69 — LIFE GOES ON
A press room is packed with reporters and cameras from the main media outlets around the world. All the chairs occupied, while many other employees huddled in front of an empty bench with a bouquet of microphones prepared in the center of the table. The cameras' strobe lights click furiously as the long-awaited entourage finally appears from a side door.
A tall man, without a hair on his head, wearing a beautifully cut suit sat at one end of the table, while Saori Kido sat in the center of it in front of all those microphones. Beside her, as always, Alice, also very elegant, sat at the other end. A careful observer would notice that the fourth member of the entourage simply stood with his arms crossed in the doorway, looking at each soul inside that room for a long time. It was Aioria.
"Good morning to everyone here." Saori began, looking very serious. "I would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding, but also would like to thank all the fans who are listening to us."
In effect, that broadcast was being spread live with translators and subtitles to all parts of the world.
"I would like to officially end the Galaxian Wars." she spoke immediately to a frenzy of clicking cameras. "The Coliseum will be rebuilt according to its original design; we will make changes to make it more secure and we promise all those who bought their tickets for the ten days of the event that we will make a refund."
A pause in her speech.
"But there is also a second option." she said, without breaking the seriousness of her speech, as if in fact faithfully following a script. "Whoever bought the tickets can also keep them for the Return of the Galaxian Wars."
A roar filled the room and she continued once it was silent again.
"As soon as the Coliseum is again in accordance with the security regulations of the city hall, we will organize a new event, much more exciting and anew. The details we'll save for when the time comes, but our fans can expect even more exciting battles and games."
Everyone looked at each other curiously in that room.
"The prize will still be the Golden Urn and the tournament will continue the events that ended the last Galaxian Wars."
"Are you going to stage the search against the Black Knights and Phoenix?" asked an unsuspecting reporter, stumbling over the lady's speech, to the immediate censure of his peers.
"Yes," Saori replied.
Again the buzz filled the hall, but Saori asked to speak again.
"There's something else I need to announce to everyone who's listening." she began, very serious. "I'm withdrawing from the presidency of the Graad Foundation, inherited by my grandfather, as I'm going to dedicate myself to my studies. Moving forward, my great-uncle Tatsume Kido, younger brother of the late Mitsumasa Kido, will be at the head of the Foundation and he will be the one who will coordinate the event, as well as everything related to the Graad Foundation from now on."
Then the room exploded with questions being hurled by all the reporters at once, already up from their seats. Under the table, Saori reached for Alice's hand to give her strength. She looked at Tatsume beside her and he nodded, got up and pulled out the chair for Saori and Alice to leave that room and he himself sat in the middle chair to answer the reporters' countless questions.
Outside the hall, in a hallway, Aioria followed closely while she exchanged words with Alice, her voice serious and barely moved by all the noise of the reporters.
"Now I just have to be the Goddess Athena." It sounded like a lament.
"Before that we have to go to that party. And you better hide it a little better, otherwise everyone will see in your face that you don't want to go." Alice warned.
"Kyoko would love it." Saori commented, a little sadly.
"She would."
The party took place on a beautiful afternoon on the Mediterranean Sea, in a mansion carefully built on a stone bridge overlooking the sea and a beautiful pier. A small strip of sand very well cared for and always deserted, as it was owned by one of the richest families in the region and also in the whole world.
The mansion was filled with exquisitely dressed ladies and gentlemen, their formal attire sparkling, the glasses of sparkling wine and appetizers from all regions of the planet to satisfy the guests' hunger. Saori was used to walking with such elegance, and indeed she looked stunning that afternoon in a long dress, a choker with a golden jewel around her neck, her bare shoulders and delicate silk gloves on her hands.
Alice, on the other hand, also had an elegant posture with a shorter dress, but her hair was arranged in a way that Saori had never seen. She was beautiful, but her hands were bare. And with the two young women, almost like someone responsible for them, Aioria seemed completely out of her his rustic environment, as he was dressed in a wonderful dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath, he wore no tie, but his absolutely delineated bearing caused moods in some young women who had also been invited.
Neither Alice nor Saori were that close to Aioria, but Alice smiled at Saori as if to say: the man is making an appearance. Aioria was there, because, to his despair and the Gold Saints, there was the Goddess Athena, who insisted on holding press conferences and participating in gala parties. Unable to deter her from walking around, it was left to them to single out someone to accompany her. Aioria was the most obvious choice, as he was the most discreet.
And he was silent for the entire party, although he was always on Saori's heels, like her shadow.
"Wow, so many famous people." Alice commented as she glanced at the party guests. "He really wants to impress."
"Don't start." asked Saori.
"I don't like him."
"It's been three years, Mii." Saori spoke, serious. "And it was my birthday."
"So petulant." said her friend seriously. "Your party will be much better than this one."
"I don't think I'll be having a party this year."
