Thanks once again for the reviewers of the last chapter, and for those who have added their stories to their favorites list, which is increasing in number^^. THANKS A LOT!

Disclaimer: I don't own Saint Seiya, Saint Seiya belongs to Masami Kurumada and Toei Animation.

~Chapter 4: A Day in Virgo~

Shaka walked quickly past the stairs to the Main Hall, panting slightly every time he took a step. His expression remained calm as usual, but his movements showed otherwise. There seemed to be a slight anxiety inside the Virgo saint. The voice in Shaka's head kept on saying "Keep going! Keep going!"...and he did.

By the time he arrived, the Virgo immediately slammed the doors open. Everyone inside turned their heads to him, eyes the size of tennis balls. Even Camus looked surprised.

"Shaka?" Athena said, looking at him, "what happened?" then she walked over and touched the Buddha's shoulder. But Shaka still looked uneasy.

"Is the kid here?" he asked, looking directly at Camus.

Camus stayed expressionless, but his eyes were warm and he looked...pale?

"She's in my temple, still sleeping," he said. His voice was clear but weak.

Shaka frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah...yeah...just...just a bit tired."

But then he staggered backwards, and would've fallen if Milo hadn't caught him.

The Scorpio saint gazed at him worriedly. "Come on," he said, "I'll take you back to your temple."

For once, Camus didn't complain. He let his best friend support him, walking all the way back to the Temple of the Jewelled Urn. Shaka looked at them with his eyes closed as usual, but with a flash of worry. When the two left, he turned to the others.

"Tell us what you know," Shion urged.

Shaka nodded. "Earlier this day, I came back to Sanctuary with no luck. I did not find anything that would explain this child. But then Camus came over and told me he asked the girl some things yesterday. It seems that he found out that this girl came from Rodorio Village, had no parents, and had a mentor. She was seven years old, I presume. So I got out of Sanctuary again to go to Rodorio and visited the village chief. He said he knew there was a child named Rikka in his village...but something's not right..."

"What's not right? Tell us!" Aiolia cried impatiently.

Shaka hesitated, and finally spoke, "...he said that she died in the fire two years ago."

"WHAT?"

Shaka didn't react. He suspected this kind of reaction from his friends already. Not even he, the Closest Man to God, could stand the shock he received by hearing this particular statement.

Sudden silence filled the room.

"DOES THAT MEAN SHE'S DEAD?" Kanon suddenly yelled.

"DON'T JUMP INTO CONCLUSIONS!" Shion snarled, "WE SHOULD NOT JUDGE OTHERS WHEN WE OURSELVES DID NOT HAVE ANY PROOF!"

Aiolos seemed to be lost in thoughts. "Wait," he said, "Kanon has a point. A cosmo, as we all know, is a combination of the Big Bang, our soul, and our hearts, right? Any living being has one, even animals as small as bugs. So...a person that has no cosmo...it's like saying that she doesn't have a life force..."

By now, no one could tell which one's whiter, Kanon's face or Aphrodite's skin whitener.

The younger Gemini gulped, letting out a small whimper soon after, replied by a disgusted glare from his twin.

"Let me stay with her today," Shaka suddenly said, "I need to know more."

Athena nodded. "Very well. By the time you find something out, we'll gather again...with Seiya and the others too. Oh, that reminds me...Aphrodite?"

The Pisces jumped when he heard his name. "Yes?"

"What did Deathmask say about this child?"

Aphrodite shifted uncomfortably. "Well...I...I don't know...he said...he said that child HAS a cosmo..."

Everybody stared at him in surprise.

"Again? Oh,this is driving me crazy!" Shura said, scratching his head.

"What else did he say?" Mu asked.

Aphrodite shrugged. "He seems real tired, and you know how cranky Deathmask is when he's not in a good condition...so I didn't ask him any more than that. However, he did say that she's mature..."

Saga narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute...you said that Deathmask is tired? He didn't do anything today!"

"Yup, he just sits around and does nothing, but honestly...he looked pale..."

"Like Camus?"

"Well...YEAH..."

"Last I saw him he was lying on his bed," Aphrodite continued, "that's why he didn't join this meeting. He's definitely NOT healthy."

"Maybe he tried cigarettes again," Aldebaran suggested.

"Maybe...but don't you think it's strange how Deathmask and Camus can end up in the same way?" Aiolos asked. "If it is because of cigarettes, then why did Camus, who never smoked, also suffered the same thing?"

Everyone turned silent. Aiolos definitely had a point. They were all thinking the same thing.

Saori took a deep breath. "Alright everyone...Please don't make any guesses first. Until we know the truth behind her, we shall stick to our plan. Shaka, go to Aquarius Temple right now. You are the one who shall stay with her today. Camus needs some rest anyway. The rest of you, you may go back to your temples. But if any of you can share some information about this child, you are very welcome."

