Somehow, his clothes felt heavier. It made no sense. Why would his clothes suddenly be heavier? Which made Gourry wonder if it really was his clothes or the weight of everything that he and Lina weren't talking about that he felt. All that they had been through remained undiscussed, as did his fears of finding a new magical sword. And while he knew that he needed to talk with her about all of this, his fear of losing her was such that he could never press the issue. So what needed to be spoken remained unsaid. No wonder his clothes felt heavy!
Still, there was not much time to think about clothes or the things left unsaid when there was a mission at hand, especially one that paid this well. The local guild was giving them top coin to hunt down a rogue sorcerer. Typically it would be considered a hard job, but after half a year of dealing with demons, it was turning out to be rather mundane.
"Flare Arrow!" The sorcerer cried, proving that the mundane was not without its share of dangers.
Gourry reacted on instinct and detached the blade from the hilt as he called, "Light come forth!"
The panic hit him a split second before the Flare Arrow did as his idiocy was swiftly punished with burning pain. He cried out as he dodged out of the way as he wondered how he could have forgotten as Lina moved in front of him.
"Van Rail!" Lina cried, encasing the sorcerer in an ice spell.
"How long will that ice hold?" Gourry asked as he took off his armor and the remains of his shirt, which hit the floor with a strange jingling sound. He was too distracted to pay much mind as the pain on his arms flared as he started to peel his gloves off.
"Long enough for a healing spell." Lina said as she shook her head as she walked up to him, "Man, don't give me a heart attack like that!"
"Sorry, I forgot…"
"This isn't something to go around forgetting!" Lina said loudly as she probed the burns on his chest as he took a deep breath. She was close, so temptingly close. But her anger formed an impenetrable wall between them. So he tried not to even think about being half naked in a castle with her. But even with her anger, it was hard to forget. "You got lucky." She finally said as she started chanting.
Warmth spread across his chest as her spell did its work and the pain started to subside and was replaced with a sense of want for something he felt he had not yet earned. He kept his eye on the sorcerer, frozen in ice, just in case he thawed. But it was more to distract him from his desire to lean into Lina's presence than any real sense of a threat.
She trailed her hands from his chest down his arms and then to his hands as she focused on her chant. Was it wishful thinking on his part, or was there a slight flush to her face as she examined him? Or was it just the anger. Probably anger. She'd been very angry lately.
"All finished," she eventually said as she stood up and moved away from him quickly as though she'd been burned.
"Thanks." He said, "So how are we going to…"
He was distracted by the sound of something metallic scrapping against the stone floor as she picked up the remains of his shirt. Why would there be something metallic in his shirt? "What are you going to do with that?" he asked as she slipped the shirt in her bag, "Even the best seamstress wouldn't be able to repair it."
"Waste not want not." Lina said knowingly.
"It would barely be fit for a rag!" Gourry said, "And what was that sound…"
"Hush Gourry. Stop wasting time on unimportant matters and help me figure out how to get this dude to the guild so we can collect our reward and replenish our coffers!"
Gourry looked at himself in the old, cloudy mirror at his room in the inn. Some of his hair had been scorched when the Flare Arrow hit and he was trying to cut it but it was hard to see in the mirror. He heard Lina's footsteps down the hallway and wasn't surprised when she stopped at the doorway, which he'd left open to let the breeze through. "Hey," he said as he continued to stare at his hair as he held his knife uncertainly.
"Need some help?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess I do," he said as he handed her the knife.
She combed her fingers through his hair, all the way down to the ends and he felt a shiver run down his spine. "Damn, Gourry, when was the last time you had it trimmed?"
"Well, never, now that you mention it. Should I?" he asked.
She started to cut off the singed areas, "So does everyone just let their hair grow out where you're from?"
"Well, cutting tools are rather scarce in Elemekia." He said, and then his stomach seized a little as he revealed more about where he was from than he ever had before.
But Lina took it in stride as she continued to cut the burnt ends off, "I've heard that. No wonder everyone I've met who's from Elemekia has no desire to go back!"
He laughed a little as he relaxed, but then her hand grazed his butt a little as she pulled his hair away from his back and it took all of his concentration to focus on the conversation! "Let's say that I have an appreciation for all of the greenery here and leave it at that."
"Still, I'm surprised your family didn't take turns using the sword to cut each other's hair." Lina probed.
