A/N: Sorry again for making you people wait. This chapter is just a little bit longer than usual; as a matter of fact it went out a lot longer that I first planned, so I decided to divide it in two in order to make you wait a little less. I still have to work in the next part, so I can't offer a quick update, but I promise to try.

Hope you like it, big love.

Disclaimer: Nothing of Saint Seiya is mine.

7.

I must say you were right all along: life can be beautiful.

I understand, of course, how life is beautiful in an impermanent way, ephemeral even. Yet these brief moments are what can make one think that maybe, if today were the last day of life, one would die content.

Think the ride was worthwhile.

As a kid I managed to grasp some glimpses of beauty, some moments of simple happiness, in the company of my sister and childhood friends. There were a very few ones during my years in the Sanctuary, when I wasn't too sore to appreciate the colors of the sky in a sunset landscape.

The forbidden deep-green of Shaina's eyes…

… Aioria's secret smile, as he walked with Marin and me after a long day of training.

Small, heart- soothing thoughts.

Then I found you. No. You found me, along with the others.

All concepts of what is good in life faded at your presence. Beauty… happiness… warmth… enlightenment. You were all this but much more. Words were not enough to describe the wonder of Athena's love. I forgot about life and beauty; everything became pointless, except you.

Endless battles went by in a second, and just as soon as I found you, you were lost to me. You said you would go away so we could live in your love, and enjoy the beauty of life. But I was blind to any beauty that was not shown by your light.

You were right… only I was too blind to notice. I was so sightless that it took me years to see your light shining over her, leading the way. Then I finally could see, and there was beauty in her… and life, and warmth. The more time I spent with her, the more beauty I found everywhere I looked.

She became my light.

A light that could be dim at times, or stormy, but even then was warm and soothing. Out of this light a path was opened through the darkness, and although I sometimes lost the track, I could always find my way back. I wasn't lost anymore, and I knew in my heart you would be happy for me; because along the path there was beauty… and moreover, I was able to see it.

-----

My back crashed against the hard stone floor and I felt my breath abandoning me with a dry sound. It took me a couple of seconds to focus my sight, so I could see her staring down at me. "You need to concentrate more, Seiya, your mind is elsewhere" she said calmly while offering her hand to me. I grabbed it and she yanked me back to my feet.

"Right, sorry."

Her silver mask didn't threat me anymore. In fact, I'd become a mask-supporter when it came to training. Recalling her beauty, I don't think it was possible to train calmly if her face was there all the time. I knew I couldn't, and possibly it would be the same with her apprentices. I mean, most of them were guys, after all. I knew they had a great deal of respect for her, but I was a kid once too, and it was then that I was captivated by her face.

Yep! The mask was a good thing.

The pupils were watching us attentively, trying to figure out what the demonstration was about. They were ashamed to ask, so Shaina offered to show them again. "Ok, I'll do it slower this time, pay attention". She repeated her moves, and this time I was aware enough to prevent the violent landing. "Now, pick a partner and try by yourselves, Seiya and I will oversee you."

It seemed like by that time everybody was used to seeing us as a couple and no one had a problem with it, or at least nobody was bold enough to say it to our faces. I figured times had really changed in the Sanctuary, now that most of the Saints had disappeared. The Pope and the Gold Saints had almost become part of the myth, and the old rules and traditions were going the same way. It was unbelievable how much a place could change in just a few years.

We were trying to go with the flow of the changes, slowly, maybe clumsily. She said she felt lost, and I ached for her. Now that I was starting to think that after all, there was a way out of my madness, she was losing her balance. I didn't want her to sacrifice the peace of her mind in order to give me some, even if she did it willingly. I told her she wasn't supposed to change everything in her life because of me, and she could very well keep doing the things she used to do; if she wanted to, of course. She said she missed teaching the young. I said she should do it then, and that I would like to help her in any way I could. She said she would.

I was glad when she decided to continue teaching because that was what she did best, and there wasn't any good reason for stopping. I was really proud of my girl, and wanted to show her my support by offering to help her with the lessons. Since then I skipped work once a week (not that anyone would miss me among the dockworkers, where I was enrolled in an entirely freelance way) so I could attend her lectures and show the kids a few moves of my own. Soon enough we had a routine settled, and I looked forward to my 'training day'.

We watched as the younglings practiced their lesson and after that we called it a day. Once they were on their way, she gathered her things and took off her mask. A calm smile graced her tired features. All sweaty and covered with dirt… simply beautiful, I could look at her forever.

"Thank you", she said, softly.

"Eh?"

"For coming over."

"Well, I kinda come every week."

"Yes, and I thank you for that."

"No need. I like it here with the kiddies."

"True," she laughed a little, "but not as much as they enjoy having you here. They worship you, you know? They want to be you."

" 'F course they want to be me, I get to hold you at nights."

