Eichirou was still yawning when he went down to the living room, still in his pajamas. It would appear that the preparation for the photo exhibit that he was planning was a really taxing one. Erika soon handed him a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, Eichirou-san," Erika greeted as soon as Eichirou took the cup from her hand.
"Good morning..." the photographer replied quite lazily.
Erika could only shake her head and proceeded once again to the kitchen where she saw Shuichi talking to Hideoki. At that, she couldn't help frowning. What could they possibly be discussing? But even from her position, she could tell that it wasn't anything grave or something.
"You woke up early, Erika."
The pianist turned around to the direction of that voice, only to see his brother reading the music sheets that was on his hand.
"I couldn't sleep," she said nonchalantly. But it was more than enough to catch her brother's attention.
"What do you mean? Are you having nightmares?"
Erika shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing like that, Onii-chan. I was..." Wait, should she even tell the truth about that?
"You were what?" Itsuki asked, coaxing her to speak more about it.
Though the tone that Itsuki used was placid, she could sense an underlying worry in it, as well. She sighed because of that. Why was it that she had a brother like this guy, anyway?
But then, this was her brother. It was to be expected since he was the only one left that she would call her immediate family. They only had each other all this time, together with the others who now became her teammates.
"I was just worried about Helen-chan." There. She said it.
For some reason, she already expected her brother's sour reaction upon mentioning her childhood friend's name. But she couldn't understand why Itsuki would react like that towards Helen when she hadn't even done anything ill towards her brother.
"Onii-chan..." she called out, using a tone that would immediately state her point.
Itsuki sighed and tapped Erika's head. She didn't resist this time and allowed him to do that. "I'm sorry. But I can't really do anything about my opinion to your childhood friend. Unless something will happen that could make me see the reason why I should trust her, don't expect me to treat her the same way as the others. Okay?"
The pianist sighed dejectedly at her brother's answer. But since he already stated his point, she might as well respect it. She couldn't do anything about it for now.
Well, the reason why Erika was worried about her childhood friend was because Helen didn't sleep in the mansion but somewhere else that she had no idea about. Even though Hideoki offered the other girl a room that she could use for the night, Helen decided not to take the offer for the reason that she already commissioned someone else where she could stay for a while. Not only that, she also noticed that Helen was pretty quiet for the majority of the time that they were together in that mansion.
I wonder what's wrong with her. I hope she's okay. It was a natural thing for her to worry about Helen even though they hadn't seen or even communicated with each other for the past ten years since the hotel fire. And for some reason, she couldn't help feeling a bit bothered about the fact that Helen knew about the Vessels and the Tareans.
Could that be the same feeling that Itsuki had about Helen?
All Erika did was to scratch her head because of so many questions lingering in her mind about her brother and her childhood friend. But then again, it wasn't like she was going to find out the answers anytime soon, right?
"It looks like everyone's here," Hideoki said as soon as he entered the living room where the Vessels were gathered that morning.
"Good morning, Hideoki-san," Erika greeted that the said historian responded with a nod.
But before she could take her seat on the sofa, her expression brightened when she saw who was walking just behind Hideoki.
"Helen-chan!"
"Good morning, Erika," Helen greeted with a cordial smile. "Good morning, everyone."
With the exception of Itsuki, the other Vessels greeted Helen in a similar manner. The composer only looked at Helen placidly and proceeded with reading the music sheets on his hands. Erika sighed and shook her head because of that. She was about to apologize to Helen but the said girl just winked and smiled an understanding smile.
"Don't mind that. I already expected it, anyway."
Now that had confused Erika but immediately put that thought aside when Hideoki caught their attention. All of them soon found a place for them to seat so that they could listen to whatever the historian would say to them.
"Alright. Starting today, Helen will be staying here with us. But it's only temporary just until her job here is finished."
The Vessels didn't mind the fact that Helen would stay with them. But the one thing that caught their attention were the words "temporary" and "job". Though before any of them could say anything as a response, Hideoki spoke once again.
"One of her job here is to teach you on various aspects of Reikarajutsu, considering the fact that she was trained earlier than the rest of you when it comes to utilizing Hasureiki. And I want you to pay attention to her when she's teaching. Are we clear?"
At the moment, Hideoki wasn't speaking to them as a head of the Mizuhashi household. But more of a strict mentor. The Vessels just nodded with that thought in mind because they didn't want to be scolded severely just because they weren't paying attention at all.
"That's amazing, Helen-chan! You're going to teach us about Reikarajutsu," Erika couldn't help saying in glee.
"It's not that amazing, Erika. I'm just glad that I could help you in some ways, especially now that you're dealing with the Tareans. They're not exactly that easy to deal with, you know."
"We know that, Helen-chan. Trust me, we've already proven it a few times that we encountered them," Eichirou soon said in which Misae agreed on.
It was then that Helen noticed something. "Come to think of it, where is Hiwara-san?"
The others looked around and that was when they finally realized that the biker was indeed missing. And in the middle of the announcement, at that.
"As for Shuichi, he already asked my permission to leave early," Hideoki responded that made the Vessels and even Helen looked at him. He sighed and pointed at the calendar. "You already know what day is today for him."
With that, they looked at the calendar. From there, they saw the date that day was encircled in red ink. The four Vessels nodded understandingly as they faced each other. Helen eyed them curiously.
Misae faced her and spoke. "It's actually the date that Shuichi was anticipating since it's the day that a new novel of Hanasaki Kikue will be released."
"Eh? Could it be that Hiwara-san...?"
Misae nodded with a smile. "That's right. He's a big fan of Hanasaki-sensei."
"Come to think of it, Hanasaki Kikue-sensei is the second generation of the Hanasaki novelists, right?" Eichirou wondered to himself.
"Yes," Hideoki answered. "Hanasaki Kaoru was the first of the fantasy-adventure Hanasaki novelists, as you call it. But she suddenly disappeared in the writing world fourteen years ago, only to find out that she was killed."
Of course, the last part surprised most of them. However, Helen was surprisingly stoic about that and Itsuki couldn't help noticing it. Hideoki continued speaking.
"The novelist that Shuichi was a fan of was said to be the protégé of Hanasaki Kaoru who decided to continue her legacy in the writing world, making Hanasaki Kikue the second generation of the Hanasaki novelists."
"Dad, you sure knew a lot about the Hanasaki novelists," Eichirou couldn't help commenting that only made the girls smile.
"I was a fan of Hanasaki Kaoru, Eichirou, in case you're not aware of it."
Helen smiled at that while the others couldn't hide the surprise that they felt because of that small revelation. It seemed that Hideoki knew Hanasaki Kaoru quite well if they were to base it from the way he said those words.
"Well, at least Shuichi has something good to look forward to," Eichirou commented soon after in which the others only replied with a nod. "Let's just hope he still has the same energy he has now for him to keep up with the training later."
xxxxxx
Though Shuichi and surprisingly, Natsume were some of the few who made it early for the opening of the mall where the bookstore was, they were still surprised to see many people lining up just to get a copy of the newest release of Hanasaki Kikue's novel for that quarter. Well, who wouldn't be hyped up for that? The said novelist was an incredible find in the writing world, and the two boys couldn't help agreeing.
"It's a good thing we left the house earlier, even though Hideoki-san was supposed to announce something about Tennouji-san and your training on Reikarajutsu," Natsume said as he returned his focus on the line ahead of him.
Shuichi spoke soon after. "It was about Helen going to teach us on Reikarajutsu since she appeared to have a fair knowledge about it."
"If you ask me, from the way Hideoki-san was treating Tennouji-san, she seems to be quite skillful about it that your mentor would actually allow her to teach you guys."
Not just skillful, but also powerful. But Shuichi decided not to voice out that thought since it was just his observation. He was able to feel quite a powerful flow of Hasureiki coming from her. It was the first time he felt something like that. If one would ask him, Helen seemed to be a person whom he shouldn't underestimate just because she had only arrived at the mansion.
As they were waiting for the bookstore to finally open, there was a certain boutique that caught Shuichi's attention. To be precise, a pink denim jacket with a six-winged figure design on both its arms. It was worn by a mannequin placed as a display among other similar denim jackets there, only different in color and design. He couldn't understand why he thought of Helen at the sight of that pink jacket.
Now that he remembered it, Helen appeared to have an affinity on the color pink when it comes to her clothings. At least, he was able to discern it during her last visit at the mansion--- the first time they met her.
"Is there something wrong, Shuichi-san?" Natsume asked, snapping Shuichi out of his musings in the process.
The biker shook his head and focused himself on waiting once again. "I wonder when will she finally make an appearance to the public."
"Hmm?"
"Hanasaki-sensei. She already debuted in the writing world four years ago and each of her novels were a hit every time they were released. But she never made an appearance to the public ever since then."
Natsume nodded. "That's true. I'm kind of sad because of that. Even though she takes time to answer most of the fan mails sent to her by hand, I still want to see her personally."
The same thing was also making Shuichi sad. It was a rare thing for a famous biker and racer like him to be interested in reading novels written by a female novelist. But the fantasy genre was something that had always interested him, even when he was a kid. It was his mother Hiwara Mai who introduced him to the works of the first generation Hanasaki novelist--- Hanasaki Kaoru. They had truly made his imagination go wild at the time. That was why he even cried when he learned that Hanasaki Kaoru died and won't be able to continue writing anymore.
Even still, reading those works still managed to keep his sanity intact, especially after the fire that killed his parents. When Hanasaki Kikue debuted four years ago, Shuichi had to admit that he doubted the second generation Hanasaki novelist's ability. For him, at the time, no one could surpass Hanasaki Kaoru. But it immediately disappeared when he read Hanasaki Kikue's debut novel Phoenix Knight. Since then, he became a big fan of the second generation Hanasaki novelist.
"We can't do anything about it. She still wasn't prepared to face the public, according to her agent and editor. So until the time comes that she finally appears to her fans, we just have to show her our support," Shuichi said and tapped Natsume's shoulder.
Natsume nodded. "You're right. We'll just have to keep supporting her so that she'll know how much we appreciate her work."
xxxxxx
In the Tareus Dimension, the Great Shadow Defenders were busy awaiting the result from the gathered human energy poured to the slumbering Emperor Darshao. But more than an hour had passed and the emperor remained asleep.
"Not enough... It's not yet enough," Siriso growled lowly before punching the pillar where he was leaning at.
"The Seitengers are really interferring with our business. Who would've thought that those brats could truly give us a hard time even though they've been just awakened?" Nemia said as she put back the large jar where the gathered energy was placed before pouring it down to the emperor.
"As you said, Nemia, they're just brats. They won't last long if we keep up doing what we should do to revive the emperor and finally end everything related to the Vessels and the Hundred Heavens." This time, it was Karkino who said those words.
But Orcus only scoffed and left the room before Karkino could even retort to the degrading response coming from their strategist.
"It seems you're not bothered at all, Orcus. You look like you have something in mind about our situation," Alvre commented that only made Orcus stop to his tracks.
But he didn't bother facing his comrades and fellow Great Shadow Defenders when he spoke. "I don't think you'll like the idea of those brats, as you call them, to beat us up when they finally got a chance to strengthen their abilities." Before he could even allow the others to say something, he finally left the room and headed somewhere else.
Siriso snarled as he looked at the retreating figure of Orcus. "That Orcus! Who does he think he is for saying that?"
But the others remained silent as they find the strategist's words to be something quite bothersome, which only made them think that there was some truth behind it.
"For now, we just have to do everything we can to revive our emperor. He's the only one who can end those brats in one attack without us making any effort at all. Gathering energy from the humas' negative emotions and also from their hopelessness is our priority," Nemia said a few moments later that broke the tensed silence.
With that, Alvre faced one side of the room and spoke. "It seems you've finally arrived, my monster."
A Triske Monster whose features were based on the hybrid of motorcycle and automatic machine gun appeared before the remaining Great Shadow Defenders in that room.
