Seiya's Greek Wedding
Kou's comments: Lyrics from "Sober" is like the Bronze Saint's life during the tough fights and emotional battles fighting and seeing their comrades fall right before their eyes. The lyrics from "Catch My Breath" illustrates this time right now that I'm (still) writing about: the happy ever after they deserve.
"Can you please remind me how you feel? This emptiness is real; I can't bear the thought of it. And please remind me how to smile, I lost track after a while. Is happiness so hard to get?" –Butch Walker "Sober"
"Addicted to the love I found. Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud. Making time for the ones that count. I'll spend the rest of my time, laughing hard with the windows down, leaving footprints all over town. Keeping faith, karma comes around. I will spend the rest of my life" –Kelly Clarkson "Catch My Breath"
Disclaimer: Will I ever own Saint Seiya? Maybe someday. Masami Kurumada still owns Saint Seiya
-+"Sober" to "Catch My Breath"+-
Soft clinking sounds chirp pass as the bicycle Seiya was pedaling down another dusty trail. He selected it because the bike was similar in style to the one he owned back in his childhood. His old bike was beautiful; silver with orange plating that had tiny black streak designs. The tires were black with black spokes. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to take her out for a ride out past the walls of Kido Mansion. Mitsumasa Kido, although Seiya's father, was nothing but strict and distant toward him. Well, him and his other brothers. At the time, Seiya and the others didn't know they were even related. They were led to believe they were just random orphans Kido picked out for a charity case.
Seiya thought a little more.
It wasn't until years later, Hyoga found out. Family. Hyoga certainly didn't look it, but he was all about family. Even when he had to train in Siberia, where the only other trainee was Isaac to talk to, he remembered his mother. Even when he was too tired to put another blanket on, he thought about his mom. But as he grew older he needed more. He knew there was something so strange about his life. At first he thought he could be happy knowing who his mother is, content with the memories of her. But he thought about how his mother kept saying during the days right before she died that he had to get to his father, who lived in Japan.
Hyoga told Seiya that it was a little hazy. But after Kido came to pick him up at the government office regarding international affairs (Hyoga was and is still a Russian citizen), he actually didn't identify himself as dad. He just had Hyoga sit across from him in the limo. Just silence. Hyoga was still distraught over his mother so he didn't really have the energy to ask Kido anything. It was Tatsumi who explained that Kido took in orphans, even though the reality was that they weren't orphans since their father was alive and living with them obviously.
Then it struck Hyoga. He was about ten years old. Isaac had already "drowned" as he originally thought was the fate of his friend. There was no one else but Camus. Sure, he was happy still. Camus seemed to speak more to sort of make up for Isaac's absence, smile a little more. But it made him yearn for his past, to know who makes up his family, who's his father.
Hyoga, he must've felt lonely more than the rest of us, wondered Seiya. Sometimes he couldn't believe Hyoga could be only two years older than him, yet think of such deep things.
It happened after Hyoga planned for several weeks how he could go back to Japan. His instincts were telling him there was more to his orphaned life than what he knew. It was much easier than he thought. Camus left to attend to a mission somewhere on the other side of the world. Hyoga knew his master would be out for a couple of weeks.
So he signed himself onto a barge and worked on it for free passage. Coming into view of Japan's harbor was dramatically different than Russia's. He tried to leave fast, but the captain actually caught him. Though Hyoga didn't need it, he politely accepted the money.
And promptly ended up spending it on some yakitori, andagi, and steaming hot sweet potatoes!
That part of the story made Seiya laugh. He said that the sidewalk stands were just all over the place and he couldn't resist. Hyoga was, after all, only ten. It was practically a walk of temptation.
After asking a younger girl, who was blushing, which buses to catch to get to the street where Kido Mansion was, he promptly started his real journey. Through the window, sights of familiar places finally came into view. Most were places that he and Shiryu often snuck out to check out. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known the way there if he literally lived inside the walls of Kido Mansion.
