RECORD #6: ILLUSION WITHIN THE SONG
Even though it was evident that the Vessels were tired from their Reikarajutsu training the other day, things around the Mizuhashi mansion seemed to remain as lively as ever. Or at least, that was what it looked like on the surface. Even if it was a usual busy and noisy morning for the five Vessels, something was still bothering them.
Erika could only heave a heavy sigh as she turned to the garden and eyed her brother Itsuki. He was outside and only looking at the morning sky rather aimlessly that day. Then again, the rest of them knew that this wasn't the only day that Itsuki was acting strange like this.
To be honest, it was a worrying thing to look at. They knew that something was wrong. Something had happened that they didn't know. They just needed to figure out what it was.
Though Erika was done setting up the table just so they could finally have their breakfast, Shuichi decided to do something else at the moment. The said man tapped Erika's shoulder, prompting the pianist to look up and face him.
"Shuichi-san..."
He nodded. "I'll talk to him for now. Okay?"
Erika gave way as she stepped backwards, giving space for Shuichi to walk through and head to the garden where the composer was. She could only sigh at the sight of her older brother spacing out like that.
What could have caused Itsuki to act this way?
"Do you think he discovered something strange after the exhibit when he decided to stay in the building that day?"
Erika turned to the source of that voice and saw Misae approaching.
"Misae-san..."
"I wonder what happened that afternoon, though. It's so unusual to see him like this. It's like... he lost his mind somewhere else and now he's trying to look for it."
Erika couldn't help chuckling at the comparison, though. "Even though he's just sitting still like this, huh?"
"Well, physically, he's here. But his mind is definitely somewhere else. And he better get himself together if he wants to fight with us."
Even so, both girls couldn't help worrying even more for Itsuki. Rarely had they seen their composer friend like this. And because of that, they were eager to know what was going on for Itsuki to act like this.
Meanwhile, all that Itsuki had done in the morning as soon as he woke up and left his room was to go to the garden and think. He still couldn't remove his mind from the apparition he saw that day at the Four Clubs Building's rooftop. True, he was used to seeing ghosts and other apparitions even as a child.
But there was something different about that woman's apparition that bothered him up to this moment. Unfortunately, he couldn't mention any of it to his sister or even to his friends as he never wanted to bother them. Even more so, he knew he had to discover the truth about it himself. As long as he would find the time to do so, of course.
The problem was --- it wasn't the time that he had trouble finding. It was the answer that he desired to know that became elusive to him.
A sigh escaped his lips as he kept looking up to the sky. He deduced that this would keep happening until he finally found the reason why that woman's vision appeared to him like that.
"Itsuki."
Though not loud, that call startled him and made him turn to the source of that voice. He was confused to see Shuichi approaching with a rather somber expression on his face.
"Shuichi-san..."
The racer didn't say anything in response. Instead, he sat beside Itsuki who was sitting on the wooden chair near the edge of the porch. He then faced the composer.
"So... what's going on with you lately?" Shuichi asked. It didn't surprise Itsuki, though.
Only an idiot would think that nothing was wrong within the Mizuhashi mansion after the exhibit. Even he could tell that Eichirou acted weird as soon as he and Hideoki arrived home later that day. Unlike him, however, Eichirou eventually mentioned the reason why he felt so restless.
Even he was surprised to learn that Mariko's voice reverberated along the water ripples and plopping sounds. But the real thing that surprised all of them was the message that she delivered to her son.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to make you worry," Itsuki only responded and looked up to the sky once again.
"You know that a simple apology isn't going to cut it and let you loose."
Itsuki laughed bitterly. Of course, he was aware of that. It so happened that he had no idea how to mention it to anyone in the Mizuhashi household. He had no idea where the hesitation came from, though.
"Did something happen when you stayed longer in the Four Clubs Building?" Shuichi inquired, seemingly determined to get some answer from the composer.
This time, Itsuki nodded without hesitation. "It's not a fight, though. But... something strange did happen."
"Define 'strange', because you know that ever since the earthquake in Mt. Kumamoto happened, we've had our fair share of strange things happening and popping in every now and then."
Itsuki faced Shuichi after sighing. "Strange in a way that I saw a vision and heard a voice while I was at the building's rooftop that day."
"A vision and a voice? Did they come from the same person?"
