Chapter 2: The Favors and Wisdom of Athena
"Come on, it's not that bad. You can't just ignore every mirror because you don't want to see it," spoke Athena as she tugged on his sheets.
Aiolos held the pink jeweled mirror with a giant yellow crescent on the side. "I don't know, there are some things even I'm not brave enough to face."
"Please?" she begged. Her bright blue eyes turned toward his reluctant face before her innocent smile twisted into a look of determination. "Well as your Goddess, I command you. You keep saying you will do it, but each day you don't."
"Fine, my Goddess." Aiolos took a deep sigh. He raised it up as slow as a sunrise. He bit his lip as he saw that his curly hair was shorn down to tiny bristles like a military cut. "My mullet!" he cried.
The nurse lowered her head, slinking down as if she wanted to fall into a deep bow. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would take it this personal. I just tried to keep you well groomed while you were unconscious."
But Aiolos is unmoved as he pulled the terrible image away. "There's not enough tea tree oil in the world that can fix this!"
Athena gave a gentle shove to his leg. "Stop being silly, it'll grow back in a couple of months."
Aiolos released his pout and gave a small smile. He liked giving his Goddess a hard time. She was cute as a button when she was like this. Most children are at this age, including his little brother. It was a good way of taking his mind off the horror he saw when the doctor showed him his back earlier. It was covered in a mess of both the irregular scars he got from Saga and Shura as well as seemingly dozens of surgical scars from them working on him while he was unconscious. It looked almost like a giant centipede straight down his back. He really hoped that Dr. Yamanaka will come back soon with the results.
"Aiolos, it is two o'clock, it is time to take your medicine," spoke Minami as she walked over toward a small cabinet.
He looked at her hand. His mind began to fill with the images of when he and Saga would travel several miles on their days off to go to the candy store. "Minami?" he waited until she turned her head. "What am I taking?" he asked.
She looked down and began to use her finger to sort them. "These are for the pain; this is an antibiotic for an infection you had while you were still in your coma while these are all vitamins to ensure you meet all nutritional needs. Is there a problem with this?"
He stared at the pain medication as it towered like a small mountain next to the others. "I would rather not take it. I can ignore the pain, I have my cosmos, and I'd rather rely on eating real food," he spoke in a rather curt but sincere manner.
She looked down at them. "Aiolos, I'm sorry, but I can't just take you off. Your body is used to all of this, and we risk it shutting down, and you fall back into unconsciousness if you just stop altogether. The antibiotic must be taken for a couple more days to complete treatment, and your body needs time to adjust to whole food again."
This was definitely not the answer he expected. He wanted to argue that he was a Saint who has dealt with so much worse, but he felt conflicted. He had lost two and a half years. He still keeps thinking of himself as fourteen when really he was about seventeen now. These people had taken care of him for so long, what right was he to judge them after they saved him?
Luckily Athena came up to the nurse. "Could you chop all of it in half? You said that showed a great response after waking up. He is more than capable of a quicker recovery than most people."
The Japanese nurse nodded. Perhaps it was due to her being a Goddess, but despite her being younger than her grandchild, the small girl's words and presence always felt warm and trusting but in an almost supernatural way that even manages to shake her firm stance as an atheist. Combined with the fact that Athena has never been wrong, she can see why any decision she made, even Mitsumasa Kido would do anything to fulfill it. "Would that work for you, Aiolos? Please understand that such an adjustment may come with many unpleasant effects such as nausea, headaches, tremors, and anxiety. Are you willing to deal with this?" She watched him nod before she grabbed a pill cutter and sliced each one and handed it to him. She then watched him put them in his mouth and swallow before heading out to attend other duties.
"Thank you," Aiolos spoke as he coughed and drank more water. Talking was still a little rough but was much better than yesterday.
"You're welcome," she then reached over for his plate from this morning and passed the other half of his toast.
Saori watched him work at the dry piece of food diligently, determined to get his body back in order. It filled her with so much joy to see his strength return with each hour. She was pleased that despite her Grandfather warning her that she was wasting her time trying to entertain him while he was in a coma, that he would allow her to fulfill what she believed was right. Although, some days she wondered what she would be like if she did spend endless days with her friends who went to parties and shopped all day for things they didn't need, she was glad that her efforts were not in vain.