Because I wasn't going to give them the opportunity to stab me in the back, Gourry thought. He bit back on the words though even though he needed to say it, he needed to explain why he didn't want to get a new, powerful sword. He just wanted to travel with her.
And while losing the Sword of Light had cost him in terms of his usefulness to her it wasn't as it they were likely to get entangled in another mess with demons again. Really, what were the odds? And given that he was still one of the best swordsmen around he was sure that he would be able to handle whatever more common dangers they faced from here on out. Sure, he'd messed up with the sorcerer, but once he adjusted he was certain he would be able to show her that they could get by without a powerful sword.
But would she look at him the same if she knew what sort of family he came from? Or would she turn away in disgust? Part of him knew he would have to tell her at some point, especially if they ever were going to have a deeper relationship. But the time didn't feel right. They'd both been through so much in the past few months and they needed to play it safe and recover. Now was not the time for big reveals.
"Well no one in my family is known for their smarts." Gourry ended up saying with a smile.
"Really man…" she said with a sigh as she cut off another patch of hair, "That should be it. Where's your hairbrush?"
His eyes widened as he pointed to his bag on the bed. "You're going to brush my hair?"
"Never leave a job unfinished." Lina said as she walked over and quickly rummaged through his bag and found the brush. She walked back to him and ran it from the top all the way down to the bottom as she said with a chuckle, "I may need to get a stool though."
It was good to hear her laugh again! "It might be easier if we sit on the bed." He pointed out as he hoped he was successful in keeping any sort of sleaze or ulterior motive from his voice.
He couldn't get a good read on the expression on her face but she nodded, "Right."
They sat on the bed, and as she gathered his hair Gourry told himself to keep in mind that she knew him well enough to trust that he wouldn't take advantage of her and to not abuse that trust as she started brushing the ends of his hair. And damn, but it felt nice! Of course she talked about magical swords as she so often did now and where they could find them and he would nod every so often, too distracted by how good it felt to be so close to her as he tried to reign in on the errant thoughts of wanting to kiss her to pay attention in any real depth to her words.
"There," she said, "You're lucky, you have so much hair I don't think anyone will notice the bits I had to cut off."
"Well, and it's not as if I'm planning to win any beauty contests." He said as he summoned every ounce of willpower he possessed to refrain from any sort of touch. It felt as though even the most innocent of touches would lead him down a dangerous, irreversible path. Still, he could not resist asking, "Thanks, Lina. Do you need me to return the favor?"
"Well, mine doesn't need to be cut." She said slowly as a strange looked crossed her face, but then she smiled and took off her bandanna as she handed him the brush. "Why not?"
He moved forward and pulled her bangs back as he noticed an indentation on her forehead. "What?" she asked, her breath hot on his face.
It would be the perfect moment to kiss her! Every ounce of his being screamed at him to close the gap between them! But he remembered how she'd reacted in Halciform's mansion to the idea of them cuddling and how she'd never given any indication that she was wanting to be romantic. He took a deep breath and summoned his restraint as he leaned back to let them both reclaim some space. He'd not earned such closeness yet. "There's a circle on your forehead." He stated as he suddenly found it hard to look at her eyes so he stared at the brush instead.
"Oh, yeah. There's a gemstone in my bandanna that helps with my magical focus." She explained as he took the brush and started to run it through her hair, enjoying how soft it felt. "I have to tie it tight around my head so it leaves an indent. It'll be gone by morning."
"Just in time to make a new one." He said as he continued to run the brush through her hair.
"Such is life." She said, "All these things we need to survive on the road like this. At least we have some good coin now that will last us awhile…"
Her voice had a strange lilt as it drifted up, and Gourry suddenly wished he could see her face as she took a deep, shuddering breath. "Did I hurt you?" he asked.
"No," she said quickly, her voice more watery than usual, "It's fine, it's just, overwhelming."
"There's no rush to get a new sword."
"Yes there is!" she snapped, "Today should be a wake up call, Gourry!"
He was torn between wanting to argue his point and wanting to enjoy touching her hair some more. Well, he'd have plenty of times to talk about this later but he might never get this chance again. Especially since he couldn't completely rule out the fact that she was wanting to find a new sword as quickly as possible so then she could feel better about dumping him by the side of the road. It was stupid, she'd rescued him from Hellmaster afterall, but the fact that she kept finding excuses centered around swords to justify traveling him did little to assuaged his insecurities. "Well, it was a wake up call." He said, eager to get off the topic, "Did you think our dinner tasted strange?"
