The Sagittarius Cloth

A wall-mounted telephone rang in the empty hall of the Kido Mansion. It was Tatsumi who took it, and it was Saori on the other side. "Tatsumi, make the calls. We already have eight Saints for the tournament, so arrange the production crews and publish the press release. Schedule a briefing for tomorrow afternoon at the Colosseum."

"Yes, Miss Saori. I'll get to it right away."

The Graad Colosseum was a great venue built after the original Roman Colosseum's long lost appearance, only with modern engineering and the highest of technology. That day, the entrance was brimming with press and security, and the entrance hall on the inside seemed in a worse situation, with a sea of reporters, journalists and cameramen crowded in front of a stage, protected by a line of suited Kido guards.

A rustic wooden stand was placed just off center, covered in microphones, and some steps ahead of tall red curtains. On the wall to the right of the curtains, there was a large screen, so far with nothing but promotional imagery of the inside of the Colosseum; on the wall to the left, in bold chrome letters, was the organization's name for all to read well and clear: "GRAAD FOUNDATION".

Again, it's Tatsumi who walked to the stand first, prompting press to machine gun him with flashes: "Good afternoon to all of you. Before we start, I'd like to give a few words." A slideshow was loaded on the screen, and now only a photo of the Colosseum appeared. "First, questions will come after the primary announcement has been made. We will pass a microphone and anyone will be allowed to ask what they want, as long as it's pertinent to the subject matter. Stupid questions will not be tolerated. Second, as Miss Kido enters, turn off your flashes! There is enough lighting in the house, and she does not like being assaulted with flashes. If we see anyone using flashes during the announcement, security will escort them out of the building." He bowed. "Thank you for understanding."

With him walking down the stairs of the stage and joining behind the line of suited men, Saori finally walked in, wearing a long white dress with a skirt fanning out into intricate laced fabric. A golden diadem interspersed with colorful strips adorned her long hair, and her neck was covered in a crocheted necklace sporting coins of gold. Despite the agitation her appearance caused, noise was all she had to deal with, with few flashes soon censored by aggressive call-outs from the guards.

"Good afternoon," she said, and as soon as her tranquil voice came through, all chitchat settled. "What I'm going to talk about today should come as a surprise to all of you. At first, this will all seem too unlikely to be true, yet it will be proven real soon enough." She pressed a button on the stand, then a picture of Mitsumasa Kido appeared on the screen beside her. "It's public knowledge that my grandfather, Mitsumasa Kido, was an enthusiast of the martial arts. He invested large sums of money in an assortment of fighting tournaments across the world, and financed fighting schools to that end. He particularly held great interest in Greco-Roman wrestling, and a fascination for Ancient Greek history." She changes the slide to photos taken by her grandfather during his visit to Athens, the multiple acropolises he visited, including the one around the entrance to Sanctuary. "It was during a visit to Athens that my grandfather experienced a memorable event. This made him aware of a group of warriors known as Saints."

Some occasional jeering started being heard from the crowd, but she did not mind, going to the next slides. Photos of craters, ruined buildings of many eras, and entirely razed forests. "At first glance, these might seem like photographs of meteor impacts or the outcome of bombs, but they are in fact results of the power of those Saints. As you can see, it far surpasses that of an ordinary human." There was much disbelief in the crowd. This now all seemed to them like a publicity stunt more than anything.

She transitioned to the picture of a starry sky. "The secret behind their power is not some sort of martial art, but an energy called Cosmos, which Saints are experts at controlling. This allows them to fragment objects at the atomic level if they so will." A photo of the silhouette of a man putting on armor is shown; his helmet had a single horn, like that of a unicorn. "These Saints also wear armored outfits known as Cloths, each Cloth associated with the constellation that protects a given Saint. This allows their bodies to withstand blows far surpassing what humans like us could survive."

As a slide of the Graad Foundation's headquarters appeared, two guards positioned themselves on each end of the curtains. "Having learned this, my grandfather created the Graad Foundation, intent on gathering able-bodied children to be trained by some of the eighty eight Saints in existence. Said candidates were to bring us Cloths, which are material proof of Sainthood. Here they are, the eight Cloths our candidates brought to Japan so far!" They pulled the curtains, revealing eight Cloth boxes positioned in an arc, although a pedestal was still covered by a black veil, clearly with another box atop. At this point some in the press are more inquisitive, desperately taking photos.

"This proves that at least eight of our candidates have become Saints. In other words, we have succeeded in raising children into Saints!" The next slide showed the outline of three Saints. "That's not all. They have not come back to Japan only to show us their Cloths, but to put on a fight the world shall never forget. You will witness the greatest competition in all of history: a tournament between Saints!"

The press went haywire, unsure if the Kidos had found something incredible, or if they had gone completely insane. Many of them yelled questions, some amazed and others cynical, so Saori had to raise her tone while security and Tatsumi ordered them to quiet down: "I promise to take questions in a few seconds. I have gathered you here because I need your help. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away before enjoying the fruits of his labor, but he transferred the responsibility to me in his will. Please, let's make this tournament even greater than the games once held in the Roman Colosseum! I count on you to help us make my grandfather's dream a success!" She bowed on stage, and again the press began to lose their minds.

