Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun, I don't own the Trigun characters.

What I do own is the entire series of Trigun on DVD, the entire series of Firefly on DVD, all three Wild Arms video games, and both Trigun mangas. Is anyone else noticing a pattern here?

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The man burst into the bar, exuding arrogance from every pore, every fiber of his being. The posse of yes-men behind him didn't help either. He swaggered over to the bar, catching the eye of every patron, letting them know that now that he was in the bar, he was in charge. Leaning against the bar, he flipped a five double dollar coin to the bartender.

"Usual barkeep."

He turned to the woman next to him and grinned. She sat there and continued sipping her iced tea, ignoring him. Covered from head to toe in clothes of some type, the only exposed skin she had was her face. Her pale orange eyes stared at a point above the bartender's shoulder. It was as if she knew something was there, something that none of the other patrons could see.

"Honey, you're wearing too many clothes for a night like this. It's not healthy to cover up so much skin like that. Why don't you let your body breath a bit?"

The woman sipped from her iced tea and continued to stare above the barman's shoulder. "Why don't we cut the crap and get to what you really meant to say? What you really meant to say is 'Why don't you come home with me so we can lose the clothes entirely?'"

The man was dumbfounded. Had he just found some shortcut that had been eluding him completely for years? Did he really not have to sweet talk, cajole, and buy drinks to get women home?

The woman smiled and set her unfinished ice tea down. "Why not? You look like you're worthy of my special touch. Why don't we start now?" She pulled off her gloves and placed both hands on the man's shoulders. "I'm Zarlina, Zarlina the Ashenfall. You know what else they call me?"

The arrogant man smiled. "No sugar, what do they call you?"

Zarlina moved her hands from the man's shoulders up to his head. She cupped his face and the man suddenly started screaming. He clutched at Zarlina's arms, desperately trying to pull them away, but as he grabbed her exposed skin, the pain increased, and he screamed even louder.

Zarlina dropped the man, who collapsed into a sputtering, convulsing heap on the floor. A minute later, he gave one last great spasm then stopped moving all together. Zarlina shook her head.

"They call me the Lady of Death."

In the back of the bar, the posse of yes men rose from their chairs. "Do you know who you just killed lady? That was Lightnin' Jack! If you hadn't caught him off his guard... You'll pay for the boss' death!"

Zarlina turned and looked at them sadly. "Why must you rush me like this? Why are you so eager to embrace the reaper? Why must you always make me use my gift? My curse? Why do you do this to me?"

The guns went for their weapons. Five iron balls came flying from a point above the barman's shoulder. They collided with the gunmen's weapons, knocking them to the ground. They dove for their guns, but it was too late. A shadow rose up among them, a shadow with a katana, and a thirst for blood.

Zarlina sat down at the bar and resumed drinking her tea. After a few painful sounding minutes, Raifen joined her. He signaled to the barman. "I don't suppose it would be presumptuous to ask you have any rice wine?"

"Sake? Yeah we got that stuff." The barman had seen all types come through here, he wasn't about to let something like this throw him off. He went over to a stove and flipped it on.

Raifen held up a hand. "I want it cold please."

The barman shrugged and poured a cup of sake and slid it over to the blindfolded ninja. He caught it easily and took a sip.

"They are here."

"I know."

"Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow."

The man of shadow and the lady of death sat side by side, drinking silently.

********************************************************* ***********

Nikki banged on the hotel room door. There was no response. She knocked on the door harder, but still no response. She frowned and kicked at the door with her boot. This got a response.

"Go away! Need sleepy!"

"Evans, aren't you Cavalry guys supposed to be up and at 'em? Ready to go at any hour?"

"Yes! That's why we get as much sleep as possible whenever we can!"

Nikki shook her head. If he kept sleeping like this he was going to miss lunch. She put her chin in her hand. On the one hand, she could shoot out the locks, but that would leaven a hell of a mess that would have to be paid for later, and Nikki knew that she would be the one shelling out the cash.

Instead she took a knife from her jacket sleeve pocket and inserted in the lock. A couple of jiggles and...

