Friendship
She kneeled before him, taking his hands and making them clasp the cross in a tight grip. The necklace had rusted over, but the meaning was still there. He could remember how she had worn it all the time, a necklace that at least looked similar to this. (But she wouldn't understand something like that, even if she asked why he had such a confused expression on his face). Taking his eyes off it, though, that smile of hers returned, standing up again. His eyes followed her as she made her way across the room, sitting on the end of the bed and kicking her feet.
"Well?" she said. "Do you know what it is?"
He nodded, "Of course I do." Looking back at it, he narrowed his eyes. "Don't you?"
"Yes...But in more ways than you realize."
His puzzled face became one of question, raising an eyebrow. "Than...I realize?"
She smiled, shrugging. "Yeah. But it's to..." Tilting her head, her eyes widened in a sudden attempt to stare into the lamp. "No avail."
To no avail? he thought. How old is this girl anyway? She looks eight, but...
As if on queue, she stared back at him, her eyes beaming of a childish gaze. "You know who told me to make it?"
"You made it?" he asked.
"Of course I did! Grandpa Vargus and Grandma Murielle are too old to weld, and Aunt Vera will only do it for work. That's why it's so rusted...I could only find junk parts big enough."
Getting back to her question, he said, "Did one of them tell you how to make it?"
Surprisingly, she shook her head, grinning a very large, open grin. "Nope!"
"Then...one of your neighbors?"
"Nuh-uh!" She put her index figure on her cheek, getting up again. "You should get your sleep. I'm sure you've had a long journey."
Vash was about to ask her something more, but she suddenly pointed out to the door, a dark, serious expression on her face that he did not want to mess with. So, slinking out, he shut the door behind him, putting his back against the wall and unclenching his fist. He stared at the small necklace within, wondering if she wanted it back. Then again, as he yawned and realized there wasn't any light in the halls, he just decided that she would get it in the morning, seeing on how he wasn't going anywhere until then. Besides, if he did leave before she woke up, he'd just leave it on the dinner table or by her door or something.
As he made his way back to his room, something struck him. It wasn't that cold, untimely feeling he got before when he first stared at it before, but a warm, kind feeling. Maybe it was just this dumb heat wave surging through the desert...or it was because he somehow remembered her. Just by this little necklace, he remembered so much. He remembered her soft smile, those calming days in the recreation room. Everything else seemed like a blur to him then, but at that moment it really didn't matter. All he could think about was her. And hopefully he could find peace in that, even if it was just for a little while...
The next morning, he awake to the rising sun...
Not to mention a grown little girl jumping at the foot of his bed. He wanted to sleep in, squeezing his eyes shut in the inevitable attempt to not greet the breaking dawn. But she hopped down, running over to him and knuckling him on the forehead. He dazedly sat up, his eyes finally opening to the blinding light which was the day.
"Wake up sleepy head! It's breakfast time!" she proclaimed, all the while skipping around like she had been up for hours.
"Uh...What time is it now?" he asked, gazing up as she unexpectedly opened the shutters, blinding him even more, (if that were really possible...not to mention he fell out of bed because of it).
Going over from where he hit his noggin on the wooden floor, she saw him sit back up, rubbing his head. "Hey, we're having a special breakfast today, but you got to get up early and enjoy it while it's hot!"
"Oh, alright..." he grumbled, standing up. Although, before he followed her to the hallway, he remembered the cross he had put on the table, yet when he reached for it, it was no where to be found. He searched everywhere for it; on the table, in the drawer, under the bed, under the mattress, but somehow in that short period of sleep he had managed to loose it. (How could he loose it?!) Kailah scratched her read, soon getting the picture and reaching into her pocket.
"Is this what you're looking for?" she inquired, and he spun around, seeing it lying in the palm of her hand. She shrugged, tossing it to him. "If you miss it that much than here, take it. I can always make another one." In this, she put her hands behind her head, humming a tune and setting off to the breakfast table. Again, that tune was familiar but he still couldn't quite place where it was from...
