Four days had passed since Ahmad had successfully dismantled the entire Popa organization. Ahmad attended the funeral of his family, and one of his teachers approached Ahmad and informed him about someone in Japan who wished to take care of him. Ahmad felt uncertain at first, needing time to consider the offer.
Ahmad went back to his rented apartment, where he spent two days confined indoors. He isolated himself from the outside world, only watching television. However, as he glanced at a picture of his family, a heavy sigh escaped him. It was then that Ahmad made up his mind. He contacted the teacher who gave him the offer.
Preparations were quickly made, and hours later, Ahmad found himself at the airport, ready to embark on a journey to Japan, his new home. Upon his arrival in Japan, a beautiful woman called out to him. She ran towards him, slightly out of breath. "I finally caught up to you," she said.
Confused, Ahmad looked at her and asked, "I'm sorry, but who are you?" Though he didn't immediately recognize her, her face seemed familiar to Ahmad.
"Do you really not remember? I'm your tour guide when you were here in Japan for a month. Kouno Hitari" she explained. Suddenly, Ahmad's memory was jogged, and he recalled who she was.
"Oh, I remember now!" Ahmad exclaimed. Hitari, 24 years old and living in Japan, had been Ahmad's guide, introducing him to the country's culture and helping him learn Japanese, although he still struggled with the language.
"So why are you here? Also, your hair is a bit messy" Ahmad asked, smiling. Hitari fixed her hair and replied, "Sorry if it's sudden, my condolences about your family, and when I heard the news, I wanted to take care of you" Ahmad was taken aback. "Why would you do that?"
"It seemed like nobody in your country would take care of you when I asked around, so I decided with that. You don't have to force it if you don't want to" Hitari explained, placing her hands on her back and waiting for his answer. Ahmad hesitated, unsure about the suddenness of it all. However, looking at Hitari's face, he could tell she had gone to great lengths for this arrangement. Besides, Ahmad thought that he didn't want to live alone at his age.
"Okay then, I'll trust you to take care of me from now on," Ahmad agreed, bowing respectfully, which brought a smile to Hitari's face.
"Great! You can call me Big Sister if you'd like," she suggested.
"I prefer calling you Hitari; it sounds more natural to me," Ahmad replied.
"Sure, whatever makes you comfortable," Hitari replied, feeling a bit bashful.
"Before we go, I realized I haven't learned your name yet, even though we met in Japan," Hitari asked.
Ahmad hesitated to reveal his name, but since he would be residing in Japan from now on, he decided he should come up with a fitting name for himself.
"Call me Takeshi," Ahmad replied, embracing his new identity.
"Alright, Takeshi" Hitari picked up her purse and one of Takeshi's suitcases. "Let's go to our apartment!" Takeshi grabbed his other suitcase and loaded it into Hitari's car. They drove off towards her apartment. The streets of Japan were bustling with crowds and bright lights, which reminded Takeshi of his past memories when his family had gone to Malaysia to celebrate his birthday. Soon enough, they arrived at the apartment
"Alright, we're here at my place!" Hitari parked the car near the garage, and both of them stepped out and entered the apartment. Takeshi marveled at the size of the place. "Wow, this is your apartment? It's huge!"
"Yep! And we even prepared the extra bedroom for you before you got here," Hitari told Takeshi
"We?" Takeshi asked as they stepped in front of Hitari's apartment number
"Ah, I forgot to tell you, I don't live alone," Hitari told Takeshi
"I live with-" Hitari was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, Takeshi was greeted by 2 girls.
A girl with brown hair, dressed in a white shirt with a cartoon design, warmly welcomed Takeshi to their apartment. "Welcome! I'm Hinari. It's great to meet you!" Another girl, with silver hair and a green hoodie, joined in, saying, "We're so happy to have you here! I'm Imouto"
Takeshi was startled by their sudden introduction, he nervously asked Hitari "And they are?"
"My two younger sisters" Hitari replied
"I see.." Takeshi turned his attention towards Hinari and Imouto
"Takeshi, I'll be in your care from now on" Takeshi bowed respectfully
"I'm here because-" Takeshi's words were cut off by Hinari.
