Disclaimer: Ah, the joy of fanfics; writing stories, allowing your creative spirit to flourish and be nurtured by the characters whose lives you conduct… too bad I don't own any of them…
Chapter Twenty- Two: Shopping and Contemplation
A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, school keeps me busy ^_^
Rhianne walked casually out into the semi-crowded street, avoiding the stared her stained and overall unusual attire drew as she wandered down the sandy avenue. Her hair blew lightly in the breeze, partially restrained by her, now somewhat messy, ponytail. She brushed by a few old women carrying small clutch purses and still wearing their aprons over their skirts, looked towards a small store with a little porch overshadowing its doorway. She walked a little towards it, examining the clothes displayed on the other side of the glass. The dresses were all rather puffy, and lacy, as if someone had decided halfway through making a doily that they were going to sew fabric to it and make a dress. None really appealed to her, and the same went for the rowdy young men standing loitering outside the doors. They hooted at her and one, a tall, muscular man of no more than twenty approached her, a sly smile upon his thin lips.
"Hey cutie" he started, placing his hand on her shoulder "me and the fellas were wondering if we could treat you to a drink." Rhianne shot him a glare "no thanks. I think I'm a little old for you." She scoffed and brushed his hand off. But he refused to be dismissed, and clamped his hand around her wrist.
"You know, it's not very often that a pretty gal like you comes around without a man." The man stated, smiling slyly. A hand clamped itself onto his shoulder "yes, you're right. And unfortunately for you, that happens to be my girl you're talking to." Knives sneered at him. The man gulped and released his hold on Rhianne's wrist, moving himself from Knives' grasp.
"Heh, sorry buddy. Won't let it happen again." He said warily, and the men nodded to emphasize his point. Rhianne smiled snidely at him as he slunk back to the porch, casting dark glares at her and her male companion, much to the amusement of the other men.
Rhianne felt Knives clasp her hand in his "you shouldn't be associating with the likes of them. You are far too good for vermin men." Knives stated loudly enough for Vash to hear.
Rhianne sighed "Knives, the reason I changed the subject in the first place was to keep you from going on an insane killing spree. As much as I love to debate with you, it was pretty obvious that the situation wasn't going to get any better; so I decided to avoid a dangerous outcome by changing the subject." She explained.
"Ah, so that explains your sudden change in attitude!" Vash piped up from behind them. Knives looked over his shoulder at his brother "you two will be the death of me" he sighed.
"Nope, that would be your pride." Rhianne uttered under her breath. Knives shot her a look "I'm going to ignore that" he stated ominously, emphasizing that he really wanted to slap her for the insult. The female plant smiled at him, she appreciated that he was trying to be nice.
She tightened her grip on Knives' hand and moved him over to a shop window boasting a few sets of clothes she rather liked, causing the male plant to sigh in exasperation.
"Must we do this? I could make you some things without having to associate with the likes of-oof!" he grunted as Vash walked into him. Knives whirled on his brother "what was that for?" he demanded. Vash smiled weakly
"There was a pretty girl over there and I couldn't stop staring at her… so I accidentally bumped into you, I'm sorry." He said warily, as though he wasn't sure what his sibling's actions would be. To his surprise, Knives said nothing, and Rhianne's words replaced the ones he didn't speak "don't worry about it Vash. He's okay; aren't you Knives?" she inquired, squeezing his arm. Knives nodded and smiled lightly at his brother, as if the motion was something he hadn't done in a long time.
"So, are we going to go in or what?" Rhianne finally piped up after they had stood in silence for a few moments. Knives nodded reluctantly "I suppose. Are you coming, Vash?" he asked, turning towards the other plant "Vash?"
