Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Trigun: Doushikai ❯ Bottles and Bullet Holes ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter V

Bottles and Bullet Holes

Vash stopped before a small bungalow set at the corner of a crossroads. He bowed low and dramatically. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said with a flourish of his hand."

Kena rolled her eyes and leaned down to whisper to Okaia about how cheesy their host was, but stopped when she realized that the girl probably wouldn't hear a word she said. Okaia was staring up at Vash from her death hold on his arm with big, moony eyes, absorbing every word that fell from the blonde's lips as if he was reciting a particularly beautiful poem. Kena felt an urge to grab the other woman and shake her back into her senses. Now was not the time to fall head over heels in love, especially with a big, goofy idiot like Vash. They had a job to do, and if Arana's hunch as well as the information they had acquired in the general store had been correct, the four of them could stand to make a lot of money if they managed to find a capture this incredibly elusive, destructive individual.

Or so the townspeople seemed to think. Destroying towns: with the right explosives and a little bit of strategy, it was possible. Putting holes in moons: downright unbelievable. Kena sighed noisily and swiped at a sweat-drenched lock of blonde hair that hung in front of her eyes. Outlaws of this renown and caliber typically were more legend than real person, though occasionally one would surprise you. All she knew is that they were running dangerously low on cash and idly sitting on their butts having dinner with a gangly idiot who probably more sand than brains in his head was not a good way to start a bounty hunt.

She felt a nudge in her side and turned to see that Arana had sidled up next to her. Cupping her hand to the side of her mouth so as not to be heard by the other two girls or their host, who was darting across the dilapidated front porch of the house proudly pointing to various items of beat-up furniture.

"He sure carries on," Arana whispered, amusement redolent in her voice, as she gestured at Vash, who was, by the look of him, desperately trying to impress his four guests. Kena glanced at Ayashi, who besides nodding and smiling politely, didn't look too impressed. Okaia, however, was an entirely different story. The redhead was hopping from one foot to the other, clapping her hands and giggling girlishly. Kena sneered.

"You got that right," she replied sullenly. Vash waved for all them to come inside. To Arana's right there was a rush of wind and the sound of crunching sand as Okaia darted off to accompany Vash and Ayashi into the house. Flashing their host a brilliant smile, she resumed her hold on his arm. Ayashi pursed her lips as she watched Vash's face flush in pleasure. After a short moment of deliberation, she too reclaimed his other arm.

Arana chuckled as she watched a very flustered Vash blush to the roots of his hair and stare in frank amazement at the two beautiful women at his sides. "Do you get the impression that our host doesn't get much action?" she queried in hushed tones.

"Wasn't it obvious? The moron nearly fell all over himself to get us to stay and have dinner with him."

Arana chuckled again, a light musical sound in the dry air, and motioned at the chipped, paint-peeled door through which Vash and their companions had disappeared a few seconds before. "So, do you think we should leave them all alone with him in there? she asked, one eyebrow cocked.

Kena shot her a narrow-eyed glance. "Answer me this: how long do you think it will be before they start fighting over him?"

"Well I guess we should head inside before the bullets start flying and this house starts looking even worse for the wear." Arana adjusted her pack on her shoulders, climbed the narrow, canted steps onto the small wooden porch that extended from the front of the building. Each plank was twisted and desiccated and full of crusty, splinter-filled knotholes, but each was clean and free of all but the most clinging grains of sand. A mournful old rocking chair sat to the left of the door, looking like it had seen better days. The floor beneath held a pair of twin shiny scuffmarks from use, as did the pathway leading directly to the door. Paint peeled in scabby white crisps from the doorframe, and the screened storm door was full of rips, tears, and snags. From her angle of sight, she could see that the front door itself was in only slightly better shape. Gingerly, she pawed open the storm and headed inside, Kena trudging morosely in after her.

They found themselves in a cramped, dimly lit hallway. Not unsurprisingly, the walls were of a smooth, hard steel, dull gray in the dirty yellow light cast by three ceiling fixtures. On both sides of the hallway, doors led to other rooms. All save for the first one on the right were closed. Deep shadows shrouded the corners of the rooms as well as the doorways. Sheets of lacy cobwebs hung in dingy dust-festooned streamers from the ceiling. Voice issued from the open door, and Arana followed them, stepping through the doorway. Kena pushed the front door shut behind her (the knob wobbled loosely in her hand), which created even more shadows along with a dry wind that snaked around her slight form, bringing the airs on her arms and the back of her up at attention.

