You're still holding me tightly and it makes me unable to let you go for good, which makes me live in this hope even though I can't see you anymore... ― Florence Joyce
xxxxxx
"SEIICHI, are you sure you want to come with us to New Zealand? You don't have to move with us if you don't want to."
Seiichi just looked up and nodded in response to what his uncle had said. He was leaving with his uncle's daughter who happened to be his cousin Misae to migrate to New Zealand because the said man would be assigned there. He was promoted to the engineering company he worked for and was allowed to move to the company's New Zealand branch.
"It's better this way, Uncle Hideki. I'll just remember a lot of bad things when I'm still here," Seiichi said sadly and he just continued packing his clothes. "One more thing, I know I won't be there long. I'll just try to forget. If it's not effective, at least I just need to be able to move on. I'll push through it ㅡ even though I know I'm going to have a hard time."
The news about the tragedy that happened at a mansion in Kyoto, Japan two weeks ago had already reached Seiichi. It hurt him to know that his friend Shinomiya Hitoshi was one of those killed in the attack that took place there. He could not believe it happened. But what was hard for him to accept was the fact that even the young lady important to him ㅡ especially in his heart, was killed in that tragedy, as well.
Seiichi heard Uncle Hideki's deep sigh before sitting beside him. At the same time, Misae entered the room. She was carrying a chest box that neither of them had seen before.
"What are you carrying, Misae?" Seiichi asked with a frown.
Misae took a deep breath and handed Seiichi what she was carrying. Confused, he accepted that. But his frown deepened at the sight of four roses etched on the top of the box. They weren't just random roses because there were four different colors of the said flower, and each was placed in four cardinal points. The white rose was placed north, the blue one on the east, the red on the south, and the green rose was placed on the west side.
For some reason, Seiichi's frown deepened at the sight of it not because of the color combination. He couldn't understand why, but those four roses seemed familiar to him.
"Why are you giving this to me?" Seiichi was only able to ask his cousin because he didn't know what it meant.
"Grandpa told me before he died, when you leave this house, don't ever forget that. It's up to you when you plan to open it to see its contents. Don't worry, I didn't open it at all. So if you open it, there was nothing for you to be concerned about having someone already seeing it because you're the only one who can see the contents of it," Misae replied and Uncle Hideki nodded. "We'll fix the things downstairs first, Seiichi-nii. Is it okay for us to leave you here first?"
Seiichi just nodded. A few moments later, Uncle Hideki and Misae left him in that room, still confused and wondering what his cousin meant by what she had said. He looked at the chest box on his lap once again. Why didn't his grandfather give him that thing directly? Why does the old man even have to leave that to Misae?
And those roses... Seiichi knew he'd seen them from somewhere. But from where?
It was hard for Seiichi at the moment. All because he lost parts of his memories when he was 13 years old due to the accident that almost killed him then. If it weren't for his grandfather, he might not be alive anymore.
Seiichi was hiking with his parents at the time, according to his grandfather's story. He was a bit distracted and got strayed away from them because a small stone monument with Japanese characters ㅡ Kanji in particular ㅡ caught his attention. That monument, standing near a cave, was as tall as an average eight-year-old boy. The monument was erected near a cliff that was unfamiliar to him. But as he tried to traverse the path that led to the monument, he slipped and rolled down the rocky path. His head hit a large rock and then he lost consciousness.
Seiichi found out about it when he woke up with no recollection of anything in his past because someone witnessed what he did going to the cave. According to that man named Akashi Hayato, this was the purpose of his parents when they hiked that mountain. But because they noticed that he was isolated, they immediately searched for him in that forest. But even so, Hayato still told him about that monument. He accompanied her there with her parents and told her what they knew about it.
And that was when Seiichi remembered where he'd seen the four roses' symbol. On that monument, was where he found the tomb of a Japanese man from 271 years ago. The symbol was etched above the name placed on that stone.
"Yasunaga Masujiro ..." Seiichi whispered as he remembered the name engraved on that stone. Could that monument have a connection to the contents of the chest box his grandfather left him?
