A/N: There might be some mistakes despite combing through it looking for errors.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Trigun
Chapter 3: A Madman's Rage
A clank of ice rattled in the short glass filled with amber alcohol. A tall man, pale with a short light blonde hair started blankly out the window, watching as the orange sky expanded the clouds towards the horizon.
The servant nervously entered the disheveled study, trembling until his teeth chattered against one another as he took in the overturned desk, the slashed and broken selves that housed many books, the numerous shards from glass and windows and the piles of papers scattered around. It looked like a tornado happened in the large room, but he knew it was the leader's vicious temper that caused the mess, destroying to ease his anger.
"S-sir, we have no news of Kagome." he said with a shaky voice, fear laced heavily in his tone. He nearly pissed his pants when the tall man stopped rattling the ice around and stood in silence, his armor making him appear more imposing. It never bode well to anyone when the atmosphere darkens when anybody brings unpleasant news to Knives, it was almost like a foreshadow of the punishment they would have to endure. Unfortunately, anybody bringing bad news were never seen again.
"I see that your incompetence knows no bound." he resumed back to toying with his glass once again, but for some reason it appeared more ominous to the servant. "And most wonder why I have a disdain for the human race."
He frantically waved his arms around, hoping to placate the malicious man. "N-no sir, I have the best trackers trying to look for her whereabouts, s-she's merely being elusive."
"That's not good enough." A gunshot rang a second later, followed by a body hitting the ground. The short man had a bullet hole centered in his forehead, his expression mixed with bewilderment and profound fear, his eyes were dull.
A tall man appeared from the shadow, his expression blank.
"Legato, it seems you are the only one capable of finding the woman."
"Yes sir, it will take some time however, it was always difficult with how strong she is mentally to pinpoint her location."
Knives nodded, still seething. He calmed himself somewhat, it wouldn't do any good if he got worked up over some enigmatic woman, but he felt some type of way about her, something strange and peculiar, definitely out of the norm. He couldn't exactly describe it, but he felt undeniably furious when Kagome haven't reported back. But with Legato's methods, no matter how vague, he will know the results faster than the simpering servant and his damn human trackers.
"It's so cold!"
"Can you shut up for a minute, you've been complaining for the past hour!"
"But Kagome, can't you feel it?" Vash whined, frantically rubbing his hands on his arms.
"Yes, I know, but at least I'm mature enough not to complain about it for over an hour. I thought you were supposed to be a manly man. Manly men don't cry like a little girl." she taunted, annoyed that Vash continued grating her nerves over something so trivial. Though the chilled wind was irritating at best, considering that her face was unprotected by it, she was feeling rather cozy with her trench coat.
"I am manly," he sniffled, his nose running. "I thought my coat would cover me enough."
Kagome looked at him in disbelief. "That ratty thing? It has more holes and tears than swish cheese."
"It's my favorite coat Kagome, I can't part with it." he jutted his bottom lip out, pouting again. "It's a chick magnet, a piece that makes me manlier than before."
"It's just trash." Kagome grumbled.
Then he got all suave, tracing a finger along her redden cheek. "But it attracted you, didn't it?" he said with sly smirk.
She swung at him, causing Vash to rub his arm to dissipate the pain. "I'm here against my own will! You're keeping me hostage!"
"You could have left whenever you wanted to…"
Kagome growled at him, "I tried that remember, you followed me like a lost puppy."
Vash sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "It didn't seem right to part from you, but we're road lovers, traveling across the dunes of Gunsmoke for our future." he finished off with a pose, flexing once again. He started whining when he noticed that Kagome was practically running off towards the horizon. "Kagome, stop running so fast! Wait for me!"
He couldn't explain the irresistible need to follow behind the petite yet curvaceous woman. In her presence, a warm calming sensation coursed through his body, relaxing him since… forever. It was addictive, and like an addiction, it was hard to part from it.
"You know it's weird how nothing has attacked us yet." Vash said cheerfully.
"Don't say things like that, you could jinx us." Kami, please don't be a trouble magnet. She whimpered in her mind. It was bad enough she was one as well, but to have two people like that… she didn't even want to think about it.
"What do you mean?" At that moment, the cliff at a distance ahead of them exploded, destroying the rocky surface, the ground trembling when giant clusters of rock fell. "We should check that out." he foolishly pointed at the cloud of rubble.
"Why?" she asked, not wishing to head to a place were cliffs were exploding.
"What if someone was injured?"
"It's none of our business, it's their fault they pissed someone off that they blasted them to smithereens." she tried to reason with the thick-headed man, but it fell to deaf ears since he was already dragging her off the path and towards the large rock formation. "Are you even listening to me!?" she dug her boots into the sand ground, but the strength of Vash's pulling was making it impossible to get her footing.
They were close enough where Vash started commenting what he was seeing. "There's someone on top of there, maybe he can tell us what happened."
Kagome looked at him bewildered, he seriously can't be that naïve. This was Gunsmoke, a home where bounty hunters and criminals thrive with the laws being nothing but guidelines and the police force target practice. Walking up to a stranger, who can be potentially dangerous, was not something she was willing experience. Though she lived many years, she rather avoid situation that could end her life. She was just lucky that Vash wasn't a menacing gruff guy.
