Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Dramata Kurage! ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Slayers and their characters are not owned by me. They belong to Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and any other companies which own them. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit and I promise to give them back all in perfect working order.

2.0
I cringed slightly when I heard the book slam down onto a table. I knew that was not a good sign, and it was only then I really thought that I shouldn't be bothering Lina after she had her time relaxing in the springs. Suddenly I felt like running away but that would only make her more angry. It wasn't like I could say it was some kid playing a game, I'd given myself up when I said I was at the door. I felt my whole body tense up and for the first time in a long time, I wished the ground would swallow me, or maybe I would become really small, or maybe if I willed myself hard enough, I would become invisible. Then she opened the door, and leaned out of it lazily. Her response was filled with sarcasm but I ignored it.

"Umm.." was the best I could come up with at first, I still felt racked with nervousness, but because I was still alive and breathing then it quickly started to disappear. "Well I wondered if you found anything in that book of interest." I asked. I'll admit, that it's really strange of me to be interested in a book, and even when I first saw it I felt like I couldn't care less. However as time passed, I found myself getting drawn to it. Almost like something was willing me to do it.

I get those feelings often, and I've learnt not to hold them back. That usual if I let them take over, good things happen. Almost like someone is watching over me and telling me what to do. It's hard to describe and I'm sure that's not what it really is, but that's the best I can say. It happened when I teamed up with Lina against Mazenda, where we knew what to do. It also happened when I chased after Lina into that dark thing. And now it was happening right now, and it was telling me to find out what was in that book.

Throughout all that time, I managed to look at Lina. She had some colour in her cheeks and she did seem relaxed. I figured that her time in the springs really helped her. She can be very cranky when she doesn't get her proper rest. She was wearing a robe and pyjamas beneath the robe, and her brunette hair was being it's unruly self down her back, but looking a little shinier.

You know how I just said how I have something where it's like I'm being told what to do. Well this one happens the most, and I think it's the only one that I really do try and hold back, maybe I'm just worried about the consequences for once. This voice inside which tells me something about Lina. I'm not sure what it's telling me to do, but I feel like it's saying I should be closer. I know how I can be with her sometimes, but you should realise that I don't mean them. I mean look at all the times she calls me kurage, or yoghurt for brains. I'm sure she doesn't always mean them ...All I'm saying is, is that I think she's really I nice looking girl...What? Stop looking at me like that!

Kurage

2.1
I gaped at him. Why was he suddenly addicted to this book? Why was it suddenly a magnificent bone of contention for him?

Or something. Get off my back. I'm tired.

I sighed and waved him into the room, figuring that resistance was futile and I might as well get the conversation over with before I drop away to slumber. I sat down on the bed and grabbed the book, cradling it in my hands and glowering at it.

“Have you ever had an itch,” I began, my gaze dead-set on the book, “that you KNOW is there, and you can't get to, even though you scratch everywhere trying to get to it?” I frowned deeply. “This stupid book is an itch I can't reach. I can't translate it and I can't remember where I saw these symbols. It's frustrating and annoying.”

I looked up and noticed that Gourry had shut the door and taken a seat at the chair where my robe had been. I sighed deeply, feeling as if my words were being bounced off him instead of absorbed by him. I can't explain why I bothered to say all that I did. Usually if I open up, it's more for myself than others, so that I can try to get my thoughts out in the open and organized, but that night…that night I remember that I opened up because Gourry was there and I trusted him. You can't hang out with a guy for years and not trust him.

I lay back onto the bed and growled, the book slipping from my hands. It landed on the floor with a protesting thud but I ignored it. I stared up at the ceiling, not really seeing it. “I hate not being able to know right away what is in books or treasures or anything,” I went on. “You know that. This book is the cornerstone of my frustration. I wish I had've ignored it or something.”

Hindsight: That had been a lie. Of course I never wished any such thing. I was just venting frustration. However, hindsight, it probably would have made my life easier if I HAD gotten rid of it.

Oops, getting ahead of myself.

I sat up and noticed that Gourry had picked up the book and was looking through it. I jumped up to my feet, feeling a habitual and momentary feeling that he was going to BREAK IT, but I swallowed it down and walked over to his side, leaning over his shoulder. When he got to a long page of symbols, I jabbed my finger down on the page.

