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“I can’t go on much longer, ma’am…”
“I’m going to crumble to dust…”
“Would you two quit complaining already?” Meryl said. “It hasn’t been that long since our last break. And need I remind you, Mr. Vash”—she pointed accusingly at him—“you were the one who drank the last of the water!”
“But I would have died if I didn’t…”
“I’m getting dizzy…”
“Give me a break!” Meryl scowled and folded her arms.
It wasn’t any hotter and drier than normal, and the next town was only ten iles away. Ten more iles and they’d be able to find food and water. Ten iles wasn’t that far, was it?
“Ma’am!” Milly pointed to something in the distance. “I see an oasis!”
Meryl didn’t even spare a glance. “It’s just a mirage. Keep going.”
Vash made a noise of awe. “No way! Let’s go!”
“Race you there, Mr. Vash!”
“Hey, wait!” Meryl called, turning around.
But she was too late. Milly and Vash had broken into a sprint.
“Hold on!” Meryl huffed and puffed as she tried to catch up to them. “Where… was this energy… a moment ago?”
As she came closer, she realized that the oasis Milly had spotted was no mirage. It was a real lake, right in the middle of the wastes. Almost all of the water on the planet was contained in reservoirs and artificially distributed due to extreme shortages. This lake appeared to be natural, albeit with no river or other source in sight. It could have been somebody’s pool, except that there was no house, either.
“Are we sure this isn’t toxic waste from a plant?” Meryl asked once she had caught her breath. “Sometimes they dump it in the middle of nowhere.”
Vash peered over his sunglasses at the water. Kneeling on one knee, he took off the glove on his right hand, prodded the water with his fingertip, and sniffed it.
“Safe!” He wagged his finger at her with a grin. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Milly squealed in delight. She discarded her cape and dress, slipped her suspenders off her shoulders, and started to unbutton her shirt.
“Milly! What are you—” Meryl cut herself off. “Oh. Never mind.”
As it turned out, Milly had been wearing a bright yellow one-piece swimsuit printed with orange flowers under her work clothes the entire time. Once she had taken off her shoes, socks, and pants, she stepped into the lake and sank into the water.
“It’s nice and warm!” she said.
Meryl looked over at Vash, who had sat down and was shedding his boots and stockings. Rolling up his pants, he dipped his feet in the pool, sighing in relief.
“Why don’t you join us, ma’am?” Milly asked. “This feels amazing!”
Meryl frowned and glanced at Vash again. This was still technically work, right? The Humanoid Typhoon was the least likely to cause trouble that he’d been in weeks. And considering she was salaried, it wouldn’t hurt to take her allotted fifteen-minute break during a normal work day.
“I don’t have my swimsuit on,” she announced. “So I would need to get changed first.”
She glared at Vash, and he turned away from her and shut his eyes with a demure smile. Still doubtful, she took her time rummaging through her suitcase, looking over her shoulder at him as she did.
Milly dripped water on the ground as she got out of the lake. Kneeling behind Vash, she covered his sunglasses with her hands and pushed the lenses into his eyes, which made him yelp and flail his arms.
“Wha-What are you doing?!” he cried. “You’re getting my lenses all smeared!”
“You can get changed now, ma’am,” Milly said. “I’ll make sure Mr. Vash doesn’t see a thing.”
“But my eyes are closed! I’m not looking! Why would I be such a disgrace to my brave and noble insurance girls? Please, I’m begging you, get your hands off my glasses!”
Meryl stood behind them and quickly changed into her swimsuit, a strapless navy bikini. Once she was done, she walked past Vash and Milly and slowly stepped into the lake. It was very warm, and the water nearly came up to her chin when she stood on the bottom.
Milly beamed. “It’s the perfect height for you, ma’am!”
“My face! Let go of my face!”
“Oh, sorry, Mr. Vash!” Milly removed her hands, and Vash took off his sunglasses, furiously cleaning the lenses with his coat. She hummed happily to herself as she got back into the lake, standing close enough to Meryl for their shoulders to brush.
The warm water soothed Meryl’s sore muscles, especially her legs and feet. If she closed her eyes, she could almost forget about work for a moment, forget about all the horrific things she’d witnessed.
A drop of water hit her in the face, and small ripples disturbed the serenity of the lake. She opened her eyes to see Vash kicking his feet in the water, whistling an unfamiliar song.
“It’s nice to see Mr. Vash relaxing for once,” Milly said. “Don’t you agree, ma’am?”
Meryl scrunched up her nose. “Not if it interferes with my relaxation.”
It was nice, considering he wasn’t doing something foolish or reckless to relax. How many times had he gotten hungover and gotten himself or someone else into a jam because of it by now? She groaned, pinching her brow between two fingers.
Another droplet flew into her eye. Scowling, she pushed the water Vash’s way, splashing his legs.
“Hey!” Vash pouted. “What was that for?”
“You’re splashing me with that childish kicking!”
“A water fight?” Milly clasped her hands together. “Oh, I love water fights! My brothers and I used to have water fights all the time. Here goes!”
She lifted the water with her hands, splashing Meryl. Meryl squawked, and Vash pointed his finger at her with a guffaw.
“Hey, I’m your superior!” Meryl cried. “You’ll pay for that!”
Meryl threw water Milly’s way, and Milly giggled when it splashed her shoulder. Milly splashed her again, and Meryl countered by scooping up the water with her arm and sending a wave toward Milly. The wave completely soaked Milly, who shrieked, and Meryl snickered.
“Now what, Milly?” Meryl stuck out her tongue, hands on her hips. “You can’t top that!”
Milly grinned mischievously. She hoisted Meryl under her arms, making Meryl screech and flail her legs, and dunked her underwater. Meryl barely had time to hold her breath and close her eyes before water rushed up her nose. She gasped for air when she surfaced, coughing, sputtering, and sneezing.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am!” Milly waved her hands apologetically. “I was having so much fun, I didn’t realize I was being too rough!”
