Chapter 37 - Suspicions

HANZAKI'S POV:

Surveying the people around, all of the students' and parents' attentions were focused at front when the meeting had started earlier, but unanticipatedly in the middle of our listening and talking, I noticed something weird and suspicious as a number of eyes were secretly gazing at us, some somehow took glances of me.

I already had noticed this since I arrived and waited early outside the room, I got wary from the beginning of what it was. It looked that those people, mostly the parents, were looking like they were having a grudge while staring disgustedly at me, but them without knowing, I was starting to get furiously annoyed as I caught them in the act while not exposing them at the same time especially during in the midst of our serious meeting, but because of my seatmate Hiro who was unaware of the situation and was focused at the teacher in front of us, I tried calming myself down and had managed to resist the intimidation and ignore the people around us until the whole discussion was finally over, and most of all so that I could not get the little guy into trouble with me.

Good grief~ What was that all about anyway? I want to punch all of them on the face. They really ticked the hell off of me.

Meanwhile as of the moment, it was already noon, and while waiting for a Jeepney that has a vacant spot coming from a long walk in trying to instersect one, my stomach has made a familiar strange noise. Accordingly, I rubbed it with the both of my hands while showing my hungry reaction outside.

Looking around, I started finding a place to have a meal.

A few meters away I saw an eatery with a few people inside, and so I went closer to it to check things out.

Minutes have gone by and I had already finished ordering my meal and was ready to eat. Sitting on a plastic chair, I took my time to finish my rice, soup, fried eggplant, and some vegetables that I have put on my plate, yet in the middle of my lunch, I procrastinated for a moment, recalling my argument with Hiro just a while ago.

[Don't get ahead of yourself asking these kinds of stuffs.]

[I don't have an obligation to tell you.]

[I won't agree with your requests to go with you anymore. You'll be on your own if you would do that again.]

"I don't have any intention to do so, huh? Why did I even say that? One person already knows about some parts that happened." I thought, laying my back on my seat while facing up.

Hiro is such a lucky one. In my early times, I haven't had someone to be with me in my school's events and activities because those two parents of ours were always busy with such things, things that seemed to be more important for them than their own children. But him, Hiro, he always had an elder brother to reach out. Despite me having my own busy schedules on my part, I had always made my move in finding some room for his.

Feeling a little emotional, I raised my hand and stared at it. I sigh.

"But without even noticing it at first, I am starting to become like my parents, I have become of what I ran away from. I do not want to be like them so that is why I did that." I thought of it once more.

Inside my mind, I recalled the scene again especially the expression that Hiro made.

"I guess I was really too much for the young fellow. I better go back and cheer him up. This is a new leaf for me alright."

I took a deep breath, letting out the negativity inside of me, and I resumed in eating my meal with a fast pace. Succeedingly, I rested for some time and have stood up when I felt it was good enough for me to move around with my fully fulled satisfied stomach. I then began my way back in going to Hiro's school.

-----*-----

Scanning around, the campus was already quite empty as I arrived back. I sighted a few students that were inside the classrooms and outside the field.

Not being able to pinpoint my little brother yet, I entered to go further to look for him.

Taking a peek inside Hiro's classroom, there were no people present and the nearby surroundings were quiet as well. Wondering where he is, I then went back at the gate. I took out my cell phone from my pocket to try call him, but then I realized I do not have load so I retreated my hand back out, good grief~

While trying to figure out some other ways, I noticed the guard at the gate, and so I decided to go to the officer to try ask him.

"Excuse me sir!"

"Oh yes. May I help you?"

I questioned about the whereabouts of Hiro, but the school guard insisted that he is not familiar of the name because of course, there are really a lot of students here at this school.

"But there were a group of students probably heading to the covered courts on the plaza ahead about… maybe half an hour ago or more" The guard surprisingly added as I was about to go off and continue my search. His piece of information gave me a bit of relief in the end.

"Oh, is that so sir? Thank you very much." I bowed a little, showing my thanks to the guard, and without ado I started my way heading towards the possible place where Hiro is currently at.

As I arrived coming from a short ride, the environment was quite annoyingly rowdy.

Stepping inside the covered court, there were a lot of people inside that were playing different kinds of sports. I then started to look around me with my eyes that was ready to carefully analyse and study the faces of the people present around, but still, I haven't got to see my younger brother in the area in the process.

Unsatisfied with the result, I then went around, extending the search. I looked closely at the face of every people even by standing fr a far distance, but still I haven't found him yet.

Noticing a field filled with grass at the sides while leaving a dirt path in the middle, located just beside outside the covered court, there was a plaza that also had a lot of people present in the area, and so I took the likely chances to check things out over there as well.

Observing the area, the sun's light covered half the space of the plaza which made me to cover my eyes from the brightness that it somehow reflected as I tried looking for Hiro, and on the other hand, there was a shaded part of the plaza that had a few students that were somehow surrounding a certain person, or was it just my imagination actually?

"It looks like there is a fight over there." I said, seeing the likely scene from a distance.

I then went closer to the somewhat commotion to check it out. Slowly and quietly I was trying to get near to them in order not to be found out. Reaching the limit of my distance, I hid behind a fence and carefully I took a peek from my position that was a bit far from them, but still their faces weren't clear and I had difficulty in going near further.

"I guess Hiro isn't here. Maybe he had already gone home, or maybe they just went to another place."

"YOU"RE WRONG"

As I was about to go back to my way, I heard a shout coming from a very familiar voice.