"After that," Knives paused and took a deep breath, "Nobody knows what became of the woman who would later be known as the bounty hunter, Onyx Faustnoir until she and I met ninety years later when we were about eighteen."
Vash nodded and gestured for his brother to continue, "And?"
"It all began when I was stopping in May City, and a young man was murdered. Naturally, I was suspected, and to prevent me from skipping town, they locked me up in a rather unkept jail cell with no food, and then subsequently left me to rot. About an hour later, I awoke to the sound of gunshots, and before I could do anything, the door swung open and she stepped in. She looked about my 'age', but there was something strange about her; something inhuman. Maybe it was her eerie—er…that despite her youthful appearance, in her eyes…in those strange gray eyes of hers, I saw the knowledge and sorrows of countless decades. Silently, she motioned for me to follow her. As soon as we were out of the building, she led me to the roof and looking me full in the face, instructed me to close my eyes and concentrate on her no matter what. Desperate to escape, I decided to trust her, and did what she'd ordered. What happened next was indescribable."
Vash raised one eyebrow skeptically, "Yeah? What happened next, I wonder?"
Knives grinned with an almost innocent glee that Vash had never seen before in his brother. "Then I was flying. I remember the feeling the wind whipping around my body…but then I remember looking over and seeing a large, gray-eyed raven beside me…and then everything went black."
Vash leaned forward inquisitively, "You can shape shift too?"
Knives sighed and shook his head, "No. I was only able to do it at the time because she willed me to do it. I've tried since, but I can't do it at all…she had some sort of psychic hold on me for a while, I guess."
Vash smiled faintly. "If you asked me, I'd say she still does," he muttered under his breath.
Not hearing his brother's muttered accusation, the lavender-eyed killer continued, "Several hours later, I awoke in a hotel room a few towns over with a terrible pain in my right side. Looking around, I couldn't see much, so I quietly slipped out of bed and crept into the next room where I found my savior casually drinking tea and reading the paper. Without even looking up, she gestured for me to sit down in a nearby chair, and not missing a beat, she looked me in the eyes and said: 'You're a lucky one, Knives Million. Most men would die from a fall like that.'
"When I asked her how she knew my name, she merely laughed and replied that she had been searching for me for almost ninety years, and had known of me and my brother for longer than that. At that time, she introduced herself and related to me the tale I have just told you. Unlike you, however, I didn't believe her immediately, and demanded some proof."
Vash shrugged, "And did you get your proof?" He chuckled morbidly, "If so, I'll bet you got more than you bargained for."
Knives winced, "She took me out into the middle of the desert, where she simply told me to hold still if I valued my life. She then walked off a few paces, turned to face me again, and thrust both hands in her pockets. The next thing I knew, she was so close I could feel her icy breath on my neck…she really moved that fast!! However, she wasn't stopping there, and before I could say or do anything, she had whipped that left hand of hers out of her pocket." He shook his head at the memory and shivered visibly, "Her touch was so light, it might have been a caress, except that where she had touched me burned like molten fire!! As I fell to the ground in agony, she waved her hand before my face, and for an instant, I saw the remnants of something receding back into her hand. Then, convinced perhaps that she had made a believer out of me, she helped me back to the hotel, where I soon fell asleep."
Vash stared openly at his twin brother, eyes wide, "She used Angel Arms on you?!" Knives nodded solemnly. "Yes. And what's really funny," he slipped his shirt down off his right shoulder to reveal a perfectly oblong, white scar at the base of his collarbone, "is that, although the plant healed all the injuries you gave me…for some reason, this particular one never healed quite like it should have…" He laughed weakly, gingerly tracing the scar's outline with his fingers, "Perhaps the plants wished me to remember the consequences of scorning their sister…" He shook his head, "Anyway, the two of us traveled together for one month of pure bliss. Before I knew it, I found myself telling her everything about me. It seemed that I had finally found someone like myself…someone who shared my views and my sorrows alike, someone who was as misunderstood by others as I was, and to whom I could speak of my secret ideals and desires without being called a monster. But then, one day, she simply disappeared without a trace, leaving only a short, hastily written note in emerald green ink. Grief-stricken and alone, I vowed that I would find her again, not knowing that even as I trailed her, you were trailing me as well; and years later, as I lay broken and bleeding in the ruins of July City, a large, black raven flew overhead and I heard a faint telepathic voice say: Quick! This way! . Suddenly, a strange blue-haired man with glimmering golden eyes appeared, looked over at the bird and nodded. Then everything went black…until now." Vash was silent for a minute, then, "So she saved your life…the blue-haired man must have been Legato Bluesummers……" Knives nodded absently, "Yeah…probably. That would make sense, I suppose." The man in the red coat turned and gazed at his twin knowingly, "You love her." At this accusation, the violet-eyed disaster looked as if he had been slapped. "No brother," he whispered, his voice wavering, "I'm not like you…I can't love anyone…not even one of my own kind…all I can do is be thankful for her understanding." Vash got up and took a stride toward the peak of Jeneora Rock. "You're wrong Knives…" he looked off into the distance, lost in memory, "You have a human side and you know it."