Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Dramata Kurage! ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

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.

6.0
I felt confused now as I followed Lina and Veryna. I listened closely to the conversation and I knew Lina was trying to pry information from Veryna but she wasn't giving anything away. I guess she was doing the right thing since it should be me to tell Lina what I had dreamt about. But how do you go about telling someone you dreamt of them dying, twice, and you couldn't do anything about it. That's why I was so demanding on finding out if the dreams could be signs of the future. That's what I was confused about because she didn't really give a clear answer.

I was starting to wonder if this sword was worth it all, Lina seemed to demand it, but of course she would. Even I wanted it at first on hearing of it's capabilities which would help me protect Lina. But what if by getting this sword I was putting Lina in danger. Wouldn't the right thing to do be to ignore the sword and not bother. But Veryna was making it sound like destiny, like I was on this slippery slope and I was sliding down towards this sword and I could do nothing to get away from it.

I continued working things out in my head, and starting to understand that if this was indeed destiny, then I needed this sword for a reason. So if I didn't take this sword maybe Lina would still be in trouble, along with everyone else. I wouldn't forgive myself for doing that, so I knew that if I was meant to get this sword , then I had to take it and then do everything I possibly could to make sure what happened to Lina in my dreams never happen in reality...if they were to become reality.

We stopped for a moment and we were in pitch black, but my eyes had been slowly adjusting as the cave became darker so within a few moments I could just make out Lina and Veryna infront of me. Veryna then gestured towards me and I knew she wanted me to follow her. I walked past Lina and I felt a pang of anxiety as I did so. I followed Veryna closely for a few moments until we got to a point where the cave opened up into a large room. Veryna stopped and so did I. She then turned towards me. "This is it Gourry, the trial."

I bit my lip in nervousness and looked around, and felt slight deja-vu till I realised this was the room in my dream. I turned sharply to Veryna with a glare on my face. "Get Lina out of here! Dammit you knew this, you made me dream this and still you let Lina here!" At that point a large slab of stone drove out from the wall in the small passageway we had just been in and it blocked us in. "No! I'm not doing this until Lina is out of here!" Ignoring the fact that Lina was demanding why she couldn't be here but I was too locked in fear to listen.

"It's too late Gourry, but I promise you, passing the trials will mean everything will be ok." Veryna spoke softly, not even flinching at my rage. I suppose she knew I was going to react like that. I sighed in defeat and turned back towards the room, giving a slight glare towards Veryna as I turned. "Ok, what do I have to do..." I said flatly.

"You know what you have to do, I've prepared you for it, just remember to do what your instinct tells you to do." Veryna returned in her usual calm tone. I nodded a little and bit my lip once more, taking a deep breath and I took two steps forward then suddenly almost a blinding light filled the room. Once my eyes got used to the light, a small part of the wall infront of us rotated. On the opposite side that was now being revealed lay two swords, positioned upright and slightly buried into the rock. Immediately I recognised the swords and my heart started to race because I felt like the dream was happening again before my eyes, and I was unaware that my face had scared written on it.

I started forward, slowly and carefully and headed towards the stone altar on which the swords were positioned. I was expecting something to suddenly appear, something to attack. However I started to realise I was taking this the wrong way. "Use your instincts Gourry..." I mumbled to myself. I then gained confidence and headed towards the altar in a more determined fashion.

Suddenly I felt a chill run up my spine and my mind screamed jump. I leapt to the side and suddenly heat on the other side of my body. If I had kept walking cautiously and not listened to instinct, I would have been roasted. But it wasn't over, and as soon as I landed, I pushed hard forward and curled into a roll when I heard a whistling wind above my head, and a clanging in the wall behind me as several metal darts struck the wall. Then I stopped as hard as I could, skidding only very slightly as a large boulder from the roof collapsed and crashed infront of me.

Quickly I leapt ontop of the boulder and felt it giving way, I knew I had to jump again and I did, smashing into the ground as the boulder fell into the abyss below. I tasted blood in my mouth but ignored it for now as my instinct then was telling me to run, and I did as hard as I could. I heard the familiar whistling following me from behind which was the sound of more metal darts being fired from the side. "Now DIVE!" I yelled, my instinct taking over everything including speech, and I dove to the ground, sliding the small distance to the altar as a whole wall of darts fired from the side.

