Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Renewed Conviction

Your legs can't keep running anymore; they get slower till you barely move and turn towards where you can still see the silhouette of the town. You fall to the sand, kneeling and looking up as if in prayer. Arms limply to either side, you feel overwhelmed, a force you've been running from about to catch up. The bruises are visibly turning lighter again as they heal, but it's like you could still feel the kicks that gave you them in the first place. The screeching in your head gets louder and louder till something inside snaps and your breath violently escapes your lungs, bringing forth a shriek of frustration and hatred.

"Have I not suffered enough? Why must you hate me so much? What have I done to you?" The burning of your heart unleashes all the emotions you've denied yourself for so long. "Why do you only see me as a monster? I didn't choose to be this way! Why won't you see me? I can't do this anymore! Please! I can't take this! Let this be over! When will it finally be over!?"

You scream towards the town you had just run from, fingers pulling on your hair as you hunch over, tears streaming down your face. It's not just the townsfolk you are angry at; it's humanity and the unfairness of the world, everything and everyone who has abandoned you. Your heart's ablaze, and your mind is filled with pain and wailing. Your cries are heard by nobody but the wind.

"You want me dead? Is that it? You envy me because you think I don't suffer like you do? If you knew what I've been through and the pain I carry every day, you'd want me to live! It's a worse punishment for my gift than what you could ever do to me! 10 years I spent being tortured! 30 years in isolation, too scared of your kind to be part of you! I was remade in someone's twisted idea of perfection! I didn't want any of this!"

Your throat hurts from shouting your lungs out, but your body won't listen; your legs won't stand up; your hunched back won't straighten; the tears won't stop; and the pain only burns brighter, the fury growing in your chest. You have snapped; you have reached your limit.

"I hope you suffer! I hope you suffer in every way I can't! I hope your fear will keep you awake till you lose your mind! I hope your water runs out and you watch people you love wither away! I hope you starve! I hope you endure pain with every injury and disease! DIE! SUFFER! And I hope you think of me! I hope that every calamity brings back memories of me! I hope you will be reminded that I would survive while you die like dogs!"

Your last words whip your head back again, eyes facing the sky. Guilt creeps into your soul like rain, barely a touch at first, and then it drenches you completely. Nobody heard you, your violent outburst towards humanity, but that's not what brings you grief in the first place. It's not the words you said; it's the fact that you meant them, every single one. But what's the truth? You don't want to see them suffer; all you've been trying to do in the past few years is help them survive. A storm takes over, opposing thoughts and feelings ripping you apart as the tears stream down your face.

"Wake up." A calm voice speaks out. You fall forward, leaning on your hands and knees, tears falling onto the sand, discoloring it. "Wake up."

You look up to find the owner of the emotionless voice. You see Vash standing with his arms to his sides, the red coat slightly moving in the wind. As you scan upwards, you see his face, but the reflection on his glasses hides his eyes; there is no smile on his lips. Had he heard you?

"It's a nightmare. You can just wake up." His voice is still monotone.

"It's not. I wish it was, but... I remember the pain. The pain that made me want to end it, the guilt, the torment. This is a memory," you say weakly.

"Even so, you can wake up and start another day. Live life in a way that you don't have to feel this guilt, where such thoughts don't cross your mind or lips. You aren't that nameless drifter anymore. You aren't that tortured soul either. You are Iris."