[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

"Can I come in now?"

Shaina smiled, nodding weakly to indicate it was okay, and I carefully set the mask on her face before replying, "Yes."

I turned to watch the tall and slim young man enter the bedroom, and thought that Kiki had grown up in the months since the end of the war against Hades. Grown up, and matured a lot. The terrible weight of responsibility which came with the fact he was the last acknowledged heir to a Gold Saint, and the only one who could now mend the Cloths showed.

The boy who was turning into a strikingly handsome young man came to the side of the bed and smiled reassuringly to Shaina. "I took a look at your Cloth, and it will heal. I just need to work on it a little to help its regeneration process, but you'll have it by sundown today."

Shaina snorted as she heard this, retorting with bitter irony, "Not that I'll be up to using it tonight anyway. Damn Lune, but he really is strong, and I'm sure he didn't use all the power he has."

"Kiki turned towards me, eyes clouded with worry. "I can take care of Shaina now, you can depend on me." He went on in a whisper, "I think you should leave now, Marin, and get ready." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I would lend you my strength if I had any to share, but I'm still too young. The power hasn't blossomed within me yet. I'd be nothing else than a burden."

I stood, reaching out to him and gently patting his right arm in the same movement, replying, "It's all right, don't worry. I'm grateful you welcomed us in the House of Aries." As I was about to walk away, my cosmo flared brightly in reaction to another one's touch, and I smiled humorlessly. "Ah, I can feel him too now. It looks like Lune is in a hurry. I shouldn't keep him waiting, it wouldn't be polite."

I brought a hand up to my brow in a half-successful attempt to shade my eyes from the harsh, blinding light of the late morning sun, inwardly cursing. Those who'd have thought our masks at least held the advantage of protecting our eyes in every circumstances should have tried them on to find out just how wrong they were. they allowed us sight even though they were blind, and they were also a very temporary protection against smoke or poisoned air, but that was all. Once my eyes adapted to the bright daylight, I spotted Lune at the foot of the Stairs.

Waiting.

I couldn't read anything from his stance, except absolute confidence. Taking a deep breath, I started down the Stairs. the odds were against me, I knew I stood almost no chance of being victorious, but there was nothing I could do about this. Nothing but carry out my duty to the end. If anything, this would give me a unique insight into Lune's resolve and motivation.

Into his heart.

When I reached his level, he bowed and then looked at me directly, smiling. The emerald eyes were shining with an inner fire brighter than the sun. Lune wanted, and Lune would seize what he believed was his by right.

No matter what.

Softly, he told me, "I suppose there's no need to tell you your position is a hopeless one, Lady Marin." His smile widened. "We both know I am going to defeat you, but I understand you must do your duty. However," he grinned, "the terms you set for your duel against Merle are unfair for you. So the outcome of this challenge will be decided when one of us decides to yield..." he had a slight, fatalistic gesture as he added, "or dies."

I nodded slowly, knowing full well there was no use in arguing the point. Stepping past him, I gathered my strength and focused my whole being on a single thing.

Combat.

Lune kept smiling as he watched the Silver Saint's cosmo unfold around her like the most beautiful and radiant of rainbows. There was no precipitation in his opponent. Each and every movement she was making was slow and deliberate. She wouldn't be rushed, she wouldn't be pushed into attacking before she felt the moment was right.

Good, very good.

She was different from Shaina. The Ophiuchus Saint was fire and storm while Aquila Marin was water, quiet and slow until the spark of cosmo turned her into wind. Lune had always thought she was so from having observed her for so many years, but to see her like this, to feel the power rising in her....

The wind stirring the sea.

The waves, rising to its call.

Rising....

Now.

She burst into motion all of a sudden, as Lune had known she would. As he had known she *must* if she were to have the slightest chance at victory. She had a mind she knew how to use even though she was caught in the center of a storm. that was a good point for her, but unfortunately this was also what Lune had been waiting for. Better to crush her hopes at once, and be done.

He watched her soaring up in the air like the Eagle she was, and then swoop down upon him to deliver the terribly efficient attack which had defeated Merle.

Lune's smile showed his teeth.

Tapping into his cosmo, he watched as Aquila Marin suddenly seemed to slow down, as if Time around the both of them was wavering. It was really an interesting technique that she had mastered. Lune allowed himself another tiny fraction of a second to analyze it completely before jumping up towards the Eagle.

