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“Bodies were found here and over there too. Additionally, more disappearances were reported in the area.”
The woman indicated with her finger the areas marked with a red circle. Shun looked and nodded attentively from the other side of the messy desk full of maps and files.
"It's too much, even for them."
“They haven’t claimed anything yet, as far as we know. The situation got out of hand. He is acting on his own.
Shun looked at his goddess, concerned. It was incredible to think that all the mess was caused by a single person.
“Are we going to intervene?” he replied, once he could recover his speech.
Saori nodded. "It is our duty." After a long sigh she continued. “Furthermore, Asgard has asked for our support.”
“Will I choose my team, or will you choose it for me?”
“Seiya and Shuryu are on a mission in Shanghai, and Ikki is on Death Queen Island settling some matters regarding the Black Saints.”
Andromeda frowned. Was Saori planning to send him alone to face the most dangerous and bloodthirsty enemy they had ever seen?
“I thought you didn't send us to the field without a companion…”
“Normally, I don’t, but we are oversaturated”
Shun stared at her; his gaze reflected the anxiety it caused him going on a dangerous mission alone.
"I trust you, Shun," the goddess assured. “You are one of the strongest Saints I have at my service. You'll be fine.”
Silence filled the room. Then, Saori gave him the folder corresponding to his mission.
“Get to know your opponent. You’ll leave in three days.”
Andromeda Shun was one of the most capable Bronze Saints of his rank—along with his brother Phoenix Ikki—brave, excellent company, and quite good-looking. The young man had a thousand talents; the only thing he lacked was, perhaps, a little bit more self-confidence, not to mention the well-known diplomacy with which he treated his opponents before venturing directly into punches and blows.
He thought about sitting right there with a cup of coffee and flipping through the file. It was quite thick, and the deadline was short. However, the mountain of paperwork sitting on his desk convinced him to take the folder home.
Not that he had much to do; without his brother at home or any of his friends present, the remaining time was just for him.
He turned the television on as background, and, after making himself a cup of tea, he began to review the file.
Midgard.
The first page was the identity card of the subject in question.
The danger of him lay, partly, in how little they knew about him with certainty. The lack of information, along with the 'classified' one—to which Andromeda did not have access—left very little about this Midgard guy in the huge black folder.
Name: UNKNOWN.
Alias: MIDGARD.
Date of birth: UNKNOWN.
Blood Type: UNKNOWN.
Cosmo: ICE.
Shun let out a sigh. If he saw the word 'unknown' in that file again, he was going to get something.
Frustrated, he began to turn the pages one by one quickly. The number of times they had written the word was impressive—as were the thick black stripes that covered the classified information.
Shun snorted, leaning against the back of the chair abruptly and slightly tossing the folder, which remained open in the first page.
"A ton of paper, and I only know that they call you Midgard and you have Ice Cosmo," he complained, looking at the photo attached with a clip to the upper left corner of the page.
He sat up to appreciate it better. He let out a small laugh. Not even his face was visible; it was covered by a blue mask, as if it were made of ice. The orange helmet with a green visor covered the rest of the head. The only thing that could be seen about the face were the blue eyes and two strands of blond hair that peeked out from the neck.
“This must be a joke.”
He continued reading what he could. The subject had an impressive profile: expert in hand-to-hand combat and mastery of a wide variety of martial arts. The terms 'spy' and 'master assassin' appeared several times with and without context. All those characteristics randomly thrown at him began to form an image of his target—not positive at all—he imagined all kinds of evil, rude and hostile man—an absolute beast. But those eyes, cold and arrogant, did not belong to such a man.
"Who are you, Midgard?" he sighed, taking the photo in his hands.
He shook his head when he realized he had lost himself in the man's gaze.
He needed to rest.
──── ◉ ────
Shun stared blankly through the plane window. Out of anguish, whether due to how little he knew his enemy, the impression that reading his file had left on him, or the inevitable obsession he felt growing inside him since that afternoon at his place.
“Here it is.” The pilot's voice brought him out of his musings. He looked out the window again. There was nothing down there but a snowy and lonely forest. Just as mysterious as his objective. “The extraction point is twenty kilometers to the east; we will meet there in three days. You have until then to finish off Midgard.”
“Got it.”
Andromeda stood up, held his chains tightly, and jumped out of the plane.
He stood motionless for a few moments, waiting for his Cosmo or his chains to sense something. He sighed loudly. He had no idea what to do; should he look for him? Wait for him? Draw attention and see if he appeared in front of him?
He began to walk through the woods, at first very attentive to his surroundings, then as if he were strolling in the park, his chains would do all the work. He wandered in zigzags and in circles for nearly four hours, until he finally felt someone was following him.
It was a subtle Cosmo, so much so that the chains did not perceive the hostility in it, but he knew it was him; nothing that had to do with Midgard would be flashy.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked calmly, looking straight ahead. “Will you attack me from behind?”
The trees barely shook their branches, and he heard a soft tapping in the snow. Shun turned around. Even though he already knew he was there, he was startled.
He wanted to say his name but was unable to utter any words. Midgard didn't say anything either, and he didn't need to; his presence was enough.
