"That's my name."
Xelloss had slipped back into his customary smile. "I am - "
"I know very well who you are," Ryoushi interrupted him.
She turned to the rest of the group.
"I know who you all are."
She half smiled.
"Oh, ok," said Gourry.
Lina was not as easily satisfied. She stared hard at Ryoushi. She looked rather like a bandit in Lina's opinion. The wild black hair and shaded glasses; not to mention her outfit! It was worn, though not too dirty. Her sleeveless, loose-fitting shirt was dark blue, and her pants were black. Her knee-high boots were gray. The wavy hair was tied back with a blue bandanna. A silver armband was on her upper left arm. The outfit was completed by a silver necklace with a dragon and a turned Shamanist star on it.
"Are you a bandit?" she asked, with the hint of a threat in her voice.
"No, of all the things that I may be; I am not a bandit. Even if I were, would I dare to admit as much to the mighty bandit killer?"
The normally offensive effect of that name was eased by the small bow Ryoushi gave her.
Ryoushi was not afraid of the fiery red-head, but she knew that much destruction would occur if she was not careful. Watch it, she said to herself.
"I would!" Xelloss added his (unwanted) opinion.
Amelia spoke. "If you're not a bandit, then what are you, Ryoushi-san?"
"Mainly a craftsman. People hire me to do odd jobs."
"Is he your employer?"
Lina gestured to the man that Ryoushi had been sitting with.
"He was."
The man was wiping paint off of himself and apologizing to those around him. He was very red, and having trouble breathing.
"Oh."
There was a silence.
Zelgadiss spoke for the first time. "Why do you wear those glasses?"
"Two reasons. The first is much the same reason that you wear your cloak and mask."
"What do you mean by that," the chimera said, slightly angered, but more surprised.
Her response was simply a shrug.
"What's the second reason? Are you blind?" Lina asked.
"Unfortunately, much the same reason as he," she gestured with obvious distaste, "keeps his eyes closed."
Lina turned to the object in question.
"Why do you always keep your eyes closed, huh?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu!!"
Lina rolled her eyes.
Zelgadiss was interested. Either the rumors of Lina's group were more detailed than he thought, or this woman was more than she seemed to be. Few people talked to him enough to know how (or why) he tried to hide his appearance. Hell, he thought. Most people don't even stay near me for very long after they've seen the reason why I try to hide my appearance.
"What are you going to do now?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. I've run out of jobs, so I guess I will just leave town."
"You don't stay in one town?"
"No. I don't like to stay in one place too long. I'd rather travel. I don't mind being by myself."
"You can travel with us."
Everyone, even Gourry, was surprised. It wasn't like Zelgadiss to talk much. It certainly wasn't like him to do something like invite someone anywhere.
Zelgadiss watched the varied responses of his companions. Let them think what they want. Something about Ryoushi is very different. It worries me a little. I don't think it could hurt to keep an eye on her.
"Where are you going? Not that it matters; I have nowhere in particular to go anyway."
Amelia hopped up on the table.
"Anywhere that evil is, we'll be there. As long as there are people doing wrong, we will be there to set them right! Justice will triumph wherever we go!"
"I see."
Amelia stepped right in the middle of a bowl.
"Aaaaaahhh!" She lost her balance and fell face first to the floor.
"You okay?" Ryoushi helped her up.
"Yeah. This happens kinda a lot. I'm practicing, though." She flashed a victory sign.
Ryoushi merely smiled.
"I'm going to bed." Zelgadiss stood up. Lina and the rest followed suit.
"Me too," Lina said.
"Ryouhsi-san, come shopping with us tomorrow!"
"I don't think....."
"Oh come on. You can help me pick out something pretty to wear! It'll be fun!" Xelloss turned his smile on her.
"Who said you were going, fruitcake!" Lina exclaimed.
"I thought it was an open invitation?"
Ryoushi thought for a moment while they argued.
"I'll go. Goodnight." She went down the hall to her room.
"Weird," Lina muttered.
Ryoushi stared at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep.
I know that Lina can take care of herself, but still.
She was glad that Zelgadiss had asked her to join them. He thinks he should keep an eye on me, she thought, and I want to watch over them. She saw the irony in it. Their fears are in the wrong place......
When her informants had told her that Xelloss Metallium had regularly been traveling with a small group of people, she had been ready to leave immediately. When she heard his company was none other than the "Enemy of All That Lives", Lina Inverse, and her friends, her worry had abated some, but not much. She had started out in the direction they seemed to be headed. She had been in Terrigor for a few days before they arrived. Anything she hadn't known from report or rumor, she had been able to pick up by being near them.
She was as much worried for them as she could be for anybody. Xellas' priest/general had quite a reputation. He left behind him a trail of destruction, betrayal, and death. The annihilation of the Gold Dragons was the greatest evil against him. She would have been after him anyway, but this added a tree to the fire of her determination and, yes, anger.
She was of several minds about the Gold's massacre. On one hand, there was the horror at such an enormous crime, such an atrocious evil. She was furious at the sheer wrongness of such a thing. No one was deserving of that fate.
On the other hand, the Golds had always been annoying. They had thought they were superior in every way, and acted it too. Plus, they themselves had destroyed all of the Ancients. In a way, it seemed only fair. It was an odd sort of supreme justice, she thought.
Deep, deep down, there was another feeling. She tried to repress it, but it would, without warning, surface. It was as if a little voice said to her It was wrong. It was evil. But it was good. You would have enjoyed it. To stand in their blood, hear their cries! What pain and agony there would have been. It was a horrible, twisted, yet beautiful thing to do. You would have loved it. You do love it. She knew the thought of the magnitude of death should have made her feel sick. Sometimes, however, it gave her shivers. Of pleasure. The other two-thirds WERE sickened by the fact, but also by this part of her. So she smothered it ,but she could not make it disappear. It always showed itself again.
Anyway, she hadn't the slightest idea what Xelloss and his master were up to. She suspected something big.
Lina (and her friends, for that matter) were incredibly powerful. Lina had even defeated a piece of Shabranigdo. She shouldn't be worried, she knew. Yet this was different. The battle with Shabranigdo had been very obvious, very out in the open. Face to face; good (for now) fights evil. Everyone sees it coming well enough, everyone is decently prepared.
Such would not be case in a showdown with Xelloss. Trickery was his specialty. He would stab them in the back, so to speak. He loved to watch the look of betrayal, of hurt, as his victims died. She shivered.
Yes, she needed to keep a close watch on him.
Ryoushi sighed and rolled over.