Hotaro's eyes then fell on a familiar face. There was a teenage girl standing among them who looked at him with a surprised look on her face. Her long black hair fell down her back and her red eyes were looking at him with a surprised look on her face. She was his classmate, Hajime Akari. She was one of the first people who started the entire bullying.
Having not too tall, nor too short height and generous proportion, she was the without a doubt the prettiest girl in the entire school. She was also quite popular since she was good in both academics and athletics.
"You…" she said looking at him and Hana hid behind Hotaro and Hinami stood next to him.
"Do you mind stating your business here?" he asked in an unwavering voice.
Taking into consideration that the people standing before him recognized him as his parent's son, he knew that this was something troublesome. The man had an intimidating aura around him and his eyes felt like he could kill you with just his gaze. His crimson red eyes were looking down at him as if looking at a subject of interest but Hotaro did not falter.
The woman standing beside him had brown hair and light brown eyes. The details of her face were really pretty and she was indeed a beauty.
"We have something to discuss about your future. So, do you mind letting us in?" the woman asked in a sweet voice.
Knowing that he could not get out of this situation easily, he complied with them and opened the door. He told them to sit in the living room. He went and kept all the bags in Hana's room. She was holding onto his sleeve the entire time. When all three of them entered there, Hinami finally spoke.
"What on earth is going on?" Hinami asked.
"I have no idea but I have a feeling it would not be something pleasant," Hotaro said and kneeling down holding Hana's shoulders. "Now listen here Hana. Onii-chan will go down and talk to those people, okay? So how about you decorate your room along with Hinami?"
His voice sounded was as if he was pleading her to do this but she shook her head.
"No, I will also go with Onii-chan. Please let me come with you," she said to him.
Hotaro shook his head but she looked at him with pleading eyes. After some seconds, he let out a defeated sigh and nodded. Standing up, he grabbed her hand and then looked at Hinami.
"You can go home if you want Hinami or stay in this room and unpack everything," he asked her.
"What? Why can't I come down with you? Don't you trust me?" she protested.
"I trust you more than anyone but I also know you very well. I don't want you to act rash or break some of their bones. So you stay here or go home," he said and his words carried weight to them.
Hinami nodded and he then, along with Hana walked towards the kitchen. He asked her to bring him a tray while he filled three glasses of water. He placed them on a tray and then entered the living room. Their eyes fell on him and he walked forward and placed the glasses of water before them. He then sat down opposite to them with Hana sitting beside him clinging to his arm.
"Now would you explain me what is going on?" he asked the man.
"Very well, I am Hajime Asahi, and this here is my wife Sanae and I am sure that you already know my daughter judging from her reaction from before," he said and Hotaro nodded his head.
"Your parents I have been business partners for the longest time. I can say that he is a very good friend of mine," he went on. "Now, since you know that, the reason why I am here is that…my daughter Akari, is your fiancée and from today, she will be living with you here since we have to move outside for business today with your parents. Our old house will also be broken down and will be used to make an office there. It is in the heart of the city."
He dropped the bomb and there was complete silence in the room. Hotaro's face did not change his expression, Hana was wondering what a fiancée meant.
"What?! I did not agree to this!" Akari shouted standing up. His father glared at her and she shuts her mouth and sit back down. "Why do I have to live with this loser?" she muttered.
"I decline," Hotaro said calmly.
"You don't have that option young man. It was already decided long ago and we decided to disclose it to you a little later but due to the-"
"I said, I decline," Hotaro repeated his words in a more assertive voice.
"Onii-chan, will that pretty Onee-san live with us now?" she asked him tugging his sleeve.
He looked at Hana and gave her a smile and pat her head gently. They looked at this sudden change in his behavior and the adults were quite amazed by it. The current smile he had was really warm and kind.
"Young man, as I said you cannot decline," Asahi said again making Hotaro turn towards him. His smile disappeared but he had no negative emotions towards them. "I have taken quite a liking of you and if you want to discuss this matter, talk to your father about it."
Hotaro let out a sigh and took out his mobile phone and handed it to Asahi. He was confused by this and looked at him and tilted his head.
"Can you please enter his number?" he asked surprising the guests. "I don't have his number and it has been really long since I last heard their voice. So, can you please enter his number?"
"V-very well," Asahi said and entered the number on Hotaro's phone. "But I am surprised that you don't have your parent's number."
