Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Humanity: Torn Between Loving It and Hating It ❯ Confused ( Chapter 8 )

The ride to the town was a silent one. No said a word as Vash drove. Meryl sat to his right, gazing out into the night while in the back Milly sat uncomfortably between Knives and Kale. Milly had made sure to put what distance she could between Knives and still give Kale a little space.

They arrived in town soon and drove up to a small building with the word "Saloon" at the very top. Vash parked the car and jumped out. He ran around and quickly opened the door for Meryl who looked surprised then quite please.

Kale smiled slightly when the spiky-haired man opened her door. She got out then Milly. Knives got out on the other side and walked after Vash and Meryl into the building. Kale sighed happily. She couldn't wait to surprise a friend of her father's. So she quickly followed, not wanting to waste anymore time.

Inside, it was cool and rather loud. The lights were dimmed, but there was enough light to know where one was heading. Round tables sat all over the place with only a few vacant ones. The rest were occupied with men playing poker, men drinking with their buddies, or men passed out on them.

In the far back there was a stage where a few other tables sat, occupied by the men who were watching women dressed in skimpy dresses or skirts dance their hearts out. The bar wasn't much different except that there was only one woman standing there and the men weren't drooling like the perverted pigs that they were.

The small group sat at the end of the bar. Vash sat on Meryl's left, Milly sitting next to Vash, Kale sitting on Meryl's right and Knives next to her, not looking all that pleased. The elder woman, looking to be in her late fifties, strolled down to them while cleaning a glass.

"Welcome! It's always nice to have lots of customers. It gets very boring around here, ya know? All these people usually pass out after their sixth drink. Wimps, I tell ya." The group looked at her oddly and the old woman blushed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Excuse my babbling. So what can I get you five?" She looked them all over and stopped on the youngest of them. A young woman with long black hair and grayish eyes. The woman's eyes widened and she smiled broadly.

"Kale?! Is-is that you?!" Kale nodded slightly, giving a slight smile in return. The woman walked around the bar quickly and over to Kale, who jumped from her stool, to embrace her. Kale couldn't stop the little grunt of pain that slipped from her lips. The woman backed up, looking embarrassed. Knives watched in amusement while the others looked at the two strangely.

"I'm sorry dear. It's just that with the fire and all-" Kale cut her off with a wave of her hand and pointed to her shoulder.

"It's not you. I accidentally got in the way when a gun went off," she glanced over at Knives and he arched an eyebrow at her, "and I'm still healing. You didn't know. Don't worry about." The woman smiled at Kale and at the others.

"Guys, this is Shelly, a friend of my father's. Shelly, this Meryl, Milly, Vash, and his psychotic brother, Knives." Knives shot the girl a death glare as everyone laughed. Shelly moved over to Vash and looked him over.

"Vash, huh? Vash the Stampede? Well I'll be." Vash laughed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that's me, but could you please not tell anyone?" he whispered. Shelly smiled.

"Sure thing, as long as you give me your gun. Nothing personal, I just don't want any fighting here." Vash nodded in understanding and pulled out the silver gun from its hostler around his thigh and handed it to the woman. She turned to Knives and held out her hand.

"You too, buster." Knives just glared at her, refusing to do what she wanted. Shelly blinked and looked at Kale and whispered, "Is he deaf?" Kale shook her head and shot Knives an irritated look.

"No, he's jus a very, very stubborn man. He's so spoiled that I just want to hang myself," she grumbled. Knives obviously heard all of this.

"Why don't you do that. One less annoying human to worry about," he snapped.

"Knives, c'mon. Stop that. Just give her your gun! It's not like you're handing over your head or anything! We'll get them back when we leave," Vash reasoned, not wanting Knives riled up. In return, poor Vash received a very dirty look and glared at both Kale and Shelly.

"Do not come near me, you filthy creature!" he growled. Shelly put her hands on her hips and glared.

"Well, now!"

"Knives stop being such an ass and give her the freakin' gun!" Kale hissed. Knives looked at her for a moment. It's seems that everything he does pisses the young woman off! He smirked inwardly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"You will have to come and get it and even then I can guarantee that you will lose your pathetic life."

"Arrogant pig!" Kale growled.

"Ignorant vermin." Knives hissed.

The others watched as Kale and Knives glared each other down. Milly was oblivious to the whole thing and saw something cute instead.

"Gee, don't look cute together, Meryl?" She said happily. Meryl and Vash looked at her as if she had completely lost it.

"Would you do it if I swallowed my pride and worshiped you for a month?" She said, not meaning it.