Click

The lock slid smoothly back into the door and Nikki pushed it open. Evans lay in bed, facing away from her with a pillow jammed over his head. Nikki walked up to the bed and lifted up the mattress, tilting it toward the ground. Evans rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a painful THUD.

A hand reached out from the floor. It felt it's way up to the bedside table, then groped around until it found a pair of wrap-around sunglasses. It yanked the sunglasses down from the table behind the bed, and Evans stood up, the sunglasses resting firmly in front of his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised that you did that first?" Nikki asked.

Evans reached for a holder and pulled his hair back into its accustomed ponytail. "You know all too much about me angel."

Nikki put her hands on her hips. "I don't know what color your eyes are. And don't call me angel."

"That'll remain my little secret angel." He walked across the room to his bag and pulled out a uniform shirt. "So, did I miss breakfast?"

"Yes, we had-"

"Doughnuts."

"How did you know?"

Evans reached for a gray vest and shrugged it on. "Because you've had doughnuts for breakfast for the past six days."

"Yeah, well you missed it."

Evans grabbed his toothbrush and strode into the bathroom. "I missed doughnuts? Horrors abound, I haven't had doughnuts in so long, since, I don't know, yesterday maybe. How will I live knowing that I missed another day of doughnuts?"

"They were quite nice, especially without the cigar aftertaste dining with you so often brings."

Evans laughed from inside the bathroom.

"So what's on the schedule for today officer?"

"I dunno," Evans called back, "Hang around town, see what's going on."

"And if we leave?"

"Then I might leave as well, who knows?"

Nikki peered into the bathroom. "You're following us, admit it."

Evans spat out the toothpaste and wiped his mouth. "I admit to nothing angel, you make accusations without any proof."

"You've followed to every town we've been to, even ones like Lasuken where you obviously weren't welcome. You aren't on bounty duty, or if you are you're doing a crappy job of it, you haven't chased down inquired about one outlaw since we've been traveling!"

Evans stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. He pulled his boots out and started lacing them up. "Okay, so you do have proof, what's your point? If you don't want me to follow you, why didn't you just sneak out while I was sleeping late?"

"I didn't have a point, I was just saying."

Evans stood up and reached for his officer's coat. "Alright, now that we've established that I might indeed be following you and you aren't really going to do anything about it, why don't we get some lunch?"

********************************************************* ***********

Nikki reached back and stroked the guitar slung there. After so much travel, it had started to scratch in a couple of places. The fact that she used for combat didn't help either. But the scratches didn't bother her. Her old guitar, the one she had lost years ago, had been scratched up pretty badly in some places. Records of where she had been. Here there'd be a scratch where she had bumped it against a table, over there'd be one where a cat had decided to try using the guitar as a scratching post.

The new guitar had felt like getting a new life, like when she had run from home, and now it was starting to show records of where she had been.

Snap.

Nikki was shaken out of her reverie by the sound of Evans cigar case snapping shut. She stopped walking and grabbed his arm. "Can we just go one minute without you smoking Evans?"

"What's the big deal? I won't blow the smoke into your face or anything."

"Evans, just don't."

"No, I think I will."

Nikki scowled and tried to pull the cigar case away from him. Evans frowned and pulled back. A brief tug-of-war erupted between them, which abruptly ended when Evans pulled too hard and fell backwards, Nikki collapsing on top of him.

"Ahem."

Evans looked back and up to see Meryl and Millie standing over them. Meryl did not look happy. "This isn't what it seems," Evans said.

Meryl slapped him anyway. Nikki pushed herself off of Evans and tossed the cigar case down on to his chest.

Millie knelt down and helped Evans up. He brushed the dust off his coat. "Was that necessary?"

Meryl frowned. "Yes, your sleeping in made us miss the early bus, now we're going to have to wait until tomorrow to catch the next one!"

"Aww, you waited for me, how sweet."

Meryl shook her head. "We just thought you might want traveling company, that's all."

Millie leaned down. "I thought we wanted his company too. Something about Nikki?"

"Be quiet Millie," Meryl snapped. She stalked off, nearly tripping over a black cat that appeared out of nowhere. It looked up at Meryl and nyaoed. She frowned and stepped over it, rounded a corner, and walked back to the hotel, Millie trailing behind her.

