A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written anything for most of my stories lately! Gomenasai! I just got spammed with reviews today from one super awesome person and went and worked on new chapters from several stories! Of course this was the only one I finished! Aren't you lucky! Hope you all like it!

Remember! Reviews give me motivation! R&R PLEASE!

Chapter 3 – The Cost of Research

"You've got to be joking. Why should I trust a child with something like this?" Zelgadis had been pouting all night and into the next day, not that he would ever admit that. When Lina came to talk to him back at the inn last night he'd just pretended to be asleep. He hadn't wanted to hear what she had to say about this "master" before, and certainly didn't want to now.

"Come on Zel, the kid seems legit, and you've seen what the townspeople are like."

"Any junk sorcerer can make a partially combined chimera."

"Maybe, but not any sorcerer could know what it's made of just by looking." She had a point. Chimera research was as complex as it was controversial. But of all those Chimera research labs he'd been to previously, none had ever mentioned or contained any records of a "Master Tochiro" who did human chimera conversions. The only ways that made sense were if this "kid" was actually a child, like he seemed, or if all other labs disapproved on his work.

"But a sorcerer who purposely makes human chimeras? You expect me to trust someone like that?"

Lina smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She was as confident as always, "Of course."

"Now look…"

"Don't worry. Goury and I will do some digging around town to find out more about this guy. While we're doing that, you and Amelia should go back and see him."

Zelgadis raised a brow, "I understand you wanting me to go, but why Amelia?"

"Trust me," Lina winked. "You're going to want her there."

It took nearly an hour of coaxing, but eventually Zelgadis gave in. Amelia was as surprised as he was when Lina suggested she go with, and after a small lunch they were on their way. "She really is just looking out for you." Amelia defended Lina, during their walk back to the mansion.

"She's pushy as usual." Amelia couldn't argue with that. The whole situation irritated Zelgadis, and he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was partly because there was a town of people who were all too happy to be turned into freaks, but most of it felt like disappointment. Honestly what had he been expecting? Someone older definitely…

"I know you don't like hearing this from me…" Amelia spoke softly, knowing she'd probably upset him. He just seemed so agitated. "but I've only known you like this. So to me this is the normal you."

Zelgadis glanced back. It's true that he had more friends now than he'd ever had back as a human. He was also stronger, both in body and magic… but… That still didn't make up for the dulled sense of touch, the stiff wirey hair, the stone blue skin and … and everything else! "I don't care. I hate this body."

Amelia ducked her head and said nothing more for the rest of the walk.

The gate was open when they arrived and many people were going in and out. Standing among so many chimeras, some of whom had scaly skin or animal ears, Zelgadis really didn't look out of place. No one even stared at him or gave him even a glance. It was kind of nice…

"Oh hey it's you." Zelgadis and Amelia stopped when Hina called over to them. "Your friend did say she'd get you back here. Looks like she came through."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes but Amelia just smiled. "We're here to see Master Tochiro. Is he available?"

"He was seeing a few patients, but he may be done. Here, this way." The hospital wing of the building was spacious but crowded with people. "We've got 2 sorcerers and 5 doctors who work here, along with a staff of nurses," Hina explained. "Most of the surrounding countryside and nearby towns come here for any medical needs."

It was all very impressive. Hina lead them through a large room with nearly twenty examination beds, some were curtained off, while others were opened so the waiting patients could chat amongst themselves. The second floor had a similar room but it was much smaller and there were rooms for overnight patients, "The hospital staff lives either in town or on the other side of the building." She stopped in front of a door and knocked lightly. "Master? That young man from yesterday is here to see you." The room was quiet. "Master?"

As Hina began to open the door there was a loud thud inside the room. The door slammed shut and locked. "MASTER?!" Hina jiggled the handle, pushed on the door and finally slammed her shoulder into it. From inside the room Tochiro yelled painfully.

"Move!" Zelgadis pushed Hina to the side, before stomping his foot on the door. Hina ran in followed by Zelgadis and Amelia.

Tochiro was standing over his desk with a patient file. He was breathing heavily but looked none the worse for wear. He turned back looking as stunned as the rest of them were. "WHAT'D YOU DO TO MY DOOR!?" He jumped up and ran over. Zelgadis had not only broken it off the hinges but there was a decent sized crack through the middle of the solid wood door.

"Master I'm sorry! You didn't answer and the door slammed shut…"

"So you thought you should break it down?!" He looked up at her then his eyes wandered over Zelgadis. He let out a sigh and laughed, "Oh so HE's the one that did it. I was wondering how you got that strong," he mumbled. "Nevermind forget it. Gimme a second, we'll go to Consultation Room B." They waited awkwardly in the hall for him. When he stepped over the door he chanted a quick anti-theft spell.

"Umm… Master Tochiro?" Amelia spoke up hesitantly.

He smiled at her, "Go ahead and call me Glen, Miss Amelia. I expect I'll be seeing a lot of you two for a while."

"Well… then Mister Glen, are you alright? You look tired."

