Hello, all. I'm sorry to have been so delayed in updating, but for those who missed my announcements on Tumblr, I have had multiple academic responsibilities that interrupted my work time. However, here is the chapter for you, just a little late! All of the italicized sections are excerpts from The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I don't make any claim to own any of these, nor do I own anything regarding Slayers. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

27- Better Late Than Never

"They arrived at twilight, and, as we strolled out among the sparkling hundreds, Daisy's voice was playing murmurous tricks in her throat.

'These things excite me so,' she whispered. 'If you want to kiss me any time during the evening, Nick, just let me know and I'll be glad to arrange it for you. Just mention my name. Or present a green card. I'm giving ou-"

"Zara?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for interrupting again," Enrique gestured to the book with a confused frown. "But, uh… they're still cousins, right?"

Zara gave a sigh in exasperation. "We're back to this again."

"N-No, hear me out!" Enrique waved his hands. "I was bringing it up because… well, I thought kissing was just a romantic thing. But do family members do it too?"

"…yeah, I guess so." Zara positioned the bookmark in the crease of the pages, folding the book closed and holding it close as he leaned back on the pillows that were piled up on the windowsill. "If you're talking, like, a kiss on the cheek or a kiss on the forehead, family members do it all the time."

"On the cheek? Forehead?"

"I guess… as opposed to a formal kiss like on the back of the hand… that sort of thing is done when formally meeting someone. It's usually a sign of courtship. Kissing a woman's hand is a sign of respect. Friends and acquaintances also sometimes give each other kisses on both cheeks as an informal greeting to one another."

Enrique seemed completely lost by this point. "I had no idea that it was so complicated. Humans have some weird habits."

Zara continued. "Then you have an affectionate kiss on the cheek, which is a totally different thing. It's pretty universal- it can be used by lovers or just by family members to show that they care about someone. Kissing on the forehead is done by family members too, but I've usually seen it done from parent to child. Whenever Lina and Gourry give me a goodnight kiss, it's on my forehead, here." The boy pointed to a spot that was about halfway between his eyebrows. "Then, of course, a kiss on the lips is a romantic gesture. But Daisy could have been- and probably was- referring to a different sort of kiss. Probably one of the more formal types, given the situation. Does that make sense?"

"Y-yeah…" Enrique's voice trailed off as he glanced away.

"Something wrong? Your face is red."

"Nah, I was just thinking… will you keep reading?"

"I can." Zara pulled the book back up to his face, opening to the bookmarked page. "Look around,' suggested Gatsby.

'I'm looking around. I'm having a marvellous-'

'You must see the faces of many people you've heard abo-"

"Zara?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you, uh, ever kissed anyone before?"

Zara paused a moment before answering. "Of course I have. Plenty of times. I kiss my family members on the cheek sometimes to show how much I care about them. Lina, Gourry, Amelia… and I did once for Lorelei too."

"N-no, I mean…" Enrique stammered. "Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

"I haven't." Zara replied. He pointed to himself sheepishly. "I'm only eight years old."

"Oh. Yeah. Of course."

"Not that it matters. I've seen kids younger than I am kissing on the playground back at home." Zara glanced out the window with a sigh. "But they didn't know anything about romance. I didn't know anything about romance."

"I thought you had Lorelei."

"I do."

"But…?"

"I don't know." The boy rested his head in one hand, still staring out the window at the snowstorm. "I love her. But I could never say whether or not it was romance or not. Either way, she's still one of my dearest friends, but I… I want to know. What makes a relationship romantic or not?"

"You're asking me? I haven't a clue." Enrique waved his hands sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. I've just been questioning myself lately."

"Why is that?"

"No reason. What with the whole business with Azarel, I've been worried about my family relationships too. I haven't spoken to Lina or Gourry in weeks. Neither have tried to contact me. I'm going to be a big brother soon, and I'm scared that I'm not going to be there for my little sibling when the time comes. What if I'm losing them? What if… they don't want me anymore? Enrique, what if I-?"

