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On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
“Whose side are you on, Vash?” The cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “We can do this together. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
“You’re right, Nai,” Vash murmurs. “You would.”
After a series of soothing assurances and cloying appeasements, Vash is won over. He follows Nai into the tank willingly. He does not see the familiar glint of deadly steel behind his brother’s back. Mere moments later, he feels the sharp sting of his brother’s knives piercing his back, his heart. “Why would you do that?” he cries miserably. “Now you’ll lose all of us.”
“I can’t help it,” Nai states plainly, “It’s my nature.”
***
…He follows Nai into the tank willingly. When he sees the familiar glint of deadly steel behind his brother’s back, he panics and pulls his gun. To his surprise, he empties the entire chamber before he realizes what he’s done. He barely registers the thought of leaving his brother—his purpose—at the bottom of the tank for dead as he throws himself towards freedom. “He was going to kill me anyway,” he splutters, landing hard on the tiles below and frantically looking between his friend and the doctor, “He was. It’s his nature. We all knew what he was like. I couldn’t help it.”
***
…He follows Nai into the tank willingly. Drifting closer, he pulls his gun and presses it lightly into the chest of his brother—his purpose.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Nai asks incredulously. “You would shoot your own brother?”
“Just a precaution,” Vash warns. “I’m saying I won’t kill you, you’re saying you won’t kill me, and so both of us can get what we want. Fair is fair.”
Nai shoves him away fiercely, the motion ungraceful in the strange liquid of the tank. “After I compromise everything for you! I’ve spent a century fighting you on this and the moment I concede you threaten to kill me?”
“Compromise?” Vash hisses. “Genocide is not something to compromise on. You expect me to completely submit myself to you, defenseless, after everything you’ve done to me? To humanity? I’m only treating you the way you treat everyone else. Your compromise is as double-edged as you are, Knives.”
***
… Nai shoves him away fiercely, the motion ungraceful in the strange liquid of the tank. “After everything I’ve done for you? Everything I would do for you?”
“Everything you’ve done for me?” Vash seethes. “All you’ve ever done is hurt me, Nai! I never asked for you to do anything for me! I never wanted you to do any of this! You do it for yourself and you know it. Generosity isn’t your nature, selfishness is. You can’t change that.”
***
…“Just a precaution,” Vash warns. “I’m saying I won’t kill you, you’re saying you won’t kill me, and so both of us can get what we want. Fair is fair.”
Nai regards him thoughtfully. “You have a point… but once this is done, where do we stand? Can you never trust me again? What will stop you from killing me afterwards to ensure the safety of your precious humans?”
“You’ve already got me right where you want me, Nai. I mean, you want me to be weaponless but your weapon is built in. And besides, can’t you trust me? How can you ask me to submit and give up my only defense against you? Nothing’s stopping you from killing me once this is over, either. And we both know who is more likely to hurt the other here. I’ve never been the killer, you have.” The hand that he points so accusingly at his brother is made of metal, not flesh.
Nai brushes the hand aside. “Isn’t that the question, then? Who’s to say you couldn’t make an exception due to your… profound love of humanity? Does it make you, too, a killer, if you kill me? Kill one person to save all of them… Would that not be love?”
“Love and trust go hand in hand, brother. Do you love me?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
And so the two of them pause, unwilling to budge. Outside the tank the doctor stands by, awaiting his signal. A friend stands by, holding her breath. From their point of view, the water surrounding the brothers seems calm, supportive.
“I suppose we’re at an impasse,” Nai sniffs.
Inside the tank, the water presses in around them, oppressive. “I suppose so.”
***
On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
“Whose side are you on, Vash?” The cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “We can do this together. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
“You’re right, Nai,” Vash murmurs, raising his gun. “You will.”
The shot cracks as it hits the landing above Nai and brings large panels of metal crashing down around him. By the time he has cut through the debris, Vash has made his escape, and their eternal tug-of-war ignorantly continues.
***
On a plateau, as it was originally, stand two brothers. This fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
This sun-kissed and fiery brother does not hesitate to raise his gun. It is no surprise to either of them—it is not the first time he has done so. The ensuing skirmish is much like the playfights they had as young children, matching blow for identical blow, perfect mirrors of each other. When the shots finally come, neither walks away unscathed.
As Vash hauls his brother over his shoulder, he resolves to make it the last time he raises his gun against anyone.
