July 16, Year 131, 10:17 a.m. – Eleven months, thirty days, and twenty-two hours since Vash left, and I still can't get that numskull out of my head. Yesterday afternoon, we arrived in Black Rock, the town rumored to be the last known location of the Humanoid Typhoon, and for the forth time in ten months, our investigation comes up dry. Vash has never been here; it turns out the rumor was spread when a vicious brute called Morgante the Warhead stormed through town and destroyed the local church. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt or killed, but it would have been a hell of lot easier on my heart had the rumor proved true.
Milly is her usual, cheerful self. That girl can be so frustrating at times, always seeing the brighter side of life even when a wall of darkness envelops her. I suppose it should be enlightening somehow, like a beacon in the shadows aimed to keep my vision straight and true, but all I can ever think about is how much pain she has suffered since Wolfwood's passing. Ultimately, that pain was brought on by the very man we pursue now: Vash the Stampede. Our lives were greatly improved when that walking disaster finally faded away.
Maybe that's what my head thinks. Maybe my head's right. Wouldn't surprise me. I spent a majority of my life knowing everything my head tells me is true, and it usually is. Milly desires everything unfathomable. Everything illogical. She is drawn everywhere she goes by the fallacies of the heart. She's a woman who does the impractical like it's no big deal at all. Stupid things like pursuing a crazed lunatic like Vash the Stampede across the sands of time, though we have no clue as to his true whereabouts.
I think the most frustrating thing about Milly is the fact that she does everything that I myself desire, though I know how utterly impossible it is. My mind screams that these things should be forbidden. They should be locked away and the key thrown into the pits of hell. But I follow despite myself, because deep inside, it's exactly what my own heart desires. For a simple girl like me, it's infuriating.
This is a girl who somehow taught me to think with my heart. I both love and hate her for it. It's an unwanted gift, or maybe a treasured curse. The only thing I know for sure is it's the reason I am here. Black Rock called to us because of a name. A rumor with no apparent truth attached, and that too is infuriating. Now we must turn away and begin our journey anew, and again, despite the frustration, my heart doesn't hesitate. My head doesn't know where we're going, so I have to let my heart guide me.
It's drawn by the call of a man I haven't seen in nearly a year.
A man known to the world as Vash the Stampede.