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The Pegasus constellation is bright in the night sky.
With a soft sigh, Seiya, leaning back against the soft grass of the hill, gazes up, wondering at the vastness of the universe.
“Where will we go from here?”
Stretching his hand up to the heavens, he muses on the events of the previous year and scoffs. “Maybe Zeus will attack next. Or Hades. All of them are too power-hungry.”
“Odin helped us out in the end, didn’t he?”
“True… ah! Shiryu!” Seiya exclaims, at last recognizing the voice. “What are you doing out here?”
The black-haired saint offers a baritone chuckle in response as he sits down beside Seiya. “Thought I saw some red that was out of place on this green hill. What are you doing out here, messing up my view?”
“I was making it better, thank you very much.”
Shiryu glances at Seiya from the side with a smirk but says nothing.
Subsiding a little, Seiya mutters, “Couldn’t sleep.”
“What was that?” He’s smiling.
Seiya smacks his upper arm. “You heard me.”
“So what’s keeping you up?”
Subconsciously, Seiya rubs the skin over his heart before shrugging, “Nothing much. Just some insomnia.”
Eyeing Seiya’s hand, Shiryu replies disbelievingly, “Mm-hmm.”
Abashed, Seiya quickly withdraws his hand to rub the back of his head.
Shiryu gives him a second to tell the truth but continues after being met with silence: “Your wound bothering you then?”
“...Yeah.”
For a few moments, they sit in silence as Shiryu lets Seiya gather his thoughts.
“It’s just… I… I was always certain I was good enough. And then, when I was fighting Poseidon, and I had on the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, I believed I could win. I believed I could trounce Poseidon and protect everyone and save Athena. But then that arrow came flying back. It didn’t even get within five inches of Poseidon’s smarmy face before it came right back and aimed straight for the heart. My heart. The cloth stopped it from physically striking, but the damage was done. In that moment, I felt weak. I felt… powerless. But I had to keep going. I couldn’t just give up and leave. But that decision seriously injured Shaina… and you, Shiryu. I’m sorry.” His voice cracks slightly. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t good enough.”
“Seiya…”
Shiryu closes his eyes with a sigh as he considers how to best broach the subject.
“What do you see? Up there, in the sky?”
Confused, Seiya glances at Shiryu. “What?”
“Humor me. What do you see?”
“Uh…” Seiya looks up at the sky, still bewildered. “Stars?”
“Before I came, were you looking at anything particular?”
“...The Pegasus constellation, I guess…”
“And a constellation is…?”
“All right, what’s the point, Shiryu?”
Leaning back with a slight smirk, Shiryu urges, “Just humor me. You’ll see.”
Seiya crosses his arms but acquiesces. “Fine. A constellation is a collection of stars.”
“Yes. Pieces that combine to form a whole. And the constellation itself is a single part of the sky full of stars.” Shiryu exhales peacefully. “You see, Seiya? In these past battles, you, me, Hyoga, Shun, and Ikki, the Pegasus, Dragon, Cygnus, Andromeda, and Phoenix, all combined to defeat our foes. Just as the sky is a quilt of constellations and stars, the five of us unite to become something… more. Something stronger.”
He meets Seiya’s eyes. “So, Seiya, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t ‘good enough,’ as you say. So long as you keep getting back up, we’ll always be there to support you. Any one of us isn’t strong enough on his own sometimes, but that doesn’t matter because there are five of us. Together, we take down gods. Together, we can protect Athena and this night sky we treasure and represent.” Shiryu stands and turns to offer Seiya his hand. “Come on. Get some rest. We’ll be here when you wake up, and we’ll face tomorrow together.”
Seiya grins and clasps Shiryu’s hand. “Thanks.”
“If that wasn’t the sappiest load of crap I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.”
“Ikki!”
Blue hair as wild as ever, the Phoenix Saint jumps down from a nearby tree.
Unperturbed, Shiryu asks, “What were you doing out here?”
“I was trying to get some private time for myself, but then you two bozos came out to have a heart-to-heart.”
“Well, excuse us,” Seiya retorts. “Besides, you can’t prove that I wasn’t here first.”
“Tch.” Glancing away, Ikki shoulders past them. “Whatever. Let’s go inside.”
“You were worried, weren’t you?” Smiling slightly, Shiryu remarks.
Midstride, Ikki freezes before he scoffs, “Worried? About what?”
“Seiya.”
“No way!” Both Ikki and Seiya exclaim, but Ikki continues, “It’s just dangerous to be out alone with an injury, and Seiya is a useful person to have around.”
There’s a lapse as his words set in, and then Seiya and Shiryu burst out laughing. Seiya claps Ikki on the shoulder: “You do care, Mr. Lone Wolf!”
Ikki shrugs Seiya’s hand off. “Whatever.”
The laughter subsides as Seiya continues in all seriousness. “Thanks, guys.”
Ikki smirks. “All right, all right, that’s enough. Let’s just get back inside. Shun and Hyoga are probably wondering what we’re doing.”
“Maybe they’re glad to have the privacy…”
“Seiya…!” Ikki’s brow furrows and his fists tighten in anger.
Unconcerned, Seiya cackles. “Just kidding, just kidding…”
Suddenly, Shun’s voice sounds from the door of the building, “Brother! Seiya! Shiryu!”
“Speak of the devil,” Shiryu remarks as Hyoga emerges following Shun.
“Yo. What are you all doing? Having a private meeting?” Hyoga asks, crossing his arms.
“Jealous?” Seiya asks, laughter in his voice. “Ah, nah, you wouldn’t be. After all, Shun was still with you!”
Hyoga only laughs as Ikki punches Seiya’s arm and Seiya feigns mortal damage.
“Come on, you guys,” Shiryu sighs, grabbing Seiya and Ikki by the arms and dragging them towards the house.
“Yeah, or else I think Athena will chew us out for making such a racket in the middle of the night.”
“Scaaaaary.”