A/N   YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!!!!! I got my first review!!! I so happy!! Thank you sooooooooooooo much Mistress Hotaru and I hope your coffee crisis was taken care of. ^_^

Now, we finally get to the pot chapter!! Sorry it was so slow getting up. Hope u luv it.

Kuroneko  =^_^=

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            Nicky was taking care of the man who had come in, and Jess and Vash (or Ericks, as Jess knew him) were sitting at the bar. Jess was reading the paper and Vash was watching Nicky.

"What was with the mood swing? It was as though she was a completely different person."

Jess looked up at Vash, to Nicky, then back to his paper. "No idea. Don't worry about it."

"Come on!" Vash said disbelievingly. "One minute she's fine, the next she's up in her room, having a fit at us, and THEN she comes out all happy-go-lucky to serve a customer. What's up with that?"

Jess didn't answer.

Vash sighed. Maybe it's her time of the month, or something.

Nicky walked over and behind the bar and started to pull out a few beers.

            "Are you all right?"

            She looked at Vash, his face showing genuine concern.

She gave him a half smile. "Yeah. Hang on. We'll talk in a minute."

She left to go give the guy his drinks. When she returned, she sat on the stool next to Vash. "I'm sorry."

            Vash was taken aback. "Why?"

            She sighed.

It's never easy to admit being wrong.

"For acting like I did. I'm normally not that emotional. I just got…embarrassed. Neither of you did anything."

            Vash recalled a similar meeting with the Insurance Girls. Although, his scars were a lot worse than the ones on her legs. But, still, it was embarrassing and he could relate to where she was coming from on this.

            "It's Ok. I understand." He smiled and she looked grateful.

            "I meant to ask you, before my fit, what are you doing in Slater?"

            Vash thought for a moment. No one knew his brother, so what was the harm? "I'm here taking care of my brother. This is a quiet town, so I figured it would be a good place to take him."

            Her face darkened slightly at the mention of Knives. "Your brother."

            Vash nodded.

            She looked out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

            Vash saw the sudden change in her attitude this time, so he decided that now might be a good time to leave her to herself. He had no desire to go thru another fit today. Clearing his throat, he decided to make his escape. "Speaking of which, it's been a while since I checked on him, so I'll go and come back a little later, alright?"

            He watched her for a moment, waiting for an acknowledgement to his proposal. But, her gray eyes, rimmed with gold as they were around the pupil, were distant and unresponsive. Frowning, he stood up.

            "Um, I guess I'll see you a bit later then. Bye."

            Vash turned and walked slowly out of the bar, and shuffled down the dusty street to the hotel to contemplate the days happenings so far and, he supposed, to check on Knives.

                                                                        * * *

            His brother. I had completely forgotten about him. Millions Knives. Huh, more like Millions OF Knives. That man is the absolute worst thing to happen to this planet, and especially to Vash!

            Rage broke over me in a wave as I thought this, but was gone just as quickly, leaving nothing but sympathy and mild irritation. Sympathy for Vash for having to put up with Knives, and mild irritation at Knives for showing up just when I was starting to relax.

            I sighed. Well, that'll teach me to relax, even when I'm dead.

            I vaguely heard Vash say that he would be back later on and then his retreating footsteps out of the bar.

            You know very well you are not dead.

            I sat up, straight as a board, upon hearing that Voice.

            When did YOU get back? I demanded of it.

            Stupid, I'm a part of you. I'm always here. I have just chosen to remain silent. You have been very interesting to watch, trying to live up the Code of Honor you and your squad lives by. You honestly thought that by giving them a Code, they wouldn't turn out like you…or should I say, US?

            I could almost feel the smile in the Voice. I grimaced. You take that back! They WERE better than us, all of them! We could never hope to equal any of them.

            Again, I felt the smile. And just why would we want to? You know loved doing it. You loved the chaos and destruction, and most of all, the ki-

            I shoved my hands over my ears. Shut up! Just go already, damn you!

            I mentally grabbed the source of the Voice, and shoved it to the very depths of my mind, where it would have a harder time speaking. But before I could stop it, the Voice dredged up a picture and flashed it in my mind's eye.

            My brother.

I shoved the picture down to the last fleeting remnants of the Voice's faint and maniacal laughter. I sat a moment longer, checking on Jess, who had remained oblivious of the whole exchange and my strange behavior, and getting my bearings. I started fingering the hilt of my .45. Yanking my hand away and shoving the Voice down even farther, I stood up and slid over the bar top and began reorganizing the liquors from the left to the fight.

            "What ARE you doing?"

