The Slayers: Lina Zelgadiss Xelloss Gourry Amelia Val Filia Sylphiel
~*~ Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special! ~*~
Part Twenty-four
~*~
Although no one would dare question Zelgadiss' ability to follow directions, the passengers in his car were certainly wondering if they were at the right place. 'Kabuki Flats' was the swankiest apartment building in Seyruun, and for two kids to be living there together ALONE--! It was certainly hard to believe. But since the others pulled up there and all the Slayers assembled at the same place, they couldn't all have gone the wrong way, could they?
Of course, when they rang the doorbell and one of the twins answered, it was a lot harder to disbelieve. "Hey, there, Subaru!" Lina greeted him with a virile slap on the back and a big grin, both of which seemed to make him shrink.
"How can she tell?" Val whispered down to Zel.
"Because he did open his mouth before her," Zel whispered back as they were funneling through the door, bursting with greetings and hugs from Amelia.
"Where's Hokuto—oh, there ya are! We're here!" Lina said. "And this is Filia and this is Sylphiel, the ones you don't know—back up singers, though they both have a really great song each, because our back-up singers are as good as leads in another band!" Lina said, less as bragging and more as glowing praise.
"Pleased to meet'cha!" Hokuto shook their hands heartily with her left, since she was stirring a pot of something fragrant with her right hand. "Oop!" An oven buzzer went off and she leapt to open it. "Just a sec—my meringues are done! Sorry that I'm such a mess, but we had some trouble with the kitchen this morning, so I'm a little late—"
"Oh, don't worry about it! We're so used to chaos; we'd hardly know what to do without it!"
Hokuto laughed. "Is that so? Sounds like us. There's never any tranquil moments! That's what this tea party is for, I guess. We've got jasmine and earl gray all brewed and ready, so… Subaru! Show them to the table, will ya?!" she ordered her brother.
"Right!" he nodded and turned to them with a smile. "Hokuto's been putting a lot of effort into this, so you'll have to forgive her if she's a little stressed."
"Stressed? Who's stressed? AAAHHH! My chocolate!" Hokuto shrieked, and ran back and forth in the kitchen for a while, making the feathers and pears on her hat shake dangerously. Dressed to kill as usual, Hokuto was wearing a little black dress with a striped frill around the shoulders and at the hem, fishnets, and high heels with white bows on the toes, though this was nothing compared to that hat that perched on her head like a basket of stage jewelry. She looked like a cabaret parody of an English tea party-goer, though she was just young and cute enough to pull it off. It was very comical to watch this character rushing about in a kitchen! "And where's Seishirou! He's supposed to be here—he said he'd be here twenty minutes ago! Ooh—that man!"
Subaru blushed at his sister's antics, and led the Slayers to a table too long for any ordinary apartment, covered with a lacy white table cloth and laden with silver and china and bright jewels—that is, edible ones! Lina's eyes went straight to the goodies, and began to glow with that creepy, hungry light…
"Man, I feel like an an-ach-ron-is-m," Val breathed, since he was still decked out in full punk regalia—though his cleanest, shiniest new leather and chains, to give him some credit.
Subaru, who was wearing a suit and tie, though the suit was striped and he had a black Stetson and very shiny shoes, to label the outfit "Hokuto's choice" shook his head. "Don't feel that way! This is just Hokuto's way of throwing a party. She didn't send a dress code," he smiled reassuringly, though his big, shiny green eyes were more likely to put Val off than to reassure him.
"Hey, Hokuto!" Lina cried, taking Val's burden from him. "Where should I put the cheesecake we brought?"
Zel nearly choked. Cheesecake? But he was holding a—
"Cheesecake?" Hokuto called back. "You brought a cheesecake?" she appeared in the doorway holding a delectable cake, complete with a swirl of raspberry on top.
Lina opened the box in her hand, and there was a peach-colored pumpkin cheesecake, smiling up at them like a jack-o-lantern.
Zel caught Xelloss and Amelia trying to stifle giggles as he opened the box he held, to reveal a dark-and-white chocolate cheesecake.
There was a moment of silence. The crickets dared not chirp, and no tumble weed would waft past.
Then they all burst out laughing, and set the cakes down on the table, among the plates of pretty cookies and little sandwiches. Hokuto brought in the tea, and set her brother to pouring it (which he did expertly), while they all settled in their seats, looking like Rocky Horror gone Alice in Wonderland.
About the time when Hokuto finally was able to put her cup to her lips, the doorbell rang again. With a vehement clink of china, she and her brother both jumped to their feet shouting "I'll get it!"
By the time they had gotten it straightened out that Hokuto was going to be the one to answer the door, Seishirou had already let himself in. "Hello, everybody!" he called cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late, but there was a slight emergency. I brought a kitten for you to watch for a day, Subaru," Seishirou set down a carrying case. "And I also picked up some--"
"Cheesecake?" everyone ventured.
"Cheesecake?" he looked at them with clownish puzzlement on his face and resettled his glasses. "Of course not—Hokuto's making cheesecake. I brought fresh strawberries for the chocolate fondue!"
