We spent the rest of the meal in silence. No one questioned my friend's absence from the table, so I assumed that he must had done it so many times before. Makoto came round to clean up and I remembered Hiro's request.
"Makoto?" I gently tapped him.
"Yes, Miss?" he bowed.
"Can you bring Hiro some more food? I don't think soup would be enough for him."
"Oh, he called it off. I was in Mistress Kelly's room to serve her food."
'What was he up to?' I thought to myself. He had never skipped meals before. Was he self-conscious about his body after I saw him tight-fitting clothes or none at all recently? I became worried for his health.
"Oh, okay."
"Is there anything else?" he inquired.
"Yeah, can I grab a slice of cheesecake for Hiro after dinner? I kinda promise to bring him some."
"Hahaha… That boy is really something else. So full of surprises," Kenji hopped into the conversation.
"Huh?" I looked at him.
Tadashi signaled his butler to leave the room. I turned my head and saw them head to their own quarters. I was left alone with the gleeful gentleman. He stood up and buttoned his suit.
"Ren, have you ever seen us eat cheesecake in this house?"
"Hmm… Not that I remember," I cupped my chin in thoughts.
"That's because we are never allowed to have it in this house for some reason. It's also the same reason that it is Hiro's favorite dessert."
"Huh?"
"Well, we're not allowed to have too much sweets and fat as a kid, and it continued on to our adulthood. Since then we just didn't bother to make them. But our father used to buy him some on his birthdays or whenever he earned a prize. He came to associate it with something to make him feel happy."
"Woah, I never knew he was so sentimental."
"But it means bad luck to you. We have no cheesecake in this house and every store that sells them had just closed."
I looked at the time on my phone and gasped, 'what am I supposed to do now? He'll never forgive me for embarrassing him."
"Embarrassed?"
"You saw me unintentionally hugging him earlier. I think he's pissed at me. He barely looked me in the eye! Why hadn't he eaten anything after an intense work out? Do you think he's trying to slim down after I saw his body? He wasn't even chubby! I wouldn't have minded if he was anyway," I rambled.
"Hahaha… You really are so clueless."
"Eh?"
"He's clearly just flustered that you were braver at showing your feelings than him. And as for starving himself, I think he wanted your attention."
"My feelings? Do you really think so? It doesn't sound anything like him."
"Actually, that sounds exactly like him. He's very competitive and he would show his vulnerability towards women to gain their attention," he gestured for me to follow him to the kitchen. "C'mon."
I walked behind him as he pulled out a bunch of ingredients onto the kitchen counter.
"What are we doing?" I titled my head.
"Make cheesecake, of course."
Kenji lead me on what to do as he watched me execute it. I smoothed the surface of the cake and let it chill in the freezer for half an hour. We sat on the kitchen stools and sipped on Kenji's hand-whisked matcha.
"Wow, I had never had them this way before," I exclaimed.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah," I put my cup down. 'About Hiro…"
"Mmm?"
"What do you mean when you said girls' attention?"
"I said women. My grandma and my mother."
"Oh."
'Yeah, you might think he's popular and smooth with the ladies just by his looks. But, honestly, I think he can be a little rude to them."
"How come?"
"He's a very blunt and insensitive person unless he truly likes you."
"Oh…" I nodded to myself.
"He still couldn't bring himself to say mean things to Tadashi even though they fought at least twice a week. You've seen it yourself," he stood up to check on the cake and turned to face me. "Although, they used to physically brawl with each other over the tiniest things. But they both have been behaving well since you've been around. So, that's pleasant. No more broken vases."
Kenji brought out the cake and plopped it out of the mold unto a plate. I grabbed a sizeable cake and cut it into 8 slices. The cheesecake turned out genuinely bakery-worthy in both taste and look. I packed four of them and a bunch of other foods before making my way back to Hiro's room. Before I could make it out of the kitchen, the fencing champion stopped me.
"Um… I know I said that he's not as strong and calm as he looks, but he's also not as gentle and stable as he may seem to be. He's been through some stuff in the past, I hope you understand," his face was sullen.
I gave him an assuring smile upon seeing his morose expression, 'don't worry. I'll try my best to help him out. I'm not gonna push him into sharing his story with me.'
"You're a good kid, Ren. I kinda regretted allowing you in the case now. Anyway, I'm going to bring Tadashi some of the cake. See you when I see you," he beamed and faded into the grim hall of the north wing.
Regretting letting me in the case? What ever could that have meant I wondered. I pushed the thought aside and focused on my task in the path of redemption. I knocked on Hiro's door with my house slipper as my hands were occupied with a bulky tray full of proteins and 4 slices of my glorious home-made cheesecakes.
"Woah, let me help you with that," Hiro took the tray from me easily and set it on the coffee table.
I sat shyly on my bean bag as he busied himself with his late dinner. He had his back towards me as I watched him nibble on a chicken wing. Suddenly a strong urge nagged me, and I couldn't stay quiet anymore.
"Never skip a meal ever again," I glowered.