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The day starts normally. The three of them reach their next town, try to keep a low profile and find somewhere to stay through the night. Somehow, no one manages to recognize Vash, so Wolfwood doesn't need to use any vials and Meryl doesn't curse them to hell and back.
The odd things start to happen when Vash abruptly stands up while they're having lunch at the tavern downstairs. "Be right back," he quietly excuses himself and practically runs to the bathroom. And while that would've been perfectly normal for anyone, since any stomach could take a meal the wrong way, something told Wolfwood it isn't that.
"I told him those chips weren't good to eat," Meryl sighs as she shakes her head beside him, before she takes another sip of her beer.
"I just hope he isn't hiding an injury again," Wolfwood squeezes the bridge of his nose, using his other hand to grab the lit cigarette from the ashtray and bring it to his lips.
"I don't think so," Meryl says, and he hopes it isn't wishful thinking from her part.
"Now that I think about it," Wolfwood then says, when dots start connecting. "Ever since July, I've seen him way paler, and skinny too."
He catches Meryl's attention with his little comment, and Wolfwood can see her reporter gears getting into motion. "Do you think he's sick?"
"Can plants even get sick?" Wolfwood says, before he blows some smoke through his nose.
"We could pay Luida and Brad a visit and ask them," Meryl considers with a hopeful smile, but there's already that concerned glint in her eyes – which he must have too, but his hide behind his lenses – and it almost makes Wolfwood regret bringing up the topic at all.
"We're too far ahead to turn around now," Wolfwood argues; even if they need Vash in the best condition, getting him to Knives is their top priority too. "Let's see if it passes on its own," Wolfwood offers Meryl, who looks at him with unease, "and if he doesn't get better, we'll consider that option, okay?"
Begrudgingly, Meryl nods. "Okay."
Like always, God doesn't listen to his prayers, so Vash doesn't get magically better. And, later that day, they even catch a glimpse of how bad he's doing. The suns have long since set by the time they gather at their room. They've known each other for three long years, so they don't mind sharing a room or a bed, as long as they all fit.
Meryl and Vash are about to go out to see whether they can find a post office to get Meryl's letter sent to her parents. Now that the three of them have, logically, grown closer, Meryl has mentioned her family a few times, telling them stories about her time in college and the stupid friends she made there.
However, when they're about to leave, Vash tells her to wait for him downstairs while he goes to the bathroom. Since Wolfwood is supposedly taking a nap – that he had all the intention to actually do –, he gets to hear the sounds of Vash throwing his guts up in that bathroom.
Only making a grimace out of pity, Wolfwood keeps quiet as Vash leaves the room. Then, he tries to go to sleep, he really does, but he can't help but think. He thinks, and thinks, and worries and considers. What if Meryl's right? What if Vash just ate something that he digested wrong? Maybe Wolfwood's just imagining things.
However, when he gets up and goes to the bathroom to take a piss, his wishful thinking disolves; there's blood and petals in the toilet. "Holy shit," he sharply exhales. When he's done with what brought him to the bathroom in the first place, he exits it and goes back to the king-sized bed, lying on his back.
We definitely have to do something about this.
When Meryl and Vash get back, Wolfwood looks like he's seen a ghost. Meryl doesn't mention it to Vash, and sincerely hopes he doesn't notice, knowing the source of Wolfwood's distress might be related to Vash's illness.
So she waits. She waits until they've had dinner, until Vash has gone to sleep and they go downstairs for a smoke.
"I've never seen anything like it before, Meryl," Wolfwood finally speaks up, after they've finished their respective cigarettes, and he sounds genuinely afraid. Afraid enough to use her name, instead of some stupid nickname, so Meryl knows it's serious.
"What did you see?" Meryl asks right away.
"He threw up flowers, Mer," Wolfwood takes another cigarette from his pack after stomping on his previous one, and offers her one, which she declines with a shake of her head. "There was some blood too. I don't think it's a Plant thing."
Meryl swallows, taking in the new information with a deep breath. "What do you want to do about this, Mer?" Clearly anxious about the situation at hand, Wolfwood asks her before she's even spoken up.
"Actually, I think I've heard of this," Meryl says, and it's true. It was something straight out of a fairy tale her mother used to tell her, about how cruel unrequited love could be.
"It's only a mith, as far as I know, but there's supposedly something called Hanahaki disease," she starts explaining, and catches Wolfwood immediately frowning.
"That sounds like bullshit," Wolfwood huffs a puff of smoke, "but go on."
"In theory, it happens when you really love someone, but it isn't requited," Meryl crosses her arms over her chest, feeling the cold breeze of the middle of the night hitting her naked shoulders. "So flowers bloom inside you."
Wolfwood visibly pales at her words. "What happens next?"
With a long sigh, Meryl continues. "You choke at some point on the flowers... and die."
"Shit," Wolfwood curses under his breath and drops what's left of his cigarette to the ground and stomps on it. "We need to talk to him."
"Right now?" Meryl asks, just for confirmation, while she's already walking back inside the Inn.
"Of course, before we're too late."
So they make their way back to their room as fast as they can, only to find their bed empty. Someone's in the bathroom though. She and Wolfwood share a worried look, while they hear Vash's pained whimpers.
"Vash," Meryl calls for him, as soon as he exits the bathroom with a tired look in his face. Wolfwood has turned the ceiling light on, so Meryl can see every exhausted feature in Vash's being.
"So you've found out about, how embarrassing," Vash chuckles, but there's no humor behind the weak sound.
"Do you know what's happening to you?" Wolfwood asks, taking a seat on one of the two chairs that came included with the bed and the table, and looks at Vash with an accusing look– but since he isn't with his sunglasses on, it falls flat with how concerned his eyes show him to be.
Vash moves to lean against the wall next to the bathroom door, with his hands behind him. "Not exactly, but it isn't new, so there's nothing to worry about, guys."
"You're throwing up flowers, Blondie!"
While the other two argue, Meryl tries to understand the situation. For a second, she considers the hanahaki disease to be something real, and realizes that someone like Vash would be very vulnerable to it; most of the world's population thinks he's a murderer that likes to hurt people, making them all hate him.
"It isn't something you can ignore!" Wolfwood continues to yell at Vash, as Meryl connects the dots.
"You love humanity," Meryl says, looking at Vash.
"What?" Vash smiles at her.
"You love humanity, but it doesn't love you back."
His sweet smile vanishes from Vash's face, and her heart aches with regret, but it's a point that needs to be made. "That's what you think, right? What you've believed for so long," she goes on, walking closer to Vash. "But it's not true, Vash," she drives her hand to his cheek, cupping his face– and Vash leans into the touch, shattering her heart into pieces.
"There are people out there who care about you, Vash," surprisingly, it's Wolfwood that says this. "Your head may be too thick to see it, but it's real. And we... do too," Wolfwood adds with a roll of his eyes, before he clears his throat
"He's right, we care about you, Vash," Meryl says, and she can't help but feel her heart break all over again. Did Vash really think that in all these three years spent together he meant nothing to them? That he's unlovable?
"Don't ever forget that, please," she whispers, wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Vash soon returns the hug, and they stay like that for a moment.
"Thank you, guys," Vash gives her a light squeeze around her waist before they pull apart, and Vash gives Wolfwood a court nod too. "Such a simple thing... I guess sometimes you need to hear things to really believe them," he slowly exhales, but he seems calmer now.
As far as Meryl knows, the comforting speech did wonders to Vash's health, and he hasn't thrown up any more flowers. He seems calmer now, as if what little Meryl told him that night has healed a very deep and old wound within him. So, of course, she's very glad to have been of help to a person holds so close to her heart.