They breathed a collective sigh of relief and set upon the goodies.
While everyone stuffed their faces with treats and chattered, Subaru collected the sedated kitten from the carrier and lay the sleeping animal, a peaches-and-cream tabby, in a cushioned cat basket that seemed to exist for such a purpose.
Lina was going for another cup of tea, when she found a certain element missing. "Can, uh, someone pass the cream, please?" she tried to recall the manners that Luna had beat into her so many years ago.
They cast about for it, until Subaru reappeared, and handed the little pitcher to Lina like an offering meant to satiate a hungry god. "Sorry! It was for the kitten," he explained, "for when it wakes up."
Seishirou laughed. "That's our Subaru! Kind to a fault."
Subaru blushed and sat down at the table again.
"Hokuto, your cookies are excellent as always!" Seishirou praised her. "And your cheesecake…I couldn't tell which was yours from looking, because they were all so beautiful, but when I tasted them all…" he smiled. "It was obvious which was yours, because it was the best!"
"Oh yeah?" Hokuto looked skeptical. "And which was that?"
"The one that was striped like your outfit, of course!" and he laughed, because Hokuto squealed that that wasn't hers, it was store-bought, and how could he be so insensitive—his taste buds must've been defective or something! "I'm just kidding, just kidding!" he patted her on the hat from across the table. "I know that you made the raspberry one, and you spent all morning on it, and you probably made Subaru cream the butter, as usual."
"I don't mind helping," Subaru said, weakly. As usual, he wore his gloves even while drinking tea. At least there they looked elegant instead of simply incongruous…
"Anyway, are you guys getting ready for the battle of the bands?" Hokuto asked. "It's coming up soon, you know."
Lina shrugged. "We haven't been worrying too much—I mean, we spent all of the first part of summer performing. We might be a little out of practice, but a few more hard-core sessions will score the rust off of out instruments, you know?"
"You seem very confident!" Subaru said. "I'm nervous."
"Oh, poppycock. You'll do fine! And your sax is always the most sad and plaintive. I always listen for it!" Seishirou smiled.
"I always listen for you, too," Subaru said to his tea cup.
"Well, I listen for both of you—but I get distracted by your lead singers! Ooh, Kamui and Fuuma are sooo gorgeous! You're got Kamui if you like 'em cute, and Fuuma if you like 'em handsome! It's so hard to choose!" Hokuto laughed.
"I haven't ever heard your music," Zel said to change the subject.
"Oh, they're both great!" Hokuto said, glowing. "The Seals have a more young, fresh sound, and the Harbingers are a little more mature and dark, but…well, they're different, but both good! Of course, I can't tell too much to the enemy camp!" Hokuto winked.
"Right, right!" Val grinned. "And we told ya everything, too!"
"Oh, don't worry," Seishirou smiled, though there was something slightly cold about the way the light glinted off his glasses. "We're not even worrying about you yet—or anybody else, really. We never do. We only focus on competing with each other. Just policy, not arrogance!" he smiled to diffuse the frowns popping up around him. "It has often led to both bands loosing badly!"
"Who else is competing, do you know?" Amelia asked Hokuto.
"Just about everyone! Some established bands, and some newbies. The Suzaku Seven are, and they'll be tough because of their fan base. Gundam Wing, another boy-bad, though they're kind of self-destructive, and the Leafe Knights, who are a lot like the Suzaku boys, though they have more young members and I've heard their dance routines are more martial-artsy or something. They're really big, too. Then there's the Goddess Fantastic Club, which is a girl-band, and pretty well-established, too, so I'd watch out for them. Oh, and that rap-group, DBZ's probably going to be there. But there'll be others, too. It's going to be a tough battle!"
Zel nodded. "I had no idea there were so many bands in the area."
"Well, after you guys showed up, everybody and their mother decided that, after those piano lessons they had for a week in second grade, they should have a band," Hokuto laughed.
"So, what's wrong with that?" Val grinned. "That's about all the lessons I ever had, you know."
"Really? You're very good!" Subaru said. "Our keyboardist, Karen, is good, too. And of course, Satsuki is famous for her playing," he said with a nod to Seishirou.
Xelloss twitched. Satsuki. Where had he heard that before? And uneasiness began to settle over him, which he hid by saying, cheerfully, "Well, did I hear something about chocolate fondue?"
Hokuto stood up as if she was about to embark on a grand exploration. "You did, indeed! Okay guys, enough of this work stuff! I'll go get the pot and the hot plate, and can you get the strawberries, Sei-chan?" she gave him a sad-puppy-dog look that seemed to work wonders.
"All right! Let's go!" he followed her to the kitchen, and they returned quickly with the treats.
This was something of an athletic competition, especially since they didn't have enough fondue forks, so some people had to use chopsticks instead. First, you had to grab a strawberry before anybody else did, than you had to fight for a spot, and then maneuver the coated berry out of the way of marauding forks and a forest for people's sleeves. It set everyone to giggling, and a few to some more-than-playful elbowing (namely Lina and Val), and everybody was ending up with more berries in the pot than their stomachs, and more chocolate on themselves than their berries. Lina had to be tackled to keep her from plunging her hand into the molten chocolate in pursuit of her dislodged strawberry.
