The next day, the Vessels were at least glad that Diwall hadn't commenced his attack again. But that only made them quite worried. The quieter it was, the more dangerous things would seem to appear. And the danger was something they all didn't want to deal with all the time, given the fact that they weren't exactly used to facing it.
It was supposed to be a normal morning for all of them. But that didn't happen when they saw someone talking to both Akira and Nanami by the porch when they woke up and were supposed to find Hideoki so they could get ready to prepare their breakfast. The two were talking to a girl, perhaps around the same age as Erika.
And speaking of the pianist, it was her who immediately approached the girl with glee. Of course, that surprised the other Vessels and Itsuki couldn't even say a word about his sister's excited mood.
"Helen-chan?" Erika, despite her excitement, asked that question in an unsure tone.
That was when the girl talking to Nanami and Akira diverted her attention to Erika. It didn't take long before the girl that Erika called Helen showed a bright expression, alongside the recognition in her eyes.
"Erika! It's been a long time!" Helen immediately left her seat and approached Erika. The two girls even hugged each other.
"Umm... Erika..." Itsuki called out to his sister who seemed to have been caught up in the moment of reunion.
That was when the pianist finally noticed the presence of her brother and her friends. "Ah! I'm sorry, Onii-chan." Without giving Helen a chance to protest, Erika pulled her friend and approached the others. "Everyone, this is my childhood friend, Tennouji Helen-chan. Helen-chan, these are my friends. And I know you've never met my brother before so I'm going to introduce you to him, okay?"
All Helen could do was nod because it was all too fast for her. She realized at the moment that Erika sure hadn't changed at all.
"Childhood friend? How come I didn't know about that?" Itsuki asked, curiosity now getting into him with regards to this matter.
"Because I chose not to tell you that. Besides, it happened 11 years ago. I was eight back then."
Now Itsuki was surely surprised at his sister's revelation. Even the other three Vessels couldn't contain the surprise they felt when they heard that.
"Umm..." Helen ventured. It did catch the others' attention somewhat. "I'll explain the details about that if you want."
"But do that later when we're done having our breakfast," Shuichi said.
"Yeah. I agree. Dad would scold us if we still loiter around here. We'll do the proper introductions later," Eichirou added, determined.
"Dad?" Helen repeated with a frown. "You mean Mizuhashi Hideoki-san?"
Eichirou faced her with a smile soon after and nodded. "That's right. He's my father."
"You don't look like him, though," Helen uttered before she could even stop herself which froze Eichirou for a bit. "W-what I mean is... you look a lot like Mariko-san since I've seen her a lot of times whenever I would see her in several fashion shows she hosted before."
"Woah..." Eichirou could only say as a response while staring at Helen in surprise. "Not many people notice that, though."
"That's true. It also took me a while to notice that particular thing," Misae soon joined in the conversation. "So you've met Mariko-san before, Helen-chan?"
Helen nodded. "I also took pictures with her since she was acquainted with Professor."
"By the way, how is he?" Erika asked.
That was when Helen's expression dimmed which made Erika frown.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Helen shook her head and sighed before facing her friend. "Professor died two months ago."
xxxxxx
What the others didn't know was that Hideoki remained watching the interaction the whole time, even before the Vessels went down. His mind was still stuck in between the letters he received a week ago and the conversation he had with Helen the day before. There were a lot of things that still didn't make sense to him.
Especially about Helen's so-called mission that she mentioned to him when they had their conversation yesterday.
Why was he feeling something foreboding from all this? But he was sure it had nothing to do with Helen's arrival. He was glad that he was able to finally meet Tennouji Atsuko's daughter. Even though that woman died earlier than expected, he was sure that Atsuko's legacy would live on through her daughter who sure grew up as beautiful as her.
"Hideoki..."
When he turned around, he saw Nanami approaching him with an understanding smile on her face. "What's your verdict?"
"There's nothing for me to decide about Helen and her decision to approach you with regards to her situation. What I'm worried about are your son and the others."
Hideoki sighed and faced the five Vessels conversing with Helen who seemed to have gotten quite comfortable with the presence of the children he had taken care of.
"They'll be needing her help, whether we admit it or not, Nanami. You know that."
"Did she mention anything about the identity of the current incarnation?"
The man shook his head. "She said that she didn't know. But she said other things that made me doubt if it was really like that."
"What do you mean?"
"'Not all truths are meant to be revealed at the start.' She said that if there was one thing that Mitsuharu had taught her all the while she was in his care, it was the fact that revelations of certain truths and secrets all have their own time."
"So you're saying that she knew something that we don't?"
"I don't know, Nanami. But whatever it means, what I can say is that Helen is someone important for Mitsuharu to send her here after he died. He knew I could take care of her in his place. Not only because she is Atsuko's daughter, but also because Helen knew more than what we learned all this time."
XXXXXX
As all of it was going on, the next expected attack of the Triske Monster Diwall was already underway. This time, the area of the attack was the nearby town just west of Tsukikage, which was something new. It already made several buildings and vehicles explode and hurt many people. Some of the residents already left the town to seek refuge in the other nearby towns besides Tsukikage.
It didn't take long before the Vessels' Celestial Shifters began reacting to that.
xxxxxx
That moment of reunion and meeting was disrupted by the sounds coming from the simultaneous beepings of the Celestial Shifters. The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The five Vessels left Helen by the porch for a while since they needed to check on the situation. They were surprised to see that Diwall was attacking the nearby town of Morizumi.
"Why Morizumi?" Eichirou asked with a frown as he kept on looking at the map detecting the location of the attack.
"Whatever his reasons, for sure it's not something good," Misae said.
"Was it a Tarean attack?"
That question stiffened the five Vessels. All of them soon turned to the source of that voice. They saw Helen's grave expression, which already gave them the impression that she was aware of the situation.
"Helen-chan, you know about the Tareans?" Erika approached her friend and asked.
Helen nodded. "For a long time, I've been aware of them. They were after me that night we first met."
Now that was a surprising revelation. The others couldn't hide the shock on their faces. But before any of them could say something, Helen continued speaking.
"It's okay. You have to go, right? I'll... I-I mean, Erika and I will explain the details about our first meeting once you're back."
Despite the hesitation, Erika and the other Vessels agreed. They had more pressing things to take care of at the moment. That should be their priority. Other things could wait.