Day 152
Once again he emerges from the darkness, his icy blue eyes tentatively opening, letting in the hazy light. There is not so much pain, this time, though his left shoulder throbs abominably, he feels as if it is a healthy pain, a clean pain. He's still tied down, but he is not alone for next to him, sitting on the chair and leaning forward across the bed, is his brother.
He's sleeping; there are dark rings under his eyes, rings showing the stress of many nights restlessness, of many nights fighting the infection that was threatening Knives.
For a while Knives does nothing, he merely treasures this moment, when he can look at his brother in peaceful repose. All the pain of the world stripped away, all the false humanity, the joking, the fear, the armour. This is Vash as Knives once knew him, the child he played with on the SEEDS ship, the creature he loved, and perhaps still loves, more than anything upon this world.
At last, however, the dryness in his throat and mouth become unbareable and other painful sensations make themselves known.
'Vash,' he rasps, his voice horse from lack of water, 'Vash!'
His brother stirs slightly, Knives fears he will not awake, he's always been a deep sleeper, but his aqua eyes slowly open and he blearily takes in the sights around him. Then, like an old jack-in-the-box toy, complete with crazy hair and stupid grin, he sits bolt upright in the chair.
'Knives!' he gasps, 'you're awake! How are you feeling?'
'Thirsty,' croaks Knives, hoping his Vash can understand what he's saying, he could use telepathy but he thinks the mental strain might not be such a good idea at this time.
'Sure,' says Vash quickly, and reaches over to a bowl and sponge. He dampens the sponge in the water, then trickles some into Knives throat.
Knives drinks the water gratefully, relishing the moisture. He still feels sick and dizzy, still feels ill and hot, but the fever has gone at least, he can think clearly now.
'Vash,' he mutters his voice still weak.
'Yes?' responds his brother, pausing from administrating the water.
'Vash, I think… I think I'm ready to listen to you now.'
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Ach, sorry for such a short chapter, it's just the way it works I guess. To make up for it, the next chapter will be along VERY soon!
Aoi: Yeah, this is an important chapter because it kinda marks a turning point… keep on reading and you'll discover more. Humm… Knives was naked? I didn't notice that… wow… I wrote a naked Knives without realizing it… how cool can you get? Sorry about the darkening sky bit, I guess it didn't come out as clear as it was meant to, yeah, it was Steve. Sorry. I've read some Manga translations but no Manga itself. It looks pretty cool, but as I know the Anime better I've based my story mainly of that. Sorry. I can't picture Knives feeling particually bothered he'd caused humans headaches, but I think he's got soo many other things to worry about to be jumping for joy right now. Thanks for the feedback anyway! I love useful stuff like this!
EmpressGalaxia: I'm happy you liked this chapter, this one is not so much introspective but rather too short! The reader replies will be longer than the narration! But don't worry, the next part will be up soon.
Ron The Future Weasel: Oh, sorry for keeping you waiting! Still, I can't help but feel slightly smug I made you check your E-mail account to much! Was Dream-Vash real or not? Mmmm… even I'm not sure about that one. If he wasn't real (as he claimed) then Vash really will know nothing, if he was lying however then I still can't picture Vash being upfront about it. I picture Knives being rather picky about his mental privacy. Yes, silly Knives, very, very silly!
ATO: I'm so happy the musing angle is working, I think it shows the intelligence of the readership that they can take this kind of narrative, rather than something full of guns and kisses, as it were. I feel so privilaged to have such a wonderful selection of readers!
Angelstryke: You hate Rem? How could you! Lol! She is a bit wimpy I guess, but sweet, I'm glad you didn't hate her too much here. It's also so good to know I'm getting the dialogue right. I hope Knives' little decision here lives up to your expectations. I'm not going to turn him good over night, but now I think he's on the path to at least *listening* to what his brother's saying. Which, if nothing else, is a start.
Calumongal: YAY! You're still with us! :glomp: And with such praise too! You have Knives down to a T! It's SO the problem with him, he's so sane and yet so… insane. It makes him a fun, if difficult character to write. Yeah, I love writing polar opposites, even though, in some ways, Vash and Knives aren't? They do share a hell of a lot in common, their stubbornness, their fixation upon their ideals… stuff which links them together as much as it draws them apart. I once heard that a good villain should be as close to the main character as possible, should only be two or three steps away from what the Main Character could become, this is what makes Knives and Vash such excellent characters to write, the knowledge that if just a few things had happened slightly differently it could be Vash screaming about saving butterflies and Knives running around with Meryl and Millie. Scary, huh? Heh, I'm glad I've addicted you to this plot, don't worry too much though, you'll get your next 'fix' soon!
Thanks for reviewing again! PLEASE keep it up! You make writing this all worth while. Also, if you like my style check out my other two, very short Trigun fics. Leave reviews too, if you can. AND, if you hold a fondness for X-Men Evo, you might want to check those fics out too, whatever character you like, I've most probably written about it!
See you all next time!