Standstill (Erityian Tribes Novella, #3)

11 : Wish

I spent the whole night in the library's restricted section.

Hayate and I sneaked inside the campus for various reasons, while we left Hiroshi in our lodging to monitor and take care of Kana.

It was quite hard to enter the campus at night, especially this time because the tension between Senshins and Shinigamis were heightening, but we managed to sneak inside undetected. I immediately went to the library while Hayate went to the dorm.

Information about the Hansen clan were scarce and it took me four hours to collect a few books mentioning them.

Hansen was one of the five major clans in the Senshins tribe, along with Shou, Heren, Jikko and Quirino. However, more than a decade ago, their whole village was annihilated by the Shinigamis. According to a journal written by a Hansen member, they had sworn to be a hidden clan to do their duties with utmost efficiency.

"It's rare to see you reading."

I almost yelped when I head a voice coming from behind. Pagtingin ko, si Hayate pala. He smirked at me and I knew he just read my mind.

"We're not allowed here in the campus and especially in the library's restricted section," I whispered. "Kaya huwag kang maingay r'yan. Mamaya mahuli tayo."

Nasa pagitan kami ng mga shelf ngayon kung saan nakalagay ang history books tungkol sa Erityians. I didn't want us to get caught since we just broke several rules at the same time and punishments would surely be severe.

"What did you find?" tanong niya at binigay ko sa kanya ang hawak kong journal.

"They were wiped out more than a decade ago but the motive and method were not stated."

"Wiped out, huh?" he muttered. "They didn't know there was a survivor."

Naalala ko bigla si Kana at ang nangyari kanina. She had been keeping her tragic past all by herself and I realized that revenge was the only reason why she wanted to live.

"I'm glad we survived, too," he added.

My body trembled upon remembering what happened a while ago. I couldn't believe we just had an encounter with two Elites and a Reaper. Marami na akong na-encounter na Shinigamis simula nang naging tracker ako pero hindi ko in-expect na makakaharap ko ang Elites nang ganito kaaga. Dad said the only time Elites move as a group is when something big is about to happen. At malakas ang pakiramdam ko na may kinalaman ang hinahanap nilang 'heir' dito.

"But I'm also worried about that humdrum."

Napatingin ako sa kanya. "Ah. That Ariel Andrada?"

He nodded. "We would be dead by now if it wasn't for him."

"Right. Those Elites immediately shifted their attention to him after that stunt."

"I wonder how he knew about the Erityians."

Ilang sandaling katahimikan ang bumalot sa pagitan namin nang sabihin niya 'yon. Humdrums capable of acquiring these kinds of information would be dangerous and they could potentially expose our existence to the world. It could ruin the balance we were trying to maintain for centuries.

Napatigil naman kami nang makarinig kami ng kaluskos galing sa main area ng library. We carefully reached for our weapons and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

"Meow."

I almost cursed out loud when something jumped from the top of the shelves and landed in front of us. Buti na lang at natakpan agad ni Hayate ang bibig ko kung hindi ay baka nahuli na kami ngayon.