DISCLAIMER Vash belongs to Meryl, (though Meryl's in denial) and Wolfwood belongs to Milly. None of them belong to me (sobs) so you can't sue!
Alrighty then, I've finally stopped talking about myself in third person, AND I'VE GOT MY SUGAR!!! MUHAHAHA!! . So let's get on with this!
SOME SPECIAL THANK YOU'S:
To Tenshi no ai, Lynda-chan, and Akima The Stampede Maxwel: Thx for the great reviews you guys! You were the first three to review! I really appreciated it! .
To Miraba: hehehe… thank you so much for pointing out the mess-ups! I wrote the first chapter at 3am in the morning and my brain was a bit foggy so I didn't get everything flowing right. Thx again! .
To Chibiman: lol Ok, you've convinced me . Vash will get his red coat! (and Legato WILL be showing up in this chapter . hehehe) But I'm not sure if I'm gonna make Vash and Knives brothers… you're right, that could either be good or bad.. .'
THX AGAIN PEEPS!
AND NOW, on with the fic!!!!! . YAY!
LEGATO: mumbling About time…
ME: smiles evilly Don't think I've forgotten about you Legato… hehehe…
LEGATO: 0.0'
EVEN THE STRONGEST WALLS CRUMBLE
CHAPTER 2
Meryl relaxed into a warm bath, absorbing the heat gratefully. She had just woken up from a short nap, and was already feeling a bit better. Closing her eyes, Meryl felt a peaceful smile light her face as she let all her thoughts float away into the dark abyss of her mind, content to just enjoy the moment. After a hard or tiring day, this little piece of heaven was what she always looked forward to.
---RING---
---RING---
That, of course, would be the phone.
Meryl twitched as it rang again, clenching one fist. Why? Why did the phone always have to ring while she was taking a bath?!
'I'm not gonna answer it, I'm not gonna answer it…' she chanted in her head.
---RING---
'I'm not gonna-'
---RING---
"FINE!" Meryl shouted, jumping out of the bath and wrapping a towel quickly around herself.
"What?!" She snapped as she picked up the phone, not bothering to keep the edge out of her voice. She could literally feel the person on the other end cringe.
"Hey Meryl, it's me!"
"Oh… hi Milly." Meryl smiled, changing her tone immediately. "Sorry for snapping like that. I was just in the middle of taking a bath when you called."
"It's okay," Milly said brightly, "I was just wondering if you wanted to come with us to the movies tonight…"
"Vash already asked me. I said no."
"Really?" Milly asked, sounding a bit disappointed, "You don't want to come with us?"
It was one thing saying 'no' to Vash's puppy dog eyes. It was another thing to say 'no' when her best friend was begging.
"It's not that I don't want to go with you guys… but I'm tired and I have a lot of work to do."
"Please Meryl? Just tonight?"
Meryl sighed, tightening the towel around her and gazing back in the direction of the bathroom, where her warm bath awaited her.
"Oh, fine Milly. I'll come if you promise not to send Vash after me anymore."
"What?" Milly asked, sounding genuinely confused. Meryl narrowed her eyes.
"You mean you didn't send Vash to make sure I got home alright?"
"…No… why would I do that? You can take care of yourself. Besides, you told me you didn't like him…"
Meryl frowned, creasing her brow. He said Milly had sent him… but if that wasn't the case, why had he shown up in the alley?
"Oh, okay then, forget I said anything. What time should I be there?"
"I'll come and pick you up and we'll meet the boys in front of the Movie Theater at eight." Her friend said, still sounding slightly confused. Meryl was too lost in her thoughts to bother explaining anything.
"Okay, I'll be there. Bye Milly."
She hung up the phone, a frown still on her face.
"The girls should probably be here any minute now…" Wolfwood said, checking his watch, "I think we came a bit early."
"Aren't girls usually LATE?" Vash asked, munching on a donut. They were sitting on a bench outside the movie theater, watching people hurry back and forth. Vash was dressed in his same clothes as before, except now he had a large red trenchcoat over his shirt, and he was cradling a large box of donuts in one arm. (Classic Vash style! .) Wolfwood was just sitting calmly next to him, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, staring boredly at his watch.
"Meryl is never late for anything."
If Vash had had dog ears, they would have perked. He glanced over at the guy sitting next to him.
"Meryl's coming? She told me she didn't want to go."
"Milly called her up and convinced her," Wolfwood said, pretending not to notice the hint of excitement in Vash's voice. Vash stuffed another donut in his mouth, silent for awhile. When he spoke again his voice held a thoughtful tone.
"So what's up with you and Milly anyway? Are you two going out?"
"We're not, Needle-noggin," Wolfwood mumbled, shooting a glare over at him, "We're just friends."
