Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Justify Your Reason ❯ Vash Meets Jewell For a Second Time ( Chapter 1 )

Justify Your Reason

----Disclaimer----

I dun own Trigun!! I sorta wish I lived there but I don't. So I can only dream!!

~~Author's Note~~

Marina: Well, I dun know how I came up with this name as a title but here is my atempt to write a fanfic!!

Wolfwood: You'll be lucky if ANYONE reads it!

Vash: You don't need to be so rude, Wolfwood. I'm sure some people will read her story.

Marina: ::sniffs:: I didn't know you thought that way or I wouldn't have thought of putting you in the story. ::smiles:: Oh well. Wolfie, you'll be suprised if I DO get someone to read it.

Wolfwood: Don't call me Wolfie....

Vash Meets Jewell For a Second Time

Jewell Masteran walked toward the very quiet town she could see ahead of her; she was dressed in her usual clothes of a blue-red-white-and-purple tiedye sleeveless shirt, black skin-tight leather pants tucked into brown leather calf-high, steel bottem boots, a blue velvet cloth wrapped around her waist, and to finish her attire a black trenchcoat. On her back she carried a large broadblade-buster sword, on one side was a word magicked across the gleaming blade: Titan.

Her dark copper eyes were framed with thin, straight brows and sat behind blue sunglasses making her eyes appear brown, or black.

A breeze swept toward her and the smell of blood mixed with sand reached her cat-sensitive nose, the fur on her tail and the hair on the back of her neck prickled.

She ran the rest of the way there to see bodies strewn everywhere about the town, the ones that lay in the sun were swelling. Her eyes wide, she put her hand to her mouth and whispered,"Oh Goddess."

If that group of travelers get here with me still around, they'll think I did this, like they all do, she thought remembering that she saw a small group of buses from a cliff not too long ago, that day.

Jewell looked around, tapping her uncovered fingers on her lips in thought. I can't just leave the bodies this way, but I can't stay and get caught. Shit, I wish there was a way for me to stop time, but saddly that could destroy the universe, playing with the fourth dimension that way.

She sweatdropped and had to make the decision of staying and risking getting caught.

After putting the bodies in rows on one side of the town, Jewell began to dig proper graves for each one in the packed sand. There were 63 men and women all together, she buried about fourty or so and had to stop to take a break.

"Even I need to stop every once in a while," she said quietly to herself while wiping sweat from her face on the sleeve of her coat. She chuckled, though she wasn't in much of a cheerful mood, as she looked up at the suns and said, "Why don't I take off my coat, that way I won't be so freakin' hot!"

As she removed her coat and fingerless gloves, she heard the rambling sound of the buses she was hoping to avoid.

"Oh, shit," she said with a trailing whine, "I knew I wouldn't get out of here without them stepping in."

She draped her coat over her arm and, knowing that once the people saw the blood-stained sand and then her they'd get the wrong idea, began to walk around the buildings that she had been burying the people behind.

Once in view, Jewell stopped as a gunshot fired hitting the ground next to her feet. She let out a deep, quiet sigh thinking Oh boy. Here we go, As the men came to encircle her with their guns and such pointed at her.

"What happened here? Who did this?" asked one of the men sternly, poking her with his gun. She raised her hands in a surrendering way and said evenly, "I don't know, I'm sad to say. I got here and the people were dead. Please, before you get has-" the man who spoke before thrust is gun up at her face saying hotly, "I don't wanna hear excuses!"

Another of the men prodded her in the back, pushing her forwards.

Jewell sighed exasperatedly, This is the way it ALWAYS happens. Damn, are humans dumn. Oh, but that's there nature I guess. I can't hate them for that. Although...I don't haveto let them do this. She sweatdropped and sighed as she walked. I'd rather not run.

*~*~*~*

A figure in red walked across the desert, unexpectedly heading toward the town that Jewell had found just days before filled with the corpses of the people who were living in it at the time of an untold accident.

With a big pack on his back, he walked, still unknowing of what he is to find. He looked up at the cloud streaked sky, the suns' light glaring off his orange sunglasses.

