What's goin' on people? Welcome to chapter 6, finally! It only took me over
a month to get typed up, no big deal.. I'm really sorry it's taken me so
long, and I'm tired of making the same excuses to you people so I'll just
try my best to do better. I've finally decided that this story will be
around 10-15 chapters. My next project? Either FLCL, another Trigun, or
maybe a Kenshin fic, I can't decide. Ah well. Enjoy!
Liquid Sunlight
Chapter 6- Ending the Present
BANG! "Vash, what the hell are you doing?!" Meryl looked as though she could kill him even with her left arm still in a sling. She glared at him and Vash fought the urge to shiver under the death stare.
He opened one eye. "Well, I was sleeping until you kicked my door open like you're going to hurt me. You aren't are you?"
"I won't if you get off your lazy butt! If you can't get a job, the least you can do is help out with some household chores!" She gave him another evil glare and he cowered under the covers. "Bernardelli may be paying for us to live here while chasing after you, but the money won't cover five people and Milly and Wolfwood are the only ones working! We need to get things done around here if we want to eat!" She stormed out. BANG!
"Geez," Vash muttered, "not being able to work is really getting to her." He slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom where he quickly showered and dressed.
Luckily, the new house they were living in included two bathrooms along with enough rooms for the newcomers. Being able to just walk into the bathroom and not have to wait was a wonderful experience.
As he headed to the kitchen, Vash heard the clinking of china and the swish of running water through the open door. He sighed and shook his head.
'She's at it again', he thought.
Sure enough, Meryl stood before the sink, humming gently. Her arm was out of the sling and she was gingerly using it to hold dishes while she washed with her other hand.
"What are you doing?" asked Vash in an accusing voice. Meryl dropped the plate with a splash and whirled on him.
"You're washing dishes again," Vash said, wagging his finger at her. "Milly said no stress on the wounds remember? I'm gonna te-ell."
"I'm fine," Meryl protested. She turned back to the sink and said, "You're not my mother, and no you won't tell Milly either! It doesn't hurt. a lot."
"You should take care of yourself," Vash said. His voice became suddenly serious and Meryl looked up at him, startled. However he was giving her the same goofy look as always.
"I definitely don't want to hear that from you Tongari," she said angrily. She picked up another dish as Vash sighed and gave up. His demeanor changed back to the goofiness as suddenly as he had become serious.
"What are my orders ma'am?" he said with a salute. Meryl rolled her eyes and pointed out the door.
"Since you decided to break the washer, you can go out back and do the laundry for everyone," she said.
"Ah man," Vash sighed, dragging his feet toward the door. He hated laundry.
"Vash," Meryl called after him. He turned around in time to catch a couple donuts. "Breakfast," she said with a smile. Vash waved.
"Thanks!" he called back, rushing to the tub. 'Now I really wish I hadn't broken the washing machine,' he thought scornfully as he rolled up his sleeves.
Meryl looked up from the dishes as Vash started to wash his first item, one of his shirts. She laughed as he steeled himself for his least favorite tasks. He scrubbed the shirt with a vengeance, almost as though it caused all his problems. Vash looked up at her with that adorable confused look on his face, and then scowled at her as he realized why she was laughing.
'No one would know that he is the 60 billion double dollar man if they just passed by and watched that goofball,' Meryl thought to herself. He looked so adorable. Meryl shook her head forcefully and picked up a bowl. What in the world was she thinking?
"May I help you?" Meryl glanced behind her to see Knives standing behind her.
"Oh, good morning Knives!" she said with a smile he didn't return. "Uh, I think I've got it here, but you can help Vash with the laundry. If you want."
"Alright." Without another word, he opened the door and walked out.
"SO weird," Meryl muttered to herself. Knives' memory hadn't improved at all; he couldn't remember a thing about his past except Rem. The only person he'd listen to was Meryl, and he despised being around Milly and Wolfwood. Meryl quickly rinsed the bowl and moved on to another plate.
Outside, Vash had just finished up on a pair of Milly's pants and throwing the tub an evil glare. Knives sighed at his brother's ignorance before rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a sheet from the tub. Vash looked at him in surprise.
"I must have asked you a thousand times before to help me with the laundry and you never did!" he cried as Knives continued to calmly wash the sheet. "What made you decide to help now?"
"Meryl asked me to," Knives simply stated. Vash's face contorted in anger and hurt.
"What?! Why do you always listen to the Small Girl over your own twin brother?" Vash whined.
"Because you're my younger twin brother," Knives retorted, getting as close to teasing as he could. Vash glared at him.
"Are you two almost done? Vash, you've been washing the same thing over and over the entire time Knives has been out here," Meryl said with a scowl. She was walking from the house to check on them.
