Chapter Two: Assignment
Two years after the destruction of Augusta…
Legato flinched as a resounding crash sounded through the office. The morning at the Bernadelli main office had started quietly enough, but then there came the usual sound of books cascading from a desk; books he had to try to single-handedly (quite literally) pick up.
"Could you insurance agents be any sloppier than what you already are?" Legato asked, giving his co-workers the critical eye before he went to retrieve the fallen ledger books. Some of the women giggled, getting a rolling of eyes from Legato. They only knocked their books over to get his attention. He'd left being the leader of Gung-Ho Guns for this? Legato refrained from letting out a sigh of exasperation.
"Bluesummers, may I have a word with you, for a moment?" the Chief asked, as he stuck his head out of his office and looked at him.
"Certainly, sir." Legato said, smirking when he heard disappointed moans from some of the women in the office, as he made his way to the Chief's office. Legato smiled when he saw Meryl and Milly standing there, and chuckled when he saw that Milly was wearing the window-cleaning gear again.
"Were you late again, Miss Thompson?" Legato asked, with a teasing look in his golden eyes. Milly shamefacedly nodded.
"That seems to happen a lot. Is there something you needed, Chief?" Meryl asked, curiosity edging its way into her businesslike tone.
"Yes. I am putting you and Miss Thompson back onto the Humanoid Typhoon case. Bluesummers here will be your bodyguard this time around." The Chief said, his tone not giving them room to argue. Meryl could see Legato's face blanch.
"Is there something wrong, Legato?" Meryl asked, watching as Legato jumped, then shook his head as though to clear it.
"Nothing is wrong, Miss Stryfe. It's just that that announcement took me by surprise, that's all." Legato said, shakily. Milly could see that Legato wasn't comfortable with the situation, but he wasn't going to say anything otherwise.
"I wonder why he looked so afraid just now? Has he had a run-in with Mr. Vash?" Milly wondered, as they left the office. Later that day, they were ready to leave. Legato looked decidedly uncomfortable about going, but he hid his apprehension behind a stony façade.
"Legato, you don't have to go if you don't want to. Just tell the Chief that you are uncomfortable going. I'm sure he'll send someone else along with us." Meryl said, with some concern for the blue-haired man. Legato sighed and shook his head.
"No. I should go. It's time I faced up to what I did to him." Legato murmured, getting confused looks from both insurance girls while he was at it.
"What did he mean by that? What could he have done to Vash that is making him dread going out to find him?" Meryl wondered, as they waited their turn to board the bus. At the same time, Milly was also wondering what Legato had meant. By now, the three of them were wearing their travel clothes; Meryl in her white business outfit, Milly in her tan and aqua duster, and Legato in his new white trench coat (minus the skull and spikes, of course).
"In fact," Meryl silently observed, as they walked along the aisle to some empty seats, "Legato's new coat looks more like Vash's coat than his old one did. I just wish he'd let us tie that empty sleeve off. Doesn't he realize how many people stare at him because of that?" Meryl thought, as she settled into a seat, and Milly sat next to her. Legato sat across from them, looking calm on the outside, but was probably very uneasy on the inside. Both Meryl and Milly had gotten to know the mysterious and quiet Legato Bluesummers during the two years since the destruction of Augusta. He had also gotten to know them, and was very protective of them (hence the reason why the Chief had assigned him as their bodyguard), almost like an elder brother, as Milly had so innocently pointed out one time. Yet, despite all this, they still didn't know what his connection was to Vash the Stampede, even though he would guiltily let a sliver of information slip from time to time.
"But what has he done to be guilty about? What sins is he trying to atone for?" Meryl wondered, as she watched him gaze morosely out the window. When they arrived at their destination and disembarked, the three could see that Vash had indeed been there. There were some buildings that had been destroyed, and a few others that had minor structural damage, but managed to somehow remain standing.
"Completely destroyed." Meryl muttered, with an exasperated sigh.
"Gangsters did this. But then another man ran out and tried to stop them. That's how this happened." A local man said, as he joined them at the site. Meryl crossed her arms, looking just a tad upset at the still missing gunman. Legato braced himself; he knew that when he saw this pose, an outburst wasn't too long in following. They were spared from a rampage by Milly's excited shouts and declarations that she knew where Vash had gone.
"Where did the news come from, Milly?" Meryl asked, as her partner jogged back over to them (Legato hadn't even noticed her sneak off, so he was a bit startled by this).
