[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

I closed the door behind Sumeragi Subaru and switched on the lights. Showing him a pile of cushions lying beside a low table, I told him, "Sit down, please." He frowned, carefully eyeing the place, but didn't make a move. When I noticed the suspicious expression on his face, I added with a weary smile, "You have nothing to fear, this place is safe, and no one will come or listen to whatever you might say."

He snorted, the same dark frown still marring the line of his brow, but eventually he sat down and shrugged. "No place is really safe. None." He smiled slightly. "Although I do admit that the Graude Foundation's mansion must be well guarded." He stared at me steadily. "I never thought I would come into this...Sacred place one day."

I tensed when I heard those words and the tone of voice he had used. Could it be he knew....? No, there had been nothing but irony and a bit of disdain in his voice. I walked over to the side of my bed and sat down as well with a soft sigh, aware that the Foundation deserved in part the bitterness and resentment it was viewed with. It hadn't always dealt fairly or gently with outsiders in the past. It had had a goal to reach...and no qualms of conscience about the means to use to get to it. I shook my head in denial as I replied, "This place has nothing holy about it, Sumeragi-san." I looked out the window, staring into the night. Remembering.

No! Ikki-niisan, don't leave me, don't abandon me!

Shun, I promise you I'll find a way to come back, but while I'm gone, you must learn to become strong.

Arms had closed around me then, they had harshly torn me away from my brother's embrace, unheeding of my pleas. I had tried to fight them, I had tried, with all the small strength of the fragile child I had been.

I had failed.

And I had watched as they had taken away my brother to send him to Death Queen Island, as they had sent him away to die, all of this to bring them back whatever it was they called a "Cloth". They hadn't given me time to grieve, they had come for me as well, just as they had come for all the orphans the Graude Foundation had "adopted", and they had sent me where Fate awaited...or so the old man Kido had claimed, just as he had claimed that one day we'd understand.

I briefly closed my eyes, acknowledging those fragments of the past and the pain that went with them. No, this place has nothing holy about it, nothing.

Tearing my mind from memories, I faced Sumeragi Subaru, and asked him, "Now will you tell me the meaning of the sakura petal which landed in the palm of my hand?"

The deep emerald eyes locked on me, and he remained silent during a few minutes, watching me motionlessly. The green pools didn't waver when I steadily met their gaze, quiet and undisturbed, searching, as if weighing me and trying to determine who and what I was. I smiled inwardly, thinking that no one but a Gold Saint could have felt the truth about me. And he certainly was no Gold Saint. At last he whispered to himself, "Strange...I don't understand his reasons." Apparently lost in thought, he began scanning the room absentmindedly. "Why would he--"

He fell silent all of a sudden, and I realized his eyes had stopped on a metallic object resting beside my bed.

Damn!

The Sacred Case.

The Case in which was resting the Andromeda Cloth.

He smiled, a smile which didn't reach his eyes. "You have a weird way of decorating your room, Shun-san." He looked at me. "I remember seeing things like this once when I was a child. I didn't have much time to waste on television, but I saw a part of the...show the Graude Foundation put up some years ago. The Galaxian Wars, I believe it was called." He smirked. "Yes, there had been so much publicity made around the event that it had been almost impossible to miss seeing at least some of it, even for me. If memory serves, the purpose of this show was to enhance the image of the Foundation, and it simply consisted in a series of fights between young teenagers wearing some weird kind of armor. There were pretty good special effects too, it was quite a success as I recall."

The emerald eyes held mine, and I didn't dare look away for fear of betraying the reaction his words had triggered. He let silence reclaim the room, perhaps expecting me to comment, and eventually went on, "Why would you keep such worthless gear? Even if you were one of the...heroes of this show, it's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?" There was no mistaking the contempt in his voice. "Unless of course there was more than special effects to the fights I saw."

I was about to laugh in his face when I perceived something strange, so weak I'd have dismissed it in other circumstances. It felt as if someone was trying to touch my cosmo.... Calmly I raised a wall between myself and the intruder, and Subaru Sumeragi nodded, a thoughtful smile on his lips. "So, there is a reason he might have had an...interest in you."

I blinked, shaking my head in a helpless gesture and trying to understand what had just been said. All this was moving too fast for me. Subaru Sumeragi was no Saint, I'd have been aware of the coming of another Japanese in the Sanctuary or the other training centers. All the God Warriors were dead, and Poseidon's Marinas were no more. He couldn't be one of them, but then how could he have psychic powers? Who was he? I stood up and stepped towards the bay window. Staring out into the night where the city lights dimmed the faint light of the stars, I asked him in a soft whisper, "Who are you?"