"Sarcasm isn't doing you much good, worthless human. But I guess I'll take up your offer if you mean it." He smirked at her, an evil twinkle in his eye. Kale shuddered as images flashed before her eyes.

She saw herself bowing before him and calling him "Master" or "All Mighty Knives". She saw herself following him around, forced to agree with him that humans were immature, helpless creatures, agree that she was not worthy of his presence.

She saw herself feeding him grapes or being used as a moving target during his daily targeting practices. She even got a glimpse of a nightmare, possibly being forced to relieve him of his personal desires! (A/N: Mmmm . . . >D)

She shook her head, blushing wildly. Knives was a proud man and if he were to make her his little slave for a month or two, it wouldn't be anything like that. He would simply annoy her and torture her with his many speeches and plans against the human race.

Vash, Meryl, Milly, and Shelly both looked at Knives then at Kale. Kale glared at him for a moment. If it was going to keep him from shooting Shelly for bothering him, or shooting anyone else in the bar, then it wouldn't hurt, she guessed. She waved a hand at him and sighed. Meryl and Milly's mouths dropped and Knives chuckled. Vash didn't know what was really going on.

"You will regret for even agreeing to such a thing. I will make your pathetic life miserable." Knives said with an evil grin as his handed his gun hesitantly to Shelly.

"Whatever." She mumbled. Knives glared at her.

"You'll start worshiping me now. On your hands and knees, woman."

"No way! Not here!" Kale argued. Knives stood up and towered over her.

"You agreed to worship me, little human. Do you wish to defy your . . . master?" He chuckled and pointed to the floor.

"Knives, stop that!" Vash hissed.

"Don't worry, Vash. If bowing to your brother will make him a happy child, then fine."

"Kale!" Meryl and Shelly shouted in outrage.

"Miss Kale . . ." Milly whispered. Knives crossed his arms and watched as Kale slowly lowered his her knees and placed her hands before her, bending the elbows and bowing her head. She gritted her teeth at the sudden pain in her shoulder and the embarrassment as she felt eyes all around the room stare at her.

"Now, from now on you will refer to me as Master. Not Plant or any other insulting names you may know. Understand, slave?" Knives said as he sat back down on his stool.

"Yes," she swallowed before continuing, ". . . Master."

"Good," he said then snapped his fingers, "Now rise." Kale grunted slightly and stood up, dusting herself off.

Shelly walked around the bar and dropped the guns in a drawer under to bar then closed it, putting a key in the lock and locked it. She stuffed the key in her pocket and pulled down a few shot glasses and mugs.

"So what'll you be having?" She asked, wiping each one out with a cloth. Vash and Knives asked for something hard and the girls wanted something easy, except Kale who refused to have anything. (A/N: Spare me. I don't like alcohol, I don't drink alcohol, so there for I don't know how to describe it or give the proper names except to say the obvious which is beer, wine, whiskey, and liquor! >.>)

The night went along well. Shelly and Kale started getting into some heated discussions about what had happened after the fire, the attempted murder, and Todd.

Knives would occasionally order Kale to do something, like dance or act like a dog just get her pissed off, but other than that, he was surprisingly well behaved. Vash, on the other hand, had ended up getting drunk and passed out.

"Ugh," Meryl said in a disgusted tone, "Every single time!" Knives snickered as his brother lay across Meryl's lap. Kale smiled at how cute it was, then burst into laughter when she saw Vash mumbled something and grin like a little boy as he started to stoke her leg. Knives made a disgusted grunt and turned from the scene and Meryl growled and whacked the supposedly passed out Vash.

"Ouch! Hey!" He whined as he rubbed the knot that was rapidly forming. Meryl huffed and turned away.

"Here Kale," Shelly said, pushing a mug toward her. Kale looked at it and made a noise and pushed it back, smiling sheepishly.

"Aw, c`mon! Have a drink! You haven't had one all night! I insist," she said, pushing it back to Kale. Kale shook her hand and pushed it back again.

"I don't drink," she said simply. Shelly was a little shocked about this.

"You've worked at a bar for about six years and you have NEVER drank a thing?"

"Nope."

"Well," Shelly shoved the drink in her hands, "I guess you'll be starting now, eh?"

"Shelly, I don't-"

"Slave." Kale tensed and let out a little sigh, turning to see Knives watching them.

"Yes, Master?" she said with mock devotion.

"You will drink it." Kale's eyes widened and she shook her head. Knives narrowed his eyes.

"Defying me, little slave? Do I need to punish you?" He slowly started to smile a smile that sent chills down her spine. She hated it when he smiled like that. He was better off scowling or sneering.

