Let's Play Brass Rackets!
by AeroGirl7986
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all! This is my second attempt to a oneshot fanficcie, & it's been fun! It's, of course, a G/L fic, & involves the sport of brass rackets (if this doesn't sound familiar to you AT ALL, you should go see Slayers NEXT! It's a really awesome season!). This takes place after NEXT or TRY (whichever one you want, it sorta doesn't matter here), & Gourry doesn't have the Hikari no Ken, but the Blast Blade. There may be out-of-characterness & some mild risque material ahead! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! With that out of the way, please ENJOY:D
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Slayers or any of its characters. Slayers is owned by Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and some other people. I think that should go without saying, but hey, don't feel like getting sued today!
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Gourry Gabriev and Lina Inverse were dining at a local diner, pit-stopping at a city they have been across once before. As expected, the two were fighting over each other's food, again, for the sixth time today. They both meant to steal the last loaf of baguette, but wound up just having a good old-fashioned tug-of-war fight. Everyone in the restaurant was just staring at them with amazement, not only at the amount of food they've ordered but that they still wanted more.
After that whole ordeal, Gourry and Lina left the diner with full bellies and content looks on their faces; Gourry with a happy-sleepy expression and Lina with a giddy-happy look on her face. They were both wondering aimlessly around the town, slightly having an idea of where they were, since they have been here once before. It was then Lina noticed a large poster on a wall, and took a good look at it. "Brass Rackets? ... Oh yeah, I did that once! Hey Gourry, remember when I did I was participating in that Brass Racket competition?" Lina asked, tugging his sleeve. He started scratching his head, his gaze meeting the sky in thought; Lina immediately regretted even thinking that he would remember something that happened years ago. "Hey, I think I remember! Isn't that when we were looking for that Craile Bible?" Gourry asked, in which Lina punched him in his face, sighing, "Not Craile! It was the CLAIRE Bible, Jellyfish-for-Brains!"
Gourry rubbed his face in pain, while they were walking off. "You know, you really didn't need to do that." Gourry sighed. "Well, when you screw up a name as important as the Claire Bible, I have a right to get mad." Lina huffed. "You know, it's times like that that always make me wonder if you really were raised by a pack of wolves." he replied, still rubbing his face. "Don't be silly." Lina took another look at the next poster she saw, and saw that the winners take home a grand prize. This caught Lina's eye. " ... You know, let's do it!" Lina said, looking up at Gourry. "Uh? Do what?" he replied, looking down at her. "That! The Brass Racket Championship!" Lina smiled, pointing at the Brass Racket poster posted at where they are. Gourry double-taked, just staring at Lina with misbelief that she even suggested that.
G: ... I thought you hated it.
L: Not true! I only got disqualified 'cause damn Xelloss switched my racket with a fake, and I took it out on damn Martina. But, it was actually sorta fun! C'mon Jellyfish, let's enter!
G: But, I don't know how to play!
L: That's OK, I'll teach you! And, the teams are supposed to be mixed, so we can be enter as a team!
G: sigh I guess there's no point on stopping you ...
L: Now you're thinking straight! C'mon!
With that, Lina dragged him to the Official Brass Racket Championship Arena, filled out an application, and within minutes, they were given a large sheet with a large number displayed on it. "What's in nine hells is this?" Lina asked the receptionist. "Those are for your trials, to see if you qualify for the championship. Surely, we can't just accept just anyone for the championship; this is not a competition." the receptionship explained, with a smug tone in her voice. Lina just shrugged, "Alright. When are the trials today?" she decided to play along, as long as she gets a chance at the grand prize. "Today, they'll be one in about an hour." she smiled, while Lina sweatdropped. "An hour? Alright, I guess. Where will they held at?" she asked. The receptionist pointed to her right, "At the entrance, they should guides who will have everything ready. You bring your own equipment, of course." she said, then Lina double-taked herself. She had completely forgot about the rackets! "Alright! Thank you so much for your help, miss! Bye bye, then!" she nervously laughed, pushing Gourry behind his back to start rushing forward. With that, Gourry and Lina broke into a run; meanwhile, the receptionist looked at the application, especially at the names, and a loud scream was heard from outside the arena. "Think she just looked at what my name is!" Lina laughed nervously, still running for a sports store. "Oi Lina! Why are we running?" he asked, running beside her. "Why do you think? We've got less than an hour, and we need equipment!" she explained. They weren't out-of-breath until they reached the sports store and were able to catch their breaths.
