Disclaimer: Saint Seiya is the property of Masami Kurumada, Toei Productions (anime) and Shueisha.
The Right Thing to Say
When Ikki arrived at the mansion, the five cosmos of Athena and his fellow Bronze saints were burning bright in the hall before Shun's room.
"Brother!" the boy cried.
"What happened here?" barked Ikki, lightly squeezing his brother's shoulder while turning to the other saints for an answer. It was Shiryu who first addressed him.
"We still don't know. We all came as soon as we felt it."
"A dark, cold cosmo," Hyoga added.
"I had never felt anything like it," said Seiya.
"It came straight into Shun's room," explained Shiryu, "and disappeared the moment he opened his eyes. Whoever it was, we don't understand why they didn't even attempt to cross the hall..." his voice broke off and the five young men looked at Saori, who was standing quietly a few feet away. Her room was the last down the hall.
"I think I saw someone standing beside my bed." Shun spoke for the first time. His voice was tense, but firm.
"You didn't see who?", Ikki insisted.
The boy shook his head.
"The strangest is that we can't feel it anymore," pondered Hyoga. "It vanished completely."
Ikki looked around worriedly, more because he wanted to feel involved than for any hope of success. Whoever had come was long gone already.
"It seemed almost as if..." Seiya hesitated.
"They were coming for me," finished Shun, letting out a sigh of resignation. Ikki gave him an affectionate look, and he almost smiled. "But I'm fine," he assured.
"Maybe someone was trying to steal your cloth?" Shiryu ventured.
"It's possible," answered Shun. "But in that case I don't understand why they wouldn't even try to take it."
"The cloth would not have assembled itself on any other saint's body," objected Hyoga.
Ikki smirked and raised his hand discreetly. "First-hand experience with that right here."
"Stealing it would be as useless as stealing a locked safe," added Hyoga. "Just plain silly." And he glared at Ikki.
"Shall we discuss this in my study?" Saori finally suggested, soft-spoken. They all looked at her as if they had not seen her there. "I'll bring us all some tea. We have no hope of going back to sleep anyway."
Ikki, who had not yet paid attention to her figure, now took a closer look at the girl standing before him. She was wrapped in a silken robe and had no make-up on; any other girl of her age would be distraught and disoriented to wake up to such mayhem, but not her. She looked as collected as usual, her voice impassible, her composure so great that she had not even forgotten her additional role as the perfect hostess in their surreal little sketch. There she stood, sleepy at most, offering her study and cups of tea for five restless young men to discuss what had probably been an attempt of murder, five doors away from her own bedroom.
How could he not love her?
"Probably not a good idea to go downstairs alone, Saori. I'll come with you."
Seiya. The epitome of heroism. A classic fool. Never more than one step away from her, always petulantly solicit, always ready; he had long played the rebel, but to Ikki he seemed as absurdly submissive as the rest of them, except for that hint of... courtly love towards his damsel in distress. Ikki felt his lower eyelids twitch upward with disgust. And the way she responded — the way she smiled at him and looked at him and touched his arm with the tips of her fingers, it all innerved him to a point past his tolerance.
What was hard to determine was whether he would have been equally nauseated had her lovesick attentions been addressed to himself.
Get a room, already, he thought, watching the young duo go downstairs side by side, and turned around abruptly to enter the study. Shun followed, at his heels.
"Do you have an idea what may have happened, brother?"
"No, Shun."
"Do you think they're coming back?"
"I don't know, Shun."
"Do you think they came for me?"
"I don't know, Shun." He felt suddenly very tired. "I don't know."
Saori lay the tray down on the coffee table.
"Here's some green tea... for Athena's saints," she smiled.
They all thanked her and reached for the cups. Except Ikki.
"Now," she began, sitting down in her armchair with her own steaming drink. "Have you come to a conclusion?"
The saints glanced at each other. It was Shiryu who spoke.
"We know very little at this point. But we all agree..." he looked at Hyoga.
"This was no ordinary enemy. The cosmo we felt was alien to anything we have encountered so far."
"My room was physically cold when I woke up," Shun confirmed. "Colder than the rest of the house, that is. Whatever is was... it was very powerful."
"We must be prepared," announced a serious Hyoga. "I have a feeling that this was not the end of it. I will stay today and probably tomorrow."
"I will stay as well," added Seiya, and Shiryu nodded his accordance.
