Seyruun High Jinx Summer Special
The Slayers: Lina Zelgadiss Xelloss Gourry Amelia Val Filia Sylphiel
~*~ Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special! ~*~
Part Twenty
"We're stoppin' at Filia's and that's that!" Val growled. He could overhear Xelloss and Gourry chattering about checking out the new place. Zelgadiss probably was in on it too, but he wasn't chattering. Inserting a few well-placed words now and then, was more like it from him. Val was a bit excited as well, but everything was starting to take a back seat to Filia, in his mind. It was even getting too hard for him to deny it anymore, so he didn't. He got mad instead.
"Val, it's been…a long few days." It was Lina's turn to start in now. "Don't get me wrong, Val I'd like to see Filia and all, but…" she leaned in close to his ear (not so much of a trick since she was sitting right behind him) and hissed, "I'm not sure how much more of a certain person's company I want to share, if you get my drift?"
Oh, he did. A little of Xelloss went a long way with him, too. In fact, Zelgadiss could tolerate Xelloss better than anyone else could, and even he nearly murdered the guy more than once after spending a bit more time in his company than was good for him. So, Val certainly knew what Lina was getting at. Didn't matter none; that is, not enough to turn from his intended path.
"Sorry, babe," he tossed at Lina for fun. "I got the wheel and this is my turn to choose our road. Sing: Fil-iiia! We're a'comin'!"
Lina grumbled a bit but sat back, too worn out to argue further.
"What you need is…lunch!" Amelia suggested a wee bit too brightly for Zelgadiss, sitting at her other side.
"Ah, gods…" he groaned. "I'm getting car sick already!" The thought of food was nauseating. He rarely got car sick, but he had mixed feelings of dread and expectation for the upcoming weeks before classes started. Moving in…new computers…meeting with his advisor—his and Xelloss' advisor—at the university…seeing if he remembered any of the bands songs for the upcoming Battle of the Bands, and if he tried harder he knew he could come up with a thousand more things to worry about. Computers. They'd need those, too. Better make a list. He took out his notepad, a new one he picked up at the beach, and mechanical pencil and wrote: 3 computers. He glanced out the window, then he added: desks, Xelloss' contacts, new strings for guitar, and Xelloss' drum set ordered back before…the house burned down? That far back?
"Mr. Zelgadiss?" he heard Amelia's plaintive voice call him out of his reverie. "Look, there's the settlement road. We're almost there!"
"Ah…yes we are." Zelgadiss put away his things and sat up a bit straighter. The fresh air might help.
Val loped up to her door like he owned the place and knocked loudly. "I know yer in there…Open up! Er…Hello Mrs. Ul Copt. I didn't think anyone could hear me." He actually blushed a tiny bit at his preposterous presumption.
She opened the door just the same, with a smile and a chuckle. "Hello yourself, Val. Why don't you come on in and watch Quentin for me while I go tell Filia that you're here. Oh, I see the whole gang's here. Well, the more, the merrier!"
"Sometimes…" he muttered under his breath.
Soon 'the whole gang' was indeed there, taking turns playing with Filia's baby brother and watching him crawl around on the floor.
"You have to watch him all the time, now that he can move around on his own," Mrs. Ul Copt told them as she passed tall glasses filled with iced herbal tea to her guests. "If you're not careful he'll try and put anything he finds into his mouth!"
"Sounds like Lina," Zel muttered, then blushed when he noticed that he'd said it aloud.
"What was that?" Lina questioned her good friend. They hadn't been trading barbs and witty smart-aleck remarks lately and it was something she missed. "Were you offering to help Filia's mom out in the kitchen just now?"
Zel looked towards the older woman. She nodded, "If you'd like. Lunch will go much faster that way."
Zel sighed, and then stood up. Might as well.
The next thing he knew, he could hear raised voices in the front room—Lina and Filia's.
"All I said was…it wasn't like she did anything so terrible to deserve to get treated so badly," Filia was crying. "She wants us all to come to her birthday party and be friends again. And I think we should!"
Lina muttered something undecipherable for even Zel's extraordinary hearing to make out.
"Well, it's not like Xelloss was in love with her or anything!" That was Filia again. "You shuddup, Xelloss! You weren't and you know it! Why? How do I know it's true? 'Cause I know that you were in love with someone else, that's why! And you still are!"
