Treason
7
(Blowing Off Steam in the Aftermath)
Kintra set a hurried pace back to my quarters. We had been walking now for quite sometime but he hadn't spoken a word to me. My pleas for an explanation seemed to fall upon deaf ears as he kept his attention and eyes diverted from me. There was no one coming up behind me and I was becoming more and more baffled by this situation.
"You may not even be able to take the platform." Kintra spoke as he closed the door behind us when we entered my room.
The snow had begun to fall causing little snowdrifts to form on the sills of my window. The flakes swirled around outside and did no justice to the dizziness in my already clouded mind. "What happened?" I asked disdainfully as I was becoming irritated with his silence and this whole situation. "What did he do to Odango?"
"Let's just say that in some ways, my friend, you are better and worse off than I am." Kintra sighed as he pulled back the heavy curtain that covered my tall window to gain a full view of the elements outside.
I stood and slammed my hand against the window and looked him in the eye. "Stop giving me half-assed answers!" I was demanding this of him; I hadn't the slightest clue what Zankou had done to get Odango this upset yet and I was already fuming to the point of almost exploding.
Kintra's eyes focused on my form and sized me up. There was an odd emotion in them, one which I could not place at the moment, almost like jealousy. "She loves you." He said as though the answer had been obvious to anyone but myself.
I felt the muscles in my face loosening and relaxing as the words filtered into my subconscious. She loved me? But how? "No, that's wrong."
"It's not wrong Seiya." He looked past me and out to the courtyard below. "Zankou's questions became quicker and more intense the moment you left the room. Usagi was having a hard time trying to think before speaking and it was plain to see that she was becoming flustered and aggravated with him. Then, once he had her worked up to the level that he wanted her at, he questioned her about why she came to your room last night… that's when she lost it and screamed that she loved you. You could tell that it wasn't what she had meant to say at all because her hands flew up to cover her mouth so quickly."
The usual support of my legs started to give way, a feeling of weakness entered and snaked through my entire body. I had to sit down, this wasn't happening. My entire body was in conflict with itself. The rage, hatred and animosity that I felt for Zankou at this moment were battling with the feelings of love, lust and sorrow that came for my Odango. I was torn between the blissful joy of relief and acceptance and the just about uncontrollable urge to tear out of the room and mutilate Zankou at that very moment. "I have to see her." I spoke suddenly voicing my opinion out loud.
Kintra simply shook his head. "Stop and think about this situation for just a moment. If the princess that you are accused of repositioning your loyalty to, has just professed her love for you to the entire planet of Kinmoku-sei, doesn't that leave open the suspicions and possibilities of an affair in people's minds?" He must have seen the pissed look cross my features because immediately his hands came up before him to defend himself. "I'm not saying anything of the sort happened, but you have to take into account the way that Zankou has gotten their minds going. How would it look if you were found trying to go to her now?"
"Arghh!!" I growled in frustration as I walked over to the door of my room.
"Seiya!" Kintra's warning came from behind me. I turned, brining my eyes up from the floor below, I glanced into his deep green eyes. "We're lucky enough that they allowed me to come back here with you, let's not press it and have to have Chaser or Developer in here too."
I slammed my fist hard into the wall producing a crater to form giving way to many little cracks. The pain surged from my knuckles in pulsating agony back towards my arm. It didn't matter. Again my fist flew towards the wall, this time causing my knuckles to become bloody, but that didn't stop me from doing it again… and again.
A firm hold was placed on my arm as I tried to swing it again. I did manage to come in contact with the wall, but at nowhere near the velocity that I had originally planned on. Kintra's hand had stopped me momentarily, but I was stronger than him and only needed to be provoked to be set off once more. "Stop, this isn't getting you anywhere."
"Getting me anywhere? How is anything going to get me anywhere now?" I seethed through my clenched teeth at him. I wanted nothing more than to slam my fists back into the walls that bound me in this room. There were just so many emotions flowing through my body that I need some sort of release, I couldn't hold them all in. "Who's going to comfort her now?!"
"Seiya, she has her senshi with her and-"
"NO!" I cried out. "They're not good enough, they aren't what she needs."
"And who the hell are you to know what she needs?" I had clearly crossed over some unknown boundary with Kintra because his build appeared just as agitated as mine as he looked onto me with such scornful emotions in his eyes. "You don't even know what you need yourself and you think you can be the judge of a situation for someone else?"
