Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Pearls of Experience ❯ The Wind Rider ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun or Sailor Moon

Sharem: Hi everyone…^_^ I know, I have other stories that I need to finish but this one just wouldn't leave my mind. This is my first story in the Sailor Moon Crossovers section and the story takes place after the end of both anime.

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Pearls of Experience

Chapter Eleven - The Wind Rider

Knives swiftly made his way back to New Pueblo with Ami curled up in his arms. She was conscious but wasn't responding to any external stimuli. For some reason, her lack of response made the Plant worry. The doctor would at least come back with some intelligent remark or something about not killing. He did not like how this female was making him feel and he wished that it would just go away. Alas, the feeling would not go away.

He knew that his twin brother was following behind him with the rest of the annoying spiders and the pink spore. He really didn't care as he walked through the outskirts of the town and headed directly for the doctor's house. He ignored the looks he was getting from the townspeople as the house came into view. He held the woman closer to his body when he heard her begin mumbling incoherently. The Plant could almost feel the mental anguish Ami was going through at the moment. He already knew that he had some sort of link to the woman but it has somehow gotten stronger.

Just as the tall blonde walked onto the porch of the house, he was unaware of a pair of blue eyes watching him. The watcher gazed at the man and then noticed that he was being followed by a group of people. There was another tall blonde among them that looked similar to Knives but was wearing a red trench coat. The eyes of the watcher narrowed as she spied the unconscious form of Chibiusa being carried by the red coated man. She then gasped slightly as he saw Lita being helped into the house by her little brother, Chad.

'So, the Jupiter senshi has been found and was awakened,' the unknown female thought to herself as she made her way to the only hotel in New Pueblo and booked herself a room. 'Lady Mercury has made some interesting new friends…but how did Small Lady end up here?'

The hotel manager raised an eyebrow at the name that the woman signed the hotel registry. "Is that your real name, miss?" he asked as he tried to wheedle some information from the strange female. He nearly winced as he received a full glare from her.

"That is the name I am using because it is mine," she seethed, the tone in her voice promised pain to the man if he continued to ask any more questions. "If there will no longer be any inane inquiries, I will go see to my room."

The manager just nodded as he handed the woman a set of keys. The woman took them from him quickly and went up the stairs. As soon as she was no longer in view, the man sighed in relief. One of his employees looked at her boss strangely and asked what was wrong. The eyes of the man had a look of fear mixed with curiosity and respect.

"That was The Wind Rider, Lily," the manager responded in a strange voice.

The girl's eyes went wide. "Wow…" she whispered. "She's like…so cool! It's almost like having the famous Vash the Stampede coming here. Roushuko Ichijin …that's an interesting name for a lady…right, Mr. Seward?"

Mr. Seward didn't pay any attention as he busied himself with hotel business. He did not want to know why one of the most ruthless bounty hunters on the planet was in his small town. He was certain that it meant that bad things were to come…

It was now late afternoon and Ami still had not come of out the trance she appeared to be in. Chibiusa had regained consciousness earlier and stayed by the blue haired woman's side. She wanted to be around when her adoptive mother recuperated from whatever was fogging up her mind. She didn't even care that Millie and Meryl helped her changed into clean clothing. She just wanted her Ami-chan to be better.

Knives entered the living room where Ami was currently in and that was where the pink haired girl was. Her crimson eyes glanced up at the Plant and then sniffled for a moment before turning her gaze back to the woman. She was apparently in no mood to talk to the man and that suited him fine. The spore was easier to be around when her mouth was closed but it didn't go well with her personality.

"The doctor will be okay," the Plant remarked quietly, his voice devoid of all emotions. The emptiness in his tone caused the little princess to look up at him curiously.

"You like her," Chibiusa stated as a fact, her eyes shining up at the tall man.

"I do not 'like' her, you little spore," Knives fumed, suddenly angry. "She calls herself human and I say all humans are spiders. So, therefore, spiders are not worthy of being 'liked'."

"Ami-chan is not a spider or human," the pink haired girl replied. She felt herself getting angry as well, but she was trying to keep her temper under control like the princess that she is. "You should know that by now, you big moron. And now that you have a piece of the Ginzuishou inside of you, everything should be clearer to you now."

The blonde Plant glared at Chibiusa and a part of him really wanted to do the girl some harm. Another part of him, however, told him that the girl was right. He could feel the power of the crystal shard flowing through his veins and how it linked him, the spore, his twin and Ami together. He could sense their life-force as well as their abilities. He did wonder where that fifth crystal shard had gone off to.