"I am?" he looked down at the garment and his eyes widened in surprise. Before he could say anything or even blush, Meryl spotted what he had in his hands.
"VASH! You pervert!" she yelled in embarrassment and anger. The article of clothing that Vash had worked so hard on was a pair of Meryl's white unmentionables.
"Oh, ah, I." Now Vash was blushing; he was bright red to the roots of his blond hair. WHACK! Meryl stormed back into the house, leaving Vash twitching on the ground. Knives caught a glimpse of Meryl's flushed face as she slammed the door.
"What did you do now Tongari?" Vash rolled over and stood to face Wolfwood, who had his trademark dark sunglasses on. Knives was glaring at him with distaste.
"Uh. nothing. What are you doing? Aren't supposed to be working?" Vash asked rejoining Knives at the tub.
"Day off," Wolfwood replied. His rocking back and forth was really getting on Vash's nerves.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I. I-I quit smoking. Cold turkey." Wolfwood resumed his rocking and bouncing as Vash gaped at him. "I feel terrible but Milly asked me to so."
"What?" Meryl screeched, coming out of the house to pounce on the priest. "You told me you quit two and half months ago when you came back home and found out Milly was pregnant! You-"
"Actually," Wolfwood said sheepishly, "I did quit smoking: around Milly."
Meryl balled her good hand up and to a fist, which she shook angrily in Wolfwood's direction. "I can't believe it! I should have known you were sneaking off to smoke!" She took a big step forward and Wolfwood took a bigger one back. He had his hands up, ready to defend himself when a smooth voice cut across Meryl's screeches.
"We are finished here. What else needs to be done Meryl?" Wolfwood sent Knives a grateful gaze that he totally ignored.
"Oh, um," Meryl stuttered out, caught off guard in the middle of her fury. "Well just. uh. the sweeping! All the rooms need a good sweeping if you wanna do that."
"Okay." Knives silently pushed the door open.
When Meryl turned around, Wolfwood was nowhere to be seen. "That's all right!" she shouted. "You gotta come home sometime." Behind her, Vash tried his best to sneak away.
'If I can get around the corner of the house, I can catch up with Wolfwood and make him buy!' Vash thought. 'A little farther.." He was viciously jerked back by his collar just as he thought escape was imminent.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Meryl's tone clearly said, "don't mess with me."
"Uh, to help sweep the house?" Vash suggested.
"Oh how thoughtful," Meryl said, tightening her grip. "C'mon, in the house." Vash allowed himself to be drug into the house.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Inside, Knives had finished sweeping the kitchen and living room. He hesitated slightly before pushing the door to Meryl's room open and entering stealthily.
Whenever he saw Meryl, Knives was forcibly reminded of the woman Rem. The figure haunted his dreams ever since the sudden flash of memory when he first saw Meryl.
The heavy guilt that fell on his stomach whenever he thought of either woman was a mystery to him. But he was always nice to Meryl and did exactly what she said, even though he hated the work.
Knives remembered Meryl instructing Vash how to sweep a room, which included sweeping out the closet. Spiderwebs had gathered in each corner. He enjoyed brushing out the webs and killing the spiders, although he wasn't sure why this was his favorite part.
Almost done, Knives gave the closet a last good swipe with the broom and dislodged a shiny heavy object from the top of Meryl's closet. It hit the floor with a dull thump and lay shining in the sun.
Setting the broom aside, Knives crouched down to pick the object up. The steel felt cool on his fingertips. The big silver gun looked familiar, but from where?
Suddenly, anger surged through Knives' body, causing him to stiffen and the gun hit the floor again. A brief vision passed before his eyes.
FLASH! Vash sat on the ground before him, Angel Arm at the ready and pointed straight at him.
"You're aiming at me?!" he heard his own angry voice shout. "You're aiming at me AGAIN?!" FLASH!
Knives stood dumbstruck and drenched in cold sweat. He had no idea what the vision meant - maybe a memory?
Footsteps coming down the hallway interrupted his thoughts. Knives quickly grabbed the six-shooter and stuffed it back into the closet. He shut the door and picked up the broom, trying his best to control his shaking and act normal.
Meryl poked her head in with a smile. "Are you all right Knives? Doing okay?"
"I'm fine," he answered, not meeting her eyes. "I've finished in here." He tried to head for his and Vash's room across the hall, but Meryl stopped him and removed the broom from his grasp and handed it to Vash, who was sulking behind her. "You're all sweaty. Are you sure you're okay?"
Knives grunted and went into the kitchen. Meryl looked at Vash who shrugged.
This isn't where I planned on ending the chapter, but it's too late, so next update you'll get a short chapter and a long chapter, yay! Thanks to my reviewers, who have become too numerous to recognize. But to magic, if I make a few grammar mistakes, they are usually intentional. I don't exactly follow the MLA handbook, so please excuse my wordings and sentence structure. On another note, if anyone knows where I can get Trigun manga or find out about Trigun Maximum, please mail me! I love you guys!
