Vash stepped into his room and turned on the light. A dust layer two centimeters
thick covered every surface in the room. His feet kicked up swirls of the
intruding substance as he walked towards his desk. He brushed the dust off an old drawing he did of Rem ages ago. He'd always regretted he'd never had anything of hers,
not a gift, letter, or photograph. So much of that damn Seeds ship had blown up
but Knives had found where he hid designs of those guns.
"Can't keep the girls waiting," he said as he set down the photo and opened the
closet.
Inside was the space uniform he had worn when he first came on board. Fortunately, he'd covered it with that old tattered brown poncho. He dug out the
light blue and white suit and carefully changed, kicking up as little dust as
possible. Vash had never sneezed in his entire life and he didn't want to start
now. Looking at all the dust covering his old bed, table, and dozen smaller things, he realized he didn't want any of it. Not one thing. Except for the
boots. He needed his boots. He had gone barefoot all this time. He dusted the
black boots as much as he could and put them on. Later he'd come back and throw
everything else away. He left the room quickly before any other memories
unburied themselves from the dust.
"You can tell him tomorrow morning when you see the sunrise," Vash heard Milly
say as he walked toward the elevator. "But, I think he knows already."
Meryl was about to say something when Milly spied Vash walking down the
corridor.
"Mr. Vash, you look pretty!" she said as Vash walked towards the two women.
"Could I have one like that?" Milly asked with that 'you'll buy me dinner, won't
you?' puppy dog look in her eyes.
"It's really old actually. They don't make these any more. I'll be needing some
different clothes, it's kind of clunky actually."
"I can make you some," said Meryl. "Milly and I need something to do while we're
here watching Knives."
"It'll be fun!" Milly added.
The ladies discussed various patterns and colors as they rode down the elevator
to the third floor. Vash led them down the hall into the huge cafeteria. There
were dozens of tables with about 200 ship dwellers spread around the room
leisurely talking about the previous night's activities. The cafeteria was open
at all hours and people could come in at any time to have a meal. Vash and the
agents each picked up a tray and got into the short line. Two elderly ladies
were dolling out several strange foods the agents had never seen before.
"Vash! You're back again!" said the old ladies as Vash neared them in line.
Vash explained to many people that morning that he and Knives were back to stay.
He introduced Milly and Meryl to all of them as outsiders who were very dear to
him and were here to keep Knives safe. The natives eyed Meryl and Milly but the
agents weren't half as visually intimidating as Wolfwood had been. Generally the
ship dwellers' reaction was at least polite. Their table quickly filled with
people as Milly and Meryl ate exotic foods called "peaches" and "kiwi." Vash
knew all the names of the older people and he was introduced to many children.
Meryl noticed that the older the ship dweller, the more comfortable and younger
they seemed to act around him. Vash's spirits rose as more and more of his old
friends came by to talk. Surprisingly no one mentioned the deaths that had
recently occurred. There was a certain isolated table on the far side of the
room where a few young men and women perhaps in their 20's sat. They whispered
to each other and none of them came over to visit. Just as Vash was getting up
to get a bit of food for Knives when a small girl with light brown hair wearing
a light blue and yellow dress entered the cafeteria. Meryl saw the girl's green
eyes quadruple in size.
"Vash! Vash! VASH!" she warbled as she ran at Vash full speed with her arms wide
open. She plowed into his chest, knocking him to the ground. She rubbed her head
on his shoulder right where Knives had given him an especially nasty wound. Vash
winced and gritted his teeth.
"Hi, Jessica, its great to see you again."
He looked up at Milly and Meryl his eyes full of consternation.
"Jessica?" Meryl said tentatively. The agent doubted that this girl was Vash's
daughter.
"Vash has been wounded recently so you should hold off on slamming him to the
ground," said Milly. "That probably hurts him a lot," she added.
Jessica looked up at the pained smile on Vash's face.
"No one could ever hurt my Vash!" she exclaimed.
Meryl breathed a sigh of relief. There were some parts of Vash that this pert
girl hadn't seen yet. The other residents snickered as Vash tried unsuccessfully
to peel the girl off of him.
"Let's get married, Vash!" she declared.
Meryl wasn't happy about that and neither was Vash. He looked at the utter
contentment on Jessica's face as she polished some of the healed skin off his
wounds with her head.
"I can't do that, now. I'll be taking care of my brother for a long time. I've
brought a couple of people to help me actually."
Jessica stopped her excoriating, looked up at Vash and then at the two new
people who were standing over her.
"Wow, you're short!" she said as she got up off of her landing pad and stood in
front of Meryl.
Jessica was a little bit taller than Meryl but Jessica's comment seemed to give
her a few extra centimeters over the agent.
"Yes, that's me," said Meryl sheepishly as she felt the entire cafeteria look at
her diminutive height and slight build.
