Chapter Three: Expectations Part One

Nine Years Ago

The two children sat on either side of the table. Eight-year-old Aiolos slipped his finger around the edge of his red bandana while staring at the door for his Holiness to appear. His eyes darted over as Saga had his head turned the other way with his arm bent at an angle. "Eww, are you picking your nose?"

Eight-year-old Saga whirled around, his eyes wide and cheeks red. "No way, that's gross! I was…" he paused and then showed him his neck.

Aiolos looked over and grimaced. "Oh nasty, how did you burn it like that?"

Saga sighed. "I noticed one of my servants was doing this technique with hot rocks and wet towels that caused his hair to have a nice bounce to it."

"Oh, Agavaoh? Yeah, he has really nice hair. I didn't know people with red hair can make it look so smooth and silky."

Saga nodded and continued his story. "I tried the same, but I noticed a smell coming from it and…dropped it. It hurt a lot, but at least my hair isn't damaged. Goddess forbid I get a split end."

Aiolos agreed and looked over. "Yeah, I can see the spot you're talking about. It's not too noticeable… but I have some coconut oil, and after this, you can rub some on those strands, and it should bring back the shine."

Saga smiled and then returned his glance to the elegant Grecian style white door. "He's taking longer than normal; I wonder what he's going to do today?" He spoke, trying to divert the subject.

"Well he turned right, and I heard another door open quickly," Aiolos replied.

Saga wrinkled his nose. "His schedule said he was going to work with us on politics. He probably went to the scroll room to demonstrate the hierarchy of Sanctuary and the secondary duties of all Saints and politicians."

"A day of politics…" Aiolos trailed off as his finger tapped the edge of the dark stained table. "I think he went to the game room. That's right across from the room with the scrolls."

Saga gave him the classic you're a moron stare and folded his hands. "Why would he do that? He has one of the largest collections of famous writings with him. He's been busy, this was his only bit of free time, and he is searching for the perfect ones to use for us. He's fairly old now and wants the time he spends with us to be as memorable as they could be. Why would he go into the game room when we're only going to use that in our free time?"

Aiolos nodded. "That's what I've been thinking too, but he's been so busy, he probably started trying to find the right scrolls for us, got too tired with one of his I'm too old for this shit… and decided to go with how a politician acts. Since all the miniatures are all down in the Warrior's Circle, he improvised and got some stuff from our game room."

Saga stared at him for a moment. It was an outlandish justification, but he knew Aiolos and while not a silent type, he typically saved something this elaborate only when he was ninety-nine percent certain. He returned to the door, and a minute later, there came his Holiness with a box of chess pieces. "Damn…" Saga thought as he and Aiolos bowed together before the Pope.

"Are we going to play chess again, Master? We kind of get it by now! The battle is like a chess board, you have to plan moves ahead, or you'll lose blah blah Sun Tzu…" bemoaned Aiolos as the Pope laughed and rubbed his hair so hard it pulled his red bandana to the side.

"No, not today, actually, we don't need the board for today's lesson, just the pieces and this!" he spoke as he reached into a large side pocket and pulled a small scroll.

Saga lit up as Aiolos turned and poked his side. "You visited both the scroll and the game room?"

The Pope paused. "Uh yes… I did. My, I've never seen you two so excited over the places I visit to gather supplies."

Saga realized he did react a little too enthusiastically. "We were just talking about where you were at… and it seemed we were both right." He sighed and then felt the Pope stroke his head, knowing he doesn't like it rubbed as hard Aiolos.

"Nothing wrong with having two winners, now let's get…" he looked down at his glove and then took it off. He pulled off his black glove. First, he ran it through Saga and then back at Aiolos and notice bits of white specks on it. "Aiolos, it looks like you have a small case of dry scalp.

The Sagittarius felt as if his gut got punched. "No way! I always add the right amount of apple cider vinegar and wrap it up for ten minutes before rinsing it out every morning!"

But Saga drew a finger, "yeah, but the other day, you bought the cheaper stuff that's been distilled with all the natural bacteria taken out of it."

