Trigun is owned by Yasuhiro Nightow.

Welcome to May

They reached May in what seemed like record time. The day was ending when Stella pulled up in front of a little diner with loud and happy noises filtering from within. The sisters had decided that it would be best if they stuck to the fringes of the city to keep prying eyes at bay. Seed didn't expect them to get within 100 iles of the city and security was lax.

Stella parked and looked to the back where the men still slumbered. Meryl was scratching furiously away at the paper making sure that everything was as she remembered.

"Meryl…" rasped Stella her voice having not been in use for the last day.

"Mmm?" mumbled Meryl. Her voice wasn't any better but her concentration was on what was before her.

"Come on lets get a room and we can get some rest. We can go tomorrow if all checks out."

Meryl sighed and finally looking up from the paper smiled softly at Stella. They were exhausted. They hadn't pushed their bodies like they had in the last day in years…more like decades. The men may be rested but the sisters were far from it.

"Yeah come on Meryl; let us get you two a bed and Knives and I will scout things out."

Meryl sun around in her seat and found Vash standing at the open passenger window, his eyes showed signs of sleeplessness but his face was soft. He opened the door and reached a gloved hand out to her. Sighing Meryl took the hand and was led into the diner to seek out the nearest inn.

Vash and Meryl entered the diner to be confronted with a handful of very drunk men. They clamoured over to them, their intent on getting at least one of them drunk if not both. Vash pulled Meryl to him and gently but firmly pushed the men aside. They made their way to the bar where the maid there looked on with amusement.

"Well then. Two new comers, and looks like newly weds too!" she joked. Her ruby red hair glowed in the faint light.

Vash smiled amiably. "Yes we are. We are traveling to our new home and we are looking or a place to stay the next couple of nights."

"Well then. Are you two looking for an expensive joint, or just a place that'll let you in without much fuss?"

Meryl grinned her eyes twinkling, "without fuss." She supplied.

The maid smiled back, "well then there is a place down the next street, you wont miss it."

----

The maid was right, you couldn't miss it, and the place reeked of beer, sex, and smoke, the perfect place to launch and hide an attack on Seed. They stayed in twos just in case someone decided to get fresh with the sisters. Knives and Stella went in to pay for the rooms, while Vash and Meryl stood outside with the bags trying to avoid having to inhale the putrid smells emanating from the main floor bar. They were wrapped up in each other's arms when Knives came back out without Stella. Meryl pushed away from Vash looking at Knives questioningly.

"Where's Stella?"

"We have company." Was all Knives said and grabbing his and Stella's bags heading into the inn.

Vash and Meryl shared a glance but followed. They made their way through to the back while trying not to get knocked over by the throng of people, both drunk and sober. Though Meryl didn't come out without having her rear grabbed at least a dozen times, not something she liked, but she had to keep up appearances.

When they had gotten to the back Knives sat at a table with Stella, who looked rather peeved. Meryl was the first to see, then Vash. There in the back of the table sat Nick and Millie, both with goofy grins on their faces.

"Well hey there needle noggin!" greeted Nick as Vash fell into the chair with Meryl on his lap.

"What…who…how?" stammered Vash as he gazed at the man.

"They knew where we were going and headed us off. Apparently they have done our job for the night. They know the guard rounds, everything that we need to get in and out." supplied Knives and he crossed his arms and started at the two.

Vash continued to shake his head while Meryl opened her mouth to speak.

"Now, now." Butt in Nick. "Don't worry short girl, it was our idea, big girl and I couldn't just let the four of you go in alone, you needed more help then you were willing to take. So we're giving it to you, free of charge."

"Yeah sempai! Don't worry nothing will happen to us!" piped in Millie, already showing signs of drunkenness.

Meryl sighed and held her head. "Oh fine."

Nick raised his mug and grinned broadly, and tipping it back polishing it off. "Well then now that that's all settled I say we get our ladies upstairs and cleaned up so that we can go over the information."