[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

I heard him closing the door only dimly. I stopped in the middle of the hall, unable to move, unable to think. I didn't even know what I was doing here, what crazy impulse had made me come to the friend who had betrayed me, to my enemy. I heard him coming behind me, and felt his arms gently encircling me. He whispered soflty :

"Tell me Shun-san... Let me help you..."

I shivered. To feel him like this, so close, so strong and so kind... How could it be him ? How could he play this terrible game so easily, so perfectly ? I couldn't feel the wrongness, the evil. It was as if... His gentleness was the truth... I almost wished he could erase my memory and then kill me. I closed my eyes and leaned back against him, drowning in the feeling of his strong presence. At last, I gently freed myself from his embrace and walked to the window, unable to face him yet.

I looked at the city lights outside, and did not see them. The pain hurt me so bad I felt empty. In a way, I deserved it for being a fool, for letting my guard down and being open as I was. I couldn't even truly feel hate for him, not yet. I leaned a hand on the window and bowed my head.

"Ikki-niisan... Help me..."

I got a grip on myself. The words didn't want to come out, but I had to confront him, I had to. Denying the fear and the pain, I let my cosmo expand and called Andromeda's strength forth.

"Why ?... Why did you do this, Sakurazukamori-san ?"

There was a small chuckle in the room as he came to me. I didn't move. I still couldn't feel a threat from him. He made me face him gently. He was smiling.

"You are incredible... You know, and still you came to me..."

There was something close to wonder in his voice. His right hand brushed my face in a gentle caress. I shivered. The light in his eye... Like a preadtor longingly watching its prey...

"I would never have thought you would find me out so quickly..."

I broke the spell and said, looking right at him :

"You didn't answer my question, Sakurazukamori-san."

His smile widened.

"Oh, but I believe I already did. You thwarted me, and as I sought you out, I found you to be... Intriguing, fascinating... You have been a most passionant mystery to unravel... And even now there are still important pieces missing to this puzzle. I would appreciate it if you told me who you are... Truly."

I looked at him helplessly.

"You mean that you played at befriending me only for that ? To gain my trust and satsify your curiosity ? You refrained from killing me for this very reason ?"

He laughed gently.

"Yes, you have it. You were a break in the monotony of life. You never saw me kill, so I could wait."

I shook my head, feeling tears welling in my eyes.

"How can you be the same person who cared for my wounds ? How can you be the person who held me and gave me strength ? Have you no feelings at all ? How can you be so cruel ?"

He wiped away my tears softly.

"I am not cruel. I told you : what happens to you is on your shoulders alone, you were the one who challenged me. I am Sakurazuka Seishirou, I am Sakurazukamori. I do not feel. To me, tending your wounds or hurting you are one and the same..."

Something struck me on the right side, savagely, and I was thrust to the ground. I cried out. It took a few seconds for the pain to recede sufficiently to allow me to regain control. Suddenly, I felt the evil, the wrongness in the air and opened my eyes, tensing.

The hall had disappeared. I was lying on a kind of ethereal ground, and to the right there was a beautiful cherry tree. The light was strange, this had the feeling of unreality, of dream... I choked back another cry of pain as I got up with difficulty. He was bound to have broken of few ribs... He was watching me silently, unmoving. I asked him :

"What is this place ?"

He smiled.

"Your grave... But we still have time before that. Why don't you tell me what I want to know ?"

I shook my head.

"You really think I will let you kill me like that ?..."

Suddenly, I remembered again Subaru's last words and felt pity and horror for the pain he must have felt.

"I am not Subaru. He... He loved you... You knew that, and yet you killed him..."

I caught another blow with my left arm, barely in time, and his smile widened.

"My bet with Subaru-kun ended a long time ago, and he lost. His chasing after me and fighting me was his own choice in the end... Just as your coming to me when you knew who I was was your choice."

I searched his eyes for trace of humanity, desperately.

"I came because I couldn't believe you are a heartless assassin. It doesn't fit, it can't be..."

Suddenly, I turned my head towards the right, feeling a threat and he used the second that gave him to grab my arm and immobilize me. When the arrows of light came towards me, I tried to move but he held me firmly and they hit me directly. I tried to expand my cosmo, but his right foot struck me where he had already broken my ribs and I fell, the pain blinding me.

"Do you still think it doesn't fit ? Torturing you like this doesn't bother me in the least. Having a drink at a terrace by a sunny afternoon would feel the same to me... What ?!"