"From the radio! He's heading for New Oregon at a rate of three thousand kilometers an hour!" Milly chirped, as Legato shook his head, wondering at how precise the news was.
"The news is certainly detailed." Legato mused, aloud. Meryl nodded in agreement.
That evening found the trio on board the sand-steamer, on the way to New Oregon. Legato paced back and forth in his room, nervously trying to figure out what he would do when he met Vash again.
"It is more than likely that Wolfwood is with him, since Wolfwood's last assignment was to relocate Vash and direct him to Knives. Either way, I do believe that those two would shoot first, and ask questions later if they see me. What should I do?" Legato wondered, as he paused and looked out at the star-studded sky beyond the porthole. Reaching into his coat, Legato removed his pocket watch from its pocket and glanced at it. On the inside of the cover, there was a picture of himself, Meryl, and Milly. It had been shortly after a doctor had declared him healthy, and they had wanted to get him a gift apiece. Milly had made his new coat, and Meryl had gotten the watch.
"They really do think highly of me. I wonder what would happen if they found out the truth? Would they still care as much as they do now?" Legato thought, as he gently closed the watch, and put it back into his pocket.
"Legato? Are you all right in there?" Meryl asked, sounding a bit concerned about him.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Are you two all right?" Legato replied, as he let them in.
"We're okay. You seem a bit upset about something. Do you want to talk about it?" Meryl asked, looking as concerned as she sounded. Legato shook his head.
"It's nothing you should be concerned about, Miss Stryfe. I guess I am worried about nothing." Legato said, though he didn't sound at all convinced with himself. Milly, as usual, saw through his attempt to hide his unease.
"Did you do something to Mr. Vash to make him angry with you, Mr. Legato?" Milly asked, innocently. Legato's eyes widened slightly and he stared at her, in shock. Then he shook off his surprise and shook his head.
"I can't say exactly." Legato replied, half-lying to the tall woman. Milly gave him a skeptical look, but dropped the subject anyway. Before anything more could be said, an outlaw burst into the room, his gun trained on the trio.
"No talking! Raise your hands and no funny business! Got that?" the outlaw demanded. Too startled to do anything other than comply, Meryl and Milly raised their hands into the air; Legato, on the other hand, stood where he was, fuming.
"Don't make me shoot you, freak! Get your hands in the air! Now!" the outlaw snarled, firing a shot into the floor, just barely missing Legato's feet.
"That is kind of hard to do…." Legato said, moving with an abrupt quickness the insurance girls had never seen before, grabbing the outlaw by the collar of his shirt, and pinning him to the wall, his eyes glinting with rage as he did so, "With only one arm." Legato finished. The outlaw stammered a reply, but Legato ignored him and looked at the girls.
"Go and find someplace to hide. This is about to get deadly." Legato said, when the outlaw started screaming for help.
"But what about you?" Milly asked, worriedly.
"Don't worry about me! Find someplace safe to hide, I will come and retrieve you later!" Legato said, as he knocked the outlaw out and took his gun. With equal reluctance on both their parts, Meryl and Milly did as they were told. As soon as they were gone, Legato stepped out of the room and took stock of what had just occurred.
"That outlaw had called for backup. There can't be too much time before more outlaws arrive. What should I do?" Legato thought, as he started running, checking the gun he'd 'borrowed' from the outlaw while he was at it. The gun was fully loaded, a fact Legato was glad about, since loading a pistol that didn't use clips was extremely awkward for a one-armed man.
"When I meet Knives again, I'll take both of his arms. One I'll use for myself, and the other will be vulture food." Legato mused, smirking a little at the thought. First things first; get out of the situation he was already in. Within moments of his leaving the hall where his room was located, outlaws were emerging from all of the rooms. They soon figured out who was raising the ruckus, and were following him closely. In the time after he'd been stripped of Vash's arm, Legato's powers had dwindled to nothing; he couldn't do what he could before, and this frustrated him to no end. He gasped when a stray bullet caught him in the side, throwing him into a wall where he lay stunned for a few moments.
"Freaky bastard. Let's just finish him off and get going." One outlaw muttered, as he kicked Legato in his wounded side. Bad decision. No sooner had the man's foot jabbed him, Legato grabbed onto the outlaw's leg and toppled him with surprising strength, then raised his gun and shot the other outlaw in the arm.
