Virgil: I could never forget this story! lol

Hello_lola: Wait no longer!

Jeril Dragonsoul: Glad to have you back with us! Thanks SOOOOO much for reviewing each chapter separately! Yep, Stormie finally came to her senses - I think just about everyone was waiting for that. Haha.

Nuclear Pudding: AHHH! Anything but the monkeys! I've updated so call them off!!!

Elf-vulcan: Stormie's getting back to Knives in this chapter! ~_^

Kamazova: YAY! You really do LIKE this fic! *claps hands happily* Yes, yes, we readers can call the characters stupid, but really, if I were Stormie, hey, I'd pry be looking at Naoshi and thinking, "Hmm...hey, he's got money, he's got looks, and he's totally devoted to me! Who cares if he's got some sort of twisted mind?" Haha - but I think that that'd only be a momentary lapse and I'd be able to come to my senses soon enough.

Blades: I just love angst!

Hopelesspunk: Trigun rocks! Thanks for the compliment and keep on reading! ^_^

DuesExDream: Waaaah! I miss you! Where'd you go?! *looks around wildly for the former Rocker Baby* You didn't review and it broke my heart! *sniff sniff* Please come back...

~~~~~

"That sick freak!" growled Knives, raking a hand roughly through his hair. The wind was blowing grains of sand into his blue eyes and he squinted, glancing over at Grayfall to see the man was totally absorbed in driving. "Ugh, I can't believe this. Billy waits all this time to tell us about Naoshi's fatal attraction?!" Then, under his breath, he muttered, "I can't believe he's been stalking her for two years!"

Grayfall sighed heavily and then shook his head. He was reluctant to respond, hesitant with the thought that any words of affirmation would fuel the fire to Knives' intense hate. Finally, he spoke up, saying, "From what Billy has suggested, his feelings are a form of twisted love. He doesn't want to hurt her. Do you think he'll let her leave willingly?"

"Doesn't matter," snorted Knives. "I'm going to kill him anyway."

Grayfall smirked. "We've only got a few more miles and then we're there. All ready?"

Eyes narrowed to slits, Knives' recalled the embarrassment and disgust on Billy's face when she had described how Naoshi had been closely following Stormie and her life, spying on her at least once a week. "I confronted him about it a few times," she had said, her head bowed to avoid the gazes of all around. "He tried to lie - said there was no one else, but it became pretty undeniable when I found pictures of her in his wallet. It was sick, like he was obsessed or something. I never thought he actually DID anything to her though, so when I found out about Faith...I decided to leave. I suppose taking his children is the worst offense I could've committed." She had paused, touching her wound. "He could've easily killed me. He missed on purpose. He loves his family. He really does..."

Knives tossed a careless glance over at the man beside him, realizing he was still awaiting an answer. "Been ready," was his gruff reply.

"Good." Grayfall tossed his head back as they crested a sand dune, smiling to himself. "And I assume you are going to stop procrastinating and tell her that you love her?"

Knives stiffened, sneering, "What's it to ya' if I do?"

~~~~~

Stormie had been caring for Naoshi all through the night as he battled with his sickness, and had not griped over it one bit. She actually felt bad for telling him that she didn't want to be with him, and her guilt had only intensified when he had blearily looked at her and sighed, telling her that he would take her home as soon as his stomach quit rebelling.

It was morning now, and she was feeling just as tired as he looked. Having nearly carried the man out to the living room so he could sit on the couch and watch her as she prepared her breakfast and got his medicine, she found herself growing more relaxed. Going home. She was ACTUALLY going home soon. And with Naoshi's consent, no less.

"I really think it was only a twenty four hour thing," he wheezed from where he sat, still looking deathly pale. He hadn't bothered to gel his hair, so it's new, short length was falling about his face sloppily, almost like Vash's did in the morning, although Vash's hair was a little longer. "I think we'll be able to make the trip to your home either tomorrow or the day after."

She smiled, feeling she should show some sort of gratitude. "You know," she said quietly, "as long as you're not killing anyone or anything...you can drop by and visit me. And your daughter."

"And Knives," he joked lightly, though sorrow hung in his eyes.

She didn't say anything.

After that, Naoshi sat on the couch for a while, nearly dozing off countless times only to snap back awake after about five seconds. Stormie watched with a faint smile, a mug of coffee cradled in her hands. The scene was pitiful almost, showing his human weakness that so many thought he did not have. Peaceful, really.

