The S Files: Next Try Chapter 7: Family Trip!, a saint seiya fanfic

The S-Files: Next Try

Chapter 7: Family Trip! Visiting the Hot Springs

Saturday, 1987/08/22 -- 9 a.m.

This morning, Makoto prepared the breakfast, colourfully cursing Camus for freezing Himiko. She hated to prepare breakfast. In fact, she hated to get up this early. It was Himiko's job -- no, not job, pleasure -- to get up in the deep night (9 a.m. definitely didn't qualify as a sane time to get up, especially not during the weekend) to brew tea and coffee.

Suddenly, Camus stood in the middle of the living-room and carried a thoroughly frozen Himiko on his arms. She had her arms around his neck an snuggled close to him to get any warmth from him, not that it helped her much.

"So you finally did it?" Makoto greeted him frostily and fetched a thick blanket.

"Yes," Camus replied grumpily. He was tired (after all, it had taken him the whole night with that hair-dryer to free Himiko), and she had soaked through all of his clothes when he carried her.

"Give her to me so that I can rub her down," Makoto ordered him.

"Here!" Camus thrust her into Makoto's arms. Makoto wrapped her tightly into the blanket and lay her onto the cushions on the floor, before she gave Camus a short look, too.

"You are also wet," she observed.

"I couldn't help it," he said sourly.

"You drip onto the floor!"

"I'm so sorry," he commented acidly.

Makoto fetched some towels and threw some of them them at him. "See to it that you get dry! I have more important things to take care of!" She pulled Himiko out of the wet clothes, rubbed her down with the towels and pulled a dry nightgown over her head, before she brought her into her bedroom and saw to it that she was warm.

When she went down again to look after the Aquarius Saint, he had given up drying himself -- his clothes were too thoroughly soaked.

"I will return to my temple now. Don't expect to see me again any soon."

"So you want to say that you have finished training Himiko?"

"Hm. Not really," he admitted hesitantly.

"Then you cannot consider your job here being finished."

"Please do not remind me of that," he grumbled. "Another Holy War would be more pleasant than teaching Himiko."

"Since when do you shirk you duties?"

Camus gave her a deadly glare.

"Moreover it is all your fault if Himiko gets a cold again!"

"Is it my fault she is so frail?"

"It was you who froze her. You should keep your powers better under control."

"Humph," Camus made haughtily. "My control over my powers is exemplary."

"But not perfect."

"I shall fetch some dry clothes now." Camus teleported away.

Makoto was upstairs and gave Himiko hot tea to drink. The petite blonde still shivered violently under the covers.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Where is my Camus-sama?"

"He fetches some new clothing."

"I hope he didn't catch a cold..."

"Camus? Certainly not. But you are totally frozen through."

"I'm more worried about my Camus-sama." Himiko tried to wiggle out of the blankets, but Makoto held her down.

"You stay here! Camus is completely okay."

"Good," she breathed in relief.

"Another tea?"

"Oh yes, please." Himiko sneezed heavily.

"Oh dear, you did catch a cold. Ah well, then the hot springs are perfect for you."

"Hot springs?"

"Hyoga suggested a family trip to the hot springs."

"Will my Camus-sama accompany us, too? -- Atchoum!"

"Dunno. We'll have to ask him."

"It would be soooo wonderful!"

"I will ...convince him. After all, he's to blame for your cold."

"Thanks," Himiko smiled and sipped at her tea. When she had finished the cup, she tried to get up again.

"Himiko, you will stay in bed. I will prepare the breakfast."

"That's so nice of you. I wouldn't want my boys to go hungry."

"Don't worry, they will not go wanting."

"That's good."

"Is the breakfast ready?" Shun called from downstairs.

"Yes, yes," Makoto answered. "Wait a sec, I'm coming."

When Makoto laid the table, Camus returned, clad in ice blue trousers, a snow white, sleeveless shirt, and a silver grey blouson, perfectly reflecting his mood.