And they continued on that safe topic as he brushed her hair till her stood up and ran a hand through it and smiled, "Hey that wasn't half bad. I should let you do that more often."
"You know where to find me." He said with a smile as he tried to find some way to ask her to stay without sounding desperate or pervy. But she glanced out of the dark window to gauge the time and turned towards the door before he could find the words.
"Anyway, early start tomorrow. Night, Gourry."
"Night," he said as she closed the door behind her as he held the brush in his hand, entranced by the mixture of his blonde hair with her chestnut as he smiled. He had plenty of reasons to hope.
"Darn it!" Lina cursed as they ate lunch together after finding yet another fake magical sword designed to lure in unsuspecting travelers, "It's not like they'd bamboozled me into thinking it was actually legendary, but still! Really gets my goat that it wasn't just a false rumor, but some village's cheap-ass moneymaking scheme. And that I actually put money into it, even if it was just pocket change..."
Gourry flailed as he tried to find some way to calm her down, "Hey, no big deal. It's not like we're in a hurry."
"Are you kidding me?! This is your sword we're replacing, you know?!" Lina shot back.
He knew that. But even with the closeness they had shared the previous night it was hard to reign in on the insecurities that as soon as she found a new magical sword for him she would bolt. "Even so, Lina... legendary swords don't just grow on trees, right?"
"Exactly. Wouldn't really be legendary if they did."
He got her to agree to a small bit. How much could he press his luck? "But can't I just get by with an ordinary one?"
"How can you say that?!" Before Gourry could put much thought into her question she'd grabbed his hand. And then she gazed at him with those big eyes and for a moment he let himself believe that she was genuinely concerned for him. But then he noticed how she was sneaking food from his plate onto hers. "You know I think you're an incredible swordsman, Gourry... but that doesn't make you invincible. An ordinary sword would leave you helpless against any ghosts or demons we come across. Besides, you still fight like you have the Sword of Light... and it's gonna give me a heart attack. Remember when we were fighting that sorcerer the other day and you cooked yourself toasty trying to cut through some Flare Arrows with just a sword hilt?"
"Can't say I do, actually." He lied as he chose to ignore her stealing the food. Oh, he wanted her concern to be real! But even if it wasn't, he liked the way she was looking at him, he liked the feel of her hand on his and he liked hearing how worried she was about him!
But she sighed as she cut straight to the heart of the matter, "Point is, I'm not getting a halfway decent night's sleep until I find you a halfway decent magical sword."
"But can't we just buy one instead of going to all this trouble? That magic shop we visited that one time had lots of swords and stuff." He said as he realized that he was never going to feel secure in their relationship until she was traveling with him to be with him. Was her concern for him real, or was she just playing with his emotions to get what she wanted from him?
"C'mon, man. Those are just ordinary swords with talismans or amulets to enhance their edge. About the only supernatural baddies those'll work on are the crummiest tier of ghosts. They certainly can't cut through attack spells, and you can bet they won't do squat against a pure demon. So if we really want to get you a sword worth its salt, we gotta search it out."
"Don't they sell 'swords worth their salt' in those kinds of shops?" he persisted.
"Heck no! Even if they got one in stock, some noble or royal type would snatch it up in an instant. If we ever wanna get our mitts on one of those puppies, we'll have to find it ourselves."
"I see. Sounds rough." He said as he tried not to remember what it was like when he was growing up.
"Friendly reminder: this is your problem too!" she said in exasperation.
Only he didn't want it to be. He didn't want to find a new sword! He didn't want to find another family feud. And he didn't want to feel chained to another weapon. All he wanted was to be with Lina, and Lina wanted to find a sword, so that meant it was his problem, whether he liked it or not.
Even if at times he wondered why he was putting up with her. He knew she had a temper but it also felt that she never lost an opportunity to vent it at him now. Still, he couldn't say that she was exactly singling him out. Anyone and everyone was liable to bear the brunt of her rage. If he'd not known her before all this he wasn't sure if he would have made the commitment. But as hard as it was to be with her now he also knew he would feel worse if he left.
