[A/N- this will be a AS timeline story (ya, kinda early in the show but oh
well) cause I felt like returning to the classicality of those first few
epies...]
flashback
"Job!" The girl called after him, hoping he would hear her through the roar of the wind in the dust storm. The boy turned, a foolish grin on his face. He had dusty brown hair, almost blonde, and he had the deepest blue eyes. The girl had similarly colored hair, but slightly lighter with bright purple eyes. "You gonna call me that when we're married?" He asked, giving her a suspicious glance. "Depends on if it still fits you." She stuck her nose in the air, continuing on her way toward the town.
end
"It fit you all right." The woman peered down into her glass as if it were a crystal ball to the past. The red of the wine reflected in her eyes and she took a deep drink before replacing the empty glass on the countertop. She had changed since those years, her hair was bleached almost white by the sun and her eyes had deepened the way they do with experiences of great importance. "What fits?" A man seated himself on the stool next to her. He had blonde hair, bright green eyes, and was dressed all in red. "Just revisiting the past" She turned to look at the stranger, wondering if he was kind or just after a date. "The past is only relevant if you learn something from it" another voice said from behind her. She turned to see another man, this time he had bluish black hair with a suit not completely buttoned up. The men seemed to recognize each other and greeted one another. "Hey, Vash! Fancy meeting you here!" "Same here preacher"
"Vash the stampede?" The woman questioned, though she didn't seem too surprised. Not much surprised her any more, especially about people. "Yeah," he replied sheepishly, obviously looking for the shock or fear he expected on her face. She just smirked into the empty glass. "My name's Kate, but most people just call me Banshee" it was her turn to look for shocked expressions. "The woman who killed an entire caravan with just three rounds?" the preacher's expression turned serious. "Wouldn't know" she turned to face them, if they hadn't already left after that they had to be pretty interesting. "What do you mean you wouldn't know?" this time it was Vash who was interested in her answer.
She flashed each of them glare and turned back to her empty glass. "More like that entire caravan tried to kill me. It was a prison caravan and the convicts had escaped with the guards already dead when I arrived." She frowned at her glass, wondering why she was explaining herself. "Why were you there?" The question stung at the memory of her reason, and she frown still deeper. "Revenge" she said simply, once again turning to face the two men. "Now that's not much of a reason to kill over a hundred people." The voice came from inside her head; it was him, why did he always bother her at times like this? The memories of him always just popped up and left her listening to five year old advice.
"Revenge? Why would a pretty lady like you be after revenge?" Kate saw right through his naïf act but decided to answer anyway. "Because the man I was after killed my fiancée and almost killed me." she saw what she always hated to see in people's eyes, that inescapable look that seemed to haunt her footsteps, pity. Then the crack rang in her head again and she closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the pain. But she let the crack continue as a way to punish herself for telling her story again. She turned to smile a painfully bright smile at the two men who stared at her confused.
"Excuse me but are these two men bothering you?" A woman with short blue hair stepped over behind the two men and a tall brown-haired woman stepped up behind her. "There are few people who don't bother me. And you two are?" "Merrill Strife and Millie Thomson, we're employees of the Bernardeli Insurance Society." Kate cocked an eyebrow at the foursome, curious as to exactly what she'd gotten herself into. "Who are you people? An outlaw? A preacher? And two insurance agents?! You've got to be joking" she looked about at the sheepish grins on each face. "I had a hard time believing it myself at first" Merrill sighed and plopped down onto the chair of a nearby table.
