Chapter 26: A Risky Reunion (Search Chapter)

"Gray?, I asked in surprise when I landed on top of him! God! This is so awkward! I stared at him for a while at agad ding napatayo ng lumabas sa isip ko kung ano ang posisyon namin ngayon.

Tumayo rin siya at pinagpagan ang sarili. "Amber."

"Anong ginagawa mo dito? Particularly here on the back part of the girls' dormitory?", I asked and he just stared at me for a while. Uh, yeah. I missed him. It's been three days since the last time I saw him.

"I—" he paused for a while as if he's thinking of an answer.

"Hoy," tawag pansin ko sa kanya.

"I just came to see A—Athena. Right. I wanna see Athena", wika niya and he flashed his boyish shy smile. "How about you? Why the hell are you jumping down from the windows? Plano mo bang maging Spiderwoman? No.  It should be Catwoman.", he asked and I scowled at him. I'd rather hear Jeremy's puns than his.

"I have something to do. Sinong kasama mong pumunta dito?", tanong ko sa kanya.

"I'm with Math."

Napataas ang isang kilay ko. Ano kaya ang madalas nilang gawin sa Bridle lalo na at wala kaming dalawa ni Je?
"Madalas kayong magkasama?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We're on the same circle and since pansamantalang wala kayong dalawa ni Jeremy, kami na muna ang madalas magkasama", sagot niya.

"Gaano kadalas?"

"Madalas, minsan?", he answered in hesitation.

"Gaano kadalas ang minsan?", I asked again. Oh, I wanna punch myself. It sounded like a title for a soap opera, isn't it? And I sounded like a jealous girlfriend demanding for an answer kaya agad kong binawi ang sagot ko. "Oh, never mind. Mauna na ako sayo Gray. I have some things to accomplish tonight. Enjoy your walk around Athena", wika ko sa kanya.

I moved my way at nilagpasan siya but to my surprise, he pulled my arms and hugged me from behind. He rested his chin on my shoulders as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt my cheeks blushed and I'm thankful that he can't directly see my face.

"G-gray..."

"I missed you", he said and I almost melt. Ito ba ang madalas na sabihin ni Andi tungkol sa kilig? Mas hinigpitan pa niya ang kanyang yakap and he nuzzled his face on my neck.

Shit! Hindi ba ako amoy pawis? I just swing from the fourth floor and he can directly smell me!

"Gray, baka amoy-pawis ako..." Uh, that was the most awkward thing to say when someone, especially a guy hugged you.

"No. You smelt like strawberries and melon", he said at muli ay gusto kong matunaw. How this guy could effortlessly makes me melt in his simple ways? I don't know why ngunit tila nanlalambot ako sa mga pinagsasabi nito.

I remembered the time when we— uh. When we kissed. It  bothered me so much that night which caused my sleepless night. Ganoon ba iyon kapag unang halik?

I immediately free myself from him when I heard someone cleared his throat. Parehas kaming napatingin ni Gray sa pinagmulan ng tunog.

"Khael", I said when I saw him standing nearby. His face was crumpled at agad na lumapit sa amin. He stood between me and Gray.

"Madaya ka Silvan. I summoned you here and you see Special A first than me? I should be the one that you're hugging, not her", wika nito habang nakatingin ng masama kay Gray.  Uh, seriously? He's jealous with that hug? Duda na talaga ako dito, baka may gusto nga it okay Gray.

"Hug yourself Alonzo", sagot ni Gray and he looked away. He mumbled something like 'wrong timing' or so I thought.

"Nah. I'm gonna get that hug of yours from special A", he said and to both my and Gray's surprise, Khael pulled me and slammed me against his body. He didn't hug me from behind, instead he gave me a real hug. Khael's always bold on what he felt but he didn't take advantage of me, a thing I admire about him. I'm not saying that Gray took advantage but they're the exact opposite.

Khael always tells me about how he admires me but he never do gestures like hugging or kissing me due to how he felt. Well yeah, he hugged me but it was when he was surprised to see me at Athena as the exchange student. As of Gray, he never told me how he felt about me yet his gestures spoke it all.

"Uhh." Khael grunt and he sounded hurt at agad siyang napabitiw sa akin. "What was that for?", he asked Gray while holding his side. I saw Gray's fist clenched. Did he just punch Khael's side?

