The kids were all crowded around something when Gourry got to the sparring fields the next morning. At first he ewas worried that someone was injured, but the vibe from the group was different. And then Pippi exclaimed, "He's so cute!"

The groups shifted, and Gourry could see Honor at the center, holding a rather distinctive looking golden tabby. "That your cat?" Gourry asked as he reached them.

"No." Honor explained even as she brought the cat closer for a cuddle as he purred loudly in response. "He just walked right up to me when I came out today."

Gourry considered the cat for a moment and then said, "If he's still around after class, then you can go ahead and bring him to the kitchen for some milk."

"Really!?" Honor exclaimed.

"Really!" Gourry said. Cats were good to keep around for keeping vermin away after all, and Lina had talked about getting one. He did a quick count of the students and noted that they were all there and said, "Now we're going to start with some laps today, then we're going to pair off. Four laps!"

Gourry watched as the kids ran and sat down next to the tabby and started to scratch his ears. The cat purred loudly as he leaned into his hand for more scretchies, and Gourry found himself hoping that the cat would stick around. As Han came up to join them he said by way of greeting. "Where did that cat come from?"

"Honor found him." Gourry explained. "I've never seen a cat like this one. It's almost as if his fur was spun from gold."

"It is unusual." Han said, "Might have to ask around. He's too friendly to be feral. He has to belong to someone."

"I hope not, I'm kinda of hoping to keep him." Gourry said, "Anyway, you ready?"

"Got the lesson all planned out." Han replied.

They chatted amicably as the kids ran, and when they finished Gourry divided them into two groups, those that were proficient in swordplay and those that weren't, and sent those who were proficient with Han.

"Wait." Owen said, "I was wanting to be trained by the best."

Han looked menacing as he asked, "And what makes you think Gourry is better than me?"

"Gourry was knighted. You weren't."

"Any swordsman worth his salt knows you need to learn as many different styles as possible, and from as many people as possible." Gourry said, "I'm going to work with the new students for a bit, then after an hour we'll trade off. Everyone here will have their chance to pit their skills with the sword against all of the teachers here, well, with the exception of Princess Amelia and Mrs. Inverse. In the meantime, I wouldn't be so quick to insult someone who will be instructing you."

"Alright then." Owen said, and judging by the way that Han was glaring at him Gourry had a feeling that the lad was in for a rough lesson.

Gourry shook his head, and then instructed his group to pair up and then demonstrated how to block a blow, and then had them practice with wooden swords. As he walked along the line and observed them he noted which had natural talent and which ones didn't, and he did his best to find something that each of them had done well so he could point it out to them later even as he offered corrections when they were needed. By the end of the lesson they were laughing and joking with each other as an easy camaraderie started to form.

"Alright, we're going to switch now. Keep up the hard work for Mr. Inverse, and then it will be lunch time!" Gourry said. He then walked over to the other group of students, who were still paired off. Gourry noted that Owen was looking thunderous.

"Go ahead and spar with your partner until one of you makes contact." Gourry instructed, and then once again he walked down the line and observed them as they dueled.

Once everyone had finished, Gourry said, "Will the winners raise their hands?"

The student who won proudly shot their hands in the air, big smiles beaming on their faces. Gourry nodded, and then he asked, "Now, who of you with your hands up can describe your opponent's style?'

"Describe it then."

Gomez smiled as he straightened, and then described his duel with Adam with plenty of narrative flourish. Gourry smiled and nodded, and then asked, "Can anyone who lost describe their opponent's style?"

Honor raised her hand. "Honor?"

Honor proceeded to give a technical account of Danielle's style, and when she finished, Gourry explained, "Gomez and Honor are the real winners. When you're fighting ruffians and bandits, winning is just a matter of having more skill. But when you're fighting skilled warriors and Mazoku, winning takes a lot more. It's about studying your opponent's style, seeing your opponent's strengths and their weaknesses and being able to capitalize on them. A good swordsman can identify their opponent blindfolded."

"But how are you supposed to remember all of that?" Owen asked.

"It does fill up your head." Gourry said as he smiled, "It's why I don't have room in my head to remember anything else! Now, I want you to duel again, and this time I want you to be able to describe your opponent's style after we finish."

Gourry watched as they dueled again, and then listened as they subsequently described each other's styles. For some, it came naturally. Others struggled to note anything about their opponent's style. "We will practice, and we will get better at this. Keep in mind, every opponent has a weakness, and when you find that weakness, then you need to use it to your advantage."

"Do you have a weakness?" Danielle asked.

"I do." Gourry explained, "And when you find it, you will have the power to best me."

"Do you want us to best you?" Kara asked.

"Every teacher wants to see their students grow beyond them."