Tatsumi took a wired microphone and, with the aid of other employees, started selecting journalists in the crowd to ask questions. "This is all difficult to believe in. Do you have any further evidence of the powers you claim those Saints possess?" the first one asked.

"Currently I have nothing to show you, but once the tournament starts, you will have more evidence than you need. I may look like a liar now, but I rest assured in the truth of my statements. Those who doubt me will look very bad once the tournament kicks off."

A journalist kept yelling by the side of the first one to ask a question, excited to have a chance of his own. Instead of waiting for Tatsumi to select him, he grabbed the microphone off his hand and spoke into it. "Saori, where… where are these eight Saints?"

Although, security ripped the microphone off them, Saori answered anyhow: "Seven of them are out back right now. They all agreed to take interviews after this."

"What can you say about evidence of the Graad Foundation's continuous involvement in foreign gambling and…" the third journalist to get to ask a question was silenced by security, who robbed the microphone off him.

"Please… please," Saori said after a sigh.

Another reporter beside that one kept screaming at to let him finish the question, but he was met with this coming from Tatsumi: "I told you to keep your questions relevant, people, or this won't work out!"

With how roughly they were being treated, soon the press noticed they were not to be treated as guests, but as people with the privilege to broadcast this announcement live in their respective networks, which made Saori's plea for help ironic. If they didn't play by the house's rules, they would lose such privileges. "With how powerful they are, is it really fine for those Saints to spill blood for entertainment?" the next one asked.

"You don't need to worry about that. We have something so valuable they will put all their might into this. You may unveil the prize now." Saori finished by motioning to one of the guards behind her, who walked to the remaining veil and pulled it off. The golden box of the Sagittarius Cloth was what rested on that taller podium, in the middle of all the other boxes. "The eight Cloths I had first shown you belong to Saints of the lowest rank, known as Bronze Saints. That which you see on the pedestal is a Cloth that belongs to a Saint of the highest rank, a Gold Saint! There are only twelve Cloths of such rank in existence, and we're confident the Saints will fight for it. Next question."

While this still ensued in Japan, it was all the way in China that a dark-haired girl ran down the hills of the Five Ancient Peaks, making her way to a tall waterfall, on a natural rock formation that served for a beautiful sight of the surroundings. She pressed her steps over her flats, wearing a red flowered cheongsam. The man she approached had hair as dark as hers, but whereas hers was tied into a single braid behind her, his was longer and untied. "Shiryu! Shiryu!" she called him.

The man, shirtless and doing one-handed push-ups at the time, stopped his workout at once to stand and turn to the girl. He was already quite muscular, even more after swelling his muscles with the harsh exercising he did every day. "Shunrei?"

"Shiryu! You have to come to the shack. Old Master wants you to see something!"

"What happened?"

"It's something on TV. They're talking about a tournament of Saints!"

"A what?" He frowned at that, grabbing a towel he left aside and putting it over the sweat of his neck. "Let's go."

Shunrei and Shiryu walked all the way up the hills in between the trees and bushes, until a humble wooden shack came to view. She tried to explain the little she heard, however, it wasn't enough to help him understand. "... I called the Old Master once this woman started talking about Saints, and he told me to hurry and get you."

The voice of an elderly echoed from inside now: "Foolish! This is foolish!" The two stare at each other and finally walk inside. A diminutive old man stood in front of the tube television, bemoaning at it as if it could hear him. He wore a conical hat and covered the remainder of his short body with robes, having a cane in one frail hand. "Shiryu, this is foolish! Look at this!" he said upon noticing his entrance.

Shiryu crouched and looked closely at the screen, trying to make out the large letters on the side. "Graad Foundation... this is Saori."

"So you know this woman?"

"I'm afraid I do. Her grandfather is the reason I came to Rozan in the first place."

Old Master lifted the cane and rested its pointed tip at a golden box in the background of the television. "That right there, Shiryu... that is a Gold Cloth! If this is all real and this Cloth falls in the wrong hands, there's no telling what catastrophes would ensue! Do you understand me?"

"O-Old Master…"

"Not just that, but a tournament! This goes against the laws every Saint abides to. When this reaches ears in Sanctuary, they will surely lash back." Old Master turned to the man, who at that moment stood awaiting orders. "Shiryu, you mustn't allow anyone else to win this Gold Cloth! Go to Japan and get this Cloth back safely, through all means necessary."

Shiryu shut his eyes, Shunrei looking up at him. He slid the towel off his neck with a hand, sighed and nodded. "Yes, Old Master. I will leave for Japan tomorrow."

"I'm going with you!" Shunrei said.

He turned to her and said: "No. It would be best if you stayed and tended for Old Master."

"I don't need that," the old man said, "Shunrei does more than I need for myself. I'll do well alone, so take her with you. It will be nice for her to visit a completely different country for the first time."

"Oh… alright, I guess we're both going to Japan then," he said, smiling at the girl whose eyes shone in glee.

"I'll go prepare my luggage!" Shunrei left for the bedroom, leaving Old Master and Shiryu to continue watching Saori answer questions.

The flood of memories that assaulted Shiryu reminded him of Saori's character as a kid, and, above all, her grandfather's. "Saori… what is this about? Could it be that you lost your mind?"