"You called, Alvre-sama?"
"I don't have to explain things to you because I know that you're aware of what we should do. I'll give you the job to gather human energy this time. But prioritize in gathering hopelessness. And if anyone gets in the way, finish them!"
The monster obliged and bowed before the female assassin.
xxxxxx
The other Vessels, together with Helen and the two elders, were just done eating breakfast and was about to wash the dishes and fix the table when Shuichi and Natsume had finally arrived together from the mall.
"Both of you! You're late," Eichirou started that only made the others laugh at that.
"Sorry about that. The line was long," Shuichi explained, complete with an apologetic look as he approached Eichirou and tapped the photographer's shoulder. "Here's a compensation." He gave a small paper bag to Eichirou who only eyed it suspiciously. Shuichi sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's the CD that you've been asking from me for weeks now."
With that, Eichirou's expression brightened and immediately grabbed the paper bag from Shuichi that only made the latter smile. It wasn't just Eichirou who had a gift from Shuichi, though. Even the other Vessels got theirs and all of it were just the things that they were looking at the shop weeks ago. Not long after, they soon noticed that Shuichi was carrying two more paper bags.
They were sure that the first one was the book that Shuichi was waiting for. But the other one was something that they didn't have any idea about the content. Shuichi looked around the dining room, as if looking for someone. Then he faced Erika.
"Where's Helen?" he asked.
"Hmm... Probably in the garden. For some reason, she liked staying there."
Shuichi just nodded and headed to the garden that only confused the others. When they looked at Erika, she just shrugged and continued piling the plates for her to be able to start washing them.
Just as the pianist had said, Helen was staying in the garden facing her laptop and seemed to be typing something down. Shuichi hesitated whether or not he would approach her when she appeared to be busy doing... something.
I'm just going to give this to her. Nothing more. Well, if this could start a proper conversation with Helen, then it was for the best. He really couldn't help feeling something mysterious about the girl but he wasn't mentioning anything to his friends as he didn't want to further thicken the tension that Itsuki was creating because of his blunt suspicion towards Helen.
Helen stopped typing when she noticed a shadow approaching her. Upon raising her head, she was surprised to see Shuichi carrying two paper bags.
"Hiwara-san? Do you need anything?" she asked as a start since she wasn't sure about the biker's purpose for approaching her, anyway.
He shook his head and smiled a bit. "You're isolating yourself from the others again. Is it about Itsuki?"
Helen chuckled and shook her head before closing her laptop. "No, even though I have to admit that his stare could really suffocate anyone when he wants to," she joked before getting serious. "I just want to stay somewhere peaceful for a bit so that I could finish what I needed to do. Anyway, what made you come here? You should eat breakfast first since you've just arrived from the mall. Hideoki-san's cooking is very delicious. I've never tasted anything like that in my life."
"I know. We've known that ever since he decided to take care of us after... the fire." But before the atmosphere between Shuichi and Helen could become depressing, he handed the black paper bag to Helen. "I got this for you. I hope you like it."
Without a doubt, Helen was surprised to see that. She couldn't think of what to do for a while there and she was just looking at the paper bag being handed to her. Shuichi beckoned her to take it and after a few more moments, she finally took it--- albeit hesitatingly. "T-thank you. But... why are you giving this to me?"
"Well, you won't expect something like this from Itsuki, right? I know he's not exactly very welcoming ever since you came here. But I don't want to do that to you. You're Erika's friend. Trust me, I haven't met anyone that Erika would call like that besides us who had lived here with Eichirou and Hideoki-san for the past ten years. I just want to welcome you now that you're going to stay here."
Helen chose not to say anything at the moment. Instead, she had a look at the content of that paper bag. Her eyes widened when she finally took the item out, only to see a pink denim jacket with a six-winged figure design on the left arm. Even though she shouldn't feel it at the moment, she couldn't contain her happiness at the sight of it.
"This is amazing, Hiwara-san!" Moments later, she faced the biker with a wide smile. "Thank you! I like it so much!"
"That's good to know." For some reason, Shuichi could feel something warm rising up from his chest at the sight of that grateful smile from Helen. It was a little different from the feeling he had whenever he would hand a gift to either Misae or Erika. "You really like the color pink, huh?" he couldn't help commenting.
"Hmm... Pink makes me happy. Or at least it gives off that kind of vibe whenever I look at it. But the color that I really like is---"
But she was soon cut off with the beeping coming from Shuichi's Celestial Shifter. The atmosphere became tensed at that and the biker took the said device from the holster placed on his right side. When he looked at Helen, she just nodded once, indicating that she understood and that she was wishing him good luck.
With that, Shuichi turned around and almost immediately saw the rest of the team waiting for him.
"Let's go."
The other Vessels nodded and ran off to head to the site of another Tarean attack.
As for Helen, she stayed looking at the direction where the Vessels ran off to. Soon after, she shifted her focus on the pink denim jacket that Shuichi just gave to him. She smiled sadly as she ran her fingers on the embroidered six-winged figure design on its left arm.
"I guess pink and green was never a good color combination, huh? And to think green is the color that I really like," she muttered and then she took out the smaller cydrindical item from her right jacket pocket. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll protect them. I know I have to."
With that resolve she uttered, she removed the light pink cardigan that she was wearing and put on the denim jacket that Shuichi gave. After that, she placed her laptop on top of the table by the porch and headed off, with Kanako following her.
xxxxxx
At the famous racing stadium in town, the motorcycle-based Triske Monster had already created a transparent dome around the stadium, trapping civilians inside in the process. There were those who managed to escape, thankfully. But there are more civilians trapped inside the dome, particularly racers preparing for a big race for the coming week.
The monster was challenging racers in the area in a race to death.
"You got to be kidding me... We would race with that heck of a creature who doesn't even know the rules," one racer commented.
But before the others could agree to that or even retaliate, the trapped individuals saw that the dome released a surge of electricity coming from both the top of the dome and from the ground, as well. In the process, the victim's energy would be drained from them.
"So... no one would race against me, then? Either way, you won't win against me. I'm the fastest racer ever and none of you would be able to beat me to it," the monster gloated before cackling loudly.
"Just because you're a monster doesn't mean you're already the best there is."
The monster stopped cackling almost immediately and turned around to look for the source of those words. When he already found the person who turned out to be a racer who was still wearing his helmet---covering his face from the others, the monster approached the person and stopped just a few feet in front of him.
"Who do you think you are to say that to me, puny human?"
The masked racer could be heard scoffing. "Why? You can't accept that there's someone who's still better than you? I doubt you could beat that person at all. He wasn't called the racing world's Fire of the Fang just for the heck of it."
"Fire of the Fang?"
"He's not talking about...?"
But the monster just laughed sarcastically and faced the masked racer once more. "Fire of the Fang, huh? The nickname's not even that scary to hear. So where's this Fire of the Fang that you're talking about? Let me have a race with him and I'll prove it to you puny humans that no one can beat me to it."
"Do you really think he would waste his time racing with the likes of you?" the masked racer taunted once more.
"Hey, Raisaki! What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you want to get electrocuted?"
"You're putting Hiwara in danger with what you're doing!"
"Then let this monster do it!" the masked racer who soon revealed himself as Raisaki Amuro upon removing the helmet dared with conviction. "That's the only thing it was good at, anyway. If it can't accept the truth that there's always someone better than this monster, it would eletrocute anyone who it thinks would get in its way."
"You little---!" Before the monster could even stop itself, it ordered the dome to release surges of electricity to Amuro and several other racers inside.
None of the victims were able to avoid it, therefore electrocuting them and draining their energies. One by one, the affected humans collapsed to the ground. The remaining civilians trapped inside the dome only backed off and cowered in fear before running away from there, even if it was just to hide from that monster.
"Stop right there, Tarean!"
All of those who heard that, including the Triske Monster, turned to the source of it. But they didn't see anyone from that direction and the monster even had to look around wildly just to see the source of that voice. Soon after, the dome slowly showed signs of cracking before fully being destroyed, causing an explosion above the stadium. When the rage of the explosion dissipated, the monster saw five figures holding weapons.
"Ah. So the Seitengers have finally appeared."
As it turned out, it was indeed the Seitengers holding their personal weapons who appeared before the Triske Monster and the ones who destroyed the dome. But the warriors were surprised to see other people already unconscious and had collapsed to the ground. SeitenWater and SeitenEarth looked around and both of them were able to see a few more people hiding from the monster in some areas of the stadium.
SeitenWind and SeitenLight did what was necessary and approached the still conscious civilians to help them escape together with the affected humans that the Triske Monster attacked.
"Everyone! Run to the exit, okay? You're free now," SeitenLight said to the others.
"If you can, will you help us up carrying the other people that the monster had hurt earlier?" SeitenWind inquired as politely as she could.
Thankfully, there were those who didn't hesitate to help as most of the attacked humans were their fellow racers who didn't want to deal with the Triske Monster. As for the other three Seitengers, they were the ones who dealt with the summoned Gargonema and the creature who soon introduced itself as the Triske Monster Motross.
"Motross? Somehow, I can feel that his name does fits him," SeitenWater couldn't help commenting as he dealt with the Gargonema surrounding him using the Shark Water Spear. Soon after, he began casting his attack as he spun the weapon. "Sacred Water Whirl!"
The spear was surrounded with a blue glow together with a water-like silhouette circling the blade. The spinning of the weapon allowed SeitenWater to cast it towards the Gargonema, destroying them all in that one attack.
"I guess Shuichi-san has to deal with a Triske Monster who does the same thing as he could," SeitenEarth said as he eyed the said red warrior who only replied with a shrug before fending off the Gargonema on his side. He soon charged his Tiger Earth Slasher with Hasureiki and cast his attack using it. "Sacred Earth Crash!"
Soon after, he stabbed his weapon hard towards the group of Gargonema on his end and none of the enemies were able to avoid that. SeitenEarth made sure that no Gargonema would survive when he did that.
As for SeitenFire, he cast a fire spell towards the group of Gargonema that he was dealing with as soon as he split his Lion Fire Blade in two, thus forming twin swords. "Sacred Fire Helix!"
The spell was thrown towards the enemy and had even affected Motross when he leapt and spun around in order for the spell to cover more ground, to make sure that every enemy was dealt with. When SeitenFire landed to the ground, he looked around to check if there were anymore civilians in the area. His sight soon landed on one area where he saw something that stiffened him because of shock.
"Amuro?"
When the other two Seitengers heard that, they followed the direction that SeitenFire was looking at and soon approached in order to confirm his suspicion. To their surprise, it was indeed Amuro who was among the unconscious racers in the area. The said racer's uncle Matsumoto Yushiro was the one helping SeitenWind and SeitenLight in evacuating the other civilians as the man carried Amuro just right after SeitenFire approached the other racer.
"You're kidding, right? Even Amuro got hurt," SeitenWater said as he approached the red warrior.
But that alone was enough for the blue warrior to sense something dangerous towards SeitenFire.
"This isn't good..." SeitenWater muttered as he faced SeitenEarth who just shrugged, as if saying that it was something to be expected.
xxxxxx
"Are you sure we should be here, Tennouji-san? We could watch the battle from the lab, you know," Kanako said to Helen as they reached the rooftop of the tallest building near the racing stadium where the Tarean attack was currently happening.
But Helen didn't say anything for a while and Kanako understood the reason why. The said Vessel Support followed the direction where Helen was looking. She was surprised to see the number of victims even from her position.
"Something tells me that one of the Seitengers is about to gain something important from their battle with this Triske Monster," Helen said softly as she faced Kanako.
"What exactly is your purpose in coming to the Mizuhashi mansion?" Kanako bluntly questioned the girl who only eyed her blankly. "You seem to know a lot about the Tareans and the Vessels. It also appears that you're not just a normal Vessel Support to me, if you really are one."
Moments later, Helen just smiled that caught Kanako off-guard for a little while before she eyed the stadium once more. "I guess I do give off a suspicious impression to most of you, huh?"
