Someone will be there to protect me, no matter how tough times maybe... ― A New Day, Beverly
xxxxxx
"SO IT was confirmed? Did someone want to burn the shrine down? And because we're there, they attempted to kill us, too?"
Kourin was devastated to see Takeru nod. She said so. She felt weird earlier at the shrine while she was with Raiden.
When Kourin came home from Shiasena Temple, Amiko met her and immediately pulled her to the study room. She caught up with Takeru there with a serious look on his face. His expression immediately told her that something had happened that was beyond her knowledge.
She was right. But why?
"Are you alright, Lady Kourin?"
Kourin heard a hint of concern in Takeru's voice when he asked her that. But for one thing, he was one person she couldn't lie to. He would amount as a confidante to her, as well. Then again, he was close to her older brother Hitoshi since back then. Add the fact that he also often accompanied Tetsuya when they had missions that need to be completed and Takeru's mentor Daryll wasn't around.
"I would be lying if I said I am," Kourin admitted and then looked at the figurine on her study table. It was a Japanese woman wearing an elegant and regal kimono... and it was the image that she hoped she would become ― one day. "But why would they want to follow us and kill us? I mean, Raiden and I just visited the temple."
"As for that, we'll have to wait until Shingo is done interrogating the man."
Kourin frowned. "You mean... you guys took care of it?"
"Not me. I only watched. But Hotaru and Amiko did. Kana and Nanami resumed their mission right after that. By now, I think they already found those guys' hideout ー along with their other comrades."
Seriously, these guys took care of things way beyond what Kourin's mind could comprehend. But they were trained that way. She should already know that.
"Who's in charge of the interrogation?"
"Daryll and Shingo."
'Oh, great! Even worst.' If those two were the ones who did the interrogation, she could only say good luck to the brain of the person being interrogated. Those two had a dangerous way of interrogating their suspects.
"I wonder what made them decide to trail us..." Kourin just whispered. So far, she couldn't think of a reason for those goons to follow them.
But Kourin felt that answering her question would not be so easy. "We can't afford to make another mistake."
"Don't force yourself to worry about this. Just leave it to us. Okay?"
Kourin faced Takeru. "You know, I felt even more worried about that. You can't just leave me out of it."
"What you should worry about for now is adapting to your new life."
As much as Kourin hated to admit it, he was right. So for now, she would choose to erase what she had learned from her mind. But of course, that only meant one thing.
Kourin needed to make sure Raiden doesn't get included in the affairs she was involved in. It was enough that her family became the center of it. She wouldn't allow even her innocent friends to be affected. She could never forgive them when her friends ended up getting hurt because of it.
Kourin just nodded in response to Takeru's suggestion so that he wouldn't have to worry anymore. After that, she said goodbye to go to her room because she wanted to rest. But even though she hadn't completely left the study room, she already knew that she and Takeru weren't the only ones there. A person was hiding in the passageway on the other side of the bookshelf.
And it looked like that person had no plans to show up to Kourin yet. If that was the case, she wouldn't just let that person know that she already knew he or she was there. She finally left the study room. But instead of going to her room, she opened another hidden passageway between her study room and the next room to its left. Only she knew the password to enter that passageway. That place was made soundproofed, thanks to Tetsuya and Satoru who helped her with implementing the idea. Only those two currently knew about that passageway.
"You didn't tell her everything." It was the first Kourin heard as he entered the passageway. And he knew who said that.
Kourin also heard Takeru sigh. Moments later, she heard some noise inside the room. That was when she realized that the bookshelf automatically slid open and stopped for a few moments before sliding back to its original position, closing the passage leading to that hidden room.
The mansion where Kourin lived at the moment with the others was very similar to the Shinomiya mansion in Kyoto. From the outer design to the interior and even the passageways and traps ー that has never been destroyed in any way, everything was the same. It was given to her as a gift from her father on her 10th birthday. And honestly, it was one of the things they all wondered about.
Why did Kourin's father build a mansion similar to the one in Kyoto in that country? What was there in that place to make him think that?
But even though Kourin still didn't understand the reason why he did that, she took it as a chance to relocate their base of operations there. Mari didn't have a problem with that because it was one of their parents' strict instructions before they died. It only meant that they already knew that that tragedy was at hand.
This mansion had now become their refuge and the place for them to formulate their counterattacks to those demons.
"It's better this way than to see her panic, Akemi. By the way, what made you come here?" Kourin heard Takeru's response.
So Kourin is right. Mikazuki Akemi was there. She was one of her maternal cousins and the best sharpshooter in the Shinomiya clan -- just like Mamoru and Chrono of the Yumemiya clan -- when it comes to sharpshooting skills. Her older brother Ryuuji was currently the guardian of the Flower Stone of the Shinomiya clan -- the Purple Tulip Crystal. It symbolized one of the unique characteristics of their clan since one of the meanings of the purple tulip in the language of flowers was nobility. It was also where one of the nicknames of the Shinomiya clan ー "The Noble Shinomiya" came from.
"Lady Mari asked me to check out on you guys. I see that you still haven't learned the language yet."
"I can understand that language, okay? I'm not just comfortable speaking it. It only reminds me of that boy from 3 years ago," Takeru said, his voice slowly becoming softer.
'That boy? Hmm...' Kourin seemed to already know who Akemi was referring to. Besides Hitoshi, there was another boy whom she did not know why Takeru was uncomfortable to see or even talk to.
"Are you sure it's about that boy? Or are you referring to Lord Hitoshi?"
'Bull's eye!' To be honest, Kourin could tell that Takeru hated it when that woman speaks directly to the point. Akemi was truly sharp in her thinking and her words.
"I know we shouldn't make mistakes in what we're doing. Especially since we haven't seen them yet. But I think you should be the one who should learn to adapt to your new life. The boy you're talking about could be our key to unraveling everything. "
Kourin was shocked to hear that. 'What do you mean, Akemi?'
"What was that supposed to mean?"
No one spoke between those two for a moment. Then Kourin heard Akemi sigh. "Just stay alert. Our top priority is to protect the princess and the treasures that those guys are after. I'll tell everything once we have solid proof."
"The princess doesn't have to know everything for now, huh?" Takeru mumbled that Kourin managed to hear, luckily.
"For now..."
What were the things Kourin couldn't know right now? Why was it that to this day, many of them were still kept secret from her?