Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Life Thereafter ❯ Soon ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: How I wish I owned Trigun. Sadly, I own it not.

 

A/N: Wow... 3000 words seems to be becoming the norm. Anyway, I'm sorry if the last two chapters have seemed boring. It's just that I wanted to impress upon the readers how much Meryl has been freaked out by Vash's Plantishness. I have firm manga evidence to back it up, too! -waves Trigun Maximum 6 in the air- See? My proof!

So anyway, this chapter will be very different from my others. There is no Meryl! Just Millie, Vash, and Knives. Enjoy!

 

 

Soon

 

Dear Father, Mother, Big Big Brother, Middle Big Brother, Little Big Brother, Big Big Sister, Middle Big Sister, Little Big Sister, Doug, Annie, Rodney, Mike, Sandra, Tim, and Drake,

How are you? I'm doing just fine...

Wow, it sounds like you guys are busy back at home. I'm so happy for you Mother and Father! Your thirtieth anniversary was just a few days ago! I'm so sorry for not writing sooner, but I've been really busy!

The well is doing so well! (Hey, that rhymed!) Mr. Foreman gave me a nice raise in my paycheck the other day, too! Such a nice man! He says I'm the hardest worked he has! Isn't that great?

I work in the fields now, though. It sure brings back memories of home! I remember how I used to try to milk the cows when I was just a toddler and Big Big Sister told me I couldn't. I always used knock the buckets over and get milk all over myself. I'm really lucky you guys were so patient with me.

Anywho, you guys seem to have a lot going on right now. Mother and Father, I am sending you guys an anniversary present with this letter! It might arrive a few days late, but I am sending it. Oh, and don't even think about writing back to tell me I shouldn't spend my limited funds on you guys and that I should be putting my money towards keeping up the house. I got a raise, and I just want to do some nice things for you guys for a change. Is that so wrong?

Big Big Brother! You got MARRIED? WHEN? Are you going to live close to home? Did a lot of people come to the wedding? Oh, I wish I could have been there! I'm sure you understand why I couldn't be there, though. My place is here right now. Sempai needs me more than ever right now...

Middle Big Brother, I can't believe you dumped your girlfriend! That's the fifth one this month! What in the world have you been thinking? If you don't like women then just admit it! And I'm not saying in the “other sense” of not liking women. I mean, if you don't think you're ready to have a relationship with somebody, you should just stay single. I never bothered with boys, silly things that they were. I got lucky in love, though...

Little Big Brother, congratulations! You started your own business? That's really great! You mentioned something about “searching for alternative power sources besides the Plants.” Is that really true? Can you do that? Mr. Vash would be so happy!

Big Big Sister, I'm so glad you worked out that problem with your fiancé! I knew you would, though. You're the one who always told me to “never hold back in matters of the heart.” I'm really happy for you two! When is the wedding going to be? Write back as soon as you can. It would be so nice for me, Sempai, Mr. Vash, and Mr. Vash's brother Mr. Knives to see you on your wedding day! But, we might not be able to since Mr. Knives is having trouble getting along with people.

Middle Big Sister, since when have you sworn off boys? I mean, boys are nice! And don't ever say you'll never look at “one of those egotistical, pompous windbags of a species again!” You never know! You might actually meet someone!

Little Big Sister, oh I'm so sorry to hear that your cat died! I always loved Fluffy! I know nothing can ever replace her. I'm beginning to feel that way about Mr. Kuroneko, our black kitty. He's so sweet! I'll have to bring him if we ever come visit!

Doug, you better behave yourself! I know how you are, you mischevious little rascal! Behave youself! Understand? If you don't, I'll give you the TICKLE TORTURE next time I see you! And I KNOW how you HATE the tickle torture...

Annie, are you really eleven now? Wow... Last time I saw you your were 8! I bet you're a regular little lady now! Or are you turning out to be a little ruffian like your brother Doug? Not that that's a bad thing. You should enjoy the time you spend with your brother!

