DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except for Akane and Yuki.. *sniffle* hey if you DO own them, you can give them to me!!
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The cigarette dropped from his lips and he was plunged into black..
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"Nicholas D. Wolfwood.."

Wolfwood opened his eyes; he was in a lush forest, lying on the grass next to a lake. "Am.. Am I dead??"

"No, you just left your body.."

Nick looked beside him. There was a girl with bright silver hair, with a dark blue streak in it, sitting beside him. She looked up from a piece of paper and at him with her clear blue eyes.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Akane," she said with a smile. Then she walked toward the lake, took off her boots and stuck her feet into the lake. "And you are in Eden."

"Really? Are you the only one here??"

" Yes. I'm so glad that you're here. I've been alone for 80 years.. This isn't exactly heaven you know, all by yourself.."

" It's too nice to be hell.."

"Like I said, it's Eden." She stood up and turned to him. His face was buried in his hands.

" I went too soon.." he whispered to himself and searched in his coat for a cigarette with one hand.

Akane kneeled next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Don't worry, your burden has been lifted." she whispered into his ear. She released him and sat down beside him, pulling out a cigarette, lighting it and giving it to him. "Here ya go.."

"Are you an angel??"

"I wish.. I'm more of a human.. But not quite.." She murmured and leaned against him, closing her eyes.

"Akane..", a voice from nowhere said. "AKANE!!"

"eek!!" Akane jumped up and leaned over the lake. She waved her hand over it, then a picture of a girl who looked like her, but with cold Green eyes, darker silver hair, and no blue streak.

"Who's he??" the girl said questioningly, "Some IP died already??"

Akane frowned and dragged Wolfwood over to the lake. "This is Nicholas D. Wolfwood."

"Hey.. You can see people in the living world over here??" Wolfwood stated, taking a draft from his cigarette.

"Yeah, kind of.. Yuki.. You're near Vash, right??"

"Yes.. He was in this city, really badly wounded.. He doesn't know who I am.. Or that I'm here.. I hear he's still unconscious"

"Nick, you see.. I can see my sister and everything around her when she's willing and we can communicate with her too.." Akane sighed and plucked the cigarette from Wolfwood's lips, taking a drag of her own.

"Well.. I'm going to see Vash.. Wish me luck.., you guys can look on.."
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Ten days passed and Yuki stayed in the small town, lounging in the local saloon quite often and getting to know the people of the town. She conversed with Milly and Maril quite often, too. She was having tea with Milly and talking about the cross in the corner. As Yuki comforted her new friend, she heard Maril shut the door of Vash's room. A few seconds later, crying and screaming was heard. Akane popped back into her head, her and Wolfwood shouting in unison, 'GO!'

Maril walked into the room slowly, her head hung low. "Vash is awake.." The sad look in her and Milly's eyes completely suprized her. 'They haven't known Vash that long have they?', she thought to herself.

She stood up and excused herself, saying she was going to the restroom. She walked down the hall to Vash's room and opened the door. Vash didn't notice her entrance as she silently walked in and closed the door. She sat beside him on the bed and looked pitifully at him.

"Vash.."

Vash was still bawling like a baby and screaming. This was highly disturbing to Yuki. Her eyes grew wide as she realized what he had done. She embraced him and cried inside as he wept bitter tears into her coat. He already started and was not going to stop just to tell her to go away. She ran her hand through his hair, tried to comfort him, gently cooing him and decreasing the volume of his onslaught of tears.

Vash cried into the stranger's shirt, the hot tears blinding him. It seemed like she'd known him for 100 years and counting. He never looked to someone for comfort other than Rem, but he felt something weird about her, something different. This was highly unusual for Vash the stampede. He sobbed until he could no more, then slipped into peaceful slumber.

Yuki unlocked his hands from her waist and gently put his head on the pillows. She lifted the tray of soup from Vash's lap and set it on the bed stand. She removed her coat and slinged it over an arm, quietly exiting the room..

"Why, Knives?" she whispered to herself as she walked past Milly and Maryll and out the door. "I'll see you two later." she said to them as she shut the door.

She came back the next day with a bag of food and a sack of donuts for herself and anyone else who wanted some. No one answered the door when she knocked so she opened the door and stepped in. It seemed that Milly was at work and Maryll was too busy putting new bandages on Vash.

Yuki walked into Vash's room and set down her groceries. Then she grabbed some bandages and started helping Maryll.

"Hey, Yuki. Thanks for your help.."

"No prob." she said and looked up at Vash. "Hi, I'm Yuki."

"Vash." He softly replied, a melancholy look on his face.

As Maryll and Yuki finished off the bandages Yuki stood up and grabbed the donuts. He looked like he needed cheering up so she grabbed one for herself and plopped the rest on Vash's lap. "These are for you!" Then, she stuck her donut into her mouth and started putting up the groceries.
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Nicholas watched as he looked around the room that Yuki was in. He then spotted his cross leaning against against the wall and his eyes softened a little.

Akane looked at nick as he reminiced. She shook her head and stole a cigarette from him. As she lit it she noticed something different about her sister. She was acually being kind and unselfish for no reason. Usually she would butter some people up, take all their money and leave, but she never was one to be kind from the heart. She also noticed another thing, looking down at her cigarette. Her sister hadn't smoked in about 2 weeks, which was really odd. "I can't belive a caught this stupid habit from you, Yuki." she said softly.

"Well it's not my fault you started, baka." Yuki thought as she finished putting the groceries up. "I think Wolfwood's going to break down. Take care of him so I don't have a migraine. I'll cut communications cause well, I'm gonna change.. I'll get back on if you need to see something."

Akane nodded as Nick looked at her quizzically, not being able to hear what they just said. "Hey, What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." Akane smiled and scooted up to him. "So tell me.."
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Meryll and Yuki silently crept out once they were done. Vash seemed to be in a deep slumber. Yuki waved at Meryll and Millie as she left the house.

Vash silently crept out as soon as they were gone. He soon sat upon a cliff overlooking the city, thinking about Knives, Meryll, Millie, Nick, and that mysterious girl. "I wonder who she really is.. Her eyes.. No matter how nice she seems, her eyes are so cold. but.. It's like I've known her for a while now.. She's so familiar.."

His train of thought was then broken by a song that drifted along the night breeze.

Vash's head snapped up. "it's that song.." he whispered, "the song that Rem sang.." he looked up into the night sky, some tears trickling down his face which he quickly wiped as he heard someone walking up behind him.
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Yuki sat at a boulder at the foot of the cliff, singing her song. As soon as she finished, she leaned back against the cliff and looked into the night sky and sighed. "You happy Rem?" she said to herself. She then though to herself, 'I have fulfilled my promise to Rem.. So why am I still here?'

She then sighed again and pulled a small bottle of sake out of her pack and took a sip. She rubbed the bandages over a still fresh wound on her torso and smirked. "Might as well howl at the moon a bit."

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Author's Notes: gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkk......... ~.~;; it's not as good as I expected to be.. buuuuut.. I'm gonna post it anyways.. ;; review pl3