Day 365
He knows something is wrong as soon as he opens his eyes.
It's late morning to mid afternoon, the sunlight streams bright and hazy though the small window of his room, offending his eyes somewhat. His mouth feels clogged and fury, his head aches slightly. He's never been hung over, but he imagines this is a little of what it must feel like.
These feelings, however, are not what are concerning him.
The house is quiet, too quiet. He can't hear the familiar shuffling of his brother moving around, he can't hear him at all. Normally this would suggest he's simply left the house for a bit, but there is more to it than that.
Something is defiantly wrong.
He rubs his eyes and groans, trying to chase away the last of his sleep, then manages to get up. He stumbles around until he finds his cloths and after dressing hastily he moves to the main room, hoping for some explanation.
He senses it as soon as he enters the room, the silence speaks volumes, there's an explanation in every bare space, the consolidation in the sound of the dust falling.
Vash has gone.
There are empty spaces upon the work top, when he checks his room he finds Vash's cloths are missing, as are other important objects of his.
Vash has left him.
Tentatively, he reaches out with his mind, seeking his brother… yes, yes he feels him. He's alive and not distressed, but he is far away and does not seek further contact with Knives' questing mind.
Vash has abandoned him.
He slumps onto one of the chairs, his hands dangling between his knees. Why? Why? Things were finally going so well, they were finally brothers once again, why did Vash leave?
At that moment something catches Knives' eyes, and he silently curses himself for being such an unobservational idiot.
For upon the table there is a small peace of paper folded off and with the word 'Knives' written upon it in Vash's familiar, bold handwriting. Next to it is a large package wrapped in brown paper, also with his name on it.
Carefully, Knives reaches out for the letter first. He carefully unfolds it, studying the layout. His brother has made an effort to shrink his writing so it will all fit upon the page; it's disjointed and a little childish, but well spelt and grammatically correct for the most part. In the corner there's a little doodle, of the type Vash is so fond of. Small, simple, vaguely humorous if that's the kind of thing that tickles your fancy.
Taking a deep breath, preparing himself, Knives starts to read is brother's letter.
Dear Knives.
Hi!
Or should it be bye? I'm not too good at writing extended letters so you're going to have to hold with me. I guess I should apologise first, about the coffee. Yes, I did drug it, I didn't want to risk waking you up as I packed and besides, I wanted a good head start.
Now don't go getting angry, even if it's what you do best, I'm not abandoning you or anything, I'm setting you free.
See, do you know what day it is today Knives?
June the 21st,(1) our birthday.
So I figured, after over 100 years, it's time I got you a birthday present, right? Well, here it is. Your freedom.
When we had that talk, all that time ago, about finding our own paths? I meant it, that's all I want Knives, to give you a second chance, to make you go your own way, choose you own path not have it shaped for you by the past.
But you can't do that if I'm by your side all the time. Remember when we were together all those years ago? Wandering across the desert? Well, it'd be just like that, only instead of me following you, it'd be the other way round. I might try to lead you to my Eden, but I don't know that you'd want that.
You've got to find your own route, Knives, your own way. You've got to do it on your own, for a while at least.
I know this might mean you don't go where I want you to go. Hell, for all I know you might just restart the Gung Ho Guns again; you might realize that your old ways are the best. Well, if you do then that's your decision and I'll do all I can to stop you. Even if it means killing you.
I really hope you don't decide that, but I've got to have faith that you can choose your own path.
But it's my birthday too, you know, and I want a present as well. I did think of asking you for my own doughnut factory, but I decided against it.
Here's what I want, I want a promise.
I want you to promise that you won't hurt anyone unnecessarily and that you won't kill anyone, that for this year you'll try to live in love and peace. You'll give the humans a chance.
Then, when this year is over, return here and I'll be waiting for you, and then we'll talk. That's all I ask, no killing for at least this year.
Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself, as you well know. Please don't follow me, either; this is about your journey, not mine. I'll be around if you really need me, but in the mean time I'm going to check some people up. Sort out some stuff.
You look after yourself and other people too, if you can.
Happy Birthday.
Love Vash (The Stampede.)
Love and Peace!
PS: The package is also for you, I had it made specially. I don't really know if you want it, I'll understand if you leave it behind and all. But I hope you like it anyway.
Knives slowly sets the letter down, absorbing the words. Then, when he felt he understands, he reads it again to make sure. He looks at the doodle in the corner closely and smiles to himself. It depicts a crude, cartoon Vash holding something that looked like a train ticket which is, unsurprisingly, blank.
He puts the letter down at last and turns his attention towards the large, brown paper package.
