I have this fic marked 'on hold' in my profile, as I've been finding it hard to continuously update six or seven stories and go to university. So then why am I updating you ask? Well, I recently got a review and it sparked some inspiration and here I am. So you can thank CerberusOfThe5 for reminding me about this fic and that I really should update every so often. The chapter is a little short I'm afraid, but something's better than nothing, ne?

I apologize if some of my facts are off. I've only seen the English dubbed version 'Knights of the Zodiac,' the OVAs (which were subtitled in Spanish), and a few DVD Japanese episodes that were done right. The rest I've gathered from reading some other fics and looking up a bit of information, but I'm no where near an expert on anything. I use the English names because I haven't figured out the Japanese ones yet, and really don't want to make a mistake in that department.

I don't own Saint Seiya. If I did, I'd make sure Shun was seen for the valuable, wonderful person he is and Seiya wouldn't be quite so annoying.

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Running Blind

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"How could this have happened!"

With a weary sigh, Shiryu pushed aside the dangling branch of a fern. "For the hundredth time, I don't know." He paused and waited for Seiya, who was busy fuming to himself - and had been for the past hour - to duck under.

Seiya instead placed a well aimed kick and snapped the branch off in Shiryu's hand. "No one is supposed to know about this. We were told it was just going to be us, the stupid jungle and those lousy guys that Sienna hired." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and scuffed angrily at the ground.

"That's just it. If Sienna could hire them, maybe Sanctuary could bribe them." It was a disconcerting thought to the Dragon, that Sienna would be betrayed because of greed. "Not everyone believes in her."

Seiya snorted quietly. "Well, they'll regret it." He looked up at the thick foliage, hoping for a glimpse of the sun. Only murky gloom waited for his eyes, and so much green that Pegasus vowed to himself he'd never like the color again. "Alright. We need to get moving."

Shiryu smiled faintly. It was just like Seiya to jump from one train of thought to another. "Up for a run, then?"

"Let's go." And the pair took off running, heavy cloth boxes hardly slowing them down as they tore through the underbrush of the nameless jungle.

---

For the thousandth time, Hyoga cursed himself for leaving Shun alone in the pretense of getting some time to himself. It wasn't as if the other knight was bothering him, breathing softly in sick sleep. But no, he'd just had to go out and be alone. And now Shun was gone and he was being attacked by a cloud of blood-sucking bugs while battling a seemingly endless expanse of thick leaves and flowers that sprayed pollen at him whenever he so much as looked in their direction.

The jungle, Hyoga thought, wasn't as great as everyone seemed to think it was.

Slapping away another large, ungainly frond, the ice knight paused to catch his breath and push the hair out of his eyes. Shun was pretty quick for someone who had seemed to hover on the edge something terrible. Hyoga, underneath his worry, was partially amazed that Andromeda had managed to open his bow, grab his chain, and then leap out the window to who knows where. And, on top of that, hide himself away so well that even a fully healthy and alert Swan could find no trace of him.

Shun's been holding out on us, was all he could really conclude. It wasn't surprising, the more he thought about it. The young knight had never enjoyed fighting. Shun would much rather end the conflict with Sanctuary with a nice chat over lunch than the all out war that was looming. Yet he was still there with them, fighting pseudo-knights and battling beetles the size of Seiya's fists.

Hyoga started pushing forward again, keeping his senses open and his eyes sharp for any sign of his wounded friend. He considered the situation. Why would anyone choose Shun out of the five of them - Ikki was included, he just was off burning jungle by himself - and not someone seen as more of a threat? Seiya the bold leader, Shiryu the wise thinker, even the master of ice himself seemed a lot more likely. Even Ikki, if it could be managed, was an idea to entertain; it would stop their last minute, wild card backup.

But out of all the knights sworn to Athena's cause, to Sienna's cause, the mystery foe had singled out Shun. Was it for opportunity, as Shun had been alone at the time of attack? No, Hyoga thought, because Ikki had been alone constantly since being dropped off. So then why? Why Andromeda? Why Shun?

And why not kill him?

As much as Hyoga didn't want to think about it, he conceded rationally that Shun could've been easily killed. Instead, he was just beaten, scratched up, and tossed back like an unwanted scrap of meat. What was the point of that? Was it a warning? Or perhaps the mystery foe wanted them to break ranks, to split up like they had, with the hope of getting rid of the rest of them...

There had to be a reason for everything, mused Swan. The attack was too precise, too planned to be something done out of convenience and opportunity. What was it that made Shun so special and different from anyone else?

