Long Awaited Birthday Gift

References and Characters of "The Slayers" by:Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Arazumi

References and Characters of "Sonic the Hedgehog" by: Yuji Naka of SEGA

Story written by: Maurice A. Nigma

Awaking from his deep slumber, Miguel took in the scene that is before him. The place that he's currently resting upon is an open plain that isn't too far from the shrine to the Master Emerald which is the main power source for the floating paradise Angel Island. A place where it displayed a good view of the night sky as well as the small but subtle clouds flying passed the bright silver moon. But the location isn't as important as the company that he is currently with. Resting herself comfortably within his arms is a shrine maiden that he has come to know and love since meeting her. A kind and lovely young woman named Sylphiel.

It wasn't really much of a secret that he had harbored feelings for the shrine maiden of the Four Worlds since meeting her. He was quite surprised that she, who turned out to be a female character from one of his animes, would appear in his world unexpectedly thanks to a Power Ring that somehow drifted from Mobius and into her realm. After their near death encounter with the mysterious liquid creature that they have dubbed Nightmare Parasite, the two of them have become close friends. During that time, he had just barely reached the age of sixteen while Sylphiel was about to reach her early twenties. To some of their friends, they found the two of them to be a cute couple despite their verbal protests. To most people who are not friends or family, they would either mistake them for siblings or one young teenaged boy being looked over by an attractive young woman.

As he shook those thoughts away from his mind, the brown haired teen could hear a restless moan coming from the beautiful woman in his arms as he felt her body shifting about in order to get into a more comfortable position right before continuing to sleep peacefully once again. Miguel chuckled as he moved his hand to the top of her head and began moving his fingers down through her dark hair just to feel how soft its texture is. He could practically hear her sighing happily just as he felt the young woman nuzzling her head closer to the crook of his neck and resume her nap.

"Heh! Silly little nymph," the brown haired young man said quietly to himself while continuing to stare at the content look plastered on her face. "If it weren't for the fact that today is my own little birthday party, then Lina would have really let me have it thinking that I might take advantage of this pretty angel."

Thinking back on past memories, Miguel shuddered at recalling his first meeting with the red head. When he, along with the four heroes from the planet Mobius, was introduced to Lina Inverse in person, the sorceress' first reaction to the group was a rather suspicious glare thrown at their direction. He had to admit that even with all of the Slayers anime episodes that he watched during junior high and high school, he'd never felt more threatened in his entire life than seeing the real thing. Sonic and the others, excluding Shadow at the time, had all shared his feelings. When the self proclaimed sorceress supreme spoke to him in private right after the Naturon disaster in Seyruun, she suggested that if he valued his life then it would be wise for him not to break the shrine maiden's heart. Even during his training sessions with the Slayers group, the sorceress made sure that he got the message loud and clear. He honestly wouldn't blame the red head seeing that both he and Sylphiel have had most of their fair share of adventures through other worlds and alternate realities.

After their most recent encounter with the remaining remnant of the former demon lord Hellmaster Phibrizzo, the two grew closer together than ever before. When Miguel had entered Sylphiel's mind in order to investigate what the cause of her worsen night terrors was, he had learned more of the young woman than what most anime fans would not just by watching the episodes or searching through the Internet for character bios. Things that brought him close to shedding tears for when he experienced the kind of pain and sorrow that the kind female soul felt. When he found and confronted the powerful and corrupt lower dark lord of the Ruby Eye, the brown haired young man instantly began to hate the kid-like creature for making Sylphiel go through such a horrid torture.

His face contorted a bit for when he mentally replayed the events after releasing the dark haired woman from her supposedly inescapable prison. Thinking back on it now, Miguel couldn't really recall on how exactly he defeated the parasitic Monster lord. All that the teenaged male could remember is fighting the powerful astral life form using not only his limited arsenal of spirit spells but the powers afforded to him by his mystic weapon the Star Sword. All that he could really recall is seeing a silver gray light while hearing the shrieks of the humanoid Controller of the Underworld. He would assume that whatever it is that Phibrizzo went through is so horrible for him that it was enough for the child to vanish without a trace of his existence left behind. When he awoke back into reality, the young hero was instantly enveloped in a strong and gentle hug by the said shrine maiden while at the same time being surrounded by their friends. Needless to say that despite feeling relieved that the whole ordeal is done with, the two of them have never felt so embarrassed in their lives.

When Shadow had unexpectedly told the others to leave them alone for a private conversation, the two of them were silent. They didn't even know of where to begin considering the intense experience that they had. When he was the first to break the silence by talking about what he had seen throughout his journey within her mind, Miguel became surprised at seeing her blush in embarrassment. Before the teen could have the chance to even ask what she was embarrassed about, he found his lips being captured by those of the lovely shrine maiden. At that moment, the young man was both surprised and yet relaxed for as he fell deeper into the kiss. Sure, he'd given her a few kisses in the past in either appreciation or comfort, but this is his very first kiss that he has ever had with a girl let alone one from another world. He could still remember the soft texture of her lips touching his own as they both shared their moment together as well as Sylphiel's confession of love to him.

