Nothing's ever built to last [OPEN]

[stampeded]

Characters: Vash, all visitors welcome
Content: Vash is finally conscious, not to mention a lot more coherent.
Setting: In the Way's infirmary
Time: A day after this log
Warnings: None

Comments

[drinkitlovelife]

Kurumi burst into the infirmary intending to laugh, crack some jokes, give her superior some flowers and find out whether she needed to go into hiding because she'd tried to run a ship-wide bet about Vash's true destination and lost (she'd thought he ran off to elope with Ryuuzaki last time this happened, too, hadn't she?). Hence her humming, twirling and swinging the door so hard and quickly that the doorknob cracked the wall.

Once she actually noticed the state of the patient, she dropped the blue roses she was carrying.

"...what happened?"

[stampeded]

The sound of the door hitting the wall startled him, leaving Vash sitting up abruptly, holding his side. When he realized just who it was, he slumped back down against the pillows, looking more than a little relived.

"Geez, Milk, what kind of an entrance is that? You nearly scared me to death!" He didn't sound very exasperated, though, just a little tired. He was glad for the distraction, since even though the infirmary walls were familiar, staring at them got old.

"...I got in a fight. That's about it, really."

[drinkitlovelife]

"I'll fix the door later!" Kurumi picked up the flowers and ran over to him, not bothering to complain about being called by her real name in her false form. Everyone did it these days anyway. "A fight? With what, wild dogs? Monsters? You look like five carriages ran right over you."

[stampeded]

"I feel like carriages ran over me," he said with a wince. "No, it was... a bunch of gunmen. I'm not even sure why they went after me. They might've been bandits."

Vash figured a half-lie like that was the best to use. He couldn't just admit to the real reason he'd been out there... but at the same time, he was sure the rest of the crew would find out how he had been injured, sooner or later.

[d_luffymonkey]

When the news about Vash had came, it was easy enough to say that Luffy had been pretty taken aback by what had happened. Living on the Winding Way for a good one and a half years already had made him quite attached the the ship and the crew - and Vash had been one of the first people he had gotten to know, too. The first mate always was one of the more special people he had come to known ever since he started being on this ship, and to hear how he was now...

The powder monkey made his way towards where Vash was resting up, his usual cheerful energy gone for the moment as he peered over the doorway and towards where he was resting. Seeing him without an arm... it was really kind of... strange.

[stampeded]

Even though he was hardly very alert right now, it was hard to miss noticing that hat that Luffy always wore, poking out behind the doorway along with its owner.

"Luffy?" He called out, craning his head to get a better look. "Don't hide back there, you can come in." Being the only patient meant Vash didn't have to be very quiet... or at least, that was what he assumed.

[d_luffymonkey]

The powder monkey wasn't really trying to hide - while he had been over to the infirmary a good number of times already, it was the first time he was getting so nervous over it. Vash had meant to him so much more than most of the other crew members on the ship. It was hard to say it properly, but... Vash had just taken a special place in his heart - more than nakama, he had considered the First Mate as something akin to family. And seeing him hurt so badly now...

Luffy poked his head over the doorway properly, straw hat somehow managing to stay onto his head despite the laws of gravity as he looked with wide eyes towards Vash's missing arm. It really really was very strange to see him in this state... strange, and possibly just a little frightening.

"Ummmm..." he started as he cautiously stepped out from his spot behind the door, looking every bit lost and awkward as he looked at Vash. "A-Are you alright?"

[stampeded]

"I..."

Seeing Luffy like this was absolutely horrible. Vash was so used to him being cheerful and hyper that the difference was almost like a physical blow. It made Vash feel guilty over getting hurt, even more than knowing that he had probably disappointed Ryuzaki by doing what he did. Instead, he had gotten everyone worried, something that he had never wanted to do in the first place.

Maybe he really had been too reckless.

Vash managed a gentle, but weak, smile. "Yeah. I'll be okay."

[fatherofcute]

Whatever suspicions Hughes may or may not have about the First Mate didn't matter right now. One of the crew was down, outright attacked, and he intended to see if he could figure out why, and just see how the man was doing. He stepped into the infirmary with a small box balanced on one hand, a sweet smell drifting from it. He paused at the door and took in the sight, managing to hide the grimace of sympathy behind a friendly and nonchalant grin. "How're you feeling?"

[stampeded]

"Hi, Maes." Vash sat up more, happy to see another visitor, though the box left him curious. He could almost smell it from here, even...

"... I've been way better," Vash admitted. He couldn't remember the last time he had been quite this bad off, but he did know very well by now how long it would take, and how far he'd be able to push it, if he had to. "I'll heal." Probably.

