"What do you mean, we can't be apart of the raid team!" Zelgadis roared at Jun, who remained calm in the face of the emotional outburst. It was good that Jun had asked Izuku to take Hina back to the common area for a snack before because it hadn't taken long before things got heated.
His arms kept neatly behind his back, Jun kept his eyes focused on the seething chimera in front of him when he commanded "Hina-chan, please keep your cool, Zelgadis needs to hear this."
Sure enough, the blue-haired telekinetic looked about ready to rip the disgruntled stoney man in front of her into so much gravel.
Zelgadis didn't care, taking a defiant step forward and throwing his hand out and pointing at seeming nothing "We've jumped through your hoops, we went out there and made nice with your little students! Then, when you dangle the one thing we all have been waiting for you tell us we can't grasp it with our own hands?!"
"Zel…"
Jun's features grew steely as he resolutely listened to Zelgadis' rant. With an opening offered, he answered before the chimera could take a breath and continue on. "It is true you three have made great strides and I'm very proud of you for that but you need to remember, this wasn't my decision alone. I did my best to make sure the recovery of that nomu was a priority but that's not the main goal here. This country, this world is doing it's best to protect itself, not just get you home. It was decided a small, powerful group would make up the raid team, and you three are, to them, an unknown element."
Disgust flashed on Zelgadis' face as he turned away, crossing his arms before he spat "Tch. If it was a mission to save your wife and son, you'd want to be there."
SLAP!*
Jun's cool, controlled façade had cracked at Zelgadis' harsh words, his eyes widening and his lips tightening, fulling expecting Hina to have lost her cool and send Zelgadis crashing into the far wall. Instead, it was Michiru who stood before the chimera, her fist enlarged and covered in a scaly hide to protect her from the taller lighter's hard skin.
The tanuki girl's face was the personification of indigent rage, mixed with disappointment, as she glared up at the Zelgadis. The slap combined with the anger from Michiru hit Zelgadis harder than any telekinetic shove ever could. He stood there, hand on his face, with a look of stunned shame.
No words were exchanged between the two of them before Michiru turned and stormed away, the hint of tears in her eyes as she rushed off. Emeralda stepped up to stand beside Zelgadis and while the latter watched Michiru leave, the nanomachine girl said simply "That was extremely stupid, Zelgadis."
Said chimera numbly looked over at Emeralda before looking back at the man he had actually insulted, as though he'd just realized he was there. Hina watched on, expectant while Jun…Jun struggled to keep himself in check and it showed. Zelgadis couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness but what he did know was that it was his fault.
"I'm, I'm sorry, Sanada-sensei. You didn't deserve that and I…I had no right to be angry. I, I just wanted this to be over. Get all of us home and I've always been able to just go and do what needed to be done. I see why we, or me specifically, shouldn't be anywhere near this mission." Zelgadis earnestly explained, suddenly feeling much heavier and yet smaller all at the same time.
The chimera's words were enough to quell the storm raging in the retired hero's heart and he was able to regain his composure. Still, he no longer felt like he wanted to explain things to the chimera at that moment. Taking a deep breath to finish calming himself, Jun replied "I've always known you to be a man of deep passion, Zelgadis and it seems that you let it rule you still. It's good you at least know that. I just ask you continue to improve. Now, I think you should probably go after Michiru. I will explain what your role will be to Emeralda and she can tell you later."
In absolutely no position to negotiate, Zelgadis contritely nodded his head before agreeing. Without another word, the sorcerer-swordsmen took his leave and went after Michiru. With only Emeralda left, Hina sighed and smiled at the tan girl and said, "And that's why you're my favorite."
Emeralda, though, wasn't thinking about the compliment, her eyes on the door that Zelgadis had just used to leave, Ranma's words echoing in her mind.
(X)
Sadou had spent a day in bed recovering from his injuries from his fight with Xellos. Between his demonic nature being able to pull from the fears around him and someone from the town who had a healing quirk, it took very little time for the deposed demon lord to get back on his feet.
