*disclaimers* All Slayers Characters belong to Kamisaka Hajime and TV tokyo. The cook belongs to me,

Chapter 8:

"Xelloss welcome home." Lina greeted him as Xelloss walked into their apartment room. Since the two really couldn’t meet outside, they had decided to rent an apartment not too faraway from the campus. Only Lina and Xelloss’s close friends/relatives knew about this place. It was now a part of Lina and Xelloss’s everyday life to come here after school. In the apartment were some food with a refrigerator and utensils, a table, a couch, a bed, a computer, a TV, a few pieces of clothing and a telephone.

"Something wrong?" Lina asked. Xelloss hadn’t replied to her greeting, and was looking very tired.

"Oh, no it is nothing Lina." He smiled and kissed her. Lina sensed something wasn’t right though.

"You sure?" She asked to make sure. Xelloss nodded and ruffled her hair. Lina sighed and looked at him for a moment but than turned into a smile. "I made some sweet and sour pork! I’ll go get it right now." With that she ran off to the kitchen.

Xelloss sat down on the couch and sighed. What his sister told him that day replayed in his mind. He couldn’t believe it was true though. But his sisters face and voice proved him wrong. She was ‘Scared’. The Xelas Metalium, who among his home tribe was known to be one of the strongest warriors, having the nick name of the ‘Beast Master’. Meaning that she could control all the beasts, even the sacred ones. It was a ‘title’ that was as close to a god as his tribe could give.

But she was scared when she told him the news she got. Xelloss sighed again. It wasn’t taking him anywhere by just thinking, but it also wasn’t helping him when he just stood around.

"Xelloss, can you help me carry the food to the table?" Lina asked cutting through his chain of thoughts.

When he looked up, Lina was trying desperately to carry some food, sometimes nearly causing it to spill. Xelloss chuckled and grabbed the trays, taking them back to the coffee table.

Lina sat down right next to him on the couch and handed him his chopsticks and bowl of rice.

"Thank you." Xelloss replied and dished out some of the servings. Lina did the same and started to wolf down big servings of her meal. Xelloss smiled at his young ‘girlfriend’ as she ate her meal. "Lina, turn around."

Lina did as Xelloss said and was soon popped in a serving of sweet and sour pork into her mouth. Xelloss smiled as Lina looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. He took his chance and put down his bowl of rice and kissed her.

Lina looked back and forth between Xelloss and her bowl of sweet and sour pork. Finally she put her bowl down and put her mind into returning Xelloss’s kiss.

The two slowly fell onto the couch and continued to kiss. Lina moved her hands to Xelloss’s back, as if she was holding on for dear life. Xelloss’s kiss started to become more passionate and demanding and Lina started to feel herself losing to it. Just as Xelloss was about to advance to her neck…

RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

The phone rang..

Lina started to squirm under Xelloss, wanting to yell at whoever it is who destroyed the moment she chose over her precious meal.

Xelloss tried to hold her down, hoping that if he let it ring long enough the caller would give up and they could go back to what they were doing. Just than the answering machine clicked on and…

‘O ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!’ A very annoying form of laughter was heard and Lina sprang up, knocking Xelloss off her.

Xelloss was about to complain but noticed Lina whispering "It can’t be, It can’t be. I refuse to think so, I refuse to think so." Just about than, the caller’s laugh died out, and got onto the actual subject.

"Lina! It has been awhile! I see that you think you are the best now that you don’t have to answer my calls, well I Naga the Serpent shall show you! I demand a rematch!"

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Lina screamed and sprang for the receiver. "YOU LESS BRAINS THAN GAURY BRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!" She insulted the caller. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NAGA, I AM NOT INTERESTED IN A REMATCH!!!!!" She yelled.

"Ah…. Lina?" Xelloss was about to ask her what was going on, when suddenly, the door to the apartment room opened, and in came a woman with long black hair wearing a scantly clad outfit.

"O ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" She laughed and pointed at Lina. "I was calling from right outside! Did it ever occur to you that I had a cell phone!" She said into her phone.

"Why YOU!!!" Lina was about to curse when she caught herself. "Well, I’m too good for you anyways." She said into the PHONE.

The two than started a huge quarrel over the phone, when they were in the SAME room. Xelloss sighed and went back to eating.

About an hour later, when the two had ran out of insults for each other, or that they had gotten tired of it.

