Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Sinner ❯ Confessions ( Chapter 3 )

Ch 3: Confessions

Vash had drifted back off into an uneasy sleep. Meryl & Millie came home later to find Seraphine in the kitchen on hand bound up in a bandage. When asked what happened, she had simply said that she had an accident and didn't elaborate much more. The girls were happy when she told them Vash had woken up and they went in to see them. Fortunately he seemed to be a bit better, not screaming out in soul crushing agony anymore…but he still was broken.

They all went to sleep that night except Seraphine couldn't sleep. Her mind kept wandering and blaming herself. Also her room was right next to Vash's she kept hearing him moving in his sleep. She sighed and got up, quietly she walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea and went out onto the back porch to look at the stars.

The night air was chilled a bit, but not to badly. She was dressed in a pair of loose shorts and a t-shirt of mismatched gray. She looked up at the moon's her eyes clouded in though. "I'm sorry Nicholas." She said softly up at the night's sky, smiling a bit sadly. "You know I'm not a praying kind of person," She chuckled a bit. "I highly doubt that you were yourself, despite the profession you choose." Her smile faded as she looked up at the moon again. "But if you're really up there, looking down on us…" She hesitated a moment, "Vash could really use your help right now." She whispered as she looked down at her glass. "He's so lost…so broken…." She faltered a bit, "I….I don't know how to help him! My area of expertise was shooting, not helping people put back together a shattered soul!" She looked up at the night sky, "I don't know what to do, Nicholas." She whispered, "I really don't! This was your area, wasn't it?" She whispered softly, as she looked back down. "God, I really wish you were here now." Her eyes watered a bit, she looked back up at the moon with its gaping hole as her eyes hardened.

"Knives…." She hissed, "This is all your fault! If you weren't so damned…." She stopped herself. No, this wasn't going to help…as it was going to do was enrage her and that's wasn't what was needed right now. She took a breath and sighed out still looking at the moon. She watched it for a moment before she started humming a bit. It was an older song, one she heard a long time ago but never really sang it. Nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't her style really…but for some reason it felt right to sing it now…

"So...on the first celestial evening, a pebble from somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world." She paused a moment and even smiled a little as she took a sip of her tea. "So... On the second celestial evening, the pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz."

Suddenly she heard a gasp from behind her, she whirred around as her eyes widened. "Vash!" She gasped out, as he looked to her his emerald eyes wild.

"That….song…." He stammered out

"Vash you shouldn't be up yet!" Seraphine said as she put down her cup and came over to his side as he looked down at her, his eyes haunted. Then he surprised her by desperately grasping onto her shoulder. Her eyes shot up to look into his.

"Where did you hear that song?" He asked desperately, looking so spooked like a frightened animal. "Please, tell me where you heard that song!"

Seraphine calmed herself, Vash wasn't himself right now. It was frightening a bit, but she had to remain calm for his sake. Gingerly she placed one hand a top of his as his eyes widened startled by the contact. "I heard that a long time ago." She told him, "Someone was listening to it on a record once."

His eyes looked down to her, etched in pain. "That was….her song." He whispered, as he closed his eyes.

"You mean that was Rem's song." She said softly as his eyes shot open as he looked to her, she smiled a bit grasping both hands and hold them in front of her. "You've called out her name several times now." She said.

Vash said nothing as he simply looked to Seraphine his eyes haunted. She smiled sadly a bit as she moved besides him and rubbed his back gently. "C'mon Vash, lets put you back to bed okay? I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I wasn't sleeping." He said softly which surprised Seraphine as she looked at him, he looked down at her. His eyes still sad but there was also a curiosity to them too, "It was you, wasn't it?" He asked softly, "That day, on the cliff….." He choked a bit.

Seraphine looked to him, and sighed a bit as she looked at his chest. "Yeah, it was me you were holding onto when you were calling Rem's name." She looked up at him, "Vash, I'm sorry. I didn't…."

He turned away a bit, "It's alright." He said his voice without emotion, "Rem's been dead a long time. I knew it couldn't be her but I just couldn't see anyone else…." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"No, Vash, it's okay." She whispered as she rubbed his back some more.

