A/N: Lord knows that I do not need to start any new stories...
Having said that, here's a pilot chapter for a story based around Trigun Stampede. I mainly just wanted to try out something new as I have never written for Trigun or its newer iteration before now. If you guys end up liking what's presented in the first chapter and want more, let me know and I may continue it. I certainly have ideas. Thank you for reading and for any input you guys choose to provide on this first chapter. Best wishes and God bless you all.
Disclaimer: Trigun & Trigun Stampede belong to their respective owners. This is merely a Fanfiction.
Warnings: The only important thing of note right now is that this story will take place in the Stampede universe and not the universe of the original series from 1998. Other than that...there's nothing substantial to warn you guys about yet. Enjoy!
Crimson Stampede
Prologue: A Loose Connection
How do those who experience life outside of time view those bound by its chains?
Do they sympathize with the frailty of humanity? Do they envy its ability to evolve continuously?
Perhaps they despise mankind's innate cruelty.
Or maybe they kneel at our feet, begging for love in any form.
When the bells toll to mark the end of their existences, what emotions will these beings feel?
Vash the Stampede, known throughout No Man's Land as the Humanoid Typhoon, does not ponder such things. With endless tragedies marring his wanderings from place to place, thinking too deeply is a one-way ticket to a severe depression no amount of therapy could hope to drag him out of…not that anyone would be willing to listen to him in the first place.
For now, the best relief for Vash is a box of fresh donuts, piping hot coffee in a cracked porcelain mug, and the world passing by without paying him any notice.
From time to time, he experiences this when he sits in crowded taverns where the highlight of the night isn't an outlaw with a $$6,000,000 bounty strutting in, but a traveling performer slowly gaining popularity throughout the planet.
He wasn't following her exactly. Truth be told, Vash suspected their chance encounters were the result of the woman tracking him.
Of course, such a conjecture is mostly unfounded. Regardless of how often they see each other, the woman never makes any special effort to approach him. In fact, the only reason he knows she recognizes him is because her sparkling blue eyes always find his in the crowd of admirers listening to her music.
Almost as if she performs for him alone.
But surely this is his imagination dreaming up things that cannot be.
So long as his brother is out there stealing Plants from the remnants of humanity, he can't stop moving. Any friendships he cultivates remain at surface level.
They have to…for everyone's sake.
The woman seems to understand this even though they have never exchanged words. She maintains distance with a rigid discipline, yet never fails to acknowledge his existence when they cross paths.
Sometimes it's with a soft smile. Other times she may offer a nod or a timid wave in his direction.
With certain pieces, Vash can hear her buried emotions.
Fear.
Joy.
Grief.
Desire.
Hate.
Desperation.
Love.
Pain.
Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.
The intensity pouring forth from her fingertips along old piano keys brings him to tears sometimes. Each note elicits a different memory of when he was a child basking in the glow of a peace he never thought would end. Many of those memories are tainted now, especially after years of constant conflict.
He often wishes he could tell the woman how she strengthens his resolve to offer salvation and relief to anyone he can, or how her voice, when she deigns to sing, is a comfort that bathes him in hope when the maliciousness his brother displays against humans becomes too great for him to stomach.
More than anything, he wishes he could compliment the beautiful smiles that remind him of Rem's love and kindness.
He doesn't though. He assumes he never will.
Vash has never had a problem striking conversations with people, yet with her he maintains distance with a sense of contentment.
They don't need words. The music she plays and the short glances they exchange speak for them.
After two years, he's stopped counting the number of times she has suspiciously turned up in whatever town he wanders into. If she's intentionally trailing behind him from place to place, Vash believes she does so to offer him the solace of her music when nothing else can soothe his battered heart.
It's for this reason that he respects the barrier she's placed between them, for that blockade of distance protects them both.
Connecting through music is enough, will always be enough…
…
And yet…
A/N: And that's chapter one. If you're interested in more, please let me know. Thanks for reading and God bless you all!