Taking a moment to come out of his thoughts, Miguel leaned his head towards the dark haired woman and gently planted a kiss on the top of her forehead. Nuzzling the top of her head while playing with her long mane, the young man wrapped his arms tighter around the maiden of Sairaag into a protective embrace. "Thanks for loving me the way that I love you, Sylphy," he whispered to the young woman while smiling at the peaceful expression on her face. "It's the best birthday gift that anyone has ever given to me and I'm glad that it was worth the wait."

Looking back to their first kiss and their exchange in words of love for one another, he recalled on how Lina, of all people, walked in on them just right as they neared another kiss. It sort of gave them both a scare for when they saw the red head paralyzed at seeing them kissing. Of course any relief that they might have had from not seeing her casting a fireball towards his direction only lasted for a few moments for when they heard her beginning to chant the words to her signature spell: the Dragon Slave. He mentally chuckled nervously for when he also recalled on how everyone in the group, specifically Gourry, Zelgadis, and Knuckles, tried their best to keep the sorceress from blowing the inn, along with the town, into kingdom come. After being subdued by her older sister, Luna, Lina calmed herself enough in order to speak with the newly formed couple rationally about their relationship. She also suggested that the two of them slow down and take the time to get to know one another just before becoming an official couple. Everything from that point is sort of history.

Coming back to the present, Miguel took another glance at Sylphiel's marvelous figure and then noticed the toes of his feet touching her own. Recalling on when he arrived to Angel Island through a dimensional hole created by his mystic weapon, the young man was surprised for when he saw not only Sonic and most of the heroes of Mobius assembled at the shrine to the Master Emerald but Lina and her group as well. It turns out that everything is decorated and set just to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. Thinking back on it now, it was a wonder on how Lina Inverse is able to restrain herself from lunging after Knuckles' most sacred object that kept his home afloat.

Anyway, it was around that time when the red head compared both his and Sylphiel's height and commented on how he sprouted. It seems that over time since their meeting and starting his training in properly using magic and the sword, Miguel began to grow inch by inch. Back then, his head could barely measure up towards the shrine maiden's shoulders. Right now, he's now able to surpass her height by a mere few inches.

"Heh! Talk about an unexpected growth spurt. Well, mom did say that I would be as tall as my grandfather for when he was my age," the brown haired teen thought to himself while giving off a quiet chuckle. "At least from now on Lina wouldn't call me a kid or make any smart ass comments about me being too skinny. Sure, I don't have much muscle on my arms as big as Gourry's, but I'm no longer the same skinny boy who's daydreaming of becoming a hero. I mean, in my arms is the most beautiful woman that I've ever come across. She's here with me living and breathing like me with real feelings and she told me that she loves me. What more could I ask for?"

Recalling on after making the wish on his birthday cake and to the presents, Miguel was taken by surprise for when Sylphiel walked up to him and pulled his face up towards her own to capture his lips in a passionate kiss in front of their friends. Needless to say, everyone present was rather shocked at the normally meek young woman's boldness. Of course, he knew that some of her new found courage had come from the all times that she spent traveling to other worlds and experiencing new sights.

His thoughts were soon cut short for when he heard the sound of his beloved stirring awake from her deep slumber just as he saw both of her eyes opening. The beauty of her emerald colored irises has become a sight that he grew to adore since having become a couple. "Mmm. How long was I asleep?" is what came out of Sylphiel's mouth for as he saw her fluttering her gorgeous eyes in order to wake herself while at the same time feeling her body moving in order to feel more comfortable.

"You've only been asleep for an hour, Sylphy." Miguel responded to the dark haired woman while at the same time planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I think that it's time that we got back to the others before Lina starts to wonder where the two of us are and starts hunting."

The brown haired young man is awarded for his choice of words as he heard the beauty in his arms giggling cutely while at the same time smiling up to him. Before giving her the chance to say anything, the adventurous teen lean his face towards her own and kissed her fully on the lips. Pulling her closer to his body, he could feel Sylphiel gently nibbling at his lower lip as she wrapped her arms around his chest more tightly. The teen began to gently stroke her back, moving his hands in smooth motions while hearing her moan in pleasure. After a few moments, the two of them broke away due to the huge amounts of air used in their make out session. Miguel could clearly see the young woman flushed with both embarrassment and exhaustion due to the huge amounts of oxygen used.