            I looked up at Jess standing behind me, confusion on his weathered features. I frowned a little, thinking it was obvious, but slapped that thought down quickly and smiled at him faintly embarrassed that I had been caught.

            "I'm…reorganizing the liquor."

            Now it was his turn to frown. "Yes, I can see that, but why are you doing it?"

            I went back to reorganizing the bottles as I talked.

            "I need something to do with my hands. They're too idle right now." The bottles clanked together lightly in the now empty bar. The man who I had served had left while Vash and I had been talking. Thankfully, I'd made him pay when I gave him the beers. Jess watched me for a few more moments before commenting.

            "Well, that's fine and all, but you're going to have to tell me how you're organizing them."

            I stopped and walked back to the left side of the rack.

            "It's simple. They are all in alphabetical order. A-Z."

            Jess just stood looking at the rack for a moment, and then shrugged. "Fine by me." He glanced up at the clock that hung over the bar entrance. "We should be getting the noon rush in a few minutes. Do you think you're up to this?"

            I held my head up, slightly affronted at his lack of trust in me, before I realized he was joking and relaxed. "Of course. I can handle anything." When I said this, I heard faint laughter from deep within my mind and a thought a struck me.

            "Hey jess, what day is it today?"

            He looked back at me. "Saturday, why?"

            Well that makes sense. The Voice is always strongest on this day."

            "Oh, it's just that, today is my birthday."

            Surprise crossed his features and his face was split by a wide grin. "Well, congratulations. How old are you, or must the woman's age remain a secret from all men?"    

            I giggled at this last bit. "No, it's alright. I'm 18 today."

                                                                        * * *

            When he returned to his room, Vash noticed that noticed Knives had shifted away from the bright, open window. Vash gave a half smile at this, happy that his twin was still showing signs of life and possible recovery.

            "Good. I'm glad that you're finally moving a bit. I was worried that you be paralyzed and I'd have to drag your carcass from one town to the next!"

            He started laughing at what he thought was something obviously funny.

            "Sop that. It's annoying as Hell."

            Vash froze at the cold intonation of the voice. He turned quickly to find a very disgruntled Knives starring unblinkingly at him from the bed. He cringed a little at the look his twin was giving him before he spoke. "You're awake."

            Knives glared at Vash, who in turn took a step back, away from him brother's menacing gaze. Knives finally redirected his stare to the rest of the room, his mood sinking with the realization of where he was.

            "Yes, and I see you saw fit to bring me to some human riddled settlement."

            His glare returned to the blond gunman who, instead of backing away, looked out the window and over the tops of the town buildings. "I didn't know what else to do." He whispered this more to himself that to his unblinking twin.

            Knives grunted at this remark, obviously not believing Vash, but not finding it important enough to say anything. He started shifting his weight in the bed, try to sit up and thus feel less vulnerable. Unfortunately for him, this caused the wounds on his thighs to stretch and reopen. He sucked in air, surprise and pain showing on his handsome features. Vash took this as a sign of his needed intervention and walked quickly over to his still struggling brother. He placed a hand firmly on Knives' chest, stopping any further movement.

            "Stop moving, you'll reopen them all at this rate."

            Knives again glared at his brother but remained still, even as Vash maneuvered him into a sitting position. After making sure Knives was sitting comfortably, Vash pulled the one chair in the room from the corner and over to the bedside. After settling his gangly body into the chair, he watched his twin for a moment before engaging him in conversation.

            "How long have you awake?"

            Knives blinked at this question, but showed no other emotion. "I woke up about 45 minutes ago. When I saw where I was, I went back to sleep, hopping that it was some kind of nightmare. You reawakened me just now with your crowing."

            Vash blushed slightly at the rebuke.

            "Why did you leave me here alone, anyway?"

            Vash scratched the back of his head as he answered. "I was hungry, no I went for some breakfast."

            Knives glanced out the window and then accusingly at his brother. "It's almost noon."

            Sweat drop "Ok, so it was a late breakfast."

            Knives rolled his eyes in response. "How long was I out?"

            The blond gunman looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "About 3 days."

            "And how long have we been in this town?"

            "Since last night." 

            "We should leave soon."

            Vash nodded. "We will, once you're fit to travel again."

            "I'm fine. We can leave now." He started to get up as he said this.

            Vash stood up and once again restrained him with a hand to his chest. "I don't believe that for a second. You are staying in this bed until you are completely better."

            Knives tensed under his touch but stayed put. "Are those Insurance people with you?"

