CHAPTER 23. Star Ranked
ALEXANDER‘S POV
I was sure she‘s just another imposter when I saw her, but when she showed us the black thing...
I don‘t know anymore.
That black chip is not an ordinary chip.
Ang bagay na ito ay nakakapagpatunay na isa kang miyembro ng Shadow of Death. Lahat ng SOD members ay meron nito, and so as the Clione Brothers.
It was a round and flat black object, which where the crest of SOD were embedded. And I don‘t think what she was holding is fake.
I‘ve seen one in person before, when Kenji Clione—a member of SOD—showed us his own.
It‘s hard to forfeit dahil hindi basta-basta pinapahawak ng mga miyembro ang bagay na ‘yun. At saka limitado lang ang kopya nito, tanging myembro lang talaga ng SOD.
Imposible ring mabili lang siya sa kung saan, dahil customized ang isang ‘yan, base on what Kenji told us before. Halata rin naman dahil nakatatak dito ang crest ng gang nila.
Kenji Clione is a member of Shadow of Death, and along with his younger and older brother, they are known as the Clione Brothers.
We were in the same class and has been friends since before we founded our own gang.
Kagaya nga ng sinabi ko, maging ang mga miyembro ng SOD ay hindi alam ang itsura ng kanilang leader.
She‘s very mysterious.
And this girl has the chip. Hindi ko na talaga alam kung paano namin mapapatunayang peke o totoo ang isang ‘to. Besides, magaling din siyang makipag-laban.
“Let me fcking see.”
Shin snatched the black chip from her. Natahimik siya kaya kinuha ko naman sa kanya ito at ako naman ang sumuri.
‘Yung chip ni Kenji at itong hawak ko, sigurado akong magka-size lang sila, 1 inch ang diameter. Itim ang kulay at may naka-imbendang bungo na parang may nakabalabal dito, at sa ibaba naman nito ay may dalawang scythe ay naka-ekis. Napapalibutan ng hindi malamang disenyo.
Ang kakaiba dito ay ang parteng mata ng bungo.
Bigla kong naalala ang sinabi ni Kenji noong ipinakita niya sa amin ang kaniyang chip.
“Consult an expert and he will tell you that this ‘lil coin cost thousands of dollars. ‘Coz this... the skull‘s eye part is a natural black diamond. And this black thing is a pure black titanium.”
“I think, that fact will make you believe that the chip is real. Sino namang tao ang makaka-isip magpagawa ng ganitong bilog, na may black diamond? Only our insane leader, Shadow.”
Since this black chip‘s eye is made up of black diamond, light can‘t get through when I put it on my phone‘s flashlight. I also tried the fog test, which is another test to determine if a diamond is real or fake. The fog that I made using my breath didn‘t even last for a few seconds.
Damn. This is the real thing.
I can now understand why Kenji once thought about pawning this thing.
“What? Is it real? Is it real?” pakantang tanong ni Kevin. Kahit kailan talaga napaka-budoy nito.
“Trev, it‘s real.” sabi ko at seryoso siyang tiningnan.
“Really?” matabang na sagot niya na parang wala lang!
Gago ‘to ah? Aba‘t parang wala na siyang pake ngayon?
Napansin ko si Khali na titig na titig dun sa fake Shadow. Like her usual stare, cold and expressionless.
Jeez. What‘s with this girl?
Sa gilid naman nila, nandun si Jaemin na tahimik lang na nakatayo, habang naka-akbay sa kanya si Kevin Jung.
At kailan pa sila naging close?!
“How about calling the Clione Brothers?” suhestiyon ni Shin.
That‘s a nice idea. Besides, sila lang ang makakapagsabi kung tunay nga bang si Shadow ito.
“As if they‘re going to let us catch their leader?” wika ni Kevin.
May point naman siya. Pero wala na kaming ibang choice kundi ang humingi ng tulong sa kanila. Besides, I‘m pretty sure that they‘d be glad to hear a news about their leader, too.
I called the youngest Clione—Kenneth.
“Hello? Is there something that you need?” sunud-sunod na tanong ni Kenneth.
Kung pagkukumparahin ang tatlong magkakapatid, si Kenneth Clione ang pinakamatino at pinakamabait.
‘Yung dalawang kuya niya?
*sigh*
“You‘re inside the school, right? Pwede ka bang pumunta sa oval? Just want you to check out on something.” sabi ko.
“Is it about ate Shadow again? I‘m sorry to disappoint you but that girl is just another imposter.” sabi niya.
