Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ What If ❯ Return of Vash the Stampede ( Chapter 1 )

Note: I don't own any of the Trigun characters, they are owned by Nightow, Pioneer, ADV, and some others.

Water was raining down around all of the townspeople when Vash walked back into the town. With Knives slung over one shoulder of his brown body armor and Wolfwood's Cross Punisher strapped across his back, he stopped just outside of the downpour. Ahead of him, about sixty yards away, stood Meryl and Millie. A small smile crossed his face. After what they had shared on the cliff nearly a week earlier, he was especially happy to see Meryl. The smile quickly disappeared. She had done that with the "Love and Peace" Vash. He didn't know how she would react to his new philosophy.

He let Knives slide to the ground but, before he could call out, saw a shiver run down Meryl's spine. Her back straightened and she reached out to grab Millie's sleeve. Ever so slowly, her head turned.

When she caught sight of him, a look of unbridled delight took over her face. Millie was still turning to look when Meryl let go of her and started running. Vash stood still, not moving until he caught her when she vaulted over Knives' still form.

"Vash!" she shrieked his name, causing him to wince as he wrapped his arms around her slight shape. Meryl kicked the two pistols he wore, trying to wrap her legs around him in an attempt to hold him closer.

Millie skidded to a stop just a few feet behind Meryl. "Hey, Mr. Vash!" she greeted him with a typical Millie style grin.

Vash set Meryl down on her feet and waved at Millie. "Hi, Millie. Surprised to see me?"

The tall woman shook her head. "I knew you would come back."

The gunman looked down at Meryl, who was still clutching him around the waist. Before he could speak to her, she asked, "Is that him?"

He shifted his gaze from the shorter woman to his brother. "Yeah."

Meryl reluctantly let her arms drop and started to jog towards the front door of their house. "Well, pick him up," she began in a resigned tone. "I'll get a bed ready inside to put him in."

"You don't need to do that." Vash said the words quietly, yet they stopped Meryl in her tracks.

She didn't turn around to answer him. "Yes, I do. He's your brother."

"He's also dead."

Meryl's slightly stooped posture straightened. "Dead?"

Vash rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. With the townspeople beginning to crowd around, he didn't want to discuss this now.

"Do you need help, Mr. Vash the Stampede?" The question was asked by an old, slouched man with a droopy white mustache.

"Thank you, sir, I do," Vash replied with his trademark enthusiasm. "My brother here will need a proper grave. If you could point out the person to talk to, I would be really thankful."

The old man nodded. "That would be me," he answered. "I am this little town's mayor, after all. I would be glad to have the town cover the cost of this man's burial, as our gift to you. With how we treated you, we are simply grateful that you have been so kind to us."

Vash started patting the man on the back. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! By the way," he asked conspirationally, "is there still somewhere in this town to buy donuts?"

"Of course," the elderly mayor answered with a smile as he tried to regain his balance. "Miss Meryl has opened up her own donut shop. The best I've ever had."

"Meryl?" he asked, casting a dubious look at the back of the petite, dark haired woman. "Oh, by the way, can you tell me where I should carry my brother's body?" All at once, his enthusiastic attitude was gone, replaced by the quiet air of a man with a lot on his mind.

"Don't worry." A tall brown haired man stepped forward. Vash recognized the man who had drug him around the town behind his car. "I'll take him to the town morgue."

The Humanoid Typhoon nodded his thanks, then turned and walked up to Meryl, who still had her back to him. "Am I still welcome to stay here with you two?" he asked.

Meryl gave him a mock glare. "Of course." Abruptly, wide eyed shock replaced the glare.

"Oh, no! There might be a problem," she told Vash. Millie undid the straps holding the Cross Punisher to Vash's back and hugged it.

"Right, Meryl," Millie spoke up through sudden tears. "Since we've been renting out the third bedroom, we don't have anywhere he can sleep."

"It's okay, Insurance Girls," the gunman told them. "I'll just put myself up in the inn. Problem solved."

Meryl adamantly shook her head. "No way. Would you mind sleeping on the floor?"

"Huh?" Vash asked, somewhat surprised by the question.

The short woman nodded at Millie, who was entering the house while still cradling her dead lover's weapon. "Millie will probably be needing her time at night alone. But if you want, you can sleep on the floor in my room."

"Really? In your room? With you?" His enthusiasm resurfaced. "We just can't make too much noise," he joked.

The next thing he knew, he was looking up and seeing two images of the mayor from where he lay sprawled in the street. "I hope you learned you lesson, young man," they said in tandem. "Everyone else knows not to make her mad."

"Oooohhh, ouch," Vash moaned as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head to clear it. Over to one side he could hear Meryl muttering something about children in men's bodies as she stomped through the house's front door. Vash grinned as the doubles he was seeing finally coalesced into a single image. It was good to be back with his friends.