Oddly enough, this fic was inspired (or rather forced) out of a challenge. ^^' I gave specific (in other words, very odd/random) requirements for a friend of mine to write a fic, and in turn she gave me similar requirements. The requirements for this fic are as follows:
1. It has to be set around Slayers TRY.
2. The whole group has to be included.
3. There has to be an irrational fear of a tree.
4. Someone has to sing at least once.
5. The word 'Pink' had to be used eight times.
6. The word 'Kiss'- Nine times.
7. The word 'Orange'- Ten times.
As you can see, I had quite the time thinking up a decent fic to go along with this one. After much consideration, though, I managed to pull an actual theme out of the requirements! I don't really care who reads it, but I hope whoever is crazy enough to do so will enjoy it. ^.-
~Meri Kurisumasu~
A rather large pair of golden-hued eyes stared in naive curiosity at the array of boxes of various sizes which seemed to fill a corner of the room. Strands of aqua-hued hair fell just above the boy's eyes as he looked over each individual, colorfully wrapped package. Ribbons of pink, shiny orange wrapping paper.. Each one seemed to be decorated in different colors and different designs. However, the numerous gifts were hardly what he had his attention locked onto.
The small boy had his attention directed upwards, towards the looming, green plant which seemed to rise above even the largest package. It, too, appeared to be decorated, but much more delicately and most obviously with much more detail. A few pink ribbons were tied randomly apon a few of the protruding branches, and orbs of various colors hung from the tips of several others. Long, thick ropes of garland were wrapped in spiral patterns around the tree, setting off its beauty even more. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for the boy failed to see the beauty in such a thing--no, it looked almost forboding in a way, with so many shiny objects, and--
Crash.
One of the colored orbs--an orange one--appeared to have lost its balance apon the tip of a branch, and thus came plummetting to the ground. The sound of glass breaking and flying in random directions sounded like an explosion to the ears of a small child, and it wasn't long before the young witness had burst into a high pitched fit of crying. That simply confirmed his underaged beliefs that the tree was indeed evil--evil, and a worthy enough opponent to avoid all together.
"Val-chan?" Came the hasty call of a female's voice from a room adjacent to the one in which the tree dwelled. Almost immediately, Filia set down the vase of light pink flowers she had been admiring, quickly rushing towards the door. She'd heard the ornament shatter, which only allowed quick fear to spring up. What if he'd been injured by the glass? She shouldn't have left him alone, she quickly scolded herself. Though there was little in the room that could prove fatal, she couldn't help but feel a great need to protect the little Ancient Dragon. Perhaps at times she could even become a little over-protective?
"Oi, I've got him!" Having had a decent headstart, another figure was quick to get there before Filia. Coming from a room nearer the tree, a shorter figure stepped over to retrieve the child. As usual, he wore a thick pair of gloves, black-tipped ears lowering just slightly as he lifted the young boy up. "It's alright, Lord ValGa-...Val-chan." Jiras had indeed had quite a difficult time since Val's hatching, for he still felt the need to refer to the Ancient Dragon as 'Lord ValGaav.' He was managing, though, and hadn't even tried to refrain from using nicknames for Filia. "He's okay, Filia-sama!"
"Will you please stop calling me that?" Filia requested with a sigh, for what seemed like the thousandth time. As she arrived on the scene, she gently reached down to retrieve Val from the fox, at first finding it somewhat difficult. The child was so panic-stricken that he was quick to grab hold of two handfuls of orange fur, doing his best to cling tightly to the one who had first picked him up. After a bit of negotiation, though, Filia was finally able to ease the child away, nearly immediately giving him a quick inspection to assure herself that he hadn't been injured, before laying a kiss to his forehead in an attempt to calm him. Jiras was already working on cleaning up the scattered shards of glass, all too willing to help out without really being told. After all, he owed much to the Golden Dragon.
It had scarcely been a year since Val had hatched from his egg, and even longer since the Slayers had gone their seperate ways. It was almost Christmas, now, and things were bound to get hectic. Lina had recently sent word that she and Gourry were going to drop by for Christmas--which was bad enough in itself, when it came down to food options. Word had gotten out that the Princess of Seyruun had disappeared again, apparently on a search for someone. It figured, anyways--Amelia wouldn't easily let Zelgadis spend another Christmas alone. In the end, there was a high likelihood that they would all 'somehow' drop by for Christmas, which left little time for preparation. As much as she hated to admit it, though, there was a part of Filia that missed them sometimes. The quiet life of a shopkeeper was certainly boring, after travelling with such a dysfunctional group. Yes, she missed them all...
All, except one.
After the battle with Dark Star and everyone had gone their seperate ways, it seemed that they had had a brief time of peace. Nothing had really gone wrong, everything was quiet and peaceful... That is, until Val hatched. The little dragon must have proved in some way interesting to the mazoku race, for hardly a day had gone by after he hatched that Xellos began showing up again. The trickster priest never gave a reason or a specific time for his appearances; he simply came and went as he wished, never releasing enough information for Filia to understand why he came as he did so. Whenever she had enough self-control to ask--rather than use mace-sama--why he kept coming, he simply replied with his cryptic, trademark quote- 'Sore wa himitsu desu.'