"Aw, come on Filia," Lina drawled. "Kiki's been gone a long time. Don't start dredging up that old romance…And besides, this isn't just about…"
"Kiki?! Kiki?! Who's talking about Kiki?!" Filia screamed, interrupting Lina at the same time.
Well, the two of you are screeching about her…Zel shook his head.
Xelloss was trying to silence them both with some sputtering of 'its okay…leave me out of this…I'll go to the party if you just stop…'
Too bad for you. They are not listening anyway. Just let them run your life and settle things…Zel smirked to himself as he stacked the assorted sandwiches on a platter.
"It's you, Lina! You! Xelloss is in love with you! He has been all year! Sylphiel knew that. She knew that and you must have, or you're blinder than he is without those stupid, dorky-looking glasses on!" Filia fumed.
Zel dropped the platter, scattering food all over the floor. "Oh joy…" he moaned aloud. "This just gets better and better."
Gourry skittered over to help Zel pick up the food. "Whatta way ta end the vacation, huh?" he asked Zel.
Lina, red-faced, sat blinking on the floor. Amelia, jumped into the fray to add her unwanted opinion, "You're just saying that 'cause he's never drooled over you like half the guys at school! There's no reason to try to hurt him or Lina over…what? What is it you want?"
That was a good point.
Xelloss sank deeper into the couch and pulled a pillow over his face with a whiny, "Don't mind meeee…"
Filia deflated a little. "While you guys were at the beach…having a great time…Sylphiel came to see me. I mean, we're still friends and all. She's really sad about losing you guys as friends and wants to make it up to you. If it's any consolation, she and Tarou Yamada are really nuts about one another. I think she's going to be happy with him. Like, it wasn't all just a stupid act on her part or anything."
Lina brushed away her bangs, which were in need of a trim and contributing to her irritability. "Make it up to us, how?" she asked.
"She's inviting us all to the shrine for her birthday, which is the same as mine, you know. There'll be food and…"
"Tarou what's-his-name will be there, I take it?" Lina asked.
"Naturally, Lina, he's going to stay there all year until they get married, I think that's the plan…" Filia settled into a chair and stared out the window. "I think she should be able to stay in the band, too."
Lina started to object, but Amelia stopped her. "I think so too! We need her in back-up in case…one of us can't sing or something."
Lina looked thoughtfully between the two other girls, then said, "Yeah? Well, we do have that band-battle contest coming up and we don't have time to re-tool our stuff…"
Zelgadiss added, "We hardly have time to practice as it is! Everything's stored at Amelia's, but…an amp might be dead or a cable broken, who knows?"
Lina blasted him with a withering glance, "Thanks for the encouraging words, Mr. Gloom-and-Doom. All right…we gotta practice tomorrow…Do I hear any objections?"
She had. Val, Xelloss (who had been extremely contrite for the past few minutes), and Zelgadiss were all pointing out at once that they had to get their house in order, such as it was, first.
"I have to practice with the Suzaku Seven tonight!" Xelloss gasped. Up until that minute, he had completely forgotten his promise to temporarily stand in for Nuriko .
A severe look from Lina brought him up immediately. "B-but I can make our practice as well."
"Car!" Zelgadiss said unexpectedly.
"Car," Lina repeated with the barest hint of disgust. "How 'bout… 'dust'…or…'snog-warts'? Damnit, Zel, contribute to the process here!"
He removed his notebook from his pocket and his pencil, then added to his list: Car, two. He snapped it shut and met Lina's gaze. "Xelloss and I need a way to get back and forth from the university to the high school since the local-funding cuts have eliminated the bus transportation. Our classes there start next week, or had you forgotten?" He gave Lina a little twisted smile.
Xelloss groaned, "Nooooooooooooooo…"
Lina actually softened at the news, "Oh…yeah. That's kinda rough for ya, huh?"
Val, who had been pacing like a caged lion all this time, grunted, "Guess we gotta go…"
"We should eat first," Gourry reminded them. He looked from the messy platter to Lina.
"I'll take those and toss them out," Zel offered, reaching for the platter of fallen food from his place on the floor.
"No you won't!" Lina said sharply. "That's my lunch!"
