Reiyouki Sentai Seitenger

2.6 Origin Of Their Fears

Well, the man Itsuki was looking for happened to be wandering quite aimlessly along the seaside-which, of course, had been Eichirou's most beloved place since his mother's death. He needed to stay there, to think of things that he needed to do. He had to come up with a decision before a Triske Monster decided to ruin his day once more.

But seriously, he couldn't get his mind quite straight at this point. Not when he was worried about a certain woman's safety more than anything else.

'Mom, please tell me how you would want me to do things like protecting Kanako.' It was a request that made Eichirou quite distressed. His worry for Kanako was something he knew wouldn't easily be washed away by the sound of the seawater. Nor could it be blown by the sea breeze.

But in a way, he trusted the sea to at least help him. That way, he would know that his mother was listening to him, at the very least.

"You're connected to the waters, huh? No wonder you were chosen to become SeitenBlue."

Eichirou stiffened as soon as he heard that, but only for a few moments. He faced the speaker as he turned sharply, only to see Itsuki standing a few feet away from where he was sitting. "Itsu-chan..." How in the world...?

"You're still standing on sand so that has made it easy for me to know where you are even without your Shifter." Itsuki started approaching Eichirou and sat on the sand just a few feet beside him.

"I'm the worst, aren't I?" Eichirou mumbled as he looked at the sea once more. "Becoming a Seitenger... I never realized that by accepting that, I would put everyone in danger."

No words came from Itsuki but the photographer could tell that the boy was looking at him. Weird enough, just allowing Itsuki to do so had calmed Eichirou somehow. It was like he could confide his worries to the boy, especially at the moment that he was thinking of ways to protect Kanako without actually involving her in his duties as a Seitenger. And yet he knew, it was somewhat impossible given the fact that Kanako already knew some information about the Vessels.

"So in other words, you're scared... that everyone close to you will get hurt because of the duty you've accepted," Itsuki stated placidly before sighing. "But you know what, Eichirou-san, you chose to accept that duty for us to keep everyone safe from the danger that the Tareans could bring to them. The reason you're like this right now is that it didn't come to you that our enemies would be hurting someone close to us. And Kanako-san, at that..."

Though Eichirou hated to admit it, Itsuki was right on that point. He couldn't help feeling useless because Kanako got hurt while he was fighting Cyone. And now that she knew his duty as the current Vessel of the Heavenly Water Spirit Guardian's Power, preventing Kanako from getting hurt because of what she knew would be a little bit hard. Not to mention that Kanako was a hard-headed and determined woman if one would ask Eichirou. They were childhood friends, after all. At least he knew that.

"It's like you're saying that I can't do anything about Kanako getting involved with our activities as Seitengers other than accepting her decisions. And knowing her... She could be stubborn as I am," Eichirou said with a sigh.

"Just like Erika..." Itsuki muttered, catching Eichirou's attention.

"Itsu-chan... Could it be that-?"

The composer smiled but with hints of sadness. "That's how I figured it out, Eichirou-san. That's how I realized your fears for Kanako-san. But girls can seriously be stubborn. I don't want my sister to get involved with anything related to the Vessels. But to be more precise, I just don't want her to be involved in anything that would endanger her. And yet she insisted that she would never realize her true capabilities if I continue shielding her from what we're meant to do. At that point, I can't do anything for her other than to watch over her and protect her as she does her best."

At that point, Itsuki faced Eichirou who had been watching him intently as he told his reasons.

"The more we fear for the safety of the people we care about, the more we gain the strength and courage to protect them so that they wouldn't get hurt. Or worse, killed. Use that fear that you have for Kanako-san's safety and turn it into something that will give you the strength to protect her. That, for one thing, was something I learned when I decided to accept my sister's decision to become a Seitenger despite the danger we're going to face."

Eichirou couldn't help but smile at Itsuki's statement. It wasn't rare for him and Itsuki to have conversations like the one they were having at the moment. But this was one of the few times that Itsuki had openly admitted his fears-one that was directed to Hoshiyama Erika. He doesn't have a sister so he couldn't relate to Itsuki that much. But he and the composer had one thing in common.

The reason for their fears to exist happened to be the people they treasured more than anyone in the world. But they were also the same reason why they were fighting this hard. Yes, the battle had only begun for them as Seitengers. But they also needed to have reasons to continue fighting. Right now, maybe it was just Erika or Kanako. Maybe they could include their teammates and their mentors. And as they go on, they would surely meet other people-find other ideas and reasons-that would propel them to continue their duties.

"I guess I'd be dealing with Kana-chan's stubbornness more often if I allowed her to become a part of our duties," the photographer later commented and soon chuckled at his words. He faced Itsuki with a smile that showed relief. "Thank you, Itsu-chan."

"We are friends... We have been like that for the past ten years. And right now, we're also a team. A sentai. But that idea was something that Shuichi-san would usually think of." Itsuki chuckled at that.

Eichirou couldn't help but agree. The moment they'd accepted their duties as Seitengers, they'd already become a part of a sentai.

'Reiyouki Sentai, huh?' Yup, that was seriously what Shuichi would think about their new formal team. They were called Vessels, after all.

And right now, the five of them who were the current Vessels of the Heavenly Spirit Guardians' Powers formed the Reiyouki Sentai... just as their predecessors had done before.

Eichirou could only hope that he and his friends could do their jobs properly if they wanted to succeed.

= = = = = =

Simultaneous explosions destroyed the buildings that disrupted the city's peace that very same day. People could be seen running for their lives as they screamed. It wasn't only because of the ongoing chaos that delivered immense fear to the humans. But also because of the mastermind behind the chaos.

This time, Cyone destroyed the nearby establishments and buildings as the Gargonema scoured around the area to round up the humans trying to escape. Once a group was formed, the Triske Monster immediately sucked their energies as he fired elastic fish scales right to their faces one after another.

"More! More! More humans!" Cyone continued shouting as he cackled while watching the captured humans scream in pain and struggled to escape but to no avail.

The scenario went on pretty fast, the damage and the number of victims had escalated compared to the previous attack. Cyone continued to gather energies even from the humans that the Gargonema rounded up.

"Siriso-sama will be pleased," the Triske Monster mumbled as he felt the gathered energy build up steadily. "Come out, Seitengers!"

That growl resonated throughout the city followed by another evil laugh that stood out even from the escaping humans' screams and the explosions.