"Lina, is this really a good idea? I mean, the sign out here says it pretty clearly the cranky archmage that lives here doesn't like being distrubed and that everything and the kitchen sink is cursed. The owner of this establishment is in no way responsible for any curses, deformations, loss of limbs or life, etc that will occur if this warning is ignored. So shouldn't we just turn around and find another place?" Gourry looked away from the very large, human-sized wooden sign with neat black letters to his traveling companion Lina. She was nowhere in sight. Moving to look around the big and very explicit threat, the blond swordsman saw his partner already halfway up the typically thin and winding path through the untypical garden of nice blooming flowers to the quite ordinary cottage with a white lattice fence around it. "Oi, Lina!"
"Come on, Gourry. It's just an empty threat. I mean look at this place. Do you see anything dangerous?" Lina waved a slender arm around the place. "Every archmage likes to put up threats and they're all empty bluffs. It's just to scare away the small fry and they really like to meet people who have the sense to see through it and aren't afraid to come up knocking on their door."
"If you say so."
"Hey, girl! How about a drink with me?"
"Why don't you join our table?"
"I like girls in armor! Want a long sword to cross with yours?"
The girl in question tried to hide in her seat, a bit hard considering how tall she was. Apparently, her odd ensemble did nothing to discourage men from trying to flirt with her. She didn't realize exactly how tightly her blue shirt was stretched across her chest now, more obvious since she had to remove her chest plate that didn't fit quite right any more.
"Hey, can't you tell them to shut up or something?" she whispered nervously to her companion, a slender redhead youth staring dejectedly at the tankard of ale in her hand. "They won't take 'no' for an answer!"
"Then why don't you just beat the hell out of them?" the youth grumbled, before gulping down the entire tankard's contents in one swallow. Now his ensemble was strange and rather flashy for a boy and even more so for a male mage. I mean, magenta and white with jeweled shoulder guards? Sure mages had strange tastes but that just looked too...girlish.
"But," the tall blonde girl squirmed at the leers. "I can't seem to keep my balance like before..."
"Your center of balance has changed," the youth smirked bitterly, holding out his hands in front of his chest. "You've got these remember? And knowing from experience, men are drawn like a magnet to large chests. Congratulations."
"What do you mean 'congratulations'?! I'm a GIRL now!!"
"We can attest to that!" cheered the male patrons.
"And it's all your fault! It was safe you said. The warning was a bluff you said. The archmage will like it when we blow down his door and barge into his house you said. You didn't say anything about getting these!!" yelled the blonde, shoving her chest in the red head's face.
He shoved her right back, knocking her onto the floor, surprisingly strong for someone of his slight built. "Excuse me! You think you're the only one suffering?! I'm a boy now! I wasn't asking for this and that archmage didn't have to be such a grumpy old coot to slap gender switching spells on us! Hell, no one has gotten a polymorphing spell to work for centuries so how I was supposed to know he had managed to finally research one?!"
"I don't suppose it makes a difference in your case. You didn't have much to lose to begin with - "
The youth broke a chair over the blonde's head, all of the alcohol, frustration, and anger going to his head. "HOW DARE YOU!!! Fine. I'll go find a way to switch back by myself! And I'll never tell you how to do it either! Live out your life as a girl!"
Without a backward glance, the youth stormed out of the bar, his steps rather shaky from all of the ale he had unknowingly consumed while he was moping. As such, his dulled senses didn't pick up the several uncouth figures who winked at each other and snuck out after him. The blonde wasn't the only one who had some lustful admirers.
The moon was rather high in the night sky by the time Zelgadiss entered town. Not that he minded since it meant less people would be around to see him. Securing lodging for the night might be more difficult, as inn rooms followed the first come first served rule, but then, he wasn't particularly welcomed with open arms at the higher class or even normal inns. The ones that catered to those down on their luck or had shady business could always find a room for him when a shiny piece of gold or steel was flashed.
