Chapter Four: Big Brother, Little Brothers

Three years have passed quickly since Aiolos took the position of training the children at the Kido Foundation. It was a good distraction, especially since while he's had several surgeries to ensure he was a lot less fragile, but nowhere close to walking. The decision to try to rush that process had backfired in terms of progress, but at least they didn't try anything on him yet. At least he had his role to keep him occupied.

Besides, he found that they were all a very pleasant group of five to six-year-olds who picked up things very quickly and seemed eager to come every morning. It was an essential trait since this would be the year that they would be sent to their designated training grounds.

He noticed their enthusiasm increased after he had a word with Athena about their accommodations. Despite the place being a former school with rooms to spare, Tatsumi tried to crowd all of them in a single classroom for their sleeping accommodations. One day, he noticed Hyoga refused to do anything, including the activities that he enjoyed. When he asked what was wrong, he told him that he was tired because Ichi slept with his leg on top of him. He asked why didn't he move, and said he couldn't that was when Aiolos had enough.

Aiolos found a hallway filled with five rooms and a large restroom they could share. After taking a day to have the kids divide and move their bedding material, rearrange some furniture, and throw in a few room dividers, behavior improved almost immediately. Students could sleep better, the rooms were a lot cooler due to less body heat, and students could have a little privacy and unwind when needed. Sure Sanctuary believed in a Spartan living, but even the Spartans understood the importance of having personal space and privacy.

He wheels himself around to observe the sparring matches going on. Shiryu and Seiya are pretty much at a deadlock as Kento, a Kido guard, still decked in the standard black suit with sunglasses helped oversee their match.

Aiolos always liked to put those two together. Apparently, Shiryu's grandfather had a dojo while Seiya had to learn to fend for himself on the streets with his sister. Shiryu was the pinnacle of discipline while Seiya focused on his gut and instincts. Every time they fought one another, he could see how they seemingly influence the other, especially with how evenly they fought with each other. The only thing the two seemed to have in common was the fact that they both had an ego the size of a jackfruit and by them experiencing some gains and losses, he could see it fading between the two.

Jabu was trying to match his fist against Shun, but the boy kept dodging. It may seem like a simple match, but part of the real battle occurred just right outside of it.

Just as Shun gets struck by Jabu and tumbled over, Aiolos immediately sighed at the incoming footsteps. "Big brother to the rescue," he thought as he outstretched his lean muscular arm, knocking Ikki over and interrupting his charge.

"Ow!" Ikki rubbed his head as he got up and turned to the sparring circle as Jabu was on top of Shun punching at him. "Why aren't you ending it! Look at him he's-" Ikki started to run but, Aiolos grabbed his grey shirt and pulled him back.

"-he's fine," the Sagittarius reminded him. He watched as Ikki winced as Shun began to wail.

Ikki shook his head. "He's pinned down!"

"Look-carefully," Aiolos pointed out.

Ikki's eyes shifted around until he noticed that what he thought was Shun just frantically kicking and screaming showed that the young child was actually moving his knees under Jabu before finally kicking him off. Ikki sighed. "Oh..." he muttered.

Aiolos reached over and patted his back. "I know. He's the only family you got, and you don't want him hurt. It's hard." Aiolos chuckled. "At least you have a lot of friends around. My brother didn't have that. The second hardest thing I had to do was punch my then five-year-old brother in the face for the first time."

Ikki paused. As tough as he was, hearing Shun's tears was enough to make him crumble. "If that was the second hardest, what was the first?"

Aiolos chuckled, "when I had to punch him again afterward for crying in battle," he shook his head, "without crying myself." The two watched as Shun was knocked back on the ground before Aiolos reached over and patted Ikki on the back. "It's never easy. But better now, before you are stuck as a teenager trying to snap him out of it with a Specter hovering over you two. Besides, he's tough, just like you."

Ikki smiled, but it faded. "I'm just worried about what will happen when I go to Death Queen Island."

