Apparently the Gold Saints are my new source of inspiration, so expect a lot of stuff with them in it.
Concept: As the younger Gemini twin, Kanon has to find ways to make himself useful. A trip to Siberia on orders from the Pope takes a turn for the worse when Kanon finds something he never could have expected.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
After years of isolation, Kanon has learned to appreciate whatever freedom he can find. Sometimes that freedom is wandering around Sanctuary in the dead of night, hiding to avoid the occasional guard while otherwise being free to roam. Other times that freedom comes in the form of the missions Master Shion sends him on.
It had taken months of reasoning and arguing and on occasion flat out begging to persuade the aging Pope of Sanctuary to let him do something-anything-that didn't involve hiding on the outskirts of Sanctuary.
Not that Kanon can blame the former Aries Saint. Until just five years ago, it was unheard of for any younger Gemini twin to do anything but hide or sometimes take over for their older sibling should they fall in battle. Breaking such a tradition could hold heavy consequences if Athena doesn't approve when she reincarnates.
As if the risk of bringing their goddess's wrath down upon them isn't enough, Saga had thrown a fit when he found out what Master Shion was planning let Kanon do. It was the first time the near-inseparable Gemini twins had ever had a real argument.
"It's too dangerous. You're not allowed to use your Cosmo unless Pope Shion gives you permission? What if you run into trouble?"
"Do you have any idea how many people get around without Cosmo, Saga? Most of Earth's population! If they can do it, why can't I?"
"We're not most of Earth's population, Kanon. You could run into all sorts of dangers that normal people don't even know exist."
"And you're going to face all kinds of danger once the Holy War starts too! Dangers way worse than anything I could run into while running errands."
"I want you to be safe, Kanon."
"...You can't protect me forever, Saga."
So it was that Kanon was sent out on his first mission. It was simple, just running a message to Old Master Dohko at Five Old Peaks in Lushan. It had taken about a week and a half, between the flight from Greece to China and then actually getting to Lushan and hiking from the nearby village to Lushan Falls where the Old Master lived. Then he got two days' recovery time (which was really just Master Shion's excuse to let Kanon stretch his legs and use his Cosmo at full strength for a bit before having to go back to hiding) before he had left to come home.
Kanon had appreciated that last bit, and for all that most Saints would consider running messages to be beneath someone of Gold Saint level, the young Gemini had enjoyed the excursion. Getting to run wild for two whole days had been exactly what he needed to settle some of the twitchiness he tended to develop being in Sanctuary all the time.
Also, for an old man, Master Dohko actually made for good company. He was contrary and talked in circles when he didn't want to answer a question, but he had been perfectly willing to tell Kanon stories about his youth, provided Kanon didn't dig too much if the old Libra Saint was clearly avoiding a topic.
In the years since that first mission Kanon has made a number of trips to Lushan to visit the Old Master.
Not to say that the only thing Kanon does is run messages to Lushan. His natural ability-honed over long years of practice-to make his Cosmo resemble that of a normal person is invaluable, and Master Shion has sent him on a number of missions that others would be hard pressed to carry out.
Kanon's personal favorite type of mission is the kind that sends him to Sanctuary's foreign training grounds. He's been all over the world and experienced all sorts of cultures, seen the training methods of dozens of trainers, and exposed more than one case of a corrupt master.
(Kanon takes, perhaps, more satisfaction than is strictly necessary in making sure other children don't face the same kind of abuse of power that he and Saga faced with their original master.)
That being said, this newest mission is not one Kanon is enjoying.
I knew Siberia would be cold, but this is insane. Kanon thinks as he hikes across the frozen tundra in the direction of the East Siberian training grounds. Reaching up with one gloved hand, he pulls his thick scarf-a long piece of blue fabric of Lemurian make gifted to him by Master Shion when he went to Greenland two years ago-up further over his face and ducks his head a bit against the winds.
In the five years since his first errand to Lushan, Kanon has been all over the world, but he's never been this far north before. And it. Is. Cold.
A sense of amusement flashes through the back of Kanon's mind, and he groans quietly, the sound lost to the howling of the wind.
"You're the one who said yes to going up there." Saga's voice echoes over their shared mental connection.
(It's the thing about being twins born under the Gemini constellation and also having powerful Cosmo-Kanon and Saga can sense each other and communicate over pretty much any distance at any time. It's nice... most of the time.)
Kanon responds to his twin's amusement with a sharp mental smack of irritation.
"Shut up." He thinks at the minutes-older Gemini. "It's been months since my last trip out. What was I going to say? No?"
Saga hums in acknowledgement, then moves on to the real reason he's contacted his brother, just like Kanon knew he would.
"Do you remember what you're supposed to be doing out here?" He asks.
"Goddess above, of course I remember. I'm the one who told you what I'd be doing." Kanon grumbles back. Before Saga can respond, he repeats what Master Shion had told him before sending him out.