"But it was on the floor…" Zel began, and then shrugged. "Heh, like I said before, you have the eating habits of a baby…" But one look at Lina's hungry, angry face caused him to clamp up. She was in no mood for teasing.
"Well," Zelgadiss sighed as he stood from his kneeling position. "I'm not interested in food. You go ahead. I need to take Beast for a walk…I'll be back shortly, then if you want to go, just tell me." And with that, he left the house.
The walk must have done him some good as well as relieved the old wolf dog, because when he returned to Filia's house, he was whistling a tune and almost smiling.
"Zel?" Lina called out as the door opened. "Was that you? I didn't know you could whistle?"
"Really? Well, I guess there are a few things you don't know about me then," he smirked her way. Of course, he had just mastered the art of whistling recently, but there was no reason to tell her that and give her the satisfaction of knowing that she actually did know everything about him that he did. "So, are we leaving?"
"Yeah, Val and Filia should be back any sec. They're off talkin' to Milgasia. Amelia took Xelloss out for a stroll. Beast could probably track them down."
Zel looked at the sleeping dog at his feet then at Lina, "You say that now, but I think he's out for an hour at least. I'm getting some tea."
"I'll have some too, then," Lina said. "And while you're at it…"
"Yes, yes…I'll find a little something to go with it," Zel sighed tragically, then dragged his feet dramatically out to the kitchen.
While filling the teapot with water at the sink, Zel noticed Xelloss and Amelia walking about the back yard. Xelloss seemed to be agitated and Amelia reassuring. "Good," he thought aloud. "Let him open up to her for a change. She could use a challenge like him. Besides, they deserve one another." He froze. What kind on nonsense was he thinking? A cold chill ran down his spine. No. No, he was not pairing up two friends simply talking together. "What kind of mindless idiot am I turning into now?"
"I dunno, but you sure are taking a long time with that tea!" Lina snapped by his ear.
He jumped a foot and spewed an oath or two, "Gahhh!" What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"
"What are you doing snooping on them, huh?" she grinned and titled her head toward the couple out the window. It was so satisfying to get his goat!
Zel blushed slightly and tended to the tea making process. "I wasn't 'snooping'. I looked up and they were there. A-and the tea water only boils so fast. I have nothing to do with that."
"Geesh, sooo defensive," Lina patted his arm. "Where the cookies? There gotta be some someplace."
"In the cookie jar." Zel pointed to a large ceramic tub.
"Oh, yeah sure. Hide 'em in a…what the hell do ya think this ugly thing is?" Lina looked at the thing dubiously.
"A Dragon."
"Dragon?" Lina sniffed. "I suppose. So, you really have lots to do, eh?"
"Yes. More than I care to think about, so I've resorted to writing things down as they occur to me. I'll just drag Val and Xelloss around and see that they get what they need as well. It'll all get done, but the bloom of summer is off the rose, as they say," he lowered his head and poured two cups of tea. "Sugar? Er, ah…honey, I guess is what they have here."
"Yeah, why not?" Lina smiled and helped herself to a couple brown heaping spoonfuls, then stuck the sticky spoon in her mouth. "Ya know, Zel, you're a pretty nice guy, despite yer tough luck."
He smiled, but couldn't meet her eyes.
"I'll miss you, er you guys, around school this year," she added.
"Yeah? Well, I plan to be there for lunch and the rest of the day, so don't go getting too misty-eyed," he chuckled.
Lina whapped him on the arm as she yelled, "Misty-eyed? I'll give you misty-eyed!" She punched him a few more times, without any real malice, before he took her pile of cookies and held them out of her reach. "Hey!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen Gourry waking up from his slumber and now, entering the kitchen. Zel gauged the distance, and then flung the cookies at him with a shout. "Catch, Gourry!"
"Whoa, cookies! Thanks, man!"
"Those were miiiiiine!" Lina wailed. She flew to Gourry and tried to grab them out of his hand. Too late. He easily held her off with one huge hand while cramming the last of the crumbs into his mouth with the other.
"Got any more there, Zel?"
"In the jar. Help yourself. The Dragon one. Ah, speaking of dragons…here comes Val and the deadly Dragon Lady herself," Zel smirked.
"She sure's got it in fer Xelloss," Gourry remarked. He reached in for a handful, passing Lina a few to replace the ones he had eaten.
