Vash awoke to see the orange glow on the opposite horizon that the sun had set
on. He felt the moisture on his cheek when he started to rub the sleep from his
eyes. His eyes were tired from shedding so many tears for so many years for so
many people. And yet, it always seemed to be a welcome release from the pain.
"Later, Wolfwood." He did a small salute towards the stars.
After slapping his cheeks a few times to rid the fuzziness in his mind, he
started the engine. It coughed, trying to warm itself up from the extreme cold
it slept through during the night. Eventually, it was warm enough, a small mist
rising from the hood of the car, and Vash continued on his way.
The sun was a few meters above the horizon; surprisingly it wasn't pelting the
land with an unbearable heat. Not yet anyways. Vash finally pulled the car up to
a hotel, leapt out of the car and stretched his arms over his head, cracking his
shoulders and knuckles.
"Insurance girls!" he shouted out to the entrance of the dusty building.
"We have names, you know." Meryl stormed out, her arms crossed in front of her.
"You were supposed to be here yesterday evening." Her eyebrows were furrowed,
her eyes pierced into his, waiting for whatever stupid reason for being late he
had this time.
"Yes, Vash-san. We were worried about you." Milly strolled out with the usual
cheery smile on her face.
"No...no we weren't!" Meryl spluttered. "He could have been drinking all night
or entertaining himself with some hookers, instead of being here!"
He coughed, trying to put his 2 cents in. "The people of former-July...I was
helping them to rebuild..."
".........."
"That was so nice of you, Vash-san!"
Meryl and Vash signalled for her to keep her voice down. Vash was supposed to
be dead to everyone now, so the 60 billion reward went uncollected. Only a few
people knew what happened in those two years, and this was the day that the
group of 3 would revisit those who did know; a reunion of sorts.
Vash scratched the back of his head. ".....how's Knives?"
"You'd get a better answer if you asked me yourself."
"Knives." The tall dust-blonde man strolled out of the hotel, a cheery smile on
his face. At one time, that smile would mean something completely different.
(Flashback)
"Knives, you need to stop this foolishness!"
"Foolishness? YOU'RE the foolish one! Can't you see that we will always be the
superior ones?" Knives struggled against the bonds that held him to the bed. His
hair was a faint ash-gray colour. It had turned black shortly after Vash had
brought him back from their "childish fight" 3 weeks ago, but it was slowly
returning to it's original colour.
"Who? Who determines that? WHO says that we ARE the superior ones, Knives?" Vash
was seated next to the bed. He lowered his head to his knees, rubbing the sore
spot at the base of his neck. He had been there all day trying to make sense of
his brother, as he had been doing since for those past 3 weeks. "And don't you
dare say that you do." With those words, he raises his head, glaring at his
brother.
"And why not?" Knives smirked evilly, knowing that those kinds of answers also
sent Vash into a frenzy.
"BECAUSE! Because you're NOT the decider of everyone's fate!" He jumped to his
feet, sending the chair falling back to the wall. "You don't know everyone on
this planet!"
"And you do?" He had kept his eyes closed the entire time, but he opened them
for the satisfaction of seeing Vash choke back on one of his one questions.
"No....I don't. But that doesn't mean that all of them are terrible people,
willing to kill each other to survive. I've met..."
"What were people's reaction when they found out you were the Humanoid Typhoon?"
Knives interrupted. "How did they react when they knew that you were the cause
of the incident at July? Hmph. I'm sure they welcomed you with open arms." He
retorted sarcastically.
"Don't. Don't you DARE blame that incident on me!" Knives noticed his brother's
clenched fists; a small trickle of blood dripped down his right one.
"So, are you going to hit me now?" He closed his eyes, smiling victoriously.
Vash released the tension of his arms, driving away the anger from his mind.
"Knives, what happened after I brought you back?"
"Well, I've been lying in this bed ever since, so not much." he said
nonchalantly.
"That's true." Vash turned, replacing the chair in its former position and took
his seat. "A better question to ask would be who has been taking care of you
ever since?"
"..........."
"Who, Knives?"
"............"
Vash rested his chins on his knuckles, trying the best to surpress the smile
that was trying to surface. He knew that something had hit a nerve. "You know
who...those who you call "weak selfish humans."
"I don't like being pitied..."
"Pity? That's the last thing I'd call it. The girls CARE, Knives. One of them
despises you for what you did to my friend, but I don't see her giving you the
slap-around you deserve."
"........."
