"Seiya!" The flash of green nearly leaped on Seiya and threw his arms around him, but sprung to a halt at his feet. "Where have you been? Are you alright?"

Seiya's shoulders pricked up on invisible strings as he froze on the spot. 'Where have I been? Am I alright? What to say, what to say...'

"I'm...I'm okay..." he replied slowly, eyes trailing to the ground, muscles tense as can be, before hastily straightening his posture. "I mean, I'm okay now, at least..."

"You look exhausted. I don't know if you want to take a shower, maybe eat, and take a nap or something- we'll talk later, if you want,"

Seiya's eyes flicked up again, still in a subtle daze. "I...I have some things I need to sort out right now," he said intently. "Is...Ikki here?" he asked softly.

Shun looked over his shoulder for a moment, eyes focused. "I think he's upstairs, but it's been hard to keep track of him," he whispered, eyes still over his shoulder. "I think he's been worried about you,"

'Thank god,' Seiya thought.

And Prince Paranoia had tricked himself again. It'd always been a nice little habit of his- and with the obvious recent events, that little habit really started to show. But now came facing the boy in blue. Seiya pondered this for some few minutes. Forgiveness or bloodthirst? It was really hard to tell considering the person in question's general demeanor. But they'd fought together, fought for each other's lives. Protected what was good together, and formed a powerful bond only the closest of brothers share. He had to be at least slightly forgiving. 'No,' Seiya slumped over slightly, exhaling in mild frustration. 'He's definitely out for my hide.'

Seiya took a quick breath, still failing to loosen up as much as he had planned. "Okay," he exhaled, holding his arms behind his back. "I'll have a word with him," His confidence was all ablaze- to be honest, it would've been far more effective had he not been so aware of how he was trembling ever so slightly, whilst holding an expression somewhat reminiscent of how a deer stares at an oncoming train.

'Sorry I fucked up your shit, we're still pals, right?' He rehearsed to himself. Brothers to the end, brothers to the end- nothing could get in the way of it, right? Nothing?

'I almost tore his fucking face off. That's not okay. He's said it to my face; he thinks I'm an idiot.'

Seiya glanced over his shoulder, waiting for his newfound unwanted sidekick to dish out a snide remark about how he looked like a little girl trying to climb the stairs while having a miniature panic attack. It was right on cue.

'It was your fault, you know,' it scoffed disdainfully. 'You could've done something, you idiot.'

Seiya's eyes were scornful, at an unphased half-mast. 'You could've too,' he snapped back.

It seemed to drift away, insulted, as Seiya stood at the Phoenix's door. Just a tiny knock. Just a little bitty knock, and then everything would be okay?

Blue mirrored red, and he looked like he'd been given an angel's bloodied feather. They both did, really, like nothing could quake that silent burst of conversation just kind of floating between them. Anger, fear, happiness, sadness, it all kind of brewed in an unstable little storm that only they could see. 'Here we go,' Seiya exhaled once more.

"I wanted to apologize for every stupid thing I've ever done or said to you," Seiya said softly, his head hung low, eyes forced in the corner of the room, with his arms folded across his chest, as his stomach coiled painfully tight.

"You read my mind," Ikki murmured in response. "Don't run away again, okay. I don't care what you do, just don't do that. I think I've lost enough,"

Seiya looked back up, feeling something like a lukewarm knot that made his stomach churn, and his eyes started to ache. It was probably happiness. It was a little hard to tell. He blinked for a moment, feeling something warm press against him. Kind of rough, angry- he could feel it seep through into his own chest.

"You're my brother. Got it?" Ikki sneered through his teeth. "And I'm furious that you thought I'd be fine if you just packed your bags and left. I don't care how many clawmarks you leave in me. Don't put all my struggles in keeping you alive to waste,"

Seiya's breath caught, eyes beginning to sting. He let his fingers cling. Brother. Brother. 'What have I done, brother?'

Ikki sighed hard, nudging Seiya away gently. "I shouldn't cry. Neither of us should, we're men," he said, voice low.

Seiya tilted his head slightly, smiling subtly. "I think there's a good excuse to let us," he replied. "I mean, you hugged me and everything. You don't usually do that. I really had no idea you actually cared that much about me,"

Ikki scowled. "See, this is part of the reason why I hate you. I know you're not dumb, but you can't fucking see these things. You have a lot, and you dismiss it all. Your self-esteem is absolute shit and it kills me. I hate it," he spat. "What's it gonna take for you to think something of yourself?"

