The car rumbled along on the road, occasionally jerking on the bumps. Only the sound of the engine was apparent, as the group travelled on in silence. None of them knew what to say to each other. Meryl was still in distress, wrapped in the same tattered cloth from head to toe. She didn't want to see sunlight, or anything for that matter. She wanted to shrivel away and disappear. She even refused to let Milly touch her; she was in a void, or a black hole. It was at this time that she resented the fact that she had senses. Right now, she needed them to be dead. Vash was merely staring on at the road ahead, replaying the events of the night before in his head. It's not like he wanted to, it was just his nature. Knives was as uncomfortable as ever, due to his lack of people skills. Milly was staring at her hands on her lap. She was tired of seeing everyone down like this. What made it worse was that she was drunk, and if she hadn't been, maybe.........just maybe.........she could have prevented what happened to her senior. She sighed, feeling the heavy air of the depression weigh on her shoulders.
"Who are we going to see again?" she chimed in, trying to at least take their minds off of last night..........even if it was for a while.
"Um....Marianne, is it?" Knives directed his eyes towards Vash
Vash nodded. "Remember? The girl that kinda looked like me? She was working for that stingy guy who kept the water from the town."
"Oh yeah! She was nice."
"Well.......except for the fact that she lied to us....."
"Is that anyway to talk, Mr. Vash?" Milly leaned over the seat. "You kinda lied to us."
"No I didn't!" He glared back at her, jokingly. "I just......", he shrugged, ".......never told you about myself. You never really ASKED if I was the Humanoid Typhoon." Vash smiled, glad that he actually made sense.
But that smile quickly disappeared as his thoughts returned to their former subject matter. The pain of Meryl's expression was what hurt him most. Seeing the pain all over again....the familiar lump to his throat was returning. Knives could see the pain bearing down on his brother on his face; he placed his hand on the seat between them, palm up. Without looking, Vash took it and gave it a good firm squeeze. It was almost the only solid thing he had right now, in the hazy daze he was in right now.
They coasted through the town, looking for the house that was described to them in the letter. The car stopped in front of a large house of gray brick with a large white door and frosted glass windows on the first floor.
"Looks like we're here." Knives looked over the house, admiring the worksmanship. And 5 years ago, he wanted to kill humans. Terrible, terrible irony.
Vash hesitated to go inside, his sad eyes falling on the covered, huddled mass of the raven-haired girl in the back seat. Milly and Knives reassured him that what Meryl really needed right now was some time alone; Knives volunteered to stay in the car with her, since he didn't really know the girl. So Milly went up to knock, but it was a really thick heavy door, from the muffled sound of the knocks.
"I.....think maybe this?" Vash pushed a shiny blue button that was by the door. A ringing came from the other side.
" Ooooo!!!" Milly stared at the button in surprise and awe. Mesmerized, she began pushing the button over and over again, enjoying the cheerful ring that it made.
"Milly!" Vash tried to pull her hands away from the button, trying not to hurt her. "She's gonna think we're impatient idiots!"
The door opened to a slightly tan girl, her long blond hair in a tight braid, dressed in a crimson skirt and white blouse with small frills at the ends of the sleeves. She gasped. "It's.....it's you!" She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming in joy. The smile on her face made Vash's heart just a bit more happy than it was before. "Come in! Come in!"
"It's nice to see you again, Marianne." Milly took off her heavy coat and hung it on the coat rack that hung behind the door.
"As it is to see you two......" Marianne smiled cheerfully. "Would you like something to drink? By the way, wasn't there one more...."
"Do you have pudding?!?" Milly's eyes twinkled, gladly taking the chance to interrupt to save Vash anymore pain. And he smiled a thank you to her.
Marianne nodded. A scramble of footsteps to the kitchen left Vash and Marianne alone staring at each other. "Well, shall we go to the living room?" She led the way, as Vash looked around at the furnishings of the house.
"Wow....you did well with the money you collected from sending that guy in."
"It was all for the good of the people." She took a seat on a chair opposite from the door, leaving the red couch across from her for Vash. "How's life been treating you?"
He smiled one of his fake smiles when he didn't want anyone to know he was hurting, and scratched the back of his head. "It's not bad." He kicked the thought of talking about Meryl in it's ass.