A gunshot shattered the air, startling the both of them.

Naoshi climbed wearily to his feet and headed for the door, Stormie at his heels. He stepped out onto the porch and looked around tiredly, eyes scanning the horizon. Sickness had made him slow and barely aware of his surroundings, and only when a bullet scraped his shoulder did he notice Knives standing in the distance.

Stormie pushed past him, calling out her friend's name in urgency. "Stop!" she cried, seeing how the man was already nursing his torn arm. "Don't shoot!"

Knives began to approach, slow and cautious. Grayfall was at his side, both armed with guns. Stormie tried to run out to them, but hung back reluctantly when she realized that to leave would be sentencing Naoshi to a sudden death. She couldn't repay him like that - if it weren't for him, she'd have either died in the desert or still be moaning about how she WISHED she would had died. And all for stupid Mitayo...

"Stormie," called out Grayfall in surprise. The man was eyeing his old captor with a hateful expression. "Get away from him! He's very dangerous!"

Stormie shook her head, yelling back, "Don't shoot him again! He's not going to do anything!"

Knives shot a quick glance at his companion, both coming to the same conclusion. She'd been brainwashed. They were now almost on the porch, staring at both Stormie and Naoshi from only about three yards away. Knives wasn't sure why the female looked so annoyed at them, of all people, or why the pant assassin was sneezing uncontrollably, but he was beginning to have the feeling that this situation was going to go from bad to worse no matter how he handled it. "Stormie, come here," he said quietly.

Naoshi, both hands covered in blood now, gave her a gentle shove, telling her in a tone that only she could hear, "Well, I was going to be the one to escort you back, but now that he's here..."

She turned to look at him, smiling faintly, apologetically, and then stepped down into the sand and walked stiffly to where Knives stood. He was waiting for her, tense and anxious, looking as if he believed something horrible would happen before she ever reached him. And it was such a long walk all the sudden, stretched out before her as she tried to grin at him, trying to keep up that happy face that she was known for, but at the same time, tears were forming in her eyes, and she didn't care for once if he saw. Now she was upon him, suddenly feeling herself drown in sorrow as she realized that even if she loved him and had turned down Naoshi, that didn't mean he'd ever feel the same. Her face fell. She needed to get home to Faith - she needed to get away from Knives.

"Stormie, you... Why'd you hafta run...? Didn't you know that - " Knives was obviously frustrated and at a loss for words, sounding aggravated and irritated at her for causing so much trouble. He raked a hand angrily through his blond hair, ice blue eyes narrowed as he took in her shivering form. And then, with an overly dramatic sigh, he stiffly held out his arms and crossed them over her back, each hand gripping her opposite shoulder as he hugged her tightly. Almost too tightly. "You had no right to worry me like that!" he said gruffly.

It was the first gesture of affection that he had ever bestowed upon her.

Another bullet rang through the air, this one scaring both Stormie and Knives so that they nearly jumped out of their skin. Knives immediately blamed Naoshi for the commotion, shooting blindly in the man's direction before he could think. Stormie, however, glanced furtively over at Grayfall and saw that he was the one holding the still smoking gun, his features hardened mercilessly as he watched the already fallen man jerk with the impact of another bullet.

"Stop it, Knives!" she cried, placing a hand over his gun and pointing it down towards the sand, just before he fired again. "Grayfall's the one who attacked!" Looking at said man, she hissed, "He was going to leave us alone..."

Apparently, that was not the plan anymore. Stormie really couldn't say she blamed Naoshi for dragging himself into the house and then, still in the doorway, painstakingly getting to his feet and yanking a rifle off the wall. Blood was blossoming on his shirt sleeve and pouring down the side of his face, which twisted into a scowl as he suddenly shot forward and off the porch, running faster than Stormie had ever seen a man travel, especially an injured one, and within moments he was upon Grayfall.

Knives shoved the woman out of the way and whipped his gun violently to the side, trying to follow along with the dueling men, hoping he didn't shoot the wrong one on accident.

