WARNING: Blood, violence, references to death.

The Strongest Fist and Shield

Saori sat in a comfortable armchair in the very middle of a fascinating room, the ceiling and walls covered in stars and nebulae, similar to the starry dome of the Graad Colosseum. This star room was built somewhere under the Kido Mansion, and she oft used it to lose herself in meditation. As expected, she was deep in thought after the last tournament battle.

"Grandfather," she whispered, "things have started off strangely with the tournament. I believe the enemy you spoke of is already onto us." With a bulky controller in a hand, she runs a recording of Hyoga's attitude in his fight. Saori paused right at the point where he lifted his head to glare at the cabin. "What is he here for? He and Shiryu came on their own without any convincing. There's no way they could want the Gold Cloth this badly."

Pressing another button, the recording was rewound until she played the final moments of the fight. Each and every strike was full of murderous intent, without a shadow of a doubt. "No. This can't be a fight for the Gold Cloth. This is an attempted assassination." She breathed deeply, feeling an emptiness in her chest. "Hyoga has come to kill Saints." Once the image of him looking up repeated, Saori paused it and stood off the chair. "Something must've happened in Siberia."

She turned off the recording, left the controller behind her, and went around the armchair, a hand on its back. "I can only hope Shiryu doesn't have the same idea. If one of the Saints dies during the tournament, our reputation would be... I can't allow this."

A week later, a large crowd yet again gathered to watch the next stage of the Galaxian Wars, flooding gates to the Colosseum. A small group of protestors — both foreign and local — were distributing pamphlets critical of Graad and the competition, a sentiment sparked by more people after the Cygnus and Lionet clash. One of them spoke into a megaphone: "Rome has fallen! Life is not a game! Murder is not fun! Shut down Graad! Life is not a game!"

Two attendees read the contents of the pamphlets, a multiple-language essay about the Graad Foundation's involvement with international gambling, a theory that it had illegally subtracted children into Sainthood for the tournament, and scathing criticism of the normalization of violence for entertainment. "What are they on about? How's this any different from boxing?" one of the young men said.

"You've got to be kidding me. This is in a completely different level than boxing, man! Did you see what the ice guy did last week?"

"I don't think that was real though."

"Believe whatever you want, it looked awesome. He's my favorite so far."

Shunrei passed by these two and grabbed a pamphlet of her own. Reading it only made her more concerned about Shiryu's upcoming match with Seiya, so she crumpled the paper and left it in a trash bin. For a split second, however, she saw a strange movement in the corner of her eyes, where no one should normally be. At the very top of the Colosseum, a starkly human contour moved off into hiding. "Hm?" She nodded that off as some worker tending for the Colosseum's structure and continued towards a gate.

Missing Shun and June, there was no friend to be with Seiya in the locker room, so he ran in place while wearing the Pegasus Cloth, warming up for the fight. "Right, right… if I stay alert and fight as hard as possible, he won't stand a chance." He did three mock punches into the air. "I have to be as relentless as Hyoga. Or… m-maybe not that relentless."

He heard someone come into the restroom. Turning to see, he was surprised by the sight of the Dragon Saint, his opponent. His Cloth had a greenish hue to it, the circlet with a crest of a Chinese dragon head, its whiskers extending into a long curve. The chest and shoulder plates were broad and full of angles, three claws creeping from behind each of the two pads. The left gauntlet had a round shield much larger than that of Cygnus', and the right gauntlet had bulky pieces of metal extending from the forearm to the knuckles. "Seiya," Shiryu said in respect.

"Sh… Shiryu! You're the Dragon Saint after all! I knew I had recognized you in the ceremony."

It seemed he wasn't there for long introductions or reminiscing. "I need you to throw the match, Seiya. I don't want to hurt you."

Seiya responded with a scowl: "Huh? No deal! So you came here to ask me to give up?"

"I must take the Gold Cloth, it's of utmost importance."

"Well, I have my reasons to win this tournament too, Shiryu. I won't back down."

Dragon turned around and calmly left. "Then I'll have to give you my all. I'll see you in the arena," he said before going out the door. Uneasiness caught onto Seiya again, imagining that someone like Shiryu was likely to be as strong as a Saint like Shun.

Outside, in higher-end seats of the Colosseum, Shun and June sat near the Saints' bleachers, looking to find Seiya. The most expensive tickets were sold for those spots, but Saori gave them two free ones in order to watch the next stage in comfort.

"Where is he?"

"He hasn't come out yet. He's probably getting ready in the locker room," said Shun.

When Seiya walked out into the observation area, June became overtly excited and yelled with tiny jumps: "There he is! Seiya! Seiya!" Pegasus looked up at the two. "We're rooting for you!"