“See?” I growled. “It's those goddamn symbols. I can't remember where I've seen them before or if I ever used them for any of my spells or managed to translate them. It has to be something hardcore. Look at the format the book is written in! But I can't touch on it!”

I could practically hear Gourry's eyes glazing over during my rant, and I sighed inwardly. However, when I glanced at him, I was surprised to discover that he was looking at the book without glazed eyes. Neat.

“So you can pretty much understand my frustration, can't you?” I finished, placing my chin on his shoulder and huffing in anger, my eyes narrow.

Dramata

2.2
I stepped into the room and closed it behind me as Lina starting talking. I walked over slowly and moved the chair so I could sit down and face her. I then sat down and looked over to her as she continued, and he nodded a little since he did kind of understand what she meant. I watched as she lay back down and I could see how frustrated she was, and I wondered what more I could do. But I figured that I should just do what I do best and be someone that she could talk to and vent her frustrations, even if maybe I don't always understand what she talks about.

The book then slipped from her grasp and hit the floor. Immediately I bent over and picked up the book, looking at the cover and fingering the detail slightly before temptation told me to open it. I looked through the pages and saw pages and pages of symbols, none of which made any sense. I wondered how she could have read them in the first place, since she said she recognised them.

"You know that. This book is the cornerstone of my frustration. I wish I had've ignored it or something." She stated whilst I continued flipping through the pages.

"Well I know you want to be the beautiful sorcery genius, but you can't be that all the time Lina. Every now and again, maybe you won't be able to work something out." I continued flipping through as she got up and walked over. At first I thought she was gonna snatch it away, but instead she just moved round behind me.

"Maybe we could go to Seyruun or something. I'm sure Amelia would let you use their libraries. That might help you jog your memory..." I tried to help and continued until I stopped at a page which was completely full of symbols. Immediately her finger came down from behind me and poked the page, as she highlighted to me the symbols and how she couldn't translate them.

"Well you know what that means right? Whatever this book is on about, it must be something really important. I mean why else would they write it in some weird way that no one can even understand it. They must be trying to hide something." I added on, trying to cheer her up and make her look at the positive side. I felt her rest her head on my shoulder. "Anyway, if anyone is gonna work it out, it's gonna be you."

I tried looking at it closer, not really sure what I was doing. I don't always grasp my own language, never mind some long forgotten language that no one has spoken in years. I closed the book and tried to think of the languages Lina knew, and see if that jogged her memory.

"Don't you know Elvish, and Dragon, maybe it's one of those?" I tried to help, but the lack fo response made me realise that it wasn't one of those. Infact the way her eyes had narrowed I could swear she'd falled asleep. I thought harder, but I couldn't think. Maybe that was the problem and we had to think more simply.

"Hey Lina?" I hoped I'd thought of something. "The Giga Slave is a pretty important spell, right? I mean, whoever worked it out, wouldn't want alot of people casting it about everywhere. So wouldn't they want to hide it? What language was that spell in?"

Kurage

2.3
I nodded slowly in reply, raising my head and pulling away from him. I started to pace behind him, my mind working slowly. I was trying to pick up its pace with the pacing, something that usually worked in situational brain farts such as this.

“The Giga Slave was in runes,” I replied slowly, making sure that Gourry understood it. There was also an advantage to speaking slower than usual; it allowed my brain to still power away at thought while proving an explanation. “I was able to translate them, with difficulty, in about a month. That was when I wasn't very fluent in runes, and I had to use the aid of a book.”

I paused and glanced sidelong at him. He seemed to be listening, but sometimes with Gourry, he was merely pretending. However, he seemed much more interested in it than usual, which was curious as well as weird. What could possibly be interesting to him?

I resumed pacing. “Anyways,” I went on, “You can imagine that it was frustrating work, but contrary to what you said, runes aren't a hard language. The person who wrote it was obviously writing a copy; the original language of the Giga Slave is long lost. It's the same as when I learned the Ragna Blade; that, too, was a copy, remember?”

I paused, to allow the information to seep into his brain. I wasn't sure if such a feat was even happening with him, but it's always worth it to give the benefit of the doubt.