"Is it Lina?" Owen asked.

"Is what Lina?" Gourry asked.

"Your weakness?"

Gourry stared at him for a moment, "What makes you say that?"

"You know what they saw about women on the battlefield."

"No," Gomez said, "For a man like him, her being there will make him fight harder!"

"Quick, sloppy thinking like that will get you killed, Owen." Gourry said, "I found a partner whose fighting style compliments mine. Good warriors do that. Her weaknesses are my strengths, her strengths are my weaknesses, so we balance each other out. She only becomes a liability to me if she is hurt, and I only become a liability to her if I am hurt, just like I become a liability to myself if my hand is hurt. Gomez is right, she gives me a reason to fight harder."

Owen lowered his eyes as he shifted, and Gourry worried that he was getting frustrated and discouraged. He then glanced at the sun, "For today, that is enough. Good work everyone. Eat well, you've earned it."

Owen hung around a bit as the other students left. From their east, Gourry heard Honor exclaimed in delight as she picked up the golden tabby, "You're still here!"

Gourry smiled as he watched as Honor carried the cat to the kitchen, but was distracted when Owen asked, "You trust Lina, a lot."

"Yes." Gourry replied.

"How do you trust someone like that?"

"When you're on the battlefield and it's find someone to have your back or be killed, you get really good at it." He then considered Owen a moment, "It sounds as though you've not met a lot of people that you can trust."

Owen was quite for a moment before he looked at the ground and admitted, "No."

Gourry looked around, and then said, "Test me."

"Huh?" Owen said.

"Test me. Trust me with a small secret. If I tell anyone, then you don't have to tell me anything more. But if I keep it, then you have to trust me with a larger one."

Owen took a deep breath, but then like anyone who is holding a lot in, spat out, "My parents are thinking about splitting, even with what that means for being nobles."

"Wow." Gourry said. "That's rough."

"Yeah." Owen said.

Gourry clasped him on the shoulder, "I won't tell anyone. Just let me know how it goes. And you'll always have a home here, even if they do split."

Owen's eyes blinked rapidly as his face set, "Right. Thanks."

"Where did Honor get that cat?" Lina asked as she walked with Gourry to their dining room after classes had wrapped up for the week. She was looking forward to a quiet dinner with the other adults, as well as a few days to rest before getting back into the swing of things. While the week had been successful, it had also been grueling and exhausting learning the ropes of her new career.

"Oh, I forgot! He came up to her a few days ago. I thought you wouldn't mind if she brought him in." Gourry explained.

"I don't, but I swear I had a dream about him." She said, and then her eyes widened as she saw a couple of students outside of the door to the Sad Lady's room. "Indiana, Jean-Luc, where are you going?"

Indiana smiled, "We just wanted to talk to her, find out what life was like three hundred years ago."

Lina raised her eyebrow, "Well, whatever happens, make sure you document it and have a copy on my desk tomorrow morning."

Indiana and Jean-Luc exchanged a mischievous look, "Will do!"

Lina chuckled as Gourry asked, "You don't mind them going in there?"

"Why not? The Sad Lady won't hurt them. And they can't hurt her. And it shows an initiative and willingness to take risks that someone will need on the field. Besides, I have a soft spot for those boys."

"Which ones?" Zel asked as Lina and Gourry walked into the room. The seat beside him was empty, Amelia had still not returned home from Zefiel City.

"Indy and Jean-Luc." Lina said.

"They are good students, even if they push the boundaries of what they can get away with." Zelgadis said. "Ace is the one that has really impressed me, though. Nerys, though, she gets under my skin."

"She's a bit oppositional, but she says what needs to be said." Lina replied.

"She could do with a little respect."

Leia and Lina exchanged a look, and Leia said, "In my experience, men start droning on about respect when they want to keep women under their foot."

"Look, I'm not like that…" Zelgadis flared.

"But Nerys knows plenty of men who are." Lina said, "Cut her some slack, she's been through a lot and lost her entire family when the demons attacked. It's Kara that annoys me. She's too scared of her own power."

"There's nothing wrong with a little caution, especially given what we're working with." Zelgadis said.

"It's good in the right amounts. I'm not worried about Honor or Jean-Luc or Clark for that matter. They have it in the right balance. But Kara has too much of it."

"And Pippi and Peter too little." Zelgadis said, and with that everyone laughed.

"To be fair, Pippi and Peter are our youngest students." Leia said.

"But Pippi, was she raised in a barn?" Han asked.

"No, her father's a sea captain. She was raised on a boat." Lina said.

"Oh, so it's worse than a barn!" Gourry said.

Lina laughed, even as she shook her head, "Honestly Dad, Gourry, didn't you read all of that information that Sis compiled?"

