by T L Brevis
“Well, I can’t say I have that kind of problem,” said Hakku similarly to how Makoto would usually sound when he would drive Hakku up a wall. It was a taste of his own medicine, essentially.
“Well, you don’t even go to school at all, idiot,” responded Makoto, sounding quite vexed.
“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Don’t worry, Kaito will probably sort something out,” Hiroshi spoke up.
“Yup, for sure! Can’t have useless thoughts like that interrupt our contest, after all,” said Makoto, now beaming beyond control.
“Of course,” responded Hiroshi matter-of-factly.
“Anyway Makoto, you did as we planned, right?” asked Hakku, quickly changing the subject.
“Yes, of course,” said Makoto.
“So is it a go?” asked Hiroshi.
“He said he’ll think about it. It is something big after all, having three strangers stay with you. Kaito said he would seal the deal by making a good impression though,” said Makoto.
“Well I hope that's the case,” said Hakku sounding skeptical.
“Of course it is. This is Kaito we’re talking about. If he promises to do something, he’ll do it,” said Hiroshi defensively.
“Well, it would be to his interest. Didn’t you see his face light up when I suggested it? He’ll save money on hotels and he can get closer to my dad to get even more connections. I’d say this is a much better plan than staying at hotels and occasionally going to events,” said Makoto.
“I know. I'm surprised Kaito didn’t think of that, no he probably did but didn’t want to intrude, but when you brought it up as actually being feasible, he began to really flesh out the possibilities,” said Hiroshi.
“Yea, and on the topic of events by the way, we won’t miss many either. A lot of them are held here. My dad’s extroversion doesn’t really help me out when I try to hide my personality though. I had to be on high alert at least once a week before coming to stay with you, and that was quite annoying. Please do keep that in mind at these parties. I can’t be seen talking to you two that much, so if any missions were to be carried out at them, communication between us must be a very minuscule part of the plan,” said Makoto.
“Of course. With all of those pros, and only one foreseeable con, that being that we can’t talk about our activity all too loudly, Kaito will definitely have his eyes on the prize for this one,” said Hiroshi.
“Even then, my parents are out most nights, so we won’t have to worry about anyone but the cleaners and maids for the most part. They either go home or to bed around 9 pm though, so there's really not much of an issue. My parents aren’t the type to pry either, I'm sure you would have guessed that by now though, I was running my organization from this house before I met you, and with their funds that they didn’t notice were even leaving their bank accounts as well. They are free spirits, I guess you could say,” said Makoto.
“Well, that is one way to put it, I suppose,” said Hiroshi with a smile.
“Anyway, it’s about time we get to work!” exclaimed Makoto, just loud enough for the sound to barely escape his room.
The three simultaneously unzipped their various bags, Hakku, and Hiroshi with generic backpacks and Makoto with a pricey looking shoulder bag he pulled out from under his bed.
The three all plunged their arms into their respective carriers and emerged with their various laptops in hand. Hiroshi and Makoto had to immediately rely on support from their second hands to be able to successfully carry their laptops while Hakku transported his own from his backpack to lap making use of one arm with ease.
They all successfully started up their machines, with Makoto’s being the first one to do so, and Hakku’s being the last despite him being the first to initiate the process and Makoto being the last.
Makoto took a seat on his office chair at his desk, and Hiroshi took that as a cue join Hakku in sitting cross-legged on Makoto’s incredibly large bed. The three did not waste a second before Logging into their TOR browsers, now necessary to contact their newfound employees. Hiroshi had picked it up very quickly, all things considered.
He was of course still not anywhere near the level of Hakku, or even Makoto, but still had the edge over Hakku in their little competition because of his strategic mind, which was able to adapt to any number of situations, contrasting to Hakku, who for the most part only took on tech-related criminals reported to him, which to his credit, he did pull off quite well. Unfortunately for him though, he was completing much fewer missions compared to the other two due to the specific kind of cases he was taking on.
Hiroshi suspected Hakku did not care too much about the competition though. It was not like he was completely indifferent to it, it still annoyed him to be in dead last. He was mostly doing this to contribute to the team, and genuinely because he wished to improve the world in any way he could to make up for his mistakes earlier on.
The three got to work immediately, with Hakku’s usual ferocious typing being the loudest and most frequent, despite him being the only one out of the three to not even be contacting any of his staff. Hiroshi was truly proud of him. He was doing his absolute best in his own way, however specific it was, but that was worth gratitude and respect nonetheless.
Hiroshi returned his focus to the laptop screen he had never taken his eyes off of but had sacrificed focus from for the faction of a second he had used to think about Hakku. The pause was not long enough for the other two to remotely notice, even if they were entirely focused on him and not working on their own cases. In fact, he had paused in between a brief moment where he was moving his left index finger from the “e” key to the “s” key on his keyboard.
Even that brief lapse of focus was not acceptable for Hiroshi. He would excuse himself for it because it was a thought of admiration for one of his comrades, but he would not allow it to happen again.
He had recently been extra strict on himself. He was not sure if it was the contest, or if he was getting back the drive of working on many cases in rapid succession as he had originally done when he had first begun, but this time it was better.
There was no consequence for being quick with these cases. It was rewarding, in fact.
Chapter 20
“Hah! My man, you do tell the best jokes! Well, I don’t think it’ll be too bad if you and the boys were our guests for a while after all. My son was right this time I suppose. I guess both the adults and the children win in this situation, a rare occurrence in the parenting business, wouldn’t you say, Kaito my good man?” the three could hear the booming voice of Makoto’s father, almost seeming to shake the very foundation of the monstrous building, coupled with footsteps growing gradually louder.
“Well, I can certainly relate there. Toy stores, choices of film at the theatre, we do always seem to get the short end of the stick, don’t we?” Kaito responded, sounding as if he was attempting to mimic the other man’s booming tone, but failing miserably if that was indeed his goal.
“Exactly!” Makoto’s father responded, although there was a slight hint in his tone that he could not relate to those two situations, and Hiroshi could sense that the Makoto sitting at the desk in front of him certainly felt the same way.
There was silence, well in terms of dialogue, but not at all in terms of the footsteps that failed to slow down at all, both in speed and the gradual increase of their sounds. They reached their climax after being heard along the small corridor leading to Makoto’s door, and finally ceasing once they could be heard directly outside of the thin layer of expensive painted wood with a doorknob attached, which the trio were now staring at expectantly, waiting for the very predictable following event to finally occur.
They were not disappointed. A moment after that thought had entered Hiroshi’s, and presumably the other two’s minds, the doorknob was turned, and the thin, rectangular block of wood was swung open in a fashion that could only be described as “so like Makoto’s father, it wa
s absurd.”
“Makoto, it’s a go!” he exclaimed, accompanied with an exaggerated thumbs up in his direction.
Makoto began to act excited, not in the “Makoto sort of way” but in the “shy kid smiling for once” sort of way, despite having obviously heard his father’s declaration of it from downstairs moments before.
Hakku snorted, trying his best to hold back a laugh at Makoto’s personality shift once again. Hiroshi instantly thrust his right elbow into Hakku’s left abdomen to shut him up. He did it swiftly enough that Makoto’s father, back turned to them would not notice, especially over his own thunderous volume.
Kaito noticed and gave Hiroshi a nod for his quick thinking, and turned to look sternly at Hakku who was too busy attempting to hold back a wail of pain at the sudden strike from Hiroshi to notice Kaito’s piercing stare in the least.
“Alright, well now that I’ve delivered the news, and seeing as it’s getting quite late. Let's see, it's 8:41 pm now. I think your friends and Kaito should be heading back now,” said Makoto’s father.
“Y-Yea, bye Hiroshi and Hakku,” said Makoto, more timidly than even he had displayed before.
Hakku could not hold back a smile, but did not dare to have his left side, which Hiroshi was now standing directly next to, to also provide him with the uncomfortable soreness he was currently feeling on his right side.
Hiroshi ignored him, and simply followed Kaito and Makoto’s father’s lead down the massive staircase and to the front door. The five said their goodbyes to each other, and after an over the top wave from Makoto’s father, accompanied with a slight wave of Makoto’s hand that seemed to even out his father’s a bit, the door was closed behind Hiroshi, Hakku, and Kaito as they turned their backs to the monstrosity that Makoto called home to face a much less appealing sight of the man whose own sight would not leave Kaito’s tie, once again out of his jacket and flowing in the cool evening breeze.
∞
Kaito, Hiroshi, and Hakku stepped towards the massive house they had entered previously, but instead of being guests, they were to be inhabitants. The same chauffeur sped off moments after the three left his limousine, perhaps not wanting to stay at that place for a moment more than necessary. A reasonable thought, Hiroshi concluded. After all, the type to purchase such a building would be the type who could entirely ruin one’s life on a whim. The chauffeur probably did not dream of taking that kind of risk.
If it had been anyone but Makoto’s parents, that kind of thought being in the back of Hiroshi’s mind at all times would be a necessity. However, as he had learned through a number of stories from Makoto, and first-hand experiences with them, Hiroshi knew for a fact, that at least would not be added to his long list of worries he had at all times.
Just as Hiroshi finished his thought, he took his next step and could hear the chauffeur reaching the front gate of the establishment. Just then, the doors to the massive building swung open. The person they expected to be standing proud with a grin waiting to exclaim a booming greeting was replaced by a handful of shy looking maids who scurried over to the three where they had stopped in their tracks and quickly took their suitcases. They scurried back into the home, with admittedly less speed, but still much more swiftly than one would expect from anyone with their body frames.
