DISCLAIMER: I do not own Slayers or any of its characters. Slayers is owned by Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and some other people. I think that should go without saying, but hey, don't feel like getting sued today!
CHAPTER 6
The next morning, Lina woke up to see, outside her window, the sky was starting to color itself from the sun. Lina just rolled over, looking away from her window. It's too early to be awake, she thought, trying to go back to sleep, but only found that she was just lying there idly, with her mind completely wide-awake. She groaned, rollingover so she was facing the window. She saw the morning sky, which she hadn't done for the longest time; maybe for too long ...
She took a deep, frustrated breath as she kicked the blankets off of her. She slowly rised off from her warm bed, and went straight to her closet. She carefully opened the door, and picked through her clothes. She found a familiar yellow turtleneck T-shirt, and smiled, pulling it out. Hey, I remember this shirt. This is before I even met Gourry, and when I was travelling around, with that tag-along, Naga, she reminiscenced, then started shuddering when she started remembering Naga, and especially that laugh of hers.
She took her yellow shirt, her favorite pair of red pants, and new change of unmentionables with her, as she went to the bathroom. A few minutes laters, she stepped out of the bathroom in her change of clothes, which surprisingly still fit. With her pajamas with her, she just tossed them on her bed, rolled up her short sleeves, wrapped her bandana around her head, and found her favorite gold hoop earrings and beaded necklace of turquoise orb beads and two red coral fang-shaped beads which hung on opposite sides. She found a belt she used to use oftenly, and a pair of socks.
Fully changed, she descended down the stairs to the front door. Sitting with her shoulder guards and cape, she saw her sword. She figured she wouldn't need it, but she took it with her anyways. She slipped on her boots, and took a stroll around her neighborhood.
The neighborhood was so quiet, almost silent, with maybe less than a dozen birds chirping in the trees. Lina had missed the peace and quiet her neighborhood had to offer in the early morning, it was then she realized how much she missed it.
She walked until she saw the dead end of the street, and passed into the patch of forest, where she used to go and hide whenever she fled from Luna, her parents' scoldings, or just felt in danger in general, as a child. She stopped in her tracks to find Luna, sitting on a boulder, close to the edge of a cliff, looking down on the suburbs of the city. The breeze caught some of Luna's hair, as it flowed along with the wind; her face was unusually serene, deep in thought, with her legs pulled close to her chest. Her clothes fluttering along in the wind. The tassels kept on the hilt of the sword, which was strapped around her chest, danced around in the wind's direction.
"Luna?"
Luna just turned her head to where Lina was standing, "Hey. What are you doing up so early, Squirt?" Luna asked casually, with a subtle teasing tone in her voice. "I could ask you the same thing, Moon-breath; you never used to be one for early mornings!" Lina pouted, crossing her arms. "Yeah, you're right. Come here; sit with me a while!" Luna urged, patting the space on the boulder, besides her. "Alright." Lina agreed. "Give me your hand." Luna commanded. Lina did so, holding a few suspicions on what Luna had intended to do. Luna plopped in Lina's open palm a oatmeal-raisin cookie, then pulled out another out of her large tote bag she kept beside the boulder, and bit into her cookie. "You put something in this cookie, didn't you?" Lina asked bluntly. "What? Must you always suspect the worst of your elder sister?" Luna asked, continuing to eat her cookie. With that, Luna gave Lina another cookie and threw the first cookie from her hand. "I knew it. I'm on to your ways now, sis! Don't think you can pull a fast on the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse!" Lina boasted, placing her hand on her chest with a superior look on her face.
