"VASH!"
The Humanoid Typhoon, the man with the $$60,000,000,000 on his head, turned around, his eyes steely and focused as he searched for the source of the scream. When he finally saw it, the only being classified as an Act of God stared for a minute, and then fell over laughing.
There, in the area of the hut which contained their crude kitchen, sat Knives, his entire head and a good deal of his body white with the majority of the flour Vash had gotten on the last supply run. And above him, perched on a small stool like a perfect angel, was Evie, her grin almost cutting her face in half.
"Why you little-" the white-blonde (currently plain white) haired man growled as he began to jump up to do something that was probably unpleasant, but then he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't the force that halted Knives, but the gentle touch which brought him back to the world.
It didn't, however, remove any of his anger.
"Vash, that little...little-"
"Evie" his brother replied calmly.
"EVIE...just spilled half the bag of flour on my head!"
Vash raised an eyebrow, looked to the floury mess, and then at the little girl on the stool. She lowered her eyes in just the right way, then, as scheduled, made the expected whimpering noise.
"I can see."
"Vash, that was a week's worth of flour!" Knives complained, "What she did was not only stupid, but wreck less and-"
The calming hand gave a soft squeeze, letting the brother on the floor that his sibling knew exactly what he meant.
"Knives?"
"What!?"
"Did you manage to finish the bread for the week?"
His brother looked up at him like he was crazy.
"Yeah? So?"
"But you had yet to make the donuts?"
Knives again looked at him like he was crazy, but Evie's growing expression of horror told Vash that she'd realized what he was doing. A genius is one thing, but a child will immediately figure out how they're being punished.
Vash smiled.
"Well then, that all works out..." he said as he ambled to the stool and picked up the little girl who was giving him one hell of a death glare, "Evie used the flour this way, so she can't use it for donuts later, and thus won't get any till next week..."
"But Dad! Uncle Knives was-"
"No 'buts'..." Vash said calmly with a shake of his head as he deposited his daughter onto the floor away from the mess, "Next time, you'll think better of dumping our supplies on someone..."
Evie looked to her dad, and then to her uncle. Her dad, as expected, was giving her a half-loving, half-stern look, which meant that she'd be off the hook in his mind in a few minutes, but that the punishment was sticking. Her uncle, on the other hand, was glaring at her with a self-satisfied smirk that made the young girl think to herself how childlike her supposedly 'superior breed' (as he often told her) uncle acted a great deal of the time.
"Now you run along now...maybe you could work on that new doll you've been talking about for ages..." Vash prompted. It was a tell tale signal that her dad wanted to talk in private with her uncle. Evie took the signal, nodded, then tottered off as she was expected to in order to work on the doll.
Vash watched her go for a moment, then turned to his brother with something between anger and frustration.
"You don't always have to criticize everything Evie does, you know..." he said to Knives, his voice soft yet concerned.
"Perhaps you should spend more time on your own little 'doll' so that there is less to criticize..." his brother answered snidely.
"We all make mistakes," Vash reminded him.
"Humans more then us..."
In answer, his brother merely raised an eyebrow.
"She...she doesn't think before she does things! She's far too slow in learning simple equations, she reads like-"
"Knives! She's five years old...and may I say, exceptionally bright for her age."
"I wouldn't say-"
"She's been stashing donuts for the last four days preparing to do that to you..." Vash replied with a dry laugh and an almost smug smile, "You really underestimate her, and she knows it..."
Knives just stared back at his brother.
"You mean you gave her that punishment KNOWING that she was prepared?"
Now Vash looked serious.
"I gave that punishment knowing that you had provoked her."
Knives didn't answer, so the former gunman went on.
"Look, I know that you resent her presence here because, initially, I promised it would be me and you."
"And because she's a filthy human..."
"But you must admit that-"
Now the white-blonde rocketed up from his spot and stood facing his brother, his face twisted in a snarl.
"I will admit nothing. She's still an intruder! An intruder to our home, an intruder to the goal you set, and an intruder to us, our br-"
"That's ridiculous!" Vash shouted back, "She's a child. A child who need a home, a place to grow. She's no intruder. She is my daughter. You might not think that she is, but in my heart, which is the most important place, she is. And as such, she is as close to me as you are!"
Now his brother's eyes went wide in a deep and panicked shock. Knives couldn't believe it. That little...urchin? As close to Vash as himself? But they were brothers! Brothers by breed, brothers by birth...
"But..."
"If you love me...if you truly love me as a brother and aren't just trying to play with my mind for some petty scheme...if you care anything for me...care for her. Love her as you love me, then. Help her learn and grow and become someone you'll be proud to know. Stop complaining about her and help me raise her."
"I-"
"I'm not asking you to be Mr. Perfect Mommy, Knives...just..."
At this, words left Vash and he simply used his eyes to convey the message.
The white-blonde didn't answer for a moment.
"I'm never going to love her like I love you, brother..."
"Kni-"
"But...I will help you. I'll...stop whining and complaining about her, and I will try to be at least...civil with the little brat. I'll teach her what I can, perhaps make her a little more enlightened then the average human beast, and maybe when she's grown and gone, you'll come to your senses agai-"
Knives didn't finish because Vash had engulfed him in a life-threatening hug which didn't look like it was going to end soon. It made Knives thankful that he wasn't human even more...a human wouldn't survive half of his brother's joyous affections.
