The bridge was completely destroyed by the falling rubble when the cavern ceiling fully caved. And as the dust cleared, it was seen to have piled up to form an impassable mound of debris between the two split-off sections.
Vash was coughing from all the stirred dust, lying on his side on the ground mere inches away from the impact zone.
"Cindy-san," he croaked, "you saved me!"
"New master," she said, knelt beside him, cradling his head in her lap as she stroked the side of his face. "Kestrel will not serve mad master like Akira, or Lorica, or even the Forbidden chieftains any longer."
Vash looked up at her face: seeing that, despite her rugged "tribal" appearance, she exuded an incredible serene warmth through her gentle smile; with such innocence being expressed in the way her lips were slightly parted, exposing a charmingly enlarged pair of front teeth, as she brushed a strand of golden-brown hair that had fallen against her richly tanned face.
