A/N: The second chapter is finally up. Not sure when the third will come, since school is interrupting my ideas. Thanks everyone!!!

Midnight Discussions

"Well, that explains why you two were unconscious in front of the restaurant" Meryl grumbled, as they stood under the cover of a store front. She was vexed at having her meal interrupted. "And what did you two do to make him so mad?" she asked angrily,

"Not much" Wolfwood replied, leaning on his cross and lighting a cigarette he'd fished from his vest pocket. "Needle noggin here just wanted to go out with a waitress."

"Which one?"

"All of them."

"Well, that explains more than I wanted to know" Meryl said dryly, looking at the time on her watch. The hour was later than she thought. "We really need to be going back to our rooms, Millie. Where are you two staying?" Meryl asked, addressing the former alcoholics.

"Well...we don't really have any place to go to" Vash said, scratching the back of his head. Meryl assumed that was his habit when he became nervous.

"Then you can stay with us" Milly offered looking to Meryl for approval.

The smaller insurance girl gave a sigh of exasperation. Now that her partner had made the offer, it wasn't as if she could refuse them. She just hoped they wouldn't take advantage of their hospitality. But then, she did have her derringers with her.

"Alright" Meryl answered, taking hold of Vash's arm and leading the group to their hotel.

"Yay!!!" Milly yelled, grabbing Wolfwood's hand and dragging both him and his cross after the other couple.

Fortunately, the Bernardelli Insurance Society kept the girls well stocked with money, allowing them the luxury of renting decent hotel rooms. The room they were currently staying in had two bedrooms, so Millie and Meryl were sharing one, while the boys were given the other.

After the girls had bid their guests a goodnight and left, Wolfwood slumped down on the bed. He looked around the room in appreciation, rarely seeing such style. Then his manner became serious, as he lit yet another cigarette. "So, what do you think of them?" he asked the blond standing in front of the bed.

"They're okay, but the small one is kinda bitchy. And violent" Vash added, rubbing his bruised arm. Meryl's grip had been less than gentle in leading them to the hotel and up the flight of stairs to the rooms. "But what about you?" he suddenly asked, a sly grin appearing on his face. "You and the big girl seemed to be getting along."

"She's comforting" Wolfwood said, shrugging his shoulders. "I think she's good, truly good" he whispered, looking out the window at the waxing crescent moon setting in the sky. "Well, it's getting late and we'd better turn in" he said, rising from the bed and stretching his long limbs. "I'm guessing you're going to want the bed?"

"Yeah" Vash sighed.

The following morning, the two insurance girls awoke early. Exiting their room fully clothed and ready for a long day at their jobs, they saw that the other two suite occupants had yet to arise.

Meryl stopped in front of their closed door, and listened. Hearing nothing, she knocked loudly. Receiving no response, she twisted the knob and found that the door was locked from the inside.

"Needle-noggin sleeps a lot during the day" a voice suddenly spoke. Then Wolfwood's head appeared over the top of the couch, his hair disheveled from sleeping all night on the said furniture. "And what are you two doing up so early?" His bloodshot eyes told the two that he rarely awoke before noon.

"We have interviews to conduct around the town" Meryl answered, giving the closed door one last suspicious glance. "And why are you sleeping on the couch? The bed is big enough for two" she asked, turning toward the rising priest.

"No reason" he answered, standing and stretching his cramped limbs. Wolfwood walked over to the kitchen partition, idly wondering what was for breakfast. "So, when are you girls leaving?" he asked casually, leaning against a wall.

"Tomorrow" Meryl replied, walking into the small kitchenette and searching the cupboards for some food. "After the interviews, we still have to finish typing the reports. And the bus doesn't leave until then anyway." Setting the fruit and cereal she'd found on the table, the small insurance girl suddenly heard a loud growling noise. Turning to the priest, she looked at him with a side glance.

"Sorry, haven't had anything to eat in a while" Wolfwood said, trying to calm his rebellious stomach. But the food in front of him was too tempting, and his stomach let out another hungry growl.

