Hey y'all. When I first started writing Survival, I had a very different idea of what it was going to come out, however, since I put it on hiatus, I have changed my plans immensely, because I don't want it to be too similar to my other story, Justice.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
"Death Queen Island? It's a horrible place, and no child should ever be expected to go there to train. Even sending trainees there to test for the Cloths is dangerous."
"But I thought Andromeda Island was the most dangerous training ground." Aiolia protested, staring at his older brother.
Aiolos smiled at his younger brother fondly. "It is, arguably, but the master of Andromeda Island is a reasonable man who trains his students fairly. The master of Death Queen Island is cruel and harsh on his students. Most people barely consider him a human being."
Aiolia felt tears well up in his eyes. "Then why are you sending Talus there? Can't he stay here and get a different Cloth?" He begged.
Aiolos knelt down, placing his hands on Aiolia's shoulders. "I know you don't like it, I don't like sending Talus to Death Queen Island either, but we don't have a choice. This is the Pope's orders."
"Do you think he'll come back?" Aiolia asked, sniffling a bit.
"Talus has done very well in his training. I have every bit of faith that he will make it back alive and with the Fox Cloth." Aiolos smiled encouragingly at his little brother. "You should have the same faith too, okay?"
"Absolutely not! We're not sending anyone to Death Queen Island!" Aiolia yelled, glaring at the old man in front of him.
Mitsumasa Kido, to his credit, gave as good a glare as he got. "Do you have a better idea?" He demanded. "We don't have a good way of procuring any Silver or Gold Cloths, so we need as many Bronze Cloths as possible, and the Phoenix Cloth is said to be among the strongest of the Bronzes."
"None of those boys have a decent chance of gaining the Phoenix Cloth." Aiolia snapped.
"But there is a chance." Kido argued. "We have to take it."
"Those boys are children. Even Ikki is still a child, for all he acts older than he is! You can't send any of them to that hell and expect them to come back in one piece, physically or otherwise." Aiolia said firmly.
"And how would you know that?" Kido snapped. "You were barely more than a child yourself when I saved you and Saori, how could you know anything about a place you've never been to?"
Aiolia's glare deepened. "It doesn't take an adult to overhear rumors, or to read books. Remember, I've told you most of what you know about Saints, but I haven't told you anywhere near everything that I know."
"Prove it." Kido challenged the teenager.
"Fine. According to the laws of the Saints, siblings must always be trained together. This strengthens the bonds between Saints and ensures that we will be willing to fight and die for each other as much as we are for Athena." Aiolia said.
There was a long moment of silence after that.
Finally, Kido sighed. "Then what do you suggest? I don't see any other possible path to gaining the Cloth."
Aiolos thought for a minute, then it hit him. "Let the boys pick their training grounds. Whoever picks Death Queen Island will stay here and train with me. Once they're done training, then they can go to Death Queen Island to get the Phoenix Cloth."
"Can you guarantee that the Master of Death Queen Island will accept that? And are you sure you can effectively train a child to be a Saint. You aren't much older than some of them yourself." Kido asked.
"He'll have to. Saint Trainers are required to accept anyone vying for a Cloth. Whoever gets sent there may have to stay for a bit of testing before attempting to gain the actual Cloth, but it's better than sending someone there for the full seven years of training." Aiolia answered. "And yes, I may only be a few years older than some of those boys, but there's no reason I can't train one of them. Some of those children respect me more than they respect their caretakers."
"Very well." Kido finally agreed. "I hope this plan of yours works."
"It will. It has to."
One Week Later
Ikki stood in front of the Graude Foundation Orphanage, watching the other boys getting into the limousines that would take them to the docks or the airport. Today was the day that his fellow orphans would be leaving to start their Saint training. Seiya was going to Greece, Shiryu to China, and Ikki's own younger brother Shun was leaving for a place called Andromeda Island. There were a dozen or so other boys leaving for various destinations, but Ikki wasn't very close to any of them.
Next to Ikki were Hyoga, Jabu, Geki, and Ban. The other four boys would be leaving for their own training grounds in three days.
"Get moving!" Tatsumi yelled. "We don't have all day."
Ikki made a face. He didn't like Tatsumi. Tatsumi was vicious and cruel and a coward to boot, and never passed up a chance to pick on the boys he was charged with overseeing. Ikki would be happy to never see Tatsumi again. Sadly, that would not be the case.
Ikki thought back to the conversation he'd had the night before, after he had demanded to be sent to Death Queen Island in Shun's place.
"What do you mean I'm not going to Death Queen Island?! Old Man Kido said I could!" Ikki demanded angrily. He snarled at the man in front of him, frustrated at the apparent change in plans.
Athan stared coolly at the fuming boy. Athan was a teenager, perhaps five or six years older that Ikki himself, with blonde hair and blue eyes. No one was really sure why he was around the Kido orphans so much, since he wasn't a Graude Foundation employee, but none of the children really cared since he was much nicer than most of their other caretakers. On any other day, Athan would have been Ikki's favorite adult, but today was not most days.
"You're not going to Death Queen Island yet." Athan told Ikki. "It is by far the most dangerous of the training grounds under Sanctuary's rule, a living hell that no one should ever live in. I was able to persuade Master Kido that sending anyone there was a bad idea."
