Leaving

He rose over the hill, only to drop behind a few crates nearby. Five gunmen, wearing black and red bandana's over their faces, holding someone at gun point. Three others lay dead on the ground, blood soaking into the dry earth. For a long while they said nothing, Vash, assuming they had already asked the question, just stayed back and watched, wondering if this was a fight he should get into, (for if he did more lives, including the man they held captive, would probably be lost.)

"I'm only going to ask this once," the man with the pistol to the prisoners head exclaimed. "We know he'd here. Where is Vash the Stampede."

"We told you, w-we don't know! With all honesty! He was here just last night, but he must've left this morning!"

"Lair!" another shouted. "We heard the rumors from several other towns and they all say the same thing! He came in this direction and had to have passed through here!"

The man with the gun hesitated, thinking for a moment. But he armed it instead, the crowd gathered around gasping in horror.

"Tell me, do you want to loose another good man here today?" With no reply, he began to yell harshly. "Answer me!"

Again, all that was heard was the sound of the wind.

"Very well."

The man on his knees fell as that awful, awful sound of a gun was fired, some people looking away in the gruesome sight. A third party member reached out into the assembly, choosing a random person to throw at the mercy of the man's feet. A painful cry echoed out, Vash's eyes widening as he realized he knew this woman.

"Should we tally the number of dead to five?! I give you that many seconds to decide. One..."

Vash gritted his teeth, knowing that enough was enough.

"Two...Three..." He grabbed Vera and forced her to her feet, pointing the gun at her forehead. "Four..."

"Stop!" Vash shouted, stumbling to her feet and running a few feet forward before the man continued to aim it at her.

"Well, what do we have here?" he questioned to no one in particular.

"Uh, looks like some desert pest boss," the fourth stated, snickering to the dumb comment.

"So, do you know where Vash the Stampede is?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered. "You're looking at him."

There was a long pause until the five erupted with laughter, the one with the gun shaking his head. "Please, are we supposed to believe you're the legendary gunman? We're not as stupid as you think we are! But maybe y'all might have been telling the truth after all, being so desperate to send this pitiful sight for an excuse."

Little feet scurried by him without knowing, Kailah racing out to cling at Vera's side. With tears in her eyes, she tried pleading with the man, shaking her head. Even if Vera attempted to push her away to safety, she refused to let go.

"No, let her go! Please, mister, let my Auntie Vera go!" she sobbed, her tiny hands clenching onto her skirt.

"A kid, huh? You guy's are more pathetic than I thought," he said after awhile, unarming it and putting it at his side. "Kid's are where I draw the line. They should never have to see what we do."

Vera grabbed Kailah's hand and ran as fast as they could back into the crowd, the man continuing. "Alright, listen up. We'll give you a day to hand him over or we'll be back to check the place. If we find out that you're hiding him, be warned that they'll be a lot more people to bury. As for you," he said, facing Vash. "For your outburst and lie, we'll give you that day to get out of town. If you don't, everyone dies with you!"

He laughed with the four others, making their way out. Eventually the town made their way back into their houses, a few staying behind to clean up the people lying in the street. Vera cradled Kailah in her arms as they sat on the ground, struggling to comfort her in this troubled time. Vash knew, no matter how good this place had been to him, that it was finally time to leave, walking over to the house. He found Murielle and Vargus in the dinner room, sitting silently. Vash's clothes were already hanging on the chair, clean and wrinkle free. As he went to grab them, he quietly thanked Vargus for explaining everything to him yesterday, but that it was time for him to go.

Going to the doorway, Vargus agreed he should leave, but he didn't recall ever telling him anything. As Vash explained what he had heard last night, Murielle and Vargus stared at each other, not quite sure what he meant. For, in fact, Vargus had never left the house, neither did anyone else except Vash. He wondered how that could be so, but knew it wasn't the time to ask questions. Instead, he just trudged out, up to his room to change. He grabbed all that he had brought with him and went back downstairs, finding that Vera was now inside. He said his goodbyes, though no one bothered to reply. Vash understood why, however, and really wasn't expecting anything in return.

Putting on his orange sunglasses in the bright sunlight, he stepped out into the desert sands of the world, figuring that he could just leave without anything more. But, life is not so simple, and there is always something in the road. That expression was more literal than he had first thought, for in the direction he wanted to go stood Kailah, her hands behind her back and humming that same tune. He stood there, staring on in thought and in sorrow for a few moments, knowing he had to face her poor childish heart, fearing only the worse that he would break it in one way or another.

As he approached, that humming song becoming intertwined with words, making him stop in his tracks. His knees grew weak hearing it, realizing why he didn't recognize it before. It had been out of tune, but the words now gave it meaning.

"So, on the first evening a pebble

From somewhere out of nowhere

Drops upon the dreaming world..."

