NAPAGDESISYUNAN nina Kourin at Takeru na sa tanghaling tapat na sila magtungo sa archives room kung saan nakatago ang librong kailangan nilang dalawa. Iyon lang kasi ang oras na alam nilang walang gaanong mang-iistorbo at kukuwenstiyon sa pagpunta nila sa lugar na iyon.
Hindi nga sila nagkamali. Agad silang pinapasok doon nang wala man lang problema.
But Kourin couldn't help feeling nervous about something. Maybe she was too excited? Or perhaps it was a premonition. Who knows?
Takeru felt the young lady's anxiety that he couldn't help placing a hand on her shoulder. Napatingin si Kourin sa kanya. He only responded with a slight squeeze. Matapos niyon ay naramdaman niyang kumalma ito.
Katulad lang ng library ang archive room na iyon. Ang kaibahan lang, mga maseselang babasahin at mga recorded tapes ang naroon. All of which contained articles, features, old books, and videos that should be kept properly and could only be seen when absolutely necessary. Nasa lugar din na iyon ang mga scrolls na matagal nang nasa pangangalaga nila. All of those scrolls contained information about the Shrouded Flowers' history since its founding almost 400 years ago.
"Do you know where the book is kept, Princess?" kapagkuwan ay mahinang tanong ni Takeru.
"Just the end of this hallway, there's a room which is actually a vault-like room. That's where they keep the Book of the Shinomiya Clan Genealogy."
"You mean... that particular room keeps only the book that we need? What about the other 3 genealogy books?"
Tiningnan ni Kourin si Takeru. "Just remember the elemental representation of each family following the seasonal representation of the Four Beast Gods, you'll already know where."
Sinunod naman ni Takeru ang sinabing iyon ng dalaga. It didn't take him long to do that, though. "So we're heading north, then, since the Shinomiya clan has Genbu as its representation."
"Tago rin ang mga pinto patungo sa silid na kinalalagyan ng iba pang Genealogy books ng Shrouded Flowers."
"If that's the case, the western end of the archive room has a hallway that leads to the room where the Yumemiya clan keeps their Genealogy book. The Miyuzaki's Genealogy book lies on the eastern end and on the south would be the Azuraya's version of their genealogy book."
Tango lang ang naging tugon ni Kourin. Ilang sandali pa ay narating na nila ang silid na pakay nila. After heaving a deep breath, Kourin proceeded to open it using the code she memorized. Moments later, she pushed it open after inputting the code which became the key she needed. Bahagyang tumango si Takeru nang tingnan niya ito.
Sa pagpasok nila roon, nakita nila ang isang podium na kinapapatungan ng isang may kakapalang libro. From the looks of it, that book was truly an ancient one. The first time she heard about the book's existence, she was actually expecting a thick scroll where her clan's genealogy was listed. But Hitoshi explained to him that the original scroll was burned by a jealous relative who was later on sentenced to death.
Pinalis na lang ng dalaga ang isiping iyon at nagpatuloy sila ni Takeru sa paglapit sa podium na iyon. Mukhang hindi pa yata nagagalaw ang librong iyon nang pagkatagal-tagal. And weird enough, it didn't actually accumulate too much dust even though there hadn't any signs of movement on it for a long time.
Matapos huminga nang malalim ay binuksan na ni Kourin ang libro habang nasa likod siya ni Takeru. May pag-iingat na inilipat niya ang mga pahina hanggang sa makita niya ang pakay na bahagi ng libro kung saan naroon ang pangalan ng lolo't lola niya.
'Kageyasu Shinomiya - Mina Miyuzaki'
Hindi napigilan ni Kourin ang mapangiti, lalo na nang makita niya ang pangalan ng kanyang lola.
"Now I can understand where you inherited your intelligence from despite your young age, princess," komento ni Takeru.
"You didn't know I'm a Miyuzaki, as well, did you?"
"I've heard about it, but I always thought about them as rumors. Well, at least I know this book would never lie."
Napangiti si Kourin sa narinig at ipinagpatuloy na lang ang pagbabasa. Sinundan lang niya ang linyang nakadugtong sa gitna ng linyang nagkakabit sa pangalan ng lolo't lola niya.
Four more lines were extended like branches from the first pair. Those were the names of Kourin's father and two aunts. Doon na kumunot ang noo niya.
"Four?"
Sa pagkakaalam ng dalaga, ang kanyang ama na si Ryuuji Shinomiya ang panganay na sinundan ng kakambal nitong si Akiko, who happened to be Shiro Nishikawa's mother. The third child was her other aunt Satomi but died because of leukemia when the woman was only seventeen.
But the fourth line was what had gotten Kourin all confused. Hindi lang siya. Pati na rin si Takeru. Why? Because the line doesn't have any name written beside it.
"Why would they create another line here if they weren't going to write any name beside it?" tanong ni Takeru na tinugunan lang ni Kourin ng isang malalim na paghinga.