"Saga's right, you might as well have used plain water if you're going to used distilled apple cider vinegar," the Pope frowned as Aiolos produced a sad look. "Now cheer up. After we are all done, I have a special blend of tea tree oil mixed with freshly pressed jojoba oil that I massage into my scalp for twenty minutes twice a day. That should fix it."

"Twenty minutes? Wow, Master, that's so quick. Aiolia takes about two hours to get his hair done each day," mused Aiolos.

"Oh, I'm just getting too old, plus I tend to cheat by using my helmet to…" The Pope shook his head. "Okay boys, we'll be here all day if we continue this discussion on hair care. Let's go ahead with the lesson."

O|======|O

It didn't take long for Kido to gather his crew of scientists and researchers to set up a demonstration room for the Saint. Aiolos was still creating a list of items for Tatsumi to pick up for the trip when he received the word that he was to head to the basement level in a couple of hours. He only had enough time to do simple cosmos warm-ups as Minami wheeled him to the elevator and even then he could tell his body was having trouble responding to it.

He used his hands and cradled a small ball of cosmos. He slowly lifted them up and down, causing the ball of light to stretch and bend as if he was forming a pizza. It took more effort than expected since he was already using his cosmos to block off the pain in his back and had a little trouble remembering the routine to maximize the muscles of his brain as well as his spirit, but it was all slowly coming back to him.

Along the way, there were several scientists. He noticed their eyes gazing not at him, but his wheelchair. It was the same look that was given to him when he was outside. It was a sign of pity, and while he was sure they were sincere, a small flame of anger filled him. He dropped his ball of cosmos and grabbed his wheels.

Minami was a bit startled when she felt the chair sped up but immediately let go, recognizing the same frustration that many experiences when they are adjusting to life in a wheelchair. She hurried behind him, her low heels clicking on the newly concentrated stardust/marble infused tiles beneath her.

A large white circular room reminded him of a high tech coliseum, while it still showed the drywall tape on the seams as well as unused screws lying around, it was wide enough for him to do what they wanted him to do. The doors were so thick and heavy that it even caused him to grimace at the work it took to build them. He looked up. Sitting in the only room that seemed to be finished and furnished with leather chairs was Mitsumasa Kido, Athena, Tatsumi, and a grey-haired man with glasses and a lab coat that he didn't recognize.

"Aiolos," spoke the grey-haired man through the microphone. He waited until the Saint turned his head to indicate that he could hear him. "This is Dr. Asamori, lead scientist and researcher of our Saint Department."

"Saint Department, I'm not surprised," thought Aiolos. In less than a week, he went from thinking Sanctuary had been flawless in terms of keeping their secrets to finding out that there was a lot that the Kido Foundation knew that he didn't. But what exactly would he do? Does he study the habits of Saints, or something more? With the history of the Kido family dealing in weapons, he hoped he wasn't going to try something foolish. He sighed before he looked up. "Hello, Dr. Asamori." He looked around at the nine or ten men and women sitting behind glass all around him. "To everyone," it was at that moment he felt more like a lab rat than providing an exhibition.

Dr. Asamori nodded. "Hello, Aiolos. I heard many exciting things about you. Your rank is that of a Gold and at age fifteen before your coma, is that right?"

Aiolos sighed. He keeps forgetting he's seventeen now, but it didn't help that his body looked more like it did before puberty. "I got it when I was eight." He heard several gasps. Apparently, the other rooms have microphones too.

"Very impressive, most Saints we've seen only start seriously training at seven."

It was those words that gave him a good impression that they must be secretly watching those who go to the international training grounds while Gold Saint candidates keep theirs so secret that seven or eight servants at the twelve houses were either disciplined or executed for trying to record and distribute their training secrets. "Most Bronze Saints and lower ranking Silvers do. We have our ways to determine who does what and what is most appropriate."

