Acting as strange as he had since being a witness to perhaps the most difficult case he'd run into, Hotaka lingered on the stairs of his home. He had spent the entire night guarding Ryota, and though he did have the choice of sleeping over there for at least six hours, he had opted to return. It wasn't often that he pulled all-nighters, knowing to take care of himself in at least that regard. However, sleeping hadn't been on the table with all the weight placed on his shoulders. He only counted himself lucky that he didn't feel the effect of his sleep loss.

In fact, he felt wide awake, trying to utilize what little information he had to the fullest. There wasn't much he could do, but he still kept staring at the facts in front of him. Usually, he could point out a near-perfect motive simply from taking note of how the victim was killed and where the body was disposed of, but he had didn't even have the name of who was murdered. He could have sworn the person had white hair, but there was little use relying on his memory when it had been clearly affected by the immediate shock of being a witness himself.

Rocking back and forth on his heels, he bit down on his fingernail out of frustration before the sound of creaking became evident to him. Looking behind him, he watched as his older sister leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't look pleased to see him awake at six in the morning, and even less so with the file in his hands. It was obvious what he was up to.

"O'tka," she sighed, shaking her head as she noticed how he visibly regressed, "I told you to get some sleep. Were you here all night?"

The girl moved forward, tucking the one lone strand of red hair behind her ear before walking down the stairs just a bit. And while the younger boy moved aside to let her pass, giving her ample room, he continued to hold an uncomfortable look at what she had called him. Though she dismissed it, something not uncommon at all, the girl still took interest in the file. Attempting to grab it from him, she was more shocked at him moving it out of her grasp.

"I assume it's a murder. If so, what's the problem here?"

"Being a prosecutor doesn't entitle you to information of a case you aren't working on."

"What? What's with that? Do we really care about that stupid law the Athainian - "

"Nahkii!"

The dark haired woman paused, her eyes widening just slightly before she returned to a look of neutrality. Crossing her arms back over her chest, she gave a huff through her nose. That was completely bizarre behavior for her normally level-headed and giving younger brother. Then again, there was a noticeable difference between giving a confidential case file and a lollipop. Regardless, she couldn't help but call him out on in while she began to get some breakfast ready for her younger siblings.

"I don't like it when you protect me."

Hotaka did not appear surprised by the comment made, but it was more likely that he was hiding it from her sight. And though he would have usually helped make lunchboxes alongside her, there wasn't much point in doing so when tensions were already high. Instead, the purple-haired male opted to go to the university early, presumably to meet with club members or to see a friend. Either way, Nahkii couldn't help her habits. Putting aside the chore for but a moment, she leaned on the doorway to watch him as far as she could, just to make sure he didn't get hurt. But it wasn't him she should have been looking out for.

. . .

Chewing on a piece of gum, Hotaka saw to occupy his buzzing mind by pulling himself up and over on the bars. He'd been doing so for about thirty minutes, the Major having already started his own morning routine. Still, he had enough room in his schedule to place some weights on the younger boy's ankles and monitor him every now and again to make sure he was doing alright. Of course, he had never messed up and accidently dislocated his shoulder despite the extra weights, but it was always good to check up on him.

"How's the job, by the way?" the Major questioned, stretching himself out after his run, "Can't imagine it's any fun with such a brat ordering you around."

"Mm, he doesn't do that."

"Don't lie to me, kiddo."

"Well, he can sometimes be a handful, but for the most part, he's a really nice guy. I think he just has trouble speaking a lot of the time."

"Spill the deets?"

"Sure - ," Catching himself when he almost slipped from the sweat building up on his hands, the purple-haired male grunted, wiping it off as best as he could before doing the same to the other, "Last night, he had me join him to take over for his brother's weekly rounds at the company. When the receptionist asked him if he had business and for his identification, he was completely at a loss. I don't think he really expected that because he began to panic. When he realized he didn't bring any ID, he began to point to his hair. I think - but I'm not sure - he was trying to show her he was related to Kinuso, but she didn't pick up on it."

There was certainly an oddity about the way the green-haired male tried to establish his reason for being anywhere. Whether it was him shaking as he had to open the door for someone or him trying to justify buying five jars of instant coffee, he always made such a big deal of it. As if trying to verify that he was able to do so, his first instinct was not to talk, but rather, to make a large, varying list of motions that only ever made sense to him.

"He got really upset," Hotaka smiled softly, "and began to stutter like nobody's business. He just ended up yelling at the lady for not recognizing him though. I really thought he was getting better, but I guess not."

"You could read the phone book and made the people in it sound like downright angels, you know that?"

"He's not that bad."

"He treats you like crap!"

"Not if you read in between the lines."

Trying to figure out where these supposed "lines" were, the Major removed the weights from the boy's legs and let him rest a bit. Exhausted from the pull-ups, he let himself lay down flat on the ground, taking in deep, controlled breaths. The pain was just part of the process, and he was only glad to have been improving in his strength. Even if he was nothing compared to his mentor, he was a firm believer in the idea that there would always be someone better than him. Although, whether it contributed to his modesty was anyone's guess.

