A/N Alright. I finally got this one up. Sorry for the long wait. And SOMEONE messing up the program thingy that lets us put up new chappies did NOT help it!! And, wow, I just figured out the whole damn plot of the story! Can you believe I had NO IDEA where I was going with this?? And just so you all know, I write down every chapter in longhand before I type it. I don't know why, I don't write rough drafts of anything else. (Please, just bare with me.) So, hope this ones good and PLEASE, R&R. (to Mistress Hotaru: I hope the story is living up to expectations.^_^) Oh, and I don't own Trigun or its characters.
* * *
Vash rushed out of the bar without even talking to Jess. He hurried down the street in the twilight, heading for the hotel. Once in his room, he stripped and got into the shower.
What the Hell was that?! Something was terribly wrong with Nicolae and…damn, it scares me.
Vash stood in the shower awhile, thinking on his friend's sudden and drastic change.
What are you doing in there?
Knives' rude intrusion on his thoughts brought the gunman back to the present.
Huh?
Knives sighed mentally.
You've been in there for 20 minutes. How long are you going to take?
Vash didn't answer. He climbed out of the shower and dried off. Once he had his pajamas on, he went into his share bedroom with Knives (which was the room you walked into when you first enter the hotel room.) and sat and the chair set beside Knives' bed.
"What's wrong?" Knives asked, curious as to his brother's unusual silence. Vash just shook his head and looked out the window, 3 of the 5 moons visible, including the 5th moon. Suddenly, something hit him square in the face.
"Aahhhh!" was all the surprise the Humanoid Typhoon was able to express before he toppled onto the floor.
Knives chuckled as Vash threw off the pillow and sat up on the floor, scowling at his blue-eyed brother.
"What the Hell was that for?!" he demanded.
Still smirking, Knives explained his random, though characteristic, action.
"As much as I hate it when you're loud and obnoxious, I hate it more when you're silent and brooding."
Vash just sat there, still baffled by his brother's actions, and then returned to looking out the window.
"I was thinking about a friend."
Knives rolled his eyes at his brother's preoccupation with a human.
"Again with this 'friend' of yours! What is it now?"
Vash got up and sat on his bed.
"Something happened tonight. We were in the back of the bar, in the shooting range, when she started acting strange. She..."
He stopped, unable to find the right words to best explain what had happened. He showed his twin his memories of that event, via telepathy.
"Hmmm...yes, that is odd, even for a human." He looked curiously at his brother. "But you haven't said why you're worried."
Vash sighed, knowing it was quite useless to tell his brother things like this, but giving it a shot anyway.
"It's because it's odd that I'm worried about her. I think she's a good person Knives, and I consider her a friend, and I look out for my friends."
Knives snorted. "What, like how you looked out for Wolfwood?"
Vash looked up sharply at his brother. "Don't bring him into this Knives." His tone was a warning.
"The man is dead. Forget about him already."
"I can't. He was my friend. A good friend, just like I hope Nicky will be."
Knives was beside himself in the fact that his brother still insisted that humans were his friends!
"What is going on in that damned head of yours?! Humans are not our friends! How can you want to be friends with a human, especially one that you only met this morning?" He was incredulous.
Vash had regained his color and just shook his head sadly.
"I don't expect you to understand."
He crawled under his bed-sheets and was quickly asleep.
Knives sat up late, thinking on all the humans his brother professed to be friends with.
Even someone I sent to watch and track him.
He pondered this new human who had intruded in on him and his twin's life.
She will need to be taken care of. Not right now, but eventually .
All of the humans had to die, but he'd settle for the humans who tried to trick his brother with lies about friendship. Until he was fit enough to take them all out, that is. He watched his brother's sleeping form for a moment before finally settling down and going to sleep.
* * *
I woke up early the next morning, in bed. After dragging myself out from under the covers and cleaning up, I headed down stairs to find Jess in the kitchen. I stood in the doorway a moment, watching him.
"Whatcha' doooin'?"
