Reiyouki Sentai Seitenger 5 - Still Photos

The Vessels woke up early that one morning. But as soon as they reached the garden, they soon noticed that Hideoki was busy tending the garden.

"Okay. When was the last time I saw Hideoki-san did this?" Itsuki couldn't help asking that soon broke the silence among the group which consisted of him, Shuichi, Misae, and his sister Erika.

"Last year, I guess. Though I'm not sure," Misae answered and proceeded to think about it.

"Well, we're all unsure about that. Besides, Hideoki-san rarely tended the garden. He's usually in his room reading some papers or more often, in the restaurant's kitchen thinking of new dishes to add to the menu." This time, it was Shuichi who said that.

Soon after, Nanami arrived where they were standing and placed her hands on Misae and Itsuki's shoulder.

"It's a yearly habit of my cousin whenever Mariko's birthday would arrive," she said.

"Ah, that's right." Erika nodded when she said that as her reply.

Then they all remembered that it was indeed Mariko's birthday. But this was one of the rare times in ten years that they saw Hideoki personally tend the garden his late wife would usually take care of. The usual person who would do that would either be Eichirou or Akira.

"Speaking of which..." Erika started upon thinking of that and looked around the area, in and out of the mansion. "...where is Eichirou-san? Shouldn't he be helping Hideoki-san, at the least? I mean, it is about Mariko-san, after all."

"He's busy right now."

Misae and Itsuki faced the older woman. "Busy? On what?"

"Today, he said he has to head out early in order to prepare for a photo exhibit to be held two days from now," Nanami explained.

"Oh, right. The photo exhibit. He's been staying up late just for that these past days. I hope he's okay," Misae couldn't help voicing out her worries for the eldest Vessel.

"He was doing it for his mother, so I guess all the stress and fatigue will be worth it in the end."

They all turned to the source of that voice just behind them. They saw Helen looking at Hideoki, but the prominent thing they noticed about her was the scroll she was holding.

"You're early in visiting the bookstore," Nanami commented with a smile. But Helen didn't say anything after that but just returned the older woman's smile.

"I'll be heading out for a while. Tell Mizuhashi-san that I'll be late for the training later."

Nanami nodded and just watched Helen leave the mansion. But not without wondering as to why Helen would head outside for a while.

xxxxxx

That photo exhibit, as Amuro had guessed before, was mentioned in one of the letters sent to the Mizuhashi mansion a week before the letters for Hideoki arrived. Since the anniversary of Mizihashi Mariko's debut to the fashion world fell on the day after her birthday, Eichirou decided to do the exhibit on that day.

He was busy doing the last checks necessary to that location so that all he needed to worry about were the photos to be displayed there.

"Mizuhashi-san, the lighting for the stage is all done."

Eichirou turned to one of the technicians he hired for the job.

"Alright, thanks. Once the photos are all here by tomorrow, I'll ask for your help again to set up the remaining lighting."

The technician agreed and soon proceeded to continue the rest of their task for that day.

After that, Eichirou heaved a sigh and eyed the stage with hopeful eyes.

He has one plan that he wanted to happen for that day and that was for him to be able to talk to someone who had a big part in his mother's life.

But he only had one problem, though.

"Are you sure you could convince 'her' to take part in the exhibit that you're planning for Mariko-san's birthday?" Kanako asked as soon as she approached the photographer.

Once more, Eichirou sighed and faced Kanako who eyed him with worries.

"To be honest, Kana-chan... I don't know. The person I need to talk to didn't even appear to me and my father ever since my mother's death."

And Eichirou was somehow aware of the fact that the said person held a certain amount of grudge towards Mariko.

"Can I leave things to you for a while? I think I need to breathe some fresh air," Eichirou inquired after a while.

Kanako nodded and took the clipboard with the list from Eichirou. "Just make sure the air you decided to breathe in would actually clear your mind."

The photographer laughed at that and finally left the room. He already stood in the hallway and while thinking of something to do to put his plans in motion, he stopped to his tracks when he noticed something on one part of the lobby.

"Why is she here?" Eichirou couldn't help uttering as soon as he saw Helen looking at one of the paintings hanging by the lobby. "And what's with that painting?"

Weird enough, he could sense something strange about that painting. But what could that strange feeling be?

xxxxxx

Helen left the building long before Eichirou could even approach her.

'Wait, is that girl a speed runner or something? She's fast.'

Despite the disappointment he felt, he just sighed before going inside the building once more. But having his head filled with curiosity with regards to the painting in question, he decided to approach it.

To his confusion, it was the painting of a regally-looking woman clad in a flowing Greek-style white dress. She seemed like a goddess with that outfit.

The painting appeared to be ancient, and definitely something he had never seen before.

Upon looking around, he saw the manager currently fixing one of the paintings displayed in the hallway of that building. Without hesitation, Eichirou approached him.

"Iwasaki-san, do you mind if I ask you something?" Eichirou ventured as soon as he saw the building manager.

The said man approached the young photographer with a cordial smile. "It seems to me that something caught your attention, huh?"

Eichirou smiled before nodding. "So you guessed it." Soon after, his expression turned serious. "It's actually about this painting."

Mr. Iwasaki faced the aforementioned painting and his expression brightened before turning to nostalgia. "I remember your mother smiling at this every time she would look at this."

"My mom?" Now that had truly caught Eichirou's attention.

The building manager nodded. "This was from your mom. She wanted it to be placed somewhere in this building as soon as she received it from a client. From what Mariko-san told me, that client gave it to her as a celebratory gift for her debut."

Okay. How come he had never heard about this?

It only made him unable to say anything. Once again, Eichirou decided to take another look at the painting. But upon looking at it carefully, he was surprised to see the Hundred Heavens' lotus symbol drawn on the ball of light that the woman in the painting was holding.

What was this supposed to mean?

He was supposed to ask Mr. Iwasaki about the identity of the client who gave the painting to his mother, but the beeping coming from his Celestial Shifter soon interrupted him, indicating that another Tarean attack was happening.

"Just great..." Eichirou couldn't help grumbling under his breath.

But then, he didn't have much of a choice. It was his duty.

xxxxxx

At that same moment, the other Vessels got alerted about the attack with their Celestial Shifters beeping at the same time. Itsuki couldn't help groaning before opening his Shifter to assess the situation.

"It's on the Four Clubs Building," Itsuki stated that seemed to have surprised Akira, making everyone focus their attention on the young mechanic.

"Isn't that the building where they held most of the famous exhibits and fashion shows over the years?" Erika asked and Shuichi nodded.

But his attention remained on the distraught-looking Akira.

Misae faced the concerned person with a frown. "Is there something wrong, Akira-kun?"

"That's the same building where Eichirou-san will hold his photo exhibit for him to commemorate Mariko-san's debut in the fashion world."

"Which means, Eichirou is already there. We better hurry."

The rest agreed to Shuichi's words and with the help of Nanami's teleportation ability, they ended up getting transported in front of the Four Clubs Building in a matter of seconds.

"Ah... What just happened here?" Misae could only ask as she and her companions looked around the area the moment they had arrived.

They saw quite an amount of people seemingly petrified.

"They looked as if an ice spell hit them and froze them to spot," Erika said as she walked around cautiously.

"It's not an ice spell that did this," Itsuki stated soon after. The others turned to where the composer was and they saw him touching one of the petrified victims. "They're still warm. No ice magic could preserve the victims' body temperature."

Shuichi nodded as soon as he understood the situation. "That means magic is the only answer as to why they're like this."

"Yeah, but what kind of magic? And what kind of Triske Monster are we going to deal with right now?"

Well, it was the question that they wanted to find answers immediately. And that means they had to find Eichirou as soon as possible. They all went into Four Clubs Building and looked around for any signs of their comrade.

Just like what they saw outside the building, a similar situation could be seen inside, as well. Moments later, the four Vessels heard clashing sounds. That was when they knew the answer, so they all hurried towards the source of the sound.

When they looked around the hall to find Eichirou, they saw the said person had donned his armor and was fighting quite a large group of Gargonemas while trying to fend them off from the other people in the area who weren't affected.

"Eichirou-san!" Misae called out.

Though the blue warrior didn't spare them a glance, his frustration as he took out several Gargonemas in his path could be seen as enough answer. The others soon donned their suits and decided to help SeitenWater.

Soon after, a Triske Monster whose form was based on a camera appeared before the Seitengers.

"Okay. Do any of you know the name of that monster?"

"Seriously, does it even matter?" SeitenLight asked back quite incredulously to SeitenFire's question.

"Hey! It's still needed for a proper introduction, you know."

The rest could only shake their heads, despite the Gargonemas holding them off.

"He introduced himself as Macera earlier when he started petrifying everyone here!" SeitenWater shouted as he continued to deal with Gargonemas on his end.

"Thanks for answering, Eichirou!" SeitenFire still managed to reply before striking the Gargonemas in front of him with a grunt.

While it was happening and when SeitenWater finally destroyed the Gargonemas he was fighting, he ordered the people who weren't petrified to leave the building before the monster could petrify them.

It was a good thing that all of them were still sane enough to do what was needed. But SeitenWater soon noticed that one of those people who got trapped inside the hall refused to leave. He frowned at that.

Wait a minute! Could that be...?

But more important issues got SeitenWater's attention instead and distracted him away from that particular person. He soon noticed Kanako making sure that the other people could escape the building unscathed.

"Kana-chan, once you're done with that, make sure you take that woman out of here, as well. If you must use force to do that, then do it," SeitenWater ordered and pointed to the woman that he saw earlier looking at him.

The young woman followed the direction Eichirou was pointing at and it dawned on her who the woman was.

"Isn't that...?"

SeitenWater nodded once. "Yeah, it's her. My mother's former apprentice, Odagawa Haruna."

Kanako understood SeitenWater's intention and agreed to what he asked her to do. "Don't worry. I'll do it."

And with that, the childhood friends did their respective tasks at hand. Once again, Gargonemas attacked SeitenWater who, in frustration, cast a real freezing spell towards the enemy group before casting a single slash attack powerful enough to eliminate the goons.

He wanted to heave a sigh after doing that, but he couldn't. Especially upon sensing Macera's dark energy, as if charging himself to cast a deadly attack. When SeitenWater looked for the source, he soon confirmed his suspicion, especially when he saw the Triske Monster turn to the escaping Kanako and Haruna and used its camera-like weapon to send a light beam toward the two women.

"Kana-chan, run!" SeitenWater yelled in fear as the thought of his childhood friend getting hurt once again started to cripple him.

Thankfully, the two women managed to evade the first attack and ran fast with no turning back. SeitenWater gripped his Hyakureider tight and eyed the Triske Monster in anger for nearly hurting Kanako and his mother's former apprentice.

"You're going to pay for that!" he exclaimed in rage and charged toward Macera who just cackled and waited for the blue warrior to attack.

Not long after, Macera cast the same deadly spell towards the approaching SeitenWater using his camera-like hand by flashing a glaring light from it. Around the same time, however, when SeitenWater was ready to avoid it in order not to be petrified, the lotus symbol on his helmet emanated a flash of blue light that stopped him from running toward the monster.

True enough, the flash of light distracted even the Triske Monster and he used that to fire a barrage of ice attacks toward the monster. To his surprise, SeitenLight used that as a medium to cast her light attack, letting the ice act as reflectors for the white warrior's spell.

