Disclaimer: Trigun is sadly enough not mine, or there would have been way more episodes!
Chapter 58: Meryl's POV
Silence falls as the two brothers' step through the doors together. Nearly every set of eyes is on them. She chuckles to herself at their reaction. Vash blushes while Knives gives everyone that bow-to-me expression. Beside her she can see Milly trying not to giggle. A moment later the old man Vash had referred to as Doc comes over to them to ask them to join him.
"Of course," Vash replies, glancing over at his brother as answers.
Predator, she thinks as she looks around, that's what nearly everyone here is feeling. They know that there is a possible danger here and are reacting in fear from it. No wonder Vash gets along so well with them, they prefer to avoid violence much like he does. She would almost bet that the people of this community had grown up with Knives as their bogyman, so having him here among them was probably not the brightest idea ever. Of course, if he could get along with this bunch, it would mean that he was no longer a threat and perhaps they would stop using him as a bogyman, which would mean in two or three generations he would be as easily accepted as Vash.
She was pulled from her thoughts by Doc calling for everyone's attention as if they were not all staring with a combination of fear and apprehension. "Thank you for joining us tonight to welcome Vash and his companions to the village, in a few days time there will be a group of newcomers joining us in order to help build viable greenery, please everyone make them feel welcome."
With that said, he takes a seat and motions to the four of us to do the same. Mentally shaking her head, she sits down next to Vash, while Knives sits across from him, and Milly next to Knives across from her. For the most part, dinner is quiet. The only ones really talking are Doc and Vash as they discuss the events of the last few months. Part way through dinner, Milly's eye widen and she excuses herself, it's almost amusing how fast Knives attention switches from internal to her with that announcement. As she leaves the room, he follows without saying a word and that chuckle she was trying to hold in escapes.
"So we now have two extremely literal people on our hands," she mutters still chuckling.
"Is everything alright?" Doc inquires, glancing towards the door they had just gone through.
Giving a small nod, she responds, "Milly's pregnant, so sometimes she is sensitive to the emotions in the room."
He looks at her startled for a moment before nodding, "That makes sense. A pregnant woman does sometimes notice things a bit more." He pauses for a second, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "Can I ask why he followed her?"
After taking a sip of the juice provided with dinner, she replies, "Part of the punishment the plants imposed on him is her protection. So he tends to keep an eye on her. Of course, I could also see her leaving the room if she thinks it is an easier way to deal with something. And now if you will excuse me," she stands, kissing Vash on the cheek before leaving as well. While she was talking she had observed Brandon and two others going out the door after them if their expression was anything to go on.
What's the matter? Vash inquires, his hand catching hers for a moment.
She smiles at him reassuringly, Just those children I said would need a good fight. Don't worry about it, nothing and no one will be broken, enjoy your visit with your friend.
He nods, returning to speaking with Doc as she leaves. Upon getting outside, she is not shocked to see the three boys trying to box in Milly and Knives. Their goal is obviously Knives, but they had made a mistake by choosing to do so while he was with Milly. His electric blue eyes are narrowed and she can almost hear him deciding whether it was considered a legitimate threat or not for how to deal with the three.
"Excuse me," she comments as she stops behind the trio, "that's really not a bright idea for a number of reasons."
"Stay out of it!" Brandon snarls, not even bothering to look at her.
She glances past him to Milly raising an eyebrow in question, Milly nods, tugging on Knives arm to get him to step back.
"Reason one," she informs him as she sweeps her leg out and knocks the first on his ass, "I have a short temper and you're bothering my best friend."
The other two turn to face her, unbelieving looks on their faces. It is probably weird to them to have a small female confront them. "Reason two," she side steps as the one to the left lunges, her knee coming up to connect with his chest as he hunches over. "When you're told to be polite and welcoming, you do not intentionally pick a fight the same day."
Brandon gets back to his feet glaring at her for all he is worth as he swings in her direction. Ducking, she continues, "Reason three," her heel connects with his stomach and stopping him in his tracks as he doubles over as well. "When you have already been shown stupidity is not the correct tactic, change tactics."
The one to the right tries to grab her as she remarks, "Reason four," her fist connects to his jaw, staggering him. "It is a really bad idea to attempt to bully someone who is an unknown. They might have a worse bite than you."
All three boys pause rubbing different body parts, and she merely watches them. Focusing on Knives because she is sure he is listening, she mentally comments, I do believe that making them unable to move would be considered within the limits of politeness without having Kikyo get annoyed. Besides, if this keeps up I am going to end up lying to Vash 'cause I told him they wouldn't be broken and there would definitely be some broken bones.
He nods and she knows the exact moment he has hold of them, because they all get a stiff expression, their eyes the only things moving as terror takes over them.
"Reason five, better to not pick a fight with a person or group that you have no hope of winning, the more intelligent thing to do is back off and observe, learning." She pauses looking carefully at each and pulling the information she knows from the ladies to the forefront of her mind, "Now I can understand your problem, but I will say this rather simply, you're following the exact same path as the person you're pissed at. Is that really the option you care to take?"
For a moment Knives retains his hold on them, when he releases them it is rather obvious because all three step away from the trio. The fear in their eyes is evident as their glance flickers between her and him.
"So I hope you will think carefully on what I said, it is not a good idea to assume anything, particularly when you plan to pick a fight. Now shoo." All three turn and bolt, heading to one of the houses towards the end of the road. Glancing at Milly she smiles, commenting, "Give them a couple of days and they're going to be questioning what I meant. At that point they will probably ask Vash or Doc to explain it to them."
Milly just shakes her head, a giggle escaping her. "Meryl, you are something else. How did you know they were going to do that?"
She shrugs, her shifting to a small smirk, "Because it's what any boy who thinks revenge is the best way to deal with something would do."
Is that supposed to be a barb for me? Knives inquires amusement in his tone.
She shakes her head, "Nope, a fact. I cannot tell you how many cases we dealt with for the agency because one guy wanted revenge against another. Let's get back inside, I doubt you ate enough to be full." She comments as she glances at Milly.
Milly ducks her head, blushing a little bit. "Ah Meryl."
Shaking her head, she turns and heading in, she knows the other two will join them shortly. Really though, they couldn't have been more original with their plan? When she sits back down by Vash, she slips her hand in his, and resumes eating.
Is everything alright? He asks after a moment.
The other two retake their seats as she answers him, Everything is fine. Problem avoided.
He smiles, before turning the rest of his attention back to Doc. The rest of dinner goes smoothly with no more interruptions though she doesn't see the boys come back in.