A Review:
Since yesterday at least by Slayers HS standards, some very strange unexplainable incidents have occurred. Though they appear to focus around a certain group of third-year students, in truth, since they are the main characters of the story, they were simply getting more 'airtime'. Other students around school were also being affected.
The principals probably could have and should have done something about this possibly dangerous situation. But they were too busy playing Hungry Hippos. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is something for preschoolers where there are a bunch of balls on a game board and each player controlled a plastic hippo that could 'eat' the balls. Whoever eats the most balls wins.
Sometimes the simpler pleasures are best.
Now back to your regularly scheduled story.
Lina looked up, with some sticky, heavily perfumed, pink fluid dripping down her face, and got a case of vertigo. She quickly fainted, probably the first and last time in her entire life. Of course, it could also have been the fault of the really heavy fragrance mixed into the love potion bullet. The ventilation system had to be turned on to maximum.
"Oi, Lina!" Zelgadiss wasn't quite sure what to do with an unconscious girl on his hands but he did know that Lina had been hit by something. Retracing the probable trajectory led back to...an open window near the top of the lab that was empty of whomever may have been there before. Damn.
"How dare that person shoot her!! I'm not going to let him get away with it!!" Valgaav yelled, recklessly kicking his legs and waving his arms in the arm until the cloth on the coat hook ripped. Scrambling over to Lina's side in his overgrown clothes, he looked worriedly at her before feeling Zelgadiss's curious eyes on him. "Wha-What are you looking at?!"
"Nothing," he lied. Yes, he had been studying Valgaav's oddly concerned look toward Lina and had felt a surge of dislike. That wasn't surprising, he never liked Valgaav who flaunted his bad reputation and different looks both in and out of school. It irked Zel that Valgaav could do that and yet still become one of the most quickly rising students in their class. Zel sensed the dichotomy of sides was due to Valgaav's vested interest in Lina. "Why are you concerned about her?"
Valgaav pursed his lips. He knew the...whatever Zel-something or other was didn't like him and the feeling was mutual. After all, Lina showed a definite preference for the stone-skinned student, teasing him, always talking to him, working together in their classes. The ex-delinquent couldn't see any other reason for her to bother when faced with such stony indifference unless she really liked the freak.
"Why aren't you?" the former teenager, now boy challenged, turning Zel's question back at him. His golden eyes bore into Zel's, forcing a staring contest. The eyes were like a stone wall (what wasn't?), showing nothing. Valgaav smirked and crossed his arms. "I'll take Lina."
If he had been expecting some kind of rise out of Zel, Valgaav was not quite disappointed. There were flickers of confusion mixed in with wariness.
"In your current condition, you don't have the strength to carry even her to the nurse's station," Zelgadiss corrected, picking the unconscious Lina up in his arms. It wasn't clear whether or not he was deliberately misinterpreting Valgaav's statement. "Those two should be able to reverse the de-aging process."
They looked at Rezo and Kitzero in the wrong bodies, lumbering around the tables, one trying to keep the other from causing a chemical explosion.
"Well, there should be an antidote somewhere in here. Don't go wandering around as you are now or the truant officers will drag you back to elementary school."
"You don't need to worry about me," Valgaav snorted, burning up inside because the statue was carrying his Lina. "I'm not going to stay like this. You'd better not let your hands wander around her or I'll turn you into the gravel lining the track field."
"Don't project your overactive hormonal thoughts onto me," Zelgadiss retorted, walking out into the hall and tuning out Valgaav's spew of deprecations. How fortunate that it was during class else he would have to face a sea of faces wondering what in the world was he doing. For that matter, Zel wasn't too sure himself what he was doing.
Oh he knew the doing part, he was carrying an unconscious Lina to the nurse's station. Ah, he forgot that Filia had taken the rest of the day off to be with her 'hubby'. The self-satisfied smirk returned. Well, Xelloss deserved some punishment now and then and this time it was long overdue.
But Filia was usually quite restrained at school, she must have been hit by one of those potion bullets, he was quite sure they were bullets now, that were flying around. Was it one of emotional unrestraint or...Zel remembered back to the school festival disaster. Martina had suddenly become head over heels in love with Xelloss then, the result of an instant love potion he guessed. Hadn't his great-grandfather and uncle been talking about some great love potion concoction they made?
"Why was I cursed with this family?" Zel muttered, using his foot to slide aside the door to the empty nurse's station. Surprisingly, all of the beds were empty, a rarity in this school. Not wanting to draw undue attention to himself or Lina, he placed her in a corner bed away from the door that had its own privacy curtain.
She still hadn't woken up yet and he had to privately admit that he was getting worried. He had no idea what kind of potion Lina was shot with but given his love-life-meddling family, he had a good guess about what type it was. Lina whose mind was muddled by a love potion could only spell trouble, both during and after the potion's duration.
"That would explain why it was pink and smelling like an overdose of roses," he wrinkled his nose as he remembered the smell. He should actually call a teacher to come and take care of this but that would mean leaving Lina alone here. Well, he certainly couldn't leave her with all that liquid on her face. Getting a sample of it for later analysis would be helpful too.
Pulling out his handkerchief, Zel leaned over Lina to wipe/collect the questionable potion off of her face. The potions probably worked through skin absorption, which shouldn't affect him at least. He carefully wiped the piece of cloth over Lina's face, he didn't want to accidentally awaken her now and have to explain what the hell he was doing.
That reminded him, exactly just what was he doing? Why did he bother to bring Lina to the nurse's station when he knew no one would be here? Why did he care if he had to leave Lina alone in order to find a teacher? Why did he care about leaving the potion on her face? Why did he care that Valgaav seemed to care, quite possessively, about Lina?