"My way of saying I missed you", sagot ni Gray and I almost screamed when Khael punched him on his gut too.

"I missed you too Silvan", sagot nito. I both scowled at them. Uh, anong klaseng utak ba ang meron sila? Bumaling si Khael sa akin at tinanong ako. "Where are you going Special A?"
Tiningnan niya ako mula ulo hanggang paa. Oh, they've got problems with my all black outfit? Ayokong sabihin sa kanila ang tungkol sa naisip kong search and rescue operation for Phobie. I knew that they would object to it. Iisipin nilang mapapahamak lamang ako.

"Don't tell me you're doing something dangerous again?", Khael asked. "Are you planning to search for Phobie?"

I looked at him intently. Naikwento ko nga pala sa kanya ang tungkol doon except for the notebook part. I slowly nodded my head.

"Special A, the reason why I summoned Silvan here is to help me in finding her,  you don't have to engaged yourself in such danger. We can handle—"

"Khael she's my roommate and whether you liked it or not, tutulong ako sa paghahanap sa kanya. Isa pa ay masyadong delikado ang paghahanap sa kanya. It involves so many risks and I can't leave it all to you", sagot ko.

"If you're referring to those drugs, I knew all about it. Silvan told me about it. Isa pa, I'm the one who stole the notebook from Zywon and —"

"Just as I thought."

Sabay kaming napalingon sa nagsalita and we saw Zywon. Prenteng nakasandal ito sa isang puno at nakatingin sa amin.

"Hello, old buddies", he said sarcastically. "It's not nice to see you again, especially you Silvan. It's a reunion. Shall we open some champagne then?"

Whatever his grudge for Gray is, hindi pa rin ito nakaka-move on. I wonder what it was all about. Umaandar na naman ang pagiging pakialamera ko but all I want is to help them get back as friends again.

"Deltran", wuka ni Gray. Sumeryoso ang mukha nito as he looked at Zywon.  "What are you doing here?"

Bahagyang humakbang si Zywon palapit sa amin but he maintained a three steps away distance. "I should be the one asking you such question. You don't belong here in Athena anymore, oh. Sorry. My bad. You owned Athena right? So basically, you have all the right here. How rude of me, disrespecting a mafia heir."

Napaamang ako habang nakatingin sa kanya. He knew that much about Gray's involvement at mafia? Si Khael nga ay hindi halos makapaniwala dati but Zywon's so sure about it. Did he have a thorough investigation about it?

Bumaling si Zywon kay Khael at tiningnan ito ng masinsinan. "As of you, give me back the notebook.".

"No way! That was for me, you stole it from me on the first place!", singhal ko kay Zywon at napabaling ang atensyon niya sa akin.

"I'm not yet done with you Amber Sison but you're least of my concern. Kailangan kong makuha muli ang kwaderno and look for Phobie", wika niya. Ano ba ang problema niya? If he really wants to see Phobie, then he should cooperate with us lalo na at parehas lang kaming lahat na gustong mahanap si Phobie.

"I should possess that notebook. It's not for you. Isa pa ay ayokong gamitin mo ang notebook ni Phobie for your personal purposes. Whatever resentment you had with the mafia, don't use Phobie and her notebook!", I hissed at him. "What are you doing here anyway? Plano mo na naman bang akyatin ako sa kwarto ko?"

"WHAT?!", gulat na tanong ni Gray. He held my shoulders at hinarap ako sa kanya. "What is he doing in your room?"

"Oh I see. You're important girlfriend huh? What do you think a guy and a girl would be doing in a room at this hour –"

Hindi na nito natuloy ang sasabihin dahil dumapo na ang kamao ni Gray sa mukha nito. He held his jaw at bahagyang pinahid ang dugo mula sa kanyang labi.

"Learn to respect ladies", wika ni Gray at kinalma ang sarili. "She's not yet my girlfriend but you don't have the right to invent things which are not true."

What's with the not yet thing by the way?

Mapaklang ngumiti si Zywon. "Alam mo ba kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip ko ngayon Silvan? I just had a reminiscence of a young Ae-ae telling a younger Aywon with his words which were  'I won't let anyone punch you Aywon. You've got Ae-ae and Mikmik's back for that." He chuckled. "But it never occurred to me that you will be the first one to punch me, I shouldn't have believed you."

