AN: Wow! I certainly did not think I would get so many reviews! I would like to thank everyone! Yes, I got so excited that I wrote separate thank- you's to everyone!

Angelstryke- Thank you! I was hoping I captured Vash's character well! I was quite worried about that

Vashra BloodReeper- Entertain is what I do::juggles and falls down: and I shall keep entertaining!

Angelarms- Thank you for the compliment and the little info about the anonymous review thing! I changed it

Lys3- Thanks a lot! I think if I keep writing stories, I'm gonna have to ignore what a few people say!

Z.A.G.- Thank you! And I did change the anonymous reviews setting. Thanks for telling me!

AngelOfDeath90- Thank you! Yes, I did remember the guns, and I guess I did a little mind game there without knowing it!

Rainydays13- Wow! Thanks a lot! And I'm sure you're a better writer than me! Thanks again!

Flipkat- First of all, I love the username And thank you! Oh, and don't worry- I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes me! ...It seems to be taking me a while, though...

Jaina- Don't worry. But if you had read my first AN, I said that this was going to be a lighthearted fic. I know what you're saying though. Making this serious would make it really stupid! I just have a teensy little spot in this chapter that's a tad bit on the serious side. Not really, though

Asteria- Thank you! I thought my beginning was actually pretty weak! Thank you for the compliment again

Avistone- Thank you! And I wouldn't dream of posting something that was alike to someone else's story! I'm not one to steal ideas At least I hope I'm not...

And I'm sorry that this took me about a month to get out! I was sick at first, therefore being too lazy to write, and I was loaded with schoolwork and what not. Then I told myself to finish it over spring break, but my grandfather died so I've been busy this week, but now I'm typing it up! Sorry again for the wait! But it's a long chapter! I guess that makes up for everything

And the song fits somewhat. Some parts kind of fit...ish...but bear with me! It's not as easy as it sounds! Especially since there are no freaking songs that go with this chapter::rips hair out: You'll just see...it fits in for me somehow in my mentally deranged mind

Okay, funny AN note in the edited-ness: I named this chapter after a Beatles song, and I say right there how it kinda goes with the chapter. Well::silently snickers: A quote from Sir Paul McCartney himself: "I did cocaine for about a year around the time of Sgt. Pepper. Coke and maybe some grass. A song like 'Got to Get You Into My Life', that's about pot. "Day Tripper," that's one about acid. Just about everyone was doing drugs at the time" XD, sorry I found it really funny. Just a little thing to add in here! ;

The first sun peaked over the horizon, as clouds filtered in behind it. The second sun was just beginning to follow, as Vash the Stampede lazily opened an eye.He looked over to the clock, and sighed at the reading of 6:07. He didn't have to wake up until he wanted.

Another sigh.

Oh, the joys of being a free man. He thought this every morning since he had let Knives go. 'Knives...' Vash pondered. He often wondered how his brother had been doing. It had been...almost two years since Knives seemed used to humans enough to live on his own. "It's really a miracle" Vash muttered as he rested his head against his pillow again. It truly was bliss being on his own again.

No Knives.

No bounty hunters. (At least today...)

No Insurance girls...

'Insurance girls...'. Vash's mind had wandered again. He just knew there was something about the insurance girls he had forgotten... 'Waaaaait...insurance girls...short one...job...job'. Job continuously repeated through his mind.

"THE JOB!" he shrieked.

Vash quickly sprang up from the bed, only to clumsily slip on the sheets that had fallen in his frenzy.

"Ow" he mumbled.

And that was how the job started.

After a half an hour of rushed showering, eating, and packing, Vash was heading down the stairs of his hotel, with the key to his room clutched tightly in his hand. The owner of the hotel was standing at the front desk – just as he was when Vash checked in.

"Here you go sir! Thanks for the room" Vash said cheerfully, as he set the bronze key on the plastic counter.

"No; thank you!" replied the owner, cheesily, as he took the key. Vash quirked an eyebrow at the man, as he headed towards the door. Except...the owner called out to him before his hand reached the knob.

"Say" the man's voice cut in, "you wouldn't happen to know a Jake Smith, would you?".

'Jake Smith' Vash thought quickly. 'The one you're doing the job for, dummy!'. "I suppose I do..." Vash replied. Actually, more to himself than to the owner.

"Oh! Good, I caught you! I'm supposed to give you this!" stated the man. He handed Vash a bulky envelope. Vash stared at it. He gave it a small squeeze. It felt like an object with ridged edges...

"Thank you sir, have a nice day!" Vash threw back quickly at the man, He didn't hear the owner's farewell to him, for he was engrossed in the envelope, as a child is engrossed in his presents on Christmas morning. Tiny shreds of paper flew, as Vash worked the envelope open. He poured the contents of the small package out. A letter and ... car keys? He shifted the keys into his right hand, as he unfolded the letter.

