Author's Notes again! ^_^
Heh, don't worry about the mix-up. I checked it over and didn't spot any "he's", but it's cool. I can see how the confusion would occur. And thanks to everybody for the reviews!!
Funny thing, really… this story doesn't seem to be a serious project with me. It's just kind of what I do when I get bored and I'm too lazy and/or tired to work on one of my "real" stories. Though, to be honest, I think I'm starting to grow slightly attached to the characters. Silly me.
Chapter 4-
"Furthermore, you have to learn to be a responsible and independent person! One day you will have to take care of yourself, and you're going to have to begin learning to do that now or you're going to find it very difficult when you're just thrust out into the world! Do I make myself clear!?"
"Yes, mom…" Rinaza nearly groaned her reply. Meryl had seen fit to give her a half-hour long lecture after she finally made her way home. Vash was also present, of course, and tried to look as focused and stern as possible. But, to say the least, it was not very convincing. A short silence ensued as Meryl rubbed her temples in aggravation.
"Can we have dinner now?" Rinaza asked hopefully.
Meryl raised an eyebrow at her daughter, then sighed and replied, "Fine… yes, we can have dinner now."
Rinaza grinned and made a beeline for the table, where Milly was humming cheerfully, putting out a platter of food that she'd helped Meryl prepare. Vash was next to make his entrance, followed by Meryl, who'd stopped off in the kitchen to get some glasses. Finally, Rinzei wandered in, carrying a stack of dishes that her aunt had asked her to bring in. After the table was set and everyone was seated, dinner began.
"So, we know about how well Rina's first day went," Meryl stated meaningfully, resulting in a nervous grin from Rina, and turned to her niece, "How was yours, Rinzei?"
"Oh…" Rinzei replied, eyes on a fork full of food she held before her, "It was just fine… all my classes are easy, so I should have no problems."
Rinaza frowned at her cousin, "You never have problems with classes."
"You wouldn't either," Rinzei muttered, "If you'd put in some effort."
"Well," Rinaza retorted, "Some people have other things to do… I like having time for the more important things in life, like spending time with friends and being happy."
Rinzei looked down at her plate again, "I haven't got any friends."
Rinaza's face fell, and she then offered hopefully, "You've got me."
"You're my cousin," Rinzei replied, "You don't count because you're like a built-in friend."
"That's not true!" Rinaza protested, "I'd be your friend even if we weren't cousins! You're a nice, good person, Rinzei, you're just kind of shy. You should try to let people get to know you… then they'd see how great my cousin is."
Rinzei gave a slight smile, "Thanks, Rina…" She then returned her attention to her food.
Rinaza grinned and gave a happy little nod in response, then turned to Vash and asked, "Hey, dad? Do you think you can help me with my homework after dinner?"
Vash paused, blinking, "Um… what subject is it in, Rina?"
"Math…" Rina responded, then added thoughtfully, "Oh, and some English, too."
Vash shrugged, "Well, I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks dad!" Rina replied cheerfully, leaning over to hug Vash, "You're the greatest dad ever."
Vash smiled at his daughter, a huge grin on his face, and returned her hug, "Aw, thanks Rina!"
An abrupt scrape sounded, followed by the sound of receding footsteps. Rinaza looked up to discover that her cousin had left the table.
"…Rinzei?" Rina rose to follow her cousin, but her father placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Stay here, Rinaza," Vash spoke softly, then addressed the table in general, "I'll go talk to her."
With that, Vash walked off towards the girls' bedroom as the others at the table watched him go. Rinaza sat there, blinking.
"Mom, did I say something wrong?" she asked quietly.
"No, sweetie," replied Meryl gently, "Rinzei's just had it kind of rough… It's not your fault."
"I know…" Rina said, looking down, "But I should be more careful. It makes her feel bad to see me so happy with dad."
"Now, Rina, don't you worry!" Milly piped up from the other end of the table, "Your cousin is upset, and that's understandable, but you love your father and you shouldn't worry about showing it. She's not upset with you, so don't you go feeling bad!"
A smile came across Rina's face, "Right, thanks Milly."
Meryl gave Milly a smile that communicated the same sentiment.
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"Rinzei?" nearly cautious as he entered, Vash called his niece's name.
"Yes, Uncle Vash?" came the soft reply. Her voice wavered as if she'd been crying, but as he entered, she saw that she was through with that. Her face was dry, though her eyes told the secret, and she sat on the edge of the bed, gazing out the window into the night sky.
"I was just wondering if you were okay," he said, sitting next to her.
"I'm fine," she responded evenly, "Why wouldn't I be?"
Vash frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "Rinzei, it's okay to be upset sometimes. Sometimes it takes more strength to admit it when you're sad than it does to hide it, you know."
Rinzei looked down, her voice faltering slightly, "But I am fine… I just left the table because I was done… and I wasn't feeling well."
Vash sighed, reaching his arm around both her shoulders now, "No, you're not fine. I can see that much for myself, Rinzei. You know, talking about things is sometimes the best way to make it hurt a little less. I learned that the hard way, but… you don't have to. I don't want you to."
Rinzei let out a breath, then found her lip quivering against her will as tears returned to her eyes, and before long she found herself throwing her arms around her uncle and crying into his shoulder.
"It's just… why did he have to leave me, Uncle Vash? Why didn't he stay here with us, or if he had to leave, why didn't he take me with him?" she nearly sobbed the words.
Vash closed his eyes, wrapping both arms around the girl, "I can't answer that for you, Rinzei. What I do know is that he does love you… it just became so hard for him after your mother died. He never had it easy, and when it seemed as if he might find happiness, it was just taken away. He said he'd come back for you some day, you know."
