17/5/19
It's been a large gap between edits, mostly I've been busy with life and other stories. Future updates will vary.
Not 100% on this but if I don't finish it now, I won't ever get around to publishing.
o-o-o-o-o
Chapter 8: Dreams
"You know what I don't understand." Koga started vaguely and Eden turned to glance at her.
"Don't understand what?" He questioned when Koga didn't say anything for several moments.
She sighed heavily, the noise almost sounding like she suddenly found speaking took too much energy and squinted up at him. Eden snorted at the look, admitting that Koga looked adorable when she made that expression.
"Why I have the sudden desire to go travelling."
"Travelling?" Eden raised a brow; now that he thought about it, spending time just living and moving without any real destination in mind did sound rather fun and interesting.
"Yes." She hissed, clenching her fists and Eden hummed, resisting the urge to snort again.
"I can see why you'd want to do that." He agreed.
"Really?" Koga grinned up at him. "The idea of getting to visit all these places just waiting to be explored is what really gets my blood pumping!"
Eden chuckled. "Of course."
"Are you mocking me?" Koga dramatically gasped and Eden smirked down at her.
"Am I?"
Koga narrowed her eyes, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugged him down to leer at him playfully. "Careful Orion, best watch yourself—never know what I can truly do." She smirked.
Eden met her eyes and smirked wider, accepting her challenge. "You best be careful too, Pegasus-chan." Eden purred lowly, enjoying the red tint that brushed Koga's cheeks at the pet name. He lent closer, to the point that their noses brushed, getting lost in the large bambi brown orbs before him, who were just as lost as he was.
Time suddenly didn't exist to them, yet the feeling of the evening breeze on their skin and hair proved it did.
Koga's grip tightened on Eden's shirt and he didn't miss the way her eyes flickered to his lips before finding his eyes again.
The Orion Saint didn't waste the moment given to them, closing the space between them and pressed his lips against Koga's. She gave a sharp exhale before she returned it clumsily.
Eden pressed into the kiss, taking lead as the hand that had grasped his shirt slid to his neck alongside the other. His own hands found refuge on her hips and gripped tightly, tugging her closer to him as he finally pulled away. He didn't go far, letting their noses brush again as they took the chance to breathe.
Koga met his eyes and smiled.
o-o-o-o-o
She was met with an odd sensation, one of floating (because hey, last thing she remembers was going to bed) and instinctively she opened her eyes in surprise, they widened as an unfamiliar space filled her vision.
In fact, it was space that met her eyes. Turning her head, all she saw was the same strange, ethereal galaxy full of stars and nebula.
Despite how breathtaking it was, Koga was more curious about where she was then the actually place.
Shifting slightly, Koga finally realized she was wearing odd clothing. A skin tight dark leotard with blue patterning, the straps hidden by a burgundy fur hood of sorts. Around her waist, held together by a large dark pin or sorts, was a piece of burgundy fabric that acted as a skirt with the ends having wear and tear. The entirety of her arms and legs were bare and her hair was loose, floating all about in the nebula space around her.
She brushed her fringe from her eyes and Koga's heart pounded as she noticed the similarities the outfit held with Abzu.
Looking below her, Koga noticed was seemed to be a floor made of water.
She wiggled a bit and glared at it. How would she—Koga yelped as she began to descend. As her feet touched the water, ripples formed.
She stared in awe but when her feet were fully on the water, the space around her suddenly started to change and shift. She was hit with a wave of vertigo as the floor seemed to sudden spin and she was engulfed by the water.
Gasping, Koga's eyes shot up as something moved before her eyes. What on earth—
She watched on in confusion as she spotted Soma, a short blue haired boy and herself. She took a deep breath as she noticed the armour she was wearing, it was Pegasus but more... advanced, perhaps was the word. She wasn't sure, but the armour was bulkier and in amazing condition, she hardly looked any older then she was now, maybe a year or two?
She watched as Soma and herself began to talk to one another, the blue haired blue speaking briefly before they started to attack someone. She couldn't make the words out no matter how hard she tried (she couldn't even hear a thing) but she was only ten—fifteen feet away from them.
Suddenly the scene changed again and she was back at the Sanctuary, she spotted her mum and dad—everyone she's met recently and other Saints. Herself and her friends among them, knelt before Athena and the Gold Saints.
Yet again (frustratingly so) she was unable to hear what was being saying.
The scene kept changing, only briefly stopping on pieces, like Genbu dying, Koga helping a young girl with yellow hair, her learning a new attack. Facing powerful people. Her becoming stone as she tried to break through a large gate way only to be turned back to normal by her mother and her Saints. They then gained another set of armour, an even more advanced upgrade of sorts.
