15.

It takes a few seconds of sputtering before my trachea is clear and I can speak. "Vash?"

"Yeah," says one of the men, surprised. "Do you know him?"

A woman nearby shakes her head and groans. "Of course he knows Vash… or knows of him. He's the planet's most wanted criminal, moron."

"He's… here?" I choke.

The woman shakes her head. "No, no. He left right after the tournament, and all for the better."

"Tournament? You mean he entered it?"

"Yeah. And tied for first place, too."

My jaw drops open. The world's best gunman entered and he… "Tied?!"