"You know," Xelloss piped up, smiling at her from behind his bangs, "the game that traditionally goes with fondue is that whenever you drop the object into the pot, you have to kiss the person sitting next to you!"
"Actually," Zel whispered to himself since no one was listening, "it's whenever a woman drops it, they kiss the host, and whenever a man does, he has to buy him a bottle of wine, but have it your way, you scheming bastard…"
Lina turned bright red and whacked him. "Well starting now, then!" she said, popping a perfectly coated berry into her mouth. "See?" she said with her mouth full. "No dropping from me!"
"Oh, I know that one!" Hokuto giggled. "Who's up for it? I'd love to get kissed by some of these hot Slayers guys!" she laughed, since her fondue-technique was perfect.
But
no one was, thankfully, because Subaru looked like he was going to faint. He always dropped his, and he was sitting
next to…
"Now, now," said Seishirou, "that's just a little too much. As the resident adult, I'd have to say 'no' to that. Especially since you," he said, very close to Subaru's ear, "have a shaky hand today!"
Plip! Another strawberry slid off of Subaru's fork and into the chocolate, and he excused himself in a roaring blush.
~*~
"Zelgadiss?"
"Yes, Xelloss."
"Could you just drop me off up by the university grad student dormitories?"
"I am able to…" Zel teased.
"Would you, please?" Xelloss said more firmly.
"Are you visiting Miss Eris? It's awfully late. How will you get home, Mr. Xelloss?" Amelia asked. She had twisted around in her seat to face him in the mini back seat.
Xelloss simply smiled a moment, and then answered, "I can take the last bus to my neighborhood at 12:30."
"Fine. We have classes but no lab tomorrow," Zel said by way of reminding Xelloss of their schedules.
"Yeah, well…I'll either be up or not."
"I'll take notes," Zel sighed, certain that Xelloss would be missing classes again.
"Thanks, little brother! Oh, this is good enough. Stop here. Thanks! Bye, Amelia!" Xelloss called out. The top was down on the little convertible, so he was able to just hop over the door, lighting gracefully outside the car, and then lope on.
"Mr. Zelgadiss, aren't you worried about him…all by himself?" Amelia asked.
"No." Zel turned away from the curb and drove off on a journey of his own. "Mind if I take you home the long way?"
Amelia felt the heat rise to her face and her heart flutter. Suddenly all thoughts of time and curfews and grumpy fathers passed from her thoughts, to be replaced with romantic visions of unending roads winding to the eternal stars and her Zelgadiss at the wheel. "Oh…no…wherever you want…" she whispered.
"Good. I need to stop at the market for dog food." He paused, and then looked askance at the pretty girl in the passenger seat. Her face fell. As a tiny frown creased her eyes, a smile crinkled his. "Just kidding, Amelia."
Her breath caught in her throat. "Whaa?"
"Ah, just a weak attempt at getting back at you for the cheesecake fiasco earlier. Sorry…um…I really had a drive in mind, to make up for the one you didn't get the other night, if you'd like?"
"You…okay, I deserved that, I guess," she smiled faintly. "It had better be to a really good view for that!"
"It will be," he smiled and down shifted with a roar.
~*~
Luna sighed wearily as she stomped out of the law school library. She had her bar exams to study for and a class to student-teach at eight AM! She glanced at her watch. Twelve-thirty! She hoped her good-for-nothing little sister was home in bed and asleep! She had been neglecting her chores again and the place was getting messy…and high school was about to start up! "Aaaargh!"
Then Luna caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, a flash of purple-black, back-turned, under the street light at the bus stop. Could that be that poor kid, Xelloss? What's he doing here at this hour? Doesn't he know that the bus schedule changed? Luna stepped up her pace and headed toward the lone young man. "Hey! You'll be sittin' there all night, if it's the bus you're waitin' for."
Xelloss jumped at her shout. "Who? Oh…Luna…" He turned his head to hide his face in the shadows. "I'm okay. The bus is just a little late…"
"No, you didn't pick up the new bus schedule. Six to twelve at this stop, eight to one AM at the student union building. I don't know why, but I can guess that it saves some agency money. Come on, I'll give you a ride home." Luna would not take no for an answer, and so he agreed half-heartedly.
"I haven't been by your new place so you'll have to point it out to me," Luna said. As she turned to glance at him, a gasp escaped her lips, "For Cephied'sake! Xelloss what happened to you?"
Xelloss placed a hand over his mouth to cover up his swollen mouth and cut lip. "Nothing."
"You look like you've been in a fight? Who did that to you?" Luna's eyes burned a hole through his mask.
"Just a misunderstanding."
"Why are you here alone?" Luna continued. Xelloss was hiding something and she didn't like it at all. Then she thought about the last time she'd run into him. Eris. Eris… "You were visiting that girl…Eris, tonight, weren't you?"
He was about to say, "None of your business," but then there was something about Luna, the Knight of Cephied, that broke down many barriers and forced the truth from his lips. "Yes."
