Disclaimer: If I had a nickel for every Trigun-related thing I had legal ownership over, I'd be a bum under the bridge. Thus meaning…I do not own Trigun. Just this sappy little story from the twisted depths of my mind. Ain't that peachy? ^^
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The suns slowly began their long climb into the sky, clambering and taking their sweet time to hang themselves upon the wispy branches of clouds. The bright rays of light gently poured in through the window like water from a pitcher and splashed across the white sheets, glittering in the cinnamon hair lying in thick waves across the pillow. Crystalline blue eyes slowly opened and blinked away the sleep groggily, the tall girl slowly sitting up and helping them to clear up with a rub of the backs of her hands. Milly Thompson yawned and as a thought donned upon her, she quickly clambered out of bed and trotted down the hallway quickly to peek into Meryl's room. As silently as possible, she opened the door and peered through the slight crack she had made for herself.
The bed was empty.
Milly's eyebrow quickly knit into a tight line as she stepped in and worriedly looked around. Everything was just as it was last night she discovered with dismay. Worry welling up like a large bubble inside of her chest, she sat down on the bed slowly and squeezed her hands between her legs, butterflies erupting in a disrupted flurry inside of her stomach. She knew for sure that something was wrong now…Meryl never stayed out all night. Work was just too important to her to be gallivanting around the small town. Besides, what could have possibly kept her out so long? Naivete being one of Milly's better traits, innocent ideas like falling asleep at work or going for a moonlit stroll came to mind, but something unpleasant nipped at her brain incisively. She didn't like the cold rock that had formed in the pit of her gut.
A noise came from the kitchen. Milly immediately brightened and bolted upright, skittering for the kitchen like children for the tree on Christmas morning. A wide smile graced her innocent features and she beamed with a chipper tone as she bound into the kitchen, "Sempai, I'm so glad you got home all right!"
But her smile faltered and washed away as Vash stood there, staring at her with a confused expression.
"Oh…Vash-san…ohayo," she said half-heartedly, taking a seat at the table grimly. Vash blinked, watching Milly as her eyes welled up and she looked about ready to cry.
"Didn't she come home last night?" Vash slowly asked over the tightened knot in his throat. Milly shook her head slowly and the knot tightened and dropped into his heart with a leaden weight. "…Oh," he quietly croaked.
Both of them knew right away that something had happened. What it could be was beyond both of them, but they knew they had to find Meryl. Vash swallowed back uncertainty and set down the donut he had rummaged before Milly's outburst. "I'll go look for her then."
"I'll go with you!" Milly declared as she jumped upright.
Vash looked at her, his eyes hardened and cold, a startling contrast to his usual warm gaze. Milly stared and sat back down.
"Somebody," spoke he, "has to stay and keep an eye on the house in case she comes back. It's safer that way." And without argument or another word, Milly nodded at the stern words and watched the tall man calmly walk out. But Milly knew that through the cool façade he put on, the calm demeanor he hid behind, he was hurting inside. It was as clear to her as looking through a piece of glass. All she could do now was sit and wait, praying against all odds her sempai would come home safe and sound.
Vash wandered the streets aimlessly, pressing his face urgently through doors and windows, giving every shop and corner a careful inspection in search of the shorthaired insurance girl. There was no trace of her, not even at her favorite stores. Urgently Vash went to the next possible place she could be – the bar.
Upon arriving, the dinky crowd inside of the compact room lapsed into a silence that made Vash hesitate before walking in. Everybody craned and strained to watch him walk in as if they had never seen him before. Most hadn't, being travelers and tourists, and the man in red aroused suspicion. Of course, the city's local inhabitants said nothing as Vash approached the bar.
"Excuse me," Vash said politely.
A short fat man looked up from beneath two bushy eyebrows, wispy strands so thick that they bristled like small gray brooms as he eyed Vash with beady black eyes that gleamed like beetles. He turned and thin brittle lips moved in a greeting.
"Mornin', how can I help you?" a frail voice asked.
Vash gave a nervous glance around the bar and leaned in, lowering his voice. "I'm looking for Meryl Stryfe, I believe she works at this bar, and I was wondering if you had seen her come in or out anytime last night or this morning."
The man studied Vash's face for a long moment then turned away, seeping within his own thoughts. Thick wrinkles formed on his forehead as his eyebrows bristled and knit together with contemplation. The small bartender turned back to Vash and said, "Well, last night I remember having to tell her to go home at about midnight. I watched her, so she definitely did leave. Why, what's wrong?"
Vash blanched and leaned on the bar to keep his balance. So she had left…then that certified his worries that something had happened to her. Time was wearing thin, and so was his cool complexion. His casual mask was beginning to grow small spider webs of cracks, ready to break and bleed the tears shining beneath. The time was nearing, the emotions were welling up stronger; he could hardly see straight as his mind spun in a frenzied panic.
"Sir?" the man repeated for the third time. Vash said nothing as he whirled and dashed out of the bar, crimson streamers glinting in the morning sunlight behind him like ruby ghosts.