This 'she' that everyone had spoken of but no one knew. He knew, and it hurt so to hear that song again. How his heart ached with the remembrance of his friend, his loved one he cared for so dearly. He could feel tears welling in his eyes as she continued, Kailah turning to face him.
"So, on the second celestial evening
The children of the pebble
Joined hands and composed a waltz..."
She laughed half-heartedly, smiling as her eyes turned from those large, joyful ones to the older, sadder ones. "She sang that didn't she? I know I have the tune all wrong, but I can never mimic anything very good."

"She's the one...you spoke of before...isn't it?" he asked, his throat tightening.

"Yes, it is...I know it pains you to hear it, but she said you forgot the words and needed to remember."

"You're Uncle Vargus, he tells me he never left the house last night," he said, changing the subject before it became too deep for him to handle. Even though he should've been able to talk about it, the memories of what happened just flooded him with a sense that he would break down in tears because of it, and that was just something he shouldn't do at that minute. "For some reason something tells me you know about that...And that he really hadn't been down there."

She sighed, nodding her head. "Yes, I know."

"It was you, wasn't it?" he implied. He could never prove it, but last night he had gotten the feeling that it was her presence around and not Vargus's. At first he had thought she had been lingering out somewhere, following them, but that hadn't been the case at all.

Kailah grinned, shrugging. "You know people too well, Vash. No, it hadn't been my uncle. It had been me all along. You had the suspicion on why you hadn't heard the door open, and the reason was no one had been there in the first place. I fabricated the image of my uncle to make you think it was him, so he would tell you the truth instead of myself. Plants can be such a glorious thing, but because of it I myself was to embarrassed to tell you..."

"Why?" he asked.

"Who would you rather believe: a child who could make up stories or a respectable adult? No matter how honest either are, one just seems...more authentic. That's what all people are like."

"Actually," he began with a smile. "I'd believe a child more than an adult. See, an adult can lie freely for no real reason at all, but a child only lies when its trying to hide something. Otherwise, it has no reason too."

She gazed on, her eyes narrowing as they began to hurt with her own tears. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"I don't have a choice," he proclaimed, walking over to her and putting a hand on her head. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt. I've already caused enough trouble as it is!"

Clenching her fists, she sniffled, keeping her crying from being revealed. But a moment later, as he gave a big grin in reassurance, she shook her head, looking up at him with the most painful expression.

"No, Vash, don't go!" she cried.

'No, Rem! Don't go!'

Vash winced, the last, most hurtful memory he had striking him. She had said it almost in the exact way he had so long ago, the same look of concern written on her face. He had only been there for a week, and yet this girl cared about him just as much as he had for the woman who spoke to her. Maybe it was because Kailah knew everything that had ever happened to him, connecting it with the kindness and happiness he had shown before. Whatever it was, though, it would still be hard to go on such circumstances.

He kneeled down, Kailah wrapping her arms about his shoulders before he could say anything more. Hugging her back, he gently pried her away, patting her on the side of her face. He told her to be good and to take care of her family before he stood up again, walking past her. Nothing more was said as he did not look back...

But a voice came from far away, making him stop to listen once more.

"Vash!" Vera called out, running off the wooden porch and out to him, standing next to the melancholy Kailah. Twisting back, the first smile he had seen from her peeled across her lips, taking Kailah's hand. "I just wanted to say thank you...for everything."

"No problem, ma'am. Just trying to do my best to help the world," he replied.

A silence stirred eerily, the wind kicking up with the sand. As he turned to leave for the very last time, a voice called out, but it sounded as if...it were in his mind. It was not the voice of Vera or even Kailah, but of someone else. Someone he once knew long ago.

'If you leave...Everyone will die...'

He looked back to Kailah, eyeing her suspiciously. If she could conjure up and create the image of another person, she could probably talk through her mind. But she narrowed her eyes, seeming like she heard this voice as well and questioned it.

"Are you doing this?" he asked to Kailah.

"In all honesty, no, I'm not..."

"Then...Who...?"

'Vash! You can't leave...not yet...'

He knew that voice. It was so clear to him, he couldn't mistaken it for anyone else. Kailah gawked up at him, her eyes still as slits.

"You are like me, so you can hear it too..." she said, Vera appearing lost at this point.

Vash went back, nodding his head. "It seems I'm going to have to stay. Just one more day."

"But, you'll be killed!" Vera exclaimed, Vash walked passed them and to the house again.

"If I don't, then everyone else will," he replied, sitting on the porch and scanning the area, planning his tactics for the fight that would come with the rising sun...

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A/N I apologize for my lateness on this. If any of you have ever played a school sport, like swimming or basketball or football, you know how tough it is to actually find time from that nagging tiredness. Well, there's only one chapter left, so stay tuned! ^_^