looking up. She could collect the bounty on these three and Spike and Jet would forget all about the few measly credits she borrowed.

Two of the three voices were male, they would be easy to take down. Men often were. Good thing their hormones more often than not did the thinking for them. The female was the wild card. Faye tucked her gun in the waistband at her back. Faye made sure that ample cleavage was showing before she stepped out of the shadows. The three stopped bickering when she appeared.

For a moment she was stunned. Which one was the female?

One had long silver hair with amber eyes. It was difficult to tell what the build was through all that fabric of his clothes. There were things on top of the head that almost looked like… ears? Cat ears? Dog ears maybe? She shook her head, the things people do to their bodies to be different. And was that a sword? Regardless of his pretty features, Faye was fairly certain that he was male. Another had long red hair with beautiful green eyes. The build was slim. The clothing was an interesting shade of pink. Or was it purple? Much too beautiful to be a boy. But the third one was definitely a girl. The short green skirt was the biggest clue. Maybe she misheard. Maybe two of them were female.

"Run out of fuel?"

The one with red hair smiled at her. "Yes. We have. Perhaps you could assist us."

No. That was no girl. She gave him her most sultry smile. "I could help."

"Really?" The girl nearly squealed. Really, these three were just too easy. The bounty was as good as hers.

"Of course. I can give you a ride on my ship. Anywhere in the galaxy you want to go."

"No. We don't need anyone's help."

Faye glanced at the silver haired one in genuine surprise. She wasn't about to let a surly oddity like him keep her away from her well deserved bounty. Shifting her stance slightly to show her body off to its best, she smiled sweetly at him.

"I just want to help."

"Feh." He turned from her and looked away. He almost looked… bored.

What?

It wasn't working?

Her charm wasn't working?

For one panicked moment Faye Valentine doubted herself. Flaunting her body and batting her eyes was the only way she had been able to survive. Flirting and fighting were her only two skills! He was watching her suspiciously. Then she noticed his protective stance. Ah, so he was protecting the girl. Well, that explained things. Relieved, she turned her attention to the pretty red head.

"My ship is quite large, another mouth to feed or two would be no big deal," she lied smoothly. They could barely make Jet's meals stretch between them. If Ein wasn't such a useful data dog, she was sure that the Welsh Corgi would be an entrée. "It is safer than hanging around a casino."

Surprisingly, it was the girl who answered. "Thank you so much for your offer. Give us a quick moment." The girl actually gave her a polite bow. How very strange.

Patiently she waited as the girl tried to convince her two companions that it would be safer traveling with the 'kind lady' than wandering around lost. The silver haired one was not quiet about his doubts. In fact, he exclaimed rather loudly that the one called Kurama could go with her and they would be rid of him. Interesting. Kurama suggested caution in dealing with her, but seemed to be leaning in the direction of following her onto the Bebop. In the end, the girl won out.

"Thank you for your kindness," the girl said with another bow. "We would really appreciate the lift."

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"I told you so."

"Oh, shut up, Inuyasha."

"You're way too gullible."

"Shut UP, Inuyasha!"

"Next you'll be inviting Naraku over to…"

"ONE MORE WORD, AND I SWEAR I'LL SAY 'IT'!"

The dog demon looked sullen for a moment. Then opened his mouth once more, making Kurama cringe. Really, when would he learn?

"I'm just sayin' I was right, is all."

"SIT BOY!"

Perhaps he actually enjoyed that particular punishment. Surely no one would be idiotic enough to continually make the girl angry when she all she had to do was say one little word to make his body crash into the ground. It would be intrusive to ask, though he was very curious.

Kurama was broken out of his thoughts as he heard someone zooming towards them. It was a child, though he could not tell if it was a girl or a boy. The child was making zooming sounds as it raced around the room with arms that seemed made of elastic outstretched. The red hair was wild and untamed. The child's feet were bare. A pudgy little dog was trailing slowly after.

"Hi!" the child chirped as he or she stopped in front of their cell. It was a bit unnerving not being able to tell.

"Hello," Kurama greeted cordially.

"Oh," said Kagome as she heard the new voice. "Hello there. What's your name?"

"I'm Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV. But you can call me Ed."

So, he was a boy after all.

"Are you a prisoner here too?" Kagome asked.

The boy laughed gaily. "Ed's not a prisoner. Ed's Ed!" He turned at pat the dog on the head. "And Ein is Ein! Spike-person is Spike-person and Jet-person is Jet-person and Faye-Faye is Faye-Faye! And you…" He laughed again, "You are bad-person!"

