TRIGUN: GunGrave
By ShadowHawk & Turles
Disclaimer: We do not own the copyrights to Trigun, or any other copyrighted information. All Copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Trigun: Gun Grave
Chapter 5: The Spreading News
Far away from any major city or big town was a small village a few yars away from L and R town. This was the place where the outlaw and gunslinger Vash the Stampede lived with his brother Millions Knives, his girlfriend Meryl Strife (a.k.a. Derringer Meryl), and his friends, Millie Thompson (a.k.a. Stun-gun Millie) and Nicholas D. Wolfwood. It was true that Wolfwood had lived. The surprise he gave his friends really did send a lot of them up the wall, even Millie Thompson who grew to love Nicholas. At first she slapped him lightly then she started to hug and kiss him saying how wonderful it was to see him again. It was one of those moments that Wolfwood thought, "Lord, help me try to understand women."
Then came the explanation of how and why Nicholas D. Wolfwood survived. It was a tense time because he had to reveal a secret about himself that he didn't even want Vash the Stampede himself to know. That night around the table with a few drinks in his system, Nicholas finally coughed up the truth.
"I'm a plant." He said, he said it so flatly that it didn't seem to sink in as well with Meryl or Millie. The only one, who really understood what Nicholas was saying, was Vash himself. He knew what it meant. Vash the Stampede himself is a plant too, meaning that he's a genetically enhanced human being, which would explain several things, his long life, telepathy, as well as his extraordinary gunman-ship. A plant referred to the enormous power plants that are within each city, but within these power plants exists a being of extraordinary abilities. And it's from these abilities that power can be harnessed and be used.
Ever since Nicholas dropped the bomb on what his truth was, suddenly everything made sense. When Vash the Stampede met Nicholas D. Wolfwood in the desert on the way to Mei City he watched as Wolfwood gave up his own scraps of food to children. Vash could only smile at the kind gesture that Wolfwood had made, but then Wolfwood said that Vash looked like a troubled man. "You're hurting like crazy on the inside" he said, "but you smile and bear it." It was so simple, since Wolfwood was a plant; he read Vash's mind. Along with the fact that he could life that heavy Cross-Punisher of his even with his skinny body. As well as the fact that he could take in so much alcohol and not come out with a hangover. It truly made sense to Vash that Nicholas D. Wolfwood was a plant himself.
Though it didn't exactly matter to Millie, she still loved him no matter what he was or what he did. Then again, when a person is loved that much, does it really matter what they are? Soon, time had passed. Months had gone by and since then things have quieted down considerably, though Vash has been keeping a close eye on his brother Knives. From the point of view of his friends the two of them would speak to each other without saying a single word. Wolfwood understood what was going on between those two, their brethren are of a kind much beyond human understanding. Even with these two, it goes back over a century, needless to say they had to resolve their differences. It appeared that Knives and Vash were getting along well and life was becoming peaceful.
The month was November, on Earth the month of November brings fall and a time to prepare for winter. On Gunsmoke, it doesn't matter what month it is. Everyday is the same, like an endless dry summer. Yet on this day, the dry winds of Gunsmoke were blowing across the steps of the porch where Vash the Stampede sat. He sat in his casual shirt and pants that were provided to him, in the next chair to him was his friend Nicholas D. Wolfwood who was enjoying another crumpled cigarette from his coat pocket. Meryl and Millie were out shopping for ingredients for that night's dinner. As a matter of fact they were preparing a special kind of chili for Vash and Wolfwood. From the way life was with the four of them, one could almost swear that they were married. Then again, with Wolfwood's position as a priest he could easily arrange all of it.
Vash leaned back and breathed in the air, "You know Wolfwood?" He asked, "It just doesn't get any better than this."
Wolfwood grinned with his cigarette in his mouth, "I'll drink to that." He reached down to his side and pulled up a bottle of Jack Daniel's, took out his cigarette and took a nice big swig of it. He brought back the bottle down and wiped his face, "That's the stuff. I wonder where those girls are, they sure are taking their time aren't they?"
