Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Dramata Kurage! ❯ Chapter 28 ( Chapter 28 )

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.

28.0

I spent the past hour or so brushing the dust and dirt away from the floor of the store. I was even paying extra special attention to the bottom of the shelves where a lot of the stuff was gathering. Then once I had it all together, I brushed it out of the door and closed it behind. I wiped my hands on my apron, let a few sneezes off after the dust gathered in my nose and then gave a proud smile.

“Hmm. I might have to give some serious consideration to hiring you full time.” The store owner smiled as he continued to replace items on the shelves.

I blinked slowly, while I was looking towards the black haired man and continued to convince myself that I knew him from somewhere. It was in those few moments that it all seemed to finally click and everything came together.

“You know, you don't have to seriously think about working here. I was just making a joke.” He stated with a concerned look on his face.
“You're that guy who never gave me his name. You stopped me from throwing the Sword of Light away!” I exclaimed, feeling a little happy about remembering it.
“Ahh. So you did remember that. Here I was thinking you were pretty forgetful.” He laughed a little.
“Well actually, some people would say I'm extremely forgetful. I did always wonder how I would be able to forget something if I wasn't really paying attention in the first place.” I smiled, rubbing the back of my head.
“I see.” He grinned slightly. “Well what did you end up doing with the sword?”
“I gave it away.” I replied simply.
“You what!?” He spluttered out.
“I gave it away. I found out it didn't really belong to me, and should have been in some other dimension. So now it's with its rightful owner.”
“Hmm. Such a shame though. I was certain I would have used that sword for good use. I guess if you felt it belonged to someone else, you did the right thing.”

I placed the brush back down against the counter and stretched out a little. I was trying to get out a few of the knots that developed in my spine from all the brushing. It was nice as I felt a few of them disappear as I worked them out.

“So, is there anything else you need me to do?” I asked.
“I think that's all there is to do right now. Business is a little slow today too so I guess we could close early.”
“Ok then.”

I removed the apron and handed it back to the guy and wondered a little more as I followed him into the back of the store.

“So are you ever going to give me your name?” I quizzed.
“Didn't I give you it last time we met?” He replied with a confused look.
“No you didn't.”
“You sure you're not just forgetting I told you my name.”

I smirked slightly and shook my head.

“I'm pretty sure you're never told me.”
“Hmm, I suppose I never did. My name is Ilsen.”

Ilsen then handed me a large basket which I figured must have been filled with the items that Lyra had asked for on the list. He then picked up another large basket himself.

“Right then, let's get going.”
“You're coming with me?” I replied a little confused.
“Well I know you're pretty strong but I know you won't be able to handle all of this yourself. I can help out.”
“I guess so. I'm sure she won't mind.”

He just smiled in reply and headed out of the store, waiting for me to leave before locking the place up. We then walked back to the Inverse house together which I was pretty grateful for. I wasn't too sure if I would have found my way back quite so easily. The crowd that gathered the first time had made me lose my bearings a little bit.

We soon returned to the house and I entered cautiously, half wondering if Luna had come back and wondered if she was going to try and attack again.

“Hey Gourry. You're a little late!” Lyra shouted from the living room.
“It's ok! He was helping me out at the store.” Ilsen responded.
“You left the shop early again!? You're lucky I have mostly everything ready for dinner. Just waiting for Luna to get back with some rolls” Lyra added.

I blinked a little, wondering why Lyra was speaking like this to Ilsen. They sounded like they were pretty close friends or something.

“PAPA!” Lina screeched as she immediately came from around the corner and leapt into Ilsen's arms. He dropped the basket before Lina reached him and then hugged the sorceress in return.

I just stood there with my mouth wide open in shock. I was trying to understand the situation but it seemed to be too much at the time and the only thing to come out of my mouth was a few stupid sounding noises. Lina and Ilsen let go of each other and stared at me, and looked like they were wondering if I was about to throw up. I managed to gain some composure within a few minutes.

“Wait just a second. You're telling me that you're Lina's father?” I questioned.
“Well I never told you, but you're right in your assumption.” He replied with a small smile on his face.
“You didn't even tell me at the store who you were.”
“You didn't bother to ask.”

I smacked my hand to my forehead and couldn't believe the events that were unfolding. There were so many things running through my head and I couldn't work one thing out from the other. All the confusion made me feel like I wanted to fall over so I headed to find a chair before I actually did. I also place the basket down in front of me and rubbed my head slowly.

“So let me get this straight. I met Lina's father less than a week before I met Lina.”
“WHAT!?” Father and daughter replied in unison as they stared at each other.
“Well isn't that some sort of coincidence. Who would have thought that could happen? I mean what are the chances?” Lyra stated lowly as she picked up the basket in front of me and headed back to the kitchen as though the news was nothing at all.
“So how did you meet my father?” Lina questioned, pulling up a seat.

Ilsen did the same and we both started to talk about what had gone on when we met up. After filling Lina in, she then started to explain to her father what she had been through while she was travelling with me. I found myself not paying attention from time to time and glancing around at the room like I had before. I saw the family picture I had earlier and realised why I had recognised the father in the portrait. It's funny how simple it seemed now that I looked back on it, but I really couldn't work out where I knew him from before.

Lina soon finished recounting most of our adventures, leaving out a little of what happened most recently but I was a little thankful as recounting a few of those memories still felt a little painful now.

“So you guys really got up to quite a few things then. Glad to know my words of advice worked, but never imagined you would end up helping Lina.” Ilsen smiled.

“Funny thing…fate.” Luna stated calmly.

The three of us jumped in shock, as we hadn't even heard Luna enter. I guess everyone was too busy with what they were doing to notice her coming in.

Kurage

 

28.1

I seemed to remember Gourry telling me that story at one point or another, but I really didn't put the details together. I mean, how could I have known, and how would I have known to put the details together to formulate the proper conclusion?

Once we had all initially recovered from being scared half to death by Luna (damn her and her ninja ways!), my mother looked over her shoulder from the sink and glanced at Luna calmly.

“Did you bring the rolls?” she asked.

It occurs to me now that perhaps she was the only one not surprised by Luna. I guess that's how mothers are.

Luna grinned and held out a basket full of her restaurant's famous steaming rolls. “Fresh, too.”

I reached up to snag one, but Luna caught me and smacked my hand. I rubbed it, growling, “I'm not 13 anymore!” When she heard me, she just laughed at me and set the rolls down on the table. Sitting down, she grinned at me, then Gourry.