But the red-coated gunman wasn't paying attention, as he had caught sight of another attractive woman walking down the street, and had turned his head to watch her go by. Knives sighed in frustration "Vash!" he stated, his voice displaying severe annoyance "you already have a pet, certainly you don't need another-" Rhianne clamped her hand over his mouth
"What he means is 'go ahead, meet us at" she paused to look for a rendezvous point, al the while ignoring Knives' glares from behind her hand "that restaurant over there in an hour." She pointed to a little restaurant across the street. Vash's aqua orbs followed her hand and he smiled thankfully at her before bounding off in search of the woman. Knives shook his hand free of her grasp
"What was that for? He's going to get himself into trouble, why bother?" he asked in frustration. Rhianne smiled sweetly at him "sometimes it's nice to do little things for people." She stated before pulling him into the shop.
The inside of the store smelled like fabric softener, a pleasant smell that provided Rhianne with a strong sense of nostalgia. As she smelled the scent, she smiled and remembered home, a place that seemed so far away and yet so close at the same time.
Knives noticed her daze, and squeezed her arm lightly "I would like to finish my associations with the vermin as soon as possible" he stated firmly, and she smiled at him a little.
"Sure, sorry" she responded. Knives glanced her way "what was that blank look on your face for? Are you alright?" he moved to put his hand on her forehead, but Rhianne swatted it away, blushing at his concern
"No, I was just thinking of home. My house smelled like this" she waved a hand around for emphasis and Knives followed it with his eyes. "Really?" he inquired. Rhianne smiled at the fond memory "yeah, I miss home sometimes, you know."
"I don't understand why" Knives sniffed "it was overrun with vermin, so why would you even want to live on a place like that to begin with?" It was less of a question than he had originally intended, but Rhianne caught drift of where he was going with the topic and avoided it by quickly pulling him over to a rack of clothes to examine the shirts displayed there.
"You like to wear this?" Knives asked, holding up an overly frilly shirt and wrinkling his nose. Rhianne laughed "no, it's too frilly for me. I like stuff like this" she walked over to a rack in another section of the store and picked up a light blue shirt. Knives' eyes measured the shirt, and he nodded "seems good enough" he stated. Rhianne went over to another rack and picked up a pair of tan leather pants and held them up to her legs
"A little baggy, but good nonetheless" she stated, and folded them, along with the shirt, over her arm. She walked over to another shirt, a red one this time, held it up against herself, and folded it over her arm. She turned to Knives "do you like red?" she inquired casually, moving over to a pale yellow shirt. Knives looked falsely diabolical "only when its blood red" he stated mock-evilly. Yet, to Rhianne, it didn't seem as though he was joking. She brushed the mundane thoughts from her mind and picked up a pair of baggy black pants. They reached the floor even while being held above her navel. She shook her head and put the pants back. Knives nodded approvingly.
"I didn't like them anyway" he offered. Rhianne laughed a little, and picked up a few other shirts and a pair of more well-fitting black pants and headed to the register, where a young woman in her late teens sat, filing her nails and chewing gum in an open-mouthed fashion that reminded Rhianne of a cow. Her blonde hair was in tightly curled ringlets that looked frizzed and as though she had gone overkill with the curling iron. Her deep brown eyes were almond-shaped, and hinted that she dyed her hair blonde, because of the lack of contrast between her hair and her olive skin tone.
"Yeah?" she asked as they approached "I'd like to buy these, please." Rhianne turned to Knives "you have enough, don't you?" she asked quietly. Knives sighed "if I didn't would I allow you to shop?"
"Good point" she stated before placing the clothes on the counter in front of the woman "How much does all this come to?" she asked. The woman cocked an eyebrow "30$$" she paused and then added ruefully "paying for your man, are you? You shouldn't buy him everything you know, he'll take advantage of it."
Rhianne's hand grasped Knives' and felt a few bills and three coins slide into her palm. She placed them on the counter to the woman, accompanied with a glare from both her and Knives.
"These happen to be for me." Rhianne stated, scooping her clothes into one of the available paper bags. The woman guffawed loudly, a sound that resembled the squawking of birds "those are men's clothes! Don't tell me you plan on walking around in those!" she snorted as she laughed and Rhianne had to restrain herself form slapping the annoying woman
"Well you see" she started "I'm buying men's clothes because the clothes in this store look like doilies." She spat icily and turned and walked stiffly out the door, followed by a snickering Knives.
