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Yours Ever - Part 6

A Saint Seiya x X fanfiction by Ariane Kovacevic, AKA Fuu-chan.





"Lucky for us you noticed Monou Kotori in the back of that car, Seiya, or we'd have lost them. And lucky for us there was that school's name on it too."

Seiya chuckled, nodding to Hyoga. "Hey, this girl stands out you know. I couldn't possibly miss her!"

My brother sighed, rolling his eyes heavenward in reaction to Seiya's words, and looked out at the dark tunnel beyond the subway's small window as he said, "Seiya, will you ever grow up? This isn't the right time to play stupid teenager."

Of course the Pegasus Saint started a hot argument with my brother on the spot. Those two shared a deep bond, but despite that they really didn't get along. I smiled, watching them fight like the immature teenagers my brother had told Seiya he was, and felt something that might have been wistfulness engulf me.

All of a sudden I felt someone's eyes on me, and realized that Shiryu was staring at me with a question shining in his eyes. In a quiet whisper, he asked me, "What's going on, Shun? You've been very silent."

I shrugged, meeting Shiryu's night blue eyes and replying, "I was just thinking, trying to add the facts and come to a clear understanding of the situation we've been thrown into."

Shiryu nodded. "And to what conclusion have you come?"

I smiled self-deprecatingly. "None. None where it matters." I leaned back against my seat, looking up at the ceiling, and added, "Two sides will fight on some Promised Day to determine Humanity's Fate. Those we saw are supposed to be its defenders. As for the others, it's not hard to guess that Kigai Yuuto and Sakurazuka Seishirou are among what that Seeress called the Dragons of Earth. So it means that the two sides are well aware of each other, contrary to what I had first thought." I blinked, finding the sight of the ceiling to be dizzying when combined to the rhythmic, almost hypnotic sounds of the subway. I was feeling tired, which didn't help me to keep focused on the problem at hand. Eventually I stared out the window, letting my gaze lose itself in the darkness of the underground tunnels and resumed, "Concerning the strange sensation I've felt twice now, I can't say for the first time, but I bet that the second time it was Sakurazuka Seishirou who provoked it when he 'paid his respects' to the Diet Building. I think that their battle has already begun, and that on this Promised Day of theirs will simply be held some kind of 'final battle'." My voice reduced to a whisper as my mind conjured up the image of a teenager cradling the head of a woman whose name I didn't even know. "But what of Shirou Kamui? I have no idea."

I shook my head, chasing the image back in the shadows where it belonged and faced my friends. "Why should the Fate of billions rest in the hands of one? And if it truly is his decision alone, then why two opposite sides? Why should they fight each other? Whatever damage they inflict on themselves is of no importance, still Shirou Kamui will have to make his decision, and that alone will determine our future."

Silence followed my words, then my brother nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that's what can be reasoned from the small bits of information we've been given, but I still can't believe this is happening. I can't believe we were unaware of something so important, that Athena, and everyone at the Sanctuary remained ignorant this threat."

Hyoga smiled faintly, shrugging. "Be that as it may, still we have no choice but to go forward, try to understand and prevent disaster, no?"

That triggered a bitter chuckle from my brother, who sighed. "Yes, of course." He turned towards me. "Shun, do you think Shirou Kamui will accept to listen to us?"

I bowed my head, unsure of what my feelings where the young man was concerned. There were too many things in him, too many emotions which burnt hotly inside him, wanting *out*. At last I gave up on finding a suitable answer to the question and replied, "I don't know and, really, I doubt he cares much about humanity."

The train slowed, and stopped at a station. I quickly read its name and stood up. "Anyway, we'll soon know. This is the stop for Clamp Campus School."




The campus was almost empty of students, even though we were in the middle of the afternoon. Looking at my surroundings, I reasoned that a good number of them were likely attending a class or a lecture, but still the feeling of the place was strange. We'd been wandering inside aimlessly for a few minutes. It was huge, and we had no idea where Monou Kotori, her brother and Shirou Kamui might have been taken. While I was staring at a direction sign and trying to make sense of what was written on it, I heard Shiryu mentioning in a half-thoughtful, half-wondering voice that the campus' shape was that of a perfect five-pointed star. Seiya opened his mouth to comment on that, and in the same time a shrill cry rang through the air.

"FUUMAAAAA!"