Andromeda tried to decipher what was going on in his head but he couldn't. His Cosmo was colder than he had considered, subtle but firm and terrifying. Although he was a man of average height and somewhat stocky, his body seemed to weigh no more than a feather. And his eyes, fixed on his as if trying to predict his movements, or perhaps he intended the same thing as him. Was he an enigma like his opponent? Or could Midgrad read him as easily as an open book?
Both Cosmos intertwined, one freezing and threatening, serene and superb, and the other warm, peaceful but unalterable. Their gazes remained focused on each other, a pair made of ice, firm as swords, digging into their target, waiting to find a point where they could break it, and the emerald pair, trying to read that icy vision, just as impenetrable, just as mysterious, calm but lethal.
The war of glances ended abruptly with the tension of the chains; Midgard had lost it, and it showed in its Cosmo, now hostile and violent.
“Why did you kill those people?” Shun asked, holding the chain tightly so it wouldn't suddenly attack his opponent. “Some were your colleagues. Have you had enough of God Warriors? Or maybe you were never with them in the first place?”
There was a long silence, so long that Shun began to think that perhaps Midgard was mute and the lack of information in his file was because he hadn't been able to tell anyone about him.
“I work alone. And whoever stands in my way will die.”
There was his answer; it was not only that, it was also a warning.
The voice made Andromeda's skin crawl. It was arrogant and frivolous, so lacking in any emotion, it was chilling. But smooth and deep, almost hypnotizing.
“Yet here I am, in your path. I've already wasted about fifteen minutes of your time, and you still haven't eliminated me.”
It was almost imperceptible, for a few moments, that Midgard seemed to lose his composure at Andromeda's words. Shun noticed it and smiled mischievously.
He didn't know who unleashed the first blow; the chains and the Diamond Dust collided between both warriors. The chains were undamaged, and thanks to their protection, so was Shun.
The hand-to-hand combat began. Midgard was quite agile, more than Shun had imagined. Apparently his opponent had also underestimated him, as he heard him growl a couple of times.
The fight turned into a chase. Midgard was desperate and began attacking Andromeda as he could. Shun seemed unable to attack back and took the defensive. He tried to evade him through the trees and bushes, but the God Warrior did not take his eyes off him.
Finally, the Thunder Wave managed to hit its target, although not much damage was done. However, it was enough to knock Midgard to the ground. The helmet rolled through the snow, releasing the latter’s golden hair.
Shun could take advantage and trap him with the chains—or knock him out with a blow—but being able to appreciate more than just Midgard's eyes caught his attention.
Midgard sat up; the blue mask covering his face was cracked, revealing the upper left part of it. With a decisive move, he removed what was left of it, revealing his identity completely.
Shun gasped in shock. His obsession of the last few days finally had a defined face. The skin had warm tan tones that combined perfectly with the blond hair. The blue eyes stood out even more, and, along with the rest of his features, they worked to make that face the most attractive Shun had ever seen. His features were tough, but not cruel at all; that look did not reflect the bloodthirsty murderer he was chasing, but a man who suffered. It was clear that his actions were not commanded by any brutality in his heart, but by some past trauma.
Shun continued in a trance, completely motionless in front of his opponent. Midgard took advantage of Andromeda's inactivity and attacked him with the Diamond Dust.
The Bronze Saint was violently thrown to the ground, his Cloth having frozen on the chest. He tried to get up with difficulty; the blow had left him breathless, and the weight and temperature of the ice prevented him from breathing well.
It was time to fight back, or he’d bite the dust. A part of him wanted to strengthen his chains and hit him with them, but the tragic look of those icy eyes was still on his mind. He didn't want to hurt him; he needed to know why he was doing that, what made him act that way, and why he looked so devastated. But for that, he had to stay alive; he had to knock Midgard out as soon as possible.
To Shun's surprise, his opponent also seemed doubtful. His second attack was already long overdue. That was his chance; Andromeda grabbed his chains tightly and threw them towards Midgard, who tried to dodge them and proceed to launch another freezing offense at his enemy. Like Shun, he did not want to finish him off, but if he was attacked, he would defend himself.
Both found themselves immersed in an endless cycle of necessary defenses and unwilling attacks.
The best would win.
And that was Shun.
Expert in defense and offense alike, endowed with elegant agility—and without having initially demonstrated his full Cosmo—Andromeda won the fight.
Completely exhausted and injured—not to mention a little frozen—Shun approached the unconscious Midgard. Up close, he was even more captivating; with all the beatings he had received, he had not lost his attractiveness. He couldn't resist delicately putting away the bangs that fell from his forehead; he wanted to admire his face without any inhibition. He blocked his growing desire to caress his cheeks; that would be, in his opinion, too improper; however, he convinced himself that it would not if he did it with the sole purpose of cleaning the blood dripping from his temple and lips.
That was a point of no return.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” he scolded himself internally.
──── ◉ ────
Leaning on the thick trunk of a tree, Shun turned towards Midgard upon hearing him moan. He had finally woken up.
“Don't get up so quickly; you might get dizzy.” It was the first thing he said before the blond could notice his presence.