I hit the wall which halted my slide and I stayed on the ground, my instinct shutting off and letting my body rest. I felt my chest heaving, trying to gasp back breath and I felt like I could have just laid there for a few hours, and just forget about the sword. However I knew I couldn't so I slowly pushed myself off the ground. I wiped my chin as a small amount of blood trickled from my mouth. I guess when I hit the ground, I hit it a little harder than my body could take.

I then looked at the swords before me and began to wonder what was the right one. I felt inclined to take the sword which looked the most well looked after, but something inside nagged at me not to, and I remember what Veryna said in my dream about nothing always looking as it seemed. I knew then I had to take the other sword despite my doubts of it being able to hold up in a decent swordfight. I took it out from altar and held it before me, taking the sheath that was resting on the altar. Suddenly the cave started to rumble, a few loose rocks from the roof fell and hit the ground. "It's not over...".

At that point I sprinted towards Veryna and Lina, and my instinct shot back in...protect Lina. I ran as fast as I felt I physically could just as something broke out from the side of the room and let out an inhumane roar. I didn't look I just continued running until I got to Lina at which point I grabbed her tightly despite her complaints and ducked for cover, using myself as cover for Lina. I heard an explosion to my side and knew whatever it was just tried to attack and thankfully missed. I turned, letting Lina go and looked at the enemy.

A black dragon?

I turned to Veryna for a second but then turned back to the dragon and realised that something was different about this one, compared to the others that had been flying outside. It was like it was in berserk mode, like it was driven mad and only wanted to destroy. Before I could think of strategy the dragon leapt towards me and closed the gorund in an instant, at which point it swung it's tail. I cursed myself cause I knew I was slow so I rose the blade to defend, expecting it to not do much. I just waited to get hit, and then fly into a wall.

I heard the blade break at impact and shatter, but the hit hadn't come yet. I opened my eyes in suprise, only to see the dragon no longer had a tail. I looked at my feelt and saw the shattered remnants of the blade, but then as I looked at the sword, there was a new blade. It looked like it had been crafted by a master swordsmith. But also the blade seemed to glitter blue. Also now I felt a strong energy surge from it.

However the dragon went more beserk now it's tail was gone and seemed only angrier. My job wasn't over. I charged in towards the dragon but it attacked first. It looked like laser breath and I barely dodged it, infact it skimmed my left arm. I felt imense pain but drove beyond it and continued charging. I dodged the second attack of laser breath this time, spinning to the side. I then took the momentum I had from spinning and drove the blade up into the chest. I knew a normal sword would never make it through such tough skin, but the blade drove in like it was cutting air.

The dragon roared in pain and fell backwards, unimpaling itself and smashing into the ground causing the room to shake. Slowly I turned to Lina and Veryna, switching the sword from my right to my left hand so my right hand could cover the would on my left arm. I then walked slowly over to them just as the wall blocking off our path back slid out the way. I nodded a little to Lina, meaning that I was alright to her, and then I turned to Veryna. "What was that dragon? And what the hell is this sword?"

Kurage

6.1
Whoa.

What was with the shouting? Why was Gourry freaking out so much about this? What could possibly be the big deal about me hanging around? I knew better than to interrupt the trial; hey, I'm vain, but I'm not stupid. I knew this was about him. So why was he freaking out?

Then I realized that it wasn't me he was yelling it; it was Veryna. I listened to them speak to eachother, but it confused me once again. I was starting to finally understand Gourry's constant cluelessness.

I followed Gourry, but not too closely, so that Veryna wouldn't think I was trying to be a glory hog.

The light flashed, and I squinted, using my arms to shade my eyes. When they adjusted, I saw what Gourry was gaping at: Two swords, one pretty gorgeous, the other one looking like it would crumble if you breathed on it. I glanced at Gourry, and noticed that he looked not only scared, but furious.

When Gourry went forward, I stayed back. I held my hands out in preparation for a quick spell. I didn't like how things were turning out here, and something was rubbing me the wrong way. I kept my eyes peeled for any sudden movement.

When the crash came, I was ready for it, but not in enough time. I had a spell ready, but I missed, and it was just as well, because when I fired it, I realized what a mess it could have been had it hit.

From there, it was a blur. I was in full panic mode by then and I let my gut take over for my brain, which was still wondering where the hell the boulder had come from. I dodged, ran to the side, and stayed there, knowing that it wasn't my fight, knowing it and hating it because I felt like a useless waif.

Veryna was right beside me, keeping her eyes steady and on Gourry at all times. Something was going on in that old brain of hers, and she wasn't likely to divulge the information to me. Sure, that pissed me off, but what was I supposed to do, beat the crap out of her?