My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the voice of Shirou Kamui. The cry had been filled with terror and denial, so strong that the sound of the young man's voice had sent a cold shiver running up my spine. It had come from somewhere close, very close to where we were standing. I looked at my friends, and they nodded back at me in silence, their gazes focused inward. We had no need for words when in situations like this, we knew what the others thought, and we knew what was required of us. Quickly we put the Cases down and opened them, putting on our Cloths.

I closed my eyes, opening myself to the perception of the Nebula shining around me. I focused my mind and felt the Nebula's great arms slowly moving, their vibrations in harmony with the steady beatings of my heart.

The Nebula, reaching out through infinity.

Touching the universe.

Alive.

I abruptly felt myself being pulled on the left, and saw the Chain's arrow edge stretching itself in that direction, showing me where my enemy was.

Responding to the feeling of hatred choking the air all around us.

I clenched my teeth, sharing the perception. The emotion was so strong, and the Chain's reaction.... Acknowledging the cold feeling of dread gripping my heart, I nodded to myself. I was suddenly afraid of what we'd find in the direction the Chain pointed to. Gesturing to my brother and my friends, I ran off towards a tall building on our left.

A swimming pool.

Its great bay window had been shattered. Looking up at it, I saw where the original impact point had been. There was nothing left of it but a myriad of glass fragments scattered on the ground, catching the sunlight and sending a ghost dance of random light reflections on the half-crumbled walls on each side.

"The fragments form an almost perfect circle arc, I'd say something exploded inside the swimming-pool and blew everything away." I hardly heard Shiryu's quiet voice, focused that I was on what was waiting on the other side of that shattered bay window, focused on the impossible absence of feeling, on the absolute void that the swimming-pool had become to my senses.

Stepping closer, I bumped against something and fell back, losing my balance. As I was slowly getting up, I saw that my friends had been stopped in a similar fashion, violently thrown back. I reached out in a slow, deliberate movement, and encountered the same invisible barrier. I gently leaned the palm of my right hand on it. It wouldn't yield. I closed my eyes and focused on my cosmo once again, trying to feel what exactly it might be, but got no other sensation than a faint trace of energy. I still couldn't get any feeling from what was beyond it, it was as if that place had stopped belonging to our world.

"Oh my god!"

Hyoga's horrified whisper brought me out of my trance, and for the first time I used my eyes to see the inside of the swimming pool.

Slowly I stepped back, my heart beating so loud in my chest that it covered all the other sounds. There was a cry of horror rising up in my throat. I raised my fingers to my lips, stifling the cry. Sweet Goddess, this couldn't be.... I shook my head, refusing to believe what my eyes were showing me.

Shirou Kamui.

He was nailed to a broken pillar, wounded, held by crystal shards piercing through the palm of his hands. Blood was flowing from numerous cuts on his body, dripping down on the ground. His whole body was screaming despair and pain, emotions so great it felt as though they'd tear his flesh apart, feelings of such inhuman intensity that they couldn't be held within a mere human shell. His beautiful purple eyes seemed empty.

It was as if his soul had died.

And not far from him...Monou Kotori. She was tied to a huge cross of metal by a myriad of thin metallic filaments.

Crucified.

And lastly, right beside Shirou Kamui was Monou Fuuma. I stared at him and felt ice hitting the pit of my stomach. From somewhere very far away, I heard myself whispering in a horrified voice, "No...."

Monou-sempai.

A young man with deep gentle and grave eyes.

A young man apologizing for a shoot that had been too strong.

A young man whose smile could be so warm.

A malevolent light was shining in his eyes.

Evil.

The Chain's rings tinkled against my arms, bringing me back to the reality of now. Monou Fuuma was holding the Sword in his hands.

The Kamui's Sword.

But how....?

The young man smiled at Shirou Kamui, and jumped up on the horrible metal cross, landing right above his sister. He laughed and raised the Sword.

Seiya threw himself against the invisible barrier, without success. He turned towards us, saying urgently, "Maybe if we unite our powers...." No one answered him. He shook his head, and anger mixed with refusal flashed in the nut-brown eyes. "We can't let this happen! We've got to do something!"

My brother replied in a toneless voice, his right hand closed into a tight fist at his side, shaking almost imperceptibly, "If we could, we would, Seiya. This isn't really a barrier." He reached out with his left hand, and leaned its palm on the invisible surface. "What is beyond this shield is no longer part of our universe. There's no way through, unless the one who cast this thing releases it."

