A/N: Just an idea I got while re-reading the earlier chapters of The Lost Canvas. I wanted a long, semi-serious Lost Canvas story, and Sage and Manigoldo are my favorites (Hakurei's not bad, either), so it seemed natural to do a story about them. I decided to write a fic about Sage training Manigoldo and shaping him into the young man he would become (and trying not to get wasted in the process. I'm sure young Manigoldo would lead anyone to pick up drinking). Enjoy, and please drop a review if you could be so kind.
Sage knew what he was doing was crazy. If his attendants came to check on him and found him missing, they would freak out-before ever learning where he'd been. The wasteland he slowly walked through was no place for a Saint of Athena, let alone the Sanctuary's Pope, but there was a strong calling in his heart that he could not ignore. Something pulled him along the path he walked. Someone needed him to find them. Sage could feel it. He was being directed towards someone in need.
That was when he saw him. A young child, no older than ten, huddled against a broken stone wall. He was staring at his tiny hands. At first, it looked as though the child were glowing; however, as Sage drew nearer to him, he realized the little boy was surrounded by souls. It was more than a bit unnerving, for a child so young to be so completely surrounded. The old Pope gasped.
The child lifted his head. Dull, violet-tinged blue eyes met Sage's green ones and the little boy smiled.
"Oh, you're surprised. That means you can see them, too, can't you, old man?"
Sage swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.
"Are the souls that wander here...your family?"
The last two words were difficult to ask. Sage wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, either.
Those violet-blue eyes blinked.
"They're the souls of those who had bodies and normal lives until not too long ago, but that's over now. Now you really can't tell them apart from the trash. The God of Death calls it mercy."
The child cocked his head.
"Old man, you have to be careful around here. No one knows when Death will come."
The child's voice hinted amused indifference, but Sage could pick up on the bitterness that laced those words. It was sad, really, to hear such talk coming from the lips of a child so young. The old Pope knew in that moment that his heart had been directing him to this child.
"Young man", he asked. "What is your name?"
The child reached into the sleeve of his filthy, over-sized coat.
"Manigoldo" he announced as he came at Sage with a knife.
Sage pulled back on instinct, but Manigoldo still managed to get in a good blow. Sage's eyes widened as he heard the heavy cotton of his robe tear and felt the rosary beads he wore around his neck falling around his body. Had he not been wearing his Cancer cloth under his robes, his throat would have been slashed.
"I feel sorry for you, you poor bastard", Manigoldo said, his harsh words once again pulling at Sage's heart. "That was too easy."
"I don't think the God of Death would accept a child as his messenger", Sage replied. He moved his hands so the child could see the armor that protected him. "It would be bad for his reputation. Though I suppose to him, one life is meaningless."
Manigoldo stared at the golden cloth glinting under the robe. To Sage's shock, the child laughed.
"Oh! I get it now! It's my turn. If you're here to kill me, please do it quickly, old man."
The thought of killing a child turned Sage's stomach. He was especially unsettled by how this child clearly was not bothered at all by it. He'd just accepted that it was his time to die. He knew it was because of how many deaths he'd already seen, despite being so young, that made him think the way he did. Manigoldo didn't know better. Sage also knew it was possible for the child to turn his life around with some proper guidance.
He gently pulled the knife from Manigoldo's hand.
"A long time ago, many of my friends died. I know you think they became part of the trash...but...I know how they lived. They fought bravely until they reached the end of their lives. They were but one grain more in that mountain of trash. Much like you are now."
Manigoldo stared at him, wild-eyed.
"So what?", he spat. "If I weren't part of the mountain of trash, where would I belong?"
Sage smiled and rested his hand on the child's head.
"To the universe. Each one of our lives, though small on its own, is connected. Together they make up the universe."
The child pulled away, looking uncomfortable.
"I don't understand you."
"Would you come with me, young man?" Sage asked, offering his hand to the small boy. "Would you come with me to the Sanctuary, where you can learn to understand?"
At those words, Manigoldo's eyes took on the first hint of light Sage had seen in them since meeting the child. He stared hopefully at the hand offered to him, as though he wanted to take it, but was also afraid.
Sage knelt down so he was eye-level with the boy and wrapped a comforting arm around him.
"I know you're scared, Manigoldo. This lifestyle is all you've ever known. If you need time to think it over, I can come back for you. The path towards Sainthood is not an easy one, and I would never want to force someone onto it."
He stood and turned to walk away.
"WAIT!" Manigoldo cried, grabbing onto his sleeve. "I-I want to come with you."
The old Pope stopped walking and looked back at the child clinging to his sleeve as though it were a life-line.
He felt it, then, as realization kicked in. The reason he'd felt the need to go searching for this boy. This child was destined to be the next Cancer saint. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.