"Heh… I'm surprised someone noticed." So was Zelgadis. He hadn't noticed. The kid had looked exactly the same as last night. Is he tired for the same reason he yelled earlier? And why did he hide it? Glen avoided a proper answer, "I'll be fine. Don't worry. In here please."

Glen ushered them into a wide room with two couches facing each other, with a coffee table in the middle. Hina excused herself to get some tea for them. Zelgadis noticed she looked nervous as her eyes seemed to be scanning Glen looking for something. Glen asked them to sit on one couch as he closed the door behind her.

"Well," He said, setting a small stack of papers he'd brought with him on the table between them, "let's get right to it shall we?" He flipped through some pages till he found what he wanted and turned the contract toward Zelgadis, but held on to the feather pen. "Your friends explained to me what you were hoping for. I'll admit," the boy looked up at him, intrigued, "I am both nervous and excited to take on such a research project."

"Research project?" Zelgadis grit his teeth. Was his condition really just another thing to study for this child? No matter what Lina said, he was liking and trusting this boy less by the minute.

"Of course. After all, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to just go ahead and try and split off your human part just like that. You'd definitely die." He tone was simply stating a fact, further infuriating Zelgadis. "On the other hand, I don't know how long this research would take." For a moment he gazed at the contract. "Or how much it will cost." He slid the feather through his fingers and leaned back, his short legs dangled off the couch. "That's the main issue here." Glen said shrugging. "Funds around here are tight with running the hospital. I can't fund this kind of research myself."

Amelia slammed her hand on the table, standing at the same time. "If it is to help Mister Zelgadis," she said with her high-and-mighty "justice" voice, "I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, will gladly help with the expenses!" Zelgadis smirked and leaned back on the couch. Suddenly, Lina's reasoning made perfect sense now.

Glen froze and gazed up at Amelia. After his previous 'all-knowing' attitude, a goofy excited grin was the last thing they expected. "Seyruun? NO WAY! You're a Princess?!" His eyes sparkled with wonder, "That's so cool!" Amelia and Zelgadis fell silent. The quiet awkward quiet hung over them until Hina knocked on the door.

Whatever had just happened in Glen's head, Hina's return snapped him out of it and his haughty attitude returned. "Well a princess should have plenty of funds, I'm sure we can work something out." He took a sip of his tea. "The next piece of business is your living accommodations during the time of the research. Because these circumstances are solely centered around you and your body, I'll need you to stay in town. I'd be happy to put you up here in a spare room, or if you have other lodgings in town that would be fine."

"I'm not some test subject that you can lock up wherever you please." Zelgadis grumbled. His frustration had abated slightly over the new curiosity of Tochiro's sudden change from childishness to adulthood.

Glen leaned forward with his teacup in his left hand and shifted papers with his right. "It's to your benefit if you stick around. Imagine in a month that I make some huge headway and I need a trimming of your hair to test something, but you're on the other side of the world. That would put a full halt to research till you came back." He looked up at Zelgadis through his short blue-grey hair. His dark blue eyes sparkled mischeviously, "I'm sure you don't want this research to truly take forever do you?"

Zelgadis had no answer so he huffed and looked away.

"So uhh…" Amelia broke in, "How long might Mister Zelgadis have to stay here?"

Glen touched a finger to his cheek. "Who knows? Could be a year, could be ten. I'm not completely starting from ground zero but it's pretty close. There's going to be a ton to organize. Hina can you grab me one of the order forms over there?"

Hina, who had been standing by the wall, plucked a sheet of paper off the wall and brought it to him. She set it down without a word and returned to her former position.

"I'll have to order in some new demon specimens, of course I probably need to figure out exactly what breed of demon was put into your creation. Either way, they'll take some time to arrive. Long story short, this is all the paperwork that needs to be filled out," Glen smiled gesturing to the small stack of papers he'd spread over the table. "If Miss Amelia will be handling the financial burden she should sign all those relating documents, the ones with the red stamp on top," he pointed to the mark as Amelia began looking over the pages. At his words she smiled and began sorting them. "There is a few things that you need to fill out, Zelgadis. Mostly those are liability wavers."

He laughed at Zelgadis' suspicious glance. "Trust me I don't like those forms either. But the Magi Guild requires me to have those signed by anyone I'm working with. I think it has to do with funding my research under the table. They don't want to be held responsible for any mishaps."

"And how often do mishaps happen?" Zelgadis held the paper tightly, glaring up at Tochiro.

Glen shook his head, "Next to never, and nothing has ever happened with a human involved. I never do anything with a human that I haven't tested previously."

Zelgadis didn't like the sound of that previous testing but he made no comments. Everyone knew what Chimera research truly involved, especially what happened in failed attempts. He was still reluctant and asked to hold off on the paperwork for another day while he thought it over.

"Sure, why not? Go ahead and take that back with you. I'm sure your sorcerous friend would like to look at the conditions involved. In the meantime," Glen said, clapping his hands together, "Why don't I show you around and explain some of my current projects."

The group nodded and followed the child on a tour of the mansion campus then out into the town.