So tell me, what do you all think of this story so far? I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Anyway, we'll be coming to the end of this arc in the next few chapters, and after that it's the Houses of the Zodiac arc.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
Aiolos closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the back of the couch he was sitting on.
Today had been a long day. First, the Perseus and Flame Saints had attacked, then it was the Andromeda Saint, Akio.
Talus and Shun were both injured. Talus had remained conscious long enough to persuade Esmeralda to heal Shun first, but Aiolos couldn't help but wonder if he should have ordered the girl otherwise.
Esmeralda could only heal so much in one day, and Aiolos wondered if Talus would last long enough for her to heal him in the morning.
A groan drew Aiolos out of a light doze, and he turned to the couch Talus lay on, only to realize it was empty.
Talus was kneeling on the ground next to Shun's couch. Both Saints would have been in the bedrooms, but everyone had been wary of moving either of them too far in their injured states.
Aiolos was about to scold the Fox Saint for moving around while he was badly injured, but before he could he sensed the warm burn of Talus's Cosmo. The younger man was using what Aiolos recognized as a type of telepathic communication.
Talus was leaving a message for Shun.
Aiolos waited until Talus's Cosmo settled before he spoke up. "You should be resting." He chided gently as he stood up and helped his old student get back to his couch.
Talus settled down into a sitting position, wincing, and putting a hand to the injury on his chest. "I have things to get done. I'll have plenty of time to rest after this. It is a little painful." He commented in an almost mild tone.
A snort escaped Aiolos as he dropped down next to the younger Saint. "A little? You were stabbed in the chest by the offensive end of the Nebula Chain, what do you expect?" He scoffed.
"Well, I expected to die, but even I can be surprised at how durable my life's thread can be against Atropos's scissors." Talus retorted.
"Esmeralda will be able to heal you in the morning." Aiolos told his friend. "You'll be fine after that, I think."
Talus's smiled softly. "You make it sound like I'll last that long." He murmured.
Aiolos flinched. "And you sound wholly confident that you won't."
The Fox Saint tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I know my limits, Aiolos." He breathed tiredly. "It's my greatest strength as the Fox Saint. Always has been. You know that."
Aiolos scowled. "Limits are what we make of them, and I say they're made to be broken." He told the black-haired Saint.
"Gemini Kanon. He sounded so damn confident when he said that." Talus said, a sound like a wheezing chuckle escaping him. "How is Athena?"
"Shaken. Badly." Aiolos answered. "I think this is all too much for her. Saori has always been sensitive to the people around her, and she hasn't even awakened as Athena yet."
"I didn't mean to scare her, but her safety is my-our-first priority. The likelihood of more of us dying by the end of this is high when you consider what we're up against." As he spoke, Talus's eyes started to drift shut, his words slurring together.
"Go to sleep, Talus." Aiolos murmured. He hesitated, then smoothed his hand through the younger man's black locks, the same way he had done with Aiolia when they were younger. "Esmeralda will heal you in the morning."
Ikki tossed and turned uncomfortably in his bed. He couldn't sleep. Images of the day's events seem to be burned into the backs of his eyelids, and every time he closed them the sight of Shun slumped on the ground after getting shocked by the Nebula Chains, of Talus taking the hit for Saori, flared up again, forcing him to open his eyes.
The Phoenix Saint finally gave up on sleep, slipping out of his bed and heading down the hall to the living room. Perhaps if he checked on Shun, he would be able to settle down enough to sleep, even if it meant lying on the rug in the living room so he could be around if anything changed.
Just as he reached the doorway into the living room, voices reached Ikki's ears, and he paused to listen.
"I know my limits, Aiolos. It's my greatest strength as the Fox Saint. Always has been. You know that."
Talus must have woken up, Ikki realized. He didn't sound good though, tired and almost resigned.
Before either of the older Saints could notice him, Ikki quickly slipped back to his room. He'd just have to check on Shun in the morning.
Shun came to consciousness slowly, like wading out of a pool of molasses. It wasn't a pleasant experience, as he slowly became aware of the ache in his limbs and stomach, like the time he took one of Cerberus Dante's spiked balls to the chest, only less focused in one area and more spread out across his body.