Vash looked at Wolfwood with his blue eyes, "To our kind Wolfwood, time really doesn't matter."
Wolfwood shrugged, "You have a point there, it does make me wonder how long I'll live."
Vash only thought, "With the way your going I'd say it wouldn't be long."
"Hey, I heard that!" Wolfwood said sitting up, his fist near his chest.
Vash sheepishly grinned, "Sorry." He said, "Forgot you could read minds."
"And don't you forget it."
Suddenly a scream came from the streets ahead of them. Vash and Wolfwood jumped out of their rocking chairs to hear who it was. They both knew that voice, it was the voice of Meryl Strife. There was no time to stand and ask questions, the two gunmen took the streets. The dashed in the direction of the scream, they ran until their veins pumped oxidized blood, and their hearts were ready to burst. They came to the small bar, where a small satellite was stationed. This was the only way that this small village could maintain any contact or any kind of communication with the outside world. It was also here that the radio could pick up any kind of news. It was in that bar from the window that Vash and Wolfwood found their loved ones, Meryl and Millie. The two of them had the groceries on the table but were huddled around the radio. They came in through the door- less entry and were about to ask questions about the scream but then they heard the broadcast.
"I repeat, reports are coming from everywhere of a strange man wandering the desert. This man has been described to be very dark, wearing a large hat, one cyborg eye, and carrying a coffin. He's been calling himself "Gun Grave the Undead". Reports have been coming into my desk of the deaths this man has caused. From Little Jersey he's been reported to kill people in the streets with incredible speed and extremely deadly force. Onboard a Sand Steamer heading for Warren City he's been documented to the killing of the entire Badland thieves as well as their leader a man who has been called Brilliant Dynamites Neon. This man has also been confirmed to be responsible for the deaths of the entire Nebraska Family as well as the Big Brother Gang who had recently tried to kidnap the daughter of the very rich, Mr. Bowstock. Authorities are not quite sure of what to do with this man of whether to place a bounty on his head or declare him a public hero. Updates will be made, that's all for now." Vash looked to the girls at the far end of the room who were huddled around the radio. Then he turned his attention like a radar dish over to Wolfwood whose eyes were wide with fear. Vash knew that look of fear in anyone, it's the same type of look someone pulls when they turn the wrong corner and are about to hit an oncoming truck. When that happens, they pull a stupid face, and their life doesn't flash in front of their eyes 'cause their too damn scared to think. That's the face Wolfwood had. He only breathed his next sentence.
"Oh no." He whispered yet it was loud enough for Vash to hear, "it's him."
Later that night back at the at the place where Vash and his friends were staying they all gathered around the kitchen table to discuss the news they heard. Many families have these kinds of discussions, they usually happen either in the family room or a kitchen. Any kind of room that they come into the most often or rather any room that has a large enough table for all of them. Yet, at this meeting the only one who wasn't included was Knives, because this concerns his past and only Wolfwood knew the answer to it.
Vash stood up in his seat, "You know something about this, don't you Wolfwood?"
Meryl reached up to her loves sleeve, "Calm down Vash, he said he was going to explain so lets give him some time to explain."
Vash looked down at Meryl who smiled at him and he backed down.
"Thank you." Wolfwood said, "Back when I was in the Gung-Ho Guns, Chapel the Evergreen, my teacher, told me about someone within the group called Gun Grave the Undead. Though the details of who he was, how he was brought into the group and his abilities were a mystery. It's almost like the group had him kept away like a secret weapon to use."
"Against me?" Vash asked
"It could be." Wolfwood answered, "That was the reason for the creation of the Gung-Ho Guns for revenge against you."
"If all of this is revenge against Vash," Meryl speculated, "then its safe to assume that this Gun Grave will be coming after Vash?"
Wolfwood was silent and he only nodded in his answer.