"Shun, please wake up Milo and tell Hyoga, that they come down to eat breakfast."

"Sure!" Shun did as he was told. Wrapped in a thick blanket, Himiko tapped down the stairs, too. Makoto gave her a stern look, but then, no one could hold Himiko back when she set her mind to something.

"You hungry, too?" Makoto asked Himiko and Camus. The Aquarius Saint nodded.

"Just a tiny little bit," Himiko replied. "I think another cup of tea is sufficient."

"Then I will prepare some more." Makoto took care that everybody was properly provisioned.

When Hyoga learned what had happened, he gave Camus an angry glare. How could his master freeze poor little Himiko?

Camus just shrugged. If Himiko wouldn't pursue him like this he didn't need to take such counter measures. Unfortunately she clung to him again right now, and Hyoga's dark mien told Camus, that he'd better let her prevail this time.

"Everybody's finished now?" Makoto inquired. "If so we can finally get going."

"Get going? Where to?" Camus asked dubiously.

"To the hot springs. I don't want to see any more people with a cold here."

"Well, then get going." Camus looked as if he was just about to teleport away.

"You will not simply vanish," Makoto said angrily to him.

"Why not? You can't expect me to train her there!" Camus put on a deep frown.

"Not exactly. But it's all your fault that Himiko's ill, and so you will take care that she feels better."

Camus made a face as if he had bitten into something very unpleasant. "But hot springs? If you ask me, that sounds a bit indecent."

"Have you been there already?"

"Actually not," he admitted. "But I heard ...things about the bathing customs in Japan."

"Such as?"

"That men and women bathe naked together," he said scandalized.

"That's a true scandal," Makoto laughed.

"Exactly. I value my privacy."

"Don't worry, no one forces you to bathe naked."

"Good," Camus breathed in relief.

"And now we will go. Do you have your bathing utensils?"

"If you absolutely insist that I accompany you, you have to wait a moment. I have to fetch mine first." Camus teleported to his temple and collected everything he needed. Not that he was overly enthusiastic about it.

Makoto ushered the whole team to the train station from which they would go to the hot springs. Milo and the boys were delighted, only Camus looked as if he was on the way to his execution. Especially as Himiko had conquered his left arm and clung to it as if she was glued there.

"What horrors do you think are waiting for you?" Makoto laughed. "I'm pretty sure you are perfectly safe."

"She is there. That's sufficient."

"And what's so bad about that?" Makoto looked at Himiko who was so lost in her happy thoughts that she was so near her Camus-sama that she fortunately didn't take notice of their conversation.

"She gets on my nerves!"

"You are a bit oversensitive, it seems."

"Only where women -- and especially she -- are concerned."

"What is your problem with women? Except that they get on your nerves, I mean..."

"But exactly that is the problem! They pursue me, they don't leave me alone..."

"Do you like it so much to be alone?"

Camus nodded emphatically.

"You're a pretty weird guy."

"I just love to spend my time in the icy, white plains of Siberia, nothing around but the cold, silent landscape and the rainbow light of the aurora borealis in the sky," Camus said longingly, and for once his icy mien turned soft and wistful.

"I would freeze there!"

"I'm used to the cold. And the beauties of the Siberian landscape are more than a fitting recompensation."

"I guess sooner or later one gets used to it..."

"I have spent more than two thirds of my life in the eternal ice." A tiny smile appeared on his lips. "Most people think it's desolate and boring there, but they never ran over the snowy plains when the sun poured light onto the ice crystals and made them sparkle like diamonds... Everything is completely quiet, only the soft crunch of footfalls can be heard and the whisper of the wind..."

"Compared to that it's probably a bit crowded and loud here," Makoto observed. At least at the moment Himiko didn't say anything. She just stood there, stared at her Camus-sama and produced a steady stream of different-sized pink hearts that flew up to the ceiling and burst when they touched it. Some of them floated in mid-air, though and began to collect as veritable fleet of hearts.

"Exactly that's the problem."