Dear Vash,
I have left with you a car as part of your payment. I hope it makes the process a bit faster. It should be a 5-6 day drive from here to December. And bring the girl back ALIVE. I've decided I would rather deal with her.
By the way, the car is parked across the street from your hotel. It's black.
I hope this gets to you.
-Jake Smith

Vash cursed at himself. 'He wants to kill her now...greeeeeat. You really are a needle noggin! Look at what you get yourself into! You were blinded by a reunion with the short Insurance girl...If she were here, she'd be calling you an idiot and a broom head now.' His mind scolded him. Sometimes, Vash hated to admit how right his mind was.

Vash stopped in front of a black jeep parked across the street from his hotel. This must be the car. He threw his duffle bag into the back seat of the car, and situated himself in the driver's seat.

"Heh...this'll be a piece of cake!" Vash said to himself in a high- pitched voice.

The few passer-bys stared, especially when Vash screamed as he hit the car in front of him.

Five Days Later...!

'Vash The Stampede? When's the last time you heard his name?' a young woman questioned herself. This young woman was none other than Meryl Stryfe. Insurance worker for the Bernardelli Insurance Company in December. Well-known for the time she spent with Vash The Stampede, with her partner Millie Thompson. Praised with a promotion to Supervisor of Claims Investigation after the estimated two years with the humanoid typhoon. No doubt, she is one of the most hard-working, determined, and brave employees in the building.

Some also fail to hear that she's the most-easily-set-off, as some put it, in the building. Our short insurance girl informed quite a few more people, as she screamed while throwing files about, in a spurt of frustration.

"Sempai...are you alright?" A young blond woman questioned her.

"I'm fine, Millie..." Meryl replied.

"Oh! That's great then! I want you to come and meet someone!" the girl cried, cheerfully.

"Meet someone? Can't you see that I'm flooded with three stacks of papers!"

"It'll be one second, Sempai, pleeeeeeease" Millie pleaded.

'Just go' her mind told her.

Sometimes Meryl thought her mind thought the wrong things.

Although, she just thought that her mind thought the wrong things, when thinking that her mind thought the wrong things would therefore be wrong...But that was off subject. Not to mention a tad bit confusing.

"This better be quick, Millie..." Meryl gave in with a gruff voice.

"Yay!" Millie rejoiced, before she continued. "I mean, what kind of first impression would it be to not say hello? Why, it wouldn't be any sort of first impression at all since you would never have said hello, and you wouldn't have a first meeting to impress him by...".

"Millie?"

"Yeah, Sempai?"

"Can I just meet this person and get it over with?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" Millie replied.

She led Meryl through a maze of desks, before they stopped upon one with an abundant amount of clicking sounds ringing against the wood.

"Hello, Mr. Jeff! Remember me? I'm Mille-the one who accidentally dropped the pudding on you!"

The man, Jeff, chuckled at the young girl's antics. "Yes, I remember" he replied, before casting his gaze off to Meryl. "And who might this be?" he questioned.

"Oh! This is my Sempai!" Millie said.

"Meryl Stryfe" Meryl corrected has she made the gesture to shake Jeff's hand.

"Jeff Levan" Jeff said, as he shook Meryl's hand. "...Aren't' you two the ones who were assigned the Vash The Stampede case?" he questioned.

"Yes, me and Millie kept watch over him for a few years".

"God, that's amazing! A few years with the Humanoid Typhoon, and you came out scratch less!" Jeff commented.

Millie then broke out into a fit of laughter. "Mr. Vash would never have hurt us! Why, he looked after us if anything!" she scolded.

"What are you talking about? We nearly got killed from all the trouble he got us into!" Meryl stated.

"But he always saved us. And it wasn't him who nearly killed us. It was bounty hunters...I think."

"The fact of the matter is that man's an idiot, and we risked our lives just being around him. And anyways, it was US looking after HIM."

"But Sempaiiii, Mr. Vash saved us lots of times!"

"Are you two always like this?" Jeff questioned. They ignored him.

"He saved EVERYONE lots of times. Not just US." Meryl said, her voice having risen to the edge of shouting. 'I wish he was here so I could hit him to get some tension out' Meryl devilishly thought.

"He saved us once at least!" Millie argued.

"When in the hell did he do that?"

"Well...with Legato, Sempai." Millie replied, nervously. Meryl had seemed to have forgotten about that...she had actually forgotten a lot.

"If I'm correct, the two of you work over there" The Chief droned behind them, as he pointed his finger to the right.

"Sorry, Chief!" Millie and Meryl nodded simultaneously. They were gone within seconds, leaving Jeff in awe.

"Weird girls..." he muttered.

The bustling streets of December soon were flooded with darkness as night fell upon the large city. It was a foggy night, even, which added to the aura of Vash's situation. 'A perfect night for a kidnap' Vash thought. No doubt he had arrived on the perfect day.

Vash was ready, to say the least. He arrived in December earlier in the afternoon. Immediately, he went to Bernardelli to get the Insurance Girl's address. He wasn't sure if it would go well, but the receptionist pulled out the file after Vash claimed he was an old ex, seeking an accepted apology. Some women.