"Then we must run." Meryl said quickly
Vash shook his head, "No, I've run away once before and I'm not doing it again. I'll stand my ground against this last Gung-Ho Gun."
"But," Meryl came to Vash's side with the welts of tears in her eyes. She saw Vash once badly injured because of a Gung-Ho Gun named Legato Bluesummers, and she couldn't bare to see him go through that again. "You know what will happen if you go up against him."
"I know that." Vash answered, "But it outweighs my alternative to run."
"I have to agree with Vash." Wolfwood added, "We must stay and fight him head to head. I'm certainly not going to run with my tail between my legs."
"Then it's agreed." Vash smiled.
* * *
Thousands of yarz away, the enormous Humpback class Sand Steamer rolled on through the desert. Onboard it carried a great array of passengers, one of them was a man that the entire planet of Gunsmoke didn't know whether to call him a hero or an outlaw. The man known as the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. He was here traveling on his own, but little did he know of who else was here, at least until he ran into them.
He found out that the person he saved was here. The young beautiful brunet, Ms. Stephanie Bowstock was here on the Sand Steamer with him. She had also brought along her father and the Marshall named Maryanne. They were here, though to Gun Grave he wasn't sure if they were here purely be coincidence or if they were following him (perhaps stalking him). Though at the time that Mr. Bowstock (a.k.a. Grim Reaper Bowstock) met Gun Grave he was a little shocked to actually meet this man. He was enormous compared to him, he almost looked like some kind of dark giant and with a black cat on his shoulder. Mr. Bowstock didn't know if he should be afraid of Gun Grave or laugh at him. Then again he thought that laughing at him would be a bad choice, so he proceeded to ask his proposal.
"I have a proposition for you." He asked of Gun Grave
Gun Grave moved his lips and spoke in his mind, "Go ahead."
"I am here with my daughter, Stephanie." He explained, "She was the girl whom you saved from the Nebraska Family and the Big Brother Gang. I want you to keep a special eye on her during this trip."
"How much are you willing to pay me?" Gun Grave asked
"$100,000 double dollars." Mr. Bowstock said, "the price will triple if you can guard her as far as L and R town."
"Is that all?"
"There is one thing, your not allowed to touch her."
"I understand." It was a good thing that Stephanie wasn't around to hear this proposal, otherwise she would have made an enormous protest about it. Then again with the Marshall here, she might have been used as a chaperone between Gun Grave and Ms. Stephanie Bowstock to make sure that nothing happens between the two. Who would have guessed what would happen later that night?
Gun Grave sat on the bed with his coffin at his side and Kuroneko sitting on top of it looking towards the door. Just next door was Ms. Stephanie's room, hopefully if anything were to happen Gun Grave could get there in an instant. Though what Ms. Stephanie planned was something a little different.
To Ms. Stephanie, she had developed a feeling for Gun Grave, she couldn't exactly figure out what it was at first. Especially since she was trying to recover from the experience she had with her captors. She remembered how the Big Brother Gang kidnapped her from her shower like monsters in a fairy tale. She was forced to stand in front of them in her nakedness not being allowed to have one strip of clothing or shoes to protect her feet from the rocky ground. That was until Gun Grave came along, he killed them all to set her free and from that she felt something for this strange gunman. Then when she found him there on the Sand Steamer she fell in love with him, she never felt that kind of love for any other kind of man. On the other hand, Gun Grave wasn't like any other kind of man.
Knowing the kind of strict rules her father placed on her bodyguard (as Gun Grave became), she found a way to get passed it. Later that night when her father was asleep she sneaked over to her bodyguards' room. All the doors within the Sand Steamer were made of steel so she carefully knocked.
Inside Gun Grave room, he wasn't sitting on his bed like he was earlier. His clothes were laid out upon the bed nearly as if his body had turned to smoke and he sneaked out of them. His coffin still at the side of his bed with his cat still sitting there perched like a raven in Edgar Allen Poe poem.