"Honestly, that Namagomi needs to mind his own business..." She commented bitterly to herself, having set Val down in a chair once he'd calmed down enough. Still, he eyed the tree wearily, occasionally shaking from unspoken fear.
"Really, Fi-Chan, haven't you heard that it's not healthy to talk to yourself?" Came a sly voice from directly behind her. There was hardly a pause before a high-pitched scream could practically be heard halfway throughout the village.
"NAMAGOMI!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour had gone by since Filia had, in all probability, given Xellos the pounding of his life, and still she was twitching in anger as she sat at a table in the back of the shop, sipping away at a cup of tea in an attempt to calm herself. Xellos never knew when to give up, and he was bound to gain some sort of brain damage if he kept up his frequent 'visits.' In a way, Filia was proud of the recent job she'd done. Over the past few months, she'd slowly become a bit faster, as if expecting him at any time. Therefore, Xellos had had less and less time to react when she pulled mace-sama and swung at him. It was today that she had managed to hit him a good three times before he finally disappeared into that acursed astral plane. The whole time, Jiras had simply watched with a sweatdrop, having used one hand to cover Val's eyes from Filia's violent nature. Indeed, her tail had flown into position in her rage, the pink bow tied to the end swishing back and forth with it.
With Xellos gone once more, it only took Filia a short time to regain her patience. With a light sigh she turned to Jiras, whom was waiting at her side like a loyal dog, simply awaiting orders. Shaking her head, Filia lifted her gaze to the top of the doorway. A mischevious smile touched her lips as she studied the mistletoe which hung from that doorway, as well as several others. Perhaps after all the pain the others had put her through; after all that mental stress, she would finally be able to pay them back. With the same playful grin, she glanced back down to the orange fox. "You know what to do, don't you?"
Eagerly, Jiras gave a quick nod, following her gaze. "Yeah, boss! If we find any of 'em alone under there, we give 'em a quick push! They won't even see the kiss coming."
"Exactly," Filia replied with a nod, once more looking up to the mistletoe, tied with pink lace. Yes, she was very proud of the plan she had set up. This was going to be a long, long Christmas...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lina-san, do you think Filia-san will be happy to see us?" A certain Princess blinked, turning her gaze towards Lina.
"Oh, sure she will!" The sorceress replied cheerfully, glancing over her shoulder at Amelia. Once again she was at the head of the small group, leading each of them down the road of a small village. "Now, where was her shop again..?" In any case, she was fairly eager to reach the shop, for a number of reasons. For one, it was only getting colder the further down in the sky the sun sank. Secondly, the further she walked, the more hungry she seemed to get. It was still mid-winter, and she'd sent a letter roughly a month ago, warning of their arrival. It had been quite a while since the group had gotten back together, and somewhere along the line Lina and Gourry had bumped into Zelgadis and Amelia. Now, the group was very nearly back together, which only meant bad things for the neighborhood...
"Oi, Lina, how much longer?" The familiar, rather clueless voice of Gourry asked from a yard or so away from Lina. The blond simply blinked as he awaited an answer, both arms folded behind his head in a casual anime-style. He, too, was beginning to get hungry, and was rather impatient to reach their destination.
"Lina-san, I don't see why I have to carry this," Amelia complained in an almost whiny tone, lagging a bit behind the group. Over her shoulder was slung a brown back, filled with random items the little group had contributed as Christmas gifts. Of course, most of the gifts the Princess had bought herself, but why did that mean she had to carry it all? It wasn't as if she'd bought -all- of it, though she'd bought a vast majority of it.
Zelgadis heaved a light sigh, but otherwise remained silent. He'd been reluctant to temporarily give up his search for the Claire Bible, but Amelia's persistance had eventually caused him to cave in and agree, though he didn't predict much good coming out of this supposed 'vacation.' The sooner it was over, the better.
Yes, it had been quite a while since the little group had been together, and though most of them had refused to admit it to any extent, they had eached missed the company of the others a good deal. Of course, Amelia hadn't hesitated to give each of them quite the hug upon seeing them again, but she was one of the only ones who was particularly open about expressing her feelings.
"Hey!" Lina soon piped up. "Isn't that it?"
Not even waiting for an answer, the redhead quickly broke into a run, closely followed by each of the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gourry, that's mine!"
"Lina..! That hurts...!"
As expected, the formalities were few. After a few brief 'hello's,' Lina hadn't hesitated to run back towards the room where all the food was spread. She was pleased to find the table covered with different plates--unfortunately none of them were Dragon, though she shouldn't have expected Filia to serve THAT.
Each of them were thoroughly hungry, though the main food fight, as it always was, was between Lina, Gourry, and Amelia. Zel and Filia sat rather quietly, each sipping at their cup of coffee/tea with quite a bit of impatience. Filia was completely annoyed, as she always was, with the table manners of the others, but for once she found it rather welcoming. As mentioned before, she'd missed the chaos that the others produced, and this was a nice change from her quiet life. She'd almost forgotten how bad mealtimes could be...
