Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Crazy for this Girl ❯ Act 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes: This is my third attempt at starting this chapter. I've had the worst case of writer's block. I can't promise anything for this chapter. I'll try my best to leave out drama and serious stuff. But because I'm suffering from this hideous affliction, I'm taking what I can get. Wish me luck.

Also, I'd like to mention that I rambled a lot. I was 9 pages into the story before I realized I hadn't gotten anywhere. ^^;;;; But it's good rambling; really! The whole thing might not even make a lot of sense, but there is an underlying theme that weaves throughout the whole story. You might find it, you might not. Or maybe I just think there is. Umm… Okay, go read the story now. ^_^

~*Crazy for this Girl: Chapter 3*~

"Mew."

Lina's eyes flickered open at the soft and timid noise. She was currently sprawled on her back in the grass, having felt the need for a nap about an hour ago. She sat up and started working the kinks out of her neck while searching the area.

"Zel, did you hear a mewling sound?" Lina asked as she arched her back and heard a few bones crack. Not trusting the chimera near her while she slept, Lina had banished Zelgadis to the top of the hill, where he had made himself comfortable at the base of a very large oak tree.

When a deep-throated laugh was her only response, Lina stood up and turned around. Zelgadis was propped against the tree trunk. His face was nearly radiating from the smile that graced his lips. A tiny black kitten, hardly bigger than a fur ball, sat in his lap and batted at the strings keeping Zel's cloak together. It mewled again and did a sort of back flip, which earned it another laugh from Zelgadis.

"Where did the kitten come from?" Lina asked as she made her way up the hill.

"He came crawling out of the weeds right after you fell asleep. I don't know where his home is. Maybe the next town, though I don't know what he's doing all the way out here," Zelgadis replied. He held his hand above the kitten's face, and the kitten batted at it.

Lina sat down next to Zelgadis and held her hand out to the kitten. It backed away, fur raised and back arched. It hissed at Lina, who turned red from anger.

"What, I'm not good enough to pet you? Stupid cat," she huffed.

"He didn't like me at first, either. Just be patient," Zel replied, his voice soothing. Lina wasn't sure if the soothing was meant for her or the cat. Lina scowled and slowly put her hand back out. The kitten sniffed it, then lashed out with tiny claws. Surprised and enraged, Lina snatched her hand back.

"Aaah! It _scratched_ me! It flippin' attacked me!!" she yelled. "FIRE-"

"No, Lina! Don't!" Zelgadis yelled back. He snatched Lina's hands and stared into her eyes. The fur ball, unaware of his impending doom, crawled over the tree and began sharpening his claws. "He's just a kitten. He didn't know what he was doing."

"Well… well… AHH! Let go, that hurts!" Lina replied. Instead of letting go, Zelgadis turned Lina's hands over and examined the cat scratches. They were small and not very deep, but anyone who's ever been scratched by a kitten knows it hurts like Hell, regardless.

"You'll be okay," Zelgadis said. Lina scowled at him.

"How do you know? Maybe the cat has some kind of disease, or maybe they're getting infected, or maybe they're deeper than you think, or maybe it's really a Mazoku, or-" she rambled.

"You're over-reacting."

"Am not!"

"Here, maybe this'll help." Before Lina could react, Zelgadis lifted the delicate hand to his mouth and gently pressed his lips against the wound in a very chaste kiss. However, Lina being the flustered teen that she was, took one look at Zel's bowed head and started freaking out again.

"No, no, no, don't do that!" She pulled her hand away and stood up, too quickly, and felt disoriented. "Don't touch me! You're acting weird again. We gotta find a way to fix you; you're making me nervous. Don't touch me! That hurt! It's still bleeding! Aaah, Zel, you have blood on your lips now! That's gross! Don't do that again!" The sorceress continued to ramble as she stumbled back a few steps. Zelgadis simply smiled up at her, his face unreadable. Lina's words tumbled to a halt. She glared down at the placid chimera, and Lina abruptly spun around. "Well, come on, let's get to the next town."