The next part gained her attention as it skipped over a few things but she managed to catch glimpses of the young girl from before but taller? It stopped when it reached a scene where she and her friends were attacking someone else, who Koga guessed to be the 'main enemy'.
One by one they were knocked down dead, making Koga's heart pound faster. She was last to fall but moments later she rose again but this time in yet another armour.
There were no words for Koga to use to describe it, it was more than breath taking and took on golden, blue and a dark purple colouring. With the new armour, she continued to fight but she was only shown images, snippets of it. When it was over, there was a bright light which made Koga cover her eyes to shield them but it wouldn't prepare her for what she saw next.
The light faded and she saw everyone standing and well but when she turned around, her heart seemed to stop in her chest. The person she was looking at dropped to their knees, blood pouring from their stomach and lips.
They attempted to stop the major blood lose but it seemed to just slip through their fingers, the person looked up with a look that made Koga hold back a sob as she covered her mouth, she dropped to her knees just as the person began to fall sideways. The others rushing forwards towards them, shouting the person's name.
"!"
Koga gasped awake, torso pitching upwards sharply but she fell onto her back, her hands covered her mouth as she sobbed. She turned onto her side and curled into a ball.
o-o-o-o-o
When Saori found Koga sat on the stairs at the top of the Twelve Temples at four in the morning, she could remember when Koga had been a child who would always awaken at odd hours during the early morning. However, as she got older, it occurred less and less, so when Saori stepped out to look over Sanctuary she was more than pleasantly surprised to see her daughter.
But then again, Shun's words and her and Seiya's suspicions wore away most of the surprise.
Having heard someone approaching, Koga turned to greet the person. She gave a forced tired smile when she saw her mother. "Morning, mum."
"Why are you up so early?" Saori asked as she sat beside her daughter.
"Can't sleep." Was the response.
"Nightmares?" Saori asked curiously.
Koga paused, pondering on if what she'd dream about was really a nightmare, then shook her head. "A part of me wants it to be..."
Saori frowned and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, the action made Koga turn to look at the Goddess. "Koga, what do you mean?"
Koga took a deep breath before meeting her mother's eye, there was a look in her brown eyes that seemed to be debating whether the tell her or not.
Looking down at her hands, Koga sighed. "I had this weird... dream. If you could even call it that. I had been in this weird place but it changed and I... well I saw myself, Soma and some boy."
"..."
When Koga didn't get a reply, she looked up to her mother and began to ramble. "The part that confused me was Soma and I were wearing our cloths but they were different. It's hard to explain but then the setting change again and again to different things." Running a hand through her hair, Koga bit her lip. "I... I saw us fighting against some people, I wasn't able to hear anything but there were four people who were wearing some cloths that were extremely powerful, they also had some swords. Three guys and one woman." Saori tensed for a few moments before shook her head.
"It's possible that you have been gifted with the sight of the future, the gift of a seer. It's extremely rare for you to find someone who has Cosmos with it. Only two or three people have it every generation and even then, most struggle with understanding what they see." Saori explained softly.
"Really?" Koga murmured and Athena nodded.
o-o-o-o-o
Koga stretched her arms above her head and grinned at Seiya, who rolled his shoulders. They suddenly got in defensive stances before they began two circle each other.
Koga moved first, launching at Seiya, who in turn grabbed her wrist and went to flip her over his shoulder when Koga pulled back sharply and Seiya when with her. She used the stumble to land a knee to the stomach.
The Sagittarius Saint stumbled back before grinning up at the Pegasus Saint, he ran at her and slid to the side, grabbed the back of her shirt and flipped her over him and as she hit the ground, Koga rolled a few feet with a grunt.
Doing a backwards roll, Koga was back on her feet and leapt at Seiya once more, doing something similar to what Seiya had but instead flipped over his head and using both feet to kick him in the back. Seiya landed face first in the dirt.
Koga winced slightly and hissed, glancing down at her arm.
"Is it hurting still?" Seiya asked as he got to his feet and walked over, brushing the dirt of his face and clothes as he did.
Koga let out a deep sigh, clenching her fist. "Yeah."
Seiya placed a hand on Koga's shoulder and she glanced up at him. Seiya smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to pull Koga into a side hug. She immediately returned it, her arms snaking around his torso and rested her head into crock of his neck.
Seiya ran a hand through Koga's fringe, resting his cheek on her scalp. The two stayed like that for a while, silently enjoying the peace and quiet.
