Chapter One
There was an explosion that rocked through the marketplace. It was contained, and minute compared to some, but an explosion was an explosion.
Both Lina and Gourry stopped in place. Lina had stopped, because she started feeling a sinking in her gut. Gourry stopped, because he was eyeing Lina closely.
Lina caught him staring. She glared at him. "What are you staring at?" she demanded, her voice low and threatening.
Gourry peered at her closely. "You. How did you make that explosion? I didn't see you raise your hands or anything!"
Lina slammed her fist onto the top of his head as hard as she could in response. He squawked and toppled over. Lina gritted her teeth, her eyes fixed on the short distance away. She KNEW where the explosion had come from, and it wasn't her.
Zephilia was crowded at this time of year. The wine festival was close to starting, and it managed to attract a slew of tourists from all around the continent, even some from further south, beyond the old barrier. Lina looked around guardedly, catching a glimpse of a few familiar faces, only older, but mostly finding herself swamped by new ones, making her feel like she had been gone far longer than six years.
She waited until Gourry came to and dragged himself off the ground before she spoke. "That wasn't me, jackass," she said. "But I actually know who it was."
Gourry looked fearful. "You mean there is someone out there who is just as violent and as careless as you?" he wondered.
Lina grinned. "You better believe it." She grabbed his hand and dragged him. "Let's go!"
It was only a short distance away, but for some reason, it seemed longer. Her hometown hadn't changed that much, but Lina still felt a surge of nostalgic melancholy seize her at the sights that had. She found herself feeling younger, wondering if anyone had remembered her, and how she would feel upon hearing if they did or didn't. It was troubling.
"No, I DON'T accept the lie that it fell 'accidentally' into your BAG," came a loud, deep and obviously feminine voice. "Nor do I accept the lie that you feel CHEATED. I'm the one who was cheated, you dirty thief."
Lina blanched, then went pink, then grinned. She and Gourry rounded a corner, and there it was, in its full glory. It had grown bigger in the time she had been gone, but the setup was the same: a modest, hole-in-the-wall, catch-as-catch-can store. It had an open front, like a stall, but was obviously attached to the row of buildings surrounding it. It even had an upper floor, which Lina knew better than anyone housed modest but nice living quarters.
Standing behind the main counter was a tall, slender, auburn-haired older woman. Her hair was unruly and tied back into a plait, and her eyes, which were dark brown, were wide and flashing with her passionate words. She wore simple clothes, in plain colours, and she looked ready to take a bite out of someone.
Standing in front of her, were three people; two of them were obviously police officers. The third, sandwiched between them, was a small, shamefaced young woman, looking both irate and embarrassed all at once. She was, obviously, singed from head-to-toe.
"You're way too old to be such a baby," the woman continued, jabbing a finger in the young woman's direction. The young woman scowled. "Go find a job and be honest for once!"
"Your prices lack real honesty!" the girl shouted back. "You're the dirty one, you cheapoid!"
The woman went bright red, her eyes flashing. Lina and Gourry stared, watching the woman's eyes grow smaller and smaller in her rage. Without a word, the woman held out her hand, and a spark of white light emerged, crackling into lightning.
The girl suddenly cowered, wincing, and the two officers moved in front of her. "Ma'am," one said, bravely. "There's no need for further violence. We just needed to make sure she was the one that stole from you."
"Obviously!" The woman answered, rolling her eyes and clenching her fist, extinguishing the magic. "When have I ever been a liar, you morons? Get lost!"
The two officers bowed, and dragged the girl away.
The woman blew her bangs out of her face, her hands on her hips, watching them go.
"Wow, that was familiar," Gourry said lightly.
Lina shoved him, hard, to the side. He barely managed to shift away from the nearest stall, which would have been disastrous if he had made impact.
With a swallow, Lina started forward. making sure that she got into the woman's field of vision. It took a moment, but soon the woman, upon seeing her, called out, "No discounts for bony red-heads!"
Lina looked up, puffing out her cheeks, and the woman laughed, full-bodied and throaty. Lina crossed her arms over her chest. "That was mean!" she snapped.
The woman, in one fluid movement, jumped over the counter and stood in front of Lina. With a laugh, she grabbed the smaller woman in her arms and squeezed. Lina started laughing, hugging back.
Gourry stood back, smiling a little. He felt a little awkward, and a little shy, but he also felt a little touched.
