Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Trigun, nor the cities, terrain, animals, or any other element of the storyline and setting of the Trigun series.
Chapter 1: The Assignment
"Hiryuu the Flame: wanted dead or alive. Reward: $$2 000 000 000," Kristyn Paine read the memo aloud. "You're job as part of the Bernardelli Insurance Society is to help prevent any damage that this outlaw causes, much the same way as Meryl Strife and Milly Thompson oversaw the actions of Vash the Stampede. You will be partnered with Myra Thompson."
Myra sat opposite her in the small cubicle. The two girls got up and looked at each other.
"Well, it looks like we're going out on an assignment like Meryl and Milly!" Myra said cheerily. She wondered if they would have the same success that Meryl and Milly had had with Vash.
"Let's get going," Kristyn said. "They say he last struck in March so it looks like that's where we're going to start."
Myra pulled the gun Milly had given her over her shoulder and Kristyn put the strap of her metallic suitcase over her shoulder. Within fifteen minutes the two of them were on their way to rent a pair of thomases for the trip to March.
They stood outside waiting for the clerk to get their rides. Myra was wearing a light blue jacket that came down to her knees and revealed her white blouse and a blue shoulder strap she had fashioned for the gun under her coat. On any other woman the jacket would be a dress. Her long golden brown hair halted at the brown leather belt fastened around her light green shorts. Kristyn came up to Myra's elbow. She was wearing what appeared to be a pale grey trench coat that almost covered her khaki cargo pants completely. Her long black hair hung in a braid that dangled a foot above the ground. Her impatient foot was tapping in her white boot. The attendant seemed to be taking her precious time.
"Come, on already," Kristyn said impatiently. "What the heck is taking that guy so long!"
Myra smiled absent-mindedly looking at the desert to the southeast. She had the feeling that they were going to be on a wild adventure. The entire desert seemed to open to the many possibilities. In a few days they would be in March hunting down this Hiryuu character until they found him. According to the legends he had burned down the town of February fourty years ago. Not a single thing wasn't turned to ashes. But the most peculiar thing was that even one of the metal plants and the clay houses had been reduced to nothing. No one had survived it but some people traveling to and from the city said that the fire was so big and bright that people closer to the town got burns from the intensity of the heat when they were still over 200 yards from the city. They said it looked as though there were three suns setting that evening. Everywhere Hiryuu the Flame attacked the place he attacked burned down. In February, the entire city burned down when the flames erupted very quickly from the north side of the town right next to one of the plants which eventually burned down as well. In March only seven or eight buildings burned down but some said that they saw a monstrous beast burst out of one of the burning buildings on fire. The flames engulfed it and it disappeared.
"Will you hurry up already" Kristyn screamed into the wide door the attendant had disappeared through.
"Shouting isn't really that necessary," Myra said, as Kristyn gave her a very frightening look.
"I … don't … like … waiting!" the devilish looking Kristyn said.
"Wow. You know, you should really try and control your temper, Kristyn! You're not going to get anywhere with that kind of behaviour," Myra said politely.
"Myra, I … I hate when you're right," she said loosing some of her steam.
The attendant came out and showed the two thomases that they were renting. Myra paid the fare and led it to the road.
"Come on, Myra it's time to go," Kristyn said.
"Are you sure we can make it all the way to March on these things?" Myra said as she mounted the thomas, which groaned at her.
"It's about all we can afford for right now, Myra. We don't want to blow our budget on getting to March," Kristyn said, all too knowledgeably. "But we will have to stop in April on the way to get some sleep tonight."
"Vash and Millie went through April!" Kyra said cheerfully.
The two girls rode out of town toward April. The ride was quiet, other than occasional moan of the running thomases or their soft footfalls in the sand, but it was also steaming hot. Myra was comfortably lying down against the thomas's neck and occasionally could be heard snoring into the afternoon. Kristyn couldn't stand the bouncing of the running animal and at about two o'clock in the afternoon she had to stop. Myra woke at the halting of her own thomas.
"Why are we stopping, Kristyn?" Myra said, yawning.
"Do you want some lunch or do you just want to sleep the day away on that stupid animal?" Kristyn said, scowling at her own thomas. She pulled two cups of ramen and a water canteen out of her steel suitcase. She poured the water into the cup and handed one to Myra who looked down at the cold ramen with confusion.
"Aren't we going to heat them up first?" she said reluctantly.
"Yes, Myra, why don't I just whip a stove out of thin air and heat up some water!" she replied sarcastically.