Liquid Sunlight
Chapter 6- Ending the Present
BANG! "Vash, what the hell are you doing?!" Meryl looked as though she could kill him even with her left arm still in a sling. She glared at him and Vash fought the urge to shiver under the death stare.
He opened one eye. "Well, I was sleeping until you kicked my door open like you're going to hurt me. You aren't are you?"
"I won't if you get off your lazy butt! If you can't get a job, the least you can do is help out with some household chores!" She gave him another evil glare and he cowered under the covers. "Bernardelli may be paying for us to live here while chasing after you, but the money won't cover five people and Milly and Wolfwood are the only ones working! We need to get things done around here if we want to eat!" She stormed out. BANG!
"Geez," Vash muttered, "not being able to work is really getting to her." He slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom where he quickly showered and dressed.
Luckily, the new house they were living in included two bathrooms along with enough rooms for the newcomers. Being able to just walk into the bathroom and not have to wait was a wonderful experience.
As he headed to the kitchen, Vash heard the clinking of china and the swish of running water through the open door. He sighed and shook his head.
'She's at it again', he thought.
Sure enough, Meryl stood before the sink, humming gently. Her arm was out of the sling and she was gingerly using it to hold dishes while she washed with her other hand.
"What are you doing?" asked Vash in an accusing voice. Meryl dropped the plate with a splash and whirled on him.
"You're washing dishes again," Vash said, wagging his finger at her. "Milly said no stress on the wounds remember? I'm gonna te-ell."
"I'm fine," Meryl protested. She turned back to the sink and said, "You're not my mother, and no you won't tell Milly either! It doesn't hurt. a lot."
"You should take care of yourself," Vash said. His voice became suddenly serious and Meryl looked up at him, startled. However he was giving her the same goofy look as always.
"I definitely don't want to hear that from you Tongari," she said angrily. She picked up another dish as Vash sighed and gave up. His demeanor changed back to the goofiness as suddenly as he had become serious.
"What are my orders ma'am?" he said with a salute. Meryl rolled her eyes and pointed out the door.
"Since you decided to break the washer, you can go out back and do the laundry for everyone," she said.
"Ah man," Vash sighed, dragging his feet toward the door. He hated laundry.
"Vash," Meryl called after him. He turned around in time to catch a couple donuts. "Breakfast," she said with a smile. Vash waved.
"Thanks!" he called back, rushing to the tub. 'Now I really wish I hadn't broken the washing machine,' he thought scornfully as he rolled up his sleeves.
Meryl looked up from the dishes as Vash started to wash his first item, one of his shirts. She laughed as he steeled himself for his least favorite tasks. He scrubbed the shirt with a vengeance, almost as though it caused all his problems. Vash looked up at her with that adorable confused look on his face, and then scowled at her as he realized why she was laughing.
'No one would know that he is the 60 billion double dollar man if they just passed by and watched that goofball,' Meryl thought to herself. He looked so adorable. Meryl shook her head forcefully and picked up a bowl. What in the world was she thinking?
"May I help you?" Meryl glanced behind her to see Knives standing behind her.
"Oh, good morning Knives!" she said with a smile he didn't return. "Uh, I think I've got it here, but you can help Vash with the laundry. If you want."
"Alright." Without another word, he opened the door and walked out.
"SO weird," Meryl muttered to herself. Knives' memory hadn't improved at all; he couldn't remember a thing about his past except Rem. The only person he'd listen to was Meryl, and he despised being around Milly and Wolfwood. Meryl quickly rinsed the bowl and moved on to another plate.
Outside, Vash had just finished up on a pair of Milly's pants and throwing the tub an evil glare. Knives sighed at his brother's ignorance before rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a sheet from the tub. Vash looked at him in surprise.
"I must have asked you a thousand times before to help me with the laundry and you never did!" he cried as Knives continued to calmly wash the sheet. "What made you decide to help now?"
"Meryl asked me to," Knives simply stated. Vash's face contorted in anger and hurt.
"What?! Why do you always listen to the Small Girl over your own twin brother?" Vash whined.
"Because you're my younger twin brother," Knives retorted, getting as close to teasing as he could. Vash glared at him.
"Are you two almost done? Vash, you've been washing the same thing over and over the entire time Knives has been out here," Meryl said with a scowl. She was walking from the house to check on them.
"I am?" he looked down at the garment and his eyes widened in surprise. Before he could say anything or even blush, Meryl spotted what he had in his hands.
"VASH! You pervert!" she yelled in embarrassment and anger. The article of clothing that Vash had worked so hard on was a pair of Meryl's white unmentionables.