"Well, you can't help it if it was like that. You suddenly appeared to Erika-chan when you haven't even communicated with her for the past years since you two separated."
"You're wrong on that part," Helen immediately reacted. "Erika and I were communicating even after the fire. In fact, she was the one who first reached out to me, especially when Hideoki-san decided to take them in and raise them as his own children."
"Then... why didn't you appear to her if it was like that?"
Helen sighed and looked at the sky for a short while. But even from there, Kanako couldn't help noticing the girl's eyes seemed to have a deep sadness lingering in them.
"I have a different mission, one that keeps me away from home and from my friends most of the time." Soon after, Helen changed the subject of the conversation. "Though the Seitengers are indeed progressing, the worst has yet to come for them."
Kanako frowned at Helen's words, more on the last sentence rather than the sudden change of the topic. "What do you mean?"
"The fast progress of the Seitengers would soon force the Great Shadow Defenders to take actions on their own if this continues," Helen stated gravely.
Of course, Kanako was aware of the Dark Emperor's retainers and their possible abilities if she were to base it on the records she had read ever since she was young. But from the way Helen said those words, it seemed that the records didn't fully state the capabilities of their enemies. If that were the case, then the hard time was yet to come not just for the Seitengers, but to the rest of the people who were supporting the chosen Vessels.
The worst is yet to come...If that was the case, then... Kanako couldn't help thinking of those words over and over before facing the somber-looking Helen eyeing the racing stadium, as if observing the situation from there. This girl...
Just what was the extent of Helen's knowledge with regards to the Vessels and everything related to them? Though she could understand why Itsuki was suspicious of Helen from the start, for some reason Kanako could feel that there was something more than what Helen was telling her about the possible worst scenario that was about to come. But if this girl could help them defeat the enemy in any way at all, then perhaps...
xxxxxx
The dangerous tension that SeitenWater initially felt from SeitenFire soon escalated that only made the red warrior charge towards the Triske Monster who was standing up from the attack that was thrown to it earlier.
"You bastard! How dare you hurt my friend?!" SeitenFire growled as he brought out his Lion Fire Blade in twin blade mode once more and attacked Motross in simultaneous slashing attacks.
SeitenWater could only groan in frustration as he watched the biker attacked like that. "I'll definitely not going to try messing with any of Shuichi's friends."
"I told you, it's already expected," SeitenEarth said as soon as he approached the blue warrior. "Amuro-san might be his ultimate rival in racing, but he was also his childhood friend. He had known him even before the hotel fire."
Soon after, the two female Seitengers were done evacuating the victims and the other civilians still conscious. They approached the other two Seitengers who were just watching SeitenFire attack Motross in a fit of rage.
"We need to help him deal with that monster," SeitenWind suggested that the others only replied with a nod.
But before any of the four warriors could approach SeitenFire and help him, more Gargonemas were summoned and immediately attacked them. This time, SeitenWind and SeitenLight decided to combine their powers to wipe them all out at once using spells from their personal weapons.
"Sacred Wind Tempest!"
"Sacred Light Driver!"
The two spells that the two female Seitengers cast using an energy arrow from the Wind Falcon Arrow and an energy slash attack coming from the Dove Light Striker, which soon combined to form an even stronger energy attack, were thrown towards the oncoming Gargonemas. In one strike, the Gargonemas were all destroyed just like that.
"Now that is one scary combination attack from both of you," SeitenWater commented. "Let's go. I don't think Shuichi would be able to concentrate properly with him attacking the monster like that for hurting Amuro."
The others agreed to that. But before they could even take a step towards their comrade, they heard SeitenFire's scream who was thrown because of a beam attack from Motross.
"Shuichi!"
"Shuichi-san!"
The attack wasn't enough to bring SeitenFire down and it was easy for him to recover from that. He was supposed to counter that when all of a sudden, the Seitengers saw that the lower part of the Triske Monster's body transformed to something similar to the structure of a motorcycle.
"Seriously, this monster is definitely living up to its name," SeitenWater commented in which the others only responded with a sigh.
This guy could really create a way to lighten up the moment despite the thick tension. Now they were wondering where could he had gotten that kind of talent.
But at the moment, their main concern was to deal with Motross who was now transformed into something that would be ready to race with anyone. At that moment---
"Red guy, you seem to be someone who could take up a racing challenge, huh? How about a race with me?" Motross challenged in a mocking tone.
SeitenFire didn't say anything as a response, though, even when the other Seitengers helped him recover from that last attack. Soon after, the female Seitengers decided to deal with another group of oncoming Gargonemas on their own as they asked the other two Sseitengers to stay with SeitenFire and help him in any way they could to deal with Motross.
"I think this monster could sense someone with the ability to take up his racing challenge," SeitenEarth concluded as he faced SeitenFire. "What do you want to do, Shuichi-san?"
Once again, the red warrior didn't say anything about that. But before he could even say anything with regards to that, they were surprised to see Motross suddenly speeding up and about to charge towards the three male Seitengers. They prepared themselves for the oncoming attack, but what they had expected to happen didn't occur. When they turned to where they now knew Motross headed to, they were stunned once again---this time, for the reason that Motross attacked both SeitenWind and SeitenLight who were busy dealing with the multiplying number of Gargonemas trying to kill them.
"Misae! Erika!" SeitenFire yelled in shock before getting thrown all of a sudden together with SeitenWater and SeitenEarth. It seemed that Motross also targeted them after dealing with SeitenWind and SeitenLight.
The intensity of the speed attack disabled the Seitengers' transformations, with the exception of SeitenFire's. Though he was able to withstand the attack's intensity, it was still enough for him to lose his strength. But he musn't fall down now, especially when this monster just attacked his friends like that.
"Shuichi... Be careful," Eichirou managed to say to SeitenFire, even though the said warrior didn't spare them a glance.
Itsuki tried to stand up in order to check on Misae and his sister Erika. "Erika! Erika! Wake up!"
The photographer followed suit so that he could still do something to protect their unconscious female comrades. Using a spell to draw up water from underground, Eichirou used that to create a clear ice shield so that they could still managed to check on the situation between SeitenFire and Motross. From the looks of it, the red warrior had already accepted the monster's challenge---albeit forced and done out of rage.
Just as Eichirou thought, SeitenFire had already thought of accepting Motross' racing challenge. He could tell that this monster would only feel satisfied if it found a worthy opponent in one thing it does best. The red warrior spared a glance towards his comrades now hurt, while his female comrades were now unconscious because of this heck of a monster.
When he faced the monster once more, he caught a glance of his favorite motorcycle---the one he received as a gift from his deceased father.
I could use that. But then... Damn it! Does he have to hesitate now? Besides, SeitenFire would only feel satisfaction in doing the race when he used the motorcycle that only made him feel as if his father was still near him and alive in his heart. If he used that, would his father also feel satisfaction, knowing that SeitenFire would use it to defeat the enemy that was trashing down the racers' dreams and passion?
xxxxxx
Inside SeitenFire's suit, it can be seen that Shuichi's eyes were closed before they snapped open once he finally made a decision. In a hurry, he ran towards the direction of the parked motorcycle before jumping in order to avoid Motross' beams firing at him. When he was able to ride the vehicle and started its engine, he took out his bladeless HyakuReiDer and pointed it towards Motross now coming at him. The said device emanated a red glow surrounding the silhouette of a lion's head that came out of it.
"Lion Laser!"
Red laser attack with the silhouette of a lion's head was soon fired towards Motross and soon after, he began riding the motorcycle. This time, he was able to catch up with the monster who also started the race.
"Racing was something that Shuichi-san was really proud of, even before," Itsuki commented before noticing that his sister was regaining consciousness. "Erika!"
Misae was also regaining consciousness and was able to stand up with the help of Eichirou. "So it's a bad idea for this monster to use racing as a device to create chaos. It ended up gaining a formidable enemy in Shuichi because of that."
"But he still shouldn't let his guard down," Erika said right after that. "Motross is also serious when it comes to racing. Even if it means destroying everything that got in its way."
"That means all we can do for now is to watch how the events will unfold, huh?"
The others nodded in agreement. It would be a mistake for them to disturb the duel between two racers like that.
But dealing with Motross' speed was something that Shuichi would never consider a piece of cake, especially when the lower part---the motorcycle part---of the monster was actually sending out beams towards him so that he would be defeated and beaten. Even though he was able to send out beams using his HyakuReiDer, it wasn't enough.
Does this monster call itself a great racer when it's cheating like this? SeitenFire could only think of as he continued firing Lion Laser just to block the beams coming towards him while driving the motorcycle.
Before he could even think on how to attack the monster again, another beam was sent towards him. He was supposed to fire another laser attack, bigger than the last in order to block it. But all of a sudden, the red warrior got distracted with a sudden flash of red light coming from the lotus symbol on his helmet.
"What?!"
It wasn't just him who was surprised with that flash. Even the other Vessels couldn't hide the shock they felt because of that. From their far position, both Kanako and Helen had also felt the same thing as it was happening.
"What is that light?" Kanako couldn't help asking.
"Could that be...?" Helen only muttered with a frown.
The sudden event caused too much distraction, not just for SeitenFire but also for Motross. The said monster fired an even larger beam after the previous one towards the red warrior once more.
"Die!"
Though he tried to veer away from the oncoming beam, the sharp turn done just to avoid the oncoming attack had only made SeitenFire lose his balance and topple down together with the motorcycle. When he got up, his eyes widened upon seeing the beam about to hit him. He was able to cast a larger fire spell using his HyakuReiDer in order to block it somehow. But the intensity of the attack made him unable to hold out much longer. Not to mention that he was already weak because of the previous attacks that the monster did to him. In the end, the beam had hit both him and his motorcycle, despite his efforts to protect it.
"Shuichi!"
"Shuichi-san!"
The other Vessels dashed towards the terribly injured Shuichi whose transformation was now disabled and was only forcing himself to get up but to no avail. He lost consciousness soon after.
"We need to retreat for now," Misae suggested as he cradled Shuichi's unconscious body.
The others nodded since it would be impossible for them to deal with Motross at the moment in their current state. They needed to think of a counterattack in order for them to end this. But Itsuki sensed something weird from the ground as soon as he touched it. When he turned to the source of the strange sensation, his eyes widened at the sight of Motross about to fire a beam attack towards them.
The composer firmly hit his hand to the ground and soon after, vines came out from it. After that, he faced Eichirou. "You think you can do that spell again? We can't let Motross create anymore damage to this place or to Shuichi-san."
The photographer immediately understood what Itsuki meant by those words. Using the same way that Itsuki cast his spell, Eichirou also hit his hand to the ground and allowed the spell he was able to think of to travel towards Motross. The resulting ice barrier erected from one part of it had blocked the monster's beam. It was followed by two large icicles stabbing the motorcycle-like body of the Triske Monster. The attack made Motross scream in pain before retreating almost immediately that the Vessels felt that the events went like a blur to them.
The Vessels could only heave a sigh of relief for now after the two Vessels allowed their spells to dissipate.
However, the damage obviously seen that was done to Shuichi and his motorcycle, even to the stadium, was enough proof that everything that had happened was real.
xxxxxx
The day didn't even end and Shuichi was finally able to regain consciousness despite the injuries he sustained from Motross. That was why Misae couldn't help feeling worried for the biker because it was obvious that Shuichi was forcing himself to move.
"Shuichi, you should rest for now. You're still hurt," she suggested but it seemed that her words fell on deaf ears.
Misae sighed at that. She knew this trait of his very well, especially when he was truly acting stubborn that he would refuse to listen to anyone at all. The past ten years that they lived at the Mizuhashi mansion together made her able to know a lot about Shuichi. Not just the biker, but also the other Vessels.
But before Shuichi could even take a step outside his room, he looked at Misae who was only pouting and had placed both hands on her waist. "How did you manage to bring me here? You guys were also injured."