"What do you want to do now that you are awake?" She asked curiously. "Are we…going to Sanctuary?"
Aiolos paused, staring at her wide blue eyes. Apparently, her Grandfather didn't make it a secret of who she was, especially with him laying here. "No," he spoke bluntly. He knew if they tried to kill her as an innocent baby, they'd do it again now that she can talk, "at least, not the two of us."
She held her hands. "You want to see your brother and make sure he is safe. He's probably a Saint too, but you're a traitor. You're worried he'll be punished too."
This took the Sagittarius aback. "How did you know?"
"You told Dr. Yamanaka about your flashbacks about your brother. My Grandfather bribed numerous people to gather information on the inner workings of Sanctuary, no matter how mundane. Since brothers are not allowed to be separated in Sanctuary, he was probably a Saint or a soldier if you two were together for so long. Grandfather said he saw you being hunted down. You taking me must have made Sanctuary angry." She shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I just put one and two together. That's all."
Athena was supposed to carry great empathy and wisdom, but he didn't imagine she could deduce all of this so quickly and at such a young age. It was even stranger hearing something that an adult would conclude with the voice of a toddler. He might as well be open since nothing is going to get past her. "I need to know he's okay. I'm-" he choked back. He's seen what happened to traitors. Sanctuary is a place where seventy-five percent of children die by age ten. It was old and still held firmly to its Spartan values. It didn't discriminate when it came to crime. "Goddess," he muttered out of habit. "I know he's not dead. That's about it."
A knock at the door caused him to startle a bit, "This is Dr. Yamanaka. Aiolos, I need to talk to you."
"Come in," Aiolos spoke as he turned a gaze to Athena to let her know they can talk later. He had been aching for the results since last night. The doctor came in, holding a clipboard and a pleasant smile, much to the relief of Aiolos as he sensed good news to be heard.
"Well Aiolos, your results are in." He walked over and produced an x-ray of his body that they took yesterday. "I got some good news and some not so good news. What would you like to hear first?"
Aiolos sighed. Why do doctors do this? They are going to have to say both anyways. He looked to Athena and decided positive would be best. "What's the good news?"
"You still have mobility in your legs and body. Before you woke up, we weren't sure whether or not you were paralyzed due to the amount of damage to your spine. Since you still show movement in your legs and torso, we think that with some careful surgery, we can repair your back to where you can at least be able to walk for moments at a time."
The Sagittarius' jaw dropped. "That was the good news?" he thought in shock. "Dr. Yamanaka, I was able to walk from a mountain. I can move my legs," he demonstrated by moving his knee and wiggling his toes a bit, even though it felt like they were weighted down by molasses.
The doctor nodded. "I know, and that is what makes your case very tricky. We think that your years of training and you using your cosmos in between the fights did help. The nerve endings, while damaged, can be repaired, the problem is that the spinal cord is cracked and fragile." The doctor took a picture of Aiolos' back and showed it to him. "When a person stands up, gravity weighs down on the body. If you try to stand and walk around, you will risk damaging your spine to the point of becoming a quadriplegic permanently." He watched the teenager stare off. "Quadriplegic. It means you can't move-"
"I know what it means," Aiolos interrupted. He pushed his hand against his nose and sighed. "Sorry." It was against his character to do such a thing, but it was so frustrating to learn that the best outcome would be to move around the world of Saints as a traitor who was as fragile as a glass vase. But, he should be grateful that they are making every attempt to help him out. "So when is the surgery going to take place?"
The doctor sighed. "We are still determining that. It will not only take a while to map out what procedures we will be performing but also testing and determining the right types of materials to be used since we first invented the procedure…two months ago. Then there is the fact that you will require multiple surgeries that require certain areas to heal in between, the whole process will last at least two years determining your recovery time."
Dr. Yamanaka could see the sunken stare of the Saint as if he was bashing his head with a hammer after each word, but at least Aiolos didn't know the dirtier details of the Kido Foundation going through at least thirty lab chimpanzees a day trying to hasten the production of a device that could replace a third of a person's human spine while maintaining the flexibility and athleticism needed for a Saint to function on a battlefield.
