A/N: Okay... so I'm not 100% thrilled with this chapter. For the time being this story is on the back burner to All Or Nothing (It's for the Naruto fandom) I hate leaving it unfinished (and I will be finishing it later) but for now it's doing to remain incomplete. Sorry to do this. I just can't focus on two at once... and my muse is with All Or Nothing. I do promise I will update Aftermath when I get the drive to do so... right now that just isn't it. I'm so sorry! Gomenasai!

Chapter Four: A Rose By Any Other Name

Knives began to stir as sunlight peeked through the curtain that covered the only window in the room. He really loathed that the window was on the east side of the house. He turned onto his side so that his back was to the window. His hand brushed against something warm and fleshy in the motion. He opened his eyes and saw that Kiva was still in his bed. She had her back to him so he couldn't see her face. A strange sensation came over him in his half-groggy state. He acted on the impulse instead of dismissing it. He carefully scooted his body closer to hers, she was nearly on the edge of the bed.

Without a thought Knives draped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He buried his face into her long dark hair and inhaled its scent. She always smelled of jasmine, he was now aware that it was her shampoo. He closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of her against him; they were still naked from their rendezvous. Her skin was so soft and her hair was so pretty. Knives had no idea why he was thinking such things about the object he had decided to use against his brother. Things weren't right with him now, it was like he wasn't himself and he hated it.

There was a knock at the door and his eyes flew open. He felt Kiva start to stir next to him and he quickly climbed over her and off the bed. "Go away Vash," Knives said as he searched for his pants, hoping that Vash would stay outside there with the door between them to argue.

"Um, actually it's Meryl," Meryl's voice called through the door. Knives relaxed a little, no way would the girl walk in without his okay. She feared him too much.

Knives groaned loud enough for Meryl to hear, a small smirk actually donning his face. He wanted her to believe he was still half asleep and annoyed. He was annoyed but also amused. He watched as Kiva quickly redressed herself. They shared a look, one of understanding. Kiva climbed into Vash's bed and laid down, pretending to sleep. Knives turned and looked at his bed.

There was blood on his sheets as well as other fluids. He smirked again and covered them with his blanket. He wasn't wanting his brother to know of what he had done yet. His brother wouldn't see the genius in his plans, so he was going to hide it. Knives stomped his way over to the door, his expression changing from amused to irritate in quite a hurry. He opened the door and stared at the short little brunette. "What is it," he muttered harshly. It wasn't difficult for Knives to find his cruel-groove again.

Meryl looked at him for too long and he sneered at her which caused her to flinch. He really did love the fear all these women had of him. "I just came to get Kiva," Meryl told him in a hushed tone. Her facial expression showed a seriousness that Knives didn't want to mess with. He stepped aside and watched as Meryl entered the room. She didn't seem to be observing anything, she just seemed focused on Kiva. "Kiva," Meryl called to his pawn as she shook her shoulder.

He watched in amusement as Kiva acted as if she were waking up. Her fear of him was overly amusing, she feared him so much that she went out of her way to please him and do what he said. It was just too perfect. Knives stopped paying attention at that point.

He made his way over to his bed and laid on top of the covers, still not wishing to show his cards just yet. Getting the sheets clean would be child's play today. Milly, Meryl, and Kiva were going out. That left just Knives and Vash home alone. Knives didn't desire to do laundry but he couldn't very well leave evidence of Kiva's deflowering on his bed. It was unhygienic.

It wasn't until Kiva and Meryl had left the room that he got up from the bed. He immediately began pulling the sheet from the mattress and regretted it just as suddenly. There was a smell of dried blood and sexual fluids but along with it came the scent of Kiva. She always smelled like jasmine and he loved it. He told himself otherwise but the scent was intoxicating. He decided he'd strip Vash's bed too, the smell of her had to go.

Kiva had showered as quickly as she could and then was rushed out the door with Meryl and Milly. Milly was due at any time so both of her companions were on edge about being out walking around. Kiva was the most on edge. She knew exercise could be a really great thing for pregnancy but it could also bring unnecessary pain. The girls went about their business at a snail's pace. Meryl spent her time practically running circles around Milly, a strange reversal of roles for the duo.

Their last stop was by far the most interesting. The three of them were standing in front of a wooden desk with a fat balding man behind it. "Mr. Mayor," Meryl addressed him to grab his attention from the paperwork on his desk. "I'm Meryl Stryfe, this is Milly Thompson, and Kiva Armstrong." Meryl indicated which woman was which with her hands as she spoke. "My friend Milly would like to change her name to her married name. Her husband died shortly after they were married and with all of the obstacles we faced to get here, we had lost the documentation of the marriage."