"Sensitive as that ice mallet she likes to hit him with," Zel noted. He was staying away from the obviously uncomfortable romance topics. There was nothing he could say to help; there was no denying Xelloss' feelings for Lina, but Gourry wore his feelings on his sleeve as well—and then there was Lina's own opinions. "So, we're all going to Sylphiel's birthday party, correct?"
"Filia's too," Gourry added. "What should we get them?"
"How about a big box of tact, sensitivity and something interesting for them to talk about for a change?" Zel asked.
"They sell that?" Gourry asked with a smile.
"Not that I've seen, but...it's a thought."
Meanwhile, Xelloss and Amelia were having a heart-to-heart outside.
"Her parents must take the teaching offers from the University this year. She says they would like to find a house to buy, but they're so particular! They really would like to stay in the area near her uncle's shop, Polly's Pies. Oh…of course you remember the place, Mr. Xelloss! In Kiki's last e-mail, things were starting to get desperate!"
Xelloss had been teasing her a bit by pretending not to remember his previous neighborhood, but then he had a clever idea. "Would they consider building their own house, do you think?" Xelloss asked.
"Well, I think so, but there's no place in that neighborhood. You know-- you lived there! Everything's all built up!" Amelia said.
"Not my lot," he smiled.
Her eyes widened with understanding. "Oh, Mr. Xelloss! Do you think you'd sell the place where you once lived…to Kiki's family? That would be wonderful! Wouldn't it? They'll have to rent something temporarily, of course, but then…she'd be so close! Oh, Mr. Xelloss, I could kiss you!" she cried jubilantly.
"Er, ah…not with Mr. Zelgadiss looking out the window," Xelloss laughed at her blush. She had turned to look, then saw that he wasn't really there, before registering Xelloss' prank.
"You!" she said, still blushing but smiling at herself as well. "I shouldn't let you tease me so!"
"I can't help it," he smiled, purple eyes glittering. "I like pretty girls."
"Now you're flirting! You are just awful!" she said in mock annoyance. "So, can I write her tonight and say you have an offer to make?"
He flipped out his cell phone, "Why not give her a call and find out if they're interested at all? That way I can call a realtor and see what a reasonable price would be…Never mind…tell them they can have it…Zelas owed them that much, and more…I'm sure…"
"Are you sure?!" Amelia gasped. "They can't turn that down, I bet! Oh, Mr. Xelloss, you really are a sweet guy!"
"Just watch your teeth, then," he smiled and started punching in the overseas number, by memory. "That is…if you're still set on kissing me!" He giggled.
"Mr. Xelloss!"
"Okay, Val, I'll apologize…but to Lina only," Filia said as they turned up the walk back to her house. "Everything I said was true. That--Xelloss somehow convinced Lina that his feelings were soooo hurt that she blew up. I wouldn't say this to anyone else, but I think Lina likes Xelloss back but doesn't know what to do about it, especially with Gourry and Zelgadiss after her as well. Well, that's just what I think…I don't know that as a fact. But, like, Gourry must be relieved to have Sylphiel not hanging on him any more. Now he's just got to send that--Xelloss packing…Zel won't get in his way, I'm certain…He's into that 'honor' crap like Gourry…Val?"
Val had been listening, grunting every so often when she paused for air. What those other guys did or didn't do wasn't of much concern to him. "Oh, yeah…whatever. I, um…wrote a poem…for you…kinda. Would you like to hear it?"
Damn. He wasn't going to do that, but when she turned her big blues on him like that, his brain went to mush and he said the only thing that came to mind.
"A poem? For me?" Her expression yielded to one of contentment. "Oh, read it please?"
"Um, sure…ah…it's not really all that good, but I was sitting by the fire and thinking about …how much I wished you coulda been there too, ya know?" he muttered and withdrew the little book and read. When he was finished, he looked down at her face. She was smiling, happy. Score one for his mushed brain!
"So will you guys all have new phone numbers or share one?" Filia asked him as they entered the house.
"If the phone company got their act together, we should have the same number as we had at Xelloss' place, for the kitchen and answering service. We still got our cell phones," Val told her.
"Good, I don't think I know how to re-program my cell phone," she frowned at it as she dumped the batteries into the re-charger and slipped in fresh ones.
