6 The reason

After everyone had some, Hotaro put the cake in the fridge, and then with Julie's help, he started preparing to serve the food. She was amazed at what he made and was looking forward to trying it. They started making the chapatti one by one and put them on a plate. The rice was done cooking completely and the food was all now set on the table.

"By the way Julie-san, where is Kentaro-san?" he asked.

"Oh, my husband is out on a business trip for some days. Now that you made me remember about him, I have to go and talk to him. Ahh, I miss him so much," she said blushing like a teenage girl in love.

Hinami's parents were a very…lovey-dovey couple. There was not one moment that they were together and did not flirt. Even in front of Hotaro and Hinami, they act as a newlywed couple in love but Hotaro doesn't mind it. He in fact finds it very sweet just how much they love each other.

Julie was an exchange student here and she used to go to the same college as Kentaro. They called it love at first sight but it took them about three months to really confess their feeling. When it was done, that was it. After that, their way of treating each other never changed. Someone can see them and can easily say that they are newlywed.

Hotaro placed the food on the table and after Julie came back after saying "I love you" many times on the phone, they started eating the food.

"This is…"

"Not meat…"

"But still…"

"It's delicious," Julie said.

Hotaro puffed out his chest proudly and then proceeds to wipe the gravy on Hana's face with a napkin. What he made was an Indian curry of cottage cheese which they call "paneer" and the dish was called "shahi paneer". The curry was smooth and a little sweet filled with spices and it's smelled heavenly. Everyone was eating it with a satisfied look on their face.

They all noticed the burnt mark on Hotaro's hand but no one commented about it.

"Thank you for the meal," they all said together.

"Man, that was a good meal. Hotaro, you have finally reached mom's level," Hinami said.

"That is crediting me too much."

"No Hotaro-kun, I can say that it really was this good," Julie said.

"Now you are embarrassing me."

"Onii-chan makes the best food in the world!" Hana exclaimed proudly.

"It was not bad," Akari said.

Soon after Julie and Hinami left the house and Hana and Akari went to watch the television while Hotaro was cleaning the dishes. Hana stared at Akari for some time.

"What is it Hana-chan?" Akari asked Hana not being able to ignore Hana's stare.

"Akari-nee-chan, I wanted to ask you something," she asked her. "What does fiancée mean?"

Akari choked a little on the water she was drinking. She then quickly looked back at Hana's face who innocently tilted her head.

"Well…" she tried to lie but seeing Hana's face she was defeated. "It means soon-to-be or future wife or future husband."

"Then you are Onii-chan's future wife?" she asked her making her chock on the water again.

"I am supposed to be…not that I want to. It all happened against my will," she said gritting her teeth.

"Why don't you want to? Onii-chan is really nice and kind. He promised that he would never send me away and even get me anything I wanted though it cost a lot," she said innocently.

"You won't understand it right now. Once you get older, you will know what I meant," she said.

"Then do you hate Onii-chan?"

"Hate, is not the right word but I can say I don't like him at all," she said.

"B-"

"That is enough, for now, Hana, go brush your teeth and take a bath. I had already heated the bathtub and your clothes are out on your bed," Hotaro said interrupting the two.

"Okay, Onii-chan, let's take the bath together," she said jumping off the couch and pulling his hand.

"Eh? Not today but someday, okay?" he said.

Hana nodded her head and then went upstairs. Hotaro looked at Akari who was staring at Hana walk away.

"Hajime-san, there is a bath down here also. You can go and take a bath too," he suggested to her.

"No thank you, I don't have my clothes with me right now," she said. "And don't think about lending me your clothes."

"Why would I do that? You clearly won't like that. I was about to say that if it's fine with you, I can ask Hinami to lend you her clothes."

"No need for that. I can take a bath tomorrow when my stuff arrives here," she said and tugged her knees close to her.

Hotaro didn't ask anything else and sat down a little away from her looking at the television. It was a comedy sketch that was airing. It was not too good but was not bad either.

"Say, Fuji-kun," Akari said out of the blue. "Don't you hate me? For bullying you and all."

Hotaro stared at the television and did not answer his question. Akari looked back at the show and there was some silence between the two.

"I don't hate you Hajime-san," Hotaro said surprising her. "I am sure you are thinking I am either lying or I am an idiot but either way, I don't hate you or my classmates."

"Why?"

