From the Sky
By, Miroku aka PyroSprite64
Author's Note: Konnichiwa minna-san! Wow! You people actually like this stuff! I must admit, I'm surprised. Well, you asked, so here's more. Thanks to all who reviewed, though I question the sanity of a particular few… *cough* Rachia-chan, *cough, cough* Sugar is good. Well, here you go, and remember, REVIEW! Lol, ja ne!
Chapter 2
After they had bid the doctor goodnight, the three conscious adults in the home breathed a collective sigh of relief. Vash sank into a chair by the fireplace and groaned. He ached all over from carrying the weight of the cat-girl over what had seemed like iles of dunes. Though she was slim, she was tall, and muscle weighs far more than fat. Meryl gave him a brief look of sympathy, and brought him a cup of coffee and a homemade donut. He smiled brightly at her before chowing down.
"Arigato, Meryl-chan," he said around crumbs of donut. Meryl made a face at his lack of manners, but felt too tired to chastise him.
"You're welcome Vash."
Milly sat in a chair opposite of him, a cup of coffee in her hand. She sipped it and smiled at Meryl.
"You make a great cup of coffee, Sempai!"
"Yes, thank you Milly."
Meryl sighed, wiping her eyes to ward away her sleepiness. Milly yawned loudly, eyes drooping as she lay back in her chair, staring at the fire in the hearth. Light snoring started to come from the direction of Vash's chair. Meryl sighed and managed to drag herself out of the stool she had been lolling in. With a little effort, she grabbed two thick blankets off a shelf and draped one over each of her dozing friends.
"Goodnight Milly," Meryl whispered.
Milly yawned again and snuggled into the cushions of her chair, making noises of contentment.
"Goodnight, Sempai."
Meryl smiled faintly and moved to Vash's chair. She sighed at the sight of his drooling mouth, and shook her head.
'Some people never change.'
Vash's eyelids flickered slightly as Meryl covered his lanky form with the blanket. She gave him a soft smile, and turned to leave. She personally found her bed far more comfortable than a chair. Meryl was just getting ready to mount the staircase when a soft voice called after her.
"Goodnight, Meryl-chan."
Meryl paused on the landing, before smiling and responding quietly.
"Goodnight, Stampede-san."
Vash grinned in his sleep as Meryl's soft footsteps went up and out of his hearing.
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The first thing Knives noticed when he awoke was that he couldn't move. Every time he tried his body rebelled, and reminded him rather painfully about the wounds that had been inflicted upon him by his own brother. Knives dropped his head down on his pillow and smiled ruefully. Who would have known the boy had it in him? Vash had been cowering in the vast desert that was Gunsmoke for so long, Knives had forgotten how determined he could be, when he had his mind set on something. So, what was Knives doing in this unfamiliar room? Why was he not dead?
'Ah, but you know the answer to that question. Rem.'
Ah, yes, Rem. The cursed woman who had driven a stake between him and his twin at the very beginning. Damn her and her infernal meddling. If not for her, he and Vash would have been able to create a paradise together. But, instead, she had foisted her ludicrous, pacifistic beliefs on his poor impressionable brother. She had blinded him from the disgustingness of the human spiders. And now, he was one of them. He had chosen his own path, and had become as weak and simple-minded as the rest of them. Knives stared bitterly at the ceiling. If only the circumstances had been different. If only Rem had not gone off and destroyed his plans. If only, if only… Suddenly Knives felt like laughing. How ironic, to be dreaming like a spider. They must have slipped some anesthesia into him, to be having such bizarre fantasies. Knives drifted in and out of consciousness for what seemed like an eternity, but no matter how many times he woke, he was still in the same cursed room, staring at the same blank white ceiling. Knives was just dozing off for what seemed like the hundredth time, when Vash came stomping and panting into the room, carrying the form of an unconscious girl. Knives watched with mild interest as various people came in and out. He recognized the two Insurance Girls that were always around Vash in his latest escapades, and a very official-looking man who was obviously a doctor of some kind. However, he did not recognize the girl lying in the bed, though with all the bodies in the way it was hard to tell. Knives wanted to order them out of the way as he would his minions, but he did not wish to let them know he was awake quite yet. He was almost vibrating with annoyance when the good doctor finally rose from his stool by the bedside and walked out of the room with Vash and the girls, giving them all instructions of some sort. Finally, Knives could have a good look at the thing that was drawing so much attention. Knives turned his head, craning with all his might to get a glimpse of the mysterious female. However, his view was obstructed again by sheets and a pillow that seemed hell-bent on swallowing the girl's head.