"Very well", he said. "From this moment on, I am your master, and you will be my disciple."
"You, old man?"
"Yes. My name is Sage, and, starting now, you will address me as either "Master Sage", or simply "Master". The training will not be easy, but if you endure it and make it through, this gold cloth I wear will one day belong to you."
Manigoldo looked as though he'd just been offered a one-way ticket straight to heaven.
"Whatever you say old ma...err...I mean, Master."
Sage resisted the urge to smile. This one was going to be a challenge. Then again, his brother, Hakurei, had always had spunk, and he had turned out just fine in the end.
"Are there a lot of kids like me at the Sanctuary?", Manigoldo asked.
He sounded genuinely curious. Probably he didn't have much interaction with children his own age.
"There are plenty of young men and even a few young ladies going for Cloth now. Most of them are going for Bronze or Silver level Cloths. As far as Gold-level trainees, there are currently four boys. I believe El Cid would be closest to your age."
"Ah, so I have to climb over this El Cid and the other boys to win?"
Sage sighed.
"The journey to Sainthood is not a death match, Manigoldo."
And it never would become such a thing as long as he was the Pope.
"You will train with the other boys, yes, as well as with the Bronze and Silver trainees, but you will not be climbing over anyone."
"But I heard people die at the Sanctuary all the time."
"I would be lying if I denied there have been casualties during training, but the numbers tend to be exaggerated. Most of the trainees who do perish perish because of accidents. If you do as I say, that will not be a concern."
The little boy nodded, then yawned and rubbed his eyes. He swayed on his feet, his over-sized coat dragging behind him. Manigoldo certainly did not look like he would be able to endure the walk back to the Sanctuary.
"Are you tired, Manigoldo?"
"I'm alright. Don't baby me", the child mumbled sleepily.
Sage wordlessly lifted the boy into his arms. Before Manigoldo could even protest, they were standing at the entrance to Aries temple.
"Whoa! How'd you move that fast!" Manigoldo asked in disbelief. "You're just an old man!"
He appeared wide awake now.
Sage smiled and set the boy down. He took the child by the hand.
"You're right, I am old. And because of that, you will be able to move even faster than that. Now, you will need to keep your voice down. We are going to go back to my quarters, and to get there, we have to pass through these twelve temples. There aren't a lot of people in them, but the ones who are in them are trying to sleep."
Manigoldo nodded, his eyes huge as he took in his surroundings.
It was a very quiet walk back to Sage's quarters.
Sage eyed his student. The first thing the child needed was a bath, then food, and then a good night's rest. Tomorrow he would introduce the boy to the Gold trainees.
"Wait here a moment, Manigoldo", he instructed as he headed towards his personal sleep chamber.
He pulled off his damaged robes and put his Cloth back in its box. Once changed into something appropriate for sleep, he started digging through his wardrobes, trying to find anything that would not drag the ground on the boy. Finally, he figured a shirt would be sufficient for him to sleep in. They would get him training gear in the morning.
He returned to where he'd left his student and handed the clothes to the little boy.
"What are these for?"
"You need to get washed up and out of those dirty clothes."
Manigoldo made a face, looking very much like the child he was.
"I don't want to take a bath."
Sage chuckled.
"You'll like this bath"
He escorted the boy to his bath chamber.
Manigoldo's eyes widened.
"No. I don't want to go in there!"
He tried to make a run for it, but his master was too fast.
"Grah! Put me down, Old Man! I didn't come here so you could drown me!"
Sage frowned.
"You're afraid of water?"
What had he gotten himself into?
He sighed and set the boy down. He knew Hakurei would have just pitched Manigoldo in and been done with it. However, he was not his twin, and he could not do that to a frightened child.
A moment later he fell face-first into the water with a splash.
Manigoldo laughed uproariously.
"Shouldn't of let your guard down, Old Man."
On second thought, maybe being a bit more like Hakurei wouldn't hurt with this one.
Sage brushed his long, soaking wet hair away from his face and fixed his pupil with a stern stare.
The little boy stopped laughing. He had never seen anyone look quite as dangerous as the old man in front of him. His master's warm green eyes took on a sudden gleam of coldness that made him regret what he had done.
"Uhhh...I'll just...take that bath now."
Sage said nothing. He just calmly walked out of the bath chamber, leaving Manigoldo alone inside.
"M-Master Sage?" the little boy called. "Hey! Come back!"
Sage cracked the door open.
"I will be back shortly. I expect you cleaned up and out of those filthy clothes when I return."
He shut the door again, to find a smile threatening to cross his face. Manigoldo was not the first student he had ever trained, but none of the others had ever been so bold as to toss him face-first into his own bath.
Yes, this was going to be quite the challenge.