The only sound was coming from the bathroom with the sound of running water. The shower was running, and Gun Grave was in it. The water ran over his body and amazingly enough his undead body didn't react adversly to the hot water. Thanks to all the precious bodily fluids he could collect he was able to keep himself in tact.
As he stood in the shower he heard a knock at the door. In his mind he reached out to see who was at his door. It was Ms. Stephanie Bowstock, the very woman whom he was hired to protect, but why was she at his door. He spoke out with his mind but numbed his mental voice to make it sound like he was calling from inside the room.
"Come in." He called The steel made door opened and in walked Miss Stephanie who had come over in her silky white nightdress and her hair all flowing down with no restraints. She walked in stepping gingerly, she saw the clothes on her bodyguards bed and the cat who stared up at her with its big yellow eyes.
"Nyaoo." It said at her.
"Oh." Stephanie said, "hello, kitty." She came over to the cat and began to pet it. The cat came up to meet Stephanie's hand as if he was saying, "who loves kitty? You love kitty?" Stephanie continued to pet and tickle the cats' chin that she didn't hear the sound of the water tuning off. She then heard a voice say,
"I see you found my cat." Miss Stephanie spun her head around and looked towards the bathroom and there was Gun Grave standing naked and moist from the hot water. Apparently he probably dried himself off in the shower and didn't bother to cover himself up. Then again with only him in this room why would he? He looked down at Miss Stephanie not caring to cover himself up at all.
To Ms. Stephanie, nothing like this had ever happened before in her entire life. She was witnessing first hand what a real man looks like underneath his clothes. She had to admit to herself that she felt a little bit aroused by all of this yet she looked to Gun Grave's chest and she felt shock. Within his chest were several bullet hole scars that were already deep brown from the scar tissue. His hair was long and black that came down to his shoulders that was still wet from the shower and his eye. His left eye was a metallic bionic eye. She raised her hands and covered her mouth as if she was about to scream but nothing came out.
Gun Grave moved his lips, "Why are you here?" Stephanie came back to the question that she heard, "I came to see you. I never properly thanked you for saving my life."
"I did what had to be done." Gun Grave stated never moving from his spot
Ms. Stephanie rose to her feet and approached her bodyguard trying to take her eyes away from his nudity and look into his face.
"You don't understand." She said, "when you saved me, it was the first time that anyone had done anything of that great kindness to me. As a child I was selfish, spoiled and disobedient. Yet, without my mother I was never told what a true woman should feel. Then you came to me and now I understand it."
Gun Grave felt confused as well as an unusual sensation in his chest. His heart was beating abnormally fast, but why?
"What is it that you understand?" He asked
Slowly, Miss Stephanie Bowstock brought up her hand to the strings that held her nightdress to her body. One strap came away from her shoulder and the other allowed the dress to fall around her ankles. She stood in front of Gun Grave in the same state of nakedness that he was. Now they were even, she saw him now he could see her.
"What I understand." Ms. Stephanie said, "is that I love you."
Gun Grave raised his arms and wrapped them around her. The feeling of bare skin against another was the most unusual of feelings for either
Gun Grave or Miss Stephanie to feel. As the two of them held each other, Gun Grave looked out to his coffin where his cat sat. He looked at him with his enormous yellow eyes as if warning him of the consequences that might happen from the action he would take. Yet the cat closed his eyes, got up on all fours, made one turn on the coffin and laid down to go to sleep.
Gun Grave felt an even better private feeling knowing that the cat wouldn't be watching, he took Miss Stephanie in his arms like a prince charming taking the princess to the tower. He brought her to the bed, and with one swipe the shoved all his clothes to the floor to make way for his love and himself in this bed. The two of them crawled under the cool sheets like little children at a sleepover. Then they kissed each other and under the stars, the glow of the moons and even the third red moon that had the hole chiseled into it, Gun Grave the Undead and Miss Stephanie Bowstock knew love in its most raw, purest, and more splendid form.
To be continued.