Ae-ae? Mikmik? Isn't that Gray's and Khael's nicknames? Aywon must be Zywon since Khael said that the three of them used to be best of friends when they're younger. What have caused them to fell apart?

I saw a hint of tenderness in Gray's eyes ngunit saglit lamang iyon. "When you stopped believing in me, I did too. Why don't you just forgive and forget?"

"Some things can never be forgotten nor forgiven", sagot ni Zywon, in his serious voice. I can hear all the pain in such voice.

Saglit na namayani  ang katahimikan sa pagitan namin. It seems like there is a war between them by merely staring at each other.

"We're wasting our time here. We should have started searching for Phobie now", Khael said. He's neutral between the two. Malamang ay kay Gray lamang galit si Zywon but he decided to shut himself that's why Khael remained friends with Gray but not with him.

"There you are!"

Muli kaming sabay na napalingon sa nagsalita and we saw Math smiling all the way habang hawak-hawak ang kanyang tablet at suot-suot sa tenga ang kanyang headset.

"Good thing I bugged you Gray, dahil malamang ay naligaw na ako ngayon. Athena's pretty big too like Bridle."

"You bugged me?", tanong ni Gray.

She nodded. "Yup. It's a wireless tap and a transmitter so I can clearly hear your conversation through my tablet." Lumawak ang ngiti nito at agad na lumapit sa akin. She hugged me and kissed my cheek. "Hi Amber! I missed you! I wish I can see Jeremy too."

"Over here Maya!"

For the nth time ay sabay kaming napalingon sa pinagmulan ng boses ni Jeremy and I made a face.  This reunion isn't good. Math and Jeremy are clueless about this and I don't want to put them into danger.

"Je, what are you doing here?", I asked him. If anything happens to this naïve man, I can't forgive myself. He used to call me his best friend but I never admitted to it, but somehow I felt so protective on him so I guess I guess he's really my best friend.

"I saw Zywon climbed down on the emergency ladder of the boys' dorm. He's on the third floor while my room is directly below to his on the second floor. Nakita ko siyang bumaba and it's almost curfew so I wonder what he was doing. I followed him but unfortunately, I'm not good in climbing down ladders like him so it took me a while to follow him. Hinanap ko siya saglit around Athena and fortunately I heard voices here and I saw all of you", sagot ni Jeremy.

Agad akong lumapit sa kanya and grabbed him by the arm.  "Bumalik ka na sa dorm", wika ko sa kanya. He doesn't have to be in this mess.

"But Bestie —"

"Je, makinig ka sa akin!"

"I heard all of you. What's with the mafia and that Phobie?", singit ni Math at napahawak ako sa ulo ko. Everything is getting complicated now.

"Where did you get the wireless tap and transmitter Miss?", tanong ni Zywon kay Math. Hinarap naman siya ng huli at ngumiti ng malawak.

"My name is Math Corazon. As of the wireless tap and transmitter, I invented it myself", lumapit siya kay Gray at kinuha ang tila butones sa suot nitong jacket. "This transmitter is a miniature transceivers too so I can communicate with Gray through this if I'd wish too. It has a minispeaker, and antenna. There's a small wire here for the recording voices that I have connected in my tablet. I invented it all myself out of boredom and luckily, it worked."

Zywon shrugged his houlders. "Well, it's kinda handy."

"Why did you bug me Math?", tanong ni Gray kay Math.

"I don't believe when you said you'll have to pee. I know you're doing something so I've tried this one", sagot nito.

"Enough with all the chatting. Khael, where's the notebook that you stole from Zywon that he stole from me?", tanong ko and both him and Zywon made a face. What now? I'm just stating the fact.

Napakamot sa ulo niya si Khael. "It's lost. Someone stole it from me."

"Again? Do you actually think that I would believe you? Look Khael, I know you don't want to put me into danger but I really need that notebook",wika ko sa kanya but he just looked sincerely at me.

"I'm not lying Special A. It's really gone. Someone broke into our room and stole it. I never read or opened it", he said and I can feel the honesty in him.

