Rebound (bxb)

Chapter 17

Raiga

"Selfish! You're freaking selfish!" galit na sigaw ni Aoi sa akin habang nasa loob kami ng student council office.

The nerve she called me to hear this nonsense talking or if she ever called it the talking. Yes, she doesn't accept that Maki chose me over her.

"Is that what you wanna say to me?" tanong ko sa kanya. My eyes bore at her green ones. "My boy chose me. Why don't you accept everything?"

"He's mine first," aniya.

"And he's mine already. Look Aoi, I don't have any time to waste on you. Wrapped your mind that I wont gonna let Maki go for the liking of you," sabi ko sa kanya bago tumalikod. "And you're gonna pull strings about hurting me or whatever evil in your mind, I'm telling you, you don't wanna wake up the demons inside of me. Leave us alone. Get yourself another boy toy," sabi ko pa bago tuluyang iwanan ang babaeng iyon palabas ng kanyang office.

"Hey you, where have you been?" tanong sa akin ni Maki ng magkita kaminsa canteen.

"Went to the council president," sagot ko sa kanya sabay akbay.

Kung kami lang ay pwede ko siyang akbayan, hawakan o mahalikan pero kapag nasa labas kami, lahat off limits. Nabanggit sa aki ni Maki na natatakot siya sa family niya since they are your traditional family.

Speaking of being rich.

"Did she gave you a hard time again?" tanong niya sa akin ng buong lambing.

Saturday ngayon ay walang pasok maliban na lang sa mga estudyanteng nasa sport teams.

"Not that I can't handle it. She's just being b***h and keeps on telling that she can't give up," sagot ko sabay himas sa kanyang pisngi.

Pumikit siya at saka dinamdam ang aking haplos.

"She'll eventually accept us. You'll see," nakangiti niyang sabi.

"So do you wanna go out and eat?" yaya ko sa kanya.

"Oh I can't. Darating ang sundo ko maya-maya. May family reunion kami," aniya obviously, unhappy.

He mentioned me that he hated gatherings lalo na kung involved ang family side ng Papa niya.

"You don't have to go. Wanna go to my house instead?" tanong ko saka yumakap sa kanyang likuran.

"Even if I want, I can't. Hahanapin ako ng Lolo," sagot niya.

"Hmm."

Hinalik-halikan ko ang likod ng kanyang ulo.

I wanted to be mine since the day I laid my eyes on him. He's the reason why despite the hardship I went through, hindi ko iyon ininda.

"Ano sumusuko ka na ba, Raiga?" tanong sa akin ni Tito Rafa habang nagjo-jogging kami ng madaling araw. It was my first time doing it.

"K-kaya ko pa po," sagot ko sa kanya even though my legs are screaming at me to stop.

"Habol. Nahuhuli ka sa akin."

That routine continued week after week na halos ay isumpa ko na ang tito sa sakit ng aking katawan. Halos ay maiyak ako kapag nakakasabay ko silang kumain lalo na kung masasarap ang kanilang kinakain. I wanted to cry so bad. I wanted to eat what they eat too. Pero hindi pwede.

During my down situation, lagi kong iniisip si Maki. I always, always think about our future. Madalas ko itong ginagawa lalo na kapag gusto ko ng sumuko even if there's no us.

When I achieve my goals, kailangan ko pang maghintay ng ilang taon bago nakabalik ng Japan.

"Anong nginingiti-ngiti mo dyan. You're creeping me out," pabirong sabi niya.

"I was thinking about when I had to go through hardship for you," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Was it?" malabing niyang tanong.

Once upon a time, this guy insulted me, bullied me but now he's mine.

"Sorry," sabi niya bago lumingon nad pecked my lips with his. "I was a bully back then," aniya pa.

Tumawa ako.

"Hey, that's all in the past. You cannot bully me again, right? Or I'll be the one who will bully you," sagot ko.

Sasagot pa sana siya sa akin ng biglang tumunog ang kanyang phone.

Sinagot niya ito.

"Hello? Kuya? Yes. I'll be right there in a minute," sabi niya bago pinatay ang end button ng phone. "Si Kuya ang sumundo sa akin. I have to go," aniya.

"Sure. See you on Monday," sabi ko before giving him a kiss on the lips.

"Alright, see you."

Kanina pang nakaalis si Maki ngunit nanatili pa rin akong nakaupo sa bench. Yeah, I know, hindi lahat ng tao ay tanggap ang same s*x relationship. Hindi lahat ng tao ay bukas ang kanilang isipan. Some are homophobic. I heard a lot about their family even the most tragic death of his uncle and his male lover. They chose to kill themselves rather than being separated by those who go against them. I understand why Maki is afraid of being caught with me.

"Yo, dude. Penny for your thoughts?" tanong ni Xeno na hindi ko napansin nakaupo na pala sa bench katabi ko.

"It's nothing dude," sagot ko sa kanya.

This Xeno guy, he came all the way to Japan just to find his first love, according to him. At first against ang kanyang mga magulang but later on, pumayag na rin sila. Right now, Xeno's having a hard time to court that Japanese boy's parents since they are freaking traditional family, means they are against the same s*x relationship.

