[PART 1 - FIRST SEMESTER] The story of five Bronze Saints going to school begins!
Takes place post-Hades. Anime-only storyline.
Parody remakes of classic SS known as Bizarro Dreams are included. Expect these once per in-story week for the Sanctuary...
Class topics for this week (random): Ancient Greek Philosophy - Aristotle (English, History); Shinto Philosophy - Asuka (Morals, Social Studies); Newton's Law of Physics part 3 (Physics); Biology Basics - Plant vs Animal Cells (Biology); Tale of Genji chapters 42-end (Literature)
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[June 26, Tuesday - week 5]
(morning class)
"The Asuka period introduced many things into this country," Shaka-sensei says, starting the class lecture. "Things like the writing system based on Chinese characters, a monarchy class based on Chinese politics, and most importantly, Buddhism. Buddhism came to this country through Chinese and Korean immigrants. Although accepted then, some were unsure whether the new religion could live alongside our native Shinto. But thanks to Prince Shotoku's crusade efforts, both Buddhism and Shinto can peacefully coexist. People hire us for funerals and to read sutras, however, but that's a topic for another time."
While Shaka-sensei continues, a student class rep writes important facts on the blackboard due to the teacher's blindness. Unlike other teachers, he must wear his robes and carry his staff as a condition to teach.
"And now you know how Buddhism started. But I guess many of you already know that through daily living. I thought a refresher would serve, so I hope I explained the origins of Buddhism in an interesting way."
Seiya raises his hand. "Are you really a monk?"
"Seiya!" Shiryu sweats, calling out.
"What's this? You have doubts about me, boy?"
"You keep referring to yourself as Shaka."
He approaches Seiya's desk.
"Of course! I'm a monk and nothing but a monk. But I understand your concern since Shaka is also a name for Buddha. To have a monk like me be called that is one of the best compliments ever. And I haven't reached Nirvana! By the way, you're Pegasus, is that right?"
"Uh, yes..." Seiya sweat drops.
"I can't see your face but I can tell you have questions for me."
"Yeah, are you really blind?" Seiya asks with a skeptical stare.
"Seiya, not again!" Shiryu calls out, sweating.
"I'm curious as to where you're getting the questions from."
Seiya pauses. "...from experience?"
"Experience, you say. Very well, I'll leave it at that."
"Since you insist, I'll stick with Shaka-sensei from now on," he says with a narrowly stare.
"You're one of a kind, Pegasus." he chuckles.
As he returns to the teacher's desk, Shun stops him with a question.
"Wait! What's the rosary you're carrying?"
"You mean this? These are special beads.
"I know what it is. It's just how you got it."
He holds Shaka's beads used by the Gold Saints during the events against Hades. The beads have returned to their normal color.
"I don't really know. It just appeared at the door of my temple one day. I asked my fellow monks, but they didn't know either. However, I sense great spiritual energy coming from these beads as if they had been used not too long ago. So, I keep these as my personal good luck charm."
He explains the properties of the beads to the class upon answering Shun's question. After his brief explanation, he returns to his desk.
"You probably know this, but final exams are two weeks away. I suggest going over the material we have discussed so far."
"I see why Shun asked. They were Shaka's and now our teacher has them. Is he really our teacher? Or maybe Shaka in disguise? Which one is it? I mean, who is he really?" Seiya ponders.
(after school)
Rindo sets the desk to lay the cake from the oven.
"This is a follow-up to our cake-making tutorial from last week. I have it baking in the oven before your arrival since heating takes time. Remember to preheat the oven before baking, and also, don't forget to grease the baking pan with butter so the bottom doesn't get stuck during baking."
Everyone turns their attention to the oven.
"The cake should be ready by now."
The timer stops, indicating it's time to take the cake out of the oven. Rindo withdraws more than one cake with Ryudo's assistance.
"I forgot to mention that we baked small cakes to form the layer necessary for the frosting. More on that in a second because we must let the cakes cool first. Once that's done, we stack the layers with frosting. We'll do vanilla since that's what this club currently has in stock."
Rindo shows this by adding one layer after another with vanilla frosting.
"The layers are done, so I'll add frosting all over the exterior. You should use a spatula to keep the frosting even. Add as much as you can."
After carefully applying the frosting from all sides, the cake is finally done.
"And there you have it. We have a cake that's ready to eat. If you need storage for future use, put it in the fridge for preservation. Of course, we're going to test this cake. Seiya-kun, you test it out."
"Sure! It looks tasty, though."
Rindo cuts a slice and hands a plate to Seiya, who bites it once. He enjoys it so much that he chomps the rest in one swoop.
"Ah! I like it!" his eyes glimmer.
"And that concludes our tutorial!"
Club members are amazed at the payoff. Seiya eats a second slice, but some members, including Ryudo, eat the rest of the cake.
