Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: Slayers and their characters are not owned by me. They belong to Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and any other companies which own them. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit and I promise to give them back all in perfect working order.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

 

“Hey! Gourry! Look what I can do!” Edward shouted from the doorway of the healer's house.

“I'll be there in a minute, Edward. Keep practicing just for a bit, ok?” I replied.

“Sure thing!” Edward then ran off as I slumped down in the chair.

 

Marina was holding onto my arm tightly to stop me from stumbling. I was glad to be in the chair and let out a tired sigh. Two months had passed and I was walking without the aid of stick. So I just made myself work harder to try and get better.

 

“You need to stop wearing yourself out like this Gourry. You're working too hard.”

“I know, I know. I forget sometimes and just get a little carried away.”

“You know, there are only so many times you can get away with forgetting.” Marina smiled.

“You're pretty forgiving. Lina doesn't even give me that chance.”

“Lina's pretty short-tempered isn't she?”

“Yeah, she can be. But she's much better than when I first met her. I guess she got used to me.”

 

“Noo! Leave me alone!” I heard Edward yell in a panic.

 

Years of instinct shook my body into movement. I shot out of my chair and grabbed my sword from the table nearby. I ran which I had just barely managed to do recently, and turned the corner after leaving the house to where I heard the shout of help from Edward.

 

When I saw Edward, I have to admit I was pretty relieved because my initial thoughts were a mazoku. Instead there was a group of boys surrounding Edward who was curled up on the floor. Despite being relieved it wasn't a mazoku, I wasn't happy with the group of boys who I guessed were bullying Edward. I started to move forward, only to find that my legs didn't want to cooperate with me anymore.

 

So I was glad to see Marina run past me and head towards the boys. She quickly moved them apart and I think when they saw me with a sword, they ran off into the distance. I felt my legs give way and I slumped to the ground, and it was like I couldn't catch my breath. I looked up to see Marina picking Edward up who looked a little upset and shook up. He had a few bruises but nothing worse.

 

We all managed to get back inside the healer's house and when the healer heard what happened, he came in and healed Edward. I could see Marina speaking to the healer and they both looked at me, but I tried to ignore it and looked to Edward who still seemed shook up.

 

“Do they bully you at school?”

“Yeah. Every day, but only in school.” He sniffled in reply.

“Why?”

“They make fun of me because I'm pretty small for my age.”

“So today was the first day they came after you outside school.”

“They found out I was learning to use a sword.”

“You know, I used to get bullied at school too.”

“You did? But you're amazing with a sword. Didn't you just fight them off?”

“Well sometimes I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't.”

“Why not?”

“Well I knew if I fought them, I might beat them. But then I would be the one to get in trouble instead of them.

“Oh...so what did you do?”

“I just used my skills to protect myself. I didn't hurt them at all. I knew if I attacked them and tried to hurt them, then I would only be like them. I didn't want that.”

“Will I be able to do that?”

“If you keep practicing, sure. You can ask your teachers for help though. Anyway, you should be getting home. Your parents are probably worried about you.”

“I'll take you home, Edward.” Marina walked away from the healer

“Can't Gourry take me?”

“No, he needs to rest for now.”

“Marina is just as good as me. She'll take good care of you.”

“Ok then, see you tomorrow!”

 

I watched as Marina led Edward away, just as the sun was setting so the sky was turning darker colours of blue. I remember when I first saw Edward, and I thought he was nine. It turned out he was thirteen, and he was small because of some illness from when he was a baby. The healer had helped save his life but that was one of the side effects.

 

I sighed and leaned back into the chair. I felt annoyed that I wasn't able to help Edward which just proved the point that I wasn't ready to help Lina despite now being able to walk without that stick. I guess with the way I was getting better, I thought I could do more than I actually could. There was just something about the way Edward spoke that had me thinking. I couldn't put my finger on it at that point.

 

“So you collapsed outside?”

“No, it was nothing. I was just a little tired and my legs gave in. I'm feeling better already.”

“Marina has been telling me you've been working yourself hard. Too hard I think.”

“Well I want to get better as soon as possible.”

“You could do yourself more damage if you work your body too hard. You need to let your body rest. Things will get better slowly with exercise, but too much and you could find yourself back on the walking stick, or worse, in bed.”