The first thing he had done was contact McRonald's corporate to let them know he and his staff were ok and to schedule a meeting using a code hidden in his report. Sadou made Celty wait deep into the night before he felt sure he could sneak out of town to pass on the news of what had happened in Deika City. Even then, he simply passed on the information in flash drive form, not staying for small talk, like normal.
In the meantime, he and his staff had busied themselves cleaning the store and helping out around town after Rikiya had announced to everyone that there had been a change in leadership and that Tomura was now their leader. Until new supplies came, Sadou decided with what little food they had left in the store they'd cook up and offer to those helping to rebuild, an act that went a long way to enduring himself both to his staff and those in the newly renamed Paranormal Liberation Front.
The demon lord turned burger manager was, in fact, out making just such an offering when a man in a black full body jumpsuit that featured grey lines and a full head mask black on the bottom and grey from the nose up congenially walked up with a wave and said "Hey man! You the guy giving out free burgers? I'm starved! Get those hand-held heart-attacks away from me!"
Sadou's practiced customer service smile looked strained as he struggled to respond to the discordant thoughts he'd just heard. Especially since this man, Twice, had been introduced as one of the new leaders of the PLF. Still, the oddly dressed man was doubtlessly expecting an answer so the black-haired demon refocused his best fake smile and replied pleasantly "I am sir! I would be glad to offer you one, if you'd like!"
Jin flailed his arms in excitement, exclaiming "Cool! Thanks man, this is totaling going to hit the spot! I can't wait to it throw up!" before he greedily threw his arm forward and grabbed a wrapped up cheeseburger.
Without further thought or consideration, Jin pulled the lower half of his mask up and began consuming the fast food as if it was the first thing he'd eaten in days. Given his status as a spy, the last thing Sadou wanted was to be further involved with the upper most echelon of the PLF leadership, no matter how disarmingly approachable they may appear to be.
Thus, Sadou raised his hand and offered a slight dip of his head and tried to excuse himself. "Glad you like it sir. If that's all, keep up the good work and I'll do my best to serve you in the future."
Sadou had turned and was several feet away when a hand landed on his shoulder. For the briefest of moments, a thousand thoughts rushed through the former demon lord's mind, not the least of which was tensing himself for having to fight his way out of the city because Xellos, had outed him. Instead, the jovial words of a man with his mouth full of beef could be heard "Hey man! You know, me and the rest of the PLF were pretty impressed when we hard from Xellos what you did during the attack!"
Sadou didn't dare turn around fully, not yet. Instead, only his head moved to the side, his eyebrow raised. "Oh? I didn't think I did anything special. What have you heard?"
Jin had finished his burger and was licking his fingers after having tossed the wrapper on the ground over his shoulder. "Oh, hey man, nothing to worry about! It's all good! You miserable corporate patsy! Word is you threw yourself in front of your employees. Even took on Xellos! So cool! You're insane! I've seen what that guy can do, you're really brave! Or a complete moron!"
Sadou was still wary of the odd man but it was hard to keep his guard up around such earnest sounding praise and friendliness. He turned, the open bag over his shoulder half filled with burgers almost forgotten when Sadou replied "I don't think what I did was anything special. I certainly didn't have any idea how strong that Xellos guy was, that's for sure!" he lied, trying to match Jun's positivity with his own faux humility.
Reaching out for another burger, which Sadou didn't contest, Jin countered "No, man, that's the kind of thing we need more of! People who won't just serve the cause but also fight to protect each other! You know, like family. When I heard what you did, it reminded me of me and my friends. We stormed this city, knowing how crazy it was, just to get our friend back. We should all be dead! That's why I want you to meet the boss!"
Alarm bells were screaming in Sadou's head. This was almost literally the last thing he wanted to do. Keeping his head down and reporting what was going on was his job. Getting too close to the heads of the PLF would put him under far more scrutiny than he wanted, even if he could get much better intel to pass on. "Geez, I don't know Twice. You really want some fast-food manager talking to your boss? I don't want to waste anyone's time." Sadou answered nervously.
