A/N: Hello…me again… TT With this I want to ask for everybody's apologize, maybe I won't continue Lost in a Dream… TT You know, there are a lot of things which drain my energies right now, most are my job and writing my original stories (after the fatal writer's block which caused me unable to write original stories anymore…) That's why…for now I can't deal with fanfiction which needs thorough mythological research. But don't worry, I still can work on humor and drama, such as Thirty Hugs and this story. So here it is, I hope you can enjoy it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own SS characters
Bonne Nuit
One
Eighteen Century
The long purple hair was caressed by the breeze of the wind as the owner ran down happily through the stairs in Sanctuary. The generosity of her heart was reflected by her radiant visage. Her green eyes sparkled when seeing that her destination has been quite close.
"Finally," she said after passing Pisces temple. She made her move faster, until finally she stopped as she entered the eleventh house.
"Good morning, Degel," greeted Sasha, smiling to see that Degel was, in his Gold Cloth, fixing the order of the books in his luxurious shelves.
Degel turned his head, and his eyes widened in welcoming surprise seeing his goddess was standing at his door in an elegant manner.
"Athena," he said as he bent on his knees.
"No, no, please stand up," said Sasha quickly as she a bit ran to the young man and encouraged him to stand up. Degel obeyed her, at the same time looked at her in question. "I'm so honored to welcome your visit to my temple, my lady."
"Call me Sasha, please," replied Sasha, as usual felt a bit uneasy when someone addressing her with the curt "my lady".
"Alright, Lady Sasha …"
"No 'Lady', please?"
Degel smiled slightly. "I'm … not quite accustomed with that."
"Alright, forget about it now," Sasha said as she pulled Degel's hands and held them tight, her eyes sparkled when meeting his blue ones. "I've already made a plan for you."
"Plan?"
"You know me and Sage always give some gifts to my saints every years, now it's my time to give it to you."
"Why me?" asked Degel in bewilderment.
"Happy birthday!" answered Sasha cheerfully.
Oh … how come he forgot his own birthday …?
"And …," Sasha spoke more enthusiastic than before, trying to give more impressive news, "… two hundred years later, on the same day and the same date as now, your reincarnation is celebrating his birthday. Just the same as yourself."
The sentence didn't bring the effect expected by Sasha, as Degel's face turned blanker than before.
"It will certainly be a perfect gift for both him and you if you visit him when he blows his birthday candles."
"Wait a second," said Degel, trying to bring together the words Sasha told him with the expression are-you-kidding-my-lady? "You say it is two hundred years later?"
"Correct."
"And I live here in eighteenth century…"
"Definetely."
"So it is impossible for us to meet each other …"
"In a normal condition, yes."
"But you told me, my lady, that you want me to visit him?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"By the hand of The Pope and me."
Sasha's eyes went more sparkling and sparkling.
Degel, oppositely, went uneasy, unsure whether this was a good idea or not.
"Could it mean that you want me to travel throughout the time, my lady?" he asked quietly, worried about the fact that traveling throughout the time was not a simple matter, full of dangers and risks, like, there might be a possibility he couldn't come back to his origin time again.
Which would be so bad…
There was someone here who needed his cure every single day.
"You don't have to worry," encouraged Sasha, as if she could read Degel's mind. "We will travel you back to your original time. Beside, we only bestow you six hours in the future. You don't have to worry about Kardia."
"I see …," murmured Degel.
"So how is it?" asked Sasha in full expectation.
"Well … I will do all my lady's orders …"
"That's very kind of you! Alright, then, wait for me here, I will prepare all we need in Pope Hall," Sasha turned around and immediately ran to the Papacy, her purple hair danced in the air.
Degel was about to say something and paid out his hand, but it was too late. Sasha has left his temple.
He then cupped his chin thoughtfully. There were too many things traveling in his mind about this traveling to the future.
But strangely, only one thing which dominated his mind most.
"What do they look like …?"
-00-
The Aquarius has changed his gold cloth into the ordinary one. He borrowed from Sisyphus classic suit which fit his feature. He wondered whether this kind of tuxedo still existed in twentieth century, but he couldn't think about something else better than his Gold Cloth.
As he waited Sasha's cosmo to call, he made his way to Scorpio temple to tell Kardia about his departure, considering they interact as doctor and patient almost everyday.
Kardia was standing at the front side of his temple when Degel arrived at the Scorpio's exit.
"Hey, Kard," he greeted. His blue eyes shone behind the glasses he wore.
Kardia turned around. He raised his eyebrows when seeing his fellow's appearance. "Be damned," he said in a hint of astonishment in his voice. "You look so …"
"This is Sisyphus's," cut Degel, unwilling to make the topic longer. He didn't feel comfortable with this suit, though the other Gold Saints multiply said he was too good in it. "I will leave Sanctuary for a while."
