Of course, that question surprised Itsuki. But he waited for his sister to continue talking, as he felt like there was something more that she wanted to say to him.
"I'm not sure if you remember. But before you passed out after dealing with Otoguri, you said to Helen-chan while holding her wrist that... she finally came to life." Erika took a deep breath before facing him. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
He gawked at his sister's words. He never expected any of them. Did he really say those words to Helen? With the others around them after he collapsed?
Itsuki looked down, unable to decide whether or not he could tell the truth to his sister. But at the same time, it was exactly for that reason that he had to mention it to Erika. They were siblings, and they stuck together since the tragedy that took their parents' lives ten years ago. He shouldn't be excluding her about anything.
Then again, the issue was about Helen. He wasn't sure how he would explain it to Erika without angering her. Those two were childhood friends, after all. Even though he was unaware of it until Helen arrived at the Mizuhashi mansion, that fact still remained.
He sighed and raised his head to face his sister. "I've been dreaming of someone... for a long time now since the tragedy."
Erika frowned, but didn't say anything. This had only allowed Itsuki to continue speaking.
"I kept seeing a little girl in my dreams. Same event, slightly different scenes. But I'm sure that it was telling me something that... I have to figure it out. That girl was running away from something. Most of the time that I'd see her in those dreams, her dress was covered in blood. I'd always see her crying behind a boulder while desperately trying to hide. Whenever I'd ask what was wrong, she would only shake her head and smile. But it was a very painful smile and so I would try to calm her down whenever we would see each other in those dreams."
Of course, it didn't surprise him that the last part had shocked Erika.
"Are you saying that you'd always talk to her in those dreams you have of her? Does that mean that the dreams would end up like a series of scenes surrounding a crucial event or something?"
Itsuki thought about it for a short while before answering. "I guess... you could say that. I never saw the scenes diverting from whatever tragic event that had happened there. And then... while I was fighting Otoguri, it showed me a similar scene of that little girl. But this time, she would encourage me to fight the illusion and that it was going to be okay. Everything was muddled up to the point that Otoguri managed to escape. So I had no idea what I'd seen after that. I could've been hallucinating. But who knows."
"And yet you would say that to Helen-chan after you grabbed her wrist while she tried to calm you down and heal you," Erika said after moments of silence between them.
He couldn't believe that he actually did that to Helen. But he wanted to know Erika's opinion about the other matter that bothered him up to that point.
"By the way, where is she?" he asked before he could even stop himself. He bit his tongue when he finally realized what he had done.
"You mean Helen-chan? She said she would head out to the records room to find something there. She said that she might have figured out the reason why Otoguri had specifically targeted you."
Itsuki frowned. "What do you mean she knew the reason? I thought it just so happened that I was the only one there."
"Well, that's not what she thinks. And even Shuichi-san agreed to that." Erika paused and sighed before continuing to speak. "But Onii-chan, why did you say those words to her, anyway? Even when you said that everything was muddled to you after Otoguri escaped, there has to be a reason why you would say something like that to her."
It looked like there was no escaping on this one, huh? Then again, he should've expected this from his sister. As Makoto once said, Erika was always perceptive of things around her once she truly put her focus onto them.
Once again, he took a deep breath before speaking. "After Otoguri retreated, the illusion of the little girl I saw remained in the area. I'm not sure how long it stayed there. Or if you even saw it while trying to approach me from that hundred meter distance. But it was there. When I asked who she was, there was no answer. But when she turned, she slowly changed --- like witnessing a time lapse. I saw the illusion change to Helen the moment she faced me."
"So that explains it..." Erika murmured and nodded. It looked like she understood something just from his explanation. "You thought that the little girl was just a product of your dreams. But... you ended up realizing that the girl you're dreaming about was actually Helen-chan. Was that the reason why you dislike her since she came here to the mansion?"
Itsuki shook his head. "That illusion made me realize something as soon as Helen's face came to view at that moment. But I think it will only be clear once... I ask her something. Though I don't know if it would answer the questions I have or not." Soon after, he faced his sister. "Do you think you can help me go to her in the records room?"
Erika remained looking at him for a few moments, as if assessing his intentions for her childhood friend. But with his situation at the moment, he had no energy to show any dislike towards anyone without a proper reason. He needed answers, and he knew that he could only get them when Helen managed to answer some of his questions.
"Then finish eating your food first. I don't think Hideoki-san would allow you to leave the mansion without proper nutrition while you're recovering your lost energy."
He thanked Erika and proceeded with the rest of his dinner.
xxxxxx
"How long are you intending to stay here, reading, anyway?"
Helen nearly dropped the scroll she was reading when she heard that question. To add to her surprise, she saw Itsuki walking towards the ladder she stood on with Erika assisting him. It seemed that he was still weak because of the ordeal with Otoguri.
Even with that, she was glad to see him finally awake and out of danger.
"It's rare for you to initiate a conversation, Itsuki-san," Helen said placidly before going down the ladder, still holding the scroll she was reading earlier.
"I don't intend to. But I have something to ask of you."
She frowned and then looked at the siblings who were both seated on the long sofa. Erika shrugged with a smile while Itsuki sighed before looking at her. It was an understatement that she was surprised, and at the same time, confused about that.
But she waited for him to continue.
"But before that..." Itsuki started once again.
He remained silent for a short while after that. Helen saw him clench and unclench his fists, as if having an internal debate. But she waited. Even when she finally realized that the tension that would usually form between her and Itsuki had started to build up again, she stayed firm.
Itsuki took a deep breath before facing Helen. "Thank you... for helping me deal with Otoguri inside that barrier. I can't believe you could actually send instructions inside that illusory barrier."