"I understand," he uttered to end the uncomfortable silence but didn't want to make the doctor feel he was ungrateful. "Thank you for all the work you all are putting forth into helping me." He then moved to lighten the dark mood that fogged the room. "I guess I'm going to have to get used to the white walls and that painting of a bowl of fruit on the side there." He looked over and saw Athena giggling, her hands desperately trying to hide her excitement. "What is it?"
Athena turned her eyes guiltily toward the ceiling while clasping her hands. "Do you really want to know?"
"You bet!"
She sighed and leaned against the side of his bed. "I had Tatsumi, my butler; contact a few interior decorators to fix up a room at the Kido Foundation for you to live in. It will have a small kitchen, your own restroom, lots of room for you to move around in a wheelchair. It was going to be a surprise." She shrugged at her inability to keep the secret.
He smiled bashfully. "Aw, you didn't have to." They really didn't. The fact that there was a light bulb in his room made it leap years more luxurious compared to the typical accommodations at his House.
"Don't be ridiculous. You deserve something more than this. Plus, it will make it easier for me and Grandfather to come and see you."
Aiolos nodded and smiled, but somehow, he sensed that there was a lot more to this than his comfort. There was a purpose for his transfer. Based on the fact that everyone who came to this room was clearly aware of the cosmos despite it being seen as a mythological concept in most of Greece, would indicate that they would want to test his cosmos. However, he can't imagine such a feat would take too long and not worth giving him permanent quarters. If they were trying to hide him from Sanctuary, she would've been upfront with it. He doubted he was just overthinking it. Athena, despite being a toddler, has already demonstrated she had a sense of maturity that a natural born leader, capable of holding reasonably deep conversations as long as it didn't interrupt her daily viewing of Sailor Moon.
After another day of testing to ensure there were no serious complications from being in a coma, Aiolos was allowed to be released from the medical foundation. As long as he kept Minami the nurse near him twenty-four hours a day for the first three days to ensure a smooth transition, a daily check-in for the next week and finally, on-call visits only he was fine to leave the hospital.
The Sagittarius picked out a long-sleeved red shirt with a set of black sweats. Japan was a hot place, but he hated looking at his pale arms and the pounds of muscle he lost. One of the most challenging things to get used to was the wheelchair that they gave him. While it was comfortable and easy to use, he hated how short he felt next to the one and a half meter Japanese nurse. As he wheeled himself down the hallway, he noticed that everyone that passed him seemed to turn their heads slightly. He knew they weren't doing it as a form of disrespect. On the contrary, they were doing their best to avoid staring at him, but when everyone was doing it, he can't help but feel like he was taboo in everyone's eyes.
They reached the double doors, the sun shining brightly through the light blue tinted glass. He shielded his face the moment the sun struck his eyes, realizing how long it had been out in the sun. Minami pulled out a set of sunglasses, and he graciously took them. He hated training in the sun back then due to how hot the rocky training area got in the middle of the day, but other than the brightness, it felt warm and welcoming. He'll be glad when his eyes adjusted to the warm light once more.
"Would you like to wheel yourself, or shall I push you there?" she spoke in her stilted Greek.
Aiolos mused in his seat. "I should practice some more but," he looked all around at the towering buildings with billboards and seemingly hundreds of people running around.
Minami smiled. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" She spoke as she pushed the awestruck Grecian down the street.
Aiolos nodded. He's seen cities during smaller missions that the Pope had sent him and Saga on, but typically they took place in the shadier or abandoned parts. "Some of them are taller than the highest point of Sanctuary." He felt a little startled when a high-speed train zoomed over the two of them, but then stared on, amazed at their speed. He turned to the Japanese kanji on a sleek billboard featuring a Japanese woman kneeling next to a katana with the blade tugging at the fabric like it was ripping her kimono off.
"That over there," Aiolos pointed out he pointed at the sign.
Minami nodded. "Ah, that is Yui Hashimoto. She is a model and pop singer. My son has most of her songs on his Tele-Cam."
"No, not her, the lettering... uh kanji," he pointed out. "I keep seeing it. What does it mean?"