"So you knew all along?" she demanded, about-facing, her eyes meeting his. Knives cut short a laugh and a tiny, somewhat embarrassed "yes" escaped his lips. He waited for her to explode, but she did nothing of the sort.
"Cool." She stated casually and turned to go to the restaurant. Knives' hand on her shoulder pulled her back a little, and he stepped to her side.
"You aren't angry with me?" he asked concernedly. Rhianne smiled "Knives, I've shopped with Corrin thousands of times, don't you think I knew men's clothes when I saw them?" she laughed "of course I knew! But I figured it was either this" she motioned to her outfit "of those" she motioned to a group of walking pom-poms nearby. Knives made a noise of understanding "I see." He stated, and took her hand. The motion surprised her a little, but she allowed him to lead her to a table on the veranda of the restaurant and pull her chair out. She shook her head
"I'm going to go get changed in the bathroom, I'll be right back." She stated before leaving Knives to himself.
Feeling a little flushed, Knives seated himself on one of the wrought iron chairs and placed his feet on the chair next to him, saving it for Rhianne when she got back. As he did so, it occurred to him that he was acting less and less like his old self. He chuckled quietly, a week ago, he wouldn't have been caught dead holding a woman's hand. He sighed and closed his eyes against the noonday sunlight. This was so strange, the feelings he was experiencing, the words he said, the way he acted, it was all so new to him; yet all so familiar. But that couldn't be, because he had never felt any sort of feelings like these; not even for Legato. For a moment, he felt remorseful of his old servant, and how quickly he had been forgotten. He had tried so very hard to please him, and had succeeded greatly beyond the standards Knives had set out for him; although the plant would never admit to it, he had actually cried, alone in the darkness of his ship, for his lost pet. Yet, he speculated, Rhianne was more than that. She was a plant, and therefore was elevated from the position of pet to the rank of equal.
He heard a few feet walk by, and the sound of chattering female voices reached his ears.
"Yes, he's really cute isn't he?"
"Oh yes, the one in the red coat is rather handsome"
"But a bit of a baka, don't you think?"
The chatter continued as the girls walked away, and Knives thought of how naïve this sub-species was. They went on, living their pointless lives, leeching off the lives of his sisters; the thought sickened him. He would destroy them all. Make them bleed the life that was meant to be that of his sisters; he would make them pay for their sins against his family. They would die slowly, painfully, feeling the life slowly seep out of them to feed the bugs that dote the sandy ground beneath them; just like his sisters. He thought of all the plants he had witnessed die during his lifetime, never to free themselves from those that enslaved them. One Plant Angel in particular, Crysiana had been her name, had died before him. Never had such a sight struck him the way that seeing her die did. Her body, frail and weak, with her bones protruding grotesquely from her shoulders, knees, ribcage, anywhere where her joints bent. Her hair, which had wafted so luminously around her delicate face the first time he had met her, now hung lifelessly, thinning strands clinging to her face and neck limply. Her wings, once magnificent plumage that sprung from her shoulder blades, drooped around her, the feathers floating around the nothingness of the bulb. Her fingers, the smoothness of her knuckles dried away by the strain to calluses, scratched helplessly at the interior of the bulb, pleading to him to make the hurting stop, to make her better. Her childish pleadings tugged at his head and he had cried, laid his head in his hands and had cried, watching his sister die before his very eyes.
Idly, from behind his closed lids, he heard Rhianne return. It was obvious it was she, the male plant could sense her energy as she approached. He opened his eyes lazily, as she stood before him.
"Do you think I look okay?" She inquired, turning around. Knives regarded her outfit and judged his answer.