There was a scuffle in one of the alleys. Night's cover hid all kinds of things from the public's eye. It wasn't the first he had come across nor would it be the last and he would have just ignored it and walked on except one word caught his attention. Or rather, one spell caught his attention.
"Flare Arrow!"
The alley exploded slightly, the spell probably striking the wall and raising a bit of smoke and dust. From the small space between buildings, a lithe figure rushed out but one of the attackers grabbed onto his tunic's sleeve. The fabric tore at the pull, ripping the tunic open as the youth twisted to get break the hold. More hands grabbed onto the long red hair and legs, forcing the boy to the ground.
"Let me go! How dare you lay a hand on Lina Inverse!" snarled the captive, struggling against the rough hands. "I'll fry your asses so bad you'll never be able to sit down again for the rest of your lives!!"
"After we've had our fun, you're the one who isn't going to be able to sit down for awhile," chuckled one of his captors. "Since even a stacked girl like your blonde friend can't even turn you on, perhaps you like real men instead."
"If that's the case, you certainly don't fit the bill."
The five, and one captive, looked up at the low voice, the single audience none of them had been paying much attention to. Zelgadiss looked at them narrowly under the recesses of his hood. Lina probably wasn't going to like him saving her but then, she didn't sound too well. Perhaps she had a cold or something.
"You think you can do something about it?" sneered the would-be rapist, confident in the strength in numbers theory.
"Not think," the chimera correct. "Can."
Without giving the men's ale-addled brains much time to think, he kicked and/or threw them all away across the street, into rain barrels, or into another alley. He supposed he could have just used a spell but then Lina would have been really angry with him then. As it was, he braced for whatever angry tirade she was going to spout to preserve her dignity as she shakily stood up.
"Zel...?"
Perhaps the explosion was on a delayed fuse. "Yeah. You're always getting into trouble aren't you?"
"You have no...idea..." Lina's knees crumbled and Zelgadiss quickly caught her before she hit the ground.
"Ale? You've been drinking this late at night and you're out walking alone? Hmph. Thought you had more sense than that," he muttered, wondering exactly what he was going to do with her. She must have had gotten rooms at one of the inns but he had no idea which one. And in her current state, it might look a little suspicious. And who was that blonde girl that the drunkards had mentioned? Wasn't she still traveling with Gourry?
"Guess there's no choice. You have no one to blame but yourself," Zelgadiss sighed, picking the girl up in his arms. Better just find a room for tonight and look for her friend tomorrow morning. But he'd have to do something about her torn tunic, probably just pull the torn edges together to keep anything from showing. Shifting his arm supporting her torso, Zel tugged on the tunic. And he noticed something. "What...?"
Lina groaned and rolled over, a normal consequence over drinking the night before. She must have been really out of it to drink enough to get a hangover. Her tolerance was pretty high. It was all that archmage's fault. Well, she was going to march back up to his house and force him at the pointed end of a really sharp sword to turn her back.
"Finally awake?"
Against the pounding headache, she strained to open her eyes, finally noticing that the bed she was in was rather creaky and lumpy. Nothing at all like how it had been when she and Gourry had first crashed into their rooms at the inn before going to drink their troubles away at a nearby tavern. Of course, the voice didn't belong to Gourry. In fact, it belonged to...
"Zel...?" Lina rubbed her eyes, muttering the Chaos Words for the spell to dispel the alcohol's after effects. "What are you doing here and where is here?"
"So you are Lina."
"What do you mean 'so you are Lina'. Isn't it obvious? Or has the stone finally gotten to your head as well," snorted the sorceress, sitting up in the rough bed now that the nausea was gone. This was definitely not her inn room. It was much shabbier. In a roughly hewed wooden chair sat Zelgadiss, studying her with those expressionless flat eyes of his. But his eyes weren't meeting hers, they were looking at something a bit lower. Aaaah, her shirt had been ripped open by those perverts last night!! "What the hell do you think you're looking at??" she screamed, pulling the shirt closed tight over her chest.
