The Identity Of The Sinful Miracle

∽ S I X T E E N ∽

∽ m i r a c l e ∽

Dismissal time. And it was raining.

It wasn’t that I disliked rains, I actually loved rains. It was like when it was raining, I could hear the rhythms of requiem. I could hear death, agony, and misery of the people who would burst their emotions in the dripping sound of the rain. It was my lullaby—my comfort season.

Minutes later when my phone rang. I checked the caller ID. It was Kuya Mike. "Hi," I greeted.

"Hello, Hime," he answered back.

"Yeah? You need something?"

"No," Kuya Mike replied. "I may not able to pick you up today. Go home with Nate for now."

"Don’t wanna,” I grumbled. “Nate’s friends are annoying. I'll wait for you, Kuya."

"Our emergency meeting might take long," he hesitantly said. “Would you be fine?”

I smiled. "I’d be fine, don’t worry."

Kuya Mike concurred. "If you’d change your mind, contact Nate immediately.”

"Got it," I responded that quick.

The call was hung up after. Now, what to do?

"Rain, rain go away," I just sang inside my mind. "Come again another day," I continued while catching the drops of water. "Little Miracle . . ." I laughed to myself, pursing my lips. "Wants to play." Childish me. "Rain, rain go away." Now I sang to my lips.

What a gloomy day. Most of the students had gone home.

And countless minutes after, I got bored. This was boring than I imagined. I should’ve called Nate.

I was about to go when I sensed a fast thing passed me by the cheek! It was an arrow!

How?! Good thing that I wasn’t scathed. I immediately checked where the arrow came from, but it was too late when the archer had escaped already. If  I was the target, I should be dead.

Gazing where the arrow was pinned, the was a white cloth attached. As I pulled the arrow out, I read the content of cloth with b****y lettering.

Are you losing your path?

Or are you lost?

Where are you going?

Only one organization that could send me like this.

The Black Society, the mortal nemesis of the White Nation. Similar to white and black, completely opposite since the beginning. They were not silent killers, killing with or without reasons. And it was our job to keep everything in balance.

And the big question was how did they find me?

"Miss Montero."

I shuddered upon hearing my fake name. I gazed at where the voice came from.

"Miss Marionne," I indistinctively called, not aware that she who'd appear here. I never felt her presence. I looked down at her shoes, they were two-inch black leather stilettos. Shoes like those could create sounds on the floor. But why hers didn't? Mysterious. She was mysterious.

"Aren’t you diligent enough to stay in this school?" She smiled at me. And I didn’t like her smile at all.

"I’m waiting for my ride," I responded with a cold voice. "How about you, Miss? Aren’t you working hard enough to stay in here?"

"I’m about to go home, Natsumi," she said, still on untroubled posture.

I only nodded and did a quick observation. Honestly, she was too difficult to read. Behind that cryptic calmness, she was hiding something. It was my first time seeing her like this. Normally, she was only in her normal-teacher mode. I stared deeply at her; and the same as her, she was placidly gaping to my eyes.

"Why are you holding an arrow?" She finally inquired, at last, cutting the eye contact. "And what's with that note?" Then averting her gaze at the arrow.

I quickly hid the fabric on my back. "It’s nothing."

She was unfazed, unconvinced. Without breaking a sound, she successfully went near me. She was planning something, but I couldn't move even a single bit. Her cold and calm gazes were making me numb.

"Give it to me." And in one swift move, she already got the note. I remained emotionless. I had never imagined that she stole the note from with ease. Her gazes were like a fatal venom that would paralyze you any time she looked in the eyes. Once she read the note, her face turned seriously cold. "They had already found out." Her voice changes, it was no longer calm, it became dark and icy.

Frowning, I got back to my senses. “Your existence bothers me. Who are you?”

She grinned an unordinary grin, a peculiar grin. "Would you follow me if I tell you?"

I faced her with stillness. "It depends on how trustworthy you are."

"My loyalty is offered in the name of the White Nation." With that, any doubts in me had melted. "Can you trust me now, Young Twain?"

My tensed muscles became relaxed. I never expected that I’d meet a member of the White Nation here. Much more, she was my class adviser.