I suddenly got back to reality and clued in on what she said. “Wait, what do you mean by fate?” I wondered, trying very carefully to sneak a roll.

Luna slapped my hand away again, while Papa replied. “Some things, Lin-chan, are predetermined, you know?”

I snorted and rolled my eyes. To me, the only gods there were out there were meddlers who didn't give a crap about us. I shot Gourry a look, and he scratched his head a little, giving me that all-too-familiar look of confusion. That alone was my cue to just close the whole damned conversation and start a new one.

As my mother and Luna started bringing out the dinner, I looked at my dad and asked, quite calmly, “So what is going on that you have to have the shop closed sometimes, and that even Luna is working there?”

Both Mom and Luna crashed the dishes they were holding down onto the table, hard, while Papa looked at me and blinked bemusedly.

Gourry, of course, had started snagging bits and pieces of the food, until Luna slapped HIS hand, too.

“You mean, you have no idea what is going on here, Lina-chan?” he asked, sounding puzzled at the very thought.

“Lina-chan, don't you have ANY tact?” my mother snapped at me, sitting down at the table in a huff. Luna soon joined us, waving her hand at Gourry. At her signal, he started to eat again.

I scowled, for once ignoring the food in front of me. “Not when I want to know what the hell is going on,” I shot back. “And how am I supposed to know what goes on here when I'm too busy doing my own thing hundreds of miles away from it?”

Luna sniffed at me between bites of her roll. “Would it kill you to write?”

I glared at her. “It almost killed me when you did!”

Luna grinned, her eyes shining at the thought. “My, I had no idea it would have affected you so much!”

“Yes you did,” I answered, giving in and piling my plate with food. “Otherwise you wouldn't have sent it.”

For a moment, we were all temporarily distracted by the food in front of us. Soon Gourry learned where exactly I learned how to fend for myself at the dinner table. He, too, faced first-hand what I had to grow up with, and that was the ninja-handed Luna and her fingers of doom.

However, I wasn't going to be thrown off-course. Once the meal was done and everyone was sitting back and sighing, I propped my elbows on the table, rested my chin on my hands, and glared, in turn, at all three of them (Gourry was exempt because he, like me, was oblivious to the situation).

It didn't take long for them to notice they were on the receiving end of one of my patented death-glares. However, the only person that cracked, to my surprise, was my father.

“Please don't glare at me like that, Lina-chan,” he said, shaking his head and looking sad. “Really. The last thing we need is more anger around here.”

I froze, blinking at him in confusion. Luna scowled at up, then got to her feet and started grabbing the dishes off the table. Gourry started up to help (bless his chivalrous heart), but my mother waved him back into his seat. “If you're going to be here for a while, you best here this, too.”

There was a short silence, occasionally broken by Luna's moody removal of the dishes, before my father started speaking.

And it was what he said that would change my life, and Gourry's, forever.

Dramata

 

28.2

I watched as Lina gave everybody one of those scary glares she gives. That is the look I get from her just moments before she fireballs me. So trust me when I say I know that look and I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end of it. Although something told me she wouldn't fireball her family which got to me a little but I quickly remembered to be happy not to be on the end of that glare. Unlike the reason why I would be on the end of that look, I knew why Lina was looking as pissed as she was. Even I could tell they were avoiding the subject and I wanted to find out what it was they were hiding.

Ilsen replied to Lina and that was still avoiding the subject like he had done before and so it didn't really help matters. Only I didn't get much time to think about it when I heard Luna removing the dishes from the table. I felt a little rude just sitting there so I stood up to help out only to be waved back down by Lyra. To be honest, from what she said to me, I was getting more curious as to what Ilsen would have to say, if he ever got to the point.

I sat back down and glanced back to Lina, and noticed her frustration growing further. I began to wonder if it was possible for her to pop from so much frustration building up. Although I thought that if such a thing was possibly, then she probably would have popped long ago because I had frustrated her much more than this in the past.

I then glanced back to Ilsen who seemed to decide he was ready to spill.

“Elmekia has declared war on us…” He spoke kind of lowly so it was hard to hear him.
“What?” I replied instantly, not because I hadn't heard him but I wanted to make sure I understood what was said.
“Zephilia and Elmekia are going to war with one another.” Lyra said.
“Like hell we decided to go to war. You know how war hungry those Elmekians are!” Ilsen spat a little angrily.
“Why? What's brought this on?” Lina asked, looking confused but much less frustrated.
“I guess they were jealous of how prosperous Zephilia was. You know how Elmekia is mostly sand anyway. They just found any old excuse for a fight and grabbed hold of it with two hands.” Lina's father continued on.

The whole time Luna continued to move the rest of the plates from the table and into the kitchen. Each time she returned, she would look at everyone as they reacted to the news of the war. I guess I would have done the same but finding out that the place where I was born had declared war on the place where the person I loved was born kind of knocked me off balance. Luna must have noticed it and then glanced towards her father.

“Hey Pa…knock it off will ya?” She said grabbing the final load of plates.
“Why?” He replied glaring slightly at her daughter.
“Think about the company you're keeping before shooting your mouth off.”

I blinked a little as I glanced up towards Luna who gave a slight smile before turning away and taking the rest of the plates to the kitchen. Ilsen on the other hand had completely changed his mood and looked a little ashamed as he realised what his daughter meant.

“I'm sorry Gourry. I didn't mean th…”
“It's ok.” I replied shortly. “Can you excuse me? I need some air…”

I didn't really wait for the reply although I did hear the okays from everybody. I headed to the kitchen and was about to head out of the back of the house when my curiosity took hold. I turned back to Luna who was busy cleaning the dishes.

“How did you know?” I asked.
“Easy. Just had to look.” She replied in her usual short sharp way.
“What do you mean?”
“I don't think that tan came from sunbathing considering you must have spent some time practicing with a sword. Admittedly I've not seen you fight but to travel with Lina and have recommendation from my father, you must have some skill.” She then paused leaving me to look on, feeling a little gob smacked. She then continued. “To have a tan like that you must be from Elmekia. Your reaction kind of helped me realise too.”

I sat down on a small chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and sighed heavily.

“You don't have to fight.” Luna stated as she finished cleaning the last of the dishes. She turned to face me and leaned back against the work surface.
“I'd be killed as a traitor.” I replied feeling like everything was beginning to fall apart right before my eyes. “I don't like the idea of being on the run for the rest of my life.”