Siguro ay kumalat na naman agad yung balita na may Shadow na naman ang nagpakilala samin. This is the 10th fake Shadow this year.
*sigh*
“But she has the chip. And it‘s real.” sabi ko.
“What? That‘s impossible.” Ilang sandali siyang natahimik bago muling nagsalita. “I‘ll be there.” he said and hung up.
Even the Clione was surprised upon hearing that this girl has a black chip.
Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan kung bakit sure na sure silang sabihing peke ang mga Shadow na humaharap sa‘min, eh maging sila nga ay hindi pa nila nakikita ang mukha ng leader nila.
O baka naman nakita na nila at inililim lang nila?
“Hey btch, where did you get the chip?” napatingin kami sa bagong dating na si Kenzo Clione.
“Yo!” bati naman ng kararating lang na si Kenji.
Agad niyang nilapitan si Kevin at nagkwento tungkol sa babae. Hay nako.
Ayan, diyan sila nagkakasundo ni Kevin eh, sa babae.
“Get what? And you‘re calling your leader a btch?” said the girl, grinning.
Maya-maya ay narito na rin si Kenneth.
“PFFT—MY LEADER?” Kenzo suddenly burst out into laughter.
“There‘s no way you‘d be Shadow. So, get your mother fcking ass of out here if you don‘t want me to drag the fcking hell out of you.” Kenzo said, brutally.
Matatawa na sana ako kung hindi lang ganito ang sitwasyon ngayon.
“What? You haven‘t even see me yourself yet. Why are you acting like you know me?” the girl retorted.
“You, don‘t know anything...” seryosong sagot ni Kenzo.
“Kenneth, what do you think?” tanong bigla ni Trev.
Napatingin kami kay Kenneth, na matiim na nakatingin dun sa babae.
Nabanggit ni Kenzo at Kenji noon na kung may gusto kaming malaman tungkol kay Shadow, si Viper at Kenneth dapat ang tanungin namin dahil sila ang pinakamalapit sa kanilang pinuno.
Ngunit ‘yun ay kung magsasalita sila. These guys... are insanely loyal to Shadow.
As soon as they found out that we are looking for Shadow, they made it clear that they‘ll crush us if we do harm towards their leader.
I see no problem to that. Kumbaga walang personalan.
The only reason were still friendly towards each other is because nothing is happening yet...
Nabaling naman ang tingin namin kay Kenji nang bigla siyang magsalita.
“Oy! Who‘s that chic, huh, Trevor? Your girlfriend?!” manghang tanong ni Kenji kay Trev, pertaining to Khali.
Aakalain mo nga naman talagang may namamagitan sa kanila dahil kung makapaghawak kamay sa harap ng maraming tao ay akala mo ayaw nang mawalay sa isa‘t isa.
“Shut the hell up.” Khali replied all of a sudden.
Kenji was quite taken aback.
Damn! Haha!
“I feel you, Kenj.” Kevin said and gave him a consoling tap on his shoulder.
Ganyan na ganyan rin kasi siya kausapin ni Khali nung nakaraan.
Kahit ang Shadow of Death member pala ay wala ring exemption sa fearless attitude ni Khali!
Kenji tilted his head as if he was scanning Khali Vernon.
“Have we met before?” tanong niya.
Trev quickly pulled her closer and brought her on his back. Like he was telling Kenji to back off or he‘ll be against him instead.
Ibinalik namin ang atensiyon kay Kenneth dahil wala naman palang magandang sasabihin si Kenji.
Kenneth stared at Shadow from head to foot with a blank expression.
“You‘re just wasting your time...” sabi niya habang umiiling-iling na may sobrang pagka-dismaya sa mukha.
“Hey Kenneth! That‘s rude!!” pahabol pa ng babae.
Bigla nalang humalakhak si Kenji.
“Shadow doesn‘t complain when someone‘s rude to her. She punches them. Moreover, she‘s even ruder!” he commented.
“How can you be so sure that she‘s not your leader?” tanong ko.
“Look at her, she‘s too weak. Does she even give you a chill, Xander?” seryosong tanong ni Kenzo.
Chill? No. I don‘t feel anything. Not even the slightest.
She can fight as I‘ve seen so she‘s not entirely weak, but yeah, I can‘t feel it from her.
“Shadow can make your body tremble in fear just by looking at her. It may sound unrealistic, but believe me, I‘ve felt it before.”
Natigilan ako nang marinig ang mga salitang iyon na nanggaling pa kay Kenzo.
Seriously? That Kenzo Clione once felt terror by mere looking at someone?
