DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN SAINT SEIYA CHARACTERS. SAINT SEIYA IS UNDER THE AUTHORIZATION OF MASAMI KURUMADA
Chapter Five
Three days later all Goldies had recovered from their physical damages. Aldebaran wasn't in weak state again, Shura could move his arm, Aphrodite no longer had any allergic towards flowers, and even Deathmask had returned to be his old self.
"I miss my wall decoration in Cancer temple," he sighed as Aphrodite fed him.
"I don't know I should feel happy or sad for Deathmask's recovery," muttered Shura.
Meanwhile, Aiolia's hands had come back into normal, but strangely he didn't look as glad as Aiolos.
"Why're you so gloomy, Aio?" asked Aiolos as he saw Aiolia practicing weighing. "You're recovered, aren't you?"
"I'm okay," said Aiolia, trying to smile. Aiolos was right; he didn't feel so enthusiastic with his recovery. He doesn't know why on earth it was.
Saga also asked the same question to Kanon when they were taking a walk in the hospital's garden.
"You're able to stand up again and you almost look like a guy who'll get long-term coma," said Saga.
Aiolia and Kanon were able to forget their glooms for a while when they saw Shaka sat on his bed, opened his eyes, and smiled to everyone who greeted him.
"Shaka!" Mu was cheering as he marched to his friend's bed. His fellows walked behind him with huge joyful expression.
"Well done, Shaka!"
"You're awake!"
"You look great!"
Shaka's room turned to be very noisy with hilarious yells and laughters. Shaka seemed a little bit confused with those reactions.
"I only slept for a month," said Shaka.
"But it felt like forever," said the voice which came form the door. Everybody turned their heads and saw Milo and Camus there. Camus still walked wearing crutches, but he smiled widely seeing Shaka. Nobody had seen Camus smiled that wide.
"Hi," greeted Shaka, smiled as Camus and Milo approached his bed.
"Great, Shaka," said Camus as he grasped Shaka's hand. Saga did the same with Shaka's left hand, and Shura held the Buddha's leg.
"It's our fault," said Saga after several minutes.
"Yes," said Shaka. "But you got the effect of my Ten Bu Huo Rin as well, so I do not really mind it."
Everybody laughed, and Camus gave his rare smile again.
"Kidding," said Shaka after the laughters gradually stopped. "I never want you to suffer the effect of my attack anyway."
"We're alright," said Shura.
"And so I am," said Shaka, smiled again. His smile was everybody's relieves, and the Goldies felt like they only had to see that smile for the rest of their lives, and that's enough.
"Hey, they said that the comatose could hear and feel the situation surrounds him when he was sleeping," said Milo enthusiastically as he sat on the side of Shaka's bed. "Is it true?"
"That is correct," said Shaka. "I could hear when Mu was crying."
Everybody looked at Mu, who was extremely blushed (as everybody said that he was a bit claustrophobic).
"And I could hear when you guys held the meeting," Shaka continued. "I really wanted to yell in happiness when Dohko said we would be cured by Graud Foundation, but you know I could not do anything. By the way, where is Dohko and Deathmask and Aphrodite?" asked Shaka when he realized that there was no three of them in his bedroom.
"Dohko needs to have one week bed-rest," answered Aiolos.
"And Aphrodite's feeding Deathmask in sanatorium," said Shura. "But Deathmask will get out of that horrible place soon."
"He's accustomed to horrible place anyway," said Kanon, "Look at his temple."
Laughters again.
"Wow…so you really could hear a lot of things when you were coma?" Milo asked again in amazement.
"Yes," Shaka nodded. "Why are you so interesting anyway?"
"Well…just asking, in case I will have long-term coma myself—"
"Stop saying silly thing, Milo!" Camus snapped.
"Yes, stop that," grinned Aiolia. "Who'll be in Camus' side if you're coma?"
Laughters again, this time was louder than before.
