"He didn't mean it."

"How do you know? He is Knives's son."

Vash sighed, hand slipping back to rub his neck. She had never held Jekkanadar's father against him before, but all good things can't last forever. Vash knew that from experience. Well, it's easy to tell she's worried about him…

Aerin sat across from him, her narrowed grey eyes lined with red due to her recent crying. Her chin resting on her folded arms, she kept her eyes lowered to the table, not wanting to meet Vash's gaze.

"You'll never know if you ask him."

She closed her eyes, giving off the impression she hadn't caught his words. She didn't want Jekkanadar to meet his father, nor go with him. Knives was the very same person who ordered her own father's death, or at least had a part in it. She could never forgive that, even if her mother had.

"I don't want him to turn out like Knives was, either." Vash said, as though he had read her mind. His eyes slid closed, body relaxing to lean against his chair. He could still vividly recall the time he had gone to confront Knives, journeying out to the desert with Wolfwood's cross upon his back.

Wolfwood.

His eyes opened to rest on Aerin's face, so many of his past friend's features on her own face. She brought back memories, some he hadn't exactly wanted to remember:

"I failed to save someone again…"

"Well, just be more careful next time."

Vash look after Wolfwood's retreating figure, eyes dropping to the sandy ground where a trail of blood followed his friend's footsteps…

Vash blinked back tears, head dropping to his hands. Why were all these memories suddenly popping up again, when he had finally put them past him so long ago?

His watery eyes wandered to the window, the sand still flying and dimming the blue sky above. The day had started with such a promise; it felt as though the usual cloud of trouble was following him once again.

He couldn't have been more correct, but this time, the trouble wasn't focused entirely on him.

-----

Milly stepped through the grocery store, a basket hooked on one arm as she added food to it. Amazingly, there were only a couple containers of pudding, which happened to be her favorite food. Actually, she hadn't been eating it much ever since she had become a mother, 'instincts' keeping her from blowing all her money on the delicious goop that she loved.

It seemed it was only when her partner Meryl was absent that she actually followed the bossy, though shorter, woman's orders. Meryl had gone back home to give the final report for their job herself. She'd be back quite soon, as they all expected.

Meanwhile, Milly was stuck with the duty of shopping; knowing that the next couple weeks' supply of food was entirely up to her. Now that was dangerous.

She carried her overflowing basket up to pay for it, when a man in the deepened shadows of the corner caught her eye. His face was hidden behind blue-grey bangs, but strangely enough, he still seemed… familiar. She took a step towards him, when a splitting pain seared through her head, her grocery bags dropping to the floor as she sunk down with them. Hands holding her head and eyes watering, the pain subsided for a moment when a cold, smooth voice flowed in.

"It's not wise to be hasty…"

Milly's eyes widened as she recognized the man, but her train of thought was halted as she slipped into darkness, her consciousness slipping away.