There was a young lady standing on the beach, staring off into the sunset while humming a soft melody. The last rays of the sun reflected off her hair, tinting it somewhat crimson in shade. The ocean water lapped at her ankles, burying her toes beneath the sand as it rolled back out. She turned as she heard a small child calling out her name, running towards her with her hands held out in glee.
The woman, however, was crying.
Lina sat up in bed, shoving the covers away from her body. She was breathing and perspiring heavily. What was the meaning behind that dream? Where did it come from? From what she could see, that lady didn't resemble anyone she knew, nor did the child. It looked more like a random dream that had nothing to do with the real world. Though, Lina rarely ever had any non-prophetic dreams that would actually make sense, so that would mean...
Lina looked up as the door opened and Ameria stepped through, cautiously at first, then a little more forward. "You finally woke up, Lina-san," she stated. Lina merely nodded and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She then realized that all she was wearing was a long, white nightgown. She grimaced slightly when she noticed it was somewhat see through, suddenly longing for her own clothes.
"If you're wondering where your clothes are, we had to take them off for cleaning and mend the cut," Ameria answered before she could ask the question. "We should have them back soon..."
That's right. What happened to her wound? Lina touched her right arm where the wound had been inflicted. It was wrapped in a clean, white bandage. "Oh, don't worry too much about that cut. Zelgadiss-san and Gourry-san stood watch while I healed you with my magic," Ameria said, beaming.
"I see... By the way, where are they?" Lina inquired, walking over to the girl.
"Gourry-san, Zelgadiss-san, and Xelloss-san are talking to hat girl right now in the room across the hall..." she said as she opened the door wider so Lina could see which room she was referring to.
Lina froze in place. That girl couldn't possibly be... "Girl?"
Ameria brought a finger to the corner of her mouth and looked upward in thought. "I think her name was Rosa or something of the sort..."
Lina immediately squeezed by Ameria through the wood-lined doorway and stormed through the other door. Everyone in that room glanced up at her, surprised to see her so full of energy so soon. She scanned the room, and her eyes settled on Rosa who sat between Xelloss and Zelgadiss. She stomped over to the red-eyed girl and stared right into the resisting face, inspecting it. She was right last night about the child, even though she couldn't see the details of her face in the darkness. The only difference was in the eyes - Lina's were round and belonged to a human while Rosa's were thin and belonged to a mazoku.
"Could you please stop doing that?" Rosa requested, leaning as far back in her chair as she could. Her glare was solid, hiding the secrets in her eyes as well as she could. She highly reminded Lina of someone else she knew, though it took her a few seconds to realize the expression belonged to Zelgadiss. She scowled, crossed her arms and legs, and turned around. "I need a chair," she said in a nonchalant tone.
Xelloss and Zelgadiss stood up simultaneously, though Zelgadiss stopped after noticing and sat back down. His eyes followed Lina as she walked over to the chair Xelloss held out for her and sat down, her eyes closed in agitation all the while. She crossed her legs tightly and kept her arms over her chest to prevent any curious eyes. Rosa scoffed at the entire display, and Gourry glanced at her with a confused look. Xelloss looked neutral; his face and actions weren't displaying any feelings at the moment.
Lina muttered a few curses to herself, wondering why they didn't have any more clothes for her. Thank god it wasn't "that time of month", though it should be coming soon. That wouldn't be good; they might have to delay checking the Faery's Tear out for a few days.
Rosa drummed her fingers on the back of her chair, waiting somewhat impatiently for someone to say something. Her gaze traveled the room and settled on Zelgadiss. "Hmm...So this is the 'Stone Boy'..." she thought, looking him over a bit. "Not bad. I can see why mom and dad were attracted to him...and he's really tasty too," she remarked silently, savoring his annoyance. She then glanced over at Gourry, who was drifting off to sleep at that very moment. A small fret mark appeared on her forehead, and she wondered how a person could fall asleep at such a time, much less how a person could stand someone like that.
Her attention flew instantly over to where Lina was sitting at the present. Lina looked like she was talking to herself, though judging by the look on her face, she was most likely trying to make the longest word-string with her "potty-talk" vocabulary. Rosa noticed the gloves resting on either side of Lina's chair, and followed the arms to the face...
The face that was staring straight back at her.