"Sir, there are many things you don't know about a person so it's not much of a surprise, though it should be," he muttered the last part to himself and stood up. "Please excuse me, I would like to talk to him alone. Hana, you can stay here or go up to help Hinami. She is probably decorating your room."
Hana nodded her head and went upstairs. Hotaro went to the kitchen and locked the door. All the rooms in this house were soundproof and Hotaro knew that because he would never get caught in hide and seek when he played in his house even if he shouted as long as Hinami is not in the same room as him.
A bit hesitant, he took a deep breath calming himself down and called the number. The bell rang and rang for some time and finally someone picked it up from the other side.
"Who is it?" came a mature voice from the other side.
"It's me old man, Hotaro," he said.
"What did you call me for? I hope you didn't do it to waste my time. If so, I am cutting the call," he said.
"The Hajime's are here," Hotaro said. "And I got to know about your plans. What will you even gain from marrying me to their daughter?"
"You are just a kid so you don't need to know that. Just do as your father told you to," his father said an annoyed tone.
"Father? That's funny, because last time I checked, you never saw me as your child," Hotaro said being restless. "I am not playing your little game."
There was some silence from the other side and Hotaro thought the talk was over, so he started to end the call.
"I don't want to hear that from you, I am the reason you are even existing, you are my property so listen to me," he said.
"I won't, what can you possibly do? Cut the money you are sending? I can just sell this house and get enough money to get me and Hana through for three years and then I can get a job and earn on my own," Hotaro said in a mocking voice.
"If you don't want to listen to me, then do so, the choice is yours," he said and Hotaro felt relieved. "I have other business partners and they have sons of the same age as Hana," he said.
As he dropped the bomb, Hotaro gripped his phone hard and grits his teeth.
"Don't even think of doing something like that," he said stopping his rage from coming out.
"As I said, the choice is yours. Listen to what you are told or I will make a contract with another one of my partners for Hana. They will not be as easy to handle as the Hajime's," he said.
Hotaro cut the call immediately and gripped his phone hard. He placed it on the table realizing that his father knew he wouldn't listen to him so he used Hana as a bargaining chip. Hotaro finally let out an angry scream and banged his hand on the table.
After some time, he took some deep breath and calmed himself down. Knowing that there was nothing he could do nothing now, he regained his composure and then entered the living room. Sanae was trying to say something to Akari while patting her back but she had an angry look on her face. Asahi looked at Hotaro and the other two also followed his gaze.
"I agree to it," he said in a voice as almost nothing happened.
"Haa! What? Why is no one asking me anything and just doing whatever they want?" Akari said annoyed and angry. "Why do I have to stay with this guy? You both don't even know what kind of person he is and you are leaving your daughter to live wi-"
"Akari," Asahi said in an ordering voice. "It is already decided. Your stuff will come here by tomorrow morning. End of discussion."
Both of them stood up from their seat and started walking out leaving Akari there. Hotaro followed them to the door and they both turned around facing him. Both their expression were a little softened from before.
"Take care of our girl Hotaro-kun. She can be a bit difficult but she is a good girl at heart," Sanae said clasping Hotaro's hands. "Sorry for doing this."
"Sanae, let's go," Asahi said and she let go of his hand.
They walked out and Hotaro stared at the door and then turned around seeing some brown hairs coming out from the living room door. He walked towards there and saw Akari standing with her back next to the window frame.
Seeing Hotaro, she glared at him clenching her fist.
"Don't get any weird ideas in your head just because of what happened right now. I don't want to be near a creep like you," she growled at him.
"The bedroom is on the floors above so when you calm down, choose whichever you want. The two on the right are mine and Hana's rooms," Hotaro said in a calm voice which annoyed her even more.
Giving her some room, he walked away from her before she blows up at him. He head upstairs and opened the door of Hana's room. Upon entering, his feet stopped because the room was almost given a complete makeover. The clothes that were bought for Hana were still being placed in the closet. The walls were decorated with cute animals. There was a big poster on the wall next to Hana's bed which had the magical girl from the show she saw yesterday. It felt a lot more girly than just being a plane room. Seeing him, Hana ran up to him.
"What do you think Onii-chan? How is my room?" she asked him hugging his legs.
"It looks really good Hana, but the question is do you like your room? You will spend a lot of time here," he said patting her head.