This was a lie. There had been no marriage and so there were no papers to lose. Kiva was just very good at forging them. "I came across the paperwork when I was traveling and fortunately came across friends of Miss Thompson's by accident," Kiva lied.

The mayor took the paperwork from Kiva and studied it for a long time. "Everything seems to be in order," he said after a long wait, "I'll fill out the necessary paperwork, please have a seat."

The three of them sat down in the arm chairs. Milly rubbed her swollen belly, Meryl knotted her fingers together, and Kiva merely watched the man fill out the paperwork. When he was finished he slid a page towards Milly and handed her a pen. She took a deep breath and quickly signed the document as "Milly Thompson". The mayor made a copy of every paper and handed the copies to Milly. "There you are Mrs. Wolfwood. Have a nice day."

The three women were nearly out of the door when the mayor called out, "Miss Stryfe?" Meryl stopped and looked at the man. He didn't give her time to question him. "I hear there are two men now living with you as well as Miss Armstrong. I was curious if, by chance, either of the men knew how to shoot a gun?"

Meryl's stomach flip flopped and she thought she may throw up. Both men were master gunmen. Both men could take down countless enemies. She settled for being honest, "Neither of them owns a gun, Mr. Mayor." She hoped that would hint that they don't know how.

"Such a shame. It'd be nice to win some money in the regional gun tournament, with the baby coming and all. I hate knowing to hard working women like yourselves are struggling." He picked up a flyer and handed it to Meryl.

She gripped it lightly and said, "Thank you for your concern. We'll get through it." Then she left without giving him a chance to intrude further into her life.

"Who does that guy think he is," Meryl asked as she stuffed a morsal of meat into her mouth. "We're trying to have a calm peaceful life. So the house is too small for all of us. So sometimes we have to stretch our food rations a little. People do that. It's not like we're any different than our neighbors or half the town."

"You don't think he knows who Mr. Vash is, do you, Meryl," Milly asked sweetly. She was eating much slower because she wasn't feeling well. She felt like the baby was pushing her insides all over the place. Maybe the baby was.

"No, of course not. Vash has been very careful. He's not touched a gun since he defeated Knives."

"Will you be showing him the flyer then," Kiva asked quietly. She wasn't sure what exactly happened in the past. She preferred being in the dark. It made life less complicated. She had enough things on her mind right now, she didn't need anything else added to it.

"I don't plan to. I know he'd at least consider it, gun or not. I don't want history to keep repeating. I like living in this town. We can't really move now anyway. Not with the baby almost here," Meryl stopped talking to place her hand on Milly's belly and tell it, "You need stability don't you, Baby Wolfwood."

Kiva and Milly both smiled. Kiva was happy she had met Vash. She wasn't sure she was happy about meeting Knives. She was really happy to know these two though. They were worth any heartache Knives could cause her. "Then we'll burn the flyer and pretend we know nothing about it," Kiva said quietly.

Milly and Meryl stared at her for a few minutes. The silence was awkward and slightly intimidating. Kiva shifted her foot under the table. Milly broke the silence, "It's a good plan as long as they don't start hanging those all over the place."

"That's true," Meryl muttered. "Well, we'll just have to do our best to keep him out of that stupid competition."

"Agreed," Kiva said.

"Okie dokie," Milly said with a smile.

"Hey Knives," Vash called to his brother who was now hanging bedding out on the clothes line. "It's not like you to do laundry, what's up?"

"It all smelled like Kiva," Knives' nose crinkled and he scowled.

"Why don't you like her that much," Vash asked while stuffing a donut into his mouth. "She's a real sweet girl and she likes you," Vash said with his mouth full.

"She's a human, that's enough reason for me not to like her."

Vash sighed and went back into the house. Knives followed him. "Did you see this," Vash asked as he held up a flyer for the gun tournament. "I'm just waiting on one of the girls to bring it up. I'm not doing it. No way. Last time Wolfwood dragged me into one it was bad news."

Knives took the flyer and stared at it for a moment. He crumpled it and threw it in the wastebasket. "We don't need the money. It's a waste of time. We would kill them all so easily, it wouldn't be worth the effort."

Vash frowned. His brother really needed to get over this hate of humans. It wasn't amusing or fun. He worked so hard and it felt like he was getting nowhere. He offered Knives a doughnut, which he actually took and bit into. They may be quite different in many ways, but they both loved doughnuts.

Meryl came storming through the front door. She looked like she had seen a ghost or something. "Milly's in labor," Meryl shouted. She was not composed at all. "She's going to have the baby!"

Vash looked at Knives who seemed unbothered. He grabbed his arm and said "C'mon we need to get to the hospital. "