Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun. All rights to Nightow.

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Even the Smallest Loss

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The news of the death struck Vash very hard. Even though he knew how short their kinds' lifespans were, the suddeness caught him offguard and left him winded.

Was it so long ago, those days, when she would happily traipse across the planet, following at his heels?

That luxurious dark hair he'd longed to touch had gone dull and lusterless, the last he'd seen. The large wide eyes, once full of trust and hope, had become shallow and listless.

Sad, how life on this planet claimed its victims.

He'd never told her how thankful he'd been to have her in his life during those rough patches, and now, he never could.

It took him two months to find the simple grave, unadorned and unattended, already forgotten. There, on the outskirts of a town he'd not been in for years, Vash went to his knees and wept like a child.

Perhaps a little too loudly for his companion's liking.

"For heaven's sake, Vash!" Meryl yelled, hands on slender hips. "We'll buy you a new cat!"

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FIN

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