He then continued to walk towards the town, with a little smile on his face. He was Vash the Stampede, known for the destruction of two entire cities, he's also known as the Humanoid Typhoon, though it wasn't he who really willingly destroyed those cities. Vash is a kind-hearted goofball who detests killing and absolutely refuses to kill or harm anyoneoranything.

He entered the town which, besides the sound of wind moving across the sand and the creak of old rope on wood, was silent and empty.

Vash walked into view of the center of town where he saw something that made him uneasy: a body hung from a wooden contraption, hanging from it's wrists by seperate ropes.

His beautiful, deep sea-foam blue eyes were wide as he dropped his pack and strode to the body. There was a huge sword thrust into the ground right below the body and a black trenchcoat tied around the hilt of the blade.

He could tell that the person was female, her tiedye top and black pants were torn and covered in the dark shade of dried blood. The wind blew and the woman's long blonde hair waved behind her, revealing a dirty, hurt face.

Vash pulled the sword from the ground and, though it was heavy, cut the creaking ropes; freeing the woman. He immediately dropped the sword and caught her.

A hoarse moan came from her. "Oh my God, she's alive," Vash gasped with suprise in his voice as he kneeled and laid her on the ground. He first untied her hands from the tight ropes, then carried her to a shaded porch of one of the buildings.

A wheezy voice, that must have been her's, said, "I.....I didn't kill the people.....please..don't-" she coughed abit "-don't put me...back up there...."

"I won't," Vash replied softly, then went to retrieve his forgotten pack.

Walking back to the woman with his pack slung over his shoulder Vash thought, I wonder who would do such a thing as this, and who the woman is. Though I really shouldn't ask the first question because I always seem to get a bad and dangerous answer. He sweatdropped slightly.

When he looked up at the woman, she was leaning against the wall with a look of great pain on her face; he kneeled beside her and said softly, "You shouldn't be moving, you'll hurt yourself more."

With a grim look plastered on her face, Jewell looked up at him and, without saying a word, looked back at her left arm. She put a firm grip on her arm, her hand placed over a wound, and squeezed it hard; with a hiss of pain she pulled out a silver bullet.

Vash blinked as he stared at the bullet that now lay on the ground beside her.

"You know why it's silver?" she asked in a husky, thick voice. Vash shook his head.

"Because they thought that, since silver can kill werewolves, it would kill me. They shot me because they didn't listen to what I had to say about the bodies I found," she sighed regretfully, "I didn't kill them, I only found them, I was burying them when the men came, they got the wrong idea, saw my unusualness, shot me and beat me, then hung me from the thing." She pointed to the wooden thing in the middle of the town.

"Unusualness?" Vash repeated curiously, looking her over, "What unusualness?"

"Oh, that," she said casually; as if it was normal, she slowly unwrapped the blue velvet cloth to reveal her furry, soft tiger-striped tail which wrapped itself around her hand. "I really don't know why people fre..." she stopped, looking up at Vash who was blue faced.

"What's the matter?" she asked looking around. He swallowed hard and tried to sound calm when he stuttered, "A-A tail? I d-don't want to sound....rude but what are you exactly?"

Jewell rolled her eyes and sighed, "Ya don't have to act like ya aren't scared. `Cause," she puased as she began to stand wincing as she moved, "I can tell when anyone, human or lower divine, is scared or angry. I am of the Divine, as are you, I am a Tiger-Shifter. Now, my friend, I must get back to the place I was headed to before my mishap here." She began to limp toward her sword which lay on the ground with her coat and crushed sunglasses.

As she put on her coat and gloves Vash walked up beside her. "One more thing my friend, don't change, continue learning new beliefs but don't ever change," said Jewell, then strapped her sword, Titan, to her back.

Vash looked up at her face with suprise at her words and saw a small smile on a very tired face.

Vash's suprise vanished and was replaced with a tinge of concern for her. "Don't you think you should rest before you travel, I'm guessing you know how dangrous the deserts can be."

She gave a sort of sideways nod. He was right she did need to rest, her eyes were stinging with forgotten sleep. Not to mention that she was hanging on that thing for about three days without food or water.

"I know, but if I don't get to where I'm going then I'll be attacked again," she said then sighed, her eyes wandering around the empty buildings.

Those questions he wanted to ask earlier came back to mind. "Who did this to you, and why?"

