I feel like I'm writing like crazy and getting absolutely nowhere. Anyone else ever feel like that?

Concept: Camus's thoughts on her future comrades-in-arms

Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.


Gemini Saga is a very serious person.

Camus can tell just by looking at him, even without speaking to him for very long. It's something in his eyes, in the way he holds himself even as he steps aside to let Camus and Pope Shion pass through the House of Gemini on Camus's first day in Sanctuary.

Soon enough, Camus comes to appreciate this particular trait of Saga's. It makes the oldest Gold Saint a pillar of peace and calm within the chaos that is training with so many children.

Sometimes, Camus stays near the older Saint just because it helps her settle down when the others are being rowdy.


The three Leo trainees are actually wildly different.

At ten years old, Nico almost five years Camus's senior. Camus finds out quickly that Nico only started his training a year before she came to Sanctuary, which is apparently rather late for a Gold trainee.

She soon finds out that Nico was actually a servant who was supposed to become one of the keepers of Sanctuary's massive library, but he got caught practicing basic Cosmo manipulation from a book, and was sent to train for the Leo Cloth instead.

Nico is quite skilled, although Camus isn't afraid to admit that part of that is because he's been training longer than she has. He seems to be a quick learner, picking up training moves and techniques with little to no trouble. It's a little daunting, but Camus gets over that quickly once she starts to get used to the training regimen.

The older boy also tends to look down on the younger trainees, even Aphrodite and Mephisto, who have been training longer than he has. Camus has no idea why, but finds it irritating nonetheless. She doesn't like being looked down on just because she's a child.

Talus, in comparison to Nico, is only a year older than Camus. He's cheerful and quite friendly, and thoroughly unafraid to make noise when he wants to be noticed, but not so much as to be obnoxious.

He isn't half as fast to pick up on new lessons as Nico is, but what he lacks for in natural physical talent he makes up for with his quick wits and a sharply analytical mind. He's clever and has a habit of figuring out unique ways to learn the things he struggles with, and never hesitates to share his ideas with his fellow trainees.

Over time, and as she comes to understand more about the Saints, Camus gets the feeling that Talus isn't quite straightforward enough to be the Leo Saint, but that he'll be a formidable fighter one day.

Aiolia is Aiolos's little brother, and is a few months younger than Camus. He is by far the loudest of the three Leo trainees, all bright smiles and raucous laughter. He's not a slow learner, but he's clumsy in a way that Talus and Nico aren't.

It's pretty obvious that Aiolia really looks up to his older brother wants to be just like him. Fortunately, this hero worship seems to only spur the youngest Leo trainee on more, encouraging him to work harder and catch up to his older sibling. He isn't a natural like Nico, or especially clever like Talus, but he works twice as hard to make up for it.

It's the kind of determination that Camus can appreciate, and maybe even respect.


Aiolos is the second oldest Gold Saint, and guards the House of Sagittarius. It doesn't take Camus long to figure out where Aiolia gets his smiles and laughter from. Aiolos is a lot more mature that Aiolia is, but that is something Camus assumes will come with time-when Aiolia isn't a literal child anymore.

Aiolos handles a lot of the training for the young Gold trainees, more than Saga does, at least. He's very gentle and a patient teacher, which is good because Camus suspects that anyone with less patience than the brunette would try to strangle some of the others on a regular basis. Remarkably, Aiolos doesn't seem to mind the amount of time he spends around people younger and less mature than him.

The older Saint can be a bit much at times, because he occasionally gets just as excited as his little brother, but Camus respects him and always does her best not to cause trouble so he has more time to work with the others.


Shura, Camus decides, is supremely awkward. The recently names Capricorn Saint is very quiet and often holds back from interacting with the Gold trainees. It's not like he never steps in to lend a hand in training, especially with Camus when she first starts, but he's so very careful about it, like he's not quite sure how to interact with the children.

Even Mephisto and Aphrodite who are only three and four years younger than Shura, respectively, aren't free from this.