There was the toy store with purple walls. The various candy stores, some were wooden with a traditional feel, others were more Western looking. The baseball park, the vending machines, apartments and bikes.
Breaking into Kido Mansion was ridiculously easy for Hyoga. He scaled the wall and using his cosmos, shattered the security cameras.
He stepped past the broken pieces. He felt triumphant in a way. Those cameras caused several of them lots of pain and punishment. But to be on the safe side, he didn't exactly know how to find all the cameras so he had his hair in an oversized olive green cabby hat. His hair was quite distinctive in Japan and he didn't want to be found out so easily in case (which Seiya found absolutely hilarious) Master Shion happened to come across the tapes.
Admittedly, Hyoga was a bit paranoid about Sanctuary.
Then he saw it. The room that all the children, even Saori, were warned against entering. It was just a pair of long thin doors down a plainer hallway. But Kido would enter there once in a great while and stay for long periods of time.
This was his chance. He placed his hand over the bronze door handle. He charged a small current through it, at once a couple of the screws and back door handle fell down on the other side. Without a second thought, he shoved the door open.
It made no noise. He crossed the soft thick burgundy carpet. There was a long row of black metal cabinets. A small, handsome wooden desk sat in the middle of the far wall. The windows weren't facing the sun so Hyoga turned the light dimmer all the way. Closing the door behind him and kicking the fallen screws and handle away, he went over to the desk.
He pulled open one of the overhead cabinets of the desk. It gave way without a fight. A sheaf of papers stuffed into a dusty brown file folder was lying in the big empty space. Apparently no one had touched it in years. Maybe not since Kido's death. He unwinded the string.
He coughed a little after some of the dust floated up after he flipped it open. Hyoga's eyes poured over page after page. A building sense of anger and despair seemed to crawl through his hair.
There were birth certificates of each and every one of his brothers and sister. Each said the same damn thing: Mitsumasa Kido was their birth father. And almost every one of them had different mothers.
The only pairs of children who shared the same mom and dad were Shun and Ikki, Seiya and Seika.
A strange sound was ringing in Hyoga's ears. But then he realized it was his own screaming.
So when that day came when he ended up fighting alongside Seiya, Shiryu, and Shun after the Galaxy Tournament, it felt natural to him. He ended up using that truth against Ikki.
After Hyoga's story, Seiya knew he needed to get out. Or else he would've broken everything in his home. He needed to breathe somewhere else and just be. He ended up walking down random avenues until he plopped himself down on a bench.
A twinkling sound came from behind him. A young boy and his mom just walked out the bike shop's door; it had a tiny bell at the top of the door. At first he was just absentmindedly walking through, passing his eyes from bike to bike. Then the shopkeeper came out and got him to start talking. Seiya really didn't want to, but the shopkeeper had a kind smile and did sort of remind him of Shun.
He asked Seiya if he ever had a bike when he was kid. As he started describing his old bike, he started returning to his old self. He began smiling. The shopkeeper became quiet and beckoned Seiya after him. He followed and even he got quiet. There was a bike sitting away from the other bikes in the back room. It was like the grown up version of the bike he was just talking about. The shopkeeper explained it was one of the many bikes he was repairing. But the original owner gave up on it since the repairs were so extensive, it wasn't worth the cost.
Seiya bought it right then and there.
He felt like reminiscing too now.
The bike he had back then, it was a symbol of freedom. There was a circular driveway around the boring water fountain in front of the mansion that he could ride around.
But that got old really fast.
So one day, after an especially crappy day, Seiya decided it was high time he left that damn hole. The epiphany came to him like a bolt of lightning. But his feelings about breaking away had always been brewing, a storm working up its full might. Tatsumi, Kido's butler, had Seiya scrub and hose down the garden tiles of the stupid pathway in the back garden.
He was a real jerk to me, remembered Seiya.
Seiya was crouched down on all fours. He hosed the tiles first. The garden path was over twenty feet long. Then he scrubbed then squeezed out the water and bleach. After an hour, he only covered about seven feet. He sighed long and hard. A shadow passed over him.
