[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

Spring had slowly given way to Summer, time had gone by but I had found no way out. I lived in a hotel room payed by the Sumeragi family. Although I had found myself a small job, I hadn't been able to make the Lady stop spending money on my behalf.

I smiled at the morning sun, thinking I had been luckier than I thought. As if by miracle, the police has stopped to harrass me and I had found myself with a proper ID, and even a driver's licence. The Sumeragi, whatever else they might be, certainly held a strong influence and were no strangers to wielding mundane power. What I had difficulty to understand was the old Lady's reason for doing all this. She knew I wouldn't be part of her "Balance" thing. And yet she kept on paying for my expenses, as if I were one of her own family...

This matter of being Subaru's successor... How could she still believe it ? It would have been more reasonable to expect me to sprout wings ! Well, I guessed it wasn't so important after all. It was clear the Sumeragi had money to spend, and if she wanted to spend a small bit on me... Who was I to forbid her ? What mattered was that I hadn't been able to find the smallest trace of my friends, my brother or Athena. It was as if the powerful Kido family had never been. As if it had been wiped away.

I stopped running and walked slowly, admiring the light piercing through the canopy of leaves. I liked coming to this park at dawn, I liked the feeling of the earth under my feet, the birdsongs, the morning dew blending the blades of grass, the smell of the trees... It was all so peaceful... As I came near a small pond, I stopped and lied down on one of its shores, closing my eyes.

I had even gone as far as to check the year... But there was no hint of anything wrong. Everything was as it should have been, except for the non-existence of all the people I had known. Even the orphanage... Oh yes it was exactly where I remembered it... But none of its children knew me... The only thing I hadn't dared check yet was the Sanctuary. But deep inside I knew there was no Sanctuary in the Greece of this world. I had tried to feel my brother's cosmo, almost every night... To no avail. Although I didn't want to give up, I knew the Lady Sumeragi had been right that night. I was lost. This world wasn't mine, and there was no way out. None. I had to face the truth. I would never know what had happened when Athena's cosmo had envelopped us as Hades' realm was collapsing, and it didn't matter.

I sighed, listening to the sound of the water gently lapping the shore. All this thinking didn't help, anyway. I was lucky to be alive, the only thing I could do was pray and hope my friends were too... wherever they might be. I made myself deaf to the deep ache in my chest as a picture of my brother conjured itself in front of me. Ikki... I had to learn to live without him. I smiled bitterly, thinking that without the Lady Sumeragi's help I wouldn't have lasted long. The only thing I had known until now was to fight. Leading a normal life was alien to me... And so I tried to practise... Suddenly a dog's bark interrupted my train of thoughts and I opened my eyes, looking in the direction of the sound.

A boy was walking his dog in the park, and both he and the animal seemed to have differences about the way they should follow. The dog was almost stronger than the boy, who was maybe ten years old. I smiled and looked in the direction the child wanted to go.

I nodded silently. Of course the boy had to be attracted by the grove of huge trees. They were magnificient and... Suddenly, I caught my breath, feeling a drop of cold sweat slowly run down my back. I looked at the dog a bit more attentively, and knew why it didn't want to go any further. It was terrified. I watched the trees, unable to react. What I had felt had come from the deepest part of me. Andromeda had given me a warning I couldn't ignore. The leaves were peacefully rustling with the gentle Summer breeze... The child yanked on his dog's leash and managed to pull it along. I stared as they both went towards the beautiful grove. No... Abruplty, I freed myself of the trance and walked quickly to them.

As it heard steps, the dog barked again and tried to fight its master. I rejoined them as they were about to reach the first tree. The dog pulled savagely, coming to me. I squatted in the grass and called softly :

"There... Don't be afraid... It's all right now..."

The boy had an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry Sir, I just couldn't keep her..."

I returned his smile.

"Don't worry. I like dogs anyway. Yours was very frightened you know... That's why she wouldn't obey you..."

He looked at me questioningly.

"Why is that ? There's nothing wrong with those trees... I like them very much, they're like friends to me..."

I shrugged.

"Sometimes, dogs will be frightened without good reason. Tell me, do you like her ?"

The child nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I love her ! She's my best friend."

I patted the dog on the head.

"That's good. And since you love her so much, I'll bet she's more important to you than those trees... If you want her to be happy, you should try to find another park where she won't be frightened..."

He looked at me, puzzled.

"But tomorrow she'll have forgotten and..."

I interrupted him gently, earnestly.

"No. Believe me, I know, she will never want to go near those trees again. And if you make her do it, she will be very unhappy. Now, I'm sure you don't want that... Do you ?"

He shook his head.

"Good. Don't forget what I told you, never make her go to a place she is frightened of..."

I offered him my hand.

"Come, I will walk with you till the outside of the park. With the both of us, she shoudn't be afraid anymore."

As I turned my back on the grove, I felt Andromeda's warning resounding inside me louder than ever. I wanted to run away from this place, but I didn't dare. What was wrong with those trees ? I had passed in front of them so many times... Even today... It was only when the child had approached them that the threat had appeared... If it had indeed been directed at the child, the only thing I could hope for was that from now on he would not go against his dog's instincts.

Once we reached the edge of the park, I faced the trees one last time. There was nothing malicious about them. They were beautiful and strong, and the birds were singing. It was a Summer morning like any other.

"So, it would seem you're done already !"

I put a pile of dishes on the table and stretched like a cat, yawning.

"Yes, I think I'll take a small break before going on with the rest of the washing. I've done a lot already."

Yuto, the other helper of the small restaurant in which I had found a job nodded, smiling.