Rosa's eyes flickered a bit, pupils becoming round like a human's for a moment or two out of reflex. She then noticed he had his eyes open and meant to speak to her honestly. Cautiously, she let her pupils thin up again, bringing the mazoku-type look back. After a quick glance to make sure Lina wasn't watching them, she made full eye contact with him.
Who are you...exactly...?
What you mean my full name? Rosette Tiara Inverse.
So...you're Lina-san's child, aren't you?
Yeah, unfortunately.
Oh.
Figured out who "daddy" is yet?
...
I'll give you a hint; he's in this room.
Stop joking around.
I got that from you.
...
What now?
I still find it...hard to believe.
Yeah, yeah. Let's just say that she needed a push in the right direction.
That's still not like her. Lina-san would never...give in.
Yeah she would. I'm proof. My sisters could make you believe it, too.
Ameria walked over to Zelgadiss and sat down on the floor beside him. He was instantly standing, forfeiting his chair for her to take. She smiled at him gratefully, then eased into the vacant seat. After looking around the room to check for any activity, she commented, "This is really getting nowhere fast."
Zelgadiss merely nodded his agreement as he looked between Lina and Rosa. There was something odd about the two...their faces looked almost identical. Rosa was staring at Lina...but Lina was gazing down? Something was wrong about this picture...Lina doesn't look down from anyone. He looked at Rosa again. Odd, how could she be communicating through her eyes if Lina didn't see them? No, wait. He followed the path of her gaze a little more carefully this time and realized she had actually been looking at Xelloss. So they were communicating using a mazoku language? And the only reason Zelgadiss could see was because he was part mazoku too?
"Sisters?!"
All pairs of eyes turned to Xelloss, glaring at him for ruining the peace and saying something they thought just came out of the blue. Rosa looked around the ceiling innocently, while Xelloss sweatdropped and waved his hand in a motion that told them to just ignore it. Ameria went back to counting the cracks in the wooden floor, Gourry went back to the so-sleepy-that-my-head-keeps-bobbing form, Zelgadiss continued to spy on their conversation unnoticed, and Lina now dropped her head in deep thought.
Not so loud!
Umm...how many sisters do you have?
That's a secret!
Fine...then...
"Would you two stop talking directly to one another?! It's pissing me off to know that secrets are being shared right around me," Lina snapped at the two, then gave Zelgadiss a quick glare for not doing anything about it in the first place. She looked at Rosa and suggested, "Why don't you tell them what's going on?"
Rosa's mouth slanted. "Them too?" she asked, pointing at Zelgadiss, Ameria, and Gourry.
"Yes, them too," she ordered.
Rosa pouted, then muttered under her breath too low for anyone else to hear, "Damn it, I wasn't supposed to let anyone else but dad know about this... Mom already figured it out (duh) and now I have to tell the others too...?" Dark blue shrouds appeared around her head. "Why me?"
"Well?" Lina was getting rather impatient. Her wound wasn't helping too much, and not being able to beat the living daylight out of something because of her injury wasn't too great either. She had to vent her frustration out somehow, though, so she stood up and smashed the chair she had been sitting on, breaking it into multiple pieces and sending the unsuspecting priest down with it. She brushed excess dust off of her hands, smiling at her handiwork and said, "Ah - that felt good!"
Xelloss rubbed the back of his head where he had hit the ground. There was a large red mark where the plank had hit him, and he fingered it lightly before fixing the wound. He looked up and realized he had a rather good view of Lina's...
"Hentai," Lina muttered, punching her fist into his face. A dark blush crept along her cheeks as she stepped away from him, letting him fall to the floor. She leaned up against the wall, crossing her legs and arms again. "Well?" she said, trying to urge Rosa into stealing attention from her.
Rosa cleared her throat, though her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She glanced at Xelloss for his approval to go on. He nodded at her, now fingering the cross Band-Aid on his nose. She sighed, wondering how those two ever got along long enough to have children. "Well..." she began, "I suppose you all are wondering what my connection to you is."
The three uninformed ones nodded. "Why does your face look exactly like Lina's? And are you a mazoku?" Zelgadiss asked directly.
Rosa rolled her eyes. "No Stone Boy, I'm one hundred percent elephant and just look like a mazoku," she replied with sarcasm. "Actually if you're being specific, I'm only one-half mazoku. The other half of me is human."