Tatsumi had dragged Shiryu by his little arm over to Seiya. Shiryu's eyebrows were furrowed in anger and he protested against Tatsumi's strength. Finally, he was shoved onto the still-wet pathway.
"Hey!" shouted Seiya, sitting up on his knees.
But the great brute only laughed. He left and walked back into the cool sun room in the mansion. Tatsumi locked the French doors.
"You okay, Shiryu?" asked Seiya in a tired voice.
Shiryu nodded. He unstuck his shirt from his skin; his grey shirt was drenched with soap. His lip trembled a little; he was fighting the urge to cry. If only in rage.
Seiya tried to get up, but his knees wouldn't let him. He was down on his knees too long. When he tried again, he slipped onto his bottom. So now his pants got wet.
"You should just take it off, Shiryu," he suggested.
His own blue shirt was drying on some rose bushes by the marble gazebo. It got wet after the numerous times Seiya squeezed the water out of the scrub. The water kept splashing onto him. But Seiya didn't mind it so much, at least the water kept him cool under the overhead heat. He was always an optimistic thinker.
Shiryu didn't say anything. Long heaving breaths made his chest puff out. The tears just kept filling his eyes.
Because Seiya was so weary, he couldn't even tell him it was going to be okay. That did not sit well with Seiya. They've all been living together for almost two years but they were abused and scolded so often, it was practically normal to them. Some of the children became friends. But Shiryu? He pretty much kept to himself.
Seiya never really spoke to the boy. Then he thought, well, there's no reason not to start now! An idea sparked itself and Seiya had had enough…
Soon Seiya snuck behind the gazebo. His heart began pounding as he saw Tatsumi swearing, searching around for them. He was inching closer to them, but still not out of sight of the security camera. Then a thumping sound caused both him and Tatsumi to turn in the direction of the rose bushes.
"Now!" roared Shiryu, as he ambushed Tatsumi. He head-butted the grown man in the stomach.
Seeing that they were out of the camera's angle, Seiya swung the bucket upward into Tatsumi's crotch for good measure. The nasty butler finally got what he deserved and sank to his knees, till he was eye level with Seiya.
A wicked grin was the last thing he saw as both Seiya and Shiryu punched him.
But they ended up walking away shaking away the pain in their hands. It was worth it. Seiya patted Tatsumi down (eww!) and swung the keys around on his finger in triumph. The next part was easy as they nonchalantly walked the side of the garden and unlocked the black front gate.
They didn't even bother closing it.
Together they made a run for it, right down the street as fast as they could. Shiryu started slowing down, panting as he leaned against a bike rail. Seiya slowed down himself, walking in circles with his hands on his hips to get his breathing back to normal.
"Great job, Shiryu, now, we're free," said Seiya in between breaths.
Shiryu coughed and sat down against the cool shaded wall. He leaned his head against it and grinned. He stretched his hand up to Seiya.
Seiya smiled as he high fived him.
Now with their new found freedom, there were a ton of things they wanted to do. Well, Seiya had a ton of things to check out while Shiryu was still thinking about it. They started walking away, in case they were being followed. They took a stroll down a block with small ramen and book shops lined up.
Then they saw a poster about a small festival going on in the neighborhood. That settled it. They didn't have any money but that didn't stop them. Seiya smelled the sweet cotton candy and watched some of the fun events like people getting dunked in water whenever someone hit the target.
Then that's when he met her.
"Ouch, you stepped on my foot!" she scolded, from beside him.
The young girl had blue hair, braided in two down her back. She was wearing a cute pink corduroy jumper that had a skirt instead of pants with a red shirt underneath.
Seiya blushed, frowning. He turned to her to say sorry but something caught in his throat. Then his frustration at not being able to say sorry came out all wrong. He made a face at her.
"Get over it," said Seiya, saying something completely opposite to what he meant to. He wanted to cover up his embarrassment. As boys would do.