Enrique reached out and grabbed his friend's hands.

"You have to trust them. You have to trust that they will always be there for you. They love you, and loving someone means always wanting to be with them, no matter what happens. That's true, isn't it?"

Zara just stared for a moment. "…you're right."

The two were silent for a moment, and he took it as a cue to pull straighten up, pulling out the book again and opening it up to where they had left off.

"Tom's arrogant eyes roamed the crowd.

'We don't go around very much,' he said; 'in fact, I was just thinking I don't know a soul here.'

'Perhaps you know that lady,' Gatsby indicated a gorgeous, scarcely human orchid of a woman who sat in state under a white-plum tree…"

Enrique settled down next to Zara on the windowsill cushion, leaning over his shoulder to stare at the words on the page. They took turns reading through the next few pages, easily finding themselves lost in the events like the party guests in the story. The book was passed from hand to hand as the pages turned, until eventually they turned another page to reveal the blank lower half that indicated a chapter break. Enrique was the one delegated to finish the last few paragraphs, reading slowly, still stumbling over a word here or there, but seeming entranced by the scene.

"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unun-unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tur-tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch, she blossomed for him like a flower, and the incarnation was complete."

There was only one more paragraph left in the chapter, but Enrique stopped there, as though he were lost in the sentiments of the passage. A nervous glance passed between him and Zara, and before he knew what he was doing, he'd pressed his lips to his friend's cheek- if only to test that the emotions expressed by the author were genuine.

Within a fleeting moment, Enrique had jerked backwards and flinched as though he'd done something horribly wrong. But Zara's composure remained static, and he reached out to take the book, silently claiming chapter six's final paragraph. He read on, as though nothing had happened, but the smile on his face seemed somehow brighter than before.

"Through all he said, even through his appalling sentimentality, I was reminded of something- an elusive rhythm, a fragment of lost words, that I had heard somewhere a long time ago. For a moment, a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man's, as though there was more struggling upon them than a wisp of startled air. But they made no sound, and what I had almost remembered was uncommunicable forever."

"Pretend to kill her?" Lina raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that, like, the opposite of what assassins do?"

Luke was not amused. "Good job, Lina. Do you want a gold star for that insightful observation?"

"No. And I wasn't joking either." she defended. "I'm confused as to why she would ask this of an assassin she just met."

"If I knew, I would tell you. I guess she just saw the opportunity and took it." He gave a sigh and then continued. "She was very convincing in the strangest way. Something about the way she talked made me feel like I could trust her. So, when she asked me to pretend to have killed her while she ran away and took on a new identity, I grudgingly accepted. I'd gotten too deep into conversation with her to kill her anyway, and she was offering such a large sum of money…"

"So you gave up your honour as an assassin to help this woman?" Lina seemed impressed. "I would never have guessed."

"It must have been what she said- about me having a conscience. She believed that there was some good in me, and so… of course I had to believe so too. She was incredibly trusting- she gave me the money up front, and for one moment I considered my original plan to take the money and kill her. But, instead, I led her out to my boat and sailed with her back to the port under the cover of night, leaving the ship and the bodies of its crew behind."

"You just… left the ship?" Lina asked.

"Well, our plan was that, someone would find the ship, see all the crew members dead, and assume that the same fate had befallen Miss Hayze. But, that wasn't what happened at all. As we were sailing away, the ship was… attacked… by some sort of monster… It dragged the ship down into the ocean and we never saw it again."

Lina stared in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"I'm not. Miss Hayze said that it was probably another attempt to kill her. She thanked me for saving her life- now surely all the assassins out to get her would believe that she was dead."

"And when you got to land- did she just leave?"

Luke nodded. "The last thing she did was give me a letter that she wanted me to deliver to one of the mine workers. I don't remember who it was- a friend or a lover or something- but she entrusted the letter to me since she couldn't take it herself."

"And did you deliver it?"