"Both Helen-chan and Kanako arrived just in time to help us using Doctor Tsukimori's car," Misae explained, mentioning Kanako's father. "As for the other people that Motross attacked, they didn't sustain heavy injuries and they'll recover after a few days of rest, according to Akira and Natsume who decided to check on their situation."
Shuichi nodded and sighed in relief, knowing that Amuro was alright despite what happened. He clenched his fist when he recalled something that he had seen in Amuro's mind when he touched his unconscious friend a while back. Just as how Itsuki awakened his sharp senses using the power of the earth as soon as his Hasureiki was awakened, Shuichi was able to obtain a certain ability after the awakening.
It was the ability to discern thoughts of other people using their warmth. To his surprise when he first used that, he was also able to determine even their past lives and hidden secrets using the same way. However, there was a side effect as his ability could also drain a considerable amount of energy from the person whose thoughts he was trying to discern, creating a dizzying effect towards the subject. He didn't know the reason why it was like that. But because of that, he knew he had to be careful in using his ability unless it was extremely necessary for him to use it.
"What did you see in Amuro's mind when you touched him a while back?" Misae asked, breaking the silence between them and snapping him out of his musings.
Shuichi sighed and faced the archer. "I only saw his recklessness when he taunted the monster earlier."
"Recklessness?"
He nodded and smiled before going out of the room.
"Wait a minute! What was that supposed to mean?" Misae inquired as she followed the biker.
"Does he really think the Fire of the Fang could truly beat Motross?"
"Well, you're the Fire of the Fang, idiot! If that monster wasn't cheating like that by firing beam attacks, you would've won that death race." Misae paused when she recalled something. "Come to think of it, your nickname in the racing world has truly matched your powers right now, huh?"
"Misae..."
The archer just smiled and tapped Shuichi's shoulder. "For now, I think it would be best if you rest. You might not like it, but we'll definitely use you as a center of our strategy to deal with Motross."
"Just as I was expecting."
But the resolve that Shuichi was feeling at the moment soon dissipated upon remembering the events a while back that truly knocked him down like that. Before he could truly feel something depressing because of that, he went out of the room and headed to the living area of the house. When he got there, he heard Itsuki explaining the events that happened during the battle to both Hideoki and Nanami.
The biker clenched his fist tight when he heard Itsuki mention the result of it to his favorite motorcycle---that it took a greater damage because of that beam attack from Motross. Before he could even stop his tears from falling, he heard Itsuki asked one particular question that soon filled the area with tension.
"How come Helen was in the area, anyway?" the composer asked rather curtly.
"I gave the permission for her to go there. Besides, watching the battle sequence from there was something she needed in order to learn more about all of you."
"She could've done that from the satellite footage coming from the Doctor's Hasureiki-powered satellite."
"Sorry to break it down to you, but my father's satellite still needed some repair after something attacked it last week. So he needed to bring it back here on Earth to fix it," Kanako said as she entered the room carrying a tray containing glasses of vegetable juice. "Maybe you should drink that for now, Itsuki-kun. Hopefully, that will calm you down and help you recover."
Shuichi smiled at how calm Kanako was being even when Itsuki was acting grumpily like that. He, too, was aware of what happened to the satellite that Doctor Tsukimori Genma created. But at the moment, the reason for the satellite to take that damage was still a mystery. Perhaps they'd be able to solve it later on.
Erika was supposed to say something about her brother's mood, but she soon noticed one particular thing. "Come to think of it... Where is Helen-chan?"
xxxxxx
The girl they were looking for was actually at the garden watching the recordings of the earlier battle. But to the Vessels' surprise, Helen was watching it using a smaller cylindrical item together with her laptop.
"That girl is really taking things easy," Itsuki grumbled. "She's definitely going to get it this time."
But before he could take a step to approach Helen and reprimand her for the nonchalant attitude she was showing towards the situation, a bandaged hand soon blocked him off that surprised the composer. When Itsuki looked up, he saw Shuichi's gaze fixated to Helen and Eichirou shook his head, signaling him that he shouldn't do anything at the moment.
"Why?"
However, the answer he got was something that caught the two older Vessels' attention. Itsuki followed direction to where their gazes were fixated. That was when he finally understood why they stopped him from doing anything to Helen. Shuichi and Eichirou's focus was on the cylindrical item that Helen was using to play the recordings. It was the same as how the Celestial Shifters were projecting the situation of a Tarean attack to the Vessels.
"But... how?"
None of them were able to came up with an answer. Shuichi's mind, however, was more concerned about the six wings on one end of that cylinder. A certain question ran in his head as soon as he saw that. Was it just a coincidence that the six wings was also stitched on the pink denim jacket that Shuichi gave to Helen as a gift before?
Before any of the male Vessels could do anything, they soon saw Misae approaching Helen who still seemed to be unaware of the Vessels' presence.
"Helen-chan," the archer called out that soon caught the girl's attention.
Helen turned around and finally saw the Vessels now approaching her. "Everyone... You seem to recover quite fast. Especially you, Hiwara-san."
"It takes more than this to bring me down for good," Shuichi answered proudly that made Helen smile.
"Why are you watching the battle sequence from earlier?" Eichirou asked.
The girl's focus soon returned to the footage and typed something down from her laptop, thereby rewinding the events she was just watching a while back until it reached the scene where the sudden flash of red light appeared from the lotus symbol on SeitenFire's helmet. She soon paused it right there.
"What are you thinking?" Erika inquired somberly that surprised the other Vessels.
For a while, Helen didn't say anything. She was just looking at the paused footage intently.
"Why did that happen, anyway?" Misae muttered as she, too, was looking at the paused footage.
Moments later, Helen faced the Vessels who were all looking at her, much to her surprise and confusion at the same time. "You guys can be a little scary when you all look at me like that."
"Sorry..."
"Setting that aside for now... Are you guys aware of the Guardian Medallions?"
Now it wasn't just Helen who felt confused, but also the Vessels because of that question.
"Don't tell me... you're not aware of it?"
"There's a reason for that, Helen," Hideoki was the one who responded that made the Vessels, and even Kanako and Helen turn to the source of it. "They haven't heard about it, that's why. I should've mentioned it to them as soon as they were awakened."
"What's a Guardian Medallion, Dad?" Eichirou asked his father.
"It's the second classification of the Spirit Power Medallions. As you know, the Vessel Medallions were the first and the more known classification of the Spirit Power Medallions. They enable you to use the powers of the Grand Vessel Spirits and summon them, as well. The Guardian Medallions hold almost a similar purpose and power."
"Really?"
Helen nodded as her response to Misae. Once again, she faced the paused footage and played it soon after.
"But Helen, why bring up the topic about the Guardian Medallions all of a sudden? And what's that device you're using to replay the footage from the previous battle?"
The said girl sighed as she resumed her previous work of analyzing the footage. "Eichirou-san, despite the childishness of your actions sometimes, you sure ask a lot of questions, huh?"
"Well, a child can truly be a curious being, right? It's already natural," the photographer responded, not at least offended when Helen called him childish.
Helen chuckled while the other Vessels shook their heads. This guy was truly unbelievable in more ways than one. They realized that now.
"Alright. I'll answer your second question," Helen declared soon after that made the atmosphere serious almost immediately. She stopped replaying the footage and showed the cylindrical device to the Vessels. "This was something that Professor created for me when I was eight. He said that I needed a reliable device that will aid me when the time comes that I'll start supporting the Vessels. Professor gave it the name Astral Shifter, basing it from the fact that I like stargazing."
"Astral... Shifter?!" the Vessels chorused in surprise.
The device wasn't what they thought it was, right? The Vessels looked at each other and if they were to base it on their respective expressions, it appeared that they were thinking of the same thing. Soon after, they all eyed Helen who was just looking at them innocently.
Now this girl needed to give them answer to another mystery that baffled them.
xxxxxx
The gathered energy was poured into the slumbering emperor and like as usual, the Great Shadow Defenders waited in anticipation for a result. But just like before, Emperor Darshao remained asleep and not even a single effect could be seen after that. Alvre growled in frustration and faced Motross rashly.
"How come you gathered only this much? Were you only out racing again? I thought I gave you a clear order of gathering energy!"
"B-but Alvre-sama! I've done the job just as you asked. And yet there are humans these days who aren't even afraid of what I can do and have even the guts to mock me and my speed," Motross reasoned, trying not to stammer in fear for its boss.
"Who cares about those humans? You should've just taken their energies and make them suffer endlessly!"
"Alvre-sama..."
"If you ask me, even I would sympathize with your Triske Monster, Alvre," Siriso interjected before Alvre could even get frustrated and take it all out to Motross. "Especially with those damn Seitenger brats!"
"One of them really put up a fight with your monster's speed, Alvre," Karkino soon said.
Alvre could only heave a sigh just to calm herself down. With two of the Great Shadow Defenders saying things like this, perhaps she should've looked at the situation first before getting frustrated. Patience was supposed to be one of her virtues.
But because of the Seitengers, she was truly losing it.
"Alright," Alvre said soon after. "For Siriso and Karkino's sakes, I'll let it go for now. But give me a better result next time or else!"
Motross raised its head in surprise before bowing down deeply once again. "I'm grateful, Alvre-sama. I'll set out to the surface again and do as you command!"
With that, the Triske Monster left the room where the emperor's sleeping chamber was.
But despite all the commotion, Orcus remained silent that Nemia soon noticed. As inconspicuously as she could, she approached her fellow Great Shadow Defender who was still silent and appeared to have not noticed her approaching.
"You noticed something about the previous battle, didn't you?" Nemia started, but said in a form of statement.
Orcus just sighed before facing the shinobi. "Can I even hide anything from you, Nemia?"
"I'm just observing you. The others are busy ordering people around when they should think of a proper plan to defeat the Seitengers. As long as those brats exist, we won't be able to leave this damn place and conquer the world."
The strategist didn't say anything after that. He just stayed there on his spot watching his comrades thinking of other plans to destroy the only enemy that had ever gotten in their way.
"One of them is about to gain more power," Orcus uttered that only Nemia heard before leaving the room.
xxxxxx
Night time was supposed to be the time for the Vessels to rest their immensely tired and injured bodies in order for them to have the energy to deal with Motross should that monster began attacking again. But Shuichi wasn't in the mood to do something like that.
He might use the reason that his body was moving on its own, that was why he was currently heading to the garage where he was told that his motorcycle was placed there. He made it sure that the others were asleep by now so he had no worries of disturbing them at the moment.
Shuichi turned on the light as soon as he reached the garage. On one side was the car that Hideoki would usually use and even Eichirou. But the one occupying a larger part of the area was his damaged motorcycle. He heaved a sigh--albeit ragged--as he approached it. He couldn't help feeling weak at the sight of the damage that the vehicle had sustained.
He wanted to regret ever deciding to use his favorite motorcycle just to deal with Motross' challenge. But his comrades' lives were more important to him at the time. Besides, he said that he'd deal with the consequences later on.
But how was he supposed to deal with this now?
His teammates knew how precious that motorcycle was to him. It was one of the most important thing he possessed which connected him to his dead father. And now...
Dad... I'm sorry... Shuichi wanted to utter those words but it seemed that it was blocked from his throat. Furthermore, he already lost the strength to even utter them.
Before he could even stop himself, Shuichi collapsed to his knees and cried in front of the damaged motorcycle.
"Dad... I'm sorry for not being careful. This shouldn't have happened to the last gift you gave me if I managed to think calmly at the time. I'm sorry," he uttered in between silent cries as his head was down, unable to look at the motorcycle.
He had always been careful about this particular vehicle ever since he got his license and Hideoki finally allowed him to ride it. But he wasn't able to stop himself at the time. He could've used another motorcycle in order to deal with Motross' challenge. However, he couldn't recall at the moment as to why he ended up using his own motorcycle for that situation.
