For a while, I just stood there in the doorway, wondering if it were better
this way or not. It took a while for the 'I can't let innocents die'
sentiment to creep forward from the back of my mind, but it eventually got
there. I walked back into the kitchen and, fingering the gun in my pocket
lightly, nodded to Milly.
"What's wrong Mr. Vash?" she asked loudly. Meryl looked up from her papers.
"Knives got free, and he has Aurora," I replied softly, fishing my sunglasses from my other pocket and pushing them over my nose.
"What?" Meryl rose from her seat as she spoke.
"I'm going after them." My answer was a little too straightforward, even for me, so I could be sure that they were going to protest. I decided it would be a good plan for me to leave before they began their attempts to change my mind.
I had barely made it outside the door when I felt something tugging at my coat. I looked back; it was Meryl. I could have guessed without looking, but something had compelled me to see if it was she or not.
"Vash!" Meryl yelled as she tugged at my sleeve. I pulled it from her grasp and continued down the long road after Knives. I didn't look to see if Meryl was following me or not, and I didn't have to. She ran ahead and stopped in front of me; I stopped and looked down at her.
"You can't go."
I arched an eyebrow from behind my sunglasses and smirked a bit. Meryl reached into her coat and pulled out a derringer, but I grabbed her wrist before she could move it towards me. We stared at eachother as her eyes began to water.
"I-- I don't want you to leave, Vash," Meryl stammered as she broke our eye contact. I released her arm and, pushing her aside, began walking again.
It took a while before I reached the spot where I had found Meryl the day before, though then sand was just now covering up the sun-dried blood from the bullet wound she had received from Knives. Just the thought of it made me want to kill someone or vomit.
I kept both feelings inside; they would have to wait until I found Knives.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that I realized that I had no way of tracking Knives and Aurora in the desert. I cursed my own stupidity aloud but kept on walking, hoping that I was headed in the right direction.
Night fell sooner than I had expected, though I had also expected to be tracking Knives' trail through the desert. I had been walking for several hours without water or donuts, and the mere thought of that was demoralizing. I was beginning to wonder if turning back now would be a good plan or not.
"Damn it!" I yelled loudly as my foot caught on something beneath the sand. I fell face first to the ground; the force of the landing brought a grimace to my face, but I pushed myself up to my hands and knees quickly. I turned around and began brush the sand from whatever it was I had tripped over.
A motorcycle.
I rubbed my arms slightly as a chill ran through them. They could have left it here hours ago, though the possibility of their having just left it was still great. I jumped to my feet and continued on in the same direction.
"You're getting awfully close, Vash," a voice called out from somewhere in the near distance; it was Knives. "I would advice your stopping, unless you want this spider to die."
I stopped, cringing at his use of the word 'spider.'
"Come out, Knives," I commanded, scanning the desert for any signs of him. Just then, a feminine figure appeared from behind a large hill of sand. Aurora stumbled toward me, gripping her left arm tightly. I looked past her head slightly and just in time to see Knives slink out from behind the dune as well. I pulled my gun out and pushed Aurora aside.
"Knives," I called with a slight smirk.
"Vash," he replied dryly, his gun pulled as well.
"What an interestingly familiar position this is."
"Only this time you don't have your little spider to save you."
"Wanna bet?" a voice called out from behind me. It was Meryl. I couldn't help but smile, though her presence here concerned me. She had been in enough danger with Knives tied to a chair, and now he was free and armed.
Shit.
"Do I really have to kill you again?" Knives asked.
Shit.
"I don't think it'll come to that," she replied coolly.
Shit.
"What say you, Vash?" Knives smirked. "Don't worry, I'll answer for you."
He pulled his gun upwards slightly and pulled the trigger.
"Shit!" I yelled, jumping into the bullet's path. It punctured through the lower left part of my torso and went all the way through. I hit the ground awkwardly and, unintentionally, fired once; two shots sounded
Aurora fell back into the sand, and Knives was on his knees, staring down at his bleeding stomach. I looked back at Meryl; she was holding two derringers she had a shocked expression. She looked down at me.
"Are you alright, Vash?" Meryl asked. When I didn't respond, she made a summoning gesture; Milly appeared, carrying a large bag. They both came to me, but I motioned for them to tend to Knives and Aurora. I just stared up at the sky and smiled, trying not to pay much attention to the throbbing bullet wound in my side.
Shot twice in two days. Heh, I've had worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm really sorry that it took this long to post.. and I hope the style of writing used in this particular chapter is somewhat better than in some of the previous chapters.. I think the last line is kinda funny, but that's just me. *sigh*
Should I write another, or is ten a decent number of chapters to have written?
