Chapter 9

Xellos entered the classroom with the developed photos of Aya and Zelgadis, held in his hand. 'Those two are going to be very surprised when I show them these.' He snickered.

"Whatcha got there Xellos?" Amelia came up to him from behind.

"Oh, just a few pictures of the most adorable couples in school."

"Di~~~d somebody call?" Lina arrived with Gourry right beside her. "Let's see those pics ya got there!" Lina snatched the photos out of Xellos' hand and gazed at the picture. "What? What's going on here!? Why's Aya with Zel?"

"Excuse me!?" Amelia grabbed the picture and stared at the two in the picture.

"Hey, I didn't know those two were a couple." Gourry said and scratched his head.

"Neither did I" Xellos explained, "I saw them yesterday in downtown, rollerblading together."

"But how do you know they're going out?" Amelia asked, wanting to know for sure.

"Sore wa himitsudesu (That is a secret)." Amelia's world began to crack under her feet. How could her friend betray her like that. Why did she go out with her crush without telling her? Plus when Amelia was the one who liked him the most! Love wasn't fair at all for the rich girl.

"Hiya peeps!" Aya waved and joined her circle of friends with Filia.

"Ohaiyo-gozaimasu (Good morning)!" Filia greeted politely and sat on a nearby desk table. The blue haired girl was confused when her entire classmates shot her a dirty and confused look. They must've been listening to the conversation going on.

"Did I miss something?" Aya was surrounded by her friends who had questions they needed to ask. Amelia was the first one to speak,

"Are you and Zelgadis going out!? Answer me right away Aya!! Are you? Well!?"

"WHAT!? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!" Aya flapped her arms up and down like she was a baby bird trying to fly.

"Then explain this!!" Lina showed her a picture of herself and Zelgadis, rollerblading down the road, yesterday afternoon. Aya's mouth dropped and she yanked the photo from Lina's fingers.

"Where did you get this?"

"Sore wa-- (That is a--)"

"SHUT UP!!!" Amelia and Lina clouted Xellos on the face and he kept quiet for quite a while.

"I don't know who started this rumour, but Zelgadis and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less." Aya assured her friends.

"Since when were you friends with him?! And why were you with him all alone?!" Amelia was getting too suspicious of her friend.

"Well the first day I just accidentally bumped into him. On Sunday, you guys were all at church."

"You could've invited us along later on!" Amelia pointed out.

"I'm sorry, I told Zelgadis that I'll invite some of my friends along next time so---." Aya was cut off by Xellos, who recovered from the two powerful punches.

"Don't believe everything she says. She could be lying. I believe those two are secretly dating behind your back Amelia. She wants to make you jealous!"

"You heartless little wart!!!" Filia swapped Xellos with the desk she was sitting on and he flew across the room and collided onto the wall.

"Amelia I--" But it was too late, she was walking out of the classroom. Aya was feeling so terrible inside. 'Xellos, that idiot! Why did he have to do something like that?' The bell saved her from more insults, but it didn't save her from the knot tying in her tummy.

"Gourry, I told you already! You don't have to walk me home!" Lina packed her notebooks into her bag and slammed the locker shut. Gourry followed right beside her insisting he took her home. . . if he remembered where she lived.

"But Lina, I'm your man! I'm supposed to protect you from monsters and flesh-eating animals!"

"I'm not a little girl anymore, ok? Treat me like a grown up lady! I can take care of myself, you know."

"But--"

"Stop! Just take yourself home." And Lina walked to the exit door of Greenland High and parted from Gourry, who watched his girlfriend go away.

Lina took a shortcut across an alley to go home. She didn't go this way often, because there were some tough-looking gangsters hanging around there. But the alley was peaceful now and no one seemed to be there, so she went for it. When she stepped out of the alley, she heard someone following her from behind and stopped. 'Gourry, that baka (idiot). I told him a thousand times and he still forgets!'

"I told you to stop following--!!" A giant male, dressed in black leather pants and vest, with a white shirt stood in front of Lina instead of her boyfriend. He looked like he was seven feet tall, with a bald head and big brawny muscles. The red head screamed and stumbled on her feet when she saw the tall man before her.

"What's a little girl like you doing in my property?" The man spoke in a beastly, low tone. Lina looked up to him with no fear,

"I was just passing through. I didn't do anything."

"Don't play innocent with me. Unless you give me a few bucks, I'll let you go."

"Take this!!" Lina picked up a rock, the size of her hand and lobbed the thing at the man. He caught the stone by his hands and dropped it back to the ground.

"Too bad." The man pulled out a long metal bar from behind and sliced it toward Lina, who moved out of the way. She threw her backpack to the side and positioned herself like in kick boxing. The bar swung continuously in different ways. Sparks flew every time it made contact with the cement or brick wall of the alley. The giant missed Lina's head by and inch. She ran to the man and side kicked his hips. That was followed by repeating, powerful, straight punch. The man bent over and felt the pain for a while. "O~~no~~re~~ (Damn you)!!" The man clenched Lina by her sleeveless shirt and threw her down. She fell safely by rolling on the ground and got back on her feet. He spun the metal bar over his head in a helicopter way and swung the pole to Lina's calves. Her whole body hovered in the air and she fell onto the rocky cement. She rolled over again to avoid the opponent's stomp. The injured left calf demurred with Lina's orders and didn't rise on her feet. She didn't think her calf was broken, but it pained when she tried to stand. The man was raising his pole over his head for the last hit. Lina wasn't ready. She was still laying on the ground, working effortlessly to withstand the wound. She didn't know what to do but close her eyes and call for help,

"GOURRRRRRRRY!!!" The giant slammed the pole down, but something, or someone blocked the attack. Lina opened her eyes and saw a tall, young man with long blonde hair, stop the metal pole from hitting his girlfriend, thanks to his backpack. He spun his head to Lina worriedly,

"Daijobuka (Are you alright)?"

"Gourry!!" Lina called in relief.

"Sorry I was late!! I got lost until you----" He had no time to finish off his sentence when another fight began. Lina staggered out of the way and watched Gourry battle the stranger. She's never seen him like this before. This was different from the other fights he's been in. Different from the one he had with Zelgadis as well. His eyes were filled with acrimony fire. He rotated his hip and did a powerful hook punch in the stomach. He repeated the punch ten times and leaped upwards for an uppercut under the chin. The opponent groaned, he dropped his pole and held his stomach.

"Kozo (Kid). . . ."

Gourry immediately took the pole and held it as if it was a sword. "If you ever mess with my girl again, I'll make sure that I kill you with my bear hands." Lina blushed deep red and hoped he didn't see her like this. It didn't matter, because he was very forgetful, but she had a reputation. He waved the pole gracefully and made every swing a powerful hit. Lastly, he smashed the metal on the man's head and he collapse forward. The blonde hair knight threw the weapon down and ran to injured Lina. "Are you ok?"

"Y- yeah, I'll be fine . . . You were great Gourry." Lina was still blushing when she gazed to Gourry, her hero. "Arigatou (Thank you). . . Thank you for being there for me. . ." Gourry smiled nervously and a pink shade appeared over his cheeks.

"He, he, he . . . So I guess this means I have to walk you home, everyday after school, heh?" Lina socked Gourry on the head and a large, round bump emerged.

"Nooooo, this means I won't take the shortcut home." Gourry frowned disappointedly,

"Damn. . . !" Lina tugged on his brightly coloured collar shirt, totally unbuttoned, and designed with Chinese type dragons.

"Buuuuuut. . . you can carry me home." Gourry's sad expression beamed into a cheerful smile and he carried the girl in his arms while two backpacks hung over his shoulders.