            Vash almost choked on his own saliva. He'd been trying not to think about them. Especially after Meryl said that she -

            No! I'm not even going to think about that.

            "Uh, no there not with us."

            Knives had seen his brother's first reaction, but didn't say anything. Vash sat fidgeting for a few moments under his brother's scrutiny before he picked up the conversation.

            "Are you hungry?"

            "No."

            Vash sat for a few more minutes not knowing what to say or do, and Knives just sat looking out the window, silent and brooding. Vash sighed and shrugged his thin, broad shoulders. "Fine. I'll fix you something for later and then I'm going back to the bar."

            Knives turned and watched as his brother got up and went into the kitchen. Pans clattered together and once, Knives heard Vash curse quite loudly as he apparently smashed his hand with one of the pans, witch Knives found quite amusing. Smells eventually wafted thru to the bedroom, where Knives sat, staring at nothing in particular. Vash walked back into the room, carrying a plate and favoring his left hand. He set the plate down on the stand beside Knives' bed. On it was toast, an egg and a salmon sandwich.

            Knives inspected the food with a critical eye, and then turned to take in the happy smile on Vash's face. "I told you I wasn't hungry."

            Vash shrugged. "You might GET hungry while I'm out, so if you do, you can have this."

            Knives looked slightly incredulous. "You mean you're going to leave me again?"

            "Yes. It's only for a little while."

            Ice-blue eyes met green.

            "Why?" Knives demanded.

            "I'm going to the bar to meet a friend."

            Knives was obviously not happy with that. "What 'friend'?"      

            His twin smiled indulgently at his paranoid nature. "A girl I met there last night."

            Knives grimaced. How could his brother stand to be around those filthy things? "What about me?"

            "What, do you want to meet her too?" Vash asked jokingly.

            Knives turned and went back to staring out at the sky. "Hardly. What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

            "I don't know. Try to get better. The sooner you do, the sooner we get to leave."

            Knives crossed his arms and huffed, which pulled at the wounds on his arms, and caused him to wince. He closed his eyes and settled into sleep, deciding that healing would be the best course of action for now.

            Vash smiled. "Good. I'll be back soon."

            Knives didn't acknowledge, which didn't bother Vash. He turned, opened the door and left.

                                                                                    * * *

            Jess was right when he said we'd be busy. Thankfully I only had to intervene in one brawl before they knew not to start one. We were busy for about an hour and a half before almost everyone left. By then, my right hand was wrapped in a cloth and soaking a bucket of ice. One of the men in the brawl wouldn't listen when I told him to stop so I had to give him a good one in the jaw. And it was a lot harder than it looked.

            Jess and I had both straightened up the chairs and tables, getting everything back in order. There were still a few men around, but those were just the regular bar flies. Jess and I got two stools behind the bar and sat, him reading the paper and he half a sleep with my hand in the ice.

            "Hey Jess?"

            He didn't look up from his paper. "Yeah?"

            "Can I use the shooting range in the back later on, to loosen up my hand?"

            "Sure. But how did you know about it?"

            "I found it while I was in the sock room getting a few boxes of whisky."

            He just grunted and I went back to being half asleep.

            "Does it hurt?"

            I slowly opened my eyes, surprised to see two green ones staring right back at me.

            "WAH!!" I half yelled and tumbled backwards off the stool. Or, I would have if a hand hadn't grabbed my arm and pulled me back up.

            Once I got my balance back, I saw that, low and behold, it was Vash who had scarred the crap out of me!

            "What did you sneak up on me for?!" I yelled at the blond in front of me.

            He looked abashed at my words. "I'm sorry."

"And well you should be for almost putting my new apprentice in the hospital!" Jess yelled.

"Come off it Jess! I'm fine."

            I looked back at Vash, who was looking like a whipped puppy.

            I sighed and smiled at him. "It's alright. I'm ok, really. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just don't put your face that close to mine in the future."

            He nodded.

            "Now, what was it that you asked me?"

            He pointed to my wrapped hand, which was now out of the tub. "I wondered if it hurt a lot."

            I put my hand back in the tub. "No. It's just swollen. No big deal. So, what's up?"

            He shifted his weight on the stool before answering. "Me brother woke up."

            I sat dead still. Memories of what I had seen flashed in my head. Entire town populations, gone. And the Seeds ships.

            "Nicky? Nicky, are you ok?"

            My thoughts spun me back to the present. Vash was watching me, concern in his bright green eyes.

            I tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Yes, I'm fine."

            Vash didn't look as though he believed me. I thought again of the Seeds ships and the missing populace, and I started to finger the hilt of my .45.