"I have no idea," Hotaro said to himself but was loud enough for letting Akari hear it.

It really was the truth, no matter how much he was beaten up, insulted, drowned, bullied, he never hated any one of his bullies. He himself knows that it is not normal but he cannot find a proper reason for why he is like that.

He looked at Akari who was clenching her fist and gritting her teeth.

"I hate people like you the most," she growled at him.

"Good to hear that," he said.

She stood up and with heavy footsteps walked out of the house slamming the door close. Hotaro lets out a sigh and decided to give her some alone time for now.

Akari was walking outside not knowing where she was heading to. The answer of Hotaro irritated her a lot. He just sounded like her elder sister. At that point, she remembered why she started all this. Hotaro gave off the same aura as her elder sister.

Now, Akari didn't hate her sister. She loved her, a lot. She was a kind person who would step forward to help anyone without a second thought. She was an ideal person in eyes of anyone and also an ideal woman. She was really beautiful which was both her gift and curse. Having to deal with confessions of boys every single day, she had a lot on her plate. Some boys were a bit too extreme and went on to even stalk her wherever she went.

Akari confronted one such stalker who was standing outside their house and she made him go away. Her sister on the other hand didn't like how she treated him.

"I don't really hate them for that," she said. "Even I don't know the reason why."

The next day her sister's body was found in the middle of the road along with the boy who Akari met yesterday outside their house. They didn't actually know what happened but it was said that the boy was on the roof of a building for some time and then he jumped off while holding the arm of another girl and the both of them fell down the building.

Akari was devastated when she heard the news. She knew that her sister probably saw the boy and then went to help him but he made her fall down with him. Her will to help anyone led to her own death.

Hotaro gave off a similar feel around him and that made her angry. She hated these types of people though Akari was not really sure if he was actually like that. She kept walking quickly not knowing where she was going for longer losing track of time. It was actually one hour.

"Hey you pretty girl over there," came a voice from behind her.

Akari came back to her senses and turned around to find herself in a dimly lit street. Standing before her were some boys and she knew that they were bad news.

"Where are you going this late at night?"

"How about you come with us?"

"Yeah, we will help you get back."

They surrounded her and Akari was terrified. She had no idea what to do. She wanted to cry out for help but the voice did not come out of her mouth.

"Bro, she is so beautiful, how about we have some fun with her?"

"Hey, come with us. We will make you feel really good."

Akari retracted her steps but she was surrounded all around. She dropped down and the grin on the boys' face widened seeing her all vulnerable. They extended their hands and she closed her eyes.

"Akari, there you are," she heard a familiar voice.

They all turned around and Hotaro was standing there with his hands in his pocket. Her eyes widened seeing him. There was one question lingering in her mind which was, how did he get here?

"Thank you all for helping me find her," he said walking towards them.

"Huh? Who are you? Trying to act cool?"

"Not really, I am just here to get my girlfriend. We got in a little fight and she ran away. She is a pain in the ass sometimes," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey you brat, don't try acting smart with us. You think you are hot shit," he said grabbing Hotaro's collar and pulling him closer towards him but Hotaro's face didn't change.

"Aneki, show this brat what it means trying to play smart with us."

"No…" Akari muttered scared.

"Really, I am confused why don't you believe me? I am just here to get my girlfriend. I would like to thank you for keeping her here or who knows when I would find her," Hotaro said in a calm voice.

The guy glared at Hotaro but he did not change his expression. He had a small smile on his face. The delinquent smirked seeing this and brought Hotaro's face closer to his.

"Thanks won't make it brat. You need to pay up," he said to him.

"How much?" Hotaro asked them making everyone there surprised. "How much do you want me to pay?"

"Hm, then give me ten thousand yens. Be happy that we are letting you off at so cheap," he said to him.

Hotaro reached for his pocket and made the guy let go of his collar. He then took out a wallet and dug his hands in it and then took out some notes and threw it in the air at them.

"Here, twenty thousand yens. Take this as thanks for letting us off easily," he said.

While everyone had their eyes on the money, Hotaro quickly ran and grabbed Akari's hand and started running away. The delinquents started collecting the money and when they looked back, Hotaro and Akari were no longer in their sight. He was walking in a tight alleyway still holding Akari's hand and pulling her with him. He got out and let out a heavy sigh.

"I am happy I found you soon or who knows what they would have done to you. Also, sorry for suddenly using your first name Hajime-san," Hotaro said breathing heavily.

