Disclaimer: Blah Blah I dont own blah blah;3
;D Review!
Note: Hehe, yes MoonPrincess the yokai does only take form of the one you love, but then when you are helpless or whatever she'll get old and ugly and eat you lol, and thanks for your reviews. your stories are the bomb...X/L;3
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Upon awakening Lina lifted herself onto her shoulder, and was pleased to find that it was no longer pained her to lean onto it. Despite the tremendous pain she went through last night it was all worth it in the end one way or another.
Xelloss had been very gentle with her, treating her like a fragile piece of glass. It had surprised her that he even offered to help at all, he could have just waited it out for the wounds to heal with her magic. If all he was doing was following her then why did he care whether or not their trip was delayed for a while longer? Maybe he didn't like seeing her in pain? Lina shook her head, arguing with herself. That's impossible-mazoku were selfish beings only capable of destruction.
So then, why had he tended to her so carefully?
Lina abandoned her thoughts and instead turned her head to Xelloss, and fully expected him to have been watching her the whole time. Or at least she'd turned her head to where she thought Xelloss would be. The priest was nowhere in sight, only his mat lay where he usually sat behind the fire.
She jumped to her feet in a frenzied panic, the same bitter feeling creeping into her heart as that day one year ago. Xelloss had left her just as Gourry had, leaving her alone to face the emptiness in her heart.
Why didn't she expect this? Xelloss had orders to follow her for as long as his master wanted him to, and apparently it hadn't been a very long run. Lina felt utterly pathetic for expecting anything from him, a monster with no emotions towards humans whatsoever. He had been here on business, nothing more.
Lina knew he had no heart, but couldn't he have at least said goodbye? He didn't even have as much courtesy as Gourry had to at least leave a note or a clue to tell her that he was leaving.
That was all that ever seemed to happen to Lina; people were doing nothing but leaving her alone. They saw Lina as just some crazy sorceress with no goals or point in her life. She wasn't worth their time.
The angry tears sprang to her eyes again, making it harder to fight the wave of emotions surging through her body. Her tears were just making her even more angry at herself more than Xelloss.
Lina slowly sank down to her mat, and cried her heart out. She wasn't going to hold any of it back anymore, she needed this closure and she knew it. She cried for the loneliness, for love, for her friends, but most of all she cried for Gourry. Gourry was like a nightmare everyday, all she did was run to him as fast as her legs would take her, but he just sank deeper into the horizon.
No one had ever double-thought Lina's smile as she waved them on with their own lives, no one ever suspected that all she wanted to do was get on her knees and beg for them to stay with her. But she knew that wasn't her place to make them give up their lives for her own, even she couldn't be so selfish.
"Lina-san?" Her head snapped up, and a new wave of tears rushed from her heart. Was that Xelloss's voice? She stood up on wobbly knees and turned to face the man in question, and another sob tore through her body. Her hand flew to her mouth to soften the sounds of her cries, but it didn't make much of a difference.
All of her barriers were crumbling to pieces and she ran to encircle her arms around his waist, her face buried in his chest. Xelloss awkwardly clasped his hands behind her back. "Lina-san what's wrong?"
Lina answered into his chest in a watery mess of tears. "You were leaving me...I was alone again." She sobbed harder and clutched his shirt in her hands. The thought of him leaving terrified her to an extent greater than she'd ever imagined.
"Lina-san, I didn't leave. I'm right here." He gazed down at the small head melded with his chest, and furrowed his brow. Never had he suspected that she would react like this, even if he had anticipated some sort of disarray at his absence, but he hadn't known she'd cry like this. He had left the camp for awhile only to see what would happen, and in truth expected to come back to find her gone.
Instead she stood here, sobbing uncontrollably in fear of his departure. He didn't know when it happened, but he no longer liked the idea of harming Lina in any way; his master would not be pleased.
Xelloss lifted his hand to the back of her head and held her to him gently. "You idiot, I was so scared." She whispered, finally lifting her head to grace his eyes with the sight of her face. Xelloss smiled down at her. "Lina Inverse isn't supposed to be afraid of anything."
