Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ Warped Reflection ❯ On Bets, Fights, and Observant Hellspawn ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Shun leaned over the balcony and sighed. He’d been worried at first, when he realized that he had somehow stumbled into another dimension, but he wasn’t now. It was strange of course, everyone acted just a little differently. Shiryu didn’t joke as much and kept his eyes shut. Ikki was a little more over-protective and Saori a little closer to all of them. Hyoga had worried him, though. The Hyoga he was used to was cold and aloof, yes, but not like this. His Hyoga smiled and teased and froze Seiya and Elektra’s feet to the ground when they started fighting. And that was the other thing. In this dimension, there was no Elektra.

“There you are.”

Shun turned around to face Hyoga, “Sorry. I like to come out here when I’m thinking. Were you looking for me?”

Hyoga nodded, “Dinner’s ready and Ikki and Seiya are starting to fight again.” Shun rolled his eyes. Even without Elektra, it seemed Seiya always found someone to fight with. Hyoga stepped up next to him and leaned over the balcony, “This was my room when we were children, wasn’t it?”

Shun nodded, “It still is, in my dimension. It’s got the best view in the mansion,” he pointed to the courtyard, “but there’s a garden there, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen," he paused, smiling, "other than the one in the Pisces temple. There’s flowers that you’ll never find anywhere else.”

“There’s a garden in the Pisces temple?” Hyoga asked blankly.

Shun giggled, “Yes. It was Aphrodite’s pride and joy, and now that he’s dead Elektra and I tend it, though it mostly takes care of itself. The way she talks about him sometimes, you’d never know that he tried to kill me." He rolled his eyes, "I think Aphrodite’s the only one who she’d ever forgive for committing such a heinous crime.”

Hyoga gave something that might have been a chuckle, “She sounds like Ikki.”

“But if you froze nii-san’s mouth shut he’d probably try to kill you,”

Hyoga’s eyebrow arched, making Shun giggle again, “And why would I do that?”

“You do all the time in my dimension. You freeze Seiya and Elektra’s feet to the floor, too. It’s the only thing that keeps them from ripping each other’s throats out sometimes.”

“Hey you two! Our food’s getting cold!”

Hyoga and Shun looked at Ikki standing in the doorway, then looked at each other and Hyoga very nearly smiled. “Sorry, nii-san,” Shun apologized, “We’re coming.”

Shun watched Hyoga for a moment longer, trying to imagine how his own version of the ice saint was reacting to the situation. With a wry smile he followed his brothers out of the room. His Hyoga was probably too busy trying to keep Elektra and Ikki under control to think of much else.

“C’mon, Shun!”

/// Some things just never change

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Seiya announced as he appeared from the front of the plane, “How’s Shun doing?” He didn’t need to ask. Shun was fast asleep, leaning on Hyoga’s shoulder in a way that anyone else, save possibly Elektra, would have gotten Diamond Dusted for. “How cute.”

“Shut up, Seiya,” Hyoga growled.

“Stop bickering, you two,” Shiryu sighed, “it’s bad enough when Elektra and Seiya try to beat each other up.”

At that moment Shun lurched awake and Hyoga hand to catch him before he fell out if his seat. He struggled against Hyoga’s arms for a moment before falling limp, shaking in the elder’s grip.

“Calm down, Shun,” Hyoga whispered, pulling Shun close to him, “it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Shun rested his head against Hyoga’s shoulder, gasping and shaking, for several minutes. When he had finally calmed down he sat back and sighed, “I’m sorry... I...”

“It’s alright,” Shiryu replied, “we’re used to seeing the after-affects of nightmares.”

“What did you see?” Hyoga asked, worry laced in his calm voice.

Shun shuddered, “There was this woman... a beautiful woman with gold hair... and she had Elektra-san by the neck, choking her, yelling at her... but Elektra-san was smiling...”

“Aphrodite,” Hyoga muttered.

“Blood... she was hurt so badly... Elektra-san was bleeding everywhere... and her eyes... they were so cold... and the boy...”

“Boy?” Shiryu sat up a little.

“His eyes... they were completely empty... soulless... he said something... something about being the one to kill onee-chan...” Shun stopped, shaking his head, “and then... nothing but blood...”

“I think,” Shiryu mused, “we just found out what happened to Shun and Elektra while we were fighting Poseidon.”