Well, for starters, he was Ikki's younger brother and therefore had a connection that no one else could really even dream of having, if they even wanted it. Because of this, the unruly Pheonix became almost accountable and dependable. He was certainly a guarantee that your back was being watched, in some way. And, as Hyoga thought about it further, the same sorts of connections could be said to exist between Shun and all the other knights. His unassuming, polite and kind nature made him easy to get along with, to talk to. Shun probably knew something personal about everyone, in one way or another. Hyoga himself had confided a few brief words to Andromeda when he'd been in a speaking mood.

And then there was his perspective of things. As Shun was opposed to violence except as an ultimate last resort, he often tried to find other ways to solve problems. He thought first, much like Shiryu, instead of blindly running forward believing a well-aimed punch could accomplish anything, as Seiya did. But the difference was, where Shiryu often departed from these thoughts as the situation grew more dire or more involved, Shun would still try to reason with his enemy. The chain provided a suitable defense for him while he could try and make the other side see the light.

But was all of this cause for what had happened? Hyoga stopped once more, leaning against a slick tree trunk. There was still no sign of Shun, and no answers to the questions he posed for himself. He was feeling frustrated, and decided a break might help.

There was a rustle in the tree above him. For a moment, the ice knight paid no attention to it. The jungle was always rustling, dripping, squawking with life and sound. Then he realized that nothing else was making a sound. Instantly on alert, Hyoga glanced up into the high branches, searching.

The silence became complete for a heartbeat, and then another faint rustle sounded above him. And again. And again. The chain continued, growing slightly louder each time until Hyoga recognized the sounds as something falling from above. He deftly leapt aside and waited. A final rustle - one he could see as thick leaves bounced on their stems - and something dropped with a heavy thud onto the leaf litter of the jungle floor.

Wary, Hyoga approached. The object was a sphere, grey and unremarkable. Had someone hoped to hit him with it while he stood under the tree? He stepped closer still, and crouched to retrieve it. But as he was about to pick it up, wondering what purpose something like it could have, the small sphere sparked to life. It swirled with color, in much the same way an aurora would in the frozen air of the north. Hyoga fell still. Gradually the color expanded outward, twisting in small patterns. It looped and finally formed a small picture.

Hyoga was unprepared for what he saw.

---

Shun sat, panting heavily, on a moss covered pile of old, fallen branches. His head felt incredibly light and the world around him swam slightly before his eyes. He felt almost unbearably cold as well, despite the humid heat that was ever present. He was almost constantly shivering. Andromeda's chain rested in a haphazard pile beside him.

He wasn't sure how far he'd managed to sprint through the endless maze of thick jungle plants. Fuzzily, he recalled a shout from Hyoga, who had found him missing, and the frantic burst of speed that came with it, but not much else. Had he been running the entire time or had he slowed to walk a bit before sitting down to rest? Shun wasn't sure.

The knight of sacrifice sucked in one final breath, and pushed himself shakily to his feet. There wasn't time for rest. He had to find the one person who could help him - his brother, Ikki. Shun couldn't remember where this thought had come from, or what exactly he hoped for when he found him, but knew it was important that he find Ikki. When he found him, everything would be okay.

Dazed, he shuffled on.

His bandages were dirty by now, some even showing spots of red where cuts had reopened and were beginning to bleed again. His chest ached as he struggled to breath normally. The sweat pouring down his face from the effort of walking caused his face to sting. But Shun seemed oblivious to it all. He pressed on, ignoring everything. When an errant branch snapped from his shaky grasp and smacked a bandaged area on his side sharply, Shun hardly winced. He was focused and his fever numbed him to everything.

That was, everything except the cold. His fingers wrapped as tightly as he could manage around the chain, shook slightly, freezing. Bottom lip quivering, Shun's ragged breaths bore the unmistakable sound of near-chattering teeth. He was pale and sweaty, tired and cold. But he had to get to Ikki. He had to get to him at any cost.

Distantly, some remnant of coherence echoed that he was sick, that running around alone in a jungle with a high fever and wounds wasn't a smart idea. He could cause permanent damage to himself, to his brain. Or even, it whispered faintly, die. The thought slightly unnerved him, but it was mostly, like everything else, numbed.

Shun shuffled quietly along until his foot inevitably snagged on a root and sent him crashing, unresisting, to the ground. His pain finally caught up to him then, a stabbing jolt that added bright pinpoints of light to his still swimming vision. Overwhelmed by both this and his pounding head, Shun was unable to find the strength to rise again and continue on with his mission. With nothing left to do but wait until his body cobbled together more energy, Shun blacked out.

---

I'll admit I've kinda grown to like the Shiryu and Seiya bit at the beginning, since I first started writing this chapter. There will probably be more in the future, though this one remains short because they've really only got started and Hyoga searching for Shun is more important (it involves Shun, so of course it is).

Anyway, things are picking up! You get your first taste of the mystery foe and some speculation as to how and why Shun was attacked. If you have your own theories, let me know! And review review review. I just might take this off hold and start updating regularly. You never know -winks-