Trigun part deux
By otaku no baka
Yeah I am putting out a three-part update again, since I had to think about the timeline, (unlike some shows and games, I try to stay consistent!) I also had writer's block and finals -- Note: Video games do not help either situation! Tries not to play Bahamut lagoon to get ideas about pairings Heheh...Byuu and Sendak....
ANYWAY! This should help out, since the parts a bit more about Tanto's past, Villie, and many of the unanswered questions in the story, such as who are the "Fathers" they mention and the dream in the first part. This is the beginning of the story that tries to fill some of the plot holes the anime didn't cover.
Daaa daa daa! I don't own it! Daa daa dum! Nightow is the father! Daa daa dum! Its all the shameless truth! I have the no ownership blues...the no ownership blues....
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The sun rises to the town of January, waking up the storeowners and the workers to another day. But one man has been up long before that time period.
Tanto woke up before everything else, before the farmers, before the rooster, even before the sun rose from its nightly slumber. He stared at the clock jadedly; his bi colored hair all over the place. Stretching out the joints, he climbed out of bed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
The bishop started the early morning doing a few exercises, stretching out the legs. He did toe touches, jumping jacks, and a good amount of push ups and sit-ups. He wiped the sweat off of his fore head and crossed his legs, starting his morning meditations.
He kept at this state for a good half hour, before going in the hotel dresser drawer and pulling out his tanto. He went into a side ways stance and practiced pulling it out and slashing. He stayed with it for a good while, rapid strikes in the air, until someone knocked on the door.
"Hm?" Halting his sparring, he opened the door to see Lea with her brown hair down and out of her pigtails.
"I just wanted to say breakfast is ready...Tanto you wake up early alright." She remembered last time before the July incident that she seen Tanto showered and finished eating before all of them went downstairs.
"Alrighty then..." The younger woman giggled at what he said and he raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Nothing, just that I never heard you say something like that."
The bishop closed his eyes and sweatdropped. "Never mind, I'll be down there in a minute."
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Tanto adjusted his bishop robe and saw the site of Madison poking Michm, fast asleep on the table. (I guess he didn't go to bed after all. He must have stayed up downstairs most of the night.)
"Hey Tanto!" The clergy blinked at the image of the ex bounty hunter. Her new haircut made her locks reach only to her face and curl upward slightly, fanning out like a fan. It also made her tresses a shade darker, appearing more brownish than blond. "Mich spent the entire night trying to find any signs of your sister from the looks of it." She nudged him again and laughed at his grumbling.
After the disappearance of Tanto's sister, Michm promised to help the bishop go find her. They helped restore order to the town of July and hopped from town to town with their savings. Now they were resting in January, taking a brief break before they apprehend the Bloody Villie woman.
Wraith shifted in his makeshift pillow of arms, and grumbled again. This is one of the rare moments that he dreamt.
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"Mom!" A younger Michm with overalls skipped over to his mother, who worked on a few files in the living room table. The twin suns shined brightly that day and light radiated within the partly tinted windows.
"Yes Michm?" A woman with dark hair and darker eyes smiled at her son. She wore a standard business suit. "I still have to work on my report for the Bernardelli Insurance Society."
"Could you tell me another story about Vash the Stampede?" His forest green eyes smiled brightly at the prospect of another action packed tale. "Please? It could be a quick one!"
Meryl sighed but complied. "Ok ok Michm. Well...I'll tell you about some of the issues Vash had. He was a pacifist, but trouble seem to follow him like the plague, so he caused a lot of collateral damage..."
"A lot like Bloody Villie?"
The woman showed a sign of pain that lasted only a moment. "Yes a lot like her. Of course, he ended up with us, once the damage situation reached a peak."
"Yeah you and Aunty Millie!"
"You want me to finish the story or make one of your own?" The derringer woman noogied her son a bit.
"Arg! Yeah yeah! I'll stop!" He ruffled his hair and tried to make it straight again.
"So we had to make sure he didn't cause as much damage to the towns. We ran into many people on his journey, and eventually found out it was to find and confront his twin brother."
"Mom who was his twin brother? Was he like Vash?" He rested his head on her bosom.
"No I don't think so...he...there was something off about him. They were both not human, but he seemed to have full of hatred. Vash loved everyone, but Knives hated all humans"
The boy thought about this until a call raised him from her lap. "Hey its Madison!" He hugged her before running out the door.
"That son of mine..." she chuckled and sighed as she went back to work.
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Michm wiggled outside and huffed, his gaze on the other woman in from of him. She may be three years his senior, but she acted no less mature than he did sometimes. She had her hands on her jean clad hips.