***
…When the shots finally come, neither walks away unscathed. Vash holds his gun to his brother’s head, its matching counterpart lying uselessly by Nai’s side. He’s not certain there’s much value in the finishing blow at this point, but he makes it anyway. He cannot risk needing to raise his gun against anyone ever again.
***
On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
“Please, Vash,” the cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “Do you really think so little of me? Do I mean anything to you? I’m asking because I truly want to end this. I’m tired of fighting, brother. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
“You’re right, Nai,” murmurs Vash. “You would.” Looking into his brother’s earnest face, he can’t help but meet him halfway in a tense embrace long overdue. Sagging in relief, he buries his face in his brother’s neck and smiles at the thought of finally, finally—
Between trembling breaths, Nai buries his knives deep in his brother’s back, his heart.
“I knew it,” Vash gasps, dragging his brother to the floor with him. They hold each other as he gurgles helplessly. Nai has not removed the knives. “You can’t change your nature.”
***
…“You’re right, Nai,” murmurs Vash. “You would.” Looking into his brother’s earnest face, he can’t help but meet him halfway in a tense embrace long overdue. Sagging in relief, he buries his face in his brother’s neck and smiles at the thought of finally, finally fighting together instead of against.
Nai could not have known what a century of stress and misery felt like until he feels the relief of letting it go. But as they walk out of the ship together, talking of Vash’s friends (who want Nai dead) and Vash’s cities (where Nai isn’t welcome), he grows worried.
Vash thinks I’m a ruthless murderer, he deliberates, a maniac. Would he not be justified—expected, even—to use this to his advantage as a way to capture me? To kill me? Why would he agree to this, after a century of refusing to acknowledge me? Why did he give in so easily? Why else would he agree to this, if not to finally be rid of me?
At his brother’s casual mention of the ironic gun he still carries, Nai grows anxious. Vash continues on, talking of tight scrapes and injuries caused by him. When his brother nonchalantly takes the gun out of its holster, Nai panics and instinctually lashes out with his knives.
“I knew it,” Vash gasps, dragging his brother to the ground with him. They hold each other as he gurgles helplessly. Nai has not removed the knives. “You can’t change your nature.”
***
On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
Nai sneers, “As if you wouldn’t be stupid to continue this game? Come now, Vash, think for once.”
Vash dares to step closer. “Well, you’re the stupid one for even asking. Do you seriously think I’d help you after all this?”
Nai’s step closer is twice as daring. “And by ‘all this’ you mean everything I’ve ever done for you? You’re a petulant child who can’t understand—”
“—and you’re a crazy murderer who thinks in black and white, you selfish little—”
“—I’ll make you wish you—”
“—I’d like to see you try—”
They move so quickly it’s impossible to tell who closes the gap, but as soon as they touch they can’t seem to pull themselves apart from each other beyond rearing their arms back far enough to throw a punch. They fall to the ground in a tangle of limbs, a century of insults and threats blending together incoherently.
Nai is the one to pick them up from the ground and ram into the wall beside the tank. He forces them through the wall and into the neighboring room. The next wall forces the breath out of Vash’s lungs but it does not give way beneath them. Nai lets out a yelp and a curse when his brother viciously chomps down on his hand. He shoves that same hand up under Vash’s chin, grinding his cheek into the fractured wall.
Vash uses the moment of free space to push Nai off of him. He kicks, and scratches, and uses his momentum to hurl his brother across the room so he can make his escape. With an instinct he’s honed from doing this thousands of times before, he immediately launches himself over the desk and out the window as efficiently as possible. Carelessly bursting through the window after him, Nai flings himself towards Vash with the intent of wrapping him up and forcing him into submission.
Through all this, the brothers do not notice their lingering rooftop audience. It grows larger when a priest saunters over to join them. “What the hell did I miss here?”
They watch Nai pull Vash off of him by the hair after a particularly savage knee to the groin.
“They’re brothers,” Meryl sighed, “it’s their nature.”
The priest lights his cigarette, taking a half-step back as knives whizz dangerously close to his torso. “Guess you can’t change that.”
***
On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
“Whose side are you on, Vash?” The cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “We can do this together. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
“You’re right, Nai,” Vash murmurs. “You would.”
After a series of soothing assurances and cloying appeasements, Vash is won over. He follows Nai into the tank willingly. He does not see the familiar glint of deadly steel behind his brother’s back. Mere moments later, he feels the sharp sting of his brother’s knives piercing his back, his heart. “Why would you do that?” he sighs miserably. “You… I couldn’t have expected anything else from someone like you. But I knew better, should’ve known better, and I still chose to trust you. Now we both lose, and I can only blame myself.”