This move made Macera retreat, but not without leaving them a warning about the fates of the petrified victims.

"You better not think this is over, Seitengers! You only have 24 hours to defeat me and restore those I've petrified back to normal. Well, I don't think you can even do that. All of you are still weak!"

Though the Seitengers wanted to chase the Triske Monster and end his life, it would be impossible. Not to mention that the monster's warning alarmed them.

"We only have 24 hours? This is a joke, right?"

xxxxxx

Heaving a heavy sigh wasn't enough to calm down the Vessels, especially if the situation hadn't been settled completely. Not to mention that there were petrified victims who they all needed to save before the Triske Monster's given time limit. Though at some parts, Itsuki couldn't help doubting the Triske Monster's words.

"Well, I think the damage that Erika and Eichirou-san did is enough to shut him up for the time being," Misae stated after placing all the victims in one room for the meantime for protection's sake.

"Yeah, and that means we need to do all that we can to bring them all back to normal."

"The only question is, how we'll be able to do that. It's not like we can drag that monster out of the Tareus Dimension and send him to the spot. That would mean suicide for all of us," Eichirou said, speaking for the first time.

But the other Vessels noticed something weird about the photographer. Only at that point, they chose not to say anything at the moment as they knew how pissed off Eichirou was. Or at least it looked that way.

"Yes, it does mean suicide. But we're not that crazy to die immediately when we still have a job to finish here," Shuichi said after a few moments of silence. "And I think right now, you better finish that other job you wanted to deal with for some time now, Eichirou."

Of course, that only made the photographer face the biker placidly looking at him. It didn't take him long to understand Shuichi's words. Eichirou soon turned to one area of that building after disintegrating his armor and saw Kanako and the woman Haruna talking quite heatedly to each other for some reason. The sight made him frown, though.

'I wonder what they're talking about.' Nevertheless, he had issues to deal with at the moment. His friends gave him the chance to do it without worrying about Macera for a while. He might as well take it.

Right after taking a deep breath since he needed it, Eichirou started walking to approach the two women. But he hadn't even walked halfway when suddenly, Haruna turned sharply in his direction which made him halt to a stop. Debating for a short while whether or not he would smile, he just looked at the said woman.

"Don't include me in any of your plans, Mizuhashi. Especially if it has something to do with your mother," Haruna started rather icily which made Eichirou frown.

After that, she left him there a little speechless and at the same time, confused because of Haruna's actions and attitude. A few moments after recovering, he sought an answer from Kanako who just sighed quite disappointingly and shook her head. Eichirou could only watch Haruna walk away from that place.

What happened to her to become like that?

"Are you alright, Eichirou-san?" Itsuki ventured when none of the group could approach the photographer.

Eichirou sighed without tearing his gaze from Haruna. "I don't know."

xxxxxx

Minus Eichirou, the rest of the Vessels returned to the mansion to figure out what to do to save the victims within the 24-hour limit that Macera gave. Though if one would be honest, having to deal with time limits that a Triske Monster gave was even more frustrating than dealing with due dates for their projects related to their fields.

"24 hours? I wanted to say it's a joke, but--"

"No, it's not. Macera always does that, even in ancient times."

That voice made them turn to the source, only to see Akira and Hideoki entering the living room, with the former holding two scrolls in his hands.

"What are those scrolls for?" Itsuki couldn't help asking with a frown.

Akira sat on the sofa first and placed the said scrolls on the center table before facing the Vessels. "These scrolls contain information about Macera. It was the first Vessel of the Heavenly Water Spirit Guardian's Powers who first encountered this Triske Monster 5,000 years ago. And believe it or not, the time limit that Macera gave at that time for someone to save his victims was shorter than 24 hours."

"You're joking?" Misae asked with wide eyes.

But Akira remained stoic as he shook his head. "No, I'm not. For some reason, with the way he lengthened his time limit now could mean that the Tarean's imprisonment in the Tareus Dimension had weakened them considerably."

"Well, 5,000 years is no joke," Erika commented.

"You could say that," Hideoki smiled at Erika's comment. "By the way, how come Eichirou didn't come home with you?"

The Vessels looked at each other for a few moments before facing the head of the Mizuhashi household with a sigh. Shuichi decided to speak for the group. "Well, he has his issues to deal with and I said to him that he should settle it first before we deal with Macera again."

"Own issues? Are you talking about Odagawa Haruna?"

"The famous fashion designer?"

"Yes, it's about her," Shuichi replied placidly. "It seems that Eichirou wouldn't want to rest until he gets to the bottom of the problem regarding her."

"I don't think that boy would easily convince Haruna to help him with his project because she hates Mariko to a degree."

"Hideoki-san, I think 'hate' could be a really heavy word to use for that," Misae commented with a wince.

The historian just gave a small smile. "But that's the truth, my dear. At least, Haruna stated it that way."

"Why does she act like that towards Mariko-san, anyway?" Itsuki asked.

For a few moments, Hideoki peered at Mariko's picture placed in a picture frame on top of the fireplace. "That's because Odagawa Haruna had been Mariko's apprentice until my wife died. And yet, even if she'd been dead for a long time now, it appears that my wife's shadow continues to cloud Haruna's real identity in the fashion world. People would associate Haruna with Mariko most of the time no matter how hard she tried to stay away from it."

"But... isn't that the same as us? Our parents' achievements in their respective fields that people would always associate with our achievements," Erika couldn't help commenting that only made the others nod in agreement.

They could understand where Haruna's hatred would stem from. But they could also see that they appeared to have handled it differently from Haruna.

"Anyway, we'll just leave it to Eichirou for now. I think he'll be able to figure something out," Shuichi soon stated with a determined voice that disrupted the temporary silence surrounding them. "What we need to worry about right now should be Macera's time limit to the victims."

Itsuki nodded before speaking once again. "The only way for us to counter that would be to deal with his flashing light attack. The camera-like hand of that monster is the key."

"The problem is we need to destroy that hand without getting petrified by the light coming from there. Doing it one by one would be suicide. The same goes for doing it together," Misae reminded. "Now I can finally understand why Eichirou-san said that earlier."

"Speaking of Eichirou-san..." Erika paused and faced the others with a confused expression. "Did any of you see the blue light that suddenly flashed from his helmet a while back?"

"Blue light? The only color of light I saw at the time was white and that was coming from you, Erika," Itsuki stated. "Remember? You suddenly used your light powers to reflect with Eichirou-san's ice spell earlier." The composer's eyes soon widened right after saying that. "Wait a minute! Of course. Why didn't we think of that?"

It didn't take too long for the other Vessels to realize something from there. But Shuichi had another matter to think of besides the plan to destroy Macera. Erika said about the blue light flashing from Eichirou's helmet...

'Is it possible?' If it was, then the Vessels could have another advantage in the next battle besides Erika's powers. The biker couldn't help smirking at that.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, the gathered energy coming from the petrified humans' hopelessness was pouring down to the still slumbering emperor. Though it was enough to make Emperor Darshao open his eyes and talk to his retainers, it still wasn't enough to make him stand up and move completely.

"What do we expect? It still isn't enough. Our emperor needs more energy coming from those filthy humans' hopelessness." Alvre's disappointment was expressed as she said those words.

Of course, as expected, that news had caused another frustration to the said Tarean leader expressed through growling. But since he was still unable to move properly, the emperor could only do so with his leaking powers enough to cause thunder and lightning to roar and strike around the Fortress of Screams once again.

With a sigh, Karkino faced Macera who was only busy jumping up and down and swinging his flashlight-like arm.

"Macera, are you done recovering your energy?"

"I did, my lord." The Triske Monster bowed as soon as it uttered that reply.

"Then go back to the surface and continue your job. Petrify more humans and make them feel even more hopeless than they ever had in their lives. Not just the humans. End the Seitengers, as well. No excuses!" Karkino ordered with a firm tone that left the Triske Monster no choice but to obey.

With that, Macera left the Emperor's room to proceed with its mission.

However, just like in the previous attack, Orcus could sense that something was about to happen to the Seitengers' growing powers.

"I'd like to see this one for myself one day. Grow stronger, Seitengers and we'll see if you had truly surpassed your predecessors far better than any of your kind had ever done..."

xxxxxx

Erika took a deep breath right after heading out to the garden. Hearing her brother and the others continue to discuss their tactics in defeating Macera had only given her more headache than usual. She should've expected that, though. Besides, she chose to take this path so she might as well learn to deal with this.

But as soon as she stepped outside, she saw Helen still busy reviewing the footage from their last fight. With a sigh, she approached her childhood friend and sat beside her. Helen just smiled at her before continuing the task in front of her.

"Anything unusual?" Erika asked just to break the silence between them.

Helen shook her head without looking at Erika. "None, by far. But I think we could take advantage of the spell you used a while back with the help of Eichirou-san's ice spell." Soon after, however, Helen stopped typing on her laptop and eyed her friend with a frown. "I thought you guys were discussing your next counter attacks to defeat Macera."

"I have to stay away from them for now. I had enough issues about Triske Monsters and tried to come up with a way to defeat them. Let's just say I need to take a breather."

Helen just smiled at Erika's way of trying to lighten up things around them despite the obvious tension because of Macera's time limit. At that point, she was able to discern what was truly wrong with her friend. "Is there something you want us to talk about? Other than the Triske Monster?"

Erika eyed the novelist before nodding somberly. "How did you know?"

"I just... know. We might not have the longest time to be together, but I was still able to figure out a lot of things about you." Helen sighed before continuing. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

It took Erika a while to finally speak. But Helen remained patient in waiting. The latter was aware that the pianist wanted to be ready. Erika sighed after a few more moments of silence between her and Helen.

"You went to the Four Clubs Building yesterday, right?"

Helen nodded almost immediately, without hesitation. "Yeah, I did. Not just yesterday, but the other day, as well."

"Was it about the painting that was there? The one that previously belonged to Mariko-san?"

Once again, the novelist nodded. "How did you know?"

"The painting that was displayed there... looked similar to the vision that I had before the fire ten years ago. Once in a while, I keep going there to look at it, hoping that it would provide some answer as to why I keep dreaming about it before," Erika explained.

"But no answer showed, huh?"

Erika nodded and sighed heavily. "What about you? Why did you go there to see it?"

It took a while for Helen to provide an answer since she was still busy replaying the footage. "Just like you, I was hoping it will give some sort of sign or answer. But my reason wasn't about a vision or anything. It's about one of Professor's research a long time ago."

"Research?"

"About... the first Seitengers... and the priestess that they were tasked to protect at the time 5,000 years ago."

Of course, Erika wasn't expecting such information at all. Then again, she was still new to these things so it was natural. "There was a priestess that they had to protect?"

Helen nodded. "When the Professor first told me about that, I thought of it as a mere fairytale. Until he told me of the Celestial Five Lights stored within a single vessel. And that's her, regarded as the most powerful maiden of her time. Her powers alone could defeat a great army of Tareans and could even deal with the Seven Great Shadow Defenders."

"Wow... I didn't know there was someone like that fighting the Tareans before."

"There was more to that story, I know it. But the Professor didn't mention much about it to me since he said that every record about her was scarce."