"I've heard a lot of conflicting rumors about you Vash the Stampede. Some say you're a murderer, some a hero. Which is it? No, don't answer that, I'll just give you the test" Kate's smile faded into a smirk as she leaned back in her chair. "What kind of test? We're here to minimize damages caused by-" "Oh, no, nothing like that... Are you his girlfriend or something?" The question shocked Merrill and she had to blink a few times before she could answer. "No! ...I mean, what would give you that idea?" She frowned. Vash just stood there blinking and looking from Kate to Merrill. "Oh, sorry it's just... I don't know, it was just a crazy hunch." Kate said lightly and returned her attention to Vash.
flashback
"Job!" The girl called after him, hoping he would hear her through the roar of the wind in the dust storm. The boy turned, a foolish grin on his face. He had dusty brown hair, almost blonde, and he had the deepest blue eyes. The girl had similarly colored hair, but slightly lighter with bright purple eyes. "You gonna call me that when we're married?" He asked, giving her a suspicious glance. "Depends on if it still fits you." She stuck her nose in the air, continuing on her way toward the town.
end
"It fit you all right." The woman peered down into her glass as if it were a crystal ball to the past. The red of the wine reflected in her eyes and she took a deep drink before replacing the empty glass on the countertop. She had changed since those years, her hair was bleached almost white by the sun and her eyes had deepened the way they do with experiences of great importance. "What fits?" A man seated himself on the stool next to her. He had blonde hair, bright green eyes, and was dressed all in red. "Just revisiting the past" She turned to look at the stranger, wondering if he was kind or just after a date. "The past is only relevant if you learn something from it" another voice said from behind her. She turned to see another man, this time he had bluish black hair with a suit not completely buttoned up. The men seemed to recognize each other and greeted one another. "Hey, Vash! Fancy meeting you here!" "Same here preacher"
"Vash the stampede?" The woman questioned, though she didn't seem too surprised. Not much surprised her any more, especially about people. "Yeah," he replied sheepishly, obviously looking for the shock or fear he expected on her face. She just smirked into the empty glass. "My name's Kate, but most people just call me Banshee" it was her turn to look for shocked expressions. "The woman who killed an entire caravan with just three rounds?" the preacher's expression turned serious. "Wouldn't know" she turned to face them, if they hadn't already left after that they had to be pretty interesting. "What do you mean you wouldn't know?" this time it was Vash who was interested in her answer.
She flashed each of them glare and turned back to her empty glass. "More like that entire caravan tried to kill me. It was a prison caravan and the convicts had escaped with the guards already dead when I arrived." She frowned at her glass, wondering why she was explaining herself. "Why were you there?" The question stung at the memory of her reason, and she frown still deeper. "Revenge" she said simply, once again turning to face the two men. "Now that's not much of a reason to kill over a hundred people." The voice came from inside her head; it was him, why did he always bother her at times like this? The memories of him always just popped up and left her listening to five year old advice.
"Revenge? Why would a pretty lady like you be after revenge?" Kate saw right through his naïf act but decided to answer anyway. "Because the man I was after killed my fiancée and almost killed me." she saw what she always hated to see in people's eyes, that inescapable look that seemed to haunt her footsteps, pity. Then the crack rang in her head again and she closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the pain. But she let the crack continue as a way to punish herself for telling her story again. She turned to smile a painfully bright smile at the two men who stared at her confused.
"Excuse me but are these two men bothering you?" A woman with short blue hair stepped over behind the two men and a tall brown-haired woman stepped up behind her. "There are few people who don't bother me. And you two are?" "Merrill Strife and Millie Thomson, we're employees of the Bernardeli Insurance Society." Kate cocked an eyebrow at the foursome, curious as to exactly what she'd gotten herself into. "Who are you people? An outlaw? A preacher? And two insurance agents?! You've got to be joking" she looked about at the sheepish grins on each face. "I had a hard time believing it myself at first" Merrill sighed and plopped down onto the chair of a nearby table.
"I've heard a lot of conflicting rumors about you Vash the Stampede. Some say you're a murderer, some a hero. Which is it? No, don't answer that, I'll just give you the test" Kate's smile faded into a smirk as she leaned back in her chair. "What kind of test? We're here to minimize damages caused by-" "Oh, no, nothing like that... Are you his girlfriend or something?" The question shocked Merrill and she had to blink a few times before she could answer. "No! ...I mean, what would give you that idea?" She frowned. Vash just stood there blinking and looking from Kate to Merrill. "Oh, sorry it's just... I don't know, it was just a crazy hunch." Kate said lightly and returned her attention to Vash.