Sa palagay ni Shingo, mukhang mahihirapan siya sa babaeng ito. From Yasha's actions alone, he could tell that she was reluctant to accept his offer. Mukhang matindi na ang kagustuhan nitong mag-ingat... at itago ang anumang nalalaman nito. But for what reason? If it was about the Dark Rose, puwede naman silang tumulong dito. But as Takeru had said to him, Yasha had other motive in hunting down the enemy that caused the Shrouded Flowers to suffer like this. Iyon ang kailangan niyang malaman--whatever it takes!
As soon as Shingo sighed inaudibly, he faced Yasha. But a foreboding feeling formed at the back of his mind as he realized that they were being watched. At may palagay na siya kung sino ang mga iyon.
Hindi nagtagal ay naramdaman na rin ni Yasha na may nakamasid nga sa kanila ni Shingo. As she faced the doctor, she saw his alert expression with his narrowed eyes directed at a certain direction. Ilang sandali pa ay hindi nakaligtas sa paningin niya ang mabilisang pagtatago ng kung sino mang nasa likod ng isang malapad na puno malapit sa puwesto nila ni Shingo.
"Stay behind me, Miss Wilford," utos ni Shingo na hindi tumitingin kay Yasha.
"It doesn't matter if I stay behind you or remain here, Dr. Yanai," saad naman ni Yasha na talagang pinagkadiinan pa ang pagkakabigkas sa apelyido nito. Seriously, kanina pa siya nakukulili sa napakapormal na pagtawag nito sa kanya.
The doctor faced the photojournalist with a frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Yasha gestured toward the opposite direction. It didn't take Shingo long to figure out what the woman truly meant.
Another figure was watching them from there? Pero sino at bakit?
Shingo brought out his weapon hidden from his side--a few kunai and a tanto etched with the crest of the Miyuzaki family on its blade. But before he could even surprise the enemy with it, inunahan na siya ng tatlong magkakasunod na putok ng baril. His eyes widened behind his glasses upon seeing where the shots came from.
"How did you--?"
"Three of them came out from their hiding place. I had to do something," Yasha calmly explained before facing Shingo. "Don't be surprised to see me holding something like this. Tama nang may nag-aagaw-buhay dahil sa kawalan ko ng kakayahang lumaban. Hindi ko na puwedeng hayaang may mangyaring ganoon sa pangalawang pagkakataon at baka hindi na kayanin ng konsensiya ko." She smiled sadly and looked at her gun. "Though I have to admit, I still have a long way to go when it comes to this."
This was just too much--or at least Shingo thought of it that way. Pero dama niya ang sinseridad at determinasyon sa tinig ni Yasha. And he smiled before facing the other direction where he saw the figure a while back.
"Can you handle the others for me, then?" mayamaya'y tanong ni Shingo.
Napatingin naman si Yasha rito. Her lips soon curved into a smile. "Akala ko pagbabawalan mo pa akong tulungan ka."
"Ngayon lang iyan. Hindi ka pa rin ligtas sa counseling na pagdadaanan mo sa akin kung gusto mong hasain ang kakayahan mong labanan sila."
Ngumuso naman ang dalaga. "Demanding lang?" But it didn't take long as her eyes detected more movements. "Just deal with the big jerk. I'll do my best to deal with them." Matapos niyon ay agad siyang tumakbo palayo kay Shingo at sinimulang paputukan ang apat na mga lalaking namataan niyang papasugod sa kanya. Isa-isang tumumba ang mga ito. Agad namang sumugod ang dalawa pa sa magkabilang direksyon niya at sabay siyang pinaputukan pero mabilis niyang nailagan ang mga iyon. She pulled out her second gun from her side at sabay na pinagbabaril ang lalamunan at dibdib ng mga ito.
For some reason, Yasha always wanted to hit her enemies to that spot. At iyon ang bagay na kanina pa napuna ni Shingo kahit sandali lang niyang nakita kung paano ito lumaban. Does it have some sort of significance to her? Pero saka na muna niya iisipin iyon. He had his own fight to deal with. At panigurado na mapapalaban talaga siya nang husto sa araw na iyon.
Kilala na ni Shingo kung sino ang isa pang nag-oobserba sa kanila mula sa kabilang direksyon. And it would be best kung siya lang ang dapat humarap sa taong iyon.
"You really like showing up to me at a worst time, huh? Anyway, what's there to expect from a member of the Dark Rose? You and the others already did the same thing more than two years ago." At naningkit ang mga mata ni Shingo nang tuluyang lumabas sa pinagtataguan nito ang kinakausap niya. "Iapetus."
