Planet Gunsmoke : Four
By: Liz de Jong
Liz well, hello again, folks! Good to see you back. Hope yo... VASH!!!!
Vash *looks up, face covered in ice-cream, which is dripping all over the floor*
Liz... *sweatdrop* My sister is going to kill you.
Vash ... not if we... RUN FOR THE BORDER!!! *Grabs Liz and heads out*
Liz good thing I don't own Trigun so it won't starve while I'm away!!!!
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Sand, now cold and lifeless without the bright suns of the daytime to shine on it, crunched beneathed booted feet as they stepped heavily through the streets. Occasionally a stray beam of light from a careless home-owner's window would stab accross their path, illuminating their steps briefly, as though catching them on their break for freedom. But it was quickly gone; neither dared to stop.
"Vash, where are you taking me?"
Not answering immeadiately, Vash finished his train of though, not sure it was wise to answer without his full attention. He might say something stupid, and he was deathly afraid of that. Who knew what his brother would think of that? What he was thinking now? Would some little foible like that set him off, like it had done so often in their long-ago past? He sighed, guessing he was going to find out sooner than later. They had arrived.
Vash stepped up to the tiny front porch, avoiding his rocking chair with caution in the darkness. His hand, seeming as though it were magnetically attracted, found the doorknob and turned. No one in this little town ever locked their doors.
Knives placed a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Someone is inside."
````````````````````````````````````
"..."
It had been twenty whole minutes since the brothers had arrived. Twenty. That was a very long time.
"Vash, stop fidgeting. It's annoying."
Vash, with a great effort, placed both of his palms, flat, on his splintery tabletop. He noted the wood was a little warm, the lantern nearby heating it to what would be a pleasant temperature. He had to remember, next time, not to let it do that. Might burn his house down. His mind wandered, like it tended to do when presented with such a wrenching situation.
The house in question would be quite the loss to him, he suddenly realized, forgetting about his brother accross from him for a second as he was overwhelmed in his memories. Fond memories, of the local children coming to visit him at various times in the day. Except for today's visit.
``````````````````````````````````````
"Who are you?!"
Knives rushed forward, weapon already drawn, grabbing the occupant, who had just been lighting another lamp, by the collar. Lifting him from the floor, his arm slowly bringing up his gun...
"Knives!"
... He hesitated, the gun still unseen, luckily, by the small child in his grasp.
"Put him down!"
He did so, although he seemed a little reluctant, dropping the boy so that he nearly lost his balance. The little one ran to Vash, hiding his scared, tear-stained face in Vash's shirt, wracked with sobs.
Vash, stroking the little boy's hair, soothed him, looking all the while at his brother with a hurt expression.
"It's ok, Troy. It's alright. Calm down, you're ok."
The little boy peeked his gaze upwards, watery eyes regarding the tall man. Vash smiled down at him reassuringly.
"You're ok, right?"
"Y... yeah. I'm ok."
The boy, still a little unsure about Knives, turned and ran straight out the door, after flashing Vash a quick smile to verify that he was, in fact, alright. Vash sighed, head swimming, seating himself at the table. Maybe he had been wrong.
"I'm sorry, Vash. I thought he was... a vagrant, or something. I don't know. What was he doing here, anyway?"
Slight suspicion plagued his voice. Vash's doubt grew.
"The children... can come here whenever they like. They're always welcome."
````````````````````````````````````````````
Sighing again, Vash shook his head, finishing his recall of those very recent, very disturbing events. HAD his brother really changed? Had he simply been worried about a bandit, or...
"Vash, I'm sorry. Really. You have to understand it's a tough world out there... Maybe not where you've been living, but where I've been, it is. We have to protect ourselves."
Vash looked up, finally at a decision. He couldn't decide wether or not his brother were totally on the straight and narrow, based on these few actions. Given the same situation and circumstances as his brother, he would have done the same. He might have left out the gun, though.
"Why are you here, Knives? I mean, really."
"I... was hoping you'd let me stay here. With you."
"I... I'd like that."
"It won't be for too long, don't worry." Knives smiled. "I have a few things to get done, yet, but I wanted to see what you do."
All things considered, that sounded pretty plausible. Suddenly stopping himself, Vash caught that last train of thought.
'Plausible? This is my brother I'm second guessing here. He at LEAST gets a chance.'
"You can come to work with me tomorrow, then. And see what it's like."
Knives smiled, which seemed to be getting easier and easier for him. Lieing to someone like his brother was just so perfect.... he wanted to believe everything he was told. And, given time and just the right amount of these... smiles... he would.
"I'd like that."
Vash stood, taking the latern in hand, the shadows it cast swaying and dancing in time with the lantern itself.
"You can sleep on the couch, tonight. It's pretty comfy, and there's some blankets on it you can use. Tomorrow, we'll go to work." He smiled. "I think you'll like it."
Knives nodded, plodding over to the dusty couch, too small for his equally tall form. His brother left the room, the light with him, plunging him into semi-comfortable darkness. Knives re-arranged himself. Now it was just dark.
He looked off into nothingness, not sure whether or not his eyes were closed, or open. Time seemed to slow, then stop altogether, marked only by the occasional whisper of wind along windowpanes. He smiled slowly to himself, a plan already formulating itself.
Yes, work was going to be very educational, indeed.
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*accross the border*
Liz Hey... where are we?
Vash *with a huge Sombrero on* in hiding!
Liz... *notes his huge red coat and flashy hat*
Vash *sweatdrop* is... there something in my teeth?