"Astrology, time of birth and location, we know." Dr. Asamori took a puff from his cigarette. The people he had photographed and followed looked more like a cross between a nun and a circus clown. "DNA is a bit more accurate and more customizable." He could tell the Greek had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently, no one has told him of Kido's hundred orphan children plan, something that he doesn't need to know about. "Back to the demonstration, we'll present a few targets with a red dot. To create a baseline of what you can do physically and what you can do, powered up, we want you to strike without cosmos and then the next set with it. After that, you may demonstrate your techniques and that will conclude this, any questions?" He watched Aiolos shake his head no, his eyes always lingering to Athena as if he wasn't sure. Frankly, if she weren't connected to so much money, he wouldn't put his faith in a toddler. "Good," he pressed a button causing several dummies to appear, "when you are ready."

Aiolos stared at each of the targets. They were the size of a full grown man but lacked any appendages. He touched the surface, recognizing the warm rock and shiny glimmer. It was Rainbow stone fused with concentrated stardust. It was the same type that Gold Saints would train with since the Rainbow stone was strong enough to maintain its shape from their blows and the concentrated stardust would absorb it and produce a color to let them know how strong they hit. The harder the blow, the lighter it became before returning back to its original state.

He took his hand and massaged the top of his knuckles. It was soft and pale due to him being bed stricken for a couple of years and out of the sun. He wasn't expecting any physical demonstrations, he'd would think with all the brains and doctors that Kido had, they would understand, he needed to heal first before doing something like this. Still, he pulled it back and smashed as hard as he could at the center, hearing the familiar crackle of the stone as the layers inside shifted. Unfortunately, the rock didn't change much, disappointing the Saint a bit. Even if it didn't have any cosmos, he could have at least turned it green or orange and not blue. He was not trying to impress anyone, but what will he do if he ran into trouble in Greece?

"Aiolos, that was good, but please refrain from using cosmos," called Dr. Asamori from the microphone.

The Greek paused. "But I…," he paused. He totally forgot that he had a constant stream of cosmos in his back to keep the pain away. He closed his eyes and gasped as a sledgehammer worth of pain shot through him. "Shit!" he mouthed. That Vicodin pill that Minami kept trying to offer early made him feel as if he ripped up a winning lottery ticket. It wasn't just his back; it was now his whole body like he had finished taking a tour bus through the nine circles of hell.

His vision blurred, and he could feel the long sleeved red shirt that he used to hide his body with soak up with sweat.

"Aiolos, are you okay?"

He couldn't tell who said it, but he nodded his head. He looked up at the three targets. "Not dying, it's just pain. Just fucking pain, after these, I can use my cosmos." He whispered, his Gold Saint training long ingrained from endless days and hours of sparring with Saga started to kick in. Sometimes a little self-talk is all that is needed to get the deed done. "For Aiolia," he muttered before he took a deep breath. He quickly punched and kicked two targets ignoring how he did before he wheeled himself over the final one and gave it a good right hook in the chest.

The moment the dummies were pulled back, he allowed the cosmos to flow freely to block the pain once more. His face was drenched in so much sweat that he could feel it dripping from the tip of his nose and the arches of his eyebrows. His turned to the chrome on his wheelchair. His face was so red he almost thought he was covered in blood.

"Aiolos, if this is too much, you can stop."

The Greek shook his head. "No." he took a breath and wiped his face. "I gave you my word, and I am not the type that will break it easily." He watched the targets lower back down into the floor while four fresh ones came out.

He carefully breathed, allowing the cosmos to flow entirely around his body. He could hear several gasps in the small crowd and felt a bit more encouraged to push more. However, based on how much pain he was in the last time, he didn't dare stop the stream of cosmos that was blocking the agony to be interrupted. He punched as hard as he could, watching the rock slide a little but not as much as it typically would if he was at a hundred percent. He used to make Aiolia laugh when he was a toddler, making them slide around as if they had wheels built on the bottom of them.