He put the stringed necklace around his neck, taking his precious time to go forward into the rest of the house. Sticking his head out into the hall, he saw it was deserted, but a lingering smell drifted through the air. Ah, yes, he knew what this was but couldn't put a name on it until he got close enough to realize it. Could it be?! Really?! The only thing that could possibly smell so delicious that he jolted down the stairs and into the dinner room was none other than...
"DONUTS!" he shouted with joy, flailing his head back and forth to examine the piled high, table full of donuts, (not to mention of all sorts!) Without another word he sat in a chair in the blink of an eye, swallowing as many as he could in one mouthful at a time.
Kailah just smiled sweetly, watching him eat on just before they heard a gasp from behind. Vash stopped for a moment, staring over his shoulder and seeing all three of the grownups, standing there with a bizarre appearance on their faces. Smiling, he waved a hand, but they gave no such kindness in return.
"Oh," he said, swallowing the half-chewed donuts remaining in his mouth. "Good morning! I hope you all slept well!"
"Kailah, where did you get all this food?" Vera asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
"The baker taught me a few days ago. I knew Vash was coming so I thought I'd make a nice breakfast for him!"
They all stared, Vash included, wondering with their very whims on how she could've known such information. She just smirked, saying it was 'Just a hunch'. Her Grandma Murielle shook her head, not really in the fact that she said that, but how unhealthy it was to eat donuts at such an early hour!
"Kailah, can I speak to you for a moment?" Vera said, and Kailah got up from her chair, walking out with her.
Grandpa Vargus and Grandma Murielle took their seats at the table, Vargus having a hard time seeing him from the other side until Vash ate just enough donuts that he didn't have to strain his neck.
"Boy oh boy, you sure got'n appetite there, young fella," he exclaimed, shaking his head.
"You bet! And donuts are the best foods in the entire world!" he beamed, stuffing his face even more.
"You know, back in my day we didn't have donuts! All we had were some dried ol' cans of beans, which we had to walk fifteen miles, in the blazing sun, up hill to get!"
"Oh, stop it, you old coot! You're going to bore the poor child to death!" Murielle smiled, laughing as he husband gave her a look. "You know, you're much nicer than the last time you came here. To tell you the truth, I like this you better."
He looked over, blinking. "The time I came before? No, you must be mistaken for someone else! I've never been to this town before!"
"Than how come your face is exactly the same? Your eyes, and that blonde hair of yours! Nobody on this world would appear even close to you!"
Vash's eyes narrowed, thinking for a moment longer. Could it have been him? But why, why would he have come to such an isolated town like this? Why? And, most important of all, what had he done to these poor people? Vash was for sure he had never been to this town before, but who else could look like him except...
"Hey, fella, are you okay?" Vargus asked, seeing his overly long pause. Vash grinned, holding up his pointer and his middle fingers to make a 'V', signifying he was okay. Shrugging it off, he continued. "Are you intendin' ta finish all these?"
Vash nodded his responds, seeing how his mouth was too full anyway to speak.
Murielle stood up, walking to the door. "Well, Mr. Vash, your clothes won't wash themselves. I have laundry duty to attend to so if you'll please excuse me."
"If there's anything I can do to help-" he began, but was interrupted by the sound of Vargus's voice.
"Don't bother, you're better off stayin' inside anyway. The neighbors are suspicious if you're the really thing or not. Maybe you can keep Aengel company er somethin'."
"Angel?" he asked.
"Yeah, Kailah, our lil' Aengel. All of us have ta work, includin' Vera, and she's usually all by herself here. Maybe you can help her make some wooden toys er somethin'."
"Maybe even on one of her welding projects, you think?"
Vargus laughed, standing up. "Even if we're not here, Kailah wouldn't go near a welder! After what happened to her I should hope not. Anyway, I'm off."
"Wait, what-" he tried to ask, but he was already gone out the door before he could reach him. Instead stood Vera, her arms crossed and her faded blue dress blowing in the sandy wind that came through the door. She had such a look on her face that even scared him, shrinking lower and lower into his chair.
