Disclaimer: If I owned Saint Seiya, Shiryuu would say something to the poor girl for once. However, Masami-sensei is cruel...
Notes: Some dark Shiryuu/Shunrei fluff. Leave a review if you like it. For those of you who like fluff and my writing, I'll be posting a Christmas fic next week.
Shiryuu's Dream
Shiryuu was glad to be home after the fight against Poseidon. The sound of the waterfall outside was soothing to his ears, and he was incredibly glad to see Roshi and Shunrei again. The world was quiet, as Shunrei was asleep in the next room and Roshi was off doing whatever Roshi did in the middle of the night. For some reason, as he drifted to sleep, he remembered something Hyoga had said to him shortly before he had left for Rozan.
"You have to learn to appreciate what you have before it's gone," said Hyoga before getting on the plane to Siberia. It was strange that Hyoga would say that, or at least Shiryuu had thought. Now that he considered it more, it seemed quite natural that Hyoga, who had lost almost everyone he had ever cared about, would be the one who had said what he did. Slowly, Shiryuu fell asleep.
And he dreamed a strange dream.
He was fighting with Seiya, Hyoga, Ikki, and Shun in a hazy unrecognizable place. A man stood before them, but his face was blurred and unclear. Seiya used Pegasus Ryuu Sei Ken again, in an attempt to defeat the mysterious enemy, and as usual, it worked. There was smiling, relief, and general good feelings. And yet, Shiryuu felt something was wrong.
The plane ride to China was excruciatingly long, and every moment he felt as though he needed to be in Rozan more than the last. Hurry, hurry, he thought, and soon he realized he was muttering it out loud. When the plane touched down, he felt as though the world were moving in syrup, because the faster he attempted to move, the slower he became.
Finally, he reached Rozan again. "Roshi, Shunrei, I'm back!" he called. Only the waterfall responded. "Roshi? Where are you?" Still no answer. Shiryuu grew more worried. Apparently, his feeling was more correct than he thought. "Shunrei? Roshi?" Finally, a reply. A slow shuffling noise sounded as Roshi appeared from behind the cliffs.
"Shiryuu," said Roshi seriously. "You're late."
"Late for what?" demanded Shiryuu. "What's going on?" Roshi shook his old head.
"Shunrei waited for you, but you did not return in time before she left."
"Where did she go?"
"To her next life." Shiryuu felt his body freeze as he realized what that meant. Shunrei was dead.
Suddenly, he found himself before a small grave, placing a flower on the stone. He wept, though he had not wept in a long time. Not like this. Shunrei was gone now, Shunrei who had stayed with him through everything, and he would never be able to say goodbye, or talk to her about what he felt. The tears came for three main reasons—he had come back too late, he had not said anything to her before he left last time, and worst of all, he loved her.
"You have to learn to appreciate what you have before it's gone." Hyoga's voice echoed in his head.
"Shiryuu?" He awoke to Shunrei's voice, and that calmed him a bit. "Shiryuu, are you all right?" she demanded in concern. He opened his eyes.
"I'm fine." Shiryuu sat up, and took a deep breath. "Shunrei?" he began, "Can we talk?"