Besides, I was, to be honest, worried. I was worried that Gourry was in over his head. I've always been confident in Gourry. He's never proven me wrong when it comes to his skill. It was just, that time, I was afraid I was afraid of Veryna and afraid of the whole trial.

It turned out I had reason to be. I mean, when a dragon shows up, you kinda figure, wow, okay. Run now.

I cried out to Gourry, getting ready to cast a Mega Brand, but Gourry just ran towards me and snatched me up into his grasp without a second thought. He held me so tightly I squeaked out in protest, but then I understood the reasoning; the dragon had veered itself towards me first, and Gourry had run to save me from the hit.

Now, that's damn sweet. I admire a guy who risks his own hide for a chick he knows can't defend herself. But dammit, I'm not that chick. I glared up at him to state this fact, but stopped when I saw his face. He looked too relieved, as if he had averted a major crisis and was finally out of the red and into the green. I frowned, puzzled by this, but before I could ask anything, he let me go.

When that sword shattered, all I remember is feeling that horrible, gut-wrenching, impending doom dread knife its way inside of me. I felt panic, I felt fear, but most of all, I felt terrified. I called out to Gourry, started running forward, but Veryna pulled her glance from him to me, and the force of that glare shot me back. I glowered at her, but she held her ground, so I stayed still.

I soon found out why.

When that sword changed, I felt something I never thought I would ever feel in a situation like this; I felt giddy. I wanted to laugh out loud in sheer relief. He had done it, and he had done it without getting killed!

The rest was something I watched without being all there. I was too relieved, too confused, too…all over the place…to pay much attention to what I was seeing. All I know is, once it was over, Gourry came over to us, and he was okay.

I opened my mouth to say something about his wound, but he just nodded to me and I shut up. He instead turned to Veryna, and demanded answers.

Veryna shot me a look, and I glared at her. It was like she knew exactly how I was feeling inside and she was pretty damn smug about it. I wanted to wring her neck.

“The sword, Gourry, is yours. You know this from reading the book. You know that it was meant for you and you know what it does.” She smiled. “And the dragon? You don't have to worry about that.”

I snapped. “Okay, that's nice, but does this sword have a name, or is it too special to be named?”

Veryna gave me an extremely nasty look. You know, for an old broad, she sure lacked the patience that came with age.

“The sword has a name, but only when you truly need it to,” Veryna explained, turning to Gourry and deciding to ignore me. I guess I have that effect on all dragons. “This sword is not meant to be used for just anything, Gourry. It's meant to be used when you need it; to protect, to save lives, to defend. You have that instinct, the one that tells you that there is always more than meets the eye, and no matter what, you must do what you feel, not what you must.”

I glanced at Gourry, and noticed that these words really seemed to be touching him in some way. I blinked up at him, but he was focused on Veryna. I noticed he was still holding the sword tightly.

“Come on,” Veryna said gently. “Let's get out of here.” She turned and gestured to the two of us before she started walking again.

Gourry followed her. I frowned, and did the same. I wanted this to be over, so I could talk to Gourry alone, and finally fix that damn wound of his. Also, I was itching with questions. Being second in line sucks.

Dramata

6.2
I nodded a little as Veryna spoke. I wasn't happen with her explanation about the dragon that seemed berserk, but I figured that what she had told me was all I really needed to know. I placed the sword in the sheath I grabbed from the altar feeling it lock in place as it closed. I blinked a little, never seeing that before but I realised that with such a blade, it must need something special to sheath it. I attached the sheath on the otherside of my waist so now I had two swords, one on each side.

I grimaced a little as I looked back at the wound on my arm, it was stinging a bit now. I was just glad to still have it. Not moving quickly enough would probably have meant no arm at all! Veryna then lead us out of the cave, the journey to the outside short and quiet. I suddenly felt exhaustion hit me. I guess getting so worked up about what was happening had worn me out, but I kept it hidden, I was still wary of the dragons and if they saw I was weakened, they might think I was an easy target.

We got out and stopped at the small plateau just outside the cave entrance. I had to cover my eyes for a few moments as my eyes weren't used to the light, but soon things had cleared up. I looked up to see the dragons flying overhead, but I could see that they were all looking at us and it sent a shiver down by spine. "I don't like this Lina..." I murmured to the sorceress, my eyes still locked on the circling dragons.

"Oh, there is no need to worry about them. They are merely intrigued to finally see the person who was meant to wield the sword with it finally." Veryna responded in her calm tone.