"What's wrong Mr. Vash?" she asked loudly. Meryl looked up from her papers.
"Knives got free, and he has Aurora," I replied softly, fishing my sunglasses from my other pocket and pushing them over my nose.
"What?" Meryl rose from her seat as she spoke.
"I'm going after them." My answer was a little too straightforward, even for me, so I could be sure that they were going to protest. I decided it would be a good plan for me to leave before they began their attempts to change my mind.
I had barely made it outside the door when I felt something tugging at my coat. I looked back; it was Meryl. I could have guessed without looking, but something had compelled me to see if it was she or not.
"Vash!" Meryl yelled as she tugged at my sleeve. I pulled it from her grasp and continued down the long road after Knives. I didn't look to see if Meryl was following me or not, and I didn't have to. She ran ahead and stopped in front of me; I stopped and looked down at her.
"You can't go."
I arched an eyebrow from behind my sunglasses and smirked a bit. Meryl reached into her coat and pulled out a derringer, but I grabbed her wrist before she could move it towards me. We stared at eachother as her eyes began to water.
"I-- I don't want you to leave, Vash," Meryl stammered as she broke our eye contact. I released her arm and, pushing her aside, began walking again.
It took a while before I reached the spot where I had found Meryl the day before, though then sand was just now covering up the sun-dried blood from the bullet wound she had received from Knives. Just the thought of it made me want to kill someone or vomit.
I kept both feelings inside; they would have to wait until I found Knives.
It wasn't until later that afternoon that I realized that I had no way of tracking Knives and Aurora in the desert. I cursed my own stupidity aloud but kept on walking, hoping that I was headed in the right direction.
Night fell sooner than I had expected, though I had also expected to be tracking Knives' trail through the desert. I had been walking for several hours without water or donuts, and the mere thought of that was demoralizing. I was beginning to wonder if turning back now would be a good plan or not.
"Damn it!" I yelled loudly as my foot caught on something beneath the sand. I fell face first to the ground; the force of the landing brought a grimace to my face, but I pushed myself up to my hands and knees quickly. I turned around and began brush the sand from whatever it was I had tripped over.
A motorcycle.
I rubbed my arms slightly as a chill ran through them. They could have left it here hours ago, though the possibility of their having just left it was still great. I jumped to my feet and continued on in the same direction.
"You're getting awfully close, Vash," a voice called out from somewhere in the near distance; it was Knives. "I would advice your stopping, unless you want this spider to die."
I stopped, cringing at his use of the word 'spider.'
"Come out, Knives," I commanded, scanning the desert for any signs of him. Just then, a feminine figure appeared from behind a large hill of sand. Aurora stumbled toward me, gripping her left arm tightly. I looked past her head slightly and just in time to see Knives slink out from behind the dune as well. I pulled my gun out and pushed Aurora aside.
"Knives," I called with a slight smirk.
"Vash," he replied dryly, his gun pulled as well.
"What an interestingly familiar position this is."
"Only this time you don't have your little spider to save you."
"Wanna bet?" a voice called out from behind me. It was Meryl. I couldn't help but smile, though her presence here concerned me. She had been in enough danger with Knives tied to a chair, and now he was free and armed.
Shit.
"Do I really have to kill you again?" Knives asked.
Shit.
"I don't think it'll come to that," she replied coolly.
Shit.
"What say you, Vash?" Knives smirked. "Don't worry, I'll answer for you."
He pulled his gun upwards slightly and pulled the trigger.
"Shit!" I yelled, jumping into the bullet's path. It punctured through the lower left part of my torso and went all the way through. I hit the ground awkwardly and, unintentionally, fired once; two shots sounded
Aurora fell back into the sand, and Knives was on his knees, staring down at his bleeding stomach. I looked back at Meryl; she was holding two derringers she had a shocked expression. She looked down at me.
"Are you alright, Vash?" Meryl asked. When I didn't respond, she made a summoning gesture; Milly appeared, carrying a large bag. They both came to me, but I motioned for them to tend to Knives and Aurora. I just stared up at the sky and smiled, trying not to pay much attention to the throbbing bullet wound in my side.
Shot twice in two days. Heh, I've had worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm really sorry that it took this long to post.. and I hope the style of writing used in this particular chapter is somewhat better than in some of the previous chapters.. I think the last line is kinda funny, but that's just me. *sigh*
Should I write another, or is ten a decent number of chapters to have written?