Everybody bowed and started to walk away. But Aiolos stayed. Athena noticed him, and told Shion to let them talk in private.

"What is it, Aiolos?" Athena asked when they were alone, "you seem to have something to say."

Aiolos smiled and kneeled. "Forgive me for saying this Athena...but are you, by any chance, hiding something?"

~In Aquarius Temple~

Milo hadn't given much thought on the girl, he was too busy worrying about Camus.

"Stop that already," Camus said, now getting really irritated because his best friend was giving him millions of worried looks.

"You sure you're okay?" the Scorpio asked for the thousandth time.

"For the last time, Milo, YES! I'm fine." But as soon as he said that the Aquarius felt a surge of pain and stumbled.

"Yeah, you're SO fine. Please, keep on lying," Milo said sarcastically. Still, he cared for Camus no matter what.

Milo noticed the little girl sleeping on Camus' bed, and gently lifted her up so his friend could lie down.

"You let her sleep in your room?" the Scorpio asked, putting Rikka down on a sofa.

Camus didn't answer.

Milo turned to him, his blue eyes shining. "You actually cared for her?"

Once again, the Aquarius ignored his best friend.

"Camus, I'm not kidding. You never let anyone sleep inside your room before, much less a girl! So why now..." Milo said, trying not to laugh.

"She...she's different..." Camus finally answered, "she's different. S...she reminds me of Hyoga...and Isaac..."

Milo smiled warmly. He knew, that's how his friend is. Camus never shows his feelings in public, and can only express it when the person he cared for isn't here.

"Ugh!" Camus suddenly groaned, clutching his head.

Milo helped him lie down. "Rest for now, okay? Seeing you getting ill is last on my fun list."

Camus smiled slightly, then started to close his eyes.

Just then, the door creaked open. "Excuse me," Shaka poked his head inside.

"Hey, Shaka," Milo greeted softly, trying not to disturb his sleeping friend.

"May I take the child?" the Virgo saint asked.

Milo nodded.

After that, Shaka lifted her up, careful enough not to wake her.

~In Virgo Temple~

Rikka woke up in a room completely different from the one in Aquarius Temple. The room was huge, quite plain and had a peaceful atmosphere. It also had that soothing lavender smell that people usually used for meditating.

Carefully, Rikka jumped down from her bed and ran toward the door, opening it slowly.

"I see that you have woken up," a voice spoke.

Rikka jumped. She decided to take a look, so she quickly ran out of her room and in no time, arrived in a "hall". In the middle of that hall, was a young man with golden hair, sitting cross-legged in the air, eyes closed. He was meditating.

"Umm...excuse me?" Rikka said, "Shaka-sama...is it?"

The Virgo turned to her with his eyes still closed, but Rikka could tell that he was studying her.

"Shaka-sama...can you please tell me why I'm not in Aquarius Temple anymore?" The child asked, suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be sleeping in Aquarius.

"Camus...he...ah...he fell ill...so did Deathmask. So I took on the responsibility on keeping an eye on you," Shaka answered.

Rikka's eyes turned dim. "Deathmask-sama and Camus-sama is sick?"

Shaka exhaled, and stood up. "Yes, little one. Are you sure you don't know anything about it? You were with them few days before."

The child tensed. Shaka was sure he saw her shed a tear, but he may have been wrong.

"I don't know..." the little girl said, "I don't remember."

"You don't remember?"

"I...I mean...I don't remember seeing them fall ill..."

"...I see."

Then the kid's eyes lit up again. "I hope they get well soon..."

"They will."

"Why are your eyes closed, Shaka-sama? How can you see things if you don't open them?" Rikka asked curiously.

"I can see using my cos- I mean...I sense things around me. That alone is enough," Shaka replied.

"Why do you meditate?"

"To reach Nirvana and store strength."

"How do you float like that?"

"When you meditate without hesitation, you can have the ability to do this."

"Can I try it?"

Shaka was baffled when he heard the child's innocent question. A little girl cannot do something like meditating, of course, but...why not?

The Virgo nodded. "Clear your mind, focus. Only think about whatever you think is important. Peace, love, justice. Find the answer to all your problems."

Rikka beamed, then sat beside the gold saint, cross-legged like him, eyes closed.

Shaka returned to his meditating state. Waiting for a kid to start floating in the air is going to take AGES.

A minute after he started levitating again, Shaka felt something beside him, and almost fell when he saw that Rikka was already flying.

The Virgo snapped his eyes open. "How did you-"

Hearing his voice, the child stood, opening her scarlet eyes.

