Disclaimer: *looks menacing* Who dares imply I own Trigun? *points at random person* YOU! How dare you say such things! *person erupts in flames and LL wipes her hands* there, now no one can say I own Trigun.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Calm Before The Storm
Rhianne opened the menu quietly, rather amazed at Knives' offer of lunch. Although she had been half-expecting it, one could never tell with him. Her aqua orbs scanned the page rapidly, and her eyes settled on the salad section. She folded her menu on the table and turned to Knives, who was busy folding the paper menu. She watched his nimble fingers move and bend the paper in precise, practiced movements until a small winged horse sat in his palm. Her eyes widened a little as her gaze moved from the paper animal to his face.
"You can do origami?" she asked, dumbfounded. Knives' eyebrows crept up his forehead a little "I can do what?" he asked, dumbfounded at the term she had used. Rhianne pointed to the little winged horse in his hand
"That's called origami. It's an ancient Japanese hobby that involves the folding of paper to create animals, buildings, and even people." She explained. Knives looked down at the little animal in his palm "oh" he said quietly "I just began folding them one day when I got bored" he stated casually, and crumpled the little horse between his fingers and threw it to the ground.
"You know, that trash contributes to the amount of work our sisters have to do" Rhianne pointed out "you should be more considerate" Knives' cheeks reddened and he glared at her before picking up the paper.
"Shut up woman" he stated icily. Vash looked up from his donuts "hey, be nice Knives" he stated, before going back to gorging himself. Both Rhianne and Knives sighed simultaneously, an act that made them both laugh a little.
"I'm having a Caesar salad, with a glass of water, is that alright?" Rhianne asked conversationally to the male plant next to her. Knives shrugged "it's fine. I'm not eating anything." Rhianne cocked her head to the side
"Why not? Aren't you hungry?" she inquired. Knives shook his head "I have no interest in eating spider food." Rhianne sighed and Vash offered him a donut.
"No Vash, I'm fine thank you." Knives responded promptly and Vash shoved the donut into his mouth, perfectly content not to have to share. The female smiled at his actions, and signaled a waiter, who sauntered over casually, taking his time. Ignoring Knives' smart remark about how the spider was wasting her precious time, she opened her menu and indicated which meal she wanted, and he wrote it down and walked away, Rhianne's gaze following him. Knives moved his view to follow hers, and turned to her, scowling.
"Why are you still looking at that spider? Vermin like that is not worthy of your attention" he scolded. Rhianne smiled as the boy disappeared into the indoor part of the restaurant "he has a cute ass" she stated smilingly. Knives sighed heavily and Vash chuckled through a mouthful of donuts.
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Two streets down from where the merry threesome sat, much more evil deeds were being planned.
Between Angie's Fine Fabrics and Roy's Bordello (a favorite haunt of the deceased Hornfreak), sat a slender alleyway, hidden from the bright light of the day; where many a misdeed had been done. At the end of this alleyway sat a large smoke gray warehouse. Unused for years, it had fallen into disrepair. Its gray paint peeled, like skin hanging off metal bone, the roof sported several holes where the metal had rusted and collapsed, and the large door hung ajar, like a gaping mouth awaiting its next unsuspecting victim. But the shadowy, limping figure was no unsuspecting victim, for the wounded man that crept through the doorway had been there many a time, and the interior was no surprise to him.
Several plush chairs were placed around the room, and the stone floor was covered in overlapping tapestries in styles of people long forgotten. A few men sat in the chairs, talking quietly or cleaning one of their multiple guns. They glanced up briefly as he entered, then returned to their own thoughts, dismissing him. At the far end of the warehouse sat a large wooden desk, with a wrought iron lamp and several cards, being used by the man sitting behind the deck in an overstuffed chair. His chocolate hair parted on the side, his eyes hidden behind black sunglasses, he wore a stately black topcoat with matching black pants and newly-waxed shoes; at his hip rode a large revolver.
Before the desk were two simple folding chair, one of which the newcomer slumped down into heavily. The man behind the desk looked up from his cards
"Yes? Can we be of service to you?" he asked snidely, as if the likes of the man seated in the folding chair was below him. The man grunted a crude response, and then clutched at his gut as if it pained him. The man at the desk peered over the his cards to see blood drip from the wound onto the intricately woven tapestry beneath the chair. He glared "what happened to you?" he asked severely, as though it was no concern to him.
"I was shot by a goddamn plant" the man uttered "one of them was Vash the Stampede." As if on queue, all the men in the warehouse looked up at him, the expression on their faces identical; wondering if the dying man spoke the truth.
"Are you positive? I don't need to running after some commonplace criminal" the man behind the desk stated coldly, ignoring the bleeding man completely "yes, the plant-bitch said so herself" the man gurgled, choking on the blood rising in his throat and clutched at his wound, trying to hold the torn hole closed.
"I see" the man said, rising from behind the desk and walking leisurely beside the wounded man in the chair. He leaned down and removed his glasses, allowing his blue eyes to peer down at the crimson blood rushing from the wound in the others' gut. He extended a finger and poked it tenderly, causing the seated man to wince.
"Leo, how do I know you aren't lying to me? I can't gather my men without a little… persuasion." He grinned. Leo glared darkly at him "I have nothing, I'm gonna die you asshole. Do a dying man a favor and kill the monsters that did this to me." Blood had begun to trickle from his lips now.
"You have something of value" the man in the suit proclaimed, smiling evilly at the fatally wounded cook "it's of rather little value, but it'll pay for the destruction of the plants." Leo looked up at the man, a pained expression lining his face.
"I'll do whatever it takes, just get rid of those freaks in our town!" Leo nearly shouted. The other man grinned maniacally and thrust his finger into the cook's gut, causing him to cry out and for fresh blood to mix with the old "very well, as you wish it" the man stated darkly "Gunter, come here and…. Help our guest pay his dues, won't you?"
In response, a tall, muscular man with a neck larger than his head lumbered up behind the cook and pulled out a tiny pistol. The man in the suit leaned forward and whispered the last words the cook would ever hear into his ear:
"Your life for theirs" and only then, mere seconds before his brains were splattered over the cards on the man in the topcoat's desk, that he was going to die.
Then the shot rang out.
Leo's body fell limply to the floor, the thick rug rapidly soaking up his blood. The man in the topcoat kicked him harshly with his shoe "what a waste of flesh he was" then turned to Gunter "I want another carpet in here by the time we get back from finishing off those freaks, and" he booted Leo's blood-soaked corpse forcefully "get rid of this."
He strode to a large cabinet next to the doors and flung open the doors dramatically, then turned to his posse "men, get your guns" he commanded before taking a few guns for himself and backing away, allowing the men to access their weapons "today, the plants will die."
A/N: Ehe! Cliffhangers! Sorry it was so short, I wanted to leave you hanging! ^_^ Don't forget to R&R! Until next time! LL ^.~
