Rewind (Erityian Tribes Novella, #2)

13 - Identities

"So, are you ready to talk about what you have learned?" Michiko asked and Hideo nodded.

Nandito kaming lima ngayon sa kwarto namin matapos kong makapagpahinga nang maayos sa loob ng ilang araw. Hideo told us to meet him here since he wanted to tell us the things he learned after observing both of them.

'Thank you, but I shouldn't be loved. I might hurt and break you so give your heart to someone who could really protect you. But your feelings toward me, I'll treasure it.'

His last words suddenly rang inside my mind and it made me feel awful. He always looked cool and commanding yet those words showed his worry and fear. It's okay if he doesn't reciprocate my feelings, as long as he's with us but that won't happen anymore.

"I heard something last night," biglang sabi naman ni Akira habang nakatingin kay Hideo. "She said you should've killed her before that happened."

I looked at Hideo and his expression changed. He's the type of guy who wouldn't allow someone to trick him yet he let Akemi escape. The same as me, huh?

"Noong una pa lang, alam kong may kakaiba na sa kanya," dagdag naman ni Mayu. "She's not the same as us, as well as Mitsuo."

"Yeah. I don't want to be suspicious but their actions were really different," Michiko chimed in.

Silence followed and the tension went up. I know that we all have the same thoughts but we're afraid to say it . . . to know the truth. After all, we considered them as a member of the family.

"She's a Shinigami," Hideo said, breaking the silence.

No one uttered a word after his statement, proving that all of us already know her identity. I was hesistant at first but her actions the past few days gave it away. Her calculated movements and bothered expressions strengthen my intuition but what proved my theory was her last cloud of thoughts before she went unconscious.

'I shouldn't get too attached to them. This is just a mission and during a mission, you should set aside your feelings or you'll end up failing or worse, dead. Habang tumatagal ako rito, mas lalo lang akong naguguluhan. Sometimes, I feel too comfortable, I keep forgetting that I do not belong here. That I am not a Senshin.'

I was surprised by that and I tried to hide it by asking her if she was okay. I wanted to know more about her but she went unconscious and Mitsuo's presence kept on distracting me, especially after the madman incident. In the end, I followed him, but just like Akemi, he left us.

"So she's really a Shinigami," Akira said and she looked dejected.

"What's her mission then?" tanong ni Michiko at lahat kami ay tumingin kay Hideo.

"They wanted to know more about that ability—the seventh sense."

I knew it. She kept on insisting about decoding the books we got on the restricted section. I thought she was just eager to know the history of our abilities but now, it made sense.

"But why is she not detected by the Shinigami trackers?" Akira asked and that was the thing that bothered me.

"She's right," dagdag ko. "There are several Shinigami trackers in the campus but they didn't discover her."

"Maybe that's the reason why she was chosen to infiltrate here," sagot ni Mayu. "And as you know, the Querino Clan doesn't want to work inside the campus. When it comes to tracking, they're definitely the best. Maybe if one of their trackers are here, they have the chance to expose her identity. We have Reina but she's still too young for that."