Chapter 3: Siblings

"You're the spy aren't you, Ikeda-chan?" Yatogami smiled at Harumi however Harumi didn't react. Harumi then brushed past Yatogami and opened the door and just as she was about to close it someone spoke.

"Harumi…" I called as I put down her phone on the table. "Your brother…he's conscious."

Harumi stopped at the door. I didn't need to see her know what was shown on her face. Her eyes widened, her breathing rate became quicker and cold sweat formed on her forehead. Fear.

She then ran through the hallway and went past Akito who had just come out of the living room with Yanagizawa and Kaori. Ryoko was about to run after her before I stopped her.

"I'll go after her." I told Ryoko as I picked up Harumi's phone which I had put on the table after she had received the call from the hospital and walked out of the corridor.

I found Harumi standing in front of the hospital building but she wasn't going in. There wasn't anyone around so it was just me and Harumi.

"It was you…" She muttered to herself. I walked closer and closer to her. She then kicked in my direction and I would've been hit by her if I hadn't moved back.

Ankle weights?

Harumi was wearing baggy trousers before but now when she had tried to kick me it revealed her weights. She then tried crouching on the floor and tried to kick my leg to make me lose my balance but I also dodged it however she didn't end there, she then had gone for another kick that was going to hit my head however I grabbed her leg and threw her which resulted in Harumi falling to the ground and hitting her head however it didn't seem like it bothered her as she then grabbed my arm and tried to throw me onto the ground but she couldn't as I had stopped it by lifting her into the air and throwing her back to the ground.

"You're fast and have some amount of knowledge in martial arts and your endurance is not to be underestimated however there's still room for improvement, Harumi." Harumi didn't look angry but looked surprised.

"Tadashi…who are you really?" Harumi said. "Be honest with me, you lied about your identity didn't you?"

"You're the first to work that out, Ikeda Harumi." I looked at her face which was still stunned. "Let's go meet your brother."

We then entered the hospital and found Harumi's brother's room with the doctor's help.

We found Ikeda Shuichi looking out of the window.

"…Nii-chan…"

"Harumi…"

I left the room so that the two siblings can have their moment. I explored the hospital and found that several other students were there however they weren't from the first year.

"Tadashi-kun? What are you doing here?"

I turned around to see who it was and I found Ayumi standing behind me.

"Nee-chan?"

We sat down somewhere near Harumi's brother's room with bottles of water in our hands.

"So, why are you here?" Ayumi asked me.

"Harumi's brother, Ikeda Shuichi has woken up from his coma." I told her.

"Ah, the coma you put him in." Ayumi smiled as she spoke. I then looked at her and she read my thoughts instantly just from reading my facial expressions. "There aren't many people who could put someone in a coma for that long with just a single hit in the school you know."

Harumi had then come out of the room with a smile on her face which faded away as she looked at me and Ayumi.

"My brother said he wanted to meet the boy who was with me." Harumi said as she looked me dead in the eye.

"I guess that's me." I sighed as I got up from my seat and headed into the room. The door then closed behind me leaving only me and Harumi's brother in the room alone.

I walked over to his bed and instantly, Ikeda Shuichi had already started to attack me. He threw a punch at me with insane speed. His punch was much faster than Ishigami's, probably three times or four times his speed. I caught the punch with ease and threw it to the side.

"So Yo…Tsukamoto Tadashi, how have you been?" Ikeda asked. I sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"I'm alright I guess. The plan's working, Shuichi."

"What alias should I call you by?" Shuichi asked me but it didn't seem like he asked me, more like he was speaking to himself. "Ah, your "Greatest Detective" alias, Akamine Arita. So, Arita-kun, how do you like school?"

"Shuichi, don't ask such meaningless questions. You do as you are asked and obey orders for now." Shuichi didn't say anything. "You've taught your sister well."

"You know I didn't teach her anything."

"Yeah I know but you understand what I mean don't you." I said as I leaned back in my chair.

"In the two years that I wasn't home, Harumi had grown more than I thought."

"Little sisters can be terrifying." Shuichi looked at me and agreed.

"Yeah, they are."

"It's getting late now so I'm going then." I said as I got up from the chair and opened the door. I looked back at him and sighed.

"78164." I said before I left the room.

"06286." I heard just before the door closed.

I then walked over to the waiting room to find Ayumi and Harumi waiting for me.

"How's Shuichi?" Ayumi asked me.

"He's fine." I replied.

* * * * * *

I found Ishigami Hanako waiting outside the cafe with an annoyed expression on her face. She was holding a black folder in her hand and stared blankly at the blue sky. She wore her usual outfit, nothing too out of the ordinary.

"What's wrong?" I asked her as I approached her. Ishigami didn't flinch almost as if she had seen me however she only turned her head to look at me before looking back at the sky.

"Can't you see it?"

Has this girl finally gone mad?

"See what?" I asked. Other than the lack of clouds in the sky there wasn't anything to look at.

