[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

Night has fallen outside. The tiny lights scattered in what must be countryside twinkle in the darkness, vanishing almost too quickly for the eye to register their presence, as if they were fleeing something, or as if I and this train were fleeing them... I start softly humming to myself, smiling as I carefully separate my chopsticks. The wood makes a slight snapping sound as it yields to the pull of my fingers and I nod contentedly. There are things to be said for the keeping of habits, and eating salmon sushi for dinner while the Eurostar cleaves the night is certainly one I'm glad I can keep nurturing. Oh yes. I grin inwardly as a couple of passengers walk by me and shoot my meal a half curious, half envious glance. When among snobs, be snobber, that's my personal interpretation of the saying that states 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. The gods know that more than a few of this train's passengers ARE newly rich snobs...

Mmmmmm...

Where is my mind going ?...

Images and sounds, sensations dance within me, revolving endlessly, never allowing me the time I'd need to study them and capture them into words. Strange, or perhaps not that much... So many things have happened, so many events that must be told before my memory allows itself to forget...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be entering the Tunnel in a few moments. The crossing will take approximatively twenty minutes..."

Already ? I belatedly realize that the train has slowed down to what must be even less than a crawl for its powerful engines, heralding its arrival to the edge of the United Kingdom. I quickly search my handbagage and fish out my walkman, hurrying to settle the headphones in place. Another habit... but there's no way I'll let myself be taken down below the sea without anime music resounding in my ears. Suddenly, the train accelerates, passing from its slow pace to the high speeds that make it so famous in only a few seconds, and plunges down into the Tunnel, into this dark, cold place where no star ever shines. I close my eyes, and focus on the lyrics of Revolution, watching my memories as they keep dancing before me. I suppose that the best thing to do is to fall back down Möbius' Ring...

... and...

... start.

The place was an ancient one, its old stones holding the memory of echoes long forgotten, of secrets half-whispered and war councils that had decided the destinies of many. It was a suitable place, yes. Far below, four people were sitting at a great wooden table, talking quietly, and a fifth person was standing a few steps back, listening in the shadows. A guest to the meeting, but not one who could speak out to address those who were gathered at the table. The young woman was absolutely silent and unmoving, random reflections of the candles' light in her stark blue eyes the only thing that betrayed her reaction to some of the words whispered before her.

"Since we all agree on the actions to take, I call the end of this meeting, satisfied and reassured that the Lady Ariane will be suitably welcomed..."

The soft, perfectly pitched voice of the President echoed for a few brief moments in the vast, ancient hall, and eventually faded away. From high above the council members' heads, another watcher grinned in the dark, knowing what the "Lady" in question would have said had she been a witness to this meeting. As the people who had sat at the great table started standing, the hidden watcher slowly, gingerly moved, careful of not making the slightest sound. This was a potentially dangerous moment, but not one the watcher could or wanted to avoid.

Things would have been much more difficult if she hadn't had the right to be there, but the watcher was where she belonged. The trick was that only one of those below knew of her, and he wouldn't betray her. She knew this, as she knew her self, her heart and her blood. As things were standing, her presence couldn't be felt as an intrusion, she just had to make sure she blended in with the old building, was felt as one with it, part of it. She had to admit that the Vice-President's choice and tastes in strange, ancient places was a great help. Wishing she could have shared the irony of this with him, her eyes glinting with pleasure at the mere thought of what his reaction to her would have been, the watcher silently left the protection of shadows and walked to the edge of the overhang, stopping inches away from a long and deadly fall. A cold wind was blowing, sending shivers down her spine, and she wished one last time that there had been a real roof above their heads, not those rusted remains of iron beams that had certainly served to support a beautiful glass roof at some time in the past. The watcher shouldn't have felt the cold, if truth be told, but somehow Cambridge's weather managed to affect her all the same...

Ah, the light was coming at last...

Slowly, the moon rose above the towers of Cambridge's ancient building, and the watcher held her head high. For the time of a heartbeat, moonrays illuminated her, casting her shadow on the floor below, and one of the council members lifted his head, smiling.

Knowing.

The watcher would have smiled back, if she had been able to smile. Just as both President and Vice-President caught a glimpse of something eerie in the air and turned their minds towards her, she disappeared. It had been a near thing...