"You stay away from Kailah. You're too much of a bad influence!" she shouted, shaking her head. "I'll be back in a few hours to see how everything's going. And remember, you're only here because my parents are very generous people!" With this, she slammed the door behind her, making the wooden board on the outside that said 'welcome' clatter as he heard it reach the ground.
He gulped, feeling his hunger going away after that encounter, not really sure if the woman had poisoned his food or not. Her voice shriek with so much distain that not even Vash had seen before. But the aroma of the donuts still lingered on, drifting, floating in the air...It...smelled...too...GOOD!
In this his face was stuffed again, and not until the last donut was eaten did he finally push his chair back from the table. He sighed in knowing he had a full stomach, something he hadn't had in weeks. But he stared behind him again, though, when he heard small feet descending the stairs, seeing Kailah sit on the last few steps.
"Aunt Vera says I shouldn't talk to you anymore..." she said with a sigh, her elbows on her knees and her hands holding the sides of her head.
Vash stood up, walking over and sitting next to her on the step. She stared down at her feet, a big frown on her face. Thinking of something that might cheer her up, Vash got an idea, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his shades.
"Here, put these on!" he stated, handing them to her.
"Why?" she asked.
"So you can see the world in a different color!" he proclaimed gleefully.
"And why would I want to do that?" she questioned, and he made a sound in his throat suggesting that he didn't quite know himself. But she put them on anyway, oversized and drooping on her little nose. Of course, she enjoyed it nevertheless, clapping her hands and gawking at everything she could from her step.
Vash jumped up from where he sat. "Well, if I can't talk to you, then maybe we can to this." He held up five fingers, Kailah laughing with delight.
"Oh, oh, I love this game!" she exclaimed, continuing on. "Okay, five words..."
First, he made his fingers in the shape of a rectangle. Not quite getting it, he traced an oval to go along with it. Finally, after a few moments of thought, she finally got the word 'can'. He pointed at her, and it didn't take long for her to realize it was her he was getting at. With a few other gestures, such as tying a piece of his boot's string to make a bow to get at making something, and putting one chair in one corner and the rest in another to say more, he found one scrap of a donut to show to her, finally putting the puzzle together.
"Can I make more donuts?" she finally spelled out, and she smiled half-heartedly. "I would if I could, but I don't have any ingredients left..." She snapped her fingers just then, springing upon her feet. "I know! I'll run out, get some ingredients and we can make donuts and dinner for everyone!"
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Vash agreed, nodding his head. "Maybe they'll be in a better mood then!"
"Uh-huh!" she replied, rushing over to the door. With her hand on the door handle but not opening it yet, she turned back. "You should stay here. I don't think the townspeople understand you just yet. I hope you don't mind..."
"No, go ahead! Actually I kind of like it in here! Nice and cozy, you know?"
She nodded, opening the door and walking on out. The door shut by itself on the slight slant this house was on, but you couldn't notice until to paid attention to such things. For a long while he sat on the steps, his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. All was peaceful, the nice breeze and sun streaking through the window shutters in the kitchen. And then...something changed. Usually you could hear people talking from outside, but for some reason everything had gone still. The wind had ceased; the dust didn't stir in the sunlight. For a long while all was silence, though only until he sat up. When he had, the wood above him began to creak, sand coming down through the cracks and beginning to crust over on his head.
That, however, didn't bother him. What did bother him was that it sounded like someone was upstairs, yet there was no one in the house...Willing to investigate, he quietly trudged up the stairs, cautious all the while. As he stared over his shoulder and into the hall, finding nothing but the invisible force of the wind. Yet, the creaking still persisted and he walked on down, inspecting every room but not finding anything. That is, until he came to his room, where he heard not only the creaking noise, but actual footsteps as well. But it stopped as the breeze stopped, Vash shaking his head.
It's all my imagination, he thought, I'm just hearing things!