Midgard looked at him but didn’t move. Shun laughed slightly. He was handsome, but a bit slow.
“Are you going to attack me?” Andromeda asked, leaning his head against the trunk reluctantly. “I'd rather you didn’t. I have no intention of killing you, regardless of your crimes.”
“Then you are a fool.”
Shun looked at him. What a way to thank his savior! Although, truth be told, he didn't expect him to shower him with kisses and such.
"Yes, yes, yes," he added nonchalantly. "Everyone says it; you're not the first," he concluded with a happy smile.
Midgard looked at him between offended and bewildered. Despite that, he still didn't move.
Andromeda stood up and walked towards him. “I'm only interested in one thing.” He stood a few centimeters away from him; Midgard remained unchanged. He was only a little taller than him, barely ten centimeters. “Who are you? Why do you do this?”
Midgard remained silent, held Shun's gaze for a few moments, then looked away.
“I won't leave without an explanation.”
“Just get it over with.”
"With this or with you?" Shun debated internally. He knew the answer. "I won't do that either." The response came out softer than intended. You can't answer my questions if you're dead.
Midgard tried to hold back a laugh, but the charming laugh Shun let out wouldn't let him.
“Why are you doing this?”
Shun opened his eyes in surprise; it was the first kind thing that guy had said to him.
“I’ve met very bad people before. You are not like that.”
“You don't know me.”
“No one, really,” Andromeda thought, remembering the file full of black stripes and "classified" information. “Your eyes are not those of a murderer.”
Midgard looked at him flabbergasted; that boy was something else.
“I... I didn't have a choice.” Shun frowned but waited for him to expand on that. “I don't remember much before… this. Only that I was found almost dead on the shore of a lake in Siberia. My life belongs to them, for better or for worse.”
Andromeda shook his head. “Your life is yours alone.” Silence again, then he continued. “Plus, you could kill them all if you wanted to. You did so with several of your companions.”
Midgard shrugged. “I can't take them all at once; one by one was my only option. But they recruit men faster than it takes me to get rid of them.”
“They trained you well.” Shun smiled.
“In fact, they didn't. I don't know what I was before this. Surely something similar.”
“And pretty good from the looks of it.”
They both laughed.
“Apparently I don't know how to do anything except to kill.” Midgard lowered his head. “They should have let me die in that lake.”
Shun grabbed his chin and lifted his face, forcing him to look back at him. “Don't say that.”
Once again, they admired each other. They didn't realize how or when, but they were too close, not that it mattered or anything, or that either of them wanted to back away, but it was a peculiar sensation.
Shun bit his lower lip, trying to stop his impulses from smashing his lips against Midgard's. Instead, he decided to ask:
“What's your name?”
He received absolute silence in response. What did he expect? The guy barely remembered anything about his life; maybe he didn't even know his own name.
“Hyoga.”
"Glacier, quite appropriate," Shun said to himself as he smiled. “Well, Hyoga, my mission is to stop you, as you well know. But my superiors weren't specific about that." Hyoga snorted a laugh. “So... come with me.”
Hyoga frowned, even taking a couple of steps back. “What?”
“If you come with me, you can leave all this behind. That way, my superiors won't send someone else to finish the job in a more... permanent way.
“I wouldn't mind... if you did it.”
Shun sighed. “I can't kill you. I don't want to…”
Silence appeared again.
“Are you recruiting me?”
“No! Well... I…” Shun sighed; it wasn't coming out as intended. “I understand if you prefer to leave this whole... life behind. But Sanctuary can help you discover who you were before Midgard.”
Hyoga looked around, thoughtful.
“And what would I do in the meantime? Hide in a protection program? I don't want that.”
"Well... you're good at... what you do," Shun stammered. Hyoga frowned. Andromeda's elegance was fading with each spoken word. Shun cleared his throat before continuing. “If you want, you can join us.”
“Sanctuary, you say?”
“We are like the God Warriors, but better.”
Hyoga let out a laugh.
"This didn't go well..." Shun added, blushing defeatedly. “Do what you think is best, but... don't stay here, please.”
Hyoga thought about his answer for a few minutes. The offer was attractive and a solution for several of his problems. Resolved, he began to approach Andromeda again; he looked at him attentively.
“Okay... just one thing.” He stopped millimeters away from Shun's face, their foreheads practically against each other. “Stay with me.”
Shun felt his breath escape from his lungs and his legs trembled. A little more, and their lips would collide. He nodded enthralled; he didn't know exactly what that request meant, but at that distance, he would have agreed to anything.
They remained like that for a few moments, debating whether or not they should close the millimetric gap between them.
"In that case... we have to hurry if we want to arrive at the extraction point on time," Shun said, without moving at all.
Hyoga nodded. Andromeda took his hand and turned around, taking him with him.
He had no idea what he would say to Saori when he saw him arrive with his target safe and sound. That wouldn't help his reputation at all. Although all that seemed small and unimportant when he remembered he would have Hyoga's company indefinitely.
He’d find a way to explain it.
For the moment, he had more interesting things to think about. Hyoga was an enigma, and he had the rest of his life to solve it.