"What were you looking at, Doug ?"

The Secretary pointed towards the sky and replied, still smiling :

"The full moon rising. Isn't it beautiful ?"

There was a moment of silence, and the watcher wavered, not daring to fade from the place completely, for fear of disrupting the feeling of the hall and be found out. She had known there was no way she'd be able to wholly hide her presence during the so short moment she would let the moonlight envelop her, but...

"It's so awfully cold here ! Let's go back, and we can watch the stars from the good side of a window, in a place where central heating exists !"

The four young men turned at once towards the young woman who had attended their meeting so silently, forgetting what had to be after all nothing more than a trick of the night, ever the perfect gentlemen, and all five people quickly left the ancient hall. The watcher waited, wondering if she had to thank the young woman for intervening and saving her from discovery, wondering if Ariane had been talking to Kristin, wondering... Eventually, she let go of the matter, and snorted. Speculations wouldn't change anything, she had to allow events to happen, she had to let time flow where it would. And then...

In the deep silence of night, the Daughter of the Moon went away, with one thought echoing in her mind.

The meetings of BAIT were always something extremely interesting to attend.

Definitely.

I loved watching the stars when the weather was freezing cold like tonight. The sky was so clear, the constellations so beautiful... I watched Cygnus and the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, Cassiopea and as usual wondered where on Earth Andromeda was. Due to some very twisted sense of humor the gods had, I had never been able to place it or see it other than in books, which was highly frustrating...

The wind rose, sining in the great Douglas pine trees behind me, and I smiled, listening to it. I chuckled softly, whispering :

"Yes, it's settled, you can come."

The wind faded and I kept on watching the stars for a while before getting back inside the house. It was really freezing cold outside...

Oh damn... I stopped on the side of the walkway, setting down my small bagage and searching for a piece of ID, silently cursing against whoever had decided that England wasn't part of Schengen Space like other European countries and thus forced travellers to present ID cards and submit to godsrotted stupid customs control. I hated having to repeatedly fish stuff out of my handbagage, but then, the surly mood was also more than half caused by the fact I had had to wake up very early this morning. I dutifully presented my ID to the customs officer who, as always, didn't even give it a passing glance, and yawned as I put it back in place. All right, now that I was here, it was high time to set my dear little mind back on the proper track, and that meant the BAIT boys. Now, how was I going to say hello ? Not the standard, so distant and formal english way, no sir. No way in hell. I'd say hello in the most usual, normal Belgian fashion and that would be that. My decision made, I grinned widely and walked beyond the customs door.

There, three young men waiting.

Three, good.

Very good.

But...

Mmmmmm...

I felt a smile coming to my lips as both Tim and Doug spotted me, and almost laughed as I saw Tim waving a walking stick, likely to attract my attention. Of course, the Vice-President of BAIT was clad wholly in black, his telltale trenchcoat feeling more like a cloak of darkness than a coat. His hair was slowly growing back to its former length, and I thought it had really been a pity he had had to cut it. Still, there was no denying the Vice-President's presence or style. I hadn't expected anything else. For a fleeting instant, part of me wished I was the person I had given my name to in Revolution, but fanfiction was fanfiction and not reality. Not this... Futile thinking. My eyes settled on Doug, and warmth spread through me, while a sudden, gentle breeze flew my hair and envelopped the Secretary of BAIT for a fraction of a second before fading. Now the third young man... Part of my mind argued with the other, but the obvious gentleness, the feeling of almost naivety and innocence was not the President's, couldn't be. Or the man was much more dangerous than I had ever imagined. Anyway, no time for debate or questions. I had to take action before the initiative was taken from me. Just as Tim was moving forward to greet me, I walked to him, and before he could move, soundly kissed him on the right cheek.

I stepped back, chuckling as I saw something like shock on his face, and whispered : "Belgian way..." by way of explanation, then quickly kissed Doug and the third young man in the same fashion. As expected, it took the three a moment to shake the surprise, and I couldn't help giggling. My, but this was going to be fun !

The Vice-President made the presentations, and I discovered that the third person who had come down from Cambridge to greet me was Serge, the newest member of BAIT. I smiled at him, wondering if this nice young man knew what he had stepped into, part of me hoping he was strong enough to see the President and Vice-President for who they were, strong enough to resist them, part of me knowing my hopes were most likely futile...

