A New Best Friend
Chapter 1: Chased in a Bar
AN: I'm not going to explain how Vash and Melanie met, just yet; just know that they met a while ago and have been traveling together ever since. I'll explain the rest later. You'll see. Please review!
"When are we gonna get to June?" Melanie turned to ask Vash. Her bright red hair was tied into two long braids reaching past her waist. She was wearing rather large glasses at the moment that Vash had no idea how she could see out of. They were more of a white shade than a clear one, and she didn't have any eyesight problems anyway; she had told Vash that they simply looked good.
Oh course, Vash wasn't listening. He rarely did when it was this hot. True, he had lived on this desert planet for ages now and was used to the heat, but it was exceptionally bad this particular day.
"Vash! Are you listening?" She was about to whack him with the biggest thing she could find, as she did quite often, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a bar directly in front of them, about a mile or two away.
She grabbed Vash's hand and pulled him along towards it.
"Oh wow! SHADE!" Vash cried, suddenly becoming aware of where he was.
"No duh," Melanie sighed. Vash pulled off his yellow-tinted glasses and smiled a bright smile. Melanie loved his smile. Actually, she envied it. He was always so carefree when things were tough. At least on the outside.
Once they had reached the bar, they realized that it had doubled over as a motel too.
"Our luck is finally changing!" Melanie cried happily. Vash nodded. He looked around quickly and noticed that two girls were staring at them. He didn't think much of it. Many people were staring, but no one had ever dared attack him for the $$60 billion reward.
Melanie looked around too.
"There's no more vacant tables!" she cried.
"Don't worry about it. Maybe we can ask someone to share one with us," he pointed to the girls who were staring, "ask them. It's a four-people table. I'll go and get us something to drink." Melanie sighed and walked over to them.
"Hello there. My name is Melanie Hayatsu. Would you mind if my friend and I shared a table with you?" she motioned their eyes over to Vash, who was now laughing like a lunatic over something unknown with the bartender. The two girls' eyes widened but nodded.
"I'm Meryl Stryfe, and this is my partner, Milly Thompson," she said, smiling.
"How come you two are out here in the middle of nowhere?" Melanie asked, taking a seat at the table.
"We work for the Bernardelli Insurance Society. We're here investigating a case with Vash the Stamp-" Meryl covered Milly's mouth with her hand.
"You can just blurt out things like that. It's rather secret, Milly!" she scolded.
"I'm good at keeping secrets. So, you're investigating Vash the Stampede's whereabouts?" she said, loud enough for Vash to hear. He turned around and headed over to the table. Many of the diners in the room were looking now. Meryl slapped her hand to her forehead.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was just a little loud." Vash was standing by the table now with four banana shakes.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully.
"Meryl, Milly, this is my friend Vash," Melanie said quickly, before Vash sat down.
"WHAT? What the hell are you talking about?!" Meryl cried.
"Not the legendary Vash the Stampede, of course!" Vash added before Meryl could say any more. "I just happen to have the same name as the guy, that's all."
Meryl sighed.
"Well, would you happen to know where the legendary Vash was last seen?" Milly asked. "It would really help us out."
"Don't tell me you two are headed after the $$60 billion reward!?" Vash inquired.
"Of course not. We work for an insurance company. They were so many incidents involving that Vash. It's a huge liability for any insurance company. We have to find Vash and keep him under 24-hour surveillance. It's the only way our company can handle all the payments we owe to citizens," Meryl explained. Vash had turned a bright shade of pink.
"24-hours." he kept repeating. Meryl and Milly stared. Melanie elbowed him in the stomach and he stopped.
"I think he was last seen in June," Melanie lied. "That's where we're headed, so maybe you can come along, too." Meryl seemed to ponder this.
"Alright. We can leave in the morning," Milly said before Meryl could say anything else. They must have already had a room, because they headed straight upstairs.
Vash and Melanie nodded quickly before heading up to the bartender.
"Can we have a room for the night?" Vash asked.
"I'm sorry, but we don't give out rooms to criminals," the bartender said coldly, pulling out a gun. Melanie's eyes widened, but Vash looked the same.
"Weren't you the one I was just joking with earlier?" he asked, his eyes burning into the bartender's.
"I'm sorry, but we could really use that money."
"I see." Vash reached down his hand to pull out his own gun. "I have no choice, then."
"Vash, no. Let's just leave," Melanie pleaded.
"We won't let you." Several people behind them pulled out guns as well and pointed them at Vash.
"People never learn," Melanie sighed.
