Chapter 7

Kumakain kami ngayon ng breakfast dito sa isang stall sa Central Plaza pero hindi ko naman magawang galawin ang pagkain ko dahil sa nangyari kanina. Idagdag pa ang sinabi ni Akane tungkol sa sixth sense ko.

“Really nee-san? That’s her sixth sense? Cool,” sabi ni Riye habang nagkukwento pa rin si Akane.
“I think so. I really didn’t see any shadow or figure near us, but I heard the way he ran. Kaso nga lang, mahina na lang ang narinig ko dahil mukhang malayo na siya pero nakita pa rin siya ni Akemi. That’s why I’m quite convinced that her sixth sense is enhanced sight,” sabay tingin niya sa akin.

We continued talking about what happened earlier until we finished our food. After that, we went to our next class, which is, Technology Development. Dahil hindi ko naman alam kung saan at ano ang buildings at rooms ay nagpahatak na lang ako kina Riye at Akane hanggang sa nakarating kami sa isang kwartong walang kahit anong laman at tanging ang puting dingding at kisame ang makikita. Pagpasok namin, nandoon na ang tatlong lalaki at may isang pang lalaking nakatayo sa gitna. He must be our teacher.

“Okay. Since all of you are already here, let’s start this class,” he said.

Behind his eyeglasses, his green eyes glinted, and I was quite scared because he seemed strict and serious.

Umupo naman kami agad sa sahig kung nasaan ang tatlo dahil wala rin namang upuan dito. I glanced at our teacher but immediately averted his gaze when our eyes met.

“This is the Technology Development class and here, you’ll learn how to use and, hopefully, create devices that you need in solving crimes. I am Hiroshi, from Atama family, and I will be guiding you regarding this matter,” bungad niya sa amin.
“Bago na naman pala ang teacher. Akala ko si Ms. Kako pa rin. Pero sabagay, isa rin ‘yong masungit, eh,” rinig kong sabi ni Ken at binatukan na naman siya ni Akane. Buti nga hindi sila pinapagalitan ni Sir Hiroshi. Tahimik lang siya ro’n sa gitna at nagpipindot ng kung ano sa hologram na keyboard . . .

Wait. A holographic keyboard? Where did that come from? Nakikita ko rin ang tina-type niya pero hindi ko mabasa nang maayos dahil nakaharap sa kanya. Napanganga na lang ako dahil doon at pakiramdam ko ay nanonood ako ng sci-fi movie. Ang galing!

“Unlike Mrs. Kako, I’ll be introducing new gadgets and devices to you so you should pay attention while I’m discussing them,” he said while looking at Ken and Akane. Natahimik naman silang dalawa at nag-focus na kay Sir Hiroshi.
“S-Sir, is Ms. Reina your batchmate?” mahinang tanong ni Riye at nagulat ako dahil hindi siya madalas nagsisimula ng usapan.
“Yes,” Sir Hiroshi responded. “Actually, almost all of your teachers are new graduates or from batches before us.”

Napaisip naman ako sa sinabi niya. Bakit nga kaya bago lahat ng teachers?

‘Akemi-neesan, don’t be too loud. Don’t worry, sasabihin ko sa’yo mamaya.’

Okay. Hindi ko alam kung guni-guni ko lang ba ‘yon o dapat na akong mag-panic dahil narinig ko ang boses ni Riye sa loob ng ulo ko. Tumingin ako sa direksyon niya pero nakatingin lang siya kay Sir Hiroshi at mukhang wala man lang siyang pakialam sa akin. Mukhang nagha-hallucinate nga lang ako.

‘Pfft. Akemi, huwag kang mag-panic! We forgot to discuss this to you because we thought you already know how how to use it. Hindi naman kasi namin akalain na wala ka talagang alam sa mundong pinasok mo. Pagkatapos ng class na ‘to, i-e-explain namin agad ‘to, okay?’

This time, it was Akane. At talagang sinabihan niya pa akong huwag mag-panic kahit na gusto ko nang sumigaw at sabunutan ang sarili ko dahil naririnig ko ang boses nila sa isip ko.

“Ms. Akemi, right?” Sir Hiroshi called and I flinched when he looked straight into my eyes.
“Y-yes, sir?”
“Control your inner voice. It’s distracting.”
“O-okay po. Sorry po, Sir,” sagot ko kahit di ko naman naintindihan ang pinapagawa niya. Inner voice? What in the world was that?

Huminga naman ako nang malalim para kalmahin ang sarili ko. Hindi ko muna inisip ang boses nina Riye at Akane at nag-focus ako kay Sir Hiroshi.

