Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Incompatible ❯ Chapter 0018 ( Chapter 18 )

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 18

**~**

Knives sighed and shook his head wearily. He'd been wandering through the desert for so long he couldn't keep track of the time anymore. He'd come across other human settlements and, like the town he'd recuperated in for close to a year, he'd found good people. Kind, caring and generous…willing to help others who were in need of it. He smiled a little at the memories of cheerful welcomes and smiling faces. They had been good people. His smile faded a little and he shook his head again. There were others that hadn't been as friendly, though. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. He hadn't come to any conclusions yet. He needed to see more before he could decide one way or another.

He studied the position of the suns and determined that he should begin searching for a suitable place to make camp for the night. He pressed a hand against the canteen hanging at his waist and shook it, listening to the sound of water sloshing. If he was conservative, he'd have enough water to last another day…maybe. He needed to find another town to replenish his supplies before the end of the next day. He patted his pocket and was rewarded by the distinctive crinkle and jingle of money. He'd been able to eke out a meager living by doing odd jobs here and there, barely enough to survive, but it suited his purposes at the moment.

He lowered his hand a bit and smiled when his fingers touched the black gun at his side. Vash probably hadn't expected him to find it again, but he'd forgotten that Knives had made the guns in the first place. Of course he'd be able to find it. It was like his sibling…a part of him. There was no way he could **not** find it, no matter where Vash may have it hidden. Then again, his brother hadn't been particularly imaginative in choosing his hiding place either. Knives shook his head in slight disgust. "Who hides a weapon in their underwear drawer?"

So far he'd been lucky and had been able to avoid discovery by his brother and the two 'Insurance girls'. He hated to admit it, but he missed Meryl and her argumentative ways. He wasn't certain if he missed Millie, though. Frankly, he hadn't been around her long enough to decide if he even liked the woman. Tilting his head to the side as he spotted a likely place to make camp he considered the tall woman. She was cheerful enough, friendly even, and he had a feeling she was one of those humans that was actually genuine in her emotions. He supposed he could like her, too.

He'd been very careful to not leave an obvious trail for them to follow as he made his way across the desert in his quest to discover the truth about human nature. It was difficult to remember his new determination, however, when humans made it so difficult to like them. His expression hardened as he remembered the incident from the week before. The men had obviously been in the wrong, shooting their weapons around wildly and endangering the citizens of the small town he'd been in. He'd been irritated that the men didn't seem to be aware that there were children around them. But what had infuriated him was that no one…not a single person in the whole damned town…seemed capable of moving to stop them. It had been disgusting to see. Grown men cowering in fear, ignoring the screams as women and children scattered for their lives as the wild bunch had continued to take pot shots at them, laughing the whole time. Naturally, he couldn't just ignore it. So, he'd done what he felt was the right thing and stepped in. He winced remembering the sheriff's reaction to his interference. The entire incident left a bitter taste in his mouth. Obviously that wasn't a good example of the inherent goodness in people. He'd gladly left the town behind as he continued on his journey of discovery.

As he settled on the sand and leaned against the rocks forming a natural shelter from the constant wind of the desert world he sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired. More weary than he could remember ever being before. He wondered idly if this was how Vash had felt for all those years as he wandered alone through the world. He shivered and tried to push the thought aside, but it continued to nag at him, filling his mind with thoughts of his brother and the pain he must have endured each time he'd been rejected by the humans he loved so much. Unlike Vash, he wasn't stupid enough to let them shoot him full of holes, though. Sure, it pained him to be shunned as had happened on more than one occasion, but under all the anger that had been directed at him he'd sensed the fear and weariness in the people. Strangers, they'd discovered the hard way during their short lifetimes, were not to be trusted. He didn't hold it against them as he would have a year ago, but at the same time he didn't feel quite magnanimous enough towards them to allow them to cause him physical harm. So, he'd done what he had to do to ensure his continued survival. He smiled a little, knowing his brother would be happy to know he'd exercised some restraint and hadn't killed any of them for shooting at him. Wounded them, yes, but nothing life threatening. Of course he knew that if he'd left corpses in his wake it would lead his brother to him faster than if he sent up a flare announcing his location. He wasn't quite ready to be found yet and so he'd continue to merely shoot to wound and not kill…but eventually the time would come where he'd have no choice but to kill the irritating humans that buzzed around him with loaded weapons that just happened to go off in his direction.

It all was very frustrating. Here he was, trying really hard to find a reason to **not** kill the humans who'd done so much to make him hate them, and they were working equally hard to give him a reason to continue hating them. He shook his head at the blatant stupidity surrounding him. Didn't they realize just how dangerous a game they were playing? He snorted disdainfully. Of course not. They had no idea what he really was. They looked at him and all they saw was another human to use for target practice. There were times when he dearly would love to explain to them exactly what they were up against, that rather than a mere human he was a superior being with powers beyond their wildest imaginings. He looked up at the sky and watched as the first moon made its way into the sky. Then again, if he were to do that, it would defeat his ultimate purpose and probably cause more harm to his goal than good. By allowing the humans to know that Plants could exist outside the bulbs they placed them in it could cause mass panic and end up in the total annihilation of the other Plants currently still at the mercy of their human keepers. He shuddered at the thought. That definitely wouldn't do. He would have to continue exercising patience as he moved from town to town through the desert wasteland that made up the planet.