Seiya's eyes trailed back to the corner of the room, face flushed brightly. "I'll…get around to it," he replied awkwardly.

Ikki glanced, and cocked an eyebrow. "Then do it soon," he mumbled, gently pushing past Seiya. "C'mon. Let's crash out downstairs or something,"

Seiya nodded once, smiling in relief as he felt those tight cold straps loosen and drop down from his chest, making breathing a chore no more, before trotting after his brother.

'Tough love,' Ikki liked to call it. Although Seiya would often be on the verge of bursting at the seams from defiance, it was always something he took in and treasured. Ikki always held a great deal of respect for the Pegasus saint- but chose to express it in a more…'aloof' manner. A type of expression that the paranoid younger boy would perceive as disdain. Ikki was never straightforward when he showed appreciation. Ever. It was a part of his persona, though- aloof and mysterious- very. But Seiya's habit of self-deprecation would drive the Phoenix into almost immediate frustration. 'Idiot,' he'd mutter, as he wondered why Seiya was so blind.

But there was peace now- for the moment, at least. It was fairly dry and empty, but no one had died and no bridges were burnt. There was a steady patience, maybe even subtle yearning for something to lift the moment at least a little bit. Seiya knew he couldn't stay stable for too long, and felt tempted to leave the room and lie down in the cupboard under the stairs. It'd be better than jumping out the window and kickstarting another disaster, he figured. Maybe digging a 40 foot-deep hole in the ground and sleeping in there would work too. He lifted his unfocused gaze from the ground and to Ikki. He was sitting, reclined, arms folded, eyes shut, and breathing steadily. How Seiya longed for the ability to detach like that.

His ears suddenly pricked up at the sudden sounding of footsteps. Ikki cracked an eye open, and welcomed the visitor with a tilt of his head. "Shiryu," he greeted.

Shiryu nodded to the Phoenix in response, before his eyes immediately drifted to Seiya.

"You're…you're back, I see," he stammered in the calmest voice he could muster. "Good timing, too. I've worked out a way to contact my master," he motioned his head for Seiya to follow him. The Pegasus blinked curiously.

"I'm surprised he didn't contact you himself. Maybe he's been busy," Seiya chuckled dryly, before striding up to Shiryu. "I'll be on my way then, Ikki. That okay?" he asked over his shoulder. Ikki tilted his head a little again. 'Go for it,' he seemed to say.

"So what were you doing out there, anyway?" Shiryu murmured questioningly.

Seiya scratched behind his neck sheepishly. "It seemed like a nice night, so I went for a walk..." he replied with a sarcastic smile. "Let's leave it at that."

The basement was still the way it had always been. It was massive, empty, almost abandoned-looking, mood interrupted by the towering storage crates that remained, while a more than profound number of equally abandoned cobwebs filled corners and cracks, thickening as they collected dust.

Seiya's curiosity aroused, his eyes running over the room. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been down here- or if he'd been down there at all. His attention was quickly caught by a small circle of shiny green stones that lay on the concrete. Beside it lay an open textbook, and a small, golden candle, flickering gently in the blackness.

"My master has a great knowledge on this subject. Although I'd love to give you my own diagnosis, I feel as though he might communicate it more accurately," Shiryu sat beside the candle, giving it a gentle nudge with his finger. "After all, you share something with him that I had never known about."

"Me and Dohko?" Seiya blinked, dumbfounded, stilling before lowering himself to the ground. "What are you saying, here?"

Shiryu went silent for a moment, eyes trailing up walls uneasily. "I told you, I don't really know how to explain it myself. Hopefully this won't be too much of a challenge- apparently those who share a strong spiritual bond are able to contact each other from opposite realms- sometimes without even meaning to,"

Seiya blinked again, before folding his arms, a look of concentration. 'Explains the sudden visit from the boy in gold...' he thought to himself. 'But Dohko? Why him?'

The next few minutes were difficult. One of the actions needed to be taken in order for the whole thing to work was remaining calm. There wasn't that much calm, though- but there was plenty of wriggling.