The roads were so empty, so vacant…Windows were only beginning to be thrown open to welcome the embrace of the fresh breeze whispering through the streets. Inhabitants were just beginning to wipe the sand from their heads the Sand Man had so plentifully donated, dreams drifting away like butterflies caught in an abrupt gale. Hurried steps sped down the dusty roads; scuff marks being left as the boots kicked up dirt. Aqua eyes darted all around the area for any sign or clue of the insurance girl he longed to see. There was nothing…nothing as far as the eye could see except for old buildings slowly becoming rubble from the sands harsh erosion and the sky so blue overhead.
"Meryl!" Vash cried out hopefully. "Meryl, where are you?! Meryl! Meryl, please answer me! Meryl! Meryl!"
Nothing.
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Ragged breaths tore from her lips, slow but a relieving reassurance that she was indeed alive. Though the relief did not last long as the pangs of sorrow thrummed her to the very core, pain halting her from any sorts of rejoice.
The sky was so blue, she noted. A startling blue tainted with slight patches of pinked clouds and hues of orange tainting the pure color here and there. It looked so welcoming. Perhaps dying after viewing such a beautiful sky would not be so bad she contemplated weakly. It was so much better than having to look at the gloomy alley walls barricading her in an open trap.
The apron skittered across the ground quietly as a breeze brushed it with invisible fingers. Half-lidded blue eyes followed the movement lazily, almost painfully. Never had she felt more alone in her life…
A noise ripped her from her slowly dimming thoughts. Her eyes tried to pry themselves open to look for the source of the distraction.
"Meryl!" it shattered the silence. Someone was calling her and the strangled voice was so familiar, she slowly came to realize. Her mouth opened slightly and her throat worked strenuously to choke something out in reply, but only high-strung whimper came tumbling from her bruised lips. Again she tried and gargled words clambered out from her tired vocal cords. Relentlessly she tried to make noise, weakly reaching out for the garbage can lying nearby. That could help her where her voice could not.
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Silence rung in the man's ears, a merciless ring that tore a deep feeling of anxiety from the very pits of his being. Vash had never felt such forlornness, never had he felt so helpless and weak to do or stop anything, not since…
No, he decided, this was not the time to think of her. He shook the vivid memories from his head and kept parading down the streets, calling out the insurance girl's name.
If miracles were possible, than God had been so kind as to send the Humanoid Typhoon one. A small beacon of light shone upon the outlaw as a steady clattering sound came from nearby. It sounded as if something aluminum was being struck with a fist, he noted. The steady pounding kept beating like a pulse in which he desperately chased after.
It grew louder and louder until he sighted the place it was coming from. A small alley tucked away between two deserted buildings served as the home of the steadily weakening sounds. Without hesitation or much given thought the blonde haired outlaw scrambled for its giver. Plummeting within the darkness of the alley, he slowed to a stop.
And stared at his find.
His heart wrenched and his breath caught in his throat, aqua eyes widening until too much white shown. The horror drained all color from his lively face, leaving his jaw to drop limply in a stricken manner. The person before him…that couldn't have been her. It was too horrible to be Meryl Stryfe. But, he knew to his dismay, it was she.
The first thing he noticed was her not-so modest display of nudity. Her clothes were so crudely ripped and torn to reveal small beaten breasts and her more intimate lips that Vash almost had to look away with shame. A long line of bruises were beginning to blossom in patches of purple and black, some light shades of greenish-yellow all along her thighs. Her lips were swollen and one eye had crusted shut with the long smearing of blood from a gaping wound on the side of her head where the silken locks of ebony hair had matted together in thick clumps to the red mouth. Her flesh was so pale that snow failed to compare to the whiteness of it. Darkness and shadows cast upon her sprawled figure failed to convey the other bruises and scrapes she had all over her trembling frame and a small part of Vash was very grateful for the bit of modesty the blackened alley way had protected her with.
He wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. He dare not speak her name, for he felt too shameful to say it, and if he did he feared breaking down into a scene of hysterics. Instead he silently closed the gap between the two, feeling detached from his body as he began to strip from his coat. Distant eyes carefully looked into Meryl's own deadened gaze as he began to wrap her into the scarlet duster. Tenderly and carefully he picked her up as if handling an old and brittle china doll.
Tears brimmed in the blue eyes as Meryl looked up at Vash, a small smile crossing her face painfully. A sharp sensation slashed mercilessly into Vash's chest as he stared down at her, eyebrows furrowing.
"I…wondered when you…would come for me…Vash-san," Meryl whispered. Darkness rolled her over yet again in a grim feeling of recollection and she plummeted into unconsciousness once more. Her frame went limp in Vash's firm hold.
His eyes flew open and he went stiff, his fluttering pulse all too loud in his spinning head. Vash stared and a tiny hint of relief brightened his eyes momentarily as he watched breath slowly drag in and out from her purple lips. Bundling her closer, Vash turned and sprinted out of the alley for home…
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Notes: Oh, this is getting so angsty. I swear there's a thicker plot than this. This is pretty thin right now, right? Blah, I promise it does get better. Thank you all so much for reviewing so far, especially Lynda-chan who reviewed on both chapters. At least I know people are reading this. O.o So, thank you Marie-Mi, Lynda-chan, ai_heiwa, Empress Galaxia, Natasha, Jen, Boogiepop, and Polka Dot for taking the time to write me lovely, encouraging reviews. Nyahaha! *thrusts peace sign into the air* ^^
More to come in the near future…hoorah for FF.net actually being nice for once! *munches donut and knocks on wood*