He groaned quietly, wincing at the pain.
"Shun?" A voice called quietly. Ikki.
Shun cracked his eyes slowly, and found the Phoenix Saint staring down at him, looking concerned. It wasn't something he was expecting.
The Canis Minor Saint was quick to push himself up into a sitting position, glancing around and finding himself in the living room of the Kido villa, sitting on one of the couches. Ikki was crouched beside the couch, watching him silently.
Shun frowned. His head ached, and he was sore pretty much everywhere. The last thing he remembered was...
"Talus!" He gasped, almost launching himself off the couch, only for Ikki to grab him and push him back.
"Stop, Shun." The Phoenix Saint said, sounding slightly desperate. "You're still hurt."
"Where's Talus?" Shun demanded, trying to pull away from the older teen.
"Calm down and I'll tell you." The blue-haired boy started to say, but Shun ignored him, looking frantically around the living room until his eyes fell on one of the other couches.
Shun felt his eyes go wide as he froze. Talus was lying on the couch, looking as though he was just asleep. But the harder Shun tried to sense his master's Cosmo, the more he realized he couldn't. "Master?" He choked quietly.
Shun made to get up, to get to his master's side, only to feel Ikki catch him by the shoulder.
"Shun-" Ikki started.
"Let me go Ikki." Shun hissed.
"You need to rest. Esmeralda hasn't fully healed you yet." Was the older boy's protest.
Shun snarled. "I said... Let. Me. GO!" He jerked himself free of Ikki's grip, and almost ran to his master's side, dropping to his knees next to couch.
Shakily, he reached one hand out to touch Talus's fingers. The older Saint's hands were cold, almost freezing.
Talus was dead.
"No..." Shun breathed. "No. Why?"
Behind him, he heard Ikki move, probably standing up. "Shun, I'm so sorry." The Phoenix Saint started.
Something in Shun snapped at that. "You're sorry?" He hissed, rounding on the older boy. Ikki looked taken aback at the sudden venom in Shun's voice. "Sorry won't cut it, Ikki. My master is dead! Talus was everything to me. He was all I had left!"
A look of pain flashed across Ikki's face before his expression hardened and he glared right back at the younger Saint. "I'm sorry because your master is dead. Because he didn't deserve that and neither did you. I'm sorry because you're my little brother and you're hurting."
"Why do you care?!" Shun spat back standing up. "Why do you care if I'm hurting when you have the others? When you have Esmeralda?" He seethed.
"I care because you're my little brother! My only brother! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn't come back?! But now you're hered, and it's like you're a completely different person! Why are you so cold all of a sudden? What happened to you Shun?"
Shun flinched back at that, at Ikki's admission that he still thought of Shun as a brother. Abruptly, he felt the fight, all the sudden anger and frustration, just... drain away. He wrapped his arms around himself, turning away from Ikki to stare at his master's body.
"I..." He started to stay, then stopped. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.
Shun felt it when Ikki's hand caught his face, turning him so the older boy could see his face. Shun carefully kept his eyes averted.
"Shun, look at me. Please?" Ikki asked quietly.
Slowly, Shun lifted his gaze to Ikki's. He stared into the boy's blue eyes for a long moment.
Then, Ikki hugged him tightly.
"Why would you think I wouldn't care about you just because I have the others?" Ikki whispered fiercely, tucking Shun's head against his shoulder. "You're my only little brother."
"No, I'm not." Shun couldn't quite help himself from mumbling.
Ikki pulled away, looking confused. "What do you mean?" He asked, holding onto Shun's shoulder with one hand while using his free hand to wipe a few tears from the green-haired boy's face.
Shun hesitated. Taking a deep breath in, he let it out. "If I'm going to tell you that, can you get the others? They need to hear this too."
Ikki eyed him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "If you're sure."
"I am." Shun said quietly.
"Okay. I'll get the others. You sit down."
As Ikki turned to leave, Shun called out to his the older boy. "Brother?" Ikki paused, glancing back with a surprised look on his face. Shun managed a tiny smile. "Thank you."
Oh wow. That was a tough chapter to write.
Please feed me reviews. Especially tell me what you did and didn't like.
See you next chapter!