Shuichi looked up, tears still flowing.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to let everything that had happened to you be put in vain, Fang," he said after a few more moments of silence as he eyed his motorcycle. "Fang" was the name he gave to it as soon as he laid eyes on it 11 years ago. It was when he received it from his father. "I'll defeat Motross, just as Amuro was pointing out before. The Fire of the Fang will put an end to his senseless racing challenge."
As Shuichi gave that promise to the damaged vehicle, it appeared that it was the reason why he became unaware of the other people's presence around the garage. Erika, Itsuki, and Eichirou were leaning outside the first door of the garage. Using the Hoshiyama siblings' abilities in both earth and sound, the three of them were able to hear Shuichi's words. As for Misae, she used her powers over wind to listen to Shuichi's monologue. She was together with Akira, Kanako, and Natsume.
"Now I could understand why Amuro-san doesn't even want to race with a pissed off Shuichi," Misae commented with a sigh. Soon after, she faced the three Vessel Supports. "You think you guys can do something about this?"
The three just stared at each other for a few moments, before nodding detemined. Kanako stepped in to say something.
"We're able to think of a way. But do you think Skylon can lend us a hand with what we're planning?"
Misae frowned as a response.
xxxxxx
The next day, the Vessels felt that the day would turn out good somehow if they were to base it from the news that Akira had brought to them.
"Really? They're all awake?" Erika asked just to make sure.
Akira nodded rather vigorously. "Yes, they are. Though Motross' attack drained their energies and had caused them to collapse that day, there's no other damage done to them."
The rest couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief upon hearing that.
"That's good to hear," Itsuki commented. "But I think we should focus on thinking of a way to deal with Motross and defeat it. We can't let that monster do something like that again."
"That's true," Eichirou responded. "There's a possibility that the racing stadium won't be the only stage that Motross would target."
"So you're saying that it could even include other motorists in the area?"
The photographer nodded grimly in response to Erika's question. "Before that could even happen, we have to stop it. But right now..."
"The only one among us who could up a fight to its senseless racing challenge will be Shuichi-san."
"But I doubt you could calm him down in order to do that, Itsuki," Misae said, speaking for the first time. "Unless we could do something to reason with him and let him accept Motross' challenge regardless of the consequences, I doubt we could let him fight for us."
No one was able to say anything about that. The archer had a point, though. It might be pitiful or frustrating for the others to see Shuichi fret over a damaged motorcycle. But they knew fully well how much Shuichi had treasured that motorcycle. They didn't have any right to say something that would mock the biker's attachment to that vehicle.
It was when Eichirou finally noticed something that made him look around the room. "By the way, where is Shuichi?"
The others finally became aware of the biker's absence. Come to think of it, they didn't see him come out of his room so they assumed that he was still sleeping. But it seemed that it wasn't the case at all.
"Don't tell me he went out again without telling us anything," Eichirou speculated.
"Don't lump him with you, Eichirou-san," Itsuki nonchalantly pointed out.
Eichirou rashly faced the composer. "Hey! I don't always do that, Itsu-chan."
"We'll find him," Kanako volunteered that made the Vessels' attention fixate to her. "Only four Shifters are giving off a signal around the area of the mansion so it means that Shuichi-kun brought his Celestial Shifter with him."
"We can find out where he is using that," Natsume added before facing Akira. "You can start the preparation for that. Once we managed to convince him, we'll head straight to the lab so we could finally set it."
Akira smiled as he did a two-finger salute to his mechanic partner. "Leave it to me."
Soon after, the cousins went out of the mansion in order to track down the biker and talk things with him. But before they could finally leave the area, they stopped when they heard their names being called. Upon looking around, they frowned when they saw Helen approaching them.
"Tennouji-san?"
Heln took a deep breath as soon as she managed to reach Kanako and Natsume before speaking. "Are you going to find Hiwara-san?"
Kanako nodded. "We still need his permission to proceed with the plan we're thinking so he could defeat Motross. Is there something you need?"
The girl didn't say anything. Instead, she took out a brand new book still sealed in plastic. To their confusion, it was the one titled Phoenix Knight---Hanasaki Kikue's first novel that debuted four years ago.
Natsume was the one who decided to ask the question. "Why are you handing us this book?"
"I think it's something that Hiwara-san needed right now. Let's just hope he hadn't forgotten something important. Or else, it'll be impossible for him to deal with Motross, especially on his own," Helen replied gravely before smiling that startled the teenage boy. "It's something that might remind him of that important thing in some ways."
Though confused, the cousins agreed to deliver the said book to Shuichi. Whatever it was that the book was holding, they could only hope that it could really help them talk things out with the biker.
xxxxxx
If it was just a habit or the reason that he had nowhere else to go at the moment, Shuichi didn't want to talk about any of that for now. What mattered to him was that he needed a place where he could clear his mind before heading out for a fight. Motross wasn't defeated yet, so he was sure that the scale of the attack would be larger than the last time.
He went out again to the cliff that he would always go to whenever he wanted to unwind and clear his mind. Though he had made his resolve last night, it wasn't enough for him to think of a way to defeat the monster. Shuichi could've discussed this with the other Vessels, but he didn't want to vent out his frustrations on them.
So going out was probably the right thing to do for now.
But as soon as he got there, for some reason, several memories from his childhood suddenly flooded his mind. Though it wasn't the first time that it happened to him, something was still odd about that.
Using his Celestial Shifter, he decided to know the reason why it was like that. As it turned out, the area around the cliff was surrounded by a mystical energy which was a little different from Hasureiki. Now that he recalled it, he had been able to sense something mysterious about the cliff ever since he first went there with his father when he was a kid. A few years before his mother died, she went there with him.
Come to think of it, this was the place where his mother Hiwara Mai told him about defeating "an enemy with two personas". At the time, he thought about people with multiple personalities. But at the time of the awakening, he recalled her pointing out that the enemy only had two personas.
Does this mean she's been aware of the Tareans' existence since then? But how?
Shuichi looked out to the open once more and focused on sensing his surroundings. But it seemed that his mind was still in disarray that he could only let out a frustrated sigh.
Could he still fight in this situation?
"Shuichi-kun..."
That voice snapped him out of his musings and also made him open his eyes. Shuichi must have been completely frustrated that he was unable to sense Kanako and Natsume approaching. He turned around in order to confirm that it was indeed the cousins who arrived and was now approaching him.
"How did you know I'm here?" he asked casually.
"You brought your Shifter with you, right? We tracked you using that," Kanako replied and had even showed him her laptop.
"I thought the satellite still needed to be repaired. So how come?"
"Most of the instruments that we use can track down Hasureiki-powered devices and some Hasureiki users even without the help of the satellite. Dad made sure that we can do that."
"So this is your favorite place, Shuichi-san?" Natsume asked as he looked around the area. The biker nodded. "It's really peaceful up here."
"You think so, too?"
The boy nodded once again. But soon after, Natsume's expression turned thoughtful that both Shuichi and Kanako noticed.
"What's wrong?" the biker couldn't help but ask out of concern. This was the first time he had seen that kind of expression on Natsume.
"This place... Something's strange about this."
That was when Kanako decided to focus on sensing the mystical energy around the area. Just like Natsume, she also thought that something was strange about the place itself.
"Even though it's faint, I could tell that it came from a powerful source. But the energy around the area was unlike that of the Hasureiki or even the Tarean energy."
"But where could it possibly come from? From the looks of it, this mysterious energy has been here for a long time now," Shuichi couldn't help saying since he was curious about that powerful sensation he was feeling every time he would go to that cliff.
"I'm not sure. But I'll try to research about it, if that would make you feel at ease," Kanako declared that somehow made Shuichi smile. Soon after, she changed the topic of the conversation. "Still bummed about what happened to your motorcycle?"
The small smile on Shuichi's face immediately disappeared just like that as soon as he heard the question. "You're really a blunt person, aren't you, Kanako? Can't you even take it easy when you ask a sensitive question?"
"You know I don't take things easy, Shuichi-kun. But let's get straight to the point, shall we? The reason I asked that was because we managed to think of a way to fix your motorcycle."
Of course, Shuichi was surprised to hear that. But almost immediately, it was replaced with gladness that one of the most important things in his life would still be fixed. At the same time, however, something told him that there was more to it.
"You think you can fix it before Motross would try attacking again?"
"Do you still want to use it to defeat Motross, Shuichi-san?" Natsume couldn't help asking this time.
The biker sighed and looked away. "I don't know why, but I really couldn't find myself using any other motorcycle to deal with that monster. Even though I know my motorcycle won't be able to keep up with the pressure of the combat with the Triske Monster, I still want to use it." Once again, he faced the cousins and smiled bitterly. "It was weird of me to think of it that way, huh?"
It took a while of silence before Natsume or Kanako decided to speak.
"If you're that determined to use your motorcycle to deal with Motross, then we can do an upgrade to it so it can endure the burden of an intense combat you'll be having against the Tareans," Natsume said not long after.
Shuichi's eyes widened upon hearing that. But before he could make a comment, Kanako spoke.
"But we still need your permission for us to do it. And if you do agree, we'll be borrowing the Heaven Lion Medallion from you since we need Firion to lend us his powers together with Skylon to proceed with the plan."
The biker remained silent even after that. Though a part of him was glad that the motorcycle would be fixed, the placing of an upgrade just for the vehicle to endure the tremendous combat stress was what made him hesitate. One thing was for sure, the bike would change its appearance.
But would he still remain holding on to an old memory if a bigger duty was waiting for him? His father was long dead, but that doesn't mean the memories that goes with that motorcycle would vanish just like that. He needed to set his priorities straight at this time, one that he knew would make his father proud no matter what.
Though before Shuichi could say anything (again), Kanako handed him a brand new copy of Hanasaki Kikue's debut novel "Phoenix Knight". Of course, it made him frown before facing Kanako.
"What's this for?"
"Tennouji-san wanted us to give this to you. She said that it might help you somehow if you're still hesitant and perhaps this would also remind you of something important that you might have forgotten. Or at least she said it that way," Kanako explained before placing the book on Shuichi's hand. "Open it. There could be something inside that might let you do just that."
Shuichi wasn't sure what was going on. Though he wanted to understand those words, perhaps it would be better if he did what he was told. As it was going on, he couldn't help feeling surprised that the book was indeed brand new.
How could Helen managed to obtain a brand new copy of Phoenix Knight with a cover design that was from four years ago? Most of the reprinted copies of the said book today was slightly altered.
The surprise he initially felt escalated as soon as he opened the book and saw what was on the first page.
"You're kidding... Is this really Hanasaki-sensei's autograph?"
Of course, it was given that those words would catch Natsume's attention who was also a fan of the said author. The boy approached Shuichi and asked him to see the autograph.
"This is crazy! It really is Hanasaki-sensei's autograph!" Natsume announced excitedly.
"But why would Tennouji-san give you something that came from the famous author herself? I don't think you could use the reason that she knew Shuichi-kun was Hanasaki-sensei's fan," Kanako said that only made the biker fall into deep thinking.
It went on like that for a short while before Shuichi looked at the autograph once again. But soon after, something else had caught his attention.
There was a note written quite small just beside the author's signature. Shuichi decided to read it.
Just as how the phoenix would die and be reborn, I hope you as a chosen warrior destined to protect the world using the power of hope would make you realize that one loss won't let you end things as they are.
Just as you are a warrior chosen to bear the fiery passion of humanity towards their dreams and the future, don't let the fire you possess be extinguished completely.
You can be a Phoenix Knight on your own. Just prove it.
Shuichi couldn't hide the shock he felt as soon as he read the note. There was no mistake that the note was something that Hanasaki Kikue herself wrote. If he were to base it on the handwritten messages usually seen at the back of her books---only the photocopied versions, though---then he wouldn't doubt that fact.