"Think twice before messing with a one-armed man." Legato warned, coolly, his amber eyes almost glowing with anger, before he turned and ran down the corridor. A few halls later, Legato stopped to rest beside a bulkhead. He put his hand to his side and winced, scowling when his hand covered in blood.
"Damn." Legato growled, as he sat down and fished out the small first aid kit all Bernadelli employees were made to carry for just such emergencies. He gritted out a few curses when he realized that he couldn't take care of his own wounds because of his handicap.
"So I will bleed to death after all. What a cruel twist of fate." Legato mumbled, moodily, as he cast the kit aside in disgust.
"If you asked for help, maybe it won't be so bad." A boy's voice said, from somewhere overhead, as the owner emerged from the ventilation shaft in the ceiling.
"And you are an expert on such things?" Legato asked, with something akin to a deadpan expression on his face.
"Well, yeah. You've gotta have some knowledge of first aid in order to work on a sand-steamer." The boy said, carefully winding the bandages around Legato's waist as he spoke. Legato nodded slightly, wincing when the bandages were tightened.
"Ya know, this is the second time this 'steamer's been attacked and taken over by outlaws. The first time was about two years ago, before the Fifth Moon incident." The boy said, conversationally.
"I had heard something about the sand-steamer being hijacked by the Bad Lads gang, and that Vash the Stampede had helped to save the steamer and everyone on board." Legato mused, as the boy finished tying off the bleeding gunshot wound.
"Yeah. Vash is one crazy guy. He was determined not to kill anyone, even when he got hurt." The boy said, as he looked around for any outlaws, and appeared relieved when he didn't see any.
"You've met Vash the Stampede?" Legato asked, mildly surprised by this bit of news. The boy nodded.
"Yep. My name's Kaite. I used to be in the Bad Lads gang, but then Vash set me straight. Have you ever met Vash?" the boy asked, curiously, as he eyed the empty sleeve of Legato's coat.
"I have, but it wasn't under good circumstances." Legato admitted. Kaite nodded in understanding.
"It seems that everything has quieted down. I wonder………" Kaite muttered, changing the subject, since he could see that Legato wasn't comfortable talking about his past.
"You wonder what?" Legato asked, as he watched Kaite pull out a map of the sand-steamer.
"It's almost like that time two years ago. I wonder if Vash has gotten aboard the sand-steamer, since we did stop a little while ago." Kaite said, thoughtfully.
"Maybe we should go and find out." Legato said, as he painfully got to his feet and started walking away from the bulkhead.
"You're as crazy as Vash is…………." Kaite muttered, but he followed Legato anyway. They didn't get very far down the passage before someone emerged from one of the rooms and caught Legato in a flying tackle.
"What the………………..?!" Legato managed to yelp, looking up in surprise at the two people who now sat on his chest.
"Mr. Legato!" Milly yelped, as she and Meryl quickly got off of him.
"Legato! I'm so sorry! We thought you were an outlaw!" Meryl stammered, ashamed that she and Milly had tackled their own bodyguard, then alarmed when she saw the bloodstains on his coat.
"Do tell." Legato muttered, dryly, grimacing as he sat up.
"And where do you intend to go, hurt as you are?" Meryl asked, tersely, as she crossed her arms and gave Legato an unreadable look.
"To the bridge, where else?" Legato replied, as he tentatively checked his side, making a face when he saw that he was bleeding again.
"But you shouldn't even stand, much less walk with that sort of injury!" Milly said, as she got her own first aid kit out and started changing the bandages.
"Vash did." Kaite pointed out, matter-of-factly.
"Yeah………….you're right about that, kid." Meryl murmured, then looked up when something started coming across the speaker system. It sounded like a man singing, and, strangely enough, it sent a chill down Legato's spine. The song itself was about death and destruction, not that that bothered Legato; but it was who was singing it that unnerved him.
"Mr. Vash…….." Milly whispered, her eyes wide with horror.
"Let's go. We've wasted enough time here." Meryl said, as she stood, ready for anything. She got an agreement from Milly and Legato, and Kaite moved to the front, so he could show them the way. Despite his injury, Legato ran alongside the girls, as determined as they were to get to the bridge. Though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he wanted to get to the bridge so badly. They arrived just as a confrontation was winding down. Meryl and Milly entered the area without hesitation, but Legato lagged behind, remaining in the hallway just out of sight.