'Damn!'
Knives sighed and stopped his straining. He would just have to wait until she woke up before he could try and converse with her, maybe gain an advantage over Vash and his friends. Knives stared at the girl, unblinking. How long would she be out for? From the talk Knives had heard, it sounded as if she had crash landed. Was she from one of those hidden SEED ships that floated in the middle of Gunsmoke's orbit? That would explain Vash's interest in her.
"Ashna, fitani, no vosh ka."
Knives shook his head lightly. Had he just heard someone speak?
"Mishna. Ovanta. Mishna!"
Knives turned his head in the direction of the hysterical voice. He could see vague movement in the bed opposite him.
"Fitani! Miera! Osh va na!"
The voice was rising, the sheets on the girl's bed began to thrash. Knives caught sight of tan, muscled arms and long, slim legs, as well as some odd nylon-like material.
"Roha! No vas sha!"
The voice was reaching a climax of hysteria. If she kept up her wailing, Vash and the girls would come back in for sure, and then what?
"Hey, spider, shut up!" Knives hissed at her from his side of the room.
To his surprise, she did. She lay completely still. Knives sighed with relief. However, it was short lived. The girl screeched like an animal and bolted upright in bed, panting furiously. Now Knives had a good view of her, and for once he was too shocked to speak. Cat ears, slitted pupils, and fangs? Where the hell had his brother dug her up?
"Hey, who are you?" Knives asked, deciding to throw caution and tact out the window.
The girl's head whipped around to glare at him with luminous green eyes, the eyes of a cat. She hissed at him and staggered backward into the farthest corner of her bed, never taking her eyes off him. She curled up in a ball, managing to make her large form shrink to a fourth of it's normal size.
"Mira! No mo sitani! Vosh!"
Knives stared at her a few moments, dumbfounded. He closed his eyes and turned his face to the ceiling. The cat-girl stared at him with curiosity and a touch of mistrust. Suddenly he burst out laughing, startling her and making her jump.
"You can't even understand a word I say, can you? Oh, this is rich!" Knives laughed sadistically at himself. "Oh, Kami-sama, you are a cruel trickster! How will dearest Vash ever deal with a cat-woman who doesn't speak our language? Priceless!"
The girl stared at him as he laughed over her knees, growling slightly and giving him a look of distaste.
"Cat-woman? Is that who I am?"
Knives choked on his own laughter. She could speak their language after all? Then what was all that jumble that she had practically screamed out for the whole town to hear? Knives stared at her curiously. She stared back.
"You, you talk?"
The girl scowled at him, showing off her dangerously pointed fangs.
"Of course I talk, why wouldn't I?" she snapped.
Knives watched her contemplatively. This was an odd twist. What language had she been speaking? Where the hell had she come from?
"Who, no, WHAT are you?" Knives queried in his solid, bored tone.
Just because she had ears like a cat's didn't mean she wasn't human, and therefore did not deserve his respect. She stared at him, eyes blank and lost looking. She unfolded her arms and spread her hands out in front of her, palms up. She studied them for a few moments, eyes troubled and confused. She looked back up again, and Knives was startled, and slightly pleased, to see tears in her wide eyes.
"I, I don't know," she said softly.
With a moan that sounded almost like a snarl, she buried her head in her arms, hiding her tears and distress in her knees.
"Who am I? WHAT am I?" she cried muffledly.
Knives snorted with disgust and turned his head away. Obviously, she was a lost cause.
'Probably too stupid to remember her own name,' he thought contemptuously.
The girl's silent weeping soon turned to a feline-like keening that grated heavily on Knives' nerves, and thoroughly unsettled him. The noise was like none he had ever heard before, a mix of human sobbing and a beast's cries. Perhaps that was what made it so terribly haunting. All the same, Knives felt his annoyed anger begin to rise. He turned his head to yell at her, only to close his eyes hastily and try to feign sleep as one of the Insurance Girls came in.
"What's going on in here?" Meryl asked snappishly, drowsy and disgruntled at being woken out of a sound sleep.