Rodney, it's so nice to hear from you! Little big Brother tells me so much about you and your momma! I bet you look just like your pappa! Oh, you'll be seven soon, right? I can't wait to see you! Being an aunt is so much fun!

Mike, I know you're only a year old, but I'm STILL going to write to you! So let's see, try to cry and drool less. And make sure my Little Big Sister remembers to burp you. She forgets sometimes, I know.

Sandra, Tim, and Drake, you guys are so funny! Mother and Father told me you guys are a handful. I guess you guys are my Little Little Brothers and Sister! How old are you now? In your teens, right? Wow, I really need to visit. I haven't seen you guys for ages.

Well, I guess I should say what's happening with me now. Sempai and me had a fight yesterday. Well, not really a fight, but it was soemthing like that. It was awful. It's just that, I really don't understand why Mr. Vash and Sempai can't make up. I'm not sure what happened a few days ago, but I'm sure it was something bad. I tried to get them to make up two days ago, but it didn't work. And now I feel like I can't talk to either Sempai OR Mr. Vash. They're so sad, and it makes me sad that they won't let me help them.

And that's not all. I guess I'm a little jealous. And I know that's wrong of me, but I am. It's just that, Mr. Vash and Sempai have such a great opportunity to be together! I had it with Mr. Priest (Wolfwood), but he was taken from me before we could have a life together. It's just so wasteful to me, you know?

Well, I've decided. I won't have that in this house. I'm going to get Mr. Vash and Sempai back on speaking terms again and, hopefully, something more.

Wish me luck, everyone!

With love, Millie Thompson.

Millie read over the letter twice before sealing it in an envelope and taking it to the post office, tiptoeing past Vash, Knives, and Meryl's rooms.

 

 

Vash leaned back in his chair, rocking on his heels. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his blond hair dropped over his eyes since he hadn't bothered to spike it for days. He gazed blankly at the smooth ceiling above his head, barely seeing.

What am I going to do?

Vash sighed before leaning forward again, elbows digging into his thighs as he rested his chin in his palm. The past few days had been really terrible. Well, actually the past month had been terrible. Trying to care for his brother had been a full-time job. Still, Vash was sure he looked more haggard now than he had a few days ago. He had been such a fool to believe things would get better once Knives woke up.

And now Meryl won't even talk to me because she's afraid. Heh, I can't really blame her, though. I'm scared of myself...

Vash remembered that day distinctly. Considering his state of mind that day, he probably shouldn't have been able to remember anything at all. Yet, it would seem Vash would be allowed no peace. None at all.

He lifted his right arm slowly until his palm was at his eyes' level facing him. Vash stared at it, his aqua eyes tracing the lines on his palm. He closed his hand into a fist slowly. Then, Vash opened it slowly again. He repeated the exercise several times, wondering.

How did it happen? How did I lose control like that? The Agel Arm shouldn't even be possible without the guns, and I left those in the desert.

Vash turned his gaze towards his older twin, asleep in the bed. Knives was breathing evenly, his blond hair slighty longer than usual due to the lack of trimming, and his arctic blue eyes were currently veiled by his eyelids. However, even in sleep, the corner of Knives's mouth curled upward into a smirk. Vash looked away, a chill running down his spine.

He shivered slightly. It wasn't even cool in the room. Vash clutched his shirt closer to his lean frame, trying to ward off the chill that had nothing at all to do with the temperature in the room. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to gain some semblance of comfort.

Maybe Knives DOES know how I Angel Armed without my gun. But...do I really want to know how?

Vash couldn't deny that his Angel Arm was what had caused Meryl to fear him. So, now Vash had a dilemma. Should he dare to ask Knives how to control his Angel Arm in the hopes of preventing such a thing from happening again, or should he muddle along on his own and try to fix the problem with Meryl himself?