"Seiya, please," Shiryu sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Shiryu," Seiya blinked, rocking slightly. "I'm nervous."

"Focus on the center of the stones. Think of it as the center of your life,"

Seiya followed his instructions. Defying all temptations to shift around, he felt his eyes slowly relax as his shoulders went limp. Sensations of sleepiness fluctuated with sensations of power, and his pulse found a steady, slow beat. The room gradually fell into darkness with only the candle left to break the silence, as it flickered in protest to the hazy black. A hot flush ran through his body as his senses grew neutral, while sound was left to drown in the thickest of silences, while he quietly breathed in time with his heartbeat. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting…

'Come on.'

Seiya's eyes snapped open, yet the black was still thick enough to suffocate him. A sudden urge to move had him grow aware that he was either submerged in water, or unable to move correctly. Kind of suspended. In the distance he could make out lights. They were tiny; little pin pricks in the dark. 7 ones, to be exact. Little stars; gold ones.

'Don't be shy.'

He gave in to slower movements once he found out frustrated kicking didn't seem to get him very far. Drifting- just slowly drifting with ever so gentle kicks would get him where he wanted. Scenery became clearer. It revealed itself as clouds- thick, black clouds. Not quite storm clouds- something far more unearthly. They seemed to be carried back by a gentle current of air- or whatever it was that Seiya was currently breathing. He turned his head in search of where these clouds were headed, lack of movement sending him slowly drifting backwards.

'I wouldn't go there if I were you,'

Seiya quickly swiveled forward once more, exhaling before slowly letting himself drift forwards once more. 'Sorry.'

Patches of deep, dark blue appeared in the sea of inky clouds that rolled beside him, as tiny white speckles started to float within. More and more scattered out as he continued moving, until the clouds suddenly diminished into flatness. Those little stars up ahead began rotating slowly, like a tiny galaxy- until they stopped in an odd shape. The two stars at the bottom began slowly moving like footsteps, as a second heartbeat came into Seiya's hearing.

Teal eyes blinked with luminescence, burgundy hair was carried by a nonexistent breeze, and a heartbeat kept its rhythm alongside Seiya's.

'It's nice seeing you again, Seiya. I had a feeling I would,' Libra Dohko smiled, voice as still as the blackness. 'So, little tiger, you've come for some answers?'

Seiya flinched at the word 'tiger'. 'Yeah…that. That'd be great, to be honest,' He looked away slightly.

Dohko smiled in sympathy. 'Come on. We're gonna go for a walk,'

Well, a float, maybe. Stars continued to litter the blackness in massive clusters of blue and purple, with the occasional streak of orange bolting past. Tiny galaxies floated suspended like bubbles, and surrounded the beings as such.

'You've reached a nonhuman state. How do you feel?' Dohko asked casually, running his hand through a passing cloud, letting it softly shatter into stardust. Seiya watched the stars drift apart in astonishment, before looking down at ghostlike hands. He recoiled slightly at the fearful sight of stripes, before he closely eyed them with curiosity. They were white, gently pulsing with light.

'How do I feel? I'm not sure if human language is that advanced yet,' Seiya muttered in exhilaration. Dohko laughed warmly.

'You've always been a strange one, Seiya. I sometimes wonder about you. Maybe while human spirits were being sent to earth, a little cosmic being got tangled in there and put into a human's body,' He chuckled softly, continuing to play with the stars. 'You're closer to the cosmos than you might even believe,'

Seiya felt a bizarre emotion sweep across him. Sadness? Happiness? He felt at home. Very much at home. A strange, abstract ambience hit him in just the right spot, making him want to squirm.

Dohko folded his arms over his chest, when something caught Seiya's attention. Dohko's body was suddenly too, decorated with the same stripes Seiya donned. Powerful and striking- but far from aggressive. Pulsing with that intense, white light.

'I've known a Pegasus saint before. Centuries ago- he's long gone now, but he was a good friend of mine. I've contacted Pegasus saints of the past, and they've all been reminiscent of each other, sort of sharing the same spirit to some extent. But you're an odd one, Seiya. Very odd indeed. You're darker.'

Seiya cringed, feeling his heart sink. 'A bad apple on the tree, am I?' he scoffed dryly.