"You're bleeding. Don't look! I'm taking you to my place and clean you up first. I'd hate to think of Val or Zel finding you sprawled on the bathroom floor in a faint. No arguing!"
He just curled up against the car door and stared out the window at the passing lights. Silent. When they got to Luna and Lina's house, she dragged him into the kitchen, sat him down to watch the water boil for tea, and pilfered the medicine cabinet for antiseptic lotion and bandaging.
"Hold the ice over your mouth," she ordered. "I've done all I can it for now."
"Thank you."
"Hold it there! Eris... She's a creepy, mean girl, Xelloss. She's the one that hit you, isn't she?"
Xelloss closed his eyes and said nothing.
"What does she want you to do for her? There's always something," Luna continued to prod the recalcitrant guy.
"Xelloss, I'm trying to help you here. Oh, curse that male pride in you! Anyone can be abused, if you allow it! How can you of all people put up with it? Well…you are NOT going to see her again, tell me that!"
Lina turned in her sleep growling at the sound of a door closing and voices from the kitchen. Luna was home…
"She…" he took a long shuddering breath, obviously working very hard to hold back his tears. "…is t-teaching our c-chemistry class. I…will see her frequently."
Not just Luna…a male voice as well…
"You are taking a class from her and dating her? You really are an idiot, Xelloss!" Luna said, barely controlling her voice.
"That's me…"
"Did you sleep with her?" Luna asked bluntly.
Xelloss looked at her again about to tell her to stuff it, but instead shook his head, "No…"
"Thank the gods…" she put a hand on his shoulder and made him look at her. "You have to be careful, Mr. Metallium."
Luna never had guys over. They had rules… Lina sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"I've heard all the 'safe sex' talks, Luna. I don't need another mother…" he sneered.
"I'm not talking disease control, idiot, I'm talkin' paternity suit."
His eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'O'.
"Yeah, you are worth a bundle, and your offspring stand to inherit … well, a devious lawyer could un-bundle that bundle pretty fast, you can bet." Luna sat back in her chair and sipped at her hot tea, watching for some emotions to flicker across his face. His mask was good, but she was trained to read the syndicate-trained well. However, he revealed little.
"I wouldn't worry. She was horrified by my scars, Luna. She slapped me hard thinking I was some kind of masochist, I guess." He looked at Luna unreadable expression on his face—sincerity?
"Scars?"
"Chest and back. She, ah…put her hand…um…she touched them and I think it scared her." He pulled up the edge of his t-shirt to show her a sliver of his stomach area channeled with marks.
"That was all?" Luna asked unconvinced.
He nodded and said no more.
"I'm so sorry, Xelloss," Luna whispered. Her tenderness cracked his tenuous hold on self-control, and he began to cry.
Luna removed the ice from his hand and patted his back. "Gods, it's late. Come lie down on the couch and I'll bring you a blanket. Sleep here tonight. I can't send you home in such a mess."
Lina crept out of her bed and cracked open her door to hear better. Whoever it was, they were in the front room now.
He collapsed onto the couch. "I-I have classes in the morning."
"So do I. I've got to be up around seven. Plus…we don't want sissy-poo to wake up and find you here and start asking questions, do we?" Luna was startled by the flash of horror in his eyes, followed by a deeper sadness. "Oh, you poor boy…" Luna sat on the edge of the couch and pushed his bangs away with her fingers. "You're still hung up on Lina, too?"
A sob escaped, as Xelloss covered his face with an arm.
"Just let it out. I'll get you a blanket."
Who is it? Some guy's crying…Oh! It's HIM! What's HE doing here with my sister?!
"This ought to do, sweetie. Now go to sleep. Half of the trouble is that you're beat. Besides…you know what you can tell your friends if they ask about the fat lip?"
"No. What?"
"You tell that you tried to put the make on the chick too fast and she had to beat you off," Luna smiled. "Gods you are just too cute; they'll all believe it, too!"
Xelloss wiped off his eyes and looked up at Luna, a subtle smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "Thanks…"
"No sweat. Good night… So, what's with that look?"
"If I didn't know better," he said seriously. "I'd say you liked me."
Luna sighed, "You're lucky I'm not in a fighting mood myself. Now shut up and go to sleep!"
Lina scrambled back into her own bed, feigning sleep, her mind racing…wondering…why is Xelloss over here?
~*~
"So you think he really likes Eris?" Amelia asked as the cooling wind blew in her face. As the car came to a stop, she ran her fingers through her dark locks to straighten them out a bit.
Zelgadiss pulled into a parking space and turned off the motor. Now was not the time to discuss Xelloss. "A little," he sighed, and then changing subject he pointed out the brilliant Pleiades star cluster, glowing fuzzy in the night sky. "The Pleiades is a young cluster containing bluish-white stars; the brightest objects in the group are all B-type sub-giants or main sequence stars. Too bad we don't have a pair of binoculars or a telescope…if we did then we could see its dipper shape."
Amelia smiled and squeezed his hand, "Really? What's the name of that bright star there?"