“You couldn’t help it,” Nai says indifferently, “It’s your nature.”
***
…After a series of soothing assurances and cloying appeasements, Vash is won over. He follows Nai into the tank willingly. He does not see the familiar glint of deadly steel behind his brother’s back. Mere moments later, he feels the sharp sting of his brother’s knives piercing his back, his heart. “Why would you do that?” he cries miserably. “Now you’ll lose all of us.”
“You should know as well as I do that I am of two natures,” says Nai. “One wanting to protect you and our brethren, and one wanting nothing more than to fulfill your wishes and give you whatever you want—even if it means forgiving your humans. Unfortunately, both natures fought, and neither won.” He smiles morosely, holding his brother close and watching him struggle. “How nice it would be to be just one thing. No halves or parts, just whole. Simple and unadulterated in nature, without any capacity for conflict or regret.”
***
…. Sagging in relief, he buries his face in his brother’s neck and smiles at the thought of finally, finally fighting together instead of against.
Nai could not have known what a century of stress and misery felt like until he feels the relief of letting it go. As they walk out of the ship together, he cannot help himself. It bursts from him when he says, “I still have to know—why protect humanity? Violence is their nature. They cannot change that. You adore them even after seeing how they run our brethren red without caring that they’re working them into the grave! You and I, the humans can never understand our independence, never. They will only ever see our brethren as slaves, and us as threats. How long will you remain the hunted, Vash?”
An easy smile works its way onto Vash’s lips. “It’s not about humans, Nai, it’s about protecting.”
***
…“Why not protect them? Why protect anything? We do it because we can, Nai.”
***
…“Because they love me.” Vash’s face settles into a somber, weary expression. “Because they hate me. Because they’re afraid of me.” He pauses to meet his brother’s frustrated gaze. “Because they’re afraid of you, too.”
***
…Ever stubborn, Vash meets his brother’s frustrated gaze with a determined set to his jaw and a haughty jerk of his chin. “Because I don’t care if they hunt me. I’ll just run away. I’ll run, and run, and run, and when everything calms down, I can quietly settle by their side again. I’ll always go back to their side. It’s my nature, I can’t help it. I’m Vash the Stampede.”
***
…”I don’t think I could explain it in a way you would understand,” Vash sighs, resigned. “And I’m not sure it matters. Will there ever be an ending to this story where we both survive?”
***
…“Whose side are you on, Vash?” The cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “We can do this together. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
Vash stares at the outstretched hand. Brutal and graceful and delicate and violent in nature. They played the piano together. Funny, how he remembers being the one to play the pounding harmonies that supported his brother’s airy melodies. He can picture the backs of those hands dancing lightly across the keys. He can picture the backs of those hands drenched in blood, blades sprouting from the knuckles. He remembers his head in Nai’s lap as he read aloud under a tree, fingers hovering gently over the corners of every page as he prepared to turn it. He remembers those fingers frozen into claws over the damning screen that read ALIVE, as if he could scratch out the word.
Nai was always the playful one, brutal affection in the hands swinging Rem’s arm wildly as they all walked hand-in-hand. Knives was always the cruel one, graceful hands wrapping around Luida’s throat and lifting her off the ground effortlessly.
Suddenly, he can’t remember which one it seems held his hands so delicately all those years ago, but he thinks he knows which one has this hand, violent in its insistence, reaching for him now.
Instead of taking his hand, he raises his gun.
***
…”Just a precaution,” Vash warns. “I’m saying I won’t kill you, you’re saying you won’t kill me, and so both of us can get what we want. Fair is fair.”
Nai regards him thoughtfully. He muses, “We always end up here, you and I. Always baring teeth and souls. No love, no peace, just two halves of one distrustful and chaotic whole. Why can we not change that? Must this be our nature?”
Vash’s face twists into despairing exasperation. “Why does this keep happening to us?”
***
… As they walk out of the ship together, Nai cannot help himself:
“I love you, brother.”
Vash spares him a glance. “Do you?”
“Absolutely. Can you imagine my feelings towards the humans? My fears? Of course you can’t, you practically are one. Yet here I am, helping you and them, knowing what they can do to us—what they have already done to all of us and themselves. A surrender like that… Isn’t that love? Isn’t that peace? I could not kill them without killing a part of you. I could not kill any part of you without also killing a part of myself. Is that not love? Is there not peace in that? Are we not inseparable in this?”