But as he turned to head back downstairs, he heard a soft laugh, facing back and finally standing in the doorway. There was nothing, though, and he stood upright from where he slouched in minor fear. Shutting his eyes, he sighed deep, thanking that there really hadn't been anything there--
"Hey Vash!" Kailah shouted, and Vash could've sworn his heart skipped a beat, his face turning ghastly white as he yelled in terror, not distinguishing her voice at first. She blinked, confused on what was going on, but smiled anyway. "The stuff's already downstairs. C'mon, you can help me make it!"
She skipped on to the kitchen, Vash stumbling to get over his shock. He eventually found his way into the kitchen where Kailah had already gotten herself on a chair and was putting her apron on. It was a khaki brown as had a few stains here and there, but he would've rather worn that instead of the one she gave him.
"Here, this is a messy job so put that on!" she proclaimed, beginning to get out the groceries.
It had holes, the bottom was tattered and the patching was falling apart in the left corner. That, however, wasn't exactly the problem. What he couldn't understand is why she would want the one she had instead of this one. For, instead of brown, it was a faded pink. He didn't have a problem with it, but he thought all little girls liked pink and she was just trying to be very nice.
"Wouldn't you want this one? It's pink," he said in a questioning way, Kailah not taking her eyes off the dough in the bowl she was mixing up.
"I don't like pink. Never have, really. Besides the fact that my family's dirt poor, why do you think I'm just wearing some brown slacks and a white shirt?"
Vash's smile faded, his eyes softening. He knew dye wasn't cheap, but that wasn't at all what he was trying to get at. "No, I didn't mean it like that..."
She finally gazed up, shrugging. "I know. My family's had that for decades so don't concern yourself. Now are you going to help me or not?"
With no further discussion on that subject, Vash put on the faded apron and began to cook with her. Sure they had their ups and downs, (more downs than ups, especially with the fact that Vash didn't quite know how to cook in the first place...) But all the while had fun, including when they had a dough fight. What else are you going to do with all that waiting time and extra donut dough that wouldn't fit in the oven to make a giant donut than make forts out of chairs and try to hit each other with it? Eventually they made the stew for her family's dinner with the vegetables she could squander from the people around town, all just before Vera came home.
She gasped in horror at the shape her kitchen was in, almost dropping her work tools. Kailah heard her first, turning around and waving.
"Hi Aunt Vera!" she said with happiness, Vash twisting back as well, pink apron and all.
"Oh, hello there! We were just making stew!" he stated with a grin.
"And donuts for desert!" she filled in.
Vera's eye twitched, not really sure if she should laugh or be horrified that this man, who wore an apron and was cooking was actually the legendary Vash the Stampede. It was just too mind boggling for her to contemplate at the time. Rolling her eyes, she held her head, feeling a huge headache coming on.
"Kailah, where did you get the money for all this?" she asked.
"I bought it with the spare pieces of scrap metal around town! The cleaners were so happy I had done something to help the community."
"Whatever..." she said under her breath. "Look, I'm going upstairs to take a bath. Just stay out of trouble." Vera pointed at Vash with that same harsh expression again. "And you, Mr. Vash, can clean up this mess or you can say bye-bye to your sleep in this household!"
Vash frowned to that remark as she made her way out of there, Kailah giggling at it.
"Don't worry, I'll help you clean," she said stepping off the chair.
Before long the place was spotless, the chairs put upright and all that extra dough dissolved at the bottom of a bucket. Her grandparents got back and helped dish out the stew they had made. Vera came back down and joined them, though was reluctant to say anything for some reason. They were much more open than before, complaining with comedy on how their day went in the mines and the sewing shop. Everything was happy, something he hadn't seen in a long while yet enjoyed being around it. After dinner was done, he went back up to his room to stretch out and think for awhile. He was feeling a bit tired anyway, the lights dimming and the sun going beyond the horizon, and probably would've gone to sleep...
If only it hadn't been that creaking sound.
