Chapter 12

​I really think I brought the curse of being late here.

Tumakbo kami palabas ng dorm at pumunta sa una naming klase. Ayon sa schedule ay PD ang class namin ngayon. Dahil hindi ko alam kung saan ang classroom ay sumunod na lang ako kina Akane at Riye. We went inside a huge building, around a hundred meters away from Midori building, and proceeded at the 3rd floor. Pagtapak ko sa huling step ng hagdan ay muntik na akong malaglag dahil sa nakita ko.

“Whoa,” I gasped in amazement.

The whole third floor was just a huge empty room and it felt like we were in a different dimension because the walls and ceilings were all white.

“Tara, tara, nandyan na si Ma’am Michiko.”

Hinila ako ni Akane papunta sa gitna at as usual, nandoon na ang tatlong lalaki.

Standing in front of them was a woman in casual shirt and jeans, her hair tied in a ponytail, and the white surroundings highlighted her intense green eyes.

“Hiro, you’re good but you’re too aggressive. Bawas-bawasan mo, maliwanag?” sabi ni Ma’am Michiko habang nakatingin kay Hiro. “Ken, you’re excellent. But for god’s sake, stop playing around. And Reiji, improve your speed.”

Napahinto ako nang malapit na kami sa kanila. Assessment ba ‘yon?

“Oh. The girls are here.” Bigla naman siyang napatingin sa akin. “Nice to meet . . .”

Everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew, my body was already flipping mid-air and I was about to fall on the floor. I closed my eyes, waiting for my body to feel the impact, but it didn’t happen.

“Heh. You guys got quicker,” rinig kong sabi ni Ma’am Michiko.

Dahan-dahan kong idinilat ang mga mata ko at doon ko lang na-realize kung ano ang nanyari. Buhat na ako ni Reiji habang ang apat ay nakapalibot kay Ma’am Michiko. Akane was pointing a wooden sword at her neck while Ken aimed a stick at her forehead. On the other hand, Riye and Hiro were holding both of her arms.

“A-anong . . .”
Muling ngumiti si Ma’am sa akin. “Just testing their skills. And welcoming you.”

Pagkasabi niya no’n ay bigla naman siyang nawala sa paningin ko kaya nanlaki ang mga mata ko.

“Okay, guys, let’s start.”

Hinanap ko kung nasaan siya at halos ilang metro na ang layo niya sa amin. How in the world did that happen? That was too fast!

Binaba ako ni Reiji at lumapit sa akin sina Riye at Akane.

“Pagpasensyahan mo na ‘yang si Ms. Michiko. Ganyan talaga siya. Her energy’s too high.”
“Mmm. She also did that to me last year,” Riye sighed. “It was scary.”

Magkahalong takot at curiosity naman ang naramdaman ko. Siguro kung hindi dahil sa kanilang lima ay bali-bali na yung buto ko.

“This is the Psychomotor Development class,” pagsisimula niya nang makalapit kami sa kanya. “Here, you’re going to learn how to coordinate your cognitive skills and physical movements, which can help you when you encounter criminals.” Muling nagtama ang mga mata namin. “You’re the only one who doesn’t have a specific PD skill yet.”
“P-po?”

Kailangan na bang may maipakita akong skill? Wala pa akong kahit anong alam. Anong gagawin ko?

“You can pick either combat, if you want to fight using your body, or equipping with the use of weapons,” she explained. “But for Atama, it is common to master both. They already have their specialties in both combat and weapons,” sabay turo niya sa lima. “Akane chose kendo while Riye excels in kyudo or archery. Ken and Hiro are experts in judo while Reiji is unparalleled in aikido.”

Wow. Lalo tuloy tumaas ang tingin ko sa kanila. I didn’t know they were martial arts experts.

“What kind of combat and weapon do you want to learn and use?” tanong ni Ma’am Michiko kaya napaisip ako.

Ayokong gumamit ng sword dahil nakakatakot. Hindi rin ako accurate sa pagtukoy ng targets kaya Malabo ang archery. Gusto ko sana ay ‘yong parang wooden staff lang na hawak ni Ken kanina.

“Uhm . . . a staff?”

Pagkasabi ko no’n ay biglang naging seryoso ang mukha ni Ma’am Michiko. Natakot tuloy ako dahil baka may nasabi akong mali.

“M-Ma’am?”
“Sorry,” she muttered, snapping out of her weird expression. “I just remembered someone.” She heaved a sigh. “Anyway, if you want a staff, then you must master jodo.”

Naglakad siya sad ala niyang parang treasure box at binato niya ang isang staff sa akin. Buti na lang at nasalo ko ‘yon.