Feeling his eyes beginning to droop, Vash rubbed them roughly, trying to stay awake. Falling asleep in the room with Knives was not the best idea right now.

He looked at his right hand absently again. He could still feel the hot, burning sensation that always came when his arm began to transform. Then, his arm changing, morphing into something not at all human. The way the muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons stretching, twisted, and the pain that went along with it was etched in Vash's memory.

Yet, the look in Meryl's eyes as she stared back at him in fear was clearer still...

“Still mourning after that vermin, brother?”

Vash blinked, hi gaze turning towards his now awake twin. Knives smirked at his brother as he sat up in bed, his upper body revealed from under the covers. Like Vash, his physique was perfect, but unlike Vash's, it bore no scars, except for the one Vash had inflicted on his shoulders, and possibly on his legs.

“That's none of your business, Knives,” Vah said stiffly.

Knives sniffed. “Please, brother. I don't know why you bother with that pathetic piece of human garbage. She obviously can't accept you for what you are. Not that I'm surprised. Her kind has always been too ignorant and repulsive to comprend our greatness.”

“No! You're wrong about her, Knives! Meryl is-”

“Like Rem?” Knive sneered.

“...No...”

“Honestly brother, do you think after all this time I can't read your emotions? You cling to the ideal that you love her merely because you think she is like Rem.”

“That's not true!”

“Yes, it is true!” Knives snapped. “I wrenched the truth from that spider's worthless mind!”

Vash gaped at his brother. “Knives! That's the equivalent of mind rape!”

“That is of no consequence.”

“The hell it isn't!” Vash ground out. He blinked, suddenly realizing what his brother had just said. “Wait...what do you mean you think I compare Meryl to Rem because of what you saw in Meryl's mind?”

Knives grinned, making chills go down Vash's spine again. “You really don't remember?”

Vash froze, uncertain. “Remember what?” he asked nervously.

Knives's smile widened. `This!'

Vash gasped as his mind was bombarded with images. The intensity of them was frightening. Vash watched, horror-stricken, as he saw Legato's dead corpse lying before him, his blood and brains spilling out and mingled with the dusty earth. Yet, there was something different about what he was seeing. It was if he was seeing out of someone else's eyes. It was only when he saw himself that he recognized the truth.

Oh, God...these are Meryl's memories!

He watched himself from Meryl's eyes. He saw what she saw, And he felt the pain in his own arm as his memory self clutched at her arm. He felt the pain, the fear, the sadness, and the rage as everything Meryl Stryffe had seen, felt, heard, and thought was replayed before Vash's very eyes.

When the flood of images finally stopped, Vash slumped over and fell heavily to the floor. He pushed himself into a sitting position slowly, his arms trembling. He shakily raised his right arm and covered his face. He was breathing hard, his body coated with sweat.

He knew now. He knew now what Meryl had avoided, and even refused, to tell him. He understood now why she was so afraid. She feared Vash not only because he was a Plant, but because she was afraid he would either reject her or love her only out of his love for Rem.

“So brother, do you see now?”

Vash looked up at Kives blankly.

“Do you see? That pathetic creature will never love you. You will never love her. You have deluded yourself into believing that humans were something they are not for over a century.”

Vash stared staight through his brother, his eyes unseeing.

“If you let me, I can show you abilities we have been blessed with that you have never even dreamed of!” Knives insisted.

Vash looked at Knives, his eyes glazed. “I...I need to go...” Vash said dazedly before turning around and walking right out the door, barely conscious enough to close the door behind him.

 

 

Knives watched his brother shut the door behind his retreating back. He shook his head. Vash really was a fool. After all these years, he was still as stubborn as he ever was. Vash continued to cling to the same ridiculous ideals that he had been brainwashed with all those years ago.

All because of that damnable woman!

Knives ground his teeth together in anger. He hated Rem. He despised that woman with his entire being. Everything that had happened was because of what she had done. Tessla had died because of her. It was because of her that the Plants were still enslaved by humans. They would be free and the humans extinct by now if Knives had had his way.

