SLAYERS TRINITY
A fan fiction by OceanLord, JRaiKetchum, and Shin
Chapter 3: Magical Girl and Mazoku Hunter for Hire.
"What was that?" Lina curiously inquired as the red caped figure was chased away by the blond girl.
"You never told me you had a younger sister, she acts just like you!"
"Shut up Gourry!" Lina used her hand to cover the exasperation that was drawn all over her face.
There was still another two days until they arrived at their destination; Lina hoped she wouldn't have to kill Mr. Perception standing next to her before then. But the rumors regarding this place were true, travelers avoided this place in large groups, no one could be found living or wandering outside the cities. The local wildlife, appearing out of the woods to satisfy their curiosity, didn't even fear their passing; to see travelers (i.e. Lina and Gourry) was an event that just didn't happen.
"Did that one just call me flat-chested!" Lina suddenly turned on the onlookers.
"I didn't say anything Lina! I swear!" Gourry jumped back on defense, his hands waving madly in denial trying to protect himself from Lina's fury.
"Not your Gourry! I know I just heard the squirrel in the tree call me flat-chested!"
"You must be hearing things." Gourry calmed down, a little.
The amazing thing about Lina was that her hearing was on par with a dog. It was just a natural gift she had been born with, and refined through her talents as a sorceress. But there were times when she wished they were no quite so sharp. Gourry didn't have a clue what she was talking about but there was no doubt in Lina's mind that someone or something in a nearby bushel of trees had just called her flat-chested and since there was no one else around that fit that description…
"Animals don't talk Lina." Gourry made the obvious deadpan conclusion. Lina didn't want to admit to it, but he had her there. The dimwitted blond swordsman, who forgot where he was half the time, had made the connection with reality that she'd overlooked in her self- conscious ranting. How shameful…
"Your right Gourry," She bit her lip, the words were like ice in her throat.
Like was just about to start laughing her pain off, when there came a rustling in the bushes.
There was a scream!
Lina turned with the force of a tornado and was just in time to catch sight of a young girl land face first in a mound of dirt.
"Ouch…" the girl moaned.
"I knew it!" Lina pointed her finger accusingly.
The girl who had kissed earth dragged herself free of the imprint she'd left in the dirt and raised to her feet with obvious embarrassment. The girl was dressed in a uniform that mostly screamed amateur sorceress, clumsy antics aside.
She looked to be around Lina's age, maybe a year older but stood a good 5 to 6 inches higher, hair the color of muddy soil styled in twin pigtails tied up with barrettes embroidered with turquoise gems. Eyes that shined an electric blue were set atop a petit yet moderately toned body. She wore a light cyan cloak long enough to cover almost all of her body, apart from a set of travel worn boots and a pair of gloves of a similar color.
She dusted herself off long brisk strokes all while giving a nervous smile that hovered just above a frown.
"Eh he…" she chuckled, "sorry about that. My name is Justine and I've been sent by Arthan to help you, Miss Inverse."
Justine's sudden appearance and declaration of assistance had Lina so unbalanced she immediately forgot all about the gratuitous reference that had been made in relation to her chest size.
"Why would he send you to help?" Was Lina's first question.
"I'm his apprentice," Justine said with a sweet innocent smile, "he said this would be a good opportunity to see how a true genius sorceress works."
"I am, aren't I." Lina suddenly felt a lot better. "But I don't teach other people my magic."
"But Lina what about Amel…OOMMpphh." Gourry began to say before receiving an unrestraint elbow to the gut for his troubles.
"Shut up Gourry." Lina growled through clenched teeth.
"Please Miss Inverse!" Justine begged, "Arthan said he would double your pay if you take me along."
Music to her ears, if Lina had been physically capable of it her eyes would've flashed dollar signs accompanied by the sound of a cash register, Cha-Ching! Of course it almost sounded too good to be true, but Lina saw no reason to refuse such a generous offer on Arthan's behalf.
"Alright," Lina nodded, "If your going to come along, we should leave now. We've already wasted enough time here."
