Clouded Garden

The clouds of the past hang heavily over the flower patch.

"Nori-Nori, do you think I would have been cut out to be a Hero?"

Rina walks slightly behind Noriko, as her older companion leads her through the streets of Himeji en route to their next destination. A chill remains in the air from the pounding rain of the day before, and dark clouds continue to hang overhead. Averting her eyes from the map displayed on her smartphone, Noriko turns back to face Rina as the two girls round a corner.

"What do you mean, Rina?"

Closely examining her partner as the two walk, Noriko notices Rina's unusually slouched posture. Rina's actions are uncharacteristically sluggish for the usually chipper Sentinel.

"Ever since last night, I can't get them out of my head… Ayumi… Kayo… They were just like Yuuki-sama. They must have fought all the time against the Vertexes. I remember the first time we went out on a mission with Commander Kusunoki… I was terrified."

"Rina…"

Rina slows to a stop as she clutches her chest, anxious to show her inner fears. Grinding her forward march to a halt, Noriko turns around and slowly walks back to Rina. She grabs Rina's hand and slowly leads her forward as she tries to comfort the distraught girl.

"Rina, all of us were scared… Don't you remember how Kagajou acted during that mission?"

Rina lightly chuckles, remembering the overblown terror the young shield-bearing Sentinel had shown throughout all of their missions. Her laughter is short-lived, however, as she continues to run through the previous day's events in her mind.

"When I tried to sleep, all I could hear was their voices replaying over and over again. Ayumi was so happy and excited, but Kayo… she seemed like she knew what was coming."

"Given the date she gave in the recording, it seems to fall in line with right around the time it was reported that the Leo Vertex destroyed the outside."

A harsh silence falls over the two girls as they round another corner. Struggling to think of a way to cheer up the dejected Rina, Noriko tries to change the subject.

"Well, Rina… Aren't you excited? I mean, we're going to one of the most historic places in Japan, Himeji Castle."

"Y—Yeah…"

Rina's half-hearted response is stained with nervous anxiety. Noticing her uncertainty, Noriko presses the matter further.

"So, you must know something about it, right?"

"Himeji was one of the last remaining 'original' castles in Japan. It was one of the only castles in the country that was never destroyed by war."

Noriko listens intently to Rina's storytelling as she notices a familiar twinkle in her eyes. She presses the conversation further as the two cross a bridge.

"A castle like that must have a whole lot of history to it. Do you know any stories or folktales about the castle?"

Rina raises her right hand to her chin as she racks her brain for a story, filtering through her mental encyclopedia of legends and fables.

"Well… there is the story of Okiku and the Nine Plates."

"I don't think you've told me that one, please go on."

Rina looks skeptical at Noriko's prodding, thinking about the story she had mentioned.

"Are you sure about this, Noriko? Even though we have to go there?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Please tell me."

Rina sighs as Noriko continues to prod, thinking about the effect the story might have on her superior.

"Alright… so, the story goes that back in the days of the samurai, there was a servant girl named Okiku that worked at Himeji Castle. A samurai that served in the castle tried to court her many times, but she always refused…"

As Rina presses on with the story, her voice and actions slowly start to become more lively. Noriko nods confidently as she begins to see the fruits of her distraction plan.

"So, the samurai tried to trick her into getting with him by lying and saying she lost one of her master's plates, which was punishable by death. He tried to convince her to become his lover so he wouldn't tell the master, but she still refused. So, he ended up throwing her down the castle's well."

"How awful…"

"After her death, her spirit was said to have haunted the castle, repeatedly counting the dishes until a priest shouted that he had found the missing one."

Noriko's eyes immediately widen as Rina mentions the ghost of Okiku. She halts in her tracks and begins to shiver as Rina takes a slight lead before noticing.

"You… You're sure the ghost is gone?"

"Yes, yes, it's not there anymore… Geez, Nori-Nori, you could stand against all the Stardust in the world, but you're scared of ghosts?"

Rina starts to chuckle at her superior's panicked reaction at the mention of spirits. The senior officer pouts angrily in response to Rina's teasing.

"It's not funny! Why did you have to pick a ghost story?!"

Rina breaks into full laughter at Noriko's reaction. Despite her fear, Noriko breathes a sigh of relief as Rina seems to level out from her dejected condition. After a few moments, the two approach a low bridge leading away from the main road.

