Even with a lot of things going on in his mind, Eichirou surprised himself for actually sleeping well last night. But then again, he knew he had to rest properly for him to be able to continue with two tasks at hand --- dealing with Haruna and defeating Macera. Well, the latter could be done with the help of the other Vessels. It was the former that he would surely have trouble accomplishing. At the moment, he was unsure if he would be able to do anything about his plan.
But Eichirou wanted to do everything to make sure the exhibit would work well in the end. It was about his mother, after all.
And yet, it was that same reason that he found it hard to talk to Haruna. Well, he could understand her sentiments towards the shadow of Mizuhara Mariko still towering over Odagawa Haruna in the entirety of her career as a fashion designer. It was like Mariko had never died.
Looking up, he found himself standing outside of the room that Hideoki had allowed Helen to use for the duration of her stay there. To be honest, it wasn't just Haruna and Macera who made him think a lot of things. The conversation between Helen and Erika that he heard as soon as he arrived home... He wasn't sure why he felt something different about that. He wasn't mistaken that the topic those two childhood friends were talking about was the painting given to Mariko a long time ago.
Was it possible that the painting could be related to their mission as chosen Vessels?
"Good morning, Eichirou-san."
It was that greeting that snapped the photographer from his musings. He smiled as soon as he saw Erika closing the door of her room and approached him soon after. "Good morning, Eri-chan. You're early."
She smiled and pointed at the whiteboard placed on the hallway's wall. Immediately, he understood what she meant.
"Helen-chan's not there if you're looking for her. I think she slept at Nanami-san's bookstore while doing more research to help us."
Eichirou nodded. "By the way, did you sleep well?"
"I should be the one asking that to you," Erika replied rather placidly which surprised him. She sighed after that. "Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee? I bet you need it."
Eichirou nodded and followed Erika to the kitchen. Since it was her turn to cook and prepare breakfast for everyone and he was already awake, he might as well help her.
Erika served a cup of black coffee to Eichirou after a few minutes. He couldn't help smiling at the sight of it, for some reason before looking at her.
"Is there something wrong?" Erika asked as she tilted her head.
He shook his head and proceeded to drink the coffee. He smiled again as soon as he tasted it. "You know what? I like the way you make my coffee better than that of Itsu-chan and Shuichi."
"You did mention the same thing to me in my third year here. I was only learning how to brew the coffee properly from Hideoki-san at the time." Erika showed a nostalgic smile as she said those words. "I guess I had to learn it so I won't have to put up with the way Onii-chan would brew my coffee, even though I'm much of a tea person."
"And it wasn't because your father likes coffee?" Asking it casually was a bit of a risk on his part.
Erika was silent for a few moments before smiling once more. "At first, it was my reason for learning how to properly brew coffee. Getting away from Onii-chan's coffee was the second. But I guess I just don't want to forget my father's smile whenever my mom makes his coffee. His smile to me and my brother... I don't want to forget everything about it."
No words came from Eichirou after that. Well, he understood what Erika meant. He, too, wouldn't want to forget his mother's smile. Even if people would still incorporate her image in his photos and her talent in photography, he doesn't want to let her smiling image go.
"Do you think I could make her understand that?" Eichirou mumbled moments later before taking a few steps on his coffee.
"You mean Odagawa-san?"
The question asked back to him had caught him off guard. "How did you know about her?"
Erika smiled as she placed a cup of tea --- her preferred hot drink --- on the countertop. "Hideoki-san mentioned a few details about her while you were away yesterday. Though I do understand her sentiments in dealing with the shadow of someone who died a long time ago as she strived to create a name for herself, I have a feeling that a part of her holds something important about Mariko-san. I mean, she was Mariko-san's apprentice and after your mother died, Odagawa-san pursued a dream still related to it. Maybe at the moment, she still couldn't admit it to herself because of that resentment. Maybe someone has to make her realize that."
Eichirou couldn't think of anything to say after that. But he could understand where Erika was heading with her words.
"The only way I could think of for you to make her realize that is to let her do something that is the embodiment of everything she ever felt since Mariko-san died," the pianist suggested not long after. "You already did the same thing just a year ago. I think it's about time she does something like that, as well. She needed to do something to release whatever resentment that Odagawa-san still has for your mother."
At that point, Eichirou remembered the event that Erika was talking about. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do as soon as those words registered in his mind.
"Thank you for saying that, Eri-chan."
"It's the least I can do, you know. But I do have a feeling that Odagawa-san was only a small part of your current worries. I know that you heard what Helen-chan and I were talking about yesterday."
'Just as I thought...' Eichirou should've seen that statement coming. So he was right about Erika being able to sense almost everything --- especially mystical energies --- around her. He wasn't sure if the others noticed that part of her, though. But if one would ask him, he did consider that observation weird.
He sighed and faced the youngest Vessel. "The painting that you and Helen-chan were talking about... Did you know that someone gave it to my mother as a gift for her debut in the fashion world?"
It was expected that Erika would be surprised to hear that. But it didn't take long as he soon saw her face turning serious as she drank her tea. "I wonder who that person was. But do you think it has something to do with the Vessels? Helen-chan mentioned a priestess that the first Seitengers had protected a long time ago. And that painting could tell us something about that story. Do you have any idea about the person who gave it to Mariko-san?"