"Mich you decided to go and see what I have?" He nodded vigorously and gasped as she pulled out a pack of firecrackers.
"You know your mom will have a fit if she sees you with those."
"Ah well, it won't be an issue if she doesn't find out and if I don't get hurt!"
The boy shook his head. He never understood in his nine years of life why Madison enjoyed explosives. She learned to shoot a gun from her mom just to feel the rush of it going off.
He stepped back and watched out for any adults as she pulled out a match and lit the first row. With a yelp she ran back as the whole five rows went off in a bang.
"Yeah boom boom!" She laughed in excitement at the colors and the sounds of the crackers. Michm rolled his eyes and went back inside the house to spend his time on something more constructive.
"Mom I'm back!" He rushed in again but stopped at the site of his mother crying silently on the table. He didn't know what to do at the doorway, but eventually went over and hugged her side.
"Mom what's wrong?" Concern painted his features as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"I'll be fine, just I don't know what to do now. We may have to move son. I know it's hard but please be strong"
Move? That means he may never see Madison or her family again. And he knew mom only have the company to work at and she had to ask for funding sometimes. They went through enough by moving five times. His mother even asked if he wanted to stay with someone else since she didn't have enough at one point.
He frowned but thought about it. Maybe if he could make the money...then they would be all right then. He smiled at his mom. "Don't worry mom, I'll help you!"
She smiled back at him, his emotion contagious. "I would like to see that son."
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Michm grumbled again out of his memory and opened both eyes, blood shot and bleary.
"Umm...maybe you should have went back to sleep..." Madison and the others surrounded him, each of them sitting on a chair.
"Whatever...I just need some coffee and I'll get moving again."
"Michm Strife I want you to go upstairs and go to sleep." All of them brought their attention to Tanto. "I know you want to help me and others but it doesn't do any good to burn yourself out."
The navigator frowned weary; he wasn't in the mood to argue after finally resting an hour ago. He rose from his seat, albeit unsteady, and went upstairs without any finesse.
"What's his issue today? I say hi and he just glares at me." Another man took the ex bounty hunter's seat. His brown hair looked disheveled and he had a starting of a beard.
"Morning brother." Lea chirped, grinning brightly at the other man, who snickered in amusement and rubs the growth on his face, a gleam of mischief in his eyes. Soba only grunts at the scene and Madison is too focused on her breakfast.
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During their travels, they ran into the town were Michm put Lea's brother in jail. "Hey I know this place!" She scouts around as the others look at her crazily. "This is were Louis is at!" She waves excitedly and Michm sighs.
"We don't have time to stop and..."
"WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME!" The navigator shrinks back as the younger woman yells at him with a giant head and a forked tongue. Tanto blinks with smaller eyes and Soba coughs.
"Well whatever you do, tell me before the next rotation of this planet."
"Come on Michm you have to bail him out since you put him there in the first place! He has been there over a month now!" The man's eyes turn to swirls as Lea shakes him.
"It won't hurt Mich, and it would be additional help since we have his sister." Madison laughed at the spectacle and Tanto continued to stare dumbfounded.
"ALRIGHT ALREADY!" He growled and rubbed his head before the woman gave him a migraine.
All of them trotted to the town jail. Lea rushed in the door first and talked with the sheriff. "Is Louis still here sir?"
"Yeah he is, actually I thought about letting him go off of good behavior since he hasn't caused any more trouble and actually helped out around the town."
"See?" She stuck out her tongue at Michm The wanderer followed the sheriff and squeaked. "Louis!" She rushed to the other man, who laughed and hugged her back.
"I'm glad you are ok sister. Did you cause any trouble?"
"Nope! I decided to join up with Tanto. Its like a feeling you know?"
"Tanto? A feeling?" He pulled his gaze to the party at the doorway who stared back at him.
The man did a double take. "You...." Michm tried to get away but Louis spotted him.
"I can't believe you have the gall to come back!" He lets go of his sister and shakes him wildly. "If it wasn't against the law I would shoot you!"
"Hey let Mich be!" Madison tugged at the shaking man.
"You bastard, I..." He glanced at Madison and his anger rose to another level. "You are his partner right?"
"Eep!" Michm took the chance to run out the door along with the woman as the man chased them around town.
The sheriff gave a questioning look at Tanto. "They are both the bounty hunters who turned him in. He'll eventually burn out in a while."
Lea just shook her head and finally grabbed her brother as he went past. "We need to have a long talk."