"I'd ask if they're always like that, but I already know the answer."

Nikki chuckled. "Uh, yeah. Millie can say some pretty crazy stuff sometimes."

"Yeah, but she can also be freakishly insightful at times. Those times its easier to see her in Jeremiah."

Nikki shrugged and sat down on a bench. She pulled the guitar around and plucked out a tune, something her father had taught her.

Evans leaned against a wall and pushed his hat down in front of his sunglasses. "I thought we were going for food?"

"Later. I wanna see if I can scrounge up some cash so the meal'll be free."

Evans shrugged. "Whatever works for you. Wow, that's an old song. Haven't heard it an a while."

Nikki nodded. "Its my dad's favorite song, he said his mother taught it to him or something like that."

"Wow, Vash the Stampede has a mother. Stop the satellite, everyone must know that the devil in human form the Humanoid Typhoon has a mother."

Nikki chuckled. "Well, he never actually said it was his mother, but it was almost implied. It might have been his sister, or it might have been both to him."

"Didn't he tell you?"

"He told me surprisingly little."

Evans nodded and let his mind wander, listening to Nikki play. Damn, that was an old song. Lelia liked that song a lot as well. Lelia, damn, he hadn't seen in her in a while.

The wind brushed the sand over the paved street, pushing Evans coat slightly to the side. Evans knew that his sister hadn't seen their father in a while either. The family had sort fallen apart when his mom had died. Not mentally or spiritually or anything like that. They still saw each other, still sent presents on birthdays, attended weddings, okay one wedding, but now they were scattered around the planet. There was nowhere the family called home. General Braxler had sold the house and moved into the fort after his wife had died, Lelia kept her house with Roger, and Evans basically lived on the march these days.

Evans shifted his weight to his other foot and slid down the wall slightly. "Oh well, at least the company's pleasant."

A flash of movement caught Evans eye. He threw himself forward as a metal throwing star sailed towards Nikki. Evans was fast, but not fast enough to catch the star in time. Fortunately, he didn't have to be. Nikki quickly leaned backwards, and the flying blade passed harmlessly in front of her. Before the star hit the sand, Nikki's guns had cleared their holsters. She slung the guitar to her back and moved her hands behind her, the metal reloading tubes filling her guns with a satisfying KA-CHUNK.

Evans stopped his charge and dropped his hand for his sword. "Where are you?" he growled. "Better yet, who are you?"

"I am the Gung-Ho Gun Raifen the Shadow, and as one who works in shadow, I do not think I will be coming out just yet."

"I, on the other hand, am a different story," a woman said, rising from the bench. She glared at Nikki with her sickly orange eyes. "In some circles I am known as Zarlina the Ashenfall. I am a walking plague, everything I touch withers and dies, I can never feel the warmth of a friend, the caress of a lover, nothing. Now Knives sets my curse on you, abomination."

Nikki raised her gun towards Zarlina, then frowned and holstered both Long Colts. She darted around the woman and ran off. "You'll have to catch me first!"

Zarlina growled and ran after her.

Evans pulled out a cigar, cut the tip, and lit it. "I know you're behind me," he said.

"Naturally. We are quite alike, you and I. We both cover our eyes; keep our feelings from our foes. We are no strangers to hiding things, you and I."

Evans shrugged as the blindfolded assassin stepped out of the shadows. He moved his coat back and reached for the hilt of his saber with his left hand. "Well, you might be right there. But if we're so alike, why do you fight for the bad guys?"

Raifen's right hand reached for the katana strapped to his back. "You assume that I fight for the 'bad guys'? I fight for honor. I am the last of my clan, and without a purpose, without a job, we are dead. If my clan dies with me, it will die on the job, doing what it was trained to do."

"Fair enough." Evans ripped the sword from the sheath at lightning speed, sending a shockwave shooting down the street. Two benches were knocked over and people scattered as the invisible force sent the sand flying.

Raifen flipped over it and brought his sword down in an over-head two-hand chop. Evans quickly brought his saber to deflect the blow.

"Very good move. The streets are clear, now none must be hurt in our battle."

Evans threw the katana back and brought the saber up to his shoulder in both hands. "I thought so," he dashed forward, thrusting with the saber at the ninja's face.