Rinzei calmed herself enough to reply, "I know that, Uncle Vash. You've always told me that, but… where is he, then? Why hasn't he come yet? How long am I going to be waiting here?"
Vash frowned, "I don't know… but you know that you're welcome to stay here as long as it takes, Rinzei. We all love you and we all care about you."
Rinzei nodded slightly, letting go and pulling back, her hands flopping into her lap. Vash kept his hands gently on her shoulders, smiling at her. She looked up and gave a tiny grin.
"Thanks, Uncle Vash…" she replied, "That means a lot to me."
"Rinz?" a meek voice asked from the doorway, "You okay?"
Vash and Rinzei turned to see Rinaza there, concern writ across her features.
"Yeah, Rina. I'm fine now." Rinzei smiled widely at her cousin, who returned the smile.
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"Boy," Meryl muttered as she picked the dishes up off the table, stacking them slowly, "What an eventful night."
"It sure was," Milly replied, "But at least everything's all worked out and resolved now, right?"
"Right," Meryl responded with a smile.
At the table, Vash and Rinaza had just finished working on her assignments, and Rinaza let out an audible yawn as she closed her book. Vash chuckled.
"I think maybe you'd better get some sleep, Rina," he stated teasingly.
The girl smiled sheepishly and nodded, "Right dad… goodnight!"
Vash returned her smile and gave her a gentle hug, "Goodnight, Rinaza."
Rinaza rose from the table, calling as she passed the kitchen door, "Night, mom! Night, Milly!"
"Goodnight, Rinaza," Meryl called back.
"Night, Rina!" Milly cheerfully announced.
Rinaza gave another yawn and headed for the bedroom, slipping in quietly. Rinzei had gone to sleep a short while earlier, so she made her way to her bed as stealthily as she could manage, slipping under the blanket and curling up on her side. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard the door shut as Milly left.
The next sound she heard was soft conversation. She opened her eyes slowly, the first thing she saw being Rinzei's sleeping form. Was she up before her for once? No… when she became a bit more aware, she noticed that it was still dark out. Still night… she slowly pulled the blankets back and put her feet down on the wooden floorboards. They creaked slightly under the weight, and then gave a relieved version of the sound as she stepped off them and towards the door.
She crept down the staircase, and it made sounds similar to the ones the floor in her room had. As she did, the conversation quieted slightly. Once she was down far enough to see into the living room, which sat at the bottom of the stairs, she saw Vash sitting on the sofa. Next to him was a familiar figure, and though she knew she recognized the man, she couldn't place him at first. But, after a few moments, the realization struck as she took note of his eye and hair color, and his resemblance to her father.
"Uncle Knives…" the girl uttered.
"Ah, so this must be the half-breed," Knives remarked, "My, she's grown since I've seen her... it has certainly taken her long enough. Human genetics… it really is a good thing they're recessive."
Rinaza reached the bottom of the stairs and stood, blinking. She was pretty sure she'd just been insulted, but she wasn't about to make a big deal out of it. The little frown Vash was giving his brother seemed like enough to her. But Knives studied her for a few moments, and then spoke again.
"Really, though, she's not a tall one, is she? I suppose that's what you get for letting human blood in…"
"Knives…" Vash's tone was low and warning.
But Knives was through insulting the girl, and was now shaking his head sadly, "It really is a shame… poor thing. But, it's not a total loss. Seeing as plant genes are so much stronger and more dominant than human genes, she's still got a formidable store of energy and strength. That much I can feel for myself. And I'm quite certain that she has the ability-"
"That's enough, Knives," Vash interrupted, cutting his brother off before the sentence was completed, "I thought you were through with things like that."
"Merely speculation, brother," the other replied with a small smile, "I don't care much for the mass human genocide thing these days."
"Good," the response was low and firm, and Vash's narrowed eyes accentuated it.
"Anyway, Vash," Knives' tone was now dramatically changed, and he sounded almost like a normal person, "Where would I find my daughter now?"
"Rinzei's asleep upstairs right now," Rinaza voiced quietly.
"I see," the tone was somewhat disappointed.
"Well," Vash started up, now cheerful and smiling widely at his brother, "You can see her first thing in the morning! For now, though, why don't we get you settled in the guest room?"
"Sure," Knives gave a slight shrug of the shoulders as he responded.
"Great!" Vash rose and lifted Knives' bag, giving his brother a second to follow, and, carrying the bag, led him down a hallway, "You know you're welcome to stay as long as you want, Knives. It would really make us happy, especially Rinzei! I bet she'll be really excited to see you when she wakes up tomorrow! She's really missed you, you know! Though, I have, too…"
"Yeah, I missed you too, Vash," the other didn't speak with as much enthusiasm, but his words were obviously heartfelt even if they weren't half-screeched.
Rinaza looked after them for a moment. She slowly walked over to the sofa and sat down, waiting silently in the dark room for her father to return. After a few minutes, he reentered sans Knives.
"Is something up, Rina?" Vash blinked at his daughter on the couch.
"Not really," she said softly, "It's just… I don't know if I really like Uncle Knives very much…"
Vash gave a tiny smile, and sat down next to Rinaza, putting an arm around her, "Don't worry, I know he seems a little… odd, but… he's really not such a bad guy deep down. And he really means a lot to me… it would make me happier than anything to have all of us be one, big, happy family…"
Rinaza smiled back at her father, "Yeah… that would be nice…"
In return, Vash gave her a small nod and spoke firmly but kindly, "Now get back to bed. You've got to get up for school tomorrow, you know."
"I know…" the girl rose from the sofa and headed towards the stairs with a yawn, "Goodnight, dad…"
"Goodnight, Rina…"