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Louis understood after the discussion, saying that he had a feeling about Tanto too and that he will handle the two ex bounty hunters later. He decided to join them, not only watching his sister who he says, "Gets out of hand at times," but to find out about the bishop. He also wanted to see HOW the two misguided off and on members of Bernardelli Insurance Society changed from their old ways.
The gunslinger sighed and reached for a pot of coffee on the table. "So how is everyone?" He realized that most of the guests at the table were occupied. "Sorry I asked..."
"Tanto's gone again. He said he wanted a walk." Madison mumbled around a mouth full of food.
"Gone? But where in this shady town?"
"Shady brother?"
"It used to have issues with children being missing and plant functioning...what you didn't know?" The other wanderer sipped at his coffee and glanced at the stares on him. "I went here a while ago with my sister before I went to jail. I'm surprised she forgot that fast."
Lea mumbled something and turned away sweatdropping.
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The bishop hmmed to himself again, a tune long ago forgotten its origin. The winds turn up spurts of sand during the man's travel, making him push a few stubborn strains out of his face. He notices a disturbance seen within the corner of his eye.
He glances to his left and sees nothing at all beyond the winds. Huh? The high priest focuses on the point of the town and it reveals a young girl standing next to a store.
Tanto meets her eyes, sea green on red, the child's blond tresses blowing within the wind under a bonnet. Her arms are at her sides; a baby blue petticoat dress ruffling in the breeze. Then after another gust surrounds her, she is gone.
That's strange...The man goes back to his task and walks along to the mayor's home.
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Tanto bows to the head man of the town, who gazes at him with a bored expression. "I hope I do not cause any discursion with this, but would you mind telling me about the troubles of this town? From my companions, this area has issues with kidnappers taking children."
"Well I don't think anything could happen to this town with me around." The bishop blinked at his words. "And I'm not going to let anything happen to my stepdaughter."
"Your stepdaughter? I never have seen any children in this town except one."
"Well..." He paused as if considering his words. "Maria is a special case. I found her six months ago dehydrated on the town entrance. You may see her if you like. She's probably drawing again. Just ask my secretary"
The clergyman bit his lip and turned away. "If you insist." (There's something he is hiding from me. Maybe his daughter could help me...)
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"She's in the outer room. Maria? Maria!" The receptionist sighs at the child on the floor. "I never understand why the mayor had to adapt this girl, she never says anything really..." She mumbles as she closes the door.
"Maria, I would like to ask a few questions..." The girl stops mid drawing and gazes at him with those red eyes of her.
"..." She cocks her head as if she is reading his soul. "You're not human are you?"
"What?" He is taken aback from the answer.
"You're not human. You are...I don't know what you are." Maria goes back to coloring again. "Your energy isn't a sandworm and you don't feel like these humans. Good; I don't really like humans"
She sounds like her, Bloody Villie. "Do you know what happen to the missing children?"
"Probably slave drivers like before took them or maybe sick guys who like children. The possibilities are endless."
Tanto crouches down and glances at her picture. "Its an oasis." She points it out to him. "Neo Gunsmoke gets water from the help of plants and other devices. I seen one after my parents died."
"I'm sorry I..."
"Don't be, it happens." The bishop blinked at her interruption. "I wandered to this town on an accident. Or maybe it was fate...I'm not sure."
"Well Maria, do you know where are any of the children of this town?"
The child shrugs. "Slave drivers like I said probably. The mayor didn't mention to you that he had plant trouble before and many of the people died here. Others ended up being raided by bandits and snakeheads, so they could be anywhere...unless they are still in the town"
"I see." He wondered how old she was with the way she responded to him.
"I just made thirteen...." She looked at him knowing his response. "I could read what you wanted to know. It's a gift...I cannot read your mind, but I can sense it."
She puts up her latest work, a very comprehensive drawing of a plant bulb in crayon. "I like plants, tomas, and sandworms. Actually I like most things on this planet except humans."
"Why don't you like humans Maria?" He sat next to her on the floor.
"Humans are selfish. I mean this mayor, he doesn't want a sheriff because he wants to act all manly and do any criminal work himself, as well as save a few double dollars. That's why he sent you to me. He thinks I am a child because I don't tell him anything." She frowns and gazes at him. "You...can I go with you instead? I can help you if that's what you need? I can also use a gun...my real father taught me."
"Don't you want to be with your stepfather or your family?"
"I don't have a father anymore or a mother. He is just around so he can feel good for taking me in. If you have nothing left and know how to use a gun at least, you'll even join the devil, even if he was going to destroy all the humans." She dusts her dress off and straightens her petticoats.