"Well…..(pant, pant) what do you….(pant, pant) want….. Naga?" Lina asked out of breath.

"Just a…..(pant, pant)….. question……. (pant, pant) ….is what I….(pant, pant)…came for…." Naga replied.

"Go ahead and….(pant, pant)…..ask." Lina offered. Xelloss couldn’t help but wonder why the two where still talking over the phone when they were in the exact same room, only about ten meters apart.

"…..How do I…(pant, pant)……. Get to……(pant, pant)…….Slayers Campus, Dormitory 1, room 701?" Lina and Xelloss both facefaulted.

"Wa-wait Naga." Lina said finally hanging up the phone. "I never ever told you this place, and you were able to find it, but you can’t find the place I actually told you about!!" Lina was surprised, she had assumed that Naga had gone to her dorm and asked Amelia or Shilfiel on how to get to this place…. Than again, Lina though, Naga never had any such thing as common sense.

"Lina… who is this person?" Xelloss asked the question he had been wanting to ask ever since the phone call.

"…….Naga the Serpent…. She calls herself my ‘rival’. I don’t agree, I’m way better than her!" Lina replied.

"Well, Lina, I actually came today not to talk about you and my rematch, but about my sister Amelia." Naga informed her ‘Rival’.

"…….Can you(please) repeat yourself?" Xelloss and Lina both asked at the same time.

"About my sister Amelia." Naga restated it.

"You-You’re Amelia’s sister!! Than…. That makes you……. No, no right Naga, it’s just a cruel joke right?!" Naga shook her head, and Lina just fainted onto the ground.

-Back in Lina’s Dormitory-

"I am NOT believing it!" Lina screamed as she sat down on her bed. In front of her were Naga and Amelia. After Lina fainted and recovered, Lina ended up guiding Naga back to her dorm, but she said that she was not going to walk around with Naga if she was wearing ‘the Naga clothing’. Naga ended up wearing a shirt and a pair of jeans that Lina bought from a nearby department store. When Lina brought Naga home, Amelia was happy to see her sister, and was just ecstatic. Lina wasn’t happy and pulled Amelia and Naga into her room for explanations. Amelia looked at Lina, and was playing with her hands. She was wearing a long blue dress to go out on her ‘date(Amelia called it that, Zelgadiss called it baby-sitting)’ with Zelgadiss, but ended up not going. Naga on the other hand, had set herself down as if she was at home.

"…Um… Lina-san, how do you know Neesan?" Amelia asked still playing with her hands, and afraid to look anywhere.

"…..Remember I told you that Neechan likes to bring people home." Lina started with a sigh. "Well, Naga seemed to have gotten ‘lost’ and Neechan took her in. I think I was in third grade or so… yeah."

"Oh, so Neesan was at you’re place those years." Amelia smiled. "I thought that Neesan had just gotten herself lost and one day finally remembered the way back home."

"……I think that’s the right assumption Amelia." Lina said with a huge sweat drop on her head. "Anyway, what brings you here Naga?" Lina asked annoyed.

"O ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. What a stupid question to ask!" Naga gloated. She had herself positioned in her position for the ‘Naga Laugh’ and… "Do you think I remember!"

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Lina’s slipper hit Naga’s head.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Lina screamed in frustration. "You’re worse than Gaury! And I thought that was impossible!"

"Ow.." Naga muttered rubbing the bump on her head, soon though she seemed to remember something. "Amelia, may you leave the room for a second?" Naga asked in a very calm and nice voice.

Lina shivered slightly at the voice. It wasn’t the voice she was used to hearing Naga use, but more like the voice she would expect Shilfiel to use.

Amelia nodded and left the room. Making sure of that Naga turned to Lina. "Lina Inverse, I come here to ask you a favor."

"A favor?" Lina asked. "Besides why’d you suddenly add my last name? Did I hit some place bad of your head?"

"No… I am not asking you this as ‘Naga’, but as ‘Glacier’." Naga replied with such dignity that Lina stared at her for a moment.

‘Is this really the Naga I know?’ She asked herself. No, Lina concluded, it was not. The Naga she knew was an annoying brat, and this person was calm and sincere. "All right Glacier, I’ll hear you out." Lina purposely didn’t call her Naga, knowing that Glacier would be better suited for the person in front of her.