Kristyn started at her ramen with chopsticks she pulled out of her case. Myra just looked at hers.
"My feet hurt, this sand is as hot as a stove," she said sitting back up on the thomas.
"Great idea, Kristyn!" Myra said cheerfully, setting her cup of ramen on the hot sand. Kristyn just looked at her then continued to eat her own.
After a few minutes Myra picked up her cup and tested the water.
"That's better," she said, slurping down the noodles. Kristyn sat up properly on her thomas and gestured to go. Myra got up and started riding behind her humming softly. Kristyn was about ready to crack when Myra broke off.
"This is like an adventure!" she piped. Kristyn felt herself slumping in her saddle and thought to herself this is the worst assignment I've ever taken from the boss. Myra continued with her humming and Kristyn felt like she was either going to die from bobbing up and down, heat stroke, or Myra's humming. Or maybe a combination of the three.
----
The man in black walked into the saloon. Some of the regulars walked up behind him. He turned and looked the man behind him in the eye. The man was going to say something smart to the newcomer when he noticed his eyes. His eyes were red, with a slit for a pupil. The men just stared at each other.
"Something wrong?" the man with the freaky eyes said.
"No, I just…" the man started to say. "Welcome to the April Saloon, kid."
The man turned around and sat back down with his buddies.
"That kid ain't human!" he whispered to the other drunkards at the table.
"Oh, c'mon, Jim. You been dringin' too friggin' much whisgey," one of the drunkards said, obviously far more drunk than Jim. "I'll go chegg 'im out."
The very drunk man got up and swayed dangerously as he made his way to the seat next to the man at the bar. He looked at the kid, stared at him.
"You want to see me, too," the man said in a young voice, looking directly at the drunkard, who suddenly fell back out of the chair.
"Holy shit! Whad da hell did you do ta your eyes?" he said steadying himself on the fixed bar stool. "Looks like you stole 'em from a friggin' devil!"
"I met the devil once," the kid said. "His eyes were like black holes with a dark glowing purple pupil."
By now more than half the bar was staring at the kid at the bar.
"Double shot of whiskey with a twist," the kid said. The bartender loaded a shot glass and put the lemon twist in it, not wanting to argue with the kid. "Thanks," he said throwing the twist out and drinking the shot like it was hot tea.
One of the other drunkards walked over to the kid.
"You don't walk into a bar, and order whiskey with a lemon and drink it like a sissy. You want a shot ya drink like a man. Triple shot, Murray."
He took the whiskey down faster than most.
"You never held it long enough to get any flavor," the kid said with a smile as he sipped the whiskey and let it sit in his mouth for fifteen seconds before swallowing.
"Let's see you do it with a whole shot!" the drunk man said expecting the kid to choke.
"Give me a half glass a the strongest stuff you have," the kid said. The barman looked at the kid like he was crazy.
"It'll cost ya," the barman said.
The kid lay one hundred double dollars on the bar. The barman gladly took the bills and prepared a half glass of a very strong whiskey. The barman watched the kid take the glass. He lifted it to his lips and poured half of it into his mouth without swallowing it. After a few minutes he started gargling the whiskey then swallowed a few minutes later. The kid held the glass to the drunkard.
"And you?"
The drunkard sneered at the kid and started to drink the whiskey, but quickly spit it out leaving the glass barely any lower than it was.
The kid got up to leave but the drunkard caught him by the corner of his black jacket.
"Just where do you think you're goin' punk? No one makes a fool of George 'Gripper' and get's away with it!"
The kid pulled some of the long black hair out of his face with his free hand and turned to face the drunkard. Gripper grabbed the kid around the neck with one hand.
"You know why they call me 'Gripper'?" the man said holding the kid in the air against a pillar squeezing the kid's neck hard enough to snap it like a twig.
"I don't know. Why?" the kid asked as though he didn't have anything restricting his air supply. Gripper squeezed harder.
"George you're going to kill him! The barman yelled.
"Actually, I'm quite fine."
Everyone looked at the kid, suddenly. Gripper was groaning with the effort to snap the kid's neck. The kid looked down at him and his grip weakened from fatigue. The kid brushed some of his black hair out of his face again. Then suddenly his arm flew to Gripper's neck and Gripper fell to the ground trying to pry the kid off. Eventually the kid let go and George 'Gripper' was out cold.
"Anyone else?" the kid said in a very calm yet petrifying tone. "Good."