"That's Aldebaran. Not only is it the 13th brightest star in the sky, but it's also a double star. One's a red dwarf…I'm not boring you am I?" Zel asked uncertain what else to talk about, but Xelloss was definitely not one of his chosen topics of conversation.
He could have been reading the back of a cereal box, for all Amelia cared at the moment. Besides, it reminded her if when her mother used to point to the sky and tell the stories of the stars… "Oh, no, please go on… Near Al-de-baron…what are those stars?"
"Oh, that's another star cluster called the Hyades. All those stars make up the constellation known as Taurus the Bull, you know," Zel said pointing out the shape in the air with one of his long slender fingers. "It's really better seen in winter, but it's usually too cloudy to see much…Amelia?"
"Hmmm?"
"Oh, you were just so quiet, I was afraid I'd talked you to sleep."
No chance of that! "It's so beautiful here. I'm so glad you brought me here to see this outlook over Seyruun. Very dark…"
"Dark. Yes, well…um…it has to be to see the stars. The city lights are blocked so the sky is visible," Zel cleared his throat, which had suddenly become very dry. "So…have you heard anything from Kiki? Will she be back in time to start this year?"
"I'm afraid not. Her parents begin teaching in winter quarter, I understand, so she might be arriving late like last year. Plus the house…they are going through with that and using Mr. Gourry's family business to construct it. I don't know how indebted they will be to Mr. Xelloss, though…" Amelia's cheerful face clouded over. "Or how Kiki will accept Mr. Xelloss dating Miss Eris. I think she half expects him to be waiting for her."
"Oh." Zelgadiss had hoped to avoid discussing Xelloss, but the conversation always seemed to end up touching on him.
"You really don't know how he feels?" Amelia pressed.
"No, Amelia. It's not something we spend time talking about. I think he has to get out there and experience life and learn…and he can't do that with me hovering. We really are unalike, in the way we view life, in our goals…He and Val have more in common in some ways. That's what makes the three of us good roommates, I guess." Unexpectedly, Zelgadiss found himself talking to Amelia as if she were…like Lina…an old and comfortable friend, and when he did, he realized that it was enjoyable and more topics came to mind.
"Your sister, Nahga… Isn't she due back soon?"
"Oh! I forgot to tell everyone! Yes, I talked to her last night. All she wanted to talk about was this guy…Adam Hayate. She met him when Lina and I were visiting. We were playing miniature golf while Gracie-- that's the name she was born with, you know—chased Adam through the course. She finally trapped him at the snack bar," Amelia said.
"Adam…what did you think of him?"
"Poor guy…but actually he was very nice and smart, too! He had light brown hair…um…dark but lightened on top from lots of sun, I think. Glasses…those fashionable ones with no rims? He was dressed tastefully, kinda like Mr. Xelloss, and…oh! He said that he was a college freshman in physics at the University of Seyruun. Maybe he's in your class?"
Zel was still bogged down in Amelia's description trying to imagine who Adam might be. "We were supposed to be in a physics class but it was cancelled and we got shuffled into a chemistry-major chem class, so probably not. What did you say his last name was?"
"Hayate, Adam Hayate, I think…or his name is Adam in English and Hayate is his Japanese name. Anyway, she's coming back tomorrow. Daddy and I are going to go pick her up…" Amelia straightened suddenly and nearly jumped out of her car seat. "Oh, no!"
"What is it, Amelia?"
"Oh," she moaned. "I was supposed to go right home because Daddy and I have to get up really early!"
"Oh. Well. We'll do our best," Zel said quietly. "Your dad's going to kill me anyway, isn't he?"
Amelia looked mournfully over at Zel and nodded.
"Oh, joy…" he sighed and started the engine.
~*~
Luna was unable to wake the sleeping boy the next morning; he just looked too peaceful for a change. Instead, she placed a call to Zelgadiss explaining where Xelloss was, but not the 'why' exactly, and then left. "Lina and Xelloss will just have to deal with one another," she decided.
Lina woke with a start and check the time on her alarm clock. "7:45! What the crap… What am I doing up at this hour?" She heard the front door close and lock. "Luna…" Lina crashed back down onto her pillow. Her eyes flew open as she remembered. "…And Xelloss? No…" she moaned and closed her eyes again. "Must sleep…just…a dream…"
The next time she awoke, it was closer to 11:00. The clock ticking in the kitchen was the only sound in the house. "Food!"
Lina shook out her hair, yanked on a tank top and shorts, then padded barefoot to the kitchen to survey the larder.
Xelloss awoke abruptly. He shook the remnants of his re-occurring nightmare from his mind and sat up with a groan. "Ugh…"
"Aaaah!" The glass Lina was about to fill with milk slipped from her hand and landed on the linoleum floor, shattering on contact.
crash!
"Who's there?!" both Lina and Xelloss called out from their respective locations.
Instantly they both realized that they knew who 'was there'.
"Lina?"
"Xelloss. What the hell are you doing sleeping on my couch?" she asked roughly, that is until she walked in and got a good look at his face. "Oh, gods…Xelloss…Not again? I'm getting' kinda tired of you getting' messed up all the time, ya know?"