"Oh, cause I could have sworn you two-"
"We're NOT GOING OUT!" Wolfwood practically shouted, giving Vash an evil look. Vash folded his arms across his chest, throwing the empty donut box behind him as he did.
"A bit touchy, aren't ya? I didn't think you hated her that much…"
"I don't hate her!" Wolfwood said in an exasperated voice, "Milly's great! She's nice, she's unselfish, she's…" He stopped when he realized he had fallen right into Vash's trap and narrowed his eyes, turning away.
"Just shut-up Dough-brain."
"Dog breath"
"Pansy"
"Pansy?!" Vash choked, jumping up into the air and glaring at Wolfwood. Wolfwood smirked evilly.
"Yeah, just look at you. And what kind of name is 'VASH'?!"
"Well what kind of name is Wolfwood?!" Vash argued, narrowing his eyes. He was about to say more, but stopped when a beautiful blonde crossed the sidewalk in front of them, heading towards the Movie Theater.
"He-llo!!" He yelped, a goofy grin on his face as he stepped forward, about to run after her. A no-nonsense voice spoke up behind him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Rachel Henricks, age 17, on the basketball team. Her favorite color is baby blue, and she loves to shop and read. The only way you'd stand a chance is if you convinced her to dump her boyfriend, who she's been going out with for three years. Even then you probably couldn't get her."
At first Vash looked crestfallen, then surprised as he realized whose voice that was. He turned around quickly to see Meryl and Milly standing behind him, right on time. He gaped as Wolfwood stood up, grinning at the two girls, and started towards the theater. Vash trailed Meryl as she passed, an interested look on his face.
"Hey, how did you know all that stuff about her?"
"I'm an interviewer for the school newspaper. It's my job to know everything about everyone at our school."
"Hmm…" Vash said seriously, his eyes scanning the crowd as they got their tickets and headed inside. Then he tapped her shoulder, another psychotic smile on his face.
"Hey Meryl, how about that girl?"
He pointed to a tall brunette with a short skirt and visible cleavage. Meryl barely glanced at her before answering.
"Stephanie Marock, 18 years old, cheerleading. She likes swimming and singing, and owns a SUV. Her current boyfriend is Travis Lotts, head of the football team."
With a disappointed look, Vash once again went silent. But 5 seconds later…
"Hey Meryl, who's-"
Meryl and Wolfwood both whacked him over the head before he could finish, walking off into the theater. They left Vash on the ground, a twitching heap on the floor.
"Oooowww… violence isn't the answer, you guys…"
Meryl was not having a good time. No, she wasn't having a good time at all. And it wasn't the movie that was bothering her… it was the company.
"Sorry for spilling the popcorn on you Meryl…"
"Mr. Wolfwood, you accidentally put your hand on my leg."
"Sorry Milly, I didn't realize…"
"Hey Meryl, who's that girl two seats in front of you?"
SLAP
"OOWW!!"
"I think you got what you deserved, Needle-noggin."
"Hey, I was just asking-"
A couple people yelled for them to shut-up, and there was finally silence. Meryl sighed inwardly, trying to focus her attention on the movie. It was starting out good as far as she could tell, though she hadn't really caught the beginning because of the others.
Things didn't get any better, however, because 3 minutes later:
"Mr. Wolfwood, you accidentally put your hand on my leg again."
"Sorry again Milly."
"Will you quit messing around over there, dogbreath?"
"Shut-up doughbrain. I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Mr. Vash, you just kicked that poor girl in front of you."
"Oh, I'm sorry… HE-LLO! Hey Meryl, what's her name?!"
"Ask her yourself you idiot!"
WHACK
"OW!"
"Mr. Wolfwood, could you pass me the popcorn?"
"Vash spilled it awhile ago."
"Oh. Nevermind then."
"Hey pansy boy, why don't you stop trying to look down that girl's shirt and go buy us some more popcorn!"
"I am NOT a pansy!!!"
"Riiight… I believe you."
"It's alright Mr. Wolfwood, I don't think we need the popcorn anyway. I'm really not that hungry."
"You sure?"
"I AM NOT A PANSY!"
"Yes, thank you though."
"Oh, hey Meryl, could you go down there and get that pretty girl's phone number for me??"
"And while you're up, maybe you can grab us some more popcorn."
twitch
"It's okay Mr. Wolfwood, I really don't need it…"
No, Meryl was not having a very good time. Not at all.
Meryl and the others were walking down the street sometime later, on their way home. Wolfwood was trailing behind Milly slightly while Vash walked between the two girls, jabbering excitedly.
"That was a great movie, don't you think?" he asked, a big grin on his face.
"How could you tell? We got kicked out before it ended." Meryl muttered.
"I agree with Mr. Vash," Milly said pleasantly, "It was a wonderful movie. We'll have to see the rest of it sometime."