"Seiya…" she warned impatiently, "I mean it. You are their hero. "

"Jeez!" I scratched my head and twisted my mouth, "then ya have to find 'em a new role model before's too late!"

She laughed a little more, then she ambled towards the road. I held her hand as she walked by my side. I turned to her occasionally and every time I found her smiling at me, calm and affectionate. She had been my friend for a long time, but she used to keep her distance. Now the wall that restrained us from each other was finally demolished, the distance between us was no longer necessary. Thanks to the Gods.

"Seiya", she asked "there's something worrying you? You were lost in your thoughts back there."

"Mmmm… not really. I've been thinking about the Gold Saints lately. Often. I think people are forgetting them, and it shouldn't happen. They… their lives were forfeited to save us all. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. And I wish more people knew. Y' know, days like this remind me of Aioria. He carried the burden of his brother's dishonor, but he managed to keep an aura of honesty and loyalty… not without a speck of sadness, though."

"Yes, I think of him a lot, too…"

"You do, eh?" I asked, raising my eyebrow emphatically.

"Not like that, silly!"

I laughed. She punched me in the arm and smiled, then she lowered her face. "He was a good man," she whispered.

I nodded once and smiled a bit. We reassumed our walk in comfortable silence.

-----

We found June sitting on a wide chair on the porch, intensely watching the birds chirping in the sunset hour, or the grass growing, or nothing at all. Now that I think of it, she probably was waiting for us because she felt like pestering someone, or maybe she just felt lonely. She greeted us cheerfully as she cradled her swollen belly.

"Hey! About time the two of you came back! Seiya, did you get me what I wanted?"

"Nope. Sorry, I forgot."

"Really?" She seemed upset. "Then what in the world took you so long? No, don't tell me, I don't want to hear about your naughty stuff".

Shaina's eyes opened wide, shining in indignation "wha..? …we did not…" She tightened her fists and really hard, just like she was trying to avoid biting her own tongue. "Uh! Seiya, I'm going inside."

I rolled my eyes. "June… you have to stop embarrassing her. This is getting really old, y'know."

Her eyebrows touched as she lifted her lovely chin "Well, I suppose you understand it's your entire fault! "

I smiled in my mind, this could get fun. "Oh, yeah? How come?"

"I want pine nuts, and you didn't get them. It wasn't too much to ask, was it?"

"Gods… I hate that stuff. Tastes like floor cleaner."

"I knew you didn't forget! You did it on propose! "

"Well… not exactly. I just don't like it when you spread the things on top of all our food." Then I lowered my voice, both embarrassed and amused, "It was more like I… conveniently forgot."

She stood up, her face turned red. "You are so mean! You don't care if your baby nephew or niece is born with a deficiency of… "

"Turpentine?"

She glared at me viciously, her fists on her hips. She was so pretty that I felt like bursting into laughter, I was struggling to hold myself. "Oh! So you do know some big words! Please don't overwork your brain!" she said, and… oh my sweet Goddess, I couldn't stand it anymore and laughed so loud that my head rolled back.

She sat down again and looked at me, puzzled. Then her face started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. "I see you find my situation really amusing. I'm glad you're having so much fun!" Then her expression changed into a defeated one. "Do you think this is easy for me? All these crazy cravings, and mood swings? I was raised to be a warrior, for Athena's sake! No one ever told me about how these things are… what would happen. Not until now, anyway." She dried her eyes with her thumbs and stood again, regal as her usual self. I wondered how a woman like her, who was raised and lived almost her whole life in a barren and secluded place like Andromeda Island, could get to develop such a strong personality. I was really getting to like her by then, she was the fit complement to my bashful brother. "You are lucky,"she continued "Shaina and you will know what to expect when your time comes". Then she smiled mischievously, "Because, you know, my baby could use a little cousin to play with."

Wow. So… that was something to think about. Back then I was sure about wanting to stay with Shaina for as long as we may live, fully aware that it could be not a very long time. It was the way of the warrior: to live one day at a time, as if the present day was the last one. Shun and June used to think like this, I'm sure, but since they knew about their baby they understood things could never be the same. The life they once took for granted was no more. They were raised to be warriors, but now they were going to be parents. From that moment they would walk a path that was supposed to be unreachable for people like us… and they couldn't be happier.

For the first time in my entire life one particular thought crossed my mind: if Shiryu and Shun were allowed to be someone's father, so was I. Not that I was meant to, or that I was expected to… Gods! I was way too young for that. Only it was, in fact… possible. My pals seemed find their happiness in a family life, and there was no reason why I couldn't have the same. I made a mental note to talk to Shiryu about this stuff one day.

She gave me a last guilt-generating look and went inside. I was left out of my own house, alone and waiting for my brother to come home and find out I made his wife upset.

I wondered if he would kick my ass because of it.