"Than…. I will begin." Glacier closed her eyes and then opened them again. "This goes back to when Amelia, first met Zelgadiss Graywords."

In a beautiful garden, full of roses, there was a girl, about the age of 13 with shoulder length black hair that stuck out to both sides, reading a book. The girl had large round blue eyes, and a lovely face. She reached her hand to grab a piece of cookie and….fell.

"Oh darn it!" She muttered to herself as she got up. "I lost my page." She than put the book down and looked out at the garden. The garden was beautiful, all the flowers in full bloom now. "There’s only one more thing to make this picture perfect." She sighed to herself. "A friend!" She plopped down on the bench dramatically. " ‘Princess Amelia of England, the last pure blooded human’. So what!" Amelia screamed. "I don’t care if this blood in me is so precious! I’ll give every last drop of it to have a friend! Like the characters in the books do!"

"All I yearn for is someone to understand me! Yell at me when I do something wrong! Treat me as if I have a mind of my own! Instead of as some precious jewelry!" She yelled again. She had been born and raised in the castle of England, always been catered on, never had to work a day in her life. But Amelia thought that was torture. All her other cousins had gotten married, with people from other races, not possible of having heirs to the throne with pure human blood. It was up to Amelia or her sister, who had left for some place long ago, to give heirs to the throne.

"I don’t care a thing about the throne!" Amelia kicked a stone far out. "All I want is a friend!" Tears stung her eyes, she had never once been yelled at, or have a fist raised at her. She was treated as if she were a priceless jewel, instead of the human she was.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her.

"You!" He yelled, "You’ve got to help me! Please!" He had hair of metal, and a body of stone. Amelia could tell at one glance, must be a strange mixture of Ryu and Mazoku.

"Um.. who are you and what….." Before Amelia could finish though, he hid behind the bush.

"If anyone comes you didn’t see me!" He stated that much and hid. Amelia looked at the bush for a few seconds.

"Princess Amelia!" A voice called. Amelia spun around and put on her best smiles.

"Yes." She answered, and she noticed that it was the cook that called her. "What is the matter?"

"Did you see a boy who came running here? Had hair of metal and skin of rock, quite hard to miss." The cook replied.

"Um… why is it that you ask?" Amelia tried to stall the conversation.

"Well, he seems to have been one of those homeless, moneyless street rats. He stole some of our bread and…."

"How awful!" Amelia gasped.

"I know, that some one will steal our food…."

"No!" Amelia interrupted the cook. "No, that he has no home or money. I can not imagine that."

"Of course, you are the princess of…"

"I do not care what I am. But I know that you are not justice!" Amelia pointed her finger at the cook and declared. "he stole because he had no choice other than that! Grant him that much! How he had lived… how awful." Amelia sighed. "Leave, now, I will replace the bread. Stop looking for him this minute."

"But…."

"It is an order!" Amelia said to the cook, and with that the cook ran away.

Amelia sighed and sank down into the chair when someone tagged on her hand. She turned around and found the boy.

"Thank you." He said flatly.

"It was nothing." Amelia replied.

"I better get going now. It was a pleasure to meet you princess." And with that he started to walk off but Amelia grabbed his arm.

"Please wait. What is your name sir?" Amelia asked

"Zelgadiss…. Zelgadiss Graywords."

"Sir Zegaldiss?" Amelia asked.

"ZEL-GA-DISS." Zelgadiss replied. Amelia backed off a little, and he suddenly felt uneasy. "I am sorry princess."

"No, it is I who should be sorry. I am sorry Sir Zelgadiss. It was wrong of me to mispronounce your name. I apologize." Amelia bowed her head.

Zelgadiss saw her motion in awe… "I must be the first street rat in all the lands of England who has had a princess apologize to me."

"You’re the first I apologized to in seven years." Amelia laughed and sat back down on the bench.

"Why is that princess?" He asked, sitting down next to her. The small princess worried him, she seemed to be unstable and vulnerable.

"because…. You are the first I have actually had a conversation with in seven years." Amelia replied.

"But.. you are surrounded by servants! Go to all these fancy parties, any girl in England would die to be in your position!" Zelgadiss couldn’t understand. Being born into the slums of England, abandoned by his own family, stealing to survive, he would give all he had for the life that the royalties led.

