28 To understand a woman's heart.

they gasp for air when their lips separate. her skin is hot against his palm. the area around her lips is red. she looks delicious and alluring. he bends down his head again to kiss that mouth, but he stops halfway when he notices the look in her eyes. her eyes are devoid of any emotion. she lifts her chin and asks, "are you done?"

he doesn't reply and searches her face. she doesn't seem affected at all. she undoes her jeans and turns around, revealing her bare behind to him. "just put it in and be done with it. "

"get out." he steps away from her. "i don't want to see your face."

"we are leaving after two minutes."

he watches her walk out of the room. his eyes turn cold. he picks up the package and looks at the clothes. it's a ridiculous red sweatsuit.

he sighs. why was she mad at him? he only said that he doesn't believe that woman at the hospital. if it was someone else, they should be happy. instead of being happy, she becomes mad.

he can't figure her out.

why does he not have the luxury to like her? if he wants to like her, he will like her. who can stop him? hmph! certainly, she can't stop him.

but, he doesn't like her. she doesn't need to react that way.

he grumbles to himself and dresses up. after a minute, he goes to her room. she is already gone. he can't see the others either. he calls takeshi.

"elder brother, we are waiting for you in front of the hotel," he tells him on the phone. "hurry up."

when kiyohira comes out of the hotel, he finds four of them dressed up in sweatsuits. haru is yellow. takeshi is blue. iori is green. the last person is wearing a black hoodie and black sweat pants. there is a mask on her face. he can only see her dark eyes.

"are we forming a boy band?" he inquires coldly. her eyes linger on him for a second. she turns around and walks straight. haru runs to catch up with her. iori peeks at kiyohira and blushes. he can look handsome in these kinds of clothing too. she jogs ahead to hide her blushing cheeks.

"what did you do, elder brother?" takeshi beams at his brother. "it seems like she is mad at you."

"it's i who should be mad." he grabs takeshi's head with his claw. "how long are you going to pretend in front of her?"

"if i can get close to my sister like this, i don't mind." takeshi smiles slyly. "elder brother, you have to work hard."

"what do you mean?" kiyohira glares at him. "work hard for what?"

"nothing." takeshi shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly. "don't mind me. i just want her to accept me as her younger brother. i am working hard for that."

"tch! she is not good enough to be your sister."

"no wonder." takeshi shakes his head. "there is no hope for you, elder brother. if you continue to talk like this, there is no doubt that she will hate you the most."

"she already hates me." he complains like a kid. he can't forget her earlier expression. she has ignored him when he asked her a question. she should have argued back like she always did.

why does he care? she can keep ignoring him. he will ignore her back. it's better like this.

"my brother needs to understand a woman's heart." takeshi pats his elder brother who is hopeless in his eyes. "if you conquer her directly, she won't give in. if you challenge her, she will play it dirty. if you want to win, you must conquer her directly for what you want and don't mind being dirty either to break her defenses."

kiyohira looks at takeshi from the head to toe. "how do you know so much about women?"

"this is a generation gap, elder brother." takeshi winks at him. "you are younger to me in terms of common sense."

"come here." kiyohira motions him to come closer with his index finger. takeshi smirks at him. he knows enough to understand that his brother is going to beat him up if he moves closer. he bolts to join his sister's side for his safety. elder brother can't do much in front of his sister.

kiyohira's phone ring just then. he glances at the caller id. mizutani has been calling him since morning.

"cancel the meetings," kiyohira tells her on the phone before she can say anything. "take a leave for takeshi and his friends from school. inform my grandmother that i am taking them out for important work."

"boss, have you seen the news?" mizutani sounds anxious. "the incident at the hotel is leaked to the media. the media are blaming you for mistreating your step-sister. someone has heard her say that you have been torturing her. the situation is not good."

kiyohira frowns deeply. how did the tabloid news find out about it? the hotel has promised high security. is someone following them?

he doesn't think that it's takeuchi rie would inform the media about this. he has been watching her. she has done one mistake, but it shouldn't have this kind of effect. news like this come and go.

"get the list of all the employees and guests who were present at that hotel last night."

***

"takeuchi san, how long are we going to walk?" haru bends his waist and grasps his knees. it's only been three hours since we have been walking. this boy is already exhausted.

"takeuchi san, i am tired." iori squats down on the ground. "can we take a cab?"

"we can't." i sigh. i used to think that i have low stamina. i have been proven wrong.

"sis, i am not tired," takeuchi says to me. he looks better than those two. kiyohira doesn't look tired either. he is occupied with something on his phone. i ignore him and tells them, "it's only five minutes walk from here. you can go back to the hotel if you are tired."

"no, i still have energy." haru straightens up. "i can walk around the globe as long as it's you, takeuchi san."

aish! if i hear more, i will bleed through my ears.

"alright, follow me." i start walking toward the location. it's already evening. "you can't use my name. you can't call sister. if you have something to say, text me. don't wander around and disturb the other players."

"we will be good, merciless b," takeshi assures me. "i will keep a watch over them."

i stop in front of the abandoned factory. there is no indication that anyone is inside it. world hack series choose isolated locations like this.

"it's here?" i don't answer kamiyama's question. i turn to takeshi, haru, and iori who are watching me with anticipation.

"let's go inside."