Lina smiled back weakly and lifted herself onto her toes, pressing her lips to his gently. It was only a peck, and yet it was her emotions she had kissed him with. Everything she'd felt that morning, no, everything she'd felt for the past year was poured from her heart to his lips.
He was caught off guard by her sudden show of affection, and felt a small pang of sadness well up inside him. The only thing he'd tasted one her soft pink lips were her tears and sorrow. It felt like she was calling out to him, begging him with her eyes to tell her that her pain would eventually subside, that one day she wouldn't be alone anymore.
Xelloss gazed down into her amber eyes still red from her tears, and kissed her forehead lovingly. "It's ok Lina-san, I'll stay by your side."
If only he'd meant it.
OoO
Lina sighed heavily and sank deeper into the warm water. She had excused herself earlier so she could bathe for awile, she needed to wash her pain away. After finding the perfect spot she'd used her magic to blow a hole in the ground, fill it with water, then set it on fire.
This morning had been confusing for her, but it had also taught her something about herself. Thinking about how close she was to throwing herself off the mountain was a scary thought; never had she imagined reliving old pain would affect her so strongly.
She didn't know whether or not it was Xelloss in particular leaving, or if it was just the fear of being left alone again that scared her so badly. Either way it had surprised her that she'd let Xelloss see her in such a weakened state.
The usual Xelloss would have teased her to no end, but instead he'd held her close, whispered sweet encouragements in her ear, and stroked her hair tenderly. It had made Lina experience a new hope that her pain would blow over, and she could travel alone again.
Lina of the past enjoyed her days as a rouge sorceress and prided her life as a wanderer. Where had that Lina gone to? The old Lina didn't need anyone to tell her that it was going to be ok, that they wouldn't leave her alone again, that her existence meant something to them. The old Lina could have told herself those things and continued on just fine without a second thought.
Something told her that maybe that had just been a mask of her own, that while traveling alone she'd built a wall between herself and the world. That killing off hundreds of bandits was just a way of fooling the world into believing that she was strong.
After 5 years of opening herself again, it hurt to see everyone desert her without even a glance backwards in her direction. And why would they stay? She had nothing to offer any of them, nothing at all.
Her tiny fist sloshed into the water as a result of her frustrations. She hated feeling so confused, it was like being trapped inside of a soundless bubble as she watched in helpless stupor as everyone turned their backs to her, oblivious to the shrieks of protests coming from her seemingly silent cage.
She climbed out and grabbed the towel off of a nearby boulder in an angry charade. These thoughts only angered her and brought new troubles to mind. The poor towel was being rubbed furiously over Lina's skin as Lina took all her anger out on the act of drying herself off.
When she had the last of her apparel in tact she stomped out of the little alcove, a hostile aura forming around her tiny body.
OoO
Xelloss bravely glanced sideways at the fury-filled sorceress traveling beside him. For some reason unknown she had marched into the camp with an animosity that even made him a little worried.
She hadn't spoken to him since returning from her bath and for awhile Xelloss suspected that Lina was disgruntled due to his earlier actions. It wasn't like he could ask her what the problem was, she'd only ignore him or turn a monstrous eye his direction.
So he decided to leave the subject alone for the moment, as he could feel them approaching the Heiliege Lance. The mountain seemed to shrink as they traveled higher into the clouds.
A strong aura was beaming down from the very top of the mountain, telling Xelloss that Lina had not exaggerated the power of this mystical lance. The sound of Lina drawing in a small breath confirmed that this feeling was definitely the lance.
"Xelloss, you feel that, don't you?" A hint of fear crept into her voice as she lifted her head to peer up the mountain, wondering what could lie inside its mystifying depths.
"It would seem that we are getting closer." She nodded and swallowed down the thought of turning back. It was too late now to back down, whatever was up there was going to be in her hands no matter what. She felt like she needed this lance, or maybe it needed her.
After climbing for another half hour, a dead end came into sight. That wasn't right, this was supposed to be where the relic had been hidden. It was supposed to lay at the very top of the mountain, awaiting whoever dared climb to the top to grasp its power.
"No..." Lina reached out to lay her tiny palm against the rock blocking them from heading forward. "This isn't right. It has to be here Xelloss, it just has to be." Xelloss watched her silently, and stared up at the huge wall of rock.