She snorted, "Well, I know it was a set-up to get me to really kill those guys who attacked me. I'm sure I know who it was that did it too, but that's none of your concern."

She began walking toward the exit of the town slowly when Vash said, "The reason I asked was because it is my concern." She stopped and looked at him quizzically.

"Look, if the person who's after you is the person trying to torture me then....maybe....maybe we can help each other. You know, work together."

He looked at her with a helpless puppy expression, as if he's been looking for his human-friend who wasn't ever there.

He looks so helpless, she thought, like he's never had a true ally in his life.

She limped over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Look into my eyes, my friend, I must see something." She used her hypnotic power to gently force him to look her in the eyes. Her mind linked with his searching for the answers to her questions she knew he wounldn't answer.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood......Rem.....Legato Bluesummers......Knives......'Millions Knives'

Jewell gasped and released Vash, falling to her knees even more tired than before. The dull throbbing in her chest painfully making itself noticed, made her cough.

Vash shook his head to clear it and knelt to look at her. "You don't have the strength to travel now, I can see it."

Her coughing subsided and she whispered, "You do need my help, I see that now." While inside his head she couldn't find who he was but names of other people and painful memories.

"Who are you?" she asked finally, not being able to remember where she had seen him before. Her mind began to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness as he said, "I am Vash...the Stampede."

He picked up her now sleeping body and began walking toward one of the abandoned houses of the town.

--Dream/Flashback-

Two almost identical boys, both looked about ten years old, walked through a makeshift town made of small shacks. The `town' was placed beside a huge broken up ship with `SEEDS' written across the side of it.

"Look at those pitiful humans," one of the boys said with disgust, " how they gather to each other for survival, and they leech off the lives of our brothers and sisters, that means...." He smirked evilly, "that together, we can wipe out all the pathetic spiders!!!"

"I won't let you hurt them, Knives!" the other said though he didn't really know how he was going to stop him.

Knives got a crazed look in his eyes and a big devilish grin as he said, "But why not, dear brother? Remember what they did to us? We are superior to them!"

"No we're not, I don't care what they did. Rem said that it's a bad thing to kill!" Just then two gunshots rang out. The bullets' targets, Knives and Vash. The first hit Knives in his right arm, the other hit Vash in his side, as he turned toward the direction of the shots, and just missing a vital point went straight through.

Knives clutched his arm in pain. "Damn! Who dare shoot me?! It's one of those inferior humans!" Vash fell to the ground, unconscious, his blood begining to seep through his suit. Knives falls to his knees beside hie brother, his teeth clenched together.

The sniper who shot the boys slowly walked toward the two. "You don't belong in this world, neither of you," he said and kicked Knives to the ground.

The sound of metal creaking spilt through the air. Jewell was bending the rifle up in a loop in the guy's hands. "You know you really shouldn't hurt kids like that, no matter who or what they are." He dropped his gun and stepped back, while stammering, "wh-wh-what are you?!"

"Someone that is going to kill you." She kicked him in the air. "And you really don't know how mad I am right know but, I don't expect you to." He was in mid-air as Jewell swung Titan after him, slicing him in two, then his body disappeared. She caught her blade and rushed to the boys.

Kneeling beside Knives she asked, "Are you all right?" Knives manages to punch her with his good arm. "Get away for me, Bitch! It's your kind who wil destroy themselves!"

Jewell was angry with this boy for the punch that stung only slightly but took care in taking his right arm in her hands and pulling the bullet from his arm.

Knives barred his teeth with a hiss. He shoved her away and said icily, "Don't help me you pathetic human! It's you who will destroy this beautiful universe!"

Jewell grabbed him by the neck, not choking him but she got his attention, "Listen to me, boy. If you don't want to die then I suggest you shut you're mouth. I'm not human nor will I ever be human but God willing I will protect them." She tightened her grip slightly and hissed, "Do I make myself clear?"

Knives sneered, but realized it's to no use, "You realize all human lifeform will fall...It's useless to try and save them... why can't anyone see?!"

Jewell let a thin laugh out, "Because if they fall then you fall, if they're destroyed there will be a very balanced piece missing and the universe will fall apart." She let go of him and walked to Vash who lay bleeding on the ground. She carefully turn him on his back and put her hand to his side, it began to glow silvery and used her healing power to slow the bleeding.