Milly quietly helped Vash up off the floor before Jessica could jar any more
wounds open. Vash introduced the agents to Jessica and explained their purpose
on board the ship.
"I don't believe you," said Jessica defensively. "How could anyone ever want to
hurt your brother? He's your twin. He must be just like you. I've never believed
any of the nasty things people have said about him or you," she said loudly.
The crowd that had built around them started to disperse quickly. Vash hugged
the girl to himself, making sure her mouth was completely immobilized.
"Let's talk about this later," he said as the crowed dispersed further.
He let Jessica come up for a breath of air.
"Okay, Vash, then we'll get married. I can make you another red cloak, right?"
she said as she pulled at the light blue fabric of his suit.
"I'd like to get away from red actually. I've worn that color for a long time."
"Something yellow, then!" she squealed. "Bright yellow with black polka dots. I
have a dress just like that, then we'll match!"
Milly giggled. Even she had more fashion sense then that. Vash thought quickly;
he had no intention of walking around like a large bruised banana, but he
couldn't really say no.
"Would you like to make me some pajamas?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yellow with black polka dots! I'll start today!"
The girl released Vash and traipsed off to the food line.
"We didn't know you had a girlfriend, Vash," said Meryl dryly.
"Neither did I," he said as the three left the cafeteria. "I hadn't seen her for
20 years until the last time I was here. It's really strange when someone asks
to marry you and the last time you really saw them they were four years old."
Milly asked, "Do you plan to marry her, Mr. Vash, eventually?"
Meryl winced on the inside.
"I really don't think about her that way, and she'd never be able to understand
who Knives and I really are, what we've done to this planet. Someone like that
would get very frustrated with me after a short time."
"We understand completely," said Meryl.
Vash thought about tripping the small agent but decided against it. "I need to
check on Knives. Let's go." Vash and the agents left the cafeteria. Suddenly,
Vash stopped right before they got to the elevator.
"I forgot the food for Knives," he said as he turned to go back to the
cafeteria. "I'll go. You two just wait here," said Milly.
She pushed Meryl slightly toward Vash as she turned around. Vash caught the
little agent by the shoulders.
"Milly!" Meryl said angrily as the big girl headed off down the hall.
"I don't know what that was about," said Meryl as she brushed Vash's hands off
her shoulders.
Vash looked down at her with a peculiar look in his eye.
"So, Meryl, how long have you been short?"
He grinned as she balled up her hands into tight fists. He was prepared for her
and easily dogged her punches. Meryl 's heart really wasn't into it. She
preferred hitting him on the head if anywhere. It was the one place where she
couldn't possibly do any more damage.
Vash was showing Meryl how to punch and dodge more effectively when Milly came
back with a large plate of food. They rode the elevator up to their floor.
"So, Vash, would you like all of your shirts to be yellow with black polka
dots?" giggled Milly.
"No! Something blue or green would be nice. No yellow, please!" he whimpered as
he walked with the girls back to their room.
There was a more complicated computer console inside the ladies' room. Vash
showed the women how to look up a map of the ship and identify the ship's
different levels. One of the ship residents this morning had told them how they
were starting to trade their knowledge of the lost technology for bolts of
cloth, food and other supplies they had always been short on. Some were starting
to think that maybe coming down to surface had been a blessing even if it was in
very dark disguise. The women took a few measurements from Vash and then
scurried off to get the cloth. Meryl called back to him from the elevator.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with Knives?"
"I'll be fine now. The worst part is over for him."
The elevator door closed and Vash walked back to his brother's room with the
plate of food in hand. He opened the door. Knives was sitting up examining the
copper bands and attachments. Vash set the food down on the top of the cabinet.
"Are you hungry?" asked Vash.
"Of course I'm hungry, you pathetic idiot."
Vash took the food over to his brother and started to feed him little bits of
fruit and pancakes.
"I would feel less like a baby if I could feed myself," said Knives after he had
swallowed a bit of kiwi.
"That could be arranged if you're good."
"I don't do your kind of good. I thought you understood that."
Vash picked up a slice of orange off the plate and ate it.
"Fine. What's good?"
Vash fed another slice of kiwi to his brother.
"I want to introduce you to two people tomorrow. Two humans. They're going to
help me take care of you."
Knives swallowed the kiwi.
"I really hoped you wouldn't allow maggots in my room."
Vash ate another slice of orange. Knives would've punched that smug expression
off his brother's face if he had the chance.
"Are they pleasant maggots, like Rem, or the putrid type like Steve?"
"They're not maggots. They've saved my life many times. They're good people and
they want to help you."
"Did you know that humans used leeches to restore circulation to reattached
limbs? It may have helped save a higher being's life but a leech is still a
leech whether its in a stream or on your arm."
Knives stared at the plate of food in Vash's hand. Vash ate a small piece on
pancake. He avoided giving Knives the two plump strawberries in the center of
the plate; he knew they were Knives' favorite.