This was probably what I was doing anyway. Although running away from your family and running away from your country are two pretty different things. I felt the outcome of both could end the same way. I wanted to just run away like I had done before but I knew it would be much harder to do.

“You know you won't be able to stay here. Although we won't do anything towards you, I can't say the same for the rest of the country.”

I nodded slightly, but then something didn't just sit quite right.

“How did I even get into this country then if war has been declared? Wouldn't they be patrolling the borders a little more securely?”
“Well the news came pretty recently so you were probably in the country before the declaration was made.”
“But they wouldn't make such a decision straight away. They would build up the patrols before the declaration was made as preparation.”
“Sounds like you know about this stuff.”
“Once you've been through one, it's kind of hard to forget.”

Kurage

 

28.3

War?

WAR?

Something so stupid, so asinine?

Nothing to do with Mazoku, nothing to do with magic or Ryuzoku or anything?

This is what I come home to?

When I thought about it, it made sense, really. Everything I had seen around town, even with my family's business, it all made sense. I just hadn't been able to connect it because I was too busy thinking about myself.

Yes, I admitted it. Drop it.

No, I was actually more curious about Gourry. I had known that he was a mercenary in the years before he knew me, and I knew that that entailed a ton of odd jobs involving his sword and skills, but for some reason those jobs never really seemed to be a big deal. It never once occurred to me that perhaps someone would have hired Gourry to be a part of an army. Or that Gourry would have even taken such a job.

Come to think of it, I couldn't even really think of any recent events that involved a war. Was I that out of touch? What war could have possibly occurred all those years ago that would have involved Gourry?

And why was it such a shocker, hearing that perhaps Gourry had been a soldier? Why was a soldier any real different than a mercenary? Mercenaries did what you paid them to do. What made grunt work any different?

Maybe I had just thought of Gourry as someone gentler, perhaps?

But, no, I thought, as my father and Gourry talked on and on about boring war semantics I could have cared less about. Gourry, at times, seemed to have something darker going on, something strange and difficult for him to accept later when things got rough. Things I'm sure he must have learned on a battlefield, like survival skills and the like.

It was then that I realized I was being naïve. While I had set out and learned these things for fun and games, Gourry HAD to learn these things. He must have really pissed his family off when he stole a precious heirloom, so how could he not have had to learn survival skills? And how else would he learn them but in an organized area with other men to help him and teach him?

I propped my cheek on my hand as Gourry spoke to my father, his eyes so focused and concentrated. It was so strange to see. Of course I didn't know everything about Gourry, I thought to myself. He had had a whole other life before he had met me. Everyone has their own dark shadows. Just because mine were recent didn't mean that HIS were.

I wondered what this all meant, really. We were at war with Elmekia. Okay, so what? I know it didn't happen in my generation, but I do remember that such a thing had happened before. Both cities managed to get out in tact. I was pretty sure that it would happen again.

Something was bizarre, though. I couldn't figure out what was the reason for it all to start up again. Even sitting there, staring at the mantelpiece from where I was seated, I couldn't formulate even a proper guess as to why all of this was starting up again. My father gave lame and stupid reasons as to why the war began in the first place. It frustrated me that I couldn't even figure out this one small little detail.

Added to that, and the fact that, yes, Gourry was more than I had thought, and everything seemed grey and completely confusing.

I soon felt that Luna's eyes were on me. A sister always knows when she is being stared at by her sibling. I sighed and looked over, and saw one eye peeking from under her bangs. That was all I needed to see. She knew that I was distressed about something, and she could guess as to what.

Luna and I certainly were not the type of sisters that gossiped a lot with eachother, nor did we share the type of tight-knitted confidence that I had seen other sisters share. But we had a degree of openness between us, one that often kept us going, kept us amicable, and, to some degree, kept us close.

So, when Luna said, “I'm going to get more rolls,” I stood up wordlessly and followed her.

As soon as we got into the kitchen, Luna put one hand on her hip, the other on the counter, and said, “You had no idea, did you?”

I nodded. “Nope.”

“And it's killing you inside, isn't it?”

I repeated the gesture. “Yup.”

I certainly felt hollow inside. I had always thought that Gourry had told me EVERYTHING. I guess sometimes you really can't tell someone everything. I guess that's just not how people really are. There has to be some level of secrecy.

I could say I respect that, if it were me. But since it was Gourry, well…

“You do realize he could hop sides,” Luna said flatly.

I sighed deeply. “Yup,” I replied, my voice gloomy.

“And when that happens, what side will YOU choose?”

I glared at her, and she stared calmly back at me. “What if I choose not to a damn thing at all?”

“And what would you do? Hit the road again? Avoid it all while we have to deal with it?”

“What makes you think Gourry would go back?” I demanded, careful to keep my voice quiet. “You don't know him like I do.”

“Mmhm,” Luna nodded slowly, turning around to the counter, so that her back was to me. She started putting more rolls in the basket. “And apparently, as you just found out, that means quite close to nothing, now, doesn't it, Lina?”

I stared at her, my insides going to ice. She looked sadly at me, then put one hand on the top of my head. She was right, and I knew she was right, and so did she. And the whole thing tore me up inside.

I DIDN'T know what this meant at ALL. I DIDN'T know if this meant that Gourry would be heading home after all. I had no clue what it meant at all, and that was because, it turned out, I didn't know much of ANYTHING.

“You're cruel,” I whispered, lowering my head. Luna sighed, put the basket down, and put her hands on my shoulders. “And just when I come home, too.”

“You know I'm only making sure you see how it all is,” she said, her eyes glinting at me from behind that thick sheen of hair. “Like it or lump it, Lina-chan; this whole thing affects you BOTH.”

I sighed, getting control over myself. I seriously felt, at that moment, that nothing would be better than to just cry all over the place and then hide in the floorboards. That hardly would have been productive, would it?

“Don't pull your silence bullshit on him, Lina-chan,” Luna said sternly, squeezing my shoulders once before picking up the basket again. “Actually talk to him first, instead of letting it fester.”

I watched her leave the kitchen. I chewed on my lip, staring at the air in front of me.

Yeah, good plan. Question was, how does one exactly DO that?

Dramata

 

28.4

“So why are you trying to avoid the subject?” Luna asked me.
“What?” I replied a little too dumbly for my liking.
“Well you seem so busy trying to work out why this is happening instead of working out if you should go back or not.”