Only Ikki was quiet. Saori glanced at him, but said nothing.
She was tired. The low sound of the boys' voices was like a lullaby to her sleepy head. I mustn't sleep, she repeated to herself like a mantra, hoping that no one would notice how near to closing her eyes were, or how low her chin drooped when she relaxed. I mustn't sleep.
But she wanted to sleep. She wanted desperately to sleep and to find her father again; to find Zeus, and ask him what the answer was. There is always a way for my favorite daughter. The god's words lingered in her ears like the sound of a favorite song. What could he have meant? What could be the way?
From the time of myth, Athena had been one of the three Maiden Goddesses. The patron of Athens had never taken an interest in sex or romantic love; Saori well recalled the story of the incident with Hephaestus, who had attempted to rape the deity. Her asexuality was sometimes said to have sprung from a curse cast by Zeus; regardless of whether that was true or not, Athena's sacred virginity was known to have been traded for her rule over the Earth, and therefore perpetuated through all of her reincarnations. For Saori, the immaculate bride of Man, to pursue a romantic — or worse, a sexual — interest meant a failure to hold up her end of the bargain, and thereby lose her dominion over mankind, leaving it vulnerable to the greedy inclinations of other gods. Seiya was right. It simply could not be done.
Unless... unless there were a way.
She would not tell him. There was no need, at least not now, when so little was known. No, she would wait. For now, she would speak to him in private and apologize sincerely, perhaps praise his righteous sobriety; they would part ways formally, a goddess and her saint, their love a casualty of war; and she would be left alone again to cultivate her secret hopes.
Now, however, there were more critical matters to attend to. Across the room from her, cornered in the opposite couch, sat Andromeda Shun. Simmering power leashed by kindness. He had been living uninterruptedly in the mansion for several months now, a welcome accomplice to late-night small feasts and strolls around the grounds in sunny days. The green-haired saint was usually the last person she said goodnight to, when he passed by her study on his way to the bedroom. Saori sighed. Those weeks of peace had been so immensely wholesome for all of them, and now... now, this. He doesn't seem scared, she remarked to herself. She observed his attentive eyes shift focus from one to another of his friends as they took turns speaking, speculating; and then meet hers. She smiled reassuringly, a gesture which he mirrored. Saori noticed that he clung to his brother in every sense of the word.
Oh, his brother.
There he was, sitting beside Shun. How could two people so closely tied by bonds of love and blood be so radically different? Even their postures as they sat in the couch were different. Shun sat upright and even a little stiff; Ikki, on the other hand, had installed himself so spaciously that she sensed a desire to tease her with the banner of excessive familiarity. He did not look at her. He had hardly looked at her since he had gotten to the mansion, although this was the first time they had seen each other in over one month; in their last encounter, he had broken the unsettling revelation that now caused her to feel awkward and uncomfortable staring at him. Saori had spent many hours of that interlude trying to spot signs of love in her memories of his previous conduct. There had been no success. Ikki's love, although she did not doubt it, was very hard to trace in his words or behavior. It was unlike any feeling she had been offered before. She felt her gaze drift involuntarily from him to Seiya.
But now Ikki would have to look at her. She intended to keep him in the study when the other saints left and, without prelude, ask him to stay. She was determined to do everything in her power to keep him under her roof, for at least forty-eight hours.
She had absolutely no doubt that their visitor that night had been looking for Shun.
He was getting up when he heard her voice.
"Ikki, may I speak to you for a second?"
Ikki fought his urge to answer, "No", and turned on his heels while everyone else left the room.
"Won't you sit down?" she asked.
For his own sardonic pleasure, he chose to stand.
"Well, then," she assented, as if he had spoken. She was still seated in her huge throne-like armchair. "I understand you intend to leave. Is that correct?"
"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?"
"I would rather be redundant than be wrong," she replied.
Ouch, he thought. "Yeh, I'm leaving today. Right away, actually." What could she possibly want? Did she not see how humiliating it was for him to stand there before her, the brand of unrequited love burning through his skin?
"I want to ask you to stay," she said, after a pause.
His pulse accelerated painfully. She was asking him to stay. The love of his life was asking him to stay.
No, he told himself, shaking his head imperceptibly. Athena is asking me to stay.
"And why would that be?"
"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" she grinned.
He struggled not to smile. "I don't know the answer."
"Of course you do. Shun is in danger."