"I wish I knew where it went also," Chibiusa said softly. When she saw a look of shock on the man's face, she had the grace to blush and grin sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Mr. Knives. I guess that since we are connected because of the Ginzuishou, we can hear each other's thoughts."

Knives grimaced at that and then concentrated for a moment. She was right…he could hear the thoughts of his brother much easier than before and his connection to the Mercurian was much stronger now. He did not like the fact that he was connected to the Pink Spore as well, but he had no choice in the matter. That was when realization just dawned upon him. This Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal, shard within his body was making his already strong mental abilities much stronger.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the blue haired woman. In his mind, he saw four silvery threads of light extend from his body to Chibiusa, his twin brother Vash, Ami and out the house to some unknown location. Deciding to experiment, he mentally pulled on the silver thread that was attached to the little girl. She yelped for a moment from some momentary discomfort and that made the Plant grin maliciously. He then 'pulled' on the thread that was attached to Ami and she murmured something in a strange language. Suddenly, the thread between him and the unknown place became taut and it pulled on him. Hard.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed loudly as he doubled over in pain. It felt like someone had jerked the silvery thread through his brain. Unbeknownst to the Plant, Chibiusa whimpered in pain as well as the Mercury senshi. However, a loud scream was heard from the kitchen.

"What was that?!" a voice yelled loudly as Vash stormed into the living room and glared at his twin. "I was having a nice snack out of some chocolate donuts when it felt like someone tried to pull my head through the eye of a needle."

Knives rolled his eyes as he sat down in a chair and returned his brother's glare. "Are you implying that I did something to you?"

Before Vash could say anything, Ami slowly sat up from the couch and glanced at the occupants of the room. "You did do something, Knives," she stated quietly, earning looks of surprise from the two Plants and the little princess. "You discovered the link between the four of us through the Silver Crystal shards. Conversely, whoever is at the end of the fifth connection did not like what you were doing to Small Lady and to me and pushed back. Unfortunately, that 'push' was felt by all of us."

Lita decided to enter the living room at that moment and carefully made her way around the men and sat on the sofa with Ami. "I was just wondering about something. Why did the Ginzuishou split up and why did parts of it go into the big doofus *she pointed to Vash* and the psychopath *she then pointed at Knives*? Also, since I am a senshi, why did it not go into me?"

"That is something that I would like to learn as well, spider," Knives growled in response. This earned the Plant a glare from Lita and she made a rude gesture towards the man. The two appeared that they were about to begin a knockout, drag down fight when Ami raised her hand. This stilled the angry senshi of Jupiter and the moody blonde Plant.

Ami sighed a moment and glanced at her audience. She saw Wolfwood, Millie, and Meryl enter the room and she made a mental note to figure out why they are always drawn to her and the two men before her.

"I think I know why you did not get a shard of the Ginzuishou, Lita," the senshi of Mercury began, her sapphire eyes making contact with everyone in the room. "It's because you are the reincarnation of Lady Jupiter, also known as Makoto Kino in our youth. It is obvious to me and Small Lady why we got shards. It is because we did not die in the final moments of Crystal Tokyo."

Wolfwood took in Ami's words carefully and thought about them. "Is it possible that Vash and Knives got two of those crystal things in them because they are, in their own way, senshi as well?" he asked thoughtfully, one of his hands was rubbing his chin.

Chibiusa shrugged a moment before hugging her adoptive mother. "I dunno about that," the little girl sighed. "In Mr. Vash's case, I think it's because he has a good, pure heart just like…just like my real mommy had. As for Mr. Knives, I dunno about that moron."

"Watch who you are calling a moron," the aforementioned Plant snarled menacingly. "A rabbit-spore like you should watch your mouth. Did you annoy people like this in that…that…Crystal Tokyo place like you are annoying me now?"

Ami chuckled softly before another argument would begin and glanced at the priest and her adopted daughter. "Nick, you have a valid point about Vash and Knives and so does Chibiusa. It could also be the fact that those two are not human but plants."

The group talked for a couple of hours trying to figure out why the Ginzuishou split up and entered four people. One of the main theories was what Wolfwood suggested about the twin Plants being a sort of senshi, while the other theory belonged to Ami about them not being human. The priest gave up on the conversation after awhile and decided to take some money and buy dinner from the restaurant instead of having Millie and Lita cook.