The young girl narrowed her big dark green eyes at him.
"Hmph! How rude! Oh wait, it's you. Seiya! I hope you don't trip on your big dumb feet," she retorted, feeling very affronted.
Seiya blinked, now he remembered. She was a fellow orphan at Star Orphanage with him and his sister. But she was adopted some time ago.
"Is that the best you can do? Oh, Shiryu, please catch me in case I trip over 'my big dumb feet,'" taunted Seiya in a sly grin, saying the last part in an exaggerated high pitched version.
Shiryu felt a little uncomfortable, he kind of felt like he was caught in between, like a teddy bear tugged by two kids.
A fierce fire erupted in her little heart. She wasn't going to take that.
"Oh, hey you! Shiryu right? Why don't you tell your friend he's being totally dumb," she fired right at Seiya's face.
"Excuuuuuuuse me! Is that the only word you know? Just dumb? You must really be dumb, nyah," replied Seiya vehemently, sticking his tongue out.
Shiryu took a step back from the two. It suddenly seemed like there was a fire between them.
"Um…"
"And another thing, you're ugly! Got it? U-G-L-Y."
"WHY YOU LITTLE!" spat the blue haired girl, clenching her fist. She ran straight at Seiya, who recognized danger when he saw it.
The circle of onlookers sweatdropped as the little girl grabbed a handful of Seiya's shirt and began hammering down on his head.
"Miho!"
"Uh-oh," said Miho at once, as she was pulled onto her feet by a man who could only be her father.
The young man had short dark brown hair and kind gray eyes. He offered a hand out to Seiya, who took it by surprise.
"You okay Seiya?" asked Shiryu, a little concerned but mostly amused.
"Um, er, thanks Mister," said Seiya, blushing like before.
Seiya watched Miho being scolded by her father. He was stern, but Seiya could tell he was different from Tatsumi or Kido.
He talked to her with genuine concern. Like a real father.
Miho grudgingly apologized to both Seiya and Shiryu. Satisfied, her father offered to go get them each a slushee. Both Seiya and Shiryu gazed up at him in awe. A soft melting feeling came over them, something in their hearts. Something that felt like this is what real people should be like. After convincing the two it was no problem, he left to get the delicious treats. Red for Seiya and Miho, blue for Shiryu.
The three kids stood in silence near the gray barrier that marked the edge of the festival.
"So, are you guys going back to your parents? My dad's going to take me home soon. But I wish we could stay out longer," said Miho, wanting to end the awkwardness that she didn't understand.
Shiryu glanced at Seiya.
"We're not; actually we aren't here with-"
"We're still orphans," cut in Seiya. He just looked at Miho straight in the eye.
"Oh, oh! Um, I didn't know," she said, feeling embarrassed.
Seiya now stared at her. But Seiya usually isn't loss for words.
"EH?! Are you serious? Couldn't you tell we came here without parents."
Once again, the two began bickering. Shiryu just watched them, wondering where all this intense hatred came from. Years later, when he reflected on this memory, he knew why.
It was really their way of showing love. That when they truly trust someone, they feel like they can tell them anything. For these two, it came naturally to be that way at once.
Miho's father came over and, being the great adult he is, had overheard their conversation. He gave them some time to talk it out because he knew children can be sensible. They reason with their hearts unlike adults. Seiya did explain he was still an orphan, that they were out and about. That she's an orphan too because her real parents aren't here with her. But it was Miho's answer that astounded all three of them.
"You just said an orphan is a kid without any family. My daddy said that sometimes your friends become the closest people in your life. I call my friends my family. Isn't Shiryu your family?"
Seiya became speechless. So Shiryu answered for him.
"Yeah, Seiya's my family."
Seiya blushed and laughed off some of the overwhelming feelings away. Then Miho's father gave them each the slushee they were waiting for, like a reward.
A tasty reward. Miho's father ate his own slushee. His was red too.
