Teardrops

Pairings : MuxSaga, ShakaxAiolia, AphroditexShura, AphroditexMilo

Rated : M

Disclaimer : all characters belonged to the highly respected Masami Kurumada. No infringement intended.

A/N : thank you for all the reviews. Appreciate all for reading. elvent : Shaka's problem will be exposed on later chapter, hope you can wait :D

Please read my notes at the end of this chapter, it may explain a bit about Mu's condition. Happy reading!

Chapter Nine

I'm not calling for a second chance

I'm screaming at the top of my voice

Look at the stars fall down

And wonder where did I go wrong…?

~ James Blunt ~

The sunny morning seemed to be over, as came afternoon, it began to rain severely all around Sanctuary. It had started first with the formation of heavy large pillows of dark clouds, blocking out the gold color of the sun, before soon the droplets of heavy rain then started to pour down, with crackling thunders came alongside it.

As he sat on a chair in Shion's study, Saga could hear the savaged sound of the pouring rain and the distant thunders outside. The rain had become so intense moments ago, so much rain was falling, the sound somehow blurred into a long loud buzzing noise, just nearly the same with the one he currently had in his head.

Holding his still very hurt head as a result from Aiolia's hit, Saga sighed heavily. He too could still feel the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, reminding him of everything bitter just happened some moments ago. Out of it all, he could feel his own tears, streaming unstoppable in a slow motion down his cheeks. And no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop them.

Before him, Dohko sat across the desk, next to an empty chair belonged to Shion. The Libra saint had gone out a moment ago to brief the other Gold saints, and now was back in the room, doing nothing but sitting and watching him intently with his dark eyes, studying every bit of emotion he must've shown on his face. Not far from where he sat, the high Pope Shion was standing near the massive window, watching the rain silently. Since few minutes ago, he hadn't said anything, just stood there, as still as a statue, the elusive rise and fall of his shoulders were the only thing specified that the green haired leader was still breathing.

The two highest rank warriors had interrogated him for hours now, and right after Saga said his last words moment ago, the room they were in now was filled with suffocating silence. The only sound could be heard was the drumming sound of the heavy rain outside. The atmosphere was so deadly quiet that he felt it could choke him at any given time during this grueling moment.

He had confessed all, had told them everything regarding his past sins and desires, not missing even tiny bit of it. Of his feeling toward Mu, his obsession, the rejection, until the final part of the brutal assault he had bestowed upon the Aries saint, or whatever thing he could still remember from that horrifying event.

Dohko had remained passive throughout his talk, but Shion's expression had been terrifying. The former Aries saint looked confused, angry, mad, until when Saga had finished, he decided he just had enough and left his desk to stand by the window to calm himself down, didn't make any sound up until now. And even with all the left over courage he had, Saga just couldn't use any of it to lift up his face to even take a slight glance at any of his superiors. He just fixed his eyes to the floor, wishing fervently for the ground to swallow him whole and so with it, he could escape from the two men's piercing gazes.

If it was up to him, Saga was gravely contemplating on having a suicide, just like he had done the last time.

Kanon had killed himself with his Galaxian Explosion during his last fight with Rhadamanthys in the Underworld, so why couldn't he just do the same right now? The call of death was so tempting, it promised him only peace and surely could wash all his guilt away, then why the hell couldn't he done that already?

Saga knew the answer to that was so simple, because he didn't want to leave the one person he loved so dearly, even more, he didn't want to leave the supposedly his child that that person conceived, the one person who now was hating him so much until he had tried to kill him before.

As he sat there, his mind unconsciously replayed the event on the meeting room, over and over again, and Saga shuddered, hard. He remembered everyone's eyes staring at him, disgust, disbelief and anger had been showed clearly on every inch of their faces. It was alright, he could still take it, as seeing his very dark and sickening past life before the resurrection, it was not his first experience to be hated by his comrades.

But to be hated by Mu, that he couldn't take. Not now, not ever.

When he had been first revived by Athena, none of his Gold comrades had any belief in him considering his dark past as a murderer and fake Pope. But then he took all the chances to prove himself. His dark side had faded along with his old life, once again he had sworn his allegiance to Athena and Pope Shion and he worked twice harder than anyone else, until the Pope then finally had appointed him as his second in command along with Libra Dohko. Everyone respected him, they feared him, he was considered as the strongest of all the saints, and honestly, he was extremely proud of it all. Even though he didn't possessed power as significant as the Pope, but he was content. Everything went well and he was quite satisfied with himself and his life.

Then came the attraction.