"But I'm sure you will get used to this, too."

"Do you think so? I wish I could return to Siberia to train some more youths to become Saints like Isaac and Hyoga."

"Are there new Saints trained now that the big holy war is over?"

"Of course. Even though the war against Hades is the main reason for the Saints to stand up with Athena, who knows which other gods might show up between the cycles."

"Then you will probably get some new disciples soon."

Camus gave Makoto one of his rare smiles. "I hope so. I really miss training new Saints. Hyoga doesn't need any advice anymore."

Even Makoto had to admit that Camus looked absolutely striking when he smiled.

"By the way, I have to thank you that you iced our test range so thoroughly. So far none of the other Saints has managed to destroy it thus."

"Well, my ice is strong enough that no one of the other Saints can break it with their powers," Camus said smugly.

"Show-off," Milo muttered. But then, he had to admit that his attacks indeed hadn't disturbed the ice, not even a little bit.

"It's very practical," Makoto stated. "Our expenses are far less than if we had to replace or repair the range all the time. The only problem is that now it's so cold outside there."

"Am I an Ice Saint or not?"

"One should really try to thaw you a bit."

"I think I'm perfect the way I am."

Before they could continue, the train arrived and they entered it. It was thoroughly crowded, and Camus looked around panicky. He hated to be amidst so many people.

"Stay calm," Makoto advised him. "It won't take too long, I hope. The trains are always a bit crowded."

"I'll manage." Camus didn't look very happy nonetheless.

Some guy stepped onto Milo's foot and he lifted his hand, the pointy nail of his red index finger shimmering in an aggressive shade of red.

"No weird attacks here," Makoto chided him. "We don't need a panic in the train."

Himiko sneezed and Hyoga looked worriedly at his new mom.

"Take good care of Himiko," Makoto told the blonde boy. "We wouldn't want her to be crushed."

"Of course." He managed to give the people around an icy glare that would have befit Camus, and the surrounding passengers really gave them a little free space.

"Please pay attention where we have to get out," Makoto cautioned them.

"I don't know anyway," Camus shrugged. Around him, the temperature slowly but surely dropped and the people tried to get out of his vicinity which he noticed with satisfaction.

"Camus, could it be your fault that it's getting so cold in here?quot; Makoto gave him a dark look, while Camus returned her gaze with some well-acted innocence. "At least it isn't as crowded here as before."

"That was the idea."

Himiko sneezed again, and Makoto looked at her in worry. " For her it seems to be a little too cold. Fortunately there are only three stops left until we have to get out."

Hyoga was a bit annoyed at his sensei. "You really should be a bit more careful with my new mama."

"Well, she isn't that fragile," Makoto pointed out. "Remember, she survived being put into a Freezing Coffin twice so far."

"But she is so small." Hyoga was at least 20cm taller than her.

"That's why you need to keep her safe. Oh, we're there. Everybody get out now!" Makoto shooed them all out of the train.

When they were finally out of the crowd, they breathed in relief. Hyoga took care of Himiko, while Camus took care to put the greatest possible distance between himself and Himiko.

"Just don't get lost," Makoto warned him.

"I can always teleport back home."

"Oh, no, you will stay here. I don't want to hear Himiko's nagging if you are gone."

Camus grumbled something unintelligible.

"Don't panic, I'll see to it that he stays with us," Milo promised.

"Oh yes, you are a true friend," Camus said acidly.

"Of course he is." Makoto bought tickets for them all, and Hyoga and Shun gave her a dazzling smile. She was definitely a good second mama. "I hope we can finally relax a little here in the hot springs." Himiko sneeded again. "And Himiko definitely needs a hot bath. - Why do I just feel like I'm on a kindergarten excursion?"

"Because they are still children?" Himiko pointed out. "My beautiful boys."

"I'm a man and not a boy," Milo sulked.

"Now let's get into the water," Makoto urged.

"Do you think we could take Camus with us?quot; Himiko asked her colleague.