Zelgadiss glared at her for the name remark. She was getting on his nerves, fast. She was quite like a female version of Xelloss actually; they both knew just exactly how to tick him off. "Never mind that! Answer the first question already!" he demanded.
Rosa bit her lip in hesitation and gave Lina a pleading look. She really didn't want to let them know, especially not Zelgadiss. He would be the main root of annoyance if he knew she was related to Xelloss, and he'd probably boil over the edge to know that Lina ended up with him in the end. Lina simply sharpened her look, somewhat like a parent, and used her eyes to tell her to continue. Rosa had to push a little whimper back into her throat; she didn't want to tick the younger version of her mom off. She took a deep breath. "Well...she's...my future mother..."
"EHHHHHHHHH?!!!" All three screamed at the same time. Ameria held one hand trembling near her gaping mouth as she pointed at Rosa. Gourry had fallen backwards over his chair and started to get up slowly, rubbing the back of his head as he did so. Zelgadiss had jumped a good ten feet back, right into the wall. Rosa blushed furiously and tapped the floor a little bit with her feet like a small child would do.
Ameria's eyes were wide and awestricken. "Is it...is it..."
Rosa bowed her head. "It's true."
There was a very loud gasp, then a moment of silence as a breeze blew by outside. The silence ended when the tree branches outside hit the window, causing Ameria to utter a loud, ear-breaking scream.
After they recovered from the minor shock, the interrogation continued with Gourry fanning the unconscious, swirly-eyed Ameria who had used up too much oxygen in such a short time for that outburst. "Well..." Gourry began, "what's wrong with Lina being a mother?"
The other four conscious people facefaulted. Gourry just blinked at all of them like a clueless puppy and found himself in contact with a pink slipper. It bounced off his cheek and knocked him tumbling backwards, then returned to Lina's hand via spinning power. Xelloss pointed at it curiously and inquired, "Where did you get that from?"
She put that hand behind her back and brought it back into view. The slipper was gone. "As for how it is done..." She brought a finger up and winked. "That's a secret!"
Zelgadiss, Rosa, and Xelloss did a doubletake.
"Anyway..." Ameria began, now awake again, but never got to finish her sentence due to Zelgadiss's interruption.
"Who's the father?"
Ameria elbowed him and gave him a meaningful stare. He just looked away and shrugged as if he didn't care. It wasn't really the rudeness of his interruption that bothered her; after all, it was his style to just say things without thinking. Rather, it was the question he asked that was biting at her, and she wasn't too sure if she wanted to know who it was anyway. Rosa's eyes either meant she was killed and reborn a mazoku or it was a trait she got from her father... And the only two candidates in this room would be Xelloss or Zelgadiss...
Her heart would be torn to shreds if she found out it was Zelgadiss, especially since she was still so attached to him.
She smiled and sweatdropped on his behalf. "Umm...what I was trying to say was, do you have any proof that Lina-san is your mother? I mean, sure I can see the resemblance, but do you have any solid proof...? You may just be a well-disguised imposter after all!" she declared, glaring at Rosa with her Justice-will-show-me-the-truth glare.
Rosa was quite taken aback and surprised. "Uhh..."
"Hmm? What was that you were saying? I can't quite hear you..." Ameria cupped a hand around her ear and leaned in towards Rosa. A few tick marks appeared on Rosa's head. She was just about to scream a retort into Ameria's ear when Lina stood up straight from her leaning position.
"Ameria..." she said, looking directly at the princess. "Do you remember...what I said I saw in the future...why I tried to keep on living...when Kopii Rezo died?"
Ameria blinked, wondering why that would have anything to do with what was happening. "I think you said ' a flower whose name I don't know yet'?"
Lina nodded, then glanced at Rosa who was slightly to Ameria's left. "You...have an older sister named Nadeshiko, don't you?"
Rosa seemed mildly surprised. "Yes I do...how...?"
Lina smiled half-heartedly. "I always wanted children... I never knew why, though. It might be that their innocent faces while they run around outside make me feel warm and happy..." The smile looked faker as she continued to talk. "But... I had already decided to name my children after flowers, if I ever had any, since they resemble a flower in bloom..." She looked up at Rosa. "Nadeshiko flowers were always my favorite because they bloomed every year in our backyard... Roses were always my second favorite because one usually gives them to a loved one, and I had always hoped-"
There was an unnerving silence, now possible since Gourry was still out from the slipper slap. Zelgadiss, Ameria, and Xelloss stood aghast. They had always thought Lina hated the idea of motherhood and would never settle down and bear children. Not only would she have one child...but two?