But if that was the case, then was it possible that that person...?
xxxxxx
Just as expected, Motross commenced its attack on the surface. But just as the Vessels had also feared, the Triske Monster expanded its scope to that of the whole of Tsukikage. Shooting down and electrocuting racers and ordinary motorists alike should they declined its challenge, the monster was completely satisfied with the chaos and terror it was creating. In addition to that, it was able to gain a considerable amount of negative energy from all that.
"Oh, come on! You humans are no fun at all if you just fall down easily like that. The true race hasn't even started yet!" Motross said mockingly followed by a maniacal laugh.
The Gargonema were busy either to attack other civilians around the area where the Triske Monster was or to remove the electrocuted and energy-drained victims out of Motross' way.
"Come out, come out, Seitengers! I'll show you how our race will become."
xxxxxx
"How long is this going to take, Akira?" Eichirou asked his cousin who was still tinkering Shuichi's treasured motorcycle.
Right after the talk Shuichi had with the cousins Natsume and Kanako, he eventually agreed to the idea of placing the upgrade on his motorcycle. It appeared that Hanasaki-sensei's autograph and small note did a lot to dissipate the hesitation lingering his mind and became resolute with that decision. But instead of going back to the mansion in order to personally observe the upgrade placement, Shuichi entrusted the cousins with his motorcycle and decided to leave the cliff ahead of the two.
Not long after, Kanako started getting busy with her laptop together with the presence of the Fire Lion Firion that Shuichi had lent to them. While Natsume immediately helped Akira who already started proceeding with the plan with the help of the Wind Falcon Skylon that Misae got ready.
"You can't rush perfection, Eichirou-san. And stop asking anymore questions or else, I won't be able to concentrate on doing my job properly. I don't want to deal with Shuichi-san's wrath if I made a mistake and ended up destroying his treasured motorcycle. You know how machines can be truly delicate when it comes to handling Hasureiki," Akira replied without even looking at the photographer.
Itsuki only approached Eichirou and tapped his shoulder. The latter looked at the nonchalant composer who just nodded, indicating that they should trust the younger Vessel Supports with their jobs.
It seemed like hours had painstakingly passed before the placement of the upgrade was done. At least, that was how it felt to the Vessels who were anticipating the outcome of the upgrade placement and also of Motross' next attack.
When Itsuki checked the time, he was surprised to see that only an hour had passed. Did Akira and Natsume really manage to finish doing the job in that amount of time? He couldn't help smiling at the fact that they had Vessel Supports like those two in their league. They could only hope that Shuichi would be pleased with the result.
At that point, the Vessels' trail of thoughts were interrupted with a familiar beeping. Not just one but four beeping. Each of the Vessels took out their Celestial Shifters creating the noise and decided to check on the situation.
But even though they anticipated it, the Vessels still couldn't hide the surprise they felt upon seeing the situation. Motross had indeed expanded his area of attack. All they could see from one of the projected screen was the damage that the Triske Monster had already dealt to the city and to the citizens.
"That monster's really going to get it this time!" Itsuki said with gritted teeth.
"No kidding! The damage right now was worse than last time."
"But if we're heading out now, do you think Shuichi-san will catch up and deal with Motross again?" Erika couldn't help asking in worry.
"This is Shuichi we're talking about, Erika-chan," Misae said reassuringly. "Not once did he back out in the middle of a challenge laid out in front of him. Knowing that guy, it was for sure that he'd have a upper hand as soon as he cleared his mind from all the thoughts that disturbed him until now."
"That means we have to deal with Motross until Shuichi arrives, huh?"
The rest nodded somberly at Eichirou's words.
"Then let's head out!"
xxxxxx
Shuichi had been looking around for quite some time now. But there was no trace of the one he was looking for. He couldn't rely on his powers or even his Shifter to locate that person since he had no idea about the exact flow of Hasureiki that the person he had been trying to find was possessing.
Yes, the person that he needed to locate for quite a while now possessed a considerable amount of Hasureiki. Though he wanted to give up looking as time passed by, there was a nagging part in his brain that told him he shouldn't and that he could locate Helen.
At that thought, he halted to a stop. He just met Helen. And yet... a part of him was acting weird by doing all this just to find her. Yes, he could partly blame her mysterious personality for him to be quite a curious person when it comes to her.
But there was more to that nagging part in his brain than just mere curiosity. Though for now, he had other pressing matters to think about and prioritize.
Once more, Shuichi looked around the area where he stopped. A few moments later, he stared at a certain dessert shop where he finally spotted the person he was looking for. To his confusion, however, Helen was just standing outside the shop. It seemed that she was looking at something over there.
Before his mind could even think of a possible answer, Shuichi found himself already walking towards Helen. He soon realized the reason for his body to act on its own (again) as he approached the said girl.
Why was she looking from outside the shop with that kind of expression?
He was only a few feet away when he saw Helen suddenly becoming startled and turned to his direction not long after. He stopped as soon as their eyes met.
"H-Hiwara-san? What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Shuichi answered matter-of-factly.
Of course, he already expected a surprised response. Yet in Helen's case, it was only shown slightly. One thing he noticed about this girl--she was doing her best not to show too much emotions. And for some reason, he wanted to find out why.
"And will you please stop with the formality? You can just call me Shuichi. Honestly, I prefer it that way," he continued as he approached Helen.
The girl smiled and faced the dessert shop once again. He, too, decided to face the said place--only to frown at the sight of a plated dessert displayed on the show window.
"They said that my father was an excellent patissier and that he used that talent first to gain my mom's attention," Helen started that soon broke the silence between them. "But I can only remember a little about him. The only thing that's clear in my mind was the time he made me eat this exact plated dessert. After that, I declared that I'd be able to make sweets as delicious as the one my father would make when I grow up. I don't know if I succeeded, though."
"W-what do you mean?"
This time, Helen heaved quite a ragged sigh and faced Shuichi. The melancholy in her eyes was truly visible that it took him aback.
"They were gone before I could even show it to them."
Wait... Was was that supposed to mean? Don't tell me...?
"They were killed when I was five," Helen confessed soon after in a grave tone. "By a high-ranking Tarean."
Without a doubt, those words froze him to spot as the shock he felt upon hearing them spread. And to think a Tarean did it...
"So that's why you were dedicated in helping us..." At that point, he remembered something. "But does Erika know about this?"
"She knew that my parents were dead. She knew that they were killed, as well. But I never told her that it was a Tarean who did it." Not long after, Helen took a deep breath and faced Shuichi once again. This time, with a smile. "But I don't want to talk about it right now. Besides, she would know the truth soon. Anyway, why are you looking for me?"
That was when Shuichi immediately recalled the reason why he was seeking Helen out. He took the Phoenix Knight book out of his inner jacket pocket and showed it to Helen.
"They really handed it to you. I'm glad," Helen said with a smile.
"Yeah. The message written inside really hit me hard. And now... I think I know the real reason why you're not showing yourself to your readers despite the success of your novels... Hanasaki Kikue-sensei."
But instead of being surprised with the way Shuichi had guessed and pointed that part out, Helen looked at the racer with pride. "As expected of my big fan. You guessed it right."
"Then the first generation Hanasaki novelist was..."
Helen nodded. "My mother, Tennouji Atsuko. And I know you're aware of the fact that Hanasaki Kaoru was killed 14 years ago."
"So you decided to take over your mother's works and continue her legacy as a novelist."
"It was Minako-san and Makoto-san's idea. I need to find a way to at least have a connection to my dead parents no matter what it was. My father's passion for making sweets and traveling... and my mother's novels... I wanted at the time to engrave at least a bit of those in me just for me to feel that they're still close to me. But I don't want to use the identity in which they were truly known for. And so the idea of having a Hanasaki novelist per generation was born. That's also how Hanasaki Kikue was created."
Shuichi finally understood where Hanasaki Kikue's passion came from, why each novel seemed to surpass each of them and were better than the last. It was her way of connecting to the person important to her all this time.
And it seemed that it was similar to the way he never wanted to give up and use that same motorcycle to defeat Motross. He wanted to use the one thing that still connected him to his dead father to destroy the monster who was a disgrace to the racing world.
"Thank you... for reminding me of what I should do at a time like this. Even though I made my resolve last night, when I woke up, I couldn't understand why I was hesitating over something that I can easily overcome to begin with."
"Like what I said on the note, don't let anything or anyone extinguish the burning passion that you possess to treasure everything important to you. Be it a memento or the people that helped you become who you are right now. I think you will be undefeated when you do that."
This time, Shuichi couldn't help showing off a smile and Helen followed suit. It felt like it had been a while since he smiled like that when only a day had passed since he did so. He must have been completely bummed right after dealing with Motross for him to feel like that.
But before he could say something in response to that, Shuichi's Celestial Shifter beeped. He immediately took it out and projected a map to know where the Tarean attack was happening. His eyes widened upon seeing that Motross had expanded its area of attack.
"Is this for real?" he could only say before closing the Shifter.
Moments later, another beeping came from the device. This time, Kanako was the one calling.
"It's ready. You can use that to deal with Motross and finish him off."
"Thanks!" After that, he faced Helen. "I'm heading out."
"Be careful, Shuichi-san."
Though slightly startled upon hearing Helen say his name for the first time, he smiled soon after. "I will."
He was about to run and leave the place to go to the location of the Tarean attack when Helen called him out.
"Is there something wrong?"
However, the serious look on her face suggested something different.
xxxxxx
Thrown quite hard from their fighting position, the situation for the Seitengers didn't turn out so good as they dealt with Motross with only the four of them while waiting for Shuichi to finally appear and help them finish the fight.
"I guess this monster's really out for blood this time," Eichirou commented with a grunt as he struggled to get up despite the pain he felt from the impact.
The other three followed suit with their blade-extracted Hyakureider as their support. Itsuki was already clutching his left side because of the pain coming from there as he tried standing. "No kidding."
"I think we know the real reason as to why Motross' speed is unbeatable right now," Misae said with a grunt.
"He was drawing someone out to challenge him, using us as a bait for that to happen," Erika responded and heaved a sigh as she stood up with the help of her Hyakureider.
Indeed, it was something that they were all worried at the moment. They did a lot of consecutive attacks to at least weaken Motross, but the Triske Monster seemed to have been just playing with them using his speed. Adding the fact that the motorcycle part of the monster's body could shoot out beams, it was a losing situation for the four Seitengers whose transformations were now disintegrated because of Motross' simultaneous attacks to them.
"How long do you think we'd be able to hold out?"
"We still have to do our best to keep this up, or else we'll all end up dead," Misae uttered with determination despite her small and slightly pained voice. Until her eyes widened and turned to face Motross because of what was about to happen.
The Triske Monster was about to fire a powerful beam towards them that only made the Vessels unable to move in order to avoid it. Not to mention that their injuries were really crippling them at the moment.
"Lion Laser!"
But all of a sudden, they were surprised when an even bigger beam was fired towards Motross and it was powerful enough to at least injure the monster.
"Red beam?"
"No way..."
"Is that...?"
Misae smiled and nodded. "I think it finally is."
When the four warriors turned to the source of the beam, they saw the tip of Shuichi's Hyakureider emanating a red glow. Despite the pain that they were feeling due to their respective injuries, the Vessels raised themselves up to approach their teammate who had just arrived.
"Seriously! Do you really have to arrive this late?" Eichirou reprimanded as he punched Shuichi to his chest.
And yet, it didn't seem to affect the biker at all. He just smiled.
"In any case, I'm glad you're here now," Itsuki said as he placed a hand on Shuichi's shoulder. The biker could only smile at that.
"Does that mean the placing of the upgrade on your bike was finished already?" Erika asked.
Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, it did. I'm sure you were all aware of that."
"Well, we just wanted to confirm if it was okay with you changing your favorite motorcycle's form like that."
At this point, Shuichi sighed and faced Motross with his eyes narrowed. "I'll dwell on that later. Right now, we got other important things to focus on. One of them is finally defeating Motross."