I saw his reflection in the window as he joined my side. The smile on his lips became bitter as he answered, "I'm not your enemy," he waved my concern away in a indifferent gesture, "and I don't know who or what you are. I have no wish to know, and I don't care. So you can stop worrying."

I turned to face him. "How can you know what I feel?"

He shrugged. "I know, that's all that matters. Besides, a bit of logic would suffice for me to guess which emotions inhabit your heart, don't you think?" He chuckled joylessly. "And what's more, if you thought about my name, you'd likely find the answer you want."

His name? Sumeragi? I rested the palm of my right hand against the bay window and focused on the sensation of cold emanating from the glass, wondering what kind of hint his last name could be. Then suddenly I remembered and said, unable to completely prevent incredulity from seeping into my voice, "The famous exorcists, the family which, generation after generation, has served high names of the state, even the Emperor himself. Is this what you mean?"

He nodded silently. Goddess, I had been away from Japan for too long, I had even lost the habit of automatically granting trust and belief to seers and the like, as was the custom here. With no little bit of irony, he replied, "Yes. As much as I'm fake to you, I thought you to be one as well. I'm Sumeragi Subaru, thirteenth head of the Sumeragi Clan, and I wield Onmyoujutsu."

Onmyoujutsu, magic.

But magic...didn't exist!

Or....

What I had felt coming from him had had nothing to do with the use of cosmo. Then...it was possible he was telling me the truth. I smiled and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry if I offended you. The idea of magic is truly foreign for me. My thanks for trusting me enough to tell me this."

He stared at me, taken aback. "It's okay." He shrugged, and turned to face the outside. "What you found in your hand is the symbol of the power wielded by another Onmyouji." His voice reduced to a barely audible whisper. "He's an assassin. He uses his powers to kill. He hunts. He knows no feelings, and no mercy. His name is Sakurazukamori."

I tensed reflexively when I heard the name. There had been such a terrible pain in his voice when he'd uttered it. Pain, and something dark, only barely held in check. Suddenly I saw that his closed fists were shaking. I focused on him, and realized what the darkness in him was. Hatred, so strong it burnt inside him and was radiating from him. Hatred, sorrow and a loss, so intense and so deep that I had the sensation I'd touch them and feel them as real if I so much as reached out towards the young man. His feelings were torturing him, devouring him, and they left no place for peace in his heart, no place for rest in his soul. He hurt, the whole of him hurt so much--

No.

Acknowledging the thought echoing in my mind, I carefully rested my hands on his shoulders and spread my cosmo around him, letting Andromeda absorb a bit of the weigh crushing him, letting Andromeda's light touch and embrace him. I shouldn't have done it, I knew I had no right to reveal myself like this, but I couldn't abandon someone who was in such pain. I had to help him if I could, I had to. Besides he was no Saint, even if he could feel something was happening, he had no way to know what I was doing. And deep inside, behind the shroud of darkness imprisoning it, his heart was good.

For a fraction of eternity, I let go of the shields protecting my being and gave, shared what I could with him. I didn't hear his sharp intake of breath, the only thing I was aware of was the vibrations of our two hearts beating in synch, basking in gentle starlight.

As I was about to release him, a hand rested upon mine, and he whispered softly, "Thank you." There were tears shining in his eyes. "I don't know what you've done to me, but I thank you." With that, he gently freed himself and went to sit down on my bed. Shaking his head, he said, wonder seeping into his voice, "I had never felt anything like this before. It was as if," his beautiful emerald eyes locked on mine, "you had given me a bit of your life."

I smiled, and gave him a small shrug. "I suppose you could see it this way, yes."

He stared at me in silence for a while, then eventually let out a heavy sigh. "I must warn you. Now that I have felt whatever it is you did, I understand better. The Sakurazukamori must also have felt you using this...power you have."

I started, taken aback. How could this be? Could it have happened during the incident of the afternoon? But I hadn't been aware of any presence whatsoever at the time....

"You see, I don't know how he chooses his victims, but...you certainly interested him...like a change in an everyday routine. It may be he was just curious about you, nothing more. I cannot say. I can't feel his mark on you, so you're relatively safe. But still, you should beware of him."

I nodded, and let a reassuring smile come to my lips. "I will. Don't worry about me, I'm perfectly able to defend myself."

