No More Pain Chapter 1: Scarred Hearts, a trigun fanfic

Jewel: Presenting "No More Pain," the first story to the Trigun Trilogy!

Vash (Disclaimer): Trigun is not owned by the beautiful Jewel, but the new characters are!

Gene: Hey, she's my beautiful Jewel…

Vash: But she's in a V/J story…

Gene: Watch it buddy…

Jewel: *trying to break up fight* Anyway, here's the first part of the story!

Part 1

Scarred Hearts

~I killed him… I killed Legato~ Vash thought to himself. ~Why did I do it? Why did I go and pull the trigger? Why?~ His words were echoing in his head. He walked to the edge of the cliff and held the gun to his head. "Taking your life is just like taking someone else's." A voice called from behind him. He paused. "Besides, killing is unavoidable. If you swat a spider and squash it, you have killed a living being." The person took the gun from Vash. "But I don't deserve to live… I killed him…" Vash said without turning around. "But didn't you do it to save someone else's life?" the voice asked. Vash paused before nodding solemnly. "Then if you had not killed him, two other people would be dead and, though indirectly, you would have been the cause of their death," the voice said with no change of tone. Vash's eyes opened widely in realization and he turned around…

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"Just another dream…" Vash said to himself as he got out of bed. It was only yesterday that he had killed Legato. "I wish I wouldn't wake up right before I find out who the person is." Vash exited his small shack of a house and looked at the endless desert. "I don't think I'll ever find out who that person is." He packed up his few belongings and headed to December.

Vash hadn't seen Meryl or Millie since the incident. He was avoiding them at all costs. He let out a sigh, "Looks like I'm going to be traveling a while." At that moment he heard and oddly familiar voice call out from a couple yards behind him. "What part of 'No, leave me alone' do you not understand? Or maybe your just an ignorant bastard!" the voice yelled.

Vash turned around in one swift movement. He noticed a girl talking to two thirty year old men. "Who do you think you are, little missy? No one calls me an ignorant bastard!" the black-haired one screamed. The brown-headed man pulled out a knife. The girl rolled her eyes before sharpening them. "Didn't your mothers teach you manners? Play fair, be nice, and the most important rule of all… Don't pick a fight with a girl."

The young woman leaped into the air and kicked the guy with the knife, sending him back at least a dozen feet. The other man pulled out a revolver. "Heh, well two can play this game," the girl said. Vash watched in amazement as the girl's left arm transformed into a gun. The black-haired guy dropped his mouth, along with his revolver. "You… You ain't human!" He ran off as quick as his legs would carry him to the ruins of Augusta. The girl smiled in triumph and Vash let out an applause. She turned around.

She was wearing a black spandex tank top and black shorts. She also had on a bright red vest, black boots with countless silver buckles, and a silver belt which held a revolver. Her hair was Goth black and extended to the ground, held back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were red. She looked about 20 and she had figure of a curvilinear stature.

Vash blinked. "Uh… My name's Vash, what's yours?" He said as he took of his sunglasses.

The girl smiled, exposing her pearly white teeth. "My name is Jewel, but you didn't have to tell me your name, Mr. Vash the Stampede."

"So, my reputation precedes me…" Vash beamed.

"Of course it does, you're the Humanoid Typhoon, the 60 Billion Double-Dollar man. Your origin is unknown and you seem to have no age… your also a plant."

"How did you know all that?" Vash questioned, his impressiveness turning into skepticism.

She looked away and gave a small sigh. "I know all this… because I am one." Vash blinked.

"Well, I guess I should've known that after seeing your arm turn into a gun."

Jewel nodded, "That's true."

"Then… how come we've never met?"

"Because I'm 10 years younger than you. I'm 120 years young."

"And I'm 130."

The two began to laugh. ~I finally met a plant, better yet, a girl plant~ Vash thought silently. ~I hope that we can become good friends~

"Where are you headed?" Jewel asked in a simplistic manner.

"December."
"Do you mind if I travel with you?" she asked further.

"Of course not. It'll be much happier around with you traveling with me."

She beamed, "Why thank you."

The young pair set off towards December as the sun began to set.

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"We have to find Vash, Millie! This is no time for a drink!" Meryl exclaimed as she watched her comrade guzzle up a whole mug of beer. "Aw, c'mon Meryl! Have yourselfs a couple o' glasses!" Millie replied between hiccups.

"Great, just great! We're supposed to be keeping an eye on Vash! How are we supposed to keep an eye on him if we can't even find him! Are you listening Millie?! Millie!" Meryl screamed. Her friend had fallen asleep at her desk. Meryl sighed. "I suppose that we can wait until tomorrow."

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"One room, two beds. That will be $$50," the man behind the desk of the hotel answered. Vash handed the man the money and they started to their room. "So Jewel, I don't want to be nosy or anything, but if your 10 years younger than me, than how…" He was cut short by Jewel.

