Camus returned from his haircut a little over an hour later, not surprised in any way to discover the group had not left the suit shop. He was tempted to just bolt for it, but his loyalty towards his friends prevented him from doing so. As he closed the door behind him, he couldn't help but notice the sound of police sirens in the distance. He frowned.
"What did you do, Milo?"
The Scorpio Saint frowned.
"Actually, I think things are going well, given the circumstances. Shura's off in the corner somewhere and Kanon's about to tear his hair out, but we did get Aiolia into a suit. It's bright orange, but it's a suit."
Camus lifted an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh. And how, pray tell, does any of that count as a good thing?"
Milo's face split into a grin.
"Those police sirens aren't for us."
Camus was about to respond in the negative, then stopped himself.
"You know what? I'll give you that. After today, I am genuinely surprised they aren't for us."
At that moment, Kanon and Shura came running over. The Gemini Saint wore a mask of resignation while the Capricorn appeared ready to grab Aiolia and make a break for the Sanctuary.
"What did you do, Milo?" they both demanded at the same time.
"Why does everyone assume those police sirens are because of me!?" Milo whined.
"Let's see" Shura ticked off on his fingers. "Kidnapping, endangerment of the public, destruction of personal property, mental and emotional damages that will follow us for the rest of our lives..."
"Ummm...the damage to the store was caused by you trying to cut Camus's hair." Milo pointed out.
"Yeah, but if you hadn't been dragging me around by my hair, Shura wouldn't have had to cut it. Therefore, it's your fault." Camus hid a smile with the palm of his hand.
"I hope you saved the hair you cut off", Kanon mumbled. "I might need a wig by the time this is over."
"And where is Aiolia?", Milo demanded, suddenly noticing one of their own was missing.
"He refused to come out of the dressing room", Kanon replied.
Milo sighed and crossed over to the dressing rooms. Camus and Kanon shrugged and followed, figuring the worst of the damage had to have been done already. Shura let out a stream of Spanish that Camus assumed was not friendly for the ears of children and walked behind the Aquarius and Gemini Saints. Camus had the feeling if Milo did not allow the Capricorn saint to leave soon, someone's head would literally be rolling off.
"Aiolia?", Milo called as he knocked on the door to Aiolia's dressing room.
"Go away!", the Leo Saint cried.
"Come on, Aiolia, you can't hide in there forever!" Milo yelled.
"It won't be forever! Just until you guys leave!"
"Believe me, kid. I would if I could", Kanon said.
Milo shot the Gemini a glare. Kanon shrugged it off.
"What? I'm being honest."
"Well, stop being honest today!" Milo coughed into his sleeve and forced his usual smile back onto his face. "Aiolia. We're trying to help you. Please come out."
"You want to help me by making me look like an idiot?" Aiolia sounded both hurt and upset. "I can't go on a date with Marin. I will just end up making a fool out of myself and then she will hate me..."
The Leo Saint was babbling now.
"...I don't want her to hate me guys. I'd rather continue on just being friends with her than that."
"That's so sweet. I could never hate you, Aiolia."
The flabbergasted group spun around to see Marin and Aphrodite standing behind them.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE!?", Milo screeched.
Aiolia cautiously poked his head out of the dressing room to look at Marin. The girl wore a knee-length pink skirt and a white blouse with white sandals. Her hair fell in a straight sheet around her face. She looked amazing.
"Why are you hiding?", Marin asked, ignoring the commotion going on behind her.
Aiolia let go of the door and revealed himself to her. She chuckled.
"You look nice."
"So do you", Aiolia replied. He raked his fingers through his golden brown curls and smiled.
"I hate to break up this love fest", Kanon said, grabbing Aiolia by the scruff of his jacket and Marin by her wrist. "But we've got to go. Those police sirens were for Aphrodite."
That snapped the lovebirds out of their spell.
"What?" Marin asked.
"I may have used a Bloody Rose on someone. Or I may not have. There's no proof I killed anyone. For all they know, he had a bad allergy to roses."
Aphrodite crossed his arms, not looking the least bit sorry for his actions.
Aiolia's and Marin's faces both drained of color. The Pisces Saint rolled his eyes.
"He had it coming. He was a pig and deserved it."
"Great. Just wonderful", Milo muttered. He stared at Camus and Shura, both of whom looked too shocked to move. His attention shifted back to the Gemini Saint. "You're handling the situation well, Kanon."