"Room mo yung nagkagulo kahapon dahil pinasok?", tanong ni Jeremy and Khael nodded. Another big problem. Kung ganoon ay ako lamang ang may nabasa sa notebook na iyon though I haven't finished reading it. Blame Zywon for all of these! Kung hindi sana niya ninakaw iyon sa akin, things wouldn't turn out like this! Who could be the person who stole the notebook from Khael? Is it one of the bad guys?

"Argh! It's all your fault!", wika ko kay Zywon and he just smirked at me. Humarap ako sa kanilang lahat. "We'll all search for Phobie. There are possible secret passages here in Athena since she mentioned that she had a secret hideout. Now let's group into two —"

"I'll go with Gray!", wika ni Math bago ko pa man matapos ang sasabihin ko.

"Je, you go back to your room —"

"I can help Bestie", wika ni Jeremy. As much as possible, he must not know all about this ngunit nangyari na. He already knew little things and that little knowledge might bring peril to him.

"If you're really worried about him Special A, then I'll go with him", boluntaryo ni Khael and somewhat I'm relieved. I know Khael would look after Jeremy and protect him.

Napalingon ako kay Zywon and he gave me a sly smile. "It can't be helped. You're going to pair with me Amber Sison", wika nito and I just exhaled. He's right. I've got no other choice but to pair with him.

"Hey guys, be careful not to bumped with the seven wonders of Athena", wika ni Jeremy sa aming lahat. "I've heard about it from Sophie. If you want a less stressful life, be careful not to messed with them. Naikwento din ba nila sayo ang tungkol doon Bestie?", he asked and I made a face.

I experienced it myself and it isn't a wonder at all. Those are just things which some people made stories about, making it a mysterious ghost story about Athena. "Uh, yeah. I have heard about it Je and I unravel them all with Khael who almost peed on his —"

"Special A", wika ni Khael at tinapunan ako ng masamang tingin.

"Hulaan ko Bestie, siguro halos maihi ka sa takot ano and Khael comforted you?", wikang ni Jeremy and I rolled my eyes. Actually, it's the other way round.

Gray reminded us about the time kaya napagpasyahan naming simulan na ang paghahanap.

"We need these to communicate", wika ni Math at naglabas ng ng tatlong maliliit na tila butones mula sa kanyang bulsa. "These looks like buttons but these are transceivers. We can communicate through this. Unlike the first one, this doesn't have a transmitter and wireless tap. Speaker at mic lamang ito. We can use this in case of troubles and we lost our phones. Unfortunately, these are only three pieces which are intended for Gray, Amber and Jeremy so I'll have these distributed by group." She handed one to Khael, one to me and the other one to Gray.

We all settled and divided the area for our search. Zywon and I chose the area near the secret library kung saan namin nakita si Ryu. He was silent as we walked on the dark pavement of Athena.

Si Zywon ang unang bumasag ng katahimikan sa pagitan namin. "Amber Sison, why didn't you choose your own partner? Are you comfortable with me? Alam mong pinagdududahan ko ang pagkatao mo yet you chose to go with me. Why?"

"Drop the Sison, Amber. Just Amber."

"Okay Just Amber. Now will you tell me why?", wika niya. I know he was just trying to piss me the hell out of me by calling me Just Amber but I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing how pissed I am.

"I've got no other choice", sagot ko sa kanya.

"Other than that?"

"Wala na."

"I don't believe you", wika niya at hinarap ako. "You surely think I'm an enemy.  You trust Khael with your friend, does that mean you trust me too by coming here with me?"

Napatigil ako sa tanong niya. Did I trust him? Some voice in my mind says that I can't trust him but I also wanted to trust him. He's a good guy, I can feel it. He's just overpowered by his anger and hatred and I don't have any idea how it all started.

"I still don't trust you", wika ko sa kanya.

He bit his lips and slowly nodded his head. "That's good because you can't trust anybody these days. You think you have a friend who's got your back but when you turn around, you will realize that they have a knife six inches deep in your back", wika niya bago nagpatuloy sa paglalakad.

His words gave me the guts to ask about what happened between him and Gray. "What happened with you and Gray?"

