A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! As some of you may know, the Lost Canvas manga is ending. For some reason this set loose a heard of plotbunnies in my head, of which this is but one. This might not fit in with the ending of LC, but I wanted to write it anyway. Here is how I see Shion becoming Pope. Also I had to upload this document twice, because for some reason stripped the quotation marks out of the first one.

Request

"But Lord Shion," the guardsman whined, "we're undermanned as it is! If we send people down into Rodario to help with the construction, then we won't have enough men for full patrols!"

"Then cut back on the patrols a bit," Shion tried not to let his own impatience creep into his voice. He had already dealt with this man several times before, and he was being to get tired of the constant complaints every time he asked something of him, "Rodairo is one of the supply bases for Sanctuary, and the repairs needed in town are minor. Those can be completed quickly with our help, and then they will be able to supply help to us with rebuilding. You know that none of us are trained builders. If we have even one person who knows what they're doing it will go much faster. Besides," he added, " we have a duty to the town as well. Sanctuary is supposed to be a place they can turn to for help. We can't betray their trust."

"But what about the trust of Sanctuary itself?" The guardsman persisted, "Sanctuary is the most important thing right now…!"

"Sanctuary and Rodario are connected. They always have been, and they depend on each other." Shion said firmly. "We will protect both. That is our duty, and I will not have us abandon our duty just because it happens to be the 'easier' way," the Aries Saint leveled a look at the guardsman. "I will not betray the trust of those that have fallen in the Holy War. I will send the more advanced trainees to assist in the patrols until the repairs in town are finished, but we will be assisting them. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a moment of hesitation in the guardsman's stance, as if he was actually going to try and continue the argument, but then the man bowed. "I understand, Lord Shion," he said grudgingly, then quickly turned and left.

Shion leaned back slightly, resting against one of the pillars lining the front of his temple as he watched the man head down the steps. It seemed as if it was harder and harder to find peace in his temple these days. There were so many things that needed to be done, and everyone seemed to be coming to him for them. He had no idea where this sudden burst of confidence in his abilities had come from but it was becoming rather trying.

He let his gaze wander over the sprawling expanse of Sanctuary. You could see much of it even from his position as the first temple, and it was not a heartening sight at the moment. There was still so much that needed to be repaired after the Holy War. Beyond the physical damage, there was still the healing of wounds both physical and emotional. Nothing could replace the lives that had been lost and it would be months, perhaps years before they were back up to the strength they had been before Hades attacked. The thought of how much work there was left was almost overwhelming if you tried to think about.

"One day at a time," he muttered to himself. It had become a personal mantra of sorts. He couldn't allow himself to be crushed. They just had to keep moving forward, one step at time. He repeated that thought to himself as he let his line of sight drop a little, and suddenly caught sight of the figure making it's way up the stairs. Immediately he straightened a little, a slightly smile touching his lips.

"Dohko!" he called and was rewarded with a slight wave. "I didn't know you where back," he said as soon as the Libra Saint reached him. What he didn't bother to ask was why the Libra Saint hadn't come and seen him. Dohko was already in his practice armor, and didn't have his Pandora box with him. He had to have been back long enough to get to his temple and change. He had been dealing with complaints at his temple for the last hour, so there was no way his friend would have been able to sneak by then. Dohko had to have arrived earlier, and he thought his friend would at least have come said hello then.

"I just got back this morning," Dohko replied, grinning back a him. "You were down in Rodario when I came looking for you, so I decided to take a look around Sanctuary and see how the reconstruction was going. I have to say I'm really impressed. You've managed to make a lot of progress done in the last month!"

"Only because everyone has been working to make sure everything gets returned to normal," Shion turned to look back out over Sanctuary again. "It's not like I'm doing it alone you know. Everyone wants to get things fixed and back the way they were."

"But you're the one that's getting them organized, and making sure things go smoothly," Dohko leaned against the pillar next to him. "Honestly, I was a bit surprised. You've always been a fairly private person, so I didn't expect you to step up and take charge of others like that."

"Truthfully, I didn't even expect myself," Shion admitted, "but someone had to do something. You saw how chaotic everything was when we finally arrived back from the War. There was no organization, and everyone only had the vaguest idea of what do. We were already vulnerable because of the Holy War, if something had attacked us in that state we wouldn't even be able to defend ourselves. We are the only Saints left right now. As a Gold Saint I was the only one with enough authority to get everyone to listen to me. No matter what my personal feelings were, it was my duty to try and get things back on track."

"Come on, now you're making me feeling guilty," Dohko said teasingly. "It's almost like I'm abandoning you here and making you deal with everything on your own."

"There's no need for you to feel that way. You've been doing vital work of your own." Shion looked up at his friend. "Have you found any traces of Specters that might have escaped?"

"None," the Libra Saint sounded relieved, "I know that they probably disappeared when Hades did, but I would rather not leave it to chance. As you said, as weakened as we are, it would be a disaster if they found us."

Shion nodded in understanding, "That's why I've had regular patrols running. I don't truly expect anything to attack us so soon, but I want to be prepared just in case something does come. We can't fully drop our guard." He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Is hunting Specters truly what has taken you away for so long? It seems like there was something else you meant to do when you left."