The others agreed to that without hesitation. With that, all five of them faced the still maniacally laughing Motross with determined expressions.
"Let him laugh all he wants. It's not going to last long, anyway," Eichirou uttered that only made the rest smile.
"Spirit Shift, Start!"
Soon after, all five of them donned their suits and dealt with Motross and the Gargonemas that the monster had summoned.
"Heaven's Hundred Blaze, SeitenFire!"
"Heaven's Hundred Outpour, SeitenWater!"
"Heaven's Hundred Tremor, SeitenEarth!"
"Heaven's Hundred Howl, SeitenWind!"
"Heaven's Hundred Shine, SeitenLight!"
"The Hundred Heavens' greatest legends! Reiyouki Sentai Seitenger!"
SeitenFire extracted the blade of his Hyakureider and pointed it towards the Triske Monster. "Let's go! It's time we set up the right stage for this monster!"
Four of the Seitengers decided to deal with the Gargonemas which, of course, had surprised SeitenFire.
"We had enough of dealing with that monster," SeitenWater said as slashed all of the Gargonemas coming after him and SeitenFire.
"Besides," SeitenEarth spoke this time. "You're the one that he wanted to deal with."
"Don't worry, it doesn't mean that we're not going to support you," SeitenLight said as soon as she was done eliminating all the Gargonemas coming after her using a destructive sound spell.
When SeitenFire faced SeitenWind, she just gave him a thumbs up before destroying her own set of Gargonemas using her Falcon Wind Arrows.
The red warrior could only thank his friends in his mind before heading out to settle the duel he had with Motross for one last time. And he was going to make sure that it would definitely be the monster's last rampaging race.
"Ah, red guy. You've finally arrived. I was getting worried you decided to hide under a rock after that last race we had," Motross mocked with an annoying smirk on the monster's face.
However, SeitenFire remained unfazed with that. Instead, he took his Hyakureider and put the Heaven Lion Medallion into one of the slots without breaking his gaze to Motross. "Hide under a rock? You've really underestimated me, Triske Monster. But don't worry. I'll make sure you've never made a mistake about challenging the Fire of the Fang on a race to death."
"Oh? Now that's new to hear, especially coming from a puny human." Motross ended those words with a cynical laugh.
Sometimes, SeitenFire wished he was born with the same sense of humor that Eichirou had. But that would only make things crazier for the group if that truly happened. Dealing with Eichirou's unbelievable sense of humor even in a dire situation was more than enough for the Spirit Power Vessels.
Pushing a button on his Hyakureider, SeitenFire recited the command right after that.
"Lion Motor, Build Up Start!"
In seconds, the said vehicle in dark red color appeared before him. He couldn't help staring at the finished product in awe. There was indeed an immense change done to his favorite motorcycle, but not in a bad way. In fact, he liked it. The most distinctive change was the figure of a griffin in front of the motorcycle. He now knew that it was probably done in order to remind him of the two Vessel Spirits' powers that made this possible.
SeitenFire couldn't help smiling triumphantly inside his suit and nodded at the thought of thanking the cousins Kanako and Natsume, and even Akira later after this battle. With that, he boarded the said motorcycle and faced Motross with narrowed eyes.
However, around that same moment, a memory from his earlier encounter with Helen appeared in his mind...
"Is there something wrong?" It was the only question that Shuichi decided to ask when Helen called out to him as he was about to head out to where Motross was attacking.
Only a grave expression could be seen in Helen's face as she approached him. He saw her sigh before speaking. "You better prepare yourself about the other thing that might happen if Motross pushed your emotions to the limits again."
At that, Shuichi frowned. "The other thing?"
Helen only smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Don't worry, it's not something bad."
"That's not exactly what I'm worried about. But the way you say it..."
"Shuichi-san, every warrior has the chance to evolve or at least gain something as proof of their growth as protectors. Whatever will happen to you in continuation to the previous battle, your heart will eventually give you the answer that you're looking for."
Helen was seriously becoming more cryptic by the minute with the way she was talking to him at the moment. But her eyes only showed the truth. No pretenses.
Around the same time, he finally understood what she had been trying to tell to him. Especially when the words "previous battle" came registering in his mind.
"You don't mean..."
But Helen only nodded somberly. "Do whatever you can to grasp that one power lingering around you since that battle. I'm sure if you do that, no one will question your strength in achieving what you want to achieve－as long as it's something that truly belongs to you..."
xxxxxx
It seemed that sighing had been Helen's favorite hobby ever since her mission started in Tsukikage. At least, it was something she had observed over the past few days.
Just like before, Helen was observing the battle from a certain place. But upon remembering what she and Shuichi had talked about before he headed out to deal with Motross, she ended up taking out the unnamed cylindrical item in her possession from her pocket.
Once again, her gaze to it became melancholic upon realizing something. It only made her grip to the item tighten.
Surely, the Tareans had definitely began making things difficult to the chosen Vessels and there was no doubt about that. She already knew something like this would happen due to the fact that these Vessels were all unlike those that had preceded them. She looked up to the sky when no answer would appear in her mind at all.
"Mom... is this really how things are suppose to turn out for the Seitengers?"
It might be a foolish thing to do, talking to something or someone who would never answer back. But at the moment, none seemed to matter to Helen as long as she was able to voice those lingering thoughts out.
Soon after, she smiled confidently upon remembering the real reason why she was observing the previous battle with Motross through replaying the battle sequence.
"I guess their victory is already assured... as long as Shuichi-san finds a way to convince him to help the Seitengers as a whole," Helen uttered as her smile lingered longer. And with that, she observed the duel between the two racers from her position.
xxxxxx
The death race between SeitenFire and Motross commenced and it was indeed intense. Two motorcycles, both were powerful in their own rights, all out to defeat its rider.
The other four Seitengers were able to finish defeating the Gargonemas using another combined spell using the blade-less end of their Hyakureider.
"Hyakurei Laser! Shoot!"
Seconds later, they all destroyed of the scattered Gargonemas and even those that tried to approach the two racers just to make the race uneven.
"Now that it's done, I think we better check on Shuichi and that Motross," SeitenWater suggested that earned him a nod from the other Spirit Power Vessels.
"Let's just prepare for whatever's going to happen or what Motross could possibly be planning just for that monster to win," SeitenWind said soon after.
"Can you think of a spell strong enough to break the barrier?" SeitenLight asked her brother.
"You know what? Let's think about that when Motross decided to cheat. For now, we'll let Shuichi-san handle everything on his end."
The rest could only agree to what SeitenEarth said and so they approach the area where the deadly race was happening.
Just like before, Motross had put up a barrier so that the race would not be interrupted. But it was something that SeitenFire had already anticipated. Though it frustrated the rest of the Seitengers, all they did was to watch Motross' movements as the Triske Monster raced with the red warrior. They couldn't help thinking that perhaps SeitenFire looked a lot like a modern knight with all that suit and the griffin-like vehicle.
While driving his motorcycle, there was a point in the race where SeitenFire decided to close his eyes. Even so, he was still able to keep up racing with Motross. In truth, the red warrior chose to concentrate. If what Helen told him was right, then he just needed to release that same emotion once again to prove the novelist's theory about that flash of light from before.
It didn't take long before Motross decided to heat up the race by firing beams once again towards the red warrior. SeitenFire did his best to avoid it and fire Lion Laser on his end. Of course, since he was aware that Motross had gotten stronger than last time, the speed of the beams fired towards him became faster. But to the monster's shock, the Lion Motor was able to withstand the attack and SeitenFire, despite the surprise and amazement he felt upon observing that, was still driving it. The monster fired beams once again, with each beams that the vehicle had deflected only added frustration to Motross.
But still, it didn't bring down either of the Lion Motor or SeitenFire.
"Now I declare that those three Vessel Supports are all hell of geniuses," SeitenWater commented with a chuckle due to their observation about the race.
xxxxxx
It turned out that the reason for SeitenFire to close his eyes while driving was because he was trying to remember something with regards to his first encounter with the Triske Monster, specifically about the part when a red flash of light came from the lotus symbol on his helmet.
"I could lend you my powers, you know..."
Shuichi's eyes within the suit snapped open upon hearing that. Not to mention that he actually felt like he wasn't in the race anymore. Even so, he remained focused on that voice. Perhaps this was the answer he was actually looking for.
"How can you even do that?" he couldn't help asking as he concentrated once again.
"You only need to recall the exact feeling you had before that flash of light appeared to you..."
SeitenFire couldn't help laughing in his mind. It was exactly what Helen said to him. But at the moment, he needed to do what he must. Once again, Shuichi closed his eyes and did what the voice had told him so. And much to his surprise, it didn't take him long to figure out the answer.
Though his initial purpose at the time was to defeat the Triske Monster and make it pay for doing those horrible things to the victims and even to his fellow Seitengers, the real driving force he had at the time was his desire to settle it in his own way, in a way that he loved the most. His fiery passion over motorcycle racing, over one of his dreams, that he managed to apply to his duel with Motross was his real driving force.
"That's it, isn't it? The answer that you were looking for from me," SeitenFire said soon after realizing all that.
"Way to go, Fire of the Fang." The voice in his head echoed once again, with pride this time.
With that, his helmet flashed an even brighter red light which also distracted Motross. This had only caused the monster to crash on a nearby light post. The other Seitengers were surprised when that bright light soon intensified that it became harder for them to see the situation.
"Woah! What's happening out there?" SeitenWater queried but he remained shielding his eyes with an arm even though he already closed them a while back.
"The light... This is no ordinary light," SeitenEarth commented as he, too, struggled to keep his eyes open because of the brightness around the racing area.
"Since when did anything related to Seitengers and Tareans ever become ordinary?" SeitenLight couldn't help saying that only earned her a glare from her brother and laugh from both SeitenWater and SeitenWind.
As it was happening, SeitenFire noticed a floating red orb slowly coming down to him and soon stopping in front of him.
"Could this be...?"
Though cautious, he still took it and moments later, that orb of light changed shape. It soon formed a medallion similar to that of his Vessel Medallion. But instead of a lion head, the figure placed on that new medallion was something he soon recognized as the head of a condor.
"Okay... Every moment about this light is getting weirder and weirder."
Even so, it didn't take him long to figure out what this new medallion on his hand was.
"So this is the Guardian Medallion." Though the light hadn't dissipated just yet, for some reason, SeitenFire could still see things around him. At the moment, he didn't hesitate to finally do what he had to.
SeitenFire placed the medallion into its designated slot on the Hyakureider and he soon pushed the green button. He faced the still struggling Motross after that and without hesitation, approached the said Triske Monster. The blade of his Hyakureider emitted a fire-like glow as the red warrior began to charge towards Motross.
"Thriving Fire!" With that spell cried, he continuously struck the monster until he made sure that Motross won't be able to fight anymore. Not long after he laid his final strike on it, the motorcycle part of Motross' body exploded and SeitenFire was able to get away from there before it all happened.
Moments later, he could see that the dome the monster created was also destroyed after that. It was only when SeitenFire finally managed to heave a sigh of relief, even though he knew that it wasn't exactly over. Turned out, he was right because he saw a dark orb starting to converge before exploding, thus soon revealing an Unsealed Motross.
Before SeitenFire could even approach the revived monster, he saw his teammates running towards his direction. They placed themselves on both his sides and stared at the Unsealed.
"How is it that we have to deal with a giant version of this racing lunatic again, huh?" SeitenWater complained the moment he stopped beside SeitenFire.
"There's nothing new with that. Get used to it already," SeitenEarth placidly replied that only made SeitenLight laugh.
"How about we end this together?" SeitenWind asked towards SeitenFire. The red warrior just nodded and positioned to a stance along with the other Seitengers.
Placing their Vessel Medallions and pushing the required button, the warriors raised their Hyakureider to the sky.
"Spirit Summon, Start!"
One by one, the five Grand Vessel Spirits appeared from the portal and went down towards their respective Seitenger partners. The warriors soon boarded their respective Grand Vessel Spirits
"Spirit Formation, Build Up!"
