"Ren!!!" Claudia ran up to me.
"Hey guys. What have you been up to?" I looked around at our group of friends.
"The club is dying without you. When are you coming back?" Clause pouted.
"I'm currently busy with a research paper. But Hiro is helping me with it. So, I should be done in a few weeks or so. I heard that you've been helping out, Suze?" I faced the former captain.
"Yeah, some of them are beyond my help. But we're still working on it. We are training one of the rookies for the next Kappa house tournament this fall," she elaborated.
"Can we take the conversation inside? I'm starving!" Michael retorted.
"You just had a snack in the car," Claudia argued.
"It was just one bag of chips," he countered as we walked into the dining room.
"Hiro!" Suze exclaimed.
"Hey, everyone looks comfortable with each other," my fake boyfriend eyed the couples.
"Yeah, we started dating about a month ago," Michael put his arm around Claudia.
"That's good news," he smiled.
"So, you're not gonna tell us about how you two managed to get together?" Suze asked.
"Well, I was just helping her with her research paper, and we got close."
"Typical Hiro. You finally got yourself a girl and it began with doing assignments. But I'm happy for you nonetheless," his friend patted his back.
A waiter came in to serve the food and took our drink orders.
"I'll have the special lemonade," Clause ordered.
"Me too," our friends echoed.
"I'll share a pot of green tea with Ren," Hiro closed his menu.
"I didn't know you're not a fan of lemonades," Michael pointed out.
"I'm allergic to citrus. So is everyone in my family."
"That sucks," Suze mumbled.
We went about our dinner talking about an upcoming movie in the cinema and how they wanted to go on a triple date. Now that my classes had started again, it was getting harder and harder to balance every activity in my agenda.
Hiro's brothers had gotten the hang of the firm's operation and monitoring opponent movements. It made Hiro's schedule more flexible, and he actually had been helping me with some schoolwork.
The situation had stabilized over the last week of work and our effort had finally seem to pay off on our case. We collected enough evidence to support Kenichi's sons to inherit the company instead of going to Roberto's hand.
I finally felt like I could enjoy some time off with my friends and focus on my grades. Hiro's phone rang and he excused himself to answer the call as the waiter served our dessert.
"How does it feel being a part of the Tanaka family?" Suze asked.
"Yeah, you never share anything about it with us," Claudia joined in curiously.
"Normal, I guess. They just live in a bigger house and sounds smarter than most people," I shrugged.
"We've been friends with him for almost a year and neither of us have been to his house. How was it? How big was the pool? Does he sleep on a king-sized bed? Do they eat caviar for breakfast? Do they eat with gold cutleries?" Michael jumped in.
"Big, no, no, and no. They're not royal with money like that."
"Does he let you borrow his designer hoodies or baggy shirts?" Claudia swooned.
"Yeah, of course," I lied.
" bet they eat gourmet food for every meal though. You know he has expensive taste," Michael pondered.
"You're talking about me?" Hiro came in.
"No," his friend shook his head.
"Sure,' he smiled, "sorry about that, my brother just called from the hospital."
"How's your dad?" Suze asked.
"He's getting better."
"What about your mom?"
"Yeah, she's doing well too."
"That's nice to hear," Clause uttered.
Hiro was lying when he said that his dad was doing better. His heart condition kept getting weaker every day. His mom had been spending most of her time next to him in the hospital and handed over the restaurant to Kenji. But as for her health, she was still as strong as a stallion. She was the one in charge of appointing the brothers with basic tasks.
Our meeting with our friends was brief and we parted ways after the last course. Clause drove Suze home and Michael went home with Claudia. Hiro had a subtle crinkle on his forehead that he often showed when he was concerned over something. After his phone call, I noticed a slight change in his demeanor. But I managed to save it until we were alone in his car.
"Are you worried about something?" I touched his shoulder.
"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. Do you have anything tomorrow?" he turned to face me.
"Not really. I just need to send an email of my essay."
"Do you have it with you right now?"
"Yeah, it's in my laptop. Why?"
"Spend the night at my house. I have a bad feeling about something," he faced the road again.
His cryptic words made me feel an uneasy feeling in my stomach. He was rarely worried or bothered by things. We spent the ride to his house in silence as I played with my phone to distract myself from the empty air between us. He opened the door for me and walked me inside as Makoto, his butler, carried our things to his room.
He showed me to a fancy guest room and told me that I would be staying there for the night as we might have a prolonged brainstorming session. I had an inkling that he had gathered a new information that might compromise our case. Hiro told me to stay there as he went in his room to grab something.
"Here, I'm sure it's going to be over-sized on you. But we don't have a sister nor do we get female guests that often," he handed me a black t-shirt and basketball shorts.
"Oh, thanks. Whose pants are these? They don't look like they fit you," I unfolded the clothes.
"It was from my freshman year."
"What about the shirt?"
"It's one of my most favorite house shirt."
"How come I never see you wear them?"
"I don't usually walk around in my pajamas in front of you."
"Fair enough."
"Towels are in the bathroom, toiletries in the cabinets, and more pillows in the closet. Come to my room when you're done showering," he closed the door, leaving me alone in the massive room.