Keitalina sat at her desk in her room, drinking tea as she did her homework. Usually she would have put it off, but she was getting behind again. She just had to catch up.
She sighed. She really despised doing math and calculations, but what choice did she have right now? She was still young and learning, even though she had her own handful of trainees that admired and looked up to her.
Now how to do this problem…? Carry the 4…subtract the 3…then calculate the rest of the equation…y equals to…
Keitalina groaned and rubbed her temples. It was still only the first term and she would have such an earful from Selena tomorrow with the preparations for the Autumn festival.
Once again, she noticed the star tattoo on her hand. But it’s not a star tattoo, she reminded herself mentally. She pulled out a handkerchief from her pant pocket and dipped it into her tea.
If Shera were here…she would lecture her ears off about etiquette and what being a lady is all about and such things not dipping her snot rag into your tea.
She used the wet cloth to scrub at the star. Slowly, the tar faded, letting its ink run along her white skin until there was only the shape of a small crescent moon left.
It had appeared out of nowhere. Just when she was around ten years old. That was when she began training to become a Reflection Saint of Artemis.
I wish that I could turn back time,
she thought sadly, I want everything the way it was
before…I wish that my master were alive to see my
accomplishments…I wish I could just see Nicholas again…
Keitalina was snapped out of her reverie when she heard the temple praying bells ring. She still had some duties to do around the temple. She might as well get it over with.
She quickly dressed into her temple robes and headed outside.
* * *
“Excuse me…may I help you?” Keitalina asked sweetly to the stranger in front of the bells. She did a customary bow and smiled.
And she couldn’t help, but look at this stranger. He had long, wild midnight hair and the most beautiful and saddest blue eyes she had ever seen. They looked like they had seen many years of tragedy and sorrow and only that.
“No…I’m just praying and looking around.” He replied, looking her over with his clear blue gaze. There was a pause.
“I’ve never seen you here before.” He commented out of the blue. “Are you an apprentice here?” he asked.
Keitalina giggled and shook her head. “No, I live here. I’m the granddaughter of Utsuo Kusanagi, Keitalina Kusanagi.”
The stranger had a momentary look of surprise on his face, but he quickly replaced it with a calm and cool expression. “Ah…I see…that accounts for it.” He stepped closer and examined Keitalina’s features, making the poor young exorcist a little nervous.
Why is he staring at me like this? She wondered, but calmed down when he stepped away.
His next comment surprised her.
“You look like a cross of your mother and father...you have your mother’ looks, but your father’s hair and eyes…”
Keitalina just stood there dumbfounded as the stranger began walking down the steps. She snapped out of her trance and tried running after him, but discovered that she had been too late. He was already gone.
How could he have just gone like that? No normal human could have gone down all these flights of stairs that quickly…who was that…? She wondered.
* * *
That very stranger had a smiled on his face as he watched the girl look around for him when she came down the stairs. He had quickly hid himself by a tree. It was nice to have temples by trees sometimes. Good for hiding. He always won those hide and seek games in these trees back then.
He came out of his hiding place when the girl left, his sad look returning. Is that girl who I think she is…? But she just couldn’t be…there is no possibility that she could be here in Japan…she should be in England…Strange…
* * *
Keitalina sighed as she went to her room again, but found Anthony there with a big smile on her cute face. Keitalina had to smile herself, although the Reflection Pegasus Saint was an odd ball, she was rather cute and could bring a lot of smiles…despite her impudence at times.
“Oh, hello, Anthony. What brings you to the temple today? You don’t have training with Persea for a little while..” she said in a sweet tone.
Anthony’s smile went wide and she grasped onto her arm, snuggling against it for the umpteenth time. “Oh…I just came here to visit you…plus some of us lesser Saints are going to out into town for a bit. Want to come?” she asked, batting her lashes.
Keitalina sighed mentally as she smiled
physically. Well…there goes my first term report
card…
* * *
Of all things holy, they’d brought her shopping.
Anthony, Myuu and Venus had dragged Keitalina into another one of their famous shopping sprees.
Well…one of Myuu’s famous shopping sprees.
Only the young Aries would run around buying so much stuff in the shops littered all over Tokyo. Before it was different. Myuu was a lot like herself, the type that didn’t like to shop, but when Anthony and Venus convinced her to come with them on one of their shopping trips, she immediately became addicted. If you ever wanted a good sale for something, Myuu would find it in less than a second.
Keitalina sighed as she leaned against one of the pillars set in the department store that they were all in. The girls were looking at a selection of clothing that was on sale for only 50 %. Not that the exorcist cared how less the things cost now. She’d rather be back at the temple doing algebra than staying here, but she did accept to come, so she would stay no matter how torturing this was.
The girls kept on continuing looking at the different clothing and Keitalina was on the sidelines, when she had a glimpse of sad blue eyes.
They disappeared.