Something that could have been amusement passed through Zelgadiss as he watched it dawn on Lina how silly his action was. There was no way he couldn't know about it. Zel was pretty convinced himself when he checked the other piece of evidence after seeing the change in Lina's upper body.
"So Lina, do you want to explain how it is that you're a guy now?"
"...and so Gourry is now a girl and I'm a guy," Lina finished, glaring at Zelgadiss and daring him to make some smart remark about this. "But it's not going to be permanent. I'm going right back to that archmage and make him take it off."
"What makes you think he can?"
Lina gave him a look. "He did it, then he can undo it. Or at the very least, has the notes to rely on to find a way to turn me back. There's no way I'm staying as a guy!"
"And what exactly is so bad about being a guy?"
"Would you like it if Rezo turned you into a girl?"
Zelgadiss shrugged, never taking his eyes off of 'him'. "I wanted to become stronger, becoming a girl would be a step back so naturally I would say no. But now you don't have to deal with that time of month anymore now do you?"
Oh yeah, Lina hadn't thought of that. No more annoying monthly periods of no magic and general all around crankiness. But that wasn't the point!
"That isn't the point! You're stronger now that you're a chimera but you still want to turn back to normal don't you? So why are you questioning my decision!"
Zelgadiss shrugged noncommittally. "Anyway, you can't expect to go outside like that. Besides the fact your clothes are torn, no self-respecting guy would dress like that. Are you trying to grab the attention of perverts like the ones last night?"
"Sh-Shut up! These are my normal clothes. What else would I wear?" Lina received a bundle of clothes in the face. He pulled off the blue and gray cloths. "What is this?"
"Clothes. Like I said, if you don't want to draw unwanted attention, you're going to have dress normally. For a guy. And probably do something about your hair as well."
"What's wrong with my hair!"
"There are a lot of people out there who like young boys who look like girls. From what you've said, the archmage, after switching your genders, then used some kind of spell to send you far away. It'll take some time to get back and you'll have to deal with being a guy the entire time."
Lina gritted his teeth. Everything Zelgadiss said was true he knew, hell lecherous perverts had made passes at her thinking she was a guy even before this curse! Now that she actually was one, it just made things worse. The fewer people knew that Lina Inverse had been turned to a guy the better. And this sorceress outfit was getting uncomfortable in certain places. He began pulling off his tunic when he remembered Zel was in the room.
"What?" Zel asked, leaning chin on his hand as Lina glared daggers of death at him.
What did he mean 'what'?? "I'd like to change."
"Go right ahead."
Zelgadiss!!
"We're both guys after all."
Why that...he had to know she was still thinking as a girl and this was embarrassing anyway! "I'm a girl!"
"A number of people would disagree." He grinned at Lina's discomfort. "I'll turn around alright?"
"No peeking!" Lina reminded him sharply, waiting for him to turn completely around before quickly undressing himself. He didn't even look at himself, not willing to see with his eyes the changes to his, her body. The new clothes that Zel had gotten for him reminded him slightly of his older adventuring clothes. There was a gray sleeveless mock turtleneck that zipped in the front and a pair of blue jeans. Those tucked into a pair of undecorated black boots. All of the gems on the boots and long gloves were probably too weird for a guy anyway.
Zel really had thought of everything, he thought absently, pulling on a pair of normal black gloves. He had better not think that Lina was going to pay him back for all of this. No one had asked Zel to go out and buy Lina a new set of clothes. One thing Lina wasn't going to part with were the Demonblood Talismans, fixing each of them to their proper places. He didn't dump his cloak, which Zel must have picked up after those creeps ripped it off of him last night, but left the shoulder guards behind.
Now what to do with his hair...Zelgadiss did have a point even though Gourry wandered around with his hair loose. Someone might recognize Lina Inverse despite the change of clothing if they looked at him from behind. But he didn't want to cut his hair.
"Hey, Zel, do you have any string?"
"String? What for?" Zel asked, turning around.
"Who said you can turn around??"