"You know, when you go boasting about yourself like that, it only means you're just compensating for something." Luna stated, in a matter-of-fact tone in her voice, as she glared at her younger sister. "What in nine hells is THAT s'pposed to mean?" Lina asked, irritated with Luna's constant use of psychoanalyses. "It means whatever you want it to mean." Luna sighed, laughing softly under her breath. Lina just shurgged her shoulders, and bit into her cookie, watching the sunrise with her siser. "You know, I can't remember the last time we did this ... " Lina said out loud, not really to Luna but also to herself. "You know, Lina, you really haven't changed a bit ... " Luna said, abruptly, after Lina. "You're still as precocious and wild like you always were, growing up. But, I envy you, you know." Lina turned to Luna, in shock, when she heard her say that statement. Did she really ... envy her? "You're so free; you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to, even love whoever you want. I can never be that way, not so long as I'm the Knight of Ceipheed. But, at the same time, I don't want to stop being the Knight; it gives me a sense of power and, call me crazy, but ... it almost gives me a sense of purpose." Luna said, with a soft, honest voice. Lina couldn't help but whisper back, "Luna ..." and leaned her head on her older sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left home, but after I did those projections of you, taking your bath, ... when you beaten me up that day, I was so scared you were actually going to kill me. Then, I remember you telling me to go and see the world ... I never wanted to disappoint you, even though I've feared you so long, and I've always felt like I've been living in your shadow; so, I wanted to do it. I wanted to go and see the world, so I could become a wise adult. Just like you, Luna ... " Lina explained, finally telling her sister all that she felt for years. Luna put her arm around Lina's shoulder, "I know I've never been a sister who'd give you hugs and kisses, like Mama has, and that I've always been a scary and strict-kind of sister; but know that I love you, and I've missed you a lot since you were gone, ... Dragon Spooker." Luna said, in a soothing voice, then started giggling at her sister's alternative name. Lina just smiled, laughing at that name that oftenly was tied to her name. With that, Luna started stroking her hair.
"So, about that guy from yesterday, that Gourry-guy or whatever, ... who is he, really?" Luna asked, looking down at her redheaded sister. "He told you; he's my protector." she said in a very matter-of-fact voice, making a pouting face on Luna's shoulder. "Lina, c'mon. This is your sister you're talking to, not Mama or Papa. You and I both know that you do NOT need a protector. I know there's another reason. Tell me." Luna demanded. Lina, not really wanting to get threatened soon, complied. "Fine; he has the Sword of Light; at least, he used to. When we first started travelling together, I was just with him so I could get the Sword of Light from him -- " "Wait a minute, isn't it gone? I forgot how, but I heard that the Sword of Light is no longer here in our world!" Luna abruptly interrupted; Lina was now wondering if Luna has been keeping track of her for some years. "Where did you hear that? Well, ... yeah, it's true, nonetheless. Gourry lost it in the Sea of Chaos, for me ... " Lina said, looking down, melancholily. "What do you mean?" Luna asked. "When I casted the Giga Slave for Hellmaster Phibrizo, the Lord of Nightmares took over her body, and I guess Gourry came after me." Lina explained.
Lu: WHAT? You mean he went to the Sea of Chaos, for you!
Li: I think so. I can't really remember.
Lu: So, you casted the Giga Slave? The reason for this must have been pretty high; why did you do it?
Li: I did it ... (blush) to save Gourry.
With that, there was an awkward silence, with Luna just glaring down at Lina with a certain look. " ... What?" was all Lina could ask. "So, this Gourry's is no one, yet you used the Giga Slave to save him, and then, he goes, and tops it all off, by him saving you by following down THE Creator of Everything, in the Sea of Chaos? ... Have you ever been honest with yourself, EVER?" That was all Luna needed to say. Lina knew where she was going with this.
"The truth is, yes, I do have feelings for him. Whether he has them for me, I really don't know sometimes ... But, I do know the consequences if I ever tell him my feelings." Lina said to Luna, with a tragic tone of voice. "What's that?" Luna asked, rubbing Lina's shoulder. "Our friendship, for one; sure, he's not just my protector, but he's my friend. If I were to go and tell me that I love him, that'd completely change things between us, and I don't want that. He might even want us to get married, but I'm not really for that; I still want to steal from bandits, see the world, eat all the food there is to be eaten, and all that. I'm just not ready to settle down! Another reason is because I'm afraid of it; love, that is. Love is something I've never really understood; hitting and physical abuse is something I can deal with; but love, affection, all that, just signs of weakness. Then, there's that huge possibilty that he still just sees me a kid; did you know that's how we met? I was on my way to Atlas City, and some bandits ambushed me, and he comes along, saves me, and offers to take me to Atlas City in place of a guardian! How dumb can he? I mean, I'm Lina Inverse: Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker, Enemy To All Who Live, you name it, that's me! On top of that, he constantly rubs in the fact that I'm flat-chested; what kind of romancer does that? Then, the biggest problem of all: my reputation; you have no idea how much this could affect it! People will think that I've weaken, and I won't be feared of anymore, or those fortune-seeking people might use him as a lure for me, or worse, he could actually get hurt because of me ... I don't want that. I can't have that, Luna!" Lina sobbed. She was actually crying, just thinking of all the horrid possibilites that could happen to Gourry if admitting her feelings were to happen.
"But, what if ... things weren't to happen that way? What if you two live happily ever after?" Luna asked, trying to make Lina think of the positive outcome of it.
"You know I don't believe in happily-ever-afters, Luna." Lina replied.