I heard surprise in his voice. He whirled around and I saw...

Nami.

There was opening an in the nothingness in which he had trapped me, an opening that had to be the appartement's door... Nami stood there, paralyzed. I cried :

"Get away Nami-chan ! Go ! Leave this place !"

I had to get up, I had to defend her or else... He said gently :

"I am sorry Nami-chan, but you shouldn't have come. You have seen that which is forbidden, and for this you must die."

She shook her head.

"Sei-chan, you..."

As I was getting up, I saw him move and strike her. I whispered, falling back on my knees :

"Nami-chan... no..."

He closed the door with a foot and turned to me. I shuddered. He was holding Nami's body close to him. His eye... He let her go, and she fell slowly to the insubstantial ground, her eyes vacant. A small pool of blood formed around her and I cried :

"No !"

I savagely thrust away the sorrow and the pain, calling Andromeda to me and getting up.

"Her death is your fault alone. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have had to kill her..."

I walked slowly towards him.

"You are a monster. You are an abomination that should never have walked upon this world... And you are going to pay."

He smiled slightly and I closed my fists, hurling myself at him. He tried to move aside but couldn't. I had a feral smile. He had thought me weakened by my wounds... I struck at his left side, and had the satisfaction of seeing his smile vanish. He staggered, but managed to catch the next blow with his right hand. We held each other like this during a few seconds and I told him :

"I am not the only one who decided to fight an unknown opponent... I am Andromeda Shun, I am one of Athena's Saints and I fight for good and justice."

Suddenly, something struck me from behind, I felt claws tearing at my back and let go of Sakurazukamori. As quickly as it had hit me, it disappeared and my enemy laughed.

"You are even more pathetic than Subaru-kun was. Hatred will not help you to win. You are already dead."

Suddenly, I saw a great bird of prey landing on his left shoulder. It was the most beautiful and proud eagle I had ever seen. It was he who had attacked me. But what was an eagle doing here ?... The shimmering shape of Subaru's strange white bird came to my mind and I whispered :

"Shikigami..."

He nodded.

"So, you know that much..."

I shook my head.

"But... You can't have such a Shikigami... You can't..."

He looked at me curiously.

"And why can't I ?..."

Sumeragi Asako had told me the Shikigami was an exact reflexion of the Onmyoujutsu wielder, it was shaped according to his personality... And this bird was beautiful, noble, strong... Without mercy, but not evil...

He sighed.

"I am getting tired of this game. The time has come to end this."

He began a chant, and I gathered my strength, desperate. The aura shone around me and I called forth all the energy I had. The seventh sense... It was my only chance. I had to kill him, I had to. As he cast his spell, I hurled my energy at him.

"Nebula Storm !"

The wind howled and I saw an expresion of intense surprise on his face, and the blast took him away. At the same time, myriads of crystal shards struck me from every direction at once. I ignored the pain and the blood flowing from the deep cuts they opened in my body. I had to hold on, just a little while longer... At last, I fell on the ground, unable to protect myself.

Slowly, the Storm abated. If I had been able to, I would have smiled. It was over this time. He would never hurt anyone again. Suddenly, something struck me, the blow so strong it threw me a few meters away. I cried out, unable to restrain myself. The pain... My eyes adjusted to the scene.

Sakurazukamori.

I looked at him, unable to understand how he could be alive. His left arm hung limp, useless and he had cuts on the left flank. His blood was slowly dripping on the ground. He said gently :

"When I find a stone in my way, I kick it away. You are nothing more than a troublesome stone..."

How could he still be alive ? The Storm had hit him directly, I had seen it. He shook his head.

"You almost won, but this place is my world. You forgot that. I have means of protecting myself..."

I closed my eyes, refusing to look at him any longer. He had won this time. I had no strength left. He could kill me, I couldn't defend myself. I had hit him with all the power the seventh sense gave me, and he had managed to deflect the attack somehow, if only partly. A terrible feeling of sadness, of despair came over me and sobs shook me, reviving the pain. I whispered through clenched teeth :

"Ikki-niisan... Forgive me... Athena... Saori-san..."

The only thing I wanted now was to die quickly.

"Shun... Shun..."

A soft whisper invaded my mind, and a gentle, but infinitely strong cosmo touched me. This feeling... Athena...

"Do not give up Shun, there is a way for you to win... You must trust your heart, your feelings, your intuition... Remember what you were told about your enemy..."

Suddenly, her presence dimmed and I tried desperately to hold her back.

