Chapter 28 Dread
'Gods Knives, you embarrass the hell out of me sometimes! I could swear that you do it on purpose!' Blue made a connection with him as the group walked back to the hotel.
From his place at her side, hand entwined with hers, he smiled down at her. 'That's because I do it on purpose woman.'
She chuckled mentally. 'Guess you didn't even want to try to hide that fact, now did you?'
He chuckled with her, saying, 'And why would I? It's the truth.'
She shook her head, feeling their connection sever as they all walked the stairs of the Grand Riviera, stopping to convene in the lobby area.
"Thank you for dinner, Kiba." Milly stepped forward and he smiled.
"Yeah, thanks man." Tasuki said, the others agreeing with them.
"Yeah yeah, I know, I'm just great like that." He shrugged and Meryl swatted his arm playfully.
He stretched, yawning as he began to walk to his room. "Well, good night guys. See you early in the morning!"
Before anyone could say anything, he had opened his door, waved to them and shut it.
Meryl watched him go, feeling a pang of guilt. She wiped it away quickly. She knew that just as he was trying to get over it, she in turn needed to get over her guilt and move on. Kiba was doing this for her…and she couldn't keep letting her guilt get in her and Vash's way.
"Well, night guys. See you in the morning!" Blue grabbed Knives's hand and began to lead him to their room.
Tasuki cupped his hands to his mouth, calling, "And don't be too loud, you hear?"
Knives grinned as he called back from the doorway, "We'll be as loud as we want!"
Blue grabbed him, forcing him inside as she poked her smiling head out to say goodnight before shutting the door. All at once, she felt herself being nearly knocked over as Knives grabbed onto her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his mouth over hers in a heated kiss.
When he pulled away, their breathing had sped up a bit. "I've been waiting all day for that." He breathed and she smiled, kissing him again as he walked them slowly to the bed. He pushed her gently down, maneuvering so that he was on top of her, kissing her again and again.
She smiled, saying, "I bet you have. I'm just happy to have a nice soft bed this time…"
He grinned as he began to undo the buckles on her jacket, her unbuttoning his duster.
"You really need a duster with less buttons." She teased.
"Maybe you just need to be more patient woman." He teased back, helping her to undo it and tossing it aside. He leaned fully into her, his mouth exploring hers and she let out a sigh.
He leaned back to look her in the eyes, saying, "You really are beautiful, Blue. And I meant it when I said that all I see is you."
She smiled, nodding as she let her fingers run through his blonde hair. "Thank you Knives. It meant a lot to me."
He smiled as he kissed her again, this time, allowing it to become more aggressive.
As Blue let her mind become fully engrossed in the moment, she vaguely thought, "Well, he didn't say the words yet, but…this is ok for now…" And she smiled, knowing that it would come soon enough.
Meryl shut the door to the room slowly, and all at once, she became very aware that she was alone with Vash. Her nervousness rose as he walked quietly to her, putting a hand to her cheek and making her look up at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the want in his aqua eyes and she breathed in shakily.
"Mer, it's not like we have to…do anything that you don't want to do." He said gently.
She smiled, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I do want to Vash. I'm ready for it. I have been for a long time now. I'm just…nervous, that's all." She assured and he ran a hand through her raven locks.
"I love you Meryl. I just want to make you happy."
She pressed a kiss to his lips, pulling back to say, "You already have Vash. In so many ways. Besides…we should take advantage of this…who knows when we'll be alone again…" she trailed off, her cheeks on fire at the assumptions she was making.
He chuckled, responding, "You're right, actually. And what's more, we actually let Knives and Blue beat us to the punch!"
She laughed out loud with him. "I just still can't believe it! Only a week ago we were joking that a woman would have to be crazy to be with him!"
"I know!"
Meryl's laughter began to subside. "I'm happy for both of them. I know how Blue felt about him. And, he has really changed for the better, in such a short time."
"Yeah…I never thought I would see my brother happy. Ever. All our years, I had tried to get through to him. But, I just couldn't."
"And it's because he's away from Shikio. Poor Knives…" Meryl trailed off.
Vash scooped her up in his arms, pressing a kiss to her lips again and she let out a small sound of surprise at his actions. Smiling, he took her to the bed and set her down gently, crawling so that he was over her. "Enough about them, huh? How about us?"
She smiled up at him, putting a hand to his cheek. "I love you Vash."
He lowered himself down, kissing her again gently at first, but becoming more aggressive as she breathed in heavily.
They fumbled with each other's clothes, both chuckling, as they had to sit back and actually help to remove things, then coming back together quickly.
Meryl reveled in the feel of his skin upon hers, his warmth intoxicating. He sat back, looking at her as she viewed him, a soft smile on her face. He looked a little unsure and she cocked her head to the side.
"What's wrong Vash?"
He looked at himself, and then back to her. "I…"
All at once, she realized that he was feeling self-conscious over his body and sat up fully, wrapping her arms around his torso, looking at him in the eyes. "Vash, it's ok. I have told you before that I didn't care what it looked like. And I still don't. I love you Vash, all of you." She ran her hand over a scar and he closed his eyes.
