Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Tolerant Patience ❯ Recognizing Defacement ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer: Hi. Here is a message for those of you thinking of acquiring money from a poor student such as myself who can barely scrounge enough quarters for laundry: It would be a waste of time and money on your part to sue me. Please don't. I don't own Trigun.

This is a permanent key....

\Insert noise\ = Mechanical devices

"Insert word(s)" = Talking

-- Insert thought(s) -- = Thoughts directed to certain telepathic people aimed to be picked up. I.e. hold a conversation without moving lips.

/ Insert thought(s) / = Captive person's thoughts.. (ex. Rin controls someone briefly that's what she hears.. it has a distinct quality to it that is different from thoughts directed to her.)

>Insert thought(s) > = Intruding thoughts pushed in from telepathic person.

<> Insert thought(s)<> = Rin's skimming frequency... those thoughts she picks up.

!! Be on the look out for Japanese words !! :

Tongari-- Airhead (Woldwood's friendly insulting name for Vash)

Niichan-- Brother (used for older brothers, brothers you hold dear, mostly children use this)

Ja! -- Later! (very informal way of saying bye)

Pronounciation key:

The Japanese language is very nasal.

'Tongari', would be pronounced 'Tohn-gah-rri'. Their r's sound kinda like the Spanish trill with an r / l sound to it. You roll it like the trill.

'Niichan' is 'Knee-chah-n'. The 'n' sounds like 'mm' but with an 'n'.

'Ja' is 'Jah'. Try not to lengthen the sound of the vowel; if you do, you may be saying a completely different word.

On with the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That has got to be the most depressing encounter with someone's mind that I have ever had.

"Nick. Give me hand."

He moved quickly to my side. I handed him the rubbing alcohol.

"I lance, you douse. Got it?"

"Won't that poison… Oh, yeah. Forgot, he's resilient."

I removed the towel that I had placed on Legato's back to soften any scabs that had not softened in the short amount of time that he spent in the tub.

Grasping the scalpel precisely, I quickly did my work, squeezing out the oozing pus with my rag and then having Nick pour the alcohol on them.

His back was a mess of crusty scabs and a general mishmash of hollowed out skin; the kind of indentation you would see when a child had scratched at chicken pox too much.

It looked as if Knives had inflicted a pattern to this… It seemed familiar the size and position of each and every scar, but where had I seen- Sick.Sick.

Legato was a living, breathing replica of the pockmarked-and-stitched-scarred body we all know as Vash, minus the metal screws and crisscrossing strips.

I guess Knives got his revenge for all the pain that Vash endured from the 'filthy' humans. I thought to myself grimly.

I vaguely wondered if Nick had noticed.

I grimaced running over the stitch scars running all around the middle of his left arm.

The skin colors were different: the upper bicep was dark like the rest of his body but the arm itself was… off somehow… and it seemed familiar…

I shook my head, exhaling. Stop it, Rin. Just wrap him up.

Not finding anything else other than a couple of old bruises, I added ointment and large, non-stick gauze bandages on his back, butt, thighs, and calves wrapping bandage tape to keep them in place.

I had Nick help me roll him over to get his front wounds and repeated the 'lance, squeeze, and pour' procedure. I bandaged those up as well. I took a thick blanket from my bag and covered him snugly.

Legato was looking frighteningly… peaceful… and was that contentment written plainly across his face?

I quirked a smile at Nick.

>Let's go eat>

<>Okay<>

We were unspoken setting up the table for two.

As we began to eat, Nick finally broke the empty quiet.

"You know, I always thought that Legato was being treated differently from the rest of the Gung-Ho Guns. I had some clue that the 'reward' was not great, but I didn't think it was this…"

"Wrong?" I helped.

"abusive."

He leveled me with a stare.

"I haven't asked any personal questions, yet… because it shouldn't be anyone else's damn business, but I seemed to have picked up this nosy habit from Vash… would you care to explain to me your connection to them?"

"Who?"I asked blandly, already knowing.

"Who else?… or you could answer with a 'none of your damned business' and I will move on the conversation in my own happy little way."

"I'm related to them."

"Family?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call me their older sister. Now, it's my turn. What happened to your parents?"

"Mom died giving birth. Dear old Daddy was a drunk child abuser; when the cavalry found his dead body in the trash pile, he had been shot right through the heart."

"And you fell under the Gung-Ho Guns influence…"

"Bingo. Now, if you were Vash's older sister, that would make you, what, 30 years old?"

"……No."

"Okaaa-y, ehh… how old is Vash?"

"About 130."

"You're kidding me.. He looks to be in his early 20s-" then he took in the look from my eyes.

"You can't be serious. Tongari, 130?… That would explain some things about him…" He paused and thought a moment. "What is he anyway?"

I waggled my finger in front of him. "Uh-uh… Can't ask more than one question at a time, until I ask you another one, and I don't think Niichan would be too pleased, if I ratted."

"Well, hurry up, ask me something!"

"Wow! What a delicious dinner. Okay. Well, I'm sure tired out. I'm going to bed. Ja!" I left the kitchen quickly, leaving a seething Wolfwood behind.

I climbed upstairs to take the guestroom next to the bathroom-converted hospital ward just in case Legato needed anything.

And had a feeling I wasn't going to get much sleep.