A frown formed, on Aiolos face. "Who the hell said you were going to Death Queen Island?"

"Tatsumi said..."

Aiolos threw his hand on his face. He wasn't sure if Tatsumi said it to be cruel or funny, but telling a person they were going to Death Queen Island was the equivalent of telling a person they had incurable cancer as a form of jest. "Ikki, what was my first rule when it comes to Tatsumi and Sainthood?"

"He's full of bullshit," grumbled Ikki.

"Yep. Now, what's the second?"

"If it's true, he's probably got it mixed up." Ikki watched Aiolos nod. "But he said the only place the Phoenix Cloth is at is Death Queen Island. I told all of you that I'll be the one who gets it and-" Ikki stops as Aiolos turned his head towards him.

"Ikki, this is the guy that declared Andromeda Island to be the worst despite it giving out enough Cloths to form its own miniature army. Listen, the Phoenix Cloth's last sighting was at Death Queen Island; however, you don't need to train on the actual island itself to earn it, just beat the... whatever the hell Guilty is. You'll be going to the Mount Agung Training Ground in Bali with Saint Crateris Gorgo." He watched Ikki nodded back and turned around to finish preparing with his match.

Ikki was a tough kid with an iron will spirit commonly found in Leos. Of course, they were also the type that didn't like backing out in fear that it would make them appear soft in front of others. Aiolos could tell Ikki was curious at how difficult Death Queen Island was, but this was for the best. He had no doubt that he was capable of training under Guilty, but he knew that it was a complete sadist. Even if Ikki came with the Cloth, who knows how much mental anguish and damage Guilty would cause by the end training especially by the fact that being sent to Death Queen Island was seen as a greater punishment than death.

Aiolos turned to Ikki and a somewhat nervous Tatsumi before giving the whistle to start. In less than a blink, the two immediately were trading blows. He could see in the butler's eyes that he was nervous about this day. Each smack of the punch that Ikki made against the palms of Tatsumi caused more trainees to turn away from their fight and scream and cheer in delight.

Aiolos was equally engaged, his hands digging in his newly crafted mullet that he carefully groomed and tended to like a bonsai tree. He gritted his teeth as Ikki took a strike toward the face, a smooth move he should've dodged if he would've kept his previous stance. But then Ikki twisted away, and it was at that moment that Aiolos could see what the crafty child was attempting, when he squats a bit and performed an uppercut so hard and fast, his small feet came off the ground. A roar of applause exploded as Tatsumi laid on the ground.

Minami, who now doubled as the nurse for the children as well as for Aiolos' needs, hurried over and performed the usual routine of checking for broken bones, fluid in the nose and ears and flashing a light in his eyes. "I may have to bring him over to check for a concussion."

Aiolos sighed. "Will he be okay?"

"I think so." She spoke. "Tatsumi, wake up dear," she spoke as she called for a couple of guards to come over and lift him up as Kento came over.

"What are we going to do? Tatsumi gets so mad whenever he can't supervise the training going on," spoke Kento as Seiya and Ikki were high fiving each other in the background.

Aiolos shrugged, remembering last week when Seiya knocked Tatsumi out for a few seconds before Tatsumi sent the children running around in laps for who knows how long. He looked at the time and reached over for a red hat that he used to cover his hair. "Translate to everyone to pack up; we're going to go out and eat." He sees Kento's stunned look. "We'll go there and study some Greek while eating curry. Come on," he urged before Kento did as he was told. Aiolos smiled as he could tell when the kids let out a cheer. They've been working very hard, and even in Sanctuary, trainers and trainees will take time to relax.

O|=====|O

It was a very nice day to go out to the open restaurant. Now that they were down to only ten boys, outings like this were possible. He led them down like a mother and her ducklings, enjoying their time beyond the fenced quarters. It was a pity that they can only do things like this when Tatsumi was sick or with Mr. Kido. He was fairly certain that if Tatsumi had his way, he would ensure all the children would be cooped up in the Graude Foundation building until the day they are sent away.