"Were you eavesdropping, Master?" she said, changing the subject. When the word `punish' came out of the mouth of a man like Knives, he would surely take pleasure in doing it.

"Do not ask me questions, pathetic one. Drink the damn thing and shut up." He then turned and ignored her. Kale gripped the mug tightly, wanting so badly to dump it on the man. Instead, she simply got up and walked over to him and stood next to him.

"What is it?" He snapped irritably. Kale took a deep breath before tilting the glass up and drinking the beer in one breath. She then slammed the mug next to his and glared into his eyes. Knives arched an eyebrow.

"Impressive, human. Too bad you can't seem to keep it down," he laughed as she started coughing and gagging. It tasted awful and it burned.

"Ick! God damn! How can you guys stand that crap!?" She said as she tried to calm her coughing fit. Knives chuckled.

"Some people just can't handle it. It's obvious you can't."

"Are you saying I can't handle drinking because I'm a girl?" She hissed.

"No, I'm saying you can't handle it because you're weak," he put his glass to his lips, "and because you're a girl." He took another sip.

Kale growled and stalked away. Knives watched out of the corner of his eye as she talked to Shelly. Shelly laughed and nodded at something then whispered something in her ear and Kale paled. She shook her head and hissed as the woman stood up on a stool and whistled loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Good evening people! As you know, the bar owned by Mr. Samuel and his daughter, Kale had tragically went up in flame not too long ago. Right now, Miss Kale and her friends have visited and as a treat, why don't we introduce them to the Chugging contest, eh?!" Everyone hooted and hollered.

"Yeah! Ok, for those new to the game, the rules are quite simple. You will get a mug, have it filled all the way to the top and you go against an opponent. When I say start, you start chugging and slam your mug down when you're done. If you spill one drop, pass out, or slam your mug a bit too late, you lose the game and the winner continues!"

"Shelly, please-" Kale pleaded, knowing she was going to be forced into playing. Shelly ignored her and continued.

"Now, those who want to play, line up! Kale, Knives," they looked at her and she smiled evilly, "you two are defiantly playing."

"What? And if I refuse, human?" Knives sneered. Shelly laughed.

"Well, fine. It you're scared of losing to Kale, who doesn't even like drinking, then go ahead. Kale is tough enough to beat everyone here!" Kale paled more, imitating a ghost. Knives glared hatefully at Shelly.

"She can not beat me! Fine, I'll play. If it will make you pathetic creatures happy!" Shelly laughed and winked at Kale who just moaned and covered her head with her good arm.

Kale, Vash, Knives, and nine other men played the game. Shelly tried to talk Milly and Meryl into it, so Kale wouldn't be on her own, but they refused, saying someone had to be the one to drive home the drunks.

The room was filled with encouraging shouts and boos from men who watched. In no time Knives, Vash, and Kale had surpassed the random men. Everyone around the room was in awe at Kale. For a non-drinker, she had won every round so far. Even Knives was a little impressed. A little.

Knives and Vash were against each other now. Vash a looked like he was going to faint any second, but Knives held his cool ever though he was feeling dizzy and a little queasy. He had never drunk so much at one time and he was shocked that Vash did this every other night!

"Ready. CHUG!" Shelly shouted. They brought their mugs to their lips and tilted them. Knives would have lost because he had started to slow down from all the alcohol, but Vash had tipped his mug too high and ended up leaning too far back in his chair, thus resulting in him falling to the floor.

Meryl came rushing to his side and started shaking him, "Vash! Vash! Are you alright?!" He didn't answer because he was out cold. She sighed and, with the help of Milly, dragged him to the bar to watch over him. Knives fought back the urge to cough and blinked a few times. Things were starting to spin out of control now. Kale wasn't doing any better.

Kale wobbled over to the Knives and sat across from him. Knives narrowed his eyes, wondering why there were two more Kales.

"Alright, human," Knives said, unable to keep himself from slurring. Kale looked up and peeked through one eye lazily. She started swaying slightly in her seat. Why were there two more Knives'?! Wasn't one enough?!

"Knives," Kale slurred, trying her best to straighten out her vision, "I never knew you have two other look a likes!"

"I could *hic* say the same *hic* to you!" He said through his hiccups. Kale blinked and pointed at him.

"You jus did," Knives looked confused for a moment then got what she was saying.