Dohko laughed loudly in response, scratching at his head. 'You're pretty paranoid, aren't you? You're far from evil, Seiya. You haven't an ounce of evil on you. You're a unique little hybrid- one that hasn't appeared for thousands of years. You've inherited a spirit that doesn't really mix well with Pegasus. You could've almost ended up like me, but, the universe decided you'd be the odd one,'

Seiya tilted his head to one side. 'Ended up like you…what, a tiger?' he asked softly, eyeing the stripes on the Libra saint's body, before looking down at his own chest, painted strikingly.

'Precisely,'

Seiya watched his own stripes pulse with their light, running his fingers over them. 'But…what are these 'tigers', exactly?'

'Tigers are free-roamers. Life benders. They live life how they want, they decide when they die- if they die, that is. Laws of mortality and existence are meant to be broken by them. They're spiritual rebels, you might say. Hades never got along with tigers- he didn't want people messing with the laws of life and death, and you can't really blame him,' Dohko blew gently at a passing galaxy, letting the stars drift away like sand.

'So that's why you got to live for so long,' Seiya smirked, folding his arms across his chest

Dohko grinned. 'But Hades always had a soft spot for Pegasus. Since the age of myth, they've been close. Really close, even if they were destined to be enemies. But try putting a tiger and Pegasus together. That's a powerful and strange combo. Hades knew that it would happen eventually- so he made a few 'modifications' to his sword,'

'What, he made a special weapon just for me?' Seiya sneered.

Dohko's eyes narrowed. 'He made a deal with something truly unholy. Something that could mutate one into a demonic shadow of their former self. Something that preys on everything sentient- even Hades could be an easy victim. A strange venom that would manipulate the tiger side into something repulsively dark, like a fate worse than death'

Seiya blinked with an unfocused gaze set in the distance, letting everything said soak in. His mind was shaken- nothing had ever hinted any of these things. Only until now had people made mention of this dark substance, and what it could do- and would he be able to overcome it? Overcoming something that sucked the blood out of even the gods. Something truly unholy.

'What we can't see hurts us most' is one of its favorite taunts. But it'd say it in Latin, of course- it wouldn't want you to understand it,'

That little line that the shadow had given Seiya. He snarled a little, tossing his head to the side. 'Slimy bastard.' he thought.

Seiya exhaled deeply, focus running to seeking serenity. 'So…what do I do to defeat this thing? What is it?' he asked unsteadily, but intently.

Dohko's eyes shut. 'I don't know how to overthrow it. I've never faced it myself…at least to this extent. This is your battle, Seiya. There are things you must learn yourself, and things you must face alone, as much as I'd like to join you. You need to find yourself. Let your darkness out- but embrace it. The victory will take place within you,'

Seiya jolted as he felt a sensation of falling hit him, an abstract tugging, even as he remained suspended, while a hot chill surged through his body in a quick burst. 'Wh…what the..?'

Dohko shook his head. 'You can't stay here forever, you know. But you can come back some day- and one day you'll stay here as long as you please. After all, this is your home…' he began. 'I bid you farewell, and good luck, young tiger,'

Seiya hesitated for a moment, before he smiled, and nodded. 'Thank you, Dohko,' he said softly, before lights were drowned out by a familiar wave of blackness. Stars diminished, and an unknown sensation forced his eyes shut, while a cold breeze rushed past him, as the clouds began to rise from below…

Cold. Very cold. He shot up from the freezing surface below, inhaling sharply, eyes snapping open and greeted by subtle cool, dryness. Grey floor, grey walls, dark. There's a light there. It's a candle. Who's that?

"Did he speak to you?" Shiryu asked intently, gripping the floor anxiously.

The sound was unfamiliar to Seiya. His eyes rolled up, and focused lazily on the dark ceiling. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion, his breathing still slow. He grunted softly before pressing his palm against his face. That's right. Earth. He forgot.

"Yeah…" Seiya replied absentmindedly. He took a moment to readjust himself to the feeling of air, and the ground pressed against him from below. "I think…things make more sense now. A lot more sense. Not entirely, but it's better,"

Shiryu blinked curiously, before Seiya cleared his throat. "Turns out there's a lot I have to do. But I think things are gonna be a little different this time," He murmured, stretching his arms forward and rolling his shoulders back. "But I'm pretty sure things are going to start making more sense by making less sense."