"Okay ka na ba?" tanong ni Akane nang kumalma na ako.
"Medyo," sagot ko kahit na naco-conscious pa rin ako.
"You'll get used to it, nee-chan," dagdag ni Riye.
Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako at hindi ko muna inisip ang mga mata ko. Pumunta kami sa nag-iisang class namin ngayong araw—Psychology. Pagkarating namin sa room ay halos kasabay lang naming pumasok ang teacher namin na si Ma'am Hina. Our gaze suddenly met and she smiled at me.
"Bothered by your eyes and a recent crime scene?" tanong niya at nagulat ako nang marinig ko 'yon. Did she read my mind? Katulad din ba siya ni Hiro na kayang magbasa ng nakasaradong utak? "How did I know that? Hmm. You are blinking too fast. That either means something is bothering your eyes, a mannerism or you saw someone or something unexpected." Iniwas ko naman ang tingin ko sa kanya dahil binabasa niya ang mga mata ko. "You are also looking at your left side. That means you're averting a fact or reminiscing a memory. Am I right?"
She was scary. She could see through me by just looking at my body language.
Bigla naman siyang ngumiti at nag-sorry sa akin dahil daw habit na niya ang mag-observe ng mga tao at bigla na lang magsasalita. Ganun rin naman ako minsan sa dati kong school, lalo na kay Tessa, kaya na-guilty tuloy ako sa lahat ng pinagsasabi ko sa kanya.
Sinimulan naman ni Ms. Hina ang discussion niya at lalong naging interesting dahil tungkol ito sa Criminal Psychology at mata-tackle naming kung paano at bakit ganoon mag-isip ang isang criminal. Pero ngayon ay introduction pa lang ng principle of deduction.
"You can either use deductive or inductive reasoning in your investigations," she said. "Deductive reasoning or deduction means from a general idea or argument, you can prove specific details and answers. On the other hand, inductive reasoning requires finding those tiny and specific details and you'll come up with a general assumption."
Sinulat ko ang mga sinabi niya sa notepad ko at medyo nagulat pa ako nang nag-pop ang isa pang sheet kasi puno na ang sinusulatan ko. 'Di talaga ako masanay-sanay sa notebooks na 'to.
Ang daming in-explain ni Ms. Hina na halos umabot sa six pages ang nag-appear na papel sa notepad ko. Buti nga at natapos na ang class dahil ang sakit na ng kamay ko kakasulat, pero nag-enjoy talaga ako dahil ang dami kong natutunan.
Bumalik kami sa dorm at nag-usap-usap lang tungkol sa kung anu-ano at pagkatapos no'n ay napagdesisyunan naming sa Central Plaza na lang mag-dinner. Buti na lang at may allowance pa ako.
After that ay bumalik kami sa dorm at maagang nagpahinga.
***
Finally. Weekend na.
First weekend ko rito sa Tantei High at hindi ako makapaniwalang naka-survive ako sa first week kahit na parang overloaded na ang utak ko sa dami ng mga nangyari. Everything was still hard to process.
"Akemi, tara na!"
Napalingon naman ako at nakita kong ang layo na nilang lima sa akin kaya tumakbo ako papunta sa kanila. Papunta nga pala kami ngayon sa Detective Agency at syempre, dadaan na naman kami sa hallway na 'yon. My skin tingled when I saw the darkness welcoming us. Our footsteps echoed and it sounded like hundreds of feet marching. I really hate this shortcut. Sobrang creepy.
Nang makarating kami sa Detective Agency ay nakahinga ako nang maluwag. Tuwing weekends ay dito raw sila nagpapalipas ng oras dahil wala naman silang ginagawa sa dorm. They would rather solve crimes than sleep. Sabagay, ito na rin kasi ang kinalakihan nila maliban sa amin ni Riye.
Dumiretso sa police headquarters sina Hiro at Reiji. The remaining three sat on the couch while I roam around the room, but I felt a chill running down my spine when I saw someone's eyes glaring from the dark alley across the street. Nagkatinginan kami at tumindig lahat ng balahibo ko nang bigla siyang ngumiti at lalo akong kinilabutan dahil bigla na lamang siyang nawala. Napatalikod ako at napasandal sa pader habang hinahabol ang hininga ko. My heart was pounding painfully against my chest and I couldn't breathe for a while.