"I do," he said in a low voice by her ear. "I'm getting' real good at tech-nol-o-gee. We gotta go out fer new computers tomorrow, or mebbe tonight, if we got time. I want a CD burner fer doin' music downloads."
"Good idea!" Lina said as she, Gourry, and Zel joined them in the front room. "Ya wanna DVD player to watch stuff in private, too, I betcha!" She gave Val a wink and a cackling laugh.
"If we're going to do that tonight," Zel grumbled, "We'd better find out what Xelloss' schedule is with the singing seven. The store is open to ten, but who knows how late he'll be practicing."
At that moment, Amelia flew into the house, dragging Xelloss by the hand. "You'll never guess what we just did!"
"Ah…" gulped Gourry.
Zel responded tersely, "I wouldn't try…"
Filia snorted, "I hope it's not what I'm thinking!"
Val leaned back against the wall, folded his arms and waited.
"Whatever, just tell us and let's get goin'," Lina said with little interest.
Amelia explained the call to her friend in France while the others collected their things and the dog for their return home. "They said they'll talk it over and let us know right away! Won't that be wonderful having Kiki back at school again?!"
They all agreed to that, agreed to a practice, agreed to go to the birthday parties, agreed to talk later, and agreed to go now!
"Val?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you drop me near the university?"
"Sure, but don't ya wanna see the house first?" Val shot a quick look over at Xelloss in the passenger seat beside him.
"I'd better be on time. I promised Tasuki…"
"Yeah, sure. You gonna want ta do the computer stop later?"
"Yep!" Xelloss smiled. "I have some things in mind that I want. Yeah, here's okay. Stop here. I'll meet you here at 8:00, okay?"
"Call if yer can't," Val answered, and then he drove off. "Think that was a good idea? Me just leaving him there?"
Zel nodded. "He's all grown up now, Val. Besides…" he cleared his throat, "Hotohori has a studio for practices close by. He's going there and will be fine."
Val smirked knowingly at Zel, "Heh, heh…I thought you'd have it all checked out ahead of time."
Try as he liked, Zel couldn't pretend not to care about his friend's welfare—and get away with it. There was no fooling them anymore.
~*~
The next afternoon, the three boys were still hooking up hardware and testing Internet connections. Zel broke to fix them lunch, and then nailed a calendar up on the wall by the telephone in the kitchen. When Val and Xelloss settled down to eat, he pointed it out.
"Put everything on this and we can keep track of life. For instance, practice in an hour at Amelia's goes on…as does shopping for food…" Zel began.
"My eye appointment…" Xelloss noted with a big eye drawing surrounded by eyelashes. "Observe the little cat-eye drawing I made? I'm going for those contacts this time!"
"As does car shopping…" Zel continued, ignoring the 'cat eye' for the time being.
"Cars? Want some help?"
"Thanks, Val. I could use some advice," Zel said. "So we'd better get started tonight, eh?"
"Can you drop me at…" Xelloss pulled out a card with smudged writing on it. "…Bell hall on campus at 8:00? My first gig with the SS!"
Zel looked at him, "So soon? Scratch the car. I want to see this. Lina and…everyone else will, too. Why didn't you say something?"
Xelloss shrugged. "I'll see if there are tickets left, okay? So, what kind of car do you want?"
Zel shook his head, "I have no idea. Something…economical, but not too small."
"Adequate and modest," said Xelloss. "Just like its owner."
"Uh…I was doin' some thinkin'," Val said to cut off the other line of attack. "We oughta work out a di-vi-sion of labor. Like…I do laundry and Zel cooks and you, Xelloss, clean, or somethin'. Or is that not hip enough?"
"No, that's a great idea," Zel began.
"But!" Xelloss said hastily. "Why don't we do those two jobs together for awhile?"
Val's eyes narrowed, "You don't think I can wash stuff to meet yer high standards?"
"Noooo," Xelloss smiled. "I know you can't! It may not matter to you, all your things are basic black. Mine, however, come in many shades and colors and I'd like to keep then that way…my sheets in particular."