He did the same to the next two, doing his best, but he could tell that he was striking with the power and speed of a high Bronze or a low-leveled Silver. He stared at the last one and then glanced at Kido quickly, noting his folded arms as if he was somewhat disappointed in the show he was putting. He hoped he wouldn't pull out after all of this. He wasn't trying to hold back, and if he could show it, he would be frustrated at what he was demonstrating as well. He focused hard on the blood red circle.

He focused his cosmos into his fist rather than his body. It was terrible form and something that an unrefined first-year trainee would do, but he was being graded on the power he struck with. He hit it dead center, watching it shift half an inch more than the other times. It was better, but not suitable for his status. When he first started training, the cosmos was natural for him to master. He remembered all the times he would see trainees holding rocks and crying how they couldn't do it, and he would go over give them a pat on the back and said to keep trying. He always thought they weren't giving their all, now he felt terrible for thinking that.

"Alright Aiolos, we will give you a five-minute break before we proceed to your techniques."

He nodded as he leaned back and looked at his arms. It did feel good to use them other than to push himself around, but they still ached from lack of usage. He took his hand, caused it to glow yellow, and began to slowly move it up his arm. He could tell this time it was gold level. Perhaps when he tried to punch, it caused a lot of stress on his pain and caused his mind to divert more cosmos to that area than intended.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The Greek turned up to see one of the scientists standing up and pressing against the window. The man's eyes behind his thick glasses were wide, and his face was stunned at what he saw. Aiolos looked down and back up. "I'm using my cosmos to repair my arms. They're a little sore."

"You're healing yourself?" asked another eager scientist.

"How much can you heal yourself? Why can't you heal your back?"

"If you use your cosmos to heal, then why does Sanctuary import so much tea tree oil and jojoba nuts?"

The Saint was not used to so many questions, but he could tell by the tone of their voices that they weren't trying to downplay his poor performance but were genuinely curious. "Cuts and broken bones if I'm in a hurry. My spine is too complicated to do that. I actually use my cosmos to serve as a painkiller, so I don't need medicine." He heard the gasps and watched a few more approach the glass.

"What about if you are concentrating? What can you do?"

He was surprised by all the questions by something so mundane. Perhaps it was because most Saints tend to do their healing in private to avoid appearing weak. Aiolos looked up. "Many things. If someone loses a limb, I can reattach it if it wasn't too long ago. I can mend ligaments. There was this aid worker that came over to Greece once. He worked hard and was told he needed to stop because of his arthritis. Typically, we aren't allowed to use the Golden touch like that, but I felt bad for him, and after five minutes, his knees were in better shape at age seventy than when he was twenty years old." Aiolos bashfully chuckled, rubbing his short hair watching their stunned looks as they bombarded him with more questions at once.

A few even came down and asked for him to help with stuff like their blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, and arthritis, to which he happily obliged. If he was going to show off his techniques, he might as well bring about a little good in the world. The five-minute break ended up being an hour before Kido redirected everyone to come back to their seats and finish the demonstrations. Aiolos could tell from their faces that they were determined to inquire more as soon as this was over with.

A massive wall that looked more like a brick from the pyramids in Egypt rose up. Several targets were placed on it. He had a feeling about what they wanted to see next, but he was not looking forward to it.

"Aiolos, could you demonstrate Atomic Thunderbolt Attack?"

The Sagittarius' eyes widened. Powerful techniques like that were so sacred that they had to be mastered deep in the catacombs of their Houses. "How did you know about that technique?" he asked.

"We have our ways."

He frowned. A servant or guard must have sold it to the Kido Foundation. In the short time, he's been awake at the Kido Foundation; he's realized there were a lot more underhanded traitors in Sanctuary than Saga. He turned to the wall and clenched his fist and studied the pattern. It was a nine by nine array with several gaps in between them. This was not just about strength but about accuracy as well. He took a breath and pulled his fist. He didn't bother to shout out the attack. He needed to focus. He punched each one as quickly as he could. While he struck all of the targets perfectly, it was still relatively slow. He took about five seconds when his brother was first trying it, he could do it in less than a blink of an eye. The speed he struck the wall meant he was no faster than a Bronze. At least he struck each one. His brother would've just decimated the wall and blame the power level for destroying the evidence that he didn't bother to try to be accurate.