"I'm talking about your eighteenth birthday party. When you become a lady."
"Alice Venator!"
Saori chided her friend in an elegant but angry way, because she knew that when she called her by her full name something bad happened. Alice knew better and teased her until she got a little out of her mind, because in fact Saori had been very sulky and severe in the last few weeks and it was up to her, in the absence of everyone, to try to bring some lightness to her friend.
"Sorry, Mii." Saori forgave herself upon noticing her temper, but Alice hid her laughter in the glass of bubbly she drank from one of the many servants who passed by offering drinks.
"That's why this party is so elegant. He is turning eighteen." added her friend and mocked: "A gentleman."
"He's replacing his father in charge of the Solo family business. It's important for the Foundation to maintain a good relationship now that I won't be around anymore."
"I fully agree." said a voice to their left. Aioria immediately tensed.
The birthday boy of the day appeared, a very handsome young man, tall, with thick hair, a face tanned by the sea and his eyes full of life. Entirely wearing a white evening gown with blue accents and a white smock with a button open farther than the tag would allow.
"It's an honor that you're talking about me." he said charmingly. "It's been a long time, Miss Saori. Welcome to my birthday party."
He then knelt down and took Saori's right hand to kiss her.
Beside her, Alice wanted to crush the cup on his head and even Aioria looked very uncomfortable. Saori hardly moved, as she was used to all those aristocratic rituals.
"I know my father and the honorable Mitsumasa Kido were very close. Good friends."
"Yes. He always told me a lot about the Solo Family, the great merchants of Greece."
"I hope my party is up to the ones I used to attend at your mansion."
Saori nodded politely and the boy only then devoted his attention to Saori's company.
"Miss Alice." he greeted, and then his eyes fell on the serious man who was with them. "I don't remember you. Is he with you, Saori?"
"This is Aioria." presented Saori. "He came with Alice."
Both Aioria and Alice immediately dropped their jaws and only the elegance of the place and the obligation of a certain code of behavior prevented Saori from being buried by some insult.
"In that case, I would like to wish you both a good party." he said, looking and guessing the hatred in Alice's eyes, but then turned to Saori, leaning lightly on her waist. "I'd like to have a word with you alone, if that's not an inconvenience."
"I don't think it's a good idea." Aioria finally spoke.
But Saori turned to him and touched his hand sweetly.
"I know Julian." she reassured. "There's nothing to worry about. We'll be on the terrace and I'll be back soon."
Aioria was divided, because how could he disobey the Goddess Athena? Beside him, Alice wanted him to disobey, but he spent too many years doing everything wrong, so he silenced his worry inside himself and made a point of at least watching everything that happened from afar.
Alice saw Saori walk alongside Julian, the son of the Solo family, through an exit to a terrace that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea.
"You shouldn't have let her go." Alice spoke to Aioria through gritted teeth.
"You look more upset than I do." he replied seriously.
And there the two stayed watching the lovebirds go away. They went out onto the terrace, which was empty, and leaned against the parapet where they could see a stone bridge farther away, the Mediterranean Sea open before them slowly swallowing the setting sun; a small berth for the family's big and small boats and a very beautiful, deserted stretch of sand.
"Did you keep that special shell I gave you?" he asked.
"It's well guarded." replied Saori.
"It gave me a lot of trouble to find it." he said, then took a small velvety box from his pocket.
"You haven't changed a thing, Julian." Saori commented when guessing a new gift.
"But you are more beautiful than always, dear Saori."
She didn't showed any reaction, nor did she accept the priceless gift on this hands, so he continued.
"I saw yesterday's broadcast and was surprised you're giving up your grandfather's Foundation."
"I want to devote myself to Historical studies." she justified. "As for you, you've gone the other way. You're finally going to take over your father's business."
"It's time for him to retire. Our family business started hundreds of years ago right here on this Mediterranean Sea. My father always told me that 'he who rules the sea rules the world.' And I would like to experience ruling the world."
"Maybe you don't like it so much." she said, who would actually have to do it.
Julian looked at her and smiled.
"Maybe I like it better with you by my side."
Saori looked back at him, confused and saw that he opened the small blue box with a wonderful diamond ring.
"Saori Kido, would you like to share this happiness with me?"
"What are you talking about, Julian?"
"I, Julian Solo, want you to be my bride."
Julian had his hair lightly blown by the sea breeze and his face lit by the afternoon twilight of a sun that slowly sank to the horizon. He was an absolutely wonderful young man, his very pale suit seemed to sparkle in that late light.
"Your bride?" Saori asked, then let out a smile for the first time in weeks. "You haven't really changed anything."
"It's not a joke, Miss Saori." he tried again. "Since we've known each other I have deeply admired you. As a child, all year long I'd look forward to the day of your party, when we were invited by your grandfather. And now that you're here I'm sure what I'm saying. I am convinced that I would like to spend the rest of my days with you."