"Good luck, Seiya!"

Seiya smiled and waved back at them. Although the next fight would be difficult, he had friends rooting for him, not only in the Colosseum but also back in the orphanage, with Miho and the kids. That somehow made him feel at ease.

The dome closed like it did in the first day of the tournament, and once more the stars and foot lights switched on. The announcer came through the speakers: "Today marks the second phase of The Galaxian Wars. In the first match, Dragon faces Pegasus! In the second match, the ruthless Cygnus faces Hydra!" The energy in the building went up a couple degrees, with the crowd beginning to cheer in expectation. "The winner of the first match will face Andromeda's chain, whereas the winner of the second match will face Chameleon's razor-sharp whip!" The tournament tree appeared on the panels again, to remind people of where everyone stood.

Seeing that Pegasus and Dragon had already been called out to the halls to prepare for their fight, there was no more reason to delay it. "Without further ado, let's get to the first match. Dragon Shiryu! Pegasus Seiya!"

The two combatants walked in, June being especially loud for her friend, while Shunrei experienced more fear than any excitement. Seiya and Shiryu looked at each other. At that point it was undeniable that they would give it their all, despite holding no animosities against one another.

Both got into position, Shiryu closing his eyes. Once the fight began, he opened them and charged with violence at Seiya, who had the same idea. Their arms collided and the two of them skid across the floor, a meter between them.

Seiya led the next charge, and Shiryu defended just as quickly, lifting the left gauntlet every time. Their movements flowed beautifully before collision, but it was Pegasus on the offensive, not once Dragon. Some of the blows were heavy enough to generate shock waves that made strands of their hair fly up, especially Shiryu's, long as it was.

People marveled at the ability of both Saints. The only combatant they saw move this frantically was June, arguably the fastest of them all, and it was known that Seiya was quite fast, however, Shiryu seemed to keep up too well for comfort.

Eventually the avalanche of defended hits was pushed back by the shield, and Pegasus had been burning Cosmos a while during the ordeal. His right fist disappeared in a flash of light once he yelled: "PEGASUS METEOR FIST!"

Spheres of energy exploded in Dragon's direction, nearly every single one of them defended by his fast-moving left arm. The few that did pass through glanced off his Cloth ineffectively, which surprised Seiya and the other Saints.

"Did that guy just... defend every single punch?" June asked Shun.

"Not all of them, but most. Seiya is fast on the offensive, but Shiryu seems to be just as quick defensively."

"Okay, but the guy barely even flinched!"

"As expected from the Dragon Cloth," said Shun, yet June was still confused.

Shiryu wandered menacingly around Pegasus, who stared in disbelief. "Don't be surprised. This is the Cloth that rested centuries under the waterfall of the Rozan Mountains, the Dragon Cloth!" He stopped on his tracks and crossed both arms, shield in front. "Bathing under the mineral water of Rozan for so long made its fist and shield harder than diamonds. This Cloth is impenetrable, Seiya!" he finished that while slowly lowering the gauntlets back into position.

Pegasus clenched his teeth. "There has to be a way," he said.

"Let me give you a taste of my fist now. Receive the force of the waterfall that for so long bathed this Cloth!" Shiryu took a large stride all the way to his opponent, throwing a hit with the shield hand which was easily defended. Seiya noticed the Dragon Saint was emanating a strange heat, but it was too late to escape. "ROZAN RISING DRAGON!"

With an uppercut, strings of energy spiraled from the floor and quickly upwards, lifting Seiya in the air hopelessly. The force was indeed akin to that of a massive waterfall, tearing off parts of the Pegasus Cloth like burning paper. Slowing down and then falling back to the ground, Seiya dove face first, not a movement in sight. The countdown began.

"No! That can't be it! Get up, Seiya!" June screamed.

"Seiya, come on!" Shun still believed in his friend.

Even Miho and the kids, experiencing their own trouble while watching the fight in the orphanage with a tube TV, put their hopes that such wasn't the end. "You always get up when you fall, don't you?" Miho muttered. "Then do it! Get up again and fight!"

Seiya slammed a palm against the ground with enough will to impress Dragon. The countdown stopped, and he got up chuckling. "What's so funny?" Shiryu asked.

"I get it now."

"Get what?"

"More than you'd like."

Shiryu frowned, taking that as a bluff. "I've already said it before, if you remain between me and the Gold Cloth, I will beat you until you can no longer stand."

"Then try it! The fight has just begun!" Seiya challenged him, glowing with Cosmos.

This time it was Dragon that went for the first offensive, ferociously so. The weakened Pegasus Cloth gained more and more cracks with the continuous contact it had with Dragon's gauntlet, tiny pieces jumping off. That didn't matter to Seiya, as he seemed to study an opportunity, and once he found it, he headbutted Shiryu's right forearm, exposing his own head entirely.