"Oh, ah, I." Now Vash was blushing; he was bright red to the roots of his blond hair. WHACK! Meryl stormed back into the house, leaving Vash twitching on the ground. Knives caught a glimpse of Meryl's flushed face as she slammed the door.
"What did you do now Tongari?" Vash rolled over and stood to face Wolfwood, who had his trademark dark sunglasses on. Knives was glaring at him with distaste.
"Uh. nothing. What are you doing? Aren't supposed to be working?" Vash asked rejoining Knives at the tub.
"Day off," Wolfwood replied. His rocking back and forth was really getting on Vash's nerves.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I. I-I quit smoking. Cold turkey." Wolfwood resumed his rocking and bouncing as Vash gaped at him. "I feel terrible but Milly asked me to so."
"What?" Meryl screeched, coming out of the house to pounce on the priest. "You told me you quit two and half months ago when you came back home and found out Milly was pregnant! You-"
"Actually," Wolfwood said sheepishly, "I did quit smoking: around Milly."
Meryl balled her good hand up and to a fist, which she shook angrily in Wolfwood's direction. "I can't believe it! I should have known you were sneaking off to smoke!" She took a big step forward and Wolfwood took a bigger one back. He had his hands up, ready to defend himself when a smooth voice cut across Meryl's screeches.
"We are finished here. What else needs to be done Meryl?" Wolfwood sent Knives a grateful gaze that he totally ignored.
"Oh, um," Meryl stuttered out, caught off guard in the middle of her fury. "Well just. uh. the sweeping! All the rooms need a good sweeping if you wanna do that."
"Okay." Knives silently pushed the door open.
When Meryl turned around, Wolfwood was nowhere to be seen. "That's all right!" she shouted. "You gotta come home sometime." Behind her, Vash tried his best to sneak away.
'If I can get around the corner of the house, I can catch up with Wolfwood and make him buy!' Vash thought. 'A little farther.." He was viciously jerked back by his collar just as he thought escape was imminent.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Meryl's tone clearly said, "don't mess with me."
"Uh, to help sweep the house?" Vash suggested.
"Oh how thoughtful," Meryl said, tightening her grip. "C'mon, in the house." Vash allowed himself to be drug into the house.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Inside, Knives had finished sweeping the kitchen and living room. He hesitated slightly before pushing the door to Meryl's room open and entering stealthily.
Whenever he saw Meryl, Knives was forcibly reminded of the woman Rem. The figure haunted his dreams ever since the sudden flash of memory when he first saw Meryl.
The heavy guilt that fell on his stomach whenever he thought of either woman was a mystery to him. But he was always nice to Meryl and did exactly what she said, even though he hated the work.
Knives remembered Meryl instructing Vash how to sweep a room, which included sweeping out the closet. Spiderwebs had gathered in each corner. He enjoyed brushing out the webs and killing the spiders, although he wasn't sure why this was his favorite part.
Almost done, Knives gave the closet a last good swipe with the broom and dislodged a shiny heavy object from the top of Meryl's closet. It hit the floor with a dull thump and lay shining in the sun.
Setting the broom aside, Knives crouched down to pick the object up. The steel felt cool on his fingertips. The big silver gun looked familiar, but from where?
Suddenly, anger surged through Knives' body, causing him to stiffen and the gun hit the floor again. A brief vision passed before his eyes.
FLASH! Vash sat on the ground before him, Angel Arm at the ready and pointed straight at him.
"You're aiming at me?!" he heard his own angry voice shout. "You're aiming at me AGAIN?!" FLASH!
Knives stood dumbstruck and drenched in cold sweat. He had no idea what the vision meant - maybe a memory?
Footsteps coming down the hallway interrupted his thoughts. Knives quickly grabbed the six-shooter and stuffed it back into the closet. He shut the door and picked up the broom, trying his best to control his shaking and act normal.
Meryl poked her head in with a smile. "Are you all right Knives? Doing okay?"
"I'm fine," he answered, not meeting her eyes. "I've finished in here." He tried to head for his and Vash's room across the hall, but Meryl stopped him and removed the broom from his grasp and handed it to Vash, who was sulking behind her. "You're all sweaty. Are you sure you're okay?"
Knives grunted and went into the kitchen. Meryl looked at Vash who shrugged.
This isn't where I planned on ending the chapter, but it's too late, so next update you'll get a short chapter and a long chapter, yay! Thanks to my reviewers, who have become too numerous to recognize. But to magic, if I make a few grammar mistakes, they are usually intentional. I don't exactly follow the MLA handbook, so please excuse my wordings and sentence structure. On another note, if anyone knows where I can get Trigun manga or find out about Trigun Maximum, please mail me! I love you guys!