Disclaimer- I don't own Trigun. I don't own the stupid movie Saving Private Ryan. I say it's stupid because too many people die. I don't like it when people have to die. I saw the beginning of it and I just walked to my room.
Congratulations to Sephiroth1Ripley8! Wow. That's a mouthful! Anyway, this was the review: It was pretty much amusing through most of it, but the end left me laughing out loud. The Vash the Stampede doll that complained when you touched his hair, responded when you talked of killing somebody else or yourself...cracked me up. So can I expect another chapter at Thanksgiving in the city of November?
Thank you so much for reviewing! I love making people laugh out loud. It makes me happy. It was so funny when my friend, Andie, mentioned the Vash doll. I had no idea what she was talking about. She had to remind me of what I wrote! I was like, "I wrote that?" It was hilarious. This was unexpected but I'm doing Veteran's Day! Then I'm going to write the Thanksgiving one. You were right about being in the city of November, though. Keep reviewing!
Veteran's Day
Shortly after leaving October, our favorite quartet arrived at the city of November. The gates opened for them and the sight of the city took their breath away. Red, orange, and yellow leaves dropped from the many trees. A cool breeze blew and scattered the leaves all over the town square.
"What is everyone doing outside?" Meryl asked, looking at all the children running around followed by their parents. "Isn't it a work and school day? It's Thursday in the middle of the day."
"I don't know. Let's ask someone," suggested Millie. They walked to a man with a black goatee sitting behind an easel.
"Oh! You vant a peecture? I can paint a peecture for you," the man said in an accent and started to get his brushes and paint ready.
"Uh... no. We don't want a picture. We just wanted to-"the man cut Wolfwood off.
"Nonsense! You vant a peecture. How about you and zee tall madam first?" he asked.
"We might as well," Millie said and handed the man some money.
"Zank you, madam." He set a large white paper on his easel and sharpened a couple charcoal pencils. He began to sketch a drawing of Wolfwood sitting with his arm around Millie's shoulders. He was looking down at Millie with a grin. She was laughing with Meryl who giggled at the sight of it.
"You would have never though that Wolfwood would have someone paint a picture of him," said Vash.
"Hey. If it's with Millie, he'll do anything," Meryl answered. "She knows he's a sensitive guy on the inside, which is strange because you are the total opposite. You're a sensitive guy on the outside but I know you can be tough on the inside." She smiled.
"I'm not sensitive at all!" Vash defended himself.
"Don't deny the truth, Mr. Vash!" Millie laughed.
When the man finished sketching, he said, "You can go enjoy zee day off. Come back een tventy meenutes."
"What day off?" Wolfwood asked.
"Eet ees Veteran's Day," the man replied. "On Earth, zay celebrated zee veterans who died een zee vors on Earth. Eet ees everyvone's day off."
"Merci beaucoup," said Millie to the surprise of her friends.
"Vous parlez français?" asked the man.
"Oui, je. Mes amis n'ont pas su cela."
"Ah."
"Voulez-vous savoir un secret?" Millie asked.
"Oui," the man answered.
"J'aime cet homme dans le costume noir là-bas et il ne sait pas," Millie said pointed to Wolfwood.
The man smiled. "Good luck viz zat, madam."
"Je ne parle pas français. Je suis américain!" Meryl exclaimed. Vash looked at her strangely. "What? I said, 'I don't speak French. I am American."
Wolfwood followed Millie as she walked to the nearest saloon. "What did you say, tall girl?" he asked.
"Oh, I talked about you. That's it. Nothing more." She smiled.
Vash looked at Meryl. "Where did you learn that?" he asked her.
"Millie and I both took French in high school. I guess she listened because I sure didn't."
"You don't seem like the person who wouldn't listen in class," said Vash.
"Oh, I listened in class. It's just that, French bores me. They say it's the language of love. Yeah right. I never snagged a guy with French lines."
'You've got me,' Vash thought to himself.
They stepped into the heated saloon. Wolfwood and Vash ordered beers. Millie ordered her usual gateau mille-feuille with Ceylon tea. Meryl couldn't decide between coffee, tea, and hot cocoa.
"I think you should get the hot cocoa," Vash suggested.
"I haven't had hot cocoa since I was a child. So I guess I'll get that," Meryl finally said.
The waitress muttered, "Finally," jotted down the order, and left.
When their drinks arrived, Meryl sighed. "Ah... hot cocoa. The memories..."
Twenty minutes later, Vash, Wolfwood, Millie, and Meryl went back to the man with the goatee.
"Bienvenue en arrière! J'ai une surprise pour vous! I mean-"
"Welcome back. You have a surprise for us," Millie translated.
"Oui. I have feeneeshed your painting, mademoiselle." He picked up the paper that had Wolfwood and Millie on it. "Here."
"That looks just like you, Mr. Priest!" Millie pointed out.
"Of course. Both of us have boyish good looks," Wolfwood agreed.
"Yeah, right, Preacher Man," Vash scoffed.
"What was the surprise, monsieur?" Millie asked.
