Huminga si Kourin nang malalim matapos niyang marinig ang mga napag-usapan ng 12 Knights sa study room ni Ate Mari. Alam niya na hanggang sa mga sandaling iyon ay nagi-guilty pa rin ang nakatatandang kapatid dahil sa mga nangyari sa Shinomiya mansion. Wala kasi ito roon nang mga panahong iyon. Nahuli ito ng dating dahil may isang misyon pa itong kinailangang tapusin. In fact, that mission nearly took her sister's life if it wasn't for Shiro and Ryuuji's help.
Parehong pinsan ni Kourin ang dalawang lalaking iyon. Pinsan niya sa ama si Shiro habang si Ryuuji naman at pati na rin ang kapatid nitong si Akemi ay mga pinsan niya sa ina. Those two were trained and had become some of the strongest warriors her clan ever had. Laking pasalamat na lang talaga niya at hindi napatay ang mga ito noong gabi ng pag-atake.
"Lady Kourin, why are you here?"
Nag-angat si Kourin ng tingin nang marinig niya iyon. Nakita niyang papalapit sa kanya si Miyako ー isa sa 12 Knights na kanina lang ay kausap ni Ate Mari.
"I guess the meeting's over, huh?" sabi ni Kourin at saka umalis sa pagkakasandal sa dingding malapit sa study room. "Will you really do everything to end this just the way my sister wanted it?"
Ilang sandali ring hindi umimik si Miyako. Bagkus ay lumapit ito kay Kourin at ipinatong ang isa nitong kamay sa ulo niya. "We have no choice, my lady. This is the only way now. We've lost too much that night and we can't afford to let it happen again. I know that you don't want to do this but ー "
"I understand. It already came to this so we have no choice but to fight back. It's just that... I can't help thinking about the possible worst case scenarios because of this," Kourin admitted and started walking away from that place.
Sumabay naman kay Kourin si Miyako at narinig pa niya ang pagbuntong-hininga nito. Sa totoo lang, lagi na lang ganoon ang naririnig niya sa karamihan ng mga makakasalubong niya sa bahay na iyon.
"But my lady, you must remember that our clans had always been destined to face battles like this. It so happened that we've become negligent of some other important things that it came to this tragic ー not to mention disastrous ー moment. We've never anticipated this at all. And it was our fault." Halata sa tinig ni Miyako ang matinding pagsisisi dahil sa naganap noon.
Hindi na umimik pa si Kourin dahil may punto naman ito. Destined to face battles like this... Hindi talaga niya maintindihan kung bakit kailangan pa nilang humarap sa ganitong klaseng buhay kung saan marami ang namamatay. Kung tutuusin, masyado pang sikreto sa madla ang labang kinahaharap nila. Pero hindi naman lingid sa ilan kung ano ang kakayahan ng pamilyang kinabibilangan niya at ni Miyako.
But in order for Kourin to help her sister and the 12 Knights to stop this once and for all, may palagay siya na alam ng namatay niyang kapatid ang daan para magawa nila iyon. All she had to do for now was to discover that reason. For her to do that, she must do her best to recover her lost memories. According to Dr. Shingo Yanai, one of the family doctors of the Shinomiya clan, she suffered from selective amnesia ー possibly due to the shock upon witnessing her own father's death. Bagaman malinaw pa rin sa isipan niya ang nakitang pagpatay sa ama, hanggang doon na lang iyon. Even those memories from a year ago was retained in her mind somehow. Other than that, hindi na niya maalala ang iba pang pangyayari mula pagkabata.
"Are you alright, Lady Kourin? You're spacing out," untag ni Miyako sa kanya.
Tumango lang si Kourin at patuloy na naglakad hanggang sa marating nila ang hardin ng Yumemiya mansion. Hindi man kasing-laki at kasing-ganda ng nakasanayan niya sa Shinomiya mansion, sapat pa rin ang nakikita niyang ganda niyon upang kumalma siya kahit papaano.
"Is there something that bothers you at the moment?" kapagkuwan ay tanong ni Miyako.
Hinarap ni Kourin si Miyako makalipas ang ilang sandali. "Is it okay if I ask you a favor?"
"A favor?"
Huminga muna si Kourin nang malalim bago muling nagsalita. "Nakakaintindi ka naman ng Filipino, 'di ba?"
Ngumiti si Miyako at tumango. "Isa sa katangian ng mga Yumemiya ay ang bilis nila na matuto ng mga lengguwaheng sa tingin nila ay kailangan nilang matutunan. But what made you ask me that, my lady? What kind of favor are you going to ask?"
"I want you to find someone for me. Someone you already knew from before. He went to the Shinomiya mansion a year ago kaya alam kong kilala mo siya."
Kumunot ang noo ni Miyako nang ilang sandali. Kapagkuwan ay dahan-dahan itong tumango. "I think I know who you're talking about. The boy named Seiichi Yasuhara, wasn't it? Lord Hitoshi's best friend?"
"Yes. I want you to know what happened to him after he visited the mansion a year ago. Gusto ko lang malaman kung... kung ano na ang naging buhay niya pagkatapos niyon." Hindi na nagawang itago ni Kourin ang lungkot na nararamdaman nang mga sandaling iyon. "I know that the news about my brother and Kourin Shinomiya as two of the many casualties of that attack had already reached him. I just want to know... how he was able to handle it." Matapos niyon ay tiningnan niya si Miyako. "Can you do it?"
Ilang sandaling tinitigan ni Miyako si Kourin na tila inaanalisa ang kung ano mang makikita nito sa mga mata niya. But if there was one thing she learned from her brother and her older sister at a young age, it was about turning her expressions and eyes blank in an instant. Hindi nga lang siya sigurado kung nagagawa na niya iyon sa mga sandaling iyon. Punung-puno pa kasi ng 'di maipaliwanag na sakit ng kalooban at matinding kalungkutan ang dibdib niya.
Soon after, Miyako sighed and nodded. "Don't worry about it, Lady Kourin. I'll do it."
"Just... don't let my sister know."
"Why?" nagtatakang tanong nito.
"Somehow, this attack held more than just an act of delivering a simple grudge to our clans. Naaalala ko 'yong isang sinabi sa akin ni Kuya Hitoshi noon. Hindi pa tuluyang nadidiskubre ang lahat ng sikreto ng pamilya natin. At matagal nang nais ng kalaban natin na gamitin ang kung ano mang sikreto na iyon para tuluyang pabagsakin ang Shrouded Flowers. I'll do whatever I can to uncover those secrets ー whatever they are. But for me to do that, I need to make sure that the people I cared about ー especially those that didn't have the ability to protect themselves from the dangers that our clans faced ー are protected to the extent of our abilities."
"Now I get it. You will help us continue and end the battle from the shadows by discovering whatever legacy was left for us to find." Miyako stated.
Tumango si Kourin. "Roses... I even remembered that he said something about roses."
"Roses?"
"Weird, huh? But that's my brother for you. He always said the weirdest things, but definitely some of those weird things could become the most important information for us. It's just that my sister could be such a killjoy sometimes. And worse, she would never let me do any work at all."
"That only proves she cares about you, my Lady."
"I know that. But I can't remain depending on her or anyone else now. They chose me as the next leader. Now I have to do what I can to fulfill that duty and hopefully, to uphold what was left of the Shinomiya clan's honor. This is the burden that I must carry from now on." Kourin looked up to the blue sky. "This is the path I've chosen to take whatever happens."
'That's right... I've already chosen this.' And no matter what happens, she would do whatever she could to protect that person. Even if it was just from the shadows, she'd gladly become his shield.
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