Title: Seals of Heart and Space Author: E. Cypher E-Mail: LunarEB2@aol.com Rating: PG Hey There! I'm back for another installation in this crossover series! I know that for the romantic types I haven't done a whole lot yet, but just wait, I'll get to that eventually :). Well, not much left to say, just thanks again for the e-mail, or the thought, and hopefully enjoy the rest of the story! On your way now... Chapter 3: Friendships ::Lina:: Sighing, I take my eyes of the clearing we just left and look around to study my new "peers". They're all dressed in what I'm guessing to be a school uniform, which consists of a mainly white blouse with a rather large red bow attached at the neck and blue straps stretching from the bow's center up over the shoulders to connect behind the back, and a blue skirt on the bottom half which stretches to about knee length. In other words I think it'd look HORRIBLE on me, but then, since I am so cute, you never know. Still, white and blue? I prefer red and blac... My thoughts abruptly stop as the person in front of me does the same. Blink I look up. "Hey, why'd we stop?" I glance at a girl beside me. The long haired blonde looks over at me smiling. "We're stopping for the picnic of course! That's the whole meaning of the field trip wasn't it? Besides getting out of class ?course." She half bounces along and I notice that her hair, up in two buns on the side of her head, do so with her. She looks away, just seeming to revel in being outside, then looks back at me quickly. "Oh yeah, you're that new girl Miss H. picked up!" I nod, trying to smile at her. "Kidnapped is more like it.." I mutter, but the girl doesn't hear me, to caught up in her own excitement. "Well come on! You'll love it here, and you came on the absolute BEST day!" Around me I can see the rest of the class spread out to eat with their friends, I assume, but the girl snags my hand before I can even begin to think about what I'm going to do. "You can join my friends! Come on!" And before I can even protest I'm dragged along to meet a group of four other girls. A girl with short, red curls notices us first and starts waving. "Hi Serena! Where ya been?" Then she notices me standing there. "Oh, new friend?" By now the other girls have turned and now all eyes are on me and the girl, who seems to be named Serena. "Yeah, guys, this is..." she hesitates and glances over at me. "Lina," I volunteer. "Lina! And Lina, this is Molly," she points the curly redhead, "Amy," a girl with short blue hair, "Lita," this time a tall girl with brown hair in a ponytail, "and Mina," finally her aim comes to a girl with long, loose blonde hair. We exchange hi's and hello's, then sit down around the large cloth. "So Lina," Mina asks me, "where're you from?" Uh oh, I was hoping not to hear that question just yet. I have no clue of the countryside around here, and I can't very well tell them the truth, now can I? I gulp and quickly come up with a somewhat suitable answer. "Oh, umm, a small town called Mipross. I lived on a...a farm for most of my life." A few eyes raised suspiciously at this, but Serena cut them all off before they could utter a word. "Ooh, a farm, really? I bet that'd be way cool! Did you have horses there, or rabbits maybe? Rabbits are my totally favorite animal! They're so cute and cuddly..and oh! You know I saw family of rabbits in my yard the other day! Ooh, I just loooove watching rabbits, how they run around all day and do whatever they please..." and on and on. I was starting to think that it'd of been better if they'd questioned me about it rather then listen to her babble, when Lita pulled out a large basket, make that two baskets, of food. Instantly Serena shut her mouth and started almost drooling. "Okay, time to eat!" Lita calls out and starts pulling out trays of food. She hands them out to the other girls and then even hands one to me. "Here ya go Lina, lucky I always bring extra huh?" I smile. "Thanks!" The tray's about eight by six and full of food. Hmm, appetizer, have to find something else to eat later. Haven't eaten in...too long! Around me the other girls start eatting and chatting, though Serena's stuffing the food in her mouth so fast she doesn't have much time for the latter. My kind of girl. Unable to wait any longer, I start inhaling the food at what others seem to consider a disturbing rate. Hey, it takes a lot of energy to keep up with my activities. Finished, I set the tray down. Even Serena isn't done. Serena sets her tray down a few minutes later and looks around. Mina and Lita are pointing at guys walking buy and giggling, Amy's reading a book, and Molly's warding off some nerdy looking guy with short brown hair and large glasses. So she turns to me and notices, for the first time I think, that my outfit is slightly...different. "Wow! That outfit is wicked cool! Where'd you get it???" Wow, nice girl but, well, let's just say that I think her and Gourry ought to get along well. "Oh this? Well, I just sorta collected it in my travels." I nearly bite my tongue. Travels? Oops. Her