Life

The sun scorched the earth that day, their shadows eclipsed by the high noon light. Vash stood out in the middle of the road, waiting as the gunmen from the other day came rolling into town. The rest of the town stayed indoors, gazing out whatever small nook or cranny they could find to witness the battle that was about to take place. He had his orange tinted shades on, covering his eyes from the unforgiving sky. Kailah had tried to tell him something from before, but his attention was diverted to something else, something that, at the time, appeared to be more important.

Those gunmen came strolling in with enough ego that could've filled the covered cart being wheeled behind them. There were only four now from the fiver earlier, but he just assumed one of them chickened out. One of them usually did in these types of situations. Surprisingly, though, it was the leader who had set up this whole ordeal.

Another, however, stopped them with holding out a hand. They armed their weapons, holding them up as he spoke.

"You wanna die, boy?" he shouted from the fifty feet distance. "We told you to be outta town!"

"Please, I don't want to fight you," he proclaimed, but they would have none of it.

"Too late for that, kid. You better've prayed, cuz it's time to go!"

And with it, the first barrage of shots were fired.

The dust kicked up like a storm, time seeming like it stood still as the cloud hovered there for a few breathtaking moments. But, like the miracle it was, Vash stood there, not phased one bit by the ruckus. The four of them yelled on why it had not worked, one of them staring in horror that Vash could actually be the Humanoid Typhoon, and ran for his life.

Vash did not hesitate to take this opportunity to strike, and as if in the blink of an eye took them all out. (Well, not precisely 'take them out', but rather kept them from shooting). He shot two in left and right legs, and one in the right shoulder. This, in there opinion, was just not worth getting killed for, and bolted just like the other man.

Opening the casing to his gun, he saw he had used up all the bullets he had left, taking a sigh of relief they had left. With several long minutes of waiting, the townspeople emerged from their homes, smiling and greeting him on what an excellent job he had done chasing them out of town. (The strange thing was that they had left their cart there, but they were idiots anyway for challenging someone they didn't even know!)

Children came up to him and asked if he could teach them how to shoot like that, but he only grinned jokingly. Even Vera, Vargus, and Murielle came out to thank him, but there was one person missing. Vash, still speaking to the children about, looked in the corner of his eye to find that Kailah was standing there, gazing on with cold, emotionless eyes. He questioned what could be the matter with her because those bad guys were gone, but as he turned his eyes away, he soon knew the one flaw he made.

Never assume anything.

Defenseless, surprised, and with his back turned, he failed to see the sniper rifle from out of the cart. He didn't even hear it load in all the commotion, yet somehow...

A shot rang so close, Vash could've sworn it had been him who had been hit. He turned around quickly, his eyes widening in horror. The leader gunman who had concealed himself before jumped from out of the cover, gloating before he saw what really happened.

"Yeah! I got you, Vash the Stam..." he stopped his own words, a drifting pain of silence filling there air, all but the terrified gurgle of the little girl who had gotten in the way.

Parents rushed to take their children away, crying with tears of solemn respect that it had not been them. Kailah, the little girl who had saved Vash from his untimely death, fell back and into his arms, staring up at him as if in relief where his eyes only sought dismay. Her family came to her side within an instant, Vash handing her over to Vera. The man with the rifle, disgusted in his own doing, could not live with the fact that he had shot a kid, a said it in proof.

"I...I shot...I shot a k-kid...How could I...? This...I..." He put the gun to his head. "I don't deserve to live for this."

Vash, seeing his action, reached out a hand as if he could stop him. But as he shouted for him to stop, the man pulled the trigger, just another dead body soaking the dry earth. He tore open in side, everything that he had ever been told that was wrong being dragged out in just a few moments. But his cold sorrow was melted away to just a greater sadness as a little hand reached up and touched the side of his face.

"I...I did good..." she smiled, her eyes giving the childish glow. "I can be with mommy and daddy again...Uncle Joe..."

No one said anything. Though no one wanted her to go, her words were filled with a truth. She continued to smile as blood began to run on the side of her mouth, still keeping her hand on his cheek.

"She...she says she's proud of you, Vash..." Kailah's eyes shut as she said her last, heartfelt words. "And Rem says...to never give up hope..."

With that, her consciousness faded, and she was with them no more. People cried. People remained stunned in shock. Vash, with tears in his eyes, tried to keep the screaming in his head under his skin, looking up to find that the three of them were still. Murielle cried her eyes out, Vargus taking her away from the sight as Vera remained. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he shook his head, saying he was ever so sorry. But she somehow managed to laugh, gazing back to him with tears rolling down her face.

"You have no reason to be sorry. You are a God sent, Vash the Stampede. Do you know how long this child's lived with so much pain, so much regret over the death of her parents? For so long she thought her life was worthless, all until you came. If she would've died any other way I think I wouldn't be able to live with myself for it, but to hear those words...To hear that she thought she did something good for a change...You don't know how much that means to us...I wasn't right that she had to die to think it, but then again, she's in a much better place than this world. She's with God now, with Joe, her parents and...and your Rem..." She stood up with Kailah in her arms. "We would be happy if you'd come to the funeral."

He nodded, but still wasn't sure if he'd be offending them, even if she said it was alright.

They buried her the next day. It was a lovely afternoon, under the clear blue sky with a light breeze and nice temperatures. Vash could remember all the moments he had had in this town, all the memories he would have for the remainder of his own life. He was glad in a way he could make even one person's life better, but questioned why she had to go. It was all for the better, for Heaven was paradise from this place. And yet, they would miss her still.

Life was such a confusing thing. Between the living and the dead, between Heaven and this desolate rock, he was just one guy trying to get through it all, like everyone else. Of course, he as a hundred and twenty eight more years tacked on than anyone else, but that wasn't the point. The lesson learned was that living this world would be painful, but you had to pull through if you ever wanted to see those lost again.

And thus, that was the life of Vash the Stampede...

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A/N well that's it. Dang...that was more depression than I thought it would be. Oh well. Anyway, I have a question for you. I have another story out, and I was wondering...What would you say to Wolfwood coming back. I know, TOTALLY off subject, but just thought I might ask. ^_^