Liz... if there is, it's sure a lot more conspicuous than you are. *sighs*
By: Liz de Jong
Liz well, hello again, folks! Good to see you back. Hope yo... VASH!!!!
Vash *looks up, face covered in ice-cream, which is dripping all over the floor*
Liz... *sweatdrop* My sister is going to kill you.
Vash ... not if we... RUN FOR THE BORDER!!! *Grabs Liz and heads out*
Liz good thing I don't own Trigun so it won't starve while I'm away!!!!
````````````````````````````````````````
Sand, now cold and lifeless without the bright suns of the daytime to shine on it, crunched beneathed booted feet as they stepped heavily through the streets. Occasionally a stray beam of light from a careless home-owner's window would stab accross their path, illuminating their steps briefly, as though catching them on their break for freedom. But it was quickly gone; neither dared to stop.
"Vash, where are you taking me?"
Not answering immeadiately, Vash finished his train of though, not sure it was wise to answer without his full attention. He might say something stupid, and he was deathly afraid of that. Who knew what his brother would think of that? What he was thinking now? Would some little foible like that set him off, like it had done so often in their long-ago past? He sighed, guessing he was going to find out sooner than later. They had arrived.
Vash stepped up to the tiny front porch, avoiding his rocking chair with caution in the darkness. His hand, seeming as though it were magnetically attracted, found the doorknob and turned. No one in this little town ever locked their doors.
Knives placed a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Someone is inside."
````````````````````````````````````
"..."
It had been twenty whole minutes since the brothers had arrived. Twenty. That was a very long time.
"Vash, stop fidgeting. It's annoying."
Vash, with a great effort, placed both of his palms, flat, on his splintery tabletop. He noted the wood was a little warm, the lantern nearby heating it to what would be a pleasant temperature. He had to remember, next time, not to let it do that. Might burn his house down. His mind wandered, like it tended to do when presented with such a wrenching situation.
The house in question would be quite the loss to him, he suddenly realized, forgetting about his brother accross from him for a second as he was overwhelmed in his memories. Fond memories, of the local children coming to visit him at various times in the day. Except for today's visit.
``````````````````````````````````````
"Who are you?!"
Knives rushed forward, weapon already drawn, grabbing the occupant, who had just been lighting another lamp, by the collar. Lifting him from the floor, his arm slowly bringing up his gun...
"Knives!"
... He hesitated, the gun still unseen, luckily, by the small child in his grasp.
"Put him down!"
He did so, although he seemed a little reluctant, dropping the boy so that he nearly lost his balance. The little one ran to Vash, hiding his scared, tear-stained face in Vash's shirt, wracked with sobs.
Vash, stroking the little boy's hair, soothed him, looking all the while at his brother with a hurt expression.
"It's ok, Troy. It's alright. Calm down, you're ok."
The little boy peeked his gaze upwards, watery eyes regarding the tall man. Vash smiled down at him reassuringly.
"You're ok, right?"
"Y... yeah. I'm ok."
The boy, still a little unsure about Knives, turned and ran straight out the door, after flashing Vash a quick smile to verify that he was, in fact, alright. Vash sighed, head swimming, seating himself at the table. Maybe he had been wrong.
"I'm sorry, Vash. I thought he was... a vagrant, or something. I don't know. What was he doing here, anyway?"
Slight suspicion plagued his voice. Vash's doubt grew.
"The children... can come here whenever they like. They're always welcome."
````````````````````````````````````````````
Sighing again, Vash shook his head, finishing his recall of those very recent, very disturbing events. HAD his brother really changed? Had he simply been worried about a bandit, or...
"Vash, I'm sorry. Really. You have to understand it's a tough world out there... Maybe not where you've been living, but where I've been, it is. We have to protect ourselves."
Vash looked up, finally at a decision. He couldn't decide wether or not his brother were totally on the straight and narrow, based on these few actions. Given the same situation and circumstances as his brother, he would have done the same. He might have left out the gun, though.
"Why are you here, Knives? I mean, really."
"I... was hoping you'd let me stay here. With you."
"I... I'd like that."
"It won't be for too long, don't worry." Knives smiled. "I have a few things to get done, yet, but I wanted to see what you do."
All things considered, that sounded pretty plausible. Suddenly stopping himself, Vash caught that last train of thought.
'Plausible? This is my brother I'm second guessing here. He at LEAST gets a chance.'
"You can come to work with me tomorrow, then. And see what it's like."
Knives smiled, which seemed to be getting easier and easier for him. Lieing to someone like his brother was just so perfect.... he wanted to believe everything he was told. And, given time and just the right amount of these... smiles... he would.
"I'd like that."
Vash stood, taking the latern in hand, the shadows it cast swaying and dancing in time with the lantern itself.
"You can sleep on the couch, tonight. It's pretty comfy, and there's some blankets on it you can use. Tomorrow, we'll go to work." He smiled. "I think you'll like it."
Knives nodded, plodding over to the dusty couch, too small for his equally tall form. His brother left the room, the light with him, plunging him into semi-comfortable darkness. Knives re-arranged himself. Now it was just dark.
He looked off into nothingness, not sure whether or not his eyes were closed, or open. Time seemed to slow, then stop altogether, marked only by the occasional whisper of wind along windowpanes. He smiled slowly to himself, a plan already formulating itself.
Yes, work was going to be very educational, indeed.
``````````````````````````````````````
*accross the border*
Liz Hey... where are we?
Vash *with a huge Sombrero on* in hiding!
Liz... *notes his huge red coat and flashy hat*
Vash *sweatdrop* is... there something in my teeth?
Liz... if there is, it's sure a lot more conspicuous than you are. *sighs*