What the two girls didn't know was that Eichirou had been listening to them the entire time. He just arrived from his talk with Haruna regarding his plans for the exhibit, which didn't turn out quite well, much to his dismay.

For some reason, he was able to hide his presence from the two girls whom he knew could detect Hasureiki and even some magical presence faster than he and the other Vessels could. It was then that he was able to realize the answer to his earlier question about the painting.

'Was that the story of the painting that Mom received before? Could that woman be the priestess that Helen-chan and Eri-chan are talking about?'

Eichirou could only shake his head to try to clear his thoughts. His realization only led to more questions rising with regards to what they were fighting for.

'Why would Mom allow that painting to be displayed there anyway?'

xxxxxx

Even with a lot of things going on in his mind, Eichirou surprised himself for actually sleeping well last night. But then again, he knew he had to rest properly for him to be able to continue with two tasks at hand ― dealing with Haruna and defeating Macera. Well, the latter could be done with the help of the other Vessels. It was the former that he would surely have trouble accomplishing. At the moment, he was unsure if he would be able to do anything about his plan.

But Eichirou wanted to do everything to make sure the exhibit would work well in the end. It was about his mother, after all.

And yet, it was that same reason that he found it hard to talk to Haruna. Well, he could understand her sentiments towards the shadow of Mizuhara Mariko still towering over Odagawa Haruna in the entirety of her career as a fashion designer. It was like Mariko had never died.

Looking up, he found himself standing outside of the room that Hideoki had allowed Helen to use for the duration of her stay there. To be honest, it wasn't just Haruna and Macera who made him think a lot of things. The conversation between Helen and Erika that he heard as soon as he arrived home... He wasn't sure why he felt something different about that. He wasn't mistaken that the topic those two childhood friends were talking about was the painting given to Mariko a long time ago.

Was it possible that the painting could be related to their mission as chosen Vessels?

"Good morning, Eichirou-san."

It was that greeting that snapped the photographer from his musings. He smiled as soon as he saw Erika closing the door of her room and approached him soon after. "Good morning, Eri-chan. You're early."

She smiled and pointed at the whiteboard placed on the hallway's wall. Immediately, he understood what she meant.

"Helen-chan's not there if you're looking for her. I think she slept at Nanami-san's bookstore while doing more research to help us."

Eichirou nodded. "By the way, did you sleep well?"

"I should be the one asking that to you," Erika replied rather placidly which surprised him. She sighed after that. "Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee? I bet you need it."

Eichirou nodded and followed Erika to the kitchen. Since it was her turn to cook and prepare breakfast for everyone and he was already awake, he might as well help her.

Erika served a cup of black coffee to Eichirou after a few minutes. He couldn't help smiling at the sight of it, for some reason before looking at her.

"Is there something wrong?" Erika asked as she tilted her head.

He shook his head and proceeded to drink the coffee. He smiled again as soon as he tasted it. "You know what? I like the way you make my coffee better than that of Itsu-chan and Shuichi."

"You did mention the same thing to me in my third year here. I was only learning how to brew the coffee properly from Hideoki-san at the time." Erika showed a nostalgic smile as she said those words. "I guess I had to learn it so I won't have to put up with the way Onii-chan would brew my coffee, even though I'm much of a tea person."

"And it wasn't because your father likes coffee?" Asking it casually was a bit of a risk on his part.

Erika was silent for a few moments before smiling once more. "At first, it was my reason for learning how to properly brew coffee. Getting away from Onii-chan's coffee was the second. But I guess I just don't want to forget my father's smile whenever my mom makes his coffee. His smile to me and my brother... I don't want to forget everything about it."

No words came from Eichirou after that. Well, he understood what Erika meant. He, too, wouldn't want to forget his mother's smile. Even if people would still incorporate her image in his photos and her talent in photography, he doesn't want to let her smiling image go.

"Do you think I could make her understand that?" Eichirou mumbled moments later before taking a few steps on his coffee.

"You mean Odagawa-san?"

The question asked back to him had caught him off guard. "How did you know about her?"

Erika smiled as she placed a cup of tea ― her preferred hot drink ― on the countertop. "Hideoki-san mentioned a few details about her while you were away yesterday. Though I do understand her sentiments in dealing with the shadow of someone who died a long time ago as she strived to create a name for herself, I have a feeling that a part of her holds something important about Mariko-san. I mean, she was Mariko-san's apprentice and after your mother died, Odagawa-san pursued a dream still related to it. Maybe at the moment, she still couldn't admit it to herself because of that resentment. Maybe someone has to make her realize that."

Eichirou couldn't think of anything to say after that. But he could understand where Erika was heading with her words.

"The only way I could think of for you to make her realize that is to let her do something that is the embodiment of everything she ever felt since Mariko-san died," the pianist suggested not long after. "You already did the same thing just a year ago. I think it's about time she does something like that, as well. She needed to do something to release whatever resentment that Odagawa-san still has for your mother."

At that point, Eichirou remembered the event that Erika was talking about. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do as soon as those words registered in his mind.

"Thank you for saying that, Eri-chan."

"It's the least I can do, you know. But I do have a feeling that Odagawa-san was only a small part of your current worries. I know that you heard what Helen-chan and I were talking about yesterday."

'Just as I thought...' Eichirou should've seen that statement coming. So he was right about Erika being able to sense almost everything ― especially mystical energies ― around her. He wasn't sure if the others noticed that part of her, though. But if one would ask him, he did consider that observation weird.

He sighed and faced the youngest Vessel. "The painting that you and Helen-chan were talking about... Did you know that someone gave it to my mother as a gift for her debut in the fashion world?"

It was expected that Erika would be surprised to hear that. But it didn't take long as he soon saw her face turning serious as she drank her tea. "I wonder who that person was. But do you think it has something to do with the Vessels? Helen-chan mentioned a priestess that the first Seitengers had protected a long time ago. And that painting could tell us something about that story. Do you have any idea about the person who gave it to Mariko-san?"

He shook his head. He, too, wanted to know the answer to that question. But where would he get that answer he needed to hear?

"If such a person existed at the time that the battle with the Tareans was starting, then there must be something important about her that even old records didn't contain. Perhaps as a way to conceal it to the enemies who managed to be released from one of the broken Tarean Seals."

"Helen-chan did say that records about that priestess were scarce. Do you think verbal records existed?"

Eichirou sighed at the question. "If such a thing existed, we have to find surviving people who knew her story. One of them could be the person who gave that painting to my mother."

xxxxxx

Later, the other Vessels finally woke up. But they all frowned at the sight of just Erika making herself busy in the kitchen all alone when it was supposed to be a joint morning duty by her and Eichirou.

"Don't tell me that guy left the mansion without telling us again," Shuichi started while helping Erika carry the other kitchenware to be placed at the dining table.

"Yeah, but I told him to do so. He already had his breakfast before he left," Erika explained without looking at the others.

"You told him? But why?"

Erika faced his brother as soon as she finished placing the plates in their respective spots on the table. "He needed it. And since Shuichi-san seems to have a different idea as to what happened to our battle with Macera the last time, fixing something important to him would at least provide a path for Eichirou-san to learn even more about his mother and his powers." She faced the racer after that. "Isn't that right, Shuichi-san?"

Initially taken aback at Erika's matter-of-factly tone, Shuichi soon chuckled before nodding. "You noticed, huh?"

Erika smiled and continued heading to the kitchen to get the dishes she prepared. "You went quiet after I mentioned the flash of light that appeared when Eichirou-san and I inadvertently combined our powers to stop Macera from petrifying us. Is that particular scenario what I think it is?"

No one said anything as they all waited for Shuichi to answer Erika's question. The racer soon took a deep breath before speaking.

"Honestly, it's still speculation. But if what happened back then was related to what happened to me during our previous battle with Motross, then we will have an upper hand in defeating that Triske Monster if Eichirou indeed retrieves that power. But Erika ―" Shuichi paused and faced the pianist. "― I still want you to lend him your powers when that happens. The spell that you and Eichirou came up with, even if it was just by chance, had given Macera some damage the last time we dealt with him. However, we still need something even more powerful to defeat that monster once and for all. And I think we can have that, as long as Eichirou acquires that power we need."

"But do you think Eichirou-san settling whatever issues he has with that Odagawa Haruna-san can provide a path for that?" Itsuki asked.

"From what I can see until now, both Haruna-san and Eichirou have to overcome the only barrier that prevented them from unleashing their true potentials all this time. My attachment to the gift that my father gave to me was the very barrier that I dealt with when I proved myself to Condire. Maybe it's the same thing to Eichirou."

"Awakening another Elemental Guide this soon... Is that even possible?" Misae murmured and faced Itsuki. "By the way, have you read anything else yet about these beings? I can't help but think that there's something more to these creatures than just another aide in our battle as Seitengers with the Tareans."

Itsuki sighed and shook his head. "I haven't had any time lately to skim on anything related to the Hundred Heavens. My composing projects have been taking up so much of my time that I couldn't even sleep properly because of it."

"Oh, yeah. The Centennial Concert here in Tsukikage is already near," Erika commented upon remembering something. "But Onii-chan, I don't think it's just your composing projects that keep you up at night as of late."

However, Itsuki chose not to say anything at the moment about that. He still didn't want to disclose anything about what truly bothered him to anyone at all, including his sister.

"And you still don't want to say anything to me about that, huh?"

Itsuki saw Erika's raised eyebrow that only made him smile a little and ruffled the pianist's hair. "When I'm sure of everything, I won't miss any detail when I mention it to you. Right now, things still feel a little blurry to me."

Erika looked at her brother for a few moments before sighing. "Just don't overwork yourself, okay? We have Tareans to deal with."

The composer nodded and faced Misae soon after. "Once we're done with Macera, I'll try to read whatever details were recorded in the scrolls in Nanami-san's bookstore."

"We can ask Helen-chan about that. She tends to stay in the bookstore a lot these days, so she probably read about these Elemental Guides."

At the mention of Helen's name, everyone felt a sudden tension rising but Erika paid no mind to that. Both Shuichi and Misae shrugged it off, though. Itsuki just chose to take a deep breath and keep quiet about it. Moments later, however, he frowned at his sister's words.

"Why would she stay at the bookstore, anyway?"

"I think she's trying to find something, anything, about the priestess that the original Vessels had protected 5,000 years ago. I'm not sure if she found information about her, though, since the professor said to her that details about that priestess were scarce."

"Priestess? That's the first time I've heard of it."

"Me, too. But... why would Helen-chan try to find information about her?"

Erika shrugged since she didn't know the answer to that. Itsuki went into deep thinking upon hearing that.

Shuichi spoke not long after, breaking the silence surrounding the Vessels. "In any case, we should stay alert and be ready when Macera decides to attack again. Hopefully, by that time, Eichirou can provide us something to deal with that petrifier."

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, Eichirou went back to the Four Clubs Building at that early time in the morning. He couldn't help smiling, though, when he thought back as Erika didn't allow him to leave the house without having a proper breakfast. Well, perhaps anyone would've done the same thing as she would. Not to mention that their battle with Macera wasn't over, so having a proper breakfast would provide him with at least the majority of the energy he needed.

He sighed as he finally entered the building with the guard's permission. But instead of heading to the room where his photos would be displayed for the exhibit, he decided to go to a different room.