Fortunately, dinner time never lasted forever, although it seemed like it did when Lina and Gourry were around. Eventually, every plate was swept clean and the dishes were brought to the kitchen to be washed, whenever someone worked up the courage to wash them all. Each of them seemed content enough--Lina was stretching and yawning as she let her gaze fall to the ceiling, not even bothering to help clear any of the dishes. "That was great.." Amelia looked just as content, yawning quietly as she tugged at the pink trimming of her tunic. "Filia-san went through a lot of trouble to do this for us..."
Silently, Filia expelled an angry sigh once the table was cleared. Though she had missed them, the least they could have done was help! ...Still, she did have her back-up plan, and this seemed like as good a time as any to put it into action. "We can all go into the other room now, you know," She suggested, watching carefully as Lina was the first one to get up.
"Sure, whatever," The sorceress agreed, already beginning to wonder what they would do next. Heck, it didn't really matter what they did next--they'd gotten free food, as well as a free place to stay. This was good enough for her, and it wasn't long before she turned and headed towards the door. "Wait for me!" As soon as she'd left, Gourry followed after her. The building in itself didn't look at all very threatening, but who knew? There could be some sort of danger just waiting around the corner, and therefore he had to be at the redhead's side in order to protect her. After all, he was her guardian, wasn't he?
As had been planned, however, Jiras was hiding right outside the doorway, for this doorway just happened to be one of the ones strung with mistletoe. He had been getting a bit bored from the wait, but he managed to stay somewhat alert through it all, for Filia had given him a supposed order, had she not? Gourry was right when he had assumed that trouble could be lurking behind any corner, and his suspicions were only confirmed after the two of them walked through the doorway. Being on the nearer side, the blond swordsman was the first to be tripped and find himself suddenly falling. "Li-" His dismayed cry was cut off as he felt a fist connect with his face. "BAKA!"
Apparently Lina had been more aware than Filia had hoped, and thus her plans for them were decidedly ruined for now. Lina had been quick enough to see what was going on, but had automatically assumed that Gourry was making some sort of advance, and that was absolutely inexcusable in her mind. A very light blush had made its way to her face as she claimed a chair in the other room, arms folded rather tightly across her chest. Her anger was apparent, and Gourry made it a point to take a seat on the other side of the room, whining as he rubbed the pain out of his face. "Lina, I wasn't trying to-" "Don't you ever try anything like that again!" She snapped at him in return, the fire almost apparent as it burned in her eyes. Really, like she'd ever want to kiss him!...This, of course, completely forgetting that specific moment towards the end of Slayers/Slayers Next.
Having stayed where they had been, a sweatdrop now took Amelia and Zel's features as the glanced towards the doorway. Whatever had just happened, it had obviously made Lina angry, and Zel had a fairly good idea of what had happened. After all, what happened around the group that he wasn't aware of? With a light, annoyed sigh, he turned back to Amelia. "You stay here, and wait a few seconds before following." Waiting for her to agree, he finally pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the doorway. As he walked out, he sent an almost challenging look down at the awaiting fox. "Try it; I dare you." Jiras simply sweatdropped, taking a step back as he allowed the chimera to pass. He'd seen what Lina could do, and he wasn't about to take his chances when someone threatened him. He stood and watched helplessly as Amelia passed through next, sending him a rather confused look before following after Zelgadis.
Now, only Filia remained at the table, silently cursing her bad luck. She shouldn't have underestimated Zel and Lina's cunning; she'd been with them long enough to be aware of exactly how smart they were. Her plans to get back at them had very well been ruined, meaning she would either have to give up or find another way to do things. For now, though, she'd simply have to go along with whatever they planned on doing next. Setting her cup of tea down, she rose to her feet before walking towards the room.
"Hello again, my friends!" Came a rather familiar, decently annoying voice as a certain priest once again made an appearance. Again his appearance was random, but he'd assumed that now would be as good a time as any. After all, it had been quite a long time since he'd seen Lina and the others, and he couldn't help but remember how very amusing they could be when they were nudged in a certain direction. A bit of a smirk had once more made its way to his lips as he glanced to each one in particular. Lina, Amelia and Gourry seemed cheerful enough about seeing him again, but Zel retained his usual temper around the mazoku. After all, he had yet to grant Xellos his full trust.
Filia, however, was anything BUT happy to hear Xellos' voice AGAIN.
"Baka Namagomi, when are you going to give up?" She inquired in rage as she made her way into the room.
Well, we all know that Jiras isn't exactly the brightest fox in the world. As he stood next to the doorway and watched Filia come out, he simply stood a mere moment and looked from Xellos to Filia. His own words, 'If we find any of 'em alone under there, we give 'em a quick push,' echoed in his mind, causing him to act on impulse. As Filia stepped out, he automatically obeyed command and gave her quite the shove, not really realizing the extent of what he was doing. Oh, and what a shock Xellos had! I'm very sure he wasn't expecting a kiss as a Christmas present.