"Akemi, ayos ka lang? Anong nangyayari sa'yo?" tanong ni Akane nang makita niya ako.
"M-may nakasilip dito," I said with my quivering voice. "S-sino 'yon?"
Nagulat naman ako nang bigla silang lumapit sa bintana habang seryoso ang kanilang mga mukha.
"They're here," Ken muttered. "I can smell their stinking scent."
"Shall we go after them?" tanong naman ni Akane.
"Them? Sino sila?"
"Nee-chan, do you remember the Erityian tribes we told you last time?"
Sinubukan ko namang alalahanin ang mga sinabi nina Akane at Riye noon pero Senshin lang ang naaalala ko.
"The Erityian race is divided into four tribes: Senshins, Huntres, Custos and Shinigamis. Even though we're from the same race, we have different principles and values. Those who followed Shou or Shinji, became the Senshins. And those who sided with his older brother Ryou became the Shinigamis."
"Shinigamis . . ."
"We came from one lineage so they also possess the same eyes, but they are vicious. They kill humdrums and even Erityians from the other tribes to achieve their goals. Some S-class and phantom criminals that you see in international news are, for sure, Shinigamis."
Napayakap na lang ako sa sarili ko para pigilan ang panginginig ko matapos kong marinig 'yon. At Malaki ang posibilidad na ang nakita ko kanina sa eskinita ay isang Shinigami. But why were they here? What do they want?
"There!" biglang sigaw ni Akane at saktong kakapasok lang nina Reiji at Hiro rito.
Akane and Ken immediately ran toward the headquarters' front door and Riye pulled me along with her.
"Saan kayo pupunta?!" sigaw ng isang pamilyar na boses at Nakita ko si Sir Ryuu na nagtatakang nakatingin sa amin habang tumatakbo kami.
"Shinigami!" Akane yelled back. Their expressions suddenly became grim and they followed us outside with their weapons in their hands.
Paglabas naming ay nakita kong muli ang van na sinakyan namin papunta kina Ms. Bianca noong nakaraan at agad naman kaming pumasok doon pero muntik na akong mapasigaw nang makita kong hindi na normal ang ayos nito sa loob. The seats vanished and was replaced with a spacious area where a low table was placed in the middle and weapons were displayed on the side. But what surprised me the most was the huge screen in front.
"Good day, Masters," a robotic voice greeted and somehow, I knew it was this car. Was that a program?
"Miyu, sundan mo ang Shinigami na nade-detect mo," utos ni Ken.
"Yes, Master Ken."
Umandar naman ang sasakyan kahit walang nagda-drive at tuluyan na akong namangha. Wow. So this van was a programmed vehicle?
"Oh, right," sabay tingin sa akin ni Ken. "Akemi, this is Miyu, our transporter."
"Good day, Master Akemi," Miyu greeted and I almost squealed in excitement.
"Hello, Miyu."
Nagkwento naman agad sila sa akin ng iba pa nilang experiences with Shinigamis. According to them, Senshins who are inside the campus rarely encounter Shinigamis because it is protected with advanced shields. However, those who wander around in the humdrum's world would surely meet one. Because the two tribes hated each other, meeting with one another would always end in bloodbath.
Binigay naman sa akin ni Riye ang ginamit niyang staff sa PD class naming before at isinuot ko rin ang kwintas na binigay ni Sir Hiroshi. I looked at the screen where a map and a radar were projected. It showed our location, as well as the Shinigami's. Halos isang kilometro na ang layo niya sa amin pero bigla na lang nag-iba ang nakalagay sa screen.
"Killing intent, detected. Distance, one hundred meters."
Right after we heard that, our necklaces turned black and the force from it pulled us out of the van.
"Shit! Bakit ngayon pa?! The Shinigami!" Ken yelled in frustration as all of us got thrown outside.
"We don't have a choice," Reiji said.
"But—"
"This is a case, Ken, and this is our priority," Hiro sternly said, cutting him off.
Agad kaming tumakbo papunta sa lugar kung saan may bagong killing intent nan a-detect si Miyu pati ang mga kwintas naming pero pagdating naming doon ay nagkukumpulan na ang mga tao. Some of them were screaming for help while others were murmuring. Sumingit kami sa kanila at napasigaw rin ako nang makita ko kung ano ang tinitingnan nila.
A guy's body was sprawled lifeless on the concrete, but what disturbed me was the short sword embedded on his chest.
***