The cat-girl lifted her head, big wet tears falling down her face. Meryl blinked with surprise. The girl was awake already? The girl rubbed at her tears with the back of her wrist, and sniffed, glaring defiantly at Meryl.
"What's going on?"
Meryl nearly jumped out of her skin as Vash yawned behind her. Meryl glared at him over her shoulder, before readjusting her bathrobe and placing a hand on her hammering heart. The cat-girl stared at them both, sniffling and rubbing her eyes every once in a while.
"It appears one of our patients is awake," Meryl whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Vash rubbed his eyes and did a double take.
"Say WHAT?!"
"Shh!" Meryl hissed, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow sharply.
Vash glowered at the back of her head and made a face. The girl stared at him reproachfully, and shook her head.
"I remember you. I saw you, when… when… ROARGH! Why can't I remember?!"
She ducked her head and clasped her hands to her temples, teeth gritted in a savage expression of frustration. Vash moved forward and sat at the edge of her bed, giving Meryl a helpless look. He wanted to comfort the poor girl, but what could he say? Meryl only shrugged at him, and came into the room, standing beside Vash.
"Uh, well, my name is Vash, and this is Meryl. I found you after your pod crashed in the desert. You asked me for help, so, here you are!"
The girl stared at him, studying his features through slitted eyes.
"P-pod?"
The girl looked down, staring at her feet. Vash and Meryl exchanged looks. The girl must have had a concussion. It was the only explanation for her apparent amnesia.
"Kidanna!"
Vash and Meryl turned back to the girl, who was smiling triumphantly at a clamped fist.
"Kidanna!" she said again, with even more enthusiasm.
"Kidanna, what?" three voices asked.
Vash and Meryl turned, startled, to Knives, who was staring at the girl.
"Kidanna, what?" he asked again, impatiently.
The girl looked at him, and favored him with a toothy grin that looked more like a grimace.
"Kidanna, is my name!"
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Yay! Second chapter done! Whoo! Lol, don't ya just hate cliff hangers? Heh heh heh, be warned, my public, I am fond of them! However, because of this, I'm trying to write as often as I can, so that I won't have a crowd of savage chibi's knocking on my door. Well, until next time, ja ne minna-san! \m/ -_- \m/
By, Miroku aka PyroSprite64
Author's Note: Konnichiwa minna-san! Wow! You people actually like this stuff! I must admit, I'm surprised. Well, you asked, so here's more. Thanks to all who reviewed, though I question the sanity of a particular few… *cough* Rachia-chan, *cough, cough* Sugar is good. Well, here you go, and remember, REVIEW! Lol, ja ne!
Chapter 2
After they had bid the doctor goodnight, the three conscious adults in the home breathed a collective sigh of relief. Vash sank into a chair by the fireplace and groaned. He ached all over from carrying the weight of the cat-girl over what had seemed like iles of dunes. Though she was slim, she was tall, and muscle weighs far more than fat. Meryl gave him a brief look of sympathy, and brought him a cup of coffee and a homemade donut. He smiled brightly at her before chowing down.
"Arigato, Meryl-chan," he said around crumbs of donut. Meryl made a face at his lack of manners, but felt too tired to chastise him.
"You're welcome Vash."
Milly sat in a chair opposite of him, a cup of coffee in her hand. She sipped it and smiled at Meryl.
"You make a great cup of coffee, Sempai!"
"Yes, thank you Milly."
Meryl sighed, wiping her eyes to ward away her sleepiness. Milly yawned loudly, eyes drooping as she lay back in her chair, staring at the fire in the hearth. Light snoring started to come from the direction of Vash's chair. Meryl sighed and managed to drag herself out of the stool she had been lolling in. With a little effort, she grabbed two thick blankets off a shelf and draped one over each of her dozing friends.
"Goodnight Milly," Meryl whispered.
Milly yawned again and snuggled into the cushions of her chair, making noises of contentment.
"Goodnight, Sempai."
Meryl smiled faintly and moved to Vash's chair. She sighed at the sight of his drooling mouth, and shook her head.
'Some people never change.'
Vash's eyelids flickered slightly as Meryl covered his lanky form with the blanket. She gave him a soft smile, and turned to leave. She personally found her bed far more comfortable than a chair. Meryl was just getting ready to mount the staircase when a soft voice called after her.
"Goodnight, Meryl-chan."
Meryl paused on the landing, before smiling and responding quietly.
