Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Incompatible ❯ Chapter 0015 ( Chapter 15 )

Trigun Fanfic

Trigun © Yasuhiro Nightow * Shonen Gaho-sha * Tokuma Shoten * JVC * Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc.

The following fanfiction was written by me (Chiruken) and is intended for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

--Incompatible-

Trigun Fanfic Featuring Knives and Meryl. Knives hates all humans. Meryl just hates Knives. It's a match ideal for the promise of Eden.

By Chiruken

Chapter 15

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The wind was picking up, the sound of sand brushing against the exterior of the house echoing loudly in the silence. It was beginning to sound like a full blown sandstorm was on the way. He looked out the window and watched as the blue of the sky was quickly obliterated by the dun colored sand as it blew in swirls of tiny granules. The air was heavy, filled with dust and grit. The interior of the house darkened to the point where only shadows lingered. It was gloomy and matched his mood well.

Ever since his haircut out on the porch and the conversation he'd had with Meryl, she'd been distant, casting disappointed looks in his direction and frankly he was sick of it. He didn't know what she wanted from him. He was trying to be more open minded towards humans, but if she couldn't give him a straight answer to his questions, how was he supposed to form an opinion in their favor? She expected a lot, yet she gave no evidence to substantiate her words. The intrinsic goodness she professed to exist in humans was an elusive theory with no actual support behind it. He just didn't understand how she could assume something without proof.

It was a moral argument. Yet, in his mind, whose morals were being judged? His? Hers? Legato's? Steve's? He just didn't know. If he were to go by Legato's, then the entire human race was insane and should be put out of its misery. If he went by Steve's, then humans were bullies and needed to be put in their place. Meryl's beliefs weren't as naïve as Rem's had been. She didn't try to tell him that there was good in everyone, but she didn't explain how to determine what was good and what wasn't. His own beliefs he'd long since began to question in his own mind so he couldn't rely on that anymore either. Knives found himself well and truly confused and it was beginning to give him a pounding headache. The storm outside wasn't helping matters either.

He stood and crossed the short distance to the window to peer outside with a frown. Meryl looked up and watched him, but didn't speak. He was just as glad for the continued silence. He needed time to try to assimilate everything he'd learned since his final confrontation with his brother. Many things had occurred and most of them left him confused and more than a little lost. He no longer knew if he'd been right or wrong and to make matters worse, he didn't know how to determine who **was** right or wrong. He couldn't forgive the humans for their total disregard for the well-being of the Plants in captivity, yet he also couldn't deny that the people in this town were living out their lives without depending on the Plants and therefore his hatred and disgust couldn't encompass them along with the others. So where did that leave him? Basically without purpose.

He blinked and peered out into the swirling sand a little more closely. He'd thought he'd detected movement. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated, expanding his consciousness to search beyond the confines of the walls of the house he was in. With a soft but volatile curse he pushed away from the counter and headed for the door with quick strides. Meryl stood and watched him with wide eyes. "Knives?" She called after him but he ignored her and jerked the door open before stepping out into the maelstrom of wind, sand and grit, narrowing his eyes against the sting of the sand being flung into his face. Raising his arm, he covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and moved forward, stepping cautiously to avoid tumbling off the porch since he couldn't see passed his nose in the whirling dust and debris.

Bracing himself against the force of the wind, he stepped down and moved forward, feet dragging through the sand piling up in small drifts. Reaching out, he placed his free hand against the side of the house and followed it to the corner. Pausing, he looked around but found that he couldn't see a thing with the grit blowing around and trying to work its way into his eyes. Swearing under his breath he sent out his awareness again. Turning the corner he stumbled against higher drifts and nearly lost his balance. Three steps, then four…he was almost there… A soft, muffled sound reached his ears over the howling of the wind and he altered his course accordingly to move towards it. Bending down, he grabbed the small child by the back of her dress and lifted her off the ground and out of the sand drift that had been forming over her prone body. Pulling her close against him, he pushed her face against his chest to protect her from the sand whipping against them and turned to begin the trek back into the house.

Coughing against the fine dust working its way passed his arm he stumbled and fell to his knees. Reaching out as he held his breath, he searched for the side of the house blindly and grimaced when his hand came into contact with nothing. Covering his face again he stood and continued forward, hoping that he was at least going in the right direction. It was so hard to tell with the sand swirling around him and obliterating everything in a blinding display of nature's raw power. He concentrated and focused his awareness again, searching for the house amidst the sand storm he was currently caught in. Breathing a soft sigh of relief, followed immediately by a bout of coughing, he headed towards where his senses told him the house was. He grunted in pain when he ran head first into the wall. Shaking his head he leaned his shoulder against the rough side of the house and followed it back towards the porch and the door. The sooner he got the child inside, the better. Her small form couldn't withstand much more of the torture of the wind and sand. Of course, he wasn't feeling particularly comfortable out in the storm either.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of pushing through the ever growing piles of sand, he found the porch by stumbling against it and falling painfully to his knees on the hard, weathered boards. It was just a few more feet to the door and then he'd be out of the wind blown sand. Not bothering to try to stand, he crawled forward awkwardly in the direction he knew to door to be in. A moment later he felt Meryl's hands on his shoulders as he kicked the door shut. Spitting out what felt like a mouthful of gritty sand he collapsed to his side. "Ugh…" He drew in a shallow breath and nearly choked on the sand and dust in the heavy air. "Take her." He muttered as he lifted the child towards the small woman and allowed his head to drop back to the floor with a thump. "I hate sand." He squinted through the dim light and watched as Meryl set the girl on the floor and bent over her. "How is she?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him with a strange smile. He tilted his head to the side and wondered at the odd expression. "She'll be fine. Thanks to you. You saved her live, Knives."

"Yeah…well…" He cleared his throat and slowly moved to a sitting position. "She can have my bed." He stood and headed towards a much needed bath. He needed to get the sand and grit off of him. He felt about as filthy as they come and hated the feeling.