"Oh, *hic* never mind *hic* then." Once their glasses were filled again, Shelly lifted her hands and shouted to begin. They both snatched their mugs and chugged them down to the last drop and slammed them down at the exact same time. People watched in awe. Shelly blinked. She never once had a tie in her game. She ordered a re-fill and the process was repeated again.

"I'll be damned," Shelly muttered. Knives and Kale glared each other down, or tried to. Their eyes were becoming heavy and it was hard to keep them open.

"Feeling dizzy, Knives?" Kale taunted.

"Never," he grumbled, "Are *hic* you?"

"Yes. I feel like I'm gunna throw up." Kale said, followed by a rather unlady-like belch. Knives chuckled and Kale felt her face heat up.

"Feel better *hic*?" he asked, clearly amused. Kale smiled.

"Much." The picked up the filled mugs and watched each other closely.

"Ready. CHUG!" Shelly shouted. They ended up doing the same thing as before and for the next four rounds. They called it quits then, even though Knives tried taunting her into another round, but he was so out of it that he didn't know what he was saying.

The night went on smoothly after that. A small little band played some jazz and those who didn't participate in the game ended up getting drunk anyway, save for Meryl. Milly was passed out along with Vash. Knives sat back in a chair with his head lolled back and his mouth wide open.

Suddenly Kale came running up, giggling like some ditzy schoolgirl, and jumped into Knives's lap. He grunted in surprise and snapped his head up. She looked up at him. He looked down at her. They stared at each other when Knives suddenly pointed a finger at her with a black face and asked, "Who are you?"

"Dunno."

"Oh, what are you doing in my lap?" He asked, still out of it. Kale, just as in bad shape as Knives, looked up at the ceiling.

"Dunno."

"Ok."

"I want to ask you a question." She said.

"What?" She looked at him, blankly.

"What?" she asked. Knives blinked.

"You were gunna ask me somethin'."

"Oh yeah . . . do you love me?" She asked.

"Of course." He said, eyes half closed.

"Will you marry me?"

"Sure."

"When?"

"As soon as I figure out what my name is again."

"Ok. How long will that take?"

"How long will what take?"

"What?"

"Hmmm."

"Can we have children?"

"That'd be nice. How many?"

"Thirty-two."

"Fair enough."

"Will you be my pet cat?"

"Whatever."

Kale hugged Knives to her and started combing her fingers through his short, silky soft hair and he made little purring noises. Meryl and Shelly watched with bugged out eyes.

"Maybe . . . it's time I take these guys home. I mean, I think all that drinking killed one too many brain cells for those two," Meryl said in a freaked out tone. Shelly laughed.

"Yeah, guess so. Listen, seeing how you guys have been so good to Kale, I want to offer to help you drive them home."

"Oh that's ok, but-" Shelly held up a hand and smiled.

"No, no. I insist."

"Well, ok."

"Who do you want me to take?" Meryl jabbed a thumb in Knives and Kale's direction.

"Romeo and Juliet of course. I don't want them bothering Vash or Milly." Shelly nodded.

++++++

Meryl, with the help of Shelly, dragged both Vash and Milly into the house while Knives and Kale stumbled around trying to get to the door. Shelly said her good byes and made sure the two went in before leaving.

Both drunks shushed each other as they stalked up the stairs, Kale every now and then shushing Knives again when he wasn't saying anything. They stood in the hall, and suddenly burst out laughing for unknown reasons. Meryl swung open her door and glared at the two.

"Will you two shut up?! The others are asleep!"

"Where is my room again?" Kale mumbled. Meryl sighed.

"Kale, yours is over there and Knives, yours is down there. Now, go to sleep and be quiet!" she hissed, closing the door. They stood there then looked at each other.

"Where's my room again?" Kale asked. Knives shrugged and opened the door to Milly's room. He saw Milly's sleeping form and slowly closed the door.

"Not that one. Someone else is in there." He went to the last door in the hall and opened it. He motioned for Kale to follow.

"This it, I guess." Knives grumbled, closing the door as Kale stumbled in. They kicked off their shoes and wander toward the bed. Kale let out a little shriek of surprise when two powerful arms wrapped around her. She turned around and grinned up at Knives.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," he said back.

They stood there for what seemed like hours when they moved. Knives leaned down as Kale stood higher. The faces were only millimeters a part, their lips parted slightly, when all of a sudden Kale's eyes drooped down and she went limp in his arms.

Knives looked at Kale, who had passed out, then picked her up and placed her under the covers. He went around the bed and slid under them, too, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

+++++

That sucked. Really @@ I got my own character OOC! How sad is THAT?! Anyway, kinda long huh? Hope you enjoyed it cause I didn't -.-