Warnings: Well angs, sadness and stuff like that. Watch out for Xellos' who is way OOC
NOTHING APART
1 - Separation
She stopped in the middle of the road and looked around. Had the world changed? Were the trees as green, the sun as warm and the sky as blue as it used to be? She sighed deeply and nodded to herself. Yes it all looked the same, it just didn't feel the same anymore. In silence she sat down in the grass beside the road and rested her chin against her knees. Why hadn't she done anything? Why hadn't she tried to explain how she really felt? The tears began to run down her cheeks again. Crying she sat alone in the dusty grass and felt the longing eating away inside of her. This wasn't like her at all, she used to be so strong and never used to need anybody. But somewhere inside of her a whisper told her that that wasn't true, that that was just an act she put up for everyone. No, the truth was that all she ever was and ever had been was stubborn and too proud for her own good. And stubbornness and pride didn't make any good companions. She hid her face in her hands and sighed. Maybe that was true, maybe she was nothing but a proud, pigheaded child. She felt so helpless and weak and it scared her, and it made her angry.
"I can't sit around here all day feeling sorry for myself", she growled and dried off her tears. "There are still bandits to punish and treasures to find!" She got up and started walking again. She could already see the next town. An hour later she walked passed the first houses and just as the sun began to sink behind the mountains she opened the door to her room for the night. She was so tired, so exhausted from feeling so much that she barely managed to get herself undress before she crashed down on the bed. Moments later she was fast asleep.
"I'm pretty much useless without my sword Lina," the tall blonde man said to her.
"Why do you say that?" she asked with a nail of panic scratching at her heart.
"You said so yourself." She stared at him searching through her memories but when she found what she was looking for it just made her sad. She had indeed once told him that he was pretty much useless without his Sword of Light.
"I know I did Gourry, but I didn't mean all the time. I just meant in that specific situation." She wanted him to understand so badly but in his eyes she could see some sort of shadow that hadn't been there before. And that shadow was like a wall between them.
"But it was true," Gourry nodded and looked at her with his blue eyes. "I can't do anything as your protector without my sword, and we both know I'll never get it back." Lina looked at him feeling so lost, but somehow she didn't know what to say. She had thought he would be around forever and now he was telling her that he wasn't.
"So I'm leaving, I'm going back to wandring the roads as a mercenary," he said and turned away from her. Lina stared at his back just wanting to pull him back and tell him that she never wanted him to leave, ever. But the words refused to come out just as her body refused to move. And she could see that Gourry took the silence just like anyone would have. He took it like she didn't really care.
"Now?" was the only thing she managed to say.
"Yes, now," he answered.
"O-okay." That word seemed to put a heavy weight on Gourry's shoulders. From behind he looked like a defeated old man with his head lowered and shoulders pulled forward.
"Good-bye Lina," he sighed and walked out of her room without turning around. Lina sat on the bed staring at the closed door. What had she done?!
Lina opened her eyes and looked around the room. It was just a dream, she calmed herself. Gourry hadn't left he was asleep in the next room.
" I better go check on him," she whispered to herself, "who knows where he fell asleep this time." She put her feet on the floor and walked over to the door. Just as she opened it reality caught up with her. It hit her like a ton of bricks. It wasn't a dream it was memories. There was no Gourry asleep in the next room. She actually had no idea where he was or what he was doing. Shivering Lina returned to bed and curled up under the covers. How much time had passed since he had left her? She didn't know, she couldn't remember. Slowly she started to backtrack the days that had passed. Her mind worked slow and some days she hardly remembered at all.
"Almost two weeks," she said out loud after a while. "I've been walking around without a clue for almost two weeks?" How could this be? Why hadn't she just went after him? She knew the answer to the last question. Because she had too much pride. That stupid pride wouldn't allow her to beg, it never had. But begging was exactly what she should have been doing.
