A/N: Hey! This is my Trigun fanfiction! I've had it for a long while, but I decided to post it! See if anyone else likes it! Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you guys reviewed it! I'm still working on it, so I might take it down and edit it completely after a while to try and make it better. And I apologize beforehand 'cause my characterization of Vash in this chapter is worth crap, but I'll plan on fixing it later! Don't worry!

Oh! And this starts a couple of episodes before Vash meets Legato, so...yeah!

April Showers Bring May's Grave Flowers

April City

The voice of hundreds of children rang in many citizens' ears. Such childish excitement made them all lift their heads with curiosity, wondering what kids could possibly be excited about in the heat of the day.

It was the day before the April Showers Festival, and most adults instantly remembered what occurred at the moment; today was a time for new volunteering couples or willing single parents to adopt one or two children.

The festival came around every year, on the very last day of the month of April, rapidly morphing into a wondrous month of May. The April Showers Festival simply honored the entire month before May, and also became the best time of year for a relaxing drink.

Some nodded to each other with smiles and continued on their way to a store, work, home, or wherever they wished their destination to be. They knew that most of the children would become happy kids with families.

That's right...The other children would simply have to wait until the next year, or maybe the next, for another chance.

Kids hustled and bustled, running back and forth through the April Orphanage, screaming at each other to move or laughing as one of them tripped. They were all excited...each one anxious for a new mother and father, maybe even a new sibling...

Yes, it would be a bright day for most children, and none could stand waiting any longer.

Except for one.

Staccato Graywinters sighed heavily, stuck between the hurry and excitement, giving her an easy headache. Her five-year-old mind easily annoyed by everything around her. She was covering her ears with a blanket and her hands, her incredibly sensitive mind burning in agony from the noise and horrid smell of children with little or no decent hygiene. The child whimpered a little, soon covering her nose as well.

"I said move Stu-paddo!" A boy, fourteen years old, named Kelan, shoved her aside, slamming her into the wall nearby. "For crying out loud! You're so annoying, Graywinters!" He glared at her, lifting her by the back of her shirt and shoving her against the wall again. "What's your problem! Do you like to daydream and get beaten up about it?"

She winced, the sharp, wood partition giving her splinters in her face. "Ow..." Dare she say anything else, it would only provoke him to harm her more than he realized, the pain felt excruciating, she could barely stand it, her tears starting to fall without her consent.

"Just stay out of my way, you little bitch!" He lifted her up away from the wall and threw her disdainfully to the floor. Children around them laughed uproariously and continued through the hallway.

A bitch...? She thought, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, wincing in the process. How strange that...I've turned into a dog... As she thought of it, she smiled at the floor, wiping more of blood away, groaning as she stood to move out of everyone's way. No one would care if she stayed in the back room.

Miss Pecher, the owner of the orphanage, came stomping through the corridor, lifting Staccato up from the floor by her collar. "I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times, Staccato; you are supposed to stay behind everyone!" She tightened her grip around her shirt, walking back into the hallway. "I'm sick of repeating myself, child!" She dropped her down behind the other children. "Now just wait until there's a clearing, then you can follow the others!"

As the orphanage lady stomped away with an irritant scoff, Staccato lifted herself up, rubbing her arm as a large swollen spot of black and blue appeared on her skin. "I don't want to..." Her eyes watered and she quickly rubbed them away.

Staccato turned slowly, walking back towards the large bedroom. She had a feeling that those who were not adopted today would want revenge. And there was also an instinctive idea of what they would put their revenge to use on...especially Kelan.

But it wouldn't matter...She was the youngest of the orphanage anyway. It's not like anyone would care about a five-year-old when there's someone else who is sixteen-years-old at most—at a decent age where they can use them to help with work, chores, or other such things.

Hours had past on through the afternoon. Staccato watched everything from the window by her bed, which she could barely see through from her small size. Her feet on tiptoe, and her hands clinging to the windowsill, the view she had was just barely enough to be satisfied with. Adult's heads passed occasionally, also some immense squeals of delight from adopted children nearby, who hopped up and down ecstatically.

No one even paid her any mind, let alone saw her through the window, so she simply stared at her reflection from the glass, studying her face.

Staccato had deep black hair, straight except for the flipped-out ends. Her bangs covered her right eye, allowing only the left to show off the purity of her sterling silver eyes. Her ears were very slightly pointed at the end, giving the children the idea of calling her a demon.

She didn't mind it though...They left her alone for fearing that it was true. But they took great pride in beating her half to death, rather than avoiding her.

For some reason though, she could feel that, just maybe, she may at least be part demon...because every one of her senses...sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch...all were greatly increased, stronger, more painful to bear if she experienced one of them; especially touch. In fact, she could even sense when a storm or rain was going to come. But she never mentioned it to the others, knowing that it would only mean more beatings and insults of being a freak.

While she was looking at herself, she suddenly realized that someone was staring at her. She lifted her head up, still looking out the window. Her silver eyes widened with shock.