"And the kitten…?" Zelgadis left his sentence unfinished as he gathered the aforementioned fur ball into his arms.

"… Is not coming with us," Lina stated. She crossed her arms and refused to turn around. "Leave it, it can find it's own way home."

"I can't do that, Lina. It's just so cute. Though not nearly as cute as you," Zelgadis replied. A delicate blush crept over the bridge of Lina's nose.

"But I don't want that thing attacking me again. And besides, it's black. Don't you know anything about black cats?" Lina stammered. She heard Zelgadis walk towards her, and she stared at his back as he continued to walk ahead of her.

"Yes. Supposedly, they bring bad luck to anyone whose path they cross. But that's just old wives' tales. It's never been proven that the source of bad luck is the cat," Zelgadis replied. He turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder at Lina. "And besides, maybe there's a reward for a missing cat."

Lina stared at the familiar chimera face, at the riveting sapphire eyes; at the way the sun cast shadows that emphasized his facial features. She felt her resolve slipping. And besides, he was right. Rewards meant money, didn't they?

"Damn you," she muttered and joined him on the path leading to the city.

"I knew you'd see it my way," Zelgadis replied and casually laid his arm across Lina's shoulders.

The kitten jumped out of the chimera's arms with impeccable timing. He sat on the grass, licked his paw, and watched the chaos ensue.

***

"We need a name for him," Zelgadis suddenly said. In one hand, he raised the kitten up so they were face-to-face. "What do you think, Lina?" His black eye glanced in Lina's direction, with crispy-fried hair framing it. It most definitely was Lina's handiwork.

"It might already have a name."

"True, but we can't just call it 'kitten' for now."

"Then call him 'baka neko'. It works for me."

"Lina, that's cruel."

"I never said I was nice."

"Then what's with the whole "sweet, innocent me" gag you pull every time you get in trouble?"

"…"

"I'm thinking 'Kurayami'. It fits, don't you think?"

"I think I don't care." Lina crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. She had no idea why she was acting so bitchy, but she couldn't help it. It was like something inside her forced her to act rude and hostile. Almost like…

"_I_ think it's that time of the month for you," Zelgadis said, matter-of-factly. The kitten jumped out of his arms just in time. Although momentarily magic-less, Lina could still pack a fairly good punch.

***

By the time they reached the town, Zelgadis looked like the poster-boy for Sado-Masochism 'R' Us, Xelloss notwithstanding. His smile was brilliant underneath all the bruises and two black eyes. Lina's face had that dangerous twitch that let most people know to back off. 'I could cast a Fireball nearly half an hour ago, and now, nothing! I hate how IT creeps up so quickly like that,' Lina thought.

"So, are we gonna look for a place to stay first, or find the owner of the kitten?" Zelgadis asked. He pointed down the street to a large sign saying "DOUBLE TREE INN". "We could see if they have any rooms left."

"Yeah, sure. I just want a long soak in their hot springs. I heard the Double Tree Inn has a special relaxing spring, something about it being based on holy land. Something like that," Lina said. They headed for the inn.

***

As Lina and Zelgadis walked into the reception area of the inn, Kurayami hanging precariously from Zel's shoulder, a thought occurred to Lina. She quickly flipped Zelgadis's cloak over his shoulder, which more than obscured the kitten from view.

"What'd you do that for?" Zelgadis asked, turning to Lina, as Kurayami mewled in protest.

"The Double Tree Inn doesn't allow pets here. If you insist on keeping him with us, we need to make sure he stays out of sight," Lina hissed in return. "And try to keep him quiet. Go outside or something while I get the room keys."

"You just wanted to see under the cape, didn't you?" Zelgadis replied, a sly grin on his face. A blush sprawled across Lina's nose and cheeks.

"Shut up! I did not!" she retorted. Zelgadis continued to grin as he removed the cat from his shoulder, tucked him into Lina's arms, and started walking towards the front desk, cloak still over his shoulder.

