ISANG MALALIM na buntong-hininga na lang ang iginawad ni Nanami Miyuzaki sa napansing eksena sa pagitan nina Kourin at Seiichi. But seriously, who would've thought that the guy came back from New Zealand after how many years? Yes, kilala niya kung sino ang lalaking iyon. But she only saw him at the Shinomiya mansion nang mga panahong bumibisita ito roon sa imbitasyon na rin ni Hitoshi Shinomiya.
Until now, Nanami couldn't believe how friendly the young clan prince was. Kapag naaalala niya si Hitoshi, napapailing na lang siya. She was doing it out of amusement and-dare she say it-pity. But the latter reason was one that had something to do with his tragic fate. He would've been a great lord of the Shinomiya clan and an amazing leader of the Shrouded Flowers.
Pero wala nang rason pa si Nanami na patuloy na isipin iyon. At that moment, her imminent priority would be the princess' safety. Hindi man siya ang itinalagang shadow guardian nito, she regarded her job as one of the 12 Knights of the Sky too well.
"Sino na naman ang pinapanood mo riyan?"
Nanami faced the person who asked that question with a nonchalant expression. Nakita niya ang isang babae na nakapameywang at nakataas pa talaga ang kilay habang nakatingin sa kanya. Hindi na lang niya ito pinansin at umalis na sa bintana kung saan niya pinapanood ang mga kaganapan. Magkatabi lang kasi ang building ng Business Administration at building ng Accountancy. It so happened that even Kourin's classroom at the time was actually on Nanami's straight line of sight.
Walang karapatang magpaliwanag si Nanami sa kahit na sinong estranghero ng mga gawain niya. May priority siya at iyon ang mas dapat niyang pagtuunan ng pansin. Nagtungo na lang siya sa kanyang upuan at nagsimulang magbasa ng mga notes niya.
Ganoon si Nanami kapag nasa labas na ng mansion. She was acting as if various people around her don't really exist at all. Her reason for doing that? She was actually wary. Wala siyang dapat pagkatiwalaan maliban sa mga piling tao.
The tragic night that led to the murder of her father and more than 300 hundreds resulted to Nanami thinking that way. Mabuti na ang nakakasiguro--iyon ang madalas niyang sinasabi sa kanyang sarili. Minsan na silang nagtiwala pero ang kapalit niyon ay buhay ng kanyang ama at halos lahat ng miyembro ng Shrouded Flowers. If putting her trust once more to someone would mean risking the lives of the surviving members of the Shrouded Flowers, then she'd rather not trust anyone anymore.
She placed her life in the Shinomiya princess' hands after the tragedy and it was a form of trust that she truly upheld as a warrior and as a servant. Iyon lang ang uri ng pagtitiwalang kaya niyang ibigay. At least, she could only give it to Kourin and the other warriors still loyal to the princess after all that had happened to them.
Nagpatuloy ang araw na parang wala lang kay Nanami. But once in a while, she couldn't help feelings worried about Kourin. Lalo na't nakita nito si Seiichi Yasuhara. Bagaman hindi nagsasabi sa kanya ang prinsesa, alam niya ang nakapaloob na dahilan ng 'pagkitil' nito sa tunay nitong pagkatao. One of those reasons was the young man who was Hitoshi's best friend. Ramdam niya ang sakit na kaakibat niyon kahit napapansin lang niya ang mga kilos ni Kourin.
Truth be told, Nanami was envious of Kourin and Amiko's closeness. And she knew it wasn't just because Amiko was the princess' shadow guardian. Pero alam niyang walang patutunguhan ang inggit na iyon. At this point, she had to do her job right.
"Wala ka na naman sa sarili mo."
Ang mga salitang iyon ang pumutol sa pagmumuni-muni ni Nanami. Napatingin tuloy siya sa direksiyong pinagmulan niyon at bahagyang napangiti nang makita kung sino iyon.
"At ikaw, Tetsuya, ang hilig mo na naming sumingit sa ginagawa kong pag-iisip." Nag-umpisa na silang maglakad paalis sa classroom kung saan sinundo ni Tetsuya Kisaragi si Nanami.
"Para naming hahayaan kitang magmukhang tanga habang naglalakad ka, 'no?" At ang buwisit na si Tetsuya, naglakad pa talaga na tila ba isang zombie. Kalaunan ay natawa siya sa sariling kalokohan. "Now that would be priceless." But he immediately held the back of his head when it was hit with something hard. "What the heck was that for?!"