"O...k..." I uttered. I then looked back to Veryna. "So what happens now? I mean I have the sword, what about you guys." I asked her, genuinely wondering what they were to do now their job was over.

"Well now we can return to our clan and then just wait and hope." She replied.

"Wait for what?" I blinked.

"For you and Lina to do your job."

Immediately I turned to Lina with a confused look. "You mean beating up bandits?" I responded.

A few hours later we had got to the bottom of the mountain, my head was still pounding from when Lina smacked me really hard with her fist. "I didn't know that she didn't mean that. I sometimes feel like our job is beating up bandits because that's all we ever do!" I rubbed my head a little to try and ease the pain and just remembered the look on Veryna's face. She looked for the first time kind of horrified. I was sure some of the dragons circling managed to facefault in the air.

We had returned to the camp we used the night before and I put my things down just behind the log I sat on whilst facing what used to be the campfire that I had covered up before we left. I placed the two swords on the ground just by my side. I then looked at my hand that had been holding the wound and I sighed. "I thought this would have healed over already." I grumbled as I looked at the bloody hand and then to wound in my arm. It was then that I noticed the look on Lina's face. I knew I couldn't hide it anymore, she was going to demand answers. "So what do you want to know?"

Kurage

6.3
Clearly, Veryna didn't mean beating up bandits when she said what she said. Something else was there, something she wasn't telling us. I figured it was one of those “You-have-to-find-out-for-yourself-hahahahaha” moments. So I said nothing. I stayed quiet, letting Gourry have a few moments to mull it all over and think it through.

When we got back to the camp, he was still quiet, and I respected that, despite what you all think. Obviously, I'm not going to breathe down his neck for answers in a situation like this. If he wanted to talk, he would.

And clearly, he did. I looked at his arm, ignoring the question of what I wanted to know. Instead, I crawled over in silence. Back then, I didn't get what I was doing. I just wanted to do it, as some sort of version of gratitude. And in a way, it was. But it was also affection. At that moment, I wanted to be close to him, to be beside him, but I would also rather die than admit it to anyone.

I ignored his question. Instead, I said, “Hold out your arm, please.” He stared at me, bemused, before complying. I knelt down beside him, placing his arm across my knees. I fought the urge to be shy. This wasn't the time, or place.

I shut my eyes and held my hands over his wound, feeling a little bit of blood seep onto my leg through my pants. I mumbled the incantation under my breath, and when I opened my eyes again, the faint white glow of a healing spell glimmered from my hands and onto his wound, repairing the severed and injured flesh.

As he healed, both of us were quiet. I didn't know what to say. All I could think about was how mechanic his moves had been back there, so I'm sure he didn't really realize that he had saved my life. After all of these years, I guess I took it for granted, all of the times he did things like that for me. That time, however, I couldn't shake it, how he just went ahead and did it without thinking. So I felt like it was my duty to do the least I could do, which was heal him for a wound he wouldn't have gotten if it hadn't been for me.

I pulled my hands back. The wound was gone now, and Gourry flexed his arm, testing it to see if it was as good as new. I looked up at him, feeling all of a sudden a girlish shyness that I thought I had smothered to death at age 10.

“Thank you,” I muttered. “For back there.”

I shifted my gaze away, and before he could say anything, I went on, shifting myself a bit away from him, to be casual. I lay back and rested my head on my arms, gazing up into the night sky. “What do I want to know?” I repeated. “Well, how does it feel to have it? How does it feel to be within destiny? And how does it feel to know that we obviously have much, much more to do than we thought?”

The bemused look returned. I smirked in triumph. It was always too easy to confuse him. Sometimes. I knew he would get it in a few seconds. So I just waited.

Sometimes I wonder if Gourry seems so slow because his brain goes so fast, he has to backtrack to catch up to what was said to him.

Dramata

6.4
I gulped a little when Lina took my arm. It wasn't because I thought I was in danger, I knew Lina wasn't angry with me. I guess it was because I wasn't used to being so close to Lina like this. Even more so when she was calm like this. I looked at her as she began the healing spell and I felt something different about her. She seemed...I don't know how to describe it very well...but softer. Being around Lina, I always felt this fire and strength from her, even when things were easy going, but I wasn't getting that from her now. It was making me blush, and I tried my best to fight it back.

I felt the warmth from the spell enter my wound, and I could feeling healing but alot more quickly. Normally you barely notice it but this felt weird, you can feel and see it healing over before your eyes. I've never gotten used to it, but I always appreciate it.