Especially since she had been through something. He didn't fully understand what but he knew enough. Enough that he was willing to give her some patience as she worked through it in the hopes that it would be worth it. Afterall, wasn't commitment about supporting each other through the hard times?
It didn't take too long for Gourry's fears of reliving his family history to manifest. While investigating a lead they'd stumbled upon a mystery involving a girl named Sherra and two treasure hunters named Luke and Mileena as well as a plethora of assassins. They were fending off an attack from the men in black when Gourry was able to wound one of the assassin's legs, and relief surged through him that he'd wounded and not killed. Now if they could get some information! "It's over now. You can't fight with your leg in that condition."
"Tch... It's over, is it?" Even though he'd only wounded him Gourry still had to push down the guilt at the hopelessness in the man's voice. Yes, demons were a lot more powerful and scary to fight. But there was no guilt in destroying one at least. And in that respect they were easier. He did not miss the moral ambivalence that came with fighting humans.
"Just spill it already. Tell me what you guys are—" Lina started, but before she could finish the body of the man he was holding exploded.
"Wha?!" Gourry shouted as it took him a moment to understand what had happened. There'd been no attack, meaning it had been something within the assassin which meant…the truth was too horrible to think on!
"He blew himself up... to protect his secret." Lina spelled out as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Darn it... What a stupid thing to do."
"But it kept us from learning anything." Gourry said softly as he thought about how Gunther would be able to inspire people to die to keep his secrets. And to make the people who tried to capture them feel guilty for even trying.
"Don't be silly. Just because he didn't tell us anything doesn't mean we didn't learn anything."
"Huh? What the..."
"Listen, Gourry, the fact that this dude was waiting here to attack us means there's really gotta be something in Bezeld."
He listened as Lina explained about how this meant that there likely was a sword in Bezeld but he couldn't quite muster the same excitement she did about it. As it was he was reliving one too many bad memories and the last thing he wanted to do was to continue down this path. All this bloodshed for a sword was not worth it!
An uneasy feeling formed in his stomach as he realized that at some point he would have to say enough was enough. Sword or no sword something was going on, and someone needed to keep on eye out on Sherra and ensure that no one took advantage of her. But while he (mostly) trusted Lina to do the right thing he also couldn't extinguish his fear that she wouldn't and he would have to stop her.
He listened as she speculated endlessly about their situation as he kept looking for a way out as she started saying, "Whatever... Anyway, that's who I think the black cloaks are. As for Luke and Mileena, they're probably like us. Mercenaries or some such who've got their eye on Sherra's treasure."
"Hmm... So it might not be a sword after all." Gourry said, clinging to hope that it wasn't without thinking about the impact it would have on Lina.
"What makes you say that?" Lina scowled.
"Well, I mean... You said the guys in black work for a king or something, right? So why go to all this trouble over a sword?" he said, hoping he could interest her in pursuing something else. The more deeply they got involved the less he was liking this.
"Hahh..." Lina sighed as she nodded, "You know what? Good for you. That was an impressive venture for the ol' Gourry noggin."
"The ol' Gourry noggin?"
"But in all seriousness, man... you don't get just how incredible legendary weapons are, do you?"
"Huh?" Gourry said as a part of him realized it was true. He grew up with the Sword of Light after all and had always failed to see what was so special about it. And if he could get her to see it from his point of view, then maybe he could convince her to drop it, "I mean, if you go to war, even if you've got a legendary weapon, a single flashy attack spell can still take you out, well... in a flash, you know?"
"Sure. But you're assuming a legendary weapon's true worth lies on the battlefield. Which ain't the case, you hear? Their real value is in the techniques used to make them."
"What?" he said as he wondered how to take this.
"Legendary weapons have properties that can't be reproduced by modern magical methods. There's incredible merit to studying what they're capable of and how they were created, because you can find ways to apply those principles to other things. That's worth way more than some measly little treasure. Remember how Amelia and Zelgadis would use the Astral Vine spell to temporarily charge their swords with magic?"
He wasn't listening closely. Only enough to get the gist that there was a possibility that if they found a new magical sword that she would like to run tests on it. Because of course she would. He must be deluding himself to believe that she'd want to travel with him for him. So when she brought up Zelgadis and Amelia he halfheartedly asked, "Who?"