He jumped and whirled around. His eyes softened and he smiled his half smile when he saw me.
"Nicky, you're finally up, I'm glad to see. I was worried about you, finding you passed out in the back..." He stopped and looked concernedly at me.
"What happened last night?"
I thought of last night, the events fresh in my mind and I just couldn't believe myself. I looked up, and I suppose my face showed some of my depression and embarrassment, because Jess's expression changed when he saw it.
It went from one of concern, to one of guarded anger and suspicion.
"Did Ericks try to force himself on you?"
It took me a moment to realize who he was referring to, but I blushed furiously when I figured it out.
"Oh Jess…NO!!"
I shook my head violently.
"No, no, no! I promise, nothing happened. I was just exhausted, you know, fatigue and all that. Don't worry."
He looked skeptical, but he relented in his enquiries.
Turning to look behind me, I saw the clock above the bar door pronounce the time as 7:15.
"I'm making stew. It'll be ready in less than an hour."
I turned back and looked at the pot on the stove Jess was stirring and gave him a half smile.
"Thanks. Since we don't open for another hour and 15 minutes, would you mind if I did something really quick? Promise I'll be back in time for stew."
He nodded. "Sure. But take it easy. I don't want to have to come looking for you to find out that you're passed out in the street."
I chuckled softly and left, my boots thudding quietly on the wooden floor. Out on the street it took me a moment to discern where the hotel was. Seeing it up the street, I took a left and walked quickly up to it, a small trail of desert dust following in my wake. The porter was kind enough to tell me which room Knives and Vash were staying in. (It defiantly wasn't a high class hotel.) The slightly warped stairs protested faintly at my passing. The hall was silent, but lit warmly by the window at the far end of the hall. Their room was on the left side. I paused outside their door.
What if he doesn't want anything to do with me? Did I scare him off too?
My hand faltered.
But, he needs to know at least a little of what happened.
I knocked softly.
…
No response.
Grasping the cold metal knob, I slowly pushed open the door and stuck my hand in.
"It's just me Vash. Look, I really think we should…talk."
When I looked in, there was …no one.
I stepped in and closed the door behind me. The room was half blanketed in darkness, courtesy of the half-curtained window on the far wall.
He must be out to breakfast. Mmmm…donuts.
Walking over to the bed closest to the window, I sat down heavily to think.
"Waaahhhh!" something said.
The bed heaved, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown to the floor. I quickly flipped over and looked up. Looking down at me was one of the angriest and, strangely, handsomest men I had ever seen.
I recognized him instantly.
"Millions Knives." I whispered, before I could stop myself.
Confusion, disbelief and rage raced across his features in quick succession, before he reached down to grab the collar of my shirt.
"Eeep!"
I rolled out of the way and stood up, backing toward the door.
"Get back here!" He snarled, and was almost up when he seemed to have a muscle spasm and fall back into bed.
I stayed plastered to the door as he growled and glared venomously at me.
"Uh, I'm sorry for the rude intrusion. I know it's early, but I was looking for Vash. Do you know when he'll be back?" My voice was quiet, but steady.
Knives kept his scowl on me as he shifted into a sitting position. "You are that new 'friend' of his." It was not a question. "He is not here right now. Go away."
I took a deep breath, knowing that talking to him and making sure he didn't kill me would take skill. "I realize that he isn't here Knives, I was wondering if you knew when he'd be back."
Knives' eyes darkened, signaling that he didn't appreciate my tone of voice or my blatant refusal to leave. I could see his jaw muscles clench, telling me that his teeth were gritted and he was not a happy plant.
"No, I don't know when he'll be back. Now leave. Your presence is maddening and disgusting."
He turned his head away, searching the bed stand for something.
A thought struck me as I watched him.
He can't get up. Or do anything for that matter.
A small mischievous smirk crept to my lips.
I know how to really annoy him.
The Voice sighed from deep within my mind. I didn't silence it, as it really only sounded board.
Yes, you do know how to really annoy him. But can't we find something more fun to do?