Kanon released his hold on the still-stunned couple.
"And what would you like me to do, Milo? Freak out? Because Mr. Pretty Boy here can't control his temper and killed some innocent civilian in broad daylight? Because thanks to him, the cops are now likely to arrest all of us?"
"Well...when you put it that way...yes, actually." Milo replied.
Aphrodite scoffed.
"I hardly count him as 'innocent'."
Kanon shot the Pisces Saint a glare. Then, without warning, the Gemini Saint's fist collided with the Pisces Saint's jaw. Aphrodite's soft blue eyes widened in horror as he pushed a slim hand to his mouth to wipe the blood away from his lip.
"That's your cue to stop talking."
Kanon's green eyes danced with anger. He then reeled on Milo, and for a moment, the Scorpio Saint thought Kanon was going to deck him in the face, too.
"You're running this circus, aren't you? Well, help me get these people out of here!"
"Right!", Milo cried, taking control of the situation again. "Alright, everyone. We go out the back door and high-tail it back to the Sanctuary."
The group had barely made it two steps when they heard the sirens right outside the shop.
"We have the building surrounded! Come out with your hands where we can see them!"
Aiolia threw his hands in the air. Kanon pushed them down.
"You haven't even done anything wrong, you idiot!" he snapped.
The Gemini Saint shoved Aphrodite to the front of the line and towards the police officers.
"Here you go, gentlemen. This is the person you're looking for."
Aphrodite nodded back at the rest of the group.
"They made me do it! I was a pawn in their plan!" He pointed dramatically at Kanon. "Look, he busted my lip!"
"You-!" Kanon snarled.
Marin grabbed his wrist to prevent him from lunging at Aphrodite again.
"This is all a big misunderstanding, Officers." she said, smiling slightly. "These boys had good intentions, but it got out of hand."
For a moment, it looked like the police were considering letting them go.
Then the officer who was apparently in charge shook his head.
"Sorry, little lady. I have to take you all down to the police station and get this sorted out."
Milo bit his lip, struggling to contain his laughter. He couldn't believe they were actually being arrested! He knew he should be upset, but as the officers put handcuffs on his wrists, all he wanted to do was laugh.
Aphrodite kicked up a fuss for a few moments, but when Kanon threatened to deck the other side of his face, he calmed down and held out his wrists for the officers to cuff him.
Camus sighed, resigned to his fate, and allowed the officers to slip handcuffs onto his wrists without much of a fuss.
Marin and Aiolia followed his example, then Kanon, and finally, Shura. Shura glared daggers at Milo the whole time, the Spanish man's dark eyes promising slow, painful vengeance once they were released.
The group was then placed into police cars and whisked off to the police station. Once they arrived, their wrist restraints were removed, and they were given their one phone call. Kanon called Saga and explained the situation as calmly as he could to his elder twin brother. The younger Gemini even smiled as he recalled the part where he punched Aphrodite in the face.
Saga instructed them not to say anything and to have one of them call Athena. None of them were exactly thrilled with the idea of making that phone call. Aiolia suggested they draw straws to see who would be the one who had to do it. Shura rejected that idea instantly.
Marin volunteered, but no one wanted her to do it since it wasn't her fault. Kanon and Milo felt Aphrodite should do it, since he was the one who lost his temper. Aphrodite and Shura thought Milo should do it since he was the one who orchestrated the whole idea to begin with. Camus didn't care who made the phone call, as long as it got made before his twenty-second birthday.
In the end, it was Milo who was forced to make the call to a very flabbergasted goddess. Shaka had regained consciousness and had gone directly to the girl, so she already had some idea of what was going on.
After what seemed like only minutes, Athena came rushing into the station to collect her Saints. Of course when an important woman like Saori Kido comes to collect people, you don't question it. The group was set free with "apologies for the misunderstanding".
Once back at the Sanctuary, Athena dismissed Aiolia, Marin, Camus, and Shura from punishment. She told Milo, Kanon, and Aphrodite to return to their temples and remain there until she and Saga were ready to deal with them.
Aiolia tipped his head to the side and smiled at Marin.
"I know it's a little late...but would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
The girl slipped her hand into his.
"I would love that."
A/N: And that is the end of this mess. Sorry if the ending seemed rushed, I wanted to get this thing done. I've been losing interest in it and wanted it to be completed before I gave up on it all together. Hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for all who reviewed and followed it! You guys are the best!