III. Never mention the first word again

After getting over the ordeal regards the appearance of the first teeth was Shion already facing his next task by parenting, beside still being determined to Stardust Revolution the Tooth Fairy, and this was teaching Mu how to speak. Shion had been careful about the words being spoken around the baby who much to his immense pride was progressing well. It was nowadays not even a rare sight to see the pope wandering through the Sanctuary while the lavender haired child was clinging to the sleeve of his robes.

The sight was truly adorable.

Shion would often take his young charge to the gardens beside the Virgo temple, he still wondered when Asmita had the time or mostly when he come out to construct it, it was sad that he never asked and that the only one who had know the man was someone they had not even known that he existed. In such cases held Shion back a sigh, when he found the new Gemini would he do everything in his power that neither of them needs to suffer that alienation they predecessors needed to endure. He had went over all scripts about the gold saints trying to change some things, but there were still problems he knew that he could not do anything about, the flaming heart of the scorpion and that the aquarius's need to be sometimes emotionless to use his powers and there was the thing with the pisces. It hurt thinking about Albafica and the loneliness he had went through and the pain only lifted slightly at the irony that it had been one of his enemies whom had in a way made him smile in the end and find love for the flowers he had despised all his life.

"All my life I have been among the poisonous roses, but now, for the first time, I think these roses are beautiful."

"Truly ironic, I think you thought the same Albafica." Shion whispered when he finally noticed someone tugging at his sleeve.

Looking down he spotted Mu who held his little hands out, signalling that he wished to be picked up. Shion complied without a word, but then he noticed something which stunned him, they have not reached the Virgo temple, but instead were now in the Sanctuary's cemetery. The pope was shocked that in his reminiscation had his feet brought him to those he was thinking about. Shaking his head turned the greenet around to head upstairs to his palace, it seems that they both are in dire need for a nap.

It was Monday afternoon that Shion could be found on the ground of his study, after he reassured his attendants that he will not crawl under the rug – they will truly never let him live that one scene down – and was again attempting to teach Mu how to speak.

He was at this since two whole hours.

"Mu, try saying Jamir. Jamir." he was slowly getting tired of this, maybe they could continue tomorrow.

Mu only looked up at the adult with wide emerald eyes and tipped his head to the side, a gesture with which he could bring even the most stoic female saints to melt while others only squealed at the adorableness. Shion sighed it really seemed that they would need to continue this tomorrow and they might make some progress, Mu was a fast learner so this should not be a problem. Also if he refuses to talk verbally Shion still had the option to teach him talking through telepathy seeing how Mu displayed only rarely problems with the control of his telekinesis and those few times were only triggered by pain or fear like after he had a nightmare and sent a wardrobe flying out of the window and crashing right into the Cancer temple and thorugh it to Gemini. Shion was about to stand up when there was a knock on the door and one of his attendants stepped inside handing him a envelope from China.

"Looks as if Dohko has finally replied." Shion said with a little smile on his lips, he missed his old friend and even though his sheep references annoyed him to no end he still loved the person with whom he had grown up with and was the only one he still had left from they little group. Suddenly his eyes widened and his face darkened as he read the reply in which he had written about the things they had went through by the 'teeth disaster', he had let out the skirt in the air incident, but Dohko had a to lively fantasy. "Tha…that man…" he growled in disbelief, but lowered his voice so asto not scare Mu or let him hear too much. "First his constant sheep references and now he even thinks that I'm some kind of pervert?" he hissed out under his breath, but then his heart stopped.

"Pelvelt" Shion froze and carefully looked down to his feet, eyes as wide as the Libra's shield, then there by his feet sat Mu, gazing up at him happily, he had waddled over to Shion as the pope was reading the letter. "Pelvelt"

No, Shion had not heard it wrong and that word could also not be mistaken for anything else so throwing the letter away as if it would have burned him dropped the pope to his knees and looked panicked at the baby. He could only all to well imagine Hakurei laughing hysterically at the mess his student had landed himself into with the fact that even thought he had lowered his voice had he forgotten to check where the baby was.

"No Mu, that is not a nice word to say, try Jamir, Athena, saint…please Mu even Hades or Meikai would be fine." he nearly whined and for a second it looked as if Mu would really try saying a new word, but his hopes got crashed.

"Pelvelt sheep!" the baby said happily and this time Shion really broke out into tears while mumbling about also needing to find a successor for the Libra cloth, because the current Libra Saint had a fatal accident in the mountains.

At the same time in front of the large door leading to the pope's study stood Martha with two maids and some of the attendants at her side, shaking her head.

"I doubt that he had listened to me when I told him that when a baby finally manages to pick up a few words they either string them together with something or go over to another. They only keep a new word for longer if they get a reaction which is either amusing or interesting." she said while looking at the pope who had now jumped up from the ground and started pacing around the room while contemplating a murderer. The maids and attendants only sighed, they really need to put in parenting class for the saints.

Owari