22 Amakusa Haruko

Plato fumbled around his pockets to get his keys to open the door, but then realized that they were in his suitcase. Before he could even start opening it, the landlady, Akari, had already rang the doorbell.

"Coming!"

A youthful and feminine voice drifted out of the apartment. What followed was the sound of footsteps, and then finally, the door was opened. Standing in the entrance was a young girl, around the age of 16, dressed in light clothes. It was the start of Spring, and the weather had started to rise a little bit. When at home, with indoor heating, it was not unreasonable to only be lightly clothed.

Her short and casual hairstyle which was rather unkempt matched very well with her t-shirt and jeans. She looked somewhat similar to Plato's body; in other words, Naofumi.

Although she was of the opposite gender and younger, anyone who saw the two next to each other would be able to spot the similarities. Whether it be the shape of the nose, the size of the eyes, even the shape of the ears; there were a lot of similarities.

The girl had clearly been expecting the Akari to come. Perhaps they had already arranged a time, or maybe it was a daily occurrence. In any case, the girl was obviously shocked at Plato's presence. It was supposed to be Plato who should be shocked though…

Plato searched through Naofumi's memories for the person in front of him. It turned out that she was his cousin, the daughter of his second uncle. The second uncle had also been after his inheritance, but was not as assertive as the others. When it had happened, his wife had a child in her belly for six months already. Naofumi was six at the time.

Years later, when his second uncle and aunt had experienced what it was like to have a child, they felt extremely guilty. Not only had they disrespected his brother's wishes, he had even pressured a young child about money. Having a child had changed their perspective. They gained insight into a child's emotions, and knew that what they did to Naofumi was unforgivable.

And they hadn't expected to be forgiven. Naofumi's second uncle and aunt had come before him, prostrating in a dogeza before him; not to ask for forgiveness, but to ask if he could take care of their daughter in the future. They apologized profusely at the same time.

Naofumi had been a kind-hearted person. He believed that even children at the age of six or seven were still innocent to the matters of the human world, let alone a fetus which had only been in her mother's womb for six months.

Therefore, he did not hold any grudges against this female cousin of his. However, none of his other aunts and uncles had come before him to apologize, so the same could not be said for his other cousins. Naturally, he hadn't forgiven his second uncle and aunt. Even to this day, they were on bad terms.

It was also the reason why this female cousin hadn't been at the forefront of Naofumi's memories. They had only interacted occasionally, and the sour relationship between him and his second uncle had been sensed by her. People often said that children were the most sensitive.

Although she had no idea why her big brother and her father were not getting along with each other, she didn't know what to do, and ended up moving away when her father got a job in Osaka.

However, how did she end up here, in Naofumi's apartment? Plato's head was filled with question marks despite his Intelligence boost.

While the girl, Haruko, had been shocked, and Plato had been rehashing his memories, the landlady, Akari, had proceeded into the house. She obviously knew that there was some catching up to do for these two people, so she tactfully dropped off the food she made and left.

It was only after she had walked out of the apartment that Haruko had recovered.

"Stinky Onii-chan! Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here? This is my apartment, no?"

"Uuu… but you said you would be away until next year!"

"Well, I'm back now, aren't I? Quick, move aside. I don't want to stand in the hallway like a boyfriend who has just been kicked out."

"Who's your girlfriend?!"

Plato: "…" 'I made sure to use a simile, didn't I? It wasn't even a metaphor!'

Plato shared the same views as Naofumi. He felt that children, especially those that had not seen the cruelties of life yet, could be considered innocent. It had also been a long time since Plato had interacted with children, so he had let loose a little bit and gotten rid of his usual, cold demeanour.

It would have been fine either way, since Haruko hadn't seen him in a few years, but he had been influenced by her bouncy and lively aura.

Taking off his shoes at the entrance, he found his slippers on the floor in front of him already, having been taken out by Haruko just then. Even though her mouth was quick to give him an earful, he knew that she cared about him. As for whether it was only in the capacity of a little sister, only she knew… it wasn't written in her history log, after all.

He lifted his suitcase past the little step, and moved it into the dining room, which doubled as a kitchen. It was only a small apartment after all, and could not be compared to the Hattori mansion. The dining room was less than a tenth of the Hattori's dining room, which had already had an area sectioned off as the lounge.

Plato's apartment was a 1DK apartment, which meant that there were two rooms; a bedroom, and a dining and kitchen room. Since there was only one bedroom, it was imperative that he figure out why Haruko was staying in his apartment; if not, he might have to sleep on the floor. There was no couch in the apartment, after all.

Putting down his suitcase in the corner next to the balcony, he sat at the small coffee table where Haruko was already sitting. He opened his mouth to speak first.

"Why are you here?"

"Stinky Onii-chan, you said I could stay here. Don't you remember? You promised that you would let me stay in your apartment when I entered high school. I even chose a high school in Tokyo just to stay here. Don't you dare kick me out! I'll tell my parents!"

The rapid-fire spiel sounded like shrieking in Plato's ears. Despite that, he was still able to get the meaning behind it. He searched through his memories once again, and indeed, found out that he had promised her something to that effect.

It had only been an offhanded comment by Naofumi, but now Plato was the one that had to bear with the consequences.

"Alright, calm down. Stop shouting. We are right next to each other. I can hear you perfectly fine even if you don't raise your voice. Also, there's no point in telling your parents. They don't own the place, do they? I do! Anyway, you're free to stay here if you want. I'm taking the bed though. If you want, you can buy a couch for yourself. If you don't you're welcome to use my spare futon to sleep."

Haruko's mouth was agape when she heard Plato. She found it preposterous that her onii-chan would blatantly tell her that she had to sleep on the ground. Where had chivalry gone these days? Was there any man who would be so forthright in claiming the bed for themselves? At least show some symbolic struggle!

Alas she left those things unsaid. She knew that allowing her to stay was already being very lenient. High school had yet to officially start, so Plato had all the justification in the world to kick her out.

As Haruko grew up, she heard from her parents what they had done to Naofumi. Although they didn't hate him for not forgiving them, they were no longer on good terms with one another. Haruko herself would also feel the same way, had the same events happened to her. In fact, she felt that Naofumi was very brave and strong. If her parents died, she wouldn't know what to do, and might be tricked by her relatives all the same.

She also knew that Naofumi didn't hold the same grudge he had with her parents with her. She was grateful for that, because she did not have any relatives back in Osaka. Her other cousins wouldn't even give her the time of day, much less allow her to stay in their homes.

In the end, after serious consideration, she had formed imaginary sides in her head, and had gone towards Naofumi's side, against her parents. Choosing to go to high school in Tokyo was a sign of rebellion.

It was immature and foolish, but that was exactly what exemplified youth; being foolhardy and making mistakes.

Plato had felt that from her, and was more than accommodating. How long had it been since he saw a rookie fumble about on their first few days of living in the real world?

It was at that moment that Plato felt like a part of him had finally, truly, revived.