face lights up once again. "You travel a lot? I bet that's sooo much fun! Where do you go? Have you been out of Japan?" I attempt to answer her questions, but she continues on. "Do you ever get to sleep outside? I've always loved it outside, especially the snow! I just looove the snow! It's so much fun to play in, and really pretty besides! Have you ever slept in the snow?" She looks at me innocently, and I resist the urge to yell at her. Gods!! Doesn't she ever shut up?? I breathe in deeply. Remeber the food, she's been nice to you, don't hit her, don't hit her, she's not Gourry. Finally I calm myself. Gods I used to hate ditzes, but then, Gourry isn't sooo bad. I guess I'd better give her a chance, and hope that someone in her group has some sanity. "I pretty much go where I want, though it's usually warm, I have been out in the snow. And yes, I have been out of Japan." Boy is that an understatement. She opens her mouth again, but Mina comes boucing over and cuts her off. "Hey Lina! Who was that cuuutttee guy you were with???" I blink, almost not understanding. Then Lita walks over, drawn by the conversations topic. "Yeah, come on Lina, spill it. Is he your boyfriend?" Gourry, cute??? Well, maybe...wait, BOYFRIEND??? I shake my head frantically. "No! He's not my boyfriend! We just..travel together." They glance smugly at each other and don't seem quite satisfied. I'm near boiling. "Look, his name's Gourry and he's a complete airhead." They giggle to themselves while I just sigh. I can't believe these girls are having a fit over Gourry. I mean, sure, he's strong and kind, and maybe even handso.. I shake my head clear again. He's just...Gourry. Okay, this is getting too strange, time for a topic switch... ::Serena:: I watch as the others tease and taunt Lina. Boy, doesn't that seem all to familiar, we do it to each other constantly, so now they just have some new prey. They're all giggling, except Lina, who seems to be struggling to change the topic. "So if you all have to stay in this area," she says quickly as the conversation almost dies down, "just what do you do all day?" "Oh there's lots to do around here!" I exclaim. "There's the arcade, the mall, the movies..." I ponder it a second. Hmm, never noticed that we actually did have a limit of stuff to do, I always spend so much time at the arcade. "And the arcade! I just know you'll love it around here, especially after living in a small town!" I look at her outfit again. It IS a really cool outfit, but not exactly casual clothes. "Hmm, looks you'll need to change first though." She looks at me awkwardly, then down at herself. "Well, I don't really have another outfit..." I gasp, quite loudly. "Only ONE outfit!" Oh my god, this what's wrong with this girl?? "Well, looks like we'll have to take a mall run after school! You up for it girls?" I look around to them, needless to say they're thrilled. "Yeah! Makeover time!" Mina jumps up yelling. "I'm in!" Lita says. "We can even scope out some guys while we're there." She nudges Lina gently, but Lina just looks at her with a confused face. "Makeover..." Lina mumbles warily. This girl hasn't LIVED until she's had one of our makeovers! The whole group was excited now, well at least us three, and I could hardly wait until after school. For now though, the talk continued, going any and every direction for the rest of the picnic... ::Gourry:: After they dragged Lina off, I left the tree area to explore. Hmm, first thing I need to do is find this junior high school that Lina will be at. As soon as I leave the trees though, I'm surround by buildings the size of towers! Wow... I walk down the path gazing up at the surrounding places. They're all made of metal, stone, and glass, what an odd design. So awed am I by the sight I almost forget what I'm doing. So..where am I going to find the school if everything's this huge?? Maybe I ought to ask someone... Eventually, I pass a smaller building with glass doors and people gathering inside. This looks like a good place, seems open to the public. As I walk up to the doors they instantly slide open, startling me to where I jump back, and they close just as quickly. What in the world... I step forward, they open, back, they close, forward, open, back, close.... Suddenly I notice everyone staring at me, guess whatever causes this pretty normal around here. Flushing slightly, I enter the room and hear the doors close behind me. Everyone has since gone back to what they were doing, and I stare around at the interior. Well, it almost looks like an inn, but what are those weird flashing pictures on the right? Shaking my head, I head over to the bar and see some writing up on the wall. Coffee, hot cocoa, soda, tea, sundae, ice cream.. The list goes on and on. "Can I get you something?" I look down to see a guy with light brown hair and an apron looking at me queerly. "No thanks, I was just wondering, do you know where the junior high school is?" I ask, sitting down on a stool. "Oh sure, it's just down the road a bit, you must be new in town, right?" he smiles and