 

I should have realised I could cause my body more harm than good but I guess I was blinded by wanting to travel with Lina again. To be honest I was scared about Lina because I hadn't heard from her since she left that day. In the end it was my fault for the way I reacted. I don't think I had ever been that way with Lina before. I just thought that maybe she would visit or even send a letter. In the end there had been nothing, and it worried me because I thought she might have been in trouble. Why else would she not say anything since?

 

“Edward is back at home and safe. I spoke to his parents about what happened and I think they'll have a talk with his teachers in school.” Marina sighed as she hung her cloak up.

“That's good to hear.” The healer replied.

“I think he's angry with me.” I said quietly, just working out what I thought was wrong with Edward.

“Why do you think that, Gourry?”

“I've been telling him all these stories about what I've been up to, and then I couldn't even help him with some kids.”

“Well you weren't recovering from a serious back injury then, which you are now. He isn't angry with you; he knows what you've been through.”

“I don't know. I'm normally pretty good at picking up things like that, and I definitely noticed he was angry with me.”

“Maybe he's angry with you for another reason?” The healer added.

 

I couldn't work out what else I had done that would make Edward angry with me. I mean, I was pushing him a little with the sword fighting, but he wanted that. I even spoke to him about it and he said he wanted to be pushed further.

 

“I don't know what else it could be.”

“Maybe he's angry that you'll be leaving soon.”

“Huh?”

 

I never really thought too much about it before. I had spent a lot of time here, and I was really getting along with these people. I suppose just leaving all of a sudden might make him angry. I think it was making Marina angry too because I sensed the same thing from her as I had with Edward earlier.

 

“I mean, you'll probably just forget all about us once you get back with Lina.”

“I'm not going to forget you guys. I can't forget about you guys. I know I can be forgetful, but there are some things I remember. They're the things I consider important. No matter how bad my memory can be, I'll never forget them.”

 

 

“Hey! Gourry? You've got to wake up. We're leaving today, remember?”

“Mngghh. Can you just give me five more minutes Lina? I didn't sleep well last night.”

“Oh c'mon, Jellyfish! You're not getting away with that again.”

“Man, I really can't fool you now, huh?”

“No way!” Edward laughed as he opened the curtains to my room to let in the morning light.

 

Edward pulled me up from the comfort of my bed so I was sat up. I think if I worked it out right, it was about a year since the accident. Give or take a few days.

 

“C'mon Gourry. We're going to the nearby town today! We HAVE to get going!”

 

It was going to be the first time Edward had left town and I was going to accompany him and make sure he stayed safe. Apparently Marina needed some more medicine, the names I couldn't remember, but Edward could. That was one of the reasons why Edward was coming along. It was also so he could experience a little what life was like on the road. Ok, so it was only going to be half a day of travelling. Some experience is better than no experience, right?

 

“Can I get some breakfast first?”

“Oh I suppose so, just don't take forever.”

“Ok, I won't.” I laughed a little as I got out of bed and started to get ready.

 

I was much better now. I wasn't the same as I was right before the accident, but I knew I was nearly there and it would only be time before I felt like I was. Other than that, I guess you could say I was just like a normal guy with pretty good sword skills. That meant it wasn't going to be long before I would leave, but I made sure that I wouldn't just disappear. I had my plans on what would happen before we left.

 

I headed downstairs once I was changed where Edward was already eating. I sat down and stole a piece of toast from his plate before Marina placed a few plates in front of me.

 

“Oi! That was mine.”

“Well you were looking away. You didn't seem interested in it, so I decided to take it.”

“Stop fighting you two or you won't be allowed to go travelling.” Marina spoke sternly.

“Ok!” Both Edward and I replied in unison.

 

Once we finished up, we got ready and soon enough we were heading off to the nearby town. Edward and I walked side by side along the dusty road. Edward now had an actual sword that I bought for him from the local blacksmith. It wasn't a great sword, but it would do most people to protect themselves through the rest of their lives. Edward had got pretty good with his sword fighting and I knew he would be good enough to hold his own against bandits and other skilled swordsmen but he didn't really have the confidence.

 

Once it got to about midday, we decided to take a break by a stream. We both sat down on the edge and decided to try a little bit of fishing.

 

“This is kind of boring.” Edward sighed.

“Huh? Fishing?”

“Yeah, and travelling. We just walked, nothing much happened.”

“Well that's what travelling is mostly made up of. Just walking. All those things I told you about happen now and again, but not all the time.”

“Really? I thought we would be fighting all the time.”