"Whoa! No matter how...many times...I've felt you do that, I'm not going to get used to it," he said to his companion while breathing heavily to get some air back into his lungs. "I didn't know that you could be such a live wire when you want to, Sylphy!"

At those words, the keeper of the Star Sword received a playful pout from the beautiful shrine maiden as she blushed and gently slapped him on his shoulder. "Miguel! You know that I'm not that kind of woman!" she exclaimed while at the same time trying to sound like she's offended. "And I know that you wouldn't want to do that sort of thing to me either considering the kind of gentlemen you are."

The humor in her voice made the young teen chuckle while at the same time reluctantly removing his arms from Sylphiel's body. After getting himself off of the ground and wiping the grassing off of his cloths, he then extended his arm towards the beautiful young woman offering his hand to help her up. Hearing her giggle and seeing her accept the gesture; Miguel gave her a playful smirk just as he lifted the shrine maiden from the ground and onto her feet. But soon the taller male found himself caught off guard for when he saw the long haired beauty suddenly trip on her legs and fell right back into his arms. Of course, he made no complaints for when he felt Sylphiel snuggling herself comfortably within his embrace.

However, the warm moment is soon interrupted for when the brown haired teen heard the sound of a huge explosion erupting from where his birthday party is taking place. He knew exactly who is responsible for the commotion just as he gave off a sigh and once again removed his arms from the shrine maiden. "I think that we need to get back to the party before Lina starts to throw one of her tantrums and blows the whole island sky high, Sylphy," Miguel said while facing the direction in where the supposed Dragon Spooker is causing her rampage. "The last thing that Knuckles would want is to have his home destroyed by a crazy red head with the power of a dark lord at her disposal. I'm even willing to bet that the whole thing is about food."

He heard the young woman giving off a cute giggle at his choice of words just as the two of them started their own way back to the party. That's when an idea came to his mind just as he spoke up to his female companion, "Hey, Sylphy! Why don't the two of us race to see who gets there first?"

"But, Miguel Sweety, we both know that you can run faster than me," Sylphiel pouted to her love with another giggle to her voice while looking at him with her emerald green eyes.

"Who says anything about running there?" is what the young man said to the young woman right before he suddenly gave a shout out, "Levitation!"

Focusing on the spell taught to him long ago, Miguel felt his legs touching nothing but air and saw himself levitated right above the ground. It had been almost a year and half since he started his training in using both magic and swords, but already he was starting to get the hang of it. The Levitation spell had also been one of his most successful tries with magic along with Lighting. Over time, he has improved so much that he is able to summon the power of the spell without having to chant the incantation or even shout out its name. Of course, when he tried it the first time, he didn't quite get the hang of floating in the air let alone learn how to control his movement and speed while gliding.

"How about this, Miguel Sweety?" is what he heard the dark haired woman saying to him while at the same time seeing her starting to levitating into the air and flew effortlessly towards his direction, a mischievous smirk evident on her face. "Why don't you try to see if you are able to catch me in the air and if you do, you'll get another kiss?"

Miguel did not need to be told twice for when he started to will his body to shoot towards Sylphiel like a rocket. He heard the young woman giving off a loud squeal of both surprise and delight as she tried her best to fly away from him as fast as she could. This only caused the teenager to become more determined with trying to capture his lady love in the sky to receive his prize. The two of them twirled and evaded around Angel Island while trying to either catch or dodge one another. Of course, they both know that they would have to eventually fly back towards the others in order to defuse a fiery tempered sorceress that could blow off a chunk of the floating paradise that they are both on. But despite what is to come in the near future or what obstacles came his way, Miguel knew he that he would have the support of his friends as well as his loving girlfriend who would always want to be by his side. Even when dealing with the coming wrath of a crazy red haired sorceress who could is demanding for another serving of food.

The End

A/N: I would like to say that I'm very sorry for having to wait so long to update. For those of you who still read my fics, I would like to say thanks for being supportive and as patient as you are. Now, as for those who are waiting to see me finish my other works, rest assure that I will somehow find a way to get them updated as soon as I could. I don't have any excuse for holding out on all of you for as long as I have. All that I've got to say is that life and my own lack of motivation has been wearing me down. In any case, this fiction is a way of me apologizing and for a sneak peak at Sylphiel and Miguel's relationship in the near future.

On another note, the story Silver Radiance would be put on a different site before being put on this one. I've decided to try an old method of writing back in high school and I'm hoping that it would help with my other fics as well. Another thing that I've like to add is that Hellmaster Returns would be rewritten into something that's entirely different that I originally plan and the title would be changed as well. Don't worry, I'm not planning to make it into a spick and span type of story. That's one of the things holding me back. So I'm just going to do as best as I can to get it up and running so that I wouldn't have too much on my mind. Well, that's it for me. Hope everyone understands. Later!

Maurice A. Nigma