"Any girl but me." Amelia said back and picked a rose. "True, I go to parties, true I have a lot of servants… but their either about what kind of things our parents spend their money on, or giving orders…. I don’t even have a friend, I’m locked up in this fancy prison called ‘Pure Human’." Amelia sighed at her own pity. She would give anything to be as free as a bird that flies the high skies. "It pushed me to have this stupid dream…. That someday a hero would come, and save me from this prison, and we would get married and live happily ever after."

"Like a fairy tale…" Zelgadiss muttered… He looked up at the sky. "I have one just like it, just mine is that someday I’ll be rich and have my own family, take care of them with love and everything they want…" He sighed at his own misrableness.

"Zelgadiss-san." Amelia whispered.

"-san? What’s that?" Zelgadiss asked.

"A Japanese word for sir, miss, Mr., Mrs." Amelia replied. "My sister was in Japan for a few years and she learned it than."

"I see." Zelgadiss replied.

Amelia took a close look at his clothes. A faded shirt, and same colored jeans, his stoned skin was chipped in places, presumably, he had been exposed to too much cold or something.

"Zelgadiss-san…. Will you be my friend?" Amelia’s voice was faint as she said so, her body shaking.

"Princess….. I…..I am a street rat, I steal to live, I will kill to live.. no one wants me." He added the last part ever so lightly.

"I do…. I want you as my friend.. Please Zelgadiss-san, Please!" Amelia begged him. "I….need a friend."

"Princess…" Zelgadiss looked at her for awhile before nodding.. "I will be your friend, if you will be mine."

A year later:

"Zelgadiss-san!" Amelia cried running into their garden. "I just got a notice that I got a scholarship to Slayers Campus!"

"What’s that?" Zelgadiss asked.

"It is a school! A very famous one for that matter! And it says that I can accompany one friend!" Amelia added excitedly

"So? What does it have to do with me?" Zelgadiss asked again.

"Don’t you get it?" Amelia whined. "I’m asking you to come to Slayers Campus with me as my friend!"

"ME!" Zelgadiss screamed nearly bursting Amelia’s ear drums. "How are you going to manage THAT Amelia? You’re father doesn’t even now I exist, most of your servants will despise me"

"Then they need a lecture on justice!" Amelia clearly stated.

"I don’t think it’s that Amelia… I’m a street rat! Don’t you get it!"

"Zelgadiss-san, I know that what you do is not the most honorable work, but it does not matter! My heart of justice is 100 times greater than the size of England!"

"…That’s not the point either but…"

"Come, I will introduce you to father." Amelia pulled Zelgadiss by the arm, and for the quazillionth time he wondered how he got mixed into this.

"Hmm… so you are Amelia’s friend?" A man who seemed like a stretched out dwarf, king Philionel El Di Seyluun of England asked.

"….um… yes." Zelgadiss replied uneasy. He felt insecure about his faded shirt and jeans in front of the king of England’s presence. He never felt so in front of Amelia but….

"Well… what do you do?" Philionel asked.

"……I…. Um….. well." Zelgadiss stammered about, uneasy on how to answer.

"You steal to live, don’t you." Zelgadiss blushed deep red as the king said the truth. "I know. I know that England still has places where people are forced to steal… But I see that you have a nice heart deep in." The king than thought for a second and. "You also seem to be skilled in being cunning, and….. have you ever hacked into a computer?"

"….. good enough times that I would get in trouble with the law." Zelgadiss replied truthfully. Just because he grew up in the slums didn’t mean he had no brains. In fact, Zelgadiss’s IQ was higher than that of a normal Earthen.

"I see…. do you want to be our spy?" The king asked.

"A spy?" Zelgadiss repeated. "Why?"

"You… see, I am pushed to know more about our… ‘opposing’ countries, but I have only found one spy trusting enough… Have you heard of Professor Rezo my boy?"

"…….. he’s suppose to be my uncle."

This surprised the king. He knew that Rezo had one living nephew, but didn’t expect to actually meet him. "I……. See….. anyway. I need a spy, are you willing to be one? I will have to send you to Japan with Amelia but…"

Zelgadiss shrugged, "Sure… why not?" At least it’s a more honest job than stealing. He thought.

"Wait…" Lina put up her right hand in a motion to stop, and her left hand to her forehead. "Rezo, as in the college chemistry teacher Rezo." Glacier nodded. "And Zel, as in Xelloss’s room mate Zelgadiss." Glacier nodded again. "These two are spies!?"