This place made her uneasy. Most of the buildings in this town seemed to be in varying degrees of disrepair, some worse than this one. She had spent many a night in places far creepier, but she couldn't shake the feeling this place gave her. It reeked of sickness, pain, despair, and of the musty, dry dust scent of the scuffed up blue-gray carpet that lined the hallway. Underneath it all was a faint metallic smell. Was that dried blood she smelled? She dropped in a low crouch and examined the raggedy floor covering, looking for stains. They were aplenty, along with bits of paper, dust, and other less desirable things. With this sort of mess it was hard to tell what was what and she gave up, rising to her feet. Keeping a careful eye on the distant corners of the hallway lest something or someone should jump out of them at her, she crept into the room.

A warm, cheerful light and the excited voices of her companions and host spilled out and over her as she entered. The room was large-a combination kitchen/dining/living area. Unlike the hallway, it was spotlessly clean and smelled of lemon-scented disinfectant and cleaner. The corners were free of cobwebs and dust, and the floor, though worn by countless feet, shone with polish recently applied. To her right was a small stove, a battered old refrigerator. Beyond these snaked a scarred countertop. A pair of windows with bright yellow curtains hung over an old double sink. A rectangular table made from roughly hewn wooden planks and surrounded by a grouping of six rickety old chairs lay before the kitchenette. A silver ashtray, spotless as was the rest of the room, sat in the center of the table. On her immediate left was a small, heavily scuffed desk and chair. Excited voices issued from an open door in the far left-hand corner of the room and she walked over in that direction, eying the sparse and weathered furnishings with distaste. She paused in the center of the main room as Arana, Ayashi, and Okaia, followed by Vash in the rear, stepped out of what she assumed must be a bedroom.

"You have a wonderful home, Vash," Ayashi commented.

"I'm really sorry that there aren't enough beds for all of you, but all we have are the three and my brother is … sick and needs the one, so all that's left are the other two …," he trailed off, obviously embarrassed at the lack of proper accommodations.

Ayashi gave him an easy smile. "Not at all," she replied. "We're used to much more meager lodging. If you hadn't come along when you did and offered to take us in, we probably would have ended up camping out on the outskirts of town somewhere. We're very grateful for your most generous hospitality, Vash." Arana and Okaia both nodded in agreement.

"So, Vash," Okaia purred as she sidled up next to their spiky-haired host, "where are you going to sleep?"

Vash looked flustered. "Well, my friend and I usually sleep in there," he jerked his thumb at the room they had just vacated, "but since you guys are here I guess we'll just sleep out here."

"Oh but, Vash," Okaia tugged gently on his sleeve and batted her eyelashes at him coquettishly, "it's not healthy to sleep on the floor. You could hurt your back or catch a cold (you know how chilly the desert gets at night). You've been so kind, I'll share my bed with you."

Vash was so caught by her offer that he nearly tumbled to the floor in shock. He just stood there, scratching his head with the hand not held captive by the petite redhead at his side and stammered a thank-you.

Ayashi, having turned 13 shades of purple in response to her companion's crass invite, forcibly yanked Okaia away from the flustering man. "Forgive her, Vash. Sometimes she opens her mouth and the craziest things pop out." Okaia shot her a slightly hurt and slightly annoyed glance and sighed comically. Shocked as well as confused, Vash just stood where he had been before, one hand tangled in his hair and the other stuffed into one of his pockets. Grinning goofily, a bright red flush on his cheeks, he hummed and happily rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Who's the stiff?" Kena called out loudly from across the room. She held another door open and was staring half-interestedly at something inside. Vash instantly snapped out of his trance. He darted over to her and reached for the doorknob with uncanny speed. Ayashi followed close on his heels, a strained "not again" look on her face. Kena ignored Ayashi's cold stare and continued to study the shadow-draped figure lying prone the small metal-framed bed at the front of the room. Vash yanked her hand away from the doorknob and then pulled it shut. He placed himself in front of the door, blocking it from view.

"Oh, you don't want to go in there," he laughed good-naturedly. "That's just Knives-my brother. He's sick right now and probably won't be up and around for another few we-, eh, days. Heh heh."

Kena looked Vash over, her icy blue eyes trying to pierce through him. Vash's never-fail smile was unbreakable under her scrutiny and she dropped her gaze and nodded dismissively.

"Knives, huh?" she questioned, eyes roaming the rest of the main room. Vash nodded and she snorted derisively. "You guys sure must have had some interesting parents." She began to laugh loudly, but was stopped short by Ayashi, who jammed her elbow hard into the blonde's ribcage.