I froze a little, not really sure how to respond. I guess she was right. I was more concerned in trying to work out why the war started. I thought if I could work it out then maybe I could stop it. But who was I fooling? How could I work something like this out? In the end I was just some mercenary, a soldier, a prawn…or is it a pawn. Anyway, I was just one of those and so who would even listen to me?

“I need time to think. I'll probably take a walk. You don't need to tell the others since they think I've already gone out to get some air.”

Luna replied to me but I didn't really hear it as I opened the door and closed it behind me. I started to stroll through the garden which was pretty big and filled with flowers. I looked around and knew that once the war really started this place would look very different. I had seen it before and I knew it would happen all over again. I never really understood the point of war. It just caused sadness and more anger, but most of all it caused suffering. Both sides would suffer just as badly. I laughed at the thought of one country winning over the other. It was more like who ever lost the least would win.

Who was I kidding? I was avoiding the subject once again. I didn't want to think about it at all to be perfectly honest. Maybe because I had made the decision already but I didn't want to think about the consequences. Now I was doing all I could to avoid it so maybe I didn't have to go through with it. Maybe Lina would work out why this was happening and stop the war from getting too bad.

I was scared because I knew that by returning to Elmekia and fighting for them, there was a very real possibility that I would end up fighting Lina. I knew I would refuse to do that despite what anyone else would probably want me to do. Surely both sides would know what we're capable of considering lots of rumours have gone around about what we've done. They would ask me what would be the best way to defeat Lina. I could never do that.

But I couldn't run away either…or could I? Could I just take Lina and leave? Go to a whole other continent away from all of our pasts and start new again. I wasn't sure. I just knew that if I was going to stay, I would have to fight for Elmekia but I would refuse to help bring harm to Lina. Either way I would be called for treason and executed. I would welcome death more than harming Lina, but there had to be a way to go through neither.

I looked around me once more and looked back to the Inverse house off in the distance. I had walked pretty far without realising it. I had hoped that maybe by walking I would have thought everything out and made things clearer. In the end I think I just confused myself even more. I wanted to go back and ask Lina help but I knew she wasn't able to make my decision for me. I had to make it myself. I just didn't want to make the wrong decision and disappoint Lina.

I started to head back towards the house, thoughts and imaged running through my mind hoping there was some way to make this entire thing stop. Things were perfect before coming to Zephilia. Things seemed to be settling out and I thought maybe the bad stuff was behind us. All those fights with the mazoku I had hoped would mean our future would be more peaceful. Now it just seemed to be worse.

I returned to the house and was about to walk in when I noticed the Inverse sisters talking to each other. I hesitated to enter as it seemed like a conversation I shouldn't walk in on. I was able to listen in to what they were saying and I hung my head slightly. Luna wasn't really placing me in the best of light but I realised she was just looking out for her sister. It sounded like Lina was having as much trouble coming to a decision as I was which didn't help. She was supposed to be the smart one and stop this war.

I watched Luna leave with a basket full of bread rolls and Lina was just frozen in position. I decided it was my time to speak with her. The moment I opened the door it seemed to shake Lina out of whatever froze her in position. She spun quickly and looked to me before softening her eyes from their initial shock. All I could think to do at that point was to hug Lina and so I did just that. I felt her arms wrap around mine and she buried her head into my chest.

“I have to go back home Lina.”
“What!?” Lina pulled away like she was burned.
“Well you can't expect me to stay here. I'm probably hated by everyone here if they found out where I'm from.”
“We can leave then. We'll go somewhere else.”
“We can't do that Lina. You know more than I do that we can't just run away from this situation. I don't know what Zephilia does but I know that the Elmekian army will try and track me down and force me to enlist. If I refuse I'll be jailed…maybe executed.”

Lina turned her back to me as though I was some stranger now and it hurt inside.

“I don't want to do this. You realise I would love to just run away and forget all about this, but we can't run away anymore.” I told her.

She stayed with her back to me, and wouldn't speak to me. Was that it then? Would a war just destroy our entire relationship in a blink of an eye?

“Speak to me Lina. Tell me what you think. I don't know what you think but whatever it is, I want you to know I'm not letting us end like this. Just don't ignore me like before because this is too important!”

I couldn't think of what to say to her anymore. So I just stood there, staring into her back and seeing her brown wavy locks rest against her back. My arms were down by my side and I wondered how long we would stay like this in silence, or would Lina just walk away.

Kurage

 

28.5

At first, no words would come out. My throat had felt like it had dried up and stopped working on me.

I honestly felt betrayed. It was as if he had slapped me or something. It just felt like he had no idea where his loyalties lay. I mean, didn't he just tell me that his family was a bunch of grabby, immature and selfish wretches who only wanted power at the cost of anything? Didn't he just tell me that all they were to him were the people that wanted him to be hurt the most?

I couldn't look at him because I really did feel angry and betrayed and if I looked at him, all I would feel were those feelings, and I knew they would cloud my judgment. I knew I had to think rationally, here. And if I looked at him, I knew I wouldn't be able to.

Gourry was a soldier, and I knew that now. Looking back on things, it made sense; it even explained some of his eccentricities. Even if the mercenary business had evaporated the moment he meant me, that didn't mean that his soldier's mentality had, too.

Which meant, logically, that his loyalty belonged with his country, if not with his stupid family. He had been a soldier long before he met me, and just because we were almost lovers didn't mean he would change what was pounded into his head for years and years.

I knew he loved me. I knew that, and even though I wanted to pretend it wasn't true for sake of argument, I knew it was, anyway. But I also knew that some things are hard to let go of.

I clenched my fists, then unclenched them. I practically sagged, just standing there. I knew I had lost this battle before I had even fought it, and oh, I wanted to fight it. But loyalty was something Gourry had up to his ears; he was as loyal as a damned family dog.

I turned around, finally, and looked at him, long and hard. He looked sad, torn, but his mind looked made up, unmovable. He was dead-set, and I knew it, but I had to ask, one more time, anyways.

“You're sure you want to do this?” I asked. My voice sounded small and meek. It made me wince inside, but I didn't move my eyes from his gaze.

He nodded slowly. I bit my lip, looked to the side at nothing, trying not to scream at him. When I gathered my wits, I looked back at him, and said, “But they hate you and will blame you for everything. Don't you GET that? Don't you understand that? Is it really WORTH it?”