Inside, they looked at all the brass rackets they had available, Lina looking at the prices while Gourry looked at all the cool-looking ones. "My God, this sport is a rip-off! I'm contemplating whether I should fireball the owner for these outrageous prices or not! Maybe if I just tell him my name, he'll give it to me for free ... " Lina said to no one in particular, until Gourry interrupted her contemplation when he said, "Oi Lina! Let's get this one!" She then checked the price, and almost fireballed Gourry for even suggesting the idea. "(sputter) LOOK AT THE PRICE! No way I'm buying that overpriced thing, Jellyfish!" she huffed, and looked at the most-reasonably priced racket. "Now this one ain't so bad ... " she said, then picked it up. Gourry looked at it. "Yeah, but it looks so plain." Lina scoffed, "Well, we can't two rackets if they're too expensive, Jellyfish. Here; they have a blue one, alright? I'll take the red." Lina reasoned, handing Gourry the blue racket, and holding onto the racket in her hand. With that, Gourry agreed, and they paid for their rackets, and got a complimentary duffle bag and brass-racket balls for spending over fifty gold. With that, they left the store, Lina mumbling about what a ripoff that store was. "Buck up! After we win the championship, it won't metter, will it?" Gourry consoled, patting Lina on her back. "You think we'll win?" Lina asked, looking up at him. "Sure I do! You've got so much warped mental energy, it'll be a piece of cake for you!" he laughed, until she Fireballed him right then and there.
Back at the arena, Gourry and Lina were ready for their trail. They left their armor wear out in their lockers they have assigned to during the trial, and were wearing the numbers assigned to them, across their torsos. Gourry started to do a few stretches, and Lina followed. "Oi Lina, I stil don't know how to play." Gourry said, in mid-stretch. "Don't worry. As long as I get the balls, we should be A-OK, but, if worst comes to worst, if you have to get one, just try and will a your energy to your racket, than strike." Lina explained, stretching her arms. The two then moved to the court, Lina standing to the upper-right corner of the court, Gourry taking the other side. It was then the trial started.
"Please serve." a voice demanded.
That took Gourry and Lina by surprise, but Lina just shrugged it off, and started harnessing her mental energy. She threw the ball in the air, and striked hard at the ball. When she saw it fly to the other side of the court, she made a confident smile to herself. This is gunna be a cinch, she thought to herself a bit too soon. At that second, the ball bounced back on their side of the court. Lina dove for the ball, and was puzzled as to why it came back. Wait, that's right. This is Brass Rackets; this sport is mainly involving magic, and since we're here to show our stuff, trials like this aren't that far-fetched, Lina reminded herself, as she readied herself for the next serve. She served a mighty serve, and missed the ball. "Gourry!" Lina called. Gourry made an agreeing grunt, as he handled his racket like he used to handle his Sword of Light. Sure enough, his racket was blazing by the time he was his turn to strike. He swinged, and the ball flew to the other side of the court, marking one point for them. "YES! Way to go, Gourry!" Lina high-fived Gourry, jumping around in victory.
"Thank you for your trial. You have passed; congratulations." the voice said, leaving Gourry and Lina dumb-founded.
"Wow, we passed already? Man, that was too easy." Lina said, scratching her head, spinning her racket in her hand. "Maybe our trial was just to see how fast we'd play before we get a point." Gourry suggested. "Hm, can't think of another reason why ... great job with that save, Gourry! For a second, you got me worried that you were gunna miss!" Lina laughed. "Nah. This Brass Racket-thing is no different than handling my old Sword of Light. I didn't think it'd be so alike." Gourry said, looking at his blue racket. "Oh, ... do you ever miss your sword, Gourry? I mean, it was a family heirloom ... " Lina asked out of curiosity, her eyes looking from to the side. "Not really, actually. Anyways, it's not like I don't have a sword anymore. You got me this sweet Blast Blade, and I really like it." Gourry smiled, making Lina blush slightly. "Yeah, it was no problem, Jellyfish. Now, c'mon, LET'S GO EAT!" Lina cheered, rushing out of the arena. "YEAH!" Gourry cheered back.
The day of the championship, Gourry and Lina stepped in the arena. Since after the trial, Lina did help Gourry for the championship, just as he helped her out when she needed it. They felt beyond prepared for this; they even got uniforms for this. Hers was reddish-pink in color, though she would insist it was red, with her last name labeled on her back, with the last two digits of her birth year imprinted below her name. The front on her shirt read, "Trouble is our middle name," and Gourry's shirt read the same. His was sky blue-colored, with his last name and birth year on the back on his shirt. His shorts and her skirt came to their mid-thigh, with a white stripe running alongside the seam and initials imprinted on the front-right side. They were no longer clad with their boots, but new tennis shoes they felt necessary for this. "You ready, Gabriev?" Lina smiled, joking about the last names being on their shirts. "As ready as I'll ever be, Inverse." he smiled back. "Alright, then." They stepped in front of a chart which stated who challenged who. Lina searched for their names, and found it with an unknown pair, which was to be expected. "OK. We're playing these guys, Nels-Rahda, at Gym No. 87 ... Well, here we go!" Lina said, flashing Gourry with a wink, leading him to the right gym.