leans on the counter. "Yeah, just arrived today and a friend of mine was taken to the school. They told me to come there after school was over to get her." "Ahh, well, school ends in about half an hour, and most of the kids come here afterwards, so you can probably just hang out here for a bit." Just then the sliding doors open behind me. "Hey there Andrew," a deep voice enters the room and heads for the bar. "Think I could get a cup of coffee?" "Oh hey bud, sure, be right with ya," the guy, Andrew, turns and grabs a mug to fill while the new arrival sits down in a stool beside me. I notice his eyes appraising me, then lock on my belt. I follow his gaze to my sword belt. "You come from a costume party or something?" he grins. "Look like someone out of the medievil times." "What? Oh no, this is..." Andrew then comes back with the coffee. "Here you are Darian," he hands him the mug and notices him looking over at me. "Well, I see you've met the new arrival. Just arrived in town today he says," Darian nods at all this, but his eyes don't move from mine. Hmm, don't think this guy trusts me... ::Darian:: "Thanks pal," I face Andrew long enough to take the cup, then turn back to the man. "So, new around here huh? Didn't catch your name." "It's Gourry," he sits straight up, as if on guard. Why do I get the feeling that this guy is trouble? Well, the fact that he's wearing a sword and armor kind of influence that a bit. Well, long as he doesn't start anything better keep my opinion in check. "What's brings you to Tokyo?" he glances away nervously at the question and my eyes narrow. "Well...I was traveling with a friend of mine, and just kind of ended up here," Just ended up here? In this day and age? Hmm.. Andrew, however, isn't nearly as suspicious as I. "Well, always nice to see a new face. Long as you're here, I'll give ya some pointers, you have a place to live yet?" He shakes his head. "Not yet, hoping to figure something out when I meet up with Lina after school. She's my...partner I guess you could say, we travel around a lot but aren't used to settling down somewhere." Rather odd lifestyle, but hey, who am I to talk? I know how restlessness feels, but Tuxie leads into that area. "Well," Andrew says, friendly as ever, "as long as you're around, here's the layout..." and he proceeds to go through a verbal tour of Tokyo, which isn't a quick process considering the towns size, and I glance at the clock multiple times. Well what do you know, school's nearly out, should be expecting good old Meatball Head to bounce in soon... ::Serena:: "Yay!! School's out!" I scream as we all clean up our picnic remains. "You two sure you don't want to come with us?" I look over at Amy and Molly, they'd both refused for some reason. "Sorry, can't do it Serena, my mom needs my help with some stuff," Darn, never get to do anything with Molly anymore. "I can't either I'm afraid, have a lot of studying to do tonight if I want to keep my lead in class." I sigh, same old Amy. I'll never understand how that girl can study so much. "Well, okay, see you tomorrow then!" I wave as me, Lita, Mina, and Lina head off on a day of fun. "Okay," I turn to the others, "what do you say we all stop in at the arcade first? We can probably also run into Raye there, I bet she'd love to come with us!" Lita and Mina both nod in agreement, but Lina just shrugs. "I've never been to an arcade." "What???" Country girl, we'll change that. "You don't know what you're missing! Come on, let's hurry!" We rush out of the park and up the street. Low and behold, I see Raye heading towards us. I wave excitedly, as do the others, as soon as we see each other. "Hi Raye!" we all say, in one way or another. "Hey Guys, who's the new girl?" So looks over at Lina with a smile. "Oh, this is Lina, we were headed to the arcade and then to the mall for a major makeover!" They nod and smile to each other, but then Raye pauses for a moment and lets out a slight gasp. "You want to come??" She glances over at me with a serious face. "Serena, can I talk to you for a second?" I nod. "Sure Raye." We head off to the side a bit. "So what's up?" She shakes her head. "I don't know, I feel a strange force from this girl," she looks at me meaningfully. "Oh come on Raye, do you have to suspect everyone of being from the negaverse??" She sighs in frustration. "I never said I suspected THAT!" she growls through her teeth. "I just think we should keep an eye on her!" I wave off her concern. "Oh come on Raye, you're just being paranoid. Now come on, come shopping with us." She glares at me, but then exhales in defeat. "Fine! If not just so someone with some SENSE will be there," I giggle and smile at her. "Yeah, whatever. Now let's go, it's makeover time!" Then I grab her hand and we head back over to the group... ::Raye:: Augh! This girl is so infuriating! How can she just ignore me so?? Sighing, I put the matter aside and look back over at the girls, noticing Lina's outfit now. Wow, now that's a strange one, wonder where she's from that they'd where that? "So, we're headed to