BEAUTIFUL DISASTER- book 5

CHAPTER 4

Abby’s Point of View

Parang museum ang bahay ni Ayano sa Tokyo. Paintings are hanged on the walls. Sculptures are everywhere. Pero ang pinakagusto kong display niya ay ang collection niya ng Samurai. There are at least 10 samurai swords at the wall near his study room.

“Display lang ba ‘yon o marunong ka talagang humawak?” Tinuro ko ang mga samurai.

“Don’t insult me. I am a Japanese.”

“Half Japanese,” I corrected him. “I won’t display it if I don’t know how to use it,” may confidence na sagot nito.

“Can we discuss Hana Yamamoto?” I asked him out of the blue. “What do you want to discuss about her?” he asked back. Hindi yata natutulog ‘tong si Ayano. Pagdating namin galing sa airport, diretso kaagad sa office dito sa bahay niya. Hindi naman sa inaantok ako, pero naman, hindi ba siya marunong magpahinga?

“Have you contacted her?”

“No. Why will I do that? Ayaw ko nga siyang pakasalanan, hindi ba?” Masungit na sagot nito. “So, you think siya ang nagpapadala sayo ng death threats?”

“You tell me. Trabaho mo ‘yan,” walang lingo-lingon na sagot nito sa akin.

“Well, Sir… Hindi si Hana ang nagpapadala ng death threat sayo kung hindi ang boyfriend niyang si Hiro Murakami.”

Nilapag ko sa table niya ang report kay Hiro. I have a satisfied smile plastered on my face. “Ano naman ang kinalaman ko sa boyfriend niya. Dapat matuwa pa siya. I don’t want to marry her girlfriend, so what’s with the threat?!”

“Two things, Ayano. You are disrespecting Hana by turning down your grandfather’s promise to her grandfather. And second, well because he is jealous that you were destined to marry his girlfriend.”

He looked me like he didn’t understand my explanation.

“That’s a pathetic explanation,” he said. “Hiro is a member of the Red Dragon Triads. An heir— if you consider his father’s position in the organization,” I told him. I got his attention now and he is looking at me intently.

“Do you want me to continue?” I asked him just to be sure if he wants to talk this s**t this early.

“Go on,” he replied. I placed Hiro’s picture in front of him. “The organization caters prostitution in South East Asia, Japan and South Korea. They are also in the illegal market, selling guns, explosions, drugs and human trafficking at black market. Hiro met Hana at University of Tokyo. Not a coincidence, mind you. He has his eyes for Hana before that, but he never made a move until he became classmates with Hana at the University.”

“Go on, Abby,” Ayano told me. Looks like he is blinded by the situation.

“Hana is not innocent about Hiro’s activity. She knew the crap about the organization. But her father doesn’t. So, when her father finally meets Hiro, he was intimidated by his tattoos and decided that he is not the best for his daughter. Before Hana’s grandfather passed away, he told his son about the promised that your grandfather made to him. The marriage is supposedly to your father, but Mr. Yamamoto had a son too, so the promised marriage was passed to you.”

“That’s bullshit,” Ayano commented. “Japanese were known to honor the words. So…” Nagkibit-balikat ako. Ano na naman kasing love story ‘to?! So complicated.

“Hiro hired a gunman to kill you. Because you know, when you are out of the picture, you can’t disrespect Hana and at the same time, you can’t marry her,” I told him what I found out. I just need to know who the gunman is. Nasapo ni Ayano ang ulo niya.

“Hirap maging gwaping, ano?” pang-aasar ko dito. “Kung ako sayo, itutulog ko muna ‘yan. At huwag kang aalis nang wala ako. Saan nga pala ang kwarto ko? Iyong kwartong katabi ng kwarto mo?” tumuro si Ayano pataas. Malamang ako na lang ang maghahanap.

“Abby, what made you held on to your life?” tanong ni Ayano sa akin na nagpahinto sa paglabas ko. “Mag-isa ka na lang sa buhay, hindi ba? Bakit hindi ka pa sumusuko?”

“Ako ba ang pinag-uusapan natin dito o ang sitwasyon mo?” Napaharap ako sa kanya. He just shrugged his shoulder.

“I held on because I don’t have anywhere to go but to move forward. I need to be strong because weakness is not an option for me. I need to live because that’s how I should be, and you should too.” He looked at me like it’s the first time that he truly sees me.

“My mission is to keep you alive. Until my last breath, I will protect you.”

“Touché. I should be the one who’s protecting a woman, not the other way around.” he said like he ate a bitter gourd.

“Your ego can handle it,” I said then left him alone in his study room. I asked my comrade to check the house before our arrival, so I know he is safe here. I went upstairs to check my room. I set up my CPU and monitors at the table. My guns are near my bed.

My room looks like a nerd den with all the monitors I installed. I even converted the TV as a map that is connected to the US satellite. US government doesn’t need know.

I connected with the CCTV camera in the house, so I can monitor everything. There, I saw Ayano drinking a brandy in this early morning inside his study table.

Hindi talaga lahat ng problema nasasagot ng pera, sa isip-isip ko.