Ikki scowled. "Where am I going to train then? There's no way I'm just gonna sit around while my little brother trains for a Cloth."
"I will train you." Athan said. "And before you ask, yes, I can train you well enough to earn a Cloth from Death Queen Island."
Ikki frowned, but Athan was the one person who he was at all sure he could trust.
Ikki snapped out of his musings when he realized that the cars were beginning to pull out of the driveway. There were two cars taking children to the airport, and another one to take several of them to the docks. Ikki stared at the one that held his younger brother. Shun was pressed up against the window, staring at Ikki. Slowly, Ikki raised his hand to wave goodbye to Shun. Shun responded with a tiny smile and a wave of his own before the car was out of view.
One by one, the other boys turned and headed back into the orphanage to occupy themselves for the next three days before they left. Ikki didn't move, watching the corner where the car holding Shun had disappeared, somehow feeling like, if he waited long enough, the car would come back.
A hand rested on Ikki's shoulder and he glanced back, blinking when he saw Athan standing next to him.
"Come on," Athan said gently, "Why don't I teach you some proper fighting techniques?"
Ikki felt himself smile a little bit. He would train hard, and get strong enough to protect Shun no matter what.
Seven years later
The young man stepped off the boat at Tokyo Docks in Japan. He glanced briefly back at the boat and the waving sailors, then to his companion as she stood next to him.
"Ready?" he asked her.
Green eyes practically sparkled with excitement as she looked up at him.
"I am." She answered. "I'm looking forward to meeting your friends, Ikki."
Ikki snorted. "I'm not sure I'd call them friends, Esmeralda." He told her. "More like irritations."
"Even your little brother who you've told me so much about?" Esmeralda teased.
"Shun is an exception." Ikki retorted as he turned and headed in the direction they needed to go.
Before leaving the Graude Foundation three months ago, Ikki had been told that if, and when, he returned from retrieving the Phoenix Cloth, he was to report to the Kido Manor. Personally, Ikki wasn't too keen on going to the mansion, given that his memories of Mitsumasa Kido were few, far between, and less than pleasant, but it was where he was most likely to find Shun.
Esmeralda trotted along at Ikki's side, reminding Ikki of a child as she took in all the new sights and smells around her. Esmeralda had been born on Death Queen Island and had never left until now, so the massive city of Tokyo was a pretty big change, and Ikki couldn't blame his companion for her excitement.
"Come on. We can stop and get some food to eat on the way." He told her.
Esmeralda smiled brightly at the thought of food. They hadn't eaten since breakfast on the boat at around 9 A.M. that morning, which had been a good six hours ago, and she was hungry. Fortunately, both of them had been able to find work on the ship, Esmeralda helping with the cooking in the galley and Ikki lending an extra pair of hands for whatever the sailors needed. In return, the sailors had given them a little bit of money to help them get around, since they didn't have any when they left Death Queen Island.
Ikki took a quick detour to a taiyaki stand, and bought two of the snacks, handing one to Esmeralda. "This is taiyaki. It's filled with sweet bean paste. Try eating it head first." He told her.
Esmeralda followed Ikki's advice, smiling at the sweet taste of the taiyaki. "This is good!" She commented as they continued in the direction of the Kido Mansion, Ikki having already asked for directions from one of the sailors who had grown up in Tokyo.
Ikki shrugged. "They're not bad. I prefer takoyaki." He told her.
"What's takoyaki?" The blond girl asked.
"It's octopus dumplings. We'll get some if I see a stand."
"Okay." Esmeralda chirped as she took another bite of her taiyaki.
Ikki smiled slightly as he watched his friend out of the corner of his eye. He had met Esmeralda on Death Queen Island during the two months he had spent trying to prove to Master Guilty that he was worthy of wearing the Phoenix Cloth. Esmeralda was Guilty's only child, though Ikki couldn't imagine how that had happened.
Esmeralda had proved to be a bright light in a time of darkness for Ikki, especially when it came to the final test and Ikki had found out he would have to kill Guilty to get the Cloth. Esmeralda had encouraged Ikki not to give up, even knowing what the test would mean for her. Women were not treated well on Death Queen Island, and Esmeralda had only been safe from that because of who her father was. In turn, Ikki had promised to take Esmeralda with him when he left. And he had kept his promise.
They walked in silence for a while until they were finally out of the public spaces of Tokyo and into the richer area where the Kido Manor was located.
"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Ikki told Esmeralda. "If you want to sit down, now is the time. Tatsumi will have kittens if we sit down in Saori's presence."
"I'm good." Esmeralda shook her head. "The longer it takes to get there, the more tense you're going to be."
Esmeralda was right, Ikki realized. He could feel the tension building in his shoulders. He didn't want to see Tatsumi or Saori.
"You're right, I'm not looking forward to this." He shook his head. "The only person I really care to see right now is my brother."
Esmeralda smiled as they reached Kido Manor. "Don't worry. I'm here too, remember? We'll be fine."
Ikki somehow managed a tiny smile as they stepped through the gate and headed up the winding path through the Kido Estate and towards the manor itself. They reached the door and Ikki went to knock, only to stop. "This is stupid. I don't answer to that jerk." He grumbled. And knocked.
And there's chapter one. Please don't be mad about the time skip. I'm not going to be focusing on the Saints' training very much in this story.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a review, or don't.