"That is actually the brand that Kido uses for his company. It is even on your glasses."
Aiolos pulled them out and sure enough, engraved in gold paint was the same symbol. He thought it meant hospital or something. He looked back up, and nearly every building, sign and even some of the Japanese clothing had the same kanji. "Is this like this everywhere?" he asked as Minami continued to push him down the sidewalk.
"Yes, especially in Japan. We call these areas K-streets because we too are aware of it as well. He owns everything from the medical supplies, pharmacies, and even several food companies. He even owns the Tele-Cam you see on everyone's necks."
Aiolos looked around but didn't see anything other than large cameras, typically used by dedicated photographers in Greece, hanging freely around many adults, including businessmen. However, unlike most tourists, they weren't really using them to take pictures, but to stare and press buttons as if they were playing a handheld game.
As Minami pushed him, he continued to gaze around, and while he did try to take the time to absorb his new surroundings, it felt more like a game on how many times he spotted the Kido brand. He finally lost track when even the bento box stands had Kido stamps on them.
About four blocks later, the two reached a large square building. It had the Kido logo on it in bold black paint as well as the word Kido Foundation in both Japanese kanji and English. Unlike all the others that belonged to Kido, the outside was covered in faded white paint, as if it was here for a long time and was being repurposed. Outside the front door was a reasonably tall and bald Japanese man arguing with a petite but equally fierce Japanese old woman.
Aiolos could feel Minami stiffen behind him as if to keep him in his place while things were being worked out. The bald man looked fairly well built under his black suit, but his cosmos was no different than any other non-user. "What are they talking about?"
Minami leaned as close as she could to his ear. "Mr. Kido bought the school since the original place was deemed too small. The principal is angry that he only gave them a week to evacuate."
His brow furrowed under his sunglasses. "The man could buy an entire city. Did he have to pick an occupied school?"
"He didn't. Miss Saori did. She wanted the location because it would be near one of Mr. Kido's future projects."
Aiolos noticed her tone was barely audible toward the end as if she knew that she was forbidden to mention it. He looked back up at the building. It was far too big for merely being a house for him to stay at. In fact, they could throw all eighty-eight saints in there and still have more than enough room for a training area. He felt a slight jerk, feeling Minami return to her position behind him as the large man strutted over to the two.
"Ah, welcome, Lady Saori said that you would be coming here."
The Saint turned to see the bald man was next to him, offering a hand. "You must be Aiolos. I am Tatsumi Tokumaru, head butler to the Kido household."
He attempted a traditional Japanese bow, or at least the best one he could do with a broken back. He raised his head back up to see the butler nodding his head in approval. Tatsumi seemed to speak the Greek language fluently but mispronounced it quite a bit. His name was probably the most butchered; reminding him of the old cry of a heavily injured footsoldier from a training accident. But it was something that he was quite used to, especially with new recruits.
"You pick up pretty quick," Tatsumi returned the bow and threw his hands on his hips. "You're going to like it here. No more dirty floors, sleeping in the rain and wiping your ass on leaves. I assured Mr. Kido and Miss Saori that you will have everything you need here." He said as he walked to the door and opened it up wide enough for Minami to push Aiolos through.
He gave a polite smile, but had Tatsumi not have his head turned downward; he would've seen the anxiety that crept around his face. He needed to heal, but he had absolutely no intention of hiding in a corner for as long as he lived, especially with Saga on the throne, holding his Cloth, and the fate of his brother still unknown to him.
The heavy footsteps of the butler and the soft clicks of Minami's heels echoed in the long, empty hallway. Aiolos shifted his eyes back and forth at the open doors, hoping that with each pass, the numerous cheap laborers that filled the rooms would give him a better idea of what Kido planned to do with him. One thing that struck him as odd was that none of them seemed to be getting rid of the old school desks and various academic materials as if he was changing up the school and not repurposing the building for office space or another retail business. If that were the case, it would make for an odd way to keep Sanctuary from finding him. All the stuff seemed more for primary grades. He'd stick out like a sore thumb if they wanted him to live in this place.
Tatsumi headed over toward a large box and bent over. "They're still doing some heavy construction. Better put these on." He tossed over a set of headphones to each of them.