Saga couldn't contemplate when was the first time he had been so drawn to Mu the Aries saint. The thing he knew was that he had started to pay attention to the soft spoken man, more than to everyone else, had been watching him from afar in great discreet. To his eyes, Mu was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes upon, the Tibetan was a very kind man, his knowledgeable and wise way of speaking and thinking had really seized Saga's heart. As time gone by, he had gotten more and more attracted to the man, the feeling was spiraling everywhere and suddenly he just felt like he could no longer live the day without seeing Mu around.

Of course, being a stubborn and self-controlled person as he was, Saga had made sure no one, definitely no one, not even his twin brother Kanon, ever knew of this. It was not because he thought it's shameful or anything related to that, but because it was his instinct that had told him that there was a small chance the pretty Aries would return the feeling. Mu was always friendly, and kind, always had this delicate smile gracing his lips, but that was for everyone all around Sanctuary, never for him alone. He treated Saga no difference than anyone else, there was never a sparkle of desire in his eyes every time their eyes met, and thus Saga just knew it that there was never any opportunity between them.

Based on this fact too, Saga then tried to fight off the feeling, had willed himself to whirl the thought away. It would be foolish to ever dream of him being his. But the more and more he tried to get away, the more Saga felt like a tortured animal. The contained one sided love had made him tremendously suffered, he was screaming and crying inside, and the suffering even had gotten worse every time they met during work or social event.

People said that love's hurt. In his case, it had gone beyond that.

But then, enough was enough and it had come the day when he decided that he just had to put a halt to all the desperation.

Counting persistently only on his gut and tremendous amount of alcohol he had consumed on a specifically one lonely night, Saga then went to the Aries temple and finally uttered his feeling to the Lemurian saint. That had been almost a month ago. He just didn't know where he had gone wrong, but all hopes seemed lost as that night turned out to be the foulest night he ever had in his life. Mu had rejected him and unceremoniously ushered him to leave his temple. The memory of the Aries's shocked face would stay forever in his head, and the way Mu expressed his resentment toward him had been the worst of it all. It all had left such a big scar on Saga's heart that he knew it would never heal even if he had been given the time to fix it.

That night, broken heart hit him so ruthlessly, and how it hurt, so much.

During the days afterward, the pain then worsened even though he had managed to act so normally around Mu and everyone else. He had been so closed to just give up, there was no point to force his love to someone who obviously didn't have any feeling toward him, let alone love. The only solution he had was to leave Sanctuary for a time being, just like Deathmask, or maybe waiting for Mu to leave for Jamir. Either way, he would be glad should they didn't see each other too often, the less they met it would be better. The threat of insanity was hanging on the tip of his whole being, and he badly needed some times off to heal his feeling.

But then just before he had time to carry on with the plan, it had come the night, the disaster moment when he had lost all control he always possessed. The night when he, the ever prideful Saga of Gemini, had destroyed the life of the one person he ever loved the most, and with it, destroyed his own life too.

Just like the other lonely nights he had during his adult life, Saga preferred alcohol as a solution to mend the sullenness of his love life. So that night he had accepted Milo's invitation to go drink with him and the others. He had no whatsoever knowledge of what he had drank at Camus's temple, but he had been drunk so harshly, it had been quite a struggle to descend down the stairs to go home to his temple.

With some swaying and a terrible headache, he had decided to go straight away to bed, and had been seriously thought to do so, when vaguely he detected two kinds of familiar cosmos in the distance as he just arrived at his own temple. The distance between each of the Golden temples was quite far away, and until this day Saga couldn't understand how he had been able to smell the presence of his two fellows down there. Moreover, he knew exactly of whose cosmos they belonged to. His intoxicated mind then hadn't allowed him to think straight. He knew they were there, suspicion took over, and before he knew it, he found himself went past his temple to go down the stairs even more, following his curiosity of what took place in the lower temples.

His legs brought him fast passing the silent Taurus temple, and the journey continued until finally he saw them, two figures illuminated by the dim moonlight, going down the stairs to the Aries temple. It was Mu, as he had expected, while the other one was the Leo saint Aiolia. From where he stood, Saga could tell that Mu was very drunk too, his slim body swayed here and there as the purple haired man seemed hardly could stand straight. He just had no idea, he always thought that someone like Mu would never touched anything alcoholic beyond the amount he could handle. How a funny sight it was.

But then the silent laugh died straight away, as upon spying on the two, something else had caught his attention. He saw the way Aiolia put his arms around the slim figure of the man he loved, of the closeness between the two, the way Mu leaned his body to the Lion, he looked so…comfortable and relaxed. It must've something that the Aries would never feel when Saga was around. More to it, it should've been his hand around that tempting waists, his body that Mu leaned on to, and should've been him standing close to him.

