Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Burgundy and Blood ❯ One Fool Thing After Another ( Chapter 8 )

Standard Disclaimer: None of these characters or settings are mine… not making any money… please don't sue… you get the picture!

Burgundy and Blood: Part VIII

One Fool Thing After Another

Legato stretched his senses to their limits and grimaced again. His head still hurt like hell. He had to find her. Ruthlessly he smiled as he imagined what he would do the Lawren once he caught up to her again. He traveled toward the north on the wind currents. Tonin Town. Surely she was headed there.

He closed his eyes and let his body drift aimlessly for a moment. His stomach clenched as he recalled the feel of her body pressed tightly against his own. The girl had managed to surprise him. She ground against him as she reached her peak. It was just as well… she probably would have killed him otherwise.

His eyes popped open at that thought. The Master would have been very displeased if he had been so careless as to let himself be killed before the Master's appointed time. He cringed in horror. If the Master's plans had failed because of his fascination with her… he narrowed his eyes. He had grown careless. He would have to be more firm when he dealt with her again.

He snapped to alert. Lawren's path had veered off the northwest. What lay that direction? He searched his memories for the name of the small towns in that direction. There were a few small outlying villages. Rumor had it a few were trying to drill for water, but that was a lost cause. The largest city in the region was LR Town. Was that the place she had headed for?

Legato shifted his direction. Another figure was headed in that direction and further back, two more figures mounted on Thomases, were traveling that direction as well. He smiled softly. All the players were moving to take their places on the stage. He would fetch Midvalley quickly, as they would also be playing a part in this scene.

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Lawren traveled quickly across the desert. She had to put as much distance as possible between her and that mess in the middle of nowhere. She didn't know why. It was not like anybody would be able to do anything to her for that incident. But something kept nagging at her to get away from Legato's dead body.

Her mind ran rampant with the images of what she had experienced earlier. Legato really had not hurt her. He had not been wrong when he had said that pleasure and pain were very close. Her body clenched as she remembered how he would inflict sharp burning pain and then soothe away the hurt with his hands or his tongue. "Stop it… stupid bitch… just like your mother… look what fucking got her… pregnant, abandoned, and poor as hell… you will not end up like that…"

Lawren mentally chided herself. She knew that was the truth, but something about the man called Legato had called to her. She swallowed a small sob. It didn't matter anymore… she had killed him. Maybe she would be better off dead too. After all, would anybody on this whole God-forsaken planet really miss her?

Lawren hurried on across the sands, unaware of the figure that was rapidly closing distance from the southeast.

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His best friend lay dead and buried in a small churchyard cemetery. The woman he could have been happy with was out of his reach because of who and what he was. Another woman was devastated by the recent loss of the same friend. It didn't matter were he went. People always died when he was around. If it weren't for his brother, he would just bury himself in the desert away from humanity. Besides, he was a thing, playing at being a man… it would be for the good of everyone if he lived a solitary life.

Vash topped a small rise in the desert sand. Surveying the terrain before him, his keen senses told him someone very powerful was there in front of him. Was it Legato? He stood for a moment, watching, listening, and feeling his surroundings.

No, it was not Legato. Someone almost as powerful, someone who was running from something was out there. He keen eyesight, picked up the rapidly moving figure below. A brilliant silver coat caught his eye. He watched for a moment more. It took him a few seconds to register that the figure below was that of a beautiful woman.

"What an incredibly brave young lady, to travel the deserts alone, without the benefit of protection. She is in need of my expert body guard services." Vash danced around on the loose sand while striking various poses. Without warning, the sands shifted and he was thrown head over heals to land upside down on the young woman's feet.

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Lawren was so lost in thought that she did not realize she was being watched until all the yelling and screaming caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks. Some idiot was rolling down the hill toward her. He was screaming about being hurt. It didn't register until too late that she lay directly in his path. "Oh shit," she muttered as she tried to leap aside, but to no avail. Someone had landed on her feet, face down in the sand with his butt high in the air. A crimson coat, turned up, puddled around his body.

She snatched her feet from under the body and waited. The figure on the ground suddenly righted itself. "Young lady, it is terribly dangerous for you to be out here all alone." His tone was stern for a moment until he added with a wide grin. "That's why you need the protection of an experienced body guard such as myself." His arm snaked toward her.

She stepped back another pace, avoiding the man's grasp. "You are out of your mind. I don't need a guard. I can look after myself."

"It would be to your own benefit to hire the notorious gunslinger Vash the Stampede as your bodyguard. I can promise you complete satisfaction." He leered at her.

She stared at him for a moment or two in open-mouthed shock. Really, who did he think he was? He was a complete geek who was as goofy as he was graceless. Something inside her loosened. Laughter bubbled unbidden to the surface. "You? You are Vash the Stampede?" Lawren collapsed into hysterical laughter. "That's a great joke. Vash the Stampede…" she howled.

Vash looked at her rolling about on the ground, laughing as the tears poured out of her eyes. "Why do I always get this reaction out of people?" he muttered to himself.