To sum things up, this took days for the championship to finally start to wrap up. There were some real challenging teams they were paired up against, and some that just made Lina wonder if the trials were somehow rigged, and then there were those who just had strange taste in uniforms. But, with Gourry and Lina standing as the last four, their training was starting to get more rigorous, things were getting a lot more sweatier. By the end of training, both were gasping for air and their legs weakened.
"Well, I think that's enough for today. I'm gunna go take a bath now," Lina said, getting up from where she was sitting, and looked over at Gourry. "Good idea; I think I should take one, too." Gourry said, his shirt already off, exposing his still-heaving chest. Lina just couldn't help but stare at him. His muscles were so ripped and glossy, from all the training, and his long golden hair stood out with his tanned complexion. How she wished she could ... She blinked, flushing, at the all thoughts flooding in her head, involving him and her, as she continually stared at him. "What's wrong, Lina? Do you have a fever?" Gourry asked innocently, now standing in front of Lina, reaching out to feel her forehead. She panicked, and moved out of his hand's way to her face. "Um, NO! I mean, it's nothing! I'm just exhausted, that's all! Well, cya tomorrow!" Lina jittered, as she rushed away from Gourry, heading for her room at the inn. Gourry was left behind to wonder what was that all about, then just decided to forget about it, and rushed behind her.
"Well, this is it! We're only one match away from all that prize! Ya ready?" Lina looked up at Gourry. "Let's win that prize!" Gourry exclaimed, with Lina right beside him. They stepped in the court where their opponents were already waiting for them. The opponents just took one look at them, and started laughing among themselves. Why those creepy ..., Lina went off inside her head. "Gourry, let's show these suckers how to lose HORRIBLY." Lina stated, leaving Gourry confused on how exactly can you lose horribly. The referee commanded the competitors to shake hands with each other, which they complied. Then, the referee pulled out his microphone now announced, "THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS FINE YEAR, AND WELCOME TO THE ANNUAL BRASS RACKETS CHAMPIONSHIP! IN THE BLUE CORNER, OUR RETURNING CHAMPIONS: ORANGE & MARMALADE TIDBIT!" the crowd went wild for the pair, who were assumed to be either brother-and-sister or a married couple. "IN THE RED CORNER, WE HAVE OUR ONE OF OUR NEWEST AND, DARE I SAY, MOST FORMIDABLE TEAMS THIS YEAR: LINA INVERSE & GOURRY GABRIEV!" the crowd went wild for them, also, along with those who started creating a buzz of whispering in the arena. Lina smirked at this expected reaction. "LET'S GIT IT ON!" the referee yelled, at the top of his lung, for a split second, initiating the start of the match.
Lina took her spot of their side of the court, as Gourry took his. It was Blue Corner's turn to serve. The girl, Orange, furiously threw the ball in the air and, with a war cry, smacked the ball to Gourry and Lina. Lina caught the ball, and hit it to Marmalade's direction, in which he swinged it with all his might. "Got it!" Gourry shouted, readying himself for the ball. Gourry smacked the ball back to their side, which went FLEW to Marmalade, which did NOT prepare for the ball, which went SPLAT on his face. The guy feel on his back, with the girl, Orange, panicking for his sake, at his side. "KNOCKDOWN! OUR NEW CHAMPIONS: RED CORNER!" "ALRIGHT!" Gourry and Lina cried, high-fiving each other. "WAY TO GO, GOURRY! YOU DIDN'T LET ME DOWN AT ALL! I'M SO HAPPY! I LOVE YOU -- " Lina's cheerful disposition suddenly disappeared when she said those last three little words. She slapped her hand over her mouth, in pure shock of herself that she even SAID that, and in front of Gourry, no less. Gourry was surprised, too, but not so much as she was. She was laughing at herself, in a very nervous-panicky voice, "Um, I mean, ... haha! I'm joking! Good job, Jellyfish; now, let's go and get our prize!" She turned and started walking ahead. "Um, Lina, I think it's over this way." Gourry said sheepishly, pointing to the opposite direction. "Oh, right. I knew that!" was all Lina could say, without embarassing herself any further.