"Goodnight, Stampede-san."
Vash grinned in his sleep as Meryl's soft footsteps went up and out of his hearing.
**********************************************************************************************
The first thing Knives noticed when he awoke was that he couldn't move. Every time he tried his body rebelled, and reminded him rather painfully about the wounds that had been inflicted upon him by his own brother. Knives dropped his head down on his pillow and smiled ruefully. Who would have known the boy had it in him? Vash had been cowering in the vast desert that was Gunsmoke for so long, Knives had forgotten how determined he could be, when he had his mind set on something. So, what was Knives doing in this unfamiliar room? Why was he not dead?
'Ah, but you know the answer to that question. Rem.'
Ah, yes, Rem. The cursed woman who had driven a stake between him and his twin at the very beginning. Damn her and her infernal meddling. If not for her, he and Vash would have been able to create a paradise together. But, instead, she had foisted her ludicrous, pacifistic beliefs on his poor impressionable brother. She had blinded him from the disgustingness of the human spiders. And now, he was one of them. He had chosen his own path, and had become as weak and simple-minded as the rest of them. Knives stared bitterly at the ceiling. If only the circumstances had been different. If only Rem had not gone off and destroyed his plans. If only, if only… Suddenly Knives felt like laughing. How ironic, to be dreaming like a spider. They must have slipped some anesthesia into him, to be having such bizarre fantasies. Knives drifted in and out of consciousness for what seemed like an eternity, but no matter how many times he woke, he was still in the same cursed room, staring at the same blank white ceiling. Knives was just dozing off for what seemed like the hundredth time, when Vash came stomping and panting into the room, carrying the form of an unconscious girl. Knives watched with mild interest as various people came in and out. He recognized the two Insurance Girls that were always around Vash in his latest escapades, and a very official-looking man who was obviously a doctor of some kind. However, he did not recognize the girl lying in the bed, though with all the bodies in the way it was hard to tell. Knives wanted to order them out of the way as he would his minions, but he did not wish to let them know he was awake quite yet. He was almost vibrating with annoyance when the good doctor finally rose from his stool by the bedside and walked out of the room with Vash and the girls, giving them all instructions of some sort. Finally, Knives could have a good look at the thing that was drawing so much attention. Knives turned his head, craning with all his might to get a glimpse of the mysterious female. However, his view was obstructed again by sheets and a pillow that seemed hell-bent on swallowing the girl's head.
'Damn!'
Knives sighed and stopped his straining. He would just have to wait until she woke up before he could try and converse with her, maybe gain an advantage over Vash and his friends. Knives stared at the girl, unblinking. How long would she be out for? From the talk Knives had heard, it sounded as if she had crash landed. Was she from one of those hidden SEED ships that floated in the middle of Gunsmoke's orbit? That would explain Vash's interest in her.
"Ashna, fitani, no vosh ka."
Knives shook his head lightly. Had he just heard someone speak?
"Mishna. Ovanta. Mishna!"
Knives turned his head in the direction of the hysterical voice. He could see vague movement in the bed opposite him.
"Fitani! Miera! Osh va na!"
The voice was rising, the sheets on the girl's bed began to thrash. Knives caught sight of tan, muscled arms and long, slim legs, as well as some odd nylon-like material.
"Roha! No vas sha!"
The voice was reaching a climax of hysteria. If she kept up her wailing, Vash and the girls would come back in for sure, and then what?
"Hey, spider, shut up!" Knives hissed at her from his side of the room.
To his surprise, she did. She lay completely still. Knives sighed with relief. However, it was short lived. The girl screeched like an animal and bolted upright in bed, panting furiously. Now Knives had a good view of her, and for once he was too shocked to speak. Cat ears, slitted pupils, and fangs? Where the hell had his brother dug her up?
"Hey, who are you?" Knives asked, deciding to throw caution and tact out the window.
The girl's head whipped around to glare at him with luminous green eyes, the eyes of a cat. She hissed at him and staggered backward into the farthest corner of her bed, never taking her eyes off him. She curled up in a ball, managing to make her large form shrink to a fourth of it's normal size.
"Mira! No mo sitani! Vosh!"
Knives stared at her a few moments, dumbfounded. He closed his eyes and turned his face to the ceiling. The cat-girl stared at him with curiosity and a touch of mistrust. Suddenly he burst out laughing, startling her and making her jump.