He never bothered to look back at nagpatuloy lang sa paglalakad. "Once upon a time, there were three little prince and a queen. One prince stayed at home while the two went out with the queen. They walked in the forest and then a beast came to get one of the princes which belonged to their kingdom. Two beasts came and tried to kill that little prince and the queen died protecting him. The real prince who was the son of that queen was left broken and shattered. The end."

Kahit sa ganoong paraan niya iyon ikinuwento sa akin, I understood what he meant. The queen must be his mother and the princes must be him, Gray and Khael. Khael must be the one who stayed at home and then the other princes are Zywon and Gray. The beasts must be from Vander Mafia who tried to get Gray and that explains the undeniable hatred of Zywon to Vander mafia and Gray. He lost his mother who died protecting Gray. But is it right to despise Gray when in fact he's a victim too?

"You're stuck in your past. That's not good. You shouldn't let your past punish your present and injure your future", wika ko sa kanya.

"I don't need your opinion."

I took a deep sigh when he answered.  Tiningnan ko siya habang naglalakad at muling tinanong. "How about the Vander mafia? Don't you think those beast aren't from that mafia?"

"They probably belonged to other mafia but the Vander Mafia is the root of it. I have Vander mafia on my revenge list and then I will ask them who is that nameless group and then crashed them too", he said in a voice full of hatred.

"Destroying them won't bring back the queen to life nor makes her happy", wika ko sa kanya. Walang magandang patutunguhan ang iniisip nitong paghihigante.

"But it makes me happy. You don't have to say things like you know how I feel Just Amber. Naranasan mo na bang mamatayan ng mahal sa buhay?", wika niya.

"I haven't —"

"Then you keep your mouth shut. Believe me, if you're in a situation like mine, you would think that revenge is rational", he said which made me think about it.

Paano nga kaya kung ano ang nasa sitwasyon niya? What if I lose Mom or Dad because of some mafia groups, would I'll be like Zywon who thinks if nothing but revenge?

Iwinaksi ko iyon sa isipan ko. Good thing Mom and Dad are living a simple life. Hindi kami kasing yaman ng iba, Dad's an average businessman and Mom too. They weren't connected with the Vander mafia or anything so it's safe to assume that they won't be in a situation like what happened to Zywon's mom.

Hindi na ako nagkaroon ng panahong sagutin siya dahil narating na namin ang revolving door na napuntahan na namin. We entered slowly and searched for possible doors that may be Phobie's secret passage.

Walang nakabukas na ilaw doon kaya marahil ay wala roon si Ryu. We slowly made our way towards every corner and we used our phone as flashlights. We checked on the walls and I observed na maraming nakakalat doon sa mesa kung saan nakita naming si Ryu. He mustn't have it piled again.

Curiosity striked me and made me wanted to scan on the folders that Ryu was scanned. Lumapit ako sa mesa at napansin ko ang mga bago at lumang folder na naroon. I opened one folder and read its contents. It was some sort of application form but a very confidential one. Pangalan, educational background at skills lamang ang hinihingi ng naturang application form. It was like a stolen information, printed and then compliled in such folder. Binasa ko ang isang lumang folder.

Name: Vanessa Ronda
Educational Background
Elementary: Millennium Learning Academy
Secondary: Athena High School (Formerly Millennium Academy for Secondary)
Tertiary: De La Salle University

The picture looks old kaya marahil matagal na iyon. Narinig ko rin ang tungkol sa Millennium Academy for Secondary na naging Athena na ngayon. It was sold and renamed by the new owner, renovated each room and expanded the school making it one of the best private schools of today. It's been 36 years since it was renamed as Athena High School. Pinagpatuloy ko ang pagbabasa.

Skills
Excellent in Judo and Karate. Blackbelter and 2-time champion for inter-schools competitions held abroad.

Uh? What have the skills have something to do? Wait, is this an application for the— the mafia?

Those records were old one kaya marahil ay matagal na panahon na iyon. I looked for the newer folders at binasa rin ang mga laman niyon and there were faces and informations which were similar to the first one. Marami iyon and their last names were known in the society kagaya na lamang ng isang pangalan na nabasa ko. His last name was known for their huge chain of restaurants and five-star hotels. Mayroon ding kaapilyedo ng isang political clan and some were known businessman. Kung gayon ay hindi nga basta-bastang tao ang mga nasa mafia. Maybe that was the reason how they acquired such great wealth other than their businesses. I continued scanning on the newest folders and I was surprised to see familiar faces.