"This should be one of the entrances to the castle grounds. Keep your guard up, Rina. We don't know how bad things have gotten here."

"Right."

Taking slow, careful strides, Rina and Noriko start to cross the wooden bridge leading onto the island. Noriko keeps a steeled gaze ahead as they proceed inwards, watching for any disturbances on the island. As they walk further down the path, the two eventually arrive at a large clearing. As Noriko continues to assess their surroundings, Rina charges forward into the square.

"Nori-Nori, look! Look!"

Shifting her gaze to Rina, the young blue-haired girl points at the large castle peering over the island. The towering structure's white walls stand out against the dark skyline and black roofs, nearly encompassing the entirety of the island. Noriko's jaw drops in awe at the massive stronghold before her.

"It's… incredible. So that's Himeji Castle."

As Noriko takes in the sights of the towering Himeji Castle, she feels a tug on her wrist. Rina's energy seems to have fully returned as she yanks on her partner's arm, pulling her forward.

"Come on! We have to see it up close!"

Noriko hurries to match Rina's excited pace, as her young companion drags the former Sentinel towards the heart of the island. Caught up in the rush of Rina's enthusiasm, Noriko can't help but smile at the young girl's change in tone. The facilities within the area surrounding the castle are in surprisingly pristine condition considering how much time had passed since the island was inhabited. Noticing this sparks something in Noriko's memory as she quickly pipes up.

"Right! Rina, there's a shrine on the top floor of Himeji Castle. It's the next location where we're supposed to do a ceremony."

"A ceremony in Himeji Castle!?"

Rina's excitement only makes her pace quicken as she steps into a mad dash towards the castle, barely noticing the raindrops beginning to fall from the sky. A sudden torrent of rain completely soaks the two girls as they continue their charge towards the castle's main entrance. After a few minutes of rain-drenched running, the two girls finally burst through the castle doors into the main keep, quickly dropping to the floor.

"I… didn't expect… the rain to start… so quickly…"

Noriko's words are cut by her exasperated gasps. While the two had been hiking for several days since leaving humanity's safe haven in Shikoku, all of her training paled to the unbridled energy of an amped-up Rina. Rina drops onto her back, spreading out and staring up at the old-era architecture.

"It's beautiful… I never thought I would get to see something like this…"

Noriko turns her head towards Rina, smirking at the young girl's enamored expression. She lets out a light chuckle as she remarks on Rina's attitude.

"You know, Rina, there are castles back home too."

"It's not the same!"

Noriko's crass comments rouse Rina from her resting state, lifting herself upright. She gives the older girl an annoyed pout.

"The castles back home are different from this one! Every castle and historical place has its own story to tell. You can learn so much just from walking through a place like this."

"If only you were this passionate about your duty."

Noriko sticks her tongue out as she teases her companion. Rising to her feet once more, she offers a hand to the resting Rina and pulls her to her feet.

"You can tell me all about the history of this place after we finish the ceremony."

"Fiiiiine, I'll wait. But, you owe me!"

Turning their attention towards their objective, Rina guides Noriko through the halls of the massive Muromachi-era structure. The two Scouts work their way up the towering structure until they reach the sixth floor. At one end of the small chamber atop the castle sits a small Shinto shrine. A wooden offering box sits at the front of the miniature temple, with elegant blue banners emblazoned with white flowers hanging from the ceiling.

"This is it? It's so much smaller than Kibitsu Shrine."

Rina inspects the shrine up and down, surprised by the small scale compared to the regal complex the two visited in Okayama. Noriko sets her bag down in front of the offering box and begins to rummage through its contents.

"It may look small, but this shrine and Shoshazan Temple were enough to protect this whole region for several years."

"Wow…"

Pulling a small seed from her bag, Noriko stands before the shrine and ushers Rina to join her. The two girls bow before the shrine and Rina clasps her hands together as Noriko drops the seed into the offering box.

"O divine Osakabe, hear our call. I am Ishida Noriko, an agent of the Shikoku region's Shinju-sama."

"And I am Konoe Rina, an agent of the Shikoku region's Shinju-sama."

A similar aura to the one felt during the previous ceremony envelops the room as the energy of the sacred prayers manifests.