“The first device that I want to show you is the latest development of the Technology Department. It was finished last month, and you would be the first group to use it. Here,” he said, and he pulled a weird-looking necklace from his bag. “This necklace detects murderous and killing intents. When this pearl turns black,” he explained while pointing at the largest bead in it, “that means within your perimeter, someone’s limbic system is going wild, which leads to primal and intense emotions such as rage and desire to kill. Using this, we can easily locate criminals and prevent murders.”

Pagkatapos niyang sabihin ‘yon ay namangha kaming lahat. Even though I didn’t know the principle behind that, I was still amazed with that device. The idea seemed absurd and out of this world, but they actually made it.

“However, the downside is that it can only detect murderous intent real-time so the only thing you can do is to act immediately. We are trying to improve it but it may take months or years.”

After that ay binigyan niya kami isa-isa ng necklace. I stared at the biggest and whitest pearl in the middle. So pag nag-black ‘to, ibig sabihin, posibleng may murderer sa paligid. Pero hanggang saan ang kaya niyang i-detect? May distance limit kaya ‘to?

“Yes, you are right, Ms. Akemi,” Sir Hiroshi suddenly said. “It has a one-kilometer distance limit. Ah, one more thing. It can only detect one person at a time, which is, the one closest to you.”

That thing again. Paano nila nalalaman ang naiisip ko? It seemed like all of them could do that. Pakiramdam ko tuloy, pati mga pinakatagu-tago kong sikreto ay malalaman nila. Paano ko sila papaalisin sa utak ko?

‘Try to close your mind. Block all your thoughts so they could not hear you.’

Nagulat naman ako nang may panibagong boses ang nag-invade sa utak ko. Sino ‘yon?

‘Hiro,’ the voice said.

Nang marinig ko ‘yon ay napalingon agada ko sa kanya pero nakatingin lang siya sa kwintas na ibinigay sa amin. Was that really him?

‘I told you, try to control your thoughts. You are too loud.’

I tried to reply, if that was the right term.

‘P-paano ba kasi? Ang creepy na kasi na lahat ata kayo, alam na ang iniisip ko.’
‘So they didn’t tell you that all members of Atama family have the same brain frequency?’ That was the first time I heard that.

‘Inner voice is a unique characteristic of an Erityian who has an above-average disposition. That’s why the Atama family members can communicate through our mind using our inner voices.’

Kung naririnig lang ang pagsigaw sa utak, panigurado, nabingi na si Hiro. At ‘di nga ako nagkamali. I saw him winced when he finished explaining that to me because I yelled inside my mind. Na-realize ko kasi na lahat ng naiisip ko mula kahapon ay nababasa at naririnig nila. Nakakahiya!

Sinubukan kong mag-concentrate at huwag mag-isip ng kung anu-ano. I tried listening to Sir Hiroshi’s explanation, but I couldn’t focus. Hindi ko na tuloy naintindihan kung paano ginagamit ang ibang features ng necklace hanggang sa matapos ang klase namin. Napakasama kong estudyante.

“Akemi, tara na! May History class pa tayo!”

Natauhan naman ako nang tawagin ako ni Akane. Nasa labas na pala silang lima, habang ako ay nakaupo pa rin sa lapag ng room. Dali-dali naman akong tumayo at sumunod sa kanila hanggang sa sabay-sabay na kaming naglakad papunta sa next class namin.

“Nee-san, you look tired,” sabi ni Riye kaya napatingin silang lahat sa akin.

Dahil na-trauma na ako sa nangyari kanina ay pinilit kong h’wag mag-isip ng kahit ano para wala silang mabasa o marinig mula sa isip ko.

“Aww. Blank mind!” Ken said. Sabi na nga ba, binabasa na naman nila ako!

Natawa naman si Akane. “Ano ba Akemi, may right way kasi para hindi namin mabasa ang isip mo.”

Pagkasabi niya no’n ay agad akong napatingin sa kanya. “Meron? Paano?” I asked.

“Like a wall,” dagdag naman ni Reiji, na ngayon ko na lang ulit narinig magsalita. “Imagine a thick and tall wall surrounding your brain. Imagine that wall preventing your thoughts from leaking out and when you get used to it, nobody can read your mind anymore.”
“Tama si Reiji, Akemi,” pagsang-ayon ni Akane. “Our brain is ‘open’ by default. Ibig sabihin, continuous ang flow ng information, thoughts at ideas. For humdrums and normal Senshins, they can’t hear or read our thoughts because we do not have the same brain frequencies. However, those who are like us, especially in other tribes, can do that. Kaya for safety and privacy purposes, dapat marunong ka ring magsara ng isip mo.”

Napanganga na lang ako sa sinabi ni Akane. Kaya pala nalaman ni Ma’am Castro—I mean ni Ms. Reina, ang naiisip ko kanina. Same with Sir Hiroshi. They were also from Atama family.