Gourry sucked in his bottom lip, but didn't say a word. I think it was too hard to even talk about the infinite scenarios that could unravel the moment he set foot on Elmekia soil. But he was willing to risk it, if it meant putting the pieces back together again.

And, oh man, did I know what that meant. I felt it deep in my gut. Because now that I was faced with it, I knew I couldn't and wouldn't do it. I couldn't choose sides. I couldn't pick one side or the other. Which meant that I wasn't coming with him.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly clogged up. Nothing would come out of my mouth, because I couldn't say it. I glared, angry at him, but also angry at myself. I looked away, down at the floor, and shook my head. Then, without a word, I walked past him, past the dinner table, past Luna, looking at me sadly. I walked out on all of them, and out into the streets of my home, and I wasn't sure where I was going, or if I was even coming back.

But I just couldn't stay THERE. I couldn't be forced to choose sides. And not even Gourry, the love of my life, would make me.

And I guess what made me so furious was that, it seemed, as if he was expecting me to choose him.

~Dramata

 

28.6

“Lina? Lina!?” I yelled after her as she just started to walk away.

Everything inside me suddenly told me that Lina was not just walking away from me but very possibly walking out on my life. I didn't want that to happen and so my instinct was to chase after her. Only I was stopped by Luna when she drove her elbow right into my gut. The air escaped from my lungs and my legs gave way. I keeled over and groaned in pain. I looked through blurry eyes as Lina disappeared from my sight.

I didn't want things to end like this so although my body was screaming at me not to, I forced myself back to my feet a little shakily.

“I'm not leaving it this way…” I managed through gritted teeth.
“You have to.” Luna stated.
“Why is she giving up though?” I growled in anger.
“She's not giving up. She's just accepting the situation as it is. I believe you accepted the situation too, or is what you said a lie.”
“I wouldn't lie to Lina.” I glared at Luna. I wasn't happy with her suggestion.
“Then accept what has to happen.”
“I don't want to…”

I turned away slowly and clenched my hands into tight fists at my side. I was asking myself why Lina couldn't just come up with a solution like she had done before. I then thought maybe I was just being selfish. Lina had managed to solve things in the past but maybe there were just some things even she couldn't solve. I think at that point I had started to realise that I really was accepting the situation deep inside. If anyone could see that in me, Lina was the one to see it. That was why she walked away, and I couldn't blame her for that. I just somehow hoped that she knew this wasn't about choosing one thing over her.

“I should go.” I spoke quietly and began to gather my things together.
“Do you want me to pass on a message to Lina?” Luna asked me.

I shook my head in response and turned to the elder Inverse sister.
“She knows what I'm thinking. I think she understands me more than I understand myself!”

Luna smiled a little and laughed. I returned a smile. I don't think what I said made much sense but it felt like it when I first said it.

Luna asked another question. “What will you do if you face her on the battlefield?”
“I'm keeping my promise. I'll protect her. Even if that means I'm the one she needs protecting against. I would like it if you didn't tell her that.”
“I won't.” She replied. “You have to do what you need to do in those situations. Good luck Gourry.”
“Thanks.”

I had all the things I needed and headed to the front door when Lyra and Ilsen moved behind me. I turned around with the door half open and tried to give a smile.
“It would have been nice to meet you during better times. Maybe I can come back when this is all over.”
“I think we would love for that to happen.” Lyra replied with a slight nudge to her husband.

I could see Ilsen was thinking about all the possibilities of what could happen and was not so concerned with any happy reunions. I didn't really blame him. After all I was going to be part of the army which would attack his home country. He just nodded slightly. I didn't want to say much else and so I turned away and left, closing the door behind me.

Once I was on the street, I looked up and down in the hope that maybe I could see Lina but there was no sign of her. I let out a heavy sigh and just accepted what would have to happen. I started my first few steps in the general direction of Elmekia, keeping my head low so not to draw any attention and just hoped that somehow it would all end soon and things could go back to normal.

In the end it took a few days more than it would normally take to get to Elmekia. I decided the best plan of action was to stick to the smaller, less used roads. Zephilia was already well on it's way to prepare for the war and I didn't want to set anything off earlier than it should. When I was in Elmekia, the scale of things seemed to be much larger than in Zephilia. The mood was much more different. Elmekians seemed happy about the war and couldn't wait for it all to start. I felt like such a stranger in what was supposed to be my home country.

I wasn't really sure what to do once I had returned. For a good few years I had done everything with Lina and she basically stated what we would do. Now she was gone and I felt a little like I did before I had met Lina. I felt lost without a purpose. There was one thing I was pretty certain on, and that was not to return to my home. I knew I wouldn't be very welcome there.

As I walked in on one town, I was welcomed with a recruitment tent. In Elmekia, during a war, you had no choice but to join up in the army. Anyone who refused was killed but that didn't happen often. The people of Elmekia were grown up to fight for what they had. If you didn't realise, most of Elmekia is made up of sand and it can be a pretty hostile place. It breeds fighters and survivors.

I headed into the tent and was great by a tall well built man with a missing leg and a voice filled with gravel.

“Hello there, son. You've come to fight for your country?”
“I guess so. I don't have much choice.”
“That may be true but if it was a choice it would be the best choice you can make. Now son, your name?”
“Gabriev. Gourry Gabriev.”

Maybe giving them my real name was not the smartest move I ever made. The entire place grew quiet and as I looked around me, I could see everybody had their eyes on me. I looked back to the registration guy who looked up at me with his mouth slightly open in what seemed to be shock.

I felt the presence of two tall men come up behind me. Immediately I unsheathed my sword and turned sharply, smashing the flat of my blade into the nose of one of the men. Blood gushed out of his nose after the cracking noise. As he stumbled backwards I rammed the hilt of my sword into the chest of the second guy. He collapsed clutching his chest and gasping for air. Then after a sickening thud the world around me faded to black.

Kurage

28.7

An explosion rocked through the hillside.

This was shortly followed by another, more forceful, explosion.

Judging from the amount of screams and cries of rage, I would say that my aim was dead on the nose.

Just to be sure, though, I launched another Fireball, as powerful as I could make it, and watched in satisfaction as another explosion rocked the bandit camp.

I stood there, watching the usual scene of grown men running around like babies as their underwear was on fire, and for some reason, it didn't make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel kind of worse.

But I wasn't going to show it. Once the job was done and the camp was raided, it was getting pretty dark. I decided that now would be a good idea to turn in for the night, and forget about everything until the morning.