Amidst his resting, he peeked up at the sky, taking note of each and every cloud that floated by. Even if it was early morning, the fluffy masses still lingered about, drifting from one side of the sky to the other. Sometimes, the purple-haired male could make out the shape of an animal or even a random object, but all of his findings were rendered moot when he heard light footsteps approaching.

At first, he made a guessing game of it; a series of general deductions to see if he knew who they were. Since they were coming from the far right, it was not the Major who had been on the left lifting weights. Furthermore, since the footsteps were lighter and slower, it suggested a shorter stride length, more characteristic of a female. Among the girls Hotaka believed would approach the training facility, there were perhaps only a few, and even fewer with faces to their names. But, in the end, he could only come up with the face of the person he wanted to see most.

"It's like a major holiday for all the nobles," he shrugged, getting to his feet to show the proper respect to the young lady before unlocking the door for her, "I swore you wouldn't come today."

"Be glad I did."

Hurriedly, the (h/c) haired girl placed her bag down and pulled out a white shirt covered in blood stains. It took a good moment for the male to understand what it was. His first reaction was to smack the girl's hands away from it, making her drop it back into the bag. Though confused at first, rubbing the slight sting she'd been given from him, the girl believed she understood far more as the older male pulled out gloves to handle the evidence with. However, the reason for his reaction was a little different. Following after the concentrated boy into the bunker-like building, she remained silent to see his process.

Entering his office - with which was locked with the same, if not more, amount of security than the others in the building - the lights were turned on. The space that was revealed was very much professional. With everything he could possibly need for forensics and detective work, it left the girl to once again ponder how much of a personal allowance each of the Hatano Society's prodigies were provided. Though she could perhaps buy that Sitri was given a gigantic lab of her own somewhere in the school, Kara definitely didn't have her own ice skating rink. Or, at least, it didn't seem that way.

"Where did you get this?" the male finally asked, holding a UV light to the shirt to verify that it was not simply paint, "I told you not to make any dangerous moves - "

"Just have a little faith in me, won't you? I happened to find it last night in the closet. Since no one uses it, I can only assume the 'clean up crew' didn't find it. And since I've been the only one in the master bedroom, Shota completely forgot about where he got rid of this. But you can do something with it, right? I mean, you can match the blood to the victim and we can go from there. It'll be no time until he gets what's coming to him."

The older male paused at the statement, gazing up at the girl. Biting down on his bottom lip, he chose not to say anything, moving the shirt to the microscope. Despite the fact he could, with great difficulty, get the dried blood to give him an indication of where to start, it wasn't as easy as she made it sound. Furthermore, peeking inside the microscope, even the most cursory glance told him how arduous a task it really was.

"Well? I did good, right?"

Giving a shy look, the girl placed her folded hands in between her thighs, leaning forward on the table she had seated herself on. With concerned eyes and upturned eyebrows, it was clear just how much stake she had placed on that one article of clothing. Hotaka's heart skipped in his chest. He remembered having such a nervous feeling in his first cases. Despite the fact he knew cases could go either way at any moment, it was that sort of innocence that gave him sorely needed moments of respite and relief.

When he looked at the girl in front of him, he could tell just how much she wanted to bring Yasojiro to justice. It was almost a stark contrast to where she had boldly claimed she was going to be the one leading the investigation, almost pleading with the universe to give her some leeway towards achieving that goal. In many ways, he could only describe it as precious. But regardless of how he viewed her hope in the situation, he couldn't tell her what she wanted to know.

"(Y/n), I - "

"I'll get more, I promise, but...this is at least helpful, right?"

Hotaka had a problem. Grabbing at his chest, he felt the heavy weight placed there, taking in deeper breaths than he had done during pull-ups. Hiding his frown from the girl's sight, he placed his hand over his mouth, struggling to come up with an answer for how he was supposed to reply to her. How was he supposed to convey his appreciation for her eagerness while effectively stopping her from continuing her pursuits? Unable to come up with a solution, he could only murmur to himself, leading to the girl pulling out a notepad.

"I know I'm not a detective or anything, and I'm not trying to become one," she sighed, rubbing the back of her head as though it was sore, "but I've been trying to do my share as best as I can. Granted, the shirt is probably the most concrete thing I've found. Though, I think there are a lot more suspicious people in the mansion than before. If this is in any way useful, would you please use it?"

Hopping down from the table, (Y/n) handed her notepad over with a nervous glance, not making eye contact. In theory, she was only embarrassed at the way she had taken notes on those around the manor. However, Hotaka could only see the adorable sight of the younger girl looking for his recognition or approval. Covering his quivering lips, he gratefully took the notes and scanned them over, his eyes softening but still filling with concern.