"Our beloved President sends his deepest regrets, but he was unavoidably detained..."

I looked at Tim, arching an eyebrow, and smiled sweetly.

"Is that so ? Well, I'm gonna have to think about whether to forgive him or not..."

"You don't get it, there's nothing Clinton could do about it but lie, the whole system was rigged so he'd have to..."

Tim grinned at my reply, shaking his head.

"I don't understand you Ariane, is this the same girl who made such a passionate speech on SOC for Justice and purity ? How can you support Clinton and in the same time say the words you've said ? Or is it you don't like the Republicans and don't want to see one as president, or you don't like the American system, or..."

I almost stopped on the spot when those words reached my brain. Gods rot it, could my own words be interpreted in such way that'd make my opinion on this stupid private matter a paradox ? Couldn't be, there was a difference between judging someone for the deaths of thousands, for torture - even if it was done by people whose country history wasn't exempt of bloody events - and having one of Inquisition's 'purest' fanatics relentlessly hunting for the head and hide of a man allegedly because he'd had an affair, but truly for sole political and power winning reasons ! Ah well... I shrugged.

"Yeah I'm the same girl, no I don't have any attraction for the Republicans or the American system, yes I think Clinton did a good job if I base myself on what all the experts say, and to have him impeached for lying on his relationship with... Oh come on !"

Tim grinned at me, somehow pleased with himself.

"But he lied, he's guilty of perjury..."

This time, I sighed audibly.

"Yes. He did. He had no other choice. And I don't care."

While the Vice-President was attacking from yet another flank, I suddenly wondered why I had agreed to play such a game with him. Why, or when, come to think of it. What were we doing, discussing Clinton's impeachment and Pinochet while walking to the underground station ? I let Tim's words slip beyond me, and looked at the city around me. It was good to be back here, to be away from work and my usual environment. I looked back at my companions and smiled inwardly when I saw Tim dragging my small suitcase behind him. Of course, the Vice-President had taken custody of the baggage as soon as it had come within his reach. He was, after all, the perfect gentleman. That, and the Vice-President of BAIT. As such, he had duties, and a reputation to uphold. I had expected his taking my suitcase, not that I required any kind of service or help, but if he wanted to drag it along, who was I to prevent him ? I had always liked shows of gallantry, if only because they never ceased to amuse me.

Suddenly, I realized that Tim was waiting for an answer on my part, and chuckled.

"Look, I'm not discussing this anymore, or I'm gonna get very serious and neither of us want that. So let's forget about this, okay ?"

For a moment I thought he wouldn't drop the subject, but then he yielded gracefully, as always, and we entered the underground station to get to this place of wonders called an Asahiya Bookstore...

I watched, fascinated, as Tim started demonstrating the fine art of fencing right in the middle of the subway coach, explaining feints, lunges and using his walking stick as a fencing foil. I laughed inwardly as he barely missed skewering an innocent passenger, and then grinned as he started attacking Doug. The Secretary made a very good account of himself, having only a pen as means of defence, but the Vice-President's enthusiasm eventually gave him an expected victory.

We exited the underground and started the five minutes walk towards what had previously been a Yaohan complex. The weather was incredibly good, the sky's blue was almost perfectly pure, and the freezing cold felt good. I had left Belgium only this morning, with dark grey skies and threatening snow, but as soon as the Eurostar had reached England, the sun had been shining, sole master of a sky free of clouds... Oh shit ! I stopped, muttering under my breath, and took a cell phone out of my handbagage, belatedly remembering I had promised I'd give my parents a short call upon arriving in London. Tim laughed, calling me an office lady, and I helpfully glared at him, which had the desired effect of amusing him mightily and having him go back at it again. I quickly keyed in the number, and said as my father took up the phone on the other side :

"Allo papa ? C'est moi, tout va bien..."

Tim burst out laughing, and repeated, mimicking my voice and trying for a French accent - which was horrible but :

"Allo papa ?"

All right... I told my father :

"Attends une minute..."

Then I turned towards Tim and yelled, laughing :

"SHUDDUP !!!"

