A Graceful Recurrence

Vash looked out over the expansive desert from a point on a high dune and wondered, not for the first time that day, where his brother was. For ten years he had searched over the dry planet for any sign of Knives and so far his search had proven quite futile. When Knives wished to hide from others, he could not be found easily. Vash had learned this lesson well from their childhood together on the SEEDS ship, although most of the time they were almost inseparable. There, Knives had had an entire ship to explore and find nooks and crannies in which to secret himself away from the other crew members for days if he wished to be alone to think. Here, Knives had an entire planet full of possible hiding places. Just thinking about all the possibilities made Vash feel the beginnings of a headache gearing up within his brain matter.

The tall Plant took a deep breath and let it go. Worrying about Knives' location was not going to find the other Plant. Action was the only thing that would. He started down the dune, determined to continue on his quest even if it took the rest of his lifetime, however long that was.

His stomach rumbled quietly, notifying him of its empty state. Although, as a Plant, he did not require food to live, he enjoyed it a great deal and so his stomach was used to regular input. If he ignored the complaints, they would stop within a day or so though he would feel slightly uncomfortable for another couple of days afterwards.

Idly, he wondered if he would be able to find food today. He had finished the last of his provisions the night before and he was now really hungry. "Traveling sure takes a lot out of you," he muttered to himself as he trudged doggedly through the never-ending wasteland of Gunsmoke.

Because he was bored and wanted to pass the time, he began humming to himself and old, cherished song. Well, he hummed it not entirely because he was bored. The fact is he used almost every excuse that came his way to recall the song to mind. Doing so kept it fresh inside of him, ensuring the fact that his memory of the song, and its originator, would never grow old or tarnished. "So... hitotsu-me no yoru ni izuko kara koishi ga sekai ni ochiru…" He could hear her singing as clearly as though it had been only yesterday that he first heard the song. "Rem…" he muttered her name carefully, caressing precious memories of her with the love in his voice.

He was distracted from thoughts of her by his feet carrying him to the crest of another dune. It was like any of the others, plain and uninteresting, except for one fact; it allowed him to see the small town in the distance. Vash let out a little whoop of joy and raced down the dune, exhilarated by the thought of food.

The tall Plant decided to stop and eat at an old diner that was situated on the very edge of the town. The paint on the building was cracked and peeling, telling a story that it had obviously seen better days, and from inside the diner, shouting was faintly heard. He opened the old door of the diner and walked in, its rusty hinges squeaking in anguish as it closed shut behind him. The shouting that he had heard from the outside had suddenly stopped and his brow crinkled as he wondered what the source of the noise was.  "Hello?" he called out, his eyes scanning the diner for any human, or otherwise, sign of life. "Anyone home?"

"One minute please!" someone called from the kitchen loudly in a smooth, feminine voice. The words were followed by a sharp clang and a shuffling sound similar to feet on a hard floor. Vash removed his sunglasses and sat down on a stool at the counter, idly wondering what was going on back there. He craned his neck and tried to look through the cook's window when an old woman walked through the swinging door. "Ah ah ah! No peeking!" she chided him teasingly, a kind smile crinkling her worn features.

"Hi there!" Vash smiled back at her, recognizing a kindred spirit when he saw one.

"I assume you're hungry?" she pulled a pad and pencil from an apron pocket, her eyes twinkling.

"Starving, actually!" His stomach grumbled in agreement and he laughed. "I hope you've got enough food back there 'cause I feel like I could eat a whole thomas!"

Suddenly, the swinging door burst open, nearly hitting the older woman, and a stocky man stormed out, his face red. "Yeah, she's got enough food but she ain't got a cook!" he snarled and stomped out of the diner. The lady looked slightly taken aback but Vash suspected that she had known this was coming.

He swallowed nervously in the awkward silence and fiddled with his glasses. "Well, um… you know, I could just cook the food myself…" he offered, giving the frail-looking woman an understanding look.

"Oh, I couldn't…" she began protesting but he waved his hand.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Just show me around the kitchen and we can talk while I cook." He smiled winningly at her.

"Well, if it really doesn't matter to you…" She led him into the kitchen and he began preparing his meal, conversing with her as he did so. Her name was Grace Clark and she had owned the diner for over forty years, having opened it with her husband in their youth. He was now long dead, the unfortunate victim of a thomas stampede, but she had kept the diner and continued running it, much to the irritation of her daughter and son, who both believed that she deserved a well-earned retirement.

When the conversation turned to him and his personal affairs, Vash kept detail to a minimum, omitting his 'title' and only saying that he was searching for his brother who had disappeared a few years back. At this, Grace gave him a comforting pat on the back, assuring him that he would find his brother soon, that he was 'such a nice boy' and good things came to people like him. Vash smiled at her and thanked her, painfully hiding his inner emotional turmoil. If good things come to those like me, then why am I always surrounded by torment and death? He quietly mourned for those who were lost while he hid behind a tall mound of food, stuffing his face to mask the grief painted there.