"Mama, Mama, check it out!" Lina said in her bragging voice, pulling away and reaching into her mantle. She pulled out a bag of coins, and her mother raised her eyebrows. "From ONE haul," Lina crowed triumphantly.
"You're STILL pillaging from bandits?" was the reply. "Haven't you found a real job?"
"That is my real job," Lina answered sulkily.
"No, attacking bandits should only be done when money is tight," her mother answered back. She smacked her daughter lightly on the top of her head with her palm. "I would have thought you had settled down by now!"
Lina snorted. "Please?" But she went pink, and looked a little to the side at Gourry, who also blushed.
Her mother reached down and grabbed Lina's cheeks, tugging slowly, her face stern. "You still act like the brat that left here!" she scolded. "Go away and come back when you're grown!"
"Uh," Gourry started forward without helping himself. "If you do that, she may bite you!"
Both mother and daughter froze, their eyes on Gourry. Gourry suddenly went beet red, realising that perhaps he should have waited until he was introduced before he butted in.
"Excuse me, young man, but who the hell are you?"
Lina slapped her mother's hands away. "Mama, don't be rude, he's with me!" she protested. She grabbed Gourry's hand and dragged him over. "This is Gourry, Gourry Gabriev," she said. Gourry heard it in Lina's voice, and felt so touched he wanted to melt: it was the same tone of voice she used when bragging.
Her mother heard it too. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Well, nice to meet you," she said, sounding the opposite. "I'm Lina's mother, Luka."
"N-nice to meet you," Gourry admitted awkwardly. If he were to be honest, he would admit that Luka scared him a little.
"Hey, hey," Lina burst out, still holding onto Gourry's hand tightly. "Where's Daddy? Is he helping with the wine festival like always?"
Luka shook her head, rolling her eyes. "No. He's at home, sulking."
Lina laughed. "What did you do to him?"
Luka grinned, waving a hand a little. "I may or may not have insulted his skills as a smith," she admitted.
Lina winced. "Oh, man, so he's going to be self-righteous and whiny when I see him, isn't he?"
"Only around me," Luka agreed cheerfully.
Lina shifted, then looked a little skittish. "And Luna-onee-san?" she asked quietly.
Luka raised both eyebrows this time. "Working, today. You better be careful. Once word gets out that you're here, she's going to get you."
Lina paled. "It's been six years and she's still pissed?"
Luka threw up her hands. "You showed a picture of her naked!" she declared.
Gourry stumbled. "You did what?!" he cried, his eyes wide. Lina looked up, then to the side, scratching her cheek and looking panicky.
Luka smirked. "In order to make some money for her trip, my dear little daughter, somehow, projected a still of her older sister, naked, in the towns square, charging admission for people to see it."
Lina went beet red, dropped Gourry's hand, and hid her face behind her hands. Gourry stared at her, suddenly impressed. "No wonder she wants to kill you," he breathed out.
Luka laughed. "Ah, she told you about that, huh?" she asked. "How long have you know Lina-chan?"
Gourry smiled. "Forever," he blurted out. Lina toppled to the ground, her humiliation complete. Gourry blinked, blushed, then stuttered out, "Er, sorry, not forever, it just seems like...uh...five years! Five years!"
"Death!" Lina shrieked, lunging at him. She made impact, taking him down onto the ground, grabbing two chunks of his hair and pulling as hard as she could. He yelped pathetically.
Luka, oddly, took it all into stride. "I don't blame you for feeling like five years is forever," she said. "I had to deal with her for thirteen. Imagine how long THAT felt!"
"What a horrible way to welcome me home!" Lina wailed, her eyes watery.
Luka jabbed a finger onto Lina's nose. "With no warning, no word, and no souvenirs, it's the least you deserve!"
Lina scowled. "I wanted to surprise you!" she protested.
"Ow," Gourry said belatedly. "Please stop?"
Lina tugged on his hair harder. "Look, he's my souvenir!" she concluded, grinning.
Luka, despite herself, laughed. It was a pretty ridiculous scene, after all. "Listen, I have a few more hours before close-up," she said, finally relenting. "Go on in and freshen up."
Lina jumped to her feet. "Are you cooking?" she wondered, her eyes wide.
Luka snorted. "No, I love my family, although you would have deserved it."
Gourry stood up, rubbing his head. Lina grabbed onto his arm again, dragging him towards the store. She waved to her mother, who waved back and jumped the counter again.