"You can't even understand a word I say, can you? Oh, this is rich!" Knives laughed sadistically at himself. "Oh, Kami-sama, you are a cruel trickster! How will dearest Vash ever deal with a cat-woman who doesn't speak our language? Priceless!"
The girl stared at him as he laughed over her knees, growling slightly and giving him a look of distaste.
"Cat-woman? Is that who I am?"
Knives choked on his own laughter. She could speak their language after all? Then what was all that jumble that she had practically screamed out for the whole town to hear? Knives stared at her curiously. She stared back.
"You, you talk?"
The girl scowled at him, showing off her dangerously pointed fangs.
"Of course I talk, why wouldn't I?" she snapped.
Knives watched her contemplatively. This was an odd twist. What language had she been speaking? Where the hell had she come from?
"Who, no, WHAT are you?" Knives queried in his solid, bored tone.
Just because she had ears like a cat's didn't mean she wasn't human, and therefore did not deserve his respect. She stared at him, eyes blank and lost looking. She unfolded her arms and spread her hands out in front of her, palms up. She studied them for a few moments, eyes troubled and confused. She looked back up again, and Knives was startled, and slightly pleased, to see tears in her wide eyes.
"I, I don't know," she said softly.
With a moan that sounded almost like a snarl, she buried her head in her arms, hiding her tears and distress in her knees.
"Who am I? WHAT am I?" she cried muffledly.
Knives snorted with disgust and turned his head away. Obviously, she was a lost cause.
'Probably too stupid to remember her own name,' he thought contemptuously.
The girl's silent weeping soon turned to a feline-like keening that grated heavily on Knives' nerves, and thoroughly unsettled him. The noise was like none he had ever heard before, a mix of human sobbing and a beast's cries. Perhaps that was what made it so terribly haunting. All the same, Knives felt his annoyed anger begin to rise. He turned his head to yell at her, only to close his eyes hastily and try to feign sleep as one of the Insurance Girls came in.
"What's going on in here?" Meryl asked snappishly, drowsy and disgruntled at being woken out of a sound sleep.
The cat-girl lifted her head, big wet tears falling down her face. Meryl blinked with surprise. The girl was awake already? The girl rubbed at her tears with the back of her wrist, and sniffed, glaring defiantly at Meryl.
"What's going on?"
Meryl nearly jumped out of her skin as Vash yawned behind her. Meryl glared at him over her shoulder, before readjusting her bathrobe and placing a hand on her hammering heart. The cat-girl stared at them both, sniffling and rubbing her eyes every once in a while.
"It appears one of our patients is awake," Meryl whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Vash rubbed his eyes and did a double take.
"Say WHAT?!"
"Shh!" Meryl hissed, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow sharply.
Vash glowered at the back of her head and made a face. The girl stared at him reproachfully, and shook her head.
"I remember you. I saw you, when… when… ROARGH! Why can't I remember?!"
She ducked her head and clasped her hands to her temples, teeth gritted in a savage expression of frustration. Vash moved forward and sat at the edge of her bed, giving Meryl a helpless look. He wanted to comfort the poor girl, but what could he say? Meryl only shrugged at him, and came into the room, standing beside Vash.
"Uh, well, my name is Vash, and this is Meryl. I found you after your pod crashed in the desert. You asked me for help, so, here you are!"
The girl stared at him, studying his features through slitted eyes.
"P-pod?"
The girl looked down, staring at her feet. Vash and Meryl exchanged looks. The girl must have had a concussion. It was the only explanation for her apparent amnesia.
"Kidanna!"
Vash and Meryl turned back to the girl, who was smiling triumphantly at a clamped fist.
"Kidanna!" she said again, with even more enthusiasm.
"Kidanna, what?" three voices asked.
Vash and Meryl turned, startled, to Knives, who was staring at the girl.
"Kidanna, what?" he asked again, impatiently.
The girl looked at him, and favored him with a toothy grin that looked more like a grimace.
"Kidanna, is my name!"
**********************************************************************************************
Yay! Second chapter done! Whoo! Lol, don't ya just hate cliff hangers? Heh heh heh, be warned, my public, I am fond of them! However, because of this, I'm trying to write as often as I can, so that I won't have a crowd of savage chibi's knocking on my door. Well, until next time, ja ne minna-san! \m/ -_- \m/