By ShadowHawk & Turles
Disclaimer: We do not own the copyrights to Trigun, or any other copyrighted information. All Copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Trigun: Gun Grave
Chapter 5: The Spreading News
Far away from any major city or big town was a small village a few yars away from L and R town. This was the place where the outlaw and gunslinger Vash the Stampede lived with his brother Millions Knives, his girlfriend Meryl Strife (a.k.a. Derringer Meryl), and his friends, Millie Thompson (a.k.a. Stun-gun Millie) and Nicholas D. Wolfwood. It was true that Wolfwood had lived. The surprise he gave his friends really did send a lot of them up the wall, even Millie Thompson who grew to love Nicholas. At first she slapped him lightly then she started to hug and kiss him saying how wonderful it was to see him again. It was one of those moments that Wolfwood thought, "Lord, help me try to understand women."
Then came the explanation of how and why Nicholas D. Wolfwood survived. It was a tense time because he had to reveal a secret about himself that he didn't even want Vash the Stampede himself to know. That night around the table with a few drinks in his system, Nicholas finally coughed up the truth.
"I'm a plant." He said, he said it so flatly that it didn't seem to sink in as well with Meryl or Millie. The only one, who really understood what Nicholas was saying, was Vash himself. He knew what it meant. Vash the Stampede himself is a plant too, meaning that he's a genetically enhanced human being, which would explain several things, his long life, telepathy, as well as his extraordinary gunman-ship. A plant referred to the enormous power plants that are within each city, but within these power plants exists a being of extraordinary abilities. And it's from these abilities that power can be harnessed and be used.
Ever since Nicholas dropped the bomb on what his truth was, suddenly everything made sense. When Vash the Stampede met Nicholas D. Wolfwood in the desert on the way to Mei City he watched as Wolfwood gave up his own scraps of food to children. Vash could only smile at the kind gesture that Wolfwood had made, but then Wolfwood said that Vash looked like a troubled man. "You're hurting like crazy on the inside" he said, "but you smile and bear it." It was so simple, since Wolfwood was a plant; he read Vash's mind. Along with the fact that he could life that heavy Cross-Punisher of his even with his skinny body. As well as the fact that he could take in so much alcohol and not come out with a hangover. It truly made sense to Vash that Nicholas D. Wolfwood was a plant himself.
Though it didn't exactly matter to Millie, she still loved him no matter what he was or what he did. Then again, when a person is loved that much, does it really matter what they are? Soon, time had passed. Months had gone by and since then things have quieted down considerably, though Vash has been keeping a close eye on his brother Knives. From the point of view of his friends the two of them would speak to each other without saying a single word. Wolfwood understood what was going on between those two, their brethren are of a kind much beyond human understanding. Even with these two, it goes back over a century, needless to say they had to resolve their differences. It appeared that Knives and Vash were getting along well and life was becoming peaceful.
The month was November, on Earth the month of November brings fall and a time to prepare for winter. On Gunsmoke, it doesn't matter what month it is. Everyday is the same, like an endless dry summer. Yet on this day, the dry winds of Gunsmoke were blowing across the steps of the porch where Vash the Stampede sat. He sat in his casual shirt and pants that were provided to him, in the next chair to him was his friend Nicholas D. Wolfwood who was enjoying another crumpled cigarette from his coat pocket. Meryl and Millie were out shopping for ingredients for that night's dinner. As a matter of fact they were preparing a special kind of chili for Vash and Wolfwood. From the way life was with the four of them, one could almost swear that they were married. Then again, with Wolfwood's position as a priest he could easily arrange all of it.
Vash leaned back and breathed in the air, "You know Wolfwood?" He asked, "It just doesn't get any better than this."
Wolfwood grinned with his cigarette in his mouth, "I'll drink to that." He reached down to his side and pulled up a bottle of Jack Daniel's, took out his cigarette and took a nice big swig of it. He brought back the bottle down and wiped his face, "That's the stuff. I wonder where those girls are, they sure are taking their time aren't they?"