"Bad person?" Kagome gasped. "We're not bad people."

"You are bad persons like Faye-Faye told Spike-person when Spike-person yelled about the missing woolongs. But," Ed laughed, "You are bad persons with fun toys!"

Ed zoomed around the room as the three captives watched warily. It was obvious that there was something a little… off… about Ed. He zoomed along until he picked up the Tripper on the other side of the room and zoomed back. It was a long trip back since he felt the need to zoom around the room twice, arms stretched wide, before coming in for a landing back in front of the cell.

"Ein and Ed played with your toy. It was lots of fun. But only for a minute, then Ed got bored. Does bad-persons have more fun toys for Ed and Ein?"

Before they could comment, Ed zoomed away again, taking the Tripper with him.

"That was one weird little girl," Inuyasha said as he joined Kurama and Kagome at the bars of the cell.

"Girl?"

He touched his nose. "Yeah. But she's crazy or something." He turned to Kagome, continuing to ignore Kurama's presence. It was a little irritating, but Kurama tried his best to not let it bother him. "Tell me again why we don't just bust out of here? These bars ain't nothin'."

Kagome sighed as she walked over to the other side of the cell and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Because we don't know how to fly this ship. We don't know where we are or where we're going. We don't even know where to go if we did escape. So we're just going to… take a break. Get some sleep, you know? Then we'll get the Tripper back and figure out how to get out of here." Her voice softened, as it so often did when she spoke to the dog demon. "So just relax for a bit, Inuyasha."

Kurama stood at the bars and looked at the door. He listened as the dog demon grumbled then took his place beside the miko. Ed was… different, but not necessarily crazy. He had watched as she flipped open the Tripper and tapped onto it so quickly. Perhaps she was one of those unique individuals who were so incredibly smart that they existed in their own type of world, someone who had difficulties conforming to the normal world. She seemed to really know what she was doing. Though oddly enough, she was asking the little dog questions, and seemingly expecting an answer! And even odder, it seemed to understand exactly what she was saying.

He turned to share his thoughts with Inuyasha and Kagome. But the girl was already sound asleep, and Inuyasha was watching her with such a gentle look in his eyes. Kurama's heart clenched at the sight, and he quickly turned away. It felt wrong to intrude on such a private moment. Still, it wasn't as if he had anywhere to go to give them privacy…

"Think the kid can really use it?"

Kurama's eyebrows rose. He had never heard Inuyasha's voice that soft before. Obviously he was trying to not disturb Kagome. A glance showed that the hanyou was indeed addressing him.

"So it would appear."

There was a moment of silence. Then the rustle of fabric told Kurama that Inuyasha was moving. He gave the silver haired man a smile.

"Shippo has been with us a long time. He's part of the pack." Inuyasha turned his head to glare at Kurama, which wasn't all that surprising. "Just because she has a soft spot for the kit doesn't mean that she has a thing for fox demons."

Honestly. It took all his willpower to not roll his eyes. Instead he smiled. "I'm sure you're right."

That did not seem to alleviate any of the hanyou's anger. But before he could open his mouth to begin another tirade, a sound caused him to stop and twitch his ears.

"They're your problem! Deal with it!"

As one, the two turned towards the door where a male voice was shouting. Then they heard Faye shouting in return.

"MY problem?"

"You brought 'em on board, you get rid of them! We can barely feed the five of us, much less three more!"

"What do you want me to do? Toss them out the airlock?"

Kagome was awake and looked a little panicked. She jumped to her feet and went to stand with them. Kurama was going to make a comforting speech, but Inuyasha was suddenly blocking her, looking as if he was planning on going into battle. The fox demon sincerely hoped not. It would only serve to complicate matters.

Faye stalks into the room looking livid.

"You have NO idea what it is like living with such an arrogant and temperamental man," she tells Kagome.

At least that seemed to erase all traces of fear from the miko.

"Oh yeah?"

Faye mumbled about good for nothing men as she searched the room for a cigarette.

"Smoking really isn't good for you," Kagome said.

"I'm in a bad mood, girl. Don't make it worse." She lit the cigarette. "After sleeping for fifty years and dealing with these morons, I think I deserve a smoke."

"Sleeping for fifty years?" Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, but he was too busy watching Faye suspiciously to notice.

Faye took a drag on the cigarette, blew it out and sighed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, kid."

Kagome crossed her arms, her lips quirked into an amused smile. "Oh, I bet I'd be pretty open minded."

Faye didn't answer. Instead she paced the room and smoked. Then occasionally checked her weapon, which only served to raise the dog demon's hackles.