No. I want to stay here. Besides, this is the kind of stuff you love to do. So just sit down and be quiet.
The Voice sighed, to weak to oppose me. It did sound the tiniest bit happier though.
I crept silently to the other bed, the one I assumed belonged to Vash. It squeaked quietly as I climbed on top of it and sat cross-legged.
Knives turned back to me, his eyes the only thing betraying his disbelief.
I waved at him, a big grin on my face.
"What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" He practically yelled, his normally pale features blotched red.
"Waiting for Vash." I announced, arms crossed.
"I don't think so!"
With raised eyebrows, I asked curiously, "And just what, exactly, do you plan to do to get me to leave? Heave me bodily through the door?"
He smirked. Not a good sign. "Hardly. Try mentally!"
"What?" I asked, with a completely stupid look of not understanding on my face.
The air tightened around him for a split second. In that short period, right before he released whatever it was, a knot in my stomach, that I didn't even realize was there, released its built up tension.
Suddenly, WHUMP!
Millions Knives hit the wall by the window and slid down it into a crumpled position on the floor.
I stared at him for just a moment.
"Oh…CRAP!"
I slid off the bed and went to his side. After checking his pulse, which was strong, I tried to carefully put him back into bed without distressing him.
That was, suffice to say, not one of my better accomplishments.
He stiffened like a board and his breathing quickened until I laid him in bed, where he relaxed. Upon finding the bathroom, I filled a bowl by the sink with cool water and went to sit by his side. It was only about 5 minutes before he regained consciousness. His ice-blue eyes seemed to cross faintly, but he still managed an intimidating glare. Or it would be intimidating if I hadn't seen worse.
"How did you do that.?"
All he got was a blank stare from me.
"Don't play stupid with me you insolent creature! I couldn't touch your mind. It was as though a wall was right there, protecting it."
I could feel the knot in my stomach returning. It wasn't a bad or uncomfortable feeling. It was actually more like a presence of security than a knot.
"Uh, I wasn't really thinking about anything when you did that."
"Are you telling me that by completely clearing your mind, you blocked my telekinesis?"
By now, being so close too him was making me uncomfortable, so I went and sat on Vash's bed, Knives watching me the whole time.
"…Ok."
He sighed, exasperated. "You have no idea what you did, do you?"
I smiled. "Nope. Not a clue."
He rolled his eyes. "Look, Vash isn't here and I don't know when he'll be back. So you really need to go."
I just sat up strait, cocked my head to the right and stared at him, my face blank.
It only took about 2 minutes of that before he cracked.
"God, fine, you can stay! Just quit looking at me with those damned eyes!"
I blinked, actually surprised that he had relented, and mad that he called my eyes 'damned'.
"My eyes are pretty, thank you!"
I got up and walked to the door. "Now I'm not going to stay and grace you with my wondrous presence!" (That last bit made me mentally giggle. My sense of humor comes out at the most inappropriate times.)
I grabbed the doorknob, threw open the door…and stood staring into the green, confused eyes in front of me.
"Oh crap."
Vash blinked. "Nicky?"
"Vash! Get this insane woman out of here!" Knives yelled from his bed.
Then I just panicked.
"I'm sorry!"
And slammed the door in his face.
* * *
Vash had gotten up early and gone for a walk. He walked to the outskirts of Slater and sat on the top of a dune, watching the sands wavering in the early shine of the suns.
What had happened last night?
That was the only question in his blond, spiked head.
What happened?
But he just couldn't find a plausible answer, except that she just evil and insane. Well he couldn't believe that.
A few hours later, he headed back to the hotel. It was 7:30 when he reached their hotel room. Right when he was about to go in, he stopped. He had heard a voice in there. A female voice.
"Now I'm not going to stay and grace you with my wondrous presence!"
Then the door was thrown open.
Vash stood there, caught up in the suddenly frightened gray and gold eyes before him.
"Oh, crap."
Wait, he knew that voice, and the eyes. "Nicky?"
And then he heard Knives from inside the room. "Vash! Get this insane woman out of here!"