Of course, that had only one effect : to send him, Doug and Serge rolling on the floor laughing. Faking anger, I mumbled on the phone :

"Ils sont vraiment impossibles, je te jure..."

This of course amused my father as well. I ended the call, and thought I was really, really glad to be here.

We stopped in front of the Furihonya, squinting to read its opening and closing times for the third time, to come to the conclusion it was supposed ot be open right now, even though there was clearly nobody and the door was locked. After cursing for a while, Tim gave up on it. After all, we had almost arrived at the ex Yahoan complex and... Without warning, Tim gave my suitcase to Doug, and both he and Serge dashed forward, running like two madmen and racing each other to the bulding on the other side of the street. I looked at their quickly disappearing backs, and asked Doug :

"What's with them all of a sudden ?"

The Secretary of BAIT shrugged helplessly and replied :

"They both want to get the last volume of ES... Asahiya doesn't get many so whoever gets in there first..."

I nodded, saying in my best wisewoman tone :

"Ah, I see..."

Give those boys a beautiful manga and all thought of the most elementary gallantry slipped away from their grasp like a too thin veneer layer. Yes, I saw... I smiled ferally in the cold, taking good note of the fact.

I saw, indeed.

I sat on the bench beside the bookstore, and thought how strange it was to feel frustration at having had virtually nothing to buy... Doug and Serge were both either sitting or standing beside me, we were all waiting for Tim to eventually exit the bookstore, provided he one day decided to do so. The place seemed to have swallowed him, or drowned him... Watching him shift from one set of shelves to another, and back again was a strange and fun spectacle at the start, but one which quickly lost its interest. Serge stood up and sighed.

"Okay, sorry, but I have to go, I have to get back to Cambridge so I can't stay any longer."

I looked up at him, while Doug was replying :

"Really ? Are you aiming for the one thirty coach ?"

Serge nodded, and Doug added :

"I'll go with you..."

Serge shook his head, saying it was all right, and suddenly held out what looked like a letter to me, saying :

"From our President..."

What ? I took the enveloppe, noticed the careful, old-fashioned and intricately beautiful handwriting and recognized it, wavering between surprise and laughter. Gods, the man was really incredible ! Unable to wait, not that I had ever known patience in the first place, I opened it and read it.

Mmmmm...

Musing about what I should do about what was in there, I asked the two young men :

"Do you know how long it took him to write that ?"

Doug said he didn't know, and Serge grinned.

"Oh, it took him quite a bit longer than he first thought, I was there when he wrote it..."

Mmmmm... So... I slipped one piece of the chessboard to a more suitable place, and reassessed the situation. Serge had been with the President of BAIT at the time he wrote the letter, had he ? Interesting... And once more proving that one should never take people for granted, certainly not at first glance. But still, Serge had volunteered that little bit of information, so I was forced to wonder whether he was aware that it betrayed him, or at least nuanced the picture of innocence that was the first thing one perceived upon laying eyes on him... Anyway, I had to decide what to do about the President. Either forgive him, or play a little game of my own, which I was more than inclined to do, but... Both Doug and I said good bye to Serge, and I was sorry to see him go. Too bad, really...

As to where the President of BAIT was concerned... I sighed. Ah well, I'd have enjoyed nothing more than to have a bit of harmless fun, but given that I couldn't be sure he'd get the joke since we hardly knew each other and that I was - no matter what some said - a nice girl cursed with a heart way too kind, I decided for forigveness, plain and simple...

This time.

Walking was good for the health, good exercise for the heart, well at least that was comforting. My godsrotted left heel was hurting like hell, and knowing exactly how my dear new fashionable shoes worked, I could just picture the torn skin rubbing ceaselessly against the hard, high quality leather. Oh great... But then, it was my fault for choosing those shoes to come here, out of some shred of stylishness I hadn't known I had left in me...

Evening was falling quickly, even faster than it did in Belgium, and one was quite glad one had the company of two young men to walk along the high speed avenues' deserted walkways. I quietly observed Doug and Tim, who'd been chatting for a while, and had to admit with a pang of regrets that the situation had hardly changed since my last stay in Cambridge. The one leading and giving orders was still the same, and the one following and accepting the others' orders and whims was still the gentle, kind-hearted Secretary... If this had been Revolution, I could have changed things, helped, but as it was...