He got up from my bed, and retorted seriously. "For your sake, I sure hope so." He stepped towards the door. "I'll leave you now that I've given you your answer. I must go back to my place and rest a while before going back after him." Suddenly he froze, his hand on the doorknob, and said quietly, "The dream that troubles you--"

My heart skipped a beat. How did he know? He snorted. "It's my craft to know those things, Shun-san." He shook his head, and added in a carefully controlled voice, without turning to face me, "Your dream...I don't know its meaning, but...it's dark. Beware."

There was a long moment of deep silence. I numbly stared at his back, feeling cold spreading inside my heart. Despite his effort to conceal it, I had distinctly heard the emotion in his voice.

Fear.

At last, he said with what might have been laughter in his voice, "Well, at least now I have an idea as to why the Sumeragi were never called to help the powerful Graude Foundation, I get the feeling you have no need for outside interference." He turned his head and looked at me, smiling. "Don't worry, I give you my word I won't tell anyone about what I saw, heard and felt."

He bowed his head. "And once again, I thank you for your gift. Likely you know how priceless what you have given me is."

He opened the door and went out. Just before he closed it, I said gently, "You owe me nothing. I'd have done it for anybody. I'll heed your words, Sumeragi-san. My thanks to you. May Athena look kindly upon you."

Silence followed my words, then a surprised whisper came back to me, "Athena?"

"It's been...what? Three weeks now, ne?" I nodded silently to Seiya, then focused on the soccer ball I was busy juggling with while the other went on, "And nothing's happened since. Well, then I say it's no cause for concern."

Absentmindedly I shot the ball up and caught it with my right hand. Shaking my head, I sighed as I faced my friend. "Maybe...but you shouldn't dismiss all this so lightly."

He took the ball from my hands and smiled. "Hey, Shun, I never said I didn't believe you. I must admit that my first reaction when I heard you talking about Onmyoujutsu was to laugh. Magic stuff isn't really something I'm prepared to believe in, but you say you felt power from this guy, and I trust your perceptions." The good-humored smile left his face, and his eyes met mine. "I haven't forgotten that you have a mastery of the seventh sense that outclasses ours, and even most of the Gold Saints...when you choose to use it, which doesn't happen very often."

He shrugged, and shed the unusual mask of seriousness which had come over his face. Grinning at me, he added, "Anyway, what I mean is simply that I don't think those sorcerer's affairs are our problem. Let them settle whatever feud or other that is which is going on between them. We're Athena's Saints, and we have better things to do than worrying over petty clan wars, don't you think?"

The wind rose around us, flying in my hair. I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, smiling and looking at the blossoming sakura trees on the edge of the soccer field. They were a beautiful sight, one I had never quite forgotten in all the years during which I had been away from Japan. I suddenly heard boys' cries not far away and remembered where we were.

Yes, you're standing in a high school playground. A high school playground, not a battle field, so stop with the nonsense. I had no right to bring this place and its people in my problems, whatever those problems might or might not be. Chasing the whole thing away from my mind, I nodded. "You must be right." I showed him the youths gathering in the middle of the field. "Besides, maybe we should get busy playing soccer now, ne?"

It had taken us three weeks to decide to go to a normal school and behave like ordinary people. The Foundation had offered to give us private classes, but what interested us was to forget the past and regain some part of our humanity, even if we knew we could never be truly normal again. This was our first day at our new school, and we had already chosen the club we'd attend. It hadn't been very hard: we'd been playing soccer since infancy, and we loved it. Of course, we were also very, very good at the game.

Seiya nodded back at me, grinning, and we ran towards the other boys, passing the ball between us in lightning quick moves. Silence welcomed us as we stopped near the small group, and I wondered with a little bit of remorse if we had been right to show off like we had. Eventually, one of the boys managed to stop staring at us wide-eyed, and said, "Well, you sure can play! Monou-sempai should be here any minute. He's the club's captain, and he'll decide which places you two should have in the teams."

Monou? Just as the name hit my brain, a tall young man came into view and strode towards us, wearing the team leader's armband. Seiya and I both bowed, smiling. Sometimes, life's chances were strange. Surprise flashed in the dark eyes, and a smile came to Monou Fuuma's face. "I'm happy to welcome you into our team."