On the other side, Monou Fuuma's blade went down.

My eyes widened as I saw the Sword describe a shining arc of light, in a slow motion. I cried out, "No!"

Unheeding of the unbreakable barrier, I flung myself forward.




In the shadows of a ancient temple set halfway through a great flight of stairs, a man's meditative trance was abruptly interrupted. Eyes that he always kept closed opened, their unfathomable blue pools so deep that they seemed empty of feeling. Virgo Shaka stood up, and moonlight caught on the long golden hair which reached his thighs, as if to pay him homage. He stepped over to a beautiful Gold Cloth and looked at it. Its shape was that of young woman kneeling in prayers, her hands joined and her eyes closed. As the man stared at the Cloth in silence, tears started slowly running down cheeks of gold. For the first time in many years, an emotion came to the man's face.

Sorrow.




The blade stopped less than three inches from my face, held back by the Chain's rings. I clenched my teeth and fought with all my strength to keep the precarious balance I had, standing as I was on the edge of the metal cross. Hell, but Monou Fuuma's strength was inhuman. He was looking at me with a mixture of amazement and fury. Slowly I pushed the blade back up, not daring to look back to see if Kotori was all right.

"Shun!"

I heard the cry of my friends as if it had come from a great distance, and felt their combined powers striking at the barrier, ineffectively. There was no time for me to wonder why I had been able to go through, and no time to find a way to help them rejoin me. I summoned my cosmo, tapping in the infinite energy reserve of the Nebula to hang on. My arms were hurting, the pressure my opponent was putting on them was too great. All of a sudden the weight disappeared, and from the corner of my eye I saw with horror the Sword rushing towards me from the left side.

Too fast.

I moved to avoid it, but my right foot slipped on the metal and the blade struck savagely at my left flank, sending me flying as if I'd been nothing more than a pitiful twig carried away by a storm.

I cried out as my back violently hit the ground. Instinctively I put a hand on my left side and looked at it. Blood was slowly dripping between my fingers, viscous and warm. With difficulty I managed to come to my knees, and to look up, half stunned.

Stars were dancing in front of my eyes.

The sound of the Chain's rings tinkling echoed in my mind.

Danger.

Somehow, I managed to keep the darkness at bay. Monou Fuuma was walking towards me with slow deliberation, his Sword raised once again. I blinked, fighting the pain which was obscuring my mind, and focused on the light of madness shining in the young man's eyes, certain of what his intent was, and of one other thing: this time, the Chain couldn't defend me.

There was only thing I could do to save my life.

Only one.

Nebula Storm.

Nebula Storm would kill Monou Fuuma in the blink of an eye, but he...I couldn't kill him. No, I couldn't kill again. I stared numbly at the young man as he stopped right before me, and wondered. Isn't it better for me to die?

The shining blade fell down.

I felt cold invading my heart.




In a hidden, holy place in the vicinity of Athens, a young woman climbed the last part of a great flight of stairs and came to the most sacred place of the Sanctuary. She stopped in front of a beautiful golden statue which represented a woman who held a Shield in her left hand and whose right hand, palm upright, held a smaller statue of a winged woman.

Athena's altar.

The young woman looked up at the statue's serene face, and whispered in the deep silence of the night, "Forgive me."

She was crying.




The Sword reached me, and Death came forth.

I smiled.

The weapon's blade had stopped a few inches from my brow, as if held back by an invisible line. Its wielder looked at it with disbelief and incomprehension written all over his face. Unhurriedly I stood up, and the young man stepped back, barely able not to stagger and lose his balance. I made a short, slicing wave towards the Sword and he let go of it, clutching at his hand as if the blade had suddenly burnt him. Discarding him for now, I focused on the perfect weapon and chuckled.

The Shinken, half of its true self.

Then I reported my attention on the one who had dared harm me, and stepped towards him. Fear came to the dark eyes, eclipsing the madness, and I laughed. Stopping right in front of him, I told him in a soft whisper, "Poor misguided fool." He shivered at my words. I reached out to him, and he didn't move, paralyzed. I let my fingertips brush his left cheek as I idly wondered, "Do you not have eyes to see?"

He bowed his head, deadly afraid and horrified at the realization of what he had done. As he ought to be.

In a lightning quick move, my right hand struck at his left flank, and he fell on his knees before me, having the good grace of stifling a cry of pain. I raised my hand and watched with curiosity the crimson liquid as it started dripping down to the metal cross and the ground below, raising strange, deformed echoes in the devastated swimming-pool. In a slow movement, I brought my fingers to my lips and carefully tasted the warm liquid.