The ringing silence that followed lasted till they reached the ground. They stepped off the plane and found a harassed and exhausted-looking Scorpio Milo waiting for them. He studied Shun for a moment, taking in the obvious differences from the last time he’d seen the Andromeda Saint, then turned and led them to the car waiting to take them to Sanctuary.

“Hyoga-kun?” Shun whispered as they walked.

“Poseidon and Aphrodite attacked us at the same time to split us up and make it easier to kill our Shun. Poseidon and Kanon took most of our attention, but while we were on our way to fight them Aphrodite and her minions interfered. Aphrodite very nearly killed Shun and, in a rage, Elektra went chasing after her to another realm. It’s a bad habit of hers.”

“Bad habit?” Seiya mocked, “More like a permanent death wish.”

Hyoga rolled his eyes, “When you, when our Shun found out he told us to go on ahead. He was going to make sure Elektra didn’t try to commit suicide again, and he took Sho, Ushio, and Daichi with them.” He looked up at the early dawn sky above them, “Whatever happened that day, they never told us. All we know is that Sho, Ushio, and Daichi got separated from them while they were fighting Aphrodite’s subordinates, Shun fought and killed Aphrodite on his own, and Elektra...” he trailed off.

“She’s been outta character ever since,” Seiya finished, “last night was the first time I’ve gotten her to argue with me since that day. She’s been really over-protective, too, like the way she reacted when Ikki told her about you.”

“When she came back,” Shiryu added, “she said something to Aioria, and it set him off as well. He locked himself in the Leo temple for two weeks, according to Mu. I think it has something to do with the boy you saw in your dream, Shun.”

Milo stopped and looked back at the four bronze saints, “I know you’re worried about your sister, but what happened that day is the only secret she and Shun have ever kept from you. Give them time, and they’ll tell you when they’re ready.”

“You know, don’t you?” Seiya accused.

Milo shook his head and continued walking, “I’ve got an idea, but the only ones outside of your siblings that know exactly what happened are Shaka and Aioria. Now come on, the others are waiting for us.”

/// Of Gods, Men, and Unholy Hellspawn

“Are you telling me that you aren’t the ones who caused the attacks?”

We had no hand in it, Siddhartha

Whatever attacked the saint training grounds was not of our power

Or even of this dimension

“What?”

The being that has taken up residence on Death Queen Island was not born in this dimension

We have no power over him

“Who is he?”

He is of the Godchildren

In whose veins runs the blood of our brother

But he is much more

“Shaka?” Shaka sighed and tilted his head in the direction of his visitor, to show he was listening, “The boys just arrived. Elektra, Ikki, and Daichi are on Death Queen Island right now, attempting to save Ushio.”

“Idiot girl,” Shaka muttered, hand tightening around his prayer beads.

“At least she’s not by herself this time. Did the gods have anything useful to say?”

Shaka gave a bitter smile that would have made Hyoga proud, “They’re as clueless as we are.”

“I see. I was afraid of that,” he turned and began to walk out of the temple, “You’ve been given orders to watch over Shun, by the way. He doesn’t have Hades’ pendant, so he’s extremely vulnerable.”

“Great,” Shaka muttered, “I finally get rid of one kid and I get another one.” He sighed and stood up, intent on checking to make sure there was still edible food in his makeshift kitchen, “And Mu?”

“Yes?”

“Your student is an observant little hellspawn.”

Mu chuckled and shot the Virgo saint a loving smile, “I’m pretty sure he picked it up form Elektra while she was in Jamir with us.” A sudden, frightening thought burst into his mind, “Oh dear...”

Shaka gave an involuntary shiver, “I think I’m going to meditate some more,” and sat down again.

‘How,’ Mu thought as he left, ‘do I get myself into these things?’ Kiki greeted him at the door to the Aries temple with a knowing smile normally associated with Seiya and Mu’s heart sank. It seemed that Kiki had, indeed, found out about their secret.

/// Please wait while we transfer you to the Elysian Fields

“Aiolos?”