            "Where are you two staying?" I'm not quite sure why I asked that, it just kind of popped out.

            He looked a bit startled, but answered. "At the hotel."

            I nodded absently. Realizing I was still fingering the hilt, I yanked my hand away and stood up. I grabbed a cloth from under the counter and started wiping off the top.

            Vash sat quietly as I did this, content to watch. The few bar flies eventually left, about 2 hours before sundown. Jess had gotten up and was in the back for about a half an hour cleaning up, when he came back out to find Vash and I playing poker and looking board out of our minds. He took in the time and nodded.

            "Ok, you can go back to the shooting range. We probably won't have any customers anymore tonight anyway. You know where it is Nicky. Door on the far wall in the stockroom."

            I smiled and headed back. Vash looked from me to Jess.

            Jess sighed then nodded. "You can go too Ericks."

            Vash got up and followed me to the range. It was an enclosed dugout behind the stockroom. It was long and pretty wide. Multiple targets were set up at varying distances, with different sizes and all facing different directions.

            Jess called out from the front. "Now don't go getting hit by a stray bullet. We wouldn't want to be at the hospital on your birthday now would we?" We both heard him chuckle.

            "Is it really your birthday?" Vash asked.

            I nodded and looked over my shoulder at him. "I'm 18 today."

            He smiled. "Congratulations."

            I turned back to the range and pulled out my .45 Long-colt from my waistband.

            I heard Vash take in a sharp breath as I loaded the six bullets. I grinned at his reaction. It was expected, although, his wasn't for the same reason as most.

            "You're surprised. Why is that?"

            He was silent a moment. "It's just that…it looks identical to the ones my brother and I carry. And they were custom made."

            "Well, mine was custom made too."

            He didn't respond at once. But he did ask another question after a moment. "Why did you want to come back here?" I shifted my stance more to the left before I answered. "My trigger finger has been itching all day. This is the second best way I know to calm it."

            I fired all six shots in rapid succession. All but one his the targets dead on. The one that didn't, hit slightly to the left. I lowered my gun and turned to look at Vash, the smirk still on my face. His eyes were riveted to the targets.

            "How…how did you do that? They were all facing different directions."

            My smirk turned into a wicked grin. "Practice."

            He finally looked at me. "Practice?"

            The grin still hung on my lips, like a lingering cough. "Sure. Fighting almost every day life, it tends to make you a good shot, wouldn't you agree?"

            He paled slightly and said nothing. I felt my grin widen and I saw him pale even more. Why had I said that? I hadn't wanted to say that! I felt my mind slipping to back to join the Voice as it ran thru memories of that other life. It seemed to have taken over my mind and body.

            "Fighting is a way of life for some people, Vash.  My  life was one such life, where everyone kills one way and dies in another. It all did strange things to people. But it was damn good fun!"

            I watched this little speech from the depths of my mind. I heard and saw the Voice laugh at what is was doing. It was a sound utterly devoid of any happiness, even to my ears. Vash backed up when he heard it and I could see the fear on his face. My mind was suddenly engulfed by the visions of my life, of chaos and blood, my soul demanding to be returned to the life for which I was so perfectly suited.

            And then, it was all gone, replaced by nothingness and whiteness. And a new Voice came to my ears, a Voice that both of us, me and Other Voice, found divine and comforting.

            That was not your destiny.

            That sentence, said by an unknown Voice, echoed in my mind and flung me out of its depths and into the present.

            Vash was gone.

            I heard him hurrying thru the bar and leaving me, alone. My gun slid out of my sweaty hand, dust rising in a ring as it thudded to the floor. My legs gave and I slumped to my knees beside it.

            What's happening to me? Why did I act like that, toward Vash?!

            The Other Voice spoke again, kindly.

            Because it is who you are. The Voice is part of you and must be released.

            NO! I can't do that! The Voice is evil and must be kept at bay!

            But it is a part of you. The more you keep suppressing it, the stronger and angrier it is. You must let it out. You must let it-

            Shut Up!!

            The Other Voice was silent. Just shut up and leave me alone! Just leave me alone.

I curled into a fetal position on the floor as the Other Voice receded, feeling almost sad, and the Voice just returned to the depths of my mind, it too feeling sad and fatigued. They were both gone, Vash too, leaving me alone, to cry in despair until the blessed darkness of sleep took me.

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A/N    wow, that took a long time. I hope you all liked this one. We finally get to the root of the story. Heehe

I would just like to say thank you again to Mistress Hotaru for the review, it just made my day!!^_^

Now I must go and start the next chappie!

            - Later Days!!