Oh wow. Four months since my last post. I'm super sorry about that. I was out of ideas, and then kind of lost interest in Saint Seiya for a while, but now I'm back. There are more chapters of Infinite Possibilities up, and I'm hoping to start getting chapters of Justice out on a more regular basis after this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
"I've told you before: we Saints take strength from each other just as much as we do from our faith in Athena. You need people you can trust, Shun. People who will let you stand on your own, but still support you when you need it."
For someone who claims to rely mostly on his wits and gut instinct, Shun thought to himself, Master Talus could be awfully insightful when he wanted to.
"Shun!" Aiolos's voice drew Shun's attention.
The Canis Minor Saint looked down from his perch in a tree a little ways into the forest surrounding the Kido villa to see the Sagittarius Saint standing beneath him, head tipped back to stare at him.
After the scare of the previous night's events, Saori had slept all night. When she woke up, the entire group had congregated in what remained of the living room.
Saori had been quite firm in her determination to go to Sanctuary.
"I still don't understand all this, not entirely at least, but if I go to Sanctuary I should be able to get answers, right?" She'd told them.
Tatsumi had had a rather strong opinion on that front, but Saori had, in a rare show of mental strength, insisted. None of the Saints-including Aiolos-had argued, in spite of knowing how risky that course of action was.
"We swore we'd protect Athena, and we're not gonna let some Gold Saints stop us!" Seiya had said.
It was an accurate, if somewhat simple, statement.
Aiolos calling his name again pulled Shun from his thoughts, and he slid off the branch he was sitting on, landing lightly on the ground and giving the older Saint a curious look.
"It's time to go." Aiolos told him. "Everyone else is already waiting."
Shun nodded and went to step past him, only for Aiolos's hand to fall on his shoulder. Shun stopped and turned to the older man.
"What is it?" He asked.
Aiolos stared at Shun for a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. "When we get to Sanctuary, there's a good chance we'll run into Akio again."
Shun scowled at the mention of his master's murderer. "What about him?" His voice was, perhaps, harsher than strictly necessary.
"I know you're upset about Talus." Aiolos said patiently. "I know you're angry at Akio for killing him, but I need you to promise that you'll keep your head. I won't stop you from fighting him if you're that determined, but the real reason we're going to Sanctuary is Saori. It's our job to protect her, and you can't do that if you're focused on revenge."
Shun turned his head away from Aiolos, scowling at the dirt beneath his feet. He really hated that Aiolos had a point. Finally, he inhaled slowly. "I'm not going to forget what we're going to Sanctuary to do. Protecting Saori comes first. But if Akio shows up, he'll be targeting Saori too. And if fighting him means protecting her, well... You can't blame me for taking advantage."
When he lifted his eyes, Aiolos's mouth was quirked up in something resembling a smile. "Fair enough."
With that said, they both turned and headed back to the villa.
The others were already waiting. Tatsumi stood to one side, looking rather unhappy with the current situation, but fortunately not saying anything.
The other five Bronzes and Saori were gathered in the center of the clearing.
Saori's hair was cropped short, Tatsumi having trimmed it all to match after Aiolia took half of it off, and she had traded her school uniform for a slightly more practical outfit consisting of shorts over leggings, a t-shirt under a sleeveless vest, and a pair of hiking boots. She looked determined, if more than a little nervous.
The other five Bronze Saints were already wearing their Cloths.
Ikki glanced up as Aiolos and Shun approached. He smiled a little bit when his eyes met Shun's, and the younger teen smiled back.
"Are you ready?" Aiolos asked, gaze fixed on Saori.
"I am." She answered.
Aiolos nodded and turned, holding one hand out. Shun felt the Sagittarius Saint's Cosmo start to burn, and a glowing portal opened up.
Silently, the six Saints and their goddess stepped through the portal, starting their journey to Sanctuary.
"I'm sorry. I should have contacted you after I found Aiolos in Japan."
"Don't 'It's fine' me, little cub. I know how much you hate it when people keep secrets from you. You're allowed to be angry, you know."
"Please don't blame Aiolos and the others for my death. I knew defying Sanctuary could get me killed. I did it anyway."
Aiolia rolled his shoulders as he reached the top of the stairs above the House of Pisces. It was early evening in Sanctuary, the sun bathing the massive structures of the Twelve Houses in striking golden light. On a normal day Aiolia would have stopped to admire the view from the top of the Houses, but today wasn't a normal day.
Talus was dead.
Aiolos wasn't a traitor.
Saga was posing as the Pope.
Athena hadn't been in Sanctuary for sixteen years.
And as much as Aiolia wanted to know why, as much as he wanted to know what had possessed Saga to murder Master Shion and then attempt to kill Athena on top of that, he couldn't even ask.
Right now, Aiolia had to make his report and then track down all the Gold Saints who weren't in their Houses and talk to them about what he had learned from his brother.
Luckily, Aiolia had met Mu when he went to pass through the House of Aries-quite a surprise, considering that the Lemurian hadn't been seen in Sanctuary almost since Aiolos was forced to flee-and the Aries Saint had seemed quite inclined to believe his fellow Gold's words.
Aldebaran had seemed doubtful, but hadn't outright refuted Aiolia. The Taurus Saint would want proof, would want to see Saori with his own eyes, but wouldn't argue once he had.
The only other Gold who was in his House when Aiolia was on his way up was Shaka, and when Aiolia told the Virgo Saint what he'd learned, the blonde had given him a look-with his eyes closed-that made Aiolia feel a little like an ignorant child again. Which...
Trust Shaka to know exactly what's going on and do absolutely nothing about it. Aiolia thought to himself irritably.
The Leo Saint shook his head, dismissing the thought, and stepped through the archway towards the double doors leading into the Pope's chambers. Talus's final words echoed in his head.
"Just remember, I love you. Take care of yourself, my lion."
It was time to make his report.
Took me, like, six hours to write this, between having trouble getting the first version out, then cutting that down to the important part, and then writing the rest to fill out the chapter. Then I waited another day to boot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.
See you next time.