Knives stood up and slowly began to walk off, but stopped and said over his shoulder, "You are wrong, The world would be so much better without those scum..."

She looked back at Knives with a sneer that would peel paint. "And the world would be much better if you didn't exsist. A Fallen Angel with a twin that is an Angel who hasn't found his glory and light yet." She turned her attention back to Vash as she slowly healed his wound.

Knives turned, anger burning in his eyes, and dashed towards Jewell with his left arm raised. "Don't insult me you wench!!" Jewell sighed, closed her eyes, and waited. She waited until the last possible second and spun up and around in a defensive stance waiting for is attemped punch to her solar plexus. Jewell grabbed his wrist and pulled him past her, "Why do you fight someone whose like you?" She pulled him into a headlock. "You're too young to fight someone of my skill."

Knives struggled, his elbow connecting in a blow to her stomach.

"You little brat," she coughed, releasing him. "You do realize that while we're fighting each other, your brother is fighting to stay alive? I can feel him slipping away, little by little."

"Let him die! He's of no use to me! I dont care if he perishes, I can still cleanse this world of those human scum!"

She laughed, glaring at him. "He's your lifeline if you even understand what that means."

He narrowed his eyes at her comment. "Don't consider me as a stupid adolescent. I know more than you can ever fathom!"

Her glare faded into a wolfish smirk, "Oh, do you now? I'll have you know that I'm far older than you. I know a great deal of things you don't, emotions is my strongest point. And right now, I can feel that you'd rather Vash didn't die so he would help you destroy the human." She motioned toward Vash's deeply paled body and said, "If he dies, I kill you. If not then I won't kill you because I know he loves you too much to have you die. And don't think that Vash would help you, he won't."

Knives clenched his fists. "You cant kill me you WENCH!" He dashed at her, but changed course at the last moment, headed toward Vash. His kick sending Vash rolling through the sand.

Power flared in her as Vash's body settled in the dust. She grabbed Knives from behind, one arm wrapped around his throat the other around his arms, pinning them to his sides. "Try that again and you will be acting like a little human girl, scared and weak, for the rest of your long life," she hissed.

He struggled as he said, "I'll never sink that low! NEVER! Dont forget it! NOW LET GO!"

"NO!" she tightened her hold; hearing his ribs crack under her grip made her smile. "I always wondered what it was like to brake and crush a divine's bones one by one while they were alive and screaming," said Jewell with a taunting, slow voice.

Knives let out a blood-curdling scream, "N-n-no! Stop!"

Vash forced himself awake at the sound of Knives' scream and painfully stood up, his sweaty pale face sad and pleading but also angry. "Who ever you are let him go!" he begged. Jewell instantly released Knives, who slid to the ground."I...I-I can't die by the hands... of anyone..." he whispered falling unconscious.

Jewell stood there and didn't know what to do, all she did was stare at Vash's sad, pale face.

Vash fell to his knees and began to cry, one arm wrapped around his side. "Wh-why'd you hurt him.... you MONSTER!" he accused looking up at her with a look that scared her. Jewell continued to stare at him. She shook her head, holding back tears, she felt as if someone had stabbed her when she heard those words.

Her copper eyes were glassy with tears as she stammered, "I...I-I don't know...I don't...understand what...I did..."

"Y-you hurt knives!" he sobbed.

"I...didn't.." She shook her head again as a few tears slid down her cheeks. He pushed me too far,she thought, I would have never done it but... She slowly stepped forward, unsure of what to do. Vash tried to get up and run but his wound wouldn't allow him to move.

She walked to Vash saying, "Please, don't run. You're hurt." She put her hand on the one that covered his bloodied side. "I can heal you." He began to struggle, she didn't want to hurt him but she didn't want him to run like this.

Jewell gently pulled him back as his exhaustion took it's toll. "I don't want you to run off while you're hurt, at least let me heal you, and your brother." She kept him from falling as he stopped struggling and set him down. "I really am sorry," she said quietly, pressing her slightly glowing hand to his side.

Vash hissed at the slight pressure to his wound as he thought, Can i really trust her... what if what Knives said was true... what if... No! Rem said not to kill anyone!