"…I was searching for Cloths," Dohko admitted after a moment. "I managed to find two. They're waiting down in your workroom. That's what I came to tell you about when I arrived."

"Searching for Cloths," Shion whispered, glancing in the direction that lead to down to the underground area he used for the workrooms here in Sanctuary. "….You didn't tell me that's what you wished to do."

"I wasn't even sure I was going to do it myself until I was actually traveling." The Libra Saint looked up at the sky, "It's just that I dislike the thought of leaving the Cloths of our fallen comrades shattered and buried. They deserve better than that. Maybe it's a bit selfish of me since it will take time, perhaps years, to find them all; but I would like to see them all brought back to where they belong."

"That is not selfish," Shion answered without hesitation. Dohko looked down at him in surprise as the Aries Saint continued on, "we need more Saints here. I have already told you that we don't have enough fighters at the moment, and no Saints to speak of. Those Cloths will help us build up our strength again. We can find more trainees worth of them," Shion sighed slightly, "besides, I understand. I don't like the thought of leaving the Cloths of those who sacrificed so much wounded and alone either."

"….Thank you my friend."

"Perhaps once day," Shion added, "after Sanctuary is more stable, I will be able to join you and we can search together."

At that, Dohko shook his head. "No Shion," he said firmly, much to his friend's surprise. "You're needed here, and more than that, the rest of Sanctuary wants you here."

"…Wants me here?"

The Libra Saint smiled, one of his amused smiles that Shion had come to learn meant he knew something you didn't. "I ran into a few of the remaining leaders in Sanctuary while I was wandering around. They were the ones that told me what you were doing for Sanctuary, and how things had been improving since you took change. They also wanted me to formally ask you to take on the responsibilities of Pope."

It took a moment for what Dohko had said to sink in for Shion. When it did he couldn't help staring at the Libra Saint in absolutely confusion. "…Pope? Me?"

"Yeah," Dohko was smiling now. "You've really managed to impress them. Almost everyone knows that you've pushed yourself to make sure things recover. They respect you for that, and they think that you would do a good job leading them permanently."

"They do?" It was true that some of the guards and trainees had been very happy with what he was doing, but he wasn't aware he had impressed them so much. He wasn't even sure what he had done that would make them so sure he could lead. "I was just doing what had to be done…surely there's someone else who…"

"You said it yourself didn't you," Dohko gave him a serious look, "we are the only ones who are left. There isn't anyone else the other would agree on to lead them."

There was nothing that Shion could find to say to that remark. It was the truth, and something that he shouldn't feel surprised about it; yet knowing he was one of the candidates to be Pope of all things still came as a shock to him. It almost felt as he had only been filling in the gaps until someone else came along. "…What about you, Dohko? You're a Gold Saint and you are far better at dealing with people than I am."

Dohko was already shaking his head. "No," he said firmly. "I can't make the sort of hard decisions that a Pope needs to be able to make. You've always been the more logical one between the two of us." Dohko did smile a bit then, "besides, they already trust you. You've been the one getting their lives back in order and helping them move on, not me."

"Still…"

"Shion, they trust you," Dohko said. "This is about more than you or what you wish. Sanctuary is recovering, but all those here still bear scars in one way or another. No one wanted to celebrate the end of the Holy War because we had lost so much. The declaration of a new Pope would be both a real reason for everyone to celebrate and a sign that things are slowly getting back to normal." Dohko gave him a rather serious look, " and there are things that only the Pope can do that no one else can. Right before I left you told that you thought Aldebaran's student Teneo was ready to take up the Taurus Cloth, but according tradition only a student's Master or the Pope himself is capable of declaring someone ready for one of the Gold Cloths."

"That is true," Shion had been worrying over that point for a while now. How could they fill in their ranks when no one had the authority to see that it happened? Unless he and Dohko were to take on all the Gold Saint students themselves, there was no other way for them to get back up to full strength.

"..You just said you felt it was your duty to take charge and organize Sanctuary. Isn't taking up the helmet of the Pope an extension of that duty?" Shion looked over at Dohko in surprise. "You are the only one that can do this, Shion. We swore we would work to support the future generations that came after us. This is what we have to do in order for that to happen. Sanctuary needs it's Pope and it wants you to be in that role."

"Heh," Shion couldn't stop the half smile that formed on his face, "you always did know when to touch on my sense of duty."

"Only when it's necessary, my friend. This is something that I truly think will be good for both Sanctuary, and for you."

"You are probably right about that," Shion sighed and closed his eyes. then took a deep breath and opened them again. "Very well. I will accept the request. I will take up the mantle of Pope, for the good of Sanctuary."

"Good!" Dohko pushed away from the pillar he had been resting on, "I'll make the announcement. I think that most of Sanctuary will be very pleased to hear it."

"Pope, hmm?" Shion said, more to himself than to the Libra Saint. He looked up. "For some reason that is something that I never imagined myself being."

Dohko clapped him on the shoulder. "And that, Shion, might be why you are the best person for the job."