It was three o Clock in the morning, when Alexei was woken from his sleep by a muffled sound.
He opened the eyes, rubbed at them sleepily with the backside of his hand and listened for the noise that had woken him. There, it was again, right from his right side. Sitting up, he tried to distinguish anything in the half-dark of the room, directing his gaze to the neighboring bed where saw Mikhail toss around and moan softly, obviously caught in a nightmare.
Alexei got off his own bed and sat on the edge of the other's matrace. He reached out and gently shook Mikhail's shoulder.
"Hey, wake up!" he urged softly.
Mikhail's eyes flew open with a start and the younger boy looked at him with a look full of surprise and fear. Slowly, recognition crept back into the brown eyes, as Mikhail seemed to remember where he was.
Alexei frowned. The short moment of panic and loss was the most his roommate had let his emotions show so far. The older boy had already guessed that the new kitchen-help hid something by his distant demeanor. Now he was sure that there was more to this boy than he let on.
"It's okay, Mikhail. It was just a nightmare," he soothed.
Mikhail sat up and the older boy could make out the shiver running through his body. His new roommate rubbed his own arms against some cold only he could feel with a stare that seemed still somewhat glazed and far off.
"I'm sorry," Mikhail whispered. "I didn't want to wake you."
"It's okay. What was it about?"
Mikhail just lowered his head without answering.
Alexei smiled and went back to his own bed. "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Everybody is entitled to his own secrets. Now try to go back to sleep."
With those words he turned to the wall and fell asleep soon after.
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Hyoga listened to his roommate's soft snores but sleep eluded him. He thought about Shun and unconsciously tried to reach out to feel his friend's Cosmo, only to come up with the same cold, empty feeling that represented his own loss. It was like a blind man trying very hard to see an object, although it was an impossible feat to achieve. He wondered what Shun was doing right now, only a short distance away. And he thought about Athena and the other Saints. They must have felt his Cosmo explode and vanish. Did they think he was dead? Did they really mind? Foremost, he though of Ikki. The Phoenix Saint would regret his loss, sure. After all, they were friends and had lived through a lot together, but he may even be relieved about it too. Yet it didn't really matter. He had betrayed Athena and they would not forgive him for that, no matter for what reasons. With the only exception being Ikki, of course. If he had been presented with the same choice, he would have done it himself, Hyoga was sure of that.
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The next two days were a repetition of the first, filled with hard, dirty work. But Hyoga didn't mind. At night he had long talks with Alexei before they slept. He had been lucky so far that the nightmares hadn't returned. And he had also started to enjoy Alexei's company.
"You may be able to see more of the castle in two days, Mikhail," Alexei said that evening. They both were lying on their beds, on their backs, arms crossed behind their heads.
"I heard Ivan talk to Igor today. The mistress is planning a great dinner in honor of her new boyfriend. And we are usually asked to help serve the meals when that happens."
Hyoga managed to just barely keep a somewhat straight face, staring at his neighbor with wide eyes. Finally the day had arrived when he would see Shun. He sighed happily and closed his eyes briefly.
Alexei misinterpreted his expression. "I know, it is an honor and we don't get the possibility to be so close to the mistress very often. Say, did you hear that her new boyfriend is one of Athena's Saints? Have you ever heard of them?"
Hyoga smiled and nodded.
"I must say I'm surprised she chose a Japanese boy. I always thought she hated anyone who wasn't Russian."
"I heard he was very handsome," Hyoga replied innocently.
"Yes, I know," Alexei sighed. "But still... She is so strictly against everything from the outside. Especially Athena and her Saints." He paused for a minute before the next words blurted out of him. "What do you think about it?"
Hyoga was taken aback by this question but he caught himself fast.
"I think they do their best to protect mankind."
Alexei propped his upper body up on his elbows, looking at his neighbor with big eyes.
"Natasha thinks they are a threat to mankind. And she expects her employees to support her point of view."
Hyoga just shrugged his shoulder.
"She would never tolerate your attitude towards them, and if she ever found out, you would be lucky if you only get fired."
"Are you going to tell her?" Hyoga asked, with a threatening undertone in his voice.
Alexei laughed. "Oh no, don't worry, I won't."
"I have my own opinions, and nobody can dictate my beliefs."
Alexei scrutinized him for a long time.
"If I told you a secret, would you keep it to yourself?"
Hyoga smiled at him. "It would definitely even the score. You won't tell, so I won't either."
Alexei relaxed back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"My grandmother shared your opinion. She used to tell me the old tales of the Saints before I would go to bed. I envied them then." He turned his head and looked at his neighbor.
"Have you ever heard about the powers they possess? Some of them can create volcanoes, or hit so hard that they can break the ground with their fist, and provoke an earthquake just like that."
Hyoga closed his eyes and smiled again. It was kind of funny to let Alexei talk about the Saints, when he was one, or rather had been one. His amusement faltered at that thought.
Alexei lowered his voice to a conspiringly whisper, "I heard that a certain cast of them are trained here in Russia. In northern Siberia. They are called the ice-Saints and can create ice out of thin air."
Hyoga turned his head, looking at him, eyebrows lifted, the admittedly bitter amusement at the irony of the situation returning into his expression.
Alexei's face changed from excitement to anger. He stopped talking and hissed at Hyoga. "Don't give me such a look. Fine, don't believe me. But it is true."
With those words he turned angrily towards the wall and pulled his covers over his head.
Hyoga sighed silently. Alexei thought he did not believe him. Well, perhaps it was better that way.
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The next morning, they got the formal announcement from Ivan for the dinner the next day. The whole day was spent in busy preparations and they worked until late into night.
After they had finished in the kitchen, some servants came and instructed all dispensable helpers that were on the job about their duties for the next day. Natasha was expecting a number of rich and important inhabitants of her country, to celebrate her engagement to Shun.