A tall man stood there, watching her intently with emotionless, yet gorgeous gold eyes and a very serious expression on his lips. His hair was a dark blue, cobalt; his left eye covered by bangs. His face was the only thing she could see of him.

She blinked, returning his stare, but she had forgotten about her grip, and she fell backwards onto her bed. Staccato looked up at the window, shaking her head lightly from the short fall. The man was still looking at her, only now he had a malicious smirk on his face.

Why did he stare at her? How come it seemed that he was the only person to ever look at her seriously?

From that point on, she stared at him with incredible appreciation and respect. For some reason she sensed that he could help her...that he would save her from her horrible life of pointless beatings and suffering...That he could be the one person to ever even notice her small life form.

His eyes brightened slightly, the deep pools of gold growing slightly closer to a bright yellow. She could tell...he was the answer! This man...this wonderful man would spare her the pain she had experienced!

The stranger rested his hand on the window's glass as she struggled to climb up again to get closer, to see such a kind man up close. She tried to reach her hand up to his, her short, childish arms too small to reach the far window.

Staccato was suddenly yanked backward by the hem of her shirt and she fell back, rolling off her bed to the floor, staring up at Kelan upside-down. She sensed the man still watching, his eyes wide with mild interest.

"What're you doing at my window, Stu-paddo!" He demanded, glaring up at the man and giving him a rude finger-sign. The intruder's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he smirked. "Strangers aren't allowed to look in our bedroom!" He stared angrily down at Staccato as she righted herself and looked up at him while she remained seated on the floor where she landed.

"Well, most all of the other kids have been adopted, 'cept you, of course, me, and plenty of my friends. We'll have the best time tomorrow, won't we, bitch?"

Staccato refused to answer.

"Answer me, you little brat!" He punched her in the face, making her fall to the side on the floor, her mouth bleeding worse than before, forcing out a loud cry from her throat. As she sat up again, more slowly this time, she nodded, one eye shut closed.

"Good, of course we will." Kelan glanced up at the window, the man now staring at him with narrow gold eyes. "Who's the freak anyway, bitch? A new friend you summoned up from hell?"

At that, Staccato had to fight back. "He's not from hell! He's an angel!" Her silver eyes narrowed furiously at Kelan. "He's being nice to me! That man is my angel friend!"

An angel? …How amusing. The stranger thought, chuckling to himself, though it seemed neither of the children could hear him.

Kelan frowned, looking down at her. "What're you talking about! Nothing you're friends with can be an angel you idiot!" He kicked her viciously in the chest, forcing her to lose the wind in her lungs with a gasp, hearing her yelp in anguish again.

"You're so dumb, Stu-paddo. I don't even know why you're alive! No one cares about you, and no one ever will!"

Staccato's eyes were wet with tears, refusing to let them fall. "T-th..." She struggled to breathe, her lungs panicking from the pain. "Th-that's...n-not...t-t-true!" Her small finger pointed up at the stranger. "He's the first person to actually look at me. And you care about me, because I'm your source of mean entertainment when you're angry!"

The fourteen-year-old-boy stared down at her with such hatred that Staccato had a feeling that she would die before the festival, which she wasn't even excited about.

Kelan turned away and stomped out of the bedroom with an angry snort, and Staccato was once again alone. The man had left after she was kicked; absent for when she pointed to him.

She stared at the ground sadly, her eyes flooding with tears. "He's gonna kill me...Kelan is gonna kill me..." Her head turned towards the window, the morbid thoughts twisting and mutating in front of her mind's eye. "It's going to rain tonight...Maybe Miss Pecher will let us play outside," Her eyes softened slightly, away from her fear. "The rain's so nice to me..."

During the night, it indeed began to rain. The other children instantly grew loud and obnoxious and begged to go outside and the owner agreed easily. They all ran outside excitedly, except for Staccato, who walked alone.

Many jumped in mud puddles, others went to look for sticks to play Stick Tag. Some whooped with ecstasy as they found their former sticks under a nearby porch, and they began the game.

"Staccato, you better join your friends." Miss Pecher said haughtily, glaring down at her. The child was sitting on the porch, staring at the other kids with dull, expressionless eyes. She lifted her head slightly towards the large woman with disinterested grey eyes. "I don't want to have to find something for you to do the whole evening."

"I'll try, ma'am..." She mumbled as she lowered her head slightly, but not her dead gaze. "But I don't have a stick to use,"

"Then be the main target, it's not like you'll scream or anything, you're as silent as the dirt!" The lady turned away with abhorrence and walked into the orphanage. "Honestly, you're such a spoiled little brat!"

"..." Staccato sighed sadly and suddenly fell sideways as a bunch of sticks rammed into her already bruised shoulder. "Ah!" She landed in the wet sand, her face getting covered with the mess.

"C'mon! Don't be such a baby, you dope!" Kelan yelled, grinning. "Sit up and look at us!"

Although she sat up as told, she refused to look at him. "..."