The more he eyed the two, the angrier he felt. Aiolia had no right to touch something that was not his, wasn't he already screwing around with that Shaka? And Mu… Saga would've never thought that the Aries would act like that. In his drunken state, he looked so…sly… The way his body moved, the way he looked at the other man, it looked like he was even flirting with him..

Leo scum…

….and Mu, why…?

At that moment, right where he stood, with mind as dark as the night sky, Saga just felt them. Fury and boiling jealousy rumbled ever so ferociously in heart, eating up all of his sanity down to the very last shred.

So he followed them, descending down the stairs into the Aries temple, stealthily sealing his cosmos with a high level of ability, so no one could sense he was there. He hid himself in one very dark corner, witnessing as the two men made their entrance. He forced himself not to think of what the two were doing there, but when Aiolia emerged from inside later on, Saga went in instead, despite of every bit of his instinct which had told him to just turn around and leave.

With anger and curiosity still engulfing him, he then headed to the bedroom, all silence around him. There had been a very small part of his brain that nudged him, warning him not to open the closed door, but just as he curled his fingers around the handle, he ignored all the warning completely and opened the unlocked door.

The sight of the sleeping saint on the bed that had greeted him had been…indescribable. Mu was always so tempting when he was awake, but as he slept, that Lemurian beauty was even more enthralling. He was flawless and perfect, his innocence face was so impossible to resist, and he just laid there sprawling on his front, in all his fragility and innocence, as if waiting for someone to claim him.

Saga could no longer register every part of his brain that screamed for him to stop. The second he laid a finger upon Mu's soft warm body, that had been the beginning of his downfall.

What he had done as he entered Mu's bedroom was… was something that he couldn't really explain in real words. As it was too revolting, it was also the hardest part to tell, he was struggling hard to re-tell the story to the furious Pope and Dohko moments ago. Moreover his intoxicated state that time had blurred most of his recollection of what had happened that night. What he remembered so far was that he had thought that all the moans and sighs Mu had let out when he first touched him were the signs of consent. He had totally misinterpreted it, and so with the desire wielding inside him so strongly, he just went on with the rest of indecent activity.

Then again, how could you stop when you felt like you were in heaven?

In the middle of it all, yes, he vaguely could remember hearing Mu's screams and pleas, and knew at some point he just needed to stop. But he couldn't, not when everything felt so blindingly good and the pleasure was so intense, so raw, it destroyed every healthy nerve in his head. The jealousy had even made it worse, it inevitably let out all the cruelty in him. Whatever screams Mu had let out, none was mattered. The Aries would learn his lesson of ever rejected him and for his affair with Aiolia, and that was all.

And then, it had finished all too soon, and coherence once more was back inside his head. He stared at the blood on the sheet, looked up, and saw Mu's crying and broken form in the corner of the room, and at that moment Saga knew that he had done an acutely horrendous thing.

He had assaulted Mu the Aries saint.

Ever so violently.

If only he could turn back time and asked for a second chance for it to never happen.

No any particular word could describe what he had been feeling after that incident. Right after Mu screamed for him to leave, he remembered scrambling up to his temple, his tremble remained even as he went to bed, trying with all his might to sleep and forget what had happened. He feared the coming of the next day. If the Aries decided to tell anyone, Shion and the others would surely have his head.

But the next day passed just like any usual day, and the same for the next day after that, and the next, and the next, and the next. So as it was, he knew Mu had no intention to tell anyone. Not that he would ever be, it seemed.

But even that, nothing could release him from his agonizing distress.

For the next three weeks after that, he had been forced to live with all kinds of emotion whirling viciously inside him. Most he could feel was the severe torture of guilt and shame that washed over him so strongly, day by day, it took all his existence as a saint and a human being, making him felt like the most disgusting person in the whole wide world. During those days, Mu hadn't come out of his temple either, avoiding him and everyone else for sure, and it had made the situation even more difficult. He just couldn't gather enough courage to come to Mu and to ask for his forgiveness, and he couldn't tell anyone else either as not to put further shame to the Aries saint. He was constantly scared and confused, and it all then becoming so unbearable.

And so the answer to it all was to take his leave. Permanently.

He had planned to tell that to Shion right after their monthly meeting today, having decided that with or without the Pope's consent, he would still take his leave. He had packed all of his belongings and had set up a road map of where he would go as he left. He had been ready to hand over the Gemini cloth to Kanon, planning to make him the new guardian of the Gemini temple, trusting the younger twin to take full responsibility to don the cloth and all the task that went along with it. He would make up an excuse for his comrades regarding his departure, very much doubted he would go back here even if Athena called for him. To runaway sounded so cowardice, but it was the only way, because Saga knew he just didn't have enough courage to face the one person he had hurt the most.