"We. Are. Guests," she growled through gritted teeth. "Be. Polite!" Kena narrowed her eyes menacingly at Ayashi then shrugged and found a seat the at the desk, where she began to haphazardly rifle through the contents of each of the drawers. Ayashi sighed and gave Vash a strained grin.

"Please excuse my very rude friend over there. She needs to learn to think before she speaks."

Vash nodded in uncomfortable agreement. There was a dangerous glitter in this woman's eyes as she glared at the despondent blonde at the desk, and he was afraid to say anything else in case it would provoke her any further. An uncomfortable silence, broken only by the rustling of papers as Kena searched the contents of the desk, ensued and the other three women and Vash stood uncomfortably, unsure of what to say next.

Gratefully for all, the door burst open just then and a tall person, legs visible beneath several grocery bags chock full of food staggered in from the corridor.

"Yo, Tongari!" he called companionably from behind his burden. "Do you think that you could get off that skinny little butt of yours and help me with these, for God's sakes!?" Arana jumped at the voice as if startled, and Kena looked up at her. Moving silently, she stood up from her seat, leaving a heap of papers piled messily on the desktop. Grumbling to himself about high prices and crooked salespeople, the newcomer set one of the bags carefully down on the table and stood up, pressing the heels of his hands into the small of his back with a grimace. Arana's eyes widened with shock as the newcomer's face came into view.

"You!"

Everyone froze. Ayashi stared intently at the stranger. A messy shag of dark, blue-black hair fell across his eyes and a bristling forest of stubble crowded its way over his cheeks and chin. Was this the man that Arana initially sensed? Was he this Humanoid Typhoon all the townspeople were raving about? Lessons well learned forced her into motion, putting her in-between Vash and the stranger. If this guy proved dangerous and put up a fight, there was no way that she would let an innocent bystander like Vash get hurt.

Moving in time with her motions was a rustle of fabric and the click of a safety being pulled. Eyes the color of freshly loamed earth glanced down to see Okaia at her shoulder, weapon drawn. Okaia met her eyes and they shared a moment, both knowing instinctively that the other would do anything to protect the man behind them. A smile teased at the corners of Ayashi's mouth. Okaia nodded determinedly and flashed her own hard-edged smile back at the brunette. They returned their attention back to the newcomer.

He wore an expression of shock similar to Arana's, but now his attention had turned to the blonde standing next to him and the barrel of the gun that was pressed firmly to his temple. He swallowed noisily and stared uneasily at Kena.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" she intoned coldly.

Sweat rolled down the sides of his face in rivulets. The hand holding the other bag of groceries trembled and a few vegetables tumbled to the floor. A pitiful looking tomato rolled silently across the floor, finally coming to rest at Kena's boot. She took no notice.

"Answer me!" she shouted her grip on the gun tightening, barrel grinding against the man's skull. He gaped at her, too shocked to speak. His hold on the bag slackened and its contents spilled out in a heap on the floor.

"Kena, stop!" Arana said, breaking her paralysis and running over to where the blonde and the dark-haired man stood. Gently, she laid a hand on the arm holding the gun and pressed down on it. "I met him earlier today. He's a priest and he works at an orphanage on the northern outskirts of the town."

Kena stared at Arana with some misgivings. Arana's fingers tightened on her arm.

<Let him go.> She implored her companion mentally. <He's not who we're looking for.>

Kena's features clouded and she looked the man over again. Sunlight streamed through the windows over the sink, glinting off the pair of silver cufflinks that adorned his sleeves. They were large, cross-shaped, and in her opinion, garish, but she complied with her friend's wishes, loosening her grip on the gun and letting it drop to her side. Just in case, though, she did not return it to its holster nor did she relax her stance.

The man shot a look of pure gratitude at Arana and wiped the sweat from his brow. On the other side of the room Vash did much the same. Pushing gently past Okaia and Ayashi-both girls instantly relaxed at his touch-he moved up beside the dark-haired man and clapped him on the shoulder.

"This is my friend that lives with me here. His name is-"

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood," the other man said cheerfully, having recovered nearly instantly from his near brush with death. He stuck his hand out in Kena's direction. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss…"

Kena stared scornfully at the proffered hand, snorted in disgust, and strode over to the table. Indifferent to the five pairs of eyes that followed her every move, she sat down in one of the rickety wooden chairs, plopped her feet up on the tabletop, and stared moodily out the window.