Aiolos held them and gazed at the Kido logo embossed on each side. There were a few buttons in Japanese but watching Tatsumi, and Minami put theirs on, he figured that he needed to use the blue one. At that moment, everything went disturbingly silent as they went inside the large gym. Men covered in dust and sweat was quickly replacing the floorboards on one end while another group was assembling large pieces of equipment. Then in the middle on the side was something he was very familiar with, the sparing circle. He didn't need to step in or utilize a measuring tape to know that it was the same dimension as the ones that he and every other who was a trainee used at Sanctuary.
They reached the other side and passed through the doors. Aiolos watched the two pull their headphones off, and he did the same, startled by the sudden rush of machines pounding away at concrete and nails.
"Well, here we are!" Tatsumi pulled a card out and pushed it into the slot. The light beeped and electronically swung slowly in. "What do you think?"
Aiolos grabbed his wheels and began to roll himself over to the opening. He widened his eyes a bit. It was not just modern, but it was futuristic. The oven looked like a computer, the refrigerator was more of a display case, while the tv was as flat as a sheet of paper. At least the floor was very open. "Wow, this is," he paused, remembering the trips he and Aiolia would make to one of their servant's private homes to microwave popcorn. "This is too much," he muttered.
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it. You think we're going to have you sit around with candles and an outhouse? Miss Saori insists upon it if you're going to remain here."
"She is Athena."
"She desires to be called Miss Saori in public, and if you're as loyal as you say you are to her, you'll start doing the same."
Aiolos nodded accordingly, and while he understood his position, he didn't appreciate the large smug smile that followed afterward. "I will remember that. Thank you." He took a quick look to see if he could sidetrack the conversation. "Where's the bedroom?" Tatsumi flashed back an awkward look. It was then he spotted a small pillow and a rolled up blanket on the floor; reminding him that he wasn't in Greece anymore.
"I will let you get settled here. Right now, I have quite a bit to get ready before all the kids arrive."
"What kids!" asked Aiolos, but it was too late. Tatsumi had already left the two behind, leaving a small awkward silence. He turned to Minami. "What kids?"
But Minami shrugged. "You know as much as I do. But you must remember that Tatsumi has served the Kido family for forty years and he is given access to knowledge and privileges that not even the siblings of Mitsumasa Kido are granted." She walked over and opened the window to clear out the strong scent of fresh new paint. "The only thing I do know is that my headphones were not secured properly while we were walking and I think I heard someone say that they only have a month left. Maybe that's when they'll arrive?"
Aiolos nodded as he set the thoughts aside and began to explore his new surroundings. Even though he still chopped wood to cook his food at his House, he knew what a typical house would look like, and it certainly would not have a screen that would directly order food from any restaurant in Japan. He supposed that was how the Kido Foundation was bypassing what Sanctuary probably thought was state of the art surveillance of other Saints. It was no wonder that nobody murdered him in his coma over the past two years. Even the light switch took a little bit to get used to since he had to clap to get it to turn on and off. The two were both startled by a ring before Minami pulled her Tele-cam out.
Aiolos watched as Minami gave an annoying pout, the same one that his Mother showed when she learned that his Father did something stupid again. "Go ahead."
Minami nodded and walked around a divider and began to rumble off in Japanese.
Aiolos rested his hands. He looked at a painting of a wall featuring a centaur holding a bow, done in the style of a Japanese ink painting. At that moment, he thought of the one thing that caused him just as much distress as the fate of his brother, and that was the fate of his Cloth. He knew Mitsumasa Kido didn't have much choice, but sometimes he wondered why him? At least Athena could've used his Cloth for someone of his own picking, in fact with his injuries being as bad as they were, she might as well have done that. The only comfort he had was that he knew for sure that there were no Silver or Bronze Saints that were born under Sagittarius or anyone that would fit the requirements. He would know since he would've had them training with him and Aiolia a long time ago in case something happened to him. It would probably take Saga at least five years to train a new one, assuming the Cloth would willingly allow itself to be used with him alive, and hopefully, by then, he would figure out some way to get it back.
It was late in the afternoon when the Saint decided to try the ordering screen. Luckily it was all in Greek, and the descriptions on the bottom made it easier, but it felt so weird touching and swiping the pages as if he was reading a book.