"You shut up," said Camus to Aiolia. He tried to sound cold, but he couldn't help to smile slightly as well.
"Enough," a sound from the opened-door. A nurse finally asked all of them to get out. All goldies then cheered Shaka before they exited.
"It's very nice to see you, Shaka."
"Sleep well as usual, ok?"
"Thank you, Milo," answered Shaka. "But I am sick of sleeping."
Milo laughed as he exited with Camus.
"Can I stay here?" asked Mu to the nurse, who was a little bit irritated. "Alright, but only you. Don't ask even a half person again to disturb our patient."
"I won't. Thank you," said Mu, and he sat near Shaka's bed then.
SAINT SEIYA
"So how do you feel?" asked Milo as he and Camus walked in the hospital garden.
"Great," answered Camus. He released one of his crutches and tried to walk only with a crutch. "My legs aren't numb as before, though I still have some difficulty to walk. I hope it won't be long till I can release this crutch."
"Good."
Silence for some moments. They let the cool winds blew their face as they continued walking.
"Hey," said Camus finally.
"Yep?"
Camus was struggling to say something, but as usual, it was very difficult to express it. Only two words: thank you, and it was always stuck in his throat. He didn't know why on earth it was. Even though he'd tried to remember that Milo had been so helpful during his paralyze, the words still couldn't come from his mouth.
Milo smiled. He knew what Camus was going to say.
"You're welcome," Milo said.
Camus looked at him, and smiled slightly. His words were swallowed again as usual and finally returned to his heart.
Camus kept taking some steps forward, but suddenly stopped after realizing that his best friend was no longer walking by his side. He turned around, and saw the thing that made his eyes widened in anxiety.
Milo was kneeling and clutching his head so hard. No need an expert to know that he was suffering extreme pain in his head.
"Milo," Camus marched to his best friend and knelt as well. Milo's face was white as paper, his eyes half closed.
"Milo, what happens?!" asked Camus as he circled his hand to Milo's neck.
"Hurt…," Milo whispered in a very weak voice.
"Calm down, I'll bring you in," Camus said as he tried to stand up and carry Milo. But soon Camus fell again as he still couldn't stand the pain in his legs. His fear soon increased rapidly after seeing that Milo had been unconscious.
"Milo?!" called Camus, shaking Milo's body, but Milo didn't wake up.
"Sensei, what happens?!"
Camus raised his head and felt huge relief seeing Hyoga and Shiryu marched toward him.
"He' collapsed, I don't know why it is," said Camus as Hyoga and Shiryu helped him to carry Milo. They hurrily brought the Scorpio Saint to enter the hospital then.
SAINT SEIYA
The atmosphere in the waiting-room changed drastically after the incident. Surprisingly, it wasn't only Milo who got fainted and collapsed, but Mu, Kanon, and Aiolia did too. Three of them had the same symptoms as Milo and they got unconscious in the different places. Mu fainted in Shaka's room, Aiolia fell down in the waiting room, and Kanon collapsed in Saga's room. The other Goldies gradually understood about why it was only the four who had such suffering, but they didn't want to believe, especially Camus, Saga, Aiolos, and Shaka. Nevertheless, they finally had to accept that Milo and the others did get fatal injuries because of something they were extremely afraid of.
"The Greatest Caution," said Dohko. He looked definitely depressed. He didn't want to listen when Shiryu asked him to stay on his bed; what he wanted to do now was only telling everything he has concluded to his fellows. "I have just realized that we cannot underestimate the Greatest Caution after seeing those young men suddenly collapsed in the precise time."
"What are you talking about?!" asked Aiolos. His voice unusually sounded rough and his face was full of agony. "If it's really the Greatest Caution then why it has just shown its effect?!"