"No." Luke shook his head. "I never did. I was afraid. Several years later, I told Millina about the letter, and she insisted that we go deliver it, but… I'd lost it already."

"So you never found out what she wanted to say to the person in the village?"

"No. And I never will." Luke sighed sadly. "But she's probably still out there somewhere- living under a new name. I don't know where she is, but if you can find her… tell her that I appreciate… the fact that she believed in me. The last thing she said to me was something about- be wary, for the thing which brings out the best in you can also bring out the worst. I didn't know what this meant at the time, but now…"

"Millina…" Lina murmured. "…and the Demon King. Miss Hayze knew about them somehow."

"That's right."

"Hayze… Soi Ren Hayze… I know I've heard that name before. I'm sure of it. I just don't remember where."

"It wasn't from me." Luke shrugged. "But, if you can find out who gave you her name before, maybe that will help you find her. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you more, but-"

"No! No, you can't even begin to imagine how much this means to me- how much it'll mean to everyone!"

A small smile spread over Luke's features. "…as long as I can help…" He shook his head quickly in an attempt to dispel the serious mood and reached out to give Lina an affectionate punch on the shoulder, though she didn't feel anything. "You've gotta stop relying on me to pull you out of tough situations, y'know?"

"I was trying to be grateful." Lina sniffed indignantly. "Don't make me regret trying to show my thanks."

"Hey, you know what would really show your gratitude? If you have a son, you can name him after me!" Luke gave an excited laugh. "He could be 'Luke the Younger'- that would make me 'Luke the Elder!' Doesn't that sound heroic? People will tell stories of my bravery for years to come!"

This at least got a giggle out of Lina. "Sorry. You've been preceded by another male namesake, but I'll keep that in mind."

"I was kidding." Luke grinned. "But thanks."

"I was too." Lina sighed, though her smile was a sincere one. "But you're welcome."

There was a pause, and Lina suddenly realized that everything around her was fading away. She jerked her gaze back toward Luke, but it seemed like he was so far away all of a sudden that she was scared and called out for him.

"W-wait! Hey! What's going on?"

"You've got the information you need, right? Good luck, then!" His voice was barely audible over the distance.

"Luke, wait! …Luke…"

There was an echo that made it seem like he'd said something else to her, but Lina couldn't make it out before everything faded to white and disappeared.

Fighting a Mazoku with a sword wasn't exactly a brilliant idea, but Zelgadis was sure that he could manage. After all, he figured, if Azarel was fragile enough that Pestis could damage her physical form so easily, how tough could it be?

That was the wrong question to ask.

Azarel wasn't interested in swordplay, mostly because he didn't have a sword, but he wasn't relying on magic either. He was mainly engaging in rapid hand-to-hand combat, and, much to Zel's horror, even an Astral Vine infused sword wasn't of much use against a target that it couldn't strike. Azarel made annoyingly good use of the Astral Plane, phasing in and out of sight in order to dodge Zelgadis' attacks and launch his own. And, all the while, he was sending a barrage of verbal attacks on top of everything.

"I've been curious about you in particular this whole time, you know. You've got such a unique emotional cloud around you, and I've been trying to figure it out."

It was beginning to take all of Zelgadis' concentration to dodge Azarel's strikes, and he was unable to launch any of his own attacks. He jumped back and forth breathlessly, unable to do much besides listen to Azarel's barrage of words.

"Is it sadness? Not quite. Fear? Perhaps a little. Grief? Not just that- there's more to it. Despair? Now we're getting closer."

Zelgadis ducked out of the way of an uppercut and got his foot stuck in a snowbank, sending him toppling over. He tried to pull himself back up, but Azarel was too fast, and appeared over him, placing one foot on his chest.

"Family issues, huh?" the Mazoku scoffed. "Such painful things they can be- family, I mean. All this pain you're feeling is all because of your family. Why don't you just forget about them? Wouldn't it be easy just to run away all alone- to forever leave behind the pain that a family brings? Think how much easier a solitary life would be! No worries about friends or family! The only person you'd have to worry about would be yourself!"