But Seiichi would think about it later because it would be better for him to take care of his belongings first. He didn't take long to pack his things. He seemed to want to carry even fewer things despite the huge closet he had in that room. When he looked outside, he was surprised to notice that it was night. It was unusual. Just how many hours has he been distracted and this was what greeted him?
Seiichi looked again at the chest box that was just lying there on the bed. He hadn't opened it yet because he had put his things in order first. He didn't know why but he seemed suddenly afraid to open it and find out its contents. But that would be a crazy thought, right? What makes him feel that way?
"Seiichi-nii, a package has been sent here for you!" he heard Misae shout from outside his room.
Seiichi frowned. 'Package for me? Where did that come from?' "All right, I'll be right there! Just leave it in the living room."
"Okay!"
One more time. Seiichi looked at the chest box one more time. Soon after, he sighed and placed that chest box near his suitcase and he left the room. A few moments later, he reached the living room. The frown on his forehead deepened when he saw the package that Misae was referring to. It was rectangular, possibly a meter and a half long.
Seiichi just approached it so that he would immediately know who it was from. But when he saw the sender's name written there, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Shinomiya Hitoshi?!" Seiichi exclaimed because of what he had read. How did that happen? Hitoshi has been dead for two weeks. But before he could think of another question, he saw a card stuck to it. There was a handwritten note on it. And he was sure, it was Hitoshi's handwriting.
'What the heck is going on here?'
However, he still read what was written on that card.
'Take care of this for me, Seiichi. You are the only one I can trust to take care of this matter. This might be all too sudden. But this is for the best. Besides, this might help you find what you were looking for concerning your past. Don't let this out of your sight as much as possible. Or if you can, hide it somewhere that only you know. The enemies must not know you have this.'
It looked urgent and written in a dire situation if one would ask him. When Seiichi saw the date written there, only one thing entered his mind when he read that Hitoshi had written it a month prior. Hitoshi must have predicted something worse during those times, that was why he sent this to him. Whatever it was. He knew that ability of Hitoshi, which made him one of the so-called legendary geniuses of Shrouded Flowers. Hitoshi's genius is unique because he used it to predict what might happen to his clan using ancient records about the Shrouded Flowers. It was a truly unique skill. And if his Grandfather was right when they visited the Shinomiya mansion in Kyoto, it was also a deadly skill.
To this day, Seiichi still doesn't understand what his grandfather meant there. How would a unique precognitive ability be so deadly as he described it?
But then, Seiichi would think that later. He just brought that package to his room. He had better be sure. Also, he has a feeling that Uncle Hideki, especially Misae, shouldn't see that. When he entered the room and sat on the bed, he immediately opened that package.
The package was a rectangular wooden case, but this one was a little different from the chest box that was sitting beside his travel bag. The symbol engraved there were not just four roses. What Seiichi could see at the moment aside from the roses' symbol was the flower emblem of the Shinomiya clan ㅡ the purple tulip. The flower means nobility in the language of flowers. But apart from those two flowers, there was another visible flower emblem engraved on that case.
It was carved in the middle of the case ㅡ a lotus flower. Seiichi frowned when he saw that. Whose family does that flower emblem refer to? The wooden case was not locked so it was easy for him to open it. But he didn't think he would be too surprised when he saw its contents. It was a sword with an iris flower-like hilt.
Wait a minute. Was it him or did Seiichi have the strongest feeling he just saw this sword from somewhere? He turned his attention away from that question when he saw words engraved near the hilt of that sword. From the looks of it, it appeared that it was just etched there recently. Probably a month or two. He didn't know how he could say that.
Seiichi read what was written there. To his surprise, though, the words were etched there in English. Then again, Hitoshi was Japanese. What could have entered that man's brain and not in hiragana or katakana or even in kanji written those words?
'A sword once forged by the Heavens and the Earth must entwine two destined flowers' estranged fates under the guidance of the Ethereal Sky.'
A verse... that somehow hit Seiichi. At the same time, he felt his head in pain again. The words "Ethereal Sky"... He knew he had heard that before. And what was worse, he heard about it before he lost his memories.
But the one that truly struck Seiichi was something else. A sword once forged by the Heavens and the Earth... Those words were what made him suddenly feel a headache.
What does this mean?