"I drew a peecture of your ozer friends," he said pointing to Vash and Meryl. "Eet has somting to do veeth Veteran's Day. I zought I should be festeeve."
He handed another piece of paper to Meryl and Vash. They looked down at it. It was an image of Meryl in a short nurse outfit tending to Vash who was lying on a bed in a soldier's uniform.
Vash laughed. "You should have been a nurse for Halloween, small girl! You look pretty good in this picture!" The artist smiled proudly.
"Yeah, shortie. You look really hot in that outfit," Wolfwood agreed and said aloud what Vash was thinking. Meryl glared. You could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Chill, shortie. I was only stating the tr-"Wolfwood started.
Vash shushed him. "If you don't like it, insurance girl, can I have it?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure. Whatever," Meryl waved it off.
"Thank you so much for doing this for us. It was fun!" Millie clapped her hands excitedly. "Here is the money for the second picture." Millie pulled out $$15.
"Oh nonsense! Eet vas on zee house." The artist said.
"Merci beaucoup!" Millie thanked him. The two insurance girls and the two troublemaking boys walked away to join the other happy kids and adults in town square.
Meryl and Vash sat on a bench by the well while Wolfwood and Millie played with the local children. "They really are perfect for each other aren't they?" Meryl sighed.
"Yeah. Hey. Do you want to know a secret?" he asked. Meryl nodded. "Wolfwood has a thing for Millie. He told me."
"Really? I knew it. This is great! Millie has a thing for Wolfwood, too! We should get them together." Meryl started formulating a plan in her head.
"That's just what I was thinking," said Vash.
Wolfwood glanced at the couple who seemed to be in deep thought. "What do you think they're doing?" he asked.
"I don't know. All I'm really sure about is that Meryl has the hugest crush on Mr. Vash," Millie replied.
"Vash has the same feelings for shortie, over there. What do you think we should do?"
"We have to use every single cell in our brain to find a way to get those two together." Wolfwood nodded his head and they sat together on another bench on the other side of the well.
Vash looked back at the tall girl and the priest. Meryl saw where he was looking and asked nervously, "Is it just me, or do they seem to be hatching some evil plan?"
"It's not just you," Vash replied.
About a half an hour later, Meryl, Vash, Wolfwood, and Millie got up from their seats and decided to check out the Veteran's Day memorial. The whole memorial was actually a tour. The tour guide led a group through a lit tunnel. Pictures of the soldiers who fought in World War II lined the walls of the tunnel. The guide pointed each one out and gave information on the veteran it beheld. At the end of the tunnel, the group saw the light of the exit. Everyone gasped as they stepped outside. They saw a green grassy field with thousands of white crosses staked in the ground.
"Each of these crosses represents every man who fought for his country back on Earth. We must honor these men in a moment of silence," the guide said. A flag with 13 white and red stripes and 50 white stars waved in the wind. Trumpets blew. Crying was heard amidst the tour group. They were the cries of the men, women, and children who had relatives that they knew of who fought and died in wars on Earth so many years ago.
Millie, Meryl, Vash, and Wolfwood walked out of the memorial with a new idea about Veteran's Day. It wasn't just a holiday where you didn't have to go to school or work. It actually meant something.
"Let's go see a movie," Wolfwood suggested. They received directions to the local movie theater. The only movie playing was "Saving Private Ryan". Wolfwood shrugged. "They say it is rated R for the violence and language. The critics say it's as close to the real thing as possible. I bet that can get pretty bloody. Are you guys up for it?" They nodded. Wolfwood bought the tickets and they walked in.
After who knows how long, Meryl walked out pale and shaky. "Remind me to never see that movie again," she said to Vash who was walking next to her also looking a little white.
Wolfwood followed with his arm around a tearful Millie who said, "I agree." Wolfwood looked ok. He wasn't pale, shaky, or tearful. He might have been used to the sight of so much hate and violence. Or maybe it was just because he was a man. On the other hand, so was Vash so that wasn't the answer.
Meryl looked around at the laughing children and content adults. "Everyone looks so happy. It's strange."
The group agreed to stay until after Thanksgiving in the city of November. They checked in at a hotel then walked back to the saloon. "Oh no!" Meryl exclaimed. They stayed there for about an hour. Ok, maybe two hours... um... three? Fine! They stayed there all night with Vash, Wolfwood, and Millie drinking their weight in alcohol and Meryl trying to control them. "Will it never end?" complained Meryl.
Soon enough, the three drunkards staggered back to the hotel supported by the short irritated insurance girl. She led each of them to their beds and laid her own head down to sleep. And that was the end of November 11th.
I hope you liked this chapter! I tried to make it a little amusing even with all the dead soldier angstiness. Please review and make me happy! If you really want to know what all the French means, go to and click translator. Click the drop down menu and select French to English. Copy and paste whatever you want translated into the big white box and click translate. you'll see the translation in the box on the right at the top of the screen. That's only if you really want to know. Most of it is kind of self-explanatory.