********************************************************* ***********

Meryl sat down at her test and tapped a few keys on her typewriter idly. She knew that she didn't need to write reports, Bernardelli was hardly interested in what Nikki or Evans was doing, but it helped relieve stress. Something about typing up a report helped her reflect over the events of the day and make some sense of the largely insane world that she lived in.

"Hey Meryl, I'm gonna brew some coffee, you want some?"

Meryl sighed. "I'd love some Millie." She continued to type random syllables on the paper. [Augh, this is a waste. If I'm going to use up ink, I should least type something semi-coherent.}

She listened to Millie humming some folk tune while she changed the paper in the typewriter. She put her head in her hand, thinking about how to start. [Delay by Cavalryman? No, that doesn't give enough detail. Held Up Because Some Stupid-Ass Cavalry Punk Couldn't Be Bothered To Get Out Of Bed, Forcing Us To Catch Tomorrow's Bus, And We Wouldn't Even Bother With The Snoop Except My Daughter Seems To Like Him. No, that' too long, and quite frankly too opinionated. I only think Nikki liked Evans because she's treating Evans like I treated Vash. Like I still do for that matter. Or would do, if he hadn't…]

CRASH

"Millie, did you break another coffee cup? We're running on enough of a budget as it is."

"S-s-s-sempai!"

That was a bad sign, Millie usually only reverted to calling Meryl "sempai" when she was really nervous. Meryl twisted around in her chair to see Millie slowly stand up and walk towards Meryl. She ripped the paper with the failed "report" titles from the typewriter and placed a clean sheet in.

"Millie, what are you- what the hell?" Meryl's arms started moving against her will. They placed themselves on the typewriter keys and started writing a message. A message she didn't want, a message she didn't create. When the message was finished, Meryl's body ripped the paper from the typewriter and laid it on the desk. Millie's hand reached for a pen and signed the paper. Meryl's hand took the pen from Millie and wrote her signature next to Millie's.

"Meryl, what's happening? Why can't I control my body?"

"I, I don't know. Is there anything that can do this to another person?"

They both watched, prisoners in their own bodies, as their luggage was packed and they both walked out the door.

"But didn't Mr. Vash tell us about…?"

"It couldn't be, he's dead!"

[Evidently not.]

If Meryl and Millie could have, they would've stopped dead in their tracks. As it was, they went down the inn stairs and into the street.

[But, Vash shot you!] Meryl thought.

[Yes, and all for you two. How sweet. Why don't you two come around back? There's a relative of mine I'd like you to meet. And since I never properly introduced myself to you two, my name's Legato. Legato Bluesummers.]

********************************************************* ***********

Nikki chanced a quick look behind her. Zarlina was quite the runner. She was keeping up, gaining even.

"You know, if you keep running, I might accidentally touch a bystander. An innocent bystander. Think about that phrase for a second. Somebody who has no idea of our conflict, has no idea who Knives is, no idea of what I am or why we fight, is killed. Just because I happened to brush against him."

Nikki screeched to a halt. Slowly, she pulled the Long Colts from her jacket.

"Good, now you're acting like a mature adult. We'll fight. One touch, one kill. At least for me. How you choose to fight me is completely up to you."

Nikki stood up and faced Zarlina. "But no innocents, all right? Leave these people out of this."

"Sure, I don't like involving others anyway. So, any ideas on how to get them out of the picture?"

Nikki sighed and nodded. There was one way. She hardly had her father's reputation, but few people are willing to hang around once guns start firing. She pulled back the hammer on the Long Colt. It was a semi-automatic, so she didn't need to, but sometimes the moment just requires the extra effort.

BLAM!

The crowd screamed at once and scattered, leaving Nikki standing with one gun held up in the air. Zarlina chuckled and pulled off her other glove. Then she undid her hair and let it slid down to her mid back.

"I should warn you that I'm poisonous everywhere. Everything, including my hair, could kill you."

Nikki chuckled. "At least you know what you are. I don't even know that."

"Yes, I know what I am. Pestilence, the goddamn Horseman of the Apocalypse! How could not knowing what I am be any worse then that?!"

Nikki slowly raised her eyes to Zarlina's. "You should try it sometime. You really should."