Zel agreed, but said in a conciliatory tone, "Cross training will circumvent arguments later. But I have another suggestion to make. How about we clean our own bedrooms and bathrooms, I'll handle buying and cooking food, you guys can trade off on the wash and the other cleaning—including the kitchen floor. That leaves the yard work to be shared on weekends. Which means, Val, if you're going to the settlement for the weekend, we'll have to do it mid week or something. How does that sound?"
"Like too much work…" Val moaned. "But I might live."
"Too bad we don't have that hot tub to soak in any more…" Xelloss sighed.
Val's eyes lit up, "Who says we can't have one put in? You have the number fer the dude who helped with the deck job at the old place, Xelloss?"
Xelloss pulled out his wallet and thumbed through the cards.
Zel flipped over a piece of mail and began to draw. "The back yard's shaped like this. You could put a hot tub here…"
"Bigger…yeah…and decking…a place to change. What the hell, a bathroom too!" Val chuckled. He was getting into the scheme now. "I liked the barbecue thing and tables…"
"Lights, hammock, fountain, some raised flower beds…" Xelloss pointed out where he'd like those. "And plenty of shade. Here's the guy's card. Give him a call and show him the picture. He did a great job before with a lot less to go on and next to no time. Of course, this may take longer since he'll need an electrician and plumber. Maybe Mr. Gabriev can help us?"
"Yeah," Val said. He closed his eyes and pictured it all done. "Gotta do it before winter…"
"Fine, well, I'm cleaning up this then we have a practice to go to. Oh, and one more thing, Xelloss: that thank you dinner for the Gabriev's… We need to make arrangements for that," Zel said.
"In process, my man," Xelloss smiled. "I'm working on that as we speak!"
"Oh, which reminds me, Amelia called to say the drum set was delivered to her place when we were at the beach. How did they know to take it there?" Zel asked.
Val smiled, "I called 'em and told 'em I wasn't gonna make it back to work and they asked about it. I paid Dan to deliver it fer us. Okay?"
Xelloss nodded, "One less thing for me to worry about."
"What about the purple set?" Val asked.
"I'm giving it to Joey, plus some lessons thrown in," Xelloss answered. "I have an idea for a song to do and I'll need a drummer stand in—hopefully he'll work out."
"Have you cleared that with his mom?" Zel asked. "Drums are noisy, Xelloss."
"Well, no, but…I will!" Xelloss smiled confidently.
Zel dried his hands on a kitchen towel, the only one. "See this?" he waved a yellow tablet in the air for all to see. "I'm making a list of stuff we need to pick up on the way home. Like…dog food and more towels…"
"TP!" both Val and Xelloss shouted.
"Yes, that too. I'll take this with us and if you think of anything else, write it down. It'll be a few weeks until we get this place really fixed up."
"Wow, its just like a home with a mommy and a daddy to take care of me," Val howled with laughter.
Xelloss frowned and looked at Zel, who looked back at him. Which was the 'mommy' and which was the 'daddy'? They both said simultaneously, "Not me!"
"Come on, we'll be late," Val said. "And you know how mean ole Aunt Lina hates that, Paw!"
They clamored out of their house with Val coughing and hacking over his not-so-funny joke. Regardless, it was a terrific house. Built to suit them all and tastefully decorated. It would become their home truly in no time.
~*~
Val picked up Gourry and Lina on the way to Amelia's place, where they would have an hour of hard work settling up their new practice room. Lina left 'the boys to their toys' dragging Amelia off to talk privately about the upcoming party before Filia and Sylphiel showed up.
"What if we just not put this drum together now and I'll getcher better hardware later?" Val suggested to Xelloss. "Ya don't gotta bang on every one of them today, right?"
"No…okay," Xelloss agreed unhappily. He ran a hand through his messy hair and kicked at the rejected part.
"Things happen. Man-u-fac-too-ers screw up all the time; send crap. The store will fix ya up good," Val reminded him. "I could mess with the old kit and salvage a piece or two that might work for an attachment…"
"No!" Xelloss shouted, then felt bad to have blown up over such a minor detail. "No, that's okay. Sorry, Val, I'm just touchy, I guess. I really want to give Joey the old set complete and set it up for him. And…you're right, I don't even need that tom-tom at all."
Val stared at Xelloss a moment. "The Seven giving you a hard time at the practice?"
