Disclaimer: Don't own nothing! :D

Lowering his newspaper, Zelgadiss turned his head to Hiyo. They were seated across from each other in the small cafe across the street from the hotel, and it had been about 13 hours since he'd last seen anyone besides the perky little Hiyo. "Hey, do you know what happened to Lina and Xelloss? They both disappeared right after we booked our hotel rooms last night."

Hiyo smiled sagely, and shrugged, feigning ignorance when in reality she knew what had gone down in the heat of the night. She had spotted Xelloss entering Lina's room, and just the fact that Lina had let him in willingly was a sure sign that her hunch was right on the mark.

"Hmm..." Zelgadiss murmured, giving Hiyo's dazed face a scrutinized stare, but waved it off and continued flipping through his newspaper and sipping his black coffee.

OoO

"Xelloss, what do you think they'll say if they find out?"

Xelloss propped himself on his elbow, watching Lina sift through all of the discarded clothes from the night before, and raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean, 'If'?" She stopped, and gave him a 'duh' look. "Well, yeah. I would rather die then actually tell everyone that we...err..."

"Had sex?"

She waved her hand, as if excusing it. "Yes that. Anyways, they can't know. I mean, it's us."

His blank stare made her throw her hands up in exasperation, which looked very odd in her current state of nudeness. "Xelloss, don't play stupid. I'm supposed to hate you, and just look! You're naked in my bed." Her voice had fallen flat on the last sentence.

A wolfish grin appeared on the priest's face. "And do you hate me, Lina-san? I don't recall any say-so last night..."

Her face reddened as his voice trailed off, and she turned away quickly, only to yelp in pain. She was so sore from last night, and damn it everytime she made any sudden movement it felt like someone had socked her one right where it would really hurt. Stupid priest. Stupid bed. Stupid sex. Arrrggghh!

"Are you alright Lina-san?" The distinct sound of the bed straightening as he lifted himself off, made Lina swoosh back around, biting her lip to keep from crying out again. "N-No, I'm fine. I just don't fell normal." Her gaze sank to the floor, where she tried desperately to keep from looking at his naked splendor.

"Well of course you don't. I know what's wrong Lina-san, I'm not an idiot." The huskiness in his voice brought her gaze to his, and she instantly felt sheepish under his eyes. Stepping forward to give her a soft kiss on the lips, Xelloss broke away to head for the washroom. "I'll run a bath, and we can have one together."

He turned his head to smile at her, and then the door shut with a resounding thud. Before Lina knew it, she was on the floor laughing, still imagining Xelloss's smile...and his naked ass.

OoO

"Morning everyone!" Lina chirped, bringing everyone's head up instantly. "Good morning, Ms. Lina." Hiyo bowed her head respectfully, and then turned to Xelloss. "You too, Mr. Xelloss."

Nodding his greeting, Xelloss grinned. After they were all settled around the table, Zelgadiss turned his attentiont to Lina. "So, Lina, where were you last night? I haven't seen you since you dissapeared in the middle of the gathering that was held in your honor."

Lina grimaced at the memory, and couldn't stifile a groan as she told her story. "These greateful little chits just wouldn't leave me alone! Everywhere I went people were bowing their heads, or shoving presents into my hands, but it was the food that was offered that kept me there for as long as I did." She ended with a shrug, as if it was completely normal.

Zelgadiss couldn't resist grinning, but still persisted. "What about after that? You weren't at dinner."

Lina opened her mouth to reply, but Xelloss, that dirty bastard, decided that he should do it for her. "I brought her dinner up to her room, and we talked for most of the night." Whilst Hiyo and Zelgadiss exchanged baffled glances, Xelloss turned his head to give Lina a devilish smile before wiping it clean from his face.

"Really?" Zel mused, giving the priest an unmistakable death glare. "And why would you do that?"

Xelloss put his hand to his chest, looking hurt. "I can't be nice to my long-time companion? It's not like I'm always evil, Zelgadiss-san. Don't be silly."

Before Zelgadiss could strangle him, Hiyo quickly intervened. "Eh, so! So...what did you and Mr. Xelloss talk about, Ms. Lina?"

Her eyes widening, Lina turned to Xelloss for help, but the devil chose now of all times to simply shrug. "Err...we talked about...the spear. Yeah, that's it, we talked about the spear. He was just curious about what happened while I was inside the castle." She forced a smile, hoping to the Gods that it didn't sound as pathetic as it really was.

Zelgadiss turned a scrutinized eye to Xelloss, as if to confirm her story, and Xelloss smiled and shrugged yet again. Stupid mazoku.

"Riiiiiiight. Anyway, this is getting ugly. We have two pieces of the spear now, and there are god knows how many left out there. I think we should go after them all before we even think about going into this war."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Zel, do you realize how long that would take? The war won't wait for us."

"Exactly. We don't know really know how long it will take, and considering how fast we got this one it looks like it will be easier then we first thought."