"DID YOU GET RID OF THEM YET?" yelled the male voice.

With her foot, Faye kicked the door shut as hard as she could. Her clothing suggested she was a... well, for lack of a better term, woman of the world. Her weapon, and it was obvious that she could use it, spoke of being tough. But Kurama saw something in her eyes that made him suspect that hiding behind that exterior was a lost soul.

"So," Kagome asked, "What's his problem?"

"Besides being obsessed with bringing to justice the man who murdered the love of his life? Who knows?" She glared angrily at the door where they all hear the man's now muted complaints.

"Small world." Kagome glared at Inuyasha before "It must be difficult being in love with a man who can't love you back since he's still obs..."

"Love? Spike?" Faye spun around quickly, her eyes wide with shock. "Are you crazy? I don't love that jerk!"

"Hey! He's trying to bring her murderer to justice!" Inuyasha defended.

"She's dead, Inuyasha. Dead! And she's still running his life! How is he supposed to ever be able to find love again if he doesn't move passed that?"

What happened? Only moments ago Kagome was practically cuddling up next to the hanyou. Their eyes had been gentle and filled with love and caring. Now the miko was stiff, with hands clenched, obviously trying to keep her temper. Inuyasha was in complete defensive mode.

"She was killed, Kagome! Murdered in cold blood! He just wants to see her avenged!"

"What do you mean LOVE?" Faye nearly screeched, yet was still ignored. Kurama was amused at the pitch her voice reached. Inuyasha's ear twitched in her direction, but he never took his scowl away from Kagome.

"At the expense of taking over his life? If she loved him, she wouldn't want him to be miserable all the time. She'd want him to be happy. She'd WANT him to love again."

"After she's avenged! Then he'll be free. THEN he can be in love again."

"What if she's never avenged, Inuyasha? What if that never happens? Is he going to never have love in his life again? Is that what she would really want?"

Fay leaned against the wall nearest to Kurama and spoke to him in a low voice. "They aren't talking about me anymore, are they?"

Kurama smiled. "I am unsure if they were ever speaking of your situation."

"Is she supposed to wait forever for his heart to be free, Inuyasha? How fair is that?" She was nearly shouting and perilously close to tears. Kurama was afraid that he was going to have to step in. Fortunately, Inuyasha's eyes softened, his posture relaxed, and he moved to block her from their view.

"Not forever, Kagome. Just... just a little bit longer. Please."

Suddenly if felt as if he were intruding on a private conversation. So Kurama turned to Faye, who was watching the scene with a posture that said she couldn't care less, but eyes that were longing. Kurama decided that their welcome was just about worn out, so it was time for them to be moving on. He smiled warmly at their captor.

"Pardon me," he said, "But perhaps I have a solution to your problem?"

She was still watching the couple as they talked in low tones. "Hmm?"

"Your acquaintance seems to wish for us to quickly depart, and we would also like to be on our way. Your companion, Edward, hold the solution in her hands."

Faye blinked, then turned her eyes onto Kurama. "Oh yeah?"

"She holds a device that belongs to us, one that would let us leave immediately."

"How?"

Kurama held his smile in place. "I am unsure of the mechanics, but it seems to transport us from one place to the next. Edward seems to have figured out how it works. If she could explain it to us, then we will be on our way."

Faye looked at them suspiciously, then shrugged and yelled for Edward. She moved away from the wall to open the door and yelled again. Kurama looked over towards Kagome and Inuyasha, and saw the young miko hugging him. Inuyasha's arms were around her, practically hiding her from view. He was looking over at Kurama with a look that was both smug and warning. In fact, he looked as if he expecting to be challenged. How very strange. Anyone around the two for more than ten minutes would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were fated to belong together. He loved her and she loved him. Why in the world would he expect that to be challenged?

Finally zooming sounds could be heard, and Edward flew back into the room.

"Hey, Ed. These guys say you have something of theirs."

"Pretty shiny! Lots of buttons! Look, Faye-Faye!"

"Yeah, just give it back to them."

Edward looked sad for a very brief moment. Then she tossed the Tripper to Kurama before spinning in a circle.

"That's ok. Another one is coming. I'll play with that one."

"Another one?" asked Kurama.

Edward grinned at him. "Sure! Ein says the blinky dot means another one is on its way!"

"Blinky dot?" Kurama examined the screen. And sure enough, there was a dot beginning to blink faintly. Then he blinked. "Ein said? The dog?"

"Ein is smart!"