Why am I even asking these questions? Must be some side effect of the potion. He glared at the offending liquid that now stained his handkerchief. Leave it to his nutcase relatives to add a pheromone component to the thing. He went to one of the supply shelves to get a sealable bag to dump the cloth in. So does this work like the one in the stories, love at first sight, or does it turn hate into love or does it have a delayed reaction or...
His train of thought fell apart and off of the tracks as his eyes settled back on Lina. Was he the only person who thought she looked more, what was the word, peaceful when she was asleep? Well, who wouldn't look more at ease since that was after all part of the reason for sleep. The usual brash, loud Lina was a smoldering ember deep inside, waiting to be stirred up upon awakening.
Greeeat. Now I'm getting poetic. I'm going to air out this room before I get a teacher to come. Then he or she can call Lina's family, oh wait, she's living alone right now isn't she? Maybe one of her friends then could sit up and wait for her.
Zel racked his mind, trying to come up with a name or face of one of Lina's friends. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember a single one. Had Lina made any friends since coming here? With her bright, open albeit a bit abrasive personality, he would have thought she'd at least have several. She kind of knew Sylphiel but the upperclassman had already graduated. He wasn't sure Lina would like having Amelia waiting up for her and if this potion was some kind of 'at first sight' thing...
Zel shook his head. Maybe he should have a mirror set in front of Lina's eyes as a precaution against that. As far as he knew, narcissism didn't hurt too much and would be much less embarrassing in the short run. Not that he cared too much about who Lina might fall in love with when she woke up or whenever the potion took affect.
Well, maybe just a little.
Only because it would be really inconvenient to him.
Not because he liked her or anything like that!!
"Hey! Is anyone in here?"
Ah yes, something else to focus his attentions on, even if it was Valgaav. And from the sounds of his voice, he managed to find some reversal antidote to his condition. Pity. Zel really should have taken advantage of Valgaav's humiliating condition to make a profit for himself. Pictures of Valgaav were quite in demand.
"Haven't you learned yet how to use an 'indoor voice'?" the cursed youth asked bitingly, stepping out of the corner toward the door, just about everything from his voice to his stance making it quite clear that Valgaav's presence here wasn't welcomed by him. "I'm sure that is something taught in kindergarten."
"Ha ha, big laugh. Just came to make sure that nothing happens in here. After all, some people may take advantage of the fact that there aren't any teachers in this room and the corner is nice and secluded," Valgaav sneered, matching battle aura for battle aura. He was a quick learner.
"I'm sure you're quite familiar with how nice and secluded the corner is in here. You've been in here very often during your first several weeks." Zelgadiss refused to budge, leaving very little room for someone to walk around him to get to the back where Lina was. "If you don't need any medical attention, I suggest you return to your class immediately."
"Class is having free study period, as you probably well know. And speaking of getting back, shouldn't you be doing that? After all, you've finished your job of bringing Lina here." Valgaav leaned close to Zel and glowered. "I'm here to visit Lina. So move."
But Zelgadiss refused to be intimidated. "Lina is resting," he said evenly. "And given how you've made it plain that you've got a grudge against her, she beat up during the school break didn't she, I'd hardly be reassured to leave you alone here with her."
Valgaav bristled, reminded of something he didn't want to be reminded of. But he recovered quickly. "I heard that you weren't on very good terms with Lina either. With a stone face like yours, who knows what kind of things you're thinking? It's always the quiet ones that shock you, you know."
Anyone who valued his skin and life knew better to pick on Zel's curse. Those who did taunt him using that either learned the lesson the hard way or were looking for a fight. Valgaav was aiming for the latter. He was rather curious as to how a fight with Zel would go.
"Jeez, you guys are so noisy. Can't a girl get some beauty sleep?"
Valgaav and Zel froze as Lina walked out from the curtained corner, rubbing her eyes and yawning though neither action seemed to succeed in waking her up anymore. She stumbled as some part of her body decided to take a nap and neglect to tell her foot to move. Both youths stepped forward to catch her.
Each had an arm on Lina.
Each glared death and daggers at the other.
Lina, who was oddly still quite drowsy to the point of sleepwalking, yawned again. She latched onto one arm, rubbing her head against it as if trying to snuggle into a soft pillow.
Zelgadiss and Valgaav turned red.
The latter was in anger, jealousy, and all of those bad emotions.
All of the blood in Zelgadiss's arm was being squeezed up into his face, or so it felt to him. Lina had quite a grip even when she was half-awake.
"Ne, Zel," Lina slurred, leaning heavily against him. "Can you take me home? I'm sleepy."
"Wha-wha-If you want to go home, walk home yourself! Do I look like a taxi?!" he stammered, his mind split into two factions. One shouted for him to be a gentleman and help her home. The other screamed that he was sure to see hell and worse and that he should run for the hills. It never explained why.
"Oi, Lina. If you want someone to take you home, I'll do it," Valgaav volunteered in a barely civil voice. He was still glaring daggers, long swords, lances, arrows, and every pointed weapon in the book at Zelgadiss. It didn't look like he was going to wait for Lina's answer to pry her away from Zel.
"Yada," Lina shook her head, frowning like a young child determined to get her way. "Only Zel. Ne?"
Making the effort to move, she pulled Zel down a bit to give him a peck on the cheek.
A red alert went off in the faculty building as the security monitoring system Zelas had installed to cover the entire school immediately began copying and sending copies of that scene to everyone on the Graywords grapeline. At the same time, Xelloss managed to get to the end of the block of his home before Filia beaned him with a blunt mace and dragged her honey back home for more tender loving care. Valgaav hit the roof (literally). Kitzero in Rezo's blind body mixed water and acid together and blew up the lab. And one certain sharpshooter picked up a phone to cancel her evening plans. This looked to be an interesting night.