Soon enough she finished and I pulled away from her. I blinked a little in shock when I heard her thanking me. At first I was going to interrupt because I thought I should be the one for thanking her because she just healed me. But then I realised that she meant about earlier. I had to think back because when I look back, I don't remember much of what happened at the time, I just felt like I did what I had to do. It's only when I play it back that I started to piece together what happened, and a vivid moment was the point when I grabbed Lina and protected her when the dragon blasted at us.

"Oh..." I barely spoke at first. "It's ok...it's my job remember...to protect you." I managed to add on, although now looking back I realise that more could be taken from what I said to her. Maybe I wanted it to. I looked down at her as she lay back and got back to the question I asked her. She reeled off a couple of questions that made me blink a little in confusion. However as I ran it over in my head I started to piece it together.

I looked away for a moment. "When I hold the sword...it feels natural. It's like I was always meant to have it, and holding onto it makes me feel like what I was doing without it." I then turned back to her. "I don't know if you felt it, but when I held it I could feel strength coming from the blade the moment the fake blade shattered." I then thought on to the next question, and it made me look at the ground.

"Trapped. I feel trapped and there's nothing I can do about it. I hate it. I don't understand how some random guy can suddenly be thrown into something that is so big that he's never going to understand what he's in for." I bit my lip a little. I've been doing that alot recently. "What do I do Lina? Am I supposed to just know what I'm going to do, what I have to do? You know me more than anyone Lina, I struggle to remember alot of things." I sighed a little in frustration. I didn't wait for her to answer.

"I just can't believe how much more we have to do. I guess it's a little daunting. But it's all I've ever really known. I don't know what else I could do. I don't think I could just settle down and let things pass by. It just wouldn't feel right." I scratched my head a little as I continued thinking. I felt like Lina was making me reveal what I felt was wrong but then letting me sort it all out.

"But who else is gonna do it?" I added on after my thinking. "Doing this gives me a purpose. Just before I met you I didn't know what I was doing, or what I should do. But then I met someone who made me realise what I should do and since then I've not looked back." I smiled a little to myself realising how stupid it seemed. "Maybe I don't like it, but I know I have nothing else, so I'll just have to do what I'm best at, and be me, and not let destiny or any of that change me."

I sighed a little then, because I felt like at that point I just let everything that was winding me up inside out. I was wondering if Lina had done that on purpose, and that she knew that asking those questions would make me say all those things, or maybe it was just an accident. However with all that, I felt like I should tell her what I had been hiding.

Now I was sat with my back to her and my face grew a little dark as I remembered the things I had dreamt about once more. "I've been hiding something from you Lina, and I guess you worked that out already when Veryna spoke to me about the dreams, and maybe from the way I acted in the cave." I took a deep breath and let out a shuddery breath of air. "In my dreams I had visions. As Veryna said, they were to help me with the trial. There was a reason why I asked her if those visions could become true..."

I took a hold of a stick whilst I was talking, and as I continued on, my grip on the stick grew tighter and tighter. "In a couple of those visions..I saw..you..." My grip grew tighter and even tighter, my knuckles going white. "I saw..you...die". The stick snapped instantly and fell to the floor. "You died and it felt so real." Now I just clenched my fists. "I let you die...I did nothing to stop it. I should have but I didn't...I couldn't..." My head just hung down for a few minutes.

After those long few minutes I couldn't take it anymore, and I felt like I had to do something. So I knelt down and got the fire going as the night had come in. I then started cooking some dinner using the fire. I wasn't sure what to say anymore, and I don't think I could if I knew what to say. I didn't know how Lina would react to what I had told her, but I wasn't going to force it. I figured just making something to eat would help, as normally a good meal always made Lina and myself feel better.

Kurage

6.5
I sat up and looked up at him. I watched him closely as he made the fire, noticing that despite his victory, despite his success, he was still hounded. And when he told me of those dreams, I understood why.

Don't get me wrong. I was freaked out. You don't hear that someone close to you dreamt of your demise and not get freaked out. But freaking out and treating Gourry like a pariah was not the best way to handle things at the moment. And to be honest, I just didn't have the heart to address it in that manner. I wanted to be fair.

I waited until he got the fire going to a healthy glow before I spoke up. “Take comfort in it all, Gourry,” I advised, gazing over at him, trying to smile. “I mean, you and I both heard what Veryna said. She planted those dreams in your head, so you could be prepared for what was to come with the trial and all.” I sighed deeply, gazing at the fire. “I admit, I don't like her method of information, but at least she displayed it to you in a way that stuck.”