"Actually…I do know. I'm pretty sick of it myself. I should have avoided this, but…well. The worst part was that I missed my bus home last night and Luna spotted me and gave me a ride back here."
"Here? Why not at your place?"
"Ah…blood, fainting…I think she was afraid I'd hurt myself more. I really don't know, you should ask her concerning her motivations, not me."
"Eh...you needn't get all snippy about it Xelloss. It's yer business. Well, who ever did that to your lip didn't connect too well. At least it doesn't look bad. I bet they look a whole lot worse, right?"
"Yes," Xelloss attempted a smile, but the pain stifled it somewhat.
"So…" Lina stared hard this time. "Wanna have breakfast and tell me about it?"
"Yes…and, um…no. I'd like some tea and toast, if it's no bother."
"You, Xelloss are always a bother of some sort, but the food's no problemo," she said with a shrug and waltzed back to the kitchen.
Xelloss dipped into the bathroom.
~*~
Zel watched Eris carefully throughout the lecture. From the nervous glances his way, he assumed she wanted to see him for a moment after class and question him about Xelloss. Well, he wouldn't do that. What ever happened, he was not going to become a party to it or a go-between. Friendship had its limits. He'd stick out his neck and risk his life for his best friend, but lovers' quarrels were beyond the job description as far as he was concerned. Besides, he'd had enough of a 'good' time last night after he had brought Amelia home 'way late' without a call ahead.
Zel moaned at the remembrance. His inability to follow 'Phil's Rules' put his, and Amelia's honor in question. Apparently, 'a drive through the hills and watching the stars' was dating to that man, and Amelia had a couple more months to wait until her father considered her old enough by his standards. Sixteen. Fine by Zel. What was worse, though, was that her 'daddy' was sure that Zel had been 'up to no good' as he put it. Gods…how embarrassing that was! He'd practically been accused of seducing Amelia! Poor kid. Amelia had been just as humiliated as he had been, maybe more so…it was her father saying it all. They had both had to sit through an excruciating 'safe sex' talk by Phil, no less, all the while trying to deny that anything had 'happened'.
Zel moaned again, this time loudly enough to draw the attention of the kids around him. It was just horrid in every way. Then Xelloss never came home. What was with that? And Luna's call?
"…Laboratory classes begin this week. Read up and be prepared…lectures will continue and discussions as before…"
Zelgadiss woke up out of his trance. Class was over and what had been said? "Um, excuse me," he asked of a girl behind him. "What was that about labs?"
"The Tuesday/ Thursday night labs start this week."
"Night labs?" Zel was astonished. "I thought they were in the morning."
"Check your schedule. It says 8-11 PM doesn't it?" The girl seemed ready to run.
Zel quickly pulled out his crumpled schedule and read it for the thousandth time. "Oh…shit…It's so smeared…I just assumed everything was AM… So we have classes Monday through Thursday and labs two nights a week as we-ell?" His voice cracked on the 'well'.
"Well…Wednesday is a discussion to go over problems, not a lecture," the girl said wearily. "You're new at this, huh?"
"Obviously…" he muttered and sank back into his seat. Two nights! Those were to be band practice nights! Homework-doing nights!
"Zelgadiss?"
Zel looked up. The classmate had disappeared and Eris stood over him instead.
"Hi."
"Where's…your brother this morning?" she asked with a note of concern.
Zel considered his answer carefully before opening his mouth. "He did not come home last night. "
"What? He left my room to catch the last bus home in plenty of time!" she said.
Zel simply shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Um, I have to run. Try calling him, that's all I can suggest." He made a show of collecting his gear and pushing off to the door, leaving Eris to stand alone, and wonder.
~*~
"Thanks for the tea, Lina," Xelloss said standing to go. "I'll clean up, then get out of your hair."
"Nah, that's okay. No rush…Oh, you can stay and clean up! Yeah…then…wanna work on the vocals to that song of yours?" she asked.
He pondered that possibility…for a fraction of a second. "Sure, I've missed classes already. No sense going home to an empty house or the inquisition," he chuckled a little. "I had some thoughts about the song."
"I'm sure you have," Lina said. "You mentioned 'duet'?"
"Yes. And during the instrumental breaks, we go into a dance routine together."
"Choreographed by you, I take it?" she asked looking at him askance for any signs of insincerity.
"Naturally," he smiled slightly.
"Sounds…really hot, sure…something to stir up the fans, huh?" she grinned as he nodded. "O-kay…lets take a look at those lyrics…Yep! Gottem right here."
Lina read aloud from the notes Xelloss had given her at the last band practice:
"Sexy, Sexy (performed by Cascade) The ending theme song to Gakkou no Kaidan:
A mirage from the other side of the evening…
I wanna meet you, wanna meet you!
I can't meet you, can't meet you!
You are Utopia.
Some day if we can meet here…
I miss you, I miss you!
I need you, I need you!
Sexy, Sexy…
Hey? Won't you come to my room?
I'll let you listen to my secret story…
Tonight, if you can't join in
Even if you take away it can't be helped…
In the wicked night, my heart was also wet,
Time can't be put back.
