May It Be
Chapter 2
A Few Months On
The boy couldn't have been more than a few years older than Aiolos himself was. He had deep blue hair and eyes, eyes that were watching two other children spar while a third watched them from her perch on a raised tree root. One boy threw a punch that momentarily flared with what Aiolos recognized as the beginnings of a powerful cosmos, but the other easily slid around it. A moment later he was on the ground, his feet having been knocked out from under him. The blue haired boy next to Aiolos whooped with laughter, but the child that had been watch rushed over to see if his friend was hurt.
"You're pretty good," the boy on the ground admitted.
The one who had sent him to the ground grinned and sat down in the grass, "You two, Hyo-kun." He turned to the other boy, "You should stop fussing over us so much, Shu-chan."
The green haired boy smiled guiltily, "I don't like to see you two fighting even if it's just in play. When you and nii-chan fight, I worry you're actually going to really hurt each other."
The blue haired boy laughed then, "Don't you worry about that, Shun." He and the pink haired boy smirked at each other, "Me and Kitsu are near indestructible."
"Speak for yourself," the one called Kitsu grumbled, rubbing a line of stitches running under his green eye.
"That was your own fault," the one he had called Shun scolded, "You shouldn't have grabbed Saori-san's arm like that."
"She's a spoiled brat," Kitsu countered, "I'll take a beating from Tatsumi before I see her beating on you." Hyo-kun and the blue haired boy nodded in agreement. Shun rolled his eyes.
Someone called from behind Aiolos, "Get washed up! Dinner's almost ready!"
The four looked at each other, smiling. Kitsu gave a whoop and jumped to his feet, intent on racing into the mansion for food. He ran right through Aiolos, yelling over his shoulder that the last one there had to be Saori's dog.
"Good morning, Aiolos," Ronan greeted as the young boy stumbled into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Master Ronan," Aiolos greeted, yawning widely. "Do you want me to make breakfast?" he asked, knowing full well that he would have to. Ronan had made him make their meals every day since his arrival last year.
Ronan gestured to the huge open fireplace, "I'm going to bathe. I expect you to be started on your 200 push-ups by the time I get back."
Aiolos nodded and started collecting his tools. Once Ronan was out of the room Aiolos stuck his tongue out at the doorway. "Did I come here to be a Saint or a servant?" he grumbled, cracking five eggs into a frying pan before he held it over the fire.
Looking out the window, he could see Angelo and his master, Marius, sparring on the rocky cliffside. "Lucky," Aiolos sighed.
He finished breakfast, cleaned the dishes, and left Ronan's food waiting in his room before he started into his own food. This was the standard morning routine, dreams, breakfast, 200 push-ups, ten laps from the Aries temple to the Pisces temple and back, 300 crunches, 200 chin-ups, and then he would return to Ronan for archery lessons until nearly dusk. He would make dinner and then spend another three hours "sparring" with his master until he fell unconscious from exhaustion. He had not spoken to a child his age in the six months since they had been brought before the Pope.
He was fifty-six push-ups in when Ronan returned. He silently watched his student before picking up a heavy sack full of sand and placing it on Aiolos' back. Aiolos bit his bottom lip to keep from groaning in pain.
"Have you heard anything from Aiolos?" Marius asked as he easily dodged Angelo's punch.
"Nothing," Angelo grunted.
A concerned look crossed Marius' face and his eyes flickered to the nearby Sagittarius temple. Angelo took advantage of his distraction and tried to land a kick to his stomach. Marius noticed, but did not have time to completely dodge. The kick landed just a little lower than Angelo had intended. The stunned squeak he elicited from his master was hilarious enough that Angelo momentarily forgot how hair-trigger Marius' temper was. A few seconds later, he found himself running for his life from the Cancer Saint, who was threatening to Shikishki his student.
He made it as far as Pisces Ariel's garden before he was sucked into the Underworld again. Ariel and Marius stared at each other for a moment. "That was cruel," she scolded, glancing over at her own student. The little boy was an amusing sight, making roses explode and scattering petals all over to entertain the infant sitting on the floor in front of him.