"Yep ! It's so beautiful outside that having a drink on the terrace must be one of the most pleasurable things to do right now. Since there won't be any customer before another four hours, I guess I might even find five minutes to join you."

I smiled teasingly.

"A pity you're so late in your work..."

"Oh you !"

Laughing, I caught the towel he had thrown at me and hurled it back at him. Without waiting to see the results, I went to the fridge and took a soda. As I opened the door to go to the terrace, I heard Yuto yelling from the back of the kitchen.

I watched all the tables, searching the one with the most sunlight and pursed my lips. This was going to be a difficult choice... Eventually, I made up my mind and walked towards the place I had picked. Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement, and something big and furry hit me square in the right side. Completely taken by surprise, I lost my balance and fell. Distantly, I heard a noise of broken glass as the bottle struck the ground. Reflexively, my hands shot out and gripped whatever had attacked me, squeezing... A soft whine stopped me, and I looked at my "enemy".

A dog. I burst out laughing, letting the tension in my body fade slowly. A dog ! I let it go gently and got up.

"Sandy !..."

My head shot up in the direction of the voice. A man was running towards us.

"Oh my... Sandy, what have you done this time ?"

As he stopped in front of me, I couldn't help smiling. He looked so worried. It was almost funny, even his dark sunglasses couldn't hide his obvious embarrassement. I shook my head.

"It's okay, she surprised me that's all."

He looked at the remains of my soda and sighed.

"No, I'm afraid that's not all. Look at all this mess. I'm sorry, really, she escaped me and... The least I can do is pay for the drink..."

I laughed gently.

"Don't bother. I work here, so I didn't pay for the drink. As for cleaning up, it'll take about thirty seconds, so you see..."

As if he didn't hear me, he went towards the door and I called :

"Hey ! What do you think you're doing ?"

Without stopping, he said :

"No matter what you say, I intend to make up for the trouble I caused..."

Sighing, I ran to the door, overtaking him.

"Look, the restaurant is closed now... But if you really want to make up for this, then I think I know how. Wait here a minute."

I went inside and took two more drinks from the fridge, ignoring Yuto's sarcastic comments. To shut him up definitively, I clapped the door shut with my foot. I smiled at the stranger and told him :

"So, the deal is this one : you come and sit with me while I take a break, okay ? I hate sitting alone on a beautiful day like this."

He looked at me through his dark sunglasses during a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay..."

As we both sat at the table I had selected a few minutes ago, he smiled.

"I thought for a while you were having fun at my expense... I'm the one owing you and you offer me something to drink..."

I shrugged.

"Well... I'm really doing this for your dog... She surprised me so completely I thought I would hurt her before realising what she was..."

He looked at me, still smiling.

"Don't worry about it, she's strong, you couldn't have hurt her..."

I nodded vaguely, thinking Sandy would have been dead one second later if I hadn't stopped myself. I opened my soda and took a long swallow. It felt good. As he put his own drink on the table, I asked him :

"So, how come you walk your dog in the beginning of the afternoon ? It's most unusual : people don't normally have time for this kind of thing at two o'clock..."

Suddenly, I realised I was being much too curious. Embarrassed, I said :

"Oh... Sorry, I shouldn't be asking you this, it's very impolite... Really I'm sorry..."

He laughed gently.

"It's okay. Sandy is not my dog, she's simply under my care. I'm a vet you see. I work in a clinic not far from here and I often take my charges out for a walk in the afternoon. They like it..."

I patted Sandy's head softly.

"You're a nice person..."

He stared at me, surprised.

"I beg your pardon ?"

I smiled warmly at him.

"You care for them... Beyond your duty of trying to heal them, you care for their well-being... So you're nice."

His lips curled in a smile.

"Well... I guess you might see it that way..."

He looked straight at me.

"Tell me do you always say things like that to people you see for the first time ?"

I felt blood rising to my cheeks and stammered :

"Ah... No... Not really... But then..."

I had a self-deprecating smile.

"I am told I can be awfully impulsive at times..."

He nodded.

"It's okay, I don't mind compliments, no one does... And I do believe you're a very rare person too..."

Suddenly, he looked at his watch and sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'll have to go now. I have work to do..."

He smiled teasingly.

"And I think your break is over... Isn't it ?"

I laughed good-heartedly.

"You're right. Anyway, I was glad to meet you."

He nodded.

"So was I. I'm sure we'll meet again..."

As he was turning to leave with Sandy, he said suddenly :

"Oh this is terrible manners, I even forgot to tell you who I was !... I hope you can forgive this lack of courtesy."

He looked at me steadily, a slight smile on his lips.

"I am Sakurazuka, Sakurazuka Seishirou..."

With that, he left the terrace and disappeared. He... I shook myself and forcefully stopped staring at the empty street. There was work to be done before this evening's opening, and this dog story had made me lose precious time. But still... I stopped and looked again at the chair on which he had sat. Sakurazuka... A shiver ran through me as I saw in a flash both Subaru and his grandmother, warning me.

While cleaning the remains of my first bottle of soda on the ground, I silently laughed at myself. I was a fool, I had to stop seeing ghosts everywhere. My time as Athena's Saint was gone. Forever. There was no reason left to fight. There was no more enemy lurking in the shadows. It was over. Sakurazuka was a common name, and it didn't fit with the one I had been told. But still, it was so close... Sakurazuka, Sakurazukamori... I tensed inwardly, and had a sudden cry of pain.

A piece of glass... Sighing heavily, I sucked the blood from the small cut on my left thumb. That would teach me to pay attention to reality instead of chimaera. I picked up the pieces and went back inside, afraid of the way Yuto would laugh at me. As I closed the restaurant door behind me, I realised he hadn't waited for me to tell him my name.

End of part 3.

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