Saori looked at him without showing any feeling.
"What do you say?"
"I feel honored." she began. "But I'm afraid I have to refuse."
Julian's face immediately turned haunted, as is the case when a marriage proposal is refused. She curtsied and started to leave while he still had the ring in his hands.
"Now I'll ask you to excuse me. The sun is already setting and I need to return." she looked at him one last time and bowed again. "Farewell, Julian."
And so she disappeared inside the mansion, placing herself again beside Alice and Aioria, announcing to the two that they should return. For, truly, Julian could never have the heart of Saori who, at least that night and in the last few weeks, was far away. Sad. Alice asked her what the boy had said after all, to which Saori replied tersely.
"He asked me to marry him."
"He said what?!"
When night fell, with the crickets already singing, Saori and Alice hurried along the dirt road on the outskirts of Rodorio. They walked barefoot, with their high heels in their hands and Saori's thin dress dirty from dragging on the floor. Saori entered through the rough wooden door of a large house far from downtown village and left her heel and her scarf on a bench in that room. She immediately climbed the steps to the second floor, as she did every day.
She was met by the watchful eyes under the glasses of Master Mu, who was sitting at a large table watching and taking notes.
"How are they?"
"Still well, Goddess Athena." she said calmly. "They're recovering."
Lying on five beds were those who have made her chest so heavy in recent weeks: Seiya, Shiryu, Shun, Hyoga and Ikki had their bodies covered in bandages in many places, each with a face respirator that pumped oxygen into their lungs. In stark contrast to that simple cabin, makeshift in a hospital room, there was a very modern apparatus monitoring their vitals. Even though she was an excellent healer of the mountains, Master Mu, very wise, did not denied help offered by Saori, after all, it would not interfere in any way with her treatments, as it would also leave the young woman a little calmer to be able to help in any way.
The extent of those young fighters injuries in the battle a few weeks ago had been brutal. Although they were Saints of Athena whose Cosmos were able to reach the Seventh Sense and produce miracles, their bodies were still those of young kids like any others. And more than that, those Bronze Saints Cosmos were also repeatedly hit by overwhelming techniques, so that not only their bodies needed to recover, but also the universe inside of them.
Seiya had frail bones, Shiryu had visited the Underworld's Threshold and also the Another Dimension, as well as Shun who had also had his Cosmo shot to the universe far from his body, besides supporting the terrible roses of Aphrodite. Hyoga was sent to Another Dimension, frozen by his master's Ice and even withstood the Scorpion's poison through his body. Ikki had his senses all taken away by Shaka and was brutally hit by the Gemini Saint's overwhelming force.
In any case, Master Mu knew that the pain that appeared on each one of them was only part of the suffering that ate them from within. And for that reason, he led them into a deep torpor so that they could fully recover; with her, the Chameleon Saint June served as her assistant in the care of the Bronze Saints, while Lunara gave her every assistance in handling the modern apparatus. Kiki, her oldest apprentice, was left with the immense honor of guarding the House of Aries in the absence of his Master.
But in addition to Mu and her helpers, the healer also had the help of Saori, who decided to live on the first floor of that place with Alice. And she took turns with June taking care of the most basic needs of these boys and girls, looking for anything she could do to help them. She wanted to be there every day with them. It wasn't the Goddess Athena's place to be, she'd heard it once, but she understood that it was her place. Her place as Saori Kido. Alongside her friends. She was mortified that her heaer cosmos hadn't been able to completely get them out of that state. She knew how much Seiya hated hospitals.
That night she sat as she did every night on an old sofa that sat beside them; but the distant journey back to Greece, the tiring party at the Mansion Solo had made her day heavy. And as soon as she curled up on the couch, she immediately fell asleep. Alice appeared with a warm blanket and covered her so that she would feel more comfortable in her uneasy dreams.
And then she looked at Seiya, resting. She looked at peace.
Alice thought of Seika, as she usually did when she looked at him.
Where would she be?
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: I really wanted to make this arc a little more focused on Saori after the Twelve Temples battles. I brought the press conference scene, which is originally right after Ikki's theft of the Golden Cloth, to this moment and make her resign, otherwise it would be too much to balance (both for me, in the story, and for Saori, hehe). Adding Aioria and Alice at the gala party in Tatsume's place brings more flavour to the scene. The idea of Aioria being there as a 'guard' comes from the manga, in which Aldebaran (and Aioria himself) appear in the East protecting her. It makes sense that she, stubbornly, wants to keep doing her thing and it's up to the Gold Saints to protect her no matter what or where. The final scene comes from the manga, that image of the five Bronze Saints in a coma is very striking and I think it's important to demarcate how terrible the Sanctuary battle was.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE PRISONER
Someone has been left behind in Cape Sunion's dungeons.