Then he struck.

I never saw Lune's move. Pain abruptly blinded me as I felt the impact of a terrible blow in my chest. Then I was violently pushed on the right, as if I had been nothing more than a pitiful twig carried away by a windstorm.

Somehow, I managed to soften my fall on the ground, and rolled to the side, trying vainly to breathe. I couldn't get air inside my lungs anymore, I--

"Will you let it end here, my Lady? This should be sufficient proof to you that this fight is pointless."

Air.... Oh sweet Goddess.... at last, I started to breathe again. I gingerly reached for my chest, feeling for damages and my fingertips felt multiple cracks in the Aquila Cloth. Another blow would shatter it, and kill me. I smiled behind the mask, thinking Lune should have known better than to waste his time by trying to convince me to stop.

I couldn't stop, ever.

My duty was sacred, and it was also the last thing which still gave a semblance of meaning to my life. Fighting to breathe more or less steadily, I shut myself to the feeling of pain, and focused my mind. It was not over yet, I still had a surprise or two in store for Lune.

Leaning my left palm on the ground, I stood up.

Lune sighed when he saw the young woman getting up and turning towards him. Some people really didn't know when to quit. Oh well, he had offered her a way out, it was not his fault if she'd chosen to refuse it. Perhaps she still thought she had a chance, perhaps she just couldn't give up, or perhaps she was delusional...it didn't matter. Gesturing disgustedly, Lune whispered, "So be it." And got ready to strike her down. Gathering a fraction of his power, he--

Wait.

There was something...wrong.

Freezing his movement, Lune stared at the Aquila Saint, wondering what it was he had felt just now. No.... No, not felt. It was....

There was nothing to be felt coming from Marin.

No cosmo shining around her.

*Nothing*.

It was as if she had suddenly stopped being there, as if she had somehow become transparent. Stepping back, Lune frantically tried to understand, but it was as if there was no longer an opponent in front of him. He couldn't read her, she could have attacked from any side, he'd have been unable to predict it or move to counter it. Once more, he tried to feel her, focusing all his strength in the attempt.

Nothing.

As if she wasn't real, or as if she was dead.

She started coming towards him, and still Lune couldn't get anything form her. She--

She had blanked out her whole self. Completely.

It came to Lune in a rush, and he berated himself for not thinking about it earlier. It was obvious, and whichever technique she was using to reach such a perfect result was absolutely fantastic. And the efficiency of that....

Lune chuckled happily. "Very impressive, Lady Marin. My thanks for making this the most interesting confrontation I've experienced."

There was no reply to his words, but he hadn't expected any. Now that he knew what she was doing, he would act. The danger he was facing was real, so he couldn't allow this to go on any longer. He could of course attack when she would, but there was a risk he'd kill her, and he didn't want that. Certainly not now that he had seen that technique. She would have to teach him, later.

Unmoving, he watched as she stepped towards him, and told her gently, "We really should stop, you know. No matter what, you *cannot* lift a finger against me." Unheeding of his words, she suddenly flung herself forward.

And Lune played the ace he'd kept up his sleeve.

Now.

I released all the power, and rushed towards Lune, focusing on his reaction. He smiled, and spread his arms wide.

Defenseless.

And he said, "Will you truly strike down the one who gave you the stars' light, all those years ago?"

What?

What had he said?

He....

The unfathomable emerald eyes were locked on me, knowing. In them, there was....

Unleashing the Ryu Sei Ken, I struck and my cosmo exploded, flaring brightly.

Like the stars on that faraway night.

Everything is black. So utterly black that the colour has lost its meaning. The little girl shivers, her right cheek resting against the cold funeral stone. Everything feels dead around her, *within* her, and also, somehow, horribly alive. For how long has it been night?

The little girl doesn't know.

The little girl isn't even sure it matter. Isn't it the nature of night to be endless? To trap the stray, unwary living beings in its web, never to release them again? It wouldn't be so bad if it was so, because--

"There you are."

the sound of the voice is like a sword cutting through the silence. the little girl cringes, wishing the stone would swallow her, wishing the night would envelop her, hide her and take her away forever. there are other sounds as the owner of the voice comes towards her and sits down next to her. She closes her eyes tightly shut, desperately trying to convince herself that nothing of this is real. That nothing of this is true.

It's just a nightmare.

It's just....