Hiyo frowned, holding her hand in the air. "What if it's not just a human this time with a piece of the spear? It could be in the hands of a demon, or a dragon." Her gaze swiveled to Xelloss. "Or a mazoku." Her tone had lowered, and her eyes had become suggestive.

Xelloss assessed her for a moment, before grinning evily. "You could be right, Hiyo-san."

Lina frowned, her gaze darting between them. "Ok, well let's just think about this seriously. We don't know how many more pieces are out there, we don't know when the war will start, and we don't know how easy it will be to take back the rest of the spear. The ryuzoku have already replaced Gav, too. So what's the plan?"

A silence fell upon them, and they all sighed in unison.

"Your orders?" A perky voice interrupted them, and they all looked up to see a cheery teenaged waitress with a notepad in her left hand, and a sparkly purple pen in the other.

Taking refuge in the interruption, everyone but Xelloss-who politely requested non-sweetened tea-ordered a hefty morning meal. Once the girl left, the silence returned with a vengeance.

"Are we really prepared to do something this stupid?" Lina asked to everyone, but directed it at no one.

"God, Lina, I just don't know." Zelgadiss replied in a less then confident tone, laying his head into his hands.

Hiyo pursed her lips, turning her worried gaze to each face with uncertainty. "Ms. Lina...I believe in you. I think that you can do it, and you'll do it with every good intention in your heart. I just know it."

"Hiyo..." Lina uttered in astonishment, feeling suddenly bashful at the encouragement. "Thanks, Hiyo. I mean it." They exchanged smiles, but Lina could feel that hers didn't quite reach her eyes.

Xelloss grinned, and he gave Hiyo a secret wink as soon as their eyes met. Her momentary glare made his smile widen, and as soon as her eyes became soft again Xelloss gave a small chuckle.

Hiyo turned to Lina, giving her a newly acquired smile. "Hey, you know that we're back in the little town that we passed just before Nara?"

"So?" Lina gurgled through her food.

"So that means that you have a chance to meet that prince, Mr. Fairagg. You know? The one that came to see you while you were sleeping."

"Isn't he still in the hospital?"

"I suppose so, but my father has is out in the city as we speak and I'm sure he's reached the hospital by now. He's probably fine."

"Yeah, guess it wouldn't hurt." Lina shrugged, seemingly uninterested, but deep downs she was at the very least curious to see the son of that king. She felt a strong bond with him, and secretly hoped that he was in the hospital with his son so that they could talk some more.

Just then, Takahashi Sano pushed open the wooden doors to the small cafe with a joyous stride. Hiyo jumped from her chair and into his arms, snuggling her head into his chest. "Daddy!" She squealed excitedly, reminding them all of a tiny golden puppy. Sano smiled proudly, patting her head. "Hello, Hiyo-chan."

His gaze lifted upwards, and his eyes met Lina's. She glared at him, the memory of her first seconds of consciousness after the church fiasco. "Didn't know I'd be seeing you again, old bastard." Lina mumbled grudgingly, turning her head away.

Hiyo spun around, her sky blue eyes turning red with fury. "Ms. Lina! I won't have you talking to my daddy like that!"

Sano only laughed, his eyes crinkling from years of smiling. "It's fine, Hiyo-chan, Ms. Lina and I didn't have such a warm meeting."

His gray eyes rose to meet hers again, this time with an amused twinkle in them. "Hello, little girl."

Lina stuck her tongue out at him, greatly resembling the child he accused her of being.

Hiyo ignored her, turning back to her beloved father. "Daddy, have you been to the hospital near the edge of town yet?"

Sano pursed his lips in thought, and then a slow smile spread over his face. "Why, yes I have. I think it was yesterday."

"Ok, thank you daddy." Hiyo gave him a kiss on his cheek before coming back to sit with the rest of them, her happy mood seemingly returning since his arrival. Sano gave Xelloss a nod, and a grin. "Well, Xelloss, it's nice to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine, Sano-san." Xelloss bowed his head in return.

Giving Zelgadiss a first glance, Sano held his hand for him to shake. "Nice to meet you, Mr. ...?"

"Zelgadiss."

"Ah, yes, Zelgadiss. You are the one my daughter spoke so fondly of yesterday."

Both Hiyo and Zel turned bright red, instantly avoiding each others gaze. "Daddy!" Hiyo whined. Sano chuckled, giving Zelgadiss a knowing stare.

Lina laughed, her gaze suddenly meeting Xelloss's. He was staring at her with a strange intent in his now open eyes, and he seemed to be in a faraway place inside his mind. Blinking once, his eyes focused and he smiled lazily at her. She tried to force a smile, but it only felt lopsided and awkward even to her.

Turning away hurriedly, Lina felt her guilt wash over her like a tidal wave. Blocking all thoughts of Xelloss out of her mind for the moment, Lina stared past Zel's head to the window behind him.

After she had finished eating, she would go and see Fairagg.

--

Hahahahahahaha, I guess I was in a giggly mood while writing this? :D