He was not the most athletic person so even doing this much was too much for him. Akari stared at him and did not say anything. She just started walking away but then stopped in her tracks and looked behind. Hotaro was still breathing heavily and he looked at her.

He let out a little laugh and then started walking.

"You don't know which way is back, do you?" he said and Akari looked the other way embarrassed.

They both walked together on their way back and Akari glanced at Hotaro. He was acting like nothing really happened and had a carefree smile on his face.

"How did you find me?" Akari asked him.

"It was just a coincidence. I thought that you were out a little too late when I was putting Hana to sleep and you did not come back. We both got lucky that I found you," he said and looked at the sky. The stars were not really properly seen in the city but a few were still there.

"Twenty thousand yens, why did you pay that much to those people? They didn't deserve it and why did you even have that much money with you."

"I have some spare cash in my wallet the entire time because I normally forget it there, haha," he laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Also I could have paid more if it meant getting you out of that situation Hajime-san. Twenty thousand yens is a small price to pay for saving you. Or do you like selling yourself short?"

They both continued walking and Akari had her head facing down. She looked at Hotaro and he had no look of pride on his face. He did not feel like he did something big.

"You are an idiot and I hate you," she said.

"Good to hear that."

They reached their house and Akira almost said "I'm back." Hotaro took off his shoes and the first thing he did was to send Akari to the bathroom. She protested but Hotaro didn't listen to her.

She entered the bathroom and the bathtub was already heated to a proper temperature and there were a fresh pair of clothes kept there along with a new towel. She looked at them and they were a perfect size. Almost as if he knew what size her clothes were off. She let out a sigh and took her bath. It was really nice.

By the time she came out and was drying her hair, she found Hotaro talking on the phone with someone. She did not hear the context of the conversation but when he turned to see her, he gave her a soft smile. Cutting the phone call, he looked back at her.

"Looks like they fit you, Julie-san's intuitions are scarily accurate," Hotaro said and Akari tilted her head in confusion. "She was the one who bought these for you as a "gift" though I ended up making her take the money for it. Turns out she knows how to give things that a person really needs. By the way, your blanket is already out so you can go to sleep. Good night Hajime-san."

Hotaro started heading up the stairs and Akari just watched him go. She held her head and let unknowingly smiled a little.

"You are such an idiot."

Hotaro was in his bedroom and was turning and twisting in his bed again and again. He could not sleep properly but he tried his best. Soon he was able to sleep peacefully for some time.

At around 3:01 AM Hotaro was woken up from his sleep by someone. He opened his drowsy eyes and saw a small figure standing before him. Hana was standing there holding her bunny plush close to her and looked at Hotaro with tears in her eyes.

"Hana? What happened? Another nightmare?" he asked her and this time she nodded her head.

"Onii-chan, you will not send me away, right? You won't leave me if I am a bad girl right?" she asked him.

Hotaro picked her up and hugged her close to his chest. He gently pats her head gently. He gave her a little kiss on the cheek making her calm down.

"Don't worry Hana, I won't leave you nor will I send you away even if you become a bad girl. Though I would like if you don't become one," he said softly.

"Really?" she asked him innocently.

"Yes," he said while still patting her head.

The door of his room was open and Akari was standing there but the siblings could not see her. She heard the contents of their conversation and then proceeds to turn away and go downstairs.

The thing was that she had a habit of sleepwalking.

Hotaro tucked Hana in her blanket and felt the urge to go to the washroom so he did and saw the silhouette of Akari going downstairs. Being curious, he followed her and found her walking around with her eyes closed, she was about to trip at the main doorway but before she could hit her face on the wall, Hotaro grabbed her and pulled her back.

He looked at her face and she was still asleep. He lets out a sigh and slinging her arm around his neck, he started taking her to her room but she wouldn't budge.

"Please forgive me Hajime-san," he muttered and then picked her up. "You're too heavy. Good thing that you are asleep when I am saying this."

He started walking upstairs with Akari in his arms and went to her room and placed her on the bed and tucked her under the blanket. Before he was going to leave, she grabbed his hand and her hand was also shivering.

"Please don't go," she muttered under her breath. "Please stay nee-san."

Thinking why are both the girls in his house muttering about letting someone stay, he made her let go of his arm and then walked out of the room slowly closing it.

'That was…something. What happened to her sister?'

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