"Vash is only happy that he finally got a girl's phone number. He wasn't even watching the movie." Wolfwood said with a smirk.
"Number?!" Vash yelped, traumatized, as he began searching his pockets, "Oh no! She wrote it on a napkin and I accidentally threw it away!!"
Meryl couldn't hide the smirk on her face as the others stopped to watch Vash curl up in a fetal position on the ground, crying.
"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Stop messing around and get up!" Meryl finally snapped, tapping her foot against the sidewalk. Then she looked up at the other two, forcing a smile onto her face, "Here's where I split. This alley's a shortcut to my apartment, and I don't feel like going the long way." She pointed to the alley she had walked through earlier that day, when the gang had attacked.
Milly and Wolfwood shouted their good-bye's to her as she walked away, not even bothering to look back. She could hear her footsteps echo loudly against the brick walls on either side of her as she walked, trying to take deep, calming breaths. Not only had the night been a brilliant disaster, she was now so tired she could barely walk and her head was starting to hurt. She was convinced that all her problems boiled down to a certain blonde-haired idiot….
Suddenly Meryl stopped, her eyes going wide as she recognized breathing nearby… breathing that wasn't her own.
'Damn…' she thought, gritting her teeth. She hadn't expected to be cornered in an alley twice in one day. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger. How could she do anything right if she wasn't thinking straight? Already her mind was going foggy from lack of sleep, and getting angry wouldn't solve anything.
"What do you want?" She finally asked, her voice coming out wearier then she expected it to. Yep, definitely too tired for this.
The breathing stopped abruptly, then she heard the other person laugh slightly.
"You're better then I thought you'd be…" said the amused voice, stepping out of the shadows in front of her. Through the dim light of the alley she could tell he was a tall young man with dark blue hair, and he was wearing all black like the people who had attacked her earlier.
"What do you want?!" She asked again, her voice coming out snappier then before. "I'm tired and I don't have time for this! Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to let me pass?!"
The young man sneered at that, crossing his arms. "Bitchy too… no wonder the boss hates you so much."
twitch
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?"
The young man continued as if he hadn't heard her, stepping closer with each word.
"The boss has a message for you pretty little girl… a message you might want to listen to."
Pretty… little… girl? Meryl stood frozen for a second, stunned, then…
WHACK
"I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL YOU IDIOT! I'M 18!!"
The young man stumbled backwards in surprise, holding the side of his head in pain. He blinked at her uncertainly for awhile as she shoved passed him, stomping stubbornly away.
Suddenly Meryl felt someone grab her around the waist and pick her up in the air so she couldn't walk.
"HEY!" She shouted, kicking and trying to shove away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" She heard a grunt behind her.
"I said I have a message for you… so you're going to stay and listen! My boss told me to tell you to meet him in the park nearby at 6 tomorrow, by the lake."
"And why would I do that?!" Meryl growled, kicking out again, "I'm not stupid, you know!"
"Because otherwise he's going to go after your friends, one by one. We've seen who you hang out with… our men followed you tonight."
"LET GO!" Meryl shouted, kicking the man so hard that he dropped her, doubling over in pain. She landed unsteadily on her feet, shaking a bit, then turned back to the man.
"F-fine, I'll go. But if you go near ANY of my friends, you'll be sorry."
The young man sneered, still holding his stomach, "Funny… you didn't seem to like them that much…"
Meryl tensed, giving the man such an angry look that he shut-up immediately.
"You don't know anything about me or my friends, okay?"
Then she walked off, anger and fear clouding her thoughts.
"And don't call the police or tell anyone! You know what'll happen if you do!"
Meryl shivered as soon as she was out of view, wrapping her arms around her body and bowing her head. There was no doubt what the gang meant to do to her… but what else could she do but go? It was either her or her friends… and there was no way she was going to let them get hurt.
Meryl threw the gang some very impolite words as she stomped off towards her apartment.
"Is it done, Legato?" A voice from the shadows asked as the blue-haired young man approached, rubbing his head where a nice little bump had appeared. He nodded.
"Yeah Knives, she's coming. I had to threaten a bit, but I'm pretty sure she won't tell anyone."
"Good," Knives said, coming out of the shadows with a wide grin on his face, "So the plan is set in motion."
-TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, this is the end of chapter two! . I know Meryl is acting a bit cranky, but hey, that's the way she is . She'll get better later on. Thx again for reviewing people!
I tried sniffing coke once… but the ice cubes got stuck up my nose… .'
(DFS does not know why she just typed that)
CIAO PEEPS!
No Trigun characters were harmed in the making of this chapter, and the sanity of the author may NOT be questioned. She is perfectly sane, thank you.
LEGATO: Yeah, right. -.-'
ME: twitch That's it buddy, you're goin' down…