“Trust me; you'll learn to find that just walking is a good thing. When you find yourself fighting bandits who have been chasing after you for days, and they just keep coming wave after wave. Then you'll know that just walking is really good.”

“Well, I'll admit. It's better than just being in town the entire time. Getting to see new things is pretty good. Hey! I caught something!”

 

It turned out Edward was pretty good at fishing! We ate really well and I wondered if Lina was in the shadows helping us out, because I had never seen someone fish so well since she did when she used that spell. I wasn't going to worry about it though because we had a good meal and that's all that really mattered at the time.

 

Well after that, we carried on heading to the nearby town. I worked out that we would make it by nightfall which is what we worked out beforehand. We were going to stay at one of the inns and then the next day we would get the medicine and head back.

 

“Where do you think the best place to ambush someone would be?” I asked Edward as we continued to walk on the road. To the left there were some bushes and on the right was a little forested area.

“Umm…I think…”

“The bushes…” My head snapped left as suddenly a group of bandits appeared. Edward noticed as well and suddenly moved to my side.

 

“How about you guys give us your swords and all your money and we won't hurt you?” The leader said with a smug look on his face. Four of his friends slowly moved their way around us.

 

“Edward…you remember everything from your practicing?”

“Sure…”

“Use it. I don't think I can help you.” I groaned as I fell to my knees.

“Gourry! I can't do this by myself.”

“Sure you can. You've been practicing. I know you can handle these guys yourself. Just remember what you were taught.”

“O...ok.”

 

I watched on as Edward unsheathed the sword and got himself ready to defend. He had grown a little in the past few days and so he was able to handle the sword much better. It was why I had the confidence in him to be able to do this.

 

“Ha! What the hell is this little pipsqueak gonna do? Get him guys!”

 

One man lunged in from Edward's right but he was well prepared. He darted backwards out of the way and flicked the sword out. He cut the bandit's hand forcing him to drop the sword. He then stumbled backwards in surprise.

 

“Why you little…!”

 

Two other men then lunged forward with swords straight out to attack Edward. He moved quickly and deflected the attack of the first guy. He then used that advantage to avoid the second attack completely. The bandit left himself wide open and he used that opening to disarm him. He then quickly ducked as the first attacker came at him again. The duck surprised him and so he got winded when Edward struck the hilt of the sword upwards into his chest.

 

That left one guy left while the leader stayed out of the way. He was shocked to see this little kid beating his men so easily and I have to admit, he was about ready to turn tail and run.

 

The final bandit looked like he had a little more skill than the other three, but it was still no match to what Edward had. Edward stood his ground with the sword out in front of him as he waited for the final bandit to attack. Then he made his move and charged towards Edward. He feinted to the right but then moved left. Edward was ready for it and moved one step ahead. He deflected the sword attack and disarmed him easily.

 

The bandits all seemed shocked and once the bandit leader turned tail and fled, the other guys followed suit. Once they were gone, Edward turned to me in shock.

 

“I did it…I really did it!”

“I knew you could do it.” I smiled.

“I was really scared! But I did what you told me, and I remembered. But…Gourry? Are you ok?”

“Yeah…I just…”

 

I grabbed Edward and dove to the side as an arrow whistled by. I turned to look where it came from but the archer had already gone running. I guessed he was with the bandit group and once he saw he missed, he didn't want to end up like his friends and ran for it.

 

“Gourry? You're ok…”

“Heh. Yeah I guess I am.”

“So you left those guys to me? And there was nothing wrong with you.”

“Yeah. I was ok. I thought it was a good time for you to realise that you can handle yourself with a sword. If you needed help, then I would have come in, but I knew you would be fine.”

 

Edward moved towards me and suddenly punched me in the arm.

 

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For scaring me half to death!”

“But now you know you can handle things yourself. You don't need me around.”

 

Edward nodded slowly, looking down at the ground the whole time. Then he hugged me.

“Thanks Gourry…”

 

 

We reached the nearby town by nightfall and headed straight to the inn. I was pretty hungry and Edward looked a little tired too. I guess since it was the first time he had been travelling, then it would wear him out.

 

“Tiring, huh?”

“It sure is. But I can see why you like to do it.”

“Yeah it's pretty fun!”

“Can I get your order?” I was asked.

 

Why do I know that voice?

 

“Lina?” I turned to the waitress. She turned her tired gaze from the notebook to me.

“Gourry?”