"He kicked me in the balls!" Marius protested loudly.
Ariel stared at him for a moment before breaking down laughing.
"Master?" Camus asked, watching as Marius and Angelo raced through the temple.
"Yes?" the Aquarius saint asked.
"Didn't you say Saints are supposed to be calm and controlled?"
"They're supposed to be," Estros sighed, "Back to your studies, Camus. I want you to be able to freeze Aiolos on the spot as he passes through by the end of the year."
Grinning at the fun mental image, Camus went back to mimicking the motions his master had taught him.
"I kinda feel sorry for the kid," Vulpine muttered as they watched Aiolos run through the temple for the fifth time.
Electrian grunted as Saga, frustrated with watching his twin getting beaten by their master, turned his attention from Aiolos and tackled the back of Electrian's legs. The Gemini Saint tumbled to the ground and Kanon immediately jumped on his chest and began tickling him. Saga quickly joined him.
"Brother!" Electrian shouted, "Help! I'm being tickled to death!"
Vulpine only rolled his eyes. He would never understand it. Electrian had, if anything, been the more controlled of the two of them. Now he was on the floor, howling with laughter as he was tickle-tortured by a pair of children. As far as he could tell, his twin had absolutely lost his mind.
'One more lap,' Aiolos thought, pausing at the bottom step of the Aries temple to catch his breath.
"Hey!" someone called. Aiolos looked up. A boy with dusty brown hair and the same marks over his eyes that Shion had was standing on the top step and looking down at him, "What are you doing?"
"Training," Aiolos replied, "Who are you?"
The boy grinned, "I'm Jien, Pope Shion's gstudent! I'm going to be the new Aries saint and your boss!"
Aiolos blinked in surprise. Shaking his head, he smiled, "Just because you're Shion-sama's student doesn't mean you're going to be the leader of the Gold Saints." With that, he started running back up the stairs. He did not want to deal with Ronan's punishment if he was late to the archery field. "I guess I'll see you around, Aries Jien!" he called over his shoulder.
Something rumbled ominously just to Aiolos' left. More than used to the odd creaks and groans the old temples made, he ignored it. A moment later, something huge and heavy slammed into the boy's stomach. For a few seconds, he blacked out.
The first thing he became aware of was pain. Crushing, blinding pain in every inch of his legs. Biting down on a pained groan, he opened his eyes and found himself wishing he hadn't. A pillar had fallen on his legs and sitting atop that pillar was Jien, grinning from ear to ear.
"Man, you're weak," Jien grinned, "Back in Jamir most people could have dodged that blindfolded!"
"What the hell?" Aiolos shouted, struggling to move, "Help me, you idiot! I think it crushed my legs!"
Jien laughed, "Do it yourself! If you're not even strong enough to move a pillar you don't deserve to be a Saint!" He looked around, grinning, "I bet you can't get out." Something rumbled again. Aiolos looked sideways to see another pillar begin sliding towards him, the segments of it shifting ominously. "I bet you can't get out before this pillar falls on your head!"
He laughed gleefully. Aiolos struggled more, trying to find some kind of leverage, some way to get this thing off. Jien only laughed harder and the pillar wobbled ominously, "You're running out of time!"
Aiolos gritted his teeth and pulled again, trying to free his legs from the fallen pillar. He could not stay here. If he did, he would certainly die. This kid was out of his mind! White hot pain shot through his whole body and for a few, vital seconds he blacked out.
Someone was shouting. He blinked blearily up at the figure leaning over him. Someone screamed. Something crashed. "Aiolos!" Someone was yelling for him. "Aiolos! Wake up!"
Aiolos' mind came into focus. Saga and Angelo were leaning over him. "Hurry," Saga urged, "Kanon's got him distracted! You've gotta help us push!"
Both boys began trying to roll the huge pillar off of Aiolos' legs. Aiolos managed to sit up enough to help them. "It's too heavy," Angelo gasped.