"You watch Kurayami. I'll get the key," he said. Lina, grotesquely distracted by view of Zelgadis's derriere, had no time to argue. When she finally lifted her beet-red face to protest, she caught the looks of several maids and servants. They all stared at the mewling ball of fluff in her arms. Lina quickly darted back out the door and found a nearby bench to sit on.

"That jerk! The nerve! Oooh, he's so frustrating sometimes…" Lina grumbled. The cat in her arms hissed, and Lina glared down at it. "Don't you start with me. It's all your fault, you know." Kurayami mewed and jumped off of Lina's lap to roam the area.

A few minutes later, Zelgadis strolled out of the inn and stood in front of the fuming sorceress. Arms crossed over her chest, Lina glared up at the smiling chimera.

"I assume you did what I asked. Why are you smiling at me like that?" she demanded.

"Oh, no reason, really. I was just thinking how cute you are when you pout," Zelgadis replied. He sidestepped and narrowly missed getting clobbered by Lina's fist.

"I can't take this anymore!" Lina yelped. She stood up and forced Zelgadis to look her directly in the eyes. "You're going to take me to the rooms right now, no funny business. I'm gonna take a soak in the springs; you can do whatever the hell you want. But for L-sama's sake, quit with the endearments!"

"Yes ma'am," Zelgadis replied, his smile dimmer but still there nonetheless. He scooped up Kurayami, who had meandered over, and reentered the inn.

It wasn't until they had entered the long hallway leading to their rooms that Lina became aware of the fact that Zelgadis was still smiling in that self-satisfied, slightly deranged sort of way. Lina grabbed Zel's arm and whirled him around to face her.

"Why are you smiling like that? It's incredibly annoying!" she yelled. Zelgadis attempted to frown but the corners of his lips kept turning up.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I just can't help it," he replied. Lina's facial expression told him he better move his sorry (albeit very cute) butt unless he wanted to get thrown into a wall. They continued walking. Lina knew better than to let it go. There just had to be a reason Zel was acting like an idiot. There just had to be…

"Here we are! Ladies first," Zelgadis announced, motioning Lina through a doorway. Lina glanced at it, then back at Zel. The disconcerting smile was still there.

"Where's your room?" she asked.

"Here."

"… So where's my room?"

"Here."

"…" At this point, Lina's temple was beginning to throb. Her brain had already figured out the situation. She counted to ten, and instead of blowing up, she smiled wickedly at Zelgadis. Finally, the chimera's smile faltered. In all actuality, it downright shattered.

"Yes, ladies first, of course," Lina said. She took a few steps into the room. Before Zel could even move or figure out why Lina was smiling, Lina slammed the door on his face. "And ladies only. Don't forget, ladies only."

"But Liiiinaaa!! You have to let me in!" Zelgadis cried.

"I most certainly do not! I'm a lady, therefore I get the room. And we are NOT sharing a room!" Lina's voice was slight muffled. Zelgadis clawed at the door and made pitiful whimpering sounds. "L-sama… that better be Kurayami. If it's not, Zelgadis, I have lost all respect for you."

"Lina, be reasonable. I can't spend the night out here. Neither can Kurayami. Don't you care at all about Kurayami?" Zelgadis chose to ignore the muffled "no" he heard in response. "Just open the door so we can talk this through." There was a long pause, and finally Lina opened the door a crack.

"Why didn't you get two rooms?" Lina demanded, afraid of the answer.

"The inn is packed. There aren't any more rooms left. I couldn't have gotten another one if I'd wanted to," Zel replied.

"… Damn," Lina cursed, softly and with feeling. She flung open the door and stepped back to let her traveling companion and the cat through. "Don't even think of trying any funny business, got that? I may not be able to cast a fireball, but I'm a pretty good shot with anything heavy and dangerous."

"Go to the hot springs, Lina. You need to relax," Zelgadis said in response. Lina simply glared at him and began to leave the room.

"Good idea. I'll be back later," she called over her shoulder.