He knew they were disappointed. No gasps of awe. Instead, there were a couple of coughs as the block lowered down. He's sure with the way things are going, they've seen someone without a rank like Marin pull it off far faster. He's not the type that needed praise to do his best, but he felt almost mortified after the poor demonstration of what he considered his first primary technique and how far he has fallen. He felt his thoughts of going back to confront Saga, reclaim his Cloth, return Athena and right the wrongs he has done begin to slip away.

"Alright, Aiolos, one more technique and then we will be all finished."

A narrow, thick block rose from the ground. Aiolos watched it slowly click into place before hearing the door behind him open. "Athena?" he whispered as his Goddess came, carrying a long shiny box.

"Here, you'll need this," she spoke as she handed it to him.

He looked down on it, the sign of Sagittarius engraved into it. "No way…" he thought, instantly recognizing the length of the box. He clicked it open and gasped. "My bow? Where did you get this? You said your Grandfather left the Cloth behind!"

"Not all of it," she smiled as she touched his hand. "Now, shine."

He ran his fingers along its side and gripped the handle. It was the real thing. He knew every indention, every small scratch and carving along its edge. He knew its power. He gripped the handle with one hand and summoned his cosmos into an arrow. The Cloth made things so much easier as he formed a clearly gold level cosmos arrow with it. The difference was evident as the brightness illuminated the room like a miniature sun.

But that was only half of the intricacy of the Sagittarius Bow.

What most, even other Saints don't realize is that aiming with the bow is no different than a regular wooden bow except it lacked a drawstring. Not even the cosmos of the Gods could help them with its accuracy, especially with it made trickier in the fact that a person had to use the same motions as if there was a string on it. Legend has it that it was really the bow of Apollo, the same one that Odysseus used to kill all the suitors in his home to regain his crown, but even Saints tend to make up their own myths. Even if a person could wear his Cloth, if they are a terrible shot, then they may end up embarrassing themselves when confronting a Mariner or Specter. Hopefully, they aren't stuck utilizing it for the first time before a major battle.

The target was the size of a coin. It was too easy since he liked to entertain Mrs. Schafurwatt, Milo's head servant, by shooting a piece of thread into a needle head. Aiolos quickly brought it up and nailed it so hard that the rock slammed into the wall, leaving an imprint causing the room to burst out in applause. He was about to draw a second and a third arrow through the hole he made when a small hand grabbed his hand.

"Aiolos, we need to put it back. This box keeps it from being detected by Sanctuary."

The Saint nodded, still drunk from the euphoria of being reunited by his bow once more. He took his sleeve, rubbed off a little dirt off of it, before laying it back down in its spot, brushing his fingers gently as if to extend his time with his old friend. He stared as Athena shut the lid and then followed her out of the room.

Several scientists were waiting outside in the hall with Minami. Many would start off congratulating him on the arrow technique, but most were far more interested in the Golden Touch. Aiolos didn't mind talking to them some more. In fact, he smiled at the thought that while Kido seemed extremely focused on utilizing on the ways of the warrior; nearly all of his brainy crew admired and hungered for the more humanitarian side of the Gold Saint. With the technological marvel they had, maybe they'll develop something based on the Golden Touch to help the millions who would need it.

He spent about three more hours soliciting them, healing some of their ailments and halfway through, they invited him for takeout and some drinks in the former school's staff lounge. Once it was over, they were all called to meet with Dr. Asamori to discuss the results of his test.

O|======|O

"Are you sure you will be alright. You had so much," spoke Minami as she wheeled the Saint down through the darkened hall.

"It was only four drinks."

"It was four bottles of Sake. Sakazukis are the cups you drink out of, they aren't saucers," she chided.

Aiolos looked up, "they said they were just the saucers. They said you drink it like a bottle of beer. Would a scientist lie like that?"

