Welcome to chapter two of Survival.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
"Feel the hatred, Ikki. Feel it. The only way you will ever obtain the Phoenix Cloth is through hatred."
"What if I don't want to hate? What if there are more important things to me than some damned Cloth?"
"Then you will die here on Death Queen Island."
"NO!"
"ESMERALDA!"
There was a moment of silence after Ikki knocked on the door.
A moment later the door opened, revealing a man in the full tuxedo common to the servants of the Kido household. The neatly combed blond hair and brown eyes allowed Ikki to identify the man as Souta, Tatsumi's second-in-command when it came to looking after the Kido orphans. Ikki found Souta significantly more tolerable than Tatsumi himself, and the blond was not as nasty as bald head butler.
Souta stared at Ikki and Esmeralda blankly. "Ah. Ikki. You're back." As always, Souta spoke in a clipped, rough way that reminded Ikki of someone who was uncomfortable with the language they were speaking.
"Yep." Ikki grunted back. "I was told to come here to see Saori when I came back from Death Queen Island."
"Right, right." Souta muttered, stepping aside to let the two teenagers into the manor. "Come in. Who is this young lady?"
"I'm Esmeralda. It's nice to meet you." Esmeralda bowed slightly as she greeted Souta, her Japanese still a little rough even though she had been quick to pick up the language from Ikki.
"Souta." Was the clipped response. "Likewise." Ikki was fairly sure Souta was the only person in the Kido household who could get away with such informality.
The duo stepped inside and were led down through the entryway and into a sitting room. Waiting there, sitting in his favorite arm chair with a book in his hands, was Athan. The man looked up, tired blue eyes taking in the new arrivals. He set down his book and smiled.
"Hello Ikki. Welcome back."
"I'm back." Ikki huffed. "This is Esmeralda. She's from Death Queen Island."
"I assumed as much." Athan murmured, eyeing Esmeralda thoughtfully. "It's nice to meet you, Esmeralda."
"Likewise." Esmeralda responded. "Ikki's told me all about you. You trained him so he could come to Death Queen Island."
Athan nodded. "That is correct."
Athan waved to the two teens to sit down as Souta reappeared with a tray of tea and some snacks. He set the tray down, pouring three cups of tea and handing one to Athan. Esmeralda, already sitting on the end of one of the couches, accepted a cup of tea and grabbed a small sandwich, no doubt still hungry even after the taiyaki earlier. Ikki waved away the offer of tea as he propped himself against the end of the couch next to Esmeralda.
"I'm glad you made it back safely." Athan said, smiling at Ikki. "I assume you have the Phoenix Cloth?"
"Right here." Ikki told him, holding up the dog tag-like piece of metal on the chain around his neck.
Athan nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Well done."
"I take it the others aren't back yet?" Ikki asked.
He received a half-shrug in return. "Jabu and Nachi have been back for a week." Athan answered. "Seiya arrived yesterday, and I expect Shiryu and Hyoga will be back in the next few days. We're still waiting on Geki, Ichi, Ban and Shun."
"How long do you expect until they're back?" Ikki asked.
Athan shook his head. "It's hard to say. They should all be done with their training by now, but they all have different travel times. I think we can expect Ichi and Ban back first."
Ikki made a face. He had been hoping there would be more news on Shun. No such luck apparently.
"Saori offered to let you all stay here for the time being. Souta will have set up a room for each of you."
"Yeah," Ikki grinned at Esmeralda's confused look. "Souta's cool like that."
"Go get settled. Up the stairs, left at the end of the hall, first and second doors on the right." Athan said gently.
"How do you know which rooms are set up?" Ikki asked.
Athan just smiled. "Jabu and Nachi are across from you. That's where all the Saints are staying. Ikki, you might have to share with Shun since we have an extra person now."
"Fine by me." Ikki grunted before turning to the door that led back to the main entrance. Esmeralda followed him out after a quick bow to Athan.
Neither teen noticed the man's eyes narrow as he watched them go.
"The Phoenix is a very special Cloth. Unlike most Cloths, which require the touch of a Lemurian Cloth Repairer to heal from damage, the Phoenix Cloth can repair itself, just like in the myth of the Phoenix. They call it the Immortal Phoenix." Aiolos told the group of young Gold trainees sitting around him.
"Does that mean that the Phoenix Saint is immortal too?" Aiolia asked curiously, his blue eyes wide.
"No." Saga broke in, ignoring Kanon's quiet snickers. "Although it is said that the Phoenix Cloth may be able to resurrect its bearer, the Phoenix Saint is not immortal. If anything, the Saint who is most likely to be considered immortal would be the Columba Saint."
"I've never heard of a Columba Saint." Nico protested.
"That's because there's never been one." Kanon pointed out.
"Kanon." Saga sighed in exasperation. He turned to Nico. "Kanon is right, there has never been a Columba Saint. However, the Columba Cloth is not meant to be used for combat, and very few trainees have ever tried to attain it because of that."
"Why would anyone ever make a Cloth that wasn't meant for combat?" Shura asked.
"The Columba Cloth is a Cloth made for healing." Aiolos explained. "The Columba Saint, if there ever is one, will be a healer."
"Like the Andromeda Saint?" Mu piped up.
"Yes. Like the Andromeda Saint." Aiolos said, chuckling.
Aiolia sighed, leaning back in his chair. Then he grinned to himself. He had been right. Training Ikki himself had lead to a much more balanced and controlled Phoenix Saint. Not that he thought it was just his doing. That girl had something to do with it as well.
"What an interesting young lady." Souta commented from the doorway into the living room.
Aiolia glanced at the man as he leaned forward to snag a sandwich off the plate. "She really is."
So that was chapter two. I know this is moving very slowly, and I hope to get it moving in a chapter or two. The problem is that my mind is focused on the later parts of the story and I'm trying to figure out how to get there. Anyway.
Please feel free to review.