This was where I faltered. I was teetering on embarrassing, uncertain ground, but I jumped on it, anyways.

“I mean, she used the one thing she knew would get to you: me,” I said bluntly, poking at the fire with a twig. “I'm not saying that I MEAN something to you, or something…I mean, I do, but not like that…” I blushed, I admit it. I felt my face burning. I don't like the idea of someone being weak because of me. “I'm not SAYING that…I mean, I'm saying it because I'm always here with you, so she used someone who was always there with you, someone you would notice…not that you notice me THAT way…”

Dammit, why was my voice going all squeaky and soft? Was I 12? This was stupid. This was GOURRY, a man I had known for years now, who didn't even notice I had breasts until he took a good look, and even then, they weren't to his satisfaction. This was a guy who was as dumb as dirt, who always forgot things, who always managed to act stupider as time progressed….

But! Gourry was also a fierce swordsman, one that could give my sister a run for her money. He was quick in battle, ruthless and calculating, and he, despite my lack of so-called femininity, never hesitated to step in and take a shot for me. He also knows me, inside and out, including my flaws and weaknesses as well as battle tactics and strategies, and I don't have to say a word to him about any of it.

I cleared my throat, then sighed deeply, the sound almost adjacent to something deflating. “Anyways, you got the message, and you got the sword. I don't see what the big deal is about these dreams, Gourry. Just ignore it all now. They don't mean anything, and it never happened, so you can move on and get over it, right?”

I knew he wanted to say something, but I was afraid. I was afraid it was something that was either something I didn't want to hear that contradicted my feelings, something I wanted to hear that confirmed them, or something so stupid and so asinine that it would make me homicidal. So I went back to his previous question.

“What do we do, Gourry?” I repeated, my voice serious. “We do what we always do. We get on with life, we explore until there is nothing left to explore, and then we move on to the next place. We get out there, make our mark on the world, and never quit until it's all over…and maybe….” This is the part that makes me feel better. I love doing stuff like this, just to mess with his mind.

I looked up at him, batting huge, shiny and sparkly eyes at him, smiling cutely, fisting up my hands under my chin. “Maybe I could play with the sword for a while? And tell me its name?”

Inwardly I giggled. Man, that was fun. And I hoped it lightened up his mood a little.

Dramata

6.6
I sweatdropped a little. "Now Lina..." I don't think I needed to add anymore to that. I knew Lina got the point and I just handed her some food that I had cooked. I then took what was left for myself and started eating in silence. I looked into the fire as it burned away, crackling and then popping occasionally. I then found my eyes drifting along the ground. It then caught on to Lina's boot. My eyes then slowly followed up as I continued munching away till finally I caught her eyes. I blinked quickly and then blushed deeply, my eyes darting back to the fire immediately.

What the hell is going on? Why do I keep feeling this way around Lina when we're alone. It was making me nervous and I didn't really understand what was going on. I cared about Lina a great deal. But over time I found certain feelings going stronger. I just considered that to be our friendship growing stronger, and of course because I'm protective of her. But was it just friendship?

I finished eating and looked into the fire. I was reminded of the name for the sword. How was I supposed to come up with a name? I didn't make it, I always thought who made it gave a name to the sword. Although you don't give a name to every sword of course, only the special ones. I tried to think, and hoped that my mind was just come up with something out of the blue but it wasn't really helping, and I only felt a bit of a headache.

I took the book and began reading through it. I read some of the latter parts of the book that I hadn't gone over as much. It seemed to talk alot about some of the effects the sword has. It also explained about the sheath and why it locked in place. Explaining that because it was so sharp, any other sheath would just be cut in half. So it had to be locked by the flat part of the blade. I continued reading and a word kept popping up over and over. So much I began mumbling it. "blast...blast...blast...blast" Then it stuck. "Blast Sword" I blinked a little looking to Lina. "The Blast Sword."

I picked the sword up beside me and rested it on my lap, looking down at it. It was only then I noticed the detail in the handle. I'd never seen anything like it before, but to me it was obvious a great deal of time and effort had gone in creating it. The sheath also had similar styling but not as detailed, obviously it was more for protecting. I then unsheathed the blade slowly, and immediately I felt the power surge in my hand. I sheathed it before I uncovered it halfway. Something told me that I shouldn't do that again until I really needed it.