"I am the first plant to be born to this planet, I was born in Augusta. I was kept as an underground, illegal experiment."

"But the technology…"

"I was born out of pure coincidences and mistakes. When I was created, the scientists had been working on building human clones with the use of more than just human material. They never intended for me to be a plant."

"Oh," Vash said in understanding. He stared at her and their faces grew closer and closer… until Jewel pulled away. "What's wrong?" Vash asked. Jewel smiled, "It's nothing, nothing at all." The two were silent the rest of the night as they each fell asleep.

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"Vash, wake up."

"Huh?" He opened his eyes.

"There's trouble," Jewel stated simply, "let's go check it out."

He looked at her sleepily before answering, "Right."

Jewel and Vash arrived at the problem area just in time. "Look, here's Vash the Stampede, now please, please let us live!" a man called out.

Vash and Jewel looked towards the strange visitor that the man was talking to. He had blonde hair… and that was all Jewel needed to see before realizing who he was…

"Kn…Knives…" Jewel whispered. "You know my brother?" Vash questioned.

"Know me? She knows me a lot better than you think, Vash," Knives answered in reply. Vash looked to Jewel, who was shaking her head, her expression of utmost horror.

"No… no… Not you. Not you, Knives. NO!" she yelled into the night. "Jewel, what's wrong?"

"Yes, Jewel. Tell my brother everything," Knives added. Jewel was now on her knees, clutching her head in her hands in pain.

"Knives, don't touch me! Stay away! Leave me be! Haven't you already ruined my life?!" Jewel screamed. "What the…?" Vash asked aloud.

Knives took a step towards Jewel and she retreated. ~She's usually so brave and strong. What happened?~

"Come here, Jewel. I won't hurt you," Knives said with his malevolent grin, "I've already done that." Vash looked to Knives in suspicion, "What do you mean?"

Knives sighed in annoyance, "I mean that I've already hurt her."

"What did you do to her?" Vash asked in a rage. Jewel looked up at him and mouthed the words, 'Please Vash, no…' Vash looked at her, confused, then nodded.

"Go ahead Jewel, chicken out. That's all you've ever done anyway. Don't you remember? When I asked you if…" Knives was silenced by Jewel's gun. She was crying as she held the gun to his head. Her tears were streaming down her face, but she made no effort to stop them. "Shut up or I'll shoot." Knives snickered.

"You can't pull that trigger and you know it. You could never hurt me Jewel… Because I'm your beloved Knives." The hand which was holding Jewel's gun was trembling now. Vash looked to Jewel in confusion, "Jewel, were you and Knives…" Jewel remained silent as she looked away from Vash. Knives faced Jewel with an eerie smile on his face. "Now Jewel, put the gun down and let's talk things through, shall we?"

"Since when have you ever talked things through sensibly?" Jewel asked. She was crying much harder now, but the gun was still tight in her hand as though it were a part of her body. "All you've ever done, Knives, is hurt people. You shoot first and ask questions later. You've never once talked sensibly and…" She was interrupted be Knives' slap to her face.

"Shut up, you little bitch! Since when have you become my conscience?! What I do is none of your business!" He pushed her to the ground before stepping on her stomach. She winced.

"You have no right to talk about shooting first and asking questions later! You know perfectly well what I mean too, so don't act stupid!" Knives said, kicking her. Jewel sat on her knees. She used the back of her hand to wipe the blood coming from her mouth. Vash looked to her to offer his assistance, but Jewel shook her head.

"At least I've repented. All you ever do is kill… you never try to make things better," she said solemnly. She struggled to breathe, but as Knives had kicked her in the stomach, she fell to the floor, conscious, but exhausted.

"Out of energy already? Too bad, I was going to have a little fun with you," Knives said, pulling out his gun. "Since you're tired, you won't be able to fight back. How boring…" He held the gun to her neck. "Any last words?" She snickered, "Yeah, cut with the clichés."

She lifted herself from the ground, kicking Knives in the process. Jewel stood on her two legs for a moment, but then fell to the ground. Vash ran to her. "Let's get out of here," he said as he lifted her into his arms.

"I agree," she replied as she glanced back at Knives. 'No more pain…no more pain…' she thought to herself as she fell asleep in Vash's arms.

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The Bernardelli pair reached December as the sun began to rise.

"Meryl, I'm exhausted. Why didn't we stay at the last town and get some sleep?" Millie asked her partner with a yawn. "We have to catch up with Vash and you know that he always goes wherever he goes quickly. We have no time to let him escape," Meryl answered matter-of-factly. "Then can't we at least get some sleep until lunch time? Vash probably won't take off unless he sees us anyway." Millie said, nearly falling to the ground from weariness.

Meryl sighed. "I guess…"

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Jewel awoke to the sight of red…

"Vash… why didn't you sleep on your bed?" she questioned as she realized it was Vash's coat. "Because when I tried to put you down, you wouldn't let go of me." Jewel blushed… "S-Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a grin. He got up from the bed and headed to the door. "I'm gonna' go pick up some breakfast. Do you want anything?" Jewel looked to the ceiling in thought, "Uh, some donuts would be nice."