***
…Vash spares him a glance. “Do you?”
“How could I not? It’s my nature. I cannot change that.”
***
…“I love you, too.”
***
…“I’m so tired,” Vash murmurs after a time. The connection on the doctor’s screen reads ninety percent. “How much longer? Everything is getting so dark.”
“Shh,” Nai says, eyes closed in concentration as he coaxes his brother further into pliant complacency. “Don’t be afraid.”
Vash hears a voice, he thinks. Or perhaps more than one. But more than that he hears his brother’s voice and it’s the only one he understands, anyway. “How long has it been? Is it working yet?” He feels the pressure of the liquid around him and pushes against it weakly. “It’s not working! It’ll never work!”
“Hush, brother,” soothes Nai. “It’s working. Just let everything around you do the work for you. Let me do the work for you.”
As intentional as breathing, Vash’s hand finds his gun in its holster. The connection reads ninety-seven percent. As intrinsic as a heartbeat, he raises his arm and pulls the trigger. Ninety-nine percent. As involuntary as a hiccup, the pain of the knives digging into his back finally rushes over him. Errors flood the screen. “You—” he spasms, “you’ve killed us both.”
His sad smile perfectly mirrors his identical brother’s. They watch their blood mix and swirl in the liquid between them, gazes half-lidded and lazy.
“We’ve killed each other,” Nai mumbles. “Even in this, we’re together. We’ve always been together, can’t you see? We were meant to do this together. We exposed ourselves—vulnerable, powerless—and now we’re wrapped up in that together, too. Isn’t that love? This blissful peace, do you feel it, too?”
“You’re insane,” mutters Vash. He’s been pulled closer by Nai, nearly touching now. “What were you thinking?”
Fully entangled at last, Nai whispers, “We couldn’t help it. It’s our nature. It’s our nature to be together. We were made for this—inexplicably, inevitably, ingeniously. This, all of this, everything is our fault. We’re completely to blame. We’re completely blameless. Who cares? We’re together. This story couldn’t have ended any other way. It’s our nature. We cannot change that.”
***
…He follows Nai into the tank willingly. He does not see the familiar glint of deadly steel behind his brother’s back. Mere moments later, he feels the sharp sting of his brother’s knives piercing his back, his heart. The doctor’s process of connection is rapid, then steady, then complete. Nai watches his brother—his purpose—slip further into pliant complacency. He cannot help but drift closer to see every intricate detail of the culmination of his life’s work.
“Why did you do this?” he mumbles to no one but himself. “Why did you let me do this?” His brother remains unresponsive, grey and lifeless and completely entangled in a mix of the twins’ strange limbs. “Why, even still, did you love me? Why is that your nature?”
***
…”It’s funny,” Vash says, “I can’t trust you. I want to, but I can’t. I think you’re ruthless and maybe a little insane. And yet I’m doing it anyway. Why did I agree to this? It’s crazy, right? But I want to help you. I want you to help me. I’m giving you every opportunity to capture me, to kill me. I gave in so easily. Why would I do something so stupid?”
***
On the bridge of a ship, baring both teeth and souls, stand two brothers. The fair and cold brother asks, “Will you join me?”
The sun-kissed and fiery brother answers, “Do I look like an idiot? You’ll use me to wipe out humanity. I’d be stupid to ever trust you again.”
“Whose side are you on, Vash?” The cold one reaches out for the familiar warmth of his twin, “We can do this together. I know I could not kill them without losing you. I would lose you.”
“You’re right, Nai,” Vash murmurs. “You would.”
After a series of soothing assurances and cloying appeasements, Vash is won over; before he can take a single step towards his brother he feels the familiar sting of deadly steel pierce his back, his heart. His breath leaves him in a gasping ah—! He wheezes and rasps, “Why didn’t I see that coming?”
“Because you’ve never been afraid of me,” Nai laments. “And you’ve never been afraid of dying. That’s not your nature. You cannot change that. In another time, in a past life violence came so naturally to you. You understood that it was the language of humans—a necessary evil to living amongst them. And yet here you are, reborn: softer, gentler, too forgiving and vulnerable, too hopeful for someone who has never been given a reason to hope and too kind for someone who has been given every opportunity and justification to be cruel. How could anyone be violent, you thought, with love and peace in the world?” He pulls his knives out and watches his brother—his purpose—slump to the ground lifelessly. “How could anyone kill you without killing a part of themselves?”