ALL KOURIN could do at the moment was to heave a heavy sigh as she looked below. She was standing on near the edge of the rooftop kung saan kitang-kita niya ang mga nangyayari sa campus grounds. First day of school nang araw na iyon at kahit alam ng mga tagapagbantay niya na talagang mapanganib pa rin sa kanya ang lumabas, walang choice ang mga ito.
Kourin's guardians only agreed to let her out of the mansion and go to school on one condition ― kailangang may magbantay sa kanya even from a distance. At that point, alam na niyang may nagbabantay at nagmamasid sa kanya kahit naroon na siya sa rooftop. One thing she knew, it wasn't Amiko. Not even Nanami. She could've go on guessing kung sino ang nagbabantay sa kanya. But only three people entered her mind.
And Kourin could tell that those three weren't even a part of the 12 Knights, but talented warriors, just the same.
At the very least, makakahinga na si Kourin nang maluwag kahit papaano. Even though she knew she couldn't let her guard down ― not even for a minute!
That voice caused Kourin to turn around and smiled at the sight of the approaching Raiden.
"Tumatambay ka na naman sa lugar na walang katao-tao. Hanggang kailan mo ba ilalayo ang sarili mo sa sibilisasyon, ha?"
Natawa na lang si Kourin sa narinig. "Ang OA lang talaga ng pagkakasabi mo, ha? Inilalayo ko ang sarili ko sa sibilisasyon? Ano 'yon, ermitanyo?"
"You're isolating yourself again. Huwag mo ngang inililihis ang usapan."
Sa nakikita ni Kourin, konti na lang at malapit na talaga siyang upakan ni Raiden sa klase ng sagot niya. But even so, she was glad he arrived just as she was beginning to feel so depressed. "It's better this way."
Hindi talaga maintindihan ni Raiden kung ano ang tumatakbo sa utak ni Rin. Lalo na ngayon na ganito na naman ang pinagsasabi nito. It was as if she wanted to world to isolate her completely. Pero bakit?
Isang malalim na buntong-hininga ang pinakawalan ni Raiden. "Come on. Let's have lunch downstairs. Then you can tell me what's bothering you."
But Kourin shook her head and smiled sadly. "If you won't mind, I'd rather stay here. Besides, hindi rin naman ako nagugutom." Paano ba nama kasi siya gugutumin kung ganitong sangkaterba ang alalahaning tumatakbo sa isipan niya? At hindi siya makakapag-isip nang matino kapag ganitong gwardiyado siya mula sa malayo at posibleng anumang oras ay may magtangka na naman sa buhay niya.
The princess couldn't get her mind off of the revelation that Amiko blurted out the other day. Paano nangyaring magpinsan sina Amiko at ang tagapagmana ng Miyamoto clan? Oo at alam niyang inampon lang ng kasalukuyang pinuno ng Azuraya clan si Amiko more than six years ago. Pero paanong napasok ang Miyamoto clan sa usapan? And that woman who entertained her and guarded her at that house ― Aya Yukimura... Was she serving the Miyamoto clan all this time? Paano ito naging konektado sa mga Shinomiya?
Sa inis ni Kourin ay napakamot na lang siya ng ulo niya. Pambihira! Hindi lang pala takot sa maaaring maging pagsugod sa kanya ang nagpapagulo sa isipan niya.
"Rin, are you sure you're okay?" Ang weird na kasi para kay Raiden ang tila frustrated na anyo ni Rin. But from the looks of it, mukhang walang ipagtatapat sa kanya ang babaeng ito.
To be honest, this girl had been an epitome of mystery to Raiden since day one. Hindi niya alam kung bakit pero parang may aura si Rin Fujioka na hindi niya maintindihan. If he was to describe that certain feeling as accurately as he could, it was as if Rin's aura was a combination of the four elements.
Oo, weird nga iyon. Pero iyon ang totoo and Raiden couldn't out it in any way other than that. At sigurado siya na may malaking lihim na itinatago ang aura na iyon.
"I'm fine." Pero parang pilit ang pagkakabigkas ni Kourin ng mga salitang iyon. Kung bakit ba naman kasi hanggang sa eskuwelahan ay nagugulo ang isipan niya.
Tiningnan ni Kourin ang wristwatch niya. Pasado ala-una. "Let's go. Mag-uumpisa na ang next subject natin." Iyon lang at umalis na siya roon.
The princess could feel Raiden's penetrating gaze behind her as she continued to walk away. Alam niya na nagtataka na ito sa ikinikilos niya. Pero higit anupaman, wala siyang planong ipaalam ang gumugulo sa kanya. She had to make sure Raiden wouldn't get caught up in the mess she was into.
xxxxxx
BUT SERIOUSLY, though Kourin had that resolve, wala namang nagsabi sa kanya na magiging madali iyon. Lalo na kung umiral ang sobrang kakulitan ni Raiden.
Gaya na lang ng araw na iyon. Their classes ended earlier than expected dahil hindi nagpakita ang professor nila for the last subject. Raiden insisted on taking Kourin home which she thought was a little absurd.
"I can go home just fine." Pero sa totoo lang, alangan si Kourin sa sagot niyang. Heto siya at parang pakiramdam niya ay may mga matang nakamasid sa kanya. And she could feel the threat within those penetrating gaze aimed at her.