the arcade huh? Going to drool over Andrew before heading out Meatball Head?" Instantly Serena's face ignites. "I do NOT drool over him! And don't call me that!!" "Why not, Meatball Head?" I ask, only straining her temper further. "I still think it suites you and I really ought to thank Darian properly for coming up with it." I laugh and dash down the street as Serena takes off after me. "Ooooh, take that back Raye!" she yells after me. "Meatball Head, Meatball Head," I chant it again and again, just enjoying teasing her. We have so much fun doing this... ::Mina:: As we watch the duo race down the street, me and Lita both drop our heads and sigh. "And those two are friends?" Lina asks. I nod. "Yeah, though you couldn't tell just by looking at them, they're actually very good friends," I pause, "in their own little way." She laughs slightly and shrugs. "Well, Raye doesn't seem to bad, but I don't think she trusts me." I'm taken aback for a moment. Wow, this girl doesn't miss a thing. Raye hides her thoughts well most of the time. I merely smile at her though, not letting on to my thoughts. "Naw, she's always like that. Too serious, ya know?" "Yeah," Lita cuts in, "she may seem mean towards Serena, but she's really nice once you get to know her." Lina glances ahead. "Well, if we don't hurry, we'll lose them both." Oh yeah, guess we'd better catch up. She smiles up at us. "Race you." Then she takes off. "Hey, no headstarts!" Lita yells before racing off after her. Thinking she can outrun the sailor scouts, ne? Not likely. I smile and join the fun. Much to my surprise, I find myself running all out, JUST to keep up with her. Who would've ever thought she could run so fast, especially in that costume. Hmm, must come from living in the country. As we near the arcade, I see Raye and Serena standing right outside the doors regaining their breath. Serena waves when she sees us and heads inside. Lina bolts in the doors right after them, and right before us. "Hey, you're pretty fast," Lina turns to us, breathing heavily. We, on the other hand, are gasping for air. "Likewise," I wink at her, smiling, "must get a lot of exercise traveling huh?" She shrugs. "Yeah actually, though not from that alone..." she smiles mischeviously and I'm about to ask her about it when we're interrupted. "Hey there Lina, so you did make it," I look up to see the long haired blonde guy from the park sitting with Andrew and Darian. Andrew's waving us over and I notice Darian's eyes on Serena, but she's busy greeting Andrew. "Hey there guys, what's up?" Andrew calls out as we head over. "We're just stopping in on our way to the mall," Lita says as we all take a seat. Lina sits on the end next to Gourry, Serena sits down next to her so she's sandwiched between her and, surprisingly, Darian, and Lita and I occupy Darian's end, with me on the inside next to Darian. "Yeah, Lina here's new in town and we're headed out to help her get a new wardrobe!" Serena says brightly, then smiles over at Lina and notices Gourry sitting there. "Oh! Let me guess, that's your only outfit as well?" she peers at Gourry. "Well, yeah actually," he glances around at us. "Why? Something wrong with it?" "It doesn't quite fit in here Gourry," Lina says, sighing. "Ohhh," he shrugs, "whatever you say Lina." "So, going to play fashion advisor now, eh Meatball Head?" He grins at her anger towards the nickname. Then looks up at Lina and winks. "Just don't take any hairstyling tips." Serena glares up at him. "Well, mister cool fashion model, if you think you know so much, why don't you come with us and help Gourry out with his outfits?" I'm rather taken aback at this. Is Serena actually leading an argument?? Hmm, I could play off this... ::Darian:: "Yeah come on Darian, we could use a guys point of view." Mina urges. Whoa, did Serena just invite me to go? I glance over at her. "Is that an invitation Serena?" she blinks in shock, just realizing what she'd said. "Oh, well, ummm, yeah, it was," she stutters out, making me smile at her discomfort. Spending the afternoon with Serena? This could be interesting. I smile at her. "Well then, I accept," I glance over at Andrew. "Hey, you want to join us?" He smiles and shakes his head at me. "No thanks pal, I've still got some work here to do." Then he grins widely at me. "You just go and...enjoy yourself." I look at him questioningly. Now just what is he hinting at... "Okay, well, let's get going!" Serena jumps up, grabbing my and Lina's hand in the process. "Come on! This'll be fun!" she releases our hands, leaving us standing up, and walks out the door with Lina, chatting and giggling as she goes. I can't help but smile. She's always so happy and alive! I watch her bounce out the door as I start to follow. You know, she's actually cute if you stop to think about it... Well, that's all for this week! I hadn't planned to stop it here at first, but I had to if I wanted it out in time. Hope you enjoy it, and tell me what ya think, k? After all, E-mail makes the words go round :). See ya next week at the mall, Take Care!