It made the hairs on the back of his neck stick up, a cold chill filling his blood. He'd never felt like this before, yet somehow it scared him to think that a creak, (a CREAK!) could frighten him so. Why? He didn't know, but after awhile he reached into the drawer where he had placed his gun, just as a precaution. They had all been in bed for awhile then, and he didn't know if any of them would be up. Usually he wouldn't be so jumpy, but in this place, where he wasn't quite sure about much, he wouldn't take any chances. He disarmed it, of course, because he didn't feel that bad about the situation, standing up and edging his way to the door. The creaking got louder to his left and so did his heart beat, hearing breathing...that wasn't his. A warm brush came across his cheek, making him jump and rush to face that way. As like last time, there was no one and nothing to be seen. However, coming from behind he heard voices, swiftly stepping over and putting his back against the wall, listening in as he heard his name.
"Auntie Vera, can heaven see us?" he heard Kailah ask.
"Of course they can, sweetie. Now hold still, this head of hair you have isn't easy to detangle," Vera answered
"Can they tell us things?" she questioned.
"When they want us to know. Why?"
Kailah paused for a moment, then said, "Then why don't they tell them Vash didn't do it?"
Vash's eyes widened, surprised by what she had let out of her mouth. Everyone believed he was the sixty billion double dollar man, that he had destroyed those cities. Yet...this little girl was probably the only one in the world who didn't believe in that. He heard an angry sigh, however, Vera raising her voice.
"Look, Vash is not who you think he is. He's killed people, Kailah, do you understand? He's a mur-der-er. Do you remember the stories of July and Augusta? Do you? He destroyed those cities, Kailah, no matter how nice he seems now!" He heard sniffling coming from the room, Vera going on in a choked up voice. "He killed Uncle Joe, Kailah. H-he...killed...u-uncle Joe..."
"But Auntie...It wasn't him," Kailah tried to be comforting, her voice becoming sorrowful. "She told me it wasn't him. You know she doesn't lie..."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" she screamed. "I've had enough of this she! For the past ten years you always say when something bad happens 'she said this' or 'she said that' or 'I tried to warn you because that's what she said'!"
"But...Auntie...You know he's in a better place..."
"Yes..." She paused again, her tone more harsh than before. "It's that thing again isn't it? Isn't it?! It's those damn plant affects that's sending those voices! I knew this couldn't be your sane self!"
"So you don't believe me...?"
"I believe you, Kailah, but that thing that lingers with you...I can never be sure of...I'm sorry I yelled." He heard a kiss on the forehead, Vera walking to the door. "Try and get some sleep, angel."
In this, she turned the handle and stepped out, holding a lamp in hand. She noticed something by her feet and saw Vash sitting there, though saying nothing to him. He was too deep in thought to speak, and she was not willing to wake him from his pondering self. In it, she strolled on in the other direction, entering her room.
He had sustained worse insults before, but it still cut him deep. Especially when the one person who didn't think he was killer was shot down, and by her own family. What had he done? What had he done?
Vash stood up, however, knocking on the door before he entered her room. Tears streaked down her face in the lamplight, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she tried to wipe them away. He sat down next to her, keeping his head to the floor.
"If it means anything...I appreciate what you said," he said.
"Of course you do. Everyone thinks you did it, and yet you know as well as I that you didn't do any of those things. You wouldn't kill anyone..." she replied, but still her eyes remained wet.
"I don't mean to be rude, but...what did your aunt mean by plant affects?"
"She told me you hadn't killed anyone..." she whispered, shaking her head and ignoring his question.
"She who?" he asked, but got no answer.
Instead, he heard a plop coming from the window, turning his head slightly in noticing it. Nothing more came for a few more seconds, and then...there it was again. He stood up, going to the shutters and hearing even more unusual sounds hitting it. Finally he opened them, sticking out it hand. His eyes suddenly enlarged with the knowing that it was the impossible on this dry, desert planet. Though there it was, water falling from the sky.
It was rain...
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A/N YAY! Finally finished with the second chapter! It was kinda long, but hey, hopefully it was good! AND DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE MUSIC BESIDES KAZAA?! If anyone knows please just set a review for that. Thanks, and please review! ^___^