Zarlina nodded, then charged forward with ferocious speed. Nikki's hands darted up and two shots fired from each of the Long Colts. A bench to Zarlina's side flew in front of her path. Unable to stop in time, she toppled over it, then rolled along the ground and came up into a fighting crouch.

Nikki raised an eyebrow. "What, you're going to try to fight me in hand-to-hand combat now? What happened to all this 'I am a walking human plague' stuff?"

Zarlina's hands shot out and two iron balls flew at Nikki's unsuspecting hands. Nikki, as quick as she was, wasn't nearly prepared for this sickly looking woman to be so godforsaken fast. The iron balls slammed into the Long Colts, knocking them across the street.

"There's just one difference girlie, I get one touch, I win. You actually have to work for it."

Nikki shrugged and raised her hands in front of her. "Been training with ninja boy I see."

Zarlina cocked her head to the side, then rocketed forward with an outstretched hand palm. Nikki dodged swiftly, then got in a quick right jab to Zarlina's face with her gloved hand.

Zarlina fell back and glared. "Tch. Got gloves on I see? And a long-sleeved jacket. Well, this will make it an interesting fight if nothing else." She flashed forward again, and this time Nikki barely missed the hand chop for her neck. Zarlina whipped her hair around and Nikki flashed to the side, almost leaving an after image. She threw out a quick jab with the left, which connected, and a roundhouse with the right, which did not. Zarlina threw up her arm to block and swept the arm aside.

Zarlina flipped backwards, did a handspring, then pulled off both her shoes. She stood barefoot on the sand, the wind blowing her hair around.

"Great," Nikki said, "Just great."

********************************************************* ***********

Raifen chuckled as he brought his blade around in a slow arc.

"Something strike you as funny?" Evans asked.

Raifen nodded. "Yes, it occurs to me that despite being among the most secretive, you are also the most out of the loop. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into."

"I'm a soldier, I'm used to being ordered into things I have no idea about."

Raifen didn't say anything, but flashed forward, his katana apparently striking high but twisting downwards at the last second. Evans blocked it, then slid his saber up in a attempt to score a cut on his opponents arm. Raifen's other hand shot up and grabbed the saber blade. Evans did the same to the katana, and the two of them stood in the street, holding each other's swords, staring at each other.

Or, as far at any bystander could have told, they were staring at each other. One hid his eyes under a pair of sunglasses, the other under a blindfold. Inscrutable, unreadable, they stood there like something more than men, things whose feelings couldn't be read.

"You're holding back," Raifen said.

"Why does everyone I fight say I'm holding back?"

"Because you are. What are you afraid of?"

"Who says I'm afraid of anything?"

"You'd be surprised how much clearer things become when you restrict the sight."

Evans suddenly let go of the blade and lunged forward with a quick jab at Raifen's face. At almost the same time, Raifen dropped Evans blade and flashed to side, moving faster than most eyes could see. He sliced horizontally at Evans, who followed through the punch and ducked into a roll. He came up facing Raifen, with his saber by his shoulder, the blade parallel to the ground.

"As long as we're asking the personal questions, how 'bout I ask you one?"

Raifen cocked his head to the side. "Shoot."

Evans lunged forward and took a diagonal swipe at Raifen, who deflected it easily and turned it into a swipe at Evans.

Evans blocked the strike with his hand guard, then retreated a couple of paces. "If you were so worried about innocents not getting caught in our battle, what happened in Jenora Rock?"

Raifen lowered his blade an inch. "What?"

Evans shifted his weight, ready to lunge again if the situation called for it. "I said, what about Jenora Rock? I know you were there."

"Impossible, you couldn't have seen me."

Evans grinned. "I didn't see you, but your friend is much less adept at concealing herself. More importantly, a lot of bodies had wounds from a sword. Simple matter of putting two and two together."

Raifen raise his katana again. "What's your point?"

"My point? My point is, how could you kill so many 'innocents' at Jenora and still be worried about what happens to people here? What's the difference? Are you the one who decides whose just an innocent bystander?"

"That was different-"

"HOW? How is that different? Explain it to me, because I'm pretty goddamn curious! They were just trying to defend themselves and their town from monsters! How does that make them different?"