“But THIS!” I swung back to him and slammed my finger down on the text again. “THIS is an original, from the looks of it. And whoever wrote it doesn't want anyone to know what is in it. I'm pretty sure,” I concluded, my brain finally coming up with an answer, “that this is a made up language.”

I was so happy to come up with the answer that the actual gravity of the situation didn't click for me until several moments after I had said it. Once it did, I groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. “A made up language!” I cried, yanking at my hair. “That means that the only person who knows it is the person who WROTE it! And who knows who the hell that is!”

I shrieked and lamented on the bed for a while, beating my pillow senseless in pure frustration. This was insane! I was so happy over such a great find and now it was USELESS. And it wasn't like I could abandon it now; I was way too interested in it now to just leave it alone. I HAD to find out what was in the book. I HAD to find a way to translate it. But how?

I groaned, then sat up and propped my chin on my hand, lying on my side. I glanced at Gourry, who was still glancing at the book. “Well?” I snapped, glaring at him. “Say something! What do you think?”

Dramata

2.4
I sighed a little. I thought that maybe for once I really helped, and maybe Lina would be glad that I was able to help her with something other than protection. However I listened closely as best as I could to her, and really tried to understand what she was talking about. But as she went on, she was losing me, and I couldn't understand it all, only small bits were staying in. The rest just passed onto pastures new, never to be seen again.

I had learnt though that even if I didn't understand it all, just Lina speaking to me about what was on her mind, always helped her, and I didn't have to understand it, for something good to come out of what she was talking about. I could see though that even after all her talking, she was still extremely frustrated. It seemed she just explained to herself why it would be impossible to understand. I understood that it was something that only one person would know.

I was going to state to her the obvious, but immediately I held back, and realised pretty quickly, that the original writer of the book was probably no longer around. So I tried to think it through a bit more. I still felt it nagging inside me that I was interested in this book, and I knew I had to follow it. I gazed at the book, half wondering why I should be interested in it, and also wondering how you were supposed to work out a book written in something that no one will ever know.

"Umm, I know it's obvious, but I thought I should mention it anyway. But maybe you should find the author of the book. If he wrote it, then he knows how it's translated...if he's alive that is." I paused for a moment, but managed to add a point before she ripped my head off. "The other thing, maybe the Claw Bible will know. That thing that we were looking for ages ago. Zel wanted it for his cure, and you wanted it for the Ragna Blade. Well maybe that thing will know how to translate it."

I blinked a little, not sure how she was going to react with that, and I guess I didn't want to. I opened the book up again and started flicking through it slowly, wondering what mysteries this book was hiding.

Kurage

2.5
“Claire Bible,” I corrected absently, wishing that I couldn't see the glaze of confusion in his eyes. “It's Claire, not Claw.” I thought on what he was saying for a moment. “It's true that the Claire Bible might have some information about this encrypted spell, but I doubt I could ever get my hands on it again; the dragons of the Katahto Mountains aren't exactly fond of me, seeing as how last time I dragged with me four monsters on my last visit.”

I uncurled myself and sprawled out on my back, tangling my fingers into the knots in my hair. I stared at the ceiling in thought, unsure of what else to say, really. My mind was a labyrinth of thought.

Truth be told, I was sort of curious as to what the dragons would say if I ever showed up again on their land, demanding to see the Claire Bible once more. I seriously doubted that they would even consider letting me near the mountain that housed it, let alone actually accessing the Bible for itself. I'm sure they would just fly away laughing if I even got the guts to ask.

Still, it was a curious thing. I would have to put it on the back burner for now, incase I couldn't come up with anything better.

I rubbed my forehead with the palm of one hand and kept the other hand firmly in my hair. I was starting to get worn out and tired from all of the excitement of the day, but when I glanced at Gourry, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy removing him from my room. He looked like the book was attached to his hands.

I tilted my head. “Hey Gourry,” I said seriously, glancing at him. “You want to borrow that tonight? Maybe you can find something I couldn't.”