Name: Stefanie Grande
Codename: Mnemosyne
(Architecture Student at Athena University)
(Pathfinder. Excellent sense of direction, daughter of Reaper Helios)

Mnemosyne? I'm sure it's the Mnemosyne that I have known dahil malinaw ang nakangiting larawan nito na nakaprint sa papel. Athena university is a known university which must be owned also by the Vander mafia. Hindi iyon karugtong ng Athena High School at nasa ibang lugar iyon. I never saw such school but I heard much about it. I looked on the other folders and saw other familiar faces.

Name: Rafael Red Villan
Codename: Poseidon
(Psychology student at Athena University, special classes at Golden Era Aeronautics School)
(Stealth assault. Sniper. Accurate in every shot. Silent assassin. Second son of Ralph Villan, chief comptroller)

So these lists are the new batches of reapers dahil pamilyar ang mga mukhang iyon. Does Vander mafia own all of these? I picked up another file and saw Artemis' photo there.

Name: Ryza Raine Morisson
Codename: Artemis
(Psychology graduate at Minnesota, USA.)
(Sniper. Accurate up to 400 yards/moving vehicle.  Only daughter of Riosterri Morisson, explosive/ammo maker)

The other reapers have information there too.

Name: Allen Dave Cordova
Codename: Hermes
(IT student at Athena University)
(Martial arts master. Excellent in Judo and Karate. Third son of Amelito Cordova, mafia organizer)

Name: Gersom Kevin Ortizano
Codename: Eros
(Political science graduate, Golden Era engineering School)
(Gun master. Short-range accurate shooter. Shoot vital points with accuracy Eldest son of reaper Rhea)

Name: Ren Clark Alcantara
Codename: Ares
(Business Ad. Graduate., De La Salle University)
(Gun master. Long-ranged accurate shooter up to 450 yards, second son of Roswel Alcantara)

Name:  Alex Leorence Durano
Codename: Hades
(Chemical engineer.)
(Explosive maker.  Short-ranged shooter.)

Marami pang mga reaper at kung anu-anong posisyon ang nasa mafia na naroon at nabasa ko. But if the mafia owned these, bakit tila abandonado ang secret library na ito?

"Done on your research? I thought we're looking for Phobie?", tanong ni Zywon habang nakatingin sa akin. Nakatangis ang bagang nito. Maybe the sight of all the informations about the mafia stirs his anger.

"Don't you want to read this? You hated the mafia right? These are just helpful for you", wika ko sa kanya. He nodded at me.

"I've familiarized all of those", wika niya to my surprised.

"Nabasa mo na ito?"

He nodded his head. "I told you about the scarred man right? I got curious so I read these stuff that he used to read. And I don't think this information is gathered by the Vander mafia. Ang ibig kong sabihin, yes, all of these are probably mafia's records but they aren't the mafia's compilation. I saw the surprised and anger in the scarred man's face habang binabasa niya ang mga nakasulat dito. He got angry and he even punched a wall. That must hurt a lot."

Napangiwi ako sa sinabi ni Zywon. Yeah, Ryu kinda suck in  anger management kaya hindi na ako magtataka kung ano man ang gawin nito upang mapalabas ang kanyang nararamdaman na galit.

"His name is Ryu", pagtatama k okay Zywon. He always calls him scarred man, I guess Ryu sounds better.

"I don't want to remember the names of the people that I hate. I will finish him soon kaya wala nang dahilan para tandaan ko pa ang pangalan niya", seryosong wika niya.

"You want to turn yourself into a killer for revenge?", tanong ko sa kanya and he stared at me, as if he's thinking whether he will answer my question or not.

"Possibly", sagot niya sa akin. Tiningnan ko siya kung kaya nga ba niyang pumatay. Well, an angry man can do anything kaya marail ay kaya nga nito. He's been drowned in his too much anger and hunger for revenge. His life must be very lonely.

"The possibilities are endless once we decide to act. I don't think you can do it. I see something good in you."

His dark piercing eyes roamed around my face, carefully looking every angle na para bang makikita niya ang nais niyang isagot mula sa mukha ko. "Paano mo naman nasabi?"

