Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any Trigun characters. I also don't own an iPod …

THANK YOU for reviewing my work! I'd say you have no idea how much I appreciate it, but since you are fellow writers I'm sure you do :D As long as there is a single person that wants me to continue writing, I will do just that! And who knows, Technical Difficulty? ;)

For future notice, I'm not sure if any specific events take place in Juneora Rock in the anime … or if Juneora Rock is even mentioned in the anime. xD However, according to what I've read on Trigun forums, Juneora Rock is a small town between May City and Augusta in the manga. Sooo, I'll assume that's true for this story. :P

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Pins and Needle Noggins

Vash the Stampede was well known for the $$60,000,000,000 on his head, so it's always been assumed he wasn't afraid of anything. And with the ability to completely annihilate a city, many people wondered if he was even capable of fear.

Despite his malevolent reputation, Vash greatly benefited from this assumption; the more he was feared, the less likely he would be confronted by pesky bounty hunters (at least, that was his hope). Unfortunately, such a reputation never fazed the one thing he openly feared, the one thing that he'd try to avoid at all costs …

The short Insurance Girl's wrath.

"Excuse me, Mr. Vash the Stampede, but WHAT do you think you are doing?" Hissed the woman in a brisk manner, arms crossed and lavender eyes narrowed in his direction. As Vash was currently being pinned to the ground by the May City boys, he could only choke out a small reply:

"I wanted to … say … good-bye to … AIIIEEE!" The boy named Neil managed to twist Vash's arm nearly all the way around, making him squeal in protest. Shouts of "Yeah!" and "You could take him, Vash!" erupted from the pile of boys upon the helpless man.

"Vash was hitting on my mom again! And Dad's back too!" The boy looked up at Insurance Girl Meryl, his face flushed, but was surprised to see the fussy woman's face contorted in extreme annoyance. Vash, however, recognized the look well and braced himself.

"Mr. Vash, how can you possibly think of doing such a thing when the bus to Juneora Rock is ready to leave!" Meryl scolded, a throbbing vein quite visible by her left temple. "Millie's been stalling the bus for five minutes, and all you can think about is donuts or playing with children or—or chasing skirts!" And Meryl took a swing and planted a punch on the outlaw's head.

"Now be at the bus in two minutes or we're leaving without you!" Finality etched in her words, Meryl trudged off. After a few seconds of silence, Vash let out a sigh and was relieved to know the assault was finally over (though his throbbing headache was only beginning). He was starting to think he'd rather have a bunch of boys wrestle his limbs loose then accompany her and risking another one, when two of these boys stepped into his line of view.

"You're such a mama's boy, Vash!"

"Yeah, and we thought you were cool enough to join our club!" The boys grinned with such devilish looks, Vash began to squirm with dread.

"Wait, wait, Insurance Girl, don't leave me! … AHHHH, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!"

………………

No matter how precious his Ford Angelina was to him, Nicholas D. Wolfwood found himself cursing it whenever its speed wrenched a cigarette out of his mouth. Paper cigarettes were an expensive luxury, after all, and he was more dependent on them then his beauty.

I wish she was more dependable, though, He grudgingly admitted to himself, puffing on a new cigarette as he leaned on his dormant bike. Once again, as soon as Wolfwood stopped to replace the fallen ash from his lips, the Ford Angelina refused to start again. Unlike the previous time it broke down, he was less then 20 iles from a city—in fact, he would probably be able to push his bike through the sand in hopes there was a local repair shop.

"I wonder what you're up to, needle noggin?" He questioned out loud, glancing up at the bright blue sky in thought. The priest only left the evening before, but he was well aware that Vash just needed a few hours to land himself into some sort of trouble. Of course, after their teamed effort of saving Neil and his mother, the most trouble Vash should encounter in May City is wrestling with the local boys.(Those boys show no mercy, he reluctantly remembered.) Or being threatened by Neil's father—his blue-haired beauty of a wife was hard to resist, after all.

Something was irritating the priest, though, and he couldn't push it from his mind despite all attempts:

"What about 'thou shall not kill'?"

It was that simple sentence that continued to echo in his mind; that single sentence that half-jokingly slipped from the legendary outlaw's mouth. It was so inappropriate from someone with such a high bounty on their head, it was just infuriating! If Vash didn't say anything, Wolfwood could have easily and peacefully killed all the bandits in May City in the name of a suffering child.

"What kind of priest are you, anyway?"

Why did it bother him so much? It wasn't like Wolfwood to suddenly take advice from someone he barely knew; in fact, it wasn't like Wolfwood to take anyone's advice! The first instruction he ever received has allowed him to survive for this many years, so why should a simple sentence suddenly throw his perception of the world and his actions off-balance? It was just down-right galling to think a spiky-haired, red-donned, legendary gunman had such influence over him.

His musings were interrupted, however, when he noticed that the Twin Suns were at their highest peak of the day and his throat was rather dry. Sorely wishing he didn't drink all the water the big girl gave him the other day, the priest assertively grabbed the handles of his bike and dug his feet into the sand.

"Well, needle noggin, I hope you're okay." He muttered to himself, shoving his bike through the sand towards town.

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-Author's note-

Vash, Meryl, Millie, AND Nick make their appearance! D How is this connected to my last chapter? You shall see … buahahaha …

Read, review, criticize, and take a swing dancing class! It's quite fun!