"Look, Lina, don't give up on your love because of your fears, Lina; it's the worst." Luna urged. Lina tried to shut Luna out now, until she felt a small drop of liquid fall on top of her head. "Luna ... ?" Lina whispered in concern, looking up at her elder sister, who was crying. "Just promise me something, Lina: Don't reject him just because you're afraid of what's to become. It may seem scary, but in the end, it'll all be worth. I just wish I could've known that sooner. Don't make the same mistake I made. You'll just regret it for the rest of your life ... " After hearing what Luna said, Lina took her sister's advice to heart.
"Lina, promise me." Luna commanded, with a firm voice. Lina, unable to speak, just nodded. "Thank you," Lina said softly. Luna blinked, "For what?" Luna asked, wiping her tears. "For having this talk with me. I guess I needed this reality check from you for some time now. Mama tried talking about this with me last night, but I didn't really listen to her. So, thank you ..." Lina smiled, hugging her sister. Luna started rubbing her back, and looked up at the sky. Soft snoring sounds were heard in a short while, and Luna looked down to see her sister, asleep, with her small arms stil around her. Luna just smiled serenely at her, unstrapped her sword then substituted her strap for a sword-belt, managed to get Lina on her back, and took Lina back to the Inverses' house. She bounced once to make sure she had her, then walked out of the forest, with Lina still asleep on her back. "Hehe! Mama was really on the ball this time; I never thought my baby sister would feel THIS strongly for someone else. Now I'm glad I got to help Mama out with this one." Luna said to herself, reminscencing on last night's events.
"Lulu?" Fiona was in front of Luna's door of her house, while Luna, who was getting ready for bed, was holding the door open, glancing at her mother. "Mama, what are you doing here? It's late." Luna asked, running her fingers through her lavendar-colored hair. "I need your assistance on something, Lulu," Fiona stated, while walking inside her daughter's house. Spot ran up to Fiona, and jumped on her legs, happily barking. "Aww! Hi there, Spot-dear! I'm sorry, dear, but I didn't bring any treats with me tonight, but I will tomorrow, OK?" Fiona said, smiling and ruffling Spot's floppy ears. With that, Spot ran back to where he was previously, and Fiona looked back at Luna. "What do you need my help with?" Luna asked, hands on her hips. "It's about Lili and that boy, Gourry. I need you to help her realize her feelings for him. I tried reaching out to her tonight, but I don't think that I get this to work, alone. So, Lulu, will you help me?" Fiona asked, with an equally firm voice Luna was speaking to her with. "Why my help? Why not have Papa help out?" Luna asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Because, Lulu, your father seems to think that Lili is unable to find anyone worthy of her heart. I do agree with him, to an extent, and I believe this Gourry is definitely worthy of our dear Lili. And, another reason I want you to help is because I know Lili will always listen to you. She may fear you, but she will always listen, nevertheless. Please say you will help, Lulu. Think of your sister's happiness. I know that she would do the same for you, if she only knew." Fiona said, her eyes shut in a depressed state. Luna reacted, making her hand into a fist. "Alright. I'll do it, Mama." she said, and Fiona smiled. "Thank you, Lulu. I've also brought you some tea, if you'd like some." Fiona said, pulling ut her thermos. "You could leave it here and I'll return it tomorrow morning." Luna smiled back. Fiona placed the thermos on her table, and walked to the front door. "Good night, Lulu. Sweet dreams." she said, shutting the door behind her. "Night, Mama." Luna replied back, now left with the thoughts of her and her former love, and Lina's situation. Spot came over to her side, as she looked outside her window, and she just scratched his head as she looked at the night scenery.
The day was still dawning when she arrived to the house. Luna reached into her pocket, still trying to hold up Lina, and pulled out a key to the lock. She stepped in the house, shutting the door behind her. She climbed up the stairs, carefully opened her sister's door to her room. She laid her in her bed, took off her boots and jewelry, set the jewelry by the bed and the boots on the floor, and pulled her blanket over her sleeping form. Then, she proceeded to remove her bandana from her head and places it beside her jewelry, then stroked her face, smiling down at her. "Somedays, it seems like only yesterday you've been gone, and somedays when it seems like a hundred years since I've last seen you, Squirt." Luna simply said to Lina while she slept. She ruffled her red hair, then took her boots with her as she walked off.