With a friendly pat on the back and another mouth full of cheesy processed cow, Jin shot the black-haired younger-looking man down with a hearty "Come on man! Before this I was nothing! I couldn't even hold down a job and look at me now! It's sickening, isn't it? It doesn't matter where you come from, now come on, we can give out the rest of those burgers along the way! To me!"
With no other viable excuses, Sadou threw his false smile back on his face even as he internally sighed. He just knew this was going to get messy. He just hoped that damn mazuku wasn't there. "O-okay! Lead the way, Twice! I'll try not to be a disappointment."
Twice pumped his free hand in excitement before reaching for another of Sadou's burden "Great! Now pass me another burger! I want to hit someone with it!"
Yeah, this was a mistake.
(X)
Michiru looked out at the vista of trees and buildings that was the UA campus from her room's balcony as she lay over the railing, her arms spread out and her upper body hanging limp just like her head. She'd heard the knocking at her door sure it was either Emeralda or Zelgadis himself wanting to try and explain away his stupid, thoughtless words and ignored them. She wasn't in the mood to talk herself down from her feelings.
"Stupid Zel…" she muttered, suddenly desperate for a rock to just throw away out into the world.
It wasn't just that she was angry at the chimera's behavior. She was upset and confused at herself for even being so upset about it. Sure, what Zelgadis said was wrong but it wasn't even directed at her. Jun was the one that should have been infuriated. He was the one who deserved to hit the rock-encrusted sorcerer, not her.
Groaning to herself, Michiru realized she was angry, at least in part, because by now, after everything, she expected better from him. He was a hot-headed brooder with a sharp mind and a heart of gold but sometimes he could be so damned self-centered that it made her question herself. But why? The answer was so close and yet so far away from her that Michiru suddenly clenched her eyes shut and started running her clawed hands through her hair in frustration.
"Hey…what are you doing?" can a familiar deep voice laced with worry and embarrassment.
"GAAHH!" Michiru elegantly retorted as she fell backwards, her tail exploding in size almost on instinct to cushion her fall. Unfortunately, that cushion also acted as a spring and Michiru found herself up in the air, over the railing and falling right into Zelgadis, who up till that moment watched on in confused silence.
Her tail returned to normal as Michiru was caught by Zelgadis, floating there thanks to his magic. The two suddenly found themselves face to face, their noses no more than an inch apart. The moment hung for several seconds as the two displaced souls stared into each other's eyes. Then, as if the world, frozen in time for the two of them, started up again, red flushed both of their faces and Michiru quickly pushed herself away, landing nimbly back on the balcony.
Her back turned to the chimera, Michiru crossed her arms and stuck her nose up to make it clear she was still angry before she spoke. "What the hell are you doing here Zel, the door was locked for a reason."
Zelgadis, for his part, just floated there, hands unmoving after Michiru had left them. He couldn't help but think about how warm she had felt…and soft. Shaking his head to regain himself, the chimera remained floating, wanting to wait until he was invited to join her as he answered "I wanted you to know you were right. I apologized to Sanada-sensei right away but, but I never should have had to."
Her face crunching up in restrained anger, Michiru whirled on her heel to face the man floating in front of her to demand "Then why!? Why did you even do it in the first place? I thought you were passed that, blaming Sanada for everything…"
Zelgadis exhaled loudly, suddenly finding himself unable to look at Michiru at all, glancing about at the walls, windows or anything else but her as he spoke. "I was angry, to start. I was angry at being powerless, again, and I guess…I guess I slipped into what was most familiar. I want this to be over. I want to get you and Emeralda and everyone else home. It's never been in my nature to just stand around and let things happen when I could act. Or to take orders very well." Zelgadis finished with a chuckle.
"Hey, hey, don't get nostalgic on me! I need you to swallow your damn pride and grow up!" Michiru countered, wagging her finger in the floating chimera's direction. The distant smile on Zelgadis' face melted away at the chiding as Michiru continued when realization struct, "Wait…you said everyone else. Does that mean you want to stay here?"