"Mukhang ito ang linya na dapat tutukoy sa pagkakakilanlan ng 'uncle' ko. Kung sino man siya."
Though as soon as Kourin said that, her eyes soon caught a faint writing on the bottom of the page. Hindi naman niya puwedeng paraanan iyon ng daliri niya at baka tuluyang maglaho ang nakasulat doon.
"Do you need this?" tanong ni Takeru sabay abot sa dalaga ng isang ballpen. To be specific, a UV pen.
Tinanggap na lang iyon ni Kourin nang may ngiti at gamit iyon ay pinailawan niya ang bahagi ng pahinang pumukaw sa atensyon niya.
'At the next phase of the moon shall the answer you seek will show. It will appear like the sun at noon along with the truth you want to know.'
"Next phase of the moon? They're not talking about the literal meaning, right? The next phase is still a week away from now," ani Takeru pero walang reaksyon doon si Kourin. Nakatuon lang ang atensyon ng dalaga sa nakasulat na mga kataga. "Princess, are you okay?"
Tumango si Kourin nang hindi tinitingnan ni Takeru. "The answer lies in this book. I just need to figure out the meaning of 'the next phase of the moon.' Iyon lang naman ang magulo, eh." Absentmindedly, she flipped it to the next page and froze as she spotted another writing on that particular page of the book. "Next phase... Does that mean the next full phase?" Hinarap niya si Takeru. "I think I know what that means."
"Well, that was fast. I thought it would take you a day or so to figure that out."
Napalabi si Kourin. "You're mean. I can't believe seriously underestimating me."
Umiling-iling lang si Takeru habang nakangiti. "Okay. So what does 'the next phase of the moon' means?"
"This will help you answer your own question," ani Kourin at itinuro ang isang bahagi na may sulat na kumuha ng atensyon niya kanina.
Kumunot ang noo ni Takeru. "Isn't that your grandfather's seal beside the crest of the Shinomiya clan?"
"Look closely. Where was it placed?"
Muling tiningnan ng binata ang pahina. Hanggang sa mapansin na rin niya ang tinutukoy ni Kourin. "It was placed on the exact same spot where his name was written on the previous leaf. But why would he his name appear twice on the genealogy book and on alternate pages, as well?" The answer hit Takeru sooner, though. "That's what 'the next phase' means? We had to look on the same side of the next paper leaf."
Tumango si Kourin. "Hindi niya isinulat ang pangalan niya sa sumunod na bahagi ng libro. Ginamit ni Lolo ang seal niya for a reason. Weird enough, that's the only thing that's visible on this particular page."
"That means he placed it there to let his descendants somehow understand its meaning."
"At mukhang nakita na ni Kuya ang gustong iparating ni Lolo sa amin."
Kapwa natahimik ang dalawa matapos niyon. Huminga nang malalim si Kourin at tiningnan ang pahina kung saan naroon ang crest ng Shinomiya clan at ang seal ng lolo niya. Pinaraanan niya ng kanyang daliri ang dalawang simbolong naroon. But as she did so, she noticed that there was a faint line appearing as she smudged the part after the seal was placed. Ipinagpatuloy niya iyon hanggang sa lumitaw ang isang simbolo na talaga namang pamilyar sa kanya.
Sa ginagawa ni Kourin ay para siyang nasa isang archaeological site na nagtatanggal ng buhangin at mga lupang tumatakip sa artifact na nahukay. Whether she admit it or not, it certainly felt that way.
"No way... What does the symbol of the Silhouette Roses doing in this book?" usal ni Kourin sa pagkagulat. Kasunod niyon ay nakita niya ang isa pang seal.
This time, the characters for the name "Hanami" was written.
Lalong nalito si Kourin sa nakita. Kasabay naman niyon ang pagdaan ng kakaibang pakiramdam sa kanyang dibdib na marahil... ay may kuwento siya mula sa nakaraan na kailanman ay hindi niya nalaman. Iyon lang ang paliwanag kung bakit nakita niya ang pangalang Hanami na katabi ng sa pangalan ng lolo niya.
Takeru noticed Kourin's confused state that made him tap the young lady's head. "Why don't you continue doing that so we'll be able to know at least a part of the truth? Your grandfather hid that for a reason. And now he's giving you a chance to find that out?"
Ilang sandali pa ay ginawa ni Kourin ang suhestiyon ni Takeru nang mapagtantong tama ito. As careful as she could, she smudged the part of the paper where a few possible characters where written. But to her confusion, the line reached the part where the fourth line on the previous paper leaf was drawn. Nang makita niya iyon, noon lang niya naintindihan kung bakit blangko ang karugtong ng linyang iyon. The answer lies on the same side of the next paper leaf.
But shock soon filled Kourin's being as soon as her task revealed a name that was extremely familiar to all of them. Hindi lang siya. Maging si Takeru ay ganoon din ang naramdaman.
And the characters were written with this pronunciation:
SHINGO
"This is a joke... right?"
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