[fatherofcute]

"That's good to hear. Brought something to make you feel even better." He presented the box, lifting the lid as he held it forward. Nestled inside was a chocolaty cake topped with so many colorful sprinkles the thick chocolate frosting could barely be seen. The box was as large as his hand and the cake barely fit inside. With the lid open Hughes reached behind him to pull a fork wrapped with a napkin from his back pocket, offering all of it to Vash.

[stampeded]

"I..."

That was an amazing cake! He had never even seen so many sprinkles before! Maybe it wasn't his first choice of food, but he wouldn't have been able to turn it down anyway. ... Not normally. Vash didn't even make any move for accepting the cake, just suddenly getting a pained expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, I can't eat that. They had to stitch my stomach back up... I can't eat anything for a while." It hadn't been anything super serious, just a few internal stitches needed, but he was still under strict orders.

WARNING: SUPER SLOW TAGS OH YEAHHHHHH

[fallingjunkyard]

From the very beginning, Vash had always been the person he liked to bully the most on the Way. In some ways, Vash was the puppy he liked to kick every now and again just to see the expression he made. Joshua had known there'd been something in Vash's past he wanted to hide, and while Joshua would've loved to know what it was, he favoured bullying Vash over probing further.

Perhaps he should've looked into it.

When Joshua entered the infirmary, he didn't greet Vash at first, instead taking the time to openly look him over. Taking a seat beside Vash's bed and crossing his legs, Joshua casually asked him, "Was your left arm victim to your little adventure?"

haha, join the club o/

[stampeded]

Vash had started to doze off when Joshua entered, so he hadn't noticed the boy at first. It wasn't until he sat down that Vash cracked his eyelids open, at first giving him a mildly annoyed look. He had already grown wary of Joshua's bullying, to the point that his first instinct was to be annoyed with him in advance. It usually just meant he had to be less annoyed later.

He relaxed a little at the question, though, shaking his head. "Not really. They must've took it off to fix it... uh, my arm's been fake for a long time." Vash was pretty sure most people on the Way hadn't even known that much about it.

[fallingjunkyard]

Joshua hadn't known about Vash's fake arm. If he'd been the more touchy-feely type, he might have found out by accident, though. Vash's use of the word 'fix' suggested a mechanical arm, rather than an elaborate illusion or something magic based. Joshua kept his eyes on Vash's face. "A relic from the Vash of the past, I take it?"

Joshua wanted to know. He was only guessing right now; it wasn't uncommon for people to have mechanical replacements after accidents, but they did tend to be costly.

[stampeded]

"..." Vash thought it over, then frowned. "Are you calling me a relic?"

He knew that wasn't what Joshua meant, but when it came to his arm... he didn't think it was very appropriate to call it a relic, not really. Vash had tried to leave his past behind, but it had only caught up with him anyway. It basically meant his past was now his present... or something like that. It was no good, either way.

Joins Late Club with Joshua and Vash

[fire_water_wood]

Harlequin had been a cabin boy now for a few weeks, since just a little before the Long Night, and he took his duties very seriously. Those included seeing to the comfort - or the very health, if needed - of his superiors.

The little puppet had heard that the first mate was finally awake. He stopped first at the kitchen and had the cook on hand help him load up the little cart he'd had built for just such occasion. He'd heard that Mr. Vash liked donuts, so he had made sure to bring plenty, as well as a small jug of milk and a sturdy glass. Milk went well with donuts, right? He thought he'd heard as much somewhere along the way.

Reaching the infirmary, he knocked softly on the doorjamb before entering - loudly enough to be heard if Mr. Vash was awake, but not enough to startle him if he weren't.

"Mr. Vash?"

[stampeded]

"Hmm?"

Vash was mostly sitting up at this point, though not moving much, having found a comfortable enough spot for resting. That so many people had stopped by wasn't entirely unexpected, though it had been more than a little sad. He hated admitting how bad off he was, and that he would have to leave. It was just disappointing everyone.

He turned, and started at the sight. That was a lot of donuts...! It made his stomach grumble faintly in protest of being so close, and yet so far.

"Oh, Harlequin... you really didn't have to."

[fire_water_wood]

"No, sir . . . but I did," Quin replied with a small grin. Pulling on the handle, he rolled the cart across the room to Mr. Vash's bedside. Actually, he'd started to approach the left side, since it was closer to the door, but then he noticed something rather strange.

"Oh! You have removable limbs, too, Mr. Vash?" he asked as he changed directions and worked the cart around to the right side of the bed.