Finally, Koga shifted and lifted her head. "Hey Dad."
"Yeah?" Seiya pulled back to glance down at his daughter.
"Uh, I have something I want to tell you." Koga said sheepishly and tapped her index fingers together.
Seiya raised a brow, an amused look on his face only for it to drop and his eye twitch at what Koga told him.
"Eden and I are dating."
…
…
…
Seiya cursed. "I didn't think he'd ask you out this soon."
Koga blinked not once nor twice but rather three times before reacting to what her father had said. She frowned. "You knew?"
Seiya laughed. "I know the Orion kid likes you Koga, and your own interactions with him told me you like him too."
Koga burned red, a pout tugging at her lips. She jabbed him in the side and Seiya yelped. "Hey!"
"Shut up or I'll tell Mum about your true feeling for her!" Koga grinned wickedly as Seiya gasped and stared at her with wide eyes before narrowing them.
"You wouldn't..."
"Try me." Koga smirked before shooting of towards her the Twelve Zodiac's stairs that led to Athena's person sanctuary.
"K-Koga!" Seiya spluttered before sprinting after his daughter.
Koga laughed loudly as she ran from him, the chase catching tohers Saints attention when they ran passed them. Most found it amusing to watch the Gold Saint failing to catch a Bronze.
o-o-o-o-o
Koga yawned, rubbing her heavy lids sleepily as she pottered about her and Yuna's room. Passing by the mirror, she froze solid as she caught her reflection. She stumbled away and covered her mouth with a hand. Tearful eyes glanced back at the mirror only to see nothing out of the ordinary, she let out a deep breath.
"You imaging things, Koga, nothing to worry about." She whispered. Taking another breath, Koga looked into the mirror before pulling off her clothes.
She stared into the mirror, her eyes scanning over her body. Crossing her arms over her bra, she turned and looked over her shoulder.
"See nothing." No blood or anything, Koga shook her head before pulling on her PJ, letting her hair out of the braid, only the pause mid movement. Koga stared back at the mirror before she quickly made her mind up.
She grabbed the scissors from the drawer and took a hold of some of her hair before...
SNIP, SNIP SNIP.
That was the only sound that hit Koga's ears as she continued to cut her hair. If it's going to happen in the future why not make it happen now? Koga thought as she finished cutting the former waist length hair that was now shoulder length.
She nodded to herself, it was still longer than her hair from before but shorter than it had been moments prior, to Koga it was the perfect length for the time being.
o-o-o-o-o
The pain within her chest was unbearable, like it was crushing her heart, she gasped out in agony.
She could feel the darkness swelling inside her heart, the darkness that she was supposed to have but her mother, Athena, protecting her within her warm light Cosmos had sealed it off. But that seal was gone.
Koga's eye teared up as she felt the darkness embrace her but the embrace was unlike she thought it would be. The embrace was warm and welcoming her in to the enclosed hug. As much as Koga wanted to give in and accept the embrace she knew it wasn't right, if she would accept it she didn't know what would happened but she did know it would not be good.
Koga grabbed her head as she let out a cry, tears falling from her eyes.
Despite fighting, it did not seemed to be enough and the Cosmos slowly began to take hold of the its young host, making her skin pale turn grey and eyes bleed to a deep crimson.
The embrace from before wrapped around her, taking the fact that the young child was caught off guard as lightning struck the ground and she was send rolling down the hill.
S-she couldn't give up! S-she... need to... fight... why was she so suddenly tired? The embrace seemed to nudge the young child into accepting the tiredness. NO! No... n-no... she couldn't! She shouldn't! But the warm embrace was so comforting and encouraged her to sleep.
S-she shouldn't, it was wrong but she was so, so tired—what would a small sleep do? Koga subconsciously closed her eyes and accepted the embrace that now held her tightly. She was being held to a chest, her head resting on a shoulder. The being had an arm placed on her back and one gently laying over stomach.
She flinched and whimpered as she felt—watched her body—Abzu fight her friends. She felt a hand smooth over her hair and encouraged her to return to her sleep.
NO! She shouldn't! The God was hurting her friends and would kill her Mother! Koga gasped and begin to fight against the embrace, trying, trying to regain control of her body but it seemed Yami wouldn't have it and hissed. The warm embrace suddenly disappeared and Koga gasped awake inside the darkness and was surround by mirrors of all different sizes.
Stumbling to her feet Koga spun around before her glowing red eyes locked onto the largest mirror, her eyes widened as she saw reflection stared back at her with grey skin, glowing red eyes and a large smirk.