He had been so ready to give up everything.

But as someone had said, no one could change of what faith had already determined for them. Saga's faith had just turned into its worst twist, all the hard work and good image he built had just been ruined.

Upon the meeting started, Saga just couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. He just felt that everything would not work according to plan, and that he was about to get busted. He felt enormously uneasy and agitated, and that was why he had been so quiet during the whole time. And then as Mu made his entrance, looking all ill and frustrated, Saga just knew that it was all over.

It was over, because he just couldn't hold his lust intact. Couldn't hold himself back.

And the more horrifying thing, his Lemurian friend was pregnant. With his child.

Pregnant with his child….

A loud sigh came from Shion and it broke Saga's train of thought. With the still pounding words inside his head, the Gemini wiped the tears from his already swollen eyes, waiting for the Pope to say something. For all he cared, Shion could kill him exactly right there and he would be greatly thankful for it. It was so much better to be killed by someone rather than to commit suicide, he might just let his friends did it should they wished to avenge Mu.

And then it came, the low voice of the High Pope, reverberating across the room, heavy with the burden he held inside, "Saga, do you know why I had chosen you as my second in command?"

Ever so slowly the blue haired Gemini lifted his face, gazing in dread at Shion's back, who didn't bother turn around as he shot the question. Saga gulped down the last of his sob, "Master Shion, I…" and the words died. He literally didn't know what to say, couldn't guess what's that question had to do with his situation.

As he didn't receive any answer, the High Pope then spoke, "That despite of all of your crime and betrayal in the past, I always see you as a dignified person. I see you as the strongest one among all the saints, you're honest and loyal, a man to be respected, and so with those qualities you possessed, I had given you the position where you are now. I have been watching you all along and I can say that I cannot be more proud of you. I even had discussed with Dohko of getting a retirement. I feel like I have enough, and would trust everything to you and Aiolos, you two are the most I could count on. I am an old man, Saga, maybe it is time for me to leave everything, go somewhere and have another disciple to train, have a peaceful life. I had my hope…" He stopped for a moment and sighed heavily, "And then came this."

Saga flinched, feeling his heart clenched painfully in his chest. He had destroyed Shion's hope and now the old man sounded so broken, so sad. Before him Dohko winced at his seat, averting his eyes to Shion and then back to Saga, but still remained silent.

"Has it ever come to your knowledge that some of us Lemurian men could conceive?" Shion asked again before the Gemini had anything to say, this time turned his face slightly toward him, "It was our gift as well as our curse."

At this Saga's swollen eyes widened, and he stammered, "Y.. Your Honor, I never have a single clue that…"

"It was one fact that had been long gone, but not vanished entirely. Not all of us men capable of that, luckily, only some handful." the Pope cut him abruptly, gazing at him dead on, "Unfortunately Mu seems to be among those. There has never a real test to prove such a thing, but you know what it makes us Saga? That we, whether it's men or women, are meant to be very careful in our relationship, especially when it's concerning something intimate or sexual, because we would never know. For us men, nothing could ever explain how it is possible, other than those who could conceive just have different body structures than most men do. You Saga, of all people, should probably learn of this fact first, before you decided to assault my ex-student."

That was a very harsh statement, according to Saga, and he bit his lips, "Pope Shion I swear to all the Gods, I have never ever planned to assault Mu…" he stuttered, shaking his head in utter refusal, "Please… do not accuse me of such…"

"So you didn't, according to that confession of yours," again Shion cut him off, now standing facing him completely, and hissed, "And it was all just because of the jealousy of seeing Aiolia got so close to him, while in the midst of it all, you already knew that it's the Virgo that the Lion was interested to." The Pope shook his head, his massive blue hair brushed against his back. "So what is your point exactly Saga? Were you trying to prove to Mu that you are stronger than him and could have everything you wanted of him?"

The Greek man shook his head furiously, "High Pope it is not that…never like that… I told you already.. I made a mistake..."

"And that was a grave mistake indeed, Gemini," the more he spoke, the more rage seemingly was boiling inside of the High Pope, "And do not dared to ever use that love of yours to be the reason of it all. You were not in love with Mu, you were obsessed with him, so much that you let your cruelty to take the best in you, until you forced yourself upon him against his very wish. You have defiled him in the most humiliating way a person could do to other. You are unworthy to be called his friend, not even worthy to be called a human. You are a saint and Mu is your comrade…"

Saga tensed, "Pope… please…"

But Shion just didn't care, "You are one of the eldest, you supposed to take care of the others. They are your responsibility, for God sake! If you love him so much like you said, you supposed to show only kindness to him, and WHAT YOU DID WAS DEFINITELY NOT KIND!"

