Mizuhashi Mansion...
Being heroes of the world was, of course, not something one would consider a walk in the park. Especially if you were truly a novice in the field. So that's where trainers come forth. And in the Vessels' case, their trainers were the people close to them.
Their training began two days after their first encounter and battle with the Tareans. Hideoki and Nanami left their jobs at the pastry job and the bookstore respectively to their trusted assistants for a while for them to personally oversee the Vessels' training.
First up: Hasureiki invocation.
"Hasureiki is already existing within the five of you. Now the real problem lies in how to conjure it from within for you to turn it into a force meant to attack. That's where the Reikarajustu comes in," Hideoki started.
Eichirou raised his hand which caught the historian's attention.
"Can we conjure Hasureiki even if we're not transformed? I mean, you did that when you summoned ice spears to attack Juman even from your hiding position at that time."
"You can, but it's not as powerful as the Hasureiki you use to battle the Tareans when you're transformed." Hideoki cleared his throat before he continued. "It is the Heaven's Medallion placed in each of your Shifters that taps the full capacity of your Hasureiki. That's why you become stronger whenever you become Seitengers."
Nanami stepped into the discussion as soon as Hideoki gave the signal. "Now, everyone, I want you to look at what I'm about to do. This is the first step of Reikarajutsu." With her right palm on top of the other, she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.
The Vessels could only watch in anticipation of what was about to happen. Well, whatever it was that would happen, they must have carefully observed it.
It didn't take long before something happened.
"Woah!"
A wall of pale pink light appeared on Nanami's palm that slowly rotated. They thought they'd seen enough until the ball gently opened... like a flower blossoming.
"Lotus...?"
Nanami opened her eyes soon after and smiled at the sight of the surprised looks on the faces of her "students."
"This is the physical manifestation of the Hasureiki that we know. One reason for this flower shape to exist is because the lotus flower is the symbol of the Heavenly Spirit Guardians."
"So that's why the same flower was engraved in Mom's chest box," Eichirou stated as he nodded.
"Do all of our Hasureiki have that kind of physical manifestation, Nanami-san?" Erika inquired.
"That's for you to find out for yourself."
All Nanami got were skeptical looks as a response to what she said. She beckoned them to stand up. With a simple instruction of focusing their Hasureiki on one single point, they all did as they were told. But they all couldn't help thinking that in a way, there was still something missing.
Moments later, balls of colored light in their respective colors appeared on their palm. Of course, it wasn't a wonder that the five of them were delighted. But here comes the real problem.
"Uh, guys... Do you know how to open this Hasureiki ball and make it a blossoming lotus?" It was a weird thing for a guy to ask that. Or at least that's what Eichirou thought.
Even so, it was the very same question that the rest of the Vessels had in mind.
"It all starts with that ball of light, Eichirou," Hideoki said as he decided to step into the training. "The mere fact that you could conjure that ball only proves that you're one step closer to tapping your Hasureiki's full power."
"That means... the blossoming lotus is like a measurement of our powers' growth?" Itsuki added which Hideoki answered with a nod.
Moments later, the ball of light that each of the Vessels conjured disappeared. All five of them felt weak after that.
"I guess it won't be easy to conjure that Hasureiki ball until we get a full grasp on how to manipulate our Hasureiki," Erika commented as she breathed heavily.
"But we have to try," Shuichi said, which made the others look at him. "Giving up just after learning that won't get us anywhere and it won't even help us gain the Grand Vessel Spirits' trust to support us in our battles."
None of them were able to say anything after that. But soon after, Hideoki and Nanami smiled. The other four Vessels glanced at each other and shared a knowing smile.
"You know, Shuichi," Eichirou started. "I wouldn't be surprised if you truly end up becoming the team's leader."
But all the photographer got was a frown from the biker. "What do you mean? You're the oldest among the five of us."
"He may be the oldest but his brain is more of a 10-year-old boy, if you ask me, Shuichi-san," Itsuki nonchalantly replied, which made the two girls giggle. "Besides, does he look like a leader material to you?"
"Hey! That's already a foul, Itsu-chan!" Eichirou exclaimed.
And the usual cat-and-dog fight between Eichirou and Itsuki began once again. Misae and Erika could only shake their heads. Shuichi just scratched the back of his neck. Nanami and Hideoki only heaved heavy sighs.
This was surely going to be a long day.
= = = = = =
It was only the first day of training and it felt like hell. Well, at least that's what Eichirou felt as he sat on one of the single-seater sofas in the living room. As he looked around, he couldn't believe how it didn't bother his friends at all.
Shuichi was wiping his helmet as he tried his best to polish it. Itsuki was just sitting on the windowsill while reading another history book. Misae was replacing the string of her bow while Erika was busy reading a music sheet as she tried humming some of the notes.
"Still can't get over the fact that we're tortured on our first day of training, Eichirou-san?"
The said man looked up and saw Misae carrying her bow as she sat on the long sofa. He smiled and shrugged.
"Dad can be the strictest teacher of all when needed. We all know that. But this is the first time that he pushed me to my limits. I can't believe it..." Eichirou sighed and slightly shook his head.
"But I can live with the fact that it's your Dad who's teaching us and not someone else."
Eichirou turned to Shuichi when he heard that. "What made you say that, Shuichi?"
Shuichi looked up from polishing his helmet and faced him. "Hideoki-san's someone we're already comfortable with. Nanami-san acted most of the time as a mother figure to us. Of course, you can't forget the fact that your father saved us that night and that he took care of us for the past ten years. He knew us better than anyone else—just as a caring parent would do."
All Eichirou could do as a response was to smile. Well, he didn't want to brag but his father took care of them. Hideoki never treated Shuichi, Misae, Itsuki, and Erika any differently than how the man treated Eichirou. It was something that all five of them were grateful for.
The rest of the Vessels resumed their activities while Eichirou was still busy thinking of what else to do other than photography. He groaned. Come to think of it, he was supposed to finish the photo mosaic that he needed to submit for the photo exhibit two weeks from now. But with his mind going around like this, how in the world was he supposed to do his project now?
As they were all busy doing their own thing, Nanami appeared from the kitchen.
"Can any of you head to the grocery and buy something for me? I'm supposed to cook lunch for you but we're missing a few ingredients."
It didn't take long for Eichirou to decide on that. "I'll do it."
"Really? I thought you're tired," Itsuki remarked as he raised his head from the book he was reading.
"This is better than staying here wallowing about how Dad tortured us on our first day of training. I need to walk around and find a few inspirations here and there. I won't be able to start walking on my project if I'm like this."
Erika smiled when she faced Eichirou. "Good luck with that, then."
After that, Eichirou took the list from Nanami and left the house.