"Look whose talking!" I stood only feet away from him, I could see something building between us and my statements were only adding to it. "You are in no position to be reprimanding me about not thinking through my current situation when you're so blind to your own."
"Drop it Seiya!" He knew where this and my words were going and tried to end this now. "She's not worth your life and honor."
"That's all that I have and I would gladly give it up in a heart beat if she needed it! If you can't understand that then maybe I was wrong to think our situations were similar, maybe you don't truly understand what it's like to love someone so completely that it consumes you. Maybe you don't really love Kakyuu as much as you think you do."
I felt it before I saw it, a dull throbbing had formed on the left side of my face from coming in contact with Kintra's fist. There were no thoughts of peace in my mind, all I knew was the fury and resentment that had been implanted in my soul, and they both called for revenge. My eyes flicked on Kintra who was standing with wide eyes, apparently he had been shocked by his actions too. Nothing was thought through but my fist was already speeding towards his face. His hands didn't even have time to come up to his defense before I made contact with the bone of his face.
In no time we were in a full out brawl but it was more or less me offensively while Kintra had already sobered from his anger and wanted nothing more than to stop this now. All my frustration was being burned off in the workings of my muscles as I struggled to gain ground on him. My strength was magnified, and this wasn't a good thing for Kintra since he held nowhere near the same ground as I did even on a good day. I had made it to the top, mounting on top of his frame as his arms struggled to hold me at bay, I freed my fist to strike his face once more.
"SEIYA!" A voice cut into the madness and stopped my closed fist from falling. There in the doorway stood Yaten, Taiki and… Princess Kakyuu. My hands were covered in blood, most of it my own but as I looked back at Kintra I noticed that his had contributed to the mess also.
I stood, now having calmed from my fit, the shame was setting in. My princess' eyes were on me with confusion. Though there had always been mini-brawls between the lot of us, we had never once allowed Kakyuu to witness them. I felt so barbaric in her gentle and graceful presence.
"What the hell were you doing?" Yaten asked as Taiki rushed over to help Kintra up from his position on the floor. I didn't have an answer for his question and just stared slack jawed at the floor.
"Fighter? Seeker?" Kakyuu came up to us, worriment was written in her features and Judge 13's words came flooding back to me.
"I'm sorry Princess." I spoke in a hushed tone.
Kintra was soon by my side wiping the blood from his nose and the corner of his mouth on the back of his sleeve. In quick bow he presented himself before our princess before speaking. "Sorry Lady, there were just things that Seiya and I needed to clear up between ourselves. I take all blame for this though the situation isn't as bad as you may be perceiving it." His attention then turned to me as a smile lit his face. "You do feel better now, don't you?"
Was he serious? My reflection turned inward as I focused on everything I had been thinking about before his fist. My mind WAS clearer and perhaps it was due to the brief fighting tango Kintra and I had engaged in. I nodded my head with a lopsided grin on my face, in a sense thanking him and not needing to say any more or rehash what had happened.
"Sorry? Well are you alright?" She came up and examined Kintra's face and I had to smile as the tall –attempting to be brutely- man swatted her hands away and tried to hide his blush from her daunting affection.
"You guys are a couple of morons, you know that?" Yaten sighed flipping his hair back from his face.
"I'll assume that Kintra has already informed you of what happened while you were in Judge 13's quarters, ne?" Taiki looked over the two of us in dismay. I nodded my head and proceeded to find a place to sit down. "Judge 13 called off the rest of the trial today on Princess Kakyuu's wishes and you will have to take the platform tomorrow instead."
"Yeah and it looks like that's a good thing now too." Yaten sneered throwing a handkerchief in my direction to clean myself up. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I just mistook Kintra's face for yours momentarily, no big deal. That little episode from this morning must have still been on my mind." I dabbed at the split in my lip and then wrapped my right hand in the blue linen.
Yaten snorted in response while Kintra just laughed. His laughter soon gave away to a cry of pain as he leaned forward to try and ease it. "I must be becoming soft." He mused as he tried to straighten himself out despite the pain. Kakyuu was looking after all, he couldn't be a crybaby now.
"Princess?" I asked looking directly at her as she observed the idiotic chaos around her. Her head lifted and her eyes rested on me. "Can I speak with you alone?" Her head nodded in response causing her ruby hair to spill over her shoulder. The others knew well enough that this was their cue to leave. I waited until they were completely out of the room before I got up to sit a little closer to my princess. "I wanted to apologize to you for what I said to you during the trial today."