Lina stopped in front of a door that was hidden a bit away from the main stall. She pushed it open and dropped Gourry inside, rushing in and laughing happily. Everything was the same inside the house. It even smelled the same! She ran up the stairs.
Gourry watched her go, mystified. She seemed pretty happy to be home, he thought. Maybe we had put off the trip way too long. Lina seems pretty happy here.
He rubbed the back of his head a little, feeling out of place. He looked around, and saw that, despite the dinginess of the outside, the inside was actually really neat and tidy. The main floor was used mainly for storage, so there were piles of random things nestled everywhere, but they were organised. There were some windows, which let in a decent amount of light, and the air smelled faintly like pumpkin pie.
Carefully, he walked up the stairs. What he found above was again different, but homey and pleasant. The main room was wide and airy, and had more windows than below. It was all one level, so the bedroom, dining, and kitchen areas all shared the same space. The furniture was used but well-kept, and the floors were hardwood, with colourful rugs placed over them.
Gourry was impressed. It was small and a little crowded, but it looked like a nice place to live. He could easily imagine Lina living here, growing up here, having fun here...
"Gourry, Gourry!" she called excitedly. He blinked, following the sound of the voice down the hallway, and found her sitting in the middle of a bedroom, crouching before a somewhat dusty bookshelf. Lina grinned and held up an old, somewhat tattered notebook. "My old journal!" she giggled.
Gourry's eyebrows went up, and he darted forward, grabbing for it. Lina leaned backwards and managed to move it out of his reach before he could grab it. "Don't be rude!" she snapped. "You'll get your chance!" She opened it, leafing through a few pages. "I wanted you to hear what I wrote before I left."
Gourry dragged himself up from the floor and sat down on the bed, cupping his chin in his hands, looking too eager to hear what was written. Lina raised her eyebrows at him, but read it anyway.
"'I'm leaving tomorrow!'" she began, the laughter in her voice. "'Finally I can learn more magic and be at the top of my game! But I'm out of cash...maybe onee-san can help with that?'"
Gourry laughed. "That's horrible," he said.
Lina replaced the journal, nodding. "Of course it was! But," she looked at him with a sly grin. "I did get the money."
Gourry threw himself back onto the bed, feigning utter exasperation. "You're too much!" he moaned, placing a hand on his forehead.
Lina leapt up, tackling him onto the bed. "Oof," he wheezed out. "You're not that bony, you know."
Lina growled, but stayed where she was. She looked to the side for a moment, then looked back. "Hey, Gourry," she said softly, her eyes wide. "Do you really mind being here?"
He shook his head. "It's a little scary, especially with your mom," he admitted. "But it's also sort of nice to picture you small."
Lina rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "The truth is, I have an ulterior motive."
"Oh?" Gourry wondered, stroking her hair idly.
She nodded. "You heard from my mother that my dad is a smith, right?"
Gourry nodded this time, and she continued. "And my mother is a sorceress," she added, hoping that he would catch on without much prompting.
"Yeah, no kidding!" he breathed out. "She sure fried that thief good!"
"Yes she did," Lina said slowly, trying to keep patient. "But that's not my point. My parents sell a bunch of crap, but they're known for their magical weaponry."
"Like the sword that Zel has?" Gourry wondered, pulling up a handful of her hair and taking a long inhale. Lina felt that, but let it go. It was a little flattering that he liked the smell of her hair.
"Mmhm," she agreed, feeling a little drowsy, despite herself. The trek had been long, and they hadn't had many stops at inns along the way. "So I was thinking that we could, you know, with their help, make you a sword, just for you."
Gourry's hand froze. Lina blinked, then looked up. He looked surprised, his eyes wide. "You would really do that for me?" he asked, his voice soft.
She was touched. She reached up and poked one of his eyes, forcing him to close it. "I promised, didn't I?" she chided gently.
Gourry smiled. The look on his face shook her to the core. It was so open, so loving, so vulnerable. She knew that he was only like this with, and yet it still never failed to amaze her. She smiled back.
Gourry pulled her closer, tugging her upwards so that their faces were level. He gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Thank you," he said softly.
"You're welcome," Lina replied, wrapping her arms around him and pushing herself close. The bed smelled musty and was rather small, but it was being rather accommodating for two people squished together.
"This is making me sleepy," Gourry admitted, his voice thick.
"Shh," Lina mumbled, her eyes already closed. Gourry obeyed, feeling his own eyes close. It was only moments later when the small, dusty room was filled with the sound of snoring.