Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun at all, wish I did though. They are owned by Yasuhiro Nightow, Young King Ours, and Madhouse. I do own Jacob though.
Author's Notes: Well, Here's Chapter two! Enter the angsty goodness! And again R/R!
Chapter 2: Memories and Tales
The trio continued their meal, the majority of the talking being questions from the orphans. The orphans were sent up to their room to prepare for bed and Millie, Jacob, and Vash sat in the kitchen still, drinking coffee and started catching up on things.
"Mr. Vash, I'm so glad you're back," said Millie, pausing to sip her coffee, "How is… er… your brother?" she asked, nervous to even mention Knives. After all he'd done, why wouldn't she be?
"Well, there's not too much to tell. He's recovered by now… but… it's rather hard to convince him that society isn't evil. That humans and plants… we can coexist. He's stubborn, to say the least," Vash replied in a serious tone, swirling the coffee in his cup.
"Oh, well, if anyone can change him, you can, Mr. Vash…" Milly replied, the same warmth in her tone. Vash was his brother, and more suited than anyone for the job. There was no doubt in her mind that his brother would realize he was wrong as long as Vash was put to the job of convincing him. She smiled and bit into a cookie that she'd baked that day, one of the few the children had left behind.
"It's a shame your brother has caused you so much trouble. The most my brother ever did was chase me around the house. Nothing like what yours done to you." Said Jacob, frowning at the taller man slightly.
"I know, it is a shame… but he's starting to come to terms, to understand my thoughts. I hope I can get through to him…" Vash sighed, quickly putting on an empty smile and changing the subject. "Anyway, Milly, where's the other insurance girl? You know, Meryl wasn't it? Did she leave?" Vash said in a thoroughly curious tone. Truly, he hadn't forgotten her name at all. She'd helped him far more than she realized, or that he'd let on.
Milly froze, eyes widening. She'd expected the question.. but hadn't realized it would send such a shock through her. "I-I guess…. you could say that…." She replied shakily, looking down at her tea with sad eyes, welling with tears. Her shoulders trembled, clutching the mug in her hand tightly, and glancing at Jacob. He sighed, giving her no reply in his gaze.
"O-Oh no… what happened to her, Milly? Is she alright?" Vash asked worriedly, watching Milly's cheerful expression shift quickly to a shocked, then pained look. Milly never got sad. This confused and worried him further than before.
Millie drew in a deep, quivering breath and began to explain. "This... isn't going to be easy… but… you need to know…" she started, "W-Well, things were going fine until about several months after you left… We'd started the orphanage and Meryl'd kept her job at the bar. The well was finished, so I took care of the orphanage and stayed home for my job," Millie paused and sighed before continuing. "Then things turned bad, bounty hunters heard rumors going around that we knew you and where you were, apparently the people here didn't trust you as completely as they did. So… they started harassing Meryl at her job, threatening that they'd kill the children and us if she didn't tell. Nothing serious happened for a while, so... we figured they were just empty threats. But, then she got back from work very late one day… I'd never seen someone in that condition. They'd injured her badly and left her nearly to bleed to death. But Meryl, she wouldn't go that way. But, I guess eventually she'd gave up and told, because when she got back, Meryl told me to hide the orphans and myself. I tried to stop her from going after them, but she refused and snatched her cape, planning on going after them. But she didn't even make it to the door. I rushed her to the hospital. She came back home, eventually, but she didn't leave her bed for a while. She was so afraid and worried… She felt so guilty a-and helpless... " Millie paused again, looking from Vash's worried face to her husband's sad gaze, offering comfort by placing an arm around her shoulder.
She sniffled and started again "She… I wished I'd noticed sooner… noticed just /how/ upset she was. Or how thin and tired… I guess the worry and guilt just wrecked her. She stopped eating, claiming to be ill, and she didn't sleep much, I could tell by the dark circles. I didn't see it, or I didn't want to. Eventually, all she did was watch out the window of her room, sitting on her bed, and hope she'd see you coming, safe and sound, so she could tell you how sorry she was. I went out and got a second job once she stopped leaving her bedroom, let alone the house, leaving the older children in charge while I was gone. That's where I met Jacob."
"The days went by, turning into weeks, and she got weaker and weaker, she became more and more worried as well. Until finally, I came home one day, and the kids I had left in charge told me that she wasn't doing well. I went.to the room to check on her myself. She had her head lying on the windowsill. She looked up at me, it was such a pitiful look, it was pained and sad, telling me everything without her saying a word. But then she smiled, sadly but with warmth, and said to make sure to tell you 'Sorry for not greeting you, idiot'. She looked outside again, and then she died. I'm sorry, Mr.Vash, I know it must be hard for you to deal with." Milly ended the story and started crying softly. It was still hard for her to tell the story, or even think of it. Any of it. She had lost her closest and dearest friend, and it was hard for her to cope. Jacob gave her comforting hug, rocking her gently.
Vash was in shock at first, he couldn't register it. She was dead? His mind wouldn't accept the words right away. Except the thought of it. He wasn't going to hear her yell at him anymore? Or call him a broom headed moron anymore? It couldn't be. It was real, he knew he couldn't deny it, but he didn't want it to be real. He didn't want to think he'd lost yet another person... and that he caused another death. Even though he had refused to kill for all his life, he still brought so many deaths. He knew now that she wouldn't walk through that doorway and say "You left us again and it took you THIS long to get back!" like he expected she would, wished she would. He put his head in his hands and cried, as he'd done before. What felt like a million times before.
Milly patted his back gently, trying to comfort her old friend. "It's okay, Mr.Vash, It's alright. There's nothing you could have done. She didn't die mad at you… and she wouldn't want you grieving. I /know/ she wouldn't. She had feelings for you, Mr. Vash… she really did… so she couldn't be upset or mad at you, truly," Milly said softly. He felt so bad for Vash… he suffered a lot. And it wasn't his fault those men came. It wasn't his fault Meryl'd wasted away. It was only his fault that the raven-haired woman had felt the way she did for him, though she never got to tell him.
Things went quiet after that, and remained so for a while, until Milly mentioned that they should head for bed. That it'd been a long day, and they should rest. Vash complied, following Milly to his old room. He lied on his bed for most of the night. Gazing at the ceiling, just thinking things through. His memories always haunted him, worse when tragedy struck than anything. Memories of Rem, Wolfwood, and now of Meryl, swirled in a torrent in his mind. "She had feeling for you, Mr. Vash… she really did…." Those words echoed in his mind. He finally found sleep sometime after 1 AM, not even finding comfort in his sleep. The only thing it brought were horrible dreams, his normal nightmares from the past.
Chapter 3 will be up in a few days, better and revised! See you soon!