"Fighter you scared me half to death." Her hand came to her chest in the most graceful fashion and rested over her heart.
"I realize that now." I sighed and hung my head a bit. "Princess you know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, ne?" I didn't even wait for her response for I already knew what it was to be. "I'm sorry that I've put you through this, I'm well aware that the pain that is being inflicted upon you was caused by my confused actions. I love you as my princess and my life is devoted to you. What kind of senshi would I be if I forgot that and caused you harm instead?" A chuckle escaped my lips as I looked into her deep caring eyes.
"Fighter, I know that your love and life are no longer solely devoted to me. I can see that you love her." Her eyes were shining and a small smile played on her crimson lips. "She has your heart now and though it may have taken me a while to realize it, I do see it and I'm very thankful that you have been able to experience such a joy."
"It is a joy, but it's brought me nothing but pain." I sighed as I fought back the tears in my eyes. Now, I wasn't one to normally cry, but I had just become so worked up today, then with the tiff with Kintra and now this… it was just a bit too much. "She doesn't have my heart, it isn't mine to give."
"Don't say that." Kakyuu whispered and brought her hand up to sooth the split in my lip. "You are a soldier, not stone."
"But Prin-"
"Shhh… I only want you to be happy, you are my friend before you are my senshi and that is the way it will always be." She rose to her feet and began to walk to the door. In an instance I was up and rushing towards the door to get it for her.
I stopped as I reached the door and allowed her to catch up. I smiled gratefully at her with my hand resting on the knob. "Thank you… Kakyuu." She smiled in return at the name and kissed my cheek.
With both of our heads so close to the door we heard the faint remnants of a conversation outside the door. I had assumed that Kintra had waited around outside my room, but there was a female voice accompanying him now. Most likely it was Chaser or Developer come to scold him for taking me out of the courtroom before they could. Kakyuu's eyes looked up at mine asking a silent question.
Ever so quietly we both worked to open the door to allow the conversation to filter in more clearly. I now recognized the female voice that was speaking to Kintra, it was Rei.
"You don't understand." The senshi of Mars' voice was stern as she stood across from Kintra. "She was unaware that he returned her feelings when he was on Earth the first time. None of us were going to clue her in."
"That has nothing to do with him seeing her now." Kintra shot back and I could only assume they were talking about Odango and me.
"Now that she has the thoughts that the feeling is mutual between the two of them it's causing her even more pain. Separating them this time would be next to impossible if they were to see one another." I was amazed at how Rei's cool appearance in no way reflected her words. "Do you know that she has a future waiting for her on Earth? In the future she has a fiancé, a daughter, and is the ruler of Crystal Tokyo. She is our savior, we'd be nowhere without her."
"Then why don't you make her happy, let her do what she wants to do." Kintra insisted trying to reason with her. "If you owe her so much, at least owe her her own happiness." He smiled at her, neither of them had noticed us spying on their conversation.
"But Chibi-Usa-"
"I can only imagine that Chibi-Usa is her daughter in the future, but you have to stop and think, how did she get to that future? You don't know do you? How do you know that this wasn't just a part of her obtaining that goal, of her discovering who she really is? If you had never seen that future, would you have tried to stop her right now?"
"No."
"Then that means that she's reached that future on her own without anyone's interference." My head was spinning in circles at his logic and I couldn't tell if he was trying to confuse Rei or if he was really trying to make a point. "Let her live her life, she hasn't let you down yet, has she?"
Rei smiled at his statement and gave him a wink. "I think all of you Kinmoku men have the gifts of good looks and smooth tongues." A blush made its way to Kintra's cheeks as Rei turned to head back to the guest wing. I looked down at Kakyuu and noticed a scowl on her face. Was she jealous?
"I know you two were listening." Kintra said as Rei was out of earshot. Kakyuu and I pushed the door open far enough so that we were both exposed completely to the hallway.
Without saying a word to either one of us, Kakyuu threw her nose in the air and walked haughtily past Kintra. Kintra shot me a questioning look and I just smiled mouthing 'jealous' at Kakyuu while pointing at her retreating form. Kintra raised a green brow, and just after a smile stretched across his face he turned on his heel to follow her down the hall.
It was rather amusing and useful. When the comedy of the situation wore off I realized something. I was alone and unguarded. A smile came to my face and a plan came to mind.