To the room where Haruna's fashion show would be held.

Yes, it was a bad idea to deal with that woman again. But he was sure that there was something more to Haruna's hate for his mother than just being overshadowed by the said woman even though Mizuhashi Mariko was already dead for 12 years. He felt it when he confronted her the last time. He just has to make her see it.

But as soon as he entered the intended room, Eichirou frowned when she saw Haruna standing alone on the stage, eyeing a mannequin wearing an elegant white gown.

'Wait a minute... Have I seen that gown before?' As soon as he asked that question to himself, an image flashed in his mind that made him gasp almost silently. Not to mention, Haruna was looking at that familiar dress wistfully.

Eichirou was sure it was one of his mother's designs. Or was it?

At that point, Eichirou decided to approach the woman and chose to talk to her again. Nothing would ever be accomplished if he remained standing there and hesitating to talk to her because of her treatment of him.

"What are you up to this time, Mizuhashi? Shouldn't you be busy with your project in this building? And who told you to even enter here, anyway?" Haruna asked rather placidly. But this time, no coldness could affect him. Especially when he was aiming to achieve something big before he dealt with Macera.

"It's Eichirou. If you're going to refer to me by surname, then you're already talking about my father," the photographer replied rather coolly.

"Why, you little ―"

"And yes, I should be busy with my project at this time. But that project isn't something I would call complete if I don't include your works in it. Not to mention, I still have an enemy to deal with before going over this project one last time to show it to everyone."

"I thought I told you not to include me in anything that has something to do with your mother."

"And that's one reason why you're still trapping yourself within the confines of your box. All this time, you have never done anything that could break that box for you, to help you truly set out to the world on your own ― without my mother's shadow to follow you over and over."

Of course, with those words, Eichirou was expecting Haruna to lash out at him. He was quite aware that the one thing she hated was pointing out something that has something to do with his mother. She hated Mizuhashi Mariko that much... or at least that was what he initially thought.

But the dress in front of her proved a different answer that soon changed his perception of Haruna's true feelings. Eichirou would have attributed it to his powers or something else. Nevertheless, now he had a better idea of what was truly going on about Haruna and his mother.

Haruna took a deep, ragged breath after a long period of silence between her and Eichirou before facing the mannequin with the white gown. "This is the last one..."

"What do you mean?"

"The last dress I designed and created that Mariko-san saw before she died. She was smiling ever so beautifully when I showed her this dress. Even though she was in her bed, feeling so weak, she smiled at the sight of this. She said that the man who would see me wear this dress would say I'm the most beautiful woman he laid his eyes on. Like I'm a goddess."

"Mom... still doesn't stop saying that to you, huh? Even when she was already weak..." Eichirou smiled at the memory.

"But after she died, I started hating this dress. I started hating that one dream I had before she died. This dress was the final confirmation, she said. That I was finally going to have my fashion show ― in my name alone and not just as her apprentice. She said she wouldn't let anyone tell me that I would always stay in her shadow and not have my own identity. I hated her for letting me go through the very thing she promised she would protect me from."

After that, Haruna took a deep breath once again. But Eichirou was taken aback at the sight of the tears starting to fall from her eyes. And yet he remained standing there, just watching her do so. Something told him that he could only do as much at the moment.

"Even with that, I still couldn't throw this dress away. Every time I would try to do it, that smile she gave me because of this dress would always appear in my mind. That she still believed in me. That time will come when I can surpass her. Get past the barrier she inadvertently created by being my mentor..." Haruna shut her eyes tight as if trying to stop the tears from falling even more but failed.

Eichirou remained looking at his mother's apprentice crying like that. But in his mind, it kept on saying that she needed to let it all out like this. Once again, he looked at the dress in question. And that was when he recalled something.

"You truly adored her, huh? Even with all the negative things that her death had brought to you, you remained admiring her as the mentor and designer that you knew she was. You still held on to the one thing that truly kept you going... I envy you for still holding on to this dress as your reminder of her..." Eichirou's voice became softer at the last sentence.

He soon sensed that Haruna eyed him in confusion. But he remained staring at the dress.

"I didn't have any physical reminder of her promise to me that I can hold on to. But the sea would always hold her memories that we made together as mother and son. The water and the waves that go back and forth the shore... The very water that washes away every fear and doubt I ever had in my life since she died... Those waters held the promise that she would watch over me whatever happens, whatever choices I make in my life. And now ―" he paused and soon faced Haruna who was looking at him. "― the powers I inherited from her... I'm now using it as another proof that this world she left behind because she had to will always be the treasure she would protect with her life. She wanted to protect the place that held all of her dreams. She might not have fulfilled all of those dreams when she was still alive. But now, I strongly believe that Mom... left this world believing that we can fulfill those remaining dreams for her. That we can fulfill them in our ways, whether intentionally or otherwise."

That long white dress standing in the middle of the stage ― continued to stir various emotions and memories in both Eichirou and Haruna. Nevertheless, they just let it stand there as they intend to realize a lot of things that seemed to have become a barrier to let them reach the peak of their true potential.

As for Eichirou, that dress seemed to have provided a way for him to realize something important. And at the moment, he had to use that realization to end the Vessels' battle with Macera before the exhibit.

xxxxxx

Unknown to the two people having an important discussion in that building, two others also have something important to talk about. But this time, it was to the building manager.

A sigh escaped Hideoki's lips as he laid eyes on the mysterious painting displayed in the middle of the hall. The very same painting that both Eichirou and Helen were looking at, only at different times.

"Iwasaki-san, how come I've never known that my wife would keep something like this here?"

The man in question shook his head after sighing. "Forgive me for not saying anything, Mizuhashi-san. But she made it clear to my father before that no one should know about this belonging to her until the given time. And when my father died, she made me promise the same thing when I took over the position of being this building's manager."

Out of all the words that the man said, there was one that caught the historian's attention. "Until the given time? Did she mention when that time would be?"

Iwasaki nodded and looked at the painting, as well. "Yes, she did. It would be after your son's 20th birthday. Though that time had long passed, Mariko-san's will didn't occur to me until Eichirou-kun looked at this painting a few days ago. And there was also a young woman who was looking at this as if she was trying to find some answers by doing so."

Before Hideoki could even ask about the identity of the young woman in question, it was interrupted when his companion Dr. Tsukimori Genma arrived and called his attention.

"I already have the permission to take this painting from here. But there's one other thing I'd like to show you."

Hideoki frowned at that, but chose not to say anything and waited for the scientist to continue what he intended to do. Confusing him, even more, was the appearance of two men carrying a rectangular item covered in gray linen. It was the same size as the Priestess painting (the one that was placed in the hall).

"What's this?"

"I found something that I learned to have also belonged to your wife and she decided to keep it here together with the painting of the priestess. But this painting represents something entirely different ― but perhaps, also related to the one we're dealing with."

Dr. Tsukimori's reply made Hideoki's heart beat fast, for some reason. How come he didn't know that there was another painting belonging to Mariko in this place? What was her reason for her to keep them here?

Before he could ask any more questions in his mind, one of the two helpers removed the cloth covering the frame.

"Is this ―?"

But Hideoki couldn't utter the continuation of the question he wanted to ask because of shock. The very same features of the priestess in the first painting were also painted in the other one. She was also wearing the same white gown. But her position in the second painting was different. She was facing the left side with a blooming lotus inside a ball of light floating in her hands. The one thing that made this entirely different from the other painting was the man in the painting facing the other way. The man who looked like an unbeatable warrior with armors and weapons and the priestess were standing back to back as if saying that they were meant to take different paths.

Of course, there could be a different interpretation for this. But there was one thing that made it clear for the two elders. This second painting was also related to the legend of the Vessels of the Heavenly Spirit Guardians' Powers. Their proof? The lotus symbol on each of their clothing articles. They were painted there as if making those who would look at them believe that it was a part of their clothes all this time. And the feeling that those two people looked as if they were real ― that they existed long ago...

"Why did Mariko hide these two paintings here? Both of these are important information for the Vessels..." Hideoki could only ask as he looked at Dr. Genma.

"We have no idea about Mariko's reasons for her doing that. But now that we know these two existed here, it seems that she knew more about the legend than we could ever think of. All of them, to the point that she started creating clues for the chosen Vessels to follow for them to grow. Or, if we're right with all the recent developments here..."

"Helen could be telling us the truth when she said that... the Vessels in our care could surpass the previous Vessels before them..."

But they still needed to check on the Vessels' growth both as warriors and as chosen wielders of ancient power. Only then would they be able to know if Helen was right about her assessment.

xxxxxx

Their short peace came to an abrupt end. Macera started causing trouble in the city once again. This time, it didn't just extend to one institution and establishment. It was nearly a whole town that the Triske Monster had targeted. Not to mention that there were a lot of Gargonema all around to let that happen.

"Stop moving! You're all too fast! It's getting annoying!" Macera kept on shouting as it fired beam after beam from its camera-like hand towards the escaping and screaming citizens.

Some groups got hit and were petrified on the spot, while others were able to avoid it even if it was just barely done. And yet they were scrambling to get away from there.

More beams were fired toward the citizens and horrified screams resonated throughout. During the commotion, it could be seen that others were shouting something different from the fearful ones.

"Everyone, this way!"

"Hurry!"

"Don't look back! Just run and get away from here!"

It appeared that several people remained in the area to help the others escape. Though they were in different areas, they all did their best to make sure that everyone would be able to escape.

"Amuro, how was it on your end?"

"No one's left in the stadium, even here in the parking space. The area's pretty much empty now," he replied to his uncle Yushiro who decided to stay and help the people in their way. "How was it on your end, uncle?"

"They were able to get away even before that monster started attacking. In any case, let's meet at the plaza. I think I saw a few more people over there who needed help."

The other people in the plaza -- at least the moving ones -- were able to escape, thanks to Natsume and Akira who decided to leave the house for a bit to buy some snacks so that the Vessels could have something to eat while discussing their strategy. Unfortunately, they got caught up in the middle of the panic when they saw Macera appear together with a group of Gargonema.

"Let's do what we can to round up everyone and help them get away from here. I'll take this direction and you take the other," Akira suggested and then pointed to the right.

Natsume nodded and the two teenage boys started running in opposite ways. Not long after, they were able to gather the unpetrified ones and have them run and take the road that most likely, Macera wouldn't consider taking.

A few more minutes passed by and the four people that helped the citizens escape inadvertently met up at the center of the plaza. All four of them were panting.

"What are you two still doing here? Shouldn't you be escaping from here, as well?" Uncle Yushiro inquired with a frown.

The two teenagers looked at each other first before Natsume decided to answer. "Well... you could say that we have to do something that duty made us do."

Pretty vague for an answer, in Amuro's opinion. But before he could say anything about that, a roar from someone enraged disrupted them. They all faced the direction in which it came from and their eyes widened at the sight of Macera approaching together with a few of the Gargonema.

"How dare you disrupt my fun, huh? How dare you?!" Macera screamed and raised its camera-like arm in the four people's direction.

Before they knew it, the monster fired two light beams. The targets could only raise their arms and close their eyes as it was too late for them to avoid it.

But before it could hit them, a pink flash of light distracted the Triske Monster when it hit its eyes along with the appearance of a twirling pink lotus in front of the four people. That twirling lotus acted as a shield for the people who were about to get hit by the beams and it appeared to have worked.