***

Shortly after, Lina was settled comfortably into one of the springs. Her head and neck were cradled in her arms as she leaned against the rock wall. The water soothed her aching body, and the steam cleared her mind and helped her think more clearly. I feel kind of bad for being so cruel to Zel… but honestly! He's just so devious sometimes; I never know what to expect. I miss how he used to be… I mean I miss his tactfulness. Now he's just… wild. Unpredictable. And waaaaay too amorous.

Lina felt something soft brush against her cheek. She opened her eyes, pulled her right arm back into the water, and turned to her right. Kurayami sat cutely on the edge and meowed at her. His golden eyes glimmered. Lina blinked a few times and then held out her right hand. Kurayami licked the tips of Lina's fingers.

"How'd you get out here, silly?" Lina asked. While the kitten was busy licking Lina's fingers, Lina used her other hand to pet him. A soft purr escaped from the fur ball, and Lina chuckled. "I guess you're not as bad as I thought you were. Maybe Zelgadis was right. About a lot of things. Do you like him, Kurayami? You seem awfully fond of him. You two are really cute together. Wait. Did I just say that? Am I really talking to you? L-sama, I'm talking to a cat. Lina, get a hold of yourself! And now you're talking to yourself…"

Lina was too busy scolding herself to hear the bushes rustling near her. Unknown to her, the bush began… moving. Yes, that's right, moving. Closer to the hot spring. Every few seconds it would lift up and scuttle closer. By all means, a bush shouldn't be able to do that. However, this was no ordinary shrubbery. After all, since when did shrubs have eyes peering out of them?

Kurayami mewled in protest as Lina picked him up and held him out over the water. She laughed and put him on top of her head. "Didn't like that too much, did you, Kurayami?" The kitten gave a loud meow and settled down. Lina relaxed again, careful not to upend the fur ball into the springs.

A hand snaked out of the bush. Fingers convulsed and crept closer to the bare skin of Lina's neck. They hesitated. Kurayami, whose attention was now directed at the hand, instantly dug his claws into Lina's scalp and yowled. He jumped off of Lina's head just in time.

"OW! Stupid cat!" Lina shrieked as she spun around, hands up to catch the offending feline. The sight of the bush with blue eyes stopped her.

Lina blinked.

The bush blinked.

Lina screamed.

The bush ran.

***

It was fortunate for Zelgadis that Lina currently had no magical powers. It was fortunate for Lina that Zelgadis hadn't seen anything more than bare shoulders. It was fortunate for both of them that the inn owners hadn't discovered it was them who violated the hot springs rules.

"If you ever do that again, and I mean EVER, Zelgadis Graywords," Lina ranted. "I will gouge out both your eyes! I'll cut off your hands, too! Hell, I'll even-"

"I promise I'll never do it again, Lina" Zelgadis gurgled through swollen lips, a swollen tongue, and lots of ice. The tone of his voice was sincere, but there was a sparkle of good humor still in his eyes.

"Good," Lina snapped. She rubbed her sore hand where bruises were already forming. She had gotten a few punches in before she discovered some heavy and blunt objects to use. "You've proven to me that I can't trust you while you're in this condition. I'm asking you to leave. Spend the night in the hall. I don't care what other people think. I can't have you in here while I sleep."

"Please, Lina, after what you put me through? I couldn't touch you if I wanted to. I think you broke all ten of my fingers," Zelgadis argued. He lay on his back on the bed. "And I really, really don't want to sleep on the floor, but I'll do anything for you, and if it would make you feel more comfortable, I will."

Lina warily sat down next to the near-comatose chimera and looked down into his beaten face. She almost wanted to cry; she didn't realize how bad she had hurt him. One would think that with stone skin and all, Zelgadis would be more difficult to hurt. However, cannonball-sized things and bigger tend to cause damage no matter what they hit… Sapphire eyes watched Lina as she gently touched his cheek. Zelgadis didn't flinch, but Lina knew it still hurt a lot.

She wanted to say, "I'm sorry", but instead she said, "No, you can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Lina…" Zelgadis started, but Lina shook her head vehemently.

