~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~
Part One
The sun beat down relentlessly upon the sandy dunes, yet in spite of it all the blond man in the red coat was smiling. He smiled even though he carried the man who had caused him so much pain and torment; he smiled even though his heart and body still ached.
Vash the Stampede treaded the sand easily, his circle framed reflector sunglasses protecting his eyes from the bright sunrays, his gaze steadily focused ahead. The man slung so casually over his shoulder was none other but his twin brother- a man who cared nothing for any human being, a man who cared nothing for constant ranting of love and peace. His name was Millions Knives, but to anyone who really knew him, just plain Knives would do.
The intent Vash had was first simply to kill, to make Knives feel the same pain he had caused his brother to bear. However, in that moment when the trigger could have been pulled should have been pulled, Vash wasn't so inclined to take yet another life. He had taken too many already, even if it wasn't intentional, even if it wasn't with his own hands. Though Knives probably most likely deserved death for his ruthlessness, Rem's last request rang clear in Vash's mind.
'Vash, take care of Knives.'
Now, as they neared the city, Vash had decided it was just what he would do. It had to be done- Knives had to be changed, he could be changed. Maybe with the help of the two ever-present insurance girls, Vash could manage to pull it off. Maybe soon Knives would accept that there was no superior race.
A loud eruption ahead caused Vash to jump with a start, realizing he had been walking down the middle of the main road of the town. The smile broadened when he saw water spouting into the air from a well that the townspeople had so diligently been working on. The cool drops rained down on he and his brother's unconscious form, washing away some of the blood from battle. Vash's heavy boot-clad feet stopped not too far from the crowd, watching them celebrate.
Only one pair of eyes had noticed the bright red trench coat- big, blue eyes, gleaming with rarely seen excitement and happiness. Meryl Stryfe of the Bernard-Daly Insurance Society strode to the blond spiky haired man, tugging on her temporary waitress uniform. For a few moments she simply stood there, exchanging a very long stare with him.
"Oh, hey Mr. Vash the Stampede! When did you get back?"
Meryl's insurance counterpart, Milly Thompson, chirped cheerily as she came up beside the shorter woman with a hand on her yellow hardhat.
"Just now, it seems, but Milly please don't call him that when there's so many people around." Meryl quickly reprimanded her partner, hoping that no one had heard any of it over their cheers of joy. Luckily, none had.
"Huh? Okay, Meryl, whatever you say!" Milly replied and beamed at Vash. "Mr. Vash, who is that over your shoulder?"
Vash had taken off his sunglasses, having tucked them away somewhere unseen to the girls, and returned a friendly grin.
"Oh, hey girls, I see you finished with the well, that's great! This is Knives, by the way; he's hurt so I thought I'd bring him here so he can rest."
While Milly was seemingly unfazed by this news, Meryl nearly had a heart attack. Her face turned slightly purple.
"What?! Are you insane? You can't bring him here!"
Vash was a little perplexed at Meryl's sudden change in skin color but answered her question. "Maybe so, but he really needs to be lying down right now- all the blood is probably rushing to his head, he's been upside down like this for so long. So can we just go inside now and talk about this later?"
The petite raven haired insurance lady nearly blew her top, but agitatedly agreed and led the way toward the motel. Milly followed them; taking her hardhat off and hugged it to her self as they all entered the double bedded room. Vash walked past the girls and carefully put Knives down onto the simple box-spring, pulling a white sheet over his form up to his chin. Meryl was actually surprised to see how gentle he was being, despite the fact that Knives was a bloodthirsty murderer.
Vash's twin was still unconscious and unmoving, but soft grunts and groans escaped his lips as he slept. Meryl could see the similarities in the brothers' features, but they weren't identical twins. Besides that and their hairstyle, Knives' face was cold and hardened, even in slumber, while Vash's was softer and more prone to actually showing emotion.
"Well okay, I'll see you two later, but right now I'd like to be alone with him if that's alright."
Putting a hand on one of each girls' shoulders, Vash ushered them out of the room, stopping at the doorway.
"But you're injured too; those wounds have to be dressed!" Meryl protested as Milly simply looked on.
The red coat clad man didn't lose his smile but kept his stubbornness.
"Oh don't worry about me, just a few scratches, I feel perfectly fine really."
However, fatigue and stress must have set in, because no sooner than he had finished that sentence, Vash collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh gee, Mr. Vash are you alright?" Milly leaned over him then looked back to Meryl. "He's out cold, Meryl!"
"That idiot, I told him so," Meryl mused as she moved to the opposite side of Vash's form.
As Milly helped her move him to the second bed, she nodded, "Yep, you sure did Meryl. But you know what, I'm really glad he's back."
Managing to hide a small smile, Meryl agreed. "So am I."
~End of Part One~