"No! Yes…kinda…" Xelloss answered uncertainly. "I'm not the singer Nuriko is, I know it, but…I expected his solos to be dropped, but Hotohori was…harsh in his criticisms. I think he had some other guy in mind instead of me but he hadn't worked out. I know I can memorize the words and dance steps I don't know, but I can't become a great singer over night!" Having said that, Xelloss felt a bit better. "Tasuki wants me to do more dancing, though, so that's something. One vote of confidence!"
Val shook his head. So did Gourry who had overheard the conversation. "They shoulda been nicer to you. Ya don't haveta do this for'em. Ass-saving doesn't have ta be on yer re-su-may!"
Gourry agreed, "How many shows did ya say you'd do?"
"I called Nuriko last night, while I was waiting to be picked up. He's able to talk some and…just one more after tonight is my guess. But…I said I'd do what was needed. I shouldn't quit on them, in spite of the Emperor's problems with me…"
"Yeah, that's right, but Lina won't let ya do it, if she knew all that," Gourry said.
"If I knew all what?" Lina asked as she and Amelia picked their way through the room littered with equipment and half strung cables.
"That Hoto-guy's not treatin' Xelloss very good, after he's tried to do what he should," Gourry stated gravely.
"Oh yeah?" Lina's eyes burned with indignation.
"He's just hypercritical, Lina," Xelloss insisted. He didn't want her to tear off and defend him to the enemy. "I'll do fine tonight and he'll have nothing to worry about… then he'll be okay. It just wasn't like…our band's comradely sessions… and friendship."
She shrugged. "I'll see for myself tonight. You got us all tickets, right?"
" 'Cause ya know we'll all scream loudest for you!" Amelia cried out. "You'll be the best. I know it!"
"Um, thank you, Amelia," he smiled. "But you don't have to do that."
"So how is the house? And when do I get to come over and check it out?" Lina asked with a slap to the back of Xelloss' head.
He made a grab at the offending hand, twisted her around, and yanked her to his side as if they were dancing. "Now, if you want," he said softly.
Lina pushed him away, slapping at his hands. It was all over in a few seconds and no one else noticed. "Not on your life! We've got a practice ta get goin' here. Zel? You got the gear set up yet?" Her voice was strident to hide her embarrassment.
Xelloss was not letting up. In fact, he was getting more blatant about how he felt all the time. And confident. She liked him better when he was more of an observer and less of a participant. Well, no…not that exactly…but definitely she preferred him to be less forward. He made her feel…uncomfortable, yes, that's the word. Why couldn't he be more like Zel and bottle up his emotions? Or like Gourry and have fewer? Now what? What was keeping those guys? "Grrrr…."
Zel was messing with his amp and not paying her any heed. Val was fiddling with his synthesizer…no, tuning Gourry's guitar. How much longer did they need?
"Ah, Lina?"
"What?!" she barked at Xelloss.
"Amelia carried in some ice tea. I brought you a glass. You look…hot."
Lina cast him a piercing look. His expression looked innocent enough, she guessed, and so she took the glass with a nod and spared his life.
"Yeah, well…back off. I'm hot and ticked!" She blasted him with another flaming stare, and then stalked over to see if she could stir up some action in the music department
Zel strummed a few cords then announced, "Ready, enough," without even looking up into Lina's flashing eyes. "Would you like to pick the starting number?"
"Yeah sure," Lina thought for a moment then said, "Give a Reason."
As they started the instrumental midpoint, Filia and Sylphiel knocked lightly at the open door, found places to stand and join in the chorus the final time through.
A couple more songs and they were getting back their rhythm and it felt terrific! This was what had brought them all together and provided them the most pleasure, as a group; the Slayers band live.
Lina was satisfied. "That sounded really great—considering we haven't played together in…weeks. Gourry, you were right on the money, as usual. Zel, was that a new riff I heard? Yeah, I was listenin'! Val, ya fixed up that one part that made the instrumental part kinda mushy. Sounded terrific! Xelloss? You been practicing on the sly? Mebbe it was the knew kit, but you've gotten better, I think. And girls? It's good to have ya all back."
They all stared at her in shock. Lina complimenting them?
"Uh…thanks, Lina," Gourry said, and then smiled. "The break was good fer us, I guess."
"Yeah, it was," her eyes gleamed. "And speaking of breaks…What kinda food is around here, Amelia? Time for a short break!"