Natsume and Akira heard the Triske Monster's vexed screams that made them put their arms down that they used to shield their eyes from the blinding light. To their confusion, they could only make out a silhouette of a pink lotus between the four of them and Macera who was still vexed, for some reason, and not just because its attack didn't hit them.

Even though curiosity was about to kick in at the sight of that, they still had important things to deal with.

"Come on! Let's get out of here before that monster starts striking at us again," Akira urged just to snap everyone out and started running away from there together with Natsume.

Uncle Yushiro and Amuro started running, as well. But it could be seen that the racer looked back and saw that Macera was still shouting in frustration, probably because of what happened. And in his mind, especially with another image appearing in his mind upon recalling a certain event that made him decide to help his uncle allow the citizens to escape, his eyes showed a certain determination about something.

Whatever it was that he thought about for his eyes to show such emotion, only he knew that at the moment.

xxxxxx

Around the same time, while the Vessels were currently discussing one strategy after another aside from the one they already thought about, they froze upon hearing several familiar beeping sounds. None of them wasted any time checking on their Celestial Shifters and opening them to know the reason for the beeping.

Both Shuichi and Itsuki's Shifters projected the footage of the current situation in which Macera and the Gargonema started causing trouble and spreading fear in the town plaza. It could also be seen that a lot more people than the last time were petrified on spot. As for Misae's Shifter, it projected a map of the town, with a blinking dot on the area of the attack, indicating the monster's current location.

"I guess that monster couldn't stay still and wait in the Tareus Dimension for the remaining hours, huh?" Itsuki couldn't help commenting as he could see the footage of the event.

"If it's acting on orders, then that means it got an even more sinister plan up ahead," Misae said as she closed her Shifter.

Itsuki sighed upon closing his Shifter. "Then that means we have to put that to a stop before any of the Tareans here on the surface could implement that."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Shuichi ordered with a tone full of determination. "But don't let your guard down."

"We know that."

With that, all three Vessels stood up from their seats and started running. Then again, Itsuki halted to a stop and looked around as soon as he noticed something. "Where's Erika, by the way?"

"She already went ahead," Nanami answered as she entered the room. "She was in the garden a while ago when her Shifter beeped and told me she'll go ahead of you."

Of course, what the woman said made Itsuki confused. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. But I have a feeling that it has something to do with Helen-chan since there was something that she had to investigate somewhere in the town, anyway."

As much as the composer would like to feel irritated at the mention of their guest's name, it appeared that the word "investigate" had started to pick his curiosity, for some reason. But they all had other worries to deal with at the moment.

"Let's bet that Eichirou is starting to deal with that camera monster as soon as we reach the scene," Shuichi said, only making the others laugh.

Then again, it doesn't seem to be something impossible at all.

"Let's go!"

xxxxxx

One thing was for sure, it was chaos. Then again, anything related to the Tareans would bring them nothing but trouble and destruction. That was what the five Vessels were thinking as soon as they arrived at the site of the attack. More people were petrified around them and there were still citizens who were doing their best to escape from Macera, only to be hit with the light beam.

"That jerk seriously knows how to rile people up with its actions," Eichirou commented and brought out his Shifter from his pocket.

"Rile up? No one could even fight against it, even with meager human strength. We should've arrived sooner."

"No time to be regretting, Misae. Right now, we have a job to do," Shuichi said as he too pulled out his Shifter. Misae followed suit.

When Erika was about to take out her Celestial Shifter, she noticed that Macera hadn't spotted them yet. But it seemed that it would only make the Tarean Monster determined to petrify more people. They could afford to let it go on any longer.

"Gargonema, start destroying the petrified humans!"

The order they heard from Macera was loud and clear that the Vessels' eyes widened in shock and made them face each other.

"We better put an end to that Tarean Monster. Now!"

The rest couldn't agree more to Itsuki's suggestion, given that Macera's order to the Gargonema only spelled a great trouble. With that, with no hesitation, all five of them charged towards the group of Gargonema specifically tasked to strike down the petrified humans.

"Hyakurei Laser!"

Each of them fired towards the Gargonema approaching the petrified victims. Of course, it caught the other groups' attention but the Vessels paid no attention to that. The Vessels' priority was to prevent casualties as possible. The only casualties they would consider would be that of the Tareans that caused trouble in town.

When more Gargonema started approaching them after Shuichi and the others defeated the ones that tried to destroy the affected civilians, it was then that the Vessels activated their Celestial Shifters.

"Spirit Shift, Start!"

It didn't take long for all five of them to don their suits and become the Seitengers once again.

"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 legend! Reiyouki Sentai Seitenger!"

They materialized their Hyakureiders and each of them dealt with the remaining Gargonema that were about to attack them.

"It's time we set up the stage for you!" SeitenFire exclaimed and motioned the others to prepare for a group attack.

"Five Heaven Slash!" They cried out as a group as they fueled their Hyakureiders with their respective Hasureiki and threw energy blade attacks towards the approaching enemy group.

In no time, only Macera was the monster remaining in the area. And from the looks of it, the Tarean Monster didn't like it one bit.

"Argh! You're all annoying pests!" Without warning, Macera raised its camera-like hand and fired beam after beam towards the Seitengers. And one by one, the Seitengers deflected them using their Hyakureiders.

Another vexed growl coming from Macera resonated in the area. It was loud enough that SeitenWater and SeitenEarth had to cover their ears. Or at least, it looked like it — but as a joke.

"Any more growl coming from this monster and I'm going to put a gag around its mouth," SeitenEarth stated that only earned him chuckles from the female Seitengers.

"Or maybe we could petrify it, instead. If only we could actually do something like that," SeitenWater added that only made SeitenFire groan and slap his forehead.

"You are all seriously acting like kids right now, you guys."

But both the blue and the green warrior shrugged, as if the comment from their friend didn't affect them at all.

That rather simple moment didn't last long, however. Before any of the Seitengers could prepare themselves, another barrage of dark energy beams coming from Macera hurled towards the young warriors. The beams came fast that it was a few moments late for SeitenWater and SeitenLight to set up their defensive spells combined. The spell that should've acted as a barrier seemed to be only half the strength of the original one they've once set up.

They still managed to deflect the beams using that spell. But the Triske Monster didn't appear to be vexed as the Seitengers would expect. Taking the warriors' confusions as a chance, Macera fired another beam — the one that could petrify — towards the Seitengers.

"What the — !"

"This one's bigger than before!" SeitenLight exclaimed.

With those reactions as a cue, the Seitengers jumped away from their position. Moments later, the beam pulverized the spot where they once stood, creating a large hole with depth similar to a well.

"Okay... Now I think we've only angered our enemy too much this time." Even at such a dire time, the rest couldn't believe that SeitenWater could still say such a light-hearted comment.

Though they wanted to comment back on that, the monster did not want them to. Macera fired another massive light beam from its camera hand towards the Seitengers.

SeitenWater pointed his Hyakureider towards the incoming beam and channeled his Hasureiki to it. The sword started to glow in blue light.

"Blue Ice!"

Streaks of blue light appeared from the tip of the Hyakureider's blade outward, forming the four cardinal points. Moments later, the lines started spinning from the tip. It formed a circular energy field, acting as a shield.

It didn't take long for the beam to finally hit the shield. But the force coming from the attack was strong enough to push SeitenWater back. It was also getting hard for him to block the beam from hitting him and his friends.

"Don't push yourself too hard, blue Seitenger. Just disappear together with your friends and these pesky humans!" Macera taunted.

SeitenWater gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his glowing Hyakureider. But he held his ground. Then again, he couldn't deny that the force coming from the beam steadily strengthened. He wasn't sure how long he could block the said attack.

"Begone!" That and a growl resonated in the area, followed by a push from the strong force coming from the beam that soon cracked the ice shield.

The blue warrior gasped at the sight, distracting him for a few moments. Next thing he knew, he felt himself thrown hard as he heard his friends scream, as well.

The beam had not only destroyed SeitenWater's ice barrier, it also hit the team. It was powerful enough to even disable their suits, turning them back to their civilian forms. All five of them groaned in pain, fully realizing that the beam had injured all five of them.

"Urgh! Who would've thought that Macera would get stronger like this?" Shuichi commented as he rolled and tried to raise himself up, while clutching his left side.

"They're really desperate. At least that is obvious," Itsuki responded while clutching his right shoulder.

As they all tried to stand up and fight again, their eyes widened at the sight of Macera already charging up its camera-like hand aiming at them.

'This isn't good!' Eichirou thought as he struggled to even balance himself while crouching on one knee. 'I have to do something! I'm not letting this monster have his way and destroy all of us!'

"Die, Seitengers!" Macera screamed with a hysterical laugh and soon fired the beam towards the Vessels.

As much as the team wanted to close their eyes thinking that it would be over, they didn't. Instead, they got distracted because of a bright light coming from Eichirou's Celestial Shifter. That said light dissipated the incoming beam attack almost immediately and made the Triske Monster raise its arm to block its eyes.

'Could it be...?'

xxxxxx

"These kids... I can't believe it!" It was the only reaction that Genma could say as he, Hideoki, and his daughter Kanako were watching the ongoing battle from the rooftop of one of the buildings near the Four Clubs on the right.

The Seitengers didn't know that the three of them were there and it was a good thing. They didn't want to cause worries to the young warriors as they fought the Triske Monster causing trouble for the second time. Of course, that doesn't mean that they were not going to see the way the Seitengers fight the Tareans.

In this case, however, there was a different agenda.

"That same bright light... But to see it again so soon..." Even Kanako couldn't form a coherent sentence based on what they had observed from their position.

"So it's Eichirou's turn this time, huh?" Hideoki commented, mainly to himself. "But if we had to base it on the progress that they're making with regards to their training, then this kind of miracle is just a matter of time before it finally appears to them."

"An Elemental Guide awakening this soon just after the first one that Shuichi now possesses... Such a feat has never happened before in the history of the Vessels," Kanako said as she continued watching the area currently surrounded in bright blue light that could only come from the current Vessel of the Heavenly Water Spirit Guardian's Powers."

"I'm not sure if you can still call this a miracle or something else is in the works here for this to happen."

Genma was right to voice out that possible assumption, though. And yet Hideoki, with his proud smile on his face meant for what his son had achieved together with the other Vessels, had thought of something else. A conversation that took place a few days back between him and Helen.

"That kid could be right in more ways than one," Hideoki started as he stared once again at the area that has now become a battlefield for the Seitengers and the Triske Monster. "Helen knew... that the current Seitengers could surpass their predecessors in terms of the achievements and even the level of these kids' growth with regards to their Hasureiki."

"But... how could Atsuko's daughter tell that?"

Hideoki faced Genma with a somber look, one that only made the scientist frown. "It's not only because Helen is Atsuko's daughter and that guy's grandniece. He trained her in a certain field for some reason to be a support to the chosen Vessels. And I'm certain that there was more to her illusory ability that she didn't want to mention to anyone just yet."

No one spoke a word after that. All three of them continued looking at the battlefield. Then Genma sighed.

"If what Helen told you was true, then we'll just have to do all that we can to make them stronger. If they can surpass their predecessors, then they can achieve a feat that even the originals hadn't done back then."

xxxxxx

"Argh! What is this?! I can't see!" Macera screamed and continued growling while trying to make out what was going on.