Vash looked at Wolfwood with his blue eyes, "To our kind Wolfwood, time really doesn't matter."
Wolfwood shrugged, "You have a point there, it does make me wonder how long I'll live."
Vash only thought, "With the way your going I'd say it wouldn't be long."
"Hey, I heard that!" Wolfwood said sitting up, his fist near his chest.
Vash sheepishly grinned, "Sorry." He said, "Forgot you could read minds."
"And don't you forget it."
Suddenly a scream came from the streets ahead of them. Vash and Wolfwood jumped out of their rocking chairs to hear who it was. They both knew that voice, it was the voice of Meryl Strife. There was no time to stand and ask questions, the two gunmen took the streets. The dashed in the direction of the scream, they ran until their veins pumped oxidized blood, and their hearts were ready to burst. They came to the small bar, where a small satellite was stationed. This was the only way that this small village could maintain any contact or any kind of communication with the outside world. It was also here that the radio could pick up any kind of news. It was in that bar from the window that Vash and Wolfwood found their loved ones, Meryl and Millie. The two of them had the groceries on the table but were huddled around the radio. They came in through the door- less entry and were about to ask questions about the scream but then they heard the broadcast.
"I repeat, reports are coming from everywhere of a strange man wandering the desert. This man has been described to be very dark, wearing a large hat, one cyborg eye, and carrying a coffin. He's been calling himself "Gun Grave the Undead". Reports have been coming into my desk of the deaths this man has caused. From Little Jersey he's been reported to kill people in the streets with incredible speed and extremely deadly force. Onboard a Sand Steamer heading for Warren City he's been documented to the killing of the entire Badland thieves as well as their leader a man who has been called Brilliant Dynamites Neon. This man has also been confirmed to be responsible for the deaths of the entire Nebraska Family as well as the Big Brother Gang who had recently tried to kidnap the daughter of the very rich, Mr. Bowstock. Authorities are not quite sure of what to do with this man of whether to place a bounty on his head or declare him a public hero. Updates will be made, that's all for now." Vash looked to the girls at the far end of the room who were huddled around the radio. Then he turned his attention like a radar dish over to Wolfwood whose eyes were wide with fear. Vash knew that look of fear in anyone, it's the same type of look someone pulls when they turn the wrong corner and are about to hit an oncoming truck. When that happens, they pull a stupid face, and their life doesn't flash in front of their eyes 'cause their too damn scared to think. That's the face Wolfwood had. He only breathed his next sentence.
"Oh no." He whispered yet it was loud enough for Vash to hear, "it's him."
Later that night back at the at the place where Vash and his friends were staying they all gathered around the kitchen table to discuss the news they heard. Many families have these kinds of discussions, they usually happen either in the family room or a kitchen. Any kind of room that they come into the most often or rather any room that has a large enough table for all of them. Yet, at this meeting the only one who wasn't included was Knives, because this concerns his past and only Wolfwood knew the answer to it.
Vash stood up in his seat, "You know something about this, don't you Wolfwood?"
Meryl reached up to her loves sleeve, "Calm down Vash, he said he was going to explain so lets give him some time to explain."
Vash looked down at Meryl who smiled at him and he backed down.
"Thank you." Wolfwood said, "Back when I was in the Gung-Ho Guns, Chapel the Evergreen, my teacher, told me about someone within the group called Gun Grave the Undead. Though the details of who he was, how he was brought into the group and his abilities were a mystery. It's almost like the group had him kept away like a secret weapon to use."
"Against me?" Vash asked
"It could be." Wolfwood answered, "That was the reason for the creation of the Gung-Ho Guns for revenge against you."
"If all of this is revenge against Vash," Meryl speculated, "then its safe to assume that this Gun Grave will be coming after Vash?"
Wolfwood was silent and he only nodded in his answer.