"I hope you don't find our food strange."
Aiolos shook his head. "I used to take my brother fishing and hunting all the time." He struggled to hold back a chuckle. "We used to make a game where we had to eat whatever we caught as long as it wasn't trash or poisonous. Aiolia was terrible at the game. We had to eat everything like turtles or snakes." He sighed quietly and stared a bit before turning back to the screen. "Let's try this place. Pick out whatever you think is good."
Minami kept looking at him. Even with the pain medication, she could see this distant look on his face. "Is the room not pleasing?" She looked around. "I can ask the Kido Foundation to tone it down."
"Oh, it's nice. I-" he paused as he folded his hands. "I'm worried about my brother. I haven't heard from him in so long."
"Would you like a phone?"
Aiolos shook his head, "no, not that, through the cosmos." He could tell that while it seemed the Kido Foundation was familiar with the cosmos, they didn't know the actual depth of it. "My brother and I share a strong link. We can communicate with each other through the cosmos as if we were in the same room at all times." He swallowed hard. It was a brutal silence that had plagued him since waking up. "I need to know how he is doing, but I feel like," he looks around at the room. "-I don't even know if he's alive, and I don't know if I can just…hide." Even before he was a trainee, his Father had raised him to never cower no matter the strength of the opposition. It was a philosophy that he took to the grave when a gang was demanding protection money, and he died defying them. When Saga and Shura attacked him, his Father's determination was probably what pushed him to go as far as he could.
But his Father was strong, and now things were different for him. He rested his hands on his thighs. He could already feel a difference in his legs like he was stroking the muscles of a ballerina and not the sculpted muscular Greek statues that he and the other Gold Saints were often compared to. It made him sad as he turned to a mirror to see his short hair and a much smaller frame. He was almost unrecognizable. But then he turned his head and touched his cheek. "I'm unrecognizable." He mumbled with a bit of glee. He let out a quick laugh as he drummed his hands on his chair. "Minami, can you get Athena and Mr. Kido here?"
"I can, but why?"
O|=====|O
"The hell!" gasped Mr. Kido as he slammed his teacup down on the table hard enough to crack it. "I spent millions to erase your existence and the moment you leave the hospital, you want to go back to Greece!?"
"Grandfather!" chided Athena.
This caused the color of his cheeks to return to normal. He broke the first rule of good business, and that was to never allow one's emotions to get the best of him. But this was a very dangerous game that puts his Father's atomic bomb to shame. "By staying here, you're protecting your brother. If you want, I have actual pictures to show that he's alive and walking about."
Aiolos calmly looked at him. "I did see them. Athena showed them to me. But Saints, if he did earn sainthood, are trained to blend in with the crowd and not draw attention to themselves. Gold Saints are extremely rare. You're better off winning the lottery than finding a natural born Gold Saint like Aiolia and unless they do something stupid-"
"-like trying to kill your Goddess," chided Tatsumi.
The Saint passed a dirty look to the butler, his heart suddenly twisting from concern to anger. He typically gives a person a week before forming an opinion, but after less than an hour, he already doesn't like him. "Yes, like that." He rolled his eyes for a moment before he turned back to Mitsumasa. This was a man who would never be moved by something like checking on his family.
The Pope talked to him about people like him, and they always want something far more significant in return for anything even if you wanted to borrow a pencil from them. "You seem to be keeping track of everyone at Sanctuary. What do you do, station people around and hope you get lucky? Maybe you'll get some soldiers, but your goal is to find the Saints. It seems like they go wherever they please, but that's not true."
Kido raised a brow. "So what do you propose?"
Aiolos hesitated. Never in his mind could he picture himself like this. His eyes turned to Athena as she folded her hands and gazed at him as if reading his mind and urging him on. "There are several bars in various Greek cities. Sanctuary posts not just where the grunts go, but which Saints are scheduled to supervise these training expeditions. These posts look like advertisements but are coded not just in the wording but also the exact placement of the ads. There's also a bunch of false information that can take years to figure out what is real and what is not. These schedules are good for three months at a time, and I know they'll update them in a week. You'll not only know exactly where they will be but who will be where." He hoped that was good enough. He studied Kido's face but aside from the earlier shock, it was like a terracotta statue in a kimono.