"I mean it. I'll be okay. Really," she replied.

"We can both sleep on the bed. I swear by L-sama that I will not touch you in any way you don't want to be touched."

Lina wasn't too terribly sure about the way Zel phrased that, but she nodded her head before she could stop herself. "By L-sama."

Zelgadis smiled, but with swollen lips it looked more like a grimace. "By L-sama."

***

Later that night, Lina wondered how exactly she had gotten into this predicament. Zelgadis was sleeping not so peacefully beside her, and she was wide-awake. The chimera moaned quietly in his sleep, but it was loud enough to bother Lina. Finally she none-too-gently smashed her pillow over Zelgadis's face. The pain of that contact woke Zel.

"Are you trying to kill me by suffocation now?" Zelgadis mumbled, his voice gravelly from sleep, no pun intended. "That hurt, you know."

"If you're in such pain, why don't you cast a healing spell on yourself?" Lina replied.

"Don't you think if I could, I would?" came the answer. Lina shrugged and rolled over onto her side, pulling the blankets with her. "Hey, quit hogging the sheets."

"Can't do anything right, can I?"

"Lina…" Zelgadis's sigh was exasperated. He reached out to touch Lina's shoulder but pulled back at the last second. If he overstepped his bounds again, he'd be toast. In more ways than one. Instead he settled for talking. "Never mind. Forget the sheets. You can have them, I'll be fine without them." Zelgadis rolled over, leaving his back facing Lina.

There was a very long pause before Lina spoke again. "Zel?"

"… What?" The word was mumbled and already heavy with sleep.

"I'm… sorry."

"… Okay, Lina…"

Silence filled the room. Lina closed her eyes and began counting sheep.

***

Mmm… It's so warm and cozy… Lina thought, her mind muddled with sleep. It was the next morning, and the sun streaming through the window was playing across her face. I could stay like this forever… Huh? Lina cracked her eyes open. Her left arm was flung over Zelgadis and she was cuddled up next to him, nearly molded against him. Zelgadis was still asleep. The warmth Lina had felt was not just the sun; it was the heat being radiated from Zelgadis's stone body.

"Iiiyaaa!" Lina yelped and scrambled away. She fell off the bed and kept backing up. Zelgadis, still asleep, rolled over and mumbled something incoherent. Lina's heart was racing. What the hell was I doing?! No way I was doing that! No freaking way! L-sama, thank goodness Zel wasn't awake… Now who's the one acting weird?! Get a grip, Lina!

Kurayami, who had been up most the night prowling the room, lay stretched out in a beam of sunlight. He opened his eyes to slits and glared at Lina for disturbing his sunbathing. Lina scowled at him, stood up, and grabbed her clothes. Might as well go get changed and get breakfast. As soon as the word "breakfast" entered her mind, Lina was out the door.

***

Much later, after Lina finished breakfast and the sore chimera in her room finally came down and had a cup of coffee, the two traveling companions planned out the rest of their day. After packing up their stuff, they would take Kurayami to the local animal shelter and see if anyone had lost a pet recently. If that failed to work, they'd ask around town.

At the animal shelter, the girl they first spoke to had no idea about anything.

"Um… let me get my boss…" she said, and went into a back room. Shortly after, a stout old man came out and smiled warmly at Lina and Zelgadis.

"So, you've found someone's lost pet, have you? Well well well, let me see the little dear," he said. Zelgadis deposited the fur ball on the countertop. Kurayami looked at the man and meowed.

The reaction was so violent and swift Lina and Zel barely had time to react. Zelgadis swept Kurayami into his arms just as a broom smacked onto the counter, handled by the old man.

"You brought that cursed thing back into this town?! Damn you! Curse you! Get that filthy thing out of here before you plague this town any more!" the man shrieked. He raised the broom again. "Get out of town!!"

"What the hell is your problem?!" Lina demanded. She rolled up her sleeves and stalked towards the man. "You have no right to treat us like that, you old geezer! Why I oughta-"

"You don't understand! Now get out! OUT!"