The black haired man strolled down the nearly empty street and took comfort in the peaceful surroundings. New Pueblo was usually a quiet town and he enjoyed that fact. The day's events, however, did take a toll on the gunman's being. He was content to let the world run the way it always had. Then, his views were abruptly changed and challenged. He had never believed in magic before and he had witnessed more magic than any mortal was suppose to. He watched the woman he called a sister in his mind use magic and transform into a soldier of sorts and then into a princess-like being.

He felt the power that surged between her and the two Plants and that pink haired girl when they destroyed the strange creature called a youma. Wolfwood wasn't sure why he felt the powerful energy but he reasoned that it could be that Ami had resurrected him from the darkness. She used that silvery crystal to revive him and he thought that it could have left a portion of itself within him as well. He knew when his 'sister' was in trouble and in pain.

Sighing, Wolfwood finally reached the restaurant and was about to enter when he spied someone leave the hotel. The figure was tall and was wearing a trench coat. It was a blue so dark that it almost appeared black. The coat was unbuttoned and it became obvious that this figure was a woman. She was wearing a light yellow shirt and black jeans. Around her hips the priest noticed that the woman was loaded with guns and other weapons. He couldn't tell what color her hair was because it was under a cowboy-style hat the same color as the trench coat. He saw that she took the hat off for a moment and her hair was covered in a golden bandana. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses. He saw a strange symbol on the woman's belt buckle and felt his blood drain from his face. He knew that she was dangerous and needed to hide.

Sensing that she was being watched, the woman turned around to see a tall man wearing priest-like clothing all in black duck into the local restaurant. An eyebrow rose from behind the sunglasses and thought for a moment. Looking around to make sure that no one was around, she slipped into an alleyway. Once she knew that she was alone, the tall woman took out what looked like a mini-computer.

"Thank the gods that I still have some old technology to work with," she said out loud to herself. She punched a few keys and a picture came up on the screen. It was a picture of a man with tanned skin, dark hair and dark hair with a bit of facial stubble on his chin. The following information also came up on the small screen.

Name: Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Nickname: Chapel

Age: unknown

Known accomplices/companions: Gung-Ho Guns, Vash the Stampede

Bounty: none that is known

The woman rubbed her chin for a moment and then grinned. "I saw him walk into the town earlier with Lady Mercury and her friends. I think I know what to do…and see why that crystal piece came to me. This may be the reason why I felt compelled to come to this little town." She put the mini-computer away in a hidden pocket of her coat and walked out of the alley. She sauntered over to the restaurant and entered the small establishment.

The dark attired woman looked around for a moment and then spotted the priest. He was sitting at the bar, obviously waiting for a takeout food order. She silently went over to the man and stood behind him, making sure that he didn't hear her. She then tapped his shoulder lightly and smirked at the way he jumped in the seat. He whirled around and was about to say something when he noticed the woman. He went to reach for the gun he had tucked in his pants, but the woman was faster.

"Don't even think about it," she hissed, her own gun already pointed at his head. "I am sure that you know who and what I am, Chapel."

Wolfwood nodded and felt the anger rise like bile in his through. "Yeah, you're that bounty hunter…Wind Tossed or something…How do you know who I am?"

The Wind Rider chuckled warningly at the man but kept her gun trained on him. "Wind Rider is my name, you insignificant little hu…never mind. I know about all of the planet's outlaws, that is how I know about you. I never went after you because you never had a bounty big enough for me to consider. However, I know that you are a companion of Vash the Stampede…"

Wolfwood narrowed his eyes in anger and stood up despite the gun that was pointed at him. "Is that how it's going to be? You take me hostage so you can get the bounty on my friend?" he spat out angrily. "I thought that Roushuko Ichijin, the Wind Rider, was a bounty hunter with honor. I guess I was sorely mistaken."

Roushuko raised a gloved hand and slapped the priest, leaving a bright red handprint on his face. "How dare you insult my honor!" she nearly yelled. She took off her sunglasses to show blue eyes that were flashing angrily. "Honor is the only thing I have left in my life and I'll be damned if I let someone like you shame me! I would never, EVER, use someone to gain the bounty on any of the people I track. And I will gladly say that I am the best bounty hunter on this miserable dust ball of a planet because of my honor. So do not jump to conclusions about people you do not know!"