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Lawren slowly sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. The man in front of her looked offended. She giggled again. He appeared harmless. "Perhaps he had been in the sun too long?" she mused silently. She smiled again. How long had it been since she had laughed like that? It didn't matter, now she had to deal with his unwanted presence. Drawing her legs under her body, she quickly stood and brushed the desert sands from her clothes and long hair. The man gazed at her appreciatively. He knew a beautiful woman when he saw one.

"Keep thinking things like that about me and I won't be responsible for what I do to you." She threatened lightly. "You are telling me that you are Vash the Stampede?"

"At your service…" he nodded politely.

"Yeah right, and I am a lost princess, visiting from another planet…" she snapped back sarcastically. "Get lost mister, I'm not looking for any company right now."

Vash stared at her for a moment. His eyes quickly scanned her trappings. She seemed unarmed except for the dagger riding low on one hip. Power radiated from her. It seemed similar to Legato's power, but it felt different. It wasn't as tainted as that bastard's was. He could sense that she was angry and scared for some reason. His eyes swept her length again. There was a dark area of skin visible just above the neck of her suit. Had someone done something to her? His hand reached for the mark.

"Don't," she snapped and stepped further from his reach. "Leave me alone and mind your own damn business." She turned away and began walking, resuming her journey.

"It's no good, you know. Running from your problems won't help your situation," he called after her.

Looking back briefly, Lawren studied the man in the red coat. This could not possibly be the real Vash. She called over her shoulder as she walked away, "Mister, you don't know anything about me or my problems. The only problem I had lies dead in a saloon several hours journey from here."

Vash stood silently and watched her figure until it was swallowed up by the horizon wondering what could be so troubling to such a beautiful woman.

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Lawren made her way down the wide welcoming streets of LR Town. She wanted nothing more than to check into the nearest hotel and sleep in a comfortable bed. She guessed that it was probably mid-morning. The streets were alive with people going about their daily business.

She smiled involuntarily as she watched a woman with two young girls walk past. They were smiling and holding hands. It made her both glad and angry by turns that she had been denied such a happy childhood. Her own mother could have treated her like that. "Stop it… no sense thinking about something you can't change now…"

She gathered her wits and looked up and down the streets as she walked, searching for a hotel that would suit her needs. She looked over several until she finally located a corner building that had a welcoming porch and a dining room with wide windows. She nodded to herself. This would be where she would stay. As she climbed the stairs, the soft melody of a saxophone wafted through the air. Looking to her right, the tall figure of Midvalley smiled and nodded her direction.

"Hey beautiful," he greeted her softly. "Long time no see."

"Fuck off. What are you doing here? Couldn't find anything to for the Master?" She asked in a saucy tone.

"Didn't you know? I am here at the Master's bidding. The final curtain is about to be raised on the most dramatic scene of all. Sylvia and I are to provide the music for the stage."

Lawren looked at him for a moment. "Get the hell away from me. I don't work for you or your Master. I'm going inside to get a room and go to sleep." She pushed her way past Midvalley as he stood on the steps.

"I don't think you'll be getting much sleep if you intend to stay here."

"Why? Do you intend to annoy me to death?"

Midvalley grinned smugly at her. "There's someone waiting for you. He says he owes you for something and I don't think you will enjoy what he has in mind."

Lawren turned back to stare at him for a few moments. She thought about killing him and being done with it, but that would only bring the town marshal and endless questions that she didn't feel like answering. It would also spoil her chances for a few hours of sleep. "What in the hell are you rambling on about now? Can't you go and find something else to do with your sorry ass and just leave me alone?"

"Go on in and just ignore me. I'm just going to wait right here to see how long it takes before you start screaming." Midvalley lifted his sax to his lips and began to play again, becoming lost in the music that was everything to him in this life.

Lawren shrugged. This trip has just been one fool thing after another. She continued on until reaching the swinging doors. As she reached to open them, a sudden chill ran up her spine. Was it possible? Was he here? "Calm down… he's dead. You killed him yesterday."

She fought the rising panic and made her way across the room. A few male eyes turned her way, but no one spoke to her. She glanced around the interior. Nothing seemed out of place and no shadows lingered in corners to conceal anything. She quickly called for a room and after paying for it, made her way to the narrow staircase at the end of the room.

Feeling suddenly exhausted, she placed one foot in front of the other and methodically climbed the steps. Her lowered eyes followed the patterns in the wood until they fell on a pair of boots at the top of the landing. Her heart stopped. For as her eyes traveled up the length of the boots and legs, a white coat swirled around them both. She raised her eyes upward until they met with a pair of golden orbs.

"I've been waiting for you… I don't think we are finished with that little scene we started several hours ago are we?" Legato Bluesummers smiled down at her and held out his hand.

Lawren swallowed the lump in her throat. He was here and he was alive. Nothing else mattered. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to a room down the hall.

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To Be Continued…

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Love and Peace,

Blackhat (^_~)