~Part 4-1~         Well, it started off all nice and sunny, turned into a violent thunder storm, then to nice and sunny again. All within half an hour or so... But a different kind of storm, one of confusion was near eruption. The whole group was left slightly bruised, but nonetheless in whole pieces, that's all except Gourry. He mourned silently for the loss of his legendary Sword of Light, and Lina suffered even more by not knowing who'd she'd have to steal it from to make it her own at last. All seemed more or less in tact and all were swarming Kitty.
    "What's a Josenkyo Spring?" Kitty asked the staring faces in her direction, "No, no, I can usually change when I want to... NO! It has NOTHING to do with water at all!!
    ...It's a curse...
    I don't know why! It just happened to me quite a few years ago... I don't know what I did so WRONG to get this punishment!
    My ex-trainer... he was pretty well known...
    Aka Houshi Rezo!"
    A chorus of gasps followed her final statement, as well as many *thuds* caused by miscellaneous falling items. There was a prolonged, scary silence among the group.
    Zelgadiss was utterly confused, and wasted no time in sharing it, "When was this!? How old are you anyway?"
    "Um... I'm seventeen... why?" Kitty answered in a straight forward sort of way.
    "I don't remember my 'grandfather' taking in random trainees, and I lived very close to him until his death," the blue chimera tried to calmly point out, quite successful in doing so.
    "You're his grandson!?" Kitty stepped back in shock, "He didn't look that old!"
    "When did you say you trained with him?" Lina was catching on to the confusion, realizing it wasn't like Zelgadiss to overlook something like this with Rezo.
    "A few years ago... actually, that's how my 'problem' began... I wasn't aware that he died either."
    "Strange," Zelgadiss mused, " I'm sure I would have known about this, but then again, Rezo had his secrets kept from me for quite a while."
    "Like the resurrection of Shabranigdou, for example," Lina recalled," Ne, Zel?"
    He faintly nodded in acknowledgment.
    "You lived with Rezo, the Red Priest, but I never saw you before now either," Kitty went on.
    "Oh, it's possible you saw me, but you probably wouldn't recognize me..." Zelgadiss mumbled, then thought of something better to say, "Damned Rezo. There must be a few dozen other things about him that still remain a secret..." Zelgadiss was pretty angry. This was one of those extremely rare moments when he spoke openly about his past and showed some kind of emotion about it too... okay, maybe not our definition of 'openly'...
    "Who's Rezo?" Kagemi asked quietly, feeling slightly embarrassed because everyone else seemed to know who he was.
    Another blank silence overtook the gathering. Kagemi shrugged innocently, "Sorry, but I don't know many people around here, except you... don't look at me like that!"
    "We'll tell you all about it... later, Kagemi," Lina really didn't feel like running through the young history at the moment.
    Filia suddenly broke through the wall of discussionists and spoke in Lina's direction, "This is serious! I mean... Kage," her tail peaked above her head and her hair was slightly on the fritz, " It is a legendary power that's only a myth!"
    Lina sighed and rose her index finger to her forehead, "That's why it sounded familiar."
    "Didn't the story mention how the ability to wield the power of Kage was lost because of some warrior or emperor who betrayed and abused it?" Gourry felt like bringing up.
    "G... Gourry-san?" Amelia was frightened, "You didn't know anything about Rezo, or Shabranigdou (so Lina-san tells me), but you know this!? Even I haven't heard this story before!"
    "Actually... um... my parents always retold this and tons of other fun stories when I was a kid. It was really popular in my home town. Is that weird or something?" Gourry scratched his head and blinked his eyes, all while looking up.
    Lina shook her head, amazed once again at the random things the boy seemed to know, "Tonikaku, we need to get the sword back."
    Kagemi raised her hand in a dramatic flow of movement, accompanied by a cute li'l giggle, "And I know where they'll be! I was sent there when they initially tried to hire me to get the sword. I can take you there!"
    A sudden erratic humming broke the conversation again, as Naga was sitting rather quietly at the base of a boulder, protruding from dirt and grass. She replaced the jade hair clip atop her head, then rearranged it once again, humming to herself, totally disconnected form the main party.
    Placing her hands on her hips in a huff and giving her a nasty glare, Lina stood directly in front of Naga, casting a shadow where previously there was none, "Sorry to intrude, NAGA, but do you have anything useful to contribute?"
    "Oh ho, Lina, myself alone accompanying this group out of the kindness of my heart is my contribution! My unmatched power and beauty is a splendid addition, and as of now, I must insist on assuming the leadership of thi--"
    #WHAP#
    "RRRG!!!" Naga gurgled.
    "Do you even have the remotest, slightest, most minute idea of what the rest of us have been talking about while you've been over here in LA LA land worried about your appearance!?" Lina bared her teeth in a scary, insane sort of way and breathed noisily, adding to the intimidation effect.
    "Mmmm... not in the slightest!" she honestly replied.
    "Oh dear," Kagemi interrupted the next moment which might have consisted of a violent thrashing, a lot of strong vocal name-calling, and an eventually throttled, maimed, dismembered and evenly, x-tra crispy, charred corpse that had previously been parading around by the name of Naga the White Serpent. You get the idea, but Lina stopped.
    "I've forgotten to return those hair clips to that poor old man!" Kagemi quickly finished, not realizing she had halted Lina from committing a very destructive act, punishable by Saillune Law.
    Amelia beamed with happiness, "Ah! I'm so glad there is another upholder of Justice in our midst! Isn't that great, Lina-san!?"
    No answer.
    "I, Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune commend thee, friend of Justice!? She grasped Kagemi's hands in her own, much to Kagemi's discomfort, "I am an upholder of Justice, and my Daddy always taught me to find the good in each person's soul and nurture it to bring out the defender of Justice that lies within us all!"
    Kagemi looked around desperately for some sign to help her out of this. Unfortunately, everyone had already returned to their own business of sitting on the grass, or whistling to no tune at all, turning their backs, pacing, fixing hair, adjusting clothes and... so on... she had no choice than to take the full brunt of the attack and was more than immensely relieved when Amelia had finally shut up about three hours later in another town diner.
    Lina had wisely chosen to take a roundabout route around the forest and around the last town they had visited, deciding it would be a superior choice to avoid the town they had permanently left a mark upon. undoubtedly, they would be most unwelcome, and Lina felt it best to slip by another town that wanted to lynch her for some obscure reason or another...