However, on my way home, I hesitated. I adjusted the huge sack of stolen...er, recovered... goods on my shoulder and looked to my left. I sighed, sagging a little, for that way was the way to Elmekia.

Why did things end up like this between him and I? Things never used to be like this, even when we traveled alone. From the start things were far more relaxed than THIS crash and burn way of life.

I shook my head and turned back the other way, towards home. Gourry had made his choice, and there was no stopping him. Blood is thicker than water, even if the other people have blood laced with idiocy.

When I got home, everything was quiet. I crept in and snuck up to my old bedroom with a sense of foreboding, afraid that I would feel that feeling again, that certain `death to wanderlust' feeling that scared the living daylights out of me.

However, when I got there, all I saw was an empty bedroom. I sighed again, dropped the loot on the floor and shut the door. I lit a candle, got partially undressed, and sat down at my own vanity dresser, gazing into my reflection.

Candlelight is flattering, I thought sourly, wrinkling my nose. I pulled the headband off from around my forehead and shook out my hair, then grabbed my brush and started brushing it out. The problem with having long frizzy hair is that it tends to get very knotty very fast. Some days I wonder if life would be easier if I had Amelia-short hair.

I let my mind wander for a while. I felt lonely. I had gotten so used to Gourry hanging around me, intimately, that when he was gone it was a glaring truth in the dark, and it made me very lonely. Not just for companionship, but for Gourry specifically.

I slammed the brush down angrily. So much for thinking about it all tomorrow. I glared at my reflection and bit my lip.

There was no way I could have chosen sides, but would it have killed him to do so? What could he possibly have in that place? A family that wanted him dead was all I could see. If anything, it would have killed him to choose Elmekia over me.

Over me. What a juvenile thought. I rested my elbows on the vanity's countertop and cup my chin in my hands, sighing, still glaring at my reflection. There was some truth to it, but not enough to incriminate him. I mean, I hadn't actually asked him to stay. I hadn't actually asked him to choose me. I just asked him if he was sure about his choice.

I groaned and buried my head into my arms. This was too complicated. Too frustrating. Too much for late-night contemplation.

My door creaked open, and when I looked up, Luna was already in the room and the door was shut. She looked pensive.

“So,” she said, leaning against the door. I saw, under her bangs, her eyes flicker to the bag of goodies I had recently confiscated. A slow smile spread across her face. “You're handling things the way you usually do.”

I glared at her.

“Not in the mood for chat?” Luna said, the smile fading. She walked over and sat down on my bed, leaning back onto her hands and crossing her legs.

“Not especially,” I replied, picking up the brush again and starting up my nightly routine.

“You really haven't changed much,” Luna observed. I glanced at her in the mirror and noticed, to my surprise, that she looked a little sad. “It's sort of nice, knowing that you could get stronger but still be the same girl you were when you left.”

“Merph,” I answered sullenly. Luna never just dropped in for a visit unless she wanted something. I was tired of the inane chitchat and wished that she would just get on with it. I would have said so, but the way she had looked, that sad look, threw me off a little, so I settled for incoherence instead.

“When you meet him across the battlefield, what will you do, Lina-chan?” I slammed the hairbrush down again, harder this time, and turned to glare at Luna, but she looked unfazed. She went on. “Will you be loyal to your country or loyal to your lover?”

“Luna, first of all, I'm not his lover,” I said this through gritted teeth and burning cheeks. “Second of all, I'm not going on the battlefield.”

Luna looked surprised. “Oh?”

“Yes, oh,” I snapped back, realizing how stupid that sounded only after the fact. “I'm not going into battle because they can't make me, and besides, who has ever heard of a sorceress going into a soldier's battle? That is what soldiers are FOR.”

“Hmm…” Luna said slowly, leaning forward. “You haven't been keeping up with your swordplay?”

I rolled my eyes. “What am I, an idiot? Of course I have. It's something I have to depend on once a month, isn't it?”

Luna looked at me in silence.

I froze, my insides going to ice. “Are you kidding me?” I said quietly, unable to mask the tremor in my voice.

Luna shook her head slowly. “We've gotten to that point, Lina-chan. It's every able-bodied swordsman or swordswoman on the field now.”

I slammed my fists on the top of the bookshelf, then got to my feet. “Then I won't do it! I'll claim I don't have the ability anymore! They can't prove anything!”

Luna smiled, her smile sad. “Oh, Lina-chan, you act as if we don't know you anymore. Everyone knows about you, and about your misadventures. We know what you can and cannot do. Why do you think everyone was so shocked to see you? They probably see you as their new hope.”

“Shit,” I muttered, sitting back down again. Inside, I felt like I had been gutted out and left on display.

“I expect they'll be here by morning, demanding you to show up at the training camps.” Luna sighed. “They tried the same thing on me.”

I looked up at her. “How did you get out of it?” I wondered, trying to mask the hope in my voice.

“Asking me was a formality,” she said. “They knew that there was no way I could, or would, devote my cause to a war. Even though it's supposed to be a secret, everyone knows I'm the Knight of Ciephied. They only asked me so as not to lose face when they ask everyone else.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Isn't there any way for things to be back the way they were? I mean, who started this whole thing, anyways?”

“I don't know. No one does. All I know is that it's something that's been brewing for a while, and something, SOMETHING finally boiled it over.”

Even though it sounded like normal circumstances for a war, inside, I felt uneasy about it, unsure, like I was walking into a trap and everyone else but me knew it was a trap.

“So what will you do, Lina-chan?” Luna asked again.

I looked up at her and shook my head. “Please, leave me alone, please?” I pleaded. She nodded slowly, getting to her feet. Before she left, she reached over and put her hand on the top of my head, like she used to when I was a kid. Then, without a word, she walked out of the room and closed the door.

Dramata

28.8

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the feeling that I had a tiny version of Lina firing hundreds of Dragon Slaves in my head. I hope that kind of gives you an idea of how bad that felt. Yes, it was THAT bad. Then when the hundreds of Dragon Slaves turned into a couple, I started to realise the situation I was in. I was sat down for a start, but I could forget about any sort of movement beyond turning my head. My wrists were tied to the back of the chair and my ankles to the feet.

 

“Tell the general he's woken up.” I heard from a voice in the corner of what I figured was a small room.

“Is this some kind of initiation?” I asked with no hint of sarcasm.

 

There was no response from the soldier. He must have been one of those serious ones. You know. They do every single thing by the book. They refuse to break the rules and will get anyone else in trouble if they step slightly out of line.