It faked a pout. "What's the matter Koga." The reflection purred and a shiver ran down her back. Koga didn't say anything but glared at the reflection that she knew wasn't really her.
Her other-self rolled her eyes before staring down at Koga with a sense of smugness. "Why do you reject you true Cosmos? You know you want too, it will only be a matter of time. Your friends won't be around much longer after all—"She gestured to the mirror next to her to show what was happened outside of Koga's subconsciousness. Koga swallowed thickly a she watched her friends all try to get her to wake up.
Tears formed within Koga's eyes as she watched what Abzu was doing, she gritted her teeth. "Stop!" She glared at Abzu, who just looked amused.
Abzu chuckled, a chuckle that along would send a shiver down the spines of the mightiest
"Why would I so that? I have full control of your body." She purred with a wicked smirk. "I can do whatever I want, but I need to remove of... the Goddess, Athena, or—" Anzu locked eyes with Koga as she uttered the next words. "Should I call her mother?"
Koga snarled, a growl escaping her throat. Abzu simple continued to smirked wickedly as she got a rise out of her young host.
Abzu's loud laugh echoed.
Koga jolted wake with a sharp inhale. Sitting up, Koga pushed the blanket down. She closed her eyes tightly as she continued to hear Abzu's laugh ring within her mind.
Shaking her head a few times, Koga shifted and climbed out of bed. It was beginning to get too much. Glancing at the object Koga feared the most, she took in her appearance; she could see that the fact of lack of sleep was beginning to show on her face. Purple bags were forming under her eyes and her face was unnaturally pale. She let out a deep sigh before tearing her eyes away from the mirror.
Swallowing, Koga stepped towards the drawer where her Cloth stone sat. Staring down at it, Koga gently picked the broken stone up and ran her thumb over it with sad eyes.
o-o-o-o-o
"Aw Koga, why did you cut your hair?" Yuna pouted as she lifted up a few strands.
"I'm agreeing with Yuna." Haruto stated, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You looked lovely with long hair."
Koga blinked with a frown, she thought differently from them. She sighed before replying. "I don't really like long hair, truth be told I used to have it just below my chin but grew it out for training so I could pull it back."
The group blinked at the discovery, trying to image Koga with that length of hair but it didn't seemed like it would suit the young Pegasus Saint.
Souma grinned and draped his arm over Koga's shoulders. "I don't think I can image you with that length of hair Koga, I mean went we first meet you hair was just passed your shoulders but to have it that short? Meh."
The group laughed at Souma's words, Ryuho spoke up next. "Well either way I think that this length suits you better than pervious."
"What suits her better?" Eden asked as he entered, the group—minus Koga and Haruto—jumped at his voice.
"We were discussing Koga's new hair length." Yuna replied as Souma spun himself around, taking Koga with him as his arm was over his shoulders to face Eden.
He removed his arm as Koga grunted lightly. Eden stepped over and tilted his head as he picked up a few strands of her hair. "I like it, it's a nice length and it suits her perfectly." Eden's lips twisted upwards as Koga blushed and started stuttering out a thank you.
The others grinned at the flustered Pegasus Saint, she glared at them and they laughed.
"H-hey! It's not nice to laugh at people!"
They just laughed louder and Koga hid her face in her hands, Eden narrowed his eyes slightly as he took notice of Koga's unnaturally pale face and the more noticeable bags that were under her eyes. Making a metal note to ask about it later, he gently tugged on Koga's elbow and gestured to the door.
The two exited and the laughing group failed to notice them leave until they were no longer in sight.
"Hey, where'd Koga and Eden go?" Ryuho asked, blinking.
Souma grinned. "They're probably gone off somewhere together." He wiggled his brows at the silent suggestion that he was making, Yuna snickered and Haruto and Ryuho smiled.
o-o-o-o-o
Koga and Eden, fingers linked, mostly pottered around the edge of Sanctuary, avoiding others and quietly chatting.
"I think I might return home for a while." Koga offered, seemingly out of nowhere and Eden blinked, tilting his head.
"Not go travelling?"
She laughed breathlessly. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I think I just need some time to heal, y'know? Getting out of Sanctuary for a bit might help."
Eden hummed. "Away from some of the cause, it'll do good mentally."
Koga smiled up at him softly, her exhaustion filtering through. Eden bowed his head, resting his forehead against Koga's. He teased: "As long as you keep contact."
Koga grinned, tilting her head just a bit to connect their lips, Eden returned it.