"Mhm, I love it. Also, Hinami-nee-chan is really angry when I told her what happened down there. I don't know why," she said pointing at Hinami.
She looked at Hotaro and walked towards him closing the distance between the two. Her face was really close to his.
"Did you agree to that?" she asked him and Hotaro nodded. She was taken back by this but she then grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him. "You dumbass, what were you thinking? I thought when you wanted to talk alone, you reject the offer. Do have any idea what you did?"
"Hinami," Hotaro said stopping her. "I had no choice. That old man had already thought everything. He said if I didn't do this, he would find one for Hana and force her to marry that boy when the time comes. I couldn't do anything," he whispered in her ear making sure Hinami didn't hear that.
Hinami let out a sigh and put some distance between the two.
"Sorry for snapping at you, so who is she? She sure is good looking," she said.
"Okay, now listen to me with a clear mind. Don't just run towards her," he said to her.
"Yeah, I don't want to hurt your future wife."
"Future wife?" Hana said tilting her head confused.
"She is Hajime Akira…from my class," Hotaro said and then the room went in complete silence. Hinami's expression darkened hearing the last part. "Hey Hinami, l-"
Before he could complete his sentence, Hinami pushed him out of the way and ran downstairs. Hotaro hit his back against the door and Hana ran to him worriedly. The more important issue for him right now was stopping Hinami.
She jumped down and then ran towards the living room seeing Akari sitting in the couch with an angry look on her face. She looked at Hinami and Hinami leaped at her catching her off guard. Akari just dodged her by a little gap and Hinami fell down the couch. She then ran towards her and Akari who had no idea what was going on, ran away from her. She went towards the exit of the living room and found Hotaro standing before her. Before, she could say anything, he shoved her aside and received a punch in the face making him fall down hitting the wall.
"Onii-chan!" Hana shouted and ran towards him.
Hotaro winced in pain and Hana went and shook him lightly with tears forming in her eyes. Some blood came out of his mouth since he cut his tongue when he got punched. Seeing the blood, Hana panicked and stood up but Hotaro stopped her.
"Shhh, don't cry Hana, I am fine," he told her gently stroking her hair.
Due to this incident, both the other girls stopped in their places and just stared at Hotaro who was gently stroking Hana's hair. She was crying and hugged him burying her face in his chest. He looked at Hinami and she stiffened.
"This is why I told you to not do anything like this. Now don't just stand there and apologize to Hajime-san for this," he said to her in an ordering voice.
"Bu-"
"Apologize," he said lowering his voice making her stop protesting.
Hinami turned towards Akira and the bowed down.
"I'm sorry," she said in while gritting her teeth.
Both of them were surprised from the tone in which Hotaro just talked. It was something neither of them have ever heard. It sent chills down both their spines. Well, it was rare for him to get this angry and the last time was when he talked with his father.
Hana who finally calmed down looked at Hotaro and he gave her a reassuring smile. She looked at the other two a little scared but Hotaro told her its fine. He then walked towards the bathroom to clean off the blood.
It took some time to stop the bleeding but luckily, it was not a deep cut so it was easy to stop. It still hurts and he doubts he could eat anything and his mouth was now craving to eat something sweet after tasting the metallic blood. He walked out and found the three sitting in the living room silent. Hana had no idea what actually was going on so was just putting a finger on her lip.
Hotaro entered and all eyes were on him. He had cleaned off the blood from his mouth acted like nothing happened. He sat down beside Hana who looked at him and signaled him to place a finger on his lips. He smiled at that and then looked at the two perpetrators sitting before him. He was surprised that they could sit next to each other right now.
"Now, should I explain everything from the start or does anyone has to say something?" he asked the two.
"Why did you get in the way?" Hinami asked him glaring at Akari.
"Because I don't want you to hurt Hajime-san when she just came here. Also, thanks to that I hope you keep your temper under control more Hinami," he said and she clicked her tongue.
She was angry at the fact that Hotaro jumped in and got hurt. The person she was mad at was not Hotaro but herself, because she could not restrain herself, because she acted without thinking, Hotaro got hurt and Hana started crying. The mere mention of people bullying Hotaro made Hinami furious because there were countless times when he was always there to help her. He would always to listen what she had to say and would never get irritated of that.
Hotaro was like a brother to Hinami and she didn't want to hurt her brother under any circumstances.
