Disclaimer- I don't own Trigun or any of its characters.
Author's Note- Ok so this is kind of a sequel to Loving Life. The reason I'm rewriting these chapters is because I realize that the first 9 chapters of Loving Life really suck. If you really want to read it… then do so. But I'll try to give you all the information you need to know in these rewritten chapters. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thank you for reading!
Chapter 1: Her Death
"Where are you going?" asked Meryl indicating Vash who was walking out of their hotel room.
"I'm just going to go grocery shopping because I kind of want to stay in this town for a while," he replied.
Meryl began pulling her white cloak on. "I'm coming, then."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Meryl." Vash gently took the cloak from her. "I need you to stay here and look after Knives." Vash had taken his brother home from a mental hospital where he had been cured.
Meryl sighed. "You're right, Vash."
The tall gunman kissed her on the forehead and walked out with a smile. Meryl froze up. "Wait! Vash was right?" She stood silently thinking of all the damage he could cause just going to the grocery store. An exploding dairy isle. Bounty hunters in the bakery. A money mishap at the cashier. "Wait a second!" Meryl exploded. "I'm not going to listen to him! He's Vash, for crying out loud! How could I be so stupid?" She walked out of her room, checked on Knives who was sleeping, and stepped out into the bright sunshine.
Meryl squinted her eyes against the harsh suns. "Why must we have two suns?" She headed to the bank where she thought Vash might be. She didn't know that he already had his money.
Stepping into the large air-conditioned building was the first mistake. Taking out a hidden derringer and pointing it at the bank robber was the second. And running in front of the child and its mother was the third.
A shot was heard around the city. Vash's keen ears picked it up quickly. A bad feeling settled in his stomach. Everything was going in slow motion, from the mad dash to the bank to the sight of Meryl's lifeless body on the floor. His eyes went wide at the body drowning in its own blood. "H- how? W- why?" Anger he never knew he had filled his eyes. "Who? Who d-? Who did this? Who?" He muttered breathlessly. Walking to her form was the second hardest thing he had done in all his years of living. Kneeling down and feeling her cold, dead skin was the first. Vash broke down in tears.
The bystanders surrounding him held pity in their eyes. The little girl Meryl took the bullet for slowly and guiltily walked up to the sobbing man. "It was my fault, mister. It was my entire fault. If I hadn't told my mommy to buy me a toy today, the nice lady never would have had to do that for me. She wouldn't be... be..." The little girl tried to hold back tears but her eyes wouldn't allow it.
Vash heard the snivel and lifted his head to see the little blonde girl with innocent watering sky blue eyes. "It's not your fault," he whispered. "I should have been there. I should have protected her. I should have found her before it was too late." He slowly stood up and walked over to the feds who were standing by. "Is the man that shot this woman in custody?" The men nodded. Vash walked back to Meryl, slowly scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the hotel.
When they arrived, Vash acquired sympathetic stares from the other patrons of the hotel. He gingerly walked up the stairs and briefly checked on Knives who slept on, oblivious to Vash's melancholic presence. Back in their hotel room, Vash gently laid Meryl on the bed, the blood soaking through onto the bed sheets from the wound in her chest. Her violet eyes were open and dead staring into nothing. They were emotionless, spiritless, and listless. Her skin was bloodless, pallid, and ghostly. Her hair had lost its shine. Vash spent and hour just staring into her eyes before closing them tenderly and picking up the phone provided by the hotel services. He dialed Millie's family's house number. Millie's mother, Mura answered the phone in a cheery voice.
"Hey, Mura. This is Vash," he said in an inexpressive voice, so unlike him.
"Well, hello, Vash! You sound different. Is anything wrong?" she asked. Vash was silent for a minute. "Hello?" she asked.
"I'm still here, Mura. This ... I need to speak with Millie or Wolfwood, please."
"Of course, Vash. Here is Millie. Good day," she said softly and soothingly.
"Hey, Mr. Vash! What's up? We haven't spoken in a while. How's Meryl?" Millie asked innocently.
Vash choked. "She's dead." It was the first time he said it and the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"What?" Millie asked.
"Please don't make say it again," he pleaded.
"But how?" Tears filled her light blue, usually cheery eyes.
"She- she was shot in the chest about an hour ago in bank robbery," he whispered, drops of hot, salty water running down his cheeks.
"What's the matter, honey?" Wolfwood asked.
"I- it's Meryl," Millie wailed. "She- she's- dead!"
Wolfwood just stared, remembering the short little tyrant woman. He was always teasing her. A qualm twisted his stomach guiltily. "No," he mumbled. "No. It can't be. Can I talk to him?" asked Wolfwood.
"Y- yes. I need to tell everyone else anyway." She walked out of her room, biting her lip and clenching her fists trying to stop the tears falling from her pale face.
Wolfwood grabbed the phone and slammed it to his ear. "How?" was the only word that escaped from his lips.
"Bank robbery. She ran in front of a child and took the bullet to the chest."
"So you didn't kill the guy?" Wolfwood asked harshly.
"Killing him won't bring her back!" Vash snapped.
"I'm sorry, Vash. I'm so sorry," Wolfwood said softly. "We're coming there."
"No. You guys stay. I'm not at the house anyway. We traveled to July to visit my brother."
"You took her to see your brother?" Wolfwood asked unbelieving.
"He's all better now. The mental hospital really cured him. Besides, Meryl was different. We sort of... did it a couple nights ago and I changed her into a plant-like creature. She would have lived twenty to thirty years more if she hadn't..."
"You told each other your feelings?" Wolfwood asked uneasily. 'That must have been even harder,' he thought.
"I don't know what do to, Wolfwood! I don't want to bury her here! I don't want to bury her at all, but I have to."
"There are other ways, Vash…" Wolfwood said to the silence on the other line. "I'm coming to July, Vash. You shouldn't be alone right now. You need someone. I'll take Millie, too. She always cheers me up."
"All right." Vash could see that there was no changing Wolfwood's mind.
"Just don't do the little 'ditching friends when they're trying to help you' act. I don't feel like looking for you for two years again."
Vash smiled. "I won't. I promise." They hung up. 'It's hard to be alone. I don't want to be alone,' Vash thought sadly and cried himself to sleep on the bed next to his dead lover.