/--/ She swayed slightly, her knees becoming weak. "Adeline.." Her uncle coaxed to her, his gruff voice as soothing as possible. "Adeline, are you alright?" He asked, watching his last niece fall to her knees as tears were beginning to surge through her eyelids. "Mom.. Dad.. Pops.. Everyone.. They're gone, aren't they Uncle?.. Aren't they..?" Sorrow filled her voice, as hatred flared within her eyes. Her beautiful, yet eerie, opaque eyes.. Adeline's long red hair draped over her form, hiding her shivering body from her uncle's view. ' ' He smiled sadly, remembering the other twins brilliant luminescent blue eyes.. And the way her smile had sparkled, brightening anyone's day who was lucky enough to see it. And her hair.. Oh how her hair had been the most wondrous of chestnut brown.. Although she was the light in the darkness compared to her sister Adelina, there was always something a bit She had been driven mad with visions of ominous things.. She was constantly screaming about a 'blue light' overtaking her and her sibling, how she had loved Adeline.. Soon after that she had drowned in her own tub.. And after this had happened, a good number of the city had shunned Adeline.. Unanimously placing the blame on her shoulders. Shaking his head of these thoughts, Razen stood up after patting the lost child on her back softly. She started slightly, as if waking up from a trance. Deliberately she wiped away her tears, and sat cross-legged on the rugged terrain beneath her. "Uncle.." She hesitated, looking up at him. Arching an eyebrow, as if urging her on, she whispered: "Do you have Daddy's sword?.." Astonished, he stared down at her. ' "Do you?" She pleaded, her eyes holding a little emotion now. She was staring at him, as if looking into his soul. He imagined that she had a pretty good idea of where it was already, although he wasn't quite sure if he really wanted to know what she intended to use it for. "The wakizashi? With the black hilt and crimson pommel?" He asked finally, stroking what few whiskers that still graced his old weathered chin. His brownish grey hair was short and stubbly, identical to his small mustache. "Aye, Adeline. I have it. But, why would God's gracious child want such a thing? You know your father taught you it wasn't a toy.." His eyes flicked to her body suspiciously, as if trying to read her intentions through her now emotionless eyes. Sighing when he found no answers, he waited for her to speak. "Because.. I want.. I'm going to go visit my cousin in Demitirihi.. Silvia, remember her?" Her eyes held innocence as she smiled up at the man, thoroughly confusing him. "I'm going to need it for protection if I'm to go along, right? Father always said there were bad people.. The people who wander alone.." "I could just take you there myself.." He started before he was cut off by the younger girls' enthusiasm. "No! I want to go there myself, although I'll need a few double-dollars.." She sighed, and stood before him, dusting off the black dress that cloaked her small (seemingly starving) body. "So, will you help me?" She grinned innocently at him, her childish nature convincing him that she wasn't intending on going after the $$60,000,000 man. "Aye, I'll lend you money Adelina.. But, I want the wakizashi back in due time. Understood?" She smiled innocently at his words and nodded, although the demon that had now wedged itself into her once pure heart was threatening to over-run her emotions with hatred. '
Momentarily stunned, a fifteen-year-old girl who had grown up in the lustrous Augusta, stood before the rubble that resembled her home city. Everything had been destroyed, and even the Fifth Moon had gained a gaping hole through it's side.. It seemed to remind everyone of their losses..
/--/
The once innocent eyes flickered with a twisted hatred that could only be gained over years of plotting her revenge. Her mouth curved into a smile that matched her eyes while they began to wander across the room. Stealthily hidden in the shadows, she swayed from foot to foot, as if ready to pounce upon her prey.
If the man she had been seeking for the previous three years of her life had walked into the room, she doubted he would be able see her. Sighing with boredom, she leapt across the bed, standing with her back against the wall. 'Patience was never really my thing anyways..' she told herself, letting her eyes wander across the room to the window once again.