"We already knew about you," Hinari said, crossing her arms behind her back.
"Before you arrived, big sis told us that you would be living with us," Imouto said, her face beaming with a sweet and adorable smile.
"He will be the oldest among the two of you" Hitari informed Hinari and Imouto.
Hitari turned to Takeshi and smiled, saying, "Takeshi, please take good care of them, alright?"
"I will," Takeshi replied.
Imouto reached for Takeshi's luggage and cheerfully offered, "I'll help you bring your things to the bedroom we prepared for you."
Takeshi quickly intervened, taking hold of the luggage himself "Let me handle it. It might be a bit heavy for both of you to carry."
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Hinari then reached out and gently took the luggage from Takeshi's grasp. She reassured him, saying, "Don't worry. We really want to help you out on your first day here."
Takeshi released his grip on the luggage handle. "If you insist," he conceded.
As Takeshi headed towards his room, Hinari excitedly exclaimed, "We've also prepared dinner while you were out, sis! And Takeshi, you're in for a treat. I've cooked my finest dish and It's the best in our household, hehe." Takeshi, who had been quite hungry since leaving the airport, now found himself eagerly anticipating the meal.
"Well, it must be delicious then. I'll unpack my things first" Takeshi replied.
"Let's not take too long or the food will get cold," Hinari reminded Takeshi.
Takeshi entered his room, amazed by its size and the meticulous decorations.
Hinari remarked to Takeshi "Nice room right?"
Takeshi looked around, his mouth agape at the spaciousness of the place. "It's really big"
Imouto chimed in, "Well, this room used to be a storage room next to my own. When we both found out you were coming, we didn't rest for a day, cleaning it until it was spotless."
Takeshi expressed his concern, "You both must be tired from all that cleaning."
Hinari shrugged it off. "Not at all. We were used to cleaning rooms like this in our old house."
Curiosity piqued, Takeshi asked, "Old House? Where's that?"
Imouto seemed hesitant to answer. 'Well, it's-' Before she could finish, Hitari's voice called out from below, summoning the three of them to dinner. Takeshi quickly packed his things and hurried down. All of them sat at the dining table, enjoying the dinner prepared by Hinari.
Takeshi's stomach grumbled loudly "Let's eat," he said eagerly.
The three of them expressed their gratitude for the meal, leaving Ahmad confused. Ahmad then repeated, "T-Thank you for the food."
Takeshi took a bite of the steamed chicken and exclaimed, "It's good!" The chicken had been cooked by Hinari.
"Thanks for the compliment, Takeshi," Hinari responded gratefully.
Curious about Hinari's cooking skills, Takeshi asked, "Where did you learn to cook, Hinari?" Hitari replied to Takeshi's question "I taught them how to cook"
"Yep, and I've gotten much better since last time" Hinari added.
Imouto then asked Takeshi to try the food she had cooked. She poked him gently and said, "U-umm, I also cooked for you. Have a taste." Imouto presented her dish and handed him a fork.
Takeshi took the plate and observed the food. "Looks good, Imouto. I'm sure it will be delicious," he said, glancing over at Hinari and Hitari, who discreetly signaled Takeshi. As Imouto looked their way, they quickly averted their gazes.
Ignoring the warnings, Takeshi thought to himself, "They keep giving me those signs, but I'm sure it won't taste as bad as it looks." He took a bite and instantly regretted it. "URFGHH!" The food Imouto had cooked was incredibly bitter and lacked any flavor. However, Takeshi forced himself to swallow it, not wanting to give her negative feedback.
Imouto smiled and eagerly asked, "How was it? Is it delicious?"
Takeshi swallowed the food and replied, "It tastes good, Imouto. You're really talented at cooking," giving her a thumbs up.
Hinari and Hitari exchanged knowing glances, realizing that Takeshi's compliment wasn't genuine.
"Hehe, next time I'll cook an even better dish for you," Imouto declared.
Takeshi thought to himself, "Even worse than this one? No, I'll teach her how to cook properly so she won't serve anything like that again." He then proposed, "How about this, Imouto? I'll teach you how to cook from now on. Is that okay?"