Upon stepping out, Filia simply blinked in confusion as she felt something--or someone--push her. She certainly hadn't expected her own plan to turn against her, and therefore she had no time to brace herself for her fall as she fell forward against the one who she claimed to hate so. On instinct she threw her arms out to catch hold of something to break her fall, but how could she have known that she had thrown both arms around the mazoku's neck? The next thing she knew, her head had jerked forward; this, combined with the fact that she had nothing to hold herself up with, were the main factors that contributed to her own lips accidentally pressing against his.
If ever Xellos had been shocked before, this certainly topped the scale. His eyes shot open as he impulsively caught hold of her to keep her from falling further. This, combined with the shock, of course, caused him to sway completely off balance. Due to ryuuzaku bone density, and the fact that they weigh thousands of pounds in dragon form, Filia weighed at least a good fourty pounds more than he did. As she fell forward against him, his bearings were completely lost, as well as his balance, and soon he found himself falling backwards. His back hit the ground with a light thud, stunning him completely. The room as a whole went rather quiet, for all anyone could do was stare in their own shock. What was going on here, anyways?
If one were to say that Filia was surprised, that would have been the understatement of the century. All she could do was lay where she was, slowly coming to her senses to realize exactly what position she was in. Lina was the one who really brought Filia to her senses. "Geeze, Filia, I didn't know you were so... bold."
And that was it. Almost in an instant Filia had jumped to her feet, the color quickly draining from her face, only to be replaced with that of a deep blush. ...Did she just... kiss... HIM? A mazoku? A murderer of her race..? Her worst and most hated enemy?? Why was everyone staring like that??? The vast amount of embarassment that she felt finally reached its peak. Tears began forming in her eyes, and it wasn't long before she'd ran off crying, just as she'd done when Gourry had first looked under her skirt for a tail. This time, though, she had failed to use mace-sama as a punishing tool. No, she'd simply left, at the same time leaving everyone behind to blink and stare in astonishment at what they had just witnessed.
As she ran down the hallway attempting to calm herself, Filia slowed down to a stop, blinking and wiping at her eyes. Slowly she began realizing that she'd completely forgotten Val this whole time, for now she could hear his crying coming from her own room. Trying to slow down her breathing, she headed towards her room. As she reached the door, she noticed in another doorway, another string of mistletoe was hanging. This one was laced with both pink and orange ribbon, the orange seeming to dominate over the pink. Previously, she had been playful in putting up such decorations, but now that she had experienced the 'kiss' involved with mistletoe, she could only think scornfully of the plant. A kiss was bad enough, but a kiss from a mazoku was just... horrible!
Quickly she snapped back to reality as she heard the crying become a bit louder. With a half sigh, she turned and stepped into the room. Beside her own bed was a small cradle in which she had left Val sleeping earlier. A small, orange blanket lay over the child as he whimpered, obviously wanting some sort of attention. Filia smiled briefly as she walked over to pick him up, mentally thanking L-Sama that there was someone who wasn't yet like the others. It was true, she loved Val like her own son, and in a way she considered having him around better than going through the process of having her own child. She refused to let him grow up as traumatized as he had in a previous life, and for this reason she felt she had to be overprotective at times. "Shh, it's okay," She whispered in a vain attempt to calm him down. Obviously, he had had some sort of nightmare, for he didn't seem to be calming down anytime soon.
It had only been a year since he'd hatched, and already he was able to take on the form of a two-year-old child. This was amazing enough, for only experienced dragons were able to take human form. He was special, though, Filia convinced herself as she studied the orange fabric. Still holding him closely, she stepped back in order to take a seat apon her own bed, the sheets hued a shade of pink, which seemed to be her favorite color. ...That, and perhaps orange. After all, we've seen a lot of orange lately. "You're the only one I'd ever kiss," She commented, proving her point by placing another kiss apon his forehead. Still, he didn't seem to be calming down very much, and soon she found herself humming at the same time.
"Somewhere in the world, somewhere in the dark... I can hear a voice that calls my name," She began to sing a bit with the humming, smiling in satisfaction as he stopped crying, simply to blink up at her. "Might be a memory, might be my future.. Might be a love, waiting for me..." It was here that she paused and pulled her legs up onto the bed, leaning back against the wall as she watched the little child in her arms. "Rock me gently, hold me tenderly... 'Till the morning breaks, night fades away.. I've spent my time in vain, trapped inside pain.. Don't let me down, help me see the light.." '
By now, she was content to see that Val was again beginning to slip off to sleep. She was proud of her accomplishment, for she continued rocking him just a bit. "Feeling, bitter and twisted all along.. Wading through an empty life too long. I close my eyes, listen to the wind.. Longing to belong, to a higher place.." Another, very brief pause. "Let me hear your voice; let me be with you, when the shadow falls down upon me.. Like a bird singing, like a breeze blowing; it's calling me, somewhere in the world.. Somewhere in the world.."
As she finished, she felt herself beginning to drift off as well. Overall, the Christmas hadn't been a complete waste, had it? She'd gotten to see all her friends again, and even though she'd most likely die before admitting it, somewhere in the depths of her mind, she knew that the kiss hadn't been all that horrible. It was there that she finally fell asleep, unaware that a certain trickster priest had been silently watching her this whole time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There, all done! Boy, this took longer than I thought it would.. I've been working on it for four hours straight, almost. I have to say that it turned out longer than I thought it would, too. In any case, I'm proud of it. ^^ I think I met all the requirements, at least.