A hand presses on her shaking shoulder, and the voice whispers softly, "Hush. Please don't be afraid of me." The voice's Nihongo is slow and hesitant, but the little girl understands its words well enough. "I'm here to help. Look at me, please. You're not alone anymore. I'm here."

She can feel the fingers on her bare skin, strong but gentle. She wishes she could run away, flee somewhere out of reach, safe, but....

She knows she can't.

Besides, she can hear kindness in the voice. Empathy.... Slowly, very slowly the little girl turns her head from the icy cold stone and looks up.

She can't see the boy clearly, almost everything about him is hidden by the darkness, almost everything but his eyes. They are like pools of warm waters, safe, reassuring. Shining with a soft inner light. On impulse, the little girl whispers, "I'm not going back. I can't go back. Please don't let them--"

Don't let them do this to me.

The little girl cannot say those words, she cannot force her lips to shape the sounds. Arms suddenly wrap around her, and bring her close to the boy as he hugs her tight.

"I know, little one. I know."

And incredibly enough, she believes him, she believes he truly does know what she's trying to say. Something is stinging her eyes, tears which had been waiting until she could at last let go, as she leans against the boy's strong chest as the storm rages within her, weeping silently in the night. Fingers gently run through her hair, and she holds on to him with all her frail strength, afraid, terrified that he might go and leave her. Eventually the muted sobs stop shaking her body and the tears run dry. Then he tells her in a voice full of regrets, "You know, I cannot prevent them from coming for you. They're not far behind me. I cannot hide you or change your destiny; but," the fingers of his left hand slip beneath her chin, gently forcing her to face him as he goes on, "I have something to show you."

The little girl stares at this strange boy who came to her in the night, at those eyes which somehow know the terrible fear locked inside her heart and understand. Suddenly, his gaze turns inward, and she feels.

Something, *inside*.

Touch, as if fingertips were brushing her soul, and then....

Light.

Beautiful, shining and warm.

Bright, radiant.

The stars, the stars, they....

She reaches *in*, and feels them within her, feels their warmth, their presences. They are *alive*. And they know her, they know her name.

The stars....

"Yes, the stars are in your heart. they have always been there, and they always will be. Always." The boy's voice isn't a voice anymore, it's inside her head. Close, so close.... "You must remember that, no matter what happens. You're never truly alone." The boy smiles softly at her. "Be strong, like the star within you. trust their light, and it will be all right." Abruptly his hands release her and he pushes her back, gently. He's going to leave now. Leave, and then--

"Don't go. Don't go away...." The little girl reaches out to him, but the boy lifts a hand, allowing their fingertips to touch for the briefest of moments before standing up. As he walks away, she hears a faint whisper coming to her ears.

"I'll always be close. I'll watch over you, and when you've learnt to control the stars within you we'll see each other again. I promise you."

I promise you.

Lune watched calmly as Marin's attack came, unmoving. He heard her coming to a stop a few steps behind him, and faced her, smiling to himself in satisfaction. She hadn't been able to strike at him; at the last moment her attack had veered off course, brushing past him. He looked at her as she shook her head, as if trying to clear it from some unwanted sound resounding within, and he moved towards her, feeling the smile on his face turn into a wide grin.

She had remembered. The old memories had come back, unlocked despite the mask, as he had known they would.

Know your enemy's heart, and you will defeat him.

While Aquila Marin was turning towards him, Lune allowed his cosmo to shine brightly around him and struck. She never saw any of the blows coming. She staggered, and then fell on the ground, in a slow motion while the chest plate of her Cloth shattered into myriads of glinting pieces, like a rain of sunlight.

The fight was over.

Lune stepped towards Aquila Marin, and stopped right before her. She was a mere Silver Saint, she had never stood a chance against him whose colour was Gold. For a moment, he thought she was unconscious, but he saw the fingers of her left hand desperately grasping a rock for support. So, she intended to continue.... Lune frowned. In other circumstances, he'd have been more than happy to oblige her, but as it was he had no time to waste. Focusing his will, he gathered a small part of his strength in his right hand.

Up.

I had to stand up. It was the only thing that I knew. The only thing that I understood. There was a storm raging inside me, memories and pain whirling madly in my heart, hurting.

Hurting....

If I listened to the wing howling within, it would sweep me away, away towards a darkness a part of me feared more than death. So I did the only thing I knew how to do, the only thing which had kept me sane along the years: I held on to the lights.