Rosa cleared her throat loud enough to wake them up. "Well... What now?"
"Who's the father?"
Four heads turned to the source of the voice - Zelgadiss. Rosa's face was indifferent, Ameria seemed a bit hurt, Xelloss chewed on his bottom lip in dread and anxiety, and Lina looked a tad bit frightened. Trust Zelgadiss to be stubborn and ask the question again, but this was...
"I can't tell you that," Rosa put strictly.
He growled threateningly and took a step forward, but Ameria held him back from taking any more. "Zelgadiss-san," she said, grabbing his arm lightly and standing in his path. "Please think about what you are asking." She took a quick glance in Lina's direction and noticed her unconsciously embrace herself for the tiny bit of comfort it offered. A little more frantically, Ameria reiterated, "Please, Zelgadiss-san! Think about Lina-san's feelings!"
He turned to her fiercely. "Aren't you worried about this as well?!" he shouted. "What if Lina just made a bad decision? Or worse, what if she got raped?!" He didn't realize how harsh he sounded at the moment, or how Ameria winced and backed away from him. In one last violent outburst, he yelled, "Don't you understand? If we find out what happened then maybe we can prevent-!"
"Shut up!" Rosa screamed, infuriated. She was about to curse at him when Lina cut in.
"It's ok! It's ok...!" She had a sad look in her eyes that perplexed the others. "I'll leave so that I don't have to hear." She turned her back to them and paused for a moment, then took off out the doorway, leaving her very stunned comrades behind.
"Ah...! But...it's raining outside..." Ameria commented a little too late. She held a hand to her heart and looked out the window, noting silently how dark and dreary it was.
Xelloss started walking to the door, but Zelgadiss caught his shoulder. "You're going after her...aren't you..."
The priest shrugged the forceful hand off effortlessly. "Do you even need to ask?"
His eyes narrowed. "I don't trust you..."
Xelloss took a few more steps and stopped with his and on the edge of the doorway. He looked back at the chimera with both of his eyes revealed to add to the sincerity of his voice. "I never expected you to."
Zelgadiss scowled on the inside, though he merely folded his arms and added in all due seriousness, "Don't hurt her."
His mouth curved upward slightly, though his eyes remained open. Zelgadiss's affection for the sorceress was well known to him - solely to him. Lina was blind to this show of emotion, and Zelgadiss was confused about it himself; though would have never gotten anything going between them without help. It was similar to the situation she had with Gourry and himself as well...
Xelloss stepped out the door, waving at them as he left. "You don't have to worry about that..." he whispered just barely audible even to Zelgadiss's enhanced hearing. They stood quietly, listening to his fading footsteps, then hearing the last soft tap before they altogether disappeared.
Lina tried to wipe her tears off on her soaked sleeve, though it was rather difficult to do and only ended up making her frustrated. Her bare feet splashed in cold puddles as she ran, but she didn't care. Her white garment clung to her body now, fully transparent and inviting to peepers.
Her vision was very blurred, and so she eventually tripped over a rock and fell. She lay there with her face in her arms for a while, sobbing, wondering why this had to happen to her...
She got up, then realized her right arms stung rather badly. Her fingers lightly trailed along the wound, then held themselves before her face.
Blood. The wound was open.
"Damn. It." She swore, then carried herself over to the nearest wall and sat down against it, grasping her arm in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, though blood fell from her legs as well. She closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sky, letting the rain fall freely onto her cheeks.
At this rate...she may die...
Her eyes shot open. Die? Her? Lina Inverse? Impossible! ...Right? Though...if she did, by any chance, die here...the suffering...would be gone...
She was purged out of her thoughts when a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She glanced at it weakly. "Xelloss...?"
He had a firm look to his eyes. "You will NOT die here... Not since I'm here with you." He stared into her wide, shocked eyes for a moment, then picked her up and ran down the street with her in his arms.
There was a small shack down at the end. It looked sturdy enough, but he was unsure of the resources it would provide. "Guess we'll have to make do..." he thought, and ran over to it.