"Then we must run." Meryl said quickly
Vash shook his head, "No, I've run away once before and I'm not doing it again. I'll stand my ground against this last Gung-Ho Gun."
"But," Meryl came to Vash's side with the welts of tears in her eyes. She saw Vash once badly injured because of a Gung-Ho Gun named Legato Bluesummers, and she couldn't bare to see him go through that again. "You know what will happen if you go up against him."
"I know that." Vash answered, "But it outweighs my alternative to run."
"I have to agree with Vash." Wolfwood added, "We must stay and fight him head to head. I'm certainly not going to run with my tail between my legs."
"Then it's agreed." Vash smiled.
* * *
Thousands of yarz away, the enormous Humpback class Sand Steamer rolled on through the desert. Onboard it carried a great array of passengers, one of them was a man that the entire planet of Gunsmoke didn't know whether to call him a hero or an outlaw. The man known as the 14th Gung-Ho Gun, Gun Grave the Undead. He was here traveling on his own, but little did he know of who else was here, at least until he ran into them.
He found out that the person he saved was here. The young beautiful brunet, Ms. Stephanie Bowstock was here on the Sand Steamer with him. She had also brought along her father and the Marshall named Maryanne. They were here, though to Gun Grave he wasn't sure if they were here purely be coincidence or if they were following him (perhaps stalking him). Though at the time that Mr. Bowstock (a.k.a. Grim Reaper Bowstock) met Gun Grave he was a little shocked to actually meet this man. He was enormous compared to him, he almost looked like some kind of dark giant and with a black cat on his shoulder. Mr. Bowstock didn't know if he should be afraid of Gun Grave or laugh at him. Then again he thought that laughing at him would be a bad choice, so he proceeded to ask his proposal.
"I have a proposition for you." He asked of Gun Grave
Gun Grave moved his lips and spoke in his mind, "Go ahead."
"I am here with my daughter, Stephanie." He explained, "She was the girl whom you saved from the Nebraska Family and the Big Brother Gang. I want you to keep a special eye on her during this trip."
"How much are you willing to pay me?" Gun Grave asked
"$100,000 double dollars." Mr. Bowstock said, "the price will triple if you can guard her as far as L and R town."
"Is that all?"
"There is one thing, your not allowed to touch her."
"I understand." It was a good thing that Stephanie wasn't around to hear this proposal, otherwise she would have made an enormous protest about it. Then again with the Marshall here, she might have been used as a chaperone between Gun Grave and Ms. Stephanie Bowstock to make sure that nothing happens between the two. Who would have guessed what would happen later that night?
Gun Grave sat on the bed with his coffin at his side and Kuroneko sitting on top of it looking towards the door. Just next door was Ms. Stephanie's room, hopefully if anything were to happen Gun Grave could get there in an instant. Though what Ms. Stephanie planned was something a little different.
To Ms. Stephanie, she had developed a feeling for Gun Grave, she couldn't exactly figure out what it was at first. Especially since she was trying to recover from the experience she had with her captors. She remembered how the Big Brother Gang kidnapped her from her shower like monsters in a fairy tale. She was forced to stand in front of them in her nakedness not being allowed to have one strip of clothing or shoes to protect her feet from the rocky ground. That was until Gun Grave came along, he killed them all to set her free and from that she felt something for this strange gunman. Then when she found him there on the Sand Steamer she fell in love with him, she never felt that kind of love for any other kind of man. On the other hand, Gun Grave wasn't like any other kind of man.
Knowing the kind of strict rules her father placed on her bodyguard (as Gun Grave became), she found a way to get passed it. Later that night when her father was asleep she sneaked over to her bodyguards' room. All the doors within the Sand Steamer were made of steel so she carefully knocked.
Inside Gun Grave room, he wasn't sitting on his bed like he was earlier. His clothes were laid out upon the bed nearly as if his body had turned to smoke and he sneaked out of them. His coffin still at the side of his bed with his cat still sitting there perched like a raven in Edgar Allen Poe poem.