“Would you tell me everything?”

"Surely, I will," she answered back with a dedicated bow. “But let me ask you first,  Natsumi."

"What's it?" I inquired bemusingly.

"Do you still remember me?"

I knitted my brows closely. Who is she? When was the last time we met? Not in this school. Certainly, she was a reaper. And she was nothing but a stranger. I decided to observe her more. Maybe, I'd familiarize her. I started from her hair to the shape of her face, the roundness and color of her eyes, her lips that were supple with her cherry blossom-colored petals, her pointed and little nose, her hair that was flawlessly shiny in light brown . . . and her . . . calm voice.

"Let me braid your hair, Nat."

A memory flashed in my head. I remembered the lady that usually braiding my hair when I was a child.

This lady in front of me I was . . . "Ate Bea," I whispered.

Ate Bea’s face shone brightly. "I'm glad you still know me, Nat!" Then she gave me a light pat to my hair.

I puffed my cheeks and pouted. "I do. Sorry that I didn’t recognize you sooner."

She was Ate Bea—Beatrix Ashtria Kaguya. She was Kuya Mike's childhood best friend but got separated after she and her family moved to the States. They both trained at a very young age to be a reaper. She also treated me as her little sister, even protecting me whenever Kuya Mike was making fun of me.

"Does my older brother know that you're here?" I questioned.

"Of course, he’s the one who asked me a favor to teach so that I could monitor you."

“Okay, that’s a bummer.”

“I know right!” Ate Bea whined. “He was so persistent that I had no longer excuses to slap to his face.”

I stifled a laugh. "Sorry that you have to deal with Mike ‘The Control Freak’ Twain.”

“Well, as for now, I never regretted that I accepted his offer.” She smiled at me as if her smile could caress my heart. That sweet smile was the reason why Ate Bea was loved deeply by everyone. Not to mention my older brother Mike.

“Yep, I can tell, Ate,” I replied, mimicking the sweet smile. "Well, by the way, what’s the news about the Black Society?"

“There are still no suspicious moves coming from them, except this note.” Then she cringed upon reading the words written on the cloth. “And why the heck I found this threat disgusting? It’s not even creative. The one who did this must die.”

I laughed at her profanity. Ate Bea could be that transparent, but never let her reach her breaking point. She was more than a warrior.

"So you’re waiting for Mike?" she queried.

"Yeah, but he couldn’t make it for today. He said that he has a meeting to attend.” Then we started to walk down the corridor. She had her own car and I might just commute for today.

She only nodded. “Do you want me to take you home instead?”

I looked at her. I wanted to, “But this is a school, Ate, especially that you’re a teacher here. It’ll be troublesome if an issue lifted—like what happened to me and Kuya Mike.”

“Oh, right.” Ate Bea only pursed her lips. “Tough, isn’t it? Glad you’re still unperturbed.”

I scoffed. “As if a child-play can piss me off.”

“As expected,” she replied without enthusiasm. “Kids nowadays are nothing but rotten tomatoes.”

Then, after a while, the rain had stopped as we were about to arrive at the parking lot. And we were still far from it, but it was clear as a day that Nate and his friends were still lazing in this school.

"Oh, the troublesome shenanigans," Ate Bea said, her voice implying she was annoyed.

“For the record, I agree with you,” I replied. As much as we wanted to avoid them, we couldn’t because they were along the way. It didn’t take much time when the five noticed us.

"NATSUMI!" Of course, Sean would flock me up, following Justine and Nathan. But Nathan would just push them away from me.

“Hime!” If Nate could make his eyes turn to hearts, I’d be more annoyed. He took both of my hands and clasped it together with his. “My beloved Hime, my baby, my angel, the love of my life!”

I wasn’t able to react after his words knocked me out. And on the other hand, Ate Bea laughed her heart out. “Can you cut that out, Nate!” she snorted. Then she whispered to us, “I sympathize you, Nat, for you have to live with this sister-complex freak.”

"Ate Bea . . ." Nathan only pouted. Her words slapped him in the face. And so he knew about Ate Bea.

Then she faced everyone with a warm smile. "You guys sure have a lot of time, huh?"