"Neither do we," Vash smiled at her, "we always get caught in these types of situations." He pulled out his gun and held it up to the bartender's head.
"Just give up, Vash the Stampede! If you shoot, we won't hesitate at all. The bounty says 'dead or alive'!"
Vash shot the gun before they could say anything else.
"What the hell, Vash!?" The bullets were flying. Vash grabbed Melanie and put her under his arm and starting running out of the door.
"Why did you shoot him?" she yelled. Vash merely shrugged. "It was the only way we could get out alive." He grinned.
"It's not funny! The guy looked as though he was paralyzed, or dead!" Vash put Melanie down after they had stopped running. He pulled out his gun and handed it to her with a smile on his face.
"You can shoot me if you want." Melanie stared at him.
"What?"
"Go ahead!" Melanie put her finger on the trigger.
"You're really gonna shoot me aren't you!?" Vash cried.
"How could you shoot that poor man? You said you hated blood and violence! How could you?"
"SHOOT ME ALREADY!"
"FINE!" Melanie pulled the trigger hastily. Vash was on the ground.
"Oh my God! Vash, are you alright?" she cried, kneeling down next to him. Vash stood up.
"Now I know what you'll do if you get angry enough," he smiled and pulled the bullet off the ground. He handed it to her. Melanie was in shock.
"It's rubber! You bastard!" She punched him in the stomach a few times.
"We might as well head out to June," Vash suggested.
"Yeah, but I really wanted to talk to those insurance girls. It was fun talking to them. Especially when they thought you were Vash the Stampede."
"Well, it wasn't exactly a lie," Vash grinned.
~The Next Morning~
"I guess they already left," Meryl said, trudging down the steps. "Oh well. Maybe we'll meet up with them in June."
"I thought that Mr. Vash really did look like Vash the Stampede. Or at least what he was supposed to look like," Milly commented. Meryl agreed.
"Actually he did, you're right. Blonde hair, red coat, really tall. And he was traveling with a red head, like he was supposed to. But that guy was a little too friendly, and well, stupid to be him," Meryl muttered. "Let's just go. Melanie said he was last seen in June."
AN: HEY! What'd you think? This chapter was rather long, but I had to explain a lot. And don't worry, it won't be exactly like the TV series. And I might include Knives in this version. Also, Melanie's past and how she met Vash will be revealed. So, please review!
AN: I'm not going to explain how Vash and Melanie met, just yet; just know that they met a while ago and have been traveling together ever since. I'll explain the rest later. You'll see. Please review!
"When are we gonna get to June?" Melanie turned to ask Vash. Her bright red hair was tied into two long braids reaching past her waist. She was wearing rather large glasses at the moment that Vash had no idea how she could see out of. They were more of a white shade than a clear one, and she didn't have any eyesight problems anyway; she had told Vash that they simply looked good.
Oh course, Vash wasn't listening. He rarely did when it was this hot. True, he had lived on this desert planet for ages now and was used to the heat, but it was exceptionally bad this particular day.
"Vash! Are you listening?" She was about to whack him with the biggest thing she could find, as she did quite often, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a bar directly in front of them, about a mile or two away.
She grabbed Vash's hand and pulled him along towards it.
"Oh wow! SHADE!" Vash cried, suddenly becoming aware of where he was.
"No duh," Melanie sighed. Vash pulled off his yellow-tinted glasses and smiled a bright smile. Melanie loved his smile. Actually, she envied it. He was always so carefree when things were tough. At least on the outside.
Once they had reached the bar, they realized that it had doubled over as a motel too.
"Our luck is finally changing!" Melanie cried happily. Vash nodded. He looked around quickly and noticed that two girls were staring at them. He didn't think much of it. Many people were staring, but no one had ever dared attack him for the $$60 billion reward.
Melanie looked around too.
"There's no more vacant tables!" she cried.
"Don't worry about it. Maybe we can ask someone to share one with us," he pointed to the girls who were staring, "ask them. It's a four-people table. I'll go and get us something to drink." Melanie sighed and walked over to them.
"Hello there. My name is Melanie Hayatsu. Would you mind if my friend and I shared a table with you?" she motioned their eyes over to Vash, who was now laughing like a lunatic over something unknown with the bartender. The two girls' eyes widened but nodded.
"I'm Meryl Stryfe, and this is my partner, Milly Thompson," she said, smiling.
"How come you two are out here in the middle of nowhere?" Melanie asked, taking a seat at the table.
"We work for the Bernardelli Insurance Society. We're here investigating a case with Vash the Stamp-" Meryl covered Milly's mouth with her hand.