It was a deliberate swallow of my pride to even admit such a thing to him; that the possibility that I, of all people, could have overlooked something as major as a primer, and that he, of all people, could find it. But I guess it was my way of apologizing to him for doubting his actual curiosity for what I did. He seemed like he was actually trying this time, and I wanted him to know that I was grateful for it, although at the time, I wasn't sure why. Feelings and thoughts, as well as lingering memories from something that was supposed to be forgotten were the furthest from my mind at that time, but I always remember that THAT was the time that I started to soften up and open up to Gourry.

Anyways, he couldn't break a book…..could he?

"Just be careful," I added hastily, biting my lip.

Dramata

2.6
I blinked as I looked at her on the bed and she suggested that I take the book and go back to room. At that point I thought she had been thinking too hard and burned something so now she was temporarily stupider than me! I scratched my head and closed the book, looking at the cover again. "But Lina...how am I supposed to work out what this book is saying. If you can't work it out, then I definitely can't work it out." However as I looked over at her, I could tell she meant it, and so I just nodded a little.

I stood up and put the chair back in place, and with the book I left the room wishing her a good night as I closed the door behind me. I then walked the short distance to my room and opened it with the key. I closed it behind me and then went over to the bed to lay down whilst looking at the book. "What am I supposed to do? It's not like I'm just going to suddenly work out what it says..." I sighed and placed the book down on the bed side table.

I blew the lights out and got into bed. Then I couldn't sleep. I was thinking too much, and found the ceiling something really interesting to look out, despite it being blankly white and no hint of detail in it whatsoever. I just tried to work out how I was supposed to translate the book. As I've said, I struggle with my own language sometimes, never mind trying to work out another one, especially one that only one person in the world knows about. I gave up and close my eyes, and finally fell asleep.

I opened my eyes to see a dark battleground. The land was scarred and a strong wind was blowing, my hair flowing all over the place. I looked around me quickly and there I saw Lina. I was shocked when I saw that she was holding the Ragna Blade before her, but she didn't look too good. Infront of her was a demon, no a mazoku, it reminded me of someone...I then blinked as it came to my mind. Shabranigdu...

Lina then screamed and charged forward, and struck hard, but nothing happened. The blade was gone by the time she got there and she slumped to the floor. I yelled her name as I ran after her, ignoring the mazoku lord at the time. I knelt down beside her and picker her up, and straight away I could feel she was cold. Her face was covered in cuts, and parts of her clothing were torn too. Her cape was pretty much non-existant.

I placed her down on the ground gently and kissed her softly. Then I turned and stood up, glaring at Shabranigdu like he was nothing more than a bandit. I unsheathed my sword, but then I realised it was nothing more than my normal sword. How was I supposed to defeat this thing with nothing but this sword. Then I heard the voice ring out in my head. "Swordsman, you were destined to hold this sword the day it was created, that is why it had to be protected so no one could find it. You will now know what contents are held within the book. The sword will help you, maybe not against such a monster, but it will against others." The voice was gone, but I was still in the battlefield. I felt confused, I didn't know what was going on. Then suddenly the dark lord powered up a strong attack, and suddenly the field of view was an intense red.

I opened my eyes, and I could still see the red, but not so intensely. I rubbed my eyes and then I realised I was back in the room at the inn. The red I could see was the sunrise, shining through the window. I sat up slowly and rubbed my head a little. "Since when did I get dreams like that!" I grumbled to myself and I felt a little shooken up, I didn't remember the voice so much, the thing I remember most was Lina...

Kurage

2.7
When Gourry took off with the book, I lounged around for a while, my brain teeming with thought. It was a brain sore, that book. I wanted to get rid of it, but I also wanted to make it work.

I got rid of all light in the room and curled up on my side, my eyes open to the dark. Inside I felt a little excited. Surely this meant that something was going to happen, wasn't it? I mean, if something can't be translated, then of course one would go out of their way to find out how to translate it, which would be an adventure, right?

Right?

Unfortunately, I could also feel a sense of foreboding creep up next to the excitement. I curled up tighter, not liking how the two feelings clashed inside of me so much. Surely the adventure part would override the negative part, right?

I gradually fell asleep, unsure of anything.

When I woke up, I had no recollection of any dreams or anything. It was a nice, clean sleep. I stretched out on my back and lay there, gazing up at the ceiling, noticing that the sense of dread was gone, and in its place was a maddening hunger.