He smiled, pressing her back to the bed as he kissed her again. "Thank you Meryl. For accepting me as I am."
She merely smiled as she kissed him with eagerness, silently communicating to him what she now wanted. He returned her passion, letting go as he gave himself over to her.
Kiba sat alone in his room, staring out the window to the full moon. He sighed. He knew what would be going on behind their closed doors and he fought hard to let it go. He had, after all, been the one to set it up this way…
A knock at his door startled him and he got up to answer it. He looked out the peephole to see Tasuki and Milly standing there, a goofy grin on the redhead's face.
Kiba opened the door, smiling. "What's up guys?"
"Hey man! How's it going?" Tasuki pushed himself passed Kiba, plopping himself down on one of the two queen size beds in the room, bouncing extra for good measure.
"Hello Kiba! There's supposed to be a good movie on tonight and we brought popcorn! Your favorite! It has lots of butter!" Milly chirped as she let herself in as well.
Kiba stood, hand on the doorknob as he stared at them. He blinked. Didn't they want to be alone? Like the others?
Tasuki grabbed the remote, flipping the TV on and grinning as he found what he was looking for. "Yeah, here it is!"
Milly lay down next to Tasuki, patting the other bed. "Come on Kiba! It's starting!"
Kiba shut the door slowly, continuing to stare at them, a feeling of happiness welling up within him.
He smiled slowly as he lay down on the other bed, looking over to lock eyes with Milly. She grinned as she passed him the popcorn and he accepted it from her. "Thanks guys…" he said very quietly, almost inaudibly and she winked.
"I know it's your favorite flavor, so I special requested it from the kitchens for you." She responded, looking back to the movie.
Kiba's smile widened as he felt his unhappiness melt away. Milly knew what he had really been thanking him for.
The movie was a comedy and Kiba found himself laughing so hard tears came to his eyes.
After it was over, he smiled as he looked to the couple on the bed next to him. They were sound asleep, Tasuki spread out on his back while Milly curled up beside him. He stood, placing a blanket over them and smiling as he turned the TV and the lights off, crawling into his own bed. It had been just what he needed. In that moment, he felt lucky to have such loyal and caring friends…something that so many only dreamed of having in their lifetime…and he nearly forgot what had been bothering him as he drifted off to sleep.
"All right people, let's get a move on!" Vash hollered as he walked down the hallway, pounding on each of his party's doors. "If we get going now, we'll make it to September by nightfall!"
He sighed. It had been hard enough with five people in the group to get going in the mornings, but now with seven, it was even more difficult.
He pounded on Knives's door. "Come on brother!"
"GO AWAY!" Vash chuckled as he heard the muffled sound of his twins yell from behind the door.
"Hey, it's not my fault you were up all night!"
He stopped at Kiba's door, pounding on it. "Hey! Come one guys!"
Kiba opened the door, and Vash was surprised to see him already dressed, seemingly ready to go.
He smiled as he indicated to the sleeping pair on his other bed and Vash grinned as he walked over to them. He grabbed the blanket, ripping it away from them and earning an irritated sound from Tasuki.
"Come on man! Five more minutes!"
Milly sat up, stretching as she blinked open her eyes, focusing on Vash and smiling. "Good morning Vash!"
"Morning Milly! Wake your man up, we're outta here!" he said as he smiled and walked back out. He turned to Kiba, saying, "Meet you in the lobby in ten, ok?"
Kiba smiled as he nodded, turning back to laugh as he saw Milly tickling Tasuki's nose.
"Wake up dear! Time to go!"
He grumbled as he tried to swat her arms away and she smiled wider.
Kiba laughed loudly as Milly stood, saying, "Ok sweetheart! You force me to take drastic measures!" she said cheerfully and grabbed his arm, pulling him upright with her strength.
Kiba shook his head; laughter still coming from him as Tasuki grudgingly opened his irritated eyes. "I forgot how strong you are woman…" he breathed and she patted him on the back.
"I do work in construction dear!" she said happily and he smiled, shaking his head as he grabbed her around her torso, laying his head on her stomach.
"I can sleep like this just fine." He feigned sleep and she ruffled his red locks.
"You can sleep in the car, honey, now let's get going ok?"
He sighed as he nodded, standing to stretch.
Kiba looked at him, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "You know, after all the years I've known you, I have never seen you listen to another woman like you listen to our Milly."
Tasuki grinned as she walked to their room to grab their bags, saying, "Yeah, she's really something else, isn't she?"
Kiba nodded, his face taking on a more somber look as he looked down at the floor. "Tasuki…thanks man. For last night."
Tasuki smiled, patting his best friends back heartily as he walked out. "It was a good movie, huh?"
Kiba grinned. "Yeah, I laughed so hard I cried."
"Well good morning sleepyheads!" Tasuki grinned as Blue and Knives came from their room, the blonde man looking dead to the world as he grumbled in irritation.
"It's too fucking early…" he muttered and Kiba laughed.
"Maybe you just stayed up too late."