"Well, illusions are my specialty. Not many previous Seitengers and even Vessel Supports before had enough knowledge to deal with them. So you could say I did my best to mainly focus on dealing with them," Helen explained and sighed.
Honestly, she was finding it hard to believe that she was having this kind of conversation with Itsuki without causing a suffocating tension to rise and hover between them. But she could tell that there was something more to this.
"By the way, Helen-chan..." Erika said, catching her attention. She then changed her focus to that of her childhood friend. "What's that scroll you're holding?"
'Oh, yeah. I still have this.' How did she actually forget about this? She couldn't help laughing bitterly and sighed. "I was looking at any information I could find about a Tarean illusionist. Specifically, an illusionist who was among the members of the Great Shadow Defenders."
The Hoshiyama siblings froze at the words that came out of her mouth. Of course, she knew what words had made them like that. Then again, anyone who had an idea about the Tareans or the battle that the Seitengers were dealing with would elicit such reactions. Especially to the newly awakened Vessels of the Heavenly Spirit Guardians' Powers.
"Why are you reading about that, anyway? Was there any particular reason?" Again, it was Itsuki who inquired.
Helen couldn't fathom why the composer was taking interest in talking to her like this. But she couldn't sense any pretenses in his tone or even his posture. He was curious --- but she knew he was curious for a particular reason. But could she really answer him so easily? Even Erika didn't know anything about the real reason why she was in the Mizuhashi mansion and helping Hideoki and Nanami train the Vessels.
"It's something I need for me to complete my personal mission," she answered. Vague as it might appear, she had to do it that way. No one else should know her reasons.
At least not yet.
Thankfully, neither of the Hoshiyama siblings probe any further about the topic. She took it as her cue to do her own interview, if that was how she would actually call it.
"By the way, Itsuki-san, why are you and Erika here? Shouldn't you be still resting? Hours of sleep aren't even enough for you to fully recover from what happened inside the barrier. Not to mention, Otoguri could decide to target you again. Your body should be rested enough and well prepared in case that Triske Monster would actually decide to come after you for the second time."
To her confusion, Itsuki raised his head and intently looked at her. Not to mention, the way he stared at her was enough for her heart to beat fast. Whether it was from his stare or some other reason, she couldn't tell. But she stood her ground and met his gaze.
"I came here to ask you something," Itsuki started. "Has there been anyone important to you who was killed when you were a child that you... witnessed first hand?"
At that point, Helen knew she wouldn't be able to hide her shock at that direct question. When she glanced at Erika, she saw the pianist clenching her fists while looking at her. She didn't know if Erika actually mentioned something to Itsuki. But if she was going to base it on the way he asked her that question, then it appeared that Erika remained silent about the reason why the two of them met when they were children.
"I didn't mean to pry by asking you that. It's just..." Itsuki paused before taking a deep breath. "Something had been bothering me since the fire tragedy ten years ago. There was this young girl that kept appearing in my dreams around the time the hotel fire happened."
Itsuki proceeded to explain various details about those dreams, especially common ones that remained in each dream he'd seen most of the time. A young girl running away from something, her dress covered in blood and would soon hide behind a boulder to escape from who or what was after her. He also mentioned about the illusion of the girl he saw that soon changed into her even after Otoguri had retreated.
It was the real reason why he said the words "you finally came to life" before he passed out and why he came to find her to talk even when he was still supposed to be resting.
But even after hearing all of those reasons from Itsuki, her mind seemed to be unable to comprehend that he'd been dealing with something like that for a long time. How in the world did Itsuki actually end up dreaming about the childhood tragedy that nearly killed her, anyway? Something must have acted in a way that the vision would remain in his mind for such a long time.
And then there was the mystery of the illusion of that little girl turning to her and remaining in the area even after Otoguri had retreated...
That was when she recalled information in one of the scrolls that she'd read when she was preparing for the training with the Vessels. 'Could that be it?'
"Helen-chan..."
With her friend's voice snapping her out of her reverie, she soon faced the siblings waiting for her to answer. "Yes... There was such a tragedy that had occured when I was a child. I once mentioned this to Shuichi around the time he awakened his Elemental Guide." This time, she focused on facing Itsuki. "What you told me with regards to the scenes you kept on seeing in your dreams was about the time both of my parents were killed. And you were right, they were killed right in front of me."
The siblings gasped, their eyes opening wide with each information coming out of her lips. Helen continued on. "I was trying to escape from them before I completely lost consciousness because of the head injury I suffered back then. And if you're going to ask about my age when that event happened, I was only five years old."
"But... around the time I met you, you were also chased, right? Someone was coming after you, as well."
Helen nodded as a response to Erika's inquiry. "That was the second attempt to have me killed. They would have succeeded... if it wasn't for the professor's help at the time."
"Do you have any idea... about the identity of your parents' killer?" Itsuki asked in a softer voice. He was probably testing the waters since the topic was sensitive, in most parts.
The novelist was silent for a while. But the siblings remained waiting. Whether or not she would answer the question, and whatever answer she would utter, they decided to respect that. This time, Helen sighed before nodding and raised the scroll that Erika noticed earlier.
"It was one of the Great Shadow Defenders, but I only knew that devil to be able to cast illusions. I have an inkling that the same high-ranking Tarean could be responsible for the hotel fire ten years ago and the one who killed your parents, as well." Helen's expression changed from determined to dejected. "However, there was nothing to confirm that assumption at the moment. Then again, if that warrior managed to kill my parents back then, then I won't be surprised if we find out that the same person was the one who took away the people important to you and the others."
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