Human blood.

Sweet.

I chuckled, then at last I looked down on the pitiful human shape at my feet and said softly, "Get up, and leave this place." He obeyed at once, careful not to raise his eyes at the level of mine. I looked at his retreating back and a contemptuous smile came to my lips.

Human beings.

Vermin.

At the moment he disappeared, the kekkai was released.

I heard steps running towards me and turned to see my friends coming in my direction. My brother hugged me tight, whispering urgently, "Shun...Shun daijoubu ka?"

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course." I had a little grimace when he released me. When he stared at my left flank with worry in his eyes, I added, "It's nothing. It stings a lot, but it's going to be all right."

He nodded, smiling back. "Yes, your Cloth protected you, fortunately."

I turned on the right, and saw Hyoga and Shiryu taking care of both Monou Kotori and Shirou Kamui. The young girl was unconscious, and with a bit of luck she wouldn't keep any memory of all this. Shirou Kamui on the other hand.... His eyes were empty, it was obvious he was undergoing a terrible shock. Suddenly someone patted my right shoulder and I turned towards Seiya, who grinned at me. "Hey, it was a neat trick you pulled up, Shun! Stopping the blade like that and then scaring Monou Fuuma out of his wits so that he'd run away."

My brother nodded at that. "Yes, indeed. I wasn't aware that you had such a perfect control over Nebula Storm, and that you could be scary when you wanted to."

Scary? Frightening Monou Fuuma? Me, stopping the Sword with Nebula Storm...but that was impossible. Nebula Storm invariably killed those against whom I used it. What could they both mean?

"What's going on in here ?"

The voice cut through my train of thought, and I looked towards the shattered bay window of the swimming pool to see three young men facing us.




I looked at my reflection in the great dining room's bay window, my mind filled with too many questions. We had spent the rest of the day at Clamp Campus School itself, and at least it now seemed clear that those who were called Dragons of Heaven would be on our side, but as to all the other questions haunting my mind...nothing. Abruptly I noticed another person's reflection in the bay window and turned on the left to face Sumeragi Subaru.

One of the Dragons of Heaven.

He gave me a slight bow, asking, "May I join you?"

With a little shrug, I nodded. "Of course."

During a few minutes, we watched the night outside in silence and the sounds of the other people present in the room reduced to a distant whisper. Eventually he broke the silence. "You seem troubled, Shun-san."

I let out a weary sigh. "I wish I'd understand..." He looked at me, uncomprehending, and I made a helpless gesture as I explained, "this...End of the World, what could bring it about? Why must it happen? Whose will can there be behind it?"

A joyless smile came to his lips. "The End of the World is the Apocalypse, Shun-san, the Revelation of God's Will."

I shook my head in denial of what I'd just heard. "It doesn't make sense." Suddenly I looked him right in the eyes, my decision made. "To you, I can say this: the Goddess Athena is the protector of humanity, and as long as she stands at the head of the Sanctuary, nothing can endanger it, nothing but a being with a power at least equal to hers, nothing but a God..." I looked away from him, staring out into the night again, and added in a hollow voice, "and we defeated the only other one there was. Poseidon sleeps at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, for eternity. Athena's Seal is on the urn imprisoning his spirit...so how can all this be happening?"

He leaned the palm of his right hand against the bay window and shook his head in a slow movement. I faced him, when and our eyes met, he said, "It's not because you were unaware of a threat that it doesn't exist or has no meaning. You should try to understand, and you should also think about your own words..." he looked away from me, bowing his head, and his voice reduced to a barely audible whisper, "and you should think about your dream."

I tensed, fighting the now familiar sensation of cold which had hit the pit of my stomach as his words had reached my brain, and asked him in a hiss, "What do you mean? What do you know about it?"

Silence was the only thing which followed my question. I waited, willing to stand there all night if need be to get answers, and eventually he faced me in a slow, reluctant motion. Softly he said, "I know that a battle will be fought, and I know that the two Kamui will fight to determine the Fate of this world. I also know that if the last Seal is broken, humanity will perish. I know I'll have a chance to avenge my sister's death and make her murderer pay. That's all I care about." He smiled ruefully. "Your Athena may be a Goddess, but even She must bow to Fate...as we all must."