Nicky backed up just a step, seeming more frightened than before.
"I'm sorry!" She yelled. And slammed the door in his surprised face.
Vash stood for a moment, quite unsure of what just happened. Then he knocked on the door softly.
"Nicky? Nicky, what's going on?"
He heard her feet scrabble on the floor, and Knives yell, "What are you doing!? Put that back!"
Something slammed against the door.
He knocked again.
"Nicky, what is it?"
Vash heard her mumble something incoherent and humph.
"What is your problem!? You're the one who wanted to talk to him!"
She didn't respond to his outburst.
The gunman called through the door, "Nicolae, I agree, I think we should talk."
All was silent for a moment, then Vash heard her shift in what, he assumed, was the chair propped against the door. Her booted feet hit the floor quietly, and he could hear her move the chair to the sidewall by the door. The door stayed closed for a moment longer and then, slowly, it opened, and the right side of Nicolae's face poked out.
Vash smiled, honestly happy to see that she was alright. But this did not seem to reassure her.
"I- I'm sorry about…about the door."
She opened it a little more, not enough for to pass thru, and stepped back.
Vash pushed the door open, steeped into the room, and closed the door behind him. Nicky stood against the wall opposite the beds, eyes wary and body tense. Vash looked to Knives, who glared at him.
See? This is why I hate you making human 'friends.'
Vash just sighed slightly, not bothering to comment to his brother. Instead he returned his thoughts to Nicky. She'd calmed down considerably. He motioned her in the kitchen where they could talk uninhibited.
He closed the door, separating the kitchen form the rest of the hotel room. Nicky sat quietly at the small table on the far wall and Vash joined her. They sat, not speaking, for a few moments, neither knowing what to say. Vash decided that he might as well start.
"Are you Ok?"
Nicky looked across at him and nodded slightly.
"Liar."
She sat back, taken aback by his response. Vash just smiled and chuckled quietly.
"Come on." He cajoled her. "What's up?"
Nicky watched his face for a moment, seeing if he was really ready to hear this, and if she was really ready to tell it.
"Ok, I'll tell you. But promise me you won't freak out or anything, at least not until I'm done. Promise you'll hear me out first and judge later?"
He smiled at her nervous and slightly pale features. "Of course."
That seemed to break the ice between them. She sighed and gave a little half smile, finally willing to talk about it.
"I relapsed."
Vash sat for a moment, waiting for more to come. None came. Was that supposed to mean something to him?
"What does that mean?"
She scratched the nape of her neck, the shika-shika noise caused by having such short hair, reverberating comfortingly through her skull. She just couldn't find the right way to say this. So, she might as well say it bluntly.
"I have a… a mental condition."
Vash blinked. "Ok. What's it called?" He knew about some mental conditions, maybe he could help.
"It's called… um… inactive, or recessive, schizophrenia."
He leaned back. "Schizophrenia? What, you have a dual personality?"
She nodded, blushing furiously, embarrassed that she was talking to him about her mental malformation.
Vash sensed this and wasn't sure how to continue without making her more uncomfortable.
She smiled at him, reading the apprehension in his face.
"It's alright. Ask what you want, and I'll answer the best I can."
He nodded. "Ok. So, why is it called 'inactive' schizophrenia, and why did you 'relapse'?"
"Because it will normally stay dormant, until something, usually a stressful situation, causes it to resurface. At least that's how it was in the beginning. Now it's always present, in the depths of my mind, waiting for me to let my guard down so it can take control of me. Those times are the worst, because, like last night, it totally suppresses my normal consciousness and takes over."
Vash was silent for a moment, absorbing this new information and slightly unnerved.
"You said it suppresses your normal consciousness. How is that possible?"
"Well, that part of me is like a whole other person. It seems to be comprised of all my subconscious thoughts and suppressed actions. Other than that, I'm not quite sure how it does it."
He nodded absently, thinking.
"You keep referring to that part of you as 'it'. But it is a part of you, right?"
