Wonder! Lantis, the Wandering Kailu!
Chapter One
Lina hummed to herself as she walked along. She'd managed to lose Naga for the time being and get some time to herself. It was rare that she was alone for any amount of time and she was enjoying the quiet. Then raucous laughter came to her ears.
"Now what?" Lina muttered, as she sneaked over and got a look at what was going on. About thirty or forty men surrounded a lone traveler.
"What a fool, traveling without a weapon!" one jeered, as he pointed out the obvious.
"I warn you, do not underestimate me." the traveler said, coldly, in response.
"Oh, I am so scared! Get him!" another shouted, sending in more bandits at the traveler. With a sudden move, the traveler whipped out some kind of sword hilt and summoned a blade made of pure light.
"What the hell?! Is that the Hikari no Ken?! The sword that killed the demon beast Zannifar?!" Lina wondered, as the man faced his attackers.
"What?! A sword of light?!" the bandit leader asked. Then the unexpected happened.
"Irazuma Shuurai!" the man shouted, sending a blast of electricity at the bandits. The deadly attack electrocuted all of the bandits in the vicinity. Lina's jaw dropped; it wasn't the legendary Hikari no Ken, but it was a sword of light. What was more was that the swordsman was also a magic user! As he resheathed his blade, the man started to walk away.
"Hey! Hold up a sec!" Lina shouted, running to catch up with the dark haired man. He stopped, turned, and looked at her.
"Yes? What is it you want?" the man asked, cool blue eyes analyzing Lina.
"Well, erm………I saw what you did to those bandits…….and um…….." Lina stuttered, for once at a loss for words.
"They were an annoyance. I merely did what I had to." The man said, quietly.
"Yeah, I know! But what you did was awesome! Where did you learn to do that?!" Lina asked.
"I had a good teacher." The man replied, with a touch of sadness in his voice.
"So, uh, what's your name?" Lina asked.
"My name is Lantis." The man said, as a breeze ruffled his white traveling cloak.
"Lantis, huh? Well my name's Lina Inverse! Pleased ta meet ya!" Lina said, shaking the man's hand. He gazed down at her, with a bemused look on his face. The moment was broken by a high-pitched female voice shouting Lina's name.
"Oh great, Naga, witch of darkness has awakened………again." Lina muttered, with a look of exasperation on her face.
"Naga?" Lantis asked. Lina nodded.
"The traveling companion I never wanted." Lina said, as the scantily clad Naga bounded onto the scene.
"I finally found you, Lina Inverse! Thought you could hide, didn't you?" Naga asked, cheerfully. Lina could only make a slight noise in exasperation. Lina could see that Lantis was silently debating whether or not to remain or leave. It was then that Naga noticed Lantis standing there.
"Oooh! What a handsome man! Where did he come from?" Naga asked, practically drooling at the sight. Lantis sighed silently and rolled his eyes.
"He was here fighting bandits, Naga." Lina muttered, surprised by how unruffled Lantis appeared to be, considering who was standing in front of him.
"Of course he was! Anyone can see that! So, tell me, what's his name?" Naga asked.
"Why not ask him? You're practically hanging off of him." Lina said, impatiently.
"What's your name, handsome?" Naga asked.
"Kailu Lantis." Lantis replied, giving his official rank this time.
"A Kailu? A Cephirian Magic Swordsman? What're you doing so far away from home?" Naga asked, sounding rational for the first time in her life.
"Personal reasons." Lantis replied, as he brushed her off and started walking.
"Hey! Mind if we travel with you? We could use a good bodyguard!" Naga shouted. Lina could almost see Lantis cringe, but when he turned to look at them, he was the picture of absolute calm.
"I have the feeling you ladies could more than handle yourselves in battle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to tend to in the next town." Lantis said, as he began walking again.
"We have business in the next town, too!" Naga lied, as she eagerly rushed to catch up with Lantis. Lina smirked when Lantis shot her an understanding glance, knowing why she had said that Naga was the companion she'd never wanted.
"This is the exact same problem Zagato had with Alcione!" Lantis thought, rolling his eyes again when Naga gripped his arm. Trying to maintain his look of cold indifference, Lantis extricated himself from Naga and continued on his way, ignoring the fact that he now had acquired two shadows; one unwilling, the other, infatuated.