Before he answered, Zelgadis motioned at the open spot on the balcony. When Michiru nodded, he floated over the railing and landed beside her, his face once again serious. "Michiru, you have your parents, friends and that Shirou guy all waiting for you in your world. Emeralda has her friends and is even about to become a big sister. Ranma, Celty, Hitomi, Sakura, Shinra, Brooklyn, they all have people they desperately want to return to. Me? I have a few friends, sure but even then, I only run into them every once in a while in my travels. I don't really have anything back there except the stares of those who see a monster. Here, I've made mistakes, sure but at least…at least I'm not freak. And there is so much more for me to learn and see."
Michiru knew that feeling of being the weird one all too well. It was one of the first things the two of them connected with, back in that jail cell what now felt like a lifetime ago. Still, the fact that Zelgadis didn't want to go back was almost more than Michiru could comprehend. It was as if the idea of NOT going home had never entered into her mind. The fact that the choice may even exist at all rocked the tanuki girl to her core and it showed on her face as she went quiet, her expression pensive.
Zelgadis took the response to mean he had somehow offended his furry companion and stepped forward speaking with worry "Michiru, I'm sorry. I know I pushed you more than anyone when we first got here to go after All for One and now here I am saying I want to stay. You must think I'm a huge hypocrite."
The tanuki girl shook her head gently, quickly replying "No, dummy, it makes you human. We all screw up. And…and we all want to belong. You remember how happy I was when I first saw all these heteromorphs in town? I thought we'd landed in a paradise. So yeah, I get it. But it does mean we'll have to say goodbye and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that yet."
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Our last plan didn't exactly work out like we expected. Until we get that nomu in our hands and figure out how to get us home, we won't have to worry about farewells just yet. You can't get rid of me that easy." Zelgadis countered with an uncharacteristic cheeky smile.
That smile was a good look on the chimera and it caused a warmth to spread in Michiru's chest. Rather than show it though, the tanuki girl felt the need to cross her arms and counter with "Yeah, no, if I wanted you gone, I'd have done it already and trust me, it would have been easy." a cocky smile spreading on her face.
The pair held a stare for a moment before the two burst out laughing, Zelgadis falling backward against the railing to catch himself as he held his side. That caused Michiru to double over herself, pointing at the chimera, tears streaming down her eyes. After several moment minutes during which the two kept causing the other to explode into another fit of giggles, Michiru finally regained enough composure to say, as she stood back up "Thanks for coming after me, Zel and for being here for me. Sometimes I get in my own head too much, you know?"
Also sobering up, Zelgadis too stood, though the smile didn't leave his face when he added "I could say the same of you, Michiru. You mean a lot to me, you know, and I want to see you happy, so let's get that damn nomu, ok?"
Michiru barely had time to register what those words could really mean before Zelgadis was up in the air again, flying off, adding "I'll go find Emeralda and find out what Jun told her, see you later!"
Just like that, the blue-skinned sorcerer was out of sight. Michiru took a step back and bumped up against the door back to her room. Her legs gave out and she slid down, landing on her butt, her face dumbstruck. Dense as she could be, even Michiru had to wonder what, exactly Zelgadis had meant by those words and it both excited and terrified her all at the same time. With her feelings at war within her Michiru uttered "You idiot…." the words lingering in the air, as Michiru smiled to herself.
(X)
It's been a regular thing for me to complain here in the post script about life and the various things that get in the way of me getting a chapter done. This time, it finally got the better of me and I had effectively no time or motivation to get this month's chapter done. In past months, even if I didn't have the time, I could push through and get it done. Not this time. There has been too much to overcome, even for me. Writing this story continuously for years now sometimes leaves me worn out and it just so happened to come when several IRL things came together to crush my body and soul all at once.
The good news is after the 11th, I will have much, much more time to devote to writing again. That means the 50th chapter should be a big one. All of this is to say, I'm so sorry this chapter is so short, easily the shortest thus far. But I wanted to get something, anything out this month, because I both feel I owe you all and because I'm afraid if I stop I'll never start again.
I refuse to stop this story until it's done and I hope you'll be there when it is done. Take care out there, thank you and see you next month for a much fuller chapter worthy of your time.