They found a place that sold steamed buns and curry and ordered so many for their table that Aiolos couldn't see half of his students. It didn't take long for them to start engorging themselves, sick of the cheap rice and fish plates that they have been served for months on end. He really wanted to change up their food too, but unfortunately, that was one area that he couldn't successfully negotiate due to the enormous monthly cost. The good news was that Aiolos knew taking the kids out to eat every once in a while doesn't bother Kido too much. It is in a place like this where the Sagittarius Saint could watch the children practice their Greek in a realistic setting and listen to the Japanese around him.

"Mmmm, so good!" spoke Shun in Greek as he took some of the bread, dipped it in his curry and savored the flavor.

Kento sucked the juice out of his before popping it in his mouth. "They are, they remind me of the ones my Mother used to make in Ningxia," he spoke in slow, enunciated Greek.

"Ningxia? Is that in the Ehime Region?" asked Seiya.

"It's actually in China," corrected Hyoga.

Aiolos turned to the quiet Russian child. He remembered the day that he tried to connect each one of them with their guardian constellations. By using a thin cloth, an old Lemurian equation that involved drawing a specific circle and plotting the kid's birthday, blood type, and their strongest personality traits he could find out which Cloth they would be most compatible with. Some students were, like Seiya and Jabu. They both seemed to hover toward Pegasus and Unicorn, but in the end, his gut told him to have Seiya head to Greece for Pegasus. Hyoga, on the other hand, was a straight arrow for Cygnus and it showed. Every form of mannerism was a perfect reflection of Camus, including the part where he would be silent for most of the time and interject when something needed to be corrected. The fact that he's also an Aquarius almost solidified this.

"I'll be going there soon," muttered Shiryu as he paused at his curry.

But Kento pulled his shades off. "You'll like China, and I'm sure you'll have a good master too."

But Shiryu shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to see China again, but I'm just worried about the cosmos. We didn't really do too much with it other than try to break rocks."

"So, when are we going to study the cosmos?" asked Shun as he politely held back his hunger and gently chewed on his chicken bun.

"Yeah! I want to fire lasers or some shit like that!" laughed Seiya.

Aiolos took a deep breath before taking a slow sip of tea. Cosmos training was something that was a very spiritual process and required a lot of one on one attention, no matter how good they are. He could see that half of them, especially Hyoga who needed specific ice training, that they were approaching that time when they need to focus on it. It was one of the reasons why after their time with him, they would benefit by leaps and bounds if given their own masters who could focus on them individually. "Trust me, when you get to your training grounds, you'll be doing nothing but that. Besides Seiya, before you can fire lasers, you still need to figure out how to break a rock with your cosmos."

"Why does he need Cosmos, when he could just use his head?" quipped Jabu as the group laughed.

Seiya narrowed his eyes. "How am I supposed to copy you when I actually have a brain in mine?"

The table roared with laughter. Aiolos even lost it, struggling to keep his food in his mouth. He reached over and drank his complimentary tea. Despite all that's happened to him, it was these moments that make him glad he was alive and why he'll miss the kids when they leave. His laughter stopped when he began to feel a familiar presence, one that every so often, slithered in the shadows. "Aiolia," he thought as anxiety pierced his heart. He turned toward the children as they laughed and ate their steamed buns while dunking them in curry. He knew his brother wouldn't try to hurt kids, but Sanctuary has changed he couldn't risk it.

Kento was the first to notice Aiolos particular gaze. "Is everything alright?" he asked as he reached for his side where his firearm was. Instead of an answer, he watched as Aiolos reached down to pull up his brakes and roll from his spot. "Hey, where are you-"

"Kento, I need to take care of something, go take the children back when they are done eating," Aiolos spoke as he threw some money on the table and began to wheel his way off the patio and down the street. He knew it would look odd and suspicious, but he didn't care.