She sighed as the wound healed closed. "There. Now...I..." she sighed again looking at him, "You can leave....if you want. I just want to say that, since you're not really human, you'll have more encounters like this one." She pointed to the twisted sniper rifle. "So be careful..." She didn't really want these two boys to run off and not ever see them again but she didn't want another thing like this to happen either.

Vash shook his head, "We don't have anywhere to go, we're in danger, I don't know what to do."

Jewell tilted her head in thought, her eyes closed. What to do!! AHH! I could take them to the Bunker but I don't know what I can do about that brat of a brother of his, I do know that he'll be trouble. Her straight expression curved in a forced smile, "Well, I could take you to a safe place. It's called the Bunker."

Vash nodded slowly, unsure, but he smiled alittle, "Th-thank you."

"It's a bit of a walk from here but I bet we can get there soon." The woman smiled as she stood up and went over to Knives, carefully picking him up. She nodded in the direction of the Bunker, "Let's go then."

After walking for a bit Vash tugged on her coat. "My legs hurt," he whined quietly. Jewell couldn't keep from smiling as she thought, he is so cute. "I promise it's not to much farther." She pointed to an odd shaped cluster of boulders, not too far from them, "It's right over there."

He nodded, "At least we're almost there."

"Oh, I forgot to ask," she chuckled alittle, "What's your name?"

He looked up at her with a smile, "My name's Vash. You never told me your's either."

She returned the smile and replied, "I'm Jewell. Though it wasn't a very.....good way to meet, I'm glad we have met."

"Will Knives be okay?" he asked, sounding alittle worried as he looked at his brother's face.

"Yes, I know he will, my healing ability is very strong, and you both have a very strong will."

Vash nodded and smiled at his brother, "Thats good... he may be scary at times but hes my family... I love him and if he were to die... then i wouldnt've kept my promise..."

Jewell wondered what promise but decided to ask later, the woman smiled again as they reached the cluster that formed the top of Bunker. She set Knives down against the side of one boulder and drew the hidden knife she had. Running the tip along the side of the boulder, it made a loud screech.

The boy covered his ears, and shut his eyes tight. "That hurts!"

The sound suddenly stopped as it sunk into a small crack. "Sorry," she said over her shoulder, "I know that's really loud." She turned the handle in the metal thing like a key, then she took Titan from her back and said, "Stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Alright," he said sitting down beside his brother, "Wait. What if someone attacks us again?"

"They won't," she said thoughtfully with a shrug. "I won't be gone that long anyway. Don't worry." Then she walked around the boulder looking for the bigger crack that unlocked the door.

Knives grasped his sense of reality, thoughts flashing through his mind, he slowly regained conciousness. "Wh-wh-where am i...?" he asked as his mind cleared.

"Knives?" Vash looked over at him. "Are you alright?"

He looked around and saw his brother, sitting beside him. "V-Vash... Where am I...?" "Outside Jewell's safe place," the boy replied, smiling at him.

Knives, furious, stood up and clutched his cracked and bruised ribs. "You let that wench take us somewhere?! Stupid!" he said, his voice low and cold. "Knives, she said she was sorry, she said she would keep us safe." He stood up facing his brother. "What's wrong with that?"

Knives punches Vash across the face, "She cant be trusted! No one can be trusted!"

Vash fell to the side, bracing himself on one knee. "How can she not be trust? She healed me and she was going to heal you too." His cheek stung terribly. "Why are you acting this way?!"

Knives' pupils dilated and became smaller and as he looked up at the sky he screams angrily at Vash, "Because no one can be trusted! They're all after us!"

Now Vash felt scared as he thought, Knives has never been this way before, I don't understand. "I don't understand you, Knives. Why are you so mean? You didn't used be be this way!"

He looked at his brother as if he would kill him, shouting, "I've always been this way! Those pathetic humans deserve this all!"

"She's not human!" Vash yelled back, "And the humans don't deserve anything like this. Why do you keep saying that?" Knives could barely keep himself from grabbing his brother and hurting him in some way and he said icily, his voice growing louder with each word, "Anyone for the humans needs to die along with them."