Lina bowled over and Gourry had to smile at her reaction, wondering when she would tire of responding to every joke.
"You... You! Gourry!"
"I'm kidding, just kidding!" he said quickly before she could fire off a spell, "Even I wouldn't forget our old companions."
"You better watch what you joke about! Some things are way too convincing coming outta your mouth...A-Anyhoo..." she said as he realized with a sinking feeling that she was not deterred from the topic, "a sorcerer invented that spell long ago by applying techniques he learned from studying a magic sword."
"'Kay..."
"Of course, there are legendary weapons that might yield bupkis in terms of useful knowledge. It's kind of a gamble, if we're being totally honest. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to track them down when you can. Even if you don't learn anything worthwhile from it or ever use it much, you still get a sweet sword and all the bragging rights—and that ain't nothing."
Bragging rights! Yeah, Gunther liked the bragging rights. Father at least knew to stay silent about owning a weapon like that, but Gunther let it go to his head as he casually killed anyone who got in his way for all the good it did him. And before Gourry could think better of it he said, "But to kill people for that..."
"You still don't get it, Gourry. A legendary weapon can fetch enough coin to put a family on easy street for life. That's more than enough to kill for."
"Easy street for life? They're really worth that much?!" Gourry replied as he was disturbed by the casual way she talked about it as, to his horror, he started to question whether she really would do the right thing in this situation.
"You bet they are! You really think people are buying legendary freakin' weapons for chicken feed?"
A memory stirred within Gourry as he felt he'd finally found a way to corner her as he summoned his patience as he calmly pointed out, "Well, I remember a certain someone offering to buy my Sword of Light for five hundred and change once..."
It was rather satisfying to see how her eyes widened as she started to stutter, "R-Regardless, my point stands. Even if it really is 'just' a legendary sword, I'm not one bit surprised that royal goons are coming out of the woodwork for it."
"I see." Gourry said as the reality crashed that there was no deterring her. "W-Wait a minute…Wait just a minute! Does that mean we're gonna have to keep fighting them from now on?!"
"I mean, if you wanna get technical about it... Yes."
"Wh-What're we gonna do?! We don't even know how many of them there are!"
"That's true! I guess you'll have to dig down deep and give this everything you've got!"
"Me? What about you?! And why are we putting ourselves through all this for a sword we don't even know exists?"
"Would you rather just kick back and let such a juicy opportunity slip by? All while Sherra's out there getting stalked by who-knows-what?"
"Rgh..." Gourry let out a slight groan at this. Lina knew him well. Someone had to keep an eye out for her interests. "That's right... I forgot Sherra's in this too..."
"And setting aside the question of whether there really is a sword or a treasure, I think I'd always regret it if I turned back now. So..."
"I guess that's fair," he admitted. And he hoped that by bringing up Sherra Lina was signaling that she did have her limits and wanted him there to back her up in case she needed to lay down the law with the men in black or Luke and Mileena to protect Sherra. Because he feared that his relationship with Lina would not survive otherwise.
Gourry listened quietly over the campfire as Mileena explained how she and Luke had gotten involved. Occasionally Lina would ask a question when she hit the bullseye. "So if you're still headed there anyway, then you think there's some truth to the rumors about the sword, don't you?"
"Er..." Luke scratched his cheek and looked at Mileena as Gourry studied their interactions as he tried to figure them out.
"You can tell her." Mileena said.
Luke's eyes welled a little, as if he was upset that Mileena had chosen to share information that he would have preferred to withhold. Still he talked about how people from villages had been going missing and the rumors of a strange sword in a mine in Bezeld and how Sherra had kept them at arm's length when they found her when…
"The men in black showed up, followed by us, right?" Lina said.
"Yeah, pretty much. Not like I got any way to know what those guys are thinkin'... But some bigwig organization gettin' involved makes the whole sword thing seem pretty legit." Luke said as Gourry's stomach sank at the thought of a sword being at the center of all of this.
"Hmm, I see."
"An' it's just been one thing after another since. Right when we started thinkin' the sword was for-sure for-real, Sherra ditched us. We figured she was headin' to Bezeld, so we figured we oughta head that way too... An' here we are." Here being the remains of a village that had been burnt to the ground by demons. While Gourry thought he would have been horrified to mess with demons again it was actually a relief because it was a real reason to get involved. Or a better one than killing people for a sword. "Now, lemme make one thing clear. Just 'cause I told you all this don't make us a team. I only shared 'cause there ain't no point in keepin' it secret, but I ain't plannin' on makin' nice with you."