"Priceless pala, ha? Hmph! Iyan ang bagay sa iyo." Napailing na lang si Nanami. Seriously, wala talagang oras na magkasama sila ni Tetsuya na hindi siya nito inaasar. "Pambihira! Na-relieved ka lang sa duty mo, nadagdagan na agad ang saltik sa utak mo."
"Ano'ng na-relieved? On-duty pa rin ako, 'no? Pinagbigyan lang ako ni Kuya Shuichi na puntahan ka rito dahil ikaw talaga ang sadya ko as soon as I came nack yesterday." Bigla ay naging expression ng mukha ni Tetsuya.
Nakuha naman niyon ang atensiyon ni Nanami. "Wait a minute... Is this about the result of your recent mission?"
Tango lang ang naging tugon ng lalaki. "Hindi nagkakalayo ang resultang hawak ko sa mga kaganapan nitong mga nakaraang araw, especially to the princess. They're getting ready, Nanami. It won't be long before we began facing another battle with those demons once more. And this time, we might not be able to make it out alive."
"Hindi natin puwedeng hayaang mangyari iyon. If it is necessary to unleash hell in us just to stop them once and for all, then we'll do it. We made an oath, remember? It's only with that oath that we'll prevent the same tragedy from happening again." Nanami sighed after saying that. "Kaya huwag kang pessimistic, okay? Hindi bagay. Nagmumukha kang bakla."
"Mas okay na ang bakla kaysa naman sa zombie, 'no?"
Bilib din si Nanami sa bilis ng banat ni Tetsuya sa kabila ng kaseryosohan ng usapan nila. "Eh 'di inamin mo rin talaga na bakla ka. Kaya siguro wala kang girlfriend hanggang ngayon." At para matigil na ang posibleng karugtong ng banat moves ni Tetsuya, agad na niyang iniwan ito roon. At the very least, she knew the severity of their mission. She would use that knowledge to further train herself. Kailangang maging handa siya--whatever it takes.
Nakalabas na si Nanami ng campus at didiretso na sana siya ng uwi sa mansion. Hindi naman na niya inaalala ang tungkol sa mga magbabantay kay Kourin dahil na rin sa presensiya nina Amiko, Shuichi, at Tetsuya sa paligid. Besides, dahil na rin sa ibinalita sa kanya ni Tetsuya ay lalo ring umigting ang kagustuhan niyang tapusin ang sarili niyang misyon.
But as the Knight continued walking farther from school, unti-unti na niyang nararamdaman na tila may nakasunod sa kanya. It made her stop walking and sensed her surroundings. Bagaman wala siyang makitang ibang kaduda-dudang tao sa paligid, alam niyang may nakamasid sa mga kilos niya nang mga sandaling iyon. As discreet as she could, she readied the weapon she hid inside her jacket's right sleeve.
Hindi pa man lumilipas ang ilang sandali ay pumaikot si Nanami at tinanggal ang anumang sandatang tatama sa kanya gamit ang isang may kanipisang cylindrical object. Her eyes narrowed at the side of the blade which was about to strike her down and possibly cut her in half if she wasn't careful.
"Your speed hasn't changed, Scarlet Saber," the assailant commented with a smirk before backing away.
Nanami's expression didn't change, however. "And you're as obstinate as ever, Theia."
"I saw an opportunity. I just took it." Without another word, the woman named Theia charged toward Nanami and attempted to strike the Knight down. But Nanami managed to evade all of it, yet she knew avoiding it would only make the situation worse.
It was a good thing na walang ibang naroon na posibleng madamay sa gulo. Marahil ay tiniyak ng Dark Rose na walang sinuman ang makakakita sa engkuwentro nilang iyon ni Theia.
An incoming straight line strike disrupted Nanami's trail of thought. Kung hindi pa niya iniharang ang hawak niyang cylindrical object ay baka natira na siya niyon nang tuluyan. But the act only enraged Theia more as she put an even greater force to the sword she was holding with the intention of hurting Nanami with it.
'As if I would let that happen!' Aminado si Nanami na galit ang driving force ni Theia kaya nito nagagawa iyon. But she was never like that Dark Rose's sword mistress. Iyon ay kahit napakalaki ng kasalanan nito sa kanya. And it was much more than a simple reason that Theia participated in the attack that trampled the Miyuzaki family's honor, for one.
At sa muling pag-aalala sa gabing iyon, alam na ni Nanami--as the Scarlet Saber of the 12 Knights of the Sky--kung ano ang dapat gawin. She yanked Theia's sword away with too much force which made the wielder stagger backwards. Pero panandalian lang iyon at muli siyang sinugod nito. She soon pointed one end of the cylindrical object toward Theia who took no heed of it.
Until--
"What the--?!"
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