"Forgive me Shun, but the barrier between our worlds is too strong, I cannot stay any longer... We will always be with you in your heart..."

During the briefest of moments, a magnificient bird of flames envelopped me in its warmth.

"I love you Shun... Please fight on, do not die..."

Ikki-niisan... Oh my brother... All at once, their two presences left me. I slowly opened my eyes. Sakurazukamori was watching me intensely.

"One wonders what happened... This radiant light saved your life."

I looked at him, my mind racing to find the meaning of Saori's words.

"The goddess Athena intervened on my behalf."

He chuckled.

"Do you truly expect me to believe a goddess from ancient Greek mythology suddenly came to life for you ?"

I looked at my enemy, desperately, and at the cherry tree beside him, saying :

"I told you I am one of Athena's Saints. I don't care if you believe me or not."

She had said to trust my intuition, my feelings... But they were wrong. I hadn't been able to accept Sakurazuka Seishirou was evil, I hadn't been able to admit he couldn't feel... I hadn't been able to forget his gentleness, the strength he had given me... Could it be...? Could it be I wasn't entirely wrong ? If this were so, then... He had to be walling away his humanity somewhere... My eyes focused on the cherry tree. Cherry blossom petals had covered the body of Subaru, like a shroud, as if in an ultimate farewell. The cherry tree... Sakurazuka... Sakurazukamori... Could it be more than a coincidence ? Could there be a link ?

Suddenly, I heard him coming towards me, and began to get up. I wasn't sure, but it was the only thing left I could try. If I was right, then what Sumeragi Asako had told me was true, and my enemy was not a demon but a human being condamned to a terrible destiny. Stifling a cry of pain, I got up and faced him. He smiled softly.

"Do you wish to continue this fight ? You will only endure more pain..."

I felt tears welling in my eyes, tears of pity and sadness.

"No... You do not have to kill me, I will do that myself... And I will free your soul..."

I slowly walked towards the cherry tree. Over the years, his clan had had to find a way of protecting itself from the terrible consequences of being an assassin with no other choice than killing. The price to pay for their power had certainly driven some mad with guilt... And so they had devised a means to shut themselves from their humanity. As I could wall away the pain sometimes, they had walled away their feelings, they had partitioned their minds.

Suddenly, his voice called after me :

"What do you intend to do ? Have you lost your mind ? You don't know what that tree is..."

I leaned the palm of my right hand against the cherry's trunk, and turned to my enemy, smiling sadly.

"I think I do... I forgive you Seishirou-san..."

I reached inside of me, took my life's energy, the flame of my soul, called the heart of the Nebula, and smiled again, thinking of my destiny. Andromeda... This was as it had to be. Without waiting any longer, I poured my energy in the tree. I felt its trunk slowly pulsing, absorbing the life I was giving it. As I weakened, a light began to emanate from the cherry, and blossoms began to fall, covering the ground around me. There was a sharp intake of breath behind me, and I prayed silently to be given the time to end this. I forgot the feeling of Sakurazukamori's presence coming towards me and focused on the tree. If ever I had made a mistake, everything would be lost, my life would be wasted for nothing.

As he was about to reach me, something tore inside the cherry and I was envelopped in a maelstrom of emotions. Hatred, pain, sorrow, guilt, regrets, despair, loneliness, unbearable loneliness, helplessness, cruelty, love invaded me and I cried out under the strain. But they were not mine. After an agonizing second of horrible torture, they left me and I fell.

Somewhere, very far away, something was touching me. The darkness was so quiet, so peaceful, so reassuring... I didn't want to leave it, I was afraid of what I would find outside. Mercilessly, I was pulled away from its bosom and brought back to the light.

The ground was covered with beautiful cherry blossoms. The cherry tree itself was dead. I realised suddenly that there was someone beside me, watching the tree, unmoving. A gentle breeze brought a few pink petals on my body, and I understood it was they who had brought me back from the death I had intended to give to myself. The watcher turned towards me, and I saw his face was soaked with tears. His face was devoid of expression. He knelt on the ground and reached out to me, his fingertips softly tracing the outlines of my face. He whispered :

"There was a seal on my soul... A seal I had never known was there, and it is gone... Who are you ? No one from this world could have had the power to undo this..."

He had never known... I felt tears in my eyes in answer to his own anguish. His pain had to be terrible. I said simply :

"I never claimed to be of this world."

He nodded, and abrutply the darkness took me away again.

End of part 8.

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