Vash fell back onto his butt, his fright to much for him to take, tears began sliding down his cheeks. "Why do you think this way?" he asked quietly, "Why are you so mean to everyone, even me?" Knives smiled a half-hearted warm smile, a coldness and an evil unimaginable hidden behind it, "Come on brother, let's go."

"Wh-Where? We don't have anywhere togo." Now more than ever Vash wanted to run from his brother, but his fear was wouldn't let him move as Knives grabbed his wrist and his smile turned into a scowl, "Just follow me and go!" Vash unwillingly followed, he didn't want to live the horrors his brother could do to him for not following. He looked back toward the rock formation.

Knives looked at his brother as they walked to the top of a cliff, "Still believe in the 'You shouldn't kill' thing, Vash?"

For this, Vash would risk his life to defend, he nodded slowly. "I'll never kill them just because you say to, Knives. Never." Knives sighed, exasperated, and tightened his grip on Vash's arm, holding him off the edge of the cliff, "Now do you still believe?"

Vash closed he eyes and nodded.......

A voice eminated from somewhere in her head as someone shook her gently awake, "Miss... Hey!"

Jewell's eyes opened and focused on a worried face. Soft aqua eyes worried, Vash sat on the side of the bed. Jewell's good hand came up to rub her face, it was sweaty and she also felt like she had been crying. She let out a big wavering sigh.

"Who..." Vash paused and looked out the window in the across from him when she looked up at his face. "Who are you?"

"I am Jewell Masteran." She smiled alittle, "I remember you. I remember how I met you too."

At this he looked down at her with a very confused look on his face. "When..?"

Before she spoke she tried to sit up but her lower body protested and she stopped trying. "When...let's see." She though about when exaclt it was. "Oh, yes. I remember. After the SEEDS ships landed on the planet. You..you-you were about two years old. But, because you're Divine, you looked more like ten or eleven" she said making sure she was correct then nodding.

Vash looked at her with a discomforted, disbelieving look. "But-but that would make you about-"

"Thirty years older than you. Yes," she finished for him.

"Alright, but...I don't remember you."

"That's because I had to change my appearance. What you see now is an illusion hiding who I really look like."

Now she forced herself to sit up, wincing as her body protested. "I'm lucky I know how to control illusions like this one or I'd be a Guardian Angel looking over someone right now."

She stood slowly and let her body get used to standing before stretching alittle. She groaned as her back popped several times, "How long was I asleep?" she asked and slid back onto the bed with a sigh.

Vash scratched the back of his head in thought. "Oh, four days," the blonde said finally. "Now, who are you really?" he asked a little glow of suspicion in his voice and eyes.

"I am Jewell Masteran, as I said before. I saved you and your brother from a sniper." Jewell make little signswith her hands and the illusion disappeared you show her true self.

"J-J-Jewell," he stuttered looking at her with disbelieve again. In his excitement he grabbed her in a tight hug.

She returned the hug with a smile. When Vash realized that his uncontroled hug was too tight he blushed and let go, then looked at the floor.

Jewell inhaled a deep breath and Vash said with a sad tone, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and patted him on the shoulder, "No, it's alright. I should be sorry. I avoided you because I was waiting for something."

A silence stretched between them for five long minutes before Jewell spoke again.

"What..." she whispered and Vash looked up from the floor at her. "What happened to you when he held you over the side of the cliff?"

He tilted he head just slightly with suprise at the question. "Really, I can't remember. Some of my earlier memories I can't remember anymore."

Jewell nodded understanding, "I know. Living for so long is hard."

Very hard, she thought rubbing the now visible scar on her face that went from her left eyebrow, around the outside of her eye, and down to the middle of her cheek.

~~Author's Note~~

Marina: My first fic and I dun do too good when it come to the end of chapters. -_-;;

Vash: ::claps:: I like it so far!!

Wolfwood: ::frowns:: That's because your in it, Needle noggin.

Marina: ::sweatdrops:: Now, now, Wolfie! You'll be in the next chapter somewhere. I promise!!

Wolfwood: Don't call me WOLFIE!!

Marina: Ah well, the first chapter is done. Review if you liked it or if not. Tell me whether the idea was a good or not. If you want you can add your opinions of how I could make the story better. But only if you WANT to.

~Goodbye For Now~