"Didn't I already say it didn't matter? Both being guys after all. Here's some string."
"Thanks." Lina knotted it around the end of the long braid. Tossing it back behind him, he turned around in front of Zel. "There. No one will mistake me for Lina Inverse right away. Don't you think, Zel?"
"..."
"Zel? Moshi moshi?" Lina snapped his fingers in front of him. "Hey, you in there?"
She felt his hand cup her chin and lift her face to look at his. What was up with him?
"You really do...look different."
"Of course! I'm not the beautiful genius sorceress anymore! Well, let's go and get my stuff. I want to get going as soon as possible." Lina whirled out of the room, his braid swinging behind him.
"No, you aren't. But who would think you'd make such a lovely young boy," Zelgadiss smirked. This was going to be an interesting trip.
Lina slipped into the steamy waters, the towel wrapped securely around him. Nothing can beat the hot springs and he had this stall all to himself. From his guess, they were about several days away from arriving at their destination. Gourry was nowhere in sight and any regret Lina felt at leaving him behind was always squashed by the memory of his reminder that she always looked like a boy anyway.
"Ano kurage...I'll let him suffer for awhile after I get uncursed and when he's suitably repentant, I might get the archmage to uncurse him if I haven't figured out how it was done yet."
Traveling with Zel had been both relaxing and nerve-wracking. How can it be both you ask? Well, he was right, the number of men hitting on Lina had dropped but now there were a number of girls making starry eyes and winking suggestively at him. Naturally, he refused to have anything to do with any of them. Just because he looked like a guy didn't mean he was going to now go chasing after other girls.
But Zel's disconcerting habit of treating him as if he was just 'one of the guys' was really uncomfortable. Lina could live with staying in the same room, in separate beds of course. But Zel didn't have the sense to leave or turn around when Lina wanted to change until the former sorceress threatened to fry him and whenever Lina had a...call of nature...well...
"Just what the hell is up with him!!" Lina fumed suddenly standing up in the spring. "Doesn't he have any sense to respect a young girl's innocence and delicateness!!"
"Who respect whose innocence and delicateness?"
"Zel?!?" Lina squawked, staring that the chimera who had walked in unnoticed during his noisy thoughts. Zelgadiss was only wearing a towel around his waist and Lina didn't notice how he, Lina, was staring slack-jawed at him, Zelgadiss.
"Honestly. You still don't remember you're a guy now do you?" Zel shook his head, stepping into the waters and reaching for the towel wrapped around Lina. "You only need to wrap it around your waist, not your entire torso."
Lina could feel his face burning up, though he wasn't sure if it was because of how close Zel was, of how little either of them was wearing, or how his touch tickled as he rearranged Lina's bath towel.
"Your face is all red. Have you been in here too long?"
"N-No...it's nothing!" Lina protested, dropping up to his chin into the water, keeping his eyes fixed on a lone rock across the spring. Why was he blushing! It wasn't as if he's never seen Zel's body before. There was that time over in that kingdom what's its name where the entire 'female' population turned out to be guys and Zelgadiss ended up only in a speedo... "What are you doing in here!"
"Taking a dip. What else would I do at a hot spring?"
"That's not what I'm asking and you know it! What are you doing in this hot spring!!" Lina grumbled as Zel slipped the rest of the way in, bringing with him a tray of sake.
"All of the other ones were occupied," he shrugged.
He probably still didn't like other people looking at his body...not that Lina thought there was anything wrong with it. Zel always was slimmer than other males but chimera or not he was definitely more of a male than Lina was as a guy. Damn it, even as a male he was small. In build! Lina was talking in build! Not...
"You want some sake?"
"Whatever." Lina picked up one of the small sake saucers and sipped on it, beginning his recent trend of drinking heavily while thinking about his current 'problem'. In a way, Zelgadiss not commenting about it was good because he didn't want to have other people notice it more than necessary. On the other hand, it made him wonder if Zel ever noticed or paid attention to the fact that she was a girl before or that he is a guy now.