Those three years that had passed so quickly for her as she had labored every day to learn how to handle her father's wakizashi.. Every day that she could not find the infamous Humanoid Typhoon, her hatred renewed, and rapidly grew stronger. Although her hatred for him wasn't the only thing that had grown strong..
When she left her uncle at the base of Lost Augusta she had been barely tall enough to see above the bar in the local saloon. While she had wandered the desert, all of her baby fat had disappeared, replaced with lean strong muscles. And of course, her shapely body was enough to tell that she was female. Even though the outfit she wore would suggest otherwise from a distance. .
She held herself up proudly, although she wore a long flowing black cloak over a tight-fitting leather body suit. The body suit itself was quite thin, giving her little protection against the winds when it became cooler in the cities. (Or tonight, when she was to get her revenge on the $$60,000,000 man.)
Biting her lip, she held back the urge to open his bedroom door and look into the hall for him. Several seconds later had made her grateful she had resisted such an urge, for the man strode into the room and laid down upon his bed without looking to see if his room was secure or not.
"I'm getting to old for this.." He whined softly, wrapping his arm around a pillow. She watched him with adolescent curiosity as he stood up again and took off his crimson trench coat. The body suit he wore was very similar to the one that adorned her, although his had several buckles about it.
'Stupid man..'
Before he could un-catch one of them, she was behind him with the silver blade of her father's precious wakizashi pressed to his neck. "Well, I wasn't expecting company. But it's nice to meet you, miss. You're the one that followed me here from December City, if I'm not mistaken."
Slightly shocked, the grip on her sword slackened considerably, allowing him to breath easier. 'How the Hell did he know that? . . I was several iles away from him when following! I made sure to keep that distance!' Her eyes narrowed, as she once more tightened the grip on her blade, narrowing the space between it's sharp edge and the sinners' throat.
"You annihilated Augusta, and God knows what you did to the lost city of July. " She whispered menacingly into his ear, nearly feeling a pang of sympathy for him as she remembered Alemandine's incident.. 'What if he really was innocent.. And he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.. Like I was..?' His next words quickly erased that thought.
"Yes, I did." His voice was barely audible, as he added: "Although.. I didn't kill anyone.. There.."
"You murdered my family," she growled, pressing the wakizashi blade even closer to his throat. Her anger slightly alarmed him, it felt as if she was cloaked in malice. "Don't move from the wall." She instructed while releasing the blade from his throat and shoving him towards the wall.
"I was taught to never hit a lady, but.." Vash sighed, his luminescent aqua eyes were filled with sadness as he reached for his colt .45 and removed it from his holster. "I'm afraid I'm tired, and you're not going to let me sleep.. Can we continue this in the morning?" He added hopefully.
Glaring at the man, she lunged forward wildly. The blade of the wakizashi was aimed directly at his heart, but he leapt aside at the last second. Countering him , she dipped beneath his arm and arced the blade towards the ceiling, sweeping it once more towards his heart.
Again, he leapt aside at the last second. 'What the Hell is he?' She questioned herself, watching the man dance from foot to foot, dodging her blade at the last second. Thoroughly annoyed that this nimble man could out-maneuver her precious sword, she lunged at him again.
There eyes locked for a split second and he paused, watching the moon catch the menacing glow in her dark eyes.. 'Filled with so much hatred..' Hesitating for too long he felt the tip of her blade wedge itself in his mechanical left arm.
Adeline looked up, almost alarmed at the pleased look on Vash's face, which was eerily smooth with no wrinkles and no signs of past zits during his adolescence. 'He can't be human,' she judged quickly, trying to withdraw her blade so she would be able to fight.
It wouldn't budge.
Closing her eyes for a split second she cursed mentally, before she felt the force of a colt .45 against the back of her head. "Damn you.." She whispered as she fell into his chest. His arms wrapped around her protectively as the dark abyss beckoned to her.. It was far too strong, and she soon succumbed to unconsciousness.
He closed his eyes, and whispered sadly: "No matter where I go, pain follows me.." He sighed, laying the woman down upon his bed. 'And no matter what I do, I can't stop it..'