Shura is also a very dedicated teenager. Sometimes Camus pauses in her own training to watch Shura for a moment or two as he practices with the technique unique to the Saints of Capricorn: Excalibur. He practices the same movement over and over, a look of fierce concentration, and sometimes adds actual Cosmo to it.

As she learns about Cosmo, Camus comes to understand that the purely Cosmo-based blade of Excalibur is quite possibly the sharpest weapon in the world. It's really no wonder that Shura is so determined to master the technique.


The Pisces trainee, Aphrodite, is the next Gold trainee that Camus meets. They meet in the main corridor of the House of Aquarius on the morning of Camus's first day of training. At first, Camus has no idea whether the older child is a boy or a girl, and has no idea how to ask, so she waits until she finds a chance to find out quietly. They're halfway down the steps between the Houses of Aquarius and Capricorn when Aphrodite turns to Camus, a rose clutched lightly between their fingers, and speaks up for the first time since greeting Shura at the front entrance to the House of Aquarius.

"If you're wondering, I'm actually a boy." He says. Camus is so surprised by the blunt words that she just nods mutely. She appreciates the clarification.

Aphrodite isn't loud, per se, but he's very there in a way Camus can't quite describe. His presence is basically impossible to miss no matter how hard one tries to ignore it. It's less annoying than Camus initially though it would be, but it's still weird to be looking in one direction and know instinctively that there is someone directly behind you.

One day, Shura comments that Camus will eventually become good enough at sensing Cosmo that it will be like that with everyone. She's not looking forward to that day.


Mephisto is annoying. The Cancer trainee is loud and brash and obnoxious. Even Aiolia on a bad day isn't as bad as Mephisto is at all times.

Camus sometimes wishes she could learn the ice-based techniques said to be common to Aquarius Saints sooner just so she could freeze Mephisto's mouth shut and get a few moments of blessed quiet. Simply put, she doesn't like Mephisto.

Then again, Mephisto really doesn't get along all that well with anyone but Aphrodite, with whom he has an oddly friendly rapport.

The future Cancer Saint seems to take particular offense at Nico's habit of talking down to the younger trainees. He responds to Nico's condescending words with hostility and anger, and often starts fights with the older Leo trainee.

At least, Camus reflects, Mephisto isn't one to take other people's rudeness lying down.


Kanon is somehow simultaneously exactly like his brother and completely different at the same time. They're identical twins-other than the fact that Kanon's hair is more blue-green than it is blue-purple like Saga's-and they are both the Gemini Saint, which Camus doesn't understand until Aiolos explains that Gemini is always a pair of twins.

But where Saga is quiet and reserved and serious, Kanon never seems to take anything seriously. He's not obnoxious like Mephisto, and he doesn't have Aphrodite's impossible-to-miss presence, but he seems hellbent on not letting anyone forget he's there, almost like he's scared to be forgotten.

Camus finds Kanon exhausting at the best of times, and downright infuriating-he has a nasty habit of encouraging the louder trainees to be even louder-at the worst of times.

To Kanon's credit, he's quick to jump in when Nico starts to get condescending with younger trainees, neatly shutting Nico up with a witty remark or a subtly biting comment. Camus will never admit it, but the look on Nico's face every time it happens-like hasn't come to expect it-is remarkably satisfying.


After Camus arrives at Sanctuary, it's several months before there's another Gold trainee for her to meet. This time, it's Master Shion's personal student, the Aries Saint-in-training, Mu. Camus soon learns that Mu, like Master Shion, is from Jamir, the home of the Lemurian Cloth Repairers located in Tibet.

Mu is quiet and reserved, and all around doesn't talk much. He's the same age as Camus, but is already way ahead of her-and even Aphrodite and Mephisto-in terms of his ability to manipulate Cosmo.

Although they don't talk very much at first, Camus appreciates Mu's quiet nature very much the same way she appreciates Saga's serious attitude.

It's only when Mu makes his way up to the House of Aquarius to ask if he can take a look around the library that they get to talking. They end up staying up half the night talking about Cosmo manipulation, and Mu gives Camus some handy pointers that no one else has brought up to her yet.