In the heat of the fight, Shiryu took advantage of this situation with a well-placed punch, however, Seiya crouched back and held the opponent's left hand in place. The result was that, although Seiya's head nearly got hit twice, the Dragon Cloth's gauntlet slammed its own shield, shattering both into pieces.

Feeling something wrong, Shiryu pulled back and vigorously kicked Pegasus in the face, launching him moderately far. He looked aghast at his armor, its best tools reduced to metal rubble that dropped straight to the floor. "This can't be possible! How did he break the Dragon Cloth?"

Pegasus' state was far from ideal, but he got up nonetheless, a red splatter marking his nose. He smirked, teeth stained with a pool of blood that he spit out to speak: "Since I couldn't penetrate your Cloth myself, I made it do all the work."

"Why did the Dragon Cloth break when he did that?" June asked Shun in the audience.

Shun was lost in thought, hand under his chin. "Hmmm… I wouldn't expect Seiya of all people to come up with this so quickly. There's an old Chinese tale of a blacksmith whose shields could not be penetrated, and whose spears could penetrate anything. To no one's surprise, he was very popular in the village, and soon became quite rich, but not for long."

"Eh?"

"One day, he noticed people stopped visiting his shop altogether. He found out it was due to a loophole discovered by his clients: if you strike an infinitely impenetrable shield with an infinitely penetrating spear, both are destroyed."

"And Seiya found that out by himself?"

"It seems so, in his own way."

"Wow…" June waved her hands in the air and continued cheering. "Go Sei-ya!"

"I see." Shiryu smiled. "I took you for granted. That was a smart, albeit reckless, move. You're no longer in condition to fight."

Seiya refused to accept defeat. "Think again. I won't give up while I still have life in me."

"Reasoning with you is useless, as per usual." Dragon began taking off most of his Cloth, which impressed the audience. He was now only wearing light pants and the boots, torso fully uncovered. Between the swollen muscles of his back they saw a large tattoo of a Chinese dragon, a claw aligned with the height of his heart from behind, glowing a vivid green with Cosmos. "Without the gauntlet and shield, this Cloth is dead weight. I'll have to defeat you without it."

Seiya also began removing the remains of his destroyed Cloth, coming down to his ripped t-shirt and pants. "Fine. I won't fight against a handicapped opponent."

Shunrei held her hands tightly together watching from her seat. "Shiryu… this is getting too dangerous, like I feared."

"This isn't good!" Shun told June. "Their bodies will take every blow directly!"

Saori was particularly disquieted by this. Sitting in an armchair illuminated by the white lights of her cabin, she looked behind and called: "Tatsumi! Tatsumi, get over here!"

Tatsumi responded and arrived at the door in the back. "Yes, Miss Kido?"

"Tell the crew to have two medical teams at the ready."

"Oh… understood, Miss Kido."

The two Saints faced off once more. "Come on!" Seiya screamed, and both charged back into an intense trade of blows, this time much more careful than before. If they didn't dodge the hardest of attacks, they were more likely to be incapacitated, so elusiveness was key at this stage of the fight.

This extra caution was not enough to keep them untouched; whenever strikes landed on their bodies and faces, they were left bruised and blemished. Once it was clear that both were even in power and ability, and that they had been moving nonstop for so long that they needed air, both took a breather from a distance. The soreness of all the wounds was also taking a toll on them, so an end had to come sooner than later.

Seiya whispered to himself, panting: "Use that move again. Do it and…" Suddenly, vertigo tilted the sense of his surroundings. It dawned on him that the hit he took directly to the head probably caused a concussion, if not something worse. His legs faltered with the way the ground seemed to shift below.

Seeing that his opponent was dazed, Shiryu took the chance without question. He cut through the sound barrier, hammering Pegasus with a punch that was surprisingly dodged. Still having an upper hand, he exchanged a couple more blows and prepared for the final move. "ROZAN RISING DRAGON!"

"Now! PEGASUS METEOR FIST!" Seiya shouted in response, sending his punch and body against Shiryu's at an alarming velocity. He ended up on the ground over the other man, fist pummeled over his chest.

Dragon was shaking, almost failing to keep his head up and look at the one who beat him. "You… you…" His once collected and deep voice was now frail, and his calm gaze, disturbed. "You found it... the Rising Dragon's fatal flaw." He huffed for some more air, eyes lazing up into his skull, then fell limp on the ground.

By grabbing the flesh of Shiryu's right side of the chest, Seiya noted the clear lack of a beat. Knowing what had just occurred, he lifted the other arm and called for help. "His heart! Medic! He needs a medic!"