Just then, the little corgi waddled into the room. Kurama stared at the dog, and the dog stared back. Once more, he felt as if he was being watched carefully, as if he were going to challenge him. There were stranger things in the world, so he just accepted it.

"Thank you," he told the dog. "Now, could you be so kind as to explain how it works?"

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They stole her ship.

STOLE!

It wasn't very smart to add theft of a space craft to her list of criminal offenses. If she didn't know any better, she would almost suspect that Pepper spilled her hot cocoa on the control panel on purpose. But that's just silly. Pepper was too cute and sweet to do anything like that. Still, it was very bad timing. The short made it impossible to tell that the hatch had been opened. The three could have been missing for minutes or hours before being found out.

Then her weapon had been misplaced. The doors shorted out. And the communicators stopped working. Well, the warranty must be going out on the ship. Maybe they'll give her a new one when she gets back.

Loud cursing greeting her as she materialized on the deck of the ship harboring the criminals. She was used to guns being drawn on her, but was a little worried about Pepper. Quickly she snagged the little fairy out of the air and tossed her to Dayan, as she raised her own weapon.

"What's going on?"

Another person entered the room. Through the open door she saw Kagome look up and wave to her, right before they blinked out. She sighed. The fates were against her. They didn't even have time to read Kagome her rights!

"Where did they go?"

"Who?" asked the woman.

"Kagome Higurashi. She's a wanted fugitive."

The woman looked surprised, then shot the two men a smug look. "I TOLD you so!"

"What is she wanted for?" asked the man with startling green hair that seemed to defy gravity. It was an interesting color of green. Aster wondered if she would be able to recreate it for her own hair. "How much is the reward?"

"Reward?" Aster turned her attention away from his hair. "Kagome is wanted for crimes against time."

"Against... time?"

Aster quickly weaved the spell to freeze the crew and scanned them. She saw their future before Kagome, and she compared it to the future after their meeting with Kagome. The corners of her mouth drew down in a frown.

Edward. Their existence was half forgotten by the time they disappeared. Her life remained unaffected.

Jet. Never met the suspect. His life remained unaffected.

Faye. She would still point her gun at Spike when he tries to leave. But Kagome's words affected her, even if they were not actually about her own feelings. So in a final push of desperation, she admits that she does love Spike to give him a reason to stay. To live for.

Spike. He would see Faye as a woman, and as someone who could love him. He steps forward and he kisses her.

Their interlude is brief, but passionate.

However, their story has the same ending. Nothing changed. Spike could not give up his quest for vengeance, and Faye could not give him reason enough to change his mind. She had briefly hoped that she would have at least been gifted with a child so that she could keep a piece of him with her, but even that was denied her. Her fifty years of suspended animation had taken a toll on her system, and she would never bear a child.

"I... I don't know what to do, Dayan," she whispered.

Pepper landed lightly on her shoulder, peering up into her face. The little fairy patted her cheek in a comforting manner. Dayan placed his hand on her other shoulder. It was warm and comforting, but it did not give her the answer she needed.

"You'll do the right thing, Aster."

Her lip trembled, despite her strict order for it to stay firm. She scanned Faye's future once more, for it seemed that she alone would be most affected by Kagome's visit. She had lived through so much. Suffered so much. Already she was desperately searching for memories that she had lost. Would erasing a few more memories do any damage? Could she accidentally bring forth memories that were not meant to yet be recalled? Or worse yet, what if she accidentally permanently deleted them?

Aster closed her eyes. The memory of their time together, though, would be cherished... by both of them. A small spark of happiness in such a hard and violent world. But wouldn't it be kinder to erase her memories? Their paths in life did not change, but at least Faye would be spared some heart ache in the aftermath.

"I'm not sure I know what the right thing is anymore."

It wasn't a decision she wanted to make. Her orders were clear, but her heart ached so much. When had things become so difficult? When did right and wrong seem so… muddied? But her job wasn't to provide people with happy endings. Her job was to use her gifts to make sure that time wasn't altered from the path it was supposed to take. That was her job.

Slowly opening her eyes, Aster began weaving a spell.

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Disclaimer Part II: Cowboy Bebop was written by Keiko Nobumoto, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar characters belong to Kadokawa Shoten, Yu-Gi-Oh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi, and Yu Yu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

My list of disclaimers continues to grow.

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Even though I knew the direction I wanted it to go, it still only plodded along. Not exactly writers block, but something similar. Possibly because I'm not as comfortable writing Cowboy Bebop. I ended up working on chapters to other stories until I could get this one working.