No.

Better not to think about that possibility.

There was nothing I could do, nothing I could start.

But if another were to initiate...

Stop.

I chased the useless thoughts from my mind, and joined the conversation, scowling as Tim once again grinned widely, calling me :

"Ariane-obachan..."

I lifted my bag threateningly, growling :

"Stop that, or I'm gonna become violent..."

He rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Promises, always promises, oba-chan..."

Oh, so this was the way he wanted it, hey ? I lifted the bag and swung it, striking him squarely on the top of the skull with it.

"Hey !"

I smiled sweetly at him.

"What ? Aren't you happy ? Wasn't this what you wanted ?"

He mumbled something about needing his brain for important things, so please would I be so kind as to not strike at his head thank you, and I merely kept smiling guilessly, lightyears away from feeling the slightest hint of remorse.

I was starting to seriously wonder where Tim was taking us, and if indeed the place we were going to really existed. I had stopped worrying about my left heel, and given up any hope to salvage it. I was limping badly, and I was loath to think about what would be left of it when at last I'd be able to take off those godsforsaken shoes.

"Oh gods..."

I barely heard my horrified whisper as I saw the intricate design of the crossroads we'd come to. The architect who had thought of this one was a madman, that, or he'd drawn the plans right after waking up from his worst nightmare. My eyes followed the lines of walkways and suddenly, I saw Tim cheerfully walking to the closest, apparently unaware there was a railing barring access to it. I stared at him numbly for a few seconds, before realizing he intended to jump over the railing rather than to walk the fifty meters which would have brought him to the walkway's entry proper... Of course... Yes... The railing was a bit more than one meter high, so the jump was reasonably possible, even if... Oh well, it was Tim after all, so this was in character. I shook my head, smiling inwardly. Damn show-off...

Around me, the wind started rising.

I watched as the Vice-President's left hand grasped the railing and as he gathered his strength to jump.

The wind left me, whirling, and suddenly grew in power, hitting the Vice-President on the right side and...

...unbalancing him just as...

His eyes widened as he felt it...

... too late, ...

... jumped, ...

... hit the railing with his left knee, ...

... fought to regain his balance...

... and failed.

There was a moment of silence, during which the only sound we could hear was the wind whirling around us, and then even that stopped as the breeze faded as quickly as it had come. Doug and I watched Tim sprawled against the railing for a while, numb. It was clear he wasn't hurt in the slightest, but the expression on his face clearly showed what he was thinking of this indignity forced upon him by the whims of the gods. Beside me, Doug chuckled softly, and I tried to stifle my own mirth as the Vice-President of BAIT slowly stood up, brushing the dust covering his black trenchcoat with an undisguised grimace of disgust. Too bad I hadn't brought a camera with me... I looked up at the darkening sky and grinned.

The breeze was gone, there was no trace of it left in the air. It had been a very peculiar wind which had struck the Vice-President so treacherously. From the corner of an eye, I saw Doug was also looking up, and thought I was sure I knew a very accurate name for it... I nodded, grinning. Oh yes, I knew you...

Dear laughing wind.

I leant my head back against the top of the sofa and half-closed my eyes, relishing the warmth reigning Tim's living room and thinking that central heating had to be one of the greatest gifts of the gods to mankind. Now that I had taken off my cursed shoes, the pain in my left heel was reduced to a dull, distant ache I could easily send back to the far side of my mind. Walking during a few days would be a very interesting challenge, but I'd worry about that when I had to, not a moment before.

Mylene Farmer's voice was softly resounding in the room, a familiar sound that always unfailingly sent my mind focusing on stories and writing, a reverie that was very enjoyable indeed. Kyri and Doug were holding a quiet conversation on my left, and both Tim and Kristin were silent for the moment. It had been good to see K-chan again, I had surprised myself when I had felt such happiness as she had entered the room... Although, when one thought about the similarities between Karin and Kristin, one could understand why one felt one got along Kristin so well. I grimaced inwardly, mocking myself for rationalizing feelings when I should have known better than to even try.