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes as the context of Azarel's speech began to set in.

"That's the life you've chosen for yourself, isn't it?"

Azarel gave a smug grin. "It's bliss."

"You're lying. It's hell."

"How would you know?" Azarel pressed his weight further onto Zelgadis' chest with each sentence, making it difficult for him to breathe. "You with your pretty little family. All your little friends. Your fans. A whole bunch of people who admire you. How could you possibly know anything about being alone?"

"…be…c-cause…" Zelgadis choked out. "…for… y-years… that was… m-my life…"

"Hmm?" Azarel moved his foot slightly.

"I was… betrayed… by some…one dear… to… me…" Zelgadis had to catch his breath. "And so I… chose to live alone... but… it wasn't… what I thought… it would be…"

Azarel stepped away from Zelgadis, staring in disbelief. He didn't say anything, however.

"No human- or Mazoku- can survive on their own forever." Zelgadis breathed, sitting up and glaring at Azarel. "And, while dealing with grief isn't an easy process, at least it lets me know that I have a heart. It's preferable to those days when I couldn't feel anything at all."

Azarel looked away with a scowl. "I'd rather feel nothing at all. The people I considered family never cared about me to begin with."

"I'm sure that's not true." Zelgadis pulled himself to his feet, approaching the Mazoku warily. "Even Mazoku have emotions. They aren't completely heartless."

"Like I'd take advice from some human." Azarel spat. "You're just as bad as the professor. No wonder he likes you so much."

Zelgadis twitched in annoyance. "I am not as bad as he is when it comes to sentimentalities. Just because I have a heart doesn't mean that I'm a hopeless romantic."

"Forget it. You humans are all hopeless." Azarel resumed his attacks and Zelgadis had to jump out of the way again. The Mazoku seemed awfully distracted, however, and Zelgadis wondered if he could use Azarel's strategy against him.

"Well, it's no wonder that everyone hates you. You're a jerk." Zelgadis spoke, and he saw Azarel waver for a split second.

"Excuse me?"

"All you do is complain about the fact that you have no friends; that everyone hates you. And yet, you can't see that it's your own behaviour that is driving your friends away. You act like no one cares about you, but you're wrong. Everyone who cares about you has been distanced by your poor attitude."

"Shut up!" Azarel lunged at him.

"You'll never convince anyone to join you with a perspective like that. It's pointless. You have to respect other people to gain respect for yourself."

"Shut up!" The Mazoku's frenzied strikes were laughably predictable, and Zelgadis had no trouble dodging.

"I understand that you've been out of touch with the world for a long time. Everything has changed around you practically in the blink of an eye. You're uncomfortable. Afraid. People who once respected you are suddenly scared of you. They treat you like some sort of monster. There's no one that you can trust. I can't exactly say that I don't know what that feels like."

"Shut up, shut up!"

"You're desperate for someone who will care about you. You're frantically trying to find a friend. Someone who won't leave you. Someone who'll be yours and yours alone. You're angry that Phibrizzo ignored you. You're angry that Pestis left you behind. You want a companion who will never leave you again. Go ahead. Tell me that I'm wrong."

"Don't you dare pretend you understand me!"

"But I do. Far more than you want to admit. And while you're paralyzed in shock, perhaps I could provide you with some more examples of the perspicacity of the human race. We understand that, while tragic backgrounds often cause evil actions, they do not excuse them. You heard what Pestis said last night. The goal you're working toward is risky for the whole world- Mazoku race included. I know that you don't really want to harm the Mazoku race. Why won't you listen to us?"

Azarel stopped striking out, instead approaching Zelgadis slowly and calmly, shaking his head. "Because you humans think you know everything. You are pretty intelligent, I'll give you that. But you're wrong."

"Really? Where was I wrong?" Zelgadis moved toward Azarel as well, holding one hand out as though to shake. "Tell me right away, and I'll correct myself."