"I have talked about that with the scientists. It was the same as the work of viruses. The plain specters and the Saint's attacks are the same with influenza: the effects will appear instantly. But Rhadamanthys' Greatest Caution is a kind of HIV—you see that HIV will appear at least seven years after the victims get infected. Since Rhadamanthys' attack is more powerful than ours, it will wait for some times to beat the victims. That explains why formerly Aiolia only got the effect from carrying Cassios and Kanon only suffered Milo's Scarlet Needles; it's because The Greatest Caution still waited to take effect."
"But they'll be alright, won't they?!" snapped Aiolos.
Dohko hesitated.
"Dohko?!"
"Milo, Mu, Aiolia, and Kanon will suffer coma," answered Dohko. "And it's more severe than Shaka's…the Greatest Caution will cause them to be unconscious for very long time."
"But you said that the Graud Foundation has invented medical treatment for powerless saints!"
"Aiolos…," Dohko took a very deep breath. "I'm afraid Graud Foundation hasn't had solution for this. Mr. Kido seemed only preparing the cure to heal Saints and plain specter's attacks, not Hades' judges one…."
"But they can do something, can't they?!" Aiolos grabbed Dohko's shoulders and shook his body roughly. "Dohko?! They can work for the medicine, can't they?!"
"Aiolos," Aldebaran tried to pull Aiolos from Dohko. "Calm down…"
"How can I be calm down?!" snarled Aiolos. "For a very brief moment I had been sure that my brother would be alright, but now he has to suffer injuries again and he's about to sleep for years, maybe even die!"
"I'm sure that Graud Foundation can work for the medicine, but I can tell that it will take some time," said Dohko. "We know they need years to invent the treatment for powerless saints…"
"They just need to continue the research!" shouted Aiolos. "I'll do anything in order Aiolia will wake up again!" he ran to the door, then got out and slammed it down.
Silence for so long.
Then after 15 minutes, Aphrodite (who looked unusually distress) spoke. "So there's nothing we can do now?" he asked.
"I think for the initial treatment we can only do normal ways," said Shaka.
"What do you mean?"
"Psychotherapy," answered Shaka. "Remember that coma people can still hear and feel their surroundings. If we intensely talk to the patients, give them supports and encouraging words, I am sure it will help their recovery."
Silence again. Everybody seemed numb and didn't have any strength to say anything.
Minutes later there was laughter. It was worse than sob, more heartrending than scream. It was laughter with no joy and enthusiasm.
"Aiolos's right," said Saga in the middle of his laugh. He sat on the floor, leant his back on the wall. His arm was covering his eyes. "We'd been relieved for very short time! Then disaster again! I mean…it is so funny. Poor Kanon…he must be shocked," he laughed louder than before.
Everyone in the room only looked at him in pain, but Shura finally approached him and held him tight.
"Everything'll be alright, Saga," whispered Shura.
After several times, Camus stood up, then approached Shaka and pushed his wheelchair forward. "Come on, Shaka," he said. "You have to come back to your room. Shiryu, take Dohko as well. And Aphrodite, set aside," he ordered as Aphrodite blocked his way.
But Aphrodite only stared at him.
"Set aside," repeated Camus.
"How can you be this calm?" asked Aphrodite in disbelief. "Your best friend's coma—"
"I know. Now set aside, or I'll hit you with this wheelchair."
"What a heartless ice mountain you are!" snarled Aphrodite. "You know that Milo's eyes were almost dry because he always wept at night seeing you paralyzed and now you don't even show sadness in your face!"
"What for?!" snapped Camus. His eyes were so cold. "Does it make any difference?! You think those comatose blokes need our tears?! Don't you think they will suffer more burdens if we cry for them?!" Camus glared at Aphrodite. "They don't need cowardice people who only shed tears without doing anything anyway. Now set aside, Aphrodite."
Aphrodite didn't listen. He still glared at Camus.
"Camus is right, Dite," said Shaka calmly, to Aphrodite's shock. "Set aside."
Aphrodite finally walked away, for it was Shaka who asked him to, but he still glared at Camus. Camus pushed the wheelchair and took Shaka to his room then.
To be Continued