Stormie could only stand off to the side lines and yell for the three to stop, for she had jumped in between Knives and Mitayo before and that had earned her a bruise. She couldn't even imagine what would happen if she came between Grayfall and Naoshi. Her vision was blurred by tears now, and shouting became out of the question as she started choking on sobs. She cared for Naoshi, pitied him even. It actually hurt to see Grayfall grappling with him, pinning him to the sand and fisting his hand in the short, white hair, banging Naoshi's skull against the ground.

Knives was half listening to Stormie's crying while considering when was the right time to shoot. His eyes were enlarged with fear and desperation. Firing at the wrong time could kill Grayfall, and that most definitely would not be pleasant.

Naoshi clawed desperately at the sand, kicking at Grayfall and writhing in his grasp. He was hurt, angry, and confused. Once he had thrown the other man off him, he shot up, grabbed at his rifle, and dashed out of arm's reach, pulling the trigger in rapid succession to take down Grayfall. However, he rose back up, appearing unhurt. His blue eye was clouded with blood; the purple had widened in shock.

"Don't, Knives!" Stormie exclaimed, clinging to the blonde plant's sleeve, pain choking her voice. "Please don't kill him!"

"Stay back, Stormie! It's time someone took care of him!" Knives leveled his gun, aiming at Naoshi, who's strength was suddenly fading. He had fallen to one knee and was panting heavily, clutching at his wounded arm.

"He's changed!" she cried, searching his face for any compassion and finding it void of such emotion. He saved me! He won't hurt anyone anymore!"

Knives snarled. "How can you say that after he's murdered so many people?!"

"Because you've hurt people too!" she screamed, but her words were barely audible over the sound of the gunshot. She cringed and then fell silent, realizing that everything had suddenly stopped. Grayfall was leaning against the jeep, wearing a strained expression, and Knives looked as horrified as she felt. He had heard her.

Naoshi was sprawled in the sand, motionless.

Stormie didn't know what to do. She just stood there, gripping Knives' sleeve with her mouth agape. Naoshi... Angrily, she shoved the man away, a groan of sorrow escaping her as she pierced him with a look that said, 'why didn't you listen?' Then, turning, she ran to where Naoshi lay, stumbling twice, and dropped to her knees at his side.

His eyes were still open, staring almost dreamily up at the blue, cloudless sky. Slowly, lethargically, they rolled over towards her, and he merely looked at her. Not angry, or sad, or happy, or anything... Then he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks and seemed truly touched, his body quivering as he forced himself to rise into a sitting position, leaning back on his hands. "I was too sick to really defend myself," he murmured, and winced as he put too much pressure on his injuries, being forced to move his hands and consequently sway backwards.

She caught him, one arm looping around his back and the other guiding him towards her in a semi-hug as he sagged tiredly in her embrace. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them," she apologized quietly, and he leaned his cheek to her shoulder, tipping up his chin and squinting at her through hazy eyes.

"S'ok," he mumbled, and he reached out a trembling hand to lace his fingers with hers.

Knives' eyes nearly popped out of his head at that. The gun fell from his nerveless hand and clattered by his feet onto the ground. Was he really seeing this? Stormie kneeling in the blood-stained sand with the plant assassin practically in her lap, his back in the crook of her arm as he leaned his shoulder to her chest, his head cocked to the side in something akin to wonderment. They were...holding hands - fingers interlocked and palms pressed together somewhere between her chin and his chest, tears in both their eyes as if they truly regretted the outcome. Knives shook his head in shock, trying to clear his thoughts, and looked to Grayfall.

The man was awkwardly leaning against the jeep, his hand slipped inside his coat and pressing to his side. Looking pained and upset, he merely watched.

As for Stormie, she felt like she had been sucked into her own little world. Somehow, she knew exactly how Naoshi felt and what he was thinking, even though he said nothing. He was sorry he had ever traveled the path of a killer. He was sorry his love for her had been tainted by his horrid actions and that he did not deserve any affection from anyone anymore. He was so, so sorry he would never have her, and that his past had complicated manners to the point where he was dying here, seemingly without any friends or pity save for the woman holding him.

Finally, he did speak. It took a while, and his words were so soft, they were almost lost in the wind, but he got his point across nonetheless. "Will you tell Faith," he asked with a fickle smile, "that I really did love her?"

"Yeah," Stormie said, never one to deny a dying man his last request. "I'll be sure to tell her."