But that was not the case for Eichirou. Despite the bright blue light that emanated in the area, he could still clearly see what was happening around him. It was a strange thing. But he knew he had to take advantage of it. Especially at the moment when that bright light appeared to be the one he once saw when Shuichi had awakened his Elemental Guide.

"Could it be? This is about an Elemental Guide?" Eichirou still asked himself as he waited for that bright light to fade even a little bit.

But it didn't happen. Instead, he saw a floating orb in the middle of that bright light. He frowned at the sight, but didn't feel scared or even intimidated. In fact, he started taking steps after steps after a few moments of hesitating. There was something about that orb that made him realize that it was sentient. Okay. Maybe it was just an assumption.

Even so, Eichirou was certain that it was motioning him to follow it. He had no idea where it would head to, but he knew it was right to go with that plan. Not that he had anything else to do — probably other than to think of a way to defeat Macera for good.

At the moment, it seemed that the opportunity to do just that had presented itself.

The orb stopped floating sometime soon, Eichirou followed suit. Moments later, his eyes widened at the sight of the glowing orb starting to morph in front of him. It soon took the shape of a Spirit Power Medallion. He couldn't help grinning at the thought that the item floating in front of him was indeed the Guardian Medallion of an Elemental Guide. The glow on the orb soon dissipated, allowing him to see the carvings on it.

"Walrus?" he uttered with a frown. A thought struck him afterwards. "Wait... walrus is a water creature. Does that mean... this is MY Elemental Guide?"

"That's right, blue Seitenger," a voice resonated around. Eichirou realized that the voice came from the floating Guardian Medallion in front of him. "I never thought I'd be showing myself to you this soon."

He wanted to jump and shout with joy at the revelation that he had awakened his own Elemental Guide — and soon after Shuichi's, at that. But he chose not to. There were other things that he must prioritize first, especially since he and his friends were in the middle of a combat with a Triske Monster.

"Who are you?" was the first question that he uttered. "I know it's a silly, common question to ask. But —"

"No worries, my comrade. I understand. I am the Elemental Guide of the Vessel of the Heavenly Water Spirit Guardian's Powers called the Whirling Walrus of the Sea. They gave me the name Waliver. Nice to meet you," the spirit of the Elemental Guide responded.

The answer soon put Eichirou at ease with the entity's presence. He wasn't usually keen on meeting strange creatures for the first time or even on a regular basis, unless there was a big reason. But he knew he had to make an exception on this one.

At that point, the photographer's expression turned from delight to somber. "Forgive me for suddenly asking this to you. But... why did you decide to show yourself to me now? I thought Elemental Guides don't usually appear to their chosen warriors this soon. And to think that Shuichi had just awakened his own Elemental Guide not too long ago after this."

It was indeed frank of Eichirou to ask that question to an Elemental Guide's spirit. But he wanted to know. At least, he knew he had to. He still had a fight to finish, after all.

To his confusion, he heard a chuckle coming from Waliver. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he waited for the entity to say something as either a response or a retort. He couldn't help thinking that his inquiry might have offended it in some way.

"Your mother was right about you. You sure are one curious kid."

That statement had only put a deeper frown on Eichirou's face. What does his mother have anything to do with this? Yet again, he didn't voice out his concern. Instead, the Guardian Medallion glowed a bright blue glow once again.

"Just take a look at this for now. Maybe this will give you the answer about the reason I have for finally deciding to show up to you," Waliver said before the glow started getting brighter than usual.

Despite the frown that formed on his face and even when the glow started to become too much for his eyes to look at, Eichirou knew he had to trust the entity. Not to mention that its earlier statement about his mother being right about him was still confusing to him. The bright light continued to engulf the already bright area that he was standing at.

It didn't take long before the bright light dissipated. But much to his confusion, he found himself standing in a room that was all too familiar to him. It was his mother's creativity room, as it was once called before his father turned it into his office. Or rather, Hideoki transferred his office there when Mariko died.

"Why am I here?" Eichirou couldn't help asking to himself as he continued to look around.

It was then that he saw someone sitting in front of the piano. His eyes widened upon realizing who it was.

"Mom..." he whispered, shock still visible on his face. Before he knew it, tears started falling from his eyes one by one.

This was the first time in a long while that he saw Mariko not in a picture that he would constantly look at and greet since her death when he was a young boy. He couldn't help crying at the sight of her moving in front of him. Though it was a touching sight, he knew that this was just an illusion. And for him, that was the painful thought that crossed his mind at the moment.

Mariko continued playing the piano with a song that seemed familiar to Eichirou, but also wasn't at the same time. Come to think of it, had he heard this melody before? He could recall that when he was young, his mother would play the piano from time to time. All he would ever do was to watch her do so by the door and try to hum the melody to the best of his abilities.

And it would only be a matter of time that Mariko would —

"Oh? Ei-chan..."

That call snapped him out of his reverie. Though ironically, this was one memory that he could clearly see and now standing at, for some reason.

He raised his head to look at Mariko. But he soon frowned upon noticing that he wasn't looking at him, even when she called him by his nickname.

"Can she see me?"

Upon looking further, he soon noticed that she was, in fact, looking and smiling at something past him. It was then that he turned around and his eyes widened again at the sight of a familiar young boy by the door.

"That's... me..." Eichirou could only utter as he eyed the shy boy holding a camera in his hands.

The young Eichirou soon smiled and ran towards Mariko who was waiting with open arms. The photographer couldn't help gazing at the boy that ran past him in disbelief. Why was he seeing a vision of his younger self and his mother in the past? Until the words that Waliver said when he followed it echoed in his mind.

"Could this be the one that Waliver wanted me to see? A memory from my past?"

But even if it was the case, then why this particular memory? What was with this scenario that made it all so important for the Elemental Guide to finally appear to him?

"You really look amazing while playing the piano, Mom. I wish I'm as skilled as you in doing that," young Eichirou said as he distanced himself a little from his mother.

Mariko chuckled and carried the boy to her lap before placing a hand on his head. "You will be skilled at something one day, my dear son. And I will be the first person who will be so proud of you that you managed to be that skilled. But I want you to do it for your own, with your own ability and power. People will obviously associate whatever talent or skill that you possess and will choose to show the world to me and your father. Do your best so that you can prove to them that you achieve them all by yourself."

The young boy cocked his head to one side, indicating his confusion to his mother's words. But Mariko only smiled and kissed his son's forehead.

"You'll understand these words I'm telling you now one day. Don't worry about them for now. Okay?"

Little Eichirou nodded with a smile and hugged his mother tight. They stayed like that for a while, relishing the warmth and the love that they give to each other.

"You look good in front of the piano, Mom. It's like I want to preserve that moment of you forever in so many pictures," young Eichirou said later on, without releasing himself from his mother's embrace.

A warm smile formed on Mariko's beautiful features and eyed her son. "Then do your best to learn the skills you need to make that happen. Do it with no apprehension and do it with conviction. Preserve smiles and dreams in those pictures and I know the moments you capture using cameras will freeze such important emotions and aspirations made that day. I'm here to support you, okay?"

The older Eichirou couldn't help but gasp upon hearing those words. He knew he was shaking because of overwhelming emotions in him at the moment. But he didn't do anything to stop them from surging.

'Those words... Now I remember!' He laughed even as his tears fell that blurred his vision, blurring the scene in front of him as a result. But in all honesty, he didn't mind looking like a fool at the moment.

He couldn't believe that he had forgotten such an important memory of his childhood that featured his deceased mother. Then again, the pain of losing her must have contributed to the fact that he unconsciously suppressed some of those important memories. And now...

"Now... Waliver wanted me to confront them. The very reason why I decided to pursue photography... even when people would keep associating me to my mother. What she made me promise that day became my source of strength through it all. And now..."

Now that he knew Mariko died to cut open a path for Eichirou and the other Vessels to fulfill their destiny as Seitengers. That same source of strength blazed hotter than ever. Everything he had pursued until now was for the reason that he wanted the first woman he loved to continue living through his work as a photographer.

His determination to preserve and protect people's dreams and smiles through those pictures, and now his works as a chosen Vessel and a Seitenger...

"It looks like you finally realized the reason why I decided to show myself to you."

Eichirou looked up to see a blue almost holographic figure of a walrus that he could now assume to be Waliver. The photographer smiled before nodding. "Thank you... for showing me this. I guess I do need a reminder of some of the most important things to me once in a while."

"You showed your determination even when you initially hesitated to become a Seitenger. But you still fight and continue to protect so many dreams through your battles against the Tareans. Now let me help you continue to do so as I lend you my powers."

He couldn't help grinning as he finally deciphered Waliver's words. "Then let's do this together, Waliver."

The walrus entity nodded. The holographic figure disappeared and a Guardian Medallion soon replaced it, glowing and now floating towards Eichirou. It landed on his palm before he clutched it. He soon closed his eyes before whispering "Spirit Shift, Start!"

The glow from the Guardian Medallion engulfed Eichirou and made him don his Seitenger suit once again. The bright light dissipated almost immediately that confused and surprised both the other Vessels and even the struggling Macera. The Vessels stood up as they looked at SeitenWater now holding an unfamiliar Medallion on his gloved hand.

"Eichirou-san, could that be...?"

SeitenWater turned to Erika who asked that question before nodding. The blue warrior soon pulled out his Hyakureider and extracted its blade. The others could only stare at each other at the response but did not say anything else.

It didn't take long for the Triske Monster to notice something different about the blue warrior. But before it could even react to its observation, SeitenWater soon placed the Guardian Medallion called the Blue Water Walrus in one of the other slots of his Hyakureider. Not long after, the blade of the Hyakureider glowed blue with water droplets starting to form around it. The droplets soon began to surround the blade in lightnigh speed, making it glow brighter.

"It can't be! That's the power of the Elemental Guide?" Macera could only exclaim in disbelief as SeitenWater poised to a fighting stance.

Inside the suit, Eichirou closed his eyes as he recalled the memory that Waliver had shown him. He soon realized that he and the Triske Monster could be similar in one thing. They both do something to preserve. His way of preserving, however, was completely different to that of Macera. He preserved smiles and memories — treasures that made humanity strong even in the worst days of their lives.

The very treasure that his mother Mariko had unwittingly entrusted to him to protect that day. And protect it, he would.

"Whirling Water!" he screamed and threw helix after helix of water energy towards Macera. He threw a barrage of it that struck the Triske Monster to several pieces before exploding.

SeitenWater exhaled and put down his raised sword before the others approached him and started tapping his back and his shoulder.

"You really awakened an Elemental Guide," Shuichi said and SeitenWater shook hands with him while chuckling.

"You and Eri-chan were the ones that gave the clue to that. I only need to fix a few aspects of my life and some other issues that would release me from being bound to a painful past. I was sure that you taught me that."

Shuichi laughed even while the others congratulated the blue warrior on achieving a feat. But the celebration didn't last long. All five of them soon faced just one direction where they all felt a sudden surge of dark energy now forming.

"Get ready! Here comes its Unsealed form!" Shuichi ordered before he and the other Vessels shouted their transformation phrase to don their suits once again and join SeitenWater.

