The House of Two Suns

Warning: Major Trigun spoilers in the rest of this, basically for the "Rem Saverem" episode and on. Some Inu-Yasha spoilers too, but for much earlier on.

Chapter 2: Meeting

Kagome knocked on the door, and the two young women waited. Finally the door opened a crack and Sango saw a greenish-blue eye and blonde hair that seemed to stick straight up. A foreigner, she thought, then remembered that she was the foreigner here.

The man spoke to them in another language. Sango didn't understand a word, but Kagome replied with excitement and they had a brief exchange, after which the man looked very surprised. He opened the door and beckoned them inside.

Kagome turned to her friend and translated. "He speaks English! It's a funny accent but I can understand him all right. Good thing I made Inu-Yasha let me keep up with my studies. He says this place is called Gunsmoke, but he doesn't seem to understand how we got here from Japan."

Sango's face fell. "Maybe they don't have magic here. Maybe we'll never get home."

Kagome returned to speaking to the man and Sango sat down in a chair and took a look around. They seemed to be in a kitchen, with a table and chairs. Their host himself was tall and muscular, and was wearing some sort of thick black material that clung to his form. Sango didn't like being stuck in a house with a strange man, but it was impossible to feel threatened by someone who smiled so often.

Eventually Kagome began to explain. "This is Vash, Sango. From what he says, it seems we've traveled in space and time. It's much later even than my time, and something bad has happened to the Earth. He doesn't seem to want to talk about that part. Vash doesn't understand magic, only technology. But don't worry, I'm sure there's hope for us somehow."

Sango wasn't sure what "technology" meant or how something bad could happen to the entire world, but right now she was too discouraged to ask for an explanation. She looked up and said. "It's nice to meet you, Vash," knowing he couldn't understand.

Vash and Kagome went on chattering away with Kagome interrupting to translate for Sango. There were many words and concepts that simply didn't exist in Sango's place and time. Vash was beginning to speak of ships that traveled through the sky, and made a reference to mysterious creatures known as plants, when another person entered the room.

Sango looked up. This was another foreigner, with pale skin, chiseled features and intense blue eyes. His hair was almost white, short and a bit untidy.

Vash looked up with dismay on his face and said something. Kagome spoke.

"This is Vash's brother, Millions Knives."

When the other man heard the translation, he laughed and spoke. "Brother, have you forgotten our second language so quickly?" he said in fluent Japanese.

Sango looked up at him in surprise, ais eis eyes met hers. His aura made her finger her knife again. He wore a loose unbuttoned shirt and pants, yet gave off a feeling of strength and masculinity that his tightly-clad brother did not.

Knives went on, insulting his brother and easily translating. "Why, our dear substitute mother taught us Japanese when we were small... but you never did have the patience to practice for all your love of humans. I, on the other hand, had my servants such as Rai-dei to deal with."

Vash seemed to be ignoring Knives, but he went on talking. "Who are these people, Vash? More of your scrofulous little friends? Get rid of them, I'm hungry and it's time to change my bandages."

Sango suddenly realized that what she had taken for a traditional men's chest wrapping was actually a huge bandage. This man had some serious injuries.

Vash began a rapid explanation in English to Knives, with Kagome interrupting. "I don't think this brother of his believes we're from oartharth," said Kagome to Sango.

Vash went into the kitchen and brought back food for all of them. It was some sort of chewy bread, not the rice and vegetables Sango was accustomed too, but she ate it with thanks. Vash and Kagome continued their conversation, which seemed to be about Earth and Gunsmoke but was going too fast for interpretation. Vash retrieved some pieces of paper to draw some of his points and ideas.

Knives had apparently given up on getting rid of their guests but when he was done eating he poked his brother's arm. "My bandages!" He glared at Kagome and repeated his request in her language.

Sango spoke up then. "I'll do it."

Knives turned his intense gaze on her. "What, are you a nurse?"

"No, but I'm a warrior; I have healed many wounds."

"I don't want you touching me. Why would you want to help me anyway?"

"Kindness to a host, even if you are a rude one."

Knives raised an eyebrow. "Very well, then. Come with me."

They went into a bedroom and Knives sat down on the bed. She heard him mention something under his breath about "There's no distracting my brother from a human girl."

Sango almost laughed. "Kagome's a bit young for Vash, don't you think?"

Knives began to unbutton his shirt. "You weren't meant to hear that. But yes, we're over one hundred thirty years old, if you must know."

Sango could see he expected her to be shocked, but she simply nodded. "Demons. I suspected as much. But you don't smell like demons."

Knives discarded his shirt on the floor. She could now see his pale skin, crossed by heavy white gauze. "I'll thank you not to smell me, woman. And there are no such things as demons. Vash and I are plants."

"Where are your roots then?"

"Don't be stupid. Plants are like angels, when they're not enslaved by humans. Everyone knows what they are."

"I'm not from here, your brother told you that."

"Perhaps you're really not then... " said Knives. He sighed, and went into a small explanation of the winged plant creatures who lived in the power bulbs and what they did. He went on to a brief version of the story of the SEEDS ships which had transported the colonists from earth, where Knives had been discovered and raised.

Sango followed as best she could. Her world was no more, and she was looking at an orphaned angel-man who had grown up in a giant ship and lived over a hundred years.

He reached for his pants then, and she was a bit shocked when she realized he meant to undress completely. Knives gave her another look.

"Don't be coy, we're not even the same species."

Sango shrugged. She had seen come across men bathing often enough, hadn't she? But still, she couldn't help staring a bit, and decided to change the subject.

"So your mother was Japanese?"

"Our real mother was a plant of course, whom we never knew, but that bitch Rem Saverem raised and taught us." Knives discarded his pants now, and wearing only briefs, pointed to the fresh gauze on the dresser.

Sango looked at the multiple wounds in his shoulders and legs. "You don't sound very grateful to her."

"I'm not. I killed her"

He clearly expected her to be shocked, but she just shrugged, and reached for the gauze.

"I tried to destroy all the ships, to save my people," he went on.

Sango was unwinding his old bandages now. She could see that his wounds were deep but healing well. She was used to cloth, but she had to admit this gauze was easier to work with. She moved quickly, trying to look nowhere but at his injuries.

"How did this happen?" she asked him.

"Vash did this to me," he replied, getting dressed again. "Brotherly love."

Sango was just opening her mouth to ask the real reason when the door opened and Vash and Kagome stood there.

"Vash thinks he may know something about how we got here, and we may be able to go home somehow, with the plants' help. But it will take a while, and meanwhile we're invited to stay here with them."

"I hate you, brother," said Knives. And he lay on his bed and turned his face to the wall.

Sango left the room then, knowing better than to expect thanks, and followed Kagome into a small guest bedroom. Kagome was talking on about Vash and all that he had told her.

Sango sighed. "Knives told me the same thing, but his version was quite different."

"Vash warned me about his brother," said Kagome. "He says he's very dangerous, and we should keep away from him."

Sango snorted. "I'm not frightened by him." But as she fell asleep it was his frozen eyes she saw, as he said the words "I killed her."


A.N.: Rem was probably not Japanese, but Yasuhiro Nightow, creator of Trigun, did say in an interview that he sees her as probably Asian, so I have taken this liberty here. Thanks very much for the reviews! And I know there was a lot of exposition and explanation here, but this will be a Knives x Sango story as you will see soon.