//hey.
hey, here's a 'what if' au for you:
'move, nai. it'll kill you" vash says. and knives laughs. he laughs, because don't you know vash? he's already dead; he's been dead for such a long time. he says so. he tells vash not to be silly. that nai's long been dead.
but he's not dead, he can't be dead when vash looks so devastated at the very thought.
so he moves. he's so close, it's right there but that is his little brother hurting right there and he just can't. he's willing to die to protect vash, has killed everything important in himself for his brother but maybe–
maybe what vash needs is for him to live instead. he needs nai more than he needs knives. so he moves.
(and maybe he's burning and maybe he can't feel half his body right now but his stupid, stupid little brother needs him, is going to burn himself out trying to protect this stupid fucking city so he needs to keep moving. they're falling. they need to stop falling. they need to be higher, where vash can release the energy where it won't destroy the city.
he moves. drags vash with him.
july is safe, vash is maybe a little traumatized. knives is definitely crispy but alive.)