"You need a hot bath and not a frozen pond."

"Well, as soon as we're married, we can share a bath at home whenever we wish."

"Married?!" The word made Camus' indigo hair virtually stand on end.

"Do you have to shock him like this?" Makoto scolded her.

"Shock him? How can he be shocked by something wonderful like this?"

"Who knows?" Makoto wondered. "Maybe he's just shy."

"I never thought of my Master as shy," Hyoga pondered. "I always thought he could handle every situation."

"Except for women, Himiko and the prospect of marriage," Milo grinned.

"So it seems." Makoto chuckled and ushered Himiko to the changing room where they put away their clothes and changed into bathing outfits which were completed by comfortable yukata.

Himiko wore a cute pink bathing suit and had her hair put up in a braided bun, while Makoto chose a green bathing suit and her hair was caught in a long, thick braid down her back.

"Be careful that you don't get into a draught," Makoto warned and Himiko nodded.

"I took an extra large and fluffy towel with me."

On the other side, the Saints went to the onsen. Milo was clad in red trunks with a cute scorpion printed on one side, while Camus' were just plain dark blue.

Shun held a yellow rubberduck in his hand and squeezed it with glee. Hyoga gave him a withering stare, while Milo grinned broadly.

"I like to play with a rubberducky when I'm bathing," Shun defended himself.

"But no rubberduck jokes!"

"How can you accuse me to think of such improper things?" Shun claimed with his best air of innocence.

"Because you always tease me with these lame jokes."

"Hey, let's get into the water," Milo suggested.

"It looks hot," Camus stated with a frown.

"It's a hot spring, sensei," Hyoga pointed out.

"I wonder how much heat this rubberducky can withstand," Shun pondered, but looked more to Hyoga than to the toy in his hand.

"I knew that this would come," the blonde boy muttered, then grinned. "But I guess that's what friends are for."

"True," Shun nodded. "Since he's been together with Seiya, Shiryu and the rest of the gang, even Hyoga loosened up and started to have fun."

"Hear that, Camus - you really should take an example in your disciple." Milo grinned broadly and nudged his friend in the ribs. Camus gave him a look that was somewhere between stressed and bewildered.

"Come on, Hyoga, let's do the rubberducky test!"

Hyoga couldn't help but laugh, and together they jumped into the water with a big splash. The other guests gave them slightly irritated looks, even more so when Shun let the duck swim and used both hands now to splash Hyoga who immediately took revenge. Of course this meant that Camus and Milo got doused, too.

"Boys!" Camus shook his head in amusement and Milo looked a bit astonished at him.

"It's a pity that Himiko and Makoto are in the ladies' area. It would be more fun to have them here, too."

"We could go to some beach again," Hyoga suggested.

"Again?" Shun looked at him inquiringly.

"Well, last year before the Galaxian Wars, Himiko, Makoto, Milo, Camus and I went to the beach near Sanctuary. It was really fun."

"What a pity that I wasn't there with you. I love family trips."

"I'm sure we'll do some more of them - especially when Himiko and sensei have married."

"We will not marry!" Camus thundered.

"One can still hope..."

"Forget it. Not in this life," Camus said categorically.

"Awww, sensei!"

"NO!"

"Hm, it seems we need to work a little harder to convince him," Shun said.

"I agreed." Hyoga nodded.

Around Camus, the water temperature dropped.

"Eh, that's unfair!" Shun put some distance between himself and the Aquarius Saint.

"Then stop talking about me marrying this silly groupie!"

"She's no silly groupie," corrected Hyoga. "She's a studied engineer and my new mama."

"Come on, Camus, you should really consider founding a family," Milo urged him. He was sure, if Makoto saw the marital bliss of the two, she would certainly give in to him.

Camus just grumbled on like a little volcano, only that he didn't produce any heat.

Makoto inspected the wooden wall that separated the women's area from the men's area. "I hope there are no Peeping Toms around," she said to Himiko. "I recently read in the newspaper that there were some cases."