"Don't you mean you?" He crossed his arms.
"No," she asserted. "I know you would only do this for Shun."
You couldn't be more wrong, he thought. "That's all the more reason for you to use his name."
"Are you accusing me of lying?" she asked, standing up astounded.
"Do you need a signed confession?"
Saori glared at him, agape. Soon she recollected herself and hissed, "I demand an apology."
"Weren't you asking me something just now? I think you're in no position to bargain." He was determined to take her to the edge.
"I do not bargain."
"Of course not. You'd rather cheat."
"I will not tolerate your insults in my own home," she snorted.
"Which is precisely why I'm leaving!"
"You are impossible!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air. "I'm trying to protect your brother and this is how you react! I can't win with you!"
"You still didn't know that?" he scorned.
"I will not stand here and be game for your outrageous contempt!"
"You don't have to. I'm leaving." He turned around.
"No, you're not!" She sounded furious. "You will apologize, and you will stay!"
"And what are you gonna do?" He spun on his place. "Get on the way to the door again?"
Saori blushed. He felt his own blood rush up to his face, but did not yield.
"If I have to."
Ikki grinned. "You're not supposed to use the same technique on the same saint twice, you know." Then he walked up to her, serious, and whispered, "I won't spare you this time." He could almost hear her heart pound in her panting chest. It felt good to scare her.
"Are you threatening Athena?"
"I'm threatening you."
There passed a shadow of surprise in her eyes, but it was soon replaced with confidence. She lifted her chin and came as close to his face as she could. He laughed inwardly at the certainty that underneath her long dress she was standing on the tips of her toes. "I'm not afraid of you," she declared.
He could have bridged the inch-wide gap between his lips and hers and kissed her. He could have taken her small waist between his hands and drawn her closer. He could have run one hand up her back to entangle itself in her hair, and used the other to trace the line of her jaw and cup her cheek.
But he did not.
Instead he sat down under her incredulous stare, and asked, addressing her original request as if nothing had been said since she uttered it, "So you think they came for Shun?"
She stood bewildered for a few seconds, then laughed. "You're just amazing."
He smirked. "The feeling is mutual."
After the saints left for the training grounds, Saori returned to her study for the beginning of her workday. She made a mental summary of her early morning. Ikki, after bestowing her insults and threats — oh, the joys of being loved by a rebel! —, had let himself be persuaded to stay, and headed for the yard after breakfast with the others. Apparently "I'm not afraid of you", uttered from the very tips of her toes, had been the right thing to say — she should try that more often. Hyoga, Shiryu and Seiya, seemingly insensitive to the appeal of driving her insane, had kept their promise without a single insult or threat. Shun was more excited with the presence of his brother than worried about the possibility of being murdered later in the evening — presumably oblivious to the fact that for Saori the presence of his brother meant the possibility of being murdered later in the evening.
Ikki notwithstanding, however, all loose threads had been tied and now all she had to do was work for a few hours; lunch would be served at one, as was the custom. A reunion of the five saints — or, rather, of Ikki with absolutely anybody else — was potentially explosive; but since Seiya, being engaged in plans with the children, could not attend, and Ikki, being Ikki, would probably refuse to, she knew the meal would be none other than pleasant and uneventful. Then would come an afternoon of work, then dinner, then some evening entertainment (she sighed at the thought of Ikki and Hyoga fighting for the remote), and finally sleep.
Harmless, all things considered, except for one little task to perform before lunch. The task she had been dreading for four weeks: Seiya had been requested to come and see her before he left.
The time had come to apologize.
Saori buried herself in her work, and when she next glanced at the clock, the time had come indeed. It was little past noon, and Seiya had said something about going out at 12:30. It was not long before he peeped into the office.
"May I come in?"
Awkward moment number 2, she announced to herself. "Of course," she answered, standing up. "Please, sit down." She signaled the couch.
"Oh, you don't mind?" he asked, making a tentative motion to sit down. "I came straight from training. I didn't know if this was gonna be long, so I came before showering. I'll probably ruin your couch."
She noticed that sweat glistened on his shoulders and ran down his moist hair and neck. His face was delicately colored with a rush of blood. Saori felt embarrassed with the realization that he looked very attractive.
"Oh, well, it's up to you," she muttered, not wanting to sound too encouraging — it was a handsome couch, after all. Thankfully, he shook his head no and thanked her. She fought back a sigh of relief for his unusual tact and said, "Then I'll stand as well."