The next morning Lina started walking again but instead of moving further away from Gourry she went back the same road she had come from. She had to see for herself if he really wanted to live his life without her, even if it meant bruising that silly pride. The pace was now alot quicker than it had been before. All she could think of was catching up with Gourry. Lina knew that she'd fallen behind and that Gourry was moving further and further away with each minute. But instead of letting this get to her she just pushed herself harder. Half the day had passed when she finally slowed down. For a while she had had a feeling that someone was following her but now that feeling grew stronger. So as she made her way around a bent she moved into the woods as silence as she could. She peeked out from behind a tree to get a look at whoever it was that was following her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw someone slowly making their way pass her. Lina couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman 'cause the person's head was covered by a hood and a cloak covered up the body's shape. Actually it looked pretty funny. The cloak was ugly as sin with its purple and green stripes and it didn't seem to fit the person at all.
"That's so strange. I could have sworn I was right behind her," the character growled and studied the road closer. Lina moaned and banged her forehead against the tree. Oh yeah she knew that voice. She knew it way too well. With a look of torment she snuck up behind the hooded person.
"And why are you following me?" she asked and smacked the character over the head.
"Ouch! Lina-san how rude!" Lina found herself being stared at by a pair of violet eyes.
"Well Xellos' you'll have to excuse me but everybody wasn't raised as well as you," she snorted at the Trickster Priest.
"My, my, aren't we kranky today," he smiled at her and threw back his hood.
"Oh bite me," she snapped at him. "What's with the masquerade-costume?" Xellos' watched her with one eye closed and then scratched his head.
"Well that's why I was following you," he answered slowly. Lina stared at him and pouted as she thought this through.
"Oh I see," she answered after a while, "you want me to go to a masquerade with you." Lina laughed at her joke and then got serious again. "Well what ever it is you want with me I don't have time so scram," she said and walked passed him.
"No, no you don't understand Lina-san," Xellos' yelled and ran after her. She stopped and glared at him.
"What!?" Xellos' looked around as if he was making sure no one was watching them.
"Okay I'll explain," the Priest sighed and pulled her off the road.
"Good and make it snappy I have a long way to travel." He watched her for a second and sighed again.
"Lina-san I'm being…" he started and scratched his head. "Oh my how shall I put this," he sighed and sat down in the grass. Lina watched him with a growing urge to smack him around.
"I suggest you come up with a way of putting it pretty damn fast or you'll end up with a Fireball between yar eyes," she growled and raised her hands. Xellos' stared at her and quickly hid behind the nearest tree.
"Lina-san," he complained, "why do you always have to get physical?"
"It gets things done faster," she answered with a shrug.
"Well it is not polite to throw Fireballs at helpless people," he whined from behind the tree. Lina laughed.
"Maybe, but then you're not helpless, are you?" she answered and walked closer to him.
"I am too," he sighed and pouted. She stopped and stared at him.
"Excuse me but if my memory serves me correctly you're Xellos' a very very powerfull Mazoku, Beastmaster-sama's General Priest and you were given powers like no one else. You're also refered to as the Trickster Priest, the Mysterious Priest, the Roguish Priest. You serve under Xelas Metallium, also known as Beastmaster-sama and about a 1000 years ago you destroyed a whole dragonclan with a wave of your hand," she yelled at him and stomped her feet. Xellos' started sweating and looked very uncomfortble.
"Please Lina-san I didn't destroy them all," he moaned, "I really don't need to hear this." Lina stared at him.
"Huh?"
"Well," he started and gave her a silly smile, "I can't give you any details but…"
"But?" she asked inpatienctly tapping her foot. Xellos' turned away from her looking like he was about to tell her something that he was ashamed of.
"Hm let's just say, hypotheticly, that I said something that Beastmaster-sama didn't hm exactly agree with," Xellos' almost whispered. Lina stared at his back.
"O-okay," she stuttered.
"And let's say that, hypotheticly, she decided to punish me… a little."
"A little," Lina echoed with confusion
"Yes, a little." Xellos' cleared his throat and faced her again. "I seemed to have gotten a little too confident lately. And I mean who can blame me? I did defeat Darkstar all by myself," he continued, adressing himself rather than Lina. At the same second as the last words were spoken Xellos' realized that he really shouldn't have said that last part, but it was too late.
"You did what?!" Lina roared and burried her fist in the Priest's head. "I'll show you defeat!!" Xellos' couldn't do anything but beg for mercy as he ran down the road with a furious Lina chasing after him.
Lina looked at the Roguish Priest that sat beside her pressing a cold and wet rag to his sore head. She was starting to think that she might have overreacted a little. But then again he had boasted way too much. Well maybe that last Fireball had been a little too much.