"If you let them in, they can just leave your food on your bed and leave. You
wouldn't have to talk to them. I'd prefer if you didn't," said Vash.
"And what are you going to do in the meantime? Dance with the maggots while they
eat your siblings' flesh?"
"There are two plants that we're almost destroyed when you sent the Gung-Ho Guns
here. They're still alive and I'm going to help rebuild their bulbs."
"You're going to rebuild the torture chambers when I would have free them? You
really are disappointing, Vash."
Vash ate a strawberry. Knives remembered how easily Legato become his slave
after he showed the hopeless human a little bit of kindness and gave him a
little bit of power. He only consented to the maggot's presence because he was a
helpful go-between and slightly useful in his own way. Maybe one of these humans
just needed a little bit of kindness, a little bit of power and then ...
"Bring in your humans," Knives said, "if you promise they won't call me a
monster and beat me."
Vash didn't know if Milly was even capable of calling someone a monster. Meryl
on the other hand ...
"If you piss off the little one she'll give you a good bruise, but you'll
deserve it if she does."
"She?" Knives eyed Vash looking at his brother with a cruel gleam in his eyes.
"Vash, are you still just a momma's boy, trailing after the weaker sex? You are
trailing after them aren't you. You haven't ... Vash, tell me you haven't ..."
Vash hit Knives with a solid blow on the mouth. Knives fell back against the
concrete.
"Shut up, Knives." Vash said quietly holding back the desire to break his
brother's jaw. He hissed "I would never risk having a kid that might turn out
like you."
Knives turned back to his brother. A small stream of blood trickled from Knives'
lip.
"Vash. You're not a complete loss."
Vash wiped the blood off of his brother's chin and continued to feed him in
silence. When the food was gone Vash picked up several pieces of metal and tools
and walked towards the door.
"Make sure to bring your humans tomorrow, Vash," Knives said as Vash left the
room.
Vash dumped the metal and tools in the hallway outside his old room. He went
inside his room and threw away everything. He washed the floors and shelves
until the room shined. Then he brought in the items from the hallway and tore
out the computer panel on the wall. He worked for a while testing different
parts, rearranging various circuits, snipping off various pieces of metal, and
shocking himself several times. Working for most of the day he assembled two
mechanical devices. He was running the last tests when there was a light tapping
on the door.
"Vash? Vash? I'm done with your pajamas! The computer outside your door isn't
working." Jessica kept knocking on the door. Vash sighed. The last thing he
needed was another female trailing after him.
"One second, Jessica."
Vash pried the doors open with his fingers.
"Um .. Vash? I have your pajamas!"
She wrapped herself around his waist holding the pajamas in one hand.
"Vash! I want to marry you, Vash! Everyone says you're back for good, Vash!. You
want to marry me don't you Vash?"
She looked up at him oblivious to everything else, even oblivious to the grease
stains that were now smeared on her dress. Vash had never kicked a puppy dog
before, but he definitely wasn't going to marry one. He looked back down at her.
"Jessica, I can't marry you. Ever."
"Yes, you can Vash! Doc marries couples all the time, Vash!"
"No, I really can't marry anybody. Did you ever hear that I have a $$60billion
bounty? Legally I can't marry anybody. I have no rights as a human being. I know
you love me a lot but there are a lot of other good guys on this ship. Jessica
you could be killed by the government if they knew you were involved with me.
It's a big risk to this ship that Doc let me back on board. No matter how much
you love me, I can't marry you. I don't want it to end up killing you."
He waited for it to sink in. Jessica took her arms off him. She sat down on the
floor.
"But, I love you Vash!"
"The government doesn't care if you love me. Either they'll kill you or bounty
hunters will. I don't want anyone ever again to die because of me, Jessica. I
just can't marry you."
He spoke the last sentence slowly hoping it would sink in.
Jessica started to cry.
"That's very sad, Vash. I never thought of it that way."
Vash and Jessica looked up at Meryl who was standing in the doorway. She had a
few tears in her eyes. Jessica got up off the floor and hugged Meryl, bawling
her eyes out. Vash looked back at the ground. He didn't want anybody to get hurt
but it kept happening over and over. He hit his brother already today and now
two of his friends were crying because of him. Vash just wanted to dry up, blow
away, and have everyone forget he existed. He knew why Meryl was crying. He
couldn't look at either of them right now. He looked at the floor.
"Vash, Milly and I wanted to invite you to come with us to diner. Jessica, you
can come too."
"Really?" the girl said, drying her tears.
"Sure, you can have dinner with us anytime," said Meryl.
The two ladies turned toward Vash.
"Are you coming?" asked Meryl. He looked down at his latest electronic creation.
"Yes, and thank you for the pajamas, Jessica."
He took them from her and set them on his empty bed. They met Milly at the
elevator and went down to dinner.