Itsuki shook his head. "One thing I was sure of --- they came from different people. I was already familiar with the voice as I kept hearing it in my dreams ever since becoming a Seitenger. It's the vision of a woman who I'm not familiar with that made it strange for me that day."
"Voice that you kept hearing for a while now? Wait! Does Erika know about this?"
Itsuki shook his head. "For some reason, I couldn't mention it to her. There were a lot of things that I couldn't tell her, as well. It's not that I can't trust her."
"You're used to solving things by yourself, huh?"
To Shuichi's confusion, Itsuki shook his head. "Not that I have to do it by myself. At the time, when I started doing it, it was when our parents were killed. I had this thought that I have to grow up fast for my sister's sake. And that means I can't show her my worries and fears because it would only make me more vulnerable."
"But... being vulnerable isn't a bad thing. It only shows a part of yourself that is true to who you are. That's part of being human."
"I know that. But I guess old habits die hard. I don't even know how to start mentioning anything about this to my sister."
It was then that Itsuki realized how easy it was to blurt things out to Shuichi whereas he was hesitating to do the same to his sister. Just what was going on with him to keep secrets like this to Erika? Yes, he was the older brother and he made an assumption that he should deal with his problems by himself and help his sister as long as it was needed. Why couldn't he allow the opposite thing to happen between him and Erika?
"What exactly happened that day you saw that vision of the woman?" Shuichi later inquired, breaking the silence between them.
It took a while for Itsuki to decide whether or not he would say anything to Shuichi. But upon raising his head and soon saw Misae, Erika, and Eichirou approaching, he shook his head and stood up. "I can't tell you right now."
"Onii-chan, do you really have to keep it all to yourself every time? Can't you even trust me?" Erika asked as soon as she stopped in front of Itsuki.
The composer only looked at the pianist for a few moments before heaving a heavy sigh. He then placed a hand on Erika's head and looked at her intently. "Erika, it's not that I don't trust you. Okay? That's the one important thing that I want you to remember."
"Then why? Why can't you tell me everything? Things that bothered you, issues that burdened you... You've been secretive a lot of times, it's like you never want me to help you when you need it."
"Erika..."
The others couldn't say anything after that. It seemed that the issue was something that the siblings had to deal with themselves.
"Okay. I'll let you off the hook for now. But promise me one thing," Erika stated after a few moments.
Of course, those words had only made Itsuki frown. "Promise you what?"
"Once you manage to gather every information you need about the issue that's been bothering you right now, don't leave a single detail when you finally decide to tell it to me. And I mean EVERYTHING. Are we clear?" And Erika even held out her pinky finger to Itsuki.
Only then that the composer was able to loosen up and chuckled at his sister's antics. But he knew what she meant. It looked like Erika remained as perceptive as she was even as a kid. Just like their father.
He nodded and linked his pinky finger to hers. "I promise. Just let me handle this for now. Okay?"
Erika nodded and soon embraced Itsuki. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? I also have the right to worry for you when you're being reckless."
The composer returned his sister's tight hug before letting her go. When he looked at the other Vessels, he just saw them smiling and nodded once. He was glad that the others understood what he wanted to do in the meantime.
"Thanks, Erika." After letting Erika go, he recalled something. "Wait a minute. What are we going to train for today?"
Erika's eyes widened and smiled. "Wait! You didn't know? Hideoki-san said two days ago that Helen-chan would be the one helping us train today."
Itsuki frowned as soon as he heard Helen's name.
"Okay. Before you start having another episode of hot blood on her, there is a reason why she would be joining us on our training today," Eichirou immediately said as soon as they noticed that Itsuki's mood started to change.
Itsuki let out an exasperated sigh and glared at Eichirou who only grinned cheekily and showed a peace sign. This guy never really showed fear when it came to him, huh?
"I'm not out for blood, if that's what you wanted to point out. I was just surprised that she would be joining the training today."
"Well, if there's one thing that Helen-chan is really an expert of, that would be dealing with illusions," Misae answered. "At least, that's what Hideoki-san mentioned to me the last time you were out because of your injuries."
"Hideoki-san sure knows a lot about Helen, huh?"