 

“How long have you been in the army?” I tried to strike a conversation. Again there was no response. I thought this general better turn up soon otherwise I was going to go out of my mind.

 

I sat there and thought about why they would tie me up like this. I kind of thought it was pretty obvious. I knew there was uproar after I took the Sword of Light and so I thought the moment I stepped back into the country they would be after me about the sword. But the other possibility was of the rumours of who Lina was travelling with. Lina manages to make people speak and of course with word of mouth, rumours are made. Travelling with Lina for a few years meant I was sure I would be involved in the rumours. If they thought I was travelling with Lina, then they would probably try and make me recruit her. Or if they knew where she was from, they would want to know what her weaknesses were. My response was going to be simple. Denial.

 

My eyes had adjusted to the light by the time the general came storming through the door. The soldier in the room stood to attention with a salute and the general ignored him, turning to me. A couple of lackeys followed in behind and two bodyguards were placed just outside the door.

 

“…verse!?” The general spat when I wasn't paying attention.

“What now?” I replied, in all seriousness. I was paying attention to the other people, not what I figured was a question.

“Lina Inverse! Where is she?”

 

So they went for Lina first. I guessed when they got what they could from me; the Sword of Light would be next.

 

“Lina who now? Am I supposed to know her?” I replied, again in all seriousness. I had to keep it realistic after all.

“Don't joke with me! We know you've been travelling with her. Where is she?”

 

Fine then, denial wasn't going to work. I would have to try a different route then.

 

“I really don't know. When we found out about the war, she suddenly turned against me. I barely got away alive and figured the only thing I could do was to come back to Elmekia and join up in the fight against them.” I stated with my head hung low to match the tone in my voice.

“That sounds like her. She's just greedy to get her own way and then willing to turn against her so called companions so she can better herself. It's people like her which justifies this war against those wine crushing scum!”

 

I kept quiet whilst the general went on his rampage about how terrible the people of Zephilia were. I knew it wasn't true but I had to keep the act going. I just kept my head down and figured that it would be enough to show I was upset over what happened. It wasn't too difficult to do that because I was upset with what happened, just not for the reasons they thought.

 

I guess he finished his speech at some point since he moved over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked up to him with a blank face.

 

“You'll have your chance for revenge on the battlefield Gourry. You'll know her weaknesses better than anyone which is why you'll be leading the attack on her home.”

 

My eyes widened in shock but I quickly remembered the need to play it cool.

 

“Thank you, sir. It would be an honour.”

“Very good.”

 

The general then turned away and started to leave.

 

“Umm... so can I get untied at some point?”

“Unfortunately not. It seems you still have some important questions to answer.”

“I've already answered everything!”

 

The general stood by the doorway and turned back towards me with a slight grin on his face.

 

“Well there is still something to be answered. You see, we searched your body and it seems you left Elmekia with something and have yet to return with it.”

“Stealing is a very bad thing, don't you know.” A voice from outside the doorway could be heard which was strangely familiar.

“I only returned the Sword of Light to its rightful place…Graudy.” I replied with a cold harsh tone.

“You should know the rightful place of that sword is on my hip…brother!”

 

My older brother, Graudy then stepped through the doorway past the general and glared at me the entire time. He nodded his head to the general who nodded in return and with a swift action had everybody in the room leave with the exception of Graudy, the general and myself.

 

“We still need to use him if we're to get past Lina Inverse and take over Zephilia. I want him in good enough shape to do that.” The general requested.

“Its fine, my brother can take the punishment. He'll be strong and fit for your army. Now if I could have some time alone to catch up.”

“Very well.”

 

The general then left and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone with my brother. I think it was safe to say that he wasn't too best pleased to see me.

 

“Where is it?” He asked.

“I told you already, back where it belongs.”

“Where is my sword, Gourry?”

“I'm not fooling you around. I'm just going to give you the same answer. It's back where it belongs.”

“Where is the Sword of Light?”

“I don't hav…UNGH!”

 

Graudy planted a vicious right hook into my jaw flinging my head to the side and the chair I was sat on toppling to the ground. I grunted in pain as my hands were crushed beneath the chair and my body weight. Graudy moved towards me and knelt down beside me, grabbing the collar of my tunic. My jaw was throbbing in pain.

 

“Where is the sword Gourry?”

“I…I don't…UMPH!”

 

 

Once again he struck me powerfully, my head snapping painfully to the other side and before I had time to recover he delivered and strike into my gut. My eyes went wide as the air left my lungs. I gasped and then coughed harshly.

 

“Why do you make this difficult for me, brother?”

 

It took me time to catch my breath before I could reply. “Stop playing games, Graudy. I know what's going on here. You hate me for doing the right thing. That sword was tearing our family apart.”

“You're right Gourry. I do hate you but you didn't do the right thing. You took what was rightfully mine. That sword is always passed down to the eldest son but you took it for yourself!”

“Were you really that blind to what our uncles were doing? They wanted the sword for themselves. They were jealous of our father and murdered him. If you saw it you would have stopped it!”

“Unless I was in on it…”

“What!?”

“I was sick of him holding onto that sword. He didn't want to let it go! Past generations got the sword when they were much younger. You still remember the stories of one of our ancestors Rowdy. He was one of the youngest to hold the sword and look what he did! Instead, father gave me some sort of rubbish about me not being ready to take the responsibility. He was a greedy old bastard who wanted to keep the sword for himself for as long as possible. Our uncles came to me and we worked on the plan.”

 

For the first time in a long while I no longer felt guilty about taking the Sword of Light. I always felt that my brother had the right to be angry with me but now that I knew what his true intentions were, I lost all sympathy. To say that I hated him was not enough. I couldn't think of the words which would begin to describe the amount of hate I felt towards him.

 

“So you decided to turn our entire family against each other, just for some sword. Dammit Graudy. That was all you really cared about? How do you know that our uncles weren't going to turn against you? Kill the two sons and it would have gone to them. They killed their own brother, so don't you think it would have been easy for them to go for us next?”

“That never would have happened. I had it all worked out perfectly but you had to go and ruin it. Now you've lost it so that means there is nothing left for this family. Are you happy? Our family has nothing left to live for!”

“I told you, I didn't lose it! That sword never belonged to our family. It doesn't even belong to this world. Now it's gone back and I think it's for the best. At least no one else in our family will have to go through what we did.”