"And what benefits are the possibly getting out of it, Knives? None whatsoever.
They help because they hate seeing people hurt."
"Don't you DARE call me a person. I am NOT a filthy human."
"Aren't you? Are you any better than Steve?"
".....Steve?" Knives eyes shot open, but the memory of the terrible man who
called him a monster came back to him.
"He never understood what we were, and he didn't want to. Can you really say you
know what humans are really like?"
"......"
"Knives...you know what I'm saying is true....or might even have a hint of
sounding remotely sensible."
"....I was doing it for you, Vash..."
"WHAT?!"
"...you were with her all the time. When I saw you crying after you told me
about Steve, I never wanted you to be hurt again. How could I trust humans after
they hurt you? I never knew what you were feeling. You never told me anything.
You....I heard you told Rem you loved her. I wanted those words to be for me..."
This was a revelation. Vash never took Knives' feelings into consideration.
Guilt washed over him; Knives was neglected of the brotherly love that Vash was
supposed to show him. He never saw things through Vash's eyes.
"I wanted you to myself, Vash. I wanted you to tell me those words."
A hint of a tear appeared at the corner of his eye.
The sight of it overwhelmed Vash's heart, causing him to leap from his chair and
embrace his tied-down brother. "Knives...."
"She was burned into your mind....I was nothing to you."
"Knives...stop it..."
"When did you ever tell me anything?"
"Knives..."
"Why didn't you..."
"I love you, Knives. You're my brother. I'm sorry....Rem was always open to me.
Ever since you killed that spider..."
".....I guess I have problems expressing myself." Knives smiled a little, hoping
to lighten the heavy mood from the air.
"Well, with what you went through, I guess I can't really blame you." He pressed
his cheek to Knives', their tears mixing on the pillow.
(End Flashback)
Vash winked at Knives. "Nice uniform, by the way."
Knives glanced down at his suit: a white shirt, a navy blue tie around his neck,
untied to keep his neck cool, and a navy blue pants. "Does it clash with my
eyes?" Knives batted his eyes jokingly, striking a rather effeminate pose.
Merly pressed her forehead to her hands. "THESE were the 2 most feared men six
years ago?!!" She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to clock the two. Well,
maybe not Knives....his ice-blues still sent a surge of fear through her spine.
on. He felt the moisture on his cheek when he started to rub the sleep from his
eyes. His eyes were tired from shedding so many tears for so many years for so
many people. And yet, it always seemed to be a welcome release from the pain.
"Later, Wolfwood." He did a small salute towards the stars.
After slapping his cheeks a few times to rid the fuzziness in his mind, he
started the engine. It coughed, trying to warm itself up from the extreme cold
it slept through during the night. Eventually, it was warm enough, a small mist
rising from the hood of the car, and Vash continued on his way.
The sun was a few meters above the horizon; surprisingly it wasn't pelting the
land with an unbearable heat. Not yet anyways. Vash finally pulled the car up to
a hotel, leapt out of the car and stretched his arms over his head, cracking his
shoulders and knuckles.
"Insurance girls!" he shouted out to the entrance of the dusty building.
"We have names, you know." Meryl stormed out, her arms crossed in front of her.
"You were supposed to be here yesterday evening." Her eyebrows were furrowed,
her eyes pierced into his, waiting for whatever stupid reason for being late he
had this time.
"Yes, Vash-san. We were worried about you." Milly strolled out with the usual
cheery smile on her face.
"No...no we weren't!" Meryl spluttered. "He could have been drinking all night
or entertaining himself with some hookers, instead of being here!"
He coughed, trying to put his 2 cents in. "The people of former-July...I was
helping them to rebuild..."
".........."
"That was so nice of you, Vash-san!"
Meryl and Vash signalled for her to keep her voice down. Vash was supposed to
be dead to everyone now, so the 60 billion reward went uncollected. Only a few
people knew what happened in those two years, and this was the day that the
group of 3 would revisit those who did know; a reunion of sorts.
Vash scratched the back of his head. ".....how's Knives?"
"You'd get a better answer if you asked me yourself."
"Knives." The tall dust-blonde man strolled out of the hotel, a cheery smile on
his face. At one time, that smile would mean something completely different.
(Flashback)
"Knives, you need to stop this foolishness!"
"Foolishness? YOU'RE the foolish one! Can't you see that we will always be the
superior ones?" Knives struggled against the bonds that held him to the bed. His
hair was a faint ash-gray colour. It had turned black shortly after Vash had
brought him back from their "childish fight" 3 weeks ago, but it was slowly
returning to it's original colour.