At that command, the Grand Vessel Spirits began changing their forms in order to combine. Firion, Sereo, Terraiger, Skylon, and Dovight all began changing their forms and combining in order to form an armed robot, poised and ready to battle the Triske Monster's Unsealed Form.
"Heavenly Guardian King, Descend! SeitenOh!"
When the robot was all poised and ready to fight, they began charging towards Motross in order to end the battle. But what they didn't expect was the speed the Triske Monster gained after becoming an Unsealed. Before the Seitengers knew it, they were having a hard time dealing with the monster's speed as it kept on charging towards SeitenOh in a flash.
"Okay, this is not exactly what I signed up for when this monster became an Unsealed!" SeitenWater complained as he struggled to stand up and gripped his Hyakureider stabbed on the dimensional floor.
"None of us expected this, so stop complaining and let's just think of a way to defeat this nuisance," SeitenEarth replied.
It was then that the medallion with the condor head that SeitenFire was holding glowed, in which the others soon noticed and once again, bright enough to distract the Unsealed.
"Uh... What's that?" SeitenWind asked but no one answered.
Moments later, the glow subsided before projecting a figure of a big red condor in front of the Seitengers that surprised all of them.
"That was you, wasn't it? The one who talked to me inside my head while I was racing with Motross a while back," SeitenFire inquired in order to make sure.
The condor nodded. "That's right, my chosen warrior. And you've just earned the right for you to finally use my powers, just as your predecessor had done once before. Though I never thought it would take me 25 years to finally meet you."
"25 years? That long?"
"Who are you, anyway?"
"I am an Elemental Guide residing in the Realm of the Hundred Heavens and can only be summoned once my chosen warrior have proven his worth to possess my powers. Though mostly known by my title "Thriving Condor of the Flames", my name is Condire. Pleased to make your acquiantance--" the condor said as it faced the other four Seitengers. "--and your allegiance, as well." These last words were all said as it eyed SeitenFire.
"You said that I earned the right to use your powers," SeitenFire said. "How?"
"The same way you're all summoning your Grand Vessel Spirits, of course. What else? We Vessel Spirits do live in the same realm, after all."
Despite the slight sarcasm detected in the Elemental Guide's voice, SeitenFire could only laugh at that. He soon faced his teammates who only gave him encouraging nods before deciding to do what was needed to be done.
This time, however, instead of pushing the red button of his Hyakureider, SeitenFire pushed the white one.
"Spirit Summon, Start!"
It didn't take long before a red condor in its mechanical form appeared from a portal above and soared towards SeitenOh.
"Vessel Armament, Set Up!"
To the Seitengers' surprise, the mechanical condor soon changed shape and in a matter of seconds, it transformed into a bazooka that SeitenOh took hold the moment it floated in front of him. At that point, the said robot was armed with a powerful weapon.
"Fire Condor Knight, Descend! SeitenOh Condire!"
"Shuichi-san!"
"This is unbelievable!" SeitenWater exclaimed and tapped the red warrior's shoulder who still couldn't speak because of all the development happening to them all at the same time.
"Well, what are we waiting for? It's time to kick some monster racer's butt," SeitenLight declared that, even though she initially earned incredulous stares from the older Seitengers, soon made all of them laugh.
"Let's go!"
With that, the bright glow dissipated and no chance to waste, SeitenOh--in possession of the Condire Bazooka--began firing blast after blast towards Motross. Each blast coming from Raeran's new weapon was nothing that all of them had anticipated, especially in terms of speed.
"W-what is this?!" Motross could only say in pain as the new weapon continued to blast the monster with power unlike it ever encountered before.
Which was why Motross couldn't do anything since it was hard for the monster to beat the speed of the shots coming from the bazooka. When the Triske Monster was weakened, the Seitengers decided to cast their finishing attack as they combined their Hasureiki with that of Raeran.
"Ready, guys?"
The rest nodded before they took out their respective Hyakureider from its respective podiums and charged it with their respective Hasureiki. SeitenOh, in turn, positioned once the bazooka started charging, as well.
"Flame Condor Blazing Judgment!"
Four fireball-like energy formed in front of the bazooka's mouth and moments later, was fired towards the struggling Motross. It didn't take long for the Unseal to be destroyed and finally disappear, thus ending the death race challenge that it made to the red warrior.
SeitenFire didn't mind SeitenWater pouncing on him once again and hugging him tight because of the blue warrior's amazement. He soon faced SeitenEarth who only gave him a tap on his shoulder and beaming smiles coming from the two female warriors.
"You did it," SeitenWind said soon after.
SeitenFire just nodded.
"And the winner... the Fire of the Fang!" SeitenWater declared almost loud that only earned him a smack from SeitenEarth.
"Stage set!"
SeitenFire could only heave a heavy sigh of relief as soon as it was over. With his teammates happy that their current ordeal was over, he looked at the Guardian Medallion inserted into the slot of his HyakuReiDer.
"Thank you so much for helping us, Condire," SeitenFire said and even bowed to it.
"What are you talking about, Shuichi? You're already my chosen master, and you've proven to me that even in the midst of the situation before, you can use the power of your own dreams to reach your goal. Whether to defeat the enemy or just find a way to deal with the problem, I'm just glad you didn't falter and give up."
SeitenFire couldn't help smiling at the words he heard from Condire. "You know there's no way I would give up, especially if it's about racing. I'm not going to let some monster beat me to it."
The red warrior soon heard Condire laughed. "Well, if you Seitengers ever need my help again, just summon me. I'll come anytime."
"Thank you very much, Condire-san," SeitenLight said politely and even bowed to the said Elemental Guide.
The other Seitengers also expressed their delight and gratitude to Condire soon after. But if there was one more person that SeitenFire would like to thank for, it was Helen. Despite the suspicion that SeitenEarth had about her, SeitenFire was willing to set the tension aside if it means having Helen as their new comrade who would help them with their battle against the Tareans.
xxxxxx
The only thing the other Vessels could do as they walked was to look at the Fire Condor Medallion that Shuichi was also looking at in awe. The damage done to the civilians was already resolved, thanks to them fully defeating Motross. Kanako, Akira and Natsume also confirmed to the Vessels about the state of the other victims who were at the hospital.
"So this is a Guardian Medallion, huh? I can't believe Shuichi-san was able to gain a new power. What made you do that, anyway?" Itsuki couldn't contain his excitement (still reserved, though) when he asked that to the biker.
Shuichi smiled as he looked at the composer and made the Guardian Medallion disappear from his hand. "If I were to base it on what happened today, gaining the trust and approval of an Elemental Guide is something that needs a greater reason for you to fight. Whether it's passion or dreams that we have."
"But from what I know, none of us still have any idea about the Elemental Guides at all. Only the Guardian Medallions were mentioned to us, and briefly at that. How did you know that it was an Elemental Guide?" This time, it was Eichirou who asked that.
Shuichi stopped walking that made the others do the same. When the other Vessels looked at Shuichi, they saw him looking at the sky now stained with purple color because of the shadow cast by the clouds surrounding the setting sun. They couldn't help frowning at the sight of his serious face.
Though they've known him to be a serious person, this was something rare to see. It was like... he remembered something melancholic.
"It was Helen who mentioned this to me," Shuichi replied soon after. "This was the real reason why she was replaying the earlier footage of my race with Motross."
"That girl really knew a lot about our business now, huh?" Itsuki couldn't help commenting.
"So you're saying that she had an idea that it was an Elemental Guide who gave off that light from the previous fight?" Misae asked the question.
But Shuichi still continued talking without looking at the others. "She said that each of us owns a Guardian Medallion, and as we know, it was the second classification of the Spirit Power Medallions. Each of the Guardian Medallions can only be summoned and allow us to awaken its powers when the spirit residing it ㅡ which, of course, you now know that it was the Elemental Guide ㅡ would react to a certain strong emotion that we possess. Like I told you a while back, it's supposed to be an emotion strong enough that gives us a reason to fight."
"If you ask me, that's a really complicated thing to think about," Eichirou said after a few moments. "But it's still amazing! Each of us owns a Guardian Medallion? Now I can't wait to see mine and meet the Elemental Guide it represents."
The others could only smile at that. Eichirou wasn't the only one who felt that way. The others, as well.
"I guess that's one proof that our Hasureiki is starting to evolve. Awakening the powers of the Elemental Guide spirit residing in the Guardian Medallions is not an easy task," Itsuki said before getting serious, as well. "But that Helen..."
"Onii-chan! Not again," Erika complained, speaking for the first time.
Itsuki sighed and faced his sister. "I can't help it, okay? Things had gotten a little rockier than usual for us ever since she arrived here. She knew more than what she was telling us and I need to know what they are. If she truly knew a lot of things about the Vessels and the Heavenly Spirit Guardians, then I need to know the extent of her knowledge with regards to that. Maybe after that... I'd change my mind about my impression to her."
The pianist just sighed resignedly. Her brother could really be hardheaded sometimes that she was thinking how on earth did she bear with it all this time. But Itsuki had a point and she couldn't help it if he was really suspicious about Helen. As for her, she was aware that Helen had some reasons why she wasn't saying anything about what she knew to them. For now, she'd let it be so things won't get messier than usual for all of them.
Minutes later, they finally reached the Mizuhashi mansion and all of them were tired from the battle. Hideoki welcomed them with a smile and told them that he had prepared snacks. Of course, Eichirou already went ahead that the other Vessels had to run just to reach the dining room where the snacks were. But before Shuichi could proceed, he looked out to the garden and there, he saw someone familiar.
"Helen?" he muttered and decided to approach the young novelist.
When he finally reached the place, he was surprised to see her sleeping on the table using her arms as pillow and her laptop was still open.
"It's almost night time and yet, she's still here. She could end up getting sick because of this."
But even so, he still smiled. Until now, he couldn't believe that Helen was the famous Hanasaki Kikue. For a girl like her, she had truly achieved a lot at her age. Just like Erika and Misae. But perhaps that achievement came to her with a price. He still couldn't process the fact that Helen was an orphan just like him. And to think she became an orphan at an early age.
Shuichi decided to approach the sleeping Helen. When he finally reached her and checked what was on the laptop's screen, he smiled when he saw that it was the draft of the novel that she was writing. Does this girl ever rest from writing? But then, he couldn't help anticipating a possible new novel from Hanasaki Kikue. For sure, it would be a hit once again.
He soon ended up deciding to save the file and shut the laptop down. He looked at the sleeping girl who was wearing the jacket he brought for her. Before leaving, he removed the racer jacket he was wearing and placed it on Helen's back since it was bigger and could protect her somehow from the cold.
"Thank you, Hanasaki-sensei, for saving me," Shuichi whispered to the sleeping Helen and slightly caressed her hair.
He was supposed to take a step away from there so that he could head to the dining room. But before he left her there, he eyed the six-winged cylindrical item intently that was placed on the table. Helen called it the "Astral Shifter". But the functions were barely his concerns at the moment. Was it really a coincidence that the same six-winged figure was also embroidered on the jacket that he brought for Helen in which she was now wearing?
At the same time, he couldn't help wondering why he felt something strange about that device. He couldn't explain the exact description for him to describe the sensation as strange, though. But even so, he could truly feel something powerful about that device, without a doubt. Could this be the feeling that Itsuki had possibly sensed for the composer to question Helen's true reasons for her to go to the mansion just like that?
He surely had a lot of questions about all this. But perhaps the answers would be revealed in time to them. For now, he'd just let things flow as they were supposed to.
"Hey, Shuichi! Hurry up or Eichirou-san will eat your share!" he heard Misae called out that soon brought him out of his reverie.
"You're mean, Mi-chan!" Eichirou whined and the others' laughter soon followed.
Shuichi sighed and shook his head to shrugged off those thoughts for now. He would probably deal with the issue later on.
End of Record 4
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