The BBs study during the day. Saori visits at night.
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The weather is sunny, cloudy mix.
[July 8, Sunday - week 2]
Final exams are approaching, and the BBs have decided to have a group study session until Saori's arrival at night. They head to their dorm's third-floor library and sit on the table to study.
"We have a lot of material, so we should start right away," Shiryu says.
"Do you think final exams will cover midterms too?" Hyoga asks.
"I doubt it. Final exams will focus on topics by the new teachers."
"That's good to know. I feel like I can study better knowing those teachers are the ones teaching those topics," Shun adds.
"With all those new teachers, where should we start?" Ikki asks.
"Let's start with the stuff Haruka-san taught," Seiya suggests. "And while we're at it, we could do Tetsuo-sensei since they teach similar stuff."
"You mean regarding Western Philosophy?"
"Right! Those two did a lot on the main trio, as well as one by one."
"The main trio?" Shun asks, confused.
"Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle," Shiryu clarifies.
Various notebooks and textbooks are scattered across the table. Library books, too.
"Imagine if those three were Saints," Seiya says.
"They lived in Ancient Greece, so I presume they lived in the age of myth." Shun gasps as if he realized something. "Think they met Athena?"
"You mean the very first Athena?" Hyoga assumes.
Seiya gasps, surprised with his eyes widen. "I wonder what the first Athena looked like."
"Hold it!" Shiryu sweats, stopping them before they go off-topic. "Those three doubted myths so they wouldn't have a business serving any god."
"Socrates was a soldier, so he probably got offers to become a Saint of Athena or serving some other god and declined them all," Ikki says.
"So much trying to imagine them as supernatural warriors," Seiya mutters.
Some of them laugh at Seiya's statement. The study session continues for the rest of the day until they stop for dinner and await Saori's arrival.
"Good evening, everybody!" Saori greets.
"Same here, Saori-san," Seiya says.
"You all seem energetic today."
"We spent the day studying," Shiryu explains.
"I see! You have final exams coming up!"
"Correct! We covered a lot today," Hyoga adds.
"I'm so happy you're taking your studies so seriously. Should you pass your final exams, I will increase your allowance by twenty percent!"
The BBs perk up right away.
"For real, Saori-san?! Thanks a ton!"
"You're welcome." Saori nods. "Summer vacation is coming, and you will need a bigger budget to cover your expenses..."
Saori notices the bamboo with the papers hanging.
"Is that what I think it is?" she asks.
"Yes! Yesterday was the Star Festival, and we wrote our wishes on paper. I plan to keep them up until next month." Shun grins.
"Do you know what Tanabata is?" Shiryu asks.
"Of course I do!" Saori replies enthusiastically, "I wrote my wishes on paper with my grandfather. It's been so long since I've seen this."
She stands up to observe the setup more closely and inspects the pieces of paper from every angle, reading the wishes written on them.
"I love the wishes you've written. They're so authentic!" Saori turns to them. "Thank goodness none of them beg to drop out of school."
Seiya nervously laughs, though, shivering. "We kind of started with that first before Shun demanded we rewrite them..." He notices Saori gazing as if she has a question mark on her head.
"Shun, you said about keeping them for a whole month. Does this mean you've set this up too?" Saori asks, looking at the branch.
"Yes, I did! I went to the store after school and set it up after dinner. The Star Festival means a lot to me and I wanted to celebrate with them."
Saori gasps in surprise. "I didn't know. Please tell!"
Shun tells her his Tanabata story, to which she pays full, undivided attention.
"I'm so happy for you, Shun! I know it's already passed, but I would like to write a wish too. I would have to sit at the dining table for privacy."
The boys gasp at her decision as Shun gives her a blank, purple-colored paper and a pen. Saori sits at the dining table to write her wish.
"I wonder what she's writing," Seiya whispers.
"Let's not distract her, okay?" Shun pleads.
Saori finishes with her wish and hands the paper to Shun, who hangs on the top of the bamboo branch. Saori looks at the end result.
"That is lovely! I love the setup." Saori hums happily. "I'd have to cut my meeting short. You must be exhausted from your study session. Ah! The allowance is on the table. See you next week!"
They sweatdrop while watching Saori exit their dorm. Then, they hop to the bamboo plant to see her written wish on paper.
"Let's see what she wrote..." Seiya says.
"It says to see us graduate from school," Shun says.
"That's it?" Hyoga asks.
"Looks that way..." Ikki says.
"It's a generic wish, though," Shiryu says.
"I expected her to write something related to Athena, Sanctuary, or about us Saints. That or let's not have enemies invade." Seiya's brow twitches. "She went for a generic wish anyone can write."
Shiryu steps back. "I think I know what Saori-san is trying to say." He notices his friends' confused faces. "Let's sit back. I'll explain."
Shiryu explains the meaning of Saori's wish to them in a way they could understand. "So, in short, Saori-san is using this as a last chance for a normal life just as we do."
"I see. Since she sold the Colosseum, she wouldn't have business staying here. She could've sold the mansion too," Shun says.
"Because Saori-san knows she must be at Sanctuary. That's what every incarnated Athena has done since the age of myth," Hyoga says.
"She didn't send us to school out of presumed laziness if we didn't. It was a way of rewarding us for all our efforts. A chance to live a normal life... I get it now. Looking back, I feel bad for demanding to drop out because I assumed she took the easy way out. I should've understood her!"
"Seiya..." Shun mutters.
"Don't feel bad. The same goes for us."
"Saori-san rewarded all of us and herself with a normal life. The same goes for Jabu and the others as she lends them to aid in the reconstruction, which she had no business doing. She holds the Colosseum dear to her, so she is determined to see it complete even though she doesn't own it anymore," Shiryu says.
"Seiya, think about it. You took a bad hit with Hades. Sure, you were in a coma, but you could've died outright, as we assumed at the time. The grief would've been too much, and maybe she would've let the Colosseum be taken away," Ikki says.
"We have two years, so she'll repeat her wish. Let's make Saori-san's wish a reality if that's the case. Let's do well so we can graduate," Shun says.
"Continuing with school doesn't change the fact that we still don't want to go. But I don't sense Athena's cosmo on the paper, given what she wrote is a generic wish. However, let's continue with school for her sake."
"Well said, Seiya! Let's continue with school!"
To be continued...