“Isa pa, lahat ng galing sa Atama, may ability na makabasa o makarinig ng isip ng isang tao.” This time, si Ken naman ang nag-explain sa akin pero nalaman ko na ‘yon kanina kay Hiro. “We can communicate with each other through our inner voices.”
“So, you mean, kaya ko ring basahin ang isip n’yo?” tanong ko. Baka kasi mamaya, ako lang ang may hindi kayang gawin ‘yon.
“Yes, nee-san. You just need practice. Don’t worry, we’ll help you.”

Na-touch ako bigla sa kanilang lahat. They were thoughtful and for the first time as a student, I didn’t feel out of place. Nakakatuwa lang na talagang pinaparamdam nila sa akin na kasama ako sa Atama family.

Huminga naman ako nang malalim at sinubukan kong pakinggan ang inner voices nila. I imagined their brains without any borders, and then suddenly . . .

‘Ang cute ni Akemi! Excited na akong turuan siya mamayang gabi!’
“Oh my god,” sabay takip ko sa bibig ko. “N-narinig ko ‘yon,” sabi ko habang nakatingin kay Akane. Teka, ibig sabihin ba, marunong na ako?
“Ha? Ang ano?”
“Narinig kita! Sabi mo pa, tuturuan mo ako mamayang gabi,” paliwanag ko at bigla namang nanlaki ang mga mata niya.
“Wait. You mean, you managed to read my thoughts?” she asked and I nodded.
“Really, nee-san? Whoa. Nagawa mo kahit hindi ka pa tinuturuan. That’s great,” Riye commented.

Napakunot naman ang noo ko sa sinabi niya. Tuturuan? Ibig sabihin, tinuturo ang paggamit ng inner voice at mind reading?

“Grabe. Kinilabutan ako sa’yo,” sabay pakita sa akin ni Akane ang goosebumps niya. “You really did it without any lesson or practice. You’re a monster!”

Hanggang sa makarating kami sa next class ay inaasar pa rin nila ako at sinarado nila ang mga isip nila dahil daw marunong na akong magbasa ng utak. Naalala ko naman ang sinabi ni Reiji kanina kaya in-imagine ko rin na may nakaharang na wall sa utak ko para hindi nila malaman ang mga naiisip ko.

Pagkapasok namin sa room ay nandoon na ang teacher sa loob. According to Akane, our next class would be History and it was brought back in the curriculum just this year.

“Good morning, class. I’m Mrs. Seira, your History teacher.”

Mrs. Seira looked kind. Her hair was mostly gray, and it complemented her green eyes. She must be around 40 or 50 but her face remained youthful. I started to wonder if the color of the eyes has something to do with their status in the campus since almost all teachers have green eyes.

“I’m sure you are all curious as to why they brought back this course. The administration and the Intelligence department want to give the students a deeper background about this school and the Senshins who made an impact throughout the history. In addition, you have a new member who needs this subject the most,” sabay tingin niya sa akin. “Right, Ms. Akemi?”

Tumango na lang ako. Medyo nakakahiya rin dahil kinailangan pa nila akong samahan sa class na ‘to kahit na alam naman na nila ang history ng Tantei High.

After Mrs. Seira’s introduction, she started talking about Shou and Natsue. Buti na lang talaga at kahit papaano ay na-introduce na nina Akane at Riye sa akin noon sina Shou at Natsue. She was discussing how the two met and I almost freaked out when something came out from her mouth. Those transparent-looking things moved mid-air and shaped themselves into humanoid figures. Pero ang mas ikinagulat ko ay habang nagsasalita si Mrs. Seira, lahat ng sinasabi niya ay ginagawa ng humanoid shapes. Doon ko na-realize na sina Shou at Natsue ang mga ‘yon. They were like 3D-projections of what Mrs. Seira was telling, as if she could control those figures through words, and that must be her sixth sense.

“Sixth sense niya?” pabulong kong tanong kay Akane.
“Yup,” sagot naman niya. “She can show a graphical representation of her stories, as if it was a movie. Cool, right?”

Wow. That was cool. Tatlo pa lang ang nakikilala kong teachers pero ang taas na ng tingin ko sa kanila. Ito na yata ang kauna-unahang history class na hindi ako inantok dahil sa kakaibang pagtuturo ni Mrs. Seira.

Pagkatapos ng class namin ay sabay-sabay kaming lumabas at pabalik na sana kami sa dorm pero napatigil ako dahil may kakaiba akong naramdaman. I felt a chill running down my spine and when I looked at the necklace Sir Hiroshi gave us, the pearl in the middle turned black.

“What the—!”

​Hindi na naituloy ni Ken ang sasabihin niya dahil bigla na lang kaming napatakbo papunta sa right side na para bang hinahatak kami ng mga kwintas namin papunta roon. And when I looked at the forest in our right side, a person’s silhouette, which was similar to the one we encountered earlier, was staring right at me and this time, he was holding a gun.

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