"You have all the opportunities to kill Ryu here when he lowered down his guards especially that you've got a gun but you didn't do it. What do you think is the possible reason? It could be because you can't take to kill people", wika ko.

"That's not true", pagtanggi niya. "I didn't kill him because I see myself in him. He's lost and lonely. Alam mo bang nakita ko siyang umiiyak as he call for her Mom's name? That's when I realized that we're on the same boat. I'd rather take him as an ally than an enemy. We're both scarred."

"May peklat ka rin?", tanong ko sa kanya.

Kumunot ang noo niya bago umiling. "No. I'm talking about the invisible scars. You know, they are the hardest to heal." His words were really serious and it made me think of a lot of things. Ano kaya ang nararamdaman niya? How a life without a mother was like?

"He's still part of the mafia", paalala ko sa kanya.

"I don't see him as he is. I see him as I am," wika niya.

Bigla na lamang kaming nakarinig ng pagkasa ng isang baril and I was surprised to see Ryu pointing a gun at Zywon's head. This is the second time that he did it in front of me.

"I don't see you as an ally. You're just a rat who got his own issues and trying to crash us with your little hands. I'm telling you pal, you can't", wika ni Ryu.

"Ryu! Put away your gun!", wika ko sa kanya ngunit hindi ito nakinig sa akin. "Ryu I said put away your gun. Isa pa ay hindi ikaw ang ipinunta namin dito. We're looking for my roommate", wika ko sa kanya at saka lamang nito ibinaba ang baril.

"Consider yourself lucky for now. At kung iniisip mo na magiging kakampi mo ako, you're wrong", Ryu said.
Natahimik ito ng makarinig kami ng ingay.

When I looked around no one was there. It seems like someone was calling my name and then I realized it must be from the miniature transceivers that Math gave us.  Agad kong kinuha iyon mula sa bulsa ko and I heard Gray's voice.

"Gray.."

"Nasaan kayo?", he asked.

Tumingin ako kay Ryu at Zywon and I don't know kung sasabihin ko ba kung nasaan kami.

"I'm with Zywon and Ryu."
I saw Ryu's face crumpled nang sinabi ko ang pangalan niya.

"What is Ryu doing here?", tanong ni Gray.

"I don't know."

"Listen Amber. We just saw Phobie and a man in laboratory gown. We need you to get here near the field. I think they're taking Phobie somewhere. Wala siyang malay and we have to devise a plan to save her", wika ko. Agad ko silang niyayang lumabas and to my surprise Ryu come with us.

"Where are you going?", tanong ni Zywon but Ryu refused to answer him. Naglakad lang ito na nakapamulsa like he didn't hear someone asked him. Inulit ko ang tanong ni Zywon sa kanya.

"Where are you going?"

"Sinabi mo din naman kay Gray na kasama mo ako, I'd take the liberty to see my cousin. Wala naman sigurong masama doon diba?", he said and Zywon clenched his fist when he said Gray is his cousin.

Nadadagdagan yata ang galit nito sa tuwing naaalala na isa palang Vander si Gray.

"Bahala ka", wika ko sa kanya at agad kaming nagpunta sa lugar na sinabi ni Gray. He wasn't surprise to see Ryu but he made a face.

"What's that expression for dear cousin? You don't think it's good to see me?", lumingon si Ryu sa paligid and he noticed that there were many of us. "What's these? Some sort of a get-together? Bakit andami yatang tao?"

"You're so talkative. Keep your mouth shut", wika ni Gray at agad kaming pinakubli sa isang bench na nasa gilid ng oval nang umandar ang isang sasakyan. We saw a man carrying a girl in black na walang malay at agad na sinakay iyon sa kotse at pinaandar iyon palabas ng Athena.

"Damn! They really got her and they're taking her somewhere. Kailangan nating sundan ang kotse upanh makuha si Phobie. Who can drive a car fast but safe?", nababahala na wika ko.

"If that's the case, I guess you need me."

Agad kong nilingon ang pinagmulan ng boses and saw Cooler. Bahagya akong nagulat nang makita siya. Uh, anong ginagawa niya dito?

Uh, this is really a reunion. And it's a risky one.

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-ShinichiLaaaabs