But Xeno's a no joke dude. He's loaded and rich. I heard that he's getting the blessings soon enough.

Ah one lucky bastard.

"You're thinking about Maki right?" tanong niya.

Tumango ako.

"I heard Maki's family is one of the richest families here in Japan," sabi niya.

"Yeah."

"And also I heard about how super traditional he's family was."

"Yeah. That's also true."

"Are you afraid that one day Maki will choose his family over you when the time comes?"

Hindi ako nakaimik.

Ugh. If only I'm rich.

"You know if love really can conquer all, I'm sure Maki will throw everything for you. As I can see, he loves you a lot," aniya.

If love is everything, Could Maki feel that too?

Will he choose me rather than his wealth and family?

Sometimes when I think about it, I doubt myself. At hindi ko maiwasang maisip na, is love enough? I know this world is already accepting the same s*x relationship but some are still close-minded including Maki's family.

What if..

"Relax, dude. Both of you are still in high school. Why don't you two just enjoy it and let the future work for you?" sabi pa niya.

"I know man. I think too much," sagot ko.

Ngumiti siya sa akin.

Kinabukasan ay muli kaming naglaro. We managed to enter the semi-final stage.

"Listen guys, this will be a little tougher since we are about to face the best of the best teams here in Tokyo. If we manage ti snatch one of the two places, we can enter the national tournament. So I'm giving you all my trust. Throw out all your worries. I want all your focus on this game. Enjoy your game and play like a pro," sabi sa akin ni Coach.

Honda High Academy, home for the richest and famous. I heard everything about those school from Yuki. Ayon sa kanya ay doon nag-aaral ang mga anak ng mga mayaman na manlalaro ng sikat noong mga kapanahunan pa nila including Yahiw Macfadyen, isa na NBA star na nag settle down dito sa Japan with her Japanese wife. I also heard that he has twin sons who attend that school and play like their father. Suki na rin daw ito ng Nationals at kung hindi ako nagkakamali ay palagi itong kasali sa Japan's top five best high school basketball team at madalas ay laman ng mga sports magazine tulad ng ipinabasa ni Tito Erol sa akin.

Only two teams are allowed to win this day and three four teams who are about to compete are pro excluding our team. Tumingin ako sa kabilang team na nasa kabilang bahagi ng court ang Honda team.

Nakatingin din sila sa amin as if they are looking down on us.

"I heard that they hired one of the top coaches here in Japan," sabi ni Andro. "I'm sure they intended to win today," aniya pa.

"Don't worry guys, we will going to give our best. Kung hindi man tayo makakasali sa national, at least we tried and we gotten this far," sabi ni Maki.

Napatingin ako sa kanya.

"We will win this game, babe. Don't worry," pabulong kong sabi, making sure no one heard it.

Nakita kong nag-blush siya.

"T-thank you but-"

"Trust me and our team. We are going to win and enter that national. You'll see," sabi ko pa bago tumayo at inayos ang aking uniform. "I love playing basketball and I also love you. If I am defeated at the end, I'll regret it forever. And that's the thing I don't want to happen. I'll win the game for you, Captain."

"Omg! The power of being in love!" sabi ni Andro habang nakayakap sa kanyang sarili.

"Shut up and let's go," sagot ko sa kanya.

Palihim akong tumingin Maki only to see his smile.

Aw that kind of smile makes me wanna defeat everyone in the basketball and offer all the trophies to him. Such a cute little lover I have there.

"Alright enough with the love thing guys. Focus on the game," sabi ni Coach bago tumayo at pinagtatapik ang aming mga balikat. If you guys win, the school will treat us to the most expensive onsen trip ever. Won't you like it, hmm?" aniya pa.

"Seriously coach?" tanong ni Inoue.

"Of course. Plus you guys can bring one of your closest friends along with us but that can only be possible if you will win this game."

"Alright! Then we will win this game, coach! That's a promise"

"Okay then. Goodluck guys."

Sabay-sabay kaming pumunta sa gitna ng court habang bahagya pang nag-uunat unat.

"You're Raiga Kyoma, a Filipino-American and half-Japanese. You were in the Philippines until recently, you came back to Japan and started to study here as a high school student. You are five ten in height and you can do multiple roles when you are in the game. You were labeled as rebound king when you were in middle school to lead your team to its glory when you were still in the Philippines. What a monster," sabi sa akin ng lalaking nakatayo sa aking harapan and if I'm not mistaken, he's one of the Macfayden twins.

He's slightly taller than me and slightly bigger too.

"You seems like you knew everything about me," sagot ko sa kanya.

Ngumisi ito.

"Of course I am. I always make sure that I know everything about the guy I wanted and pick my interest. And oh, where's my manner? I am Deizon Hakari Macfayden. It's a pleasure to finally meet a pro player like you."

Napatingin ako sa kanya. This is the second time we met again. He's my mom's young master.

Why do I feel like this guy will bring bad news to me? Something about him is not right even the way he looks at me and it gives me a chill.

I should pay him respect but it doesn't mean that I have to go slow for him simply because he's a boss.

No way. No friggin way.