"Who? Who determines that? WHO says that we ARE the superior ones, Knives?" Vash
was seated next to the bed. He lowered his head to his knees, rubbing the sore
spot at the base of his neck. He had been there all day trying to make sense of
his brother, as he had been doing since for those past 3 weeks. "And don't you
dare say that you do." With those words, he raises his head, glaring at his
brother.
"And why not?" Knives smirked evilly, knowing that those kinds of answers also
sent Vash into a frenzy.
"BECAUSE! Because you're NOT the decider of everyone's fate!" He jumped to his
feet, sending the chair falling back to the wall. "You don't know everyone on
this planet!"
"And you do?" He had kept his eyes closed the entire time, but he opened them
for the satisfaction of seeing Vash choke back on one of his one questions.
"No....I don't. But that doesn't mean that all of them are terrible people,
willing to kill each other to survive. I've met..."
"What were people's reaction when they found out you were the Humanoid Typhoon?"
Knives interrupted. "How did they react when they knew that you were the cause
of the incident at July? Hmph. I'm sure they welcomed you with open arms." He
retorted sarcastically.
"Don't. Don't you DARE blame that incident on me!" Knives noticed his brother's
clenched fists; a small trickle of blood dripped down his right one.
"So, are you going to hit me now?" He closed his eyes, smiling victoriously.
Vash released the tension of his arms, driving away the anger from his mind.
"Knives, what happened after I brought you back?"
"Well, I've been lying in this bed ever since, so not much." he said
nonchalantly.
"That's true." Vash turned, replacing the chair in its former position and took
his seat. "A better question to ask would be who has been taking care of you
ever since?"
"..........."
"Who, Knives?"
"............"
Vash rested his chins on his knuckles, trying the best to surpress the smile
that was trying to surface. He knew that something had hit a nerve. "You know
who...those who you call "weak selfish humans."
"I don't like being pitied..."
"Pity? That's the last thing I'd call it. The girls CARE, Knives. One of them
despises you for what you did to my friend, but I don't see her giving you the
slap-around you deserve."
"........."
"And what benefits are the possibly getting out of it, Knives? None whatsoever.
They help because they hate seeing people hurt."
"Don't you DARE call me a person. I am NOT a filthy human."
"Aren't you? Are you any better than Steve?"
".....Steve?" Knives eyes shot open, but the memory of the terrible man who
called him a monster came back to him.
"He never understood what we were, and he didn't want to. Can you really say you
know what humans are really like?"
"......"
"Knives...you know what I'm saying is true....or might even have a hint of
sounding remotely sensible."
"....I was doing it for you, Vash..."
"WHAT?!"
"...you were with her all the time. When I saw you crying after you told me
about Steve, I never wanted you to be hurt again. How could I trust humans after
they hurt you? I never knew what you were feeling. You never told me anything.
You....I heard you told Rem you loved her. I wanted those words to be for me..."
This was a revelation. Vash never took Knives' feelings into consideration.
Guilt washed over him; Knives was neglected of the brotherly love that Vash was
supposed to show him. He never saw things through Vash's eyes.
"I wanted you to myself, Vash. I wanted you to tell me those words."
A hint of a tear appeared at the corner of his eye.
The sight of it overwhelmed Vash's heart, causing him to leap from his chair and
embrace his tied-down brother. "Knives...."
"She was burned into your mind....I was nothing to you."
"Knives...stop it..."
"When did you ever tell me anything?"
"Knives..."
"Why didn't you..."
"I love you, Knives. You're my brother. I'm sorry....Rem was always open to me.
Ever since you killed that spider..."
".....I guess I have problems expressing myself." Knives smiled a little, hoping
to lighten the heavy mood from the air.
"Well, with what you went through, I guess I can't really blame you." He pressed
his cheek to Knives', their tears mixing on the pillow.
(End Flashback)
Vash winked at Knives. "Nice uniform, by the way."
Knives glanced down at his suit: a white shirt, a navy blue tie around his neck,
untied to keep his neck cool, and a navy blue pants. "Does it clash with my
eyes?" Knives batted his eyes jokingly, striking a rather effeminate pose.
Merly pressed her forehead to her hands. "THESE were the 2 most feared men six
years ago?!!" She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to clock the two. Well,
maybe not Knives....his ice-blues still sent a surge of fear through her spine.