"Yes and the favor I ask of has to do with them.." Glacier walked over to Lina and sat down on the bed next to her.

"A war is going to start." Glacier whispered. "Japan and the U.S would fight against China and us, England."

"WHA-!" Glacier covered Lina’s mouth and shushed her.

"It will start soon, I know it. So Lina, that is why I need your help. I need to bring Amelia, Zelgadiss, and Professor Rezo home with me."

"…..How about……… Ellis?" Lina asked remembering her friend. "Ellis loves Rezo, but she’s American… What’s going to happen to her? Is she going to lose Rezo!" Lina asked.

Lina and Ellis had gotten close in the past months, mainly because each had both fallen for teachers and they each shared on how they secretly met, and how it was some times tiring, but that the reward was greater.

"I don’t know Lina… I don’t.. All the information I have is that China has two great soldiers, Xelas Metalium and Xelloss Metalium."

Lina didn’t believe her ears. "Xelloss………NO!!!" Lina screamed. Her mind raced, there was no way Xelloss would leave her, it possibly couldn’t be so. "He….NO!!"

"Lina….." Glacier whispered. "I’m sorry, but you have to…." Glacier tried to soothe her but couldn’t find any words.

"Levitation!" Lina screamed and flew out.

"LINA!" Glacier screamed and went to the window, ready to follow Lina but stopped herself.

"I’m…. sorry." She whispered.

Lina sprang open the door to their, Xelloss and her, apartment. She knew that the possibilities of Xelloss being there were slim, but she just came here. "Xelloss!" She called him as she turned on the lights in the room.

"Lina?" The reply came. Lina just flung herself at him, and kissed him deeply on the mouth.

"I’m not……. letting…. You go." She whispered as she broke the kiss. "I’m not going to!" She screamed and kissed him again. She put all her mind and soul into it. Hoping that if she made it wonderful enough, it would change his mind.

"Lina…what are you talking about?" He asked as Lina took a second to breathe. Xelloss than noticed that she was crying. "Lina, what happened with Naga-san?"

"I’m not… letting you go." She whispered as tears streaked down her face. "NEVER!" Lina pulled his face down to kiss him again. She purposely lost her balance so that they fell to the floor, laying on top of each other.

"Lina… what is wrong?" Xelloss asked her. He was quickly losing his control, one more kiss, and he knew that he would not be able to regain it.

"I don’t care about the world." Lina whispered to him. "I don’t care if my country loses what ever war…. I can’t stand it though, that you won’t be around."

"….You… heard." Xelloss whispered and sighed. "…from Naga-san right?" Lina nodded. Tears coming down from her eyes like a water fall. "I’m…. sorry."

"Don’t go.." Lina pleaded.. "Please.."

"I don’t want to go." Xelloss told her. "I would give anything to stay with you forever… do anything so that I can stay with you… but it isn’t that easy…" Xelloss sighed. "No matter what I wish, no matter what I give… it won’t change the fact. I’m leaving for China."

"……..da….me." Lina whispered. "NO! I’m not going to let you!" She screamed. "I’ll chain you to the wall, or, or do something!" She threatened. "I’ll have Neechan come and blast you with, with something! I’m not letting you go!"

"..Lina….please just listen to me." Xelloss tried to calm the girl down. "Please just, just…" He didn’t know how to… he honestly wouldn’t have cared what he would have to sacrifice to be with Lina, but he also knew that he couldn’t control his fate. His fate was decided from when he was born, and in return of his parents life, he was granted 25 years of freedom. He had vowed never to love anyone, never to let any one near him, but Lina changed all that.

Lina had entered into his life so easily, it seemed so natural for her to be with him, before Xelloss knew it, he was madly in love with her. She made him forget all his vows and fate. All she had to do was call his name or smile at him, and he forgot all the sacrifices made for him.

"Aishiteru." He finally decided to just say how he felt, if he couldn’t control his fate, he at least wanted Lina to know that he had truly loved her. "I love you more than anything Lina, more that my own life or freedom, but… I can not sacrifice my sisters life at the same time."

"What….. do you mean?" Lina asked, looking into him.

Xelloss didn’t know where to start, so he decided to start from sometime he only heard from his sister.

"This goes back to when I was just born, it is a story I heard from Neesan."