He had shouted at the end of his sentences, and Dohko looked up at him, "Shion…"

The former Aries heaved in anger, made Saga once again lost all courage to face him. The guilty saint lowered his face as again tears began to stream down his face. Dohko shook his head in desperation, almost gave up on everything. He couldn't tell when Shion would stop getting angry and Saga would stop crying, when all they needed to do was to find solution, and they needed it badly.

"Shion my friend," he then said, looking up at the slender figure by the window shaking with rage, "Shall I remind you that we are in desperate need to find a solution for this mess?"

"Oh yes solution," the Pope repeated menacingly. He now turned around to face the two, although his green eyes fixed solely to the shivering Gemini saint, "I have the right one for this. How about if we all just take his life as redemption for all his sins, would that be a good one, no? We should just hand him to Aiolia and maybe Aldebaran, they would happily carry on with such duty."

Saga's handsome face became even paler and Dohko inhaled impatiently. Athena help us…

"Or myself," Shion stated coldly, walking back fast to the desk and sat on his chair, "I would happily do that too. Why ask the others when I can do it myself. What do you think Saga, do you wish to die?"

The poor man in questioned had to inhale so much breath to steady himself as he looked up dejectedly once again at the man he now feared so much, "Master Shion, I will humbly receive any punishment you wish to bestow upon me. Take my life or put me into an exile, if it's the only thing I can do to redeem all my sins, then so be it."

"So I have thought," the ancient Lemurian retorted, narrowing his eyes and watching the man before him with an intensity of a hawk, "But come to think of it, if you die, how could you take the responsibility upon your act to Mu? It should be easier if he is not having a child in his womb, but now that he is, then the story will take a very, very different turn. As shameful as you are, Saga, you are still the father of the child Mu is carrying inside of him. Do you know anything about the responsibility of a father to his child?"

The blue haired man blinked, confusion latched tight on his face, and he gulped hard, "I…. What is it you wish for me to do, Master?"

Shion then leaned his body forward, pulling on all the dignity he had within him and spoke out with as much menace he could muster, "Saga I wish for you to listen to what I will say next, and I want you to listen carefully, because I will not say it twice. You will do anything I have decided without doubt and without asking any question. Because as far as I'm concerned, Saga of Gemini, you are running out on an option here and you have no choice but to carry on every bit of my orders. Or else I will have no other choice but to take your life and your pride along with it. Do you understand me, youngster?"

So Shion had reached his decision, and with that, Saga wiped his tears, steeling himself for any doom coming his way. This is it… He swallowed and could only nodded weakly, "Yes Pope Shion. You have my words."

Sss

Aiolos and the rest of the Gold saints that had been ushered out from the conference room moments ago had gathered quietly on the front balcony of the Pope's Chamber. There were some stoned chairs where some of them sat, waiting for anything to happen next or for the Pope should he decided to call them back to do… whatever.

It was Aiolos who had instructed all the younger saints to wait there, while Shion and Dohko took their time questioning Saga, and Shaka was tending to Mu. The bewildered Sagitarius saint was now standing facing his younger brother, who currently was sitting in front of him, looking completely in frustration. Milo was standing frozen beside him, while Camus was occupying the other stoned chair next to Aiolia, seemed much in shock and literally was lost of what to do

A moment ago Dohko had come to give them a small briefing regarding the case, and in it, told them everything regarding Saga's confession. The Old Master just thought that they had the right to know, as well as to redeem their curiosity about the case, and specifically said that they all would be called for Shion's final decision. After telling all those to the four young saints, the Chinese man then went back inside.

As soon as he left, Aldebaran, being Mu's best friend, had gone half berserk and had taken his turn to be the second after Aiolia who wished to kill Saga at first sight. With all the dismay, Aiolos then had ordered Aphrodite and Kanon to go to the Pisces temple, taking the Taurus saint with them, and to do everything necessary to calm him down. Being a mighty person as he was, and judging from his anger, the Brazilian man could be extremely dangerous to have around, and thus prevention is an absolute thing to do. Aiolos was not sure how they had been able to convince Aldebaran, but the three then took their leave, leaving the four saints in the eerie quietness, all were seemingly lost in their own thought.