"It's just that I…." He faltered a bit as he looked down and drew up his hand a bit. "I…."

Seraphine's hand clasped over his real one, startling him a bit so that he looked to her. "You did something you were pushed into doing, because he didn't give you another option Vash." She said softly, "Legato designed that whole thing so you would have no other options." Her eyes softened, "He did it because he knew it would hurt you." Vash's eyes clouded with pain as she looked away. "He also did it because Knives ordered him to." She said her voice filled with pain and resentment.

"What?!" Vash gasped as his eyes flashed in shock, "How do you know about Knives?!" He asked.

Seraphine didn't look up at him, she couldn't. This had been her secret she had been keeping for so long. That she was like Vash….she wasn't human. She was a plant….because Knives had created her. Using the lost technology from the ships Knives had attempted to replace Vash by creating another of their kind. After fifty years, he finally succeeded. Seraphine was the result, but much to Knives anger she hated killing the innocent almost as much as Vash hated killing period. They fought and she had escaped from him, and been on the run ever sense. Hate of Knives consumed her and she vowed that he would never do to another, what he had done to her. She had been his slave, there was no sugar coating that fact. He prayed upon those weaker than himself, thought of them as insects and hated them. Why? She never knew but she vowed the he and those like him would never enslave anyone ever again.

"So that's when I be came a bounty hunter." She said softly looking up at the moon as Vash sat next to her in a chair that she had eased him into at the beginning of her story. "The rest you know." She couldn't look at him; she couldn't stand to see the disgust that she knew she would see in his eyes. That he had been traveling with something….not human or plant. She was something completely different…she wasn't real. Worse off….she was created by the one being he hated. "So….." She said as she looked down, "That's….it."

Vash looked at her and listened in a stunned disbelief. Now he knew how Meryl felt when he laid it all on the line for her, about himself and Knives. He didn't know what to think right now, his heart and soul had been devastated and now this?? But this….wasn't so bad was it? Knives had created Seraphine….that's got to say something him shouldn't it?

Seraphine sighed after the long silence. "It's getting late, Vash." She said as she walked over to him and gently put her hand on his arm. "We should get you back into bed, you're still not healed yet and…"

She was startled when Vash clasped his hand over her and slowly stood up looking at her, his eyes saddened as he looked to her. "Tell me one thing." He said slowly his voice betraying no emotion. Seraphine's heart sped up a bit as she swallowed unconsciously, and nodded as he looked down at her his eyes growing confused. "Earlier this afternoon…." He paused for a moment, "You…you kissed me."

Seraphine looked up at him, "Yes, I did." She said slowly, curiously.

"Why?" He asked

Seraphine pondered the question for a moment, and then looked up at him. "Because it was the only thing I could come up with to make you stop blaming yourself Vash." She said as she smiled wanly a bit. "It was either that or slap you, and I didn't want to slap you."

Vash watched her a moment, the way the moonlight caressed her the way the breeze seemed to pick up the light ends of her hair…he never noticed before, but as he looked into her eyes there were little flecks of silver within them too. Vash had always thought she had been incredibly beautiful…now she looked completely ethereal in her beauty…now he knew why. She was like him, after a fashion…and that wasn't so bad was it?

"C'mon, Vash." She said coaxingly, "Let's get you to bed." With that she led the broken gunman back to his room and tucked him in. He had said nothing more that night to her, and he didn't need to. But somehow Seraphine felt…..refreshed, like she no longer had to hide anything from him anymore. It was a wonderful feeling, a really crappy situation and circumstances surrounding this…but still she was glad that he knew now. He could hate her later if he wanted, and she wouldn't have blamed him in the least.

Once retucking him back in, on an impulse she leaned down and kissed him goodnight on the forehead. "Good night, Vash." She said softly as she walked out of the room and may her way back to hers.

She never saw the emerald eyes looking at her as she moved, nor did she hear the soft "Good night, Seraphine." He whispered as the door shut behind her.