"I'll go get some things!" Amelia cried out. "Mr. Zelgadiss? Miss Sylphiel? Can you help me carry stuff?"
When Lina called for a break, Filia pulled out her hair cutting tools and presented them to Xelloss. "You haven't asked lately, but I know those bangs are bothering you, at least the way you keep messing with them is bothering me."
"My, my…" he smiled and tipped his head slightly. "We mustn't have that, must we?"
As she narrowed her eyes to try to think of some clever retort, he added, "Actually that's very thoughtful of you, Filia. Thanks. It hasn't had the right kind of care lately. You know…" he perched himself onto his drum throne awaiting Filia's next move. "I used to wash and condition it twice a day, but this summer… days have passed with nary a comb out."
Her expression was confusing, so he added quickly, "B-but I showered last night so it's clean now!"
"That's a relief to know," Filia said seriously, then laughed, "Just kidding, Xelly. I actually had a few days where my hair must have looked terrible, too. Good thing friends can ignore stuff like that, right? Now, let's get you looking your best before you go on stage tonight."
Xelloss had to blink twice to make sure that it was really Filia and not some lovely replacement girl who had just shown so much sensitivity toward him. "Ah…yesss."
~*~
"Where are all these people when WE have concerts?" Lina yelled, though since she and everyone else had hands over their ears to avoid deafening from the screeching crowd, she didn't really expect an answer.
"ALL girls," Zel noticed. He had earplugs in addition to his hand ear-coverings, so that he wouldn't have another relapse of hearing problems. He wanted to support his friend, but that didn't mean he had to damage himself in the process. "In case there was any question whether the Suzaku Seven are a 'boy band'."
"Hey, we've got hotter guys then those sissies, and we don't got this many squealing girlies!" Val grunted.
"Well, we've got guy- fans, too!" Gourry pointed out.
"That's 'cause you have pretty little me!" Lina put in with a wink. "They've just got Nuriko."
"And tonight, they've got Xelloss. So, when his solo part comes, you've gotta cheer for him real loud, so he can hear us!" Amelia informed them.
"Right, right. Wouldn't he like it better if no one noticed him? I mean, if he screws up or somethin'."
"He's not gonna screw up, Val!" Lina kicked him in the shins, since she had no hands free to punch him with. "He's gonna do great, and he's going to really need our support, okay? So you can be peppy for once in your life. It's not like anyone here will recognize you!"
As if on cue (what in their lives wasn't?), someone tapped Val on the shoulder.
"Hey, man. Never thought I'd see you at a concert like this!" Sano laughed.
"A concert like this?" the beautiful Megumi huffed, punching his arm. "'Like this' what?"
"It's…just not my man Val's style, missy," Sano covered for his slip-up.
"Uh…Yo, Sano…" Val choked.
"Hey!" Lina greeted him. "What's up? What are YOU doing here?"
"I'm, well," Sano looked a little sheepish. "Megumi really likes these guys—she's done some repair work on 'em, actually, and so she likes to go to their concerts. What's yer excuse?" he grinned.
"Oh, Xelloss is their Nuriko-substitute, 'cause the king of drag is out sick," Lina explained. "So we're the Xelloss-crew today."
"Okay, that's acceptable," Sano laughed, "Just, you guys…don't tell Kenshin I was here, okay?" he begged. "I'd never live it down!"
"Okay," they promised. "As long as you don't tell nobody that I was here, capice?" Val added, with an extra glare for Lina.
"Okay, see ya 'round, then," Sano waved. "The show's about ta start!"
And it never seemed to end. If they hadn't been sick of the Suzaku boys after touring with them, they were now. Dazzling lights, crooning voices, flashy dance-steps, and canned music—it was enough to make any level head spin. Good thing that none of the Slayers quite fit that description any more…
They cheered for Xelloss loud enough to over-power any antipathy from Nuriko-fans, hopefully. He looked good enough to fit in with them, and his dancing was almost up-staging. That was why 'the emperor' had been so hard on him—he was jealous! All the pieces came together… Zel smiled, despite the mind-numbing sap bombarding his ears. The truth always reveals itself, despite our best efforts to hide it…
~*~ End, Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special, Part Twenty. ~*~
