This is a story I wrote for a songfic contest. The lyrics are from Yuki Kajura's "Cynical World."
This is my first attempt at a Trigun fic, so please tell me how I did!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The autumn rain ran, slowly, down the slanted roof of the chapel, reaching the edge to plummet
towards the dust-coated land. From there, it followed the lower parts of the ground until it
poured into a small pool around the feet of a man who had stopped to rest there. His thin shoes
had hardly absorbed any water before they moved off again, leaving the pool with a deep red
stain.
The shuffle of his feet through the sand, now quickly turning to mud, was lost to the sound of the
heavy droplets sent from the grey sky to wash the dust off the earth, but he wouldn't notice the
sound anyways. All of his senses, consciousness, and hope were directed towards the white
building before him, shining bright in the landscape of dark sky and darker earth, and the cross
carved deep in the stone above the door, welcoming visitors in.
All noise grew far away as he stepped through the arched doorway and into a vast chamber, even
whiter than the outer walls. Now the sound of his feet moving against the cold marble was
audible, but the sound reached his ears only after it had been reflected from the far off walls.
This made it seem as though he shared the room with another person. One from another time,
another world, but just a quick glance could confirm it. He was alone.
He slowly made his way past the columns, moving from dark to light through their shadows, and
left a trail of small, red pools behind him. By spidering out through the cracks in the floor, they
quickly spread to areas that would never be scrubbed clean, but who would bother to clean a
chapel in the middle of nowhere? He noticed none of this; all of his attention was focused on the
cross hanging on the far wall and the faces he saw along it. Merril. She was always willing to
help bring a smile to your face or bring your enemies down. And Vash. The best teacher for
how to smile with a heart full of pain. And there, towards the top, Millie's face beamed down on
him. Others could bring a smile to his face, but she was the only one who could bring one to his
heart. The only one who stopped the pain.
The memory of her brought peace to his soul as he let himself drop to his knees before the wall,
cross, and smiling face. The memory of her innocence made him smile and close his eyes so he
could remember better times. The memory of them together brought back the sound of her voice,
floating over time to comfort him.
"Here we stand, in ravishing rain
Joy is like pain, it feels like a miracle
You can't turn back, you're in chains
Never again return from a cynical world
If you feel you've loved me in vain
Why not relive your guilt in love affairs
In the warm breeze you will cry, again and again
That's fate for a criminal"
The song did not suit her, but melodies like that were the only kind of music that survived the
ages. The only kind most people liked to sing. She deserved a song that would make her happy
to sing. One about someone other than a criminal. Yet, a small voice inside him asked if she
would sing a song that made her unhappy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Milly, is this where you've been? We've been worried."
The young woman raised her eyes towards the silowett in the door and shook her head as though
trying to shake away the reality of what had happened.
'He left.'
"Milly? Are you listening? Hey, are you okay?"
The figure moved away from the bright door, gaining clarity as it stepped towards the bed and the
girl curled up on it, face buried in her knees. The footsteps stopped as the figure reached her
destination, knelt, and placed a hand on her friend's arm. The girl stiffened and pulled away
from the warm touch. Couldn't they see that the only one she wanted to be with was him? She
would wait for him until he came to dry her tears.
" . . .I'm going to go and cook breakfast. You look like you could use something warm."
She paused, waiting for some sign of acknowledgment, for a few seconds, but the girls eyes were
focused past the still open door and into the rain. Giving up, she stood and quietly left the room.
With that, the walls seemed more dark, more still, than before the visitor arrived. Not liking the
silence, the girl slowly called fourth her voice, hoping it would fill the even stiller area inside of
her.
"Good intentions lost in thin air
You were craving for affection
And a certain invitation
Led you here to me in the cynical world
No one but me in this cold place
I will love you and serve you, criminal
That's your final consolation
Now hang onto me, in the cynical world"
She could feel it: the spark of life in her love's chest fading to an ember. He wouldn't have to
hang on to anyone for much longer. Were there other worlds, more sincere than this one, for his
soul to find?
The Girl's head lifted off her knees to turn towards the light of the open kitchen door. If her soul
followed his, would she be able to find him? To be with him forever? Her ears picked up the
dampened sound of a pot being filled with water, almost ready to be heated on the stove. The
sounds of cooking reminded her that she had eaten nothing all morning, so she slowly sat up,
pulling her cramped legs out from under her, and headed towards the other room.
The sound of Milly's feet hitting the cold ground sounded louder than the song as she made her
way to the warmer room's door. It stood there, throwing warm, yellow light into the dark room.
She looked through the door towards her friend on the other side, and quickly made up her mind.
She quickened her pace and called out "Do you need any help?"Merril just smiled and waved her
in.
'I'm sorry, my love. You will have to wait a bit longer. But, what is one lifetime? We will have
forever in a more sincere world. Wait for me, for I can't hurry towards you.'
In an old church on the other side of the desert, the last droplets of rain started to fall through a
hole in the wall and fill the cracks in the floor. The blood that rested there will soon be washed
away.