The man that Shingo referred to as Iapetus only smirked and brought out his gun before pointing it to the doctor. "I'm glad you still remembered me, Dr. Yanai."
"Do you really expect me to forget the face of the demon who remorselessly took my brother's life? You surely think less of me, huh?" Shingo stated with a smirk but his expression soon turned blank. "What do you want now? Hindi ka basta-basta umaalis sa lungga mo maliban na lang kung ikaw mismo ang gustong tumapos sa buhay ng target mo."
"Woah! You really knew that, huh? So that's how much you wanted to exterminate me."
"Sino ba ang hindi?" But Shingo soon sensed an oncoming attack from behind. He brought out a few shuriken from his jacket pocket and threw it to his attackers charging toward him from behind. Tumama ang ilan sa pagitan ng mga mata ng mga iyon at ang iba pang shuriken ay sa leeg at sa dibdib naman ng kalaban. Agad na tumumba ang mga iyon at hindi na nanlaban pa.
Sumunod na namalayan ni Shingo ang mabilisang pagsugod ni Iapetus sa kanya. In a fast speed, he raised his tanto and blocked the Dark Rose member's assault. "You've slowed down." Sunod na inilabas niya ang wakizashi sa nakatago sa loob ng jacket niya. He attempted to slash Iapetus down but the man managed to evade it. Napaatras si Iapetus at agad siyang pinaputukan. The doctor was able to evade it but he was surprised that a shot from behind him had actually injured Iapetus' hand that was holding the gun. Napahiyaw sa sakit ang lalaki. Napatingin siya sa likuran niya at bahagyang nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata nang makitang galing iyon kay Yasha.
"Miss Wilford... How--?"
Yasha sighed and brought down her gun as soon as she shot down two more attackers about to kill them. "Para namang hahayaan ko ang sira-ulong ito na patayin ka. I told you, tama nang may isang taong nag-aagaw-buhay dahil sa akin. If I let him shoot you even if you're skilled enough, huwag kang umasang magagawa ko pang kontrolin ang sarili ko." It was the truth, but somehow, she had to hide the true reason.
"You sure have the guts to do this to me," nagngingitngit na saad ni Iapetus at nag-angat ng tingin upang makita kung sino ang may gawa niyon sa kanya. Only to be surprised--albeit inwardly--nang makita ang mukha ng babaeng iyon. "How come you're still alive?"
"Malamang binuhay ulit," sarkastikong sagot ni Yasha. But her expression remained impassive. Kailangan niyang gawin iyon kung gusto niyang itago ang totoo kay Shingo. "Sa tingin mo ba, ganoon mo lang akong kadaling mapapatay? You already hurt my friend which made him struggle to fight for his life until now. Do you really expect me to die that fast? Think again."
Okay, this was getting weirder for Shingo to see at all. Hindi niya nakita ang ganitong side ni Yasha noon. But what would he expect? Maraming puwedeng mangyari ang dalawang taong nakalipas. Marami ring puwedeng baguhin ang haba ng panahong iyon.
Iapetus stood up but not after taking out his small gun from his ankle and tried to shoot Yasha.
Shingo was fast to act, though. Nagawa naman niyang mailayo si Yasha upang maiwasan ang pagputok na iyon. They were able to hide and evade the shot coming from the enemy's gun.
"You can hide for now, Shingo. But I'm telling you, it will be soon. The battle that will eliminate all of you from the Shrouded Flowers for good--it's nearly at hand. So if I were you, bring out every artilleries you and your disgusting family had in your possession in order to deal with us," tila baliw na pahayag ni Iapetus habang patuloy na nagpapaputok ng baril nito sa kanila.
Hindi naman maitatanggi na nakadama ng takot at galit sina Shingo at Yasha sa pahayag na iyon. Nagkatinginan sila at iisa lang ang nakikita nilang emosyon na nakapaloob sa mga mata ng bawat isa. Despite the evident fear for the others' safety, naroon ang determinasyon na hindi maitatangging hindi yata kailanman mawawala sa kanila.
Moments later, Iapetus left one last warning to them which had confused and intrigued them at the same time.
"Be prepared for the battle because I'm telling you, we'll just repeat everything that had happened two years ago--and we'll make sure that this time, no one would be able to survive. Just like the fate of the Yasunaga clan 300 years ago from their enemies unknown even to the First Family."
'Yasunaga clan?'
No comments:
Post a Comment