"We have more than enough surveillance. If you had asked five years ago, I would have taken it up, but we are beyond that now. I don't need any more footage of the Taurus Saint harvesting turnips or any of you and the Saint of Gemini painting the same three houses in three different towns every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday."
Now it was Aiolos turn to appear surprised. How did Kido manage to move in a way where neither he nor Saga sense they were being spied on?
Kido folded his arms. "You want your trip? How about this? I want to see real Gold Saint techniques in action. I will summon several of my scientists and engineers to come over; you demonstrate what you're capable of," he paused and can see the twisted division in the Saint's face, but it was clear that he will give in, but desired a bit of negotiation.
"No video cameras." He paused. "You probably have stuff that can measure the abilities of them, but I," he stopped when Kido raised a hand to him.
"-a true fighter's techniques are sacred to him. Never to be shown off beyond ceremonial exhibition and are meant to be utilized, practiced, or passed on." Kido nodded. Aiolos seemed to be reasonably smart, raised to be lawfully good, honorable, but blind to those who can pose the same façade manipulate them until it was too late. "I don't know if my granddaughter has told you, but I hold a deep passion for the martial arts and will honor your request," he lied.
He was about to answer when he turned to Athena as she stood there quietly. He could tell she was deep in thought, by the way, her eyes staring out to space while clutching her hands. She knew her Grandfather better than anyone else but also knew what was best. He still remembered the one day, that Saga blurted out how foolish it would be that whoever became Pope would be unwise to trust in a little girl to command them. Maybe he should've taken that as a cue of what he would've done later, but he had faith in her. "My Goddess, what do you think?"
She looked up, with a cerulean gaze, almost like she was the heavens itself. But then she turned away and walked over to the lone window that was no bigger than an air vent. As small as it was, the moonlight shimmered as if she was consulting Artemis herself. She then turned to the two. "If you don't see your brother soon, you'll never have a chance again."
It was a reply that was far too sage-like to come from a toddler mind. He trusted it, but she still left the choice for him. "Alright, but wherever we do this, it has to be somewhere my cosmos won't be detected."
Kido reached into his kimono and revealed a set of samurai swords tucked carefully. He gestured with his head to Tatsumi as if to grant him some room as he headed toward the wall and drew his sword quickly. Perhaps it was not the speed of light or sound, but it was still quite impressive, as he produced a three-foot slice into the wall. He then pulled a cloth and cleaned the blade before he tossed it to Aiolos.
The Saint picked up the soft square sheet and recognized the shine. He turned to where Tatsumi was standing, and there a small slit was made into the wall, revealing the same shimmer. "Concentrated stardust." It reminded, no, it matched the same as Star Hill. "He must have coated all the walls here," he thought. Aiolos closed his eyes to heighten his senses, realizing he could only go no farther past the wall. "How did he get so much of it?" He thought since it was scarce and the only outside sources of it aside from Greece was on Death Queen Island and Andromeda Island. He had a feeling that Kido must have smuggled some through Jango since Star Hill was next to the Pope's Chambers and he can't see the Cepheus Saint allowing illegal mining to go on.
"Like I said, I spent a lot of money to hide you. There is enough in this area to blur a Saint's ability to detect it, but not enough to draw attention. I also had my engineers ensure that you have free use of it around this area for training, but there are parts that I have made extra secure." Kido spoke as he slid his blade back into its sheath. "You will demonstrate your abilities there in a few days and then when you leave on Saturday, be sure to bring Dr. Yamanaka and Nurse Minami with you to ensure you have quick access to medical care when needed."
To Be Continued…
Questions:
Jadej.j: Will we soon meet the others? And what will Aiolos think of his cloth being in the hands of Saga?
Well, at the end of this, Aiolos will meet some of the others, but not much. I actually didn't have much about his feelings of the Cloth in the first version of this story, but when you asked about it, I realized I should've included more on it and added a small extra scene. He'll weigh more on it in the next chapter.
Thank you for all of those who are following this. If you have any more questions, feel free to add them.