The three followed suit, picking up their pace to at least attempt to catch up to the women who were already through the doors, and could distinctly be heard rushing up the gigantic staircase.
Just as they reached the small staircase leading up to the luxurious front door, the person they expected to see the most had finally shown himself, at perhaps the most unexpected time.
“Oh, you all made it here on time! Hello Hiroshi, Hakku, my good man Kaito as well, do come in. Makoto will show you boys up to your rooms while Kaito and I will have a little chat of our own,” said the incredibly eccentric man in an incredibly jubilant tone, almost to a sickening degree.
Makoto peeked out from behind his father when the man finished speaking and beckoned the other boys inside. His father had attracted all of their attentions until that point, so much so that Hiroshi, and he presumed even the other two did not even notice Makoto’s presence. Quite ironic considering he was usually the life of the party when he was alone with Hiroshi and Hakku.
Hiroshi could tell Hakku especially had that thought in his mind, but by now the latter boy had the sense not to show it to, the now presumed borderline abusive Hiroshi that he had the misfortune of crossing whenever he had mistakenly done precisely that very thing previously.
Hiroshi was pleased with Hakku’s reaction, more precisely his lack thereof, and gladly tailed behind him, who tailed behind Makoto, who lead the two up the same gargantuan staircase and to the second floor they had each seen before, but now instead of a left turn, the trio turned right.
A quick peek at the bottom of the now empty staircase, along with the fading sound of Kaito and his father conversing, and now the multiple women whizzing past the trio down the steps, only to disappear into away from sight as quickly as possible, all gave Makoto the confidence he needed to return to his usual self.
“Alright, here’s your room Hiroshi, and that's yours Hakku,” he said cheerfully, gesturing to the door they had just arrived at first, then a door a few meters in front of them as he uttered Hakku’s name.
“You sure are lucky, Hiroshi. This is the best guest room in the house, almost as big as mine, with a bathroom in it like mine, too!” exclaimed Makoto cheerfully.
“Oh, well I couldn’t care less about the size. I could manage with a smaller room, so maybe Hakku coul-”
“No, the master of the house insists, my good friend!” Makoto cut him off.
“I care... Why can’t I have it?… Master of the house? You barely reach your father’s waist…” Hakku sulked under his breath bitterly.
Makoto pretended to not hear Hakku’s intentionally more than audible response, much to Hakku’s annoyance, and instead decided to fling open Hiroshi’s new room door.
It was almost a carbon copy of Makoto’s room. The same blinds, bedsheets, desk, chair, everything. It was certainly bizarre.
“Oh, you two must be confused. Well, my parents designed this house to make every bedroom match. They did ask me if I wanted to design my own room differently, but of course I couldn't answer truthfully,” Makoto said, honestly sounding quite annoyed.
Hiroshi did not mind one bit. As he had said, he did not care about the size of his room, and naturally its appearance either. As long as either of those things would not hinder him, everything was fine. After briefly scanning the room once more, Hiroshi noticed his suitcase placed neatly on his new bed, and he promptly stepped over to it and began unpacking.
“Oh, and even though you don’t care about the room, I do have a piece of information that is sure to interest you,” said Makoto mysteriously, but jokingly at the same time.
Hiroshi’s interest was piqued. New information regarding their current competition that Hiroshi was so close to surpassing Makoto in? Would this be what he needed to tip the scale? Something Makoto used in his house to improve his speed of completing missions? Was that why he went home conveniently quickly after their contest had begun? No, that had to be a coincidence.
Hiroshi decided his best course of action would be to look over his shoulder and peer into Makoto’s crinkled eyes while he grinned happily.
“We have three gourmet chefs. One breakfast specialist, one Lunch and dinner specialist, and one dessert specialist,” Makoto said proudly.
Hiroshi was quite embarrassed by his paranoia, but for that moment, he would just accept his blunder and set his attention to, in his mind, an even better discovery. He decided the best response to get Makoto to go on would be to widen his eyes to their limit. It was effective.
“You can make any request, anytime from 7 am to 7 pm, maybe even later if you have a good relationship with one of them. Make any request you want, even with ra
re ingredients. They know exactly how to get any exquisite ingredients from truffles to caviar, although you have to be prepared to wait an extra day at least depending on the request,” Makoto said.
Yes. Hiroshi was convinced now. This was not a mistake. He would be enjoying the high life for these few years.
Chapter 21
“It’s time, you two,” said Makoto in an uncharacteristically serious tone, but one definitely necessary for this sort of situation.
Hiroshi stood in Hakku’s room, just finishing up his preparations for the night. He combed his hair into a generic, but effective style, and threw on his blazer which he was much too young to be wearing, but fit him well due to that painfully dull fitting he had to sit, or more accurately, stand through a few days prior.