I put the sword back down and then looked back to the hand in my lap. I blinked in confusion as I saw my hand shaking. I clenched it a couple of times and it stopped. I was starting to wonder if there was more to the sword than what met the eye. I looked to Lina once more. "You should get some rest, don't worry I'll keep guard tonight." I smiled a little towards her and then looked back to the fire, taking a canteen out and drinking some water from it. I felt it best to work out where we would head off to in the morning.

Kurage

6.7
At the tone of his voice, I DID giggle. I mean, I still wanted to have a go with the sword, don't get me wrong, but it was funny to see and hear him that way. I most certainly achieved my goal.

While he read like a nerd, I nibbled on some of his food as well as mine. I didn't think he would notice or care. When I heard him tell me the name of the sword, however, I felt my nose wrinkle. What a boring name for such a sword! I would have named it something fancy.

I sighed. Alas, it was not my sword to name, so I had to put up with the lame name if I wanted to play with it. Surely he wouldn't deny me the time to play with it, would he?

Turns out he would. I knew he was right about my needing sleep, however. I was pretty spent. As short as that event may have seemed to you, it took the whole damn day, and I was beat. I nodded, but before I left I hesitated.

I stood by his side, and waited until he looked up at me. I smiled and reached down, patting him on his shoulder gently. “You did really well, Gourry,” I said gently, meaning every word. “You deserve the sword. You deserve a lot of good things. Maybe finally you're going to get them all.” I smiled, then gave his shoulder a playful little slap, before turning and heading over to the usual underbrush I like to call my bed on the road.

I curled up and slept, dreaming of cakes for some reason. When I woke up, I really wanted cake, but the next in was miles away. Damn. Sometimes living on the road really sucks.

I looked up and noticed that a few hours had passed since I went to sleep. I got up and stretched, noticing that we still had time before sunrise. I trudged over to Gourry and prodded him, and he jolted and looked up at me, although to this day I'm not sure if I woke him or just scared him. Either way, it was time for him to bugger off.

“Get to bed,” I demanded. “You've had a harder time than me. Get your beauty sleep.”

Dramata

6.8
I looked up to Lina as she got up and mentioned how I deserved the sword and other things. I blinked a little and wondered what she meant by that. She then slapped me on the shoulder which caused me to jerk forward slightly and then she went off to sleep. I was left thinking what she really meant about deserving things. Or maybe she was just being nice. I scratched my head a little as I started thinking it over, and thought about what it was I could possibly deserve.

I sighed a little as I kept the fire going, throwing a few branches into the fire, causing it to burn brighter and higher for awhile. I rested my head on my hand as I continued thinking. It wasn't usual for Lina to be so nice to me like that. If anything, she normally puts me down. I actually half expected her to give me a strange look and say how bad the name was that I gave to the sword. I just wasn't used to hearing Lina say something nice about me.

What if that meant she was having certain thoughts like I had been having. I shook my head quickly though, dismissing that idea completly. Lina had changed a little over the years, but only a little, both physically and mentally! She had matured, but I hadn't really seen much of Lina being a girly girl, and wanting to fall in love. She enjoyed being out and adventuring, she'd never want to get tied down. Unless of course it was with some rich and handsome prince. I remember how she reacted to Prince Phil, I think that scarred her forever. But I'm not some handsome prince, I don't really have much money either. Lina has most of what we have and anything I do have is spent on getting Lina and myself food.

I jumped a little when I felt a prod, panicking for a second only to realise it was Lina. I looked up at the sky and noticed that it was getting lighter, but still before sunrise. I must have been lost in thought for a few hours. I blinked slightly and sat up looking over at Lina. She demanded that I go to bed, and I knew from the look on her face that she really meant it. I shook my head though. "It's ok Lina, it'll be light soon and I think we should go as soon as possible. We can get to a town and then an inn and spend a bit of time working out where we go next."

Immediately I started breakfast going, taking my eyes away from the glare and onto the fire and the cooking. I'll admit I was tired, but I wanted to get to an inn instead and be under a roof. Since there wasn't much time, I wouldn't get much sleep anyway. Anyway, the smell of a decent breakfast would have me up and ready for whatever we had to do so I just continued cooking.

I handed some of the food to Lina when I finished cooking and had the rest for myself. By the time we finished eating, the sun had just risen which meant it was time to get going. I covered the fire with dirt to put it out and make it seem that no one had been there before. I put the swords back on my side and then we were ready to get going.

We walked back south, returning the way we came, Lina and myself walking side by side in silence. I thought back to that night with Lina telling me that I deserved good things, and I was still trying to work out what she meant exactly by that. I looked over to her slightly and she seemed busy looking at the surroundings that she hadn't noticed me looking at her. Then I caught myself staring at her and turned my head away quickly feeling a little flushed. I then looked at the ground as I tried to build up the courage.