The elder saint gazed afar, watching at the rain which now was gradually stopping, it seemed the worst of it had come to pass. Below him, he could see Aphrodite's pride, the Royal Demon Rose Garden, and behind it, all the twelve Zodiac temples, places where all its guardians dwelled, magnificent and ever glorious as they usually were. Such thing like a sexual assault to one of their Golden comrades should not be happening in such powerful place like this Sanctuary, it was wrong and so shameful, and it brought great sadness to his heart. He recalled everything about what Dohko had just said and the sadness in him grew even greater.

Just the same with everyone else, Aiolos questioned whether Saga's dark personality was back without none of them knew about it. That personality in which he had fallen victim to it long time ago. But it was not possible, because aside of what he had done to Mu, Saga had remained to be kind to all of them for the past weeks. Being the two eldest, Aiolos always worked closely with him and he had seen no sign of anything and felt nothing. Sure he had seen this sometimes solemn expression on Saga's face, but it never occurred in Aiolos's mind that it was the sign that Saga had done something really, really awful. He always concluded that the man had already be in total peace with himself and his surroundings, then how could he committed such an unforgivable crime just brought such confusion in Aiolos.

Dohko had said that Saga was exceedingly in love with Mu and his jealousy toward Aiolia had been the reason why he had done it. But it wouldn't justify anything, right? How such a crime could ever be excusable? The expression on Mu's face back in the meeting room danced in his mind, that young man looked so devastated, and Aiolos couldn't suppress his shudder. Now everything was ruined and would never be normal again. Sanctuary would lament greatly over what had happened in its land, and nothing Saga did would ever mend the mistake he had already done.

Dark days were approaching and they're not even in the form of any battle.

Saga, how could you…?

The loud groan from his brother brought him back to reality, and his eyes then moved to the distressed figure before him. Aiolia looked so much ready to explode and Aiolos inhaled a large amount of air to calm himself. So much for having such a high tempered man for a brother.

Aiolia's eyes were fixed to the floor, elbows were resting on top of his thighs and his fists were clutched onto his already messy hair. Once in a while, the word 'bastard' slipped out from his lips, seemed didn't even realize that he was saying it repeatedly. He just couldn't stop thinking about the event from three weeks ago, it reeled in his mind, again and again and again, making him felt guilty beyond everything. And Dohko had said something about Saga's jealousy toward him and Mu… Was that Gemini literally had gone insane?

Aiolos looked down at his brother's fidgeting body, there must've been some nerves straining inside his head, and sighed, "Let it go, brother. There's nothing you can do about it now. It's not your fault."

The younger's head snapped up at him. Slowly he lowered down his hands and straightened his body, his frustration filled voice then hit the air around them, "I was the one who took Mu to his temple that night, Aiolos. I went inside his temple, into his bedroom. I saw him sleeping peacefully, right there on his very bed. But not one bit I ever smelled of Saga's whereabouts… How could I? I should've known that he's there. I should've wake Mu to warn him… It was supposed to be that easy!" His hazel eyes blazed with rage, "Should I know Saga was there, I should've killed him right there!"

Aiolos snorted, half in irritation and half in pity at seeing his brother's state, "There was no use to regret everything, Aiolia. You were both drunk, and thus it made both of you weak, or can't you remember that?"

"And so was Saga!" The Lion spat angrily, "You heard what Dohko said. That man was so drunk until he thought that I was doing something with Mu."

"Yeah that part," the elder raised one eyebrow, "What exactly did you do with Mu that made Saga so angry?"

"Nothing!" He almost screamed, "I did nothing! I was just helping him down the goddamn stairs. I held him because he couldn't stand properly, if I didn't, Mu would surely fell down. And I went to his bedroom only to tuck him to his bed. I left right after he slept. We didn't do anything!" He blinked, "Aiolos I swear to you…"

"I know," his brother replied in amusement, not doubting that the Lion was telling the truth. He knew for sure that his brother was crazy about Shaka anyway. "Just be sure you inform the right thing to Shaka, or else we could face another problem."

"I already did!" He sucked in his breath. "I never hide anything to him."

"Then why don't you go easy a little bit?"

The Leo shook his head. "I was drunk, but I remembered everything, and I was sure I could've fought him should I know he's there. Now Mu is hurt and that is because of me… How could I be so stupid?!"

"I just told you, enough with the regret!" Aiolos snapped. "It is not your fault. You, me, and even the whole world know it full well. You are not to be held responsible toward any of Saga's action, so just stop it already."