I decided he wouldn't, but probably would look at me in a way that would make me want to kick myself. Yeah… that was more likely.

I stretched out on the deck and watched the moths slowly arrive, in search of the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. They were flitting and swirling around, like sparks flying out from a wood fire. I closed my eyes, thinking about how it would feel to be a moth, dragged irresistibly to a light that is too bright for their comprehension, although they know they have to follow it, to get as near as possible to the source of the enthrallment… nothing else.

The wretched insects were knocking themselves against the hot bulb, time after time, and I wondered if this invisible barrier that was separating them from their guiding light, could be as distressful for them as they were making it seem. I figured so, but I wondered if it would make any difference to them if they were seeking instead for an ever-distant moon, that served them as their ancestral lighthouse. I was just like them, wasn't I, Saori? I hurt so badly because of the barriers that kept me away from the star that led the days of my early youth.

I wondered if the moths could see the beauty of the world only by the radiance of this substitute light. There was no way to know, yet I started to feel sorry for the poor bugs. I stood up to turn the light off, then I went back to my laying spot. I waited for them to fly away, not long. I closed my eyes again and thought of how ridiculously short their lives would be, although they would get to see so much of the world under the light of the full moon. I smiled to think they were free from the deceiving light that only could scorch them away.

I was a moth-savior…

…A surprisingly satisfying feeling, believe it or not.

I heard steps approaching, stopped at my side. I peeked enough to see Shun sitting on the steps.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey yourself."

"May I ask, why are you lying in the darkness?"

I really didn't know what to answer. "Just having a moment here."

"I see." He made a pause; I think he was waiting for me to say something. I didn't, so he asked again, "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

I detected his intention to talk about something, so I figured I better play along. "Not really."

"So, did you have a nice day?"

"Swell."

"What about Miss Shaina?"

How many questions would he ask before getting to the point? "She's pretty amazing too."

"No, I meant if her day went well, too."

I know what you meant, just trying to be obnoxious, but with you… no use. "Yeah, guess you could say so."

"I'm glad. Have you seen June?"

Well, of course he had to ask. "…'m afraid so."

"What do you mean?" There was just the slightest hint of worry in his voice.

"Well, it is a possibility that she could be upset with me."

He breathed, relieved. I think he almost chuckled. Gods! Was he really worried? As if I could let something happen to his pregnant woman and then take all the time in the world to tell him. I wondered if becoming a worrywart was also a trait of fathers-to-be.

"I didn't buy her some pine nuts she wanted, so she kinda went nuts herself. Sorry."

"You don't seem sorry to me." I opened my eyes and there was the stare, the incriminating look. Nah, I knew he wasn't really upset, he should know he couldn't fool me. I had to fight the urge to laugh again. "In fact I can tell you look quite pleased with yourself," he finished with a tone of false indignation.

Must not laugh, must not laugh…"I'm sorry for not looking sorry. You're welcome to punch me in the face if you think it will help in anything," I said, pointing in the direction of my nose.

"Don't be a fool."

And at that, I laughed. "Can't promise anything." He laughed too. I rose and sat on the step, in front of him. "So, you want to say something."

"Uh?" He raised both eyebrows, "how can you tell?"

"I just can."

He breathed deep and reassumed his usual tone, gentle yet serious. "As a matter of fact, there is something I want to ask you."

Damn… The last time he asked me something this way, things went pretty wacky…

"You see, June and I are going to Japan for her 5-month checkup appointment, next week."

Are you?" I asked, "Why're you going so far? Figure there's a doctor in this country, too."

"Well, the Gaude Foundation has first-rate facilities and physicians…"

"Sure," I interrupted, "forget I asked."

He continued as if he didn't hear. "Anyway, I was wondering if you and Miss Shaina could come along."

If the way he was looking to me could be used as an indication, I was surely making a very stupid face. So? I needed more information! "Please explain the usefulness of us going."

"Well, June would really be thrilled if Miss Shaina is with her during all the… well, physical examinations, although she would never ask herself. And you could pay Seika a visit."

For a second I considered declining the invitation, but I knew it was a waste of time; he would end up talking me into it sooner or later. I better simply pass the responsibility to someone else. "I don't see why we couldn't, you ask Shaina though."

He smiled; he was so happy that his eyes were shinier than usual. What an easy guy to please. "So, what about going inside before…"

"Hey bo-oys!" June's not-so-soft voice was heard from inside. "Are you planning to come in at some time tonight? We're starving here, and not waiting for you anymore!"

"You were saying?" He asked.

"Never mind," I got back to my feet, stretching. "Come on, brother, the High Command's requesting our presence."

He chuckled. "Aren't we the luckiest men on earth?"

"You got me there, man," I said, looking in the direction of the full moon one last time, and then I followed him inside.

Yeah… beautiful, beautiful life it is.