Koshiro 1.6

"I found an evidence that might prove your mom's involvement in the drug swapping case. I put it in a USB and Tadashi found it in my apartment. I didn't know what to do. Please believe me," I fidgeted with my fingers.

"And you couldn't just tell me? I thought we trusted each other. I was even worried about you," Hiro's voice broke.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to believe it and I thought I was protecting you– "

"Protecting me from what? We were supposed to protect you, and you were supposed to help us. That means you tell us everything you find," he grunted.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could try to prove her innocence before I tell you. I didn't mean to hurt you," my voice became weaker as the tears crept in.

"Well, you did."

"Let's call mom to the meeting and solve this ASAP. We don't have time to play telephone, Tadashi interrupted.

"I agree," Hiro exhaled deeply and got ready to leave.

"I'll inform Kenji, don't be late and bring the reports you've compiled," the older brother instructed.

Hiro turned to me before leaving the room, "you don't have to come if you're not ready to be honest."

The room fell silent as my friend's footsteps faded into the dead of night. His brother on the other hand, kept swigging cups and cups of Sake. It was almost as if he ignored my existence completely. I stared at the glass of water I had brought from the kitchen blankly; I was dumbfounded. Hiro's visit caught both of us by surprise and I couldn't help but feel guilty after the abrupt confrontation.

"The deal's off, now that he knew. Unless you wanna continue drinking, I suggest you go back to your room," my host offered me an empty cup.

"No thanks. I think I'll get going," disappointment hovered over my head.

"You're still welcome to stay in this house and visit my bar. Don't mind him."

"I still feel bad. I should've just told him."

"I know where you're coming from. You didn't want him to see his mother in a bad light."

"Yeah, but I guess it didn't really work out on my favor."

"I doubt that you would understand either if you were in his shoes."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you realize?' he looked at me like I was stupid, 'he clearly cares about you."

"No, we're just partners working in a case together," I denied.

"It sure started out that way," he smirked.

"What are you talking about?"

"He walked pass my row of masks just to see if you were here. He didn't come here to look for me."

"You mean…"

"Yeah, I knew something was up. So, I needed to know for sure."

"You knew?"

"Not fully, but I had my suspicions. He found out about the incident in your apartment and came hurtling at me in the kitchen. Yelling about how I was being ignorant, and your life could be jeopardized. Yeah, he even begged me to find a way to let you off the case."

I stared at him in disbelief, "why didn't you?"

"Cause you're already in too deep. There's no guarantee what they'll try to do to you even if we let you go now. The next best thing to do is to let you stay in this house, where we can monitor everything. I knew that he underestimated my drinking ability, and I assumed he looked for you in your room."

A memory of the shadowy figure popped up in my mind. So, it wasn't a dream. Hiro really checked on me while I was asleep. It made me feel even worse for betraying his trust.

"Next, he became concerned to find you missing from your room after storming out of the kitchen. He checked everywhere and I estimated that it would take him at least half an hour before attempting to search my side of the house. Honestly, I was just drinking for personal reasons. But it turned out to be the perfect bait," his smile widened.

'You're wicked!" I accused him.

"Sure, but I'm also smart. He thought that I might try to harm you while I was drunk. He then decided that you must be with me at the bar. Makoto was sleeping and you're not one to bother people. You just went through a traumatic experience, so, it's unlikely that you'll wander outside. And lastly, your politeness hindered you from exploring the foreign part of the house without anyone's supervision."

His deduction appalled me. Tadashi was more cunning than he looked. The tall and muscular figure fooled people by suggesting that he would only deal with things through brute force. But the Tanaka gene was strong and potent. They all had the ability to strategize and scheme over things even for the wrong reasons.

"Hey, you should feel flattered," he said after quenching himself with another cup of Sake.

"Why? You coaxed him into revealing it. And if he does care, it just made me feel even worse for hiding the USB from him," I became slightly furious.

"First of all, you're welcome, you ungrateful girl. I've never seen him care for any living girl before."

I furrowed my brows at the word 'living'. I didn't know whether he was implying that Hiro was into dead girls or if the girl he used to care for was now deceased.

"Sorry, I was just exaggerating. Let me rephrase. I think you're his first ever crush."

"No way. He must've had feelings for girls before. He's smart and mysterious. Wouldn't girls swarm over him?"

"They do, doesn't mean he was into it. Anyway, that's none of my problem now. I just wanted to confirm my hypothesis. Do what you want with that information."

"Huh?" I was even more confused and conflicted with the new-found information.

"I think I'll go to bed now. You're welcome to use the guest room in my quarter if you want. Just don't be late for the meeting tomorrow at 1 P.M.," he staggered to his feet and walked out as if nothing happened.

Suddenly I was alone and dazed again. Just me and my thought. I came to the conclusion that alcohol-addled Tadashi was a jerk and was almost a completely different person from his sober self.

I couldn't be sure if he was just acting nice before, but my intuition told me that he meant no real harm. Now I just had to worry about my approach with Hiro during our meeting. It felt like I just cheated on him despite not even dating. I started to question my own feelings.