1. It has to be set around Slayers TRY.
2. The whole group has to be included.
3. There has to be an irrational fear of a tree.
4. Someone has to sing at least once.
5. The word 'Pink' had to be used eight times.
6. The word 'Kiss'- Nine times.
7. The word 'Orange'- Ten times.
As you can see, I had quite the time thinking up a decent fic to go along with this one. After much consideration, though, I managed to pull an actual theme out of the requirements! I don't really care who reads it, but I hope whoever is crazy enough to do so will enjoy it. ^.-
~Meri Kurisumasu~
A rather large pair of golden-hued eyes stared in naive curiosity at the array of boxes of various sizes which seemed to fill a corner of the room. Strands of aqua-hued hair fell just above the boy's eyes as he looked over each individual, colorfully wrapped package. Ribbons of pink, shiny orange wrapping paper.. Each one seemed to be decorated in different colors and different designs. However, the numerous gifts were hardly what he had his attention locked onto.
The small boy had his attention directed upwards, towards the looming, green plant which seemed to rise above even the largest package. It, too, appeared to be decorated, but much more delicately and most obviously with much more detail. A few pink ribbons were tied randomly apon a few of the protruding branches, and orbs of various colors hung from the tips of several others. Long, thick ropes of garland were wrapped in spiral patterns around the tree, setting off its beauty even more. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for the boy failed to see the beauty in such a thing--no, it looked almost forboding in a way, with so many shiny objects, and--
Crash.
One of the colored orbs--an orange one--appeared to have lost its balance apon the tip of a branch, and thus came plummetting to the ground. The sound of glass breaking and flying in random directions sounded like an explosion to the ears of a small child, and it wasn't long before the young witness had burst into a high pitched fit of crying. That simply confirmed his underaged beliefs that the tree was indeed evil--evil, and a worthy enough opponent to avoid all together.
"Val-chan?" Came the hasty call of a female's voice from a room adjacent to the one in which the tree dwelled. Almost immediately, Filia set down the vase of light pink flowers she had been admiring, quickly rushing towards the door. She'd heard the ornament shatter, which only allowed quick fear to spring up. What if he'd been injured by the glass? She shouldn't have left him alone, she quickly scolded herself. Though there was little in the room that could prove fatal, she couldn't help but feel a great need to protect the little Ancient Dragon. Perhaps at times she could even become a little over-protective?
"Oi, I've got him!" Having had a decent headstart, another figure was quick to get there before Filia. Coming from a room nearer the tree, a shorter figure stepped over to retrieve the child. As usual, he wore a thick pair of gloves, black-tipped ears lowering just slightly as he lifted the young boy up. "It's alright, Lord ValGa-...Val-chan." Jiras had indeed had quite a difficult time since Val's hatching, for he still felt the need to refer to the Ancient Dragon as 'Lord ValGaav.' He was managing, though, and hadn't even tried to refrain from using nicknames for Filia. "He's okay, Filia-sama!"
"Will you please stop calling me that?" Filia requested with a sigh, for what seemed like the thousandth time. As she arrived on the scene, she gently reached down to retrieve Val from the fox, at first finding it somewhat difficult. The child was so panic-stricken that he was quick to grab hold of two handfuls of orange fur, doing his best to cling tightly to the one who had first picked him up. After a bit of negotiation, though, Filia was finally able to ease the child away, nearly immediately giving him a quick inspection to assure herself that he hadn't been injured, before laying a kiss to his forehead in an attempt to calm him. Jiras was already working on cleaning up the scattered shards of glass, all too willing to help out without really being told. After all, he owed much to the Golden Dragon.
It had scarcely been a year since Val had hatched from his egg, and even longer since the Slayers had gone their seperate ways. It was almost Christmas, now, and things were bound to get hectic. Lina had recently sent word that she and Gourry were going to drop by for Christmas--which was bad enough in itself, when it came down to food options. Word had gotten out that the Princess of Seyruun had disappeared again, apparently on a search for someone. It figured, anyways--Amelia wouldn't easily let Zelgadis spend another Christmas alone. In the end, there was a high likelihood that they would all 'somehow' drop by for Christmas, which left little time for preparation. As much as she hated to admit it, though, there was a part of Filia that missed them sometimes. The quiet life of a shopkeeper was certainly boring, after travelling with such a dysfunctional group. Yes, she missed them all...
All, except one.
After the battle with Dark Star and everyone had gone their seperate ways, it seemed that they had had a brief time of peace. Nothing had really gone wrong, everything was quiet and peaceful... That is, until Val hatched. The little dragon must have proved in some way interesting to the mazoku race, for hardly a day had gone by after he hatched that Xellos began showing up again. The trickster priest never gave a reason or a specific time for his appearances; he simply came and went as he wished, never releasing enough information for Filia to understand why he came as he did so. Whenever she had enough self-control to ask--rather than use mace-sama--why he kept coming, he simply replied with his cryptic, trademark quote- 'Sore wa himitsu desu.'
