Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ The Night's End ❯ Interlude (in Town) ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer- Hey, you could theoretically sue me, but we don't want that, now do we? I mean, nothing in the below story belongs to me (Trigun, Vash, Meryl, Millie, etc.) and I'm only doing this because it's really cold outside and I'm bored. So...you get the point.



"Uh-Uhhhhhhnnnnn." Vash woke up slowly, regretting every minute of it as his senses came back to him. He was lying on a bed...or at least on something soft, and Good Lord--was that him he was smelling? "Ugh-" Resisting the urge to gag at the smell, he rolled over and pushed himself up onto one elbow. From this vantage point he could see the entire room.

It was small, two twin beds centered in a room with one window and a single chair near one of the two doors. Must be a hotel, he thought, Meryl certainly knew how to pick them. Ignoring the bed's protesting squeaks and groans, he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Uh-oohh...dammit, my head hurts..." Cradling his head, he forced himself out of bed and towards the door nearest him. He knew he had some medicine in his bag, now he just had to find out where the insurance girls had put it. It was probably somewhere where he couldn't get at it without them knowing, a minor precaution against him skipping town twice in two days time.

Grasping the doorknob, he was startled as it was yanked forward, sending him into a nosedive--right into a pair of brown shoes. Blinking twice, he realized that he had fallen as someone on the other side of the door had tried to open the door at the same time as him. Blinking once more, he realized that his chin seemed to be full of splinters and it seemed to be throbbing. "Ow," he managed before getting cut off by a high-pitched voice.

"OH! Mr. Vash, you're awake! I was just going to get the doctor, but I guess you're all right!" Millie's voice cut through the fog in Vash's mind, and he winced involuntarily. After a moment's pause and thoughtful consideration, she asked, "And...um...Mr. Vash, why are you on the floor?" She smiled brightly at him as he considered his answer.

"No reason." He settled on the simplest answer, for him anyway. "Hey, which direction is the shower, and where's my bag?"

"Oh. Your bag is in our bathroom where the shower is. The bathroom's through that door." With a bright smile, she pointed at the other door in the room. "Is that all you wanted to know? If that's it, I have to go stable the thomas and see about getting a dinner brought here. I don't think you're well enough to eat downstairs, and I'm sure Senpai won't want to once she gets back."

"She's not here?" Vash felt a little guilty at the hopeful tone in his voice but he really didn't think his head could stand the inevitable end to the lecture that she'd started out in the desert. Not that he didn't deserve every minute of it...but his head hurt just thinking about her usual reactions to his 'escapades.'

"No. She's went to go check on a light outside of town, and hasn't come back yet."

"How long has she been gone?" He knew he sounded paranoid, but he just couldn't help it. Years of experience had taught him to always doublecheck things, because you never knew when someone might be in trouble.

"Only about two hours. She should be back in a couple of hours, but until then I'm to make sure you don't get into any trouble." Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she added, "And Mr. Vash? You might want to take a shower. If you do that right now, I'll send your coat to be washed while you're showering. Is that okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she hauled him, unprotesting, to his feet, and helped him out of his coat. Holding it at arm's length, she shut the door behind her, leaving him alone in the room.

Shivering slightly in the sudden absence of his coat, he wondered where Millie had learned such brisk efficiency. It certainly didn't seem to be a natural part of her nature, which meant that Meryl probably had a great deal to do with it. Sighing heavily at the great task in front of him, he turned towards the bathroom door, and stumbled towards it. After locking the bathroom door behind him, he sat down heavily and began the arduous task that began his daily shower--the buckle removal.

Two hours later, he was showered and dressed again, this time in a loose shirt and pair of pants. Brushing his hair out of his eyes with a sigh, he wandered out the door to find Millie...and maybe even dinner. Stomach rumbling ominously, and dreams of soup and sandwiches dancing through his head, he padded down the hallway to the stairs.

At the base of the stairs he hesitated, hearing hushed voices in the bar. It seemed that someone had discovered Vash's identity, and Millie was attempting to do damage control by informing the owner of the hotel that he was wrong, that Vash wasn't like the man in the rumors. Sighing again, this time in resignation, Vash stepped out from the stairwell and into the bar.

At the sound of him approaching, Millie and the bartender both looked up. Millie's mouth curved into a cheery smile, and the man's eyes widened in apparent fear. Nodding at Millie, Vash stepped up to the bar and sat down on a stool, slouching forward onto the counter. "'Ello," his voice was muffled by his arms. After a moment of staring at the barkeep through his hair, he blew his bangs out of his eyes and asked for a glass of water.

Swallowing nervously, the bartender looked at Millie once before scurrying around his bar, looking for a glass. Millie, meanwhile had turned to Vash with a concerned look in her eyes. "Mr. Vash, this man says that we might not be able to stay the night here because of you." Behind her, the man jumped as if he'd been shocked. "He says he doesn't want any trouble, and I tried to tell him you weren't at all like the stories but he wouldn't listen. He wants us to leave town too!" Crossing her arms determinedly she added, "But THAT would be disobeying Senpai's orders, which is wrong. Don't you think so Mr. Vash?"

He nodded absently, he really didn't feel up to this. However, he also knew he was too sick to be able to take being kicked out of town by the locals. With the way his luck was running now, he'd die of starvation or something worse before he reached the next town over. Cursing everything that had brought him to the point where he'd be forced to use this, he turned to the bartender who was looking at him fearfully, a glass of water in his hand. "Hmmm...is she telling the truth? Do you really want to make these poor women suffer along with me?" Quirking his eyebrow at the last question, he waited for the poor man to answer. After recieving a frightened shake of the head that indicated that the man was indeed appalled at that very thought, Vash pulled the peanut bowl to him and motioned for his water, which the man gave up willingly before retreating to the far side of the bar.

Millie turned to Vash, "We get to stay in town tonight, isn't that nice?" He nodded, turning back to his peanuts, carefully shelling one before eating it. One peanut, one drink, one peanut, one drink...

"Your partner back yet?" He questioned casually, focusing almost entirely on shelling and drinking.

"No," she shook her head woefully, "Otherwise she would have dealt with that man just now. And SHE wouldn't have used threats." He flinched, he thought she hadn't noticed. Sighing slightly, her shoulders slumped under her cape, "I don't know where she is. The light can't have been that far. Where IS she?" Then she grinned slowly in realization, "You know what, Mr. Vash? She's gone." He nodded at this sage wisdom from Millie. "If we hurry, we can be drunk before she gets back!"