Focusing on the lyrics of 'Je t'aime melancolie', I smiled. The evening had reached a peak when Tim's door had opened to reveal the lean, aristocratic frame of the President of BAIT, who had at last consented to let me get a glimpse of him. Neither Vice-President, nor Secretary had exagerated in their attempts at describing Kyriacos Pavlou. The President exuded an aura of tranquil assurance, surety of self that only those with the true touch of class could possess. There was no need for him to push to get to the front of the scene, he naturally became the center of attention, by no action of his, charsima simply sufficed to have people gather around him, and then he would let everyone talk and listen, sitting down comfortably and slipping into the evening's atmosphere as if it were a silken glove he was used to wearing, or an art he instinctively mastered.

Like right now, at this very moment...

An observer of nature...

Oh yes, Kyri was that, and he was very skilled at it. For a moment, I toyed with a question, wondering who was watching whom, him watching me or me watching him, and then discarded it. The answer didn't matter, only the game of watching did...

"Ariane, beside being very pretty, having a beautiful voice and having really good music, is there something behind this singer's lyrics ?"

I looked at Tim, surprised, and then chuckled happily.

"Sure, Mylene Farmer's lyrics are more than nice sounding words, she's one of the best, her songs are dark, cynical at times, sad, full of despair... In fact she's the kind of singer you of all people should love. I posted a translation of the lyrics of four songs on this CD to SOC. Didn't you read it ?"

He had the good grace to sound a bit embarrassed when he replied :

"No, I skipped it, I had no time..."

I shrugged.

"Oh well, I suppose I can send them to you, I think I've kept that mail somewhere..."

There was a short silence, then the Vice-President suddenly asked me :

"How much do you want for this CD ?"

I looked at him numbly for a while, before asking :

"What ?"

He repeated the question :

"How much do you want for this CD ? I want to have it."

I laughed.

"Hey, I don't know ! I'll get one for you once I'm back in Belgium and send it. That way I'll know what it's worth and..."

He cut me off.

"No, that'll be too long, I'd have to wait. I want it now..."

I looked at him quizzically, hearing the emphasis he had put on the word 'now' echoing in my mind. My, the Vice-President was an impatient man... I let the silence stretch between us, in part to tease him, and in part because I was loath to part with one of my favourite non anime CDs.

"You can get it easily, while here, I can't, so please..."

I waved good-humoredly towards him, nodding.

"Okay, you can have it. I'll just need to think about price."

Perhaps I should have used souls as currency... That was the moment he started bowing to me, repeating :

"Oh, thank you oba-chan, thank you so much..."

I glared at him, which of course simply encouraged him to continue, and finally said softly :

"I think I have warned you enough to stop doing this, haven't I ? I have been more than fair..."

He grinned widely.

"Yes, you have, so why don't you react ?"

I laughed.

"Because that's what you want, dear. And I'm not entering your game. I have other means of replying to you in a suitable fashion..."

Discarding my growing irritation at the stupid form of address, I looked at everyone, and asked :

"So, lady and gentlemen, would you mind having a look at the fifteen minutes tape I made to show you the Saint Seiya characters I used for you in Resolutions ?..."

I adopted a little girl's whimsical tone of voice as I added :

"It won't be long, beside, I'm obsessed, so you have to bear with me and go along with it..."

Kristin nodded wisely, her eyes shining with mirth, and the three young men laughed. Taking advantage of the moment, I retrieved the tape from my bag, and set it in the vcr. Tim started it, and I...

... slipped...

... fell...

... dived...

... drowned...

... entranced...

" Who's the one with the Chains ?"

I felt a dreamy smile on my lips as I told Tim :

"Oh, this one ? This one is Andromeda Shun..."

Of course Tim would notice Shun among the five Bronze Saints, of course... Ikki needed to be seen to be liked, even though I was sure he'd be the Vice-President's favourite, and Shiryu was a good character as well...

I grinned as I pointed towards the Pope's dark figure.

"So this, Tim, is your character..."

I burst out laughing as he asked :

"Hey, is his face black or what ?"

Before I could reply, Doug said :

"He's wearing a mask Tim..."

Then I showed Doug Aioria, who apparently suited the Secretary fine, and quickly told Kristin :

"Now wait, watch carefully, and tell me I was right to take this one for Mark..."

