Lina smiled across the table at Zelgadiss. They had just sat down at a booth in the inn at Terrigor. She decided to talk about his mission while they waited to order.
"So, you're after the Calean Opal?" She said it as more of a statement than a question.
"That's right."
"What's that, Lina-san?" Amelia asked, curiosity never failing.
"It's a powerful stone. Rumor has it that if a powerful enough mage wields it, they may have the ability to create their own spells, possibly to even make magic follow their will, without the use of a spell at all. At any rate, it definitely serves as a powerful amplifier."
"......Oh."
Lina put on her best pleading look, her eyes growing large.
"Hey Zel, after you're done with the stone, could I have it?"
"Well......."
"Please? Pretty please? Pleeeeeeease?"
Zel choose to ignore her as a waitress had arrived at their table. Lina apparently forgot, as she began to order.
"I'll have this, this, this, that, all of those, that, that," she jabbed at menu, " this, that, and these."
The blond waitress sweatdropped as she began to realize that perhaps the all-you-can-eat deal was a terrible mistake. She tuned to Amelia.
"And you, miss?"
"Oh, I'll just have that, that, that, oh that looks delicious, that, and this!"
She turned to Zelgadiss, fearing the worst.
"You, sir?"
"Coffee, please."
The waitress let out a sigh of relief. She tuned to the last customer.
"I'd like everything!"
She facefaulted. Oh yes, she thought. Huge mistake.
While the others stuffed their face, Zelgadiss decided to look at the other people around. He saw a couple in a booth towards the corner. They were feeding each other, and he looked away quickly. There were a few men at a table, a few men at the bar, various waitresses, and the rest were pretty much just normal people enjoying dinner.
Except one pair, which caught his attention. A man and a woman were sitting at a booth in the half-dark. The man seemed to be giving instructions, while the woman (girl?) appeared to be working on something.
"Why, hello everyone! What a surprise meeting you here!"
Without turning around, Zelgadiss recognized Xelloss's voice.
"Imagine that." Lina managed to say around her food.
Zelgadiss started when the woman he'd been watching jerked up to look at him. He began to blush and turn away, when he realized that she wasn't looking at him, but Xelloss. He had been easily mistaken because she was wearing glasses that were shaded in so that he couldn't see her eyes. He turned back around, wondering why she had looked up so quickly.
"....spying on us." He caught the end of Lina's sentence.
"Why Lina-chan, I'm hurt."
Xelloss began to look around.
"I just liked the look of this place, and thought that I'd stop by. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Yes." Zelgadiss said. "There is."
Xelloss noticed the woman staring at him. He stared back. Usually, this was very fun, because if he stared long enough, he could scare people. Especially if he opened his eyes. This time, since she was wearing those glasses, he couldn't see much of a reaction. He smiled. Maybe he couldn't see a reaction, but he could feel one. He opened his eyes, expectant for the wave of fear, or at least confusion.
Nothing happened.
In fact, it was an odd sort of nothing. He couldn't feel any emotion from her at all, but he did feel something strange, now that he thought about it. Something seemed wrong about her.
He frowned.
She stared.
He scowled.
She stared.
He crossed his eyes.
She stared.
He turned upside-down.
She stared.
He made faces while upside-down in the air.
She stared.
He opened his mouth to say something.......
She suddenly blew him a kiss.
He left his mouth open.
She turned back to her work.
Xelloss turned back around. That was the strangest reaction a mortal had ever had to him. He started to listen to the conversation Lina and Zelgadiss were trying to have between Lina beating up Gourry and eating.
"....just outside the city." Zel said.
"We'll come with you, Zel."
"Yeah, Zelgadiss-san."
The chimera frowned.
"I'm leaving very early. Why don't you just stay in town tomorrow?"
"Well I....."
"Go shopping or something." He waved his hand. "I'll be fine."
"Well, ok, Zel, if you say so."
Having finally finished, Lina leaned back and sighed. Gourry did the same.
"Hey Lina, how much money do you have to spend anyway? I thought you spent it all at the last town!"
She smacked him over the head.
"I did, but remember those bandits we rid the world of?"
"Uh yeah, so?"
"They had a lot of stolen things that didn't belong to them!!!!!"
Suddenly Gourry remembered how that worked just in time to keep from getting the living daylight beat out of him.
"Oooohhhh yeah, that's right. You stole from them."
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not stealing if it's already stolen?"
Amelia sighed. "But Lina-san, I still don't think....."
Amelia was interrupted as the woman with the glasses began screaming at her companion.
"You...you...idiot!!!! Now look what you've done! I'm NOT paying for this!!!"
"If you..." the man started.
"AAAAARRGHHHH!!!!!!!"
Xelloss turned around, greatly surprised at the intensity of the anger he was feeling behind him. Or started to.
THUNK CRASH
A glass jar hit him in the head. Hard. Then it shattered.
THUD
Xelloss fell out of the air to the floor.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was discovering what had been in the jar.
Splash
Purple paint fell on them like rain.
"Hey! It's Xelloss's blood!" Gourry yelled.
"It is not." Amelia said.
"It's......It's.....PAINT!!! Purple paint! Everywhere!" Lina began to yell. "IM A MESS!! LOOK AT THIS!"
The cause of the mess hurried over.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She said.
Xelloss was just getting up. She stepped on him on her way to stand near Lina. He laid down again.
"You should be."
"Yes, I should."
Lina fumed. She sensed that the other woman was mocking her.
"Do you KNOW who you're talking to!?"
"Well...."
"Well..?"
"Yes, actually.
Lina looked surprised.
"Oh really? Who?"
The woman smiled.
"The legendary Lina Inverse."
Xelloss finally stood, and brushed himself off.
"And to whom to I owe the pleasure of such wonderful pain?"
She turned to look at him, and gave a semi-menacing smile.
"My name is Ryoushi."
Xelloss looked stunned.
"Ryoushi?!"