THREE MONTHS LATER
Their mission was done. The very last plant angel had been freed. The past two days had been filled with much celebration and laughter, as everyone involved enjoyed their much-earned vacation. The reaching of such an immense goal was almost euphoric, just barely simmering down into what-do-we-do-now?
Of course, Meryl knew exactly what they were going to do now. Or more specifically, Vash and Knives - which is why Vash was seeking his brother out at the moment.
His self-punishment was starting to infringe on Vash's free agency.
"Yo, Knives!" Vash waved vigorously as he barged into the well-lit, private atrium, catching his brother leaning casually against a tree with his arms folded across his chest. It hadn't been difficult to track him down. Knives spent most of his time here. He didn't say it outright, but Vash was certain he was still hopelessly exiling himself from Meryl.
And Meryl's one priority at the moment was to fix that.
Knives didn't bother to glance up, his seemingly bored, detached expression betrayed by an uncharacteristic twinkle in his icy stare.
Meryl was right, Vash thought guardedly, not surprised to find a certain little girl sitting just a few feet away, with a pen fisted in one chubby hand, and a notepad in the other. Our Kylie seems to lift his spirits.
Her brunette hair was piggy-tailed, and Milly had dressed her in a cute white-laced sundress which was now smudged with dirt. She blinked at him with a still pseudo-apprehensive expression. Vash had always had a special connection with children, but he admittedly had a tough time getting this one to warm up to him…which was odd, considering she adored Knives, who was about as generous with his hugs and smiles as a marble statue.
He nodded hello to Kylie, who shied from his presence, and quirked his head at Knives. "So…about that trip we're supposed to go on—"
Knives held a finger to his lips, and frowned at Vash. Then wordlessly, he jerked his chin at the girl's notepad. She eyed Vash warily as he bent over and scrunched his eyes. There was a good amount of scribbling going on. "So you've taken to drawing, eh? Good for you, kiddo!" Vash said exuberantly as he squatted down and reached over to ruffle her hair when Knives collared him back, with a mental reprimand that scorched Vash's inner ears.
Idiot. Don't invade her personal space. If she wants to make physical contact with you, then let HER do the initiating.
But Meryl and Milly…and our sisters…
Are female.
Oh… With a mental thwap, Vash grinned stupidly down at the wary child. "What a lovely picture! I wish I could draw half as well—"
"Picture?" Knives asked incredulously. "What do you mean, 'picture'?"
"Uh…"
"Look again."
Vash did as told. And he saw…scribbles. He shrugged sheepishly, and Knives rolled his eyes and came to the rescue. "It's her name," he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Vash's eyes widened. "Her name?"
Knives pushed off the tree, and knelt down next to her, pointing out the hardly defined lines. "KY – LI – E." He looked up at Vash, an underlying pride shining through his irritation. Vash couldn't see the letters to save his life, but something far more important was going on here.
"You taught her this?"
Knives ignored his question and looked back at the girl, eyes crinkling just the slightest. "Watch this," he said to Vash, and then took the pen from her and wrote down five single-digit numbers in big bold strokes. "Is there a 4 in this group, Kylie?"
Abruptly shy, she hesitated.
"It's okay. Go on," Knives urged.
She gradually focused all her concentration on the paper. After several seconds, she raised her brow questioningly at her mentor. "N-no?"
It was slight – Vash might have missed it had he not been gawking, but the corners of Knives' lips actually raised a hair. He had smiled. Actually smiled. "Correct. There is no number 4 in this group. Now…is there a number 2?"
She frowned at the paper again. It was absolutely adorable, Vash decided, how serious she looked when she was trying to concentrate. After a moment she gasped with all the excitement of discovery and shoved her finger into the paper over the number 2, and nodded.
"Bien hecho, Kylie," Knives affirmed. Vash recognized the phrase. It was one Rem had used often, whenever they accomplished something. He wondered how much of their foster mother's influence had crept back into Knives' mannerisms since the catalyst. He smiled, keeping the thoughts to himself.
Knives stood back up, looking at Vash expectantly. Vash exhaled in an honest chuckle, and shook his head.
"Yes. That's amazing. Truly, it is." Though he wasn't sure what was more remarkable – that she'd picked that up in a matter of days, or that Knives had had enough patience to teach her. Kylie grinned hugely and covered her face with her hands. Then after a few giggles, she routinely tried to emulate the numbers Knives had written down.
The brothers stood in quiet amusement as they watched her, and a comfortable silence fell. Vash stole a sidelong glance at his brother, who seemed oblivious of the change. I wonder if he's even aware of what's happening to him…
"I think she was being protected," Knives said under his breath as he tenderly watched his star pupil.
"Protected? Back in Manti?"
Knives shook his head impatiently. "No. I mean...there's a hidden greatness about her, Vash. Can't you feel it? It's like whoever she was before birth was so heroic and good, that whatever powers were in charge of placing her soul made sure it would go in a body that could never be capable of corruption, or true sin. To protect her spirit until it could return." His eyes grew distant. "Whole and unblemished."