The Humanoid Typhoon, the man with the $$60,000,000,000 on his head, turned around, his eyes steely and focused as he searched for the source of the scream. When he finally saw it, the only being classified as an Act of God stared for a minute, and then fell over laughing.
There, in the area of the hut which contained their crude kitchen, sat Knives, his entire head and a good deal of his body white with the majority of the flour Vash had gotten on the last supply run. And above him, perched on a small stool like a perfect angel, was Evie, her grin almost cutting her face in half.
"Why you little-" the white-blonde (currently plain white) haired man growled as he began to jump up to do something that was probably unpleasant, but then he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't the force that halted Knives, but the gentle touch which brought him back to the world.
It didn't, however, remove any of his anger.
"Vash, that little...little-"
"Evie" his brother replied calmly.
"EVIE...just spilled half the bag of flour on my head!"
Vash raised an eyebrow, looked to the floury mess, and then at the little girl on the stool. She lowered her eyes in just the right way, then, as scheduled, made the expected whimpering noise.
"I can see."
"Vash, that was a week's worth of flour!" Knives complained, "What she did was not only stupid, but wreck less and-"
The calming hand gave a soft squeeze, letting the brother on the floor that his sibling knew exactly what he meant.
"Knives?"
"What!?"
"Did you manage to finish the bread for the week?"
His brother looked up at him like he was crazy.
"Yeah? So?"
"But you had yet to make the donuts?"
Knives again looked at him like he was crazy, but Evie's growing expression of horror told Vash that she'd realized what he was doing. A genius is one thing, but a child will immediately figure out how they're being punished.
Vash smiled.
"Well then, that all works out..." he said as he ambled to the stool and picked up the little girl who was giving him one hell of a death glare, "Evie used the flour this way, so she can't use it for donuts later, and thus won't get any till next week..."
"But Dad! Uncle Knives was-"
"No 'buts'..." Vash said calmly with a shake of his head as he deposited his daughter onto the floor away from the mess, "Next time, you'll think better of dumping our supplies on someone..."
Evie looked to her dad, and then to her uncle. Her dad, as expected, was giving her a half-loving, half-stern look, which meant that she'd be off the hook in his mind in a few minutes, but that the punishment was sticking. Her uncle, on the other hand, was glaring at her with a self-satisfied smirk that made the young girl think to herself how childlike her supposedly 'superior breed' (as he often told her) uncle acted a great deal of the time.
"Now you run along now...maybe you could work on that new doll you've been talking about for ages..." Vash prompted. It was a tell tale signal that her dad wanted to talk in private with her uncle. Evie took the signal, nodded, then tottered off as she was expected to in order to work on the doll.
Vash watched her go for a moment, then turned to his brother with something between anger and frustration.
"You don't always have to criticize everything Evie does, you know..." he said to Knives, his voice soft yet concerned.
"Perhaps you should spend more time on your own little 'doll' so that there is less to criticize..." his brother answered snidely.
"We all make mistakes," Vash reminded him.
"Humans more then us..."
In answer, his brother merely raised an eyebrow.
"She...she doesn't think before she does things! She's far too slow in learning simple equations, she reads like-"
"Knives! She's five years old...and may I say, exceptionally bright for her age."
"I wouldn't say-"
"She's been stashing donuts for the last four days preparing to do that to you..." Vash replied with a dry laugh and an almost smug smile, "You really underestimate her, and she knows it..."
Knives just stared back at his brother.
"You mean you gave her that punishment KNOWING that she was prepared?"
Now Vash looked serious.
"I gave that punishment knowing that you had provoked her."
Knives didn't answer, so the former gunman went on.
"Look, I know that you resent her presence here because, initially, I promised it would be me and you."
"And because she's a filthy human..."
"But you must admit that-"
Now the white-blonde rocketed up from his spot and stood facing his brother, his face twisted in a snarl.
"I will admit nothing. She's still an intruder! An intruder to our home, an intruder to the goal you set, and an intruder to us, our br-"
"That's ridiculous!" Vash shouted back, "She's a child. A child who need a home, a place to grow. She's no intruder. She is my daughter. You might not think that she is, but in my heart, which is the most important place, she is. And as such, she is as close to me as you are!"
Now his brother's eyes went wide in a deep and panicked shock. Knives couldn't believe it. That little...urchin? As close to Vash as himself? But they were brothers! Brothers by breed, brothers by birth...
"But..."
"If you love me...if you truly love me as a brother and aren't just trying to play with my mind for some petty scheme...if you care anything for me...care for her. Love her as you love me, then. Help her learn and grow and become someone you'll be proud to know. Stop complaining about her and help me raise her."
"I-"
"I'm not asking you to be Mr. Perfect Mommy, Knives...just..."
At this, words left Vash and he simply used his eyes to convey the message.
The white-blonde didn't answer for a moment.
"I'm never going to love her like I love you, brother..."
"Kni-"
"But...I will help you. I'll...stop whining and complaining about her, and I will try to be at least...civil with the little brat. I'll teach her what I can, perhaps make her a little more enlightened then the average human beast, and maybe when she's grown and gone, you'll come to your senses agai-"
Knives didn't finish because Vash had engulfed him in a life-threatening hug which didn't look like it was going to end soon. It made Knives thankful that he wasn't human even more...a human wouldn't survive half of his brother's joyous affections.