He turned his head, the cosmos coming closer. It was much different than the other times he felt his brother's presence where it clearly stayed in place as if observing from a distance. He knew Aiolia has a great mastery of his cosmos now. No longer did the heated anxious feelings of anger were present in it. Either Aiolia forgave him and has no intention of killing him, or more than likely, Aiolia has grown up and mastered the art of controlling it in a way that made it less detectable and neutral. Who knows why Aiolia was here.

Of course, if the Kido Foundation made that deal with Sanctuary, they were sure to have spies. Perhaps Saga put him up to the task to prove his loyalty? Maybe Sanctuary knew he was alive in Japan and wanted to keep an eye on him or worse, Aiolia is keeping him a secret.

All Aiolos knew was that if his little brother was choosing to keep him alive and Sanctuary found out, they would have every right to kill him too.

Three years of peace. He almost thought Sanctuary had forgotten about him or at least thought that there was no point in going after him now that's confined in a wheelchair.

He took his hands and rested them on his wheels, slowing his pace in front of a nearby shrine. Not too many come to this one. He could tell by the deterioration of the offering box. He could feel the cosmos of his brother remain steady and knew he was in place and lowering.

Lay gently. Remember, if you do it too quickly, the leaves will crackle, and you'll lose the element of surprise.

It felt like Aiolos was that little boar sitting in the woods. Aiolos' breath quickened. Like a true lion, he knew Aiolia was preparing himself for one good strike.

Even though he's had some recent surgery to strengthen his back, he still couldn't walk. All Aiolia had to do was just run behind him and dump him out. Even if he had the required surgery, it would take a few years of dedicated therapy before he could walk and run.

Even if he couldn't get out of his chair, he'll still throw out a decent fight even if it was like a cat vs. a church mouse. He could at least throw enough punches so that it made it clear to Sanctuary that Aiolia wasn't a traitor. His ears picked up the footsteps of someone rapidly charging at him with Aiolia's cosmos coming at an ever-increasing pace. Aiolos squeezed his fist, enraptured of feeling his golden cosmos flow threw his fist in so long. He has forgotten how good it felt. He took one hand, quickly spun around as he punched forward.

"STOP!" cried Kento as he caught the fist and fell backward.

Aiolos gasped. "GODDESS!" he cursed as he pulled back. Horror filled his stomach as the Kido guard was on the ground. "Oh no...no no..." he moved closer, relieved that his friend was okay.

Kento brushed his black coat and pants off and gave a smile. "I'm okay...really." He walked over and picked up his glasses, wiping the lenses with the edge of his shirt. "Why did you leave so quickly? Did you forget something?"

Aiolos felt his heart rate fall back to normal. "Oh, I..." It was then he paused. He stared at Kento's hands. There was more than enough power to blow off an average person's fingers or at least break the tiny bones in them. Most mysteriously of all, there weren't even any bruises on them. Even his little brother got them when the two sparred. The only way a person could do that is if they not only had enough training in the cosmos to divert it but was used to the level as well. Sure Kento fell backward, but it wasn't clumsy, but somewhat controlled. Was Kento with Sanctuary? He felt a cold shudder, one that he hasn't felt since the last betrayal with Saga.

"Aiolos, what are you doing here?" Kento asked. "All the kids were worried?"

Aiolos could sense his brother's cosmos fade. Maybe he saw the same thing and didn't want to be caught with him. Either way, he needed to answer, but what the hell does he say. "I thought I saw someone… I knew," he mumbled.

"Oh, who?" asked Kento.

"A waitress," he muttered. "I…wanted to ask them on a date!" he grinned, pleased with his creativity. Besides, there was some truth, he wasn't blind by the fact that Futaba always seems to be the one who served his usual Beef Noodle Bowl while happening to give his favorite extra veggies at no additional charge.

"Ah," Kento smiled waving his finger. "I think I know who." Kento then walked over and began to push Aiolos. "Anyways, we need to hurry. Tatsumi got up earlier than expected, and he's demanding that we are all there."