She was wearing the red shirt and black pants, a rather nice style combination in Knives' opinion. The red shirt was a good fit, it rode up a little as she moved her arms about, but Knives didn't mind. She had shoved the black pants down so that they rested on her hips, and when she raised her arms above her head, most of her navel was exposed. Her scuffed boots poked out from the bottoms of the pants and added an air of causality to her ensemble. Her hair was slung back up in her signature ponytail at the back of her head, and her earrings glinted in the sun.
"You look great" he replied promptly, surprised at the truth in his words. She smiled and placed the bag at his feet "good, but I need to go and pick something up, can I have about 5$$?" she held out her hand and Knives reluctantly placed the money in it. Within a second the change had been shoved into the large pockets in her pants.
"I assume I am to wait here?" he inquired mildly. She nodded "yep, I'll only be gone a moment" she turned her back to him and walked a few steps, then paused and called back "don't kill anyone while I'm gone!" Knives couldn't help but grin as he closed his eyes again and listened to her footsteps depart. All around him voices of the vermin inhabiting the city chirped around him like irritating birds.
He sighed heavily and folded his hands behind his head. Even with the people bustling around him, he felt terribly alone. Alienated from everyone because he was superior. Had anyone ever stopped to think that he didn't want to be alone? That the face he presented to the world was really a façade, a mask to shield himself from the cruelties of the Human race. It was true, he hated them with a passion so deep that it flowed in his very blood, but that didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to be alone, either. He had two very contradictory feelings that went hand-in-hand with each other, and he had never thought he would be able to rid himself of the impenetrable loneliness that had plagued him for most of his life. And Vash, ah yes, the brother he loved dearly enough to put the happiness of his sibling above all else, even his own content. For Vash he suffered, made the vermin suffer, and caused his heart the greatest pain of all. Yes, it was true, he had had hid Gung-Ho Guns for a short period of time, but he had chosen to remain separated from them, because even thought they were the best fighters on the planet, they were vermin nonetheless, and therefore he had wanted nothing to do with them. Or did he?
There had been a very short period of time, towards the very end of Legato Bluesummer's life, that he had become very attached to him. The golden light in the eyes of the blue-haired demon had struck something deep within him that had yet to be awoken. It had been then, for the very first time in the male plants illustrious career as a killer, then he had considered leaving the piece of scum alive should he so wish it. But with Legato, it wasn't the case. He was devoted and loyal to a fault, and wished only for his own death so that he could satisfy his Master's plans, and the eternal suffering for Vash the Stampede. And because of his unwavering loyalty had earned a place, embedded in his Master's heart.
Knives sniffled, grateful that Rhianne wasn't there to see him and to sense the emotions he felt. Because, even in a bustling town like the one he found himself in, Knives felt utterly, completely alone. Despite the fact the his brother was somewhere in the city, chasing the big-bosomed vermin he adored so dearly, and Rhianne was off running her errand, he still felt like he was lost in an ocean of inferiority.
It's the first time I've felt this alone, and I remember wishing that someone would cure my pain, and isn't it ironic, that her, the last person I fathomed would be the one to free me from my loneliness. Knives mused mentally to himself as he heard Rhianne return, and the feeling of loneliness swept away from him like a leaf in an autumn breeze.
"Back so soon?" he said conversationally, opening one eye and regarding the female plant; who was carrying a small box in her hands. She smiled, flashing her brilliantly white teeth "yeah, it didn't take long" Knives nodded in the direction of the box as she sat down
"Wait 'till Vash gets back, then you'll see"
As if on queue, Vash wandered into view, his hands in the pickets of his long red coat. Beneath his fallen hair, his cheeks blushed a shade so deep that it nearly rivaled his coat. He sat down next to Rhianne and hung his head.
"She turned you down didn't she?" Knives asked snidely. Vash sniffled. Rhianne gave Knives a little shove, and was rewarded with a glare
"Don't worry Vash. I have donuts, see?" she placed the box on the table and opened it, revealing six rows of assorted donuts. A bright gleam came to Vash's eyes as he lifted his head and dug into the box with gusto. Knives couldn't help but laugh along with Rhianne as he picked up the menu and offered her lunch.