So now here he was, standing in front of a grey apartment complex. He looked down at a piece of paper held tightly in his hand.

724 East 22nd Street
East December Apartments
Room 8B

"Damn her for living in an apartment...it makes this harder!" Vash cursed. He casually strode up to the doors of the entrance to the apartments. To his surprise, it was locked. Then he panicked. "How the hell am I supposed to get her, if I can't get into the damn apartments!" He exclaimed loudly.

He was pacing in front of the doors, when an elderly woman, walking out of the elevator caught his eye. "She's coming outside from the apartments!" Vash, quietly this time, exclaimed. He flattened his body against the side of the building, as the woman walked out the doors, and slipped in when she was fully out the door. Now to head up the stairs.

He had only reached the second floor, when he noticed this was where her apartment was.

'6B, 7A, 7B, 8A...and 8B!' His mind read off. Now, all he had to do was get inside, get the Insurance Girl, take her out to the car, go through with the drive, and pretend she was dead when he got back to Jake.

Alright. No problem.

But now, Vash just needed to focus on getting the Insurance Girl to the car. First, he would try the door. Vash predicted it to be locked, as any other individual would. He reached out for the handle... and it turned. "Unlocked?" He breathed out; shocked.

My, my, it certainly was his lucky day.

He then shut the door behind him, and proceeded into the house. It was...empty. No Insurance Girl anywhere. But it was 10:00...shouldn't she be home by now? But speak of the devil, the front door clicked to announce a certain someone coming home. He panicked ... again.

His mind was sending him signals to hide, and thank God, his body received those signals sooner than they originally would in such a situation. He made a mad dash into a random door as the light clicked on. Meryl Stryfe stepped into her kitchen as she flooded another room with light.

"Home at last" She sighed. 'I just wanna take a bath and go to sleep' She confirmed with herself. She set down her briefcase, and headed towards the bathroom.

Vash noted the footsteps nearing the bathroom he had dived into. He capitalized on them, when he heard them stop in front of the door. He panicked when the door knob

Meryl stepped into her bathroom, and screamed. Vash winced, as he noted that she may have seen him scurry into the cabinet. But she wasn't opening the cabinet ... she left the room instead.

"I can't believe there are mice in here!" Meryl said, whilst she left the room to get a rag. Upon returning, she walked over to the bathtub, and scooped up the mouse with her rag.

Five minutes later, she returned. "Is it too much to ask for a bath and some sleep?" she sighed. Meryl then proceeded to prepare her bath. She turned on the hot water, and set off to the task of undressing. After a minute or so, the bath was full, and she slid into the welcoming hot water. She closed her eyes, and recounted something the receptionist, Joy had said when she left for lunch. Something about an ex-boyfriend coming in for her address. But that couldn't be possible... she hadn't had a boyfriend since... well, since high school. And it had only been three dates. 'No one will ever date you, Meryl' her mind taunted. 'You'll become one of those old maids who lives for their job, and dies an unknown death'.

If only she had known there was a certain pervert, hiding in her cabinet, most certainly enjoying his peep show.

Vash had miraculously managed to stay in his cabinet without being caught. He had also managed to catch a few peeks from his cabinet. He hoped his memory wouldn't fail him on a few certain sights. Vash remained quiet in the bathroom a good half hour before going to check if the Insurance Girl was sleeping. He silently crept down her hallway, to check the three remaining doors of her house.

First door: Closet. No Insurance Girl.

Second door: Empty bedroom. Still no Insurance Girl.

Now the third door. This had to be it.

Vash's hand shakily grasped the cool metal. Just a little turn of the wrist, and the door was opened, exposing a sleeping Meryl, bathed in the moonlight that incessantly flowed in from her window. 'Grab her, and go!' Vash's mind screamed. His adrenaline pumped throughout his body, and with all that excitement, his body obeyed his mind the second time that night during a nerve-wracking moment.

He was out the apartment door in seconds, with a sleeping Insurance Girl cradled in his arms. He hadn't even bothered to shut her door. He was down the flight of stairs in record timing, flying out the apartment door, carefully, and racing to the car. All of this was down elegantly, so as to not wake the girl in his arms. He plopped her down in the backseat, a bit roughly. He gave out a sigh of relief, as he seated himself on the driver's side of the car.

He hadn't screwed up. He hadn't been caught. It really was his lucky day!

He took a second to look back at the girl in the backseat. His mind froze. Everything around him stopped. Nothing else seemed to matter. There were grey orbs staring back at his own set of aqua eyes.

Maybe things were going as well as he thought...

AN: Alright, didn't edit this chapter except for the fact that I actually gave it paragraphs, wow! How amazing is that? Ah well, if the writing sucks, somebody please tell me and I"ll edit it further! Thanks! And finally, on to a very new CHAPTER THREE, spooooky!