"There's some discrepancies in the reports coming from Master Vanya, the master of the East Siberian training ground. Master Vanya has three students: Camus, who is the Aquarius trainee, Dimitri, who is training to become the Crystal Saint of the Blue Warriors of Bluegrad, and Ivan, who will probably be given the Eridanus Cloth. Up until about three months ago, reports suggested that all three were on track to finish their training in the next six months. Dimitri still is, but the other two are a different matter.
"Ivan's progress has been steady the entire time he's been training. Recently, however, he's stagnated. Several months' worth of reports say pretty much the same thing, with almost the same wording in every report. Camus is basically a prodigy. Not that that's uncommon for a Gold trainee, especially an Aquarius, but she's doing really well. In her case, it's not that she's stagnated, but rather that she's flat out regressed. As in, supposedly no longer able to perform techniques that she was supposed to have mastered ages ago.
"The last time someone came to check out this training ground Master Vanya everything seemed absolutely perfect. Like, unnaturally perfect. Master Shion was suspicious of that, so he's sending me instead. See? I remember."
Saga seems pleased by Kanon's report.
"Good luck then. And make sure to be back in the village before dark, you don't want to be caught out on the tundra at night."
"I know Saga. I'll finish this up and be back soon."
With that, Kanon pointedly blocks out his brother, a trick both of them have mastered over the years since awakening their Cosmo-nothing like a complete lack of privacy to drive you nuts-and focuses back on the tundra ahead of him. It's not snowing, but there's no guarantee that the good weather will last, so he has to move quickly.
Kanon glances up, squinting at the sun. It's a little past ten o'clock, leaving about seven hours until sunset, so Master Vanya and his three students will still be at the training area, where there is plenty of space for Kanon to hide and observe them.
The eighteen-year-old keeps moving, and after a little while longer the training area comes into view. Specifically, the circle of ice structures that functions as a makeshift Colosseum.
Even as his destination comes into view, Kanon knows something is wrong. The fact that he has to keep his Cosmo hidden on this kind of mission doesn't stop Kanon from being able to sense the Cosmo of others, which wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that as he nears the frozen Colosseum, Kanon can't actually sense anything that even remotely resembles a Cosmo.
This is weird. Kanon thinks. I memorized the training schedule Master Vanya uses. Mornings are always used for sparring. An unpleasant thought comes to the teenager's mind. Could that have been faked?
Shaking off the thought, Kanon speeds up his pace and heads for one of the openings between ice structures. As he approaches, he realizes that he can't hear anything from within the circle. Not the yells of a sparring match, or the voice of a someone giving instructions. Nothing. With his back pressed firmly against one of the ice formations, Kanon peers carefully around the side and into the Colosseum.
There's nothing there. Kanon is briefly confused before he sees it. A person?
Sure enough, a figure shaped like a person is lying in the middle of the circle.
Kanon takes a moment to glance around, stretching his senses as much as he can without using his Cosmo, but there's no one around except him and the other person.
Finally, he steps into the circle and makes his way to the downed figure.
This must be Master Vanya. Kanon thinks. It's the only explanation, given that he's looking at a fully grown man. But what's he doing lying in the middle of the sparring ground? And where are his students?
Carefully, Kanon crouches down and reaches out to roll the man over.
And promptly begins cursing in every language he knows-there's a lot of them, and his repertoire of curses is quite vast-as he takes the man in.
Master Vanya's skin is blue, and covered in a very fine layer of frost. His eyes are wide open and glazed as he stares up, unseeing.
Kanon groans and leans back on his haunches. This is not what he signed up for.
Extending his mind out along the link he shares with his brother, Kanon calls out.
"Saga?" By this point it's maybe seven in the morning back in Greece, but training starts early and Saga was already up before this, so he should answer shortly.
"Just a moment." Comes Saga's clipped response, accompanied by a sense of deep concentration. He must be sparring, probably with Aiolos.
Kanon waits the few moments it takes Saga to finish the spar and presumably request a break. Finally, his brother responds to him.
"Is something wrong Kanon? You sound..." Saga's telepathic voice trails off.
"I need you to link me up with Master Shion. I kinda ran into a problem." Kanon tells him. For all his psychic prowess, Kanon isn't able to reach Master Shion while he's this far from Greece. But Saga can reach Master Shion easily, so he acts as a go-between for his younger twin and the Pope. It's a handy trick for the occasions when Kanon needs to report something that can't wait until he gets back to Greece.
It's only the work of a moment for Saga to telepathically reach Master Shion.
"Kanon? What is it?" Master Shion asks, obviously worried. Kanon doesn't blame him, given that this was meant to be pretty simple as his errands usually go.
"I found just found Master Vanya." Kanon tells the Pope. "He's dead."
I do have plans to continue this one sooner or later. Probably in the next chapter. Until then, tell me what you think.
See you next time!