Looking slightly affronted, Wolfwood let his hand drop to his side.

"Kena!" Ayashi scolded angrily, but to no effect. Raising her hands in a placating gesture she walked over to Wolfwood, clasped one of his hands, and pumped it briefly before releasing it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wolfwood. I'm Ayashi."

A careless grin surfaced on the man's handsome features. "Nice to meet you too, Ayashi."

"I apologize that it couldn't be under better circumstances," Ayashi added, sending a murderous look in Kena's direction.

"It's my fault, actually," Arana interjected. "I was so shocked to see you again that I acted without thinking and shouted. That alerted Kena, and well…she's actually very nice once you get to know her," she supplemented as an afterthought.

Wolfwood suavely took one of Arana's hands in his and planted a small kiss on the back of it. "Honey, I'm sure she's as wonderful as you say." There was a rough snigger from Kena's direction, and Okaia took that as her opportunity to introduce herself to Wolfwood.

While Arana and Okaia chattered excitedly with the newcomer, Ayashi studied Vash, who hadn't said a word since Wolfwood had gone and introduced himself. He was staring hard at Kena's back, his eyes looking troubled and his face clouded with some emotion that she couldn't place. Seeing that Okaia was occupied Wolfwood, who was doing his best to flatter both Arana and Okaia, Ayashi moved to comfort Vash. Actually it was just an excuse to flirt with him without interference on Okaia's part, but she wasn't about to let him know that.

He jumped slightly as she lightly placed her hand on his arm, but immediately a warm smile was on his face. "Yes, Ayashi?"

"Vash, you looked so upset just now. I really hope that my rude companion over there hasn't upset you." She batted her eyelashes at him, trying to mimic Arana as best she could. Vash's smile widened and a faint pink blush rose to his cheeks.

"No, she hasn't. I was just worried that maybe I said or did something to put her on edge."

"Of course not!" Ayashi moved closer and placed both hands on his chest. "You've been an absolutely wonderful host!"

Vash's blush grew to spread over his face like wildfire. He moved in closer to her, one of his hands coming to rest on her waist. "What can I say? When I find a beautiful woman in need, I just can't not try to help her."

Ayashi looked up at him through thick lashes and brought her hand up so that it caress his neck. "My hero," she cooed. Vash chuckled and was about to move his other hand to her waist when Okaia butted in, pushing the two of them apart.

"Vash, when are we going to eat?" she whined, pressing herself up against his chest. Vash looked flustered, yet pleased, and began to play with a lock of her hair.

"Wolfwood and I will start on dinner right away," he replied, a goofy grin on his red face. Ayashi glared at Okaia, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. She grabbed Vash's hand and jerked him towards her.

"I'll help you with dinner, Vash."

Okaia narrowed her eyes at Ayashi and jerked Vash back in her direction. "He doesn't have a death wish, Ayashi," she growled menacingly.

"You're being very impolite, Okaia," Ayashi countered, pulling Vash back over to her. "Why don't you go and check through the rest of our supplies and make sure that you didn't forget anything else!"

Okaia growled and leaned in so that their faces were mere inches apart. "That. Was. An. Accident."

"You seem to have an awful lot of `accidents'," was Ayashi's cool reply.

"What was that?!"

"Uh, ladies?" Vash gulped and stared down at the two bickering women with distinct unease.

"Vash! Stop flirting and come help me with this!" Vash shot Wolfwood a grateful smile, disentangled himself from Okaia and Ayashi's grip, and jogged over to the kitchenette, where Wolfwood and Arana were standing, their arms full of groceries.

Arana set hers on the battered countertop. She then took what was in Wolfwood's arms and did the same. Sorting through the food, she selected a large hunk of meat, a few fresh vegetables, a couple of cans of broth, and a loaf of freshly baked bread.

"You guys just relax. I'll take care of dinner tonight."

Wolfwood congenially slapped Vash on the back. "Good job, Tongari! You found a girl who is not only beautiful but can cook too!"

"Yeah, I know. How did I get so lucky?"

Ayashi and Okaia's jaws nearly dropped to the floor. "Vash?" they both said simultaneously. He was so caught up with listening to Wolfwood's tale of how he met Arana that he didn't hear them. Looking downcast, they both trudged over to the table and sat down. Sighing in frustration, they put their elbows upon the table, rested their chins on their cupped hands, and stared moonily at Vash.

"Love hurts, doesn't it?" Kena cracked an eye open and smiled mischievously at them.

"Shut up!" both dejected women cried in unison.