He shook his head. He, too, wanted to know the answer to that question. But where would he get that answer he needed to hear?
"If such a person existed at the time that the battle with the Tareans was starting, then there must be something important about her that even old records didn't contain. Perhaps as a way to conceal it to the enemies who managed to be released from one of the broken Tarean Seals."
"Helen-chan did say that records about that priestess were scarce. Do you think verbal records existed?"
Eichirou sighed at the question. "If such a thing existed, we have to find surviving people who knew her story. One of them could be the person who gave that painting to my mother."
xxxxxx
Later, the other Vessels finally woke up. But they all frowned at the sight of just Erika making herself busy in the kitchen all alone when it was supposed to be a joint morning duty by her and Eichirou.
"Don't tell me that guy left the mansion without telling us again," Shuichi started while helping Erika carry the other kitchenware to be placed at the dining table.
"Yeah, but I told him to do so. He already had his breakfast before he left," Erika explained without looking at the others.
"You told him? But why?"
Erika faced his brother as soon as she finished placing the plates in their respective spots on the table. "He needed it. And since Shuichi-san seems to have a different idea as to what happened to our battle with Macera the last time, fixing something important to him would at least provide a path for Eichirou-san to learn even more about his mother and his powers." She faced the racer after that. "Isn't that right, Shuichi-san?"
Initially taken aback at Erika's matter-of-factly tone, Shuichi soon chuckled before nodding. "You noticed, huh?"
Erika smiled and continued heading to the kitchen to get the dishes she prepared. "You went quiet after I mentioned the flash of light that appeared when Eichirou-san and I inadvertently combined our powers to stop Macera from petrifying us. Is that particular scenario what I think it is?"
No one said anything as they all waited for Shuichi to answer Erika's question. The racer soon took a deep breath before speaking.
"Honestly, it's still speculation. But if what happened back then was related to what happened to me during our previous battle with Motross, then we will have an upper hand in defeating that Triske Monster if Eichirou indeed retrieves that power. But Erika ---" Shuichi paused and faced the pianist. "--- I still want you to lend him your powers when that happens. The spell that you and Eichirou came up with, even if it was just by chance, had given Macera some damage the last time we dealt with him. However, we still need something even more powerful to defeat that monster once and for all. And I think we can have that, as long as Eichirou acquires that power we need."
"But do you think Eichirou-san settling whatever issues he has with that Odagawa Haruna-san can provide a path for that?" Itsuki asked.
"From what I can see until now, both Haruna-san and Eichirou have to overcome the only barrier that prevented them from unleashing their true potentials all this time. My attachment to the gift that my father gave to me was the very barrier that I dealt with when I proved myself to Condire. Maybe it's the same thing to Eichirou."
"Awakening another Elemental Guide this soon... Is that even possible?" Misae murmured and faced Itsuki. "By the way, have you read anything else yet about these beings? I can't help but think that there's something more to these creatures than just another aide in our battle as Seitengers with the Tareans."
Itsuki sighed and shook his head. "I haven't had any time lately to skim on anything related to the Hundred Heavens. My composing projects have been taking up so much of my time that I couldn't even sleep properly because of it."
"Oh, yeah. The Centennial Concert here in Tsukikage is already near," Erika commented upon remembering something. "But Onii-chan, I don't think it's just your composing projects that keep you up at night as of late."
However, Itsuki chose not to say anything at the moment about that. He still didn't want to disclose anything about what truly bothered him to anyone at all, including his sister.
"And you still don't want to say anything to me about that, huh?"
Itsuki saw Erika's raised eyebrow that only made him smile a little and ruffled the pianist's hair. "When I'm sure of everything, I won't miss any detail when I mention it to you. Right now, things still feel a little blurry to me."
Erika looked at her brother for a few moments before sighing. "Just don't overwork yourself, okay? We have Tareans to deal with."
The composer nodded and faced Misae soon after. "Once we're done with Macera, I'll try to read whatever details were recorded in the scrolls in Nanami-san's bookstore."
"We can ask Helen-chan about that. She tends to stay in the bookstore a lot these days, so she probably read about these Elemental Guides."
At the mention of Helen's name, everyone felt a sudden tension rising but Erika paid no mind to that. Both Shuichi and Misae shrugged it off, though. Itsuki just chose to take a deep breath and keep quiet about it. Moments later, however, he frowned at his sister's words.
"Why would she stay at the bookstore, anyway?"
"I think she's trying to find something, anything, about the priestess that the original Vessels had protected 5,000 years ago. I'm not sure if she found information about her, though, since the professor said to her that details about that priestess were scarce."
"Priestess? That's the first time I've heard of it."
"Me, too. But... why would Helen-chan try to find information about her?"
Erika shrugged since she didn't know the answer to that. Itsuki went into deep thinking upon hearing that.
Shuichi spoke not long after, breaking the silence surrounding the Vessels. "In any case, we should stay alert and be ready when Macera decides to attack again. Hopefully, by that time, Eichirou can provide us something to deal with that petrifier."
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