"Lina-san I've desided that you're not a very nice person," Xellos' moaned and put the rag over his blackening eye.
"Stop complaining," she muttered, "I could have Dragon Slaved your ass. Be thankfull for what you didn't get instead of whimpering about what you did get." She knew that sounded harsher than she really meant it to.
"I thought I was your friend," he complained. Lina sighed and handed him one of two apples.
"And just when did you become my friend?" she asked and sank her teeth into the other apple. "Was it when you had me running around all over the place searching for the Claire Bible or when you switched my racket when we played that silly ballgame or maybe when you tricked me into doing Hellmaster's dirtywork. No, no it had to be when you promised Valgaav you'd kill me if he just signed up with the Mazoku. No that can't be it," she went on, "it had to be when you wacked me over the head and stole that Darkstar-weapon from me, that's it isn't it?" she finished off and stared at Xellos' who by now squirmed beside her.
"I did not trick you into doing Hellmaster's work… And I mean I never would have… And, and, and you shouldn't talk you jumped on my head," Xellos' said in defence.
"Just answer one question honestly Xellos'." Lina frowned and looked at him.
"If I'm allowed I will," he nodded.
"If Valgaav had agreed that time, you would have killed me with your bare hands wouldn't you?" she asked after looking away. Xellos' sighed and pulled his cloak around him wishing he could just disappear as he used to do when things got awkward. But he couldn't do that, not anymore.
"I suppose I do owe you an honest answer to that question," he answered after a while.
"Yup you sure do."
"The truth is that…" He paused and sighed. "Yes I would have killed you. My orders were to kill you if that would have brought Valgaav to our side." Lina nodded and leaned back in the grass.
"Thanks for being honest," she said as she closed her eyes. "Oh and Xellos'?"
"Yes Lina-san."
"How did Beastmaster-sama punish you?" The Priest rolled his eyes.
"She took away most of my powers," he growled. Lina laughed and looked at him.
"Oh cheer up Xellos' it could have been worse. She could have forced you to spend a few months with Amelia."
"That's not funny Lina-san," Xellos' moaned and shuddered at the thought. "Amelia-san would have killed me with her talk." Lina laughed again and streched in the warm sun.
"Life is wonderful Xellos'." The Roguish Priest shuddered even more at those words.
"Oh I almost forgot," he said after shaking off the life-is-wonderful-feeling, "where's Gourry-san? Never thought I'd see the day when you two weren't together." Xellos' turned to look at Lina as he spoke and tilted his head when he saw the effect those words had on the red-haired sorceress.
"Well think again," Lina said with a harsh voice, got up and walked away. Xellos' watched her back and scratched his head.
"My, my, seems like I found a sore spot," he said to himself.
He looked down at the plate infront of him. The food didn't look like it used to. Nothing seemed to be like it used to.
"What have you done Gourry?" he said quietly to himself. About two weeks ago he had declared to Lina that he couldn't be her protector anymore. He had give up his sword to that Overworlder and could no longer defend her. And if he couldn't defend her he was a risk and of no use. So if this was the right thing to do how come it made him feel so terrible? How come he missed her so much? It wasn't like she was all that nice to him. Most of the time she didn't seem to care whether or not he was with her. She always yelled at him or hit him and several times she had said that she traveled with him just cause she couldn't get rid of him. But if he was completly honest with himself that wasn't the real reason he had left her at all. No, he hadn't left her because he felt he couldn't protect her. Gourry looked out the window. He had left her because something deep inside of him had told him that Lina didn't want him around anymore. And he just couldn't stand to stay around her if she didn't want him to, not now. When he left her he had been so sure that his presence made her unhappy and her life hard, so he'd done what he thought was the right thing. Gourry rested his head in his hands and thought about Lina. It was strange that although he usually forgot just about everything the second he took his eyes of it he still remembered everything about her. It had been two weeks since he'd seen her and yet he could still remember that special smell that she had, the way her eyes looked when she smiled and how every inch of her body looked. And he could defently remember how good he felt when she was around. All of the sudden he wasn't sure it had been such a good idea to leave her after all, but it was too late now.
Chapter2