“Y’see, Miss Marionne,” answered Justine. “Nathan is being a jerk recently.”

“Nathan has always been a jerk, Just, not just recently.” Sean corrected Justine’s opinion.

“Yeah, right, right. I stand corrected.” Then Justine looked at Ate Bea again. “Miss Marionne, Nathan is always a jerk.”

Nathan was silent on the corner as Ate Bea only chuckled. “I don’t appreciate that kind of language in my presence, Mister Yu and Mister Scott.”

“That’s right! Scold them more, Miss Marionne!” Nathan reprimanded, pointing the two.

I couldn’t stand this idiocy, so wordlessly, I walked away from them. But it didn’t take that long when Nate called me again. “Hime! Where are you going?”

“Away from you.”

“Cold treatment as ever, huh?” he said in a pained voice, bowing down in the process. “Well, whatever. I’m used to it.”

I gaped at him. Tears were building on his eyes. Tears?! An imaginary vein popped on my cheek. “Can you please snap out of it?” I chided. “You’re not in your usual self and it’s irritating me!”

And as our gazes met, the bark in my voice must have surprised him. He looked at me with me through his wide eyes, lips were cracked open. I knew as of the moment that I had to apologize. Thus my shoulders sunk. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I bowed my head as I held his hand. “Forgive me.”

Nathan came back to his senses and faced me with a broad smile. "Hime! Why are you so unfair?! Why are so pretty when you apologize and I’m going to cry! You’re my loving princess and my favorite girl, I can’t be mad at you!”

I only sighed. Nathan was a pain in the a*s. Suddenly, Nathan laughed while giving the people behind a nasty look.

“Justine is right. You’re a jerk.” He was just acting up to all this time. “What are you trying to prove, huh?”

He returned to his real cool self. “Well, of course, like I would let them go near you.”

“You’re just worsening my situation, Nate, it’s not funny that I’m being chased down by your fangirls.”

“Don’t worry. As long as I'm by your side, no one can harm you.”

 “Piss off.” I spat at him. “Mind you, it’s always Chance who would usually show up, not you.”

"Tch." He clicked his tongue. “That Chance. How could I shake him off? He’s always getting on my nerves.”

I shrugged. “Your problem, not mine.”

Once I noticed that we were getting far from them, I looked at the people we left. “It is okay if we leave them?”

“Yeah, like I care.”

“Are you even their friend? You’re being an a*s!” I told him in an incredulous tone.

He didn’t respond to me and just put an arm around my shoulders, gazing back to his friends, he spoke, “I’mma take Natsumi home, you can go without me!”

I rolled my eyes. “If our secret will be busted, I’ll punch you in the face.”

Nate only had his victorious grin as he led me to his car. I saw Ate Bea waved a hand, giving her good-bye. I only smiled at her before we entered the car.

I wondered why I didn’t recognize her sooner? She had been my class adviser for a while now and seemed like I had forgotten about her.

"Ate Bea is so beautiful, isn’t she, Nate?" I told Nate while he was driving at a fast pace, but I didn’t mind. “I always admire a mature-looking woman like her.”

Nate chuckled. “Well, second to you and Mom, Ate Bea is one of the beautiful and capable women I have met.”

“True. And she’s been fighting alongside Kuya Mike ever since I could remember. They should marry each other.”

Nathan roared out, laughing. “Aren’t you interested in their relationship, Hime?”

“Yeah, Ate Bea is the best!” I chanted, eyes glittering in astonishment.

"Let Kuya Mike and Ate Bea be," Nate said with a small smile crept on his lips. “I’m sure that whatever they have right now, they’re happy with it.”

I nodded, amazed. Nathan could make sense sometimes.

“Come to think of it, Nate,” I uttered nonchalantly. “You were once in love, weren’t you?”

Nate shuddered as a pinkish blush rendered his face. “W-What are you saying, Hime?”

“Stop playing dumb.” I teased him. “What’s her name again? It starts with ‘A’! Ak-Akee—”

“Ah, shut up!” He flustered, dismissing the topic.

Silence welcomed us after. I didn’t notice, but we were already at home. He got out of the car silently. I sighed and only followed him.

Don’t tell me . . . He hasn’t moved on?

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