The Sorceress' New Clothes
by Cooking Spray
Disclaimer: All belongs to the one and only Kanzaka Hajime.
Just a cute little scene I wrote up on a whim. Short, sweet, and most of all. . . complete. Hope you like it.
"Come back here, you thieves!" The voice came from an irate man with a moustache who was, in the general attitude of a cheated innkeeper, bellowing insults and gesturing threateningly with his fist. Neither brawn nor name-calling would deter the two "thieves" in question, however, for they were quite of a different sort . . .
"Get the lead out, Gourry!"
"But Liiina, I just ate!"
"I don't care! Just step on it!"
The duo of blonde swordsman and petite sorceress ran as if pursued by an army of Mazoku, never stopping to chance a look back at the man with the moustache or who he could have summoned up to tail them. Townsfolk milling about the street stared after them, dumbstruck, if they were lucky enough not to be shoved out of the criminals' path. This breakneck pace continued until at last, signs of civilization died away and an entreating forest lay before them.
Lina Inverse slowed, heaved her last breath, and promptly collapsed into a moaning heap on the grass. "Remind me to plunder a bandit hideout soon so that we don't have to go through that again . . ."
The exhausted sorceress's faithful companion slumped down beside her, breathing his own tired sigh. "I'll remember, if I don't forget. Why didn't you just pay the guy?"
Lina reclined, crossing her arms behind her head and staring into the sky. "Because, I didn't have any money to pay him with, that's why."
Gourry blinked. "You mean we're broke again?"
She snapped. "Exactly."
"No more gourmet meals . . .?"
"Nope, looks like it's another week of foraging for our own food and sleeping beneath the stars." The redhead closed her eyes resignedly, a bit disappointed to be deprived of modern comforts for a while. But that was life.
"Well, that's not so bad." He paused a moment, mulling something over. "Where'd all our money go, anyway?"
At this comment, Lina's eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. "Ahhhhh . . . you know, here and there. . ." She fidgeted nervously.
Gourry studied her posture, sensing that she was hiding something. It was then his eyes locked onto a few articles of clothing he hadn't seen before. "Say, where'd you get those?"
"Eee!" Lina pulled her cape over her body in an attempt to conceal the new garments. "Heh-heh, you must be seeing things, Gourry. There's nothing new about my outfit. You should think about getting your eyes checked. Me, going shopping? Never!"
There was no doubt now in the swordsman's mind of where all their cash had disappeared to. It may have taken him longer than it would have for most, but Lina's behavior was a dead ringer for falsehood. He sighed. "Alright, where'd you spend it?"
She looked as if she might try to feed him another line at first, but logic won out, and she caved. Letting the tension in her muscles dissolve, she began her confession. "Okay, yesterday there was this fair in the town where we were staying . . ."
"The one with the really neat animal balloons?"
Lina sweatdropped slightly. "Uh, yeah, that one. Anyway, there was this woman who was selling all these clothes. And for half off the original price, too, can you believe it? So I got to looking at stuff and I guess . . . well, I guess I got a little carried away. But it's not like I buy clothes every day! I mean, a girl's gotta have some variety in her wardrobe." She frowned at Gourry as a stubborn child might, daring him to challenge her discretion in the spending of their funds.
All annoyance that Gourry harbored at the fiery-tempered sorceress, if there was any to begin with, had evaporated. He smiled and chuckled slightly to himself. "Okay, let's see them."
That threw Lina back a few paces. "H. . .huh?"
"Your new clothes, I want to see them."
A slight blush settled across the bridge of her nose at these words. He wanted to see her new clothes? Since when had Jellyfish acquired a taste in fashion (not that she chose her garments by looks, but rather practicality)? After all, the person wearing them was the same as ever. She failed to find an answer, so, finally relenting, she let the cape drop. If he showed any further intentions, she'd give him a reason to never be lecherous again.
Indeed, Lina Inverse had gotten a change in costume. Her standard magenta leggings and top had been traded in favor of a green theme. The shade matched her hair well. The leggings seemed clingy but also especially shiny, and were probably made of, knowing Lina, some exclusive new material that was everything-resistant. The shirt was a rather simple item, sleeveless and collared but also very sturdy looking. And lastly, her gloves and boots were now a deep brown and also appeared to be suede. Of course all of her usual ornamentation was the same. Leather and magical talismans seemed to fare better against the elements.
About a minute stretched along as Gourry seemed to take in her new look, thumb and forefinger at his chin in a stereotypical pose of contemplation. Unnerved about having her body the object of speculation, this made our heroine a bit uncomfortable. His observances seemed to be situated mainly on the clothes and not the wearer, however, which was lucky for his well-being. Still, what was taking so long? She'd worn the same thing essentially for four years, but even so, changing outfits wasn't that amazing.
Finally, he straightened up and looked her in the eye, smiling. Lina waited for him to make a comment, but as the time began to blow by, she decided she would have to prompt him. "So . . . uh . . . do you like them?" It surprised her that she actually wanted his approval.
"Oh, the clothes? Yeah, sure, they look fine. Green really looks good with your hair."
She flushed slightly at this compliment. After all, it wasn't every day someone gave a notice to her looks. "Uh, thanks." As soon as the words left her mouth, she stopped cold. Wait . . . "Oh, the clothes?" Just where were his eyes centered? "Gourry, what did you mean by that?"
He blinked. "What?"
The beginnings of a possibly destructive rage simmered in the sorceress's demeanor. "When you said, "Oh, the clothes?", what did you mean?" Her voice was calm and level. Too calm. Too level.
Gourry began to perceive his danger. When Lina spoke, he knew what she thought he'd been doing. Laughing with relief, he set to right the misconception. "I was just looking at your cape, where the pockets are that you keep stuff in. I noticed that a lot of them seemed full. So I was wondering that if you had treasure in there, couldn't we sell it and get money?" He hoped he'd evaded doom.
Not for the first time was Lina disarmed by Gourry's unusual perceptiveness. She thought over his words a moment. Now that he mentioned it, there was that group of thieves they'd raided a couple of weeks ago . . . he must've been seeing the leftover treasure she stowed away from then. Honestly, she was so used to supporting a heavy load atop her shoulders she hadn't noticed the extra weight. A grin overtook her as mental pictures of all the delicacies she could buy with the proceeds floated through her head. Just when she doubted him, Gourry always proved he had more than air between his ears.
"You're right." She commended him with a grin, all previous animosity forgotten. The swordsman heaved an enormous sigh, giving her a slight pang of guilt. Was he really that fearful of her?
At any rate, feeling terrible got nothing accomplished, and soon her stomach would be rumbling again. They'd have to get all the booty accounted for so they could get started toward the next town for lunch. Removing her mantle entirely, she spread it out on the ground and plunked down cross-legged beside it. She patted the earth beside her and called to her companion. "C'mon, help me sort out this treasure! I'll . . . I'll even give you a third of it as your own!" Okay, so he really didn't need any bribing. But Lina happened to be feeling more generous than usual, on account of the still-lingering guilt of misjudging Gourry.
He played along with her for the sake of her pride. Without a doubt, the apology was accepted. "Really?"
"Yup!" She giggled, giddy both at the thought of the cash she'd receive and the acceptance of her offer, which was worth more than just the third of the treasure she was giving away.
He crouched down, and together the two whiled away the morning in good company, motivated by the promise of lunch.