Come back, come back, come back, come back!
The passion's mirage sent from beyond…
Shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking!
Feels so good…paradise!
Burning if we meet there…
Shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking!
Sexy, sexy dance!
longest dance sequence until ending
The stars pale, the flowers get confused…
From the inside of the darkness, something glitters
From the twining fingertip's mirage.
Teasing, teasing, teasing, teasing!
Let me do it little by little.
Always I'll love you like this…
I miss you, I miss you!
I need you, I need you!
Sexy, sexy you!
Oh baby, my baby, my baby, my baby
…you are Utopia!
Far off in the passion there's a mirage…
Shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking!
Over and over again…
Shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking!
While glittering…
Sexy, sexy!
Ending dance sequence "
Lina cleared her throat and hummed a bit of the tune. "Well…where did you say you got this translation?"
Xelloss found his voice and answered her as best he could, "Internet and a translating service and me. It's surprising how much I must have learned even as a little kid around my father. Japanese seems to come naturally to me, but then, most languages do."
"Yeah. You're a regular idiot savant that way. Anyway, it needs a little work, huh? A tweak here and there for the rhythm and some of it makes no sense to me. Oh I know…it's about either sex or violence. Okay I'll put in the CD. Volume low and we'll try and fit the words in, 'kay?"
Xelloss nodded and followed Lina upstairs to her room. This would be fun, he decided. Lina sounded so friendly and all today.
"Oh and you can tell me what's up between my sister and you, while you are at it, buster!"
He paled. Oh, my…well…no, maybe not so very much fun as he had first thought…
~*~
Zelgadiss fled the chemistry class. He had to run to make it to the math class on time. With the room nearly in sight, he continued replaying the night before until he was satisfied with the ending.
He had been tired… and tired of being lectured by Amelia's father, so finally he blew up. He had said, in as controlled a voice as possible, "Mayor. After all this time I assumed that I had earned your trust—Amelia, too. I will say it again and you either believe me or not…I will not defend myself beyond an explanation of what actually occurred. We took a drive, Amelia forgetting her need to get back early by mistake. We stopped and I pointed out stars and identified them. We talked, and then remembered to come home. Here we are. Now, I am going home to sleep since I have classes in the morning. Good night, Sir!" He had then turned and stalked off without waiting for any more from any one.
Now he thought he should call Amelia and see how she was faring. He hoped that what he had said had not made more trouble for her. He wasn't a 'bad' kid and he had always followed the rules, but he was getting used to his independence from adult authority and, he guessed, growing a spine while he was at it. If Phil didn't trust him, then so be it. He wasn't about to kowtow to that man or any other for it, that was for sure.
"Hayate!"
The shout broke into his revere. Zel was just outside the door to the classroom, when he heard the name. Now where had he heard that name before? He was about to dismiss it, but his acute hearing picked up the hushed tones with an angry edge.
"Don't call me that here," the other voice hissed. "I'm Adam. Remember that!"
Zel turned ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of the two males belonging to the voices. The one taller with jet-black hair and steely eyes stood with his fists clenched, as the other guy with hair that was practically white, backed off, "Yeah, yeah…later then…"
Before they could notice him, Zel whipped his head around and dipped into his classroom. "Hayate…Amelia mentioned a freshman here, but…how had she described him? Brown hair…glasses? Not that guy, I guess. Oh, well…"
~*~
"Hey, okay! I think that's gotta be it, doncha think so?" Lina asked as she stopped the CD for the hundredth time. "Those words fit the beat and make enough sense for a dance tune."
"I agree," Xelloss said with a tilt to his head. "You are a very talented lyricist, Lina."
"Yeah, just another of my remarkable qualities," she tossed out. "I need a drink. Want one? Okay, back to the kitchen then…"
A pitcher of lemonade and a box of cookies later, Lina leaned back in her chair, refreshed. "We need ta get goin' on that song for Zel and Val's German rant. Not today and not us but at the practice."
"Don't you think we should go over all the songs for the battle of the bands? We haven't even decided on the final five we're supposed to have ready," Xelloss reminded her.
"No sweat. But I meant after the band thingy anyway. Gods, and then school starts. I can't believe summer's almost over! I kinda wish it would start all over."
"I don't," Xelloss said in a low voice. He looked particularly serious.
"I didn't mean repeat it all! Geesh, Xelloss… I wouldn't wanna go through all that again. I'd just like ta laze around and do more writing. I haven't gotten very far on our story and more keeps happening that I need ta add in. Lucky for me, I've got you and Zel with the photographic memories to help out if I get in a bind, eh?"
"Sorry," he said frowning slightly. "I must have had too many hits to the head. I hardly remember last year at all any more. So, are you ready to learn the dance steps I had in mind?"
The sudden change of subject and demeanor was not lost on Lina. She knew Xelloss as well as anyone, she figured, and recognized that something was troubling him. Probably the 'Luna' incident, she decided. She also determined that she would pry it out of him before long. She could not take the chance that he might suffer a meltdown crisis around the time of the band contest, that was for certain!
"Okay. So what kind of dancing did you have in mind?"