Meryl sighed in exasperation, picking up a large apple and tossing the fruit to the starved man. Wolfwood gladly took the offered breakfast, munching on the food appreciatively. After finishing with their own meal, the insurance girls left for work. Of course, after Meryl had given strict instructions for the two not to leave. She didn't want the two to cause any trouble while they were away, especially since the boys were now boarding with Millie and Meryl.

After a long day of collecting the necessary interviews for their report, the two insurance girls wearily traveled back to their hotel room. Reaching the suite with the setting sun at their backs, they found Vash sitting on the couch. Seeing their entrance, he stood up and gave them both a warm smile.

"How was work?" he asked, silently offering to take their parcels full of their notes and the portable typewriter. But Millie objected, carrying both girls' work to their rooms.

"Fine" Meryl muttered wearily, collapsing at the kitchen table.

"Must be hard work" Vash commented, joining her at the table.

"Only when people refuse to cooperate" Meryl replied, staring out the window at the darkened sky. Her and Millie were going to be having a late dinner tonight.

Vash's head suddenly jerked up, startling Meryl. She watched on in horror as his eyes moved to the window, seeming to almost glow.

"I have to go out" he suddenly spoke, his usual cheeriness gone. He offered no explanation for the sudden change, merely rising from the table and walking to the front door.

"Stay here" he ordered, before leaving the hotel suite.

Left alone so suddenly, Meryl wondered if she'd said something wrong.

Outside, Vash's feet took him into a nearby alley, where he stopped at the far end. Away from the hotel. He faced straight ahead, though mindful of the sounds around him. He didn't want anyone walking by and getting caught in the middle.

"What do you want?" he seemed to ask the empty air around him. But he was not alone.

A pair of golden eyes stood out from the shadows behind Vash. They showed no hint of feeling, as if void of all emotion. The rest of the form still lay hidden from sight, cloaked in the surrounding darkness.

"Good evening, Vash the Stampede" the owner of the eyes spoke. The words spoken were ones of greeting, but the tone was ice, neither friendly nor welcomed. "My master greatly wishes to see you."

"I won't go" Vash said firmly, turning to face the shadowed figure. "But you didn't come to me just to deliver that message. What do you really want?"

A low chuckle echoed in the alley, one as cold as the eyes. "My master wishes to know why you have stayed with these unworthy two for so long" the shadow said. A pale hand emerged from the shadowy figure and pointed from where Vash had come, toward the hotel. "Do you have some affection for them?" Though the tone was unemotional, the words were mocking.

"Why? What are you going to do to them?!" Vash stepped toward the figure in anger, fearing what their plans for the insurance girls might be.

"Nothing at all, Vash the Stampede. But my master may want to have some fun with them." The eyes suddenly moved farther back into the shadows. "Especially the small one."

Those words were his last, as Vash dived toward the figure. But only to meet empty air. The unwelcome visitor had vanished. Vash stood in the alley, his head slightly drooped and his mind repeating the conversation. The insurance girls were in trouble, and all because of him.

Upon entering the hotel suite, Vash was confronted by a still confused Meryl. And her rising temper at his abrupt exit.

"Why did you run out like that?" she said, her tone almost accusing. The responsible insurance girl didn't want to deal with a man who would bolt out when the urge took him.

"No reason" Vash said, trying to edge his way past the increasing angry Meryl. "I just needed some fresh air, that's all." With those words, he suddenly slipped past her small form and raced for the bedroom. Slamming the door shut behind him, he saw Wolfwood sitting on the bed, a questioning look upon his face. Vash slumped to the floor, mentally exhausted from the night's events.

"Wolfwood, we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" the priest asked, watching the fallen gunman warily and trying to find his packet of cigarettes at the same time.

"His messenger boy was here, and he threatened the girls."

Wolfwood froze at Vash's words, his eyes open in shock. Then he went back to fishing in his pockets, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Damn" he muttered, finally finding a cigarette and lighting the end. He pondered their predicament for a moment, while Vash cursed himself for getting the girls involved. After a few minutes of silence and thinking, Wolfwood finally spoke. "There's no other choice" he said, exhaling smoke. "We have to take them to their destination ourselves. It's the only way we can make sure they'll be safe."