“Huh? What the…?” she wondered aloud. She tried looking around for those eyes again, but didn’t see them anywhere. She shook her head, as if trying to clear it. “Must be my imagination…what that guy said must’ve really got to me…I’m seeing things now…”
“Seeing what things?” asked….?
“Hello! Earth to Keita-san! Are you listening to me, Keita-san? Do you like this dress?” asked that voice again. “Keita-san!!!!!!!”
Keitalina finally realized who it was and laughed nervously while scratching the back of her head. “Oh! Sorry Anthony! I didn’t realize that you were there.” She admitted, still laughing nervously.
Anthony pouted and crossed her arms the way she did whenever she got mad. Keitalina felt a little guilty and took the dress from Anthony’s hands and looked at it.
It was a nice dress all right. A crimson red, cut high, but left the shoulders bare. The sleeves were long and done almost renaissance style. The fabric was soft velvet with patterns of roses onto it. Though it did seem a little long because even when Keitalina lifted up into the air, it still touched the floor.
“It’s a nice dress Anthony…you sure it’s on sale…and are you sure that you can fit this…?” she commented.
The small blonde giggled and shook her head. “No, no, no, no! I was thinking of getting it for you! That dress would never fit on me…not for a million years!” Anthony exclaimed, laughing her head off.
Keitalina smiled and laughed a little, too. Yes, that would make sense since the Pegasus did ask her if she liked it or not. It was a pretty dress after all…and in red…
“I’ll go try it out to see if it fits first…” Keitalina said to the joy of Anthony.
* * *
Hyoga stood by the window of his room, gazing out toward the night sky, towards the constellation of Aquarius, thinking about his mother. He played with a cross in his hand, letting spin around his fingers or letting it dangle, then catching it. It was his mother’s. She had given it to him when he was a little boy back at Siberia.
Mama was very kind and gentle. She had given this to him and told him to keep faith in the Lord and to not be swayed to any other way. Maybe she had known somehow that he would become a saint, or maybe it was just coincidence that she gave this to him and told him all this.
But he had to forget her. He made a promise to himself and his brothers that he would never let this infatuation get to him anymore. It had almost killed him and did kill his beloved master and only friend in the cold tundra of Siberia, Isaac. All because he refused to let go.
Now his master was back and alive, but Isaac…? He didn’t know, but if they were revived, he had hoped that he would be, too, even if the Kraken Shogun would want to kill him if he saw him. Just hope and believe in faith.
But for now…he would have to forget. He opened his window and looked around outside, the wind blowing at his golden blonde locks. He saw the small wood behind the mansion, then looked at the cross in his hand. “I will still love you, but for now…I have to forget…” With all of his might he threw the cross into the woods as far as it could go.
He watched the thing give a shine in the night as it finally fell to the ground.
“Good-bye for now…” he whispered, turning around to go to bed.
* * *
The pink petals fell down on sanctuary as the dark sky was invaded by a great light, the sun. How did these petals get here…? They just appeared on their own. Everyone looked up at the bright sun in the sky. The moon was gone. The night faded. Was it finally over?
No blood stained the steps; no cracks
blessed the stone of the temples. Everything was just as it was.
Just fine.
It was just a regular day like any day.
Normal. No fights blew up half the Sanctuary or leveled it to the
ground. It should have, whatever happened, but didn’t. What
had happened?
The pink petals just kept falling from
the sky. White and red. That’s what it was…white and
red. Two things mixed together…
That’s what the Sanctuary would look
like if it were mixed with the blood of all the Saints that had
died protecting it. In another place it did though. The temples
were full of blood every second, hard to keep a glistening, pure
white as its counterpart did. They did not fight back, but it
still bled red…
* * *
…but it still bled red…
Ryoga sat on his bed, his legs pressed to his chest. It was after midnight and he couldn’t sleep. He had his master back, but…he shouldn’t get too excited over it. Okay, maybe a little, but not too much. That would be…uncharacteristic. He could lash out at Anthony or show his feelings in front of Keitalina, but not in front of Camus. He still had to prove that he could be a good Ice Saint.
He had quickly cleaned up his act in the last couple of years even without his former master’s critical eye. He had arisen from his former self, but he still felt a bit uneased. He could remember seeing it all…
…but it still bled red…
He didn’t want to think about anything in the past, but he knew it wouldn’t stop coming to him. No matter how hard he tried. It would come and it would devour him whole if he let it be.
You can’t escape the past.
He was worried about becoming his counterpart. He should not let an infatuation get in the way of anything else. Okay, he might be in love, but the keyword there was might. He might not truly love her but he certainly liked her enough.
The thing was…if he were…he wouldn’t have the guts to tell her, as cool as he was supposed to be. That feeling will lead him to an inevitable death that will leave him scarred in his soul. That what Camus had said all those years ago.
Ryoga sighed and let himself flopped back onto his bed. He stared blankly at the ceiling in a kind of trance. For a while he lay like that, just staring at nothing. Pondering his current life. He had to do something about his life.
…but it still bled red…
“And a pretty shade of red it was…” he whispered to no one.