Shuichi nodded. "Well, considering that Hideoki-san actually knew the professor who became Helen's guardian after her mother died, I guess it's not a surprise that he knew a lot about her. And that particular professor friend of his soon entrusted Helen to Hideoki-san."
But it seemed that Itsuki stopped listening after hearing that Helen's mother had died. How come he was only learning about it now? Then again, Erika might have mentioned it before but he didn't pay attention. The mysteries surrounding Helen and her purpose in helping the Vessels weighed so much in his mind that he ended up disregarding everything else about her.
Maybe he should find a way to pay more attention to that young woman other than his own suspicions and questions with regards to her abilities and her reasons. At that moment, Itsuki frowned upon recalling something from the event at the rooftop. The words that the apparition mentioned to him --- about the arrival of another Vessel. This was the other thing that truly confused him that day.
And he hadn't mentioned anything about it to anyone --- not even to the elders. But... should he do it? Should he tell Hideoki and Nanami? At least to their mentors, he should inform them of things that he could feel were related to the Vessels and their mission as Seitengers. He just had to figure out how to break the news to them.
'What does she mean by 'another Vessel'? I thought there were only five chosen Vessels.' Aside from that, there was another thing mentioned.
'To defy a tragic fate... Why couldn't I shake off the feeling that there has been a cycle going on among the Vessels that I still need to know?'
xxxxxx
Though Helen arrived later than planned, she explained that she had been doing more research about illusions that perhaps old records could provide to her. She did admit that her knowledge about illusions and illusionists were those that her guardian had taught her.
"By the way, Helen-chan..." Eichirou called as he raised his hand, catching the said novelist's attention.
"Eichirou-san, this is not a classroom, you know. And I'm only a temporary mentor. Not a full-fledged teacher," Helen joked that made the others laugh. "But... is there something you wanted to ask me?"
The photographer nodded and went straight to the point. "That professor you kept mentioning to us. I only realized just now that I don't even know his name before Dad mentioned his name to us during the exhibit. It's going to be awkward if I keep calling him Professor without a name. Especially a surname."
"Now that you mention it, we never actually asked her about it until Hideoki-san finally said something about him and being the owner of the Four Clubs Building," Shuichi commented and faced Helen. "We initially knew him as Helen's guardian or as Professor. Then again, Hideoki was once a professor before he quit."
Helen went silent for a short while and nodded not long after. "Wow... I only realized it today." She chuckled for a bit and cleared her throat. "Okay. Well, that professor I kept on mentioning was my mother's paternal uncle. Therefore, my grand-uncle. He took care of me after taking me in when my parents died. His name was Taiga Mitsuharu, as Hideoki-san had probably mentioned that time."
Eichirou later frowned at that. "So... he really did own the Four Clubs Building where my exhibit was held?"
"Yes."
"But why didn't you tell us? Does that mean you inherited the building after he died?" This time, it was Misae who asked.
To their confusion, Helen shook her head. "I chose not to inherit the building. But someone else who had been a student of my grand-uncle did. He was the one who helped me settle the affairs that I needed to settle after the professor passed away."
"A student of the professor?"
Helen nodded and soon straightened herself. "You know what? Let's get on with this training. I have to make sure that you should know how to deal with illusionists and some Triske Monsters' illusions. There have been records of them existing so I have to prepare you for that."
The others knew that Helen was, in a way, avoiding to discuss the subject about Professor Taiga Mitsuharu further. They had no other choice but to respect that in the meantime. They still didn't know the reason why she had to avoid answering more questions about her grand-uncle. Should they attribute it to the fact that Professor Taiga just died recently? Or was there any other reason for that?
When Helen was about to continue, she stopped all of a sudden and frowned.
"By the way, where's Itsuki-san?" she asked.
It was then that the other Vessels looked around and noticed that Itsuki was indeed missing.
"Okay. Now Onii-chan is acting weirder than ever. This is the first time he suddenly left in the middle of a training," Erika said and then looked apologetically at Helen. "I'm really sorry, Helen-chan. My brother's been rude to you again."
The novelist shook her head. "I don't think it's about him being rude, though. I noticed that he was out of it since I got here."
"Nothing gets past you, huh?" Shuichi commented and later on urged Helen to just continue with the lecture and little demonstration.
If Helen understood Itsuki's predicament, then they could do something to deal with it at a later time. But hopefully soon.
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