I jumped out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and ran downstairs, ready to put the inn staff to work. When I jumped down the last step and looked around, I noticed that despite the late hour, the restaurant was unusually quiet.

I sat down at an empty table and shouted out loudly to the servers that I was hungry. They got the message and brought over a menu with mutiny in their eyes. I promptly ignored that and read down the list of dishes I wanted. I also added that this morning my partner would be paying, so there was no rush.

I relaxed once that was done. I leaned back on my chair and lazed about, waiting for either the food or for Gourry, my mind only slightly dwelling on the book.

After breakfast, I vowed. THEN I would start to get serious about the book.

Dramata

2.8
I stayed sat up on the bed for a few minutes, and tried to let the shock fade away but the images stayed vivid in my mind. I really wish they didn't because those images were horrible, they were like my worst nightmare. However I realised that I had to move on, I couldn't just sit here all day, plus the rumbling in my stomach told me I needed to eat too. I got out of bed and went through my usual morning routine of washing, combing my hair, getting changed and then getting all my things ready to move off again to wherever it was we decided to go next.

Once I had all my things, I was about to leave the room when I got a sudden nagging in my head. I turned and saw the book still placed on the bedside table. I frowned a little, realising how much trouble I would have been in if I forgot to take the book. I went over and picked it up, then went back to the door and left. I went to Lina's room first, I thought it wouldn't be fair to have my breakfast before her, so I knocked a couple of times. There was no answer though. Then I heard the yell from downstairs. "She's gone down before me!" I exclaimed to myself and headed down the stairs.

There I saw her alone in the restaurant, relaxing in a chair, obviously she had a nice night's sleep and didn't have anything troubling her, plus she had just ordered her food which is just before the point at which Lina is at her happiest. I put my things down beside the table, placed the book on the table and then sat down opposite her. "Morning Lina, you've ordered already I see." As I noticed the plates of food coming out from the kitchen, of course we were the only ones up at the moment, so there was no one else those plates could be for.

As they gave Lina her food I managed to get my order in. The staff didn't seem to happy, they looked a little irked already and I think I just fanned the flames even more. I just did my best not to think about it, anyway, they should be happy that their restaurant will stay in tact, they'll keep their jobs, plus a big bill was gonna come out of our meal, one I was surely going to have to pay for.

Lina was going through her food whilst I waited. But my stomach was grumbling and I didn't find it fair that I had no food yet and I was so hungry. I reached over a grabbed a few pieces of bacon, and devoured them quickly before she had the chance to complain. They satisfied my stomach for the moment, but I was still hungry. Of course, the images from those dreams were still vivid in my mind. I crossed my arms and looked off to nothing in particular as I replayed the scenes over and over. I just wished the food would have hurried up already so I could get my mind of Lina being dead...

Kurage

2.9
I reached over and smacked Gourry for eating something of mine, but when it didn't warrant so much as a rebuttal, I tilted my head and glanced at him. He was far more pensive than usual. Which was not usual. At all.

Frowning, I gave him time. Something was obviously wrong, but it was up to him if he wanted to divulge such information to me. Sure, I was curious as hell, for if something was serious enough to get Gourry down, Mr Happy Sunshine himself, well, then something had to be up that was unusual.

So I ate my abundance of food happily. I love food. I tell you, it's one of the few things that never fail to give me some sort of pleasure. It makes me so happy, so full, so satisfied…I love it. It's a miracle I'm a sorceress, or else I would be huge.

During the course of the meal Gourry and I fought over the food, as per usual, but I could tell that his heart (stomach?) wasn't in it. He wasn't making the usual effort, and when I smacked him, he gave up pretty easily too. Very unusual behaviour.

Once I was finished, I leaned back in my chair and stretched out, sighing deeply in gratification. I patted my tummy and shot a sideways look to Gourry, who looked well-fed but a million miles away.

I decided to play it this way: stare at him until he gives in and confesses. So I leaned forward, propped my chin on my hands, and stared at him with huge, wide eyes, waiting for him to crack.

When a few minutes passed and he didn't even look over at me, that was the last straw. I slammed my fists onto the table, hard, and shouted, “What the hell is wrong with you, Gourry!”

Dramata