"Your chances of ever pleasing a girl."

"There's more of a chance of me getting a girlfriend than you ever receiving any sort of love from your brother." I said to her calmly.

"Why are you late? We agreed to meet up at 5 o'clock and now it's six past five." She didn't look pleased.

"You're lucky I even came; I have better things to do."

"Like what?" Before I could answer Ishigami spoke. "I brought the files."

"And I've found out who the spy of the Aurelius group is."

Ishigami looked at me as if she didn't expect me to find it. It did make sense as I have only gone out to school and nothing else for the past days so finding out who the spy was shouldn't be possible however I still receive information from Kaori, Akito, Ryoko and Yatogami and with those four alone I have some ideas who the spies are.

"You have?" She asked but she didn't expect an answer. "I didn't know you were capable of that."

"Let's not lie here, Ishigami-san. Anyways let's eat I'm hungry." Ishigami then burst out laughing.

"Did you really think we were going to eat?" Ishigami laughed.

"Speak for yourself." I said as I entered the restaurant. Ishigami followed me as she didn't have any choice because I was helping her.

We sat down at a table and ordered our food.

"Oh I forgot to ask you, did you do anything to my brother?" Ishigami looked at me, not even blinking.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

I didn't do anything to Ishigami Tatsuya, have I?

"He called off the duel."

Those words resonated in my head. Ishigami's brother wasn't the type to back down from a fight. He always believed he was the best but now he has suddenly said to call off the duel.

It was no doubt that Shuichi has played a part in this. He must've found out about the duel and is now keeping my identity hidden. Ishigami Tatsuya would have no chance in a fight against Shuichi and with some training, he soon wouldn't have a chance against Harumi but regardless of that, Shuichi has done something and it might create something new.

"You know who it was so why are you asking me if I had done anything?" I asked her.

"Well isn't it weird? My brother who could be described as narcissistic and prideful has backed down from a duel with a first-year." Ishigami explained. Her deductions are certainly not on a mere high schooler level. "I know you didn't do anything to my brother but I am going to find out who it was."

"Alright, you do that." I said sarcastically.

"You're helping me as well." Ishigami looked me dead in the eye as she said that.

Why me?

"Why?" I asked her.

"Because…you're the smartest person I know." Ishigami muttered.

"Flattery won't work against me. I couldn't care less what you feel, Ishigami-san."

Just then the waitress came to us with our food. She placed it on the table and left. I began eating and finished my food before Ishigami had finished a portion of hers.

"You eat too quickly, Tsukamoto-san." Ishigami spoke, calmly. It seems that she had also been hungry. "You're supposed to savour these foods."

The door of the restaurant was opened and a student entered it. They wore expensive brands and seemed to be the type to show it off as well. Their posture was hubristic and the way they spoke to others could only be described as speaking with pity.

"Hanako, what the hell are you doing—" Ishigami Tatsuya then stopped speaking as he saw me.

He wore a sand-coloured trench coat which reached his knees and wore a black and white checkered scarf. He also wore black trousers and a white sweater underneath his trench coat.

Another student then entered the restaurant. He wore a dark-grey coloured trench coat, a black shirt underneath his trench coat and black trousers. He had messy dark brown hair and a muscular physique.

Ishigami's brother looked towards the person who had just come in and I could see his face change completely.

"Oh, Ishigami-san." The man called but Ishigami's brother didn't respond. He stood there looking at him. The man then came closer to us and then he saw me. "Ar…Tadashi, what are you doing here?"

"Eating." I replied.

"Who's this? Your girlfriend?"

Ishigami became enraged by Shuichi. For some reason she now hates me.

"Why would I like a guy like him?" She laughed

"Ishigami-san, why are you just standing there?" Shuichi asked him. Ishigami Tatsuya then tried to say something but he couldn't. He then responded with a punch but Shuichi held it in his hand as if he wasn't trying. "What the hell are you trying to do?" He said calmly.

"I'm sorry!" Ishigami Tatsuya apologised as he bowed. He then stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

"What the hell happened to him?" Shuichi said. "He's never apologised to anyone before."

What? Is Shuichi acting because Ishigami's sister is here? No. He doesn't seem to be acting. If it wasn't Shuichi then who…

"Wasn't it you who attacked my brother?" Ishigami asked sternly.

"Me? No, I just got out of a coma." Shuichi replied.

Oh shit.

Shuichi looked at me as he realised. We both stared at each other as we thought of who the person could be.

It was almost obvious who it would be. The way Ishigami's brother looked at Shuichi it seemed almost as if it was Shuichi who had done it however, a person who could fight people on par with world champions and also alter the memories of others. There was no doubt that it was her. She hasn't enrolled in the school but she will join soon.

"Ishigami-san." I said and Ishigami looked straight at me. "Don't try to find out who it is or else you'll get yourself killed."

I then took the files which were on the table next to Ishigami and left the restaurant with Shuichi, leaving Ishigami's curiosity to grow more.