-Okay, put a bit of an apology here , the first is long, broodish and boring but descriptive, I like people to be in the same mind set when they read it as I was when I wrote it so this is the intro.

Like it then drop me a response, hate it then e-mail me with exactly what you don't like .... I tend to want to understand what is wrong, and 'just cause' is not a reason.

This is gonna be odd for me but here it is ... warnings of yaoi ... yes boy plus boy but we'll keep it more sweet then ... well ... blush Lets face it, if I go red faced writing it then it don't need to be written.

-Intro

How had this all come to be ..... what great thing had thrown this world upside down and left it unsafe for even the strongest fighter you ask .... well the whole thing started out with something as simple as meditation .... Ikki's meditation to be exact. It had been pointed out he had many issues that needed to be dealt with by many a person but this was the life he was happiest with, after all this had won him the prize of the Phoenix cloth which suited him just fine .... if his power was to come with flames then he held no qualms over where he drew the fuel from.

In fact it had never been an issue till he'd been saved .... and left wondering why he had been saved. Shaka was a noble fighter but Ikki was his enemy so why not just finish him off instead of bring him back and submit. The calm expressions and gentle nature of the Gold Knight as well had him left reeling as well. The golds were suppose to be more powerful, a worthy challenge not some kind hearted person left to be taken advantage of. It had left him disquieted many times after as well, his own strength drawn from hated, anger, and pain while it seemed just the opposite of the gold knight and that left him with to many questions.

Sienna's answers didn't help much either when it came to putting his mind at ease and so when one has a question that couldn't be answered by anyone else he'd gone himself to ask the only one with the answers. It had been a comical sight indeed when Ikki'd heard his answer. 'Power was not the answer, it didn't matter how powerful one was as power was only one part, it took more then strength and honor to be a knight, compassion was one thing missing, as were benevolence and an insight that didn't draw from just the fight one faced.'

Actually it had left Ikki silenced for more then just a few moments as they sat and weighed one another ... that awkward silence filling the time and almost forcing Ikki to break it with another question as to what Shaka would suggest to fix all his short comings. He had definitely taken offence to being told he was missing things, after all he could do all those things, just ask Shun right.

Shaka had smiled but it was a sad one, he knew Ikki was likely not pleased to hear anything else he'd have said so he answered it with the simplest one he knew, he'd told Ikki that he would have to find out what exactly he wanted to fix before he started because no one else was going to be living Ikki's live for him, which meant Ikki was the one that would have to first find the problems to be able to fix it ...

That had been months before Ikki had started anything serious, and likely close to when all the trouble started to brew as well. Nothing huge or anything just once a week Ikki would show up, hang to the back of the and meditate with the others, trying to see just what it was that Shaka might have been talking about but never once had he stuck around till he'd felt he had worn out his welcome. Eventually he started staying from the time the sun rose till it dipped down past sight before leaving for that week, still perplexed what he could have been missing and never finding anything. This hadn't gone unnoticed either .... the want to improve one's self and find the answer .... Shaka was impressed, after all it takes a big man to admit he may be missing something.

Soon it became as if it were normal, no hiding in the back as they all expected him there on that day and he was welcomed as all who wished to meditate within the temple, his ride constantly ready to leave early in the morning and a few times with more then just Ikki in it as Seiya would visit Sanctuary, or Shiryu to visit Kiki and Mu but not once had he missed it, it was a time he'd gotten to just sit down and relax, not have to play the tough guy cause meditation wasn't the easiest thing to do ..... sitting sometimes 12 hours without a break, it was another way to prove one's strength in silence.

The week before I'll begin this story was the week Ikki did stop Shaka to ask what he'd meant, which caused the gold saint to smile .... still the same questions when he already had the answers. "I saw something more then just what you allowed to show of yourself, and if you are here you saw something just as perplexing ... a mystery to be solved ... a puzzle that needed to be sorted out"

-End Intro-

Next up soon, suppose to be moving tomorrow and laid off for the summer (which is good news) so I have time to write again -G-