The Sagittarius saint rolled onto his back to look up at his two younger siblings. Two pairs of starburst green eyes stared down at him, one set half-hidden under longer reddish-orange bangs and the other marred by a bruise around it. Ashra, long of hair and temper, more mature than any two of his other siblings and Rowan, effeminate enough to rival Shun and sporting short, red-orange hair that gave him the ‘stuck-your-finger-in-a-light-socket’ look, save for a thin braid of hair that protruded from behind one ear. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them, “They’re at it again.”

Ashra rolled his eyes and sat down on the lake’s edge next to Aiolos, “Who’d they piss off this time?”

Aiolos shrugged, “Not sure yet.”

“Care to take bets?” Rowan asked cheerfully.

Aiolos grunted and rolled back onto his stomach to watch Elektra and Ikki arguing in the lake, “Twenty American on Elektra getting back to Sanctuary more beaten up than the other three combined...”

Ashra snorted, “Who needs to bet on that? She’s always doing that. Remember the fight with the silver saints?”

“And Sanctuary?” Rowan added.

“And Poseidon’s cronies?”

“And-“

“I get it!” Aiolos interjected, “What about Mu and Shaka?”

Rowan shook his head, “Not yet. They won’t just to spite their students.”

The view in the lake turned to the Aries temple, where Mu was arguing with Kiki about Shaka. Most of the argument consisted off “Do not”s and “Do so”s, completely out of character for the normally stoic saint.

“Could it be any more obvious that they’re in love?” a voice chimed from behind them.

Aiolos smiled as a young woman with long, blue-green hair knelt on the grass at Ashra’s side, “What’s this rumor I heard about my son getting sent to another dimension?”

The view in the lake shifted to a Shun with a single streak of grey in his hair and a scar on his cheek immersed in a game of mahjong with Hyoga, Shiryu, and Seiya, then changed again to the normal-looking Shun sitting with Hyoga in the Aries temple and sweatdropping at Kiki and Mu’s argument.

“Looks like the work of Hades’ pendant,” she mused wryly, biting her knuckle, “Something big is going on upstairs, isn’t it?”

“Looks like it,” Rowan mumbled, ”Got any ideas, Kasumi-san?”

The image in the lake suddenly shifted again, this time to Death Queen Island. Elektra was sitting on her knees next to a badly injured Ushio, obviously trying to repair what she could of his wounds. There was a large gash in her side and her face and arms were burned. Ikki and Daichi were on either side of them, looking for all the world like that were going to jump and shoot anything that moved.

“Poor kids,” Kasumi whispered, “to be born in the time of another Holy War. They’ve had to fight so much.”

“Honestly, Kasumi-sensei,” Aiolos murmured, “can you imagine them anywhere else? Even if they’ve been through a lot, and seen more pain than any child should endure, can you really see them as anything else?”

Kasumi looked down at the rippling image, Ikki with a protective hand on Elektra’s shoulder as she sewed shut a gash in Ushio’s arm and Daichi, so similar and yet so different from her own young son, resting so close to Ushio’s side they almost touched. Despite their obvious nervousness, and the reality that they might not escape, there was a calmness to them, an unearthly ease that they had all come to associate with the children of Mitsumasa Kido.

“No,” Kasumi answered honestly, “they’re really meant for this life.”

Rowan stared down at the image, a sad half smile crossing his face, “Kasumi-san?”

"Hai, Rowan-kun?"

“You told me one insanity runs in your family, right?”

Kasumi nodded sadly, “It’s part of our bloodline, I’m afraid.”

Rowan sighed, “What’s to stop Ikki from going crazy and trying to kill them again? Or worse, what if something made Shun snap? Elektra can’t fight him.”

“Ikki’s already insane, Rowan,” Ashra admonished, “his loyalty to his siblings is the only thing that keeps him attached to reality, same with Elektra. And as for Shun...”

Aiolos sighed, “Shun’s stronger than he looks; I doubt anything could set him off now, short of seeing Hyoga, Elektra, and Ikki mercilessly raped and murdered right in front of him within a few minutes of each other. But if circumstances had been different,” he shuddered, “I don’t even want to think about that. If Ikki’s any testament...”

“Are you sure, nii-sama?” Rowan asked.

Aiolos nodded, “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Rowan, our girl’s in good hands.” He grinned, “At least until Hades and Zeus awaken.”

In the lake, Elektra now had a gold bow in her hands and was aiming an ebony arrow at a fleeing black saint. Another tried to jump her from behind, but Ikki blocked him. Daichi was grappling with a third and Ushio was fighting off another one.