As expected, the bigger version of Macera emerged from that gathered dark energy orb.

"Now you've made me so mad!"

That growling voice alerted the citizens who were released from their petrification and they all started running away from the now new battlefield for the Seitengers and the Unsealed Triske Monster.

"Alright! Let's go! It's about time we end this."

The others nodded and thrust their Hyakureiders up to the air. "Spirit Summon, Start!" One by one, the Grand Vessel Spirits descended from a portal formed in the sky. All five mechs fired beams towards Macera that was about to raise its camera hand, perhaps taking a chance to strike.

The Seitengers boarded their respective Grand Vessel Spirits while Macera tried to stand up.

"Reiyouki Gattai! Formation, Build Up!"

That command from the Seitengers allowed the Grand Vessel Spirits to take different forms and, one by one, combined with Firion being the main part. It didn't take long for all of the Grand Vessel Spirits to combine into one entity — a giant robot.

"Heavenly King, descend! SeitenOh!"

It was at that time that Macera finally managed to recover from the Grand Vessel Spirits' attack before the combination. To the Seitengers inside SeitenOh's confusion, however, the Unsealed Triske Monster was laughing maniacally.

"Honestly, I'm not liking the way this jerk laughs like that," SeitenEarth commented. Though he did so nonchalantly, one could see how the green warrior was clenching his gloved hand.

"All the more why we have to stay alert and never let your guard down," SeitenFire said. The others nodded and soon all of them grabbed their Hyakureiders stabbed in one of the slots of their respective podiums. "Let's do this!"

With that command, SeitenOh charged towards the still maniacally laughing Triske Monster. It was then that Macera almost immediately stopped laughing. Though it surprised the Seitengers, they continued charging at the enemy. Macera then raised its camera hand and fired flashing light attacks to SeitenOh.

"Spirit Shield!" The almost triangular shield that was formed from Dovight's detached wings blocked the light attacks as SeitenOh brought out the Sky Sword formed from Skylon's wings.

SeitenOh attacked Macera with strike after strike of the Sky Sword. Indeed, it was taking effect as each strike seemed to be weakening the Triske Monster. But SeitenEarth noticed something as it went on.

"What is this monster planning?" the green warrior muttered that the others still heard.

"Is there something wrong, Itsu-chan?" SeitenWater couldn't help asking even as he tried concentrating on the ongoing fight.

"Macera just kept striking at us with that flashing light from its hand even when we continued attacking it. For some reason, its action doesn't sit right."

"Are you saying... Macera is planning something with continued flashing lights?" SeitenWind asked.

It was when all of them screamed in surprise as the cockpit shook hard and threw the Seitengers off guard. They noticed that SeitenOh was on the ground and Macera began laughing maniacally once again.

"I told you!" SeitenEarth yelled as he gripped his Hyakureider on the podium. "I seriously hate it when my observations turn out to be right at some point."

Though SeitenLight wanted to laugh at her brother's complaint, it turned to a grunt and shout when they all saw Macera punching SeitenOh continuously, preventing the Seitengers from commanding it to stand up and fight the Triske Monster.

"Now I think I know what those flashing lights were for," SeitenLight announced, gripping her Hyakureider tight before pushing it forward.

That action allowed SeitenOh to fire a beam towards Macera through the Spirit Shield. The rest of the team did the same, until SeitenWater and SeitenEarth noticed that their Hyakureiders were stuck.

"Don't tell me... those flashing lights were meant to petrify us little by little?" SeitenEater asked as he continued pushing his Hyakureider, but to no avail.

"It seems that Macera knew that we'd be able to deflect its attack if it went all out. So it had to do it one flash at a time, starting with SeitenOh's legs," SeitenEarth concluded.

Macera recovered from that last beam attack and soon resumed punching and striking SeitenOh. Of course, this had put the team into a disadvantage as their robot's limited mobility restricted them from countering the attack.

"There has to be something we can do!" SeitenWind yelled as she pushed her Hyakureider. But the way that SeitenOh struck Macera with the Sky Sword wasn't enough to put a stop to the Triske Monster. "Oh, no! It looks like even the hands are slowly getting petrified as Macera continues to punch SeitenOh."

When SeitenFire looked, he did notice that each of Macera's punches to SeitenOh had flashes of light accompanying it. He couldn't help cursing and was about to feel hopeless. Until —

"Waliver, you can do something about this, right?"

SeitenFire turned to the source of that voice. He saw SeitenWater holding his own Guardian Medallion that made him smile.

"Of course! I am an Elemental Guide that breaks barriers, after all. That Triske Monster's petrification attack won't stand a chance against me."

"Then lend me your power," SeitenWater commanded. "Help us defeat this Triske Monster."

Waliver chuckled and growled. "You got it!"

SeitenWater placed the Blue Water Walrus on the slot of his Hyakureider that he pulled out from the podium. He then thrust the weapon to the air.

"Spirit Summon, Start!"

The sky crackled as lightning and thunder simultaneously appeared and resonated. A blue rune circle materialized and out of it came a dark blue walrus-like mech descending from the sky. It soared fast, which surprised the Seitengers. It didn't take long for Macera to finally notice the descending entity. But before it could comprehend what was going on, Waliver opened its mouth and fired a beam towards Macera. This threw the Triske Monster several meters away from the petrified SeitenOh.

Another beam shot out from the blue walrus' mouth and hit SeitenOh. But unlike what the Seitengers were expecting, the beam hit the pretrified parts of SeitenOh. And when the Seitengers tried to command it to move, they exclaimed in excitement upon realizing that Waliver had freed them from Macera's petrifying spell.

"We're free!" SeitenLight exclaimed.

"Your Elemental Guide does live up to its words," SeitenEarth commented.

"And powerful, too," SeitenWind added.

"We can talk about that later," SeitenFire said in a grave tone. "Eichirou, let's put an end to this."

The blue warrior nodded before pulling and stabbing back his Hyakureider to its podium. "Reiyouki Busou, Set Up!"

That command enabled the mechanical walrus to start changing form. It didn't take long for it to take the form of a halberd that was taller than the Triske Monster. The weapon floated towards SeitenOh before the said robot grabbed it. SeitenOh poised to battle, armed with a new weapon.

"Water Walrus Knight, Descend! SeitenOh Waliver!"

Of course, the appearance of a new weapon had not only startled Macera, it also made it realize something. Whatever that realization was, it was enough to become a fuel of sorts for its fighting rage and started charging towards SeitenOh again. But even with the Triske Monster's obvious rage, the Seitengers only watched and waited for the enemy to approach.

"Here we go..." SeitenFire uttered as his grip on his Hyakureider tightened.

"Let's end it here for good," SeitenWater said. He, too, had his grip on his Hyakureider tightened.

The rest nodded and prepared. Moments later, upon seeing that Macera had arrived at a certain spot that the Seitengers were anticipating, each of them began charging their Hyakureiders with Hasureiki. The halberd that SeitenOh was holding, in turn, began glowing in five colored lights. Each light indicated the colors of the Seitengers inside the robot.

They waited for a few more moments before all five of them pulled their Hyakureiders out of the podiums and pointed them towards the approaching Macera. Then a few more steps... until —

"Sea Walrus Soul Divide!"

With that command, SeitenOh's halberd glowed brighter as it raised the weapon. With the weapon taller than both SeitenOh and Macera, it was a given that the Triske Monster felt intimidated by it. The Seitengers took advantage of that reaction. SeitenOh struck the Triske Monster down with the glowing halberd, cutting the enemy in half before the enemy exploded right in front of them.

"Stage set!"

As soon as it was over, SeitenWater sighed loudly that only made the female Seitengers giggle and SeitenEarth shook his head.

"Never in my wildest dreams have I actually come to hate a camera," SeitenWater said before a holographic image of Waliver appeared before him.

That appearance caught the others' attention.

"Thank you for lending your strength, Waliver-san," SeitenLight said and then bowed. The others followed suit.

"No need to thank me. I made my decision to help you guys, after all." Soon after, it faced SeitenWater. "Call me when you need me again, okay? Or we can just talk even when there's no battle. In turn, I'm watching over you to make sure you'll continue fulfilling your promise to your mother."

Though it surely caught the others' attention, SeitenWater remained facing Waliver before nodding. "Continue guiding me, then. The fulfillment of a dream isn't done by one person, anyway. There are those who would help him along the way."

Waliver laughed and nodded before disappearing. Soon after, SeitenWater took out the Blue Water Walrus Medallion from his Hyakureider and looked at it.

"I guess our past will always hold a miracle that we can use to continue fighting the Tareans," SeitenWater said.

"It's the past that they left in order to protect us and allow us to fulfill our duty and their dreams, after all," SeitenWind stated with a bitter chuckle. "The past that changed us has now become our power to defeat the threat of this world, after all."

xxxxxx

"Another battle is over. These kids are surpassing my expectations each time," Hideoki said, most likely to himself, as he saw the damages around the battlefield where the Unsealed Macera and SeitenOh fought started to disappear.

It seemed that the Seitengers' used up Hasureiki that remained in the atmosphere were the ones doing the work. Even to this day, he still couldn't fathom how Hasureiki would work in the Seitengers' favor by fixing up damages like this. But it appeared that this was something that had been happening for a long time. In his case, however, he might have forgotten it upon the deaths of his wife and his friends. It looked like he still had a lot to learn from these youngsters. More surprises to expect from them, as well.

Hideoki looked around once again to make sure that no other commotion related to the Tareans were happening. When he realized that the coast was clear, he nodded and soon turned to leave the place where he watched the battle.

But he stopped to his tracks as his keen eyes spotted someone rather familiar to him just a few meters away. A woman who was also looking at the battlefield. It hit him right there who this woman was. With a sigh, he began approaching her.

"Odagawa-san..." he called out, almost too formal, if one would ask.

The said woman appeared to have been startled before turning to him. Her eyes widened slightly, but only for a short while. She bowed to him and he returned it in kind.

"Mizuhashi-san, it's been a long while," Haruna said as she raised her head.

"It looks like you're doing well."

She nodded. "I did... but mostly did so while thinking of my anger and frustration for not being able to let go of my resentment." She faced Hideoki and bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Mizuhashi-san. My harsh treatment of your son is no excuse. I even treated Mariko-senpai's memories the same way. I didn't take everything lightly, especially after senpai died all of a sudden..." Haruna's voice trailed off and bowed even lower.

"Raise your head, Haruna. You don't have to apologize deeply like that. Things hadn't been easy for me and my son, as well, after my wife died. But for Eichirou, it seemed that he was able to find a way to get on with his life even with the shadow of his mother still lingering. Even with people nonsensically associating his artistic ability as a photographer to his dead mother, that kid managed to proceed with his life as he held his head high. I just wish that this time, you'd be able to do the same. Mariko wouldn't choose you to become her apprentice if you don't have the ability to do that from the start," Hideoki said and soon looked at the now clear sky. "She's also watching over you. And I'm sure she didn't want you to continue dwelling in those frustrations and resentment."

It was then that Haruna raised her head and looked at Hideoki. She decided to take it as an opportunity to ask something that had been bothering her for a while. "Mizuhashi-san... about Eichirou-kun... Just what is...?" She took a deep breath before continuation. "How come he has the ability to fight monsters like that? What exactly is he?"