Aiolia tiredly brushed both his palms to his face, trying to force calmness to himself and failed terribly, "Ohhh Saga… he will so much pay for this. I promise with everything in me that Mu will have his revenge…"

"None of that rubbish again, brother!" His brother widened his eyes. He just couldn't believe how Aiolia could be that determined to kill the Gemini, "Shion told no fighting, and I intend to follow his order. And so will you and everyone else."

The younger saint snorted, "Which side are you on really, Aiolos? Mu is my friend."

"And so is Saga," the elder replied coldly, "We will do nothing except to wait for Shion's instruction. And especially you, no one will take this matter upon their own hands. Hear me out on this Aiolia."

Aiolia hissed quietly. Sometimes he really admired his elder brother, Aiolos just never had any ill will toward Saga, seemed like he had totally forgiven him for all the arduous sins the Gemini saint had committed in the past. If only he could the same…. But no. What Saga had done to Mu could not be forgiven and Aiolia wished to kill him so badly, despite whatever Shion and everyone else said. Man like him, Aiolia thought, couldn't be given another chance to walk on this earth.

"Your brother is right Aiolia, "Milo who was standing next to Aiolos and had been watching the heated argument in silence, suddenly spoke, "We should just wait for any order from Shion. It is better if we…."

"Oh shut it Milo, I don't wish to hear it!" Aiolia shrieked, earned him another sharp glare from his brother.

Milo didn't wish to start another debate with the furious young man, and shrugged, "I'm only saying that we better cool our heads first."

Aiolia scowled quietly, but didn't give anymore retort. Silence then once again spread among the four, before Camus spoke softly, almost in a daydream, "From all the things happened, who could've thought that Mu could get pregnant? I mean…" he glanced at his comrades and gulped, "How could a male get pregnant? He is not so different from all of us, is he not?"

"Mu is always different from all of us, Camus," Aiolos answered him, averting his gaze to the long haired Russian, "He is a Lemurian, a special race that we don't see too often nowadays. From what I have heard, some of the male in their races could conceive. But that was long time ago, and I really thought that it was just a rumor..."

"Is that mean that Shion could conceive too?" the Aquarius then asked rather innocently, and regretted it right away. He didn't mean to ask such a foolish question, as he saw Aiolos's eyes widened in surprise and Milo whipped his head to him in annoyance.

"You really have to choose now to ask such a question, my friend?" The Scorpion then asked. "Maybe you should ask him yourself if you really want to know."

"No, sorry," Camus replied shortly then quieted, now seriously didn't wish to know the answer to his own question. He was just too much in shock he guessed.

Before him Milo shook his head, "Shion must've known that, I mean he lives for more than two hundred years already. The fact that obvious should not be missed from his attention, therefore he should've warned Mu in advance before anything could happen, right?"

"Wrong!" Aiolia snapped all of a sudden, "Because nothing should ever happen, if that Saga didn't get too lusty over Mu. Someone should just bring him to a good prostitute, so that he could sate that sickening lust of him, instead of him searching one of us to get a good fuck."

The other two gasped and Aiolos hissed, "Enough Aiolia!" He just had enough with all those curses coming out from his little brother's mouth. For all he thought, what Aiolia did now was not helping the situation at all, if not only made it worse.

The Leo returned his brother's glare with the same ferocity. The staring contest would undoubtedly start another argument, if not for a hooded figure who had just climbed up the stairs and now was walking to their direction. It was Aphrodite. The Pisces had just come back from his temple, the closest one to the Pope's chamber.

"Aphrodite," Aiolos greeted him, glad for the distraction, as the pretty saint grew near, "How is Aldebaran?"

"He is fine," Aphrodite answered, pulling back the hood from his head and looking quite drenched from the pouring rain. His voice sounded a bit shaken as he spoke, "Only he was so angry, and so I was forced to make him a tea which I mixed with some of my special potion to calm him down. He is now…."

Camus's eyes widened in horror, "You're giving him what?"

The Swedish man blinked, "My special brewed potion, it's only to put him to sleep for a little while until he could calm himself. Nothing's poisonous. What else am I supposed to do Camus? He almost broke Kanon's neck just because Kanon has the same look as his twin brother. I was kind of panicked myself."

"Maybe it was wrong to send Kanon with him anyway…." Milo mumbled sourly.

Aiolos let out a small smile, "At ease Aphrodite. You're doing the right thing. So where is Aldebaran now by the way?"

"He's sleeping on my couch," the Pisces replied. "I told Kanon to stay with him. He was rather shaking up too so I told him to rest for a while. They both are in my temple Aiolos."

His reply made Aiolos's smile grew wider. During his life as a saint, Aiolos had never heard Aphrodite let anyone sleeping on his couch. The Pisces was too reserved to let someone else spending any longer time than necessary in his temple as he always hated any invasion to his high guarded privacy, almost the same attitude like Shaka had. Maybe all Shion's speech about friendship was starting to make progress after all.