"Doesn't it disturb you sharing a bath with a girl?" Lina finally asked after one, two, four, seven...whatever saucers of sake. The glaze in his eyes wasn't just because of soaking in the waters too long.
"What if this archmage can't change you back?" Zelgadiss asked instead, putting down his barely touched saucer of sake. Lina had consumed the entire bottle. Not that he minded. "What if there isn't any way for you to return to being a girl?"
"Don't talk nonsense, Zel. Of course I'm going to find a way to turn back to a girl," Lina retorted, looking into the bottle for more sake and then tossing it away when he finally realized it was empty. "There has to be a way."
"And if there isn't?"
Lina glared at him. "Why so pessimistic all of a sudden? You're always thinking there's a cure of you out there somewhere. Why can't I think the same?"
"And aren't you the one who asked me what I would do if there was no cure? No way for me to become normal again? Besides, I want to become normal so I don't look like a monster any more. But you're more popular as you are now then when you were a girl. All of the girls in the towns we've passed will agree with me on that. What disadvantages are there to remaining as you are?"
"What? So I should stay as a guy because all of the girls think I look good? No thanks! I don't have any interests in that way!"
"Is that so?" Zel said, edging closer to Lina. "So even though you're a guy on the outside, you don't think like one on inside. What then, *are* you attracted to?"
"I'm a girl, rock for brains. Who do you think I'd be interested in?" he glared at the chimera, crossing his arms. His clouded mind noted that Zel was right next to him now but hey, Zel was a friend and he'd never seen anything from his friend that indicated Zel wanted to be more than that and Lina didn't currently look like a girl so what did he have to worry?
"But as you look now, it might be hard to get close to whatever guy you like." Zelgadiss ran a finger down the side of her, no his delicate face. Lina really didn't notice some of the men still making eyes at him but Zel's pointed glare always sent their eyes elsewhere. "But if there was one who liked you as you are now...what would you do?"
"Baka. It would have to be a very damn good reason to convince me to stay as a guy and I don't think that kind of reason exists," Lina said stubbornly, suddenly noticing how Zel was almost on top of him. Even if they were both guys, and he was sure Zel wasn't gay (at least, he was pretty sure...), this was a very uncomfortable position to be in to his mind.
"And if that damn good reason did exist?" the chimera whispered into his ear.
"I'll believe it when it happens," Lina retorted, standing up quickly, one hand to keep her his towel from slipping. "I've been in here long enough. See you tomorrow Zel."
He, she quickly wrapped a yukata around herself, himself and left the hot spring stall, leaving behind a slightly disappointed, but amused Zelgadiss. He never considered himself gay exactly, though he had had his fair share of male invitations when he served as a mercenary before his change. And he hadn't entertained many thoughts toward Lina as she always had Gourry. But now Gourry was stuck as a woman and Lina as a teenaged boy.
"I'm beginning to see things from those mens' point of view," he smirked. Lina did make a lovely young male, that mix of features that could hint of being female but was definitely male. She, he didn't know it and probably wouldn't appreciate it either. "Perhaps then, I'll just have to teach him how to appreciate it. You did say you'd believe it when it happens, Lina. And now, I can make you all mine."
Lina was walking a couple of steps behind Zelgadiss, looking at his back, continually needing to draw her eyes back up to around his shoulder blades instead of lower where they inevitable went when she wasn't paying attention. What happened in the hot spring, which was nothing really, had forced him to think quite a lot after he got through the alcohol-induced haze.
Had Zelgadiss been coming on to her? Was he attracted to her just because she was a guy now? ...Amelia wouldn't like to know that. But Amelia wasn't here. When she thought about it now, was Zel being a bit too...supportive of her male self? After all, he was the one who suggested she change to more male attire, he treated her like a male, and he kept asking her if she was sure she didn't want to remain male.