Raifen's blade quivered. It was small, barely noticeable. It would have required laboratory testing to even detect it, but quiver it did. "But, my master told me to. A ninja obeys his master…"

Evans pointed his sword at Raifen. "Even when he knows it's wrong? Even when he knows he's slaughtering innocents!? Bullshit, that excuse doesn't work in the Cavalry and it sure as hell isn't going to work here. You wanted to bring honor to your clan? Yeah, they'd be proud of you." He swiped his saber across and held it his side. "They'd be real, goddamn, proud."

Raifen said nothing. His face never changed, and his eyes, hidden behind the blindfold, revealed nothing to the world either. They didn't need to, his actions told enough. The ninja reached into a pouch on his torso, then quickly threw something to the ground. Smoke filled the air, white, odorless, and enveloping.

The smoke ran along the streets, cleansing it like incense cleanses a temple. When the smoke cleared, the fight was over and the combatants were gone. One had disappeared with the smoke; the other had gone to lean against the building for a smoke.

********************************************************* ***********

Nikki swooped to the right, barely missing Zarlina's high kick. She swooped back in with a one-two punch combo. One of them actually connected, but Nikki paid the price for her aggression. Zarlina took the first punch, but grabbed the second one and twisted. Nikki flipped over her, landing on her stomach a few feet away.

She spit dust out of her mouth and cleared it from her eyes to see the hazy vision of Zarlina charging for her, hands outstretched. Nikki shot up into a kneeling position and caught both of Zarlina's hands. Zarlina pushed back. Strength-wise, Zarlina knew she was outmatched, but she grinned all the same. Her face moved closer to Nikki's.

"One brush against your skin, and it's all over. Nothing can save you. You see, your mistake is that you can't give it your all, whereas I have nothing to live for. It doesn't matter to me whether I live or die."

Nikki gritted her teeth and moved her head backwards. "You have nothing to live for?"

"Everyone I touch dies, what possibly could I have to live for?"

"Not even that ninja?"

Zarlina's face stopped. "What?"

"You'd better decide soon, I think he's leaving."

Zarlina turned around to see Raifen's shadow dart across the rooftop of the hotel. While she was distracted, Nikki let go with her right hand and delivered a vicious roundhouse punch to Zarlina's jaw.

The orange-eyed woman flew backwards through the air, landing with a thump against the fountain. She shook her head, then staggered to her feet. "Where is he going? Where is he going without me? RAIFEN!"

The Lady of Death ran after the retreating shadow of the ninja.

Nikki sighed and retrieved her guns. Her mother was not going to happy about leaving the town early, but seeing as she didn't really feel like either spending the night in jail or why she might feel the need to shoot a Long Colt in a public place so she could fight with a walking plague, there really was no other choice.

********************************************************* ***********

Nikki staggered up the hotel stairs and pushed the door to Meryl and Millie's room open. To her surprise, Evans was in there, leaning against the table with a cigar clutched between his teeth.

"They're gone," he said. He reached behind him to the table and picked up a folded note. "But they left this for you."

Nikki took the note and quickly skimmed it's contents. She looked up at Evans. "They were called back on some business. Some sort of major insurance disaster or something. I'm going to LR town to meet them there."

"LR town, huh?"

"What are you going to do?"

Evans shrugged. "The best thing to do would be to grab a lift on a steamer, it's a long way to LR. There's a sand steamer platform about three iles outside of town. You up for a walk?"

Nikki stared at the note in her hands. "So you're coming with me? I can't guarantee that what happened today won't happen again."

Evans shrugged again. "I don't really have a choice, do I? I am under orders after all."

********************************************************* ***********

Vash: He's got his father's nose, he's got his father's chin, he's got his father's ears, he's got his father's looks. This is what some people grow up with, only knowing their father from their reflection in the mirror. Can a person, without even realizing it, become a man they never knew? No, that's impossible, you can't become somebody else, you will always be you, even if who you are changes. But, can a person unknowingly walk down the path of someone else, someone they never knew? Next Chapter: Sins of the Father.

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And in case any of you were wondering, all those things I mentioned in the author's note are sci-fi/westerns.