She nodded, and timing made it so that at this very moment, Virgo Shaka appeared. I smiled contentedly when I saw the character's entry triggered the desired response, and as Virgo Shaka started moving and taking action on the screen, Kristin said :

"Gods, this is incredible ! Yes, I understand why you picked him for Mark, it's perfect..."

The show went on, everybody getting a good time out of Tim's character's bathing scene, yelling "Fanservice !" to the screen. It was true that the Pope - it was getting tedious to have to refer to him like that but as Tim didn't want spoilers... - was a quite pleasant figure to watch, for Kristin and myself at least, but then, the men in the room being members of BAIT, they just had to love seeing this.

I had added the Ten Ma Kou Fuku's unveiling scene mostly to show Doug the moment when Shaka opened his eyes, but apparently the others liked it too, Kristin repeating in a whisper that all this fitted Mark perfectly, indeed. Then, came the picture of Shun's reflection in the Virgo Gold Cloth, and I said :

"My soul for this cell."

Kristin, Doug and Tim laughed, while Kyri merely nodded, as if noting down a fact that might be useful later, and I grinned. Now it was time to get to Kyri's character, the fun had just started. On the screen, Seiya and Shun barely avoided two magnificient red roses, looked up, and stared, stunned, as...

Pisces Aphrodite appeared.

"Oh no ! This is too much !"

I watched as Kyri started laughing helplessly, and all of us joined him in laughter, agreeing that this was absolutely right for Kyri, who quickly gave up on trying to protest. Once the showing was over, Kristin nodded and said solemnly :

"I have to say one thing Ariane, your cast of characters for Resolutions was perfect, there's no other word. It fitted wonderfully."

I sketched a bow, thanking her, and shortly after that, we all wished each other good night. It was not so late, but we all had had a long day. Gods, I was exhausted after our little bit of walking in London. Once everybody was gone, I asked Tim :

"Are you sure about this ? I could sleep in the sofa, really..."

He shook his head.

"Absolutely out of the question, of course you'll sleep in my bed..."

I laughed inwardly, tempted to ask him :

Oh, and can I quote you on this one ?

Unaware of my train of thoughts, he continued :

"Don't worry, I'll sleep very well in the sofa. So no more discussion."

I nodded my thanks and went to his room, closing the door behind me and chuckling softly at the idea of sleeping in the bed of the Vice-President of BAIT. Everybody knew, and Tim showed a tireless zeal to repeat it to any who'd listen, that there were two words in his title : VICE and President... Oh yeah... I quickly changed into pajamas, and lied down, yawning, and intent on falling into the deepest slumber possible.

The night was cold. The watcher had no wish to stay outside by such a weather, but she could hardly fit in anywhere without being noticed. So she stayed where she was, up one of the highest of Trinity College's ancient buildings, and watched over the Secretary of BAIT as he made his way back to his room, guarding him against the night but unable to do more...

... Yet.

She was glad Ariane hadn't risen to the Vice-President's repeated provocations. It was the last thing to do. The watcher knew that Ariane sometimes wanted to reply, but she couldn't.

She couldn't.

Not like this.

Not if she wanted to...

... have this chance...

The watcher shook her head. It was sometimes difficult to differentiate herself from the young woman, but it was necessary. The watcher sent her mind to the Vice-President's living room, and suddenly wished she could laugh.

Tim had forgotten to take a blanket, and now that Ariane was sound asleep, he couldn't get back into his bedroom and retrieve one... For a fraction of a second, the watcher was tempted to lend him a hand, but then she remembered other things, and snorted.

The moon was rising over Cambridge. It wasn't full anymore, but still, she held her head high in salute, and then, on impulse, she unfolded her beautiful black wings which shimmered under the eerie light. Ariane would be all right, she had another charge to care for. Silently, she left Trinity College, a Black Unicorn shining against the darkness of night...

How strange the sight would have felt to outsiders...

... Black against Dark...

... She...

... had...

... arrived.

The Black Unicorn settled on the roof of the building holding the Secretary's room, and carefully lied down, discarding the feeling of cold, only half-closing her eyes.

Watching...

... guarding...

... defending...

... waiting...

... hoping the moment would come when...

... waiting...

... waiting...

End of Day 1.

On to Next Part.

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