I held on to the stars within me.

And fought to stand up. With tremendous effort, I managed to lift my head, just in time to see the harsh, blinding light come down towards me.

On instinct, I froze, and Lune's hand stopped within an inch of my throat. I could feel power crackling in the air, restrained but wanting *out* now. The light in Lune's hand was a sword, a sword whose blade was impossibly sharp, and which would sever my head from my body in the blink of an eye.

Lune stared at me steadily, and simply said, "Yield."

I stared back mutely at the one who'd been my student for so long. There was no pity, no mercy to expect from those beautiful pure emerald eyes. I had lost, I had known that when I had felt his blows shattering the Aquila Cloth.

Blows dealt at the speed of light, which I could never hope to match. I was Silver, and I could never reach beyond that. I smiled behind the mask, toying with the image of Lune's hand touching my throat and of my head rolling on the ground. There would be blood, a lot of it on the stones, mixed with dust. An interesting sight, one which might even inspire a painter....

Without knowing why, I turned my head on the side, and his hand left my throat. The blinding light shining around it faded, then he nodded. "Thank you, my Lady." A smile flashed briefly over his face, expressing something which might have been relief. "I must leave you now, but your wounds should allow you to reach the House of Aries without problem. the Aries brat can fix your Cloth and help you recover. we shall speak again once you've had had time to heal, and I've had time to claim what is mine."

That said, he stood up and started climbing up the great Stairs.

Nobody would bar his way, now that he'd defeated the appointed guardian, now that he'd defeated me.

"Don't worry, Lady Marin, I'll protect the sanctuary, I'll watch over it as you and Ophiuchus Shaina did. No stranger will ever touch the power sleeping here, I swear to you."

Lune's words, borne by the breeze, reached me but didn't register in my brain. Slowly, painfully I stood up, looking directly at the sun and wondering.

Why was I alive?

It was strange, the pain was distant, like everything was. I was numb, unable to feel anything. even the memories of a terrified little girl had retreated, alien ghosts which had no true existence, no meaning.

My life had become useless now, its last purpose torn away from me. I was an old tool, obsolete, that its wielder had somehow forgotten to throw away. Smiling, I realized I had been wrong: I could still feel something.

I was falling.

Into the dark.

Lune stopped for a brief moment on the parvis of the third House. Nobody had come to forbid him passage through the House of Aries or the House of Taurus, as he had known it must be. For good or for ill, he had won the right to go through, in the absence of Athena and her Gold Saints.

Stupid law.

He'd have to change that, as well as a few other things, but later. All in good time. For now, Lune's whole being was focused on only one thing: to reach the Altar of Athena.

To grasp the light shining over it.

To find that part of his soul that he'd heard calling out to him for as long as he could remember. How many times had he thought he would go mad, torn from it, apart from it? Nobody but Merle had ever known, understood how it was when your cosmo burnt so harshly that the flames inside devoured everything, so hot they left him cold and shaking.

Nobody but Merle, and perhaps Leo Aioria, whom Lune had known only as Aioria for years, deliberately kept away from the knowledge that there were others like him, with the same fire lighting their souls...scorching their beings.

Because he and Merle had been unwanted glitches in the Sanctuary's finely tuned machine. Who needed two unclaimed, masterless boys whose colours was likely to be shining but oh so dangerous Gold? If it hadn't been for Leo Aioria and Aquila Marin, Lune and Merle would have eventually snapped, blindly going for the lights up the Stairs, for the part of themselves they lacked, and they'd have been eliminated like the anomalies most Saints thought them to be.

Chasing the past away thanks to an effort of will, Lune entered the third House along the Great Stairs.

The House of Gemini.

As soon as he disappeared in the shadows of the small temple, a strange aura started to emanate from the core of the building itself. It was as if somebody had pinched a single chord of a harp.

As if the House itself had come to life.

The apprentice called Kiki, heir to the Aries Gold Saint Mu kept watching everything from the first House. He waited, and waited, but Lune never reappeared on the other side of the third temple.

As Kiki watched on, the aura surrounding the House of Gemini kept on shining brightly. The cicadas themselves were quiet, making the silence around the small building an absolute one. And still Lune didn't reappear on the other side. It was as if he had been swallowed by the House of Gemini.

End of Part 5.

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