But it didn't make much sense that he would suddenly decide he liked her because she was a guy. Why not when she was a girl? Gods, was Gourry right that she did look better this way? Talk about damaging to a girl's ego. Now that she was wary of Zel's...probable intentions, Lina kept her eyes open and focused outside instead of inside on her curse.
Yes, she could see that it wasn't just the females who wanted her attention but Zel's presence was always convincing the males to give it up or eat a yard of steel. And she wasn't encouraging any of the girls so was that why he didn't do anything to discourage them? Kono yarou...
Trying to figure out where she stood with Zel now, Lina tried to keep an eye on him as much as possible. If he knew and thought it was because she was suspicious of him, he didn't show it other than inviting her to share a trip to the baths again. Like she was going to do that twice!!
Yeah Zel was pretty good looking, chimera features and all. There was a touch of femininity in his features, which was more obvious when he was with other guys like Gourry. He was a good conversationalist and if you could get him out of his shell, someone you could be comfortable around.
And as she noted before, compared to herself, Zelgadiss was more male in every way. He was more muscular, his features less delicate than hers, she could go on and on. And of course, he thought like a guy while she still kept thinking herself as a girl.
She wondered, if the cape wasn't there, how his ass -
AAAAH!! Why was she even thinking about that! She never thought of him like that when she was a girl, why was he starting now as a guy?!? Oh great, now she, he, whatever was mixing up her, his pronouns.
"Your face is redder than a tomato," Zelgadiss told her, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Just what are you thinking about? The hot spring perhaps?"
Now Lina's face was burning. "None of your business!!"
"I think it's very much my business. Perhaps I was mistaken but it looked to me as if you were mentally undressing me. I never knew you thought of me that way, Lina," Zel smiled evilly. "Should I be worried when I go to sleep at night?"
"Don't project your own dirty thoughts on me!!" he snapped. "I'm the one who is straight. If you're the gay one, then I should be worried. Who is it that always insists we share a room!"
"I don't recall hearing any complaints. And when you're saying you're straight, shouldn't you actually say 'gay' since when people look at you they see a guy and will think you're aiming for a girl when you say that."
Why you, word-twisting, blue-skinned...
"Oh, and what about you then? Zel." Lina looked at him mockingly. "Don't tell me you weren't flirting with me that night in the hot springs. You never showed any interest in me when I was a girl. Does that mean you're the gay one here?"
"Shall we find out?" Zelgadiss suddenly had his arms wrapped around him, holding the red head youth tightly against him. Without prelude, he pushed his chin up and kissed him.
Lina's mind went completely blank. Well, not really. It was more like an overload of sensations and observations and exclamations that couldn't be sorted out much less heard. As the kiss went on, and some of the initial responses settled down to be recognized, she noted something.
She needed to breathe.
Lina tried to break away but no matter what gender she, he was, she couldn't break Zel's grip. The girl-turned-boy beat against the chimera's shoulders until he finally released him. Immediately putting some distance between them, Lina gulped down the sweet air, ignoring the little voice in her head that hesitantly wished the kiss would continue.
"We'd better hurry if we want to get to town before nightfall."
Lina stared blankly at Zel's retreating back. That's all? Here he grabs her without warning, a guy mind you, kisses her, a deep one, and after it's all said and down it's just back to business as usual? Just who the hell did you think you are, Zelgadiss Graywords?!?
"And it was...my first kiss too..." he murmured, running a finger across his lips.
Zelgadiss lay back on the bed of his room in the inn, cloak thrown rather carelessly onto a chair and his sword propped up against the side of the bed. That had been stupid of him, just grabbing him like that and kissing him. Her, him, did it matter? Lina may look like a he but...maybe it was better that she was a 'he'.
With Gourry out of the way, Lina could be all his. He had no interest in girls while stuck like this, how convenient that Gourry was still stuck as one, and as a guy, Zel would make sure he was the only one Lina could turn to. He smiled ruefully at the ceiling at this strange turn of events.
The only way he could seriously have Lina and keep her, him all to himself was if she remained as a guy. If she returned to being a girl, then Gourry would probably be returned to his normal self, and he would lose all chances. If that is, he hadn't already ruined it with that lapse on the roadside.