“You’ve got brothers, all right,” Meryl muttered. She coughed a few more times, pulling up the corner of her swimsuit top.
“Ma’am, you won’t report this to headquarters, will you?” Milly’s eyes were wide and pleading.
Meryl couldn’t help snorting at her innocent expression. “Of course not. If they knew we were goofing off, we might lose our job!”
“Please, don’t talk like that, ma’am! I want to keep working with you forever. Especially if it means we get to have this much fun!”
“Something tells me we have permanent job security,” Meryl said, looking over at Vash. She expected him to look disgruntled at getting wet, but he was watching them with a small, sincere smile, hands folded in his lap, his feet motionless.
“Mr. Vash, why don’t you swim with us?” Milly said, smiling sweetly.
“I wouldn’t want to bother you ladies,” he said in an inflated tone, puffing out his chest like a caricature of a too-gallant gentleman. “It would hardly be proper for me to swim at the same time as you.”
“But my brothers and I always swam together back home. Sometimes without our swimsuits!”
“Milly!” Meryl hissed, elbowing her.
“What? We were just little kids. Don’t you have a swimsuit, Mr. Vash? Is that why?”
“Oh, but I do, my lady.” He hadn’t dropped his exaggerated false airs. “I’m only saying it wouldn’t be proper.”
Meryl squinted at him. “Since when have you cared about that?”
“I told you two, I would never want to be a disgrace to my lovely insurance girls.”
Meryl scoffed, but Milly still looked concerned. Tilting her head, she asked, “Is this because of your scars?”
Something hollow flashed in Vash’s eyes, and Meryl’s heart sank. He tried to disguise it by keeping up a smile, but he wasn’t convincing either of them. She remembered too well what he’d said the night they’d seen his scars.
“It’s okay, Mr. Vash,” she said softly. “We’ve already seen your scars. We have nothing to be shocked about.”
“Or is it because your scars are recognizable?” Milly asked.
Meryl gasped, impressed. “Good thinking, Milly!”
Milly’s face lit up. “One of us should guard Mr. Vash while he swims so nobody sees him!”
“One of us?” Meryl asked.
“I thought it could be you, ma’am, since I’m used to swimming with my brothers.”
Meryl opened her mouth to protest, but closed it as she realized that Milly’s approach was the right one. Vash longed to be a part of what she and Milly had instead of sitting off to the side, but he would rather joke around than admit it. And although they made every attempt to keep doing their job and stay close to him despite his protests, he wouldn’t let himself get any closer to them. Milly was trying to meet him in the middle.
“Of course,” Meryl said. “My feet are wrinkling up anyway.” She started toward the other side of the lake.
“Wait, ma’am!” Milly grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. “Mr. Vash has to change into his swimsuit. He didn’t peek, so we won’t either.”
They waited with their backs to Vash until he told them it was okay to turn around. He had changed into a pair of baggy black swim trunks that came to his knee. More scars were littered across his legs.
Climbing out of the water, Meryl walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a towel. She dried herself and wrapped it around her shoulders. Reaching inside her cape, she plucked one of her derringers from its holster. Then she walked over to the lake, planting herself in front of Milly and Vash, and turned her gaze to the horizon.
“Does it hurt, Mr. Vash?” Milly asked.
“Huh?”
Meryl glanced over her shoulder. Milly had her hand over her heart, mirroring the scar on Vash’s chest that was covered by metal strips. “Does it feel strange when the water rushes over your scars?”
Meryl almost scolded Milly, but decided to let it slide. She had her own questions about the scars, after all.
“A little. But it also feels… nice.”
“That’s wonderful! Let’s enjoy the water together.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
Meryl looked out at the horizon again, watching until the suns began to set. When she finally turned around, Milly was looking over at Vash. He was leaning against the edge of the lake, his eyes closed, a serene expression on his face.
The sky had turned orange. All her instincts told her they needed to keep going or someone would find them out here. Someone would come looking for Vash’s bounty, and they would get into more trouble. But she also knew that according to the Bernardelli employee handbook, employees were allotted two fifteen-minute breaks per day, and so far, she’d only used one.
Meryl glanced at the derringer in her hand. The metal had turned warm from being enveloped in her palm for so long. She threw it over to her cape, watching it land in the soft pile of white fabric. Then she slowly lowered her legs into the pool, walking over to Milly’s other side. When Milly smiled at her, she smiled back, and looking at Vash made her smile even wider. He looked calm, at peace for once. After everything he’d been through up until then, he deserved this tranquility. They all did.
Milly’s soft, wavering whimper disrupted the serenity of the moment. “Um, ma’am? Mr. Vash?” She looked as pale as if she’d seen a ghost. “I know we’re enjoying the water right now, but something awful just popped into my head…”
Vash mumbled sleepily and opened his eyes. “Wuh?”
“What’s the matter?” Meryl asked, placing a reassuring hand on Milly’s shoulder.
“Shouldn’t we have filled our flasks before going swimming?”
Vash shrugged and held up his hands. “Oops?”
Meryl snarled in frustration and fury. “All right, that’s it, Miss Thompson! I’m getting my revenge for earlier!”
“Eek!” Milly squealed and flung herself at Vash, clinging to his shoulders. He flinched, but didn’t push her away. “Please, save me, Mr. Vash!”
“Batten down the hatches, Milly!” Meryl climbed out of the pool and stood up, taking a deep breath. A moment ago, she had been seeing red, but now, she couldn’t stop grinning. “Here comes Hurricane Meryl! Cannonball!”
Milly and Vash shrieked, and Meryl jumped in.
Splash!