Vash's grin grew wider. "Sounds good to me." He left the room leaving Jewel staring after him. "He's nothing like him, he's absolutely nothing like Knives," she thought aloud. She smiled. "I wish I would've met him sooner." She fell asleep again, peaceful thoughts entering her head…

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"How many donuts can I get for $$30?" Vash asked the clerk. "You can get two dozen," she answered, handing him a bag of donuts. Vash walked to the hotel with a smile on his face. "It's a beautiful day and to top it all off a beautiful girl and I will be eating donuts for breakfast," he said to himself as he headed up the stairs to his room. As he approached the door he heard a familiar song being sung on the other side….

So… Hitotsu-me no yoru ni

Izuko kara koishi ga sekai ni ochiru

Vash opened the door. He stared at Jewel. Her back was facing him, but Vash could tell that she was finally content and at peace.

So… Futatsu-me no yoru ni

koishi no ko ga te wo tori warutsu wo kaku

Vash smiled as he walked to her. He put his arms around her, singing the song.

Sound Life

Jewel was startled by Vash's show of affection and she turned around and out of his embrace. They stared at each other for a moment before Jewel finally looked away.

"Jewel." She looked at him, "Yes."

"Why do you look away every time I do something like that?" he questioned, sounding hurt.

Jewel tried to look away again, but Vash put his hand to her face. "Jewel, look at me when you answer… please," Vash said seriously, adding 'please' as an after-thought. Jewel let out a sigh.

"Vash, I've… the thing is, well, I've been hurt before… and I don't want to get hurt again. Don't get me wrong, Vash, you're a great person. I do trust you… and I do care about you, but my heart won't accept any more pain… because if it does, it's liable to break again, leaving even more scars. I couldn't handle that, Vash," she said, wanting so hard to look away.

Vash was silent, stunned is more like it. He never knew that this strong person, Jewel, could have such scars.

He moved his hand away. "Jewel… I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you. Especially since…" Jewel cut him short, "Don't worry about it," she replied with a grin. Then she added, "Now, how about some breakfast?" as an after-thought.

He smiled as he held up he bag of donuts. She reached for it and he pulled it higher.

"No fair!" she called. She jumped up and grabbed the bag. She ran to the other side of the room. "There mine now," she laughed. She turned around right as Vash tackled her.

She was pinned between Vash and the floor. Jewel and Vash blinked at each other a few times before someone entered the room.

"Hey Vash, Millie and I…" The young woman stopped talking as she eyed Vash and Jewel on the floor. The two turned to look at her. "Oh, you're, uh, busy. Well then, I'll be back later." Meryl closed the door as she left. Jewel looked up at Vash. "Uh, Vash. Do you mind getting off?" she asked. "And what if I say no?"

"Ha ha, very funny," she stated as she got up from under him, hitting him on the head in the process. He puppy pouted, "Hey, that hurt." He rubbed the enormous bump on his head.

"Let's eat breakfast, shall we?" she asked, changing the subject. "Donuts!" he yelled.

"Hey Vash, who was that chic who came by just a moment ago?"

"Oh her? That was Meryl. She and her partner, Millie, are supposed to keep an eye on me. They work for Bernardelli Insurance."

"Oh, well that would certainly explain why they'd follow you." "Yup!"

The two talked a little while longer over breakfast, before heading into the town to look for any remaining signs of Knives. To their dismay, Knives had vanished, leaving no sign of himself, but his name in red upon a wall.

"This is not good. Knives probably left early this morning. Which means…"

"That the only way of catching him is to first, find his trail, and second, to follow him. But since he left so early, the possibility of catching him is very, very slim," Jewel finished. Vash nodded, "Well, in that case. There's no point in leaving yet. Why don't we head back to the hotel and wait for Meryl. She's sure to stop by again," Vash said.

"Sounds good to me," Jewel replied. The two set off to the hotel.

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"What's wrong, Meryl?" Millie asked her partner. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all," Meryl answered with an obvious hint that it was something. "What happened when you met up with Vash today?" Millie questioned. "He was busy, so I didn't bother him."

"Oh…"

'I wonder who she was…" Meryl asked herself, 'I wonder who she was…"

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"Jewel, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Vash said as the two made it to their room. "What?"

"What was your relation to Knives?" he asked. Jewel halted for a moment at the door, silent. The two entered, but Jewel still remained mute. "Vash, I'd rather not…"

"What did he do to hurt you, Jewel?" Jewel sat on her bed, her head in her hands. "Vash, please don't make me tell you," she pleaded. Vash could see tears in her eyes and he stopped. He walked to her and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Jewel. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I know, it's okay… I'll be fine…" And to Vash's surprise, she hugged him back.