/// Only Time Will Tell

Shun awoke to shouting. With a sigh he rolled over to check the clock on his night stand, only to find it not there. With a groan he sat up and looked around. This wasn’t his room, either.

Then he remembered: he was in another dimension, more specifically, the Virgo temple of the other dimension. Oh well. With a sigh he got up to see what all the fuss was.

Aioria and Seiya were shouting at each other with Milo and Shiryu trying desperately to restrain them. Hyoga and Shaka were sitting off to one side, both calmly drinking from cups of steaming tea.

“Shouldn’t you try to stop them?” Shun asked quietly as he sat down next to Hyoga.

They simply shook their heads as Seiya made another attempt to punch Aioria, but only succeeded in elbowing Shiryu in the face.

“They’ll calm down eventually,” Hyoga replied with a small shrug, “probably around the time Milo or Shiryu accidentally get knocked unconscious or seriously hurt.” He took at sip from his tea, “Though I’ve really never seen those two get angry at each other before.”

“Aioria’s been acting strange since the fight with Poseidon,” Shaka murmured, “and Seiya’s simply strange.”

Hyoga’s mouth twitched and Shun giggled. “What are they fighting about anyway?” Shun asked.

Shaka shrugged, “Whatever it is, I wish they’d take it out of my temple. Seiya and Shiryu came to speak to the two of you, obviously, and Aioria was probably just passing through. I really didn’t notice them until they started shouting.” Shun and Hyoga sweatdropped. Shaka pulled another cup of tea from Athena-knows-where and handed it to Shun, “May as well sit back and enjoy the show.”

“And yes,” Hyoga muttered, “in this dimension, this is quite normal.”

Shun didn’t know whether to giggle or worry. After an hour and several cups of tea and several more bruises for Shiryu and Milo, the elders simply released Aioria and Seiya, who promptly knocked each other unconscious with a single punch a piece. Milo growled and rubbed his head where Aioria’s skull had collided with his own, “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

Shiryu gave a small smile and touched his eye, which was starting to bruise, “Let them waste enough energy trying to escape... Master Roshi suggested it.”

“Mind if we join you three?” Milo asked, looking over at Shaka, Hyoga, and Shun.

Two more cups of tea were pulled seemingly from air and handed two the two injured saints, “I’m amazed at your patience for those two.”

“So are we,” Shiryu muttered, “By the way, we got word from Daichi early this morning. Elektra managed to get knocked out fighting a black saint,” he shook his head, “so they’ll be a little late.” He said it as though they were simply late to dinner. Hyoga snorted into his cup and Milo rolled his eyes.

“Idiot girl,” Shaka muttered and took another sip of his tea.

Shun studied the group for a moment, noting how familiar they all seemed to be with each other. He’d certainly never seen his Shaka this laid back before. With a small smile, he wondered what the other Shun was doing right now.

/// Family is Family, Blood is Blood, and Heaven is So Overated

Crack! Hyoga, Seiya and Kiki stared in unashamed, open-mouthed shock. Had Shun really just done that?

Shun grimaced and massaged his knuckles, “I didn’t want to do that, you know.”

The man he’d just knocked out lay on the ground, twitching; the hand he’d tried to grope Shun with was crushed. Seiya stared some more. “I miss the nice Shun,” Kiki muttered, hiding behind Shiryu’s legs.

Shun turned his emerald and obsidian eyes back on Shiryu, “Now, what were you saying, Shiryu-kun?”

Shiryu’s eyebrow arched, “Saori-san wants us to come to Sanctuary. She thinks she may know a way to get you back to your own dimension.”

“She’s wasting her time,” Shun replied with a sad smile, “not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but my pendant,” he gestured to the silver star hanging around his neck, “won’t let me return till whatever danger it sensed in my dimension has left.”

The man on the ground gave a small groan and sat up, rubbing his head. Shun turned and smiled sweetly down at him, “Now, have we learned our lesson,” his eyes darkened and his smile turned cruel, “you filthy pervert?”

The man whimpered and scurried off as fast as his fat legs could carry him.

“I’ll be happy when we get our Shun back,” Seiya muttered weakly.

Hyoga, Shiryu, and Kiki nodded mutely.