Milly left the kitchen and was surprised not to see the pair there. "Vash-san? Marianne-san?"
The distant voice of Vash came from upstairs, "We're up here, Milly."
The three spoke of what happened over the past few years; Milly chose to leave out her relation to Wolfwood, for two very important reasons. One being the obvious, and the other being the fact that Marianne didn't even know who Wolfwood was to begin with. But Vash relayed the entire story of who and what he was, and why he travelled all those years, that he found his brother and talked some sense into him.
"Would you like to meet him?" Vash stood from his chair, extending his hand.
"I'd love to." Marianne took his and exited the room before him. Vash stood by the doorway and bowed, jokingly, letting the 2 girls leave before him. Milly tried her best to surpress her giggles, glad that Vash was in a bit of a better mood.
Introductions were exchanged away from the car, as they knew Marianne would obviously ask what the wrapped mass in the backseat was. Marianne actually seemed a bit flirtatious with Knives, which made for an extremely hilarious scene. Knives looked flustered, with bright red cheeks; Vash was in his own fluster because he couldn't understand why she hadn't fallen for his good looks when they first met. He and Knives WERE twins after all. Must have been the hair.
It came time for them to leave and they bid their goodbyes. Marianne even blew a kiss to Knives, who quickly jumped into the backseat, urging Vash to start the car and hurry on. Milly couldn't help but die from laughing.
"Never again......"Knives mumbled to himself, crossing his arms like he felt someone had invaded his....."privacy".
"Aw, come on, Knives. Lighten up." Milly leaned over the backseat, her hair whipping over her face. "You need to know how to get along with women."
"I get along with you and Meryl just fine, thank you." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You don't see us flirting with you, do you?" She smirked.
"Hmph." And that was the end of the discussion. "Where're we going next?"
Vash held the map down on the steering wheel with his thumbs, keeping the rest of his fingers gripped on the wheel, and his eyes darted back and forth from the map to the road.
"..................Rina...." A bittersweet sadness filled his heart.
*Alright, I'm sorry to pull all of you out of the sudden depression from the last chapter so quickly, but I wanted to save all of it for the rest of the chapters. I mean, anymore and I'D get depressed about writing the rest of this fic. Plus, it also has to be due to the fact that I've been listening to Two-Mix songs through all this fic. ^_^' Don't worry. For the next chapter, I'll be listening to Blue from Cowboy Bebop.........and that song never fails to get me in a down mood. So get ready to sink back into the angst of..........*drum roll* "REUNION"! *takes a bow*
"Who are we going to see again?" she chimed in, trying to at least take their minds off of last night..........even if it was for a while.
"Um....Marianne, is it?" Knives directed his eyes towards Vash
Vash nodded. "Remember? The girl that kinda looked like me? She was working for that stingy guy who kept the water from the town."
"Oh yeah! She was nice."
"Well.......except for the fact that she lied to us....."
"Is that anyway to talk, Mr. Vash?" Milly leaned over the seat. "You kinda lied to us."
"No I didn't!" He glared back at her, jokingly. "I just......", he shrugged, ".......never told you about myself. You never really ASKED if I was the Humanoid Typhoon." Vash smiled, glad that he actually made sense.
But that smile quickly disappeared as his thoughts returned to their former subject matter. The pain of Meryl's expression was what hurt him most. Seeing the pain all over again....the familiar lump to his throat was returning. Knives could see the pain bearing down on his brother on his face; he placed his hand on the seat between them, palm up. Without looking, Vash took it and gave it a good firm squeeze. It was almost the only solid thing he had right now, in the hazy daze he was in right now.
They coasted through the town, looking for the house that was described to them in the letter. The car stopped in front of a large house of gray brick with a large white door and frosted glass windows on the first floor.
"Looks like we're here." Knives looked over the house, admiring the worksmanship. And 5 years ago, he wanted to kill humans. Terrible, terrible irony.
Vash hesitated to go inside, his sad eyes falling on the covered, huddled mass of the raven-haired girl in the back seat. Milly and Knives reassured him that what Meryl really needed right now was some time alone; Knives volunteered to stay in the car with her, since he didn't really know the girl. So Milly went up to knock, but it was a really thick heavy door, from the muffled sound of the knocks.
