Xellos giggled in delight as Zelgadis stared hard around him, though he saw nothing. It was too delightful! The chimera frowned intently at his surroundings once more before he spun on his heel and stalked off, shoulders tense and eyes narrowed in suspicion. Xellos back-flipped from the tree branch he'd been sitting on and started after the chimera, grinning madly.
Zelgadis stopped again, quickly turned, and looked at the path he'd just taken. Again, he saw nothing but trees and grass. Where was that damned mazoku? He could feel the guy's presence, but he couldn't find him...
"Hello, Zelgadis-san!" Xellos greeted from behind Zelgadis, who jumped ten feet in the air in surprise.
He landed with a hard thud on the ground before getting back to his feet in one, smooth, angry motion and running after the demented trickster priest. "Xellos!! Get back here!" he screamed as the priest giggled again and shot through the trees. Zelgadis smiled grimly and ran after him using all the demonic speed he possessed.
There was a break in the trees again, and Zelgadis saw Xellos head straight for it. He pushed his tired feet faster than before in an effort to catch Xellos.
"Getting tired, Zelgadis-san?" mocked Xellos as he dashed ahead, always just out of reach.
"Stop, damn you!" he cursed. "Fireball!" he shouted impulsively as he threw his hands forward and tried to hit the priest in the back.
Xellos tut-tutted as the fireball effortlessly slid off of his shield. "That wasn't very nice, Zelgadis-san!"
"Shut up!" he snarled back.
A town was coming into sight. Zelgadis barely noticed as he kept running after the priest, hurling curses galore to try and make Xellos stop and take his beating like a man. So he barely noticed when a person stepped unknowingly into his path, or how Xellos deliberately kept in front of the person so Zelgadis couldn't see her till it was too late to change course.
They went sprawling to the ground in a tangle of limbs, and Zelgadis found himself on top of a warm, slender body. He blinked in confusion and looked down at a pair of ruby eyes, with a halo of bright, fiery hair spread out on the ground around her head. She seemed just as startled as him.
"L-Lina?!" he gasped. Suddenly Zelgadis became aware of their very awkward position. He was fully on top of her, with his arms on either side of her head, one of his legs in-between hers while her small chest pressed into his. Zelgadis blushed once, which deepened into a crimson flower, and then a blood-red rose, before dying back down to a slight pink, and back up again. He hastily pushed himself off of her. "I'm sorry, Lina! I wasn't watching where I was going!" he pleaded, hoping she wouldn't dragon slave him into the next century for his mistake.
"Z-Zelgadis?!" was her only thought as she scrambled into a sitting position and gawked as she looked at his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I...I was...just passing through," he made up nervously. He didn't want to tell her that he'd been chasing after a certain mazoku priest.
"Oh," she frowned. Finally, she brightened and got to her feet. "Well then, you'll have time to take me to lunch and then help me shop!"
"What?! Hey, I said I was passing through!" he protested weakly.
She winked, and a dangerous gleam entered her eye. "Do you want me to get mad over your knocking me down? You aren't exactly light, you know..." she cackled, cracking her knuckles menacingly.
Zelgadis gulped and resigned himself to his fate as she pulled him off to the nearest tavern.
A little distance away, Xellos smirked and nodded in satisfaction. Getting those two together was always a chore, especially since he had to make it appear he wasn't doing it intentionally, but this plan had worked out pretty well. Oh and Zelgadis's expression when he realized who he was lying on top of was priceless! Xellos laughed again before disappearing from his spot on a roof...