"Keep trying!" Saga snapped.
Kanon yelled and Saga doubled over in pain. Aiolos managed to look over the fallen pillar and saw Jien standing over Kanon, who was clutching his side the same way Saga was. "The hell's wrong with that kid?" Angelo asked, following Aiolos' gaze.
Aiolos cringed as the pillar shifted just a little, sending another stab of pain through him. Huge stones the size of Aiolos' head began soaring through the air, aiming directly for Kanon. "Stop it!" Aiolos shouted, hands balling into fists, "Leave him alone, Jien!"
Jien laughed as a rock struck Kanon in the side of the head. Saga slumped over sideways against Aiolos and Kanon fell to the ground, both unconscious. "You bastard!" Angelo shouted, charging at Jien.
The rocks immediately flew towards the young Cancer student. "Stop it!" Aiolos shouted again. Angelo was thrown sideways into a pillar without Jien even moving.
"Leave them alone!" Aiolos roared, slamming his fist into the pillar.
"I'm glad you made it here safely," Kasumi said, smiling at the young woman in front of her, "You've grown up so much, Kirei."
The blue haired Lemurian woman smiled, "It's good to see you again, Kasumi-senei." She gestured to the small brunette hiding behind her legs, "And this is my daughter, Messiah."
"Hello, Messiah-chan," Kasumi greeted, smiling at the little girl.
Messiah blushed, "You're really pretty."
Kasumi laughed, "You're going to be very pretty yourself, Messiah-chan, just like your mother."
Kirei blushed this time.
"What about your son?" Kasumi asked, "Isn't he supposed to be here as well?"
Kirei sighed, "He wanted to stay in the Aries temple to wait for grandfather."
Kasumi smiled, "Kids will be kids, I suppose." She set her hand on Kirei's stomach, "It's a boy."
"Are you sure?" Kirei asked, "The healers all told me that it's a girl."
Kasumi nodded, "I've predicted every baby born in your family, Kirei. I'm never wrong." She kissed Kirei's cheek, "It's good to have you here again."
A bright, stunning cosmos suddenly erupted from Aries temple. Messiah gave a scream of fright and clutched her mother's skirt. "What was that?" Kirei asked, looking around.
Kasumi took off running, panic rising in her throat. That cosmos was Aiolos', she knew it, but she had never seen it rise to that level. She had never even heard of a six year old raising their cosmos to such a level. She took one of the hidden paths that led directly down to the Aries temple.
The sight that greeted her was enough to make her wonder if another Holy War had begun. The front of the Aries temple was in ruins, fragments of marble all that remained of its huge pillars. And there, in the middle of the mess, was Aiolos. He was holding the lifeless body of one of the twins, trying to escape from what appeared to be a huge pillar flying at them.
She finally spotted Jien floating five feet in the air above the boys. She gave a frustrated yell and obliterated the flying pillar as she came down the steps. "That's enough!" she shouted, drawing Jien and Aiolos' attention to her. She could now see the unconscious bodies of Angelo and Kanon on the ground as well.
"What on Earth is going on here?" Kasumi asked furiously.
"He attacked us," Aiolos voiced, "Saga and Kanon are hurt really badly, Kasumi-sensei!" Kasumi nearly laughed. Aiolos was worried about Saga and Kanon being hurt and it was quiet obvious he could barely even use his legs.
Kasumi glared at Jien who was still stubbornly floating about her head, "I want you down on the ground, boy."
"You're not my boss," Jien snapped, "I only answer to Grandpa Shion."
Kasumi's eyes narrowed behind her mask. "Oh?" she asked softly, "Forgive me." She bowed, "I did not realize you were Shion-sama's new student. Rest assured, I will treat you with due respect from now on."
"Good," Jien snapped.
"Removal of the first sense," Kasumi whispered. Jien fell to the ground with a terrified shriek.
She knelt down, taking up the injured Kanon in her arms. There were several large cuts peppering his body and his blue hair was purple with blood. There was a startled scream from the temple.