Not wanting to feel like he was the bad person, Nick glared at the woman as he stood up. He realized that this woman was just about the same height as Millie, if not taller, and Millie was a very tall woman. "Then why did you mention Vash?" he retaliated. "I know how much his bounty is…so you should understand why I said what I said. He is my friend and I am protective over my friends. And don't call me Chapel."

Roushuko sighed and put her gun away, but still kept a wary eye on the tall priest. "That is a good quality to have, Chapel," she replied, saying the nickname just to aggravate the man. "However, I recommend that you have a talk with your friends and warn them that something evil is coming for them. I will help them when they need it, but not before." With that, the woman left the restaurant swiftly, the air gusting for a moment.

The black clad priest swore under his breath when the woman disappeared. He didn't get an explanation of the 'evil' that she said was coming. He knew that his friends and Knives (AN: of course he wouldn't call Vash's twin a friend…^_^) will question him about this confrontation with the famed bounty hunter and he will not have any answers that will satisfy them.

As soon as the restaurant manager approached him with the food he ordered, Wolfwood left the establishment with the bags in hand. He carefully scanned his surroundings to see if the Wind Rider was watching him but he couldn't see anything. He grumbled as he walked back down the street towards the house he shared with Ami and their friends. He looked up at the sky for some reason and saw a red light streak across the vast expanse. Shrugging his shoulders, he went up to the house and entered it.

Blue eyes observed the priest from a hidden position on a roof and then shook her head. She had seen the red light and knew that something was coming. 'I hope that these people can protect you, Ami,' Roushuko thought to herself as she jumped off the roof and went back to the hotel. 'Once there is another attack, I might reveal myself to you and the other holders of the Ginzuishou shards…'

It has been a week since Ami woke up from the coma and the dragon youma attack and everyone seemed to be on edge. Ever since Wolfwood had told everyone that the famed bounty hunter, Roushuko Ichijin, the Wind Rider, was in town, Vash became very wary once he heard that because of the huge bounty on his head. Knives just ignored his twin and went about the business of trying to talk to the Mercurian.

He did not have much luck in doing so because she kept herself busy. Ami would leave at the crack of dawn to tend to her patients in the small town and not return until it was late afternoon. Once she would be at the house, the Plant couldn't find the time to be alone with the woman. Somehow, Chibiusa, Vash, or any of the others would be at her side. It was as if they sensed her need to stay away from the man.

Ami was walking home from tending to the wounds a girl who worked at the hotel when she saw someone flag her down from the post office. Wondering what was going on, the doctor went over to the person. It was the elderly man who ran the post office and he seemed to be quite anxious in getting the blue haired woman's attention.

"Oi, Doctor Mizuno," the old man wheezed, waving a piece of paper at her. "You just got an urgent telegram. I don't know who it's from and it's in a really weird language."

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the doctor took the paper from the man and glanced at the message. Her eyes widened a bit and her face became extremely pale. "Thank you, Mr. Gustav," she shakily replied as she left swiftly. Her mind was in a whirl as she went over the contents of the message.

As soon as she approached her house, Ami noticed that Knives was waiting for her on the porch. She knew that he was still trying to get to talk to her alone but she knew that she just didn't have the time right now. She tried to go past him but the Plant was faster than she expected and grabbed her around her shoulders and brought her body close to his. He then leaned down and his mouth was right next to her ear.

"You and I need to talk," the blonde man whispered in her ear. "I want to know why I have this strong connection to you, woman. It was there long before that blasted crystal sent a shard into my body. Why?"

The blue haired woman shivered as she felt his breath on her ear. It was not an unpleasant sensation and she tried to fight her body's reaction to his closeness. "I don't know," she murmured quietly, unconsciously leaning onto the Plant's tall form. "I really don't know…"

Knives didn't know how to react to her soft comment and felt shocked when her petite body leaned into his. He then realized that the connection formed when Chibiusa appeared and he had that strange dream. His arms tightened around Ami and saw Rem's form in front of him. He blinked his eyes several times and saw nothingness. The Rem figure was just a part of his imagination. His heart started aching for a strange reason and the doctor looked up into his cerulean eyes.

Ami did not see the usual ice that was in his eyes' depths. She saw uncertainty, sadness and heartbreak running amok. This made the Mercurian want to ease the blonde's inner pain and turmoil. Then she remembered the contents of the telegram that she had received. She closed her eyes for a moment and then glanced up at Knives with understanding and a pain of her own.

"I need to go," she stated softly as she tried to break free of the man's embrace. "I am needed elsewhere."