"Did you ever see that movie called 'Dirty Dancing'?" he asked with the return of his smile.
"No, should I?"
He nodded, "I think you should. It will give you a feel for the style. We can go rent it and watch it, if you have time?"
"Yeah, sure. The exercise will do us some good."
"Not only that," he added, his smiling growing wider. "The pastry shop is nearby, as well as Mrs. Shearer's deli!"
"Deli…"
"And it is close to lunch time…" he whispered.
"Hey, I know that! I'm goin' already! Ya don't have ta lure me with food," she said gruffly. Then with a cute smile she added, "But…if you're buying?"
"Whatever you want! Movie and lunch it is, Lina." Xelloss followed her out the door of her house, stopping only to close the door behind him. Well, if she wouldn't be his girlfriend, he was glad she was willing to be his good friend still. Besides, one never knew…
~*~
When Zelgadiss drove by his new house, he was unable to park closer than half a block away because of all the trucks and utility vehicles clustered like flies on pie.
"Holy shit…" he muttered then jogged around the house to the back where a sizable part of the fence had been removed to make way for the crane operator.
Val and Filia were standing under the shelter of back of the garage. "Hey!"
"I forgot all this was happening," Zel shrugged.
"Yeah, well I guess they wanna get this outta the way so they can start on buildin' Kiki's place next. Gourry said they got the job and were faxin' a few changes to the blueprints back and forth. 's gonna be cool, ain't it?"
The crane lowered the gigantic hot tub into its designated spot as the kids watched. On hand were the plumbers and electricians installing power and outdoor lights, water for the showers and tub, and an automatic watering system for the garden area.
"I can't watch…" Zel groaned. "Is Xelloss back yet?"
"Isn't he with you?" Filia asked.
"No. He didn't make it back last night. I did get a call from…a reliable source, telling me he was fine. Well, he'll turn up someday, I suppose. You won't believe what I found out today, though!"
Zel then told them his sad tale of late-night chemistry labs to destroy his life. "I mean…I wanted to go to the dojo and do fencing and have band practices and…shower and…"
"Well, don't give up on showering," Filia frowned, and then laughed at his exasperated expression. "Why don't you just forget it and just take high school classes this year and then do the university full-time next year? It seems to me you and Xelloss are just making your lives more difficult for irrelevant reasons."
Zel just shook his head and shoved open the sliding glass door to the house. Might as well get started on his irrelevant homework…
~*~
Comfortably established with giant pastrami on rye, coleslaw, bean salad and potato chips, Lina put off her interrogation of Xelloss until the dessert course arrived. Why ruin a good meal, eh?
Xelloss seemed to sense this, as he had kept up a constant flow of treats to the table, and since he had hardly taken a bite himself, it was obviously all for Lina's benefit.
It was about the time of her second slice of cheesecake that Lina shoved back her chair a bit and asked, "So are you going out with my sister now?"
Had it been Zelgadiss caught mid sip, he would have choked spasmodically. Instead, Xelloss raised a single eyebrow and answered, "No, why do you ask?"
Lina snarled, "Don't play me for the fool, Xelloss. Just tell me why you and she were up talking late last night and be sure it explains the punch to yer face while yer at it."
Holding up his hands, palm outward in submission, he said, "Okay! She gave me a ride home after finding me waiting at the bus stop for a bus that wasn't coming, like I told you before. It's true! The lip…well…I…er…"
Now he was stumped. If he told Lina 'the story' Luna had come up with for him, it would make him sound like a lech in front of Lina and she might become disgusted with him. If he told her what he had told Luna, he would certainly sound like a wuss being slapped around by a girl over his scars. But, if he told her the truth… she'd want to get involved or worse yet, get Zelgadiss involved.
"That's a…"
"If you dare say 'secret' I will knock your pretty face off your head, got it, BUSTER!?"
He winced at the word 'pretty' (couldn't she call him 'handsome'?), shut his mouth, and raised both eyebrows. So, a partial truth would have to do then… "Oh…well. Please promise not to tell Zelgadiss, okay?"
"Nothin' doin'. Not 'til I know what the story is."
"Oh my… Well, you see…Eris has…er…had a boyfriend and he stormed in on us… We were only talking, mind you! She's really gung-ho on chemistry in particular… And he hit me before I knew what was happening. Of course, the next second I had him pinned to the floor begging for mercy, but…well. By the time we got rid of him my bus was gone and I was a bit of a mess when Luna found me so she offered me a ride back to your place so I wouldn't get a look at the blood and faint possibly…or something. That's it."
Lina's eyes narrowed. She didn't buy it. "I think there's more to all this that you're not telling me. Why is the boyfriend so mad at you? Why not her?"
"I think he has issues with the syndicate. Please, Lina, I'd rather not talk about this anymore. It's over and done."
Lina sighed. Okay. She'd have to do a little sleuthing on her own then. "Fine. Let's go back and watch that movie while I digest."
"O-kay, do-kay!" Saved by a stomach! It seemed that Lina's tummy was always his greatest ally…
~*~ End, Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special, Part Twenty-four. ~*~