Kasumi turned around to gaze at Kirei, "Don't just stand there. Help me clean up the mess your son made."
Jien was still screaming about his eyes. Kasumi glared at him, "Removal of the second sense." He fell silent.
"What did you do to him?" Kirei shrieked.
Kasumi gathered Kanon and Angelo in her arms and walked over to Aiolos, who was now shaking and holding onto Saga as though he might die if he let go. Miraculously, Saga, though unconscious, seemed to be the only one unhurt. "He attacked my students," Kasumi said simply, setting Kanon and Angelo down. She sat on the ground and pulled Aiolos and Saga close to her, letting Aiolos bury his face in her chest.
"So help me, Kirei," she whispered, burning her cosmos just enough to make sure Kirei knew she was serious, "If your son ever uses his powers against these boys again, I will not hesitate to kill him."
One by one, Kasumi carried the injured boys into the Aries temple and set to repairing their broken bodies. Aiolos was the worst, his legs broken in more places than Kasumi cared to count and his right hand broken almost beyond recognition. She would have to wait for Shion to repair those. But the cuts and bruises that he, Kanon, and Angelo had managed to acquire could be easily treated.
Shion returned that night to his ruined temple and found Kirei shouting at the top of her lungs at Kasumi. The Virgo Saint had removed her mask and was quite calmly tending to the unconscious and badly injured Aiolos, a huge, purple bruise taking up most the left side of her face. The other boys were laid out on a large blanket next to him.
"What happened?" he asked, dropping his helmet on the temple floor.
"She attacked Jien!" Kirei shrieked hysterically, "She took away his eyesight and his voice!"
Shion turned to Kasumi, who calmly stood up and held out her hands, palms up, to the ancient Saint. "Jien dropped a pillar on Aiolos' legs. When Aiolos did not finish his laps, Saga, Kanon, and Angelo came looking for him and were attacked as well."
"That doesn't give you the right to cripple him!" Kirei shrieked. Shion was starting to get a very good idea of where Kasumi's bruise had come from.
"He's probably crippled Aiolos for life!" Kasumi shouted, wheeling around to glare at the woman.
"Kirei," Shion interrupted, "Take Jien up to the Pope's temple, I'll see to him." Kirei looked ready to protest more. "Now, Kirei."
Once she was gone, Shion looked at Kasumi again. "I'm sorry, Father," Kasumi whispered, "I shouldn't have-" She was cut off when Shion put his arms around her.
"Hush now, child," he whispered, kissing the top of her head, "I would have done no different in your place."
Shion held her like that for a few more minutes before holding her out at arm's length, "You had every right to do what you did, Kasumi. I'm proud that you would be willing to do such a thing for them. I knew I made the right choice when I picked you to help me rebuild Sanctuary."
He spent most of the night trying to repair the damage that had been done to Aiolos' hand and legs. By morning, all four boys had been tucked into Shion's huge bed and Shion himself was passed out on the couch. Kasumi went to Ronan, Marius, and the Gemini twins to inform them of what had happened to their students.
"Saga? Are you awake?"
Saga cracked one eye open to glare at Aiolos, "I am now."
"Sorry," Aiolos said apologetically, "I just..." His eyes flickered from Saga's face his own bandaged hand and back again, "Thanks...y'know, for saving me."
Saga snorted, "Your my rival, Aiolos. Nobody but me's allowed to make you miserable. Don't think I actually care about you or anything."
"Of course not," Aiolos replied, smiling. He quickly scooted towards Saga just enough to plant a small, light kiss on the other boy's lips, "Thanks, Saga."
Saga growled and rolled over so he was facing Kanon instead. Aiolos smiled and closed his eyes. "Thanks," Saga said quietly.
"Hm?" Aiolos mumbled.
"For protecting Kanon," Saga muttered as he pulled his twin closer to himself.
"Anytime," Aiolos murmured sleepily, "I'd die if something ever happened to my little brothers."
Saga rolled halfway over to look at Aiolos again, but the younger boy was already fast asleep.