But no! At every turn, Rem stood between Knives and his goal! It was maddening! Rem has first stood in Knives's way when she had interfered in the Great Fall. Knives could have been rid of all humans then and been able to live in peace with his brother and sisters, but that woman had defied him! And for the past century, she had been defying him through his own brother!

That was the greatest mockery of all! That woman, that woman who was fit for nothing but the firey furnaces of hell, had stolen his brother from him! Knives ground his teeth together until it hurt.

Knives clenched his fists together. He had done many horrible things (not to Knives, but to others those things seemed horrible) to show Vash the simple truth that humas were vile, despicable animals worthy of extermination by their own superior race of Plants. The Gung-Ho Guns had been the perfect example of how corrupt human nature was. Yet Vash had, like a fool, refused to take the hint.

Knives forced himself to relax, letting his hands loosen. Then, he shifted in the bed, allowing his legs to dangle over the side of it. He set his feet down gently on the floor, gradually putting weight on either one. Using a bedside table for support, Knives pushed himself upward until he was standing. He was putting most of his weight on the table so he was hunched over a bit, but still, he was standing.

Knives's lips curled into a cruel smile. Within another day or so, he would be able to walk on his own. Then, his brother would have no choice but to listen to him. Vash would either go along with Knives's wishes, or he would suffer the consequences. Knives would make sure this time that Vash understood what would happen if he defied Knives again.

Knives slowly let go of the table, cautiously straightening himself. His legs were a bit shaky and they trembled slightly. He moved carefully over to the dresser, reached inside, and took out a pair of Vash's jeans and underwear. His legs shook the whole time, and Knives frowned a bit at the weekness in his legs but pushed it aside. Then, he let go of the table, attempting to walk by himself.

Knives jerked as his legs gave out under him, and he fell forward onto the bed with a curse. He sat up again on mattress and pulled the clothing on. A perfect fit. However, he was still topless, but he didn't care. He had disliked not being covered in his lower region.

And now, Knives thought, grinning internally to himself, we shall see...

Knives began to concentrate hard on his left arm. His eyes were closed in concentration, his face twitching from the exertion, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

Then, little by little, he began to feel the change. Knives's muscles began to tense up as the hot, burning sensation that always came when his arm began to transform began. Then, his arm began to morph, the muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons stretching, twisting, their structure altering.

Knives grinned as the first blades began to emerge from his left arm, their sharp deadly points curving outward from his arm in a graceful, deadly arch. Knives watched the blades and their feathers blossumed from his arm slowly, not wanting to strain himself. Then, he gently tapped his right index finger on a blade. He was satisfied to see a thin cut form on his fingertip, blood oozing out of it.

The grin widened as Knives stretched his transformed arm and began to make lazy swiping motions in the air. The after a half hour of excersing his Angel Knives, he let them recede into his arm once more, the feathery blades disappearing, covered once more by smooth flesh.

Knives chuckled to himself, his grin growing wider every second. Soon, brother. Soon. And this time, you won't be able to stop me. Won't you be surprised when the very female spider you cherish so will be the one to bring you over to my side...

 

 

Oooooh! Both Millie AND Knives are plotting!

Knives: Tcch. That ridiculous spider couldn't possibly have intellect comparable to my own.

You'd be surprised, Knives. And at least she's not plotting evil things like you are.

Knives: Evil has nothing to do with it. I am the right hand of destruction against humanity.

That's not evil?

Knives: No, it isn't. It's justice.

So, genocide is justice?

Knives: I am not going to get into an argument with you, woman!

Hehe, that's because I have a herd of tomases and Kuroneko-sama to keep you in line.

Knives: ...

Ahhhhh! Well, since Knives seems to be learning his place, I guess I'll just thank everyone who reviewed! Thanks, you guys!