"Honestly, that Namagomi needs to mind his own business..." She commented bitterly to herself, having set Val down in a chair once he'd calmed down enough. Still, he eyed the tree wearily, occasionally shaking from unspoken fear.
"Really, Fi-Chan, haven't you heard that it's not healthy to talk to yourself?" Came a sly voice from directly behind her. There was hardly a pause before a high-pitched scream could practically be heard halfway throughout the village.
"NAMAGOMI!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour had gone by since Filia had, in all probability, given Xellos the pounding of his life, and still she was twitching in anger as she sat at a table in the back of the shop, sipping away at a cup of tea in an attempt to calm herself. Xellos never knew when to give up, and he was bound to gain some sort of brain damage if he kept up his frequent 'visits.' In a way, Filia was proud of the recent job she'd done. Over the past few months, she'd slowly become a bit faster, as if expecting him at any time. Therefore, Xellos had had less and less time to react when she pulled mace-sama and swung at him. It was today that she had managed to hit him a good three times before he finally disappeared into that acursed astral plane. The whole time, Jiras had simply watched with a sweatdrop, having used one hand to cover Val's eyes from Filia's violent nature. Indeed, her tail had flown into position in her rage, the pink bow tied to the end swishing back and forth with it.
With Xellos gone once more, it only took Filia a short time to regain her patience. With a light sigh she turned to Jiras, whom was waiting at her side like a loyal dog, simply awaiting orders. Shaking her head, Filia lifted her gaze to the top of the doorway. A mischevious smile touched her lips as she studied the mistletoe which hung from that doorway, as well as several others. Perhaps after all the pain the others had put her through; after all that mental stress, she would finally be able to pay them back. With the same playful grin, she glanced back down to the orange fox. "You know what to do, don't you?"
Eagerly, Jiras gave a quick nod, following her gaze. "Yeah, boss! If we find any of 'em alone under there, we give 'em a quick push! They won't even see the kiss coming."
"Exactly," Filia replied with a nod, once more looking up to the mistletoe, tied with pink lace. Yes, she was very proud of the plan she had set up. This was going to be a long, long Christmas...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lina-san, do you think Filia-san will be happy to see us?" A certain Princess blinked, turning her gaze towards Lina.
"Oh, sure she will!" The sorceress replied cheerfully, glancing over her shoulder at Amelia. Once again she was at the head of the small group, leading each of them down the road of a small village. "Now, where was her shop again..?" In any case, she was fairly eager to reach the shop, for a number of reasons. For one, it was only getting colder the further down in the sky the sun sank. Secondly, the further she walked, the more hungry she seemed to get. It was still mid-winter, and she'd sent a letter roughly a month ago, warning of their arrival. It had been quite a while since the group had gotten back together, and somewhere along the line Lina and Gourry had bumped into Zelgadis and Amelia. Now, the group was very nearly back together, which only meant bad things for the neighborhood...
"Oi, Lina, how much longer?" The familiar, rather clueless voice of Gourry asked from a yard or so away from Lina. The blond simply blinked as he awaited an answer, both arms folded behind his head in a casual anime-style. He, too, was beginning to get hungry, and was rather impatient to reach their destination.
"Lina-san, I don't see why I have to carry this," Amelia complained in an almost whiny tone, lagging a bit behind the group. Over her shoulder was slung a brown back, filled with random items the little group had contributed as Christmas gifts. Of course, most of the gifts the Princess had bought herself, but why did that mean she had to carry it all? It wasn't as if she'd bought -all- of it, though she'd bought a vast majority of it.
Zelgadis heaved a light sigh, but otherwise remained silent. He'd been reluctant to temporarily give up his search for the Claire Bible, but Amelia's persistance had eventually caused him to cave in and agree, though he didn't predict much good coming out of this supposed 'vacation.' The sooner it was over, the better.
Yes, it had been quite a while since the little group had been together, and though most of them had refused to admit it to any extent, they had eached missed the company of the others a good deal. Of course, Amelia hadn't hesitated to give each of them quite the hug upon seeing them again, but she was one of the only ones who was particularly open about expressing her feelings.
"Hey!" Lina soon piped up. "Isn't that it?"
Not even waiting for an answer, the redhead quickly broke into a run, closely followed by each of the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gourry, that's mine!"
"Lina..! That hurts...!"
As expected, the formalities were few. After a few brief 'hello's,' Lina hadn't hesitated to run back towards the room where all the food was spread. She was pleased to find the table covered with different plates--unfortunately none of them were Dragon, though she shouldn't have expected Filia to serve THAT.
Each of them were thoroughly hungry, though the main food fight, as it always was, was between Lina, Gourry, and Amelia. Zel and Filia sat rather quietly, each sipping at their cup of coffee/tea with quite a bit of impatience. Filia was completely annoyed, as she always was, with the table manners of the others, but for once she found it rather welcoming. As mentioned before, she'd missed the chaos that the others produced, and this was a nice change from her quiet life. She'd almost forgotten how bad mealtimes could be...