It is heavy in his hands, but also soft, squishy. He opens it carefully, resisting the urge to simply rip it open. As the leaves of brown paper are parted, they reveal a pale, blue, leather fabric, covered in belts and buttons and hoops.
He takes it completely out of its packaging, straightening it out and standing up, so he might look at it completely.
It's a coat, so similar it might as well be the same as Vash's own garment, except it is a pale blue rather than red and has two, full sized sleeves.
He admires it for a moment, feeling its weight in his hands.
After a little thought he puts it on, seeing how it feels upon his shoulders, wondering what he looks like.
He moves into Vash's room and opens the door to the wardrobe, which has a large, full mirror on one of the doors, he examines himself critically.
The coat is heavy and rather hot, but there are numerous pocket within it in which various items may be hidden. It's built with a lot of manoeuvrability, too, despite the long, trailing tails Knives feels fairly secure he'll not have to worry about being tripped over by them, or feeling overly confined. And undoubtedly the thick hide of the coat might protect him against some abrasions and so forth.
The blue seems a little strange, but it shows off the colour of his eyes nicely. Its form and style is a little odd, it tends to make him look a lot thinner and scrawnier than he actually is. It doesn't show off the breadth of his shoulders, something Knives has always liked to display.
Still, that will serve to make him seem unthreatening; it might even make him look a little taller.
Straightening the coat, Knives nods to himself in the mirror, he comes to a decision.
Yes, I promise, Vash he thinks, sending out the message telepathically.
He receives no reply but does feel a slight echo of satisfaction, of joy. He knows Vash has heard.
Sighing to himself he looks out of the window, out into the bright sunlight, out into the dusty town and sandy dunes, out into the new day.
(1) This would, coincidentally, not only make their birth date the same as the day of July's destruction, but it would make both Vash and Knives Gemini.
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Note: We're reaching the end now folks, sorry this took so long to get out. But my uni-tests are finally over and things are going at a slower pace now, so hopefully you won't have such a long wait for the next chapter.
Reader's Replies:
Magnet Rose: All I can possibly say to this is :D.
SanoGirl: Thanks, this was very much a filler and atmospheric chapter. I'm sorry this is ending soon, but there's still one more chapter to go! I hope this one explained a bit more and tied a few more loose ends.
Aoi: Heh, was your 'tired' question answered? Yes, I do love cats! I think Knives is very much like a cat (and Vash is a bit like a Dog, bless him.) Even though I like cats, I've got to admit they are a little evil at times. But that's sweet, don't you think?
Communist Penguin: Well, it was only a filler, necessary but I agree, not one of my best. I hope the ending (so far) is satisfactory. There's still the epilogue to go though, so don't sign off just yet!
ATO: Ooooo! A long review! Well, if I were you I'd keep it until the next chapter and the epilogue, (unless you want to post two long reviews, which is also good!) Anyway, I've loved your continued support, and I hope your new computer works well and all. I can't help but feel a little sorry for you, I don't know where I'd be without my computer! I need it so much to work from! But yes, I look forward to hearing from you! (BTW, loved the drabbles… I must write a review on them…)
Ron the Future Weasel: Hi! You hit the nail on the head! Well done, have a cookie! Do you like the ending so far? I'm trying to stay within the Trigun ethos as it were. I'm sure some people will hate this ending though… ah well… see you at the epilogue!
Zolac no Miko: Come on, I can't write a 20 chapters without Kuroneko-Sama showing up somewhere! He'll make another quick appearance before this ends too! Again, well guessed, you weren't hallucinating! I wanted to make it obvious, besides writing a sleepy Knives is cute, and even Knives is aloud to be cute occasionally.
Sess101: Yay! Another favourites list! Ooh, scary… you're watching me! AUGH! I'm sorry I've been taking so long to post chapters, I hope it doesn't bother too much. I've been living rather a hectic life-style at the moment. Oh yes, and I am evil to my readers… but that's half the fun! I hope you found an explanation here.
LeDiz: Bummer about the review. And YES! A working keyboard, no offence meant but that makes reading your reviews a lot easier. Oh yeah, writing Knives as cute was fun, it was a little OOC perhaps, but I think everyone is aloud to be cute every now and then. This was Knives cute moment. (That and when he was a little kid, he had some cuteness then too!) Well done on picking up the foreshadowing, what do you think of this chapter? I do think Vash is a little evil… or rather I don't hold the belief that he is entirely good. Mostly, certainly, but he is a little tricky, if you know what I mean. No one that's lead his kind of life can be entirely and utterly pure, though he comes darn close. I'm looking forward to your next review!
NEXT TIME: The Epilogue, where Knives finally gets the answer to the following question…
How far is Eden?