"Yeah, right. Heto nga't wala kang sundo, o! Paano ka uuwi nang ganyan?"
"Hindi ko naman na kailangan ng sundo. And besides ―"
"Hay, naku! Wala nang 'besides-besides'. Ihahatid kita sa bahay n'yo whether you like it or not."
At si Raiden, hayun at inumpisahan na talaga ang walang pakundangang paghila kay Kourin. All she could do was to sigh at that. She didn't realize could be so pushy when times call for it.
Or maybe... Kourin wasn't trying to do anything that would alight suspicion to Raiden. Seriously lang, paano ba talaga siya napasok sa ganitong sitwasyon?
Wala nang nagawa si Kourin kundi hayaan ang lalaking ito sa gusto nitong gawin. Tutal, mukhang wala na talagang magpapapigil sa kakulitan ni Raiden na ihatid siya pauwi. Ang totoo niyan, Amiko was supposed to accompany her in going back to the mansion but some issues came up that made the other girl go home ahead of the princess. Okay lang naman iyon sa kanya dahil alam niyang may nagbabantay naman sa kanya sa paligid. But she knew she couldn't summon them, probably because of a few rules with regards to guarding her.
Nagpatuloy na lang sina Kourin at Raiden sa paglalakad nang walang imikan. Hindi alam ni Kourin kung bakit pero may palagay siyang malalim ang iniisip ni Raiden. Sinamantala naman niya iyon sa pagmamasid sa paligid. Wala siyang napansing kakaiba. But something still felt wrong.
Almost at the same time, both Kourin and Raiden halted to a stop. Of course, it surprised the princess. But what surprised her more was to see Raiden eyeing a certain direction to the east with narrowed eyes. Naroon sila sa park may ilang milya rin ang layo sa mansion. Pero nakapagtatakang walang katao-tao roon. And as far as she knew, hindi tago ang lugar na kinatatayuan nila ni Raiden.
"You still had the guts to hide knowing the fact that I could already sense you following us," Raiden said intensely as his hold on Kourin's hand tightened. "A surprise attack won't do it if you're even planning on implementing that."
Hindi naitago ni Kourin ang sorpresa niya. Now this guy was truly different from the Raiden she knew from the start. Pero aaminin niya na na-impressed siya rito. Not many people could sense an oncoming danger just like that. She was trained to do so. But to think that Raiden could do the same thing...
Huli na nang mapansin ni Kourin ang paglapit ng isang lalaki sa likuran ni Raiden. But that doesn't mean she faltered because of that. It didn't take her long to evade it as she turned around and delivered a powerful kick to her attacker's crotch. Of course, the man groaned in pain as he dropped the sword.
At the same moment, Raiden pulled out his bakuto (Japanese wooden sword) from his backpack and countered the other man's attack out front. Sa nakikita niya, bihasa nga ang kalaban niya sa paggamit ng katana. He could see it with the way the enemy swung and thrust the sword toward him. With quick thinking, he targeted the man's wrist and chest in order to drop the enemy's guard and render him unconscious. Nagawa naman niya iyon kahit aminado siya na mas malakas at mas malaki kaysa sa kanya ang kalaban niya.
The next oncoming attacks were just a blur to both teenagers. Kahit na sorpresa kay Raiden ang kakayahang ipinapamalas ni Rin sa paggamit ng espada, pinalis na lang niya iyon sa kanyang isipan. First and foremost, wala naman na siyang dapat ipagtaka. Seeing Rin's guardians alone already gave him an idea that his friend wasn't someone you would exactly call a damsel in distress.
Raiden knew and could fully tell that Rin was far beyond that.
Hindi nagtagal ay nagawa na nilang patumbahin ang mga kalaban nila. Most of them were unconscious while the others were moaning in pain due to the injuries the man attained from Kourin and Raiden's attacks. But the princess' way of immobilizing them turned out to be a deadly one.
Or at least that was how Raiden could see it, base na rin sa sugat na napansin niya sa mga kalaban. The throat, the stomach, somewhere near the spinal cord ― it was as if Rin purposely targeted those parts. Hindi na siya magtataka kung isa man sa kinalaban nila ay patay na. And weird enough, it wasn't exactly a disturbing thought to him.
How in the world did Rin attain the precision of such skills? Raiden had been studying and practicing kendo and other swordsmanship-related skills since he was 4. But never did he encounter a skill as deadly as Rin had demonstrated. O baka hindi pa niya nakakaharap ang taong masasabing mapaggagamitan niya ng mga natutunan niya all this time.
"Are you okay, Rin?" agad na tanong ni Raiden sa dalaga na hawak pa rin ang katana ng isa sa mga kalaban nila.
The princess let out a heavy sigh and let go of the slightly bloody sword. "I shouldn't have done that... Not in front of you..."
Napansin ni Raiden ang panginginig ni Rin kaya on impulse ay hinawakan niya ang kamay nito. "You just did that to protect yourself. Gagawin ko rin naman iyon kung sakali man na dumating sa ganoong punto." Napatingin siya sa paligid. Hindi niya alam kung bakit pero parang may mali pa rin. Hinarap niya si Rin. "Come on. I'll take you home. And this time, huwag ka nang kumontra."
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