The only sound was coming from the bathroom with the sound of running water. The shower was running, and Gun Grave was in it. The water ran over his body and amazingly enough his undead body didn't react adversly to the hot water. Thanks to all the precious bodily fluids he could collect he was able to keep himself in tact.
As he stood in the shower he heard a knock at the door. In his mind he reached out to see who was at his door. It was Ms. Stephanie Bowstock, the very woman whom he was hired to protect, but why was she at his door. He spoke out with his mind but numbed his mental voice to make it sound like he was calling from inside the room.
"Come in." He called The steel made door opened and in walked Miss Stephanie who had come over in her silky white nightdress and her hair all flowing down with no restraints. She walked in stepping gingerly, she saw the clothes on her bodyguards bed and the cat who stared up at her with its big yellow eyes.
"Nyaoo." It said at her.
"Oh." Stephanie said, "hello, kitty." She came over to the cat and began to pet it. The cat came up to meet Stephanie's hand as if he was saying, "who loves kitty? You love kitty?" Stephanie continued to pet and tickle the cats' chin that she didn't hear the sound of the water tuning off. She then heard a voice say,
"I see you found my cat." Miss Stephanie spun her head around and looked towards the bathroom and there was Gun Grave standing naked and moist from the hot water. Apparently he probably dried himself off in the shower and didn't bother to cover himself up. Then again with only him in this room why would he? He looked down at Miss Stephanie not caring to cover himself up at all.
To Ms. Stephanie, nothing like this had ever happened before in her entire life. She was witnessing first hand what a real man looks like underneath his clothes. She had to admit to herself that she felt a little bit aroused by all of this yet she looked to Gun Grave's chest and she felt shock. Within his chest were several bullet hole scars that were already deep brown from the scar tissue. His hair was long and black that came down to his shoulders that was still wet from the shower and his eye. His left eye was a metallic bionic eye. She raised her hands and covered her mouth as if she was about to scream but nothing came out.
Gun Grave moved his lips, "Why are you here?" Stephanie came back to the question that she heard, "I came to see you. I never properly thanked you for saving my life."
"I did what had to be done." Gun Grave stated never moving from his spot
Ms. Stephanie rose to her feet and approached her bodyguard trying to take her eyes away from his nudity and look into his face.
"You don't understand." She said, "when you saved me, it was the first time that anyone had done anything of that great kindness to me. As a child I was selfish, spoiled and disobedient. Yet, without my mother I was never told what a true woman should feel. Then you came to me and now I understand it."
Gun Grave felt confused as well as an unusual sensation in his chest. His heart was beating abnormally fast, but why?
"What is it that you understand?" He asked
Slowly, Miss Stephanie Bowstock brought up her hand to the strings that held her nightdress to her body. One strap came away from her shoulder and the other allowed the dress to fall around her ankles. She stood in front of Gun Grave in the same state of nakedness that he was. Now they were even, she saw him now he could see her.
"What I understand." Ms. Stephanie said, "is that I love you."
Gun Grave raised his arms and wrapped them around her. The feeling of bare skin against another was the most unusual of feelings for either
Gun Grave or Miss Stephanie to feel. As the two of them held each other, Gun Grave looked out to his coffin where his cat sat. He looked at him with his enormous yellow eyes as if warning him of the consequences that might happen from the action he would take. Yet the cat closed his eyes, got up on all fours, made one turn on the coffin and laid down to go to sleep.
Gun Grave felt an even better private feeling knowing that the cat wouldn't be watching, he took Miss Stephanie in his arms like a prince charming taking the princess to the tower. He brought her to the bed, and with one swipe the shoved all his clothes to the floor to make way for his love and himself in this bed. The two of them crawled under the cool sheets like little children at a sleepover. Then they kissed each other and under the stars, the glow of the moons and even the third red moon that had the hole chiseled into it, Gun Grave the Undead and Miss Stephanie Bowstock knew love in its most raw, purest, and more splendid form.
To be continued.