Fortunately, dinner time never lasted forever, although it seemed like it did when Lina and Gourry were around. Eventually, every plate was swept clean and the dishes were brought to the kitchen to be washed, whenever someone worked up the courage to wash them all. Each of them seemed content enough--Lina was stretching and yawning as she let her gaze fall to the ceiling, not even bothering to help clear any of the dishes. "That was great.." Amelia looked just as content, yawning quietly as she tugged at the pink trimming of her tunic. "Filia-san went through a lot of trouble to do this for us..."
Silently, Filia expelled an angry sigh once the table was cleared. Though she had missed them, the least they could have done was help! ...Still, she did have her back-up plan, and this seemed like as good a time as any to put it into action. "We can all go into the other room now, you know," She suggested, watching carefully as Lina was the first one to get up.
"Sure, whatever," The sorceress agreed, already beginning to wonder what they would do next. Heck, it didn't really matter what they did next--they'd gotten free food, as well as a free place to stay. This was good enough for her, and it wasn't long before she turned and headed towards the door. "Wait for me!" As soon as she'd left, Gourry followed after her. The building in itself didn't look at all very threatening, but who knew? There could be some sort of danger just waiting around the corner, and therefore he had to be at the redhead's side in order to protect her. After all, he was her guardian, wasn't he?
As had been planned, however, Jiras was hiding right outside the doorway, for this doorway just happened to be one of the ones strung with mistletoe. He had been getting a bit bored from the wait, but he managed to stay somewhat alert through it all, for Filia had given him a supposed order, had she not? Gourry was right when he had assumed that trouble could be lurking behind any corner, and his suspicions were only confirmed after the two of them walked through the doorway. Being on the nearer side, the blond swordsman was the first to be tripped and find himself suddenly falling. "Li-" His dismayed cry was cut off as he felt a fist connect with his face. "BAKA!"
Apparently Lina had been more aware than Filia had hoped, and thus her plans for them were decidedly ruined for now. Lina had been quick enough to see what was going on, but had automatically assumed that Gourry was making some sort of advance, and that was absolutely inexcusable in her mind. A very light blush had made its way to her face as she claimed a chair in the other room, arms folded rather tightly across her chest. Her anger was apparent, and Gourry made it a point to take a seat on the other side of the room, whining as he rubbed the pain out of his face. "Lina, I wasn't trying to-" "Don't you ever try anything like that again!" She snapped at him in return, the fire almost apparent as it burned in her eyes. Really, like she'd ever want to kiss him!...This, of course, completely forgetting that specific moment towards the end of Slayers/Slayers Next.
Having stayed where they had been, a sweatdrop now took Amelia and Zel's features as the glanced towards the doorway. Whatever had just happened, it had obviously made Lina angry, and Zel had a fairly good idea of what had happened. After all, what happened around the group that he wasn't aware of? With a light, annoyed sigh, he turned back to Amelia. "You stay here, and wait a few seconds before following." Waiting for her to agree, he finally pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the doorway. As he walked out, he sent an almost challenging look down at the awaiting fox. "Try it; I dare you." Jiras simply sweatdropped, taking a step back as he allowed the chimera to pass. He'd seen what Lina could do, and he wasn't about to take his chances when someone threatened him. He stood and watched helplessly as Amelia passed through next, sending him a rather confused look before following after Zelgadis.
Now, only Filia remained at the table, silently cursing her bad luck. She shouldn't have underestimated Zel and Lina's cunning; she'd been with them long enough to be aware of exactly how smart they were. Her plans to get back at them had very well been ruined, meaning she would either have to give up or find another way to do things. For now, though, she'd simply have to go along with whatever they planned on doing next. Setting her cup of tea down, she rose to her feet before walking towards the room.
"Hello again, my friends!" Came a rather familiar, decently annoying voice as a certain priest once again made an appearance. Again his appearance was random, but he'd assumed that now would be as good a time as any. After all, it had been quite a long time since he'd seen Lina and the others, and he couldn't help but remember how very amusing they could be when they were nudged in a certain direction. A bit of a smirk had once more made its way to his lips as he glanced to each one in particular. Lina, Amelia and Gourry seemed cheerful enough about seeing him again, but Zel retained his usual temper around the mazoku. After all, he had yet to grant Xellos his full trust.
Filia, however, was anything BUT happy to hear Xellos' voice AGAIN.
"Baka Namagomi, when are you going to give up?" She inquired in rage as she made her way into the room.
Well, we all know that Jiras isn't exactly the brightest fox in the world. As he stood next to the doorway and watched Filia come out, he simply stood a mere moment and looked from Xellos to Filia. His own words, 'If we find any of 'em alone under there, we give 'em a quick push,' echoed in his mind, causing him to act on impulse. As Filia stepped out, he automatically obeyed command and gave her quite the shove, not really realizing the extent of what he was doing. Oh, and what a shock Xellos had! I'm very sure he wasn't expecting a kiss as a Christmas present.
Upon stepping out, Filia simply blinked in confusion as she felt something--or someone--push her. She certainly hadn't expected her own plan to turn against her, and therefore she had no time to brace herself for her fall as she fell forward against the one who she claimed to hate so. On instinct she threw her arms out to catch hold of something to break her fall, but how could she have known that she had thrown both arms around the mazoku's neck? The next thing she knew, her head had jerked forward; this, combined with the fact that she had nothing to hold herself up with, were the main factors that contributed to her own lips accidentally pressing against his.
