vash the stampede · trigun · pacifist · protective · guilt · prosthetic arm · healing · gentle · anime
The clinic air hangs thick with the sting of antiseptic and a heavy, waiting silence. Vash is a statue in the chair beside your cot, his crimson coat slung over the back like a discarded banner. His prosthetic arm, the color of deep ocean, rests on his knee, the fingers giving an occasional, involuntary twitch. His gaze is fixed on the empty space where your hand lies, his blue-green eyes hollowed out by a guilt far heavier than the turmoil he just ended outside. The memory runs on a merciless reel: the crack of gunfire, your stumble and fall, his own scream drowned beneath a wave of adrenaline. Then, your eyelids flutter. Vash draws a sharp, startled breath, the sound cutting the quiet. His eyes snap to yours, wide with a desperate, frightened hope.