As per Saori's orders, two fully prepared teams were ready to carry out both Saints, and they stormed in not minding the countdown.

"No, Shiryu!" Shunrei ran from her seat and down the stairs. Taking two security men by surprise, she was able to storm past them to find a passage to the arena.

Hyoga watched that scene unfold before his eyes, more confused than shocked. "This makes no sense," he said. "Why would they go this far? I don't think these two are fighting for personal gain."

Shiryu was carefully yet rapidly placed onto a stretcher, a doctor checking his beat as everyone moved. "No beat. We have to resuscitate him!" he said.

Shunrei ran in, security unable to catch her, and told the ones rescuing Dragon to wait, which they reluctantly did. She then made her way straight to Seiya, who had a flashlight beamed into his eyes to test for any brain injury. "Seiya, please!" Her usual shy voice had gotten louder, and tears streamed down her face. "You have to help Shiryu, only you can!"

Finally the two security men put their hands on her shoulders, but Seiya signaled them to leave her be, and they complied. "How?" he asked.

"Old Master says only an opposite blow of the same intensity can restart the heart after the Rising Dragon!"

It was less than a year before this that Shiryu had mastered the Rising Dragon. His training was arduous, an attempt at reversing a waterfall's course through means of his own power. Everything he threw at it was either only enough to stop the flow, or to briefly splash water upwards. That was until the day that his effort paid off.

To witness the soon-to-be Dragon Saint make a waterfall so long and wide run its way to the heavens was a cathartic experience. Old Master was satisfied, but by knowing a powerful technique, one should also be aware of its shortcomings, and as such he taught: "Shiryu, the Rising Dragon is an extremely devastating technique, unparalleled among Bronze Saints, and even fearsome to some Saints of higher ranks. However, it comes with some flaws, one of which is possibly fatal."

"A fatal flaw? You're the one who taught me and helped me perfect this technique, how could it have a fatal flaw?"

"In order to redirect the Cosmos out of your fist, for a second — no, perhaps a parcel of a second — your heart is exposed to the enemy." Old Master touched his cane to Shiryu's chest. "When you use the Rising Dragon, the flow of your blood shifts violently in a single direction. If at that moment an enemy strikes your heart with force, your heartbeat will come to a halt."

"If it's only for a split second, then it's unlikely that this will ever happen," the apprentice seemed to brush aside the worry with an easygoing smile.

"No! This could mean the end of your life, Shiryu, so pay heed to my words," Old Master reinforced. "Once a blow stops the heart during a Rising Dragon, only a blow of the same force from the back may restart it, so use this technique sparingly. Do not be rash!"

"Y-yes, Old Master."

The bawling Shunrei asked once more for Seiya to help: "Only you can save him! I beg you, don't let Shiryu die!"

There was no doubt that he had to try this. Pegasus stood up, ignoring the medic's warning. "Be careful, you took a hard blow to the head."

Shun and June had jumped from the half-walls and barriers. "Excuse us! Sorry, excuse us! Coming through, sorry!" June was the one who jumped into the arena first, and Shun right behind her. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Shun, June, hold Shiryu up with his back towards me and brace for impact," Seiya told them.

"Uhm… understood!" Shun grabbed the body with the aid of June, ensuring the medics that this seemed necessary. They carried him over near a wall and turned his back, and to everyone's despair, the once limpid dragon tattoo was now beginning to fade, Cosmos dimmed.

As Pegasus aimed his fist, he felt a daze strike him for the second time, much harder than the first. He nearly stumbled to the side, but a sturdy pillar held him. It was Hyoga, who made sure to hold his hand forward. "Don't pass out yet," he said, then looking at Shiryu's back. "If that dragon fades, I think he's dead."

The Colosseum was plunged into silence. Seiya saved up as much Cosmos as he could muster in that condition, seeking precision in the coming strike. He noticed the right claw of the dragon paired perfectly with the location of Shiryu's heart from the back, and forthwith made a choice. "PEGASUS METEOR FIST!" With all the hope and strength left in him, Seiya zapped fist first against his old friend's back.

The three were thrown at the barrier, adding another large hole to it. June was flung to the side, having to get up, but Shun fell with an ear close to Shiryu's back, clinging to the side of his body.

It seemed impossible, but the venue became quieter. Saori stood from her seat and came close to the edge of her cabin, hugging her own shoulders in anticipation. Shun heard it. "It's beating!"

"Yes, yes!" Saori teared up, the crowd cheered... even Hyoga, as calculating as he often was, opened a genuine smile.

Shunrei fell to her knees, weeping now in relief. "Thank you, Seiya. Thank you so much…"