Zelgadiss sat down in a chair and folded his arms. "Well...can you tell us who your father is now?"
Rosa closed her eyes for a while, then looked to the side with an unamused look to her eyes. "No. Though...I'm sure by now you can make an intelligent guess..." she replied.
"You mean Lina actually went and did It with Xelloss twice?" Zelgadiss asked, astounded by the idea.
Rosa facefaulted. She slowly got back up, holding onto the back of a nearby chair for support. "Well if you want to put it that way..."
Zelgadiss and Ameria glanced at each other, both looking rather surprised. "Are you sure it wasn't for sexual reasons... I mean Xelloss," Zelgadiss interrogated.
"Hmm. Well he looks pretty head over heels for her now... So I'm pretty sure it was out of 'love'." She sat down and crossed her legs and arms just as Lina had done earlier. Besides, I don't think someone would have and bring up four kids just because they wanted to have sex..."
The two pairs of eyes widened simultaneously. "Four?!"
"Uh huh. And I think she had a miscarriage when I was little..."
Both listeners sat dumbfounded. After a moment or two, Ameria asked, "Think it's the right time to scream now, Zelgadiss-san?"
He shut the door behind them, placed her frail body down on the bench, and looked around for something to start a fire with.
"Xelloss?"
"Take your clothes off."
"What?!"
"You're going to catch a cold like that. Take your clothes off."
"But..."
"I won't look if you don't want me to. Just do it." He continued to sort through the things on the shelves in the dark. So far...nothing that could be burnt. Just old jars with remedies and whatnot...
"Xelloss?"
"What?"
"I'm cold."
"I'm working on that."
"...Xelloss."
"Wh-" He suddenly felt her body press against his back, her hands situated on his shoulders along with her head. He withdrew his hand from the open drawer. "Lina-san..."
"I'm cold."
"...That's why I'm looking for something to burn a fire with, Lina-san."
"I don't need a fire..."
"..."
"Xelloss...your back is really warm..."
He turned around and caught her as she fell, and he sat down with her bare legs between his. Her hands pressed against his chest and her head found a nice spot to relax in at the curve of his neck.
"...Lina-san?"
"...Mm?"
"Are you okay?"
"...I think I may be dying."
It was then that he noticed the droplets of blood she left on the floor behind her. He took his hands off of her arms in surprise and noticed the stain on his left glove.
"Your wound reopened?"
"Mm'hmm... Ameria didn't do a very good job did she?"
"Lina...this isn't something to take lightly."
"I'm going to die now anyway...does it matter?"
"You're not going to die."
"Yes I am. Then no one will suffer anymore."
"You can't say that...it's not true. All of us will suffer..."
"Who wants a cold-hearted idiot sorceress like me?"
"I do."
"..."
He ran his fingers through her hair. "Lina...I'm going to transfer some of my 'blood' into you... It's only going to stay there until your wounds are healed. Accept it...please?"
"..."
"Lina?"
"...I can hear your heart beating faster...why?"
"Because I'm worried."
"What is there to be worried about?"
"I don't want you to die...not here...not now..."
"...You...want me that much?"
"..."
She closed her eyes and completely relaxed against his warmth. "...Alright."
He sighed in relief. His dark aura surrounded them both, but illuminated both bodies nevertheless.
"Xelloss?"
"Yes, Lina-san?"
"You're doing it again..."
"What?"
"The formality. I don't like it."
"But I respect you, so it's natural!"
"...Someone like Ameria I could understand, but you...?"
"You'll understand someday, Lina-san."
She pinched his arm. "You're too complicated to understand."
"So are you!"
"I give up!"
"So quickly? That's unlike you!"
"Fruitcake."
"Why, thank you!"
"Namagomi."
"Now...that's low."
She giggled tiredly. "Can I call you 'Gomi-chan' from now on?"
"NO."
"Just teasing."
"Are you sure my blood isn't getting to your head?"
"Yup! I'm not nearly as loopy as you!"
"Hey..."
She kissed his surprised face on the cheek. "By the way...umm...how do I say this..."
"...?"
"...Thanks," she whispered before falling asleep in his arms.
A smile slowly spread across his lips, and he hugged her tightly. His right iris turned ruby, and her left iris turned amethyst as the black aura receded.
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