This is my first attempt at a Trigun fic, so please tell me how I did!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The autumn rain ran, slowly, down the slanted roof of the chapel, reaching the edge to plummet
towards the dust-coated land. From there, it followed the lower parts of the ground until it
poured into a small pool around the feet of a man who had stopped to rest there. His thin shoes
had hardly absorbed any water before they moved off again, leaving the pool with a deep red
stain.
The shuffle of his feet through the sand, now quickly turning to mud, was lost to the sound of the
heavy droplets sent from the grey sky to wash the dust off the earth, but he wouldn't notice the
sound anyways. All of his senses, consciousness, and hope were directed towards the white
building before him, shining bright in the landscape of dark sky and darker earth, and the cross
carved deep in the stone above the door, welcoming visitors in.
All noise grew far away as he stepped through the arched doorway and into a vast chamber, even
whiter than the outer walls. Now the sound of his feet moving against the cold marble was
audible, but the sound reached his ears only after it had been reflected from the far off walls.
This made it seem as though he shared the room with another person. One from another time,
another world, but just a quick glance could confirm it. He was alone.
He slowly made his way past the columns, moving from dark to light through their shadows, and
left a trail of small, red pools behind him. By spidering out through the cracks in the floor, they
quickly spread to areas that would never be scrubbed clean, but who would bother to clean a
chapel in the middle of nowhere? He noticed none of this; all of his attention was focused on the
cross hanging on the far wall and the faces he saw along it. Merril. She was always willing to
help bring a smile to your face or bring your enemies down. And Vash. The best teacher for
how to smile with a heart full of pain. And there, towards the top, Millie's face beamed down on
him. Others could bring a smile to his face, but she was the only one who could bring one to his
heart. The only one who stopped the pain.
The memory of her brought peace to his soul as he let himself drop to his knees before the wall,
cross, and smiling face. The memory of her innocence made him smile and close his eyes so he
could remember better times. The memory of them together brought back the sound of her voice,
floating over time to comfort him.
"Here we stand, in ravishing rain
Joy is like pain, it feels like a miracle
You can't turn back, you're in chains
Never again return from a cynical world
If you feel you've loved me in vain
Why not relive your guilt in love affairs
In the warm breeze you will cry, again and again
That's fate for a criminal"
The song did not suit her, but melodies like that were the only kind of music that survived the
ages. The only kind most people liked to sing. She deserved a song that would make her happy
to sing. One about someone other than a criminal. Yet, a small voice inside him asked if she
would sing a song that made her unhappy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Milly, is this where you've been? We've been worried."
The young woman raised her eyes towards the silowett in the door and shook her head as though
trying to shake away the reality of what had happened.
'He left.'
"Milly? Are you listening? Hey, are you okay?"
The figure moved away from the bright door, gaining clarity as it stepped towards the bed and the
girl curled up on it, face buried in her knees. The footsteps stopped as the figure reached her
destination, knelt, and placed a hand on her friend's arm. The girl stiffened and pulled away
from the warm touch. Couldn't they see that the only one she wanted to be with was him? She
would wait for him until he came to dry her tears.
" . . .I'm going to go and cook breakfast. You look like you could use something warm."
She paused, waiting for some sign of acknowledgment, for a few seconds, but the girls eyes were
focused past the still open door and into the rain. Giving up, she stood and quietly left the room.
With that, the walls seemed more dark, more still, than before the visitor arrived. Not liking the
silence, the girl slowly called fourth her voice, hoping it would fill the even stiller area inside of
her.
"Good intentions lost in thin air
You were craving for affection
And a certain invitation
Led you here to me in the cynical world
No one but me in this cold place
I will love you and serve you, criminal
That's your final consolation
Now hang onto me, in the cynical world"
She could feel it: the spark of life in her love's chest fading to an ember. He wouldn't have to
hang on to anyone for much longer. Were there other worlds, more sincere than this one, for his
soul to find?
The Girl's head lifted off her knees to turn towards the light of the open kitchen door. If her soul
followed his, would she be able to find him? To be with him forever? Her ears picked up the
dampened sound of a pot being filled with water, almost ready to be heated on the stove. The
sounds of cooking reminded her that she had eaten nothing all morning, so she slowly sat up,
pulling her cramped legs out from under her, and headed towards the other room.
The sound of Milly's feet hitting the cold ground sounded louder than the song as she made her
way to the warmer room's door. It stood there, throwing warm, yellow light into the dark room.
She looked through the door towards her friend on the other side, and quickly made up her mind.
She quickened her pace and called out "Do you need any help?"Merril just smiled and waved her
in.
'I'm sorry, my love. You will have to wait a bit longer. But, what is one lifetime? We will have
forever in a more sincere world. Wait for me, for I can't hurry towards you.'
In an old church on the other side of the desert, the last droplets of rain started to fall through a
hole in the wall and fill the cracks in the floor. The blood that rested there will soon be washed
away.