Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Tree ❯ To Live, To Wonder, To Die ( One-Shot )

A/N: This is the first in my contemplation series. ^_^ I'm really proud. So without further ado, I give you my work-in-progress, "Tree".

The hole put into the fifth moon by the first Human Disaster Vash the Stampede was what could be considered both a blessing and a curse to the planet of Gunsmoke. That explosion had sent up an enormous cloud of lunar dust that coated the planet's atmosphere, and created something similar to a Greenhouse effect. By day, the sky was mostly clear, but by night, the heat evaporated into the dusty atmosphere, and trapped the humidity, and created rain. Every night it rained. Some nights it poured, some nights it sprinkled. It had really boosted the flora-count at a small bio-plant. And under a small sapling Vash the Stampede lay, hands folded behind his head, contemplating the night sky.

I don't feel a thing

and I stopped remembering

The days are just like moments turned to hours.

`What would I become if I die, Rem?' he wondered silently.

Many images of the past one hundred and seven flashed through his head. Various pranks, unwanted fights, painful memories of leaving companions behind, conversations with trees, his brother's hurtful promises, rainy nights. He sighed, slightly irritated. It was fairly typical of him to linger on the past.

`Look Rem…' he held his fist up in front of the pink fifth moon, ` I've caught the moon for you.'

`You're such a baby!'

"Damn it." He muttered. What it would be like to die? He idly wondered. Pain he could handle. Nobody to cry for him while he died he could handle too. But…to make someone sad because of his passing…it was hard to imagine.

Mother used to say

if you want, you'll find a way

Bet mother never danced through fire shower

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

"Look Vash, Knives!" Rem pointed excitedly out the ship window.

"It's a falling star." Knives said pointedly.

"But you don't see one every day, Knives." Vash mirrored Rem's excitement, pressing his face against the window. He looked to Rem with bright eyes.

"Why do the stars fall, Rem?"

"Because they die." Knives muttered in the background.

"Well, I always thought that every person born has a star that was born with them. And when that person does, their stars fall from the sky."

"Do I have a star?" Vash asked in a soft voice.

"Yes, you do. And so does Knives. And they're probably the most beautiful and exquisite stars to have ever been born." Rem said in a mothering tone. Even Knives looked a bit more peaceful.

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

Vash watched a star fall from the sky.

"You know what I want to be when I die? I want to be a tree. Why? Because then, I would never have to feel the pain of living." He spoke to sapling leaves above him. "Consider yourself lucky not to have eyes to see, ears to hear. It's why plants are so strong."

He stood, and brushed some wet dirt from his red trench-coat. It was a long way to where he was going, and he had no idea where he was going. But it was somewhere to go. He picked up his bag.

"So which way should I go?" he asked the little tree. A small breeze came, and brushed the leaves east. "East then?" The sun was rising, so he set off towards it.

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Is it right or is it wrong

and is it here that I belong

I don't hear a sound

Silent faces in the ground

The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen

If there is a hell

I'm sure this is how it smells

Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Am I right or am I wrong

and is it here that I belong?

"HEY YOU JERK! WAIT UP!" a familiar yell halted him, and he wanted to groan a little. But instead, being the nice guy he was, he turned, and raised his hand.

"Hello."

"Hello!" Millie answered him cheerfully, as always.

"You jerk, we heard you've been causing trouble!" Meryl wasted no time for pleasantries as she shook him by his collar.

"Meryl, you shouldn't be so mean to Mr.Vash!" Millie reprimanded lightly.

"The idiot deserves it!" Meryl yelled.

"Tell me something."

"Huh?" Meryl stared at him. He eyed her seriously.

"What will you want to be when you die?" Her grip loosened, and her hand fell to her side.

"I'd want to be a star, so I could watch the ones I care about."

She seemed to think for a moment, and stared at the ground. He backed up slightly.

"AND THAT MEANS WATCHING YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MAKE TROUBLE!" she screamed as she threw her canteen at his head.

"God, they are so obvious." Nicholas D. Wolfwood shook his head and shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Millie asked cluelessly. He sighed.

"God save us all."

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Why do I feel so alone?

For some reason I think of home.