"They are smart, yes. But they are not without their crude humor. They were probably curious and thought it would be funny to see how far you would go."

He giggled. It was a good time and made him miss the times that he and Saga would just quit in the middle of training to avoid missing Happy Hour and Karaoke Night. "I guess you are right. At least I don't have to push myself or else I would've been in trouble."

"Well, now, I am in trouble. I am responsible for your wellbeing. Dr. Yamanaka will be very displeased with my duty, especially when I have to do your blood work tonight."

Aiolos raised a hand for her to stop. "Look, I'll take care of it. His office is down the other hall, I'll wheel my way over, explain what happened and all will be good. You just head back to your quarters." He watched her attempt to speak, but he raised his hand. He watched her nod before she left. He turned his chair and began to head down the other hall. He could see the bright light escaping from the crack beneath the door but could hear the familiar voice of another person inside there.

"…we're doing our best, but it takes time. Even if we repair it, at the very most, he may have to have to get around with a cane. I definitely don't see him doing much fighting in the future."

"Damn it! I funded several of your research projects when nobody would. I sent you and all your kids to the best schools in the world, and you can't figure out how to fix him?"

Aiolos was not one to get emotional, but maybe it was the alcohol or perhaps the mostly poor performance, but it stung to hear him being described as some broken toy.

"I'm doing my best! We are all doing our best, Mr. Kido! Besides, do you see what he can do? He can't fight but one after the other, he was healing us with no trouble. Imagine what we can do with that?"

"Of course, I can! Seventy percent of my profits come from pharmaceutical! We'd go bankrupt if the world knew about it!"

Aiolos heard a large thud as if someone pushed themselves hard into a large leather chair, followed by a long sigh.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

A heavy sigh followed. "I should have taken it."

"Taken what?"

"The Cloth! It was right there, sitting like a brilliant trophy. I had a choice between taking one of the rarest objects in the world and a cripple and damn my heart I picked the cripple." Another loud thud followed. "I'm such a fool. If I would've known better, I should have left him there and picked one of our own to utilize the Cloth. Instead, we wasted not just today but two years worth of valuable time."

Aiolos lowered his head. The following voices just blurred inside his head as he struggled to ignore them. Instead, he focused on the grating noise of his wheels turning down the empty hall. He reached his door where Minami was waiting by his door. He wheeled himself inside the room and watched as Minami reached over and applied the brakes. Before she can help pull him out, he raised a hand. "Can I do all of this myself tonight?"

The woman folded her arms. "I am instructed to assist your needs, Dr. Yamanaka wants to ensure you don't damage-"

"Minami!" Aiolos raised his voice with a bit of unintentional force. He paused, realizing he may have drunken too much tonight. He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. "Please, go see your family. I need-I need some time by myself." He looked up with his dark blue eyes. "You can come a bit earlier to make sure I'm okay, and we make our six o'clock flight tomorrow. Okay?" He watched her study his face. He tried to produce a blank expression, but if she was like his own mom, he knew it was futile. It was at that moment, he realized he was taking out his anger on the wrong person, one of the few in this country who didn't try to lie to him or make him do parlor tricks. "I'm sorry…."

"It's alright. I know I keep saying this, but remember that I will always be on call," she bowed and then walked down the hall.

Aiolos sat there quietly, his hands resting on his legs. He knew something didn't feel right with him since he woke up and it wasn't until now did he realize what it was, and that was that he wasn't the best anymore. Maybe he wasn't as competitive as Saga, but he did so because he knew that when the day the Holy War comes, strength was the key to the survival of his friends, himself and his brother. The idea of being dead weight disturbed him far more than being dead.

He turned to a ticket to Greece that he displayed carefully at his desk, eyeing the destination that was labeled on it. He pulled his brakes, wheeled himself over and snatched it. He tucked it in his pocket. Even though Mr. Kido seemed like a person who would honor the deal, he still wanted to keep them just in case he would send someone to take it.

To Be Continued...