The Fifth Son

Nijyuni

~22~

My mouth swung open momentarily. Na-lost yata ako. Bakit nandito si Yuto? Magtatanong sana ako kung ano ang ginagawa niya dito sa school kaya lang naunahan ako ni Paolo.

"Gago ka ah! Anong problema mo?!" maangas na tanong ni Paolo habang mabilis na tumatayo. He was about to take revenge and punch Yuto back but I got in between them and effectively stopping the impending clash. I felt a pang of my frustration about my height. Para akong pumagitna sa dalawang higante.

"Teka! Cut it out!" pigil ko.

Nagsasalubong na ang kilay n'ya habang sapo ang tinamaang pisngi na medyo namumula na. "Bakit ka bigla-biglang nanununtok?! Problema mo? Gusto mo ng suntukan?! Ano?!" bulyaw n'ya kay Yuto. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the Japanese guy but the latter held on to my other wrist. Naningkit pa lalo ang mga mata ni Yuto kasabay ng pagsasalubong ng mga kilay n'ya.

Aray ko ah! Nasasaktan ako!

"You are not supposed to treat Shinra-sama that way." Yuto's voice was calm yet one could feel in his measured voice that he's holding back his anger. Akala mo hindi s'ya nanununtok. Ang bait pakinggan ng boses eh kahit na slits nalang ang mga mata n'ya.

"Shinra-sama? Sino yun? Bangag ka yata, Pare!" Paolo mocked as he smirked. "Bitiwan mo nga si Sand!" He pulled me again pero mahigpit ang pagkakahawak ni Yuto. Ako tuloy ang nasasaktan.

"Teka lang nga! Stop it! Just stop it!" This time, tumigil na sila. I freed myself from their hold which left some red marks on my wrists. Hinarap ko muna yung Japanese. "Yuto, why are you here?"

"Kei-dono, asked me to fetch you, Shin-I mean, Sand. He will be a bit late since he's finishing a few plates," explain niya na may gentle na ngiti sa mukha. Na-tu-turn on na naman ang kuya mode ko. Ang sarap lang i-pat ng ulo n'ya eh. Ang dami yatang ginagawang plates ni Kuya Kei lately. Plates are some civil engineer things. Basta yun.

"I see." So si Yuto pala ng nagdadrive nung Montero.

"Sino ba yang gagong asungot na yan, Sand?!" inis na tanong ni Paolo habang tumatabi sa akin. His thick eyebrows were coming together as he gritted his teeth at Yuto who was just looking at him with a cold expression.

"Ay! I forgot to introduce you to each other!" I exclaimed, hoping na sana bumaba ang nagbi-build up na tension between Paolo and Yuto. "Pao, si Yuto. He's a family friend from Japan." After that, I introduced Yuto to Paolo. "Yuto, this is Paolo. He's a friend."

"Bestfriend n'ya ako," dagdag ng Pinoy sabay akbay sa akin but I corrected him.

"Friend," pagtatama ko as I freed myself mula sa akbay n'ya na ikinasimangot naman nito.

Yuto, to show his acknowledgement, just made a small bow at Paolo. "Pleased to meet you, Paolo-dono. Pardon my attack earlier. I was just trying to protect Sand. I have misunderstood your actions." Yuto made a small apologetic bow again.

Paolo snorted and seemed to hold grudge but he voiced out that he forgive Yuto anyway. Well, after ko s'ya sikuhin sa tiyan. Pabebe kasi. Nagsorry na yung tao pero ayaw pang tanggapin.

"Sand, sige na. Magbake ka ng creampuff pang-miryenda mamaya sa laro namin nina Kuya Kei." Halos magsumamo si Paolo. Nakakaawa naman.

I sighed and gave in. Ano pa ba ang magagawa ko? "Fine but you're paying."

"Oo. Ako ang magbabayad," he assured. "Ano? Tara?" Tanong n'ya sabay hila sa akin papunta sa kotse n'ya pero nagmatigas ako.

"Teka. Dito nalang ako sasakay sa sasakyan namin."