He growled and grabbed her by her shirt, pulling her face up to his. "You know, as dumb as you are, I can't believe you didn't listen to me," The boy's eyes were narrow with anger. "Why didn't you do as you were told!"

"B-because...You aren't the boss of me...and you are not my master." She looked up at him with a halfway insane smile, but it vanished immediately as she winced from the sharp sticks. How could she stand this pain for so long? Her nerves were screaming in such misery that it might have started to irritate her hearing as well. The scent and sight of her blood resurfacing from her skin made her queasy and she released a moan in pain and disgust. The sticks were digging into her muscles and veins, her fingers trying to stretch out to make it stop, her whole arm moving around to attempt an escape.

A blonde-haired man had stopped, blinking at the children. His blue eyes widened with astonishment as he saw the kids beatingthe little girl. "What the!"

The bruises on her shoulder had swelled furiously, prepared to burst with her dark blood if poked any further, some areas already bleeding. "Ow...stop, that hurts really bad!" If only they could understand what she meant by it—how much it really pained her. Her plead turned into a scream when they seemed to drill deeper through her flesh.

As he watched, the man grew more and more worried for the girl as he saw small amounts of blood on the floor. He stepped forward. "Hey!"

Some children turned with rapid gasps as his yell, Kelan being one of them. "Uh-oh..."

"What are you doing to her!" The tall man demanded, looking down at them in a wild fury for the child's pain. "Can't you see that it's hurting her?"

"Who are you?" The oldest boy asked, ignoring his outburst, acting...innocent. It almost disgusted him.

"Vash." The man paused quickly, then shook his head. "Whatare you hurting her for? She didn't do anything!"

"Oh, forget about her, she's a freak, so she's used to it!" A few kids grabbed for Vash's hand. "C'mon! Let's go play Stick Tag, Mr. Vash!"

"But it's not good for her injuries to get infected by dirt and the rain..." The Stampede glanced at the kids. "I'm going to check on her, okay? I'll be back!" Many of the kids shouted in disagreement with his choice, but waited for him patiently, Kelan and some of his better friends grinning and pointing at the little girl.

He walked towards Staccato, but paused as she lifted her head slowly, sitting up on her backside. Her silver eyes were dull, but he could see the extreme pain hidden inside. Vash grew rather confused. He realized that such an experience would be unbelievably painful to a child, but the look in her eyes seemed...insane. The girl lifted her head towards the door and stared at the light inside. Vash blinked, wondering what she was looking for.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, and a woman suddenly stepped out, glaring down at the girl. "For Pete's Sake, Staccato! You're covered in mud and filth and your own blood! What did you do! Try to kill yourself?"

"N-no...ma'am," The child winced in pained and struggled to stand. "I-I just...got r-really dizzy..." A lie. Why did she lie when Kelan would end up bringing her to her death anyway?

"Well, don't try standing up if you get light-headed, you stupid child!" She lifted her up by her ear and slapped her in the face before dropping her to the floor. "Now get inside before you get your damn self sick!" The woman returned into the orphanage, heading back to her room.

Vash sighed sadly, watching the little girl with gentle eyes as she lifted herself up. "She has a strong heart, that's for sure..."

It seemed that her ear had twitched when he spoke. She lifted her head rapidly and stared at him with wide eyes. "Uh..." She stuttered quietly, the rain soothing her hearing.

He blinked at her, the brown cloak he wore to cover his red coat hiding his true Stampede appearance. With a smile, he walked up and knelt down next to her. "Hi there! Are you okay?"

She looked at him, her silver eyes dull, her soaked hair covering one of them. "..."

"...Um...Hey," He smiled a bit brighter and ruffled her hair. "Do you need any help?"

Staccato stared at Vash, her blood from the bruises slid down her arms with the rain. He seemed to hesistate in his offer to help herher senses seemed to tell herthat he was forcing himself."...No," Standing up slowly, she whined before turning towards the orphanage entrance. "I just need to get my old bandages..."

"...Huh? 'Old?'" The Humanoid Typhoon stared at her with shock. "You mean...this really has happened before?"

She turned her head furiously towards him, her silver eyes instantly narrow and fierce with deep flames. "Leave me alone...Vash the Stampede!" With a quick growl, she ran into the orphanage, stumbling upon the old stairs and flooring; holding back tears of anguish.

His eyes widened with shock. "H-how could she...!"

"Hey!" A boy called out. "C'mon, mister! Let's play!"

The Stampede glanced over at the other kids before looking down at the dirt, his eyes lighting up with curiosity as he saw some pictures in the sand. "Eh...?"

One was a picture of a mysterious man, who looked like he had piercing eyes of some color. There were a few others of creatures such as birds, snakes, and demonic-looking creatures, but most of them were made with half-effort. The image of the man...was far more emotionally drawn than he could describe!

"Mister!"

"I'm coming!" He stood up quickly and followed after the other kids, wiping his wet hair out of his face. But... He turned his head back to the door, watching Staccato run through the hallway. ...How? How could she know who I am?

:Sorry if it's a bit short...eheh...: