Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Echo ❯ Chapter VIII ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight

Backing away slowly, Vash couldn't help but gaze back to Katyenka who stood there in puzzlement. Looking back to Legato, he saw that he was beginning to tremble. Legato was shivering, shutting his eyes and putting his hands on his head. He fell to his knees, hunching over as he mumbled ever so softly.

"She was alive...I turned my back on her and she was still alive..." he breathed quietly, eyeing up at Katyenka. She was watching as Knives took the guns away from her and loaded them with another cartridge, but every few moments she would gaze back at him. Every time she did, however, he could just see those eyes of hers looking down his soul.

Vash, though, wasn't so concerned about that subject, but rather about Knives. He turned to find his brother with a grin on his face, seeing Vash's look of question still spread on his expression.

"His powers weren't a threat to you...He still isn't a threat to you, is he? And you knew it."

Knives laughed, arming both guns. "Of course! No human could be more powerful than me! You should know this."

"Then why? Why did you take his memories in the first place if he wasn't a threat to you?"

"Hey, boss, we're just gonna go now," one of the men holding Meryl and Milly captive said. But without another movement a bullet flew through his chest, the other hesitating but scrambling to drag the man away and not to suffer the same fate.

Meryl and Milly shrieked, Katyenka falling over and Vash staring at his brother in horror, Legato still with his eyes shut and his head in his hands. Knives shrugged and blew the smoke coming from Ebony's barrel.

"My speed is becoming a bit rusty, but I'll have plenty of time for target practice. But look how they scramble like rodents! It's just hilarious to have them think they're the smartest things one moment and act like vermin the next!" He glanced back up at his brother's questioning eyes, a wide smirk of evil intentions coming across. "What? You weren't really thinking I was coming around when it came to humans, did you?" He saw his seriousness and cackled. "You did! My, and I thought you were smarter than this Vash."

"But...why...?" he choked with tears beginning to steam in his eyes.

"Why? Don't you get it Vash? I lied. He could never be stronger than me, but that doesn't mean I didn't want some entertainment around. I mean, what better amusement than a man doing the work for you, serving you as all humans should, and yet constantly suffering in knowing something was taken from him but not knowing what. I promised to tell him, but what good's a promise but just wasted breath? Am I right, Legato?"

His laugh echoed throughout their minds, Legato wincing in pain in knowing what he meant. Knives knew of the promise he had made of never leaving her lost and alone in the world, but it seemed as if it was only hot air that came out of his mouth that day. He had left her lost and alone for quite some time, and Knives used that now in an attempt to make him feel a sense of guilt and fear to expose the truth.

"I took his memories because I wanted him to suffer, just as I want you to suffer." He held out both guns and armed them, aiming one at Katyenka and the other at Meryl. "So, Vash, what will it be? The one who hold so deep to your heart or the one who is, in fact, of Rem Saverem's own blood?"

Meryl's eyes wandered to Vash, seeing him ball his fist in a rage. She could only wonder what was going through his mind at that point, to how much spite he felt for his brother. But on the contrary, he did not feel too much spite as one would think, but rather concern as to what Knives was going to do. He didn't want either of them to die and he couldn't just decide. Between what he had searched for his whole life and the something he had found so important to him, there was no way he could or would decide between them!

And yet, he didn't have to, for someone else would make it for him...

Knives became impatient with his answer, scowling as he holstered the other gun, reaching down and taking Katyenka up by her wrists. He gripped her throat as he aimed the gun at her forehead, looking up at Vash from the corner of his eye.

"Ever wonder what Rem's face looked like just before she died? Maybe we can recreate that here and now?" He gazed back at her and grinned once more. "Huh? What do you say?"

Vash huffed, preparing to leap forward as quick as he could and try to stop him. He could only pray that his reflexes would be faster than Knives pulling that trigger, but he knew deep down that going out on a limb like that might not be enough. Prepared to take that chance, however, he began to take one step forward...

"Stop," a cold and stern voice spoke from behind him, making Vash stall and stand still to listen.

Legato stood from out of his quiet depression, his eyes the empty voids they had once been so long ago. He glared Knives down as he glanced back up at him, blinking very slowly in thought. In a moment, he raised his left arm, gazing down at it with a certain anger that suddenly filled him.

"I once despised the man who had been the previous owner of this arm, but only now do I realize that that was wrong of me. Indeed, I should have been despising the one who attached it to me. Then again, maybe my soul would have faded with the rest of me if it had not been this man's idealist blood running through my veins. I know the wrongs I have done and I cannot yet be forgiven for them." He gazed back up to Knives, his eyes narrow. "But you, you don't even care to think how many lives you have taken and don't even want forgiveness. I know of the wrongs you have done, Millions Knives, and you will pay the consequences. But it shall not be by mine own hand, no, but you will suffer by your own undoing."

Knives gritted his teeth as Legato lowered his arm to his side, turning back to Katyenka whose eyes were stricken with fear. As he tried to pull the trigger, his finger refused to move any farther, discovering that his whole arm was frozen. The anger raced within his blood as he tried over and over to pull the trigger but unable to do so. Finally, with a deviant thought in mind, he shoved her down on the ground, the top breaking off from Ebony and lighting up the surroundings.

"Befitting, isn't it, Vash?" Knives shouted, Vash trying to move and reach her in time but finding himself paralyzed as well.

"No. Do not concern yourself, Vash the Stampede," Legato spoke calmly, the light suddenly beginning to darken back into the sun's natural rays.

Knives shouted in rage as the gun stopped sparking, beginning to be drawn back to himself. "No, how can this be!?!"

He could feel his heart begin to race, the sound of the wind being blocked out by a whisper coming from inside the deepest part his mind. It was but a harmless noise then, but as it grew and grew he knew what it was. It was the sound of that woman's voice, the lulling of one human as she would gently sing his brother to sleep. It was the voice of Rem Saverem.

He shouted in agony when his vision was no longer apart of the real world, but of that of his past life, especially of that woman who kept singing. These images were filled with happiness, sorrow, even agony to match his own as he watched the people he had known as a child and the ones he had ruined out of his own self gain. All these human's laughing, crying, whining, screaming, gossiping, singing, talking all at once...! It was too much for him to take as he began tearing his hair out of his head, dropping both Ebony and Ivory as he fell to his knees wallowing at the pain of his own memories.

"I will not take another life...But you will suffer for the lives you've taken and have ravaged by seeing the memories you refused to witness. They will be there with you always, remember that much."

He had expected Knives to crack and to apologize for all the wrongs he had done, but he did no such thing. Instead, he began to laugh, a vile and wicked cackle that rang throughout their beings. He said nothing further, but stood up, walking away into the desert planes as he continued on and on to laugh until he was heard no more...

Vash didn't bother going after him. It wasn't too likely they would ever meet again, but it was the best results he would ever want. He was done trying and change his brother, but somewhere deep inside he hoped that one day Knives would find at least some peace within himself.

Although his first thought for a time was to go and check on Meryl and Milly, he was stopped a few more seconds as a voice rang through his head, Legato's tone seeming very sincere.

'If it be the first person I apologize to I would like it to be her.'

'Her?' as replied through his own thoughts.

'Yes, Milly Thomson. I took away the man she loved and yet he was the man, after I witnessed his dying wishes within his mind, who made me question what I had become. In my conscious mind I finally asked myself if taking the lives who meant so much to someone else was actually right. Please, Vash, can you tell her this? Tell her that...I am sorry for what I have done to hurt her and the rest of you...'

'Yeah, that sounds like Wolfwood.' Vash smiled faintly. 'Why don't you tell her yourself?'

'I am afraid that no one will be able to believe me. Besides, there are more...dire issues that need to be addressed at this time...'

Vash paused, but nodded slowly in understanding what he meant. As he left to tend to the girls, Legato walked up to Katyenka, brushing herself off. When he came up to her she smiled brightly, seeming unfazed by what had happened to her just then now that he was standing before her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, Katyenka nodding her head.

"Yeah, not bad. I've seen better days but, you know." She laughed. "You did it Legato! You got your memories back! Plus, you certainly taught Knives a lesson, huh? You got to teach me that sometime!"

He could only stare at her for so long without his eyes beginning to sting in hurt, turning his head away. Katyenka's smile faded, leaning her body towards the direction of his gaze.

"Legato? What's wrong? You did get your memories, didn't you?"

A few feet over Vash bent down to untie Meryl and Milly, Milly's lip beginning to curl in sadness and Meryl staring down in shame.

"We're sorry we caused you so much trouble, Mr. Vash. We were just so worry about you..."

Vash grinned. "Hey, don't worry about it. You had a right to worry and, in truth, were very right in worrying..." He glanced to Meryl, appearing to be bottling up something. As he helped her up, he smiled again, leaning over to look her in the eyes. "Say, what's the matter? That's not the Meryl I know!"

"I promised myself...that I would never put you in that position again. Where you had to decided which should die...I never really forgave myself for seeing you the way you were after that time...But here I am..." She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Vash, I almost had to make you decide again! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry...!"

"Hey, now wait a minute! We're all here still here, aren't we, so there's nothing to be sad about!" She smiled lightly as Milly gave a wide smirk, Vash putting his hands on his hips. "Now that's the spirit! Remember, this world is made of love and peace!"

Meryl gave a slight expression of annoyance as Milly laughed. "Well, at least things will be getting back to normal sometime!"

"Yeah and it looks like it'll be real soon," she replied, shrugging the whole thing off as they began to walk over to the other two people standing there.

Vash kept his smile until he came up to them, seeming to smear off onto Katyenka's face and being replaced with a stricken look.

"Is everything okay?" he asked somberly.

"Yeah, everything's fine but Legato won't say if he got his memories back or not," she said, watching as Meryl and Milly walked up behind him.

"Oh, I'm sure he did," he stated, patting Legato on the shoulder as if he were some kind of friend. Although, Legato didn't retaliate, but continued to look to his side.

"Did you Legato?" Katyenka said with hope. "Then...did you see her?" Legato flinched slightly, gazing back up at her jovial attitude. She gasped in knowing that he had. "You did! Oh, please tell me what she looked like!"

He could see her bouncing up and down inside to know what the person he had been wanting to know about so badly looked like. Though somehow he just couldn't bring himself to tell her. How could he tell her that the woman in his dreams was actually her? The answers to how to deliver the news of her past seemed so distant and foreign to him. In truth, he didn't know if he wanted her to know. All the disappointments he had caused her, all the failures in his life just gave him more reasons as to why she was better off not knowing.

But what could he do now, at that moment? She was waiting for his answer and he just couldn't leave her standing there without one. He had to think of something quickly, and within a moment's hesitation he did.

"She was..." he began, the words barely escaping the roof of his mouth. "She was, and still is, the most beautiful woman I have ever known."

Meryl's eyes narrowed in thought, Milly's eyes widening in the realization of something.

"Do you mean that's why you kidnapped her for your memories? To know more about this woman that you once loved?" Milly announced, Legato breathing a kind of half-hearted laugh.

"I still do..." he whispered quietly to himself, looking over to Milly a second later. "I guess you found me out. But really, I knew there was someone I once knew, though I wasn't sure what they really meant to me at first. I suppose you could say I went on a hunch and decided to get all of my memories back."

"Wait just a minute!" Meryl raised her voice in a yell, pointing an accusing finger. "Are you to say that you kidnapped her with no intention on hurting Ms. Buskus but jeopardizing the lives of many just on a hunch that these memories of yours would contain an image of the person you were looking for?!"

He nodded, staring down at the dirt. "Yes, pretty much."

They all knew that something had drastically changed within this man. He was no longer threatening, but in fact seemed unbelievably friendly, as if all the evil left him along with those memories inside of Knives. In fact it appeared that even if he was struck down now by any one of them he would only laugh and brush it off. It was actually scary to see him like this, but they supposed it was all for the better.

"But why did you want to know so much if you couldn't remember what she meant to you?" Meryl asked, silence drifting through the air.

Katyenka stared up at him solemnly, her eyes narrow in a melancholy way. "He saw her die, and he knew that that was the reason why he began to hate the human race." Legato looked up at her in surprise, Katyenka seeming to have seen right past him. "It's why you didn't tell me the reason, wasn't it? Because it was painful to mention, am I right?" Another second lingered before she continued, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"No, it's alright. At least the rest of my memories were happy ones," he said quietly.

"At least you know your past now, the cheerful parts, and I'm glad you do." She laughed weakly. "Maybe one day I'll even know my past, huh? I know I was loved once, too, and if you can get someone to cross the desert to deliver your memories on a disk I think I can find something out, right?"

No one answered, but Vash gazed at Legato with a certain anger. She deserved to know her past, even if it was apart of his own, and he would make him know that she did. Legato knew this already, though, and knew that inevitably he would have to say something.

"Tell her Legato," Vash suddenly said aloud, Legato closing his eyes tight as he felt distain for himself drip upon the tip of his tongue.

She looked from Legato to Vash and back again with confusion in her eyes. "Tell me what?"

He couldn't deny her the past she, too, had longed to know. To keep it from her would just be another act of selfishness on his part and it was just one more thing he didn't want weighing on his life...or hers. He lifted his hands and stared at them for a time, his throat beginning to burn.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he put his hands on the sides of her face, Katyenka's head jerking back in a gasp as her eyes dilated. A moment later he pulled his arms back, watching as she dropped to her knees in shock.

He panicked then as she began to quiver, shaking his head as he stepped back and ran away. The three that remained could only wonder what she was feeling at that point, Katyenka's words distant as she spoke.

"Legato...Bluesummers..." she began, still trembling in her stunned state. "I saw it...I saw it all...But these memories didn't bring him the happiness he thought they would...He's in pain now..." Suddenly she arose, sprinting off after him into the ruins of July.

The sands rolled, both Meryl and Milly having inquisitive thoughts run through their heads at that moment.

"Vash, what just happened?" Meryl asked, Vash pausing to reply but soon smiling.

"Well it's...a long story," he laughed, Milly tilting her head in question.

"But we have time Mr. Vash and I'm sure Meryl and I both would like to know," she stated smiling innocently.

Vash sighed, shrugging. "What can I say? True love conquers all!"

"True love?" Milly inquired.

"Well...where should I start?" he began.

"How about from the beginning," Meryl pointed out, Vash beginning to explain it all as they walked along calmly through the same streets the two previous beings had taken.

The tears were beginning to run dry at that point, his face emotionless as he watched the dust float by beneath him. His kneeling had disturbed the once peaceful ground, having the footprints left behind him blow away by the silent wind that past. The red carpet beneath him was still partially intact, weeds beginning to poke their heads up through the cracks in the cement ground. The bricks of the building he was in were also still there, although worn where some had even crumbled away in the ceiling, letting the light of the sun seep through. He was shocked that this was even here for a time, but then wondered why he would ever dare step foot into a place like this. Nicholas D. Wolfwood was probably rolling over in his grave, but what other place did he have left to turn to? If he could not ask forgiveness from others he figured he must first find forgiveness in himself, and how ironically befitting it was that the only place he could think of was a church.

But in his silence he could think of nothing for the longest time, hunched over and staring at the palms of his hands. In a quick thought, however, he sat up, gazing to a hole in the ceiling that exposed the crisp, flawless blue sky. What he hadn't noticed, however, was that someone now stood in the open doorway behind him.

"Why...? Why was I so blinded by hate? Why couldn't I wake up from that nightmarish hell? Why can't I still...?" He paused, bowing his head once more. "Is it wrong of me to ask for forgiveness now, of all times, when my vision has become clearer than it ever has? I am too late...to say that I did wrong...that I am sorry for everything I have done in my life?" Those dry wells in his eyes did not stay dry for long as he could feel his eyes begin to sting and his mouth with the sudden taste of salt. "Wou...Would it be wrong...to say I'm sorry to her? To say...that I am sorry I failed her in every promise I made...?"

"No," a voice came from behind, Legato's heart skipping a beat as he turned his head slowly. In the doorway stood the silhouetted image of Katyenka Buskus, her hands loose to her side as she spoke. "It wouldn't be wrong, Legato..."

He turned his gaze away, shutting his eyes and speaking as monotone as he could. "You know, I figured out why you saw that image of yourself and why I couldn't. It was because you had that memory all along, locked inside your mind, and I could not see it because I did not have the memories that could tell me what I was seeing."

"Legato..." she said quietly.

He made his hands into fists, concealing the anger he felt. "I would apologize forever if I could, but what good will it be? All it's good for is wasted air."

She stood back, shaking her head. "Is that what you really think? That everything we promised each other...was wasted air?"

There was nothing more he could say. He had loved her so much, and he knew that he still did--he had loved her even when he didn't know about his past. But he had lied to her, telling her all these promises he would never follow through with and had left her lost and alone. How could he ask her to forgive him? How could he forgive himself? It was probably better that she knew him as the cold, heartless creature he had turned into than end up heartbroken again, and so would it stay.

"Well...I don't care!" she yelled, calming a second later. "I don't think it was at all. And y-you may think that we failed to keep our promises-"

"No, you succeeded," he interrupted, shaking his head. "I'm the one who failed. I hurt people...I killed people...something I promised I would never do..."

"B-but you said yourself that you didn't want to hurt anyone! You knew deep down that you didn't want to hurt them, that you were being controlled like a puppet u-under the s-service of Knives!"

He laughed deep within his throat sorrowfully. "You stutter when your nervous. I remember that all too well now..."

"Please, don't feel regret over that. It wasn't your fault, you were being controlled by Knives to do the things you did!"

"Maybe then, but was I being controlled when I sent over thirty villagers to their deaths that day?" A silence came, Katyenka shaking her head slowly as Legato continued. "I killed them just as they had killed you. Once I had thought that they were the evil in the world, but I guess...I guess I am no better than they were..." He scuffed his feet as he stood, his back still turned to her. "Do you still see me as the Legato Bluesummers you once knew? Or do you see me as the monster I have become?"

"I-I..." She tried to say something, anything, but the words just didn't seem to want to come out.

He didn't seem to become so much irritated by her delay but rather agitated, worried to what her response might be but pleading to know sooner than later. Suddenly her feet began to move on their own, stumbling up behind him as they came to a halt, Legato finally turning to face her. He placed the one large lock of blue hair on the left side of his face behind his ear, exposing his robotic eye. Katyenka remained speechless for a time as he spoke, still unsure what to make of everything.

"What do you see?" he repeated in a stern tone. Although his face remained expressionless and he tried hard to fight back any emotion he might have had, a tear swelled in his right eye before it fell to the side of his face. As if without second thought or hesitation, Katyenka lifted her hand up and wiped it away with her thumb, leaving her hand on the side of his face.

"I see...neither..." she replied with a warming smile. "I know what you did was wrong, but I know all you want is to find redemption for that wrong. I know you are suffering because of guilt, but you also want to ask for forgiveness. And I know you are trying to push me away, but no matter what you say I know that I cannot deny what my heart is telling me. I wondered what that funny feeling I had inside meant when I met you, but now I know. We both know now, don't we? We can't go back to the way we were, Legato, but that doesn't mean we can't see a different and much better sunrise..."

He slipped her hand away, holding it for a minute in his own. "I failed to protect you, Katyenka. I turned my back on you when you needed me the most and after all the sins I've committed against you and the rest of the world I...I can't ask you to forgive me...I just can't..."

Legato let her hand drop then, trying to walk away but finding it so difficult to do so. He couldn't pry himself away from her gaze no matter how much he wanted to, becoming distant and feeling as if his dreams were taking over again. As he stared off in front of him, his felt pressure around his midsection and back, looking down a moment later and watching as Katyenka pressed her forehead up against his chest. His arms remained loose to his sides, almost believing that if he lifted them to hug her back she would fade away just like the footprints he had left behind in the dirt.

"If you are to go then answer me this. Did you think of me when you thought I was gone? Did you really care about me deep down when you were nothing but a puppet? Do you still think about me, just in the littlest bits of your mind?"

He didn't know what she was getting at by that, but he tried to answer it in the greatest truth he knew. "Every waking moment..." he replied.

"Then you kept your promise," she proclaimed. "I knew somewhere inside that someone still cared about me and I never gave up hope believing that. You never really left me alone but we just misplaced each other is all. You really did stay with me, Legato, and even if we misplace each other again we'll know that there will always be someone out there who cares."

He could finally feel something in his arms again, lifting them slowly and wrapping them around her. Shaking his head, he shut his eyes in wanting this moment to never end, continuing shortly after.

"Why? Why do you stay here?" he whispered.

"I remember Vash's voice in your memories clearly and I'm hoping you do too. He said that 'even if a mistake is made, as long as a person realizes their mistake it's possible to make it right again'. I saw your thoughts and I know you want to make it right again and...I want to help. I want things to be like they were before all of this, I want to be happy again, but most of all...I want to be by your side. I still see you as the man who wanted only a peaceful life for himself and others, the kindhearted man who gave me a home and filled that gap in my heart. You've just...seen more of the world than most men would want. I still love you, and all I ask is if I can come with you to help pick up the pieces of yourself that you may have lost."

He held her close then, leaning his head against hers. "Then it'll be so. We'll be together...and know that I will never leave you again..."

She looked up at him with a beaming smile. "I love you, Legato Bluesummers..."

"As I love you, Katyenka Buskus."

Along came the three voices that had been missing for some time, but they paid no mind to them. From the sound of it, Vash was finishing his story of Legato's past, though apparently as thoroughly enough to answer all of their questions.

"So Ms. Buskus was actually Legato's true love after all?" Milly asked inquisitively, Vash nodding his head.

"That's kind of an odd pair, don't you think?" Meryl questioned.

"Yeah, I suppose...But remember, the power of love conquers all!" he laughed proudly, the same awkward but loveable grin on his face reflecting in their eyes as they walked up to a small brick door. Vash glanced in first, quickly ducking back and putting a finger over his mouth for them to shush.

"Vash, what is it?" Meryl asked quietly.

"Oh, is it them?" Milly inquired.

He nodded once more. "Yeah, and it seems all right as rain with them too," he replied, looking back over his shoulder inside. Meryl and Milly peered around him as well, witnessing the two of them standing in an silent embrace. A moment past before Vash backed away, beginning to walk away. Both of them stared after him, Meryl shuffling a bit before she spoke in a low yell.

"Hey, what about Rem? Aren't you going to tell her?" she questioned, Vash stopping and turning back with a smirk.

"I have a feeling she already knows. Her vision seems clear enough already that I think she can see way off into the future. Besides, I'm sure I've told plenty of people who know and appreciate everything that she did for us. But now I guess it's just one of those times that since one thing's done, life should move on to bigger and better things."

Meryl smiled, happy to see him so glad. All he had wanted was to let the last descendant of Rem Saverem know of her doings, and now that she did he could rest easier. They could all rest easier knowing that somehow their lives would be at peace, that life would go on happily once more.

And life did go on happily. No longer was their lives purged with sorrow and frustration, or plagued with violence as it had once before. Since Vash had disappeared for over four months, bounty hunters had given up searching that town and moved on to bigger fish to fry. How peaceful it was now that the debts had dwindled to nearly nothing and the days went on quietly without much interruption. At times it might have been boring in the sleepy little town, but at this point boring was so much better than too much excitement.

Five months after returning to their home they had gotten word in the newspapers that the bandits had been surrounded in July by the nearest cities' law enforcement and dragged out. The people who had been kidnapped for the reconstruction were also set free unharmed, and had since become a thriving tourist attraction. People found in interesting to come and see their past for the first time in so many years, and strangely enough it seemed to have become as bustling as it once had been before.

But because everything in their lives was less than bustling, this gave them time to think about the littler things. It made them think more about their own lives, about where they were headed and when, if ever, anything important was to take place. Although Milly seemed very content with herself, Meryl always had a certain shyness within her that hadn't been there before. No one could have suspected what the real cause was but a bit of the shakes concerning their ordeals over the years. However, this wasn't even close to the real answer. The truth was every time she saw Vash, just to stop and stare for a moment in reflection, she always thought of the two they had left behind in July. She knew that they wouldn't waste their lives contemplating what would have happened if they had never told how much they meant to each other. It made her wonder if she should be wasting time questioning whether or not she would regret telling Vash how she felt about him. At that point in time she had grown very fond of Vash the Stampede and was curious as to what he was thinking when he saw her. She knew she would not regret--no, it wasn't like to her regret. But things were happy the way they were and she wanted it to stay that way for some time to come. There would be other days to tell him, but for now she knew that the best thing life could do was to stay as perfectly simple as possible.

Hours went by same old, same old until one day a letter came for Vash. It was very unusual, seeing as how they didn't receive any other mail besides from the Bernardelli company once a month and that day just happened to be an off one. Plus, no mail ever came for Vash. There was no return address and the wrapping had over ten different kinds of stamps on it, but that didn't matter too much as Meryl walked into the house with it and handed it to Vash, still eating his morning meal. He stared at it in surprise for a second, putting down his spoon and replacing it with the package.

"Who's it from?" he asked, looking all about it but finding no name but the town they were in and the address of their household.

"I don't know, but the mailman said it was for you," she replied, Vash raising an eyebrow.

"For me?" he repeated, beginning to rip it open. The items inside were quite well protected, hidden within a metal cylinder that came apart fairly easily. Popping it open, two pieces of paper came floating out, one placed within a folded letter. Vash slid out the paper within first, a smile spreading slowly on his face as his eyes softened. Meryl stared over his shoulder, her eyes narrowing in thought.

"Vash, this is a photograph! These things cost hundreds to do!" she stated, pausing for a moment in examining it further. She knew then that that wasn't exactly what got to him, but rather the contents of the photo. "Wait...Is that...a wedding picture?"

From the looks of it, although the picture was all in brownish colors, the woman in the picture wore an elaborate light colored dress with a crown of light colored roses adorning her head. Next to her stood a man with a nice, dark long coat, wearing a collared shirt and tie with a dark pair of pants and shiny shoes. It wasn't hard to figure out that this couple was Legato Bluesummers and Katyenka Buskus, but they seemed to be doing pretty well off from where they had left them before. Something that did not change, however, was the expression of happiness in their eyes.

Setting it down and picking up the letter, he opened it to find a hand written note from Katyenka, Meryl eyeing it as well as Vash read it carefully.

"Dear Vash--Hello there! Sorry we didn't write you sooner, but it's so blasted expensive to send just a simple letter! Of course, we paid extra to send it in a container, (you just can't trust the mail, especially in that far of a distance). Well, we both went out looking for jobs after those bandits were caught, (I'm not going to say who tipped off the officials, but let's just say you know him). Since this place became a tourist spot so quickly I jumped to the opportunity and decided to become a story teller. Of course, I wasn't very good at anything else but a thousand double dollars a day for telling little children the past of the city from when I saw it wasn't too bad! No one seems to know as much as I did, so basically I'm the only real story teller there is here. Legato took up a job at the travel agency too. It pays well, but I'm not so sure if he appreciates it as much when he has to deal with blatantly ignorant tourists who ignore the maps right outside his work." Vash laughed slightly, imagining Legato trying to keep his cool when about the thousandth man comes in and asks him for directions when in fact there's a map on the outside of the entrance door. "You've probably seen our picture, and it is a wedding picture if you couldn't tell by just looking at it. I don't know what time this letter will reach you, but we got married in July...in the city of July! It's kind of ironic that we got married in the same church you last saw us in, too, (but it was redone and all). We were sure to have enough money to get a picture done to send it to you. As I write this we're beginning to pack to move out of town, so you may want to save your postage and not send us anything. This place was nice and all, but we know have things that need to be done. We just can't go hiding forever, now can we? I know Legato wants to find his peace and I want to help him as much as I can. Someday I'll write you again, and I know this may not be the best thing to ask but...Vash, would my ancestor, Rem Saverem, be proud of me?" Something struck a nerve within him then, his smile fading slightly in thought. "I know she was a very courageous lady, one who stood up for what she believed in and didn't take crap from anyone, not even Knives. I've tried being more like that in my years, and knowing that somewhere in my blood I have bravery in me doesn't make it so hard to believe that I could actually be brave. Although I could never compare to her, I was just wondering if she might be proud to have me be her descendant. Legato tells me that you knew her personally, so I just thought you might know if she would have been just a little proud for having me stand up for what I believe. I know, it's crazy of me to ask. Just another thought for a boring day I guess.

"Well, that's enough of my rambling! Hope we can see each other sooner than later, but I'll be sure to write when I can. Oh, say hi to Meryl and Milly for me too, and please as them to keep you out of any more trouble! And remember, the sun will always set on the most perfect of days, but that doesn't mean that the sun won't rise again.

--Katyenka"

Vash kept his same bland for a time, Meryl blinking slowly at that last sentence but soon grinning to the one before it. She reached over and pinched his cheeks, nodding her head.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to keep you out of trouble," she proclaimed, taking her hands away and thinking once more about the last few words she wrote.

She watched as Vash rose from his seat heading for the window over the kitchen sink and looking out in thought. Coming up behind him, her mind began to raise a question. Did Vash know what she meant by that, or was he still thinking about Rem? There was only one way to find out.

"Vash, are you alright?" she asked, Vash turning his head to face her with a smile on his lips.

"Yeah, just fine. I was just thinking about that last thing she wrote."

"Then you know what it means?"

He nodded. "It means that the nice events in your life eventually fade into memories, but those nice memories are usually beaten away by not so good ones. Though, even if the perfect of days in your life go sour, there's always hope for the next day, isn't there?"

Meryl smiled too, understanding what he meant. Somehow the most simplest things in life seemed so complicated, and yet it always made sense when it came from his words. It was the way she wanted it to stay, and even as the moment past and she knew that life would continue to have its up and downs, at least she would always have his voice in her memories...