“You're wrong Gourry. There is no family anymore. It's because of you that this family has fallen apart. That's why I will never forgive you!”

 

The rage and anger in Graudy's eyes told me of his intent and soon his fists and feet were pummelling my prone body. The chair tying me down was smashed apart in the onslaught but the significant beating I had already taken meant I couldn't offer much resistance. He screamed and yelled with each punch and kick as I just lay there and did little else but grunt after each blow I received.

 

He only stopped because tiredness overwhelmed his body. I was thankful as I lay there in a bruised, bloody and broken mess. I was sure initially landing on my tied wrists had broken something in my hand. The kicks to the body had broken a couple of ribs. My right eye quickly swelled up to the point that I could no longer see out of it and the taste of blood in my mouth was strong.

 

Graudy simply left the room after catching his breath and didn't utter another word to me. A couple of the guards quickly rushed in after he left and looked a little shocked at the state I was left in. The two of them picked me up and I hissed in pain as parts of my body that didn't want to move were forced to. They then slowly dragged me out of the room and down the corridor to what I guessed were prison cells.

 

They lead me into one of the cells and rather clumsily dropped me to the ground. I howled as pain shot through my body like electricity. The guards then closed the door to the cell and left me in pitch darkness. I curled up as best as I could as the cold room started to get to me, forcing me to shiver. I closed my eyes to the best of my abilities and let out a slow sigh before mumbling quietly to myself.

 

“Welcome home, Gourry.”

Kurage

28.9

After she left, I resolved to just sleep on it and forget about it. I lay face-down on the bed and grumbled, shutting my eyes tightly, trying to shut out the world.

At first, it felt weird being back in my own bed. I had gotten a little taller and although my feet weren't sticking out at the end, it sure was close to it. However, after a few minutes, my brain felt too muddled to care, and I just...shut down. I didn't want to think or to move or to do anything but just lie amidst my moldy-smelling sheets and feel nothing.

And eventually, that's what happened. I did manage to fall asleep.

The feeling nothing part? Not so much.

I dreamt.

I stood in that damned field, with that damned sky, and its damned grass under my damned feet.

And I went through every motion of the dream as before, each of them just as powerful, and just as real, and just as mind-shattering.

It's hard, you know? When you realize that, even in the depths of your own mind, that you really have absolutely no control over anything.

I jerked awake, covered in sweat and gasping for air, my face still buried in the pillow. Because of this, I had a panic attack, and I started throwing things and basically being so much of an idiot that I ended up twisted in my covers and collapsed headfirst on the floor.

I took a moment to collect myself, shutting my eyes and calming my breaths. If I was going to face this day at all, I was going to face it like a woman, and not some panicky idiot.

After a few minutes, my trembles had ceased and I could breathe without gasping. I peeled the blankets away and got up, shaking out my limbs and sighing deeply.

I wanted to think about positive things, but the only thing I could think of was misery, so I decided to voice it all in one single word: “Ugh.”

After I had changed (I decided to throw on some of the stuff found in my dresser; the stuff that had been oversized then fit me perfectly now) and washed up, I trudged down the stairs and ignored the feelings of both nostalgia and dread.

When I walked into the kitchen, Luna was already there, looking grim. In one hand, she held a plate of my mother's breakfast cooking. In the other, she held a letter. I glowered at both, unable to figure out which one to pick. I decided that it would be best to eat now lest I actually lose my appetite from the letter.

While I ate, Luna sat in silence. I decided to ignore her, wondering, in the back of my mind, where our parents were. Then I answered my own question; obviously, they were at the store this morning.

Luna seemed to be waiting for the precise moment that I dropped my utensils, because when I did, she said, “An official came by to deliver this to you. I told them you were sleeping, so they left it here.”

“Uh, `they'?” I echoed, knowing it would annoy her, ignoring the more important factor.

I was right. “I couldn't tell the gender,” she snapped, a rarity for her. “Would you rather I say `it'?”

I frowned at her. “So I take it you already read it. Otherwise you wouldn't be so angry at me.”

“I'm not angry at you,” she answered, her calm demeanor back in place. She held the letter out to me. I sighed, feeling a combination of sickness and butterflies course through my insides. I took it, opened it, and read it.

“To Miss Lina Inverse, Lina the Pink,

Your presence is required at the Elite Training Camp, held as training grounds for the Zephilia Elite Army. Due to your past achievements in swordsmanship, your talents and abilities are needed greatly in this present altercation with our opposition.

Your presence is mandatory. Should you decide to ignore this summons, you will be forcefully aquired and taken to the camp by force.

Sincerely,

Zephilia Elite Special Arms General
Sobold Impartal”

“Oh, wow, I remember Sobold,” I breathed, unable to believe my eyes. “What a little weenie.”

Luna smiled her half-smile. “You can be sure that he hasn't changed.”

“How do you know?” I wondered, trying to ignore the rest of the unpleasant letter. “You said you refused the summons and left it at that.”

“Who do you think made the call?” Luna tossed her hair over her shoulders, grinning now. “Of course he would come out himself to ask the Knight of Ciephied. What a career move! Especially if she accepted!”

“Too bad you refused,” I stuck out my tongue.

Luna sighed, looking pensive. “Still, it means he may be rough on you. If he is, let me know. I'll rough him up for you.”

I snorted. “Oh, please?” I shot back. “Sobold is an idiot. Always has been and always would be. The guy ate bugs.”

“Only because you made him,” Luna replied.

“He stole my sandwich!” I growled, crumpling the summons a little.

“Yes, be sure to remind him of that when you go.”

I crumpled up the paper and threw it down on the table. “I'm not going to that stupid camp.”

Luna looked strange. She either looked mildly surprised or mildly impressed. “Oh?” was all she said.

“Yes, oh,” I said, yet again. “I'm not going. They can arrest me for all I care. I refuse to walk in there of my own choice.” I puffed out my cheeks, then stood up and declared, “I, Lina Inverse, will not willingly walk into a war that can have no decent outcome!”

Luna smirked at me. “So instead you'll just go in kicking and screaming?”

I winked, crossing my arms over my chest. “Of course I will! You expected any less of me?”

Luna's grin widened. “In honestly, I think I would have been sorely disappointed if you had gone in by choice.”

“As would I, onee-san,” I replied. “So I shall await Sobold with bated breath and ready screams. Let him come and get me.”

And now that chaos was on the horizon...

I felt much better.

Dramata