Clandestine (Erityian Tribes Novella, #6)

08 : Missions and Options

"Hideo—"

Napahinto ako sa pintuan nang maabutan ko sina Akira at Mayu sa office ni Hideo. They greeted me with smiles on their faces.

"Bakit nakatayo ka lang d'yan, Michiko?" asked Akira. "Tara na rito."

Ngayon ko lang na-realize na two months na ang nakakalipas noong huli kaming nagkasama-sama. It had been two months, too, since Akemi and Mitsuo died.

Agad naman akong umupo sa tabi ni Akira. Michiko sat right across us while Hideo was sitting behind his desk. Sabi niya ay may ibibigay siyang mission kaya excited akong pumunta pero hindi ko akalaing nandito rin silang dalawa.

"Are you sure you're okay staying in that cabin?" tanong ni Mayu habang nakatingin sa hologram sa harapan niya. She was busy with the modifications of some of the devices they were building.

"Oo nga. May bahay ka naman sa village," added Akira. "Ang layu-layo mo tuloy."

I forced a laugh. "Well, training ground ko na rin iyon kaya mas efficient kung doon na lang ako titira."

"Feeling ko ang dami nang alikabok at dumi ng bahay mo sa village," Akira grimaced. "Doon ka na kasi para pwede kong ipaalaga si Vivien sa'yo anytime!"

"Excuse me, hindi babysitter ang role ko rito, ha!"

Mayu chuckled at my remark while her eyes were still focused on the hologram. Hideo cleared his throat and we all looked at him.

"Ikaw rin," dagdag ko. "Alam n'yo minsan feeling ko ako ang magulang ng mga anak n'yo. Stop making me their babysitters!"

Akira laughed at me. "Ayaw mo no'n, parang training na rin kapag nagkapamilya ka."

I rolled my eyes at her and groaned. "No thanks. Pagod na ako sa inyo pa lang."

Our meeting started after that but my mind was elsewhere. Bago ako pumunta rito ay kapapalit ko lang ng benda ng lalaking 'yon. I hope he wasn't "training" again because his wounds wouldn't heal if he couldn't even stay still.

Napatingin naman ako kay Akira. She looked a lot better now. That one-month rest really helped her recover. Hindi na siya ganoon kakulit at carefree kumapara dati pero mas ayos na ito. I didn't want to see her devastated anymore.

Meanwhile, Mayu was doing well. She was finally appointed as the head of the Technology Department three weeks ago. Her first project was to study the hallway that somehow became a "dormant" state of Black Dimension, though she wasn't sure if it was, indeed, dormant.

"What's the status of that?" tanong ni Hideo.

"I'm still not sure about the long-term effects, if there are any, but it seems like the current dormancy was a result of . . . someone's power. We can't risk any of the researchers to enter it completely. Baka kasi biglang ma-trigger at maging active ulit. We can test it but Sir Kyo—"

Napatigil si Mayu. The atmosphere abruptly went down upon hearing his name.

Two weeks ago, napag-alaman namin na wala na sa campus sina Sir Kyo at Sir Tora. According to Hideo, there was a council meeting involving all the administrative divisions that day. He didn't tell us what had transpired but based on the things he said, it seemed like Sir Kyo and Sir Tora shouldered all the blame so that Sir Hideyoshi could still have the power over the council.

Sir Kyo said he could have done better. He could have saved both Akemi and Mitsuo. Ganoon din si Sir Tora. He said he felt weak and powerless after a student, Mitsuo, died in front of him. Hindi namin alam kung nasaan na sila. Tanging si Sir Hideyoshi lang ang makapagsasabi.