"No," Knives stated in a monotone. "I will not let you go until you give me the answers I need."

The petite doctor sighed as she reached up and caressed his cheek gently. This small action surprised the Plant so much that he let the woman go. "I'm sorry, Knives, but I need to go. Please don't ask me where I'm going because I will not tell you or anyone. I want you…and everyone…to be safe."

At that, Ami raced back down the porch and opened the door to the jeep that she and Wolfwood shared. She started up the vehicle and sped off in a direction out of the town. A slip of paper had fallen out of her pocket as she left and it floated down onto Knives' feet. The blonde saw the paper and bent over to pick it up. When he opened it, his eyes opened wide in confusion at the strange language that was written on it. He knew of only one person who could possibly be able to read it.

"Spore!" the tall Plant roared as he entered the house. "I need your help!"

Knives' yelling made Chibiusa to run down the stairs and glare angrily at him. "What do you want, moron?" she demanded as she went up to the man. "You don't have to yell, ya know. And I have a name. It's Chibiusa and not Spore."

The Plant rolled his icy eyes and shoved the telegram in front of the little princess. "This fell out of Ami's pocket as she jumped into that vehicle of hers and left the town suddenly," he answered, not really wanting to explain anything to the girl. "It's in a language I've never seen and for some reason I think that you know it."

The pink haired girl looked up at the man curiously and then took the paper. Her eyes went wide as she handed it back to him. "It…it is from someone called Tidus. She said in the message that if Ami-chan did not leave immediately, she would send hundreds of youma to destroy this town. It also said that Ami-chan has to be alone or else she will kill everyone that has come into contact with her."

Knives began to shake deep within his soul. He wanted to kill the person who threatened his infuriating doctor…he wanted to see the person's blood pour out of her body and drip down his arms. He then shook his head to clear it and then had a strange look in his eyes. Chibiusa saw the look and felt scared so she took a step back. Just as she was about to say more, a huge gust of wind howled outside of the house and the front door flew open. It revealed a figure standing on the porch.

Vash wandered out of the kitchen when he felt the wind and saw the strange figure at the door. He then felt the fear coming from the little princess and the murderous rage coming from his twin brother. The emotions were very intense and he nearly fell down from the feelings they were emitting. Ever since he got a Silver Crystal shard in his body, his own senses became sharper and more focused. He had to close his eyes to regain his equilibrium and gasped. He stared at the stranger in the doorway.

"You have…you have the fifth crystal shard," the Humanoid Typhoon exclaimed, getting the attention of the little girl and his brother. "But…but you're that bounty hunter…"

The Wind Rider chuckled grimly as she took off her hat. She still had the golden bandana covering her head and the sunglasses were still on as well. "I was wondering when one of you would notice that," she responded gruffly. "I felt a disturbance within that crystal and I knew that something was wrong. Small Lady, what was in that message?"

Chibiusa related to the bounty hunter what she had told Knives. A slight growl was heard from the tall woman and the little princess felt a familiar presence coming from the woman. She didn't even realize that the woman had called her Small Lady but Knives' did. His eyes narrowed for a moment but kept this information to himself.

"I say that we follow that infernal woman," the Plant replied as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "She will probably need us."

Vash nodded as he looked around. "We shouldn't tell Meryl and the others. They will probably get hurt."

Chibiusa looked at both tall men and then at the bounty hunter. "You guys aren't going to tell me to stay here?" she asked, her eyes incredulous at the idea that she will be going.

"I don't see why not," Roushuko answered seriously. "You have a piece of the Silver Crystal as do Mercury and these two men and I. We should have enough power to be able to defeat this Tidus person, whoever she is."

With that being decided, the four people left the house silently so as to not alert their friends. Vash got into his vehicle along with Knives and Chibiusa. He went to wave the Wind Rider to get in as well but saw her mount a motorcycle. It was unlike any other motorcycle he has ever seen. It appeared to have been built for speed and power and be able to withstand the desert sands of this planet.

The bounty hunter nodded at Vash as she turned the bike's engine on and it roared with life. The twin Plants looked at each other for a moment before Vash turned the ignition and the jeep was moving. They drove off in the direction that Ami had left, each of them wondering what will happen next.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN: Whoa!! Nearly 5,000 words for this chapter…O.o; I had been having trouble with writer's block this past week and when inspiration came, it really came! Anyway, sorry for the lateness of this chapter and I liked how it turned out.