I stared at him, searching his face for doubts but all I saw was absolute conviction. He was certain his words were the truth, he was certain that...I shook my head in denial, and told him in a tight voice, "I refuse that. We're free, I'll never accept to be bound to a Destiny that was written for me. My life is my own."

His shoulders sagged, as if my words were a burden heavy to bear, and sighed. "Perhaps. I wish...I wish it were so. I wish...."

I looked at him, and saw the light shining in his eyes. In a gentle voice, I cut him off, "You wish you could let go of hatred."

His face drained of color and he stiffened, as if I had just slapped him. "I..." he turned away from me, saying in a toneless voice, "I've got to go, I'm sorry."

I stared at his retreating back, and thought I could almost see the bond between him and Sakurazuka Seishirou, mixture of light and darkness, so strong. My heart went out to this young man who lived only for revenge and wanted so much for the feeling devouring his soul to be hatred, and in a soft whisper I told him the truth I had learnt years ago when my brother had wanted to kill me, "Hatred can only destroy you. Love is much stronger than you can think, and forgiveness can heal a heart as well as give you a strength you didn't suspect you possessed."

I shook my head sadly, hoping against all odds that he'd find a way to win free of his hatred before it was too late.

I rested my right forearm against the bay window and leaned my brow on it, letting my eyes unfocus and my mind drown in the darkness. So many things had happened, so fast. Things that for the most part I didn't understand, things which were likely closely linked to the nightmare I didn't dare remember. It might be Sumeragi Subaru was right, it might be that it was the only way of seeing things clearly, it might be it was the only way to find a way out of this...but it frightened me so much. My fingers clutched the pendant on my chest and then released it. I had to find the courage to face it. I knew there was no choice in this, and I had no wish to be responsible of a tragedy simply because I had been afraid of a mere nightmare.

Glint of metal in the night.

I blinked, distracted by a reflection of light in the bay window, and saw--

A five pointed star-shaped jewel.

Hanging upon my chest.

Memory of my mother.

A thin circle was uniting the five points of the star.

At the center of the star, a delicate drawing of leaves was engraved, as well as an inscription.

"Yours Ever".

Cold savagely hit the pit of my stomach. My vision blurred and I fought to keep my balance, remembering.




Darkness.

Coffins.

Human beings frozen in death.

Countless.

A giant clock, ineffectively ticking.

Marking the passage of a Time which had lost all meaning.

Me.

Laughing joyfully.

Relishing the vision and feeling of a barren world.

Death.




My body shook violently as understanding struck me.

Merciless.

No.

Oh Athena, no.

I....

"Shun?"

I turned towards Seiya in a slow motion, my face a mask of stone. "Why do you stay alone over there? You should join us. There's no use in letting worry eat at you like that. Saori-san will know of all that happened tomorrow, and then we won't be alone to face this anymore. So will you come?"

In a voice carefully devoid of emotions, I told my friend, "I'm sorry, Seiya, but I feel exhausted, my wound hurts me a bit, and I think I'm going to leave and go back to the Graude Foundation. I need to rest, and I need to sleep."

Ignoring his attempt to stop me, I walked past him and quickly left Clamp Campus.

Athena....

Could it be she had known?




I stopped in the middle of a park on my way back and fell on my knees, my fingers gripping the edge of a small fountain with a desperate strength. Gasping for air, I fought the storm of feelings in my heart, I denied the terror devouring me. I had to keep control, I had to, otherwise--

A slight noise alerted me and I turned my head on the right. A dark silhouette was standing right beside me. The clouds moved away, and the moonlight revealed the stranger's face.

Kanon, Gemini Saga's twin brother.

Fury was burning in his eyes. Suddenly I felt a strong cosmo radiating from him and he struck, fast as lightning.

I stared at the shattered stone right beside me for a long time, and then looked up at him. He said in a tightly controlled voice, "I should kill you."

He knew. Something in my heart died when I heard his words, when I heard the undeniable confirmation of what I had at last realized. I bowed my head, whispering, "Go ahead."

Please, do it. Do it quickly.

He laughed bitterly. "Your words won't touch me or move me." His fists tightened. "I want to kill you, but I can't." He looked away from me, and let out a half-frustrated, half-weary sigh. "She forbade it. She simply asked me to watch over you." Silence reclaimed dominion over the park while his words registered in my brain.

She knew.