His grin faded into a frown and he sighed harshly, his head rolling back against her shoulder, breath hot and ragged against her neck and eyes closed to mere slits. "Yeah, I thought I was gonna get all lonely after you left," he murmured, squeezing her hand. "Guess I don't hafta worry about that now."

"Naoshi..."

He cleared his throat. "Will ya' please tell Billy that I didn't mean to hurt her? She knew...she knew I always loved you... She stayed though. And I was ok with that because of Vincent...but I should've...I should've made her leave because...now I realize all I really did was...use her... Stormie, I have too many regrets..."

"Shh, let's not think of them...now..." She tried to smile reassuringly, but she was more scared than he was. Watching the life dim in his barely opened eyes as he gazed up at her adoringly was more terrifying than anything that had happened to her in the past few years, and she couldn't explain why. She sniffled and then encouraged, "You need to concentrate on happy things now." Seeing that she had his full and undivided attention, and that he seemed to be hanging on her every word with an expression of hope, she joked, "Think about how great that hair cut I gave you looks!"

His fingers slipped away from hers and their grasp on one another was broken. He allowed his own hand to drift down slowly to lay over his heart and he smiled brilliantly at her, saying with a faint chuckle, "You know, Stormie...you have a way of telling me...exactly...what I need to hear..." He was still smiling. How was he still smiling? His wounds were taking their toll and his scruffy, white hair felt soft and ticklish against her skin as he shook his head ever so slightly with a deep, exhaling breath. "You know, I really do love you..."

Suddenly, Naoshi felt a lot heavier in her arms, a dead weight that she couldn't support much longer. There was blood smeared all over the both of them, and even as his eyes shut completely, she could see that there was no more life there. He had died - he had died in her arms. "Naoshi?" she whispered, just to be sure he wouldn't respond. How awful would it be if she left him for dead in the dessert only for him to wake up alone and wounded later on?! Suddenly, she was paranoid, scared for reasons she couldn't even explain. She hugged his beaten body close and sobbed into him until she felt gentle hands on her shoulders and realized Knives was trying to tug her up and to her feet. She went along with him, tenderly laying down the past assassin and shakily standing, hugging the blonde plant so tight he could scarcely breathe.

"Come on, come on," he tried to comfort her, uncomfortably attempting to hug her although he didn't do well with sobbing, emotional women. He resisted pulling away and allowed her to bury her face into his chest. "Don't tell me you're crying because he said he loved you!"

She leaned into him, drained of all energy suddenly. "Oh, Knives, you just don't get it," she mumbled, hooking her chin over his shoulder. Her arms wrapped securely around his body, enjoying being so close to him and aching with the knowledge that it probably wouldn't last long. "Don't go around making stupid assumptions. I'm crying because he died, and that makes me sad..." She sighed, shaking her head. "And besides, so what if I care that he told me he loved me? What's wrong with that?"

"Well, the fact that you're all hung up over it is enough to bother me." Unconsciously, he was nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, his voice losing edge and growing soft. "Why are you crying, Stormie? Just forget those things he said to you..."

She chuckled softly, so quietly it was nearly silent. Her arms tightened on him and then released suddenly as she stepped back, grinning unexpectedly even as tears sparkled on her cheeks. "Knives, I don't want to forget," she sniffled, still smiling. "I don't want to forget anything about my life, or about Naoshi."

He looked a bit flustered, frowning in disapproval at her choice. "But why? Is it important to you that he said he loved you?"

"Only as important as the memory," she replied, tapping him on the tip of his nose with a playful pointer finger. "All my memories are important to me. That's why I'm not going to forget."

He wrinkled his nose in irritation. "So, the memory of him saying he loved you is important? What sort of a psychopath are you becoming, Stormie?!"

"Come on, Knives, I thought you were brighter than that." Another tear coursed down her cheek, but her lips were set in what seemed to be a permanent smile, though it conveyed only forced happiness that made her look all the more sad. "It's not that he SAID he loved me... It's that he was the first."

~~~~~

Alright, I just want to make something clear so no one misunderstands. Stormie is merely stating at the end that the only reason she wants to remember Naoshi saying he loved her is because it was the first time a man ever said that to her. No matter who it comes from, it's always at least a little flattering that first time a boy (or girl) says he (or she) loves you, so it's not like she actually returned the feelings or anything - she was merely flattered and besides, it was the first time! You always gotta remember the first time that happens! So don't flame me about it. Haha.

Review!