Is Shadow that dangerous?
Is she that terrifying?
She could make someone tremble in fear just by her mere appearance? That‘s absurd!
“And for your information, babe, our leader doesn‘t have a chip. She made it for us. Just for the members.” malanding pagsasalita ni Kenji.
“What are you talking about? Meron nga ako eh. Edi san ko pala nakuha ‘yan? Kayo na nga mismo ang nagsabi diba? I made it for you, so hindi malabong gumawa rin ako ng para sa‘kin.” depensa ng babae.
Sa isang iglap ay sumeryoso ang mukha ni Kenji. “Hindi mo talaga alam kung kailan susuko, huh?” Kenji said.
He then took out his own chip from his pocket.
“I don‘t wanna reveal it to others because this is one of our gang‘s secret. But because someone is stealing something—not just a chip but an identity, then I have no choice.” he paused.
“Listen, woman.” Matiim na tumitig si Kenji sa babae. “We have our names written on our own black chip.” Kenji said and showed us what he was talking about.
Nasa pinakadulo ito ng chip at halos hindi makita, at saka masyadong magulo ang font na ginamit. But if you look at it more carefully, mababasa mo ang nakasulat.
It says Kenji which is written on ambigram. Nakapabilog ito sa chip kaya kahit bali-baliktarin mo, it only says Kenji.
Sa unang tingin, akalain mong parte lang ng disenyo ng chip ito, ngunit pangalan pala ng miyembro ang naka-imbeda rito.
Tinignan ko ‘yung black chip na hawak ko at nakita ko dun ang pangalan ng isa pang miyembro ng Shadow of Death.
Nami.
Nami Kaede, also known as Viper is a member of Shadow of Death.
Pero sigurado akong hindi siya iyon. So, it only means that she stole it from her.
Gulat na gulat ang babae sa nalaman niya. Mukhang bago rin ito sa pandinig niya.
“I‘ll give it back to her.” sabi ni Kenji at binulsa na ‘yung chip. “But, wow, how did you manage to steal it from Nami na wala manlang siyang kaide-ideya? Impressive.” Kenji said in amusement.
“I‘ll give you a tip, you tramp. That chip is not just a mere chip, for her, that is her treasure. So you better hide yourself now. ‘Coz if she found out that you stole her chip, I‘m very certain that you won‘t see your pretty face ever again.” Kenzo warned.
“You know, that girl has a very bad temper.” pahabol ni Kenji.
“Tngina nagsayang lang tayo ng oras dito!”
“Fake naman pala!”
“Ang lakas naman ng loob niya?”
“We‘re going first.” paalam ni Kenji sa amin.
Tumango lang ako bilang sagot.
Naunang umalis si Kenji at Kenzo, samantalang si Kenneth ay kasalukuyang nakatingin pa rin sa fake Shadow.
This time his eyes were cold and his mood feels dark...
“Why do you always immitate her? Why do you want to be her?”
“You should‘ve just became her, then. So that she doesn‘t have to leave us hanging...” galit ngunit may bahid nang lungkot na sabi ni Kenneth.
“Goodluck with your life, Missy. You just unconciously stepped on the shadow of Death.” malamig na saad ni Kenneth.
Halos lahat kami ay nanigas sa kinatatayuan namin dahil sa sinabi ni Kenneth.
“You just unconciously stepped... on the shadow of Death.”
That line...
That infamous line of most feared gang Shadow of Death, is enough to make you shiver.
Lalo na kung si Shadow mismo ang bumigkas nun.
Noong active ang Shadow of Death, marami silang pag-aari. Marami silang underling na hanggang ngayon ay hawak pa nila.
Dahil diyan ay maraming nagtatangkang agawin ang meron sila, at sa huli ay nagiging dahilan ng kapahamakan nila.
Their greed led them to hell.
What they meant by stepping on the shadow of Death was their possession or anything related to them.
If one did, they‘ll get a card. Barahang may nakatatak na Ace of Spade na siyang ipinangalan rin nila sa rule nilang ito.
Ace of Spade also means Death. After getting this card, the Shadow of Death will visit their target and spit the line, and the hell will then begin.
All gangsters are allowed to attack or do whatever they wanted to do with the target who received the card.
Kaya takot na takot ang mga gangsters sa kanila noon pati na rin ang hindi mga gangsters. Basta taong nakakakilala sa kanila.
Whenever they hear the name Shadow, takot na takot talaga sila.
Marami kaming nalaman dahil sa mga nakalap naming impormasyon sa paghahanap namin kay Shadow.