"Yes, but it acts like a completely separate entity, just confined to my person."
"But it's a part of you. And if that's true, shouldn't you let it be? I mean, let it out?"
Nicky paled and shook her head frantically.
"No! That's just it, if I let it out, it's destructive and I can't control it! Remember last night? I don't want that happening again."
"Alright, Ok, don't worry about it." He said softly, trying to calm her suddenly frayed nerves.
She took a deep breath and got control of herself.
"Being here is what cause my relapse."
"What?" He didn't quite follow
"As you said, this is a quiet town. I let my guard down for too long, which in not like me at all. I should have known that it was getting ready take me on again, what with the sudden mood swing about my scars. I'm not that emotional. Plus my hand kept straying to my gun. Why the Hell didn't I see it coming?!" She cried, placing her head in her hands.
"Ssshhhhh. Hey, it's Ok, you can't be on your guard 24/7." Vash said, trying, again, to calm his distraught companion.
"But I've been trained to stay on my guard 24/7!" came the muffled reply.
Vash had no idea what she meant by that, or what to do now, except to let her be upset for a while. After a few minutes, she calmed down and looked up at him, one eyebrow raised and a smile on her slightly red face.
"You know, considering we only me yesterday, we sure are spending a lot of time together."
Vash blushed. He had a feeling she was implying something.
Nicky's smile broadened and she sat up.
"I'm just playing with you. You're a nice guy Vash, thanks for hearing me out, but I'm no good at relationships."
Vash sighed in relief. He wasn't sure if he could have stood taking care of Knives and a vengeful woman.
Love hath no furry like a woman scorned. And what would she be like with that dual personality? Yikes! Lets not even go there. Good thing she's not interested. I can't handle women right now.
Nicky saw his relieved look and stood up.
"Geeze, you don't have to look so thrilled about it Vash."
Now he was confused and stood to follow her as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Huh? Wait, Nicky, it wasn't like that!"
Nicky stood at the door to the hotel room, smiling playfully.
"I know that's not what meant. I feel nutty right now."
sweat drop "You are a very confusing person."
"I know."
She turned and opened the door, preparing to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?"
She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I do have a job to get to. Jess made me some soup too. If you want, you're welcome to come by the bar later. Just stay away from Jess. I don't think he likes you at this point in time."
Vash looked a little crestfallen at the last bit, but nodded anyway.
"Thanks again for listening, and I am sorry for being that way to you last night."
Vash just smiled.
Nicky turned to go, but looked back at the tall blond. "And please don't mention this to Jess. I don't want him to worry, or fire me for that matter."
"Of course."
She looked over his shoulder at Knives who was watching the scene intently. He glared daggers, and flushed ever so slightly, when she grinned at him.
"Get better soon Knives!"
Nicky then turned and rushed down the hall, taking the stairs 2 at a time, and was out of the hotel before Knives could react.
He just sat motionless in bed, confused and slightly stunned at the girl's outburst. Vash grinned and shut the door.
"See? She isn't so bad."
Knives blinked at him.
"She has problems. More even than your average human."
Vash flapped a hand at his callous brother.
"Hey, come on now. So she's a little weird. She's not the only one with problems. Look who's talking!"
The bedridden plant turned scarlet, not liking the implication made by his brother.
"I do not have problems!"
He huffed and turned back to reading a book he found while rummaging through the bed stand looking for his gun, which he did not find. He didn't think he would find it there anyway.
Vash chuckled at his brother's blotchy red features and headed back to the kitchen to fix Knives and himself some breakfast. His stomach gurgled expectantly all the way.
* * *
A/N Ok! That took a while to type. I didn't really think it was up to par, but I hope it was good anyway. Mostly it was just stuff I wanted to get out of the way. I'll start writing the next one as soon as I have a shower and something to eat. And I have a question. WHAT THE HELL IS GLOMPING?? People keeping using it, and I neeeeeeeed to know what it is. Please put the meaning in a review. Tanx!
-Later Days!!
Kuroneko: O.o Mya?