"I.....think maybe this?" Vash pushed a shiny blue button that was by the door. A ringing came from the other side.
" Ooooo!!!" Milly stared at the button in surprise and awe. Mesmerized, she began pushing the button over and over again, enjoying the cheerful ring that it made.
"Milly!" Vash tried to pull her hands away from the button, trying not to hurt her. "She's gonna think we're impatient idiots!"
The door opened to a slightly tan girl, her long blond hair in a tight braid, dressed in a crimson skirt and white blouse with small frills at the ends of the sleeves. She gasped. "It's.....it's you!" She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming in joy. The smile on her face made Vash's heart just a bit more happy than it was before. "Come in! Come in!"
"It's nice to see you again, Marianne." Milly took off her heavy coat and hung it on the coat rack that hung behind the door.
"As it is to see you two......" Marianne smiled cheerfully. "Would you like something to drink? By the way, wasn't there one more...."
"Do you have pudding?!?" Milly's eyes twinkled, gladly taking the chance to interrupt to save Vash anymore pain. And he smiled a thank you to her.
Marianne nodded. A scramble of footsteps to the kitchen left Vash and Marianne alone staring at each other. "Well, shall we go to the living room?" She led the way, as Vash looked around at the furnishings of the house.
"Wow....you did well with the money you collected from sending that guy in."
"It was all for the good of the people." She took a seat on a chair opposite from the door, leaving the red couch across from her for Vash. "How's life been treating you?"
He smiled one of his fake smiles when he didn't want anyone to know he was hurting, and scratched the back of his head. "It's not bad." He kicked the thought of talking about Meryl in it's ass.
Milly left the kitchen and was surprised not to see the pair there. "Vash-san? Marianne-san?"
The distant voice of Vash came from upstairs, "We're up here, Milly."
The three spoke of what happened over the past few years; Milly chose to leave out her relation to Wolfwood, for two very important reasons. One being the obvious, and the other being the fact that Marianne didn't even know who Wolfwood was to begin with. But Vash relayed the entire story of who and what he was, and why he travelled all those years, that he found his brother and talked some sense into him.
"Would you like to meet him?" Vash stood from his chair, extending his hand.
"I'd love to." Marianne took his and exited the room before him. Vash stood by the doorway and bowed, jokingly, letting the 2 girls leave before him. Milly tried her best to surpress her giggles, glad that Vash was in a bit of a better mood.
Introductions were exchanged away from the car, as they knew Marianne would obviously ask what the wrapped mass in the backseat was. Marianne actually seemed a bit flirtatious with Knives, which made for an extremely hilarious scene. Knives looked flustered, with bright red cheeks; Vash was in his own fluster because he couldn't understand why she hadn't fallen for his good looks when they first met. He and Knives WERE twins after all. Must have been the hair.
It came time for them to leave and they bid their goodbyes. Marianne even blew a kiss to Knives, who quickly jumped into the backseat, urging Vash to start the car and hurry on. Milly couldn't help but die from laughing.
"Never again......"Knives mumbled to himself, crossing his arms like he felt someone had invaded his....."privacy".
"Aw, come on, Knives. Lighten up." Milly leaned over the backseat, her hair whipping over her face. "You need to know how to get along with women."
"I get along with you and Meryl just fine, thank you." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You don't see us flirting with you, do you?" She smirked.
"Hmph." And that was the end of the discussion. "Where're we going next?"
Vash held the map down on the steering wheel with his thumbs, keeping the rest of his fingers gripped on the wheel, and his eyes darted back and forth from the map to the road.
"..................Rina...." A bittersweet sadness filled his heart.
*Alright, I'm sorry to pull all of you out of the sudden depression from the last chapter so quickly, but I wanted to save all of it for the rest of the chapters. I mean, anymore and I'D get depressed about writing the rest of this fic. Plus, it also has to be due to the fact that I've been listening to Two-Mix songs through all this fic. ^_^' Don't worry. For the next chapter, I'll be listening to Blue from Cowboy Bebop.........and that song never fails to get me in a down mood. So get ready to sink back into the angst of..........*drum roll* "REUNION"! *takes a bow*