"Umm...L.Lina?" I began. I could see in the corner of my eye that I had got her attention. Now I looked at the ground as I tried to find the words. "You know you said last night that I deserved good things." I paused to let her take it in. Then I turned my head to look at her. "What did you mean by..." I was cut off by a fireball being flung straight at my feet. I leapt backwards to avoid the blast, catching the sight of Lina also managing to do the same.

I landed back on the ground and waited for the dust to settle to see before me what was going on. Glancing to the side I saw Lina was in the same situation. At that point I heard a strange feminine laugh. "Give me the sword! Gourry Gabriev!" I blinked immediately when I heard my name and quickly turned to Lina wondering how the hell they knew about me and the sword. "I Drianne, all powerful sorceress who single handedly defeated a part of Shabranigdu and Dark Star, demand that you give me the sword, since I am the one who should rightfully own it!"

I was taken aback a little as I thought it was Lina, the others and myself that had done that. I looked to Lina once more to confirm it and I could see that she was positively fuming with anger. I sweatdropped a little and knew that Lina would be too happy about someone else taking the claim for something that she had done. I looked back as the view cleared and could finally see who our opponent was. I unsheathed my normal sword and held it ready infront of me. I swore I could hear a little sigh from Lina. I was to busy concentrating on this Drianne.

Then my jaw dropped and I looked on in shock. That was because who was stood before Lina and myself was someone who was a dead ringer for Lina. Ok not exactly the same, Drianne had breasts. But she had similar hair to Lina's and similar clothing too. However as I looked closer I realised that the clothing looked like it was put together by someone who tried to make the clothes in the middle of an earthquake. "Looks like you got a fan, Lina..."

Kurage

6.9
I went through five different emotions from the moment the idiot said her name. All of them various shades and degrees of anger and disgust. Either way, this girl's ass? Mine!

I stepped forward and did the sanest thing I could thing of. I held up my fists and screamed at her.

“You think you can just come along here, dressed up like me, pretending to be badass, pretending to do things you didn't even DO, and then take the sword we EARNED from us!” I took in a breath, then laughed, my you're-going-to-die-now laugh. I pointed at her get-up. “Not only do you look like an idiot, anyone who knows me would know that I'm not that stupid. If you honestly think that act will get you anywhere, you seriously will find disappointment your only feeling.”

This was infuriating. This idiot was prancing around, pretending to be me, or someone just like me, and she LOOKED better doing it. She was taller and curvier, and she had better hair (although I suspect it was dyed). What, did she stalk me day and night to see the exact placements of my hair and clothes? Or spent day and night trying to learn every spell I did? I admired the sentiment, but I'm not that much of a sentimental person, and to be honest, I was more pissed off than anything else.

I walked over to her. She blinked, obviously startled by the sudden movement of mine. I didn't care. I stood right in front of her, wrinkled my nose, and decked her. Right on the top of her head.

She squeaked and held onto her head pathetically. “You jerk!” she shouted at me. “That HURT!”

“You idiot,” I answered.

Drianne glared at me, then jumped back and held out her hands. I sighed. “You're going to pay for that!” she declared.

I snorted. “What, from a third-rate sorceress like you? Unlikely. You're not getting the sword.”

However, she surprised me. I soon recognized her chanting, and noticed that it was actually a Burst Rondo she was summoning. Not bad for a third-rate idiot. Maybe I'll bump her to second.

However, before she could finish the words, I had a Fireball armed and ready, and I tossed it at her. She yelped and tried to move away, but it still managed to hit her arm. The force of the hit knocked her over.

That's pathetic.

I walked over to her and glared at her. She glared back, and I admit, it was a good attempt. However, maybe it would have been more effective if she wasn't nursing her arm at the same time.

“Okay,” I said, trying to sound a little more civil. “So you admire my work. Why try and steal my glory? You KNOW I'm the one who did all of those things, and no amount of second-rate sorcery is going to change that.”

She smirked. “I thought I was third-rate.”

“Shut up,” I answered calmly. “Are you going to answer my question?”

“No,” Drianne replied. “You told me to shut up.”

I twitched. All over. Full body twitch. I turned away, stalked over to Gourry, and shouted, “Get out the damn Blast Sword and BLAST HER ASS!” I demanded, pointing furiously at her.

I'm never going to try and be civil again.

Dramata