"No." they both said.

"Why should I when you'll just tell me everything anyway?" Gourry asked.

"So you'll just be lazy and let me do the work for you!?" Lina yelled.

"It gives me more reasons to talk to you. But if you want me to ignore you, then I guess I can read all about it." Gourry said

Lina's mouth dropped, and then she shook her head and smiled, "Who says I was complaining?"

Amelia walked in and closed the door, "Big news everyone!"

Before she took the time to explain anything, she rushed and kissed Zelgadis and then sat at the table and announced, "The good news! The Elmekian Empire has agreed to destroy the object with the help of representatives from several other kingdoms."

Lina breathed a sigh of relief. "That is big news. I won't relax completely until it is destroyed. Now, what's the catch?"

Amelia looked at Gourry nervously, "They made a lot of requests. Now, in situations like this it is normal for a country to make a lot of demands and to know that most will not be filled, but they did ask that Mr. Gourry return to the Elmekian Empire to be tried for stealing the Sword of Light."

Lina felt as though she had been punched in the gut as she looked at Gourry, who set his fork down. "What did the Eternal Queen say?" he asked.

"She's completely against it, and she plans to offer something else instead. She does want to talk to you about it, though, so she will be here next week with Miss Luna to fill you in on everything and to tour the school."

"T-tour the school!" Lina exclaimed. "But we just got it off the ground! We're still working out the bugs!"

"It will be fine, honey." Leia said.

Lina groaned, "I was wanting to take it easy this weekend! Now I'm going to be worrying about this."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Amelia said. "Really, it's just to get the nobles who are upset about the expense off her back. When she sees what a wonderful job you are doing here she'll tell them she's satisfied, and no one will be able to complain."

"I don't think it's that easy!" Lina said.

"Well, I've got some good lessons planned for next week." Zelgadis said. "And Ace is sending for her friend who was turned into a chimera and we're going to work on curing her. It will show how we're already benefitting the citizens of the kingdom."

"That's wonderful, honey!" Amelia beamed.

"Yeah, but is she expected to get in so quickly? It takes time to get to here from Silberma!" Lina protested. "I just thought we'd be a bit more settled before they decided to visit."

"I guess that was a bit premature." Zelgadis said sheepishly.

"Well," Leia said chipperly, "What do you need from us to have us ready?"

Lina groaned, "I'll get to you tomorrow on that. It's been a long week. I want a night off to rest."

"Well, I have some ideas," Leia said as she took charge and started listing them. Lina tuned her out as she ate, and slowly it dawned on her that she had a bigger problem than their upcoming guests. Gourry was shaken. Rather than eat he merely pushed his food around his plate as he stared blankly at the table and said little. When dinner was finally finished and they left the dining room, Lina reached out to grab his hand as they walked up the stairs and towards their room.

Once the door had closed behind them, he sat dejectedly on the bed and took off his boots. She looked at him, and tried to think of a way to lighten the mood, "You remember what Amelia said. The Eternal Queen is going to offer something else, and there's no way she's going to want you to return to Elmekia after giving you citizenship and parading you in front of the country. I wouldn't worry about having to go to the Elmekian Empire for some ridiculous trial."

Gourry ran a hand through his hair but didn't say anything. She frowned. "What?"

"Everything is just going too good." He said.

"So?" she asked.

"So it can't last, I don't know why I was dumb enough to think it would. I don't deserve any of this."

"Stop talking like that!" Lina snapped as she sat on bed with him, alarmed at his pity party, "You have more than earned this! How many other people can say they took down Shabranigdu?"

"You took Shabranigdu down. Twice. If anything I was just in the way."

"You gave me the Sword of Light the first time." Lina countered, "I couldn't have killed him without it! And the second time…Luke knew that by hurting you it was the best way to get me to end the fight quickly. And if you hadn't had been there to encourage me to face him in the first place, I may have just turned my head."

"You wouldn't have." He said, "You would have done the right thing."

"You making the decision to stand with me to fight Shabranigdu made doing the right thing a hell of a lot easier. And no matter what, even if you do have to go to the Elmekian Empire for a trial, I will stand with you and smack some reason into anyone who says you did wrong. Because you deserve to be by my side." She then smiled coyly, "And all of the happiness that being in my amazing presence brings."

He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, and as she put a hand on his back she wasn't sure if she was making things better or worse. "Hey! Talk to me! Tell me you're going to be alright."

He dried his eyes and then suddenly reached forward to embrace her, "It will. I just get into these stupid ways of thinking sometimes."

She wrapped her arms around him and said, "Then it's a good thing you have me here to tell you when you're being stupid."

He pulled away and brushed the hair from her face, "Love you."

She moved forward to kiss him, "Love you."