"I didn't know it was quite fun!" she grinned, "and easy!"

"You LEVITATED?"

The little girl smiled when she looked at him. "WOW! You opened your eyes?"

"Answer my question!"

"Well...I suppose I did. I like it! It feels as if all my problems are solved..."

"Meditating requires a great amount of focus," the Virgo said, "what did you do to accomplish this?"

"I only did what you asked," Rikka replied, "I thought about what's important to me."

"And what is that, may I ask?"

"My parents...my home...my Master...Lady Athena, Deathmask-sama, Camus-sama, and you."

Shaka raised his eyebrow. "Us?"

"Yes...without you, along with the other saints, I probably wouldn't come out of Sanctuary alive."

"What do you see in Deathmask, child?" Shaka asked, "he's a true killer."

Rikka widened her eyes in shock. "No he isn't! He's very nice! And lonely...that's why I like him very much. Because he cares."

"And Camus?"

"Well...he's a bit cold, I admit...but he seems so sad, like he'd lost someone. Had he, really?"

Shaka hesitated. This matter was only among the Golds. But he told her anyway. "Yes," he said, "he lost his student, once."

"You mean Hyoga?" Rikka cried.

"No, the other one. How do you know about Cygnus?"

"Camus-sama told me."

"Is that so?"

"Yup."

"Anyway, do you find it interesting to meditate?"

"Yup! It really feels like my burdens have flown away."

"What burdens?"

The girl's eyes dimmed almost instantly. She looked at the Virgo saint, as if checking wether she could trust him or not. "I...ran away from home..."

"From Rodorio?"

Rikka jumped a little. "Did Camus-sama tell you about that?"

"Yes."

Rikka seemed nervous, rubbing her arms and looking back and forth. "Yeah, from Rodorio."

"I heard about a girl that was killed in a fire there," Shaka said, "do you know who that is?"

By this time the child was already as nervous as being on stage. "She was...my sister..."

Shaka narrowed his eyes. "But when I looked at her picture, she looked very much like you."

"We're twins..." Rikka answered.

"Does she have a same name as you?"

"We looked alike, so sometimes people tend to accidentally swap our names. Perhaps they were mistaken..."

Shaka felt a rush of disappointment. He was hoping that the dead girl was her. If so, then that would explain everything. Not having a cosmo, an aura like Cancer Temple's... But no. She had a twin sister. He was wrong.

"I see. I apologize for bringing back such memories," Shaka said.

The kid shook her head. "It's fine."

"You mentioned that you have a master. May I know who he is?"

"I would love to tell you, but he said I can't tell anyone." Her answer was just as Shaka expected.

"Is he important then? What does he train you for?"

"You can say that he's powerful...and he trains me for,uh...self-defense."

Shaka nodded. "Alright. Your room is over there, the one on the corner. You can do as you wish. However, no running, no screaming, and definitely NO CRYING, or else I'll just have to seal your five senses."

"Yes, Sir!" Rikka said eagerly, "thank you for listening, Shaka-sama!"

Shaka froze. Looking back, he cracked a slight smile. "And I thank you for answering."

~The Next Morning~

Shaka had asked everyone to gather in the Pope's Hall that day. Even the Bronzies were present.

"So let me get this straight," Ikki said, "this meeting is about a girl who has no cosmo, am I right?"

"Yes," Camus said, who, along with Deathmask, was still weak and yet still attended the gathering, "we were trying to find out why."

"Well make it quick!" Deathmask growled, "my body is killing me! And what's with all this nonsense saying she doesn't have a cosmo? I'm telling you, SHE DOES!"

Aiolia rolled his eyes. "See? THAT'S what we're talking about."

The Cancer saint glared at the Lion, but did not bother to snap back at him. Despite his usual attitude, Deathmask was actually still weak and would've stayed in his room if Athena didn't tell him to come out.

Saori sighed. "Camus...Deathmask...I'm sorry for telling you to attend this meeting...You still need to rest. It will be quick, I promise. Where is Shaka, by the way?"

Saga scratched his head. "That blonde-haired Buddha is never late...so where the heck is he?"

"Yeah. We're already in the Pope's Hall but he's not even here yet!" Kanon said, "which reminds me...the creepy brat didn't show up today, either."

"I'll go check," Mu offered.

Everybody agreed, so he walked downstairs to the sixth Temple and knocked on the door.

"Shaka?" he called.

When there was no answer, the Aries saint decided to enter.

Just as he was about to call again, Mu stopped dead.

Inside, was the Virgo saint himself, collapsed on the marble floor of the House of the Maiden .

~END OF FOURTH CHAPTER~

A/N: Fourth Chapter, done XDDD I'm sorry if it was too long and please review