Lina was probably scared out of his wits by that, his lack of violent reaction further proof of his shock. Even if he had suspected it, the actual reality wasn't something he was prepared for. Would he consent to a relationship as he was now? Zelgadiss had been trying to push Lina in that way.
But now he may have just pushed Lina away.
Someone knocked on the door. "Zel? Can I come in?"
"Go ahead, it isn't locked." Well, time to face the music. Or in Lina's case, the flare arrows and fireballs.
Lina stepped inside, cape, gloves, and short sword left behind in his separate room. This was the first time since they started this trip that they had gotten two rooms. He was sure it was because of the...kiss on the road. Shutting the door, Lina grabbed a chair and put it near Zel's bed. He wasn't going to show that he was afraid that Zel might try the same thing again.
"Alright. I want to hear everything," Lina said flatly, after Zelgadiss had sat up in the bed. "No more subtle hints, no more hidden meanings, I just want to hear it flat out."
"What do you want to hear?" A dangerous question but a reasonable one since Lina hadn't specified what he was asking about. Besides, Zel wanted him to say it.
And Lina knew it too. Fighting to keep the blush down, Lina looked him straight in the eyes. "Do you like me? More than a friend that is."
"Yes."
Amazing how one simple word could bowl you over, break apart all of the supports and beliefs you ever held in your life, and knock the wind out of you.
"What about you, Lina? What do you think of me?"
Lina's mouth moved wordlessly for a few moments. "Baka na. You like me as a guy??"
"Iie. Lina ga suki da. It doesn't matter if you're a girl or a guy. You're always Lina."
"You never acted like this before!!"
"Did I ever had reason to?" Zelgadiss shrugged. "You always had Gourry and never gave me a second look. Perhaps you should ask if your perceptions have changed. So what is your answer?"
"But...you're always hinting that I should stay as a guy..."
"You want to know why?" He reached out a hand to the pale youth and when he didn't flinch, Zel pulled the youth to him. "If you undo the curse, you'll return to Gourry again. You'll be able to look at other men again and you won't look at me. But as you are now, you won't look to any other guy and you won't look to any women. You can be all mine."
Lina couldn't keep meeting his intense gaze and his eyes fell away. Zel didn't care how he looked, or so he said. He just admitted that he did like him! And...what he said was true.
"Lina. Your answer?"
"...I...I don't know if I can live as a male..." Lina whispered brokenly. "I don't know if I can live like this...with you..."
That now familiar smirk touched Zel's face again as he brought Lina's face to look at him. "You said before, that you needed a 'damn good reason' to stay this way. Do you want to know what it is?"
"Alright. Tell me."
"I'll show you," Zel whispered seductively, capturing Lina's lips once more. There was no resistance this time, not even as he began pulling down the zipper of Lina's shirt.
He lay there in the darkness, fingers threading through the long strands he had pulled loose from their braid during their...activities. It had been an interesting and novel experience on both sides he imagined. The pale, slender youth next to him stirred and opened his eyes.
"...Zel...?"
The chimera couldn't tell what was in that voice.
"Well? Is that a good enough reason?" he asked sardonically.
"...I'm not sure."
Zel could feel his hopes dropping. Lina's hand reached up to his face and pulled it down for a kiss. The chimera was speechless, as this was the first time Lina had made any move.
"Could you show me again?"
"How many times do you need?"
"Does it matter?"
"Maybe. You still haven't answered me, Lina."
"I guess...I'm in no hurry to undo the curse..."
"That isn't enough."
Lina squirmed. "You can't expect a girl to just say it."
"I don't think a girl would do some of the things you did." He smiled in the darkness, knowing Lina was turning red. "Lina, do you love me?"
"...hai."
"Say it."
"Zel ga...suki..."
"And who do you belong to?"
"...Zel only."
"Good child. As long as you're a good child, I'll show you over and over again."