"Lina?" a young male's voice called out. Luna turned her head towards the voice, and found herself in front of Gourry, still in his pajamas. "Oh, you're that Gourry fellow, aren't you?" Luna asked, still trying to memorize him. "Yeah; you're Lina's sister, Luna, right?" Gourry asked. "You'd be right! Gourry, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, since the first time we've been introduced. My sister ... you love her, do you not?" she asked, looking at him straight in the eyes. Gourry flushed. "Um, ... well, ... that is, ... I mean, ... " Gourry stammered, trying to find the right words. "That's exactly what I thought. Well, I need you to do something for me, but also for her: please, at the festival, tell her how you feel about her; that you love her. And, I'll tell you, being her sister, I will tell you, what you feel for her, goes double how she feels for you." Luna said, her index finger thrust in his direction. "Lina ... feels for me?" Gourry asked, basically speechless. Luna just nodded. Gourry couldn't help but blush some more right now. "Oh, and the festival being on your birthday, you just might be getting a surprise real soon." Luna said, just before she went downstairs. Gourry couldn't say anything more, but a farewell, as he was left with that relishing thought of Lina actually having feelings for him; someone who, for the past three years, rarely showed any sign of affection towards him. He just smiled at that thought, and peeked into her room, to find her fast asleep.
He couldn't help but enter her room, just to watch her as she slept. She looked so peaceful; just looking at her as she sleeps, you could never guess that this girl was the infamous and feared Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker, and Enemy To All Who Lives. He brushed her fiery red hair off her face, and he just smiled down at her. Ignoring all risks that this action involved, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on her cheek. With that, she just smiled in her sleep, and sighed, "Gourry ... " Gourry, shocked that Lina was dreaming about him, decided now should be the moment to leave her to her slumber, and go back to his room to think about what kind of surprise could Lina have for him on his birthday.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: PHEW! I actually found a way to wrap up this chapter; I'm so HAPPY! (does a little jig) Anyways, onto the notes: yes, yes, yes; I realize there is major out-of-characterness in this installment, but you know? THIS IS MY STORY, & I'M KINDA LIKE IT THIS WAY! You know, maybe just to bust y'all's chops, I think I'll make Lina soft-spoken & call Gourry "Gourry-darling" from now on ... JUST KIDDING! Anyways, I felt that this Lina & Luna moment has always needed to be done, and if I'm meant to be the one to instigate it, then I won't waste the opportunity! Anyways, I don't think it's fair to portray Luna as this horrid-evil older sister forever, because she is also a person, with many constracting traits to her, like Lina. Also, originally, I intended to have a subplot, with an original character to play the role of Luna's love/former love, but decided just to stick with the Gourry/Lina plot, and just give the idea of Luna's love without giving specific details (& he was an archer, just for you people who're curious!). So, Spot makes his actual cameo here! For you people who's never seen Spot before, he's basically a sky blue-colored dog-thing, with a bushy tail, with ears that could be considered floppy since he doesn't have them pointing up, and gloved paws (Spoiler: HE'S DILGEAR!) Anyways, I REALLY went in deep, with Luna & Lina, but I think it was necessary: Luna telling Lina how she wished she was as free as her, and Lina admitting that she felt that she lived under her shadow for a good number of years. By the way, for those of you who got confused, there IS a flashback sequence in this chapter, when Luna thinks back on what happened a few hours prior to her heart-to-heart with Lina. Gourry's birthday surprise ... I don't know what it could be, what do you all think it could be? Hmmmm, ... (pulls out pipe, & blows bubbles out of it, rubbing my chin) Anyways, for those of you who noticed, YES, I did use Lina's OVA ensemble as her attire she wore when she has her talk with Luna; the jewelry, not exactly what was in the OVA, but I saw it on her on one of my G/L images, which featured Lina, in the outfit described, dangling a piece of some kind of pastry (don't know the name of the food) in front of a hungry super-deformed Gourry! It's a very cute pic, & recommend all Gourrina fans to go & save it & use it as their wallpapers or something:) Originally, I intended for Lina & Luna to have a little swordplay, "for old time's sake," where they'd both have a practice duel, to show as proof that Lina learned her skills with the sword from Luna; however, in all honesty, I completely forgot about that concept, and just had Lina fall asleep on Luna to wrap up the discussion between them. Luna's clothes, if anyone wondered WHY I didn't go into detail about them, I felt was really unnecessary, and also, I couldn't really decide if she was to be in pajamas or some kind of casual wear (what I had in my mind was a white thin-stapped tank top with moss-green super low-rise cargo pants, with some pair of boots, with her sword strap across her chest!). Well, these notes aren't nearly as long as others, but I think that's about enough. So, please read the next installment & enjoy:D