"You idiot, we just need to mind our business. If you're so damn curious about it, you can go by yourself." she said, frantically pulling her arm in the iron-like grasp.
"You're gonna try running off again." he stated, knowing it was true which was why she grumbled. She couldn't head to the nearest phone without the man being nosy as hell and report some falsified information to Knives so he doesn't get homicidal. She could just image it now, the seemingly dispassionate stare, but the fiery temper underneath the cool exterior while trying to make others shit their pants by the tensed silence. He probably killed someone knowing how he was.
"Well heading towards that stranger means you're trying to pick a fight."
"Why you say that?" he scratched the side of his face, finally pausing to look at her with confusion. "I'm just curious."
"Ever heard of the phrase, curiosity killed the cat?" at his blank look, she shook her head. "Forget it, that stranger will probably think you tryna start something, this is Gunsmoke after all."
"Don't worry, I'm around to protect you." he flashed her a thumb's up gesture with a cheesy smile. She graced him a blank stare that didn't do much to his mood, only to eagerly head towards the cliff with dragging her behind him.
"I don't need any protection from a doofus." she gritted out from clenched teeth, ready so swing her fist out.
"Well look who it is, Kagome Higurashi." came a creaky voice, ridden with age and insanity
She groaned, the people who destroyed the cliff was no other than the loony old man and his dysfunctional family.
A forced smirk came to her face after the two stopped moving forward, surrounded by the family. "Well if it isn't Inuyasha's descendent, what do you want you old man?"
"You will pay for throwing me into that mental institution!"
"Well you are crazy, where else could I throw you in." she sarcastically said, ignoring the fact Vash was looking at her bewildered and was quietly, yet not so discreetly trying to hide behind her when tempers flared from the family. "I swear old man, it's seems you get stupider than further your Alzheimer progresses."
"Watch how you talk to papa, little girl." the son tried to threaten her. It didn't work when her smirk was starting to become genuine.
"I'm surprised that you could even say a sentence, I thought you didn't have a brain being related to your dad." he growled, and she paid him no mind. "Anyways what do you want, I don't want you wasting my time with your nonsense and crazy talk."
"I'm here for Vash the Stampede!" the old man declared, pointing a crooked finger at said man.
Kagome rubbed her chin. "Hmm, I would have thought you would be after me, but go ahead and give it your best shot." with that said, she sidestepped, displaying Vash to the greedy eyes of the old man.
"Wait dad, this ain't him." the son interrupted, his country drawl grating Kagome nerves.
The old geezer looked back, pausing in his approach, which gave Vash a chance to hide behind Kagome once more with a nervous laugh. "What do you mean Shawn?"
"Vash, can you stop it!" Kagome growled out, squirming when his hands were placed all over her body. It was extremely embarrassing when she was trying to intimidate the family with her cool-aloofness. The idiot was messing up her flow.
"Look at him." Shawn, his distorted features deforming even more in concentration, nodded toward the man in red. "He don't look all that, he looks like an idiot."
His father rubbed his spiny beard, squinting his beady eyes at harmless looking man.
"He sure looks cute." giggled his daughter, twiddling her rugged hands together.
"You want him?" Kagome smirked when the woman frantically nodded her head. "Well you can have him." with a mighty shove, Vash landed with his head plastered against sweaty bosoms. He leaped back, hands covering his nose as he tried to hold his gags in.
"Kagome, why did you do that?" he said nasally, trying to wipe off the film of sweat that was slimed against his face. He never met a woman that smelled that horrible. It was a mixture between garlic and rotting fish, two scents that should never be mixed.
"'Cause you were annoying me."
"You ain't Vash, you're too squirrelly looking!" announced the old man after a minute of deep contemplation. His children agreed with him by nodding their dirty heads.
"Anyways, since we have accomplished that Vash isn't Vash, tell me why are you destroying cliffs? Do you want me to take your ass back to St. Sebastian Institute?"
"It won't me you little wench, it was that crazy fucka in this weird armor and purple spandex, lookin' like some type of pansy, carrying big guns and shit, y'know."
Kagome mentally cursed. "Well you were useful for once in your damn life old man, we'll be leaving now." Quickly, she grabbed the strangely silent Vash by the arm, heading away from the cliff and towards the opposite direction. It wouldn't do her any good if they were caught by what seemed to be Monev the Gale, that man was a brown-noser to Knives and his pet Legato.
"Hold it Kagome! We ain't done yet!"
"Shut up and go away, go destroy something and leave us the hell alone!"
"That damn wench, I shoulda killed her or something." grumbled the old man after staring in disbelief for a couple minutes.
"What was the name you shouted out, you old geezer." The family jumped in surprise, turning to see the man they were just talking about. He looked menacing, especially with his massive form and large guns.
"What's it to you?" growled said old geezer, palming the small gun he had in his holster.
"I thought I've heard you say Kagome's name." A smirk was seen underneath the orange face shield.
"So?" Several shots from two massive chain guns echoed in the night.
"I didn't like your attitude." he scoffed before heading towards the direction that Kagome and the man that was with her have chosen. He would have noticed if they were heading towards his direction. Now all he had to do was report to Legato that the rumors of her being dead were false and kill Vash.
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