It should have been a relaxing trip. Kento talked about a cute bird with a blue breast and the smell of street fish on a stick. Instead, Aiolos sat silently, not even bothering to push himself, unsure which side his brother or Kento belonged to. They reached the Graude Foundation and Aiolos merely had the children on the strength equipment for the rest of the time so that he could think about the strange turn of events.

Throughout his time here, he has grown to quite warm to his life in Japan. He was able to watch over Athena, fulfilling his duty of creating more Saints and while he longed for the day when they perfect the technology to help him run and avoid being treated like a fragile grandmother, the chair has become second nature. He thought that as long as Sanctuary is unaware that Athena was there, all will be well. Not only is his brother stalking him again, but Kento, a young man who improved his Japanese quite a bit and has joined his small circle of Japanese friends, was possibly a spy. The fact that he was the only Kido Guard that called Athena by name openly made him sick and wonder why he didn't notice that sooner.

O|=====|O

When training was complete, he rolled straight toward his room, trying to get a read of the cosmos along the way but all the concentrated stardust in the paint, the floors, and ceilings made such a simple task very difficult.

He took his card, ran it over the scanner, but couldn't get the door to open. Aiolos frowned until he noticed the door was slightly ajar. He adjusted his chair so that he was in line with it. He took his arm, and pushed it open, finding it giving out with ease without any cosmos. He looked around, wondering if he'd find it in a disheveled mess from Sanctuary searching his things. Instead, it was as clean as ever, except for an odd piece of paper he laid out on his table. He lifted it up and recognized the name of the hotel that he, Marin and Aiolia all met in. The paper looked as if it was crumpled, straightened, and crumpled again as if whoever held it didn't know what to do. It was his old handwriting with the address of his place.

Below it on his small notepad was a little sketch of a map, filled with poorly copied Kanji as if trying to say where he would be, but unfamiliar on the proper stroking techniques. He focused and trying to recall what it is saying and was sure that it was at a museum. It wasn't the first place that he would think of to meet, but perhaps Aiolia carefully chose it knowing where Sanctuary would be and would not. The time was relatively late, timed as if it was near closing time.

"Hey! What happened?"

Aiolos gasped as he recognized the face. He heard the door groan as it slid over on its broken track. He turned around to see Kento standing there, wondering why he came until he saw a familiar textbook and remembered today was when he typically tutored him on his Japanese at this time. He quickly pulled the page off and smiled. "Oh sorry, hey, I was actually thinking of doing something else tonight." It was such a weak excuse and the second one he made today.

Kento noticed. "Are you feeling alright? Would you like me to ask to make you an appointment to see the doctor?"

Aiolos shook his head. "No... I was just thinking that... I haven't been out of the building much...by myself. I just need a little me-time."

Kento nodded as he scratched his hair a bit. "Of course. You have been working very hard. My late parents have always said, a rested body cannot reach its greatest potential when it has a tired soul. Tomorrow then? Perhaps we can also eat at Yayoi Ken at the same time and help you more with your restaurant vocabulary?"

"Late parents? But he looks no more than eighteen years old?" Aiolos thought. Now he was sure of it. If he's an orphan, with training in the cosmos, he's definitely involved with Sanctuary or some part of Athena's army. Still, he smiled and nodded back. "Sounds like a good plan. I'll see you tomorrow." He was about to roll away when he looked up. "Oh, can you let someone know to fix my door? It's been such a crazy day that I accidentally broke it."

The Chinese guard smiled. "Of course, have a good night," he waved. He watched Aiolos wheel himself out and head down the hall. Once he was far enough, he turned around and bolted toward the table. He set the books down and looked down at the notepad. He took his finger and gently rubbed the surface, feeling the indentures. He grabbed a pencil and lightly colored the page, allowing the past imprint of the previous note to reveal itself.

To Be Continued