This didn't look normal, this rock had been placed here by magic. By no means was this a natural happening, it was far too coincidental. "Lina-san, try breaking the wall. Maybe this isn't a dead end."
She looked back at him with wide eyes, obviously not thinking that there might have been another force keeping them from finding this lance. Taking a step back she took a deep breath and chanted, "Source of all fire, crimson fire burning bright! Gather together in my hand and become an inferno...Burst Flare!"
A ball of light appeared in the targeted area, and in the next instant the ball exploded, raising a tongue of blue white flame. The rock shattered into a thousand pieces, and a slow smile curved the sides of her mouth as a tiny glow signaled success. She let out a low whistle and glanced back at Xelloss.
"We found it." Xelloss smiled, feeling her relief sink into him as well and influence his own feelings. "It would appear that we have, Lina-san." She stepped over the rock remnants and shoved past a few of the bigger pieces. Xelloss followed suit, purposely refraining from mentioning that he could easily teleport them to the center. Instead he curiously followed the sorceress through the rocky trail.
Lina pushed over the last boulder that blocked her entry and they reached a hollow alcove, and another wall stood at the end. The wall bore strange markings, which were obviously talismans to keep trespassers out. That damned priest was smarter than Lina thought.
There were two magically lit lanterns hanging on each side of the cave, and the floor had words engraved as a warning to wanderers.
Beware, for what lies beyond the sealed door before you can only bring destruction to the world around you. If you dare to break the seal than have these words in mind; you have been warned.
Lina laughed nervously, feigning bravery. "That is so corny, couldn't he have come up with a more original encryption?" She swallowed, feeling a bit edgy as she walked over the inscriptions on the stone floor.
Shaking herself out of her unsettled state, she tried to concentrate and ran her finger along the engravings on the door. They looked like they were from centuries ago, like the red priest had used an ancient language and culture to confuse a sorceress such as herself. Maybe, just maybe, all it took to break this wall was one of her more frequent spells. She doubted it but decided that she had nothing to lose.
"Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!" The sphere of fire shot out of her poised hands, and crashed into the wall. But it did nothing, the wall still stood firm. There was not a scratch on it.
Lina let out a frustrated sigh and stomped her foot. "Why don't you try a more powerful spell? The red priest was a foe of extremely powerful energy if you recall, and maybe you could use one of your more formidable spells on his talisman?" She rolled her eyes at him, and spat, "If you know so much then why don't you do it?"
She hadn't meant for her voice to sound to so harsh, but she'd accidentally let her anger out on him-again. Why did she always do that? No wonder people didn't like her. But he hadn't seemed to mind.
Xelloss shrugged, keeping his composure. "I might tear down the entire mountain." The smugness in his voice made Lina bristle.
"And you're assuming that I won't?"
"You don't think it's worth the risk?"
She gave him a look before turning back to the wall, taking position again. "Wind, crimson flame. Grant the power of thunder to my hand! Digu Volt!" Lightening shot out of Lina's palm from her extended arm. This time a huge crack ran down the wall, making the writings glow an eerie green. A hollow creak sounded as the door slid open, and a thump was heard when it ceased movement.
Lina turned back to the now grinning Xelloss, and rolled her eyes. "Well I could have you know." He opened one eye and she saw a triumphant gleam buried inside its violet abyss. "Yes, Lina-san. Indeed you could have."
She refused to sink down so low as to start another argument with the idiot priest, and instead held her tongue with great effort. "Whatever, just come on." She turned away from him and stepped through the now open doorway.
A stone staircase led down into the pitch black chasm, it looked more to Lina like an ocean of darkness. With a deep, shaky breath, she formed a small ball of light in her hand as a guide and stepped down the first step.
What had she gotten herself into?
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Phew! I had alot of trouble with this one for some reason. I kept coming to a loss of words and eventually I just got so frustrated that I actually left the computer for an hour or two. But I came to my senses and found an inspiration of sorts, and vwalah! hehe, i hope you like it. And as I type my mind is reeling for idea on the next chapter! and btw i made a strong effort not to use as much Japanese this time so i hope you like!;3