"Why aren't you going in?" Kaite asked. Legato didn't answer, but instead hesitantly moved forward. He could see Milly untying the hostage and Meryl comforting a man as he sobbed about his dead daughter (at least, that's what he could decipher, anyway). Then he turned his eyes to Vash, who sat off to one side, his face bruised and swollen from a fight.
"Got yourself into a fist-fight, I see." Legato said, finding the nerve to speak up after a few more moments of uncertainty. Vash jerked and looked up at him, alarm and anger readily seen in his eyes.
"Legato…………" Vash growled, eyes glinting as he stood and glared at Legato. Meryl and Milly, along with the other two men and Kaite, watched tensely as Vash and Legato faced off for the first time in two years. Then, to the insurance girls' shock and horror, Legato took off his gun belt and holstered gun and threw it to Vash. The belt and gun landed at Vash's feet. Vash gave him a look of distrust and some surprise. Legato answered with a look of guilt.
"If you want to kill me, Vash the Stampede, then I must request that you do it with my gun. I don't want any weapon of his taking my life. I don't want to give him that satisfaction. If I must die, let it be by a manmade gun." Legato said, with pain swirling in his golden eyes, as he looked away from Vash, and at the floor.
"You shouldn't even be standing." Vash said, his mood indecipherable to Legato by listening to his voice. Legato looked back up at him in mild surprise. His surprise was furthered by the look on Vash's face; it wasn't the look of hatred he was expecting. Instead, it was one of weary concern. Yet, before he could ask why he should care, an infuriated Wolfwood arrived on the scene.
"Legato!" Wolfwood shouted, furiously, as he pointed the Cross Punisher at Legato's chest. Legato's face deadpanned.
"This day just keeps getting better…….." Legato muttered, as he gave Wolfwood a look of exasperation.
"Mr. Priest! Don't shoot!" Milly shouted, as she rushed over to Wolfwood and tried to get him to lower his cross-shaped weapon.
"Milly, don't you realize how dangerous this guy is?!" Wolfwood asked, not taking his eyes off of Legato for a moment.
"Wolfwood, this isn't the same Legato I met two years ago. Take a good look at him." Vash said, surprising them all by standing up for the former leader of the Gung-Ho Guns. Wolfwood arched an eyebrow, then looked closely at the man before him. Aside from the obvious differences (the missing arm and the coat) the subtle changes weren't lost on the priest.
"He looks a bit more human than I remember him being. In fact…………he seems to have the same look in his eyes that Vash gets sometimes. Does he really regret what he's done?" Wolfwood wondered, as he reluctantly lowered the Cross Punisher, then looked at Milly.
"How and when did you meet Legato?" Wolfwood asked, calmly.
"We found him about a day after the Fifth Moon incident. He'd lost his arm before we saw him, but somehow managed to walk into town to get help." Meryl said, as she came and stood in between Vash and Legato.
"If it hadn't been for Miss Stryfe and Miss Thompson, I wouldn't even be alive right now. I owe them much for that." Legato murmured.
"So you say, but what has kept you from killing us? I've just noticed that you haven't tried that stunt with controlling my body with your mind yet." Wolfwood stated, with suspicion in his voice.
"I lost that ability when I lost the arm. I am merely a normal man now….well, maybe with the exception of a missing limb, of course. It gets a little difficult being a one-armed bodyguard." Legato said, smirking a little when Wolfwood and Vash both gave him a confused look.
"Oro?" both gunmen asked, in confusion.
"Kenshin moment!" Milly shouted, startling all of the people in the room. Legato chuckled and shook his head; count on Milly to lighten the mood.
"Milly, maybe you should lay off of the manga for a while……." Meryl said, looking a little 'frazzled' by that. Milly only smiled, and latched onto Wolfwood's arm, eliciting a surprised look from the priest.
"So, you became a Bernadelli bodyguard, huh?" Vash asked, curiously.
"Yes, but not without strong persuasion. Those two ladies should have been con-artists instead." Legato said, as he leaned against a wall, a tired, yet amused, expression appearing on his face as he said that.
"Oh? Why do you say that? What did they use to get you to sign on to Bernadelli as a bodyguard?" Vash asked.
"Doughnuts." Legato muttered, with a sigh. Vash winced.
"Ouch. That was a low blow." Vash said, sympathetically.
"Tell me about it." Legato said, dryly, as he watched the two insurance girls talk to captor and former captive, then as the cavalry arrived and took the two men away.