It was incredible how the smile lighted his face, and chased the mask of seriousness and sorrow away. It was as if warmth and kindness radiated from him. All of a sudden I felt oddly close to him, he...yes, of course. A familiar pain filled my heart. Monou Fuuma was so like him.... Suddenly, I realized that the young man was still talking and managed to look attentive, discarding my feelings. "From what I've juste seen, both Shun and Seiya seem to be pretty good players the game. Let's do some warm-up exercises, then we'll play a match. First team against reserve. Seiya will be attack point of the reserve team, and Shun midfield of the same. All right, let's go!"

A crowd of girls cheered as Monou Fuuma gave a mighty kick in the ball, which literally pierced through the goal. I watched, amazed, as the ball tore through the net and lost itself among the sakura trees beyond the soccer field. The young man bowed apologetically to a terrified goalkeeper while various players started commenting on the team leader's strength, and also on the striking contrast between him and his fragile sister, Kotori. Not very surprisingly, most of the boys on the field were desperately in love with her and kept wondering how she and her stern, taciturn brother could be siblings. I walked over to the sakura trees and stopped on the edge of the field, taking slow, deep breaths and focusing on slowing the rhythm of my heartbeats.

Seiya joined my side, and snorted disdainfully. "Humph! Look at all those girls, going crazy and gushing over him. I could have kicked the ball a thousand times stronger than he did."

Turning towards my friend, I chuckled when I saw the sulky expression on his face. "Jealousy and envy are bad failings for a Saint, Seiya." I grinned at him. "Of course we could beat him any time, but you have to admit his strength is really uncommon for a normal human being."

My companion shot me a glum look and muttered halfheartedly, "Yeah...maybe."

I patted his left shoulder comfortingly, laughing despite myself. "Hey, stop the long face! Don't worry, the girls will soon notice you!" Still laughing, I avoided a playful kick which hadn't really been meant to reach me, and thought that this normal life felt wonderful.

Out of habit, my eyes followed Monou Fuuma when he left the field to go look after the soccer ball, and suddenly, I saw a young man wearing the school's uniform appearing through the grove of sakura trees, right in front of the team leader.

Black smoke rising from the ruins of a house.

People of the fire brigade gathering their gear.

Lonely figure watching the fire slowly die.

Tears streaking down his face.

Fury and sorrow warring in his eyes.

Eyes I could never have forgotten.

Purple, as if alight with a devouring flame.

Monou Fuuma froze when he saw the apparition, and then abruptly stepped towards him, half-running and then stopping short of reaching him. The team leader said something the other ignored. He obviously tried to insist, but the other young man passed him by without a word. On impulse I walked towards him, distantly aware that Seiya was following me. For a fraction of a second, I thought he had managed to give me the slip among the sakura trees, but I suddenly caught sight of him in the center of a clearing.

He had frozen, his back turned to us, as if he had known he was being followed. I stopped without warning, and Seiya almost bumped into me. While my companion was fighting to regain his balance, the young man whirled around to face us, saying in a harsh voice which was almost a snarl, "You got a problem with me, you two?"

I looked into the purple eyes and shivered inwardly. I had rarely felt so much violence emanating from anyone. Foreseeing Seiya's reaction to the words, and most of all to their tone, I laid a restraining hand on my friend's chest and quietly replied, "No. We meant no offense. I saw you with Monou-sempai and I thought I remembered seeing you. That's all."

His lips curled up in a contemptuous smile, and he said flatly, "You lie."

Seiya sighed, saying in deceptively soft voice, "You're beginning to get on my nerves, mister arrogance, and that's no good sign considering I've known you for only about sixty seconds. Shun never lies."

Before the other could react, I shook my head, "Forget about it, Seiya, will you?" I stared at the young man and told him simply, "I saw you in Athens."

Surprise and pain flashed in his eyes and he stepped back, unable to help himself. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, and then he chuckled bitterly. "Oh yes, I remember now. As I was mourning the death of my mother, someone got down from a bus, observed me for a while, and then left with the same bus without saying a word." Fury and grief burnt hotly in the purple eyes as he went on, the same fury and grief I had perceived in Athens, "A coward and selfish bastard who had a plane to take and who wouldn't even spare a minute to help a countryman in such a faraway place."