He nodded, "Thank you Aphrodite. I appreciate everything you have done."

"It's the least I could do," Aphrodite replied politely. He then glanced to all his fellows almost shyly as he spoke again, "Maybe, rather than you wait here for nothing, you all could come to my temple to get some rest. You could come quickly here should Shion calls since my temple is the closest. I just think it would be better to wait there than here."

"That sounds like a good idea actually," Milo the Scorpion then stated, "After what had just happened, I think I really need a drink. I mean a good decent drink. A cup of coffee would do."

"Be my guest then," the Pisces smiled, aware that his sudden hospitality had somehow surprised everyone, "If any of you guys hungry, you may take whatever you want from the fridge."

Milo nodded and averted his eyes to the eldest among them, "Aiolos?"

"It should be fine," the elder Greek replied him, "Aphrodite already gave us his permission, so it's best if we follow his suggestion. And you too brother." He saw the neared refusal on Aiolia's face and put a calming hand on the tensed shoulder, "Come then Aiolia, you know well that you could do nothing here either. We'll get some rest in Pisces temple and should Shion calls, we could come back here as fast as we can."

It was but a moment before the Lion then agreed. Aiolos was right, he could do nothing here anyway, and if he had to wait here for another hour, Aiolia swore he could go crazy. The tall man slowly stood up, "Fine."

Slowly the four saints then headed to the stairs, with Aphrodite stayed behind watching them. Milo walked behind his comrades, but stopped at seeing Aphrodite didn't walk with them.

"Are you not coming then Aphrodite?" He asked him.

"You go ahead, I will catch up," the Pisces replied, gazing at his friend as Milo turned around and walked closer to him.

The Scorpion raised his fine brows, "Are you going to wait here?"

"Ummm yeah I think," he replied, "I just wish to check on Mu, if it's permitted by Shion. I mean Mu is always kind to me, and I just want to make sure that he's alright." He bowed his head, looking very sad, "I just can't imagine what he must've feeling right now, it must be really hard for him." He looked up again at his friend, and spoke, "Saga was with us that night, wasn't he Milo? But I just couldn't catch anything wrong with him… I thought I saw something in his eyes, but I just didn't know that he was thinking to go to Mu to…." His voice died.

"I don't think he ever planned to do it," his blue haired comrade commented, "Saga was just lonely. I mean you heard what Dohko said, it was the jealousy that practically made him do it."

"Yes that too…." The young Pisces replied, biting his lips.

"But you're right, it's really terrible," Milo then continued. "I wish to see Mu too, and so does everyone else. But we could only wait until Shion said so. And to tell the truth, I hate waiting, so might as well grab something to drink while doing so. It's very nice of you to invite the guys to your place."

"It's not a problem," he replied shyly and smiled, "I told you I will no longer put a barrier between me and my friends."

"That's good. I think you're doing great," Milo smiled back, enjoying the beautiful sight in front of him. The smile on the other's lips looked so terribly luscious, and Milo just had to confine himself from grabbing the man and tearing that tempting lips with his own. He really should forget on the idea as he knew they needed to concentrate on Mu's problem first. With that, the blue haired Greek pulled up his hood and stated shortly, "Alright. I'll see you later then."

Aphrodite nodded, "I'll be here just for a while. If it takes too long then I will join you and the others."

With a small wave, Milo left his friend and walked away, leaving Aphrodite with his thought to sit on one of the stoned chair. The Pisces then averted his eyes to the closed entrance of the Pope's Chamber, wishing as if by looking at it, the door could miraculously open and the High Pope would show up. He sighed to himself.

Looked like it was going to be a long wait.

Tbc…

A/N : now, after looking around almost every site regarding the Lemurian race, I found one site called TheGnosislink – Hercolubus and the Seven Races. It said (which I quote) : 'The third root race was the Lemurian civilization. The Lemurians inhabited the great continent of Mu, which was found where the Pacific Ocean is now located. The first half of the Lemurians race consisted of beings that were hermaphrodite, whose bodies had both sets of sexual organs.' I don't really know if this true or not, but it's just a small fact which I think could justify Mu's pregnancy in this fic. Mu surely doesn't have outer organs like women, but inside, well, he's kinda mixed up, and that's why he could get pregnant. He inherited this condition from his long lost ancestors, and since there was never any real test to prove it, so no one, including Shion, knows of this. Well before it's too late anyway. Alright, hope this will do. Thx for reading all!