Saint Seiya Oneshots

Storm | Shiryu X Shunrei

It was already raining as Shiryu was having dinner with his old mentor and his friend Shunrei. "It's a pity it started raining when you had almost gotten here", said the old man, in a joking tone of voice.

"I am used to worse than a few raindrops", Shiryu responded with a smile. "And it's a pleasure to come here when I have enough free time."

Shunrei smiled as she looked at Shiryu. "I am used to worse than a few raindrops", his voice repeated in her mind. In only a sentence, he had unintentionally reminded her of all the things he had been through. His six years of tough training, the battles he had won, the ones he had almost lost... As he passed more and more challenges, her admiration for him didn't stop growing.

"Shunrei?" the master's voice called. The young girl realized she had been in her thoughts for longer than she had thought. Shiryu smiled and the master laughed softly at her. "Did you hear what I just asked you?"

"U-um, sorry no, I didn't." Shunrei felt embarrassed by her own answer. It sounded like she was in her own world and didn't care what the two men were saying. She felt her cheeks become a bright shade of pink.

"I just asked if you wanted more to eat", the old man resumed. "Shiryu cooked this for us. It would be a shame not to finish it, wouldn't it?" Usually, Shunrei was the one who cooked when all three of them were to eat together. This time, Shiryu had wanted to do it and spare her that trouble.

"I already said you didn't have to finish it", Shiryu said to his mentor. "I don't cook that often and I am certainly not that good of a cook."

"Nonsense", Shunrei said softly, putting another portion of the food in her plate. "This is better than most dishes I cook." She smiled at the young man, who smiled right back at her.

|After the end of the dinner|

Shiryu and Shunrei sat on their beds, in the room they shared. Both had lit candles next to them, in order to be able to read. The rain was even louder now. Thunder was starting to make itself heard, and it was hard for Shunrei to concentrate on what she was reading. As for Shiryu, he didn't seem to care. He stayed practically motionless the whole time, only moving his hand to turn one page every now and then.

Then, as lightning striked for the first time of the night, Shunrei flinched on her bed. Shiryu saw her from the corner of his eye and turned his head to her. "Storms still scare you?" he asked, trying to sound like he wasn't making fun of her. The two had spent years together, so Shiryu was very well aware of the fact that she had this fear.

Shunrei sighed, a little ashamed of having such a ridiculous fear. "Yes... A little..." she admitted, looking through the window and then at Shiryu. "It's a little stupid to be scared of that, isn't it...?"

Shiryu closed his book and looked at his friend. "I must admit, it does feel pretty funny to realize that the bronze saint of Dragon doesn't scare you but lightning does", he said, making sure not to make her think he was making fun of her.

"The bronze saint of Dragon is a wonderful person who will forever protect good people from harm. A storm is just a way to ruin everyone's day, even to people who are not scared of it", Shunrei stated, smiling at her friend.

The girl's words didn't have the effect she wanted. Shiryu's smile faded slowly and he looked away. "I'm not that good at protecting people from harm", he said quietly. "All of the enemies I've fought yet were not bad people. And I still didn't have a choice."

Shunrei's smile disappeared even faster than Shiryu's. She remembered Ohko, who had been killed by Shiryu a long while ago. Ohko was everything but a bad person. He was just an insecure man, who had lived under Shiryu's shadow for numerous years as a child. The bronze saint of Dragon certainly hadn't wanted to end Ohko's life.

Both him and Shunrei were convinced that had to be one of the worst moments of his life. And even though she had never witnessed Shiryu's other fights, he had told her about other people who had been killed by him without deserving it.

"I am so sorry, Shiryu... That you had to go through so much..." The young girl said, breaking the silence.

"You don't have to be sorry", the saint responded. "None of it is your fault. I know you would have wished a better life for me."

"It isn't your fault either, Shiryu. As guilty as you might feel right now, we both know you're the one who fights for justice." Shunrei got up from her bed and went to sit down on Shiryu's. "I am not a saint. I don't have powers. All I can do is pray for you to stay alive and well, and it doesn't even always work. If you truly think you are bad at doing what you do, I wouldn't like to know how you view what I do."

Shiryu looked at Shunrei in disbelief. "Your prayers are more useful than you think they are, Shunrei. You saved my life during one of my battles in the Sanctuary." He leaned in and placed a hand on the side of her neck, making her look at him. "I have debts to you and I'll pay them. Though it's not like I didn't want to protect you before you saved me."

Shunrei looked up at Shiryu and hugged him, making him fall backwards. Both of them laughed as they ended up laying on the bed, Shunrei's body on top of Shiryu's.

They stayed motionless for seconds, saying nothing. And when, for the second time, they heard lightning strike, Shiryu felt Shunrei flinch again, against his body. "Sorry. I'm ridiculous", she mumbled after hearing him chuckle.

"You're not ridiculous, you're cute."