"Yay!" Justine exclaimed joyously, "Thank you very much Miss Inverse."
"Just call me Lina, ok?"
"Sure thing, Lina."
Lina turned back to the path so that they might continue their journey.
"Alex!" Justine called into the nearby bushel of trees and was rewarded with a shuffle of movement
"Who?" Lina asked.
"My bodyguard." Justine replied.
"Bodyguard?" Lina was dumbfounded; there had been someone else hidden in the trees and her sensitive ears hadn't picked them up, or Gourry's highly tuned combat sense. This Alex was either that quiet or highly skilled.
From behind the same tree that Justine had unceremoniously fallen from appeared another young girl who in terms of age, height, and overall development was a mirror image of Lina. She was thin, with skin pale as the light from a full moon and hair sparkling with silver tones. Everything about this girl was otherworldly; she was like a ghost especially her eyes, empty and lifeless.
As if trying to play some cruel trick, the clothing she wore was a complete stark contrast. A shirt of bright forest green, too big for her, accompanied with a pair of shorts dyed blue, also a size too big, and her pale skin made them seem all the more vivid. The only thing that fit her slight frame was the pair of simple shoes.
"This is Alex, she's a Mazoku Hunter." Justine introduced Alex to Lina and Gourry.
"Don't tell me she's going to come too." Lina suddenly had a very uneasy feeling about all this.
"Of course she is! Where ever I go, she goes!" This was not a topic open for discussion. "We've been good friends for years and years."
"Two years." Alex said simply, a voice that was pleasing to the ears, but you had to really pay attention otherwise you'd miss it.
"Ok," Lina didn't look forward to the next two days.
Conversation was light as the group of four individuals trekked down the neglected and overgrown path to the ruin of Ni.
"Hey," Gourry said, addressing Alex, "if you're her bodyguard, why did you let her fall out from the tree?" An honest question, one that Gourry, as Lina's unofficial guardian, took seriously.
"To teach her how to survive alone." Alex said no more.
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Night was falling quickly, the sun giving off only a few weak rays of life giving light. Lina felt uncommonly worn out from the day's activities. Who knew silence could be so draining? But ever since they'd picked up Justine and Alex no one had said much of anything. Sure, Justine and Alex did talk amongst each other, actually mostly Justine, but the pair could not have been more different than ice and water.
With the tents erected, the four party members slept under a star filled sky.
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"We're lost!" Rubette suddenly exclaimed for all the sleeping world to hear.
"Your voice could wake the dead!" Gokudo started yelling back.
"And whose fault is it?" Niari said accusingly at Rubette and Gokudo, but mostly Gokudo.
"Gokudo of course!" Rubette sneered
"Hey, you were the one chasing me with the rose. If you hadn't forced me to run off the path, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place!"
There was a rumbling of a food deprived stomach, "God I'm sooo hungry!" Gokudo cringed in pain forgetting all about the previous argument.
"Look a camp!" Niari's magic infused eyes pierced through the darkness.
"Where" Gokudo asked.
"There" Niari pointed over to the left.
"If there is a camp, then there's food." Gokudo mind shuffled through all manners of fine dining and first-rate cuisine that were both impractical and impossible for travelers to carry along with them.
"Gokudo," Rubette acted as if scolding a dog who had been caught peeing on the carpet, "we're not going to steal other people's food, just because you forgot to pack enough."
"Who's we? You never get it do you, babe. I'm all in it for myself. You gotta take what you want in life, don't rely on the generosity of others. I'm hungry and I'm going to satisfy that hunger." Gokudo ignored any further protests that Rubette flung his way, focusing instead on the prize that awaited him as he silently tiptoed in the direction of the camp.
"He's going to get caught," Rubette declared once Gokudo was out of earshot.
"It give us some time alone my dear Rubette." Niari said seductively.
"Don't even try Niari." Rubette raised her fist for the killing blow.
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Slayers is owned by Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Arizumi
Gokudo is the property of Takeru Kirishimama and Usagi Nakamura