The two young trainees never become particularly close friends, but they do bond a little bit over their shared love of books. It's nice, Camus thinks, to be able to talk theory with someone her own age.


Aldebaran comes to Sanctuary just a few weeks after Mu comes. He's from Brazil and is almost as impossible to miss as Aphrodite, but less because of his aura and more because he's awfully tall for a five-year-old.

At first, the Taurus Saint-to-be is very awkward and unsure around the other trainees. He reminds Camus a little of herself in her first month or so at Sanctuary. She doesn't blame him, everything is so new and big, and it's incredibly discouraging in its own way.

Of course, Mu somehow manages to take the Taurus trainee under his (very, very small) wing, and becomes the driving force in persuading the other boy to interact with his fellow trainees. It's not long before Aldebaran grows more comfortable with his fellows, and his big, booming personality starts to show itself.

Camus decides it's not so bad. Aldebaran doesn't let the fact that he's getting settled in Sanctuary make him slack off, and as time goes on Camus finds that he makes an excellent sparring partner, for his quickly increasing speed, if nothing else.


Future Virgo Saint Shaka comes to Sanctuary in September of the same year that Camus, Mu, and Aldebaran are brought to the home of Athena's Saint.

The newest Gold trainee is a little odd. He always keeps his eyes closed, and spends most of his time meditating rather than training with his fellow trainees.

Eventually Camus learns that all Virgo Saints keep their eyes closed in order to boost their power, which can only mean that Shaka has already accessed his Cosmo. It's quite impressive for someone who wasn't trained practically from birth the way Mu was.

Camus personally doesn't talk to Shaka much beyond greeting him in the mornings. She's not quite sure what to say to the blond boy, who is somehow more quiet than any of the other Gold Saints or Gold trainees. She gets the feeling that Shaka just plain doesn't have much to say, but he seems to be practically unflappable, and gives off a soothing aura that Camus enjoys.

They may not talk much, but their silences are never uncomfortable.


Milo, the last Gold trainee to come to Sanctuary, just plain is. He's loud and bright and energetic and never seems to stop talking, all fire and energy. It makes for a strange revelation that he is, in fact, Saga's and Kanon's little brother, who only wasn't brought to Sanctuary with the twins because he literally hadn't been born yet.

Talus takes a near-instant liking to the Scorpio trainee, and it is through the black-haired Leo trainee that Milo settles into his place in Sanctuary. Much to Aiolos's, Saga's, and Shura's chagrin, they get along so well it's a little scary.

Camus actually finds herself avoiding Milo at first. She's not half as nervous as she was when she first came to Sanctuary-thanks in great part to Shura of all people-but speaking with Milo is just so exhausting. He seems to always have something to say, and quite obviously hates silence, in direct opposition to Camus.

The weird part about Milo is that from day one he seems bent and determined to befriend Camus no matter what. He's always trying to walk beside her on the way to the training grounds, asking to spar with her specifically, and sitting next to her when they stop to eat. Perhaps the worst part is that the others are all amused by Camus's predicament, especially Master Shion and the older Gold Saints.

It's annoying at first, but as the months pass and Milo's determination in the face of Camus giving him the cold shoulder fails to wane, Camus starts to get used to the unending stream of inane babble. Sometimes, in the quiet of the House of Aquarius at night, Camus almost thinks that the sound of Milo's voice might actually help her sleep. It's a truly bizarre thought, and she does her best to dismiss it every time.


Camus's fellow trainees are all over the place. They feel like some kind of messy puzzle, like a Gordian knot with no solution, but as time passes and they all begin to find their little niches, they start to fall into place. Slowly, one step at a time, they all begin to fit.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.


So what did you think? That was kind of a massive information dump, and I hope I got everyone's sections right. Some were harder than others, especially Nico and Talus, because they're my OCs and I have only my own brain as source material for them.

(And I almost forgot to put Kanon in there somewhere.)

Also, I think this is one of my longest chapters ever.

See you soon.