Tanto didn't know what to say then. "I take it as a yes. Well you know my name is Maria, my mother called me the chosen one. She said I had a gift that no one else could do. I don't know what's so good about reading individual minds. I cannot even read non-human psyches that well." She pulled off her bonnet and shook her hair, full of goldilocks curls.
"Well let's try to figure out this situation first and then I will decide what to do with you then."
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"What's with the kid?" Louis turned his attention to the woman who reached his waist.
"She may know about the incident here. From the looks of things, the mayor might be part of the crime ring." Tanto sprinted at a faster pace than the rest. "Maria, do you know where you seen something suspicious?"
"Yeah...it was the place where you first saw me." She pointed towards a small second hand store near the mayor's mansion. The bishop struggled with the doorknob before Michm suggested kicking it down.
"No let me." Soba pulled out a few wires and fiddled with the lock. After some seconds it creaked open. "Such a destructive youngster." The navigator made a face.
"I just woke up not to long ago you know...and you're not that old Soba." The man smarted off before the Man group paced around the shop.
They all rummage around the area before a voice cried out, "Hey I found something!" Lea waved to them in the back and opened a hidden door in the floor. They went down the stairs to see a group of men in a vehicle loading tied children to it.
"Remember we have to get this shipment out before morning. The mayor still wants ten percent of the profits." The leadsman from the July incident pulled off his sunglasses and gasped at seeing deja-vu. "You guys!"
"It doesn't matter now because you are going to jail!" All of them except Maria started at Michm before he went into another one of his speeches. "What? Well whatever! Lets just arrest these guys."
Those words sparked the commencing of the battle. All the workers stopped and ended up rushing to them, a fistfight starting. The lot of them that didn't run over tried to find any weapons available. Instead of bulk thug looking men, it was young guys or even important respectable gentlemen. Maria stood in the back as Tanto dodged every hit of the man swinging at him, who had on a business suit complete with a tie.
(He isn't fighting like all the rest...) She gazes at the quick and steady hits of Michm, to the inexperienced but practiced hits of Lea. (I think he's afraid to hurt them. Well...we can't have that can we?)
She closes her eyes and extends her hands out, in deep concentration. Tanto's head shoots up suddenly, before his eyes glaze over. He breathes before doing the same action. (She wants me to not hold back at all. The last thing I need is my powers going out of control.) He reassures the presence in his mind and goes to the offensive, but remains with his sight impaired.
What the hell is he doing? Louis kicks a guy and sends him flying to the jeep. He watches as he fights with the henchmen, eyes closed. The wanderer has to admit he is impressed with the show. The clergyman blocks an overhead act before countering with his free hand. He ducks past another person's fist and trips them.
The bishop huffs when the last opponent falls to the ground. He blinks and grumbles a bit. "I cannot show you what you want to know now child." Tanto fixes his eyes at Maria with a frown before running over to the hostages.
What was that about? Louis shakes his head and decides on that another time. Instead he walks over to Michm, who is sitting peacefully on top of the leader. "There. Maybe next time you will learn not to commit around crime with us traveling Neo Gunsmoke!"
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"I knew it. You are a plant aren't you?"
Tanto gazed at her outside the official's home while the other "chatted" with the mayor. It turns out he kidnapped the children of January in order to sell them off to other towns in an adoption agency. He wanted to do the same thing with Maria, but decided to wait since she didn't say much for the time she spent with him. So he made a deal to sell her to the slaver driver from the July incident a few weeks ago.
"Me?" He pointed to himself in confusion.
"Yeah you. I couldn't control you or read your thoughts like so many people, but I could sense you. I know you played as if I could control you from before."
He smiled and closed his eyes. "So you are a psychic then. I thought as much. That's where you received the information. You read your father's thoughts eh?"
"It's not that good though, but I can at least control it. Your mind is harder to breach into, which brought me to the conclusion you are not human." She stared at him hard. "But you are not completely non human either."
"It's a long story Maria...." He glanced up to Michm and the others. "But since you want to know so much about me and my powers..."
"He's going to do a lot of paperwork as well as have troubles for now on bossman. The old mayor was locked up with the kids, and they have been trying to figure out what to do with him for months, so Maria was adopted by the phony one just to be sold off."
"So I guess I can come with you then." She shifted her Mary Janes on the ground. "So...Tanto...how old are you?" The mysterious child began to roast on him with questions, still persistent and impatient. The bishop only closed his eyes and shrugged. "How about twenty? One hundred then?"
"That young girl is more than she seems." Soba rubs his hair and gazes at Tanto being heated.
Lea shrugged. "She isn't so bad; peculiar, but ok. Let's head back. Not only am I hungry, but also tired."