"What was it that you wanted to—"
"Oh, you must be in a hurry. Well, it's nothing much, really, I just wanted to..." She paused to look him in the eyes, shifting her weight on her legs uncomfortably. This was not what she had imagined. "Apologize."
"Apologize? What for?"
"Well..." Would she have to spell it out? "For that night... at your apartment."
"Oh!" he cried, driving one hand into his hair, uncomfortable himself. Is it possible that he actually forgot?, she wondered. "Oh, there's nothing to apologize for. You were... tired, overworked..."
In love with you, she finished off wordlessly.
"We all succumb from time to time," he resumed in a conclusive tone.
"You never do," she smiled.
He laughed awkwardly and shrugged. "Things aren't always what they seem."
Are they not? She recalled a distressed Seiya kneeling down to her feet, head cradled between her hands on her lap, bare shoulders showered with her tears of mourning for the future that would not come. "Things are seldom fair around here," he had said that night in Greece. And afterwards, on the stairs, he had kissed her.
He had succumbed then, had he not?
No. It had not been him to surrender, but her. She had been the one to cry overtly, to let him know; and although it had been him to kiss her, that was nothing she had not attempted before — after all, had it not been for Shaina...
No, things were exactly as they seemed. It had always been her to succumb.
"You're really not coming for lunch with the children, huh?"
Saori realized that he was trying to change the subject.
"Well, I really shouldn't leave, when everyone's here."
"Too bad I can't stay."
"That's ok. We can have dinner together."
"Oh. Of course." He was blushing.
She detected the ambiguity and corrected herself. "All of us."
"So, I'm leaving."
"Oh, alright. I'll see you later."
"See you," he waved, and left.
Succumbing once more, she let herself tumble on the couch, glad to be out of his sight. Father, please let there be a way... Everything was suddenly so... difficult. When had things become so complicated? It was as if the unresolved tension between them was now so great that... there was no room for anything else. And it was no one's fault but hers. She, and she alone, had brought this on both of them. She smiled tenderly at the recollection of how warm their relationship had been after Greece; long walks, long talks... it felt so good to be around him, to chat with him; it was easy, and fun, and she did not have to...
"Trouble in paradise, princess?"
Saori sat up disconcerted, embarrassed to have been caught with her guard down by Phoenix Ikki, of all people, with his trademark derisive half-smile and his mocking eyes. Here was a good example of things she did not have to worry about with Seiya.
"Have you been shown to your room yet, Ikki?"
"I don't need a room. I'll sleep in Shun's."
"That's unnecessary," she objected. "There is plenty of room for everyone."
"Considering that my brother's life is in danger, I don't think it's a good idea to have a wall between us."
She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his concern, but recomposed herself quickly. It's not really surprising, is it?
"If you insist."
"I do."
"Is there any other way I can help you, then?"
He grinned ironically. "Should I try you on that one?"
She felt her face turn crimson red and started to stammer incoherently.
"I was wondering," he began, his face a mask of naiveté, "what happened to Seiya."
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"He seemed so agitated when he left... we crossed ways on the stairs. He was talking to you, wasn't he?"
"He was... but I don't know what may have distressed him."
"Of course you don't," he grinned.
"I need to work, if you don't mind," she said
"I won't stand on your way," he replied docilely, turning around to leave. But at the door he arrested himself. "You know, this is probably the wrong thing to say..."
She straightened herself, curious and apprehensive.
"...but if you knocked on my door," he continued, still not looking at her, "even though it's wrong and yada yada yada... I'd open it. I'd open it every single night for the rest of my life."
And he walked out, leaving a mortified Saori to grope her way back around the desk, wondering if it was wrong to feel flattered.
Hi there, everyone! Hope you've had a great Christmas! I wish I could have posted this yesterday, both to keep up with the every-three-days pace and to sort of leave it as a Christmas gift; but Christmas Eve is big here in Brazil, so I was busy. :)
I just wanna say that I'll likely be updating (a little) less often now, 'cause I'm going away on a short vacation, but that doesn't mean we won't see the end of this. ;)
And don't forget... reviews equals awesome. :)
(Oh, time for advertising: "that night in Greece" is the night I wrote about in "In Words Unsaid"; Saori thinks about it reasonably often because it was the first time she kissed Seiya — who, as you may have noticed :), she's in love with.)