If ever Xellos had been shocked before, this certainly topped the scale. His eyes shot open as he impulsively caught hold of her to keep her from falling further. This, combined with the shock, of course, caused him to sway completely off balance. Due to ryuuzaku bone density, and the fact that they weigh thousands of pounds in dragon form, Filia weighed at least a good fourty pounds more than he did. As she fell forward against him, his bearings were completely lost, as well as his balance, and soon he found himself falling backwards. His back hit the ground with a light thud, stunning him completely. The room as a whole went rather quiet, for all anyone could do was stare in their own shock. What was going on here, anyways?
If one were to say that Filia was surprised, that would have been the understatement of the century. All she could do was lay where she was, slowly coming to her senses to realize exactly what position she was in. Lina was the one who really brought Filia to her senses. "Geeze, Filia, I didn't know you were so... bold."
And that was it. Almost in an instant Filia had jumped to her feet, the color quickly draining from her face, only to be replaced with that of a deep blush. ...Did she just... kiss... HIM? A mazoku? A murderer of her race..? Her worst and most hated enemy?? Why was everyone staring like that??? The vast amount of embarassment that she felt finally reached its peak. Tears began forming in her eyes, and it wasn't long before she'd ran off crying, just as she'd done when Gourry had first looked under her skirt for a tail. This time, though, she had failed to use mace-sama as a punishing tool. No, she'd simply left, at the same time leaving everyone behind to blink and stare in astonishment at what they had just witnessed.
As she ran down the hallway attempting to calm herself, Filia slowed down to a stop, blinking and wiping at her eyes. Slowly she began realizing that she'd completely forgotten Val this whole time, for now she could hear his crying coming from her own room. Trying to slow down her breathing, she headed towards her room. As she reached the door, she noticed in another doorway, another string of mistletoe was hanging. This one was laced with both pink and orange ribbon, the orange seeming to dominate over the pink. Previously, she had been playful in putting up such decorations, but now that she had experienced the 'kiss' involved with mistletoe, she could only think scornfully of the plant. A kiss was bad enough, but a kiss from a mazoku was just... horrible!
Quickly she snapped back to reality as she heard the crying become a bit louder. With a half sigh, she turned and stepped into the room. Beside her own bed was a small cradle in which she had left Val sleeping earlier. A small, orange blanket lay over the child as he whimpered, obviously wanting some sort of attention. Filia smiled briefly as she walked over to pick him up, mentally thanking L-Sama that there was someone who wasn't yet like the others. It was true, she loved Val like her own son, and in a way she considered having him around better than going through the process of having her own child. She refused to let him grow up as traumatized as he had in a previous life, and for this reason she felt she had to be overprotective at times. "Shh, it's okay," She whispered in a vain attempt to calm him down. Obviously, he had had some sort of nightmare, for he didn't seem to be calming down anytime soon.
It had only been a year since he'd hatched, and already he was able to take on the form of a two-year-old child. This was amazing enough, for only experienced dragons were able to take human form. He was special, though, Filia convinced herself as she studied the orange fabric. Still holding him closely, she stepped back in order to take a seat apon her own bed, the sheets hued a shade of pink, which seemed to be her favorite color. ...That, and perhaps orange. After all, we've seen a lot of orange lately. "You're the only one I'd ever kiss," She commented, proving her point by placing another kiss apon his forehead. Still, he didn't seem to be calming down very much, and soon she found herself humming at the same time.
"Somewhere in the world, somewhere in the dark... I can hear a voice that calls my name," She began to sing a bit with the humming, smiling in satisfaction as he stopped crying, simply to blink up at her. "Might be a memory, might be my future.. Might be a love, waiting for me..." It was here that she paused and pulled her legs up onto the bed, leaning back against the wall as she watched the little child in her arms. "Rock me gently, hold me tenderly... 'Till the morning breaks, night fades away.. I've spent my time in vain, trapped inside pain.. Don't let me down, help me see the light.." '
By now, she was content to see that Val was again beginning to slip off to sleep. She was proud of her accomplishment, for she continued rocking him just a bit. "Feeling, bitter and twisted all along.. Wading through an empty life too long. I close my eyes, listen to the wind.. Longing to belong, to a higher place.." Another, very brief pause. "Let me hear your voice; let me be with you, when the shadow falls down upon me.. Like a bird singing, like a breeze blowing; it's calling me, somewhere in the world.. Somewhere in the world.."
As she finished, she felt herself beginning to drift off as well. Overall, the Christmas hadn't been a complete waste, had it? She'd gotten to see all her friends again, and even though she'd most likely die before admitting it, somewhere in the depths of her mind, she knew that the kiss hadn't been all that horrible. It was there that she finally fell asleep, unaware that a certain trickster priest had been silently watching her this whole time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There, all done! Boy, this took longer than I thought it would.. I've been working on it for four hours straight, almost. I have to say that it turned out longer than I thought it would, too. In any case, I'm proud of it. ^^ I think I met all the requirements, at least.