"You can just blurt out things like that. It's rather secret, Milly!" she scolded.
"I'm good at keeping secrets. So, you're investigating Vash the Stampede's whereabouts?" she said, loud enough for Vash to hear. He turned around and headed over to the table. Many of the diners in the room were looking now. Meryl slapped her hand to her forehead.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was just a little loud." Vash was standing by the table now with four banana shakes.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully.
"Meryl, Milly, this is my friend Vash," Melanie said quickly, before Vash sat down.
"WHAT? What the hell are you talking about?!" Meryl cried.
"Not the legendary Vash the Stampede, of course!" Vash added before Meryl could say any more. "I just happen to have the same name as the guy, that's all."
Meryl sighed.
"Well, would you happen to know where the legendary Vash was last seen?" Milly asked. "It would really help us out."
"Don't tell me you two are headed after the $$60 billion reward!?" Vash inquired.
"Of course not. We work for an insurance company. They were so many incidents involving that Vash. It's a huge liability for any insurance company. We have to find Vash and keep him under 24-hour surveillance. It's the only way our company can handle all the payments we owe to citizens," Meryl explained. Vash had turned a bright shade of pink.
"24-hours." he kept repeating. Meryl and Milly stared. Melanie elbowed him in the stomach and he stopped.
"I think he was last seen in June," Melanie lied. "That's where we're headed, so maybe you can come along, too." Meryl seemed to ponder this.
"Alright. We can leave in the morning," Milly said before Meryl could say anything else. They must have already had a room, because they headed straight upstairs.
Vash and Melanie nodded quickly before heading up to the bartender.
"Can we have a room for the night?" Vash asked.
"I'm sorry, but we don't give out rooms to criminals," the bartender said coldly, pulling out a gun. Melanie's eyes widened, but Vash looked the same.
"Weren't you the one I was just joking with earlier?" he asked, his eyes burning into the bartender's.
"I'm sorry, but we could really use that money."
"I see." Vash reached down his hand to pull out his own gun. "I have no choice, then."
"Vash, no. Let's just leave," Melanie pleaded.
"We won't let you." Several people behind them pulled out guns as well and pointed them at Vash.
"People never learn," Melanie sighed.
"Neither do we," Vash smiled at her, "we always get caught in these types of situations." He pulled out his gun and held it up to the bartender's head.
"Just give up, Vash the Stampede! If you shoot, we won't hesitate at all. The bounty says 'dead or alive'!"
Vash shot the gun before they could say anything else.
"What the hell, Vash!?" The bullets were flying. Vash grabbed Melanie and put her under his arm and starting running out of the door.
"Why did you shoot him?" she yelled. Vash merely shrugged. "It was the only way we could get out alive." He grinned.
"It's not funny! The guy looked as though he was paralyzed, or dead!" Vash put Melanie down after they had stopped running. He pulled out his gun and handed it to her with a smile on his face.
"You can shoot me if you want." Melanie stared at him.
"What?"
"Go ahead!" Melanie put her finger on the trigger.
"You're really gonna shoot me aren't you!?" Vash cried.
"How could you shoot that poor man? You said you hated blood and violence! How could you?"
"SHOOT ME ALREADY!"
"FINE!" Melanie pulled the trigger hastily. Vash was on the ground.
"Oh my God! Vash, are you alright?" she cried, kneeling down next to him. Vash stood up.
"Now I know what you'll do if you get angry enough," he smiled and pulled the bullet off the ground. He handed it to her. Melanie was in shock.
"It's rubber! You bastard!" She punched him in the stomach a few times.
"We might as well head out to June," Vash suggested.
"Yeah, but I really wanted to talk to those insurance girls. It was fun talking to them. Especially when they thought you were Vash the Stampede."
"Well, it wasn't exactly a lie," Vash grinned.
~The Next Morning~
"I guess they already left," Meryl said, trudging down the steps. "Oh well. Maybe we'll meet up with them in June."
"I thought that Mr. Vash really did look like Vash the Stampede. Or at least what he was supposed to look like," Milly commented. Meryl agreed.
"Actually he did, you're right. Blonde hair, red coat, really tall. And he was traveling with a red head, like he was supposed to. But that guy was a little too friendly, and well, stupid to be him," Meryl muttered. "Let's just go. Melanie said he was last seen in June."
AN: HEY! What'd you think? This chapter was rather long, but I had to explain a lot. And don't worry, it won't be exactly like the TV series. And I might include Knives in this version. Also, Melanie's past and how she met Vash will be revealed. So, please review!