I let the echo of his words fade in the clearing, and then stepped over to him. Once I reached his side, I looked him right in the eyes, and nodded. He was right, I had abandoned him. I had known something was very wrong and I hadn't even tried to help. I had convinced myself he wouldn't listen, and I had gone on my way, unwilling to contemplate what the loss of a mother was like. My fingers closed over the pendant under my shirt, and I bowed my head, saying in a whisper, "What you say is true. Words are nothing, but...I'm sorry, more than I can say--"

A fist crashed against my left cheek and I didn't react, taking the blow without flinching or defending myself. Fortunately, thanks to some instinct I hadn't known he possessed till now, Seiya didn't move. The young man laughed at me. "Do you expect forgiveness?" Reflexively, I lifted a hand and gingerly traced the outline of my jaw, feeling for the bruise which was likely starting to mark it, and then I looked the young man right in the eyes, silent. Mocking, he added, "Won't you flee, or even defend yourself?"

I didn't answer, my eyes locked on his. No words of mine could ever quell the fury raging inside him. Words would only kindle the fire devouring him. I had been afraid to face it when he had needed help, so it was only fair that I faced it now. During a long minute, the only thing that disturbed the heavy silence was the sound of the wind in the sakura trees. Then he moved, jumping and kicking in the same time with all his strength, aiming for my left side. I saw the blow come, and fought the reflex of avoiding it. It would have been so easy: despite its incredible strength, it was far too slow to be a problem for me, but I didn't move. When it connected, I instinctively tapped into my cosmo to absorb a part of the impact. As I staggered and fought to keep my balance, I realized with amazement that I'd have been thrown against one of the sakura trees on the other side of the clearing if I hadn't used my cosmo. And likely I'd have been wounded very seriously. As it was I gritted my teeth and kept on facing him without a word. One or two of my ribs were bruised at the very least.

Something flickered briefly in the deep purple eyes, and then he asked me in a whisper, "Why are you doing this?"

Breathing hurt like hell. I smiled weakly, denying the pain, and looked up at him, returning his gaze. "Because you were right. I abandoned someone in need, and there's no possible excuse or forgiveness for that. The least I can do is try to help you now, and accept the consequences of what I didn't do then."

He searched my face for a few seconds, and then a weary smile unexpectedly lighted his face. "You're different. You're sincere." He nodded to himself, as if filing his words for a later use, and then suddenly he walked past me. I turned around in an attempt to follow him but I gave up immediately, stifling a moan of pain. It hadn't been a very bright idea to move without using the support of my cosmo. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and looked back at me. "Forgiveness isn't mine to grant. My name is Shirou Kamui. Remember it, and remember to stay away from me." With that, he disappeared among the trees.

Seiya ran to my side, his eyes still set on the spot between the trees where Shirou Kamui had disappeared. "Damn him to all the hells! Are you okay, Shun?"

I nodded. "Yes, don't worry. Goddess, but he's strong."

Seiya shook his head. "Why on earth didn't you let me help?"

I sighed, ignoring the sharp pain in my side. "Because..." I blinked as a familiar sensation hit me, and saw Seiya tensing at the same moment. Nodding imperceptibly, I kept on talking. "I owed him this."

He shrugged. "You owed him to let him strike at you like that? Pfeh! I'll never believe something as stupid and ludicrous as that! And I'll never understand you."

I smiled gently, and he rolled his eyes heavenward in mock despair. "Oh well, it's useless to discuss that subject with you, I know. So let's go back now, okay?"

I nodded, and we started back towards the soccer field at a slow walk. Fortunately I didn't too many difficulties moving, I could chase the pain away easily. I'd simply need to pay a visit to the infirmary as soon as possible. I let out a helpless sigh. This wasn't a very conventional way of spending my first day at school, but there wasn't much help for it. The visit at the infirmary would have to wait for a while though. I stopped, leaning against one of the trunks and told Seiya, "Go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a minute."

He stared at me, uncertainty shining in his nut-brown eyes. "You sure?"

I chuckled, pushing him onward. "Yeah, go!"

Nodding, he ran away, then I turned around the sakura's trunk, jumping in the same movement, and lightly landed on one of the tree's high branches. Cautiously I hid all trace of my use of cosmo, and focused on what was going on around me, watching the ground beneath me through the canopy of leaves and blossoms.

I didn't have to wait for long. Less than a half minute later, a tall silhouette appeared, as if out of nowhere, brushing away a few sakura petals carried by the breeze in a slow, lazy gesture. I smiled grimly. The time for play was over. I left my observatory perch and jumped down right behind the man, allowing my feet to make the slightest sound as they touched the ground. My bruised ribs were a very distant ache, unimportant. The stranger slowly turned to face me, apparently unsurprised. He was a tall man wearing a black trench coat over a faultless three piece-suit and tie. In his left hand he was holding dark sunglasses.

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