Together they talked about random things. Her father gave each of them some money to try some rides. He showed Seiya and Shiryu the trick to catching fish at some of the games and how to aim so they can shoot down the prize they want.
Miho's dad was holding up Shiryu at one of the games. While they were doing that, Seiya remembered he was standing off to the side with her.
She wanted to know what school they went to. His heart flipped a little when she was sad to hear they weren't attending her school. She asked him when they would meet again.
Seiya told her that maybe this might not at all.
Miho looked him in the eye. She said it's not impossible and began rattling off a list of places that she likes to visit. Miho wanted him to know.
After they parted ways, Seiya actually remembered all the places she told him. So whenever he snuck out, he made sure to bring his bike with him. If he didn't find her at one place, he'd try another.
There was one conversation that stayed with Seiya, even when he was lying down on his wooden bed, aching all over from the brutal training. Although just to keep the record straight, Marin was not a tyrant.
Seiya found Miho at her small, but cozy house. It was a pale yellow color in the residential area outside of busy Tokyo. Seiya always felt it was way better than the stark white mansion he lived in. The mansion had too much space, if you filled it, it felt cluttered, if you didn't it felt too empty. He parked his bike by her mailbox like he usually did. They were sitting on the step at the back door. There was an open package of pistachios between them. They'd open the shells and toss them into the kitchen's trash can.
Miho started talking about the future. What they would do for the rest of their lives. Seiya remembered he said something about being a pro boxer. Gold gloves and all. Usually he didn't like to talk about serious things, but with Miho, he felt it was okay to. He wanted to let her know.
She said that it was a great dream, but what about if he got hurt? She wanted to know what he'd do. Seiya assured her back then that he'd be so strong, no one would hurt him.
"But Seiya, before you get so strong, what about then?"
Seiya's heart seemed to quiver a little at the sight of worry in her eyes.
"It'll be okay. But what about your dream, Miho-chan?"
"Me? I want to take care of children. Any job that takes care of children is what I wanna do for the rest of my life."
And you know what? Miho did fulfill that dream. She is the same age as Seiya, but she liked working at Star Orphanage even when she was thirteen. It was the same orphanage that Seiya and his older sister, Seika, lived at before they were at Kido Mansion. When she heard about the opening there, she excitedly took it.
It made her feel closer to Seiya.
His hands gripped down on the brakes. His cool bike halted right in front of Shun. It was time to get ready for Shiryu's surprise birthday party!
The surprise was at Kido Mansion. Shunrei, having never endured memories of the crappy food and harsh treatment saw the mansion as a very refined place. With nice curtains. But she fell in love with the gazebo in the back garden, the site of the start of Seiya and Shiryu's friendship. It was kind of like circling back.
Seiya forced back his resentment of the place now that he learned what Hyoga did and how alone he was when he found out the truth for the sake of not being a party pooper. But even Saori had changed. The little brat whom every kid resented back in their childhood.
So maybe Kido Mansion can start becoming a place of good memories.
"Earth to Seiya!" hollered the full grown Shiryu.
Everyone was staring at him. Seiya smiled sheepishly. Shiryu tapped his mischievous younger brother on the shoulder.
"Seiya, you kind of zoned out there. You alright?"
"No, I mean yes! I am."
A small hint of worry still stayed with Shiryu. But he nodded and began heading off back to their small circle of friends by the old, but still elegant gazebo.
Seiya hurried after him.
And they yelled happy birthday, just as Shiryu crossed the threshold of the gazebo, which Hyoga, Shun, and Seiya rigged to have the sensors light up the garden in beautiful twinkling gold lights.
Extra: This chapter's title is a combination of two songs that I felt relates to the Bronze Saints' lives. I've always wanted to create a title using song names together. I'm planning to take a cruise ship instead of flying to Europe. And I found out that you can actually work on a barge to ride for free! I was pretty amazed by that and am considering it, the only problem is that barges deliver cargo so I'd better bring the muscle if I want to try it. Hyoga's lucky, that kind of work is nothing for him;P