"No worries there. The thought never crossed my mind." Lina said nonchalantly as Gourry tried to work out whether this was a good thing or not. Luke and Mileena were solid fighters, around Zel and Amelia's level, and Gourry wasn't going to sneeze at that. But he also couldn't figure them out.
Luke was obviously smitten with Mileena, and to say she was giving him the cold shoulder was an understatement. It was actually painful to watch how Luke continued to try after receiving brush off after brush off. Which lead to the more uncomfortable question of why Mileena was traveling with him. Gourry was fairly sure that Lina would have kicked anyone who didn't take no well to the curb by now. Were the benefits that Luke brought to the partnership really worth putting up with his overbearing love talk?
He kept an eye on the group as Luke and Mileena announced that they were ready for bed. Luke tried to suggest sharing with Mileena who gave him a good tongue lashing as she went to her tent alone and closed the flap behind her. As Luke stood outside her tent looking forlorn the question of why he continued to bother Mileena danced on the tip of Gourry's tongue, but then his bit it. Luke had made it clear that he did not want a long term partnership with them and it wasn't any of his business. And Mileena was a grown women who was choosing to put up with him for mystifying reasons and who needed little help in putting Luke in his place.
And it wasn't as if he and Lina had a perfect relationship.
"So are you wanting to turn in?" he asked.
"I'm going to sit up for a bit." She said as she smiled at him. "I have some things to think through."
"Let me know if you want me to keep watch for a bit." He said as he put a hand on her shoulder and noted how tense it was.
"Thanks. Night, Gourry."
He walked to his tent and settled in and must have fallen asleep quickly because the next thing he knew he was woken by the sound of his tent flap opening. He relaxed as he realized it was Lina, but before he could ask if she wanted him to take over he realized she was rifling through his bag. He lay on his bedroll in confusion as she walked out and closed the flap behind him. A few moments later she called, "Lighting!"
He thought about going out and seeing what she was doing, but he was too tired, and they had another hard day of travel ahead. It wasn't the first time she'd gone through his stuff and aside from his grandmother's bracelets, which she'd always left undisturbed, he had nothing of value. Perhaps she needed material for a new pair of pants. It wasn't uncommon for her to start a sewing project when she was having difficulty sleeping.
He was just falling asleep again when she came in again and put something in his bag. "Lina?" he asked.
"Go back to bed, Luke says he'll keep watch for awhile." She said as she walked out.
When he woke the next morning he initially assumed he'd dreamt that Lina had come into his tent. But as he was putting his shirt on he could not ignore the heaviness, nor the lumpy feel around the seams. He took it off and examined it and saw dark, lumpy shapes through the material. He sat down on his bedroll and undid the seam and was confused as he saw a surprising amount of copper coins, enough for a meal and a stay at an inn, as well as some amulets, like the ones Lina used to protect herself.
He stared at them, mystified for a moment as he wondered why Lina would sew these into his clothes and then not tell him about it. And then he smiled a little as he put the coins back in and got out his own needle and thread and sewed them back up as a feeling of euphoria rushed through him. If she was sewing money and amulets into his clothes then it meant that she wanted to protect him, to keep him safe. That he meant something to her! Lina didn't part with money easily afterall.
And perhaps she didn't say anything because she was too scared to tell him. Just like he was too scared to tell her how much she meant to him. He was probably wrong. There was likely another reason she was doing it and he just was too stupid to figure it out. But he liked believing that it was true, so for now he wasn't going to ask her about it.
"Blast Ash!"
Gourry watched in disbelief as the spell severed one of the multitudes of tentacles that the hyperdemon possessed and how it instantly healed! And just like that Gourry suddenly wished he had the Sword of Light back as he tried to think of how they could defeat something with such healing ability without it. Off the top of his head he couldn't think of any big spells Lina had that wouldn't destroy the nearby town, but she was definitely more knowledgeable there than him. "Isn't there anything we can do, Lina?!"
"Anything at all?" Lina asked as an all too familiar look appeared in her eye and Gourry felt his stomach sink as he realized that rather than strategizing with him she was planning something risky. "Everyone! Back me up!"
"Hey! Wait, Lina!" but she was already charging at the hyperdemon! "Darn it..."
How was he supposed to back her up against a hyperdemon with a pathetic plain old sword?
"Back you up? For what?!" Luke called.
"Rune Flare!" Mileena said as Lina moved closer to the hyperdemon and Gourry prayed that he wasn't about to watch his worst fears play out as he moved closer to the beast and did his best to severe the tentacles, moving as fast as he could before they regenerated, his eyes ahead as Lina drew closer and closer…
It was getting harder to see her as she got closer to whatever was in the center of that thing and it became harder to defend her from the tentacles, even with backup from Luke and Mileena. Damn, he knew she was a woman of action, she knew she acted first and asked questions later and it was amazing it hadn't gotten her killed. Before at least he'd had a magical sword that he could protect her with. But now?
All he could do was yell as he swatted away the tentacles with his plain old sword as he begged for her to come back to him! "Lina! You're too close!"
His heart seized as one of the tentacles grabbed her arm and he rushed to sever it, "Lina! What are you doing, Lina?!"
She couldn't answer him. She was chanting. Of course she wasn't going to turn back and run. It wasn't in her nature but dammit! He shook his head as he accepted the reality of the situation and hoped she had something good up her sleeve because there was only so much that he could do with this sword to keep her safe. Any moment he feared that the tentacles would overwhelm him and it would be the end of her life!
"Ragna Blade!" she cried, and he recognized the spell that had scared Gaav. Would it work here?
Gourry continued to cut through the tentacles as Lina brought the spell down on a black claw that appeared within the hyperdemon. But she was struggling to cut through it and he knew that spell she was casting drained her, and without the Sword of Light he couldn't do much to help!
"Ruby-Eye Blade!" Luke shouted as a sword of red light appeared and he used it to pierce the claw with her, much to Gourry's shock and relief as the hyperdemon cried out.
"Hey! The demon..." Lina gasped as her spell fizzled as the way that the tentacles were moving started to change, almost as though it was deflating.
"It's collapsing?!" Gourry shouted.
Finally it crumpled, becoming dust and then something even smaller than dust. Lina sank to her knees as she took a deep breath as Luke and Mileena looked around as if worried that it wasn't truly over.
"Hey, Lina. What the heck just happened?" Gourry asked Luke and Mileena stared at her as well.
Gourry listened to Lina's explanation as his nerves started to settle as he started to believe that it was truly over. Until…
"Yes, yes, congratulations on your achievement. I never expected to get the better of Lina Inverse easily, but I'll admit I was surprised by your competence as well, Master Luke," Sherra said as she came in dressed as a general. No longer was she the frightened girl full of bravado. Gourry could read quickly that she was an enemy, a powerful one. And Lina was exhausted! And all he had was a plain sword.
A plain sword against a demon. And not just any demon, Dynast's general! Not that Gourry was really sure who Dynast was, but it was enough to know that this was someone they were in no shape to fight with at the moment. Gourry's mind raced to think of a way out, if it would be worth grabbing Lina and running or whether they should see if Luke and Mileena had anything up their sleeve. Gourry was no sorcerer but he had an instinct that Luke's Ruby Eyed Blade wasn't as powerful as Lina's Ragna Blade and that it wouldn't be enough.
Once more he found himself thinking longingly about the Sword of Light. For so long he'd wanted nothing more than to be rid of the weapon. But now he would love to have it back! Because like it or not, Lina was right! He needed a better sword than what he had. Especially if he was going to continue traveling with her.
But before Gourry could become too despairing, Lina was able to throw the game into overtime by insulting Sherra's name. He really wasn't sure how that was enough to do it, but he was grateful that the showdown had been delayed.
"And tomorrow, off to find a new sword." Lina said as they finished their dinner after Luke and Mileena had left.
Gourry sighed and noticed how her face set, as though she was bracing herself for another fight.
"Look, you're right." He said, and she snapped her head towards him as her jaw dropped. "That fight with the hyperdemon, I realized, you're right. A regular sword isn't enough. I wanted it to be, but if I'm going to protect you, then it isn't."
"Well I'm glad you think I'm right," Lina said as a look of confusion spread across her face, "But, really, I know you're a bit of an idiot but you're a good swordsman. How did it take all this for you to realize the obvious?"
Gourry hesitated for a moment as he feared the consequences of going down this route. But avoiding it wasn't exactly helping their relationship any. "I didn't want it to be true I guess. I was glad the Sword of Light was gone."
"What?" Lina said as she face planted on the table, "You were glad that it was gone!? Gourry!"
"I never really cared for it," Gourry said as his stomach clenched and he suddenly wished he'd not eaten so much for dinner, "But I was stuck with it. I'd seen what it had done to my family."
Her eyes softened a bit as she sat up, "Is this why you never talk about them?"
He ran a hand through his hair, the heavy seams of his sleeves brushing against his head as he did, reminding him that at some level she did care. "Look, there were all sorts of fights in my family for it. Fights that ended in bloodshed. I always resented the sword for that reason, hated it even. The only reason I had the sword was to keep it far away from them so they would stop killing each other for it. And I didn't want to give it to someone else because then their family would be cursed with it. So I felt stuck with it. I was happy it was gone."
She was silent for a moment as her face softened in understanding as a weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders. And thankfully there was none of the horror and rejection that he'd feared. "So you weren't mad at me for losing it?" she asked softly.
He looked at her in surprise, "No." Tears welled up in her eyes as he wondered if she'd been feeling guilty for losing it. He couldn't resist but to put his hand on her head, "I was never mad at you. Someone like Hellmaster, I mean, we're lucky to be alive, aren't we? Losing the sword never crossed my mind. I'd give up that sword a thousand times if it meant…if it meant that we all walk away alive."
"I thought…" she said, and then she blushed, "Damn, I was feeling bad for losing your sword, now I feel bad for kicking you."
"Huh?" Gourry said as his eyes widened and she suddenly looked regretful that she had spoken.
"Just forget it." She muttered as she looked away from him and turned red, "Damn, I don't know what even came over me when you came out of the crystal. If you can be gracious about me losing the Sword of Light I should return it, I mean I couldn't stop Hellmaster..." a look of guilt washed over her as looked away from him.
"Even powerful people get overwhelmed sometimes." He said softly, "Especially when we confront enemies like this."
Her eyes welled up once more and anxiety shot through him as he feared that she would cry. He tried to think of something to do, something funny to say that would make her feel happy again, but when she spoke her voice was measured, "See man, this is why we need a powerful sword. I mean I'm not seeking demons out or anything but somehow I always seem to stumble upon them. And growing, being strong, it's constant, isn't it? You stop when you're dead. So I need to grow and be stronger, in many ways."
"I'll say, ever since I've met you the learning curse has been steep." Gourry said with a smile, "And I thought I'd not had much room to grow."
"I don't think any other man would have been able to survive so long with me." Lina said, "Luke and Mileena had magic today. You didn't yet you still gave that hyperdemon the what for."
Gourry felt his chest swell a little as a quiet moment passed between them. Perhaps the voice in his head that told him that he was just a drain on her and that she would ditch him the first chance she got was a liar. "Lina, look. I don't want a new powerful sword, but after today I see why it can't be helped. We need to get one because I need to be stronger, too. But I've seen how deadly these things get. I've seen how innocent people harmed by the greed that magical swords create, I mean, well I know whether or not you're a good person is questionable…"
"Gourry!"
"I need to know that we're on the same page here."
"Of course we're not going to kill innocent people for it, Gourry. Just what do you think of me?" Lina said, "Look, there's no use in me going to all the trouble of getting a magical sword if you're too morally troubled to use it, is there? And look man, I got a magical sword for my Sis through perfectly legit means! There are plenty of ways to get a magic sword without hurting innocent people."
"I just needed to hear you say it," he said as he couldn't resist patting her head once more before he ran it down her hair.
"Come on you big lug," she said as she got up, "I'm exhausted, but if you want I'll brush your hair before we hit the sack."
AN: I found an old Blaster! interview where HK said that Lina sews money into the seams of Gourry's clothes in case they ever get separated but he probably doesn't know and just wonders why his clothes are heavier and I absolutely had to use that here. HK also said that Gourry never cuts his hair because he doesn't have access to barbers, which amused me, and so I worked that in as well. And there was another interview where he said Lina has an indent from her bandanna. Let's say a lot of interview material fit in well here!