Mizu- Hope you had fun on your trip!

Yes, my dad works at Nestle so one of the reasons I have a powerful firewall is because he's a manager for the computer department. I've even had a chance to check out the Nestle data center in Arizona (it was amazing! The superdomes and disk storage area networks (etc.) were HUGE! Not to mention expensive… (Try over one million dollars a dome!)).  

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Chapter 26

"Kat," someone said, "Wake up."

"I Duddits!" she muttered and rolled over.

She was faintly aware of someone picking her up but she was too tired to care.

"You'll be back by Sunday?" someone asked.

"Yes!" the person who was carrying Kat said.

She was still only half awake since she had stayed up to finish her book. She felt it when she was sat down but she didn't know and didn't care where she was. Something leapt onto her lap and she was aware of something large crawl in behind her. A door slammed and someone got in next to her. Kat was in a car but she was too tired to recognize it. The engine roared to life and they took off.

^_^

"Kat!" someone tried to catch her attention. "You have to be kidding! You've been sleeping for the last twenty-three hours!" they complained.

"Yah so?" she managed to mumble.

"So," they poked her, "We're here."

Kat opened an eye, "Where's here?"

She looked around. Kat was surprised to find herself in a car. She sat up and looked over the dashboard. "Funny, Japan looks a lot like Michigan," she commented still not fully awake.

Someone helped her out of the car and Kat was surprised when her feet hit asphalt and snow.

"Where are we?" she asked starting to wake up.

She was faintly aware that they (whoever 'they' was) were standing in the middle of a road.  She was handed a mug of coffee and she happily drank it. A line from a movie came to her head, 'COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! CAPA-CHINO!' (A/N: The line is from Twister)

She was fully awake in a matter of minutes and Kat began to wonder where they were again. She could tell by the landscape that they were DEFFINATELY not in Japan anymore. In fact, Kat had the strange feeling that she had been here before.

"Awake now?" that someone asked.

Kat turned to see who it was, "Vash?"

He smiled, "Glad to see you're awake! Thought you might have slipped into a coma."

It was cold and their breath came out in small puffs. It had also begun to snow and this caused Kat to shiver. (A/N: YES! I know its October in the story but just say it, for some strange reason, is snowing. Ok?) Something brushed against her legs.

Kat looked down, "Saku?" The wolf just continued to look at her.

"Kurama came along too," Vash said.

Kat nodded before asking again, "Where are we?"

Vash turned her around, "Read the sign."

"Welcome to Hell…What the? Oh…Michigan," Kat said. "How did we get here?" Kat asked.

"We flew. It was Tanya's idea. Jasmine and Vix also helped."

"How did you manage to get here without me knowing about it?"

"You slept the whole way," he said flatly.

"Oh," Kat said while looking back at the sign.

Vash took out his gun and shot three holes in the sign. Kat, freaked out by the action, almost dropped her mug. "What was that for?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Vix asked me to do it. Least I could do, after all she paid for the plane tickets."

"Vix always wanted to blow a hole in that sign. We came here once on a road trip…and it sucked," Kat said, "Guess they don't call it Hell for nothing."

Saku barked slightly and shivered a bit from the biting snow flakes. The wolf used the snow as an excuse to hop back into the 'stupid-American (-rental) -car.' (A/N: My dad always called them 'stupid American rentals' since that's exactly what American cars are- cheep!)

Vash handed Kat his coat when he noticed she was shivering. She thanked him and put it on. They stood there a while longer before Vash said, "Do you remember when I asked you out?"

Kat's eyebrow twitched, "Yes. Why-"

Then it hit her.

*(very short) flashback*

"Will you go out with me?" –Vash

"Yah. WHEN HELL FREZES OVER!" –Kat

*end (very short) flashback*

"Oh," Kat said as she remembered what she had said.

"Oh?" Vash questioned.

She laughed, "You're very clever but…"

She trailed off. Kat wanted to be true to her word but…but then Kenshin invaded her thoughts. While she wanted to keep her promise to this needle-noggin, her promise to her carrot-top was more important. Vash seemed to be reading her thoughts. He stood there, now wearing a puffy down jacket and sweats (courtesy of Saku), but he remained as silent as Kat.

It was obvious that they were both reluctant but both of them had someone that they cared for that they didn't want to 'betray'. But it was hard to betray someone when they were dead or as good as dead. Kat looked up and instantly regretted it when snow flakes stung her eyes. They bit at her cheeks, turning them a flushed pink, and dulled the noise of the surrounding area to almost nothing.

Kat sighed, "I'll never forget Kenshin, just as you'll never forget Rem, but maybe it's time to let go…?" Kat let her gaze fall to the ground and she stared at her quickly disappearing footprints, "I've been waiting too long for him to return home."

Vash studied her wondering just what it was that was keeping him tied to Rem. It surprised him that Kat looked almost exactly like her. There were some differences between the two though. For one, Kat was a bit shorter and had longer hair. Another fact was that Kat had an almost totally different personality from Rem. Maybe they weren't so much alike after all but there was something about Kat that reminded Vash of the raven haired woman.

He was shocked out of his thoughts when Kat hugged him. She voiced the question both wanted to know the answer to, "What makes us not able to let go?" 

It was such a simple question but it was required a very complex answer. He hesitated a moment before hugging her back.

Perhaps it was a bit too cruel to play these head games? Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to Tanya's idea?

Kat hugged him a bit tighter relishing his warmth and comfort.

As he hugged Kat his mind wandered again. Perhaps it was time to let go?

(A/N: I know you're all waiting for drop the bomb and I can't wait to see your reactions! *begins to build fox hole* PLEASE REVIEW!!! And if I get a nice long review (*coughs* AKA- flattering *coughs*), I may just post another chapter early!)