Hindi lang pala kilala ang Shadow of Death dito sa siyudad, maging sa ibang lugar din.
Sino mang tao ang may kinalaman sa Gangsters Society ay kilala siya. At hindi lang din pala dito nagaganap ang Ace of Death kundi sa ibang lugar din.
Pero ni minsan, hindi namin narinig si Kenneth na bigkasin ang linyang iyon. Ngayon lang. Kaya gulat na gulat kami. Lahat kami ay nanatiling tahimik bago siya makaalis.
Lahat ng gangsters o estudyante yata dito sa Marvel High ay alam ang tungkol sa Ace of Spade. Kaya ganito nalang ang reaksiyon nila.
Kenneth is young but impressive. A Shadow of Death member, indeed. Ngunit gaya nga ng sinabi ko, a person still needs the card until they become the official target.
“Girl, you better hide! Because I‘m sure that Shadow‘s enemies are on their way to get you.” A girl from the crowd said. And the others agreed to her.
The Shadow of Death made use of their rank well. They made their own rules that made them even more feared, and even changed an official rule from the Underground Arena. And nobody opposed them.
That is why the rank and position they have right now is even more desired. Gaining them a lot of enemies and challenges.
Pero sa hindi malamang kadahilanan maraming sumusunod sa kanila kapag Ace of Death na ang pinag-uusapan.
Perhaps they liked their rules? Kaya lahat nakikisakay? O baka naman ay natatakot sila sa kanila?
Then, we—the Four Dragons decided to make our own rule when we reached the 1st Rank. We called it the Black Order.
We made it to prove the gang‘s strength and power. It worked.
Dahil dito ay mangilan-ngilan nalang ang mga nagtatangkang sumalungat sa Four Dragons at napagpasyahan naming itigil na muna ito.
Though, Black Order might still be drawn again depending on the circumstances.
Tila maiiyak na ang fake Shadow, I can even see her shaking in fear. I bet she didn‘t know the consequences of her actions at all.
“Pag nalaman ni Viper na ninakaw mo yung chip niya, siya na siguro mismo ang magbibigay ng card sayo!”
“That‘s fun though. After a long time, magkakaroon na ulit tayo ng laruan, right?” segunda ng isa.
Mula kasi noong nawala si Shadow, medyo natahimik ang gangster world.
Because without her, things somehow became uninteresting. Bigla nalang siyang nawala...
Come to think of it, isang taon na nga siyang walang laban!
She is supposed to be out of the throne by now. At pag naka-6 months hiatus naman ang gang, matatanggal din sila sa pagiging Star Ranked, na malabo yatang mangyari dahil active pa rin naman ang mga members nito.
Pero may iba‘t ibang paraan pa naman para makuha ang titulo maliban sa usual battles. Gaya ng Bloody Tournament. Kung saan maglalaban-laban ang mga gangs hanggang sa umabot sa puntong ang Star Ranked na ang makakalaban nila.
Pwede ring by Royal Cede, which the current Star Ranked can hand over their position to other gang that they‘ve chosen. Parang pamana.
But of course, the gang should be a strong and a deserving gang to receive the royal title. That would be the top 5 Dysnast Ten.
But those are just based on the Underground Arena System.
Dahil kahit hindi man namin sabihin, many of us have already recognized Shadow as the best Gangster Queen in the whole Gangster Society.
Tumakbo ang pekeng Shadow habang tinatakpan ang magkabila niyang tainga. Hinayaan nalang siya ng mga estudyante. Saka siya pinagtawanan pagka-tapos.
Hays. She should have been more careful.
Ano ‘to? Did she do that just to get Trev‘s attention? Just like the others?
Lumingon ako kay Trev na dahilan ng ganapan ngayon, kay Trev na walang katiting na pakialam sa mga babaeng iyon...
I sighed.
“People are really interesting, aren‘t they?” Khali suddenly spoke. She quickly caught my attention.
“They fear death, but they are the one who‘s chasing death...”
My brows furrowed as I look at her. She had her usual blank expression and cold aura.
“Shadow can make your body tremble in fear by just looking at her. It may sound unrealistic, but believe me, I‘ve felt it before.”
Pakiramdam ko ay nagtayuan ang mga balahibo ko nang biglang pumasok sa isip ko ang sinabi ni Kenzo kanina.
Kaya ba malaki ang respeto nila sa pinuno nila?
Nanatili akong nakatayo habang pinagmamasdan ang likuran ni Khali na ngayon palayo na.
Why did I felt chills while looking at her? Just who are you, Khali Vernon?
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