As he was finishing his meal and beginning to clean up, he heard the front door of the diner moan as someone entered. Grace looked up sharply and a small grimace crossed her face. "The lunch crowd. Oh, why did Terrance have to quit in the middle of the day?" she stood from where she had been sitting across from Vash at the small table in the kitchen and walked toward the swinging door, saying, "Just give me a moment, Vash. I need to tell them there's no lunch today."

"Just a minute!" Vash stood up hurriedly, wiping off his face with a cloth napkin. "From what I gather, lunch is the only time you really get any business. No offense, but from the looks of the diner, you need all the business you can get. How about I cook for you today?" he grinned at her.

"I can't ask you to do that!" she exclaimed.

"You're not asking, Grace. I'm offering. How about it'll be payment for my lunch. I did eat a lot." She opened her mouth to protest further and he cut her off. "I insist!"

She stood speechless for moment but then calls from the waiting customers seemed to shock her back to life. "Thank you," she smiled at him, tears in her eyes. He nodded gently and she walked through the swinging door to greet the hungry townspeople.

Vash soon discovered how hard the job of a cook was and just how hot a kitchen could get. Within the first fifteen minutes of cooking the hot lunches and shuffling quickly around the kitchen in an effort to be as efficient as possible, he had shed his heavy red coat in favor of the white shirt that he had on underneath it and was made of a more breathable material. Shortly thereafter though he found that not even that was adequate to keep him cool and so he went questing along the back wall of the diner. To his delight, he found a door there that he could open to let in air to cool him as he cooked.

When the lunch crowd finally dissipated, Vash thankfully collapsed in a booth and laid his head on the table's cool surface. "Whew! I never knew so much food could be made so fast!" he exclaimed as Grace poured him a glass of water.

"Thanks again for helping me," she said, smiling gratefully as she handed him the water.

He took a long gulp of the cool water before replying. "No problem! It was my pleasure."

"So you will be leaving now to continue your search for your brother?"

Vash nodded, his smile sad. "Yeah, I can't give up on him now. I've been looking for ten years and I'm not stopping at this point. And I owe it to the girl…"

"A girl? What girl?"

"He had a little girl with him when he left," Vash answered, leaving out how Knives had obtained her into his company. "She was five years old. Her name was Yume."

"Ten years ago, you say?" Grace was looking at the far wall, almost as though she was lost in thought… or memory.

"Do you know anything?" Vash stood up, his exhaustion forgotten and he stared at the old woman with a face full of renewed hope. "Tell me everything. Please."

"Yes, yes. Of course. About ten years ago a man and a girl came here. She introduced them as Yume and 'Knives-sama.' He said he had no money and so he told me to only give the girl water. I became quite fond of the little girl though, she was so sweet, and so I gave her a free meal. I would have also given him one but he declined the offer. He acted offended, as though the thought of eating food was foreign and detestable. He told me they were heading to the town of Gorge. It's not too far from here, as you probably already know."

The gray-haired woman looked up at Vash, peering closely at his face. "I thought you looked familiar. He looks just like you, you know." She shook her head then, "Except for your eyes. They're so different. Yours are warm, kind. His were cold, sharp. Like ice." Grace smiled then. "Sorry, forgive my rambling. I'm old and sometimes my mouth runs off by itself."

"Thank you so much," Vash said to her with tears in his eyes. "This is the best thing I've heard in… so long."

"It's the least I could do for you. You're such a nice young man," Vash could not help but smile through his tears when he heard her call him 'young,' "I hope you find him."

"Oh, I will. I most definitely will." He put his sunglasses on, pushing them up the bridge of his nose, and his face settled in to a determined expression as he slipped his coat on.

"Will he be happy to see you?" she inquired curiously.

"Well, actually, I have no idea." He shrugged. "I guess I'll find out when I see him." Vash nodded to the old woman and expressed his thanks once more.

"Just give that little girl a hug for me when you see her, all right?" Grace handed him a brown paper bag and when Vash looked inside, he was greeted by a half a dozen sandwiches and a small bundle of cookies.

He nodded, saying, "I will. I promise," and then walked out of the diner, his red coat twisting and dancing around his legs as he began the last part of his ten year journey.

Grace watched him go until he was far out of sight and then turned, looking over her empty diner. An irregular object caught her eye and she stared at the booth in which Vash had sat. There on the table was a wad of money. She picked it up, tears coursing down her cheeks, and whispered, "Such a nice boy… what would we do without people like him?" She turned to look at the distant horizon into which the Plant had disappeared. "Bless you, Vash. Good things come to those like you. Just be patient."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I dunno how this one turned out… I feel it's kind of lacking in some areas, but hey! My beta-reader, Kyoko-sama, said she liked it and what Kyoko-sama says is truth. ^_^ So, here it is. The chapter title is the only thing I could come up with but I guess it's not that bad. This chapter took a little longer to write than I expected and it's kinda short and I'm sorry about both of those things but at least I got it out quicker than the last one, right? ^^;; Well, I would say more but it's late at night and I'm really tired so, I hoped you enjoyed it and don't forget to review!