"We have come on behalf of our divine protector to welcome your grace back to your domain. For many years, your home has laid trapped under the clutches of the gods of the heavens. But now, you are free to walk the Earth once again. We offer this seed so that you may use it to grow your heavenly power once more and bring a new age for humans to worship you anew."

Much like the previous ceremony, a bright green light glows from within the offering box and washes over both the two girls and the chamber as a whole. The dampness of the girls' clothes almost seems to be dried by the same warmth they had felt before. As they break from their ceremonial posture and Noriko collects her bag, once again, she notices a surprisingly calm look on her partner's face.

"Rina, is everything okay?"

A gentle smile rests on Rina's face as she turns to face the taller girl. With a calm air to her movements, Rina wraps her arms around Noriko and pulls her into an embrace. Noriko's face glows bright red at Rina's sudden affection as she feels Rina gripping her tightly.

"R-Rina? What's wrong?"

"Nori-Nori… Thank you."

Rina's words strike Noriko at her core, causing any worries she had about the young girl's condition to wash away with the falling rain. Slowly, she wraps her arms around her companion as Rina begins to speak.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about the girls in Okayama since that moment. The thought of them just… disappearing like that. It was too much for me to handle."

"Rina…"

Noriko pulls Rina into a tighter hug as the young Sentinel bares her emotions.

"I was… scared. I didn't know what I would have done if I was in a situation like that. Everything we've done, everything we've been through, it could have just as easily been us."

Rina releases her grip on Noriko, causing the older girl to follow suit. Backing a few steps away from her dearest companion, Rina gazes into Noriko's eyes with a newfound conviction.

"But you reminded me: I'm not alone. I have you here with me. We had Captain Kusunoki with us back then. Harurun is waiting for us back home. Those girls… Ayumi, Makoto, Kayo. I'm sure they didn't regret a moment they spent together… and I don't want to regret any of this either."

"Rina… I don't either."

Noriko reaches out and grabs Rina's hand, clasping it tightly. A memory of the two girls' time as Sentinels pops into her head as she looks to reassure her companion.

"Rina, do you remember the promise we made back then?"

Rina looks slightly confused—Noriko's comment prompts the girl to go searching through her memories. Racking her brain on the time the two spent as Sentinels brings a particular moment from the burgeoning days of their friendship together.

"'Nothing the Gods could muster will ever tear us apart,' right?"

Noriko nods and smiles back at her companion, patting Rina's shoulder as she turns towards the stairwell.

"Even the Shinju-sama itself couldn't hope to mess with us."

Noriko's words resonate with Rina as she feels a renewed energy. Noriko starts down the stairs, motioning to her dearest companion as she does.

"Come on, Rina. The rain seems to be slowing down; we should get a move on."

"Right!"

Rina hurries to Noriko's side as the two girls descend from Himeji Castle. Though the events of their visit to Okayama Castle may have shaken their resolve, the former Scouts find themselves leaving Himeji Castle with a newfound determination. Memories of the three girls in Okayama strengthen their will as the quest to reclaim humanity's lost lands continues.

＊＊＊＊＊

Making their way back down the long pathway leading to Himeji Castle, Noriko looks around at the extravagant architecture found across the island. As they round a particular corner, Noriko notices a small stone structure appearing to be a fence near the main pathway. Stepping away from Rina to inspect it, Noriko sees a large grated cover over what seems to be a large well within the fenced area.

"A well… This couldn't be that, right?"

As she observes the odd monument, she notices a small plaque reading "Okiku Well" bearing a name that rings too familiar to the girl.

"Okiku… Well…"

The realization of what she has discovered sends shivers down her spine. As she slowly starts to back away, a faint whispering in her ears causes Noriko to stop dead in her tracks.

"One… Two… Three…"

Struggling to move her body further from the well, the raspy voice in her ears has scared Noriko stiff. After a few more seconds, the voice suddenly becomes sharp and pained.

"Ten!"

"Aaaaaahh, please don't hurt me!"

The loud shout springs life into Noriko's body as she frantically takes off away from the well. Behind where she stood, Rina breaks into full laughter as she watches her superior officer charge down the pathway.

"Nori-Noriii! It was just a joke!"

"Please spare meeeeee!"

Rina continues to laugh as she races to catch up with the older girl as the overbearing clouds in the afternoon sky finally begin to part.

To Be Continued in:
Konoe Rina is a Hero, Ch. 5