Blue laughed with him, a twinkle in her eyes as she dragged him along down the hall. Kiba lagged behind a bit, the other four going ahead to the lobby where Vash was waiting. He was surprised when, as he walked by Meryl's room, the door opened quickly and she stepped out, nearly running into him.
They locked eyes momentarily and he was quick to smile. "Morning Mer. Sleep well?" he asked and she did her best to squelch her embarrassment.
"Yeah, thanks Kiba. Your hotel rooms are really nice!"
He smiled as he grabbed her bag from her, carrying it as they walked down the hall. "Yeah, mom and dad enjoyed the finer things in life, you could say."
Meryl nodded as she smiled, looking at her feet as they walked, unsure of what else to say. Kiba knew exactly what had went on between her and Vash last night and it made her nervous. She sighed inwardly in relief when they came to the lobby, greeted by their friends.
"Come on slow pokes! Let's grab breakfast and then hit the road!" Vash called and they both smiled as they picked up the pace.
Shikio closed his eyes in concentration. He willed himself to connect with Knives, but let out a frustrated grunt when he couldn't. Why the hell couldn't he do it anymore? First Vash, now Knives…it couldn't be just coincidence that both brothers were able to close off their connections to him completely now. Something must be happening…
He couldn't communicate with the human woman through her dreams anymore, either. It was her. She had something to do with it. But what?
He closed his eyes, extending himself again to look for her. He felt a jolt go through him when he felt her suddenly. It was very faint, but he could hear her voice. It was almost inaudible and even with his superb hearing; he had to strain to listen. She must be very close by, if he could finally get through to her…
He caught only snippets of what she said, but it had been enough. Snapping his eyes open, he allowed an evil smile to cover his face. So that's where they were headed…
"Tasuki, I swear, if you don't shut up, I will kill you before we make it to September." Meryl warned. The redhead had been belting songs out again, grinning, as he knew it was bugging her to no end.
"Come on Mer! Just a few more hours and we're there. Sing with me!" He stared up a new obnoxious song and she buried her head into Milly's arm.
"Milly! Make it go away!"
All at once, Meryl went rigid, a tremor of terror running from the top of her head and running to her toes. Her eyes were wide, her face paled.
"Mer? Are you ok?" Milly's concerned voice reached her and she blinked, focusing on the concerned face of her friend.
She forced a smile, saying, "Yeah, I'm just fine." She turned her head to look out over the desert as it flew by. "What was that?" She thought as she willed her accelerated heart to calm down. She felt dread pool in her stomach, feeling nausea sweep over her. The absolute fear that she had just experienced held no face, no name, and it scared her even more. Where had it come from?
From his place in front of her, Vash turned his body around to face her, a concerned look in his eyes. He had felt a small amount of her fear, as she practically emanated it. "You ok Mer?"
She locked eyes with him and nodded. He was unconvinced and turned back around to face forward. He made a connection with her.
'Meryl, what's going on? You practically screamed out in fear back there a moment ago.'
'I…I really don't know Vash. One moment I was fine. The next, it felt like someone was trying to connect with me, and I felt fear like I've never experienced before.'
Vash's eyebrows furrowed together. Who was trying to connect to Meryl? His eyes snapped open. Shikio. "Kiba, we need to get there. Quick." His voice held a seriousness to it that Kiba had never heard from Vash before and he glanced over to Vash, concern on his face.
"What is it Vash?"
"I'm not sure yet. Just drive faster."
Kiba nodded, putting on more speed. Vash shut his eyes, concentrating on his brother. He hoped that they would be able to connect. They hadn't been for two weeks now and he needed to talk to Knives badly at the moment.
From the driver's seat next to Blue, Knives's eyes opened wide as he felt Vash make a connection. 'Knives, can you hear me?'
Knives smiled. 'Good to hear from you brother.'
Blue gave him a strange look, and then realized that he must be speaking with Vash.
'Knives, I wish I could say that I was happy about it, but I think we have a major problem.'
Knives raised an eyebrow at the urgency in his twin's thoughts. 'What's going on Vash?'
'I think Shikio has found us.'
The fairer twin's mouth fell open and Blue looked at him in concern. "Knives?"
'How do you know?' Knives questioned Vash quickly.
'I think he tried to make a connection with Meryl. He probably knows where we're headed.'
"Shit." Knives swore out loud and Blue put a hand to his arm.
"Is everything ok?"
"I think the bastard has found us."
'We need to hurry brother. We need to get to September, find what we need and get out.' Vash stated and Knives nodded as the connection severed. He slammed his foot to the gas, willing the car to go faster as he matched the one's in front of them.
"Why would you think that?" Blue questioned, fear creeping over her.
"Vash thinks he tried to get into Meryl's head."
"What will we do?"
He shook his head. He didn't have that answer. For the first time in his life, Millions Knives felt fear. Though very faint, it was there, in the back of his mind. What would happen when he saw the overlord again? Would he be able to keep control of himself? Or would Shikio succeed in taking him over once again? He didn't know…and he really didn't want to find out.