"Now for Hajime-san who probably has no idea what just happened, no, Hinami is not my girlfriend but my neighbor and best friend. She knows everything that has happened to me, at home and at school," he said putting emphasis on the last part. "Listen, like you, I am also against this "deal" our parents have but I cannot help it."
"You cannot help it you say? What do you mean by that?" she asked him glaring at him. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS STUPID SITUATION? IF YOU WERE AGIANST IT SO MUCH THEN WHY DID YOU SAY YES TO THIS?"
She ended up shouting loudly scaring Hana who grabbed Hotaro's arm hid her face behind Hotaro. Hinami was about to say something but he stopped her and Akari continued shouting and complaining. Hotaro covered Hana's ears and told her to not say anything. The best way to not be angry and frustrated is by taking it out.
When she finally stopped and calmed down. She was still breathing heavily. Hotaro told Hana to go and get a glass of water and she did as he said. After some time, she came back and Hotaro placed the glass before Akari.
"Drink up, your throat will be dry after all this screaming," he said and Akari picked up the glasses and drank the contents in one go. "Have you calmed down now? So listen, the reason why I agreed to this is that I was given a choice by…my father and I could not choose the other one."
"What was the other choice?" she asked him and he looked towards Hana.
"Hana, can you go to your room please? Take Hinami with you and both can continue decorating your room," he said to her with a smile.
She tried to protest but ends up agreeing to him. She took Hinami along with her. He watched them leaving and when the left and he confirmed they were both upstairs, he looked back at Akari.
"He said that if I don't agree to it, he would set up Hinami with the son of another business partner of his, and I cannot let that happen, no matter what," he said closing his hand in a fist.
"So you agreed because you don't want your sister to be forced into anything against her will?" she asked him and he nodded.
"There is one more reason why I am letting you stay and it has nothing to do with your mother asking me to do so," he continued. "They said that they are going away for business and your house will be broken down so where will you live?"
"Why does that concern you? I can live at my friends' house, I am sure they will let me stay," she said.
"For how long? One day , one week, one month, one year? How long will you be living there?" he asked her and she could not say anything. "Look, I am not pitying you if you are getting that idea in your head. You can say that it is just my nature so for your good, you will stay here now and I am not asking for anything in return."
There was complete silence between the two, Hotaro leaned back and crossed his arms staring at Akira. She was grabbing the end of her skirt tightly. She understood that what Hotaro said was correct. She had no other choice. Right now, she wanted to argue against Hotaro to prove him wrong in any way. She had always been the best at everything she did and was always the one telling others what should be done but here she was silence by a boy who was the common bullying target of the entire class.
What more, was that she was one of the people who started this and since she was really popular, the others just joined in thinking it was alright to do so. It was not long before everyone joined in bullying him. They would insult him, write things on his desk, put glue and pins on his seat, beat him up, throw toilet water on him and even sometimes drown his head in the toilet. They even forgot the reason why it all started. That guy silenced her. She was told that every person had two side to them and this was definitely the other side of Hotaro. Calm, collected, analytic and kind. She could tell that he was a kind guy when she saw him warmly smiling at Hana.
"You are such an idiot," she muttered but Hotaro heard that.
"I hear that every day in school. Now, the main question" he said seriously and Akari gulped. "What are your thoughts on Indian food?"
"Huh?" She was confused by the question and could not understand why he said this.
"I am thinking of making Indian food today so I was asking if you are okay with it," he said.
"Sure, I like it but you can cook?" she said surprised.
"I had to, have been living on my own since second grade so had to make sure I don't trouble others and get healthy food in my body," he said and Akari's eyes widened. The look on her face told that she could not believe what she was hearing. "To my parents, I and Hana are nothing but their property. They do whatever they want and just ignore their kids. I just met Hana for the first time yesterday when they sent her here to me so that I take care of her."
Akari still could not believe what she heard. Leaving a kid on his own when he was about seven years old was no laughing matter and when he said that he met Hana yesterday was even more shocking. He was willing to go against his will and agree to something for someone he just met yesterday.
"I am not joking here Hajime-san," he said and his eyes said that he was telling the truth.
"Why tell me this?" she asked him clenching her fist.
"You will be living with us from here on now, so I just tell these things. I don't expect you to disclose anything to right now," he said and stood up finally.
"Now, that I remember, isn't today my birthday?" he thought out loud.
"Huh?" she said and Hotaro turned around looking at his "birthday present".
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