Tantei High (Erityian Tribes, #1) | Published under Pop Fiction

Chapter 47 - War

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," Akane sobbed as she hugged me.

Kanina niya pa sinisisi ang sarili niya sa mga nangyari at kanina ko pa rin sinasabi sa kanya na hindi niya 'yon kasalanan.

We stayed in the agency with Sir Hayate. He was silent the whole time and he was just staring at me. Alam kong may alam na rin siya sa mga nangyari pero mukhang hindi niya pa rin sasabihin sa akin ang totoo.

Maging si Riye ay hawak ang kamay ko. She told me that I was missing for two days and I realized those Shinigamis were telling the truth.

Nang kumalma na ako ay kinuwento ko sa kanila ang nangyari at ang mga nalaman ko mula sa Shinigami headquarters. I told them abou the Black Dimension but I kept quiet about what Darwin had told me.

"Pero ang pinagtataka ko lang, paano nakapunta 'tong pusa mo ro'n?" sabay turo ni Ken kay Demi na nakahiga sa may paanan ko.

"Hindi ko rin alam. Basta bigla na lang siyang lumitaw ro'n. Dumaan siya sa Black Dimension."

"Hindi ko talaga maimagine na may iba pang dimension bukod dito at sa teleportation dimension," dagdag niya pa.

"Another weird thing is that the Black Dimension seems like connected to the hallway," sabi naman ni Reiji habang may hawak-hawak na libro.

"Kung connected nga sila, alam na natin kung bakit hindi normal ang distance at time of travel doon," sagot naman ni Riye.

"Pero 'di ba Shinigami lang ang nakakagamit ng Black Dimension? Kung parte nga no'n ang hallway, bakit tayo nakakadaan?"

Nang itanong 'yon ni Ken ay natahimik kaming lahat. Ibig sabihin, posibleng hindi ako katulad nila?

"Still bothered by your identity?"

Napatingin kaming lahat kay Hiro at napayuko ako. In the end, sinabi ko rin ang mga binitiwang salita sa akin ni Darwin. It was hard to say out loud but it was too heavy to carry alone.

"Don't think about it," sabi ni Akane. "You're part of the Atama family even if you're not sure of your identity," sabay hawak niya sa kamay ko.

"Pero hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na ginamit nila si Akane para makuha ka," sabi ni Ken.

"It's understandable." Napatingin naman kami kay Sir Hayate. "The protective barrier against Black Dimension is the weakest in the forest. They know you will come in the forest if they mention your Mom. And they also speculated that Akemi will follow you."

"Pero kung part nga po ng Black Dimension yung hallway, bakit hindi nila ginagamit 'yon?" tanong ni Riye kay Sir.

"Maybe they don't know about it."

Napaisip naman ako sa nangyari kanina. Maybe I ended up in the hallway because that was the first place I thought of when I imagined a dark place like the Black Dimension.

"Sir, kilala n'yo ba ang dalawang Shinigami na 'yon?" Akane asked and her eyes glimmered with anger.

"One of them is Kaido," sagot ni Sir. "I don't know the other one."

"Ichiro," I chimed in and the attention was shifted to me. "That's the name of the other one."

"This is really the worst," Sir Hayate sighed.

"B-bakit po?"

Ano bang nangyari noong nawala ako?

"As you know, matagal nang may tension sa pagitan natin at ng mga Shinigami. But after what happened, I don't think this could be avoided anymore," Sir Hayate stated with a grim expression.

Sir Hayate's words brought an uncomfortable silence in the room. The air was suffocating and everyone was trying to hold their breath.

"D-dahil po ba sa nangyari sa akin?" I said, breaking the silence. That didn't seem right. I mean, isa lang naman akong estudyante.

"Sir Hideo and Rin have been monitoring each other's movements for years. It seemed like the tension between them has already reached its limit." Tumingin sa akin si Sir Hayate. "What happened to you was the trigger, Akemi. No more holding back from both sides. This time, there will be a war."

Nangilabot ako sa mga binitiwang salita ni Sir Hayate at biglang bumigat ang pakiramdam ko. Nagpaalam naman siya dahil may kailangan pa raw siyang asikasuhin at pinauwi niya muna kami para raw makapagpahinga ako.

We had to go through the hallway and that sent shiver down my spine after what happened earlier. Naintindihan naman nilang lima 'yon kaya nakapaligid silang lahat habang sobrang higpit ng hawak ko kina Riye at Akane. After several minutes, we finally got out but I felt something weird.

The atmosphere in Tantei High seemed dark and heavy. Nang naglalakad na kami pabalik sa dorm ay napatigil kami dahil nakahinto rin ang mga estudyante. Suddenly, I felt two intimidating presence around. Cracks crawled through the ground and the air seemed cold and crisp.

Bigla namang nag-part ang mga estudyanteng nasa daanan at doon namin nakita ang source ng mga presence na 'yon. A man and a woman were walking toward the Intel Department with an air of superiority and authority.

The woman was wearing an Amazon-style clothings with a fur coat draped around her shoulders but what caught my attention was her crystal blue eyes. On the other hand, the man was in a formal suit and he walked in such graceful yet dignified manner. In contrast with the woman, his eyes gleamed red.

Nang makapasok sila sa Administration building ay saka lang kami nakahinga nang maluwag at pagtingin ko kay Akane ay gulat na gulat ang itsura niya.

"Akane, kilala mo sila?" tanong ko.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "I know them but I didn't expect to see them in person."

"Pinag-aralan natin sila sa History nee-chan," sabay ngiti naman sa akin ni Riye.

"Sa History?"

Inalala ko naman ang mga taong natutunan ko sa History. Blue and red eyes? Where did I . . . ah. Napatingin ako sa kanilang lima at mukhang tama ang naiisip ko.

"They are the leaders of the Huntres and Custos tribes," Hiro confirmed.

I remembered the book about the origins of Erityians. According to that, the four tribes opted to isolate themselves and did not engage in any kind of connection with each other, except between Senshins and Shinigamis.

"A war, huh?" Ken muttered while looking at the Intel Department.

"It seems like a war meeting," dagdag naman ni Reiji.

"War meeting?" Bakit kasama sa war meeting ang leaders ng dalawang tribes?

'We became allied with Huntres and Custos tribes few years ago,' sagot naman ni Hiro.

It looked like I still need to read about these four tribes, especially their current situations since the five of them were already knowledgeable about these facts.

"Ah. You guys are back." Napatingin naman kami sa pinanggalingan ng boses at nakita namin si Sir Hiroshi na naglalakad papunta sa amin. "Come with me."

"Bakit, Sir?"

He gave us a subtle smile. "Your new weapons are ready."

Pagkatapos niyang sabihin 'yon ay napatingin kami sa isa't isa. New weapons? May new weapons kami?

***