DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.
The Hard Choice
Vash knew what to do now. All his years of wandering, searching for Knives, yet never knowing what he would do when he found his brother…
Until Meryl had given him the answer. Who knew his insurance girl would be the one?
He smiled in the dark. His insurance girl. His Meryl. It was such a nice dream.
He thought back to the night they'd sat under the stars. Her offer that he could stay as long as he wanted. He'd seen in her eyes that she wanted him to say yes. Was it so wrong that he wanted to?
Of course it was. Meryl only thought she was in love with him. He'd told her about himself. The entire story, things few other people knew – some things that nobody else knew; but hearing it wasn't the same as seeing it.
He could never be what she needed, someone to live a real life with. She would grow old and eventually die, while he stayed the same for what must seem like forever to a human, his seeming immortality mocking her. It would be cruel to try to pursue a life with her.
Not to mention…he thought of the look on her face if she ever saw the Angel Arm – what he really looked like.
His heart shattered at the image.
"I wouldn't run away…"
Maybe not from the Vash she knew. But from the Vash who had destroyed July? Put a hole in the moon? The monster who left destruction in his wake? Even Rem would run away from that, he was certain. What right did he have to expect Meryl's word would be true?
He had to make the hard choice. As much as his heart told him to be with Meryl Stryfe, he had to do what was best for her and never come back. He only hoped she would someday understand.