"Sure!" Imouto agreed happily.
After dinner, Imouto and Hinari led Takeshi to the living room for a conversation, getting to know each other better.
"Well, let's start again with the introductions. Imouto, you can go first," Takeshi suggested.
Imouto eagerly raised her hand and began, "Imouto. I'm 11 years old, and I love playing games, watching anime cartoons, catching bugs, and drawing animal characters."
Takeshi was intrigued by the mention of catching bugs. He wondered if it was a popular activity among kids in this area.
"I enjoy watching cartoons and playing games too" Takeshi replied.
Imouto then asked, "What's your favorite anime, and which game do you love to play the most?"
"My all-time favorite anime is Superball Kai. As for games... it's hard to pick just one. Two of my top favorites are Pocket Monsters and Yakuza."
Imouto's eyes widened with excitement. "That's awesome! My favorite anime is Pilot Moon, and my all-time favorite game is Doki Book Club!"
Takeshi was confused. "Doki Book Club? I've never heard of it."
Imouto, in her passionate manner, began explaining, "It's an amazing game about four girls in a book club. It starts as a normal dating simulator, but as you progress, there are surprises and twists..." Hinari interrupted her before she could reveal too much.
"Hold on, no spoilers! Let Takeshi experience the game himself. It won't be as fun if he already knows everything" Hinari advised.
Imouto apologized, "Oops, my bad. Sorry about that."
Takeshi reassured her, "It's alright, I'll definitely give it a try later on."
"Trust me, Takeshi, it's an amazing game!" Hinari's excitement piqued Takeshi's interest, now it was Hinari's turn to introduce herself.
"Okay, Hinari, it's your turn," Takeshi turned to Hinari.
"Um, well, I'm the older sister of Imouto, but we're not twins even though we're the same age," Hinari explained.
"What do you mean?" Takeshi asked.
"We were both born in the same year but in different months. My birthday is on November 16th!" Imouto shared.
"And I'm on March 5th, the same day as our mother's birthday, continuing... I love reading books and cleaning, on my free time, I enjoy gazing at the night sky. It's so beautiful with all the stars."
"Why do you love looking at the sky?" Takeshi inquired.
"Because it's pretty, especially on clear nights. During the day too with clouds, I can almost feel the wind as a part of me," Hinari replied calmly.
"Well, it's your turn to introduce yourself, Takeshi," Imouto suggested
Takeshi prepared himself to speak, but memories of the horrific scene involving his family and the actions he had taken haunted his mind, leaving him frozen.
"What's wrong? You look pale," Hinari noticed.
"I... I..." Takoshi's dark past entangled his thoughts, rendering him unable to speak. Instead, he ran off to his bedroom and lay on the bed. After a while, a gentle knock echoed through the door, and Hitari entered
"They told me you ran off suddenly, is something wrong?"
"Nothing, sorry about it" he replied.
"It's about your family, right?" Suddenly, Ahmad felt a soft body hugging him. Takeshi turned to see Hitari behind him. "Huh?"
Hitari hugged him tightly and said, "Don't worry, it's going to be alright. Let me tell you this too - we also lost our parents."
Takeshi was shocked and asked Hitari, "What happened?"
"Our parents used to own one of the richest companies in Japan, and we lived in a mansion not too long ago. But then our parents passed away due to health problems, and their company had too many outstanding debts. So, we had to move away from the mansion and live in the city. I bought this apartment with what's left, and we've been living here since then. I also got a job as a tour guide, and that's when I met you," Hitari explained, tears streaming down her face.
Takeshi gently patted her back trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry about your family," he said.
Hitari wiped her tears and said, "Don't be. From now on, let's take care of each other, okay?" She stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. "Well, come now. I've prepared a bath for you. Go take a clean shower."
"Alright," Takeshi agreed. Hitari left the room, still teary-eyed. Takeshi felt guilty for making her recount everything. He went to the bathroom to take a bath.
As he soaked in the tub, Takeshi thought to himself, "I will share my story with them someday. But they'll have to wait until then." He gazed out the window, looking at the night sky adorned with countless stars. "Hinari's right, it is beautiful."