There wasn't time to see what was coming. Azarel disappeared and then reappeared a split second later behind Zelgadis. A splitting pain shot up his back, and the chimera crumpled to the ground, more in shock than anything else.

"You were wrong about one thing. You assumed that I didn't have a weapon and let your guard down."

"…yeah… sorry about that…"

Zelgadis saw Azarel's grip on the knife tighten in preparation for another strike, but he wasn't fast enough to move out of the way. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, preparing for a powerful blow. But all that he heard was the sound of a metal blade breaking on the face of a rock. His mind jolted back to a time before, when his skin had been made of stone, and for a split second, he wondered if somehow his body had changed back. But that wasn't it at all. When he opened his eyes again, it took him a moment to find Azarel. The Mazoku was a short distance away, his blade snapped against one of the large rocks on the mountainside. He was looking around, just as confused as Zelgadis.

"B-but you… you were just… somehow you were-"

The realization of what had just happened began to set in, and Azarel pulled himself to his feet, glaring at the cause of his confusion. Shizuri had returned to consciousness, weakly propping herself up on one arm. She didn't look very threatening, but there was power in her illusions.

"You!" Azarel growled, and sprinted towards the girl. However, he didn't make it very far before he had fallen face-first into the snow. Amelia held tight to his ankle where she'd grabbed it and used her free hand to ready a spell.

"Elmekia Lance!"

The spell didn't find its target, but when Azarel disappeared this time, he didn't reappear again as he'd been doing. The three of them waited for several tense moments, trying to see if the Mazoku was going to pop up again, but he never did. They all knew that Azarel wasn't the type to flee without some sort of last words. But this time… maybe it was an exception.

"Zelgadis!" Amelia finally jumped to attention, her eye suddenly catching the dark stain on the back of his coat. She was by his side in an instant with a healing spell. It wasn't badly needed, but he was certainly grateful.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Amelia. Azarel didn't cut deep."

"But he still hurt you."

"Not as badly as I hurt him."

"What?" Amelia moved back a little bit, giving a confused look. "What happened?"

Shizuri interrupted before Zelgadis could explain. She'd been walking around the area, examining the surroundings to make sure that everything was safe. "I didn't come to until just before Azarel struck you. I'm sorry I couldn't deter him sooner."

"Don't worry about it. It was my fault for not realizing that he'd be armed." Zelgadis sighed. "I was so focused on trying to fight him psychologically rather than physically. I had my sword in hand, but wasn't prepared to use it. That was pretty dumb, considering who I was fighting."

"What did you say to Azarel?" Amelia asked.

"He tried to sell me on the idea that I'd be better off abandoning my family and friends and living a solitary life, like I haven't already been through that hell once. I gave him the facts straight- I know what it's like to be lonely and to have lost everything dear to you. But the thing is, the way he's going about trying to recruit friends like minions is never going to win him any true companions. And the way he's going about dealing with this inferiority complex of his could prove to be disastrous for both the human and Mazoku races. End of story."

Amelia and Shizuri were quiet, exchanging a cautious glance between them.

"That sounds a little harsh." Shizuri murmured.

"Harsh? That Mazoku needed a good dose of reality to keep him in line." Zelgadis sniffed. "I'm just sorry I didn't get to be the first one to punch him in the jaw."

"Where did he disappear to, though?" Amelia glanced around. "It's not like him to retreat just like that."

"It's possible he could've used the distraction to get by us. He's probably trying to sneak into the Claire bible now…" Shizuri turned her attention toward the entrance of the cave.

"I wouldn't worry. Mazoku feed off of the negative emotions of other creatures, but are weakened by their own. Azarel is in no state to fight, and with Gourry and Lyos to contend with, I doubt that he'll be able to get much of anything. We've done our part- now it's up to the others."

"So… we just wait?" Shizuri didn't seem satisfied with that, but reluctantly moved back towards the group.

"That's really all that we can do."