It seemed that the historian anticipated that question from the fashion designer upon hearing from the other Vessels before that Haruna witnessed the battle between the Seitengers and Macera the first time it attacked. But all he could ever give her as a response was a sigh.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell the full details for now. Everything around us hasn't stabilized just yet."

It was a vague answer, but Haruna didn't push through the topic further. Instead, she decided to ask about something else. "About senpai's death... Would it be okay if I know the real reason behind it? It still bothers me till now that she died all of a sudden without a proper explanation. You did mention to the press that she'd been sick for a long while. But... is that the truth?"

It took a while for Hideoki to form a response to her question. He didn't think that the woman would come to realize that something was indeed off with the passing of his wife 12 years ago. Then again, Mariko would always say that Haruna was a perceptive woman and it was one reason why she took her as an apprentice.

And it looked like that nothing had changed since the day Haruna was appointed as Mariko's apprentice.

The man sighed and soon faced the inquiring woman standing a few feet away from him. The look he gave to her wasn't that of a scolding one, though, even though she was prying about a painful past. She did deserve to know the truth — or at least a part of it. Just until they settled their affairs with the Tareans.

"That woman... Mariko... She died because she knew it was the choice that she had to make."

His answer only made Haruna frown, however. But she waited for Hideoki to continue talking, as it seemed that there was something more that he wanted to say.

"She died in the end, knowing that she was able to prepare for what was about to come. She accepted death sooner than expected in order to protect the people that she knew were destined to fulfill an ancient mission."

xxxxxx

"Wow... He really did make it happen..." Shuichi commented as he and the other Vessels entered the Four Clubs Building where two joint events were held three days after their final battle with Macera.

The building didn't suffer too much damage from the fight that had ensued and so the repairs were done in no time. After the battle, Eichirou finally managed to convince Haruna to have a joint event with him as it was an event that celebrated their deep connection to Mizuhashi Mariko, even though they were the only ones who decided to associate it to the deceased fashion designer mentor and mother.

The Vessels, along with Kanako, Akira, Natsume, and Nanami were invited to the said event. They were part of Eichirou's success as a photographer, after all. He also invited Helen, which she obliged. But she did mention ahead of time that she would be arriving a little late as she had other important affairs to take care of. Whatever it was, he didn't inquire further.

As for Haruna, she invited mainly her closest friends and family members who stuck with her throughout the times that she was questioning her worth as a fashion designer. She decided to make Hideoki as a special guest to the event since it was him who made her realize what was more important in her life at the moment.

Eichirou couldn't help smiling proudly at the sight of so many people attending the photo exhibit-slash-fashion show event that he decided to form. Their battle with Macera did something good to both him and Haruna, even with all the chaos it caused. Of course, it didn't mean that his battle with the Tareans would bring them something good.

He did realize, however, that their recent battles with various Triske Monsters had been a path for them to confront things and issues from their pasts. It could be that the same thing was about to happen when the rest of the Vessels would finally gain the right to awaken their respective Elemental Guides.

"I still can't believe you were able to talk to the manager of the building for us to use this bigger hall, Dad," Eichirou started as soon as he approached Hideoki who was done greeting guests on behalf of his son and his wife's former apprentice. "I mean, they said that the owner doesn't usually allow anyone to just use the larger hall for events like this."

Hideoki chuckled and tapped his son's shoulder. "There are still things that I haven't mentioned to you, Eichirou. One of them is about the owner of this building. He had already given me permission a long time ago to allow people I know to use this larger hall for certain events. As long as it won't destroy or diminish the value and reputation of this place."

"It's no surprise that you know a lot of people. But it seems that the owner of the people is someone special among them," Itsuki commented as soon as he approached the historian together with the other Vessels.

"Is he here, by the way?"

To Erika's confusion, who asked that question, Hideoki shook his head. His eyes turned melancholic and looked at one of the displayed photos in which a certain young woman was standing in front of it.

"Helen-chan?"

Hideoki took a deep breath and faced the Vessels. "The owner of the building isn't here and will never again be going here. Sad to say, he passed away."

It didn't take long before the others realized the connection. It was Shuichi who spoke this time.

"Hideoki-san, could it be the owner of this building... was Helen's guardian? The professor she would sometimes mention to us who trained her in Reikarajutsu?"

The historian nodded without removing his gaze from the still standing Helen. "His name was Taiga Tatsuya and we once worked on a project related to the original Seitengers."

"A project... related to the original Seitengers? How come we've never heard of it? And I don't think Itsuki-kun ever read anything related to that, as well," Misae commented and she soon faced the composer who nodded, agreeing to her words.

"That's because it was a project that we've never been able to fully start due to the war 25 years ago. The war that resulted in your predecessors losing their powers just to make sure that the Tarean Seals would remain intact all this time."

xxxxxx

Even when the exhibit and fashion show joint event was over and proceeded with no commotion, Eichirou's mind still remained in that last conversation he had with his father. Not just him, though. Even his fellow Vessels were perplexed at the sudden subject that Hideoki brought up.

But none of them dared to question more about it, only because Hideoki said that it remained an unfulfilled project. Not to mention, the other person involved was never known to have tried to start the project because of a tragedy that Hideoki didn't elaborate further.

In any case, the historian said that it wasn't a closed subject to the household, so long as they found more clues about it. But in the meantime, what the Vessels needed to focus on would be their training to strengthen their Hasureiki and getting stronger to be able to fight the Tareans.

The Mizuhashi father and son decided to head somewhere else after the event was concluded. Since the event didn't happen at night time, they would still have some more free time before they head home to prepare for dinner.

Not long after, they finally reached their destination.

Mariko's grave.

Though it hadn't been that long since they last visited the place together, they both thought that they should do this on that particular day to do something important.

Hideoki and Eichirou knelt in front of the gravestone as they placed the flower bouquets they got on top of the grave. With a sigh, Hideoki touched the name of his wife engraved on the gravestone.

"We're here, Mariko," Hideoki started. "I'm sorry if we only got to do this today together. Those idiots that we were fighting against keep making it hard for our kid and the other chosen ones. But I'm sure you're not going to let them go through that and suffer in the end, right?"

Eichirou couldn't help smiling at the way his dad approached this. His father was talking as if Mariko was just far away and they were talking on the phone or something. But maybe because Hideoki acted that way, it became easier for both of them to deal with Mariko's death during the first two years.

Until the hotel fire happened and everything changed for father and son that day.

"Mom, we won't stop until I put an end to the Tareans' destructive schemes once and for all," Eichirou said this time after his father talked. "Shuichi and the others would help me achieve that. I will never again forget the promise that you made me say about preserving smiles and dreams. With the power that I have as a chosen Vessel, I know I'd be able to do just that."

When Eichirou turned to look at his father, he saw the historian show that sometimes rare genial smile and he felt the man's hand on the back of his head. It was as if Hideoki was proud of what the photographer had said in front of the grave.

With that, the father and son began offering their prayers for Mariko with their eyes closed. There was supposed to be nothing wrong with that.

Only except for the fact that something was disrupting Eichirou from his concentration. It was only when his father spoke that he realized he was paying too much attention to that disruption.

"Eichirou, are you alright?" Hideoki queried, frown starting to form on his face.

The photographer didn't answer immediately, though. He just kept looking around. "Why do I feel something strange about my surroundings right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you feel it, Dad? I could feel like we were surrounded in water since I kept hearing water plopping, for some reason." Eichirou began to frown, as well, as he continued looking around in confusion.

"You mean the same sound you heard when someone told you about the Vessels?"

Eichirou nodded and looked around once more but couldn't find anything else. There were no puddles around to tell him that it came from there. But if he was to base it on what happened the first time he heard plopping water, could it be that someone was trying to deliver a message to him?

Despite how strange it all appeared for Eichirou, and if he would consider the events that had transpired following that, then he knew he had no reason to put things off as hallucination or just an imagination. He closed his eyes, and concentrated further to know what was happening. It didn't take long before realizing what was off about the water rippling and plopping that he kept hearing since arriving in the cemetery.

'Why am I hearing Mom's voice in all those water sounds?' His eyes widened at the realization and he soon faced his father who was looking at him with concern.

"Eichirou, what's wrong?"

He took a deep breath first before speaking. "I could hear Mom's voice among those water ripples and droplets I kept on hearing. At first, I didn't want to believe it but it kept going. He was definitely calling out to me. She would only call me by my name and not just Ei-chan when I know something serious is going on."

"Besides calling your name, were there any other things she kept saying to you?"

Eichirou didn't say anything for a little while as he closed his eyes, but Hideoki remained patient. The man knew what the photographer was doing, anyway. And then Eichirou opened his eyes and faced his father.

"Dad, what does she mean by 'protect the current incarnation'? She said that 'she' would suffer the same fate if we don't find out who that person is and protect her before the full Hasureiki awakening."

That was when the historian's eyes widened, one thing that Eichirou rarely saw. If this had happened, then it must mean that the warning was indeed a grave one. But for a newly awakened Vessel like him, would they be able to fully understand what was going on?

"Your mother must have already known... That means it was only in line with the threat at hand that you guys are able to awaken your respective Elemental Guide faster than your predecessors. Something big is about to happen, and now she was telling us to prepare for that."

xxxxxx

Around the same time, after the exhibit, Itsuki remained in the Four Clubs Building instead of going back to the Mizuhashi mansion. He said to his sister that there was something he still had to do in the building so he would be going home late

As it turned out, that something was just to think things through as soon as he reached the rooftop of the building. It already came to him that Helen, even Hideoki and Dr. Genma went to that building for their own reasons.

He wasn't surprised about Helen's actions as he knew that the said young woman would keep doing things that would either intrigue him or subtly annoy him. But the one that confused him was the fact that both Hideoki and Dr. Genma went there, as well.

There was something in the building that could have been related to the Vessels. But even when he tried to look for anything unusual or even what looked ordinary, he couldn't find it. 'That something' could have been hidden even before he had the chance to look for it.

He went to the rooftop to clear his mind and figure out his next move. The air around the building felt calming and Itsuki was glad he went there. Then again, certain questions kept lingering in his mind as he aimlessly looked at the twilight sky. It didn't happen all the time. But events that had transpired lately would only make him restless and would constantly think of ways that he could deal with them.

He soon frowned as the wind that blew through the trees began to create whispers in his ears. He shook his head. It wasn't the wind. It was the trees around the building. They were the ones whispering to him. The wind only acted as a medium to deliver the message that those trees would say.

And he knew. Those messages were meant for him.

"They're here... Don't look back... Don't waver..."

Okay, that was strange for him to hear. They? Who were 'they'? And the voice that created those whispers...

Why did it feel so familiar? He swore he had heard that voice before.

The whispers from the trees soon disappeared, but not the feeling that someone was looking at him intently. He stood straight and looked around. At first, there was nothing to see. But the words 'don't look back' that the trees whispered lingered in his mind.

However, the feeling that he had to do the opposite of that remained stronger than what the danger the warning entailed. And so, he turned around to where the door was.

His eyes widened at the sight of a regal-looking woman standing there. Wait... Rather than standing, it looked like the woman was... floating. Not to mention, she was also transparent.

Almost like a ghost. But was that even possible?

In any case, he was sure of one thing.

Itsuki had never met this woman before.

End of Record 5