They were shown how to behave and what duties to perform. And then they were sent to bed as it would obviously be a long day tomorrow.
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Ikki sat wearily on a bench in front of one of Tokyo's universities. The headmaster had shown him the entire building, and they had searched for eventual bombs in all hidden corners of the school that the man could think of.
They had found nothing of course. The same as with the entire past week. If the bombs really existed, they were hidden too well for the Saints or the police to find.
And who have given them any proof that there were bombs in the first place? All they had was the word of one crazy woman.
Ikki could understand Saori's attitude, despite all his protests. She had to make sure no innocent life was endangered. He had promised her to be patient for now. She would contact Natasha again by the end of the week if they couldn't find any bombs until then. But Ikki doubted that she would be any more cooperative than she had been the first time. Saori had tried to get the Russian Government to help, but they would not do anything until she could give them at least some shred of proof.
Ikki didn't know what would happen if Natasha didn't see reason. None of the others had come up with a good idea about how to get Shun back, without endangering Tokyo's inhabitants. Seiya had suggested hiring a mercenary or detective to do the job. Saori had answered that it was not enough to free Shun. They had to disarm the bombs as well. And to get that information, would be difficult…illegal. And if somebody was willing to do it, he would have to have no scruples about walking a less than lawful road, something that Athena and the Graude Foundation were not willing to do. She would do it the proper way, and not fight a crime with another crime. Saori Kido was the head of a big influential company, and if anybody could connect her to any crime, it would be suicide for her business. She was not going to do something like that for now, before they had exhausted all other resources.
Ikki hated the waiting, but at least his brother was in no immediate danger. He could wait a little longer. But he would not wait indefinitely. His brother was the most important thing he had left in this world, and he would not let him down.
Another mystery to solve was Hyoga's sudden disappearance and the explosion of his Cosmo. Saori had tried to find him, but all she had come up with, was that he had emptied his bank account. They all had an account with a small amount of cash from the foundation at their disposal, which was refilled every month. If they bought anything, all they needed was the credit card with the name Kido on it to get whatever they wanted. Saori had made sure that they got everything that they wanted, a least financially. All of them had received a card with unlimited credit after the great Galaxian war as a sign of trust and gratitude.
The foundation had tried to track the Russian by his card, but it had not been used. Saori had blocked Hyoga's card as a precaution, in case it had been stolen by any chance. Ikki didn't think so. It had been Hyoga himself who had emptied the account. What for, he couldn't figure out. Also, even if he fought hard to suppress it, he worried about the Cygnus Saint and felt a great deal of remorse for the last words he had spoken to him. Still, he refused to believe him to be dead. Too many things just didn't add up for that conclusion.
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Shun sat on his bed, his back against the headboard, knees pulled tightly against his body, hugging them. Tears were flowing down his cheeks. He would not pull through for much longer. Natasha was the devil in disguise. She said that she loved him, but she only abused him. He felt ashamed and dirty and hated even her lightest of touches. He knew that he would break soon. He had managed to steal a knife, without her noticing it. It was not really sharp but it would do the job.
He only hoped his brother would understand. But he preferred to die, rather than be used again by her in this way. He just couldn't take it anymore. He was still hoping for a miracle from Athena, but nothing had happened. Oh, but he didn't blame them. They had a duty to the people of Tokyo foremost and couldn't risk any of them being killed. Instead he would take away from her the only reason for the bombs in the first place.
She had mocked him by showing him the computers, with which she could detonate the bombs and had showed him even the locations of the five bombs themselves. One for each of the Saints in Japan and one for Athena. And she had told him that she had made an even stronger barrier around the computer room than the one surrounding her lands. As soon as somebody with Cosmo entered the room, the bombs would go off.
So he knew where the bombs lay and how to disarm them. He had the power to break out and fight any of them without any problem, yet still he was helpless as a newborn baby and had to endure everything she did to him.
But last night she had gone too far. And he knew that she would do it again tonight. But he couldn't take it a second time.
He didn't want to die like this but he wanted her touches on him even less. He just regretted that the barrier kept him cut off from the Cosmos of his friends, so he couldn't even send them a goodbye.
He would participate at the great dinner she was about to hold, but when she came to his room later, all she would find was his cold corpse. She might possess his body, but she would never hold his soul. He was a Saint of Athena. He knew how much he would hurt his brother, Hyoga, and the others by committing suicide, but his duty and oath to Athena and the whole human race left him only one solution. He couldn't bear it if civilians died because of him. Their faith in their cause was the one thing Natasha underestimated. The life of a single Saint meant very little in the face of a greater good.
As if on command the door opened and Natasha rushed in.
"Are you ready, Love?" she said in a cheerful voice, but her happy behavior vanished, when she saw his tear-stricken face.
"What is the meaning of this?" she hissed. "I won't present my future husband to my friends like this. Put on the clothes I let you bring and make yourself presentable. I want you to be the perfect, happy host. You hear me? Or there will be a lot of funerals in Japan in the next few days. Do you understand me?" she threatened with hard eyes.
He nodded resigned.
She changed her demeanor again and lightly petted his cheek. He flinched, but after her hard, upset intake of breath, held still.
"That is my good boy. Now get ready, Love. I expect you to be ready for the evening in an hour."
She turned to leave but stopped and stared back at him before she reached the door. "If you are good tonight, I'll come to you later with your reward."
Shun let his head fall on his pulled up knees and fought the nausea, which he felt in the pit of his stomach. No more. It would all end tonight.
To the annonymous reviewers:
T: T, as in Torquemada? If so, then great to know that you're still around as well:-D If not then hi anyway but who are you?
Fire Chan: Thanks for your nice words