"You are right. We should check the wall if there are any holes." Makoto started right away, and Himiko also looked at the wall in her vicinity.

"Ha! I knew it!" Triumphantly, Makoto pointed at a hole, only to look curiously through it herself. Her gaze met a bright blue eye. A very familiar bright blue eye. Makoto growled angrily, and suddenly a blue violet aura appeared around her.

Himiko gaped at her colleague in awe. "You are shining in blue violet," she gaped.

Makoto didn't realize what Himiko said, but gave the hole a truly powerful punch which led to the wall to shatter completely.

"Iecks!" Himiko started violently, as a loud crash boomed through the area and dived under, just to be sure.

"I hate Peeping Toms!" Makoto grumbled, while she looked somewhat uncomprehending at the remainders of the wooden wall.

On the other side, Milo sat on his butt and held his eye.

"I think that hit right on the mark," Shun said cheerfully.

"I wonder where this powerful Cosmo came from that I felt," Hyoga wondered.

"Whatever it was - he deserved it," Camus decreed.

Makoto stared through the hole. "I guess I should try to restrain myself a little better in the future..."

"Did you break the wall?" Himiko asked disbelievingly.

"I think so, yes." Makoto blushed. "Fortunately I have a personal liability insurance."

"Makoto?" Hyoga looked through the hole.

The women in their part of the onsen began to shriek. "Pervert!"

"Hyoga? Did someone get hurt?" Makoto wanted to know. "I'm so sorry!"

"Well, Milo has a black eye, but I wouldn't call that a major injury. It was well deserved," Camus stated dryly. When Himiko looked at her beloved, she produced some fresh pink hearts.

"I'm sorry, I destroyed the wall, but I'm not sorry because of Milo's black eye."

"Oh, I see." Hyoga grinned when he looked at Milo who still appeared somewhat dazed as he had been taken completely by surprise.

"The wall seems to have been pretty rotten that it crumbled like this," Makoto wondered.

Camus knocked against a still intact part of it. "It's new and pretty strong," he contradicted. "But I sensed an explosion of Cosmo right before the incident. Could this have been caused by you?"

"I don't have anything to do with this Cosmo of yours," Makoto claimed.

"But she glowed in a vivid blue violet."

"This does sound like some Cosmo," Camus observed.

"Nonsense!" Makoto shook her head. "I didn't see or feel anything."

"You broke the wall," the Aquarius Saint pointed out.

Some people working at the onsen now came to the location of the incident and inspected the hole before they asked what happened.

"There was a loud crash, and then there was a hole in the wall," Hyoga reported truthfully. The others also told them their observations.

Unfortunately the onsen had to be closed for repairs now, and the guests had to leave.

"She hit me," Milo said in an utterly disbelieving voice.

"Indeed, she did. And she was right about it," Camus replied mercilessly.

"I told you right from the start that it wasn't a good idea to peep through that hole," Shun remarked.

"Exactly," Hyoga nodded.

Milo only grumbled something unintelligible.

They went to the dressing room to change into their street outfits again.

"I'm too curious how Makoto did that." Shun rubbed himself dry.

"I did feel a strong Cosmo," Hyoga pondered. "But this was the first time I ever noticed this in her, even though there must have been something before - after all, they both crossed the Veil and got into Sanctury.

"Maybe I could ask the Pope if I am allowed to examine her Cosmo instead of Himiko's," Camus said thoughtfully.

"Don't you think it is preferable to deal with hearts instead of such a violent outburst?"

"I don't mind. I just prefer Makoto to Himiko."

"You do?" Shun gazed at him interestedly.

"Of course. Makoto doesn't want anything of me. She hates me, and I find this very comforting."

Shun couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think you'll get rid of Himiko that easily."

"I fear you are right." Camus sighed tragically.

"Makoto hit me," Milo muttered whinily.

Hyoga eyed him in worry. "He seems to be in shock."

"He will survive," Camus was sure.

- To Be Continued -

- - -

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