"Where will you go?" asked Kardia without too much interest. He turned around again, staring at nowhere and letting the wind blew his cape and his blue hair softly.
"Would you believe me if I tell you?" asked Degel as he arrived beside Kardia.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Degel then told him Athena's plan.
Instead of being surprised, Kardia stared at him in anger.
"If you're truly the most honorable Gold Saint, you wouldn't tell me about Athena's plan," said the Scorpio. "You should keep it to be secret, unless Athena permits you to tell me."
"Kard," Degel gazed at his fellow in amazement. "I thought you never care about Athena."
Kardia startled for a while, then looked at somewhere else. "I … indeed never care about her," he said, once again, without looking at Degel's eyes.
Degel smiled a bit. "Your demeanor really tells the opposite."
"Why do you tell me anyway? Why don't you just leave?"
Degel stared at the bottom of twelve temples absentmindedly.
"At least you know where I'm going," he said, "in case I can't return to this year."
Something flashed in Kardia's blue eyes.
Worry …?
"Oh," was the only thing the Scorpio said.
Silence filled the air, until Degel felt Athena's cosmo calling him. He immediately floated his hand on Kardia's chests.
"I haven't needed it already, Degel," said Kardia, watching the mists of coldness entering his thick cloth and finally ended in his heart.
"I'll leave for six hours," said Degel after he finished with the treatment. "I give you a treatment which will last for about twelve hours."
They looked at each other for a while, before Degel turned around and started the steps to the Pope Hall.
"Degel."
"Yes?" Degel immediately turned around, looked at Kardia.
"Be careful and …," Kardia a bit hesitated when he walked slowly to his desk, then took a pouch from the wooden box on it. He handed it to Degel. "I've been thinking about to whom I should give this pouch. I think I get the answer now."
"What is this?" asked Degel curiously.
"Please give it to … ummm … whatever his name is …"
"Give it to who?"
"You'll meet your reincarnation, isn't it true? Then … there must be another one too."
"Another—oh …," Degel beamed once he understood whom Kardia meant.
"Yeah," Kardia gazed at the floor. "Give it to the next Scorpio saint."
"I will," the Aquarius smiled as he held Kardia's shoulders.
After exchanging the last gazes, Degel once again turned around and exited theScorpio temple.
Kardia watched his departure in silence. He couldn't help to take a deep sigh when realizing there was something he forgot to say to Degel.
"Joyeux anniversaire …," he murmured.
-00-
It was barely five minutes after Kardia murmured the French 'happy birthday' when Degel appeared again at the exit of Scorpio temple.
The Aquarius strangely looked far more different than before: instead of wearing tuxedo, he wore casual white shirt combined with a kind of long pants Kardia had never acknowledged. Later, people in the twentieth century would call it denim or jeans.
The Aquarius smiled slightly at Kardia. Behind his glasses, his wonderful eyes were dim and sad. Also a bit swollen.
"How come you changed your clothes this fast?" was the first question popping out from Kardia's mouth, among the other questions which were so ready to bloat. "And what kind of clothes is that?"
"I'm done, Kard," answered Degel, pointlessly gazed at his sleeves. Kardia has just noticed there were spots on Degel's sleeves. The spots of whipped cream, Kardia could tell.
"What done?"
"The journey to the twentieth century."
…
Was this man really an intelligent person who cured his heart every single day? If yes, why he seemed having a hallucination about going to the twentieth century in barely five minutes?
"Degel, you said you would leave for six hours—but the fact is you only left my temple in five minutes, how come—"
"I'll explain it later," Degel stepped to the stairs and sat on the treads, eyes gazing at nowhere. "Oh … and I've given the pouch to Milo, Kard."
"Milo …?"
"The next Scorpio saint."
…
That's it. Only one thing left for the perplexed Kardia: forcing Degel to tell him everything—well, by threatening him with his Katakaio Antares if necessary.
-00-
Next:
Twentieth century …
"Kido's mansion 126th rule: NEVER EVER bring Aphrodite with you when you want to shop in supermarket or else!" growled Kanon.
"Why?" Aphrodite snarled at Kanon.
Saga and Kanon's head suddenly turned much bigger than usual when they screamed at Aphrodite. "BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS MISTAKEN AS OUR WIFE!"
All blokes aimed to give The Water Bearer a surprise.
"He's coming! Aiolia, prepare the confetti! Mu, switch the lamp off! Deathmask—for God's sake DEATHMASK, this is Camus's birthday okay? Not his funeral!" snarled Milo in horror as he saw Deathmask decorating the wall with a poster of many kind of ghosts originated from all over the world.
Deathmask coughed. "Only want to give this room kind of taste …"
Any misunderstanding?
"Joyeux anniversaire!" the Gold Saints cheered happily and showered the room with snow-like confetti when the Aquarius entered the house.
But they immediately turned frozen when they realized it wasn't Camus …
"Thank you," smiled Degel warmly.
-00-