Sinabi naman niya na i-observe ko muna kung paano gumalaw ang lima dahil may basic training na sila sa lahat ng klase ng combat styles. They started challenging each other with their preferred weapons. Akane sparred with Ma’am Michiko and I could see that she was great but Ma’am Michiko was just toying with her. Samantala, pumwesto naman si Riye sa pinakadulo ng room at nasa kabilang dulo naman ang target niya. Siguro fifty meters ang layo no’n mula sa kanya pero nang i-release niya ang arrow ay tumama iyon sa gitnang piece. Wow. The other three were practicing their combat styles at natakot lang ako dahil bumabagsak na lang bigla ang mga katawan nila.

After that, Ma’am Michiko taught me the principles of jodo. Ni hindi ko nga namalayang three hours na pala ang nakalipas at naramdaman ko ang sakit ng katawan ko noong bumababa na kami sa hagdan.

Our next class was Criminology and our teacher was Sir Kazuya. Paniguradong kaya lang sila nandito ay para samahan ako kaya medyo nakakahiya sa kanila.

“Next time, I’ll teach you how our army and police weapons work,” he said and that caught their attention. According to him, he still couldn’t teach it to those below the ‘green stage’ na hindi ko naman alam kung ano.

After class ay dumiretso kami sa dorm. Pagod na ang katawan at utak ko pero kinailangan kong magluto para may makain kaming tatlo. Na-miss ko tuloy si Mama dahil pagdating ko ay lagi nang may pagkain sa bahay.

Kumusta na kaya siya? Until now, hindi pa rin ako makapaniwalang Senshin din siya since lahat daw ay pureblood. Ano kaya ang sixth sense niya? Saang family kaya siya nabibilang? Kailan kaya siya nag-aral dito?

“Hoy!”

Muntik ko nang maitapon ang sandok na hawak ko dahil sa pagsundot ni Akane sa bewang ko kaya tiningnan ko siya at tinawanan naman niya ako.

“Your mind is open! You seriously need to practice closing it at all times,” pang-aasar niya at bigla kong naalala si Hiro.
“Akane, bakit parang hindi ko mabasa ang isip ni Hiro? At kahit nakasarado ang isip ko ay nababasa niya?”

Pagkasabi ko no’n ay tumawa siya nang tumawa to the point na naluha na siya kahit na seryoso naman ang tanong ko sa kanya.

“S-sorry! Pfft!” Huminga siya nang malalim para kumalma. “I forgot to tell you. Hindi mo talaga mababasa ang isip niya. Maski kami, hindi ‘yon kayang gawin.”
“Bakit naman?”
“Hindi ba sabi naming sa’yo dati, nakabukas ang isip ng isang tao by default?” Tumango naman ako. “Hiro is an exemption. Because by default, his mind is closed.”

Nagulat ako nang marinig ko ‘yon mula sa kanya. Kaya pala. Kaya pala nababasa niya ang isip namin, pero hindi ang sa kanya. That guy was too mysterious.

Pagkatapos kong magluto ay naghain na ako at nagsimula na kaming kumain pero hindi pa rin ‘yon mawala sa isip ko.

“Nee-chan, are you interested with Hiro nii-san?” sabay ngiti ni Riye. I really need to remind myself every minute that I have to protect my thoughts from them.
“Ha? Hindi, ah. Nahihiwagaan lang ako sa kanya.”
“Interested nga,” gatong pa ni Akane sabay ngiti nang nakakaloko.
“Hindi nga kasi.”
“Okay, sabi mo, eh. Pfft.”

Sumuko na ako at maaga na rin kaming nag-prepare para matulog dahil nakakapagod talaga ang mga nangyari ngayong araw. Sabi naman nila ay hapon pa ang klase namin bukas kaya paniguradong mahaba-haba ang itutulog ko nito.

And I was right. Past 9 AM na ako nagising kinabukasan at akala ko ay ako na ang last na bumangon pero tulog pa rin ang dalawa. Tumayo ako at naghilamos ng mukha pero halos manigas ako nang makita ko ang mukha ko sa salamin. The moment I realized what was wrong, I yelled in fear and confusion and I collapsed on the floor.

Oh my god. Anong nangyari sa akin?!

“Akemi? Akemi? Anong nangyari?!” rinig ko kay Akane kaya hinawakan ko ang kamay niya.
“A-akane . . .  ‘y-yong mga mata ko . . . ”

Humarap ako sa kanya at maging siya ay nagulat sa nakita niya. My eye color turned into light brown.

“Oh my god, that’s awesome!” she beamed as she stared right into my eyes.
“H-ha?”
“That’s a sign that you’re improving. And you’re improving real quick!”
“A-anong ibig mong sabi—”
“Look at mine,” she said and I almost yelped when I saw how her eyes turned light yellow.
“What the . . .”
“See? Don’t worry, kung hindi ka comfortable, your eyes can always revert back to its natural color,” she added and her eyes color turned back to dark brown. “But once you achieve the green stage, it will stay like that. Forever.”

Ilang segundo akong nakatulala lang sa kanya dahil hindi pa rin nagsi-sink in sa akin ang nalaman ko. I think I need more sleep.
​

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