"Knives…" Vash couldn't stop from staring. It was so religious, the commentary almost didn't compute. "Do you…really feel that way?"
He shrugged. "There's something there, Vash. I can sense it when I try to read her mind." He grew more pensive, his thoughts wandering elsewhere besides the room they were in. "I wonder if that's the case with all those who are born forever children."
"You mean those who are handicapped?"
Nod.
"Wow…" Vash shook his head in bewilderment. Who was he to doubt him? Considering a pre-existence, and a post-existence, and fates of all life, it did make a unique sort of sense. And the observation, so noble… "Then you probably don't mind the assignment Meryl has lined up for you."
Even mentioning her name was like throwing water in his brother's face. Knives quickly regained composure and snorted. "You mean the one where she wants us to systematically comb through oasis after oasis on an impossible charity erand, seeking out the abandoned and afflicted, easing their woes?"
"Yeah."
"That bossy woman thinks too big."
"Yeah." Vash eyed his brother with a sarcastic smirk. "Remember how she actually thought you and I could work together to free every single plant angel on this planet?" Vash rolled his eyes and threw his head back in an over-exaggerated gesture. "Keh! Such nonsense."
Knives glared at him, but it wasn't a serious glare. "Don't mock me." Then he grew more pensive, his voice quiet. "I know what she's doing, Vash."
Vash's mouth opened to give a reflexive response, and then reconsidered. "I had wondered," he smiled ruefully, and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "But you'll go regardless…" It was more a statement than a question.
Knives scoffed. "Could you imagine what she'd do to me if I said no?"
"No kidding. She'd probably corner you in one of these rooms."
"Hn."
"And talk to you."
"Shut up."
"She might even touch you—umph!" Vash's words were cut short by a sharp elbow jab to his ribs. He recovered, half-laughing with his arms wrapped around his abdomen. Knives stood casually, as though his arms had been folded the entire time. Vash leaned on his shoulder to straighten. "You know, between Meryl and Milly, they have a written down response for almost every situation one would come across on this new project. If they're broken, fix them, if they're unjustly persecuted, relocate them, if they're abandoned, bring them home…"
Knives feigned indifference.
Vash sighed. "It's too many rules for me to memorize…"
Indifference shifted to suspicion, and he eyed Vash skeptically. "What are you up to?"
Your soul is healing whether you realize it or not, brother. In which case, it's time you stopped shutting her out, he thought to himself, quickly deciding that subtlety was a better policy. With his hands clasped behind his back, Vash strode nonchalantly over to a large, spacious window. "I don't feel like going."
That got Knives' attention. "What do you mean you don't feel like going? We're just starting with one of the populated oases. We'll be there and back in a few days."
Vash shrugged, as though it were no big deal, and turned to wink at him. "Meryl's the one who came up with the idea, and you're the one who seems to have the heart for it. Makes sense to me that the two of you go by yourselves."
Knives paled. "Meryl's staying here. She said she was."
Vash raised his brow as though he were an insider to some great secret. "Well…"
"Vash," Knives said, taking a few terse steps in his direction. "You don't understand—"
Vash grew serious. "You're willing to help the masses, but when it comes to filling a void in the heart of the one woman on this planet who actually loves you—"
The atmosphere changed the second the words left his mouth. Knives transitioned rapidly from panicked to defensive to...something else. He pursed his lips, and eyed Vash knowingly. "You mean the void left by you?"
Vash startled. Of all the directions this conversation could go, he hadn't anticipated...
"She spent years pining after you, you dolt," Knives berated. "Don't tell me you never noticed."
Vash bowed his head, and started fiddling with the hem of his sleeve. "I...noticed."
Knives' eyes widened just a fraction and then narrowed back to normal. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You feign density better than anyone I've ever met."
Vash exhaled in a light chuckle, and then a tense pause followed. He knew what was coming. And he readied himself for it. Knives shifted, finally letting his inevitable curiosity show itself. He didn't even bother to cover it up.
"If you knew…then why didn't you…ever…?"
"Return her affections?" Vash's smiled wistfully and looked out the window at some random point on the horizon. Nostalgia washed over him like an old dream as he reflected on that pivotal time, years ago, when he'd thought she was in danger of becoming a pawn in Knives' plans. His realization of how he felt about her in that moment had been so overwhelming, he could barely calm his heart down enough to breathe.
And he recalled with a bittersweet melancholy how he turned right around and gave it all up when he saw the look in her eyes, as she expressed faith in his malevolent, unreachable sibling. Trading it all in for a nearly lost hope… "Because I wanted my brother back," he whispered, too emotional for voice. "If I would have taken all she had to give, then she wouldn't have had enough love left for you."
Vash pushed off the window and walked over to clasp a firm hand over the right shoulder of his blue-eyed twin, who was too stupefied by the information to even respond. He looked at Knives solemnly. "I have no regrets, brother. Just be happy."