I felt my mind reeling, shying away from the thought and its meaning. Oh sweet Goddess, it couldn't be. I shook my head desperately. It can't be, it can't be!

Beside me, Kanon took a deep breath, and said between clenched teeth, "Go. Go away from here, before I betray She who took my oath."

I slowly stood up and looked at him. No words of mine would have been adequate, none. Turning away from him, I ran.

Fleeing something that I couldn't escape.




I stared at my image in the mirror and felt like screaming. How could I have remained unaware of this for so long? How had I been able to hide the truth from myself for all this time? I remembered the Dreamer Kakyou's words: It's the future you saw, your Fate.

A mad chuckle resounded in the bathroom, coming from me. Now I could remember the dream. Oh yes, I could remember.

The dead.

The complete absence of life.

The darkness.

My joy at seeing all this.

The crystal coffin at the heart of the Sanctuary.

Imprisoning Athena's body.

The black chains holding me.

Offering me.

The pendant.

The jewel I had worn since I was an infant.

The jewel I had thought was a gift of my mother.

The jewel on which my Fate was written.

Yours Ever.

Now I understood what would bring about the End of the World. And I had been correct. Only a God could threaten this world as long as Athena was at the head of the Sanctuary.

A God.

Death.

I now knew why Monou Fuuma had run away. He had seen Death, Death which had risen to save my life, to save-- I shuddered, feeling sick.

To save the one He had chosen.

To save the body in which He intended to incarnate Himself.

I looked once again at my image in the mirror. My face was devoid of expression. Staring into my reflection's dark green eyes, I wondered. Is this what Gemini Saga felt?

This horrible certainty, this horrible knowledge that nothing could be done against it...it was more than a human heart should have had to bear.

I couldn't even die.

I couldn't even take my own life.

I wouldn't be allowed to.

I stared right in front of me, my heart empty.




Mirrors.

Each reflecting a single image.

Each touched by the light in a slightly different way.

Fate.

Multiple.

A choice could be made.

To choose one of the mirrors.

Each reflection was unique.

To make one of the images come forth.

To choose one was to choose Fate.

If you're strong and brave enough to do so.

The Dreamer's words.

My fingers touched glass.

Chose one of the reflections.

And I fell.




I bowed my head and smiled, ignoring the tears sparkling in my eyes. Sometimes, a fight could not be won. Sometimes, hope simply did not exist for oneself.

But for others--

Savagely I chased the thought away. I had no right to emotions anymore. I couldn't allow myself to feel. I was His. I knew it, and I had to chase the smallest thought of rebellion away from my heart. I knew that nothing could break the black chains, I wouldn't fight Him. My Fate had been sealed on the day I was born. I was Andromeda, and I had always known that I couldn't escape it.

Of its own volition, my right fist savagely struck the mirror's glass and I watched with detachment as it shattered and as a myriad of sharp shards fell around me in a beautiful a rain of light.

Absentmindedly I looked at my hand, hardly aware of the pain of the deep cuts which reached the bone. My blood was dripping into the sink's basin, giving rise to a strange echoing sound. Eventually I grew tired of watching the crimson red pool spreading in the basin and took a towel that I tore to bandage my hand. Then, slowly, I walked back towards my room.

For a long time I stared at the telephone on the nightstand, unmoving, then I reached out, took the receiver and dialed a number. Despite the late hour, I was answered after only four rings of the bell. I smiled slightly as I said, "Yes, I'm sorry to disturb you so late. This is Shun, from the Graude Foundation."

I chuckled as I heard the surprise in the other's voice, nodding. "Yes, the very same." I shrugged. "Life is full of surprises, we both know that." Staring at the ceiling of my room, I added, "Yes, I think we should meet. Now. The Togakushi Shrine is empty for the moment, I'll wait for you there."

I put the receiver down and got up from my bed, feeling cold, feeling drained. I looked around the room and saw the Sacred Case. Andromeda. I fought the reflex of clutching the pendant on my chest, and shook my head. I couldn't take it with me. It belonged to the Sanctuary, and I.... All of a sudden I heard familiar voices in the corridor, and someone started to open the door of my room. Hell. I quickly stepped towards the terrace of my room.

Dimly I heard someone coming in, and jumped over the rail.

"Shun?"

My brother's voice. I chased it away, and found it was surprisingly easy. I shook my head, and whispered softly, "It's too late, Ikki-niisan...it was always too late."

Then I ran away into the night.

End of part 6.




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