That night at the inn, things were getting uncomfortable with Gourry and Lina. They've already collected their prize money, and under normal circumstances, Lina would be on Cloud Nine, with all the money they won. She just sighed, as she brushed her hair, looking out on the night scenery, outside her window. Then, a knock interrupted her thoughts. "Who's there?" she called out. "It's me, Lina. Can I come in?" a familiar voice asked. Lina brushed her hair in rapid speed, then unlocked the door lock. "It's open," she said, then Gourry slowly opened the door.
Gourry and Lina stared at each other for a second, then she started to blush. "Well, isn't there something you needed to talk about?" Lina asked impatiently, turning her head to make sure he couldn't find her blush. "Um, well, about this afternoon, --" Gourry started, then Lina twitched. "That was a joke! A joke! I was just joking around, that's all!" Lina jittered, waving her hands. Gourry's face softly sunk, clearly showing depression from her answer. "Gourry ... ?" Lina asked, noting his sad expression. "I see. Sorry to disrupt you." Gourry said, and proceeded to walk out the door until ... a small hand grabbed his. "No, I interrupted you earlier. Tell me, what's wrong?" her crimson eyes looking into his blue eyes, with concern. "Well, this afternoon, when you said you love me, when I hear that ... I was relieved." Gourry said simply. "What do you mean, relieved?" Lina had to ask; she just had to know. "Because ... well, Lina ... you see, I ... I love you, too." Gourry said, wrapping his arms around her. Lina blinked, not just as a reaction to Gourry's sudden embrace, but also at this new information. "You ... love me?" Lina whispered. Gourry nodded. Lina smiled, and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad. For the longest time, I thought you only saw me as a little girl. Gourry, I love you." she said, looking up at him, as he was looking down on her. Then, Lina slowly closed her eyes, and left her head tilted up as she was. Gourry just looked at her for a moment, then it finally dawned on him what she was doing. He closed his eyes, and lifted her up in his arms, and kissed her, ... deeply.
The next morning, with their prize money in check, they ventured off to the next town, hoping to find another bandit hideout to raid on the way. Once out of the city, and in the forest, Gourry reached out for Lina's hand. "Gourry?" Lina asked, looking up at him. "I know that you don't like to show affection in public, but the privacy is this forest is enough, isn't it?" Gourry asked, almost pleading to Lina that he wanted to hold her hand. "Aww, Jellyfish ... " Lina sighed, then interlaced her fingers with his, and smiled up at him. "It may not be as private as you think, but I think I'll let it slide this time," Lina winked, letting him know she was teasing. So, hand-in-hand, the two made their way to the next, in search of treasure, the possibility of taking up another odd job, and more food.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: HEY EVERYBODY! So, how'd you guys like this one? I had the idea for a while, but I have another G/L in the works, but it's getting super long, so I decided to finish this as a sort of rest break! So, there was a bit of raciness in this one, but nothing too bad, methinks! Not too much mushiness in this one, though, but the moment with Lina blurting out that she loved Gourry was sweet, I think. Umm, ... not too much commentary needed for this fic; just the basic concept of Brass Rackets: it's a sport that's alike to tennis, except instead of scoring points, it's totally allowed to simply knock out one of the players in the opposing team, & you advance to the next challenge! It's pro'lly real fun, but I'd be scared to have Lina Inverse as an opponent! Originally, I wanted Lina to put that necklace Gourry gave her, from her first fic, for good luck; but, I figured, if I did, then that would mean that this fic would be considered a kind of sequel & G&L would already be a sort-of couple, which really isn't what I intended; so, in the end, I cut that out, and I think it worked out pretty good this way. The uniforms, ... the concept I had for some time now, I'm surprised I actually remembered that I wanted "Trouble is our middle name" somewhere on their uniforms, especially on Lina (I think it suits her, don't you? ;) )! I wanted Lina to wear shorts, as her uniform, but I remembered in the episode when she played Brass Raskets, she wore a skirt, and so did all the other girls, so I figured 'Better give Lina a skirt; she doesn't want to be an outsider!' Having their last names on the back of their uniform, classic; it just had to be done! I also have a jersey from Seniors' Powderpuff Football, which I wear around the house usually during cold seasons; regretfully, it doesn't have my last name on it but a motto which could be interpretted as a sexual innuendo ... ((ahem) (cough, cough) Get Hard, Go Deep) So, I think that's all the notes needed for this, so don't forget to review, tell me what you think & all, & stay tuned for my next fanficcie coming soon:D