"Lina, let's go," Zelgadis said hastily. With his free hand he snagged Lina's upraised arm and dragged her out the door. The man followed them, and when he reached the door, he started clanging the bell next to the door.

"The plague is back! The curse is loose again! Beware!" the man bellowed. People turned to stare, and when they caught sight of the black, meowing kitten in Zelgadis's arms, they began running and shrieking.

"What the hell is going on?" Lina muttered.

"I don't know, but Lina… Run."

"What?"

"RUN!" Zelgadis shoved Lina ahead of him and began running. One peek over her shoulder and Lina saw a horde of angry people charging at them. Needless to say, she ran.

The mass of anger chased the trio through street after street until finally they reached the outer edge of town. Unable to even guess what was going on, Lina simply did her best to stay alive. However, it bothered Lina greatly to not know what the problem was. It bothered her enough that on the outskirts of town, she whirled around and faced the angry mob.

"We demand to know why the hell you're running us out of town!! What did we do to you?!" she yelled. The mob, having gotten the strangers out of their town, started to disperse.

"You brought that… thing… back to us!" a middle-aged man replied. "That cat, it brings bad luck! We had gotten rid of it for a reason, and you brought that cursed thing back!"

"That's just old wives tales!" Lina yelled, vaguely realizing she was saying what Zel had told her when they first found Kurayami.

"Oh no it's not! You weren't here for the fire, the flood, or the earthquake, were you, little girl?! Or the plague, the disease epidemic, or the marauders!! Surely you've noticed the bad luck you've had! Now go away, and don't bring that thing here again!" With that, the man walked away.

Lina contemplated the man's words. Well… now that he mentioned it… There was the fact that "that time of the month" came awfully sudden and without warning… and there was only one room to have for the night…and Zelgadis getting hurt so bad when he should've been okay…and a whole bunch of other things… Damn!

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?" Zelgadis asked. He clutched Kurayami protectively to his chest.

"Yes, I am. I think. We can't let that cat travel with us any more! It would explain a lot of the crap we've been going through since we met him. Unless you want to end up dead, we need to let him go," Lina explained.

"Lina, he's just a baby! We can't let him wander the world by himself! You like him, anyway. Admit it. I can tell. You stopped calling him an 'it'. Please, Lina," Zelgadis pleaded. Lina was very tempted to say yes just because she'd never seen Zel give her that kind of pouting/pleading-child face before. And unfortunately, Zel was right. She *had* grown kind of attached to Kurayami.

"But I could be stuck with "that time of the month" for the rest of my life or something equally inane!" Lina argued. The pleading-child-look did not go away. Lina felt her resolve crumbling yet again. "Fine. FINE! As long as you take full responsibility for him, he can come with us."

"Thank you, ma cherie," Zelgadis said, bending down to give a light kiss on Lina's cheek. Stunned, Lina simply watched as Zelgadis began walking away from the town and began the journey to the next.

"Hey… HEY! Wait up, you jerk!" Lina yelled. She ran to catch up.

***

Meanwhile, Xelloss watched the traveling trio with great interest. He rolled the bottle of Love-in-Idleness in his hands and smiled.

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Find me a find, catch me a catch…"

AUTHOR NOTES:Ma cherie is French for "my cherished". Basically it's a term of endearment. Why does Zelgadis know French? Because I said so. =P The "matchmaker" song is not mine, I used it because I wanted to, but I have no idea who originally came up with it. I do know you can hear it on the Mrs. Doubtfire movie. I'd like to apologize for rambling for 9 pages and leaving 2 ½ to actually develop the plot. I'm sure you're all wondering why Zelgadis was hurt so bad by Lina, who didn't even have magic to use. Well, it's called bad luck. Kurayami is, indeed, a harbinger of bad luck. And also, because… I SAID SO!! MUAHAHA!!! ^____^ I like using fragments. Why? Because I said so!! Oh, wait, that doesn't work… because I like getting away with things in fanfiction that I can't in AP English.