Staring down at the first page, he fought back a half-nervous, half-doting chuckle at the way she had titled her spying project. With big bold letters used for the title of their investigation, he couldn't tell whether she was going for professional - regardless of however poorly executed - or childish. Though, through the power of deduction, he was able to distinguish her genuine wish to appear put-together and organized to be of use to him. No longer frowning, he now continued to hold his hand over his mouth to hide his out of place grin.

The more he looked through the notes she had taken, the more that grin sought to expand from cheek to cheek. It was out of place, and he knew he shouldn't have been taking the situation lightly, but he couldn't help it. She put profiles for certain employees she thought should have been watched more closely, writing even the most useless of details in. He was especially in awe over the first profile of a woman in the estate due to the inclusion of a drawing of her for reference. However, it was scratched out hectically, the girl likely far too embarrassed on the quality to show it proudly to him.

Rubbing the top right corner where it had been placed, the male wondered what it would have looked like without the vandalism. Despite the fact that he had a pretty good idea of it, he couldn't stop his curiosity regarding how it would appear untainted. The drawing itself wasn't  near the professional quality that sketch artists had, but it wasn't without its many charms. He couldn't stop a tiny chuckle, opting to cover it up with a cough instead.

"Thank you," he managed to get out after a while, "I can handle it from here."

"No, I can stay! I can get you drinks or snacks if you need, or even help clean, maybe? I can't do the sciency stuff, but...I'd like to help in any way I can."

Hotaka smiled softly. He wasn't going to shoo her away even if she distracted him from the forensics work. Even if it was a small solace, while she was in that building, she wasn't being supervised by someone from Yasojiro's side. It was a safe space despite the amount of weapons that resided within it. As such, he motioned to a far more comfortable chair for her to rest on, knowing she'd need it after a while.

From time to time, he would entrust her with a tiny task. It wasn't his intention to show his support for her being actively engaged in the case. Rather, he wanted more so to occupy her so she wouldn't go back to where Yasojiro was. However, it probably seemed more like the former. Her tasks ranged from grabbing him a soda, writing down as much as she could about what she knew, even choosing some music for them to listen to. Though she knew it was all busy work, there was no complaining from her side. There wasn't anything she could do when it came to criminal science, after all.

Before he knew it, Hotaka had gotten attached to her being there in the lab with him, so much so that time passed much faster. He had went and blinked and it came time for the (h/c) haired girl to pack up her things. As he peeked over at the other side of the room, he knew she would be returning to the manor for the redhead's birthday celebration. Something about it gave him a nasty feeling, so, hesitantly, he reached out to the girl and placed his hand on hers, stopping her from picking up her notebook.

"Need anything?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a mischievous grin.

"Well, that's..." A pause. "Game! Uh, by any chance, would you like to watch a baseball game?"

Truth be told, Hotaka didn't know what came into him. Though he knew it would be far less conspicuous for the younger girl to return to the estate for the redhead's birthday celebration, he didn't want her to return. He was still under the impression that it was safer near him than vice versa. Of course, even if it did warrant unnecessary suspicion from Yasojiro, she was better under protective custody than getting herself involved in the murder. Hotaka believed he would have chosen to save an innocent ten times out of ten. It was probably the most underlying view he held.

"Well, it's just it'd be nice to have some fun before having to go back to playing pretend, right? I heard it usually goes until daylight, too. Of course, if you want to rest, that's fine - I would want to rest. Or, just...can I offer you a place to...rest?"

(Y/n) smiled. It was always in his interest to help someone out, that much was obvious, and it always inspired others to want to be around him. She was no different. Just as he had thought, there weren't any positive thoughts in her mind about what the day had ahead of her. Rather, it was bound to be suffocating, not only because she would be in close contact with Shota, but also because those he invited were bound to try and compare her to those that were noble born.

"I would love to watch a baseball game."

Embarrassed and somewhat shocked that the (h/c) haired girl accepted his spontaneous offer, the older male could only smile contentedly. A little awkward, he looked around with confusion before flinching and walking stiffly out of the lab. Though the door lifted on its own, she could have sworn he looked for a way to hold it open for her. Chuckling, she swung her back over her shoulder and followed after him, always noting the way he'd look back. It was just to verify she was still there, nothing wrong with it, but it still made her grin wide.

Heading to a field placed behind the school, Hotaka was immediately tackled with great affection. One brunette threw his arm around his shoulder before deciding to put the younger boy in a lock while his friend began to playfully punch at his chest giving little "pews" here and there. At first, (Y/n) thought it was a sweet gesture, but Hotaka noticeably tensed up as he was restrained. Even if it was amateurish and he could break out of it, the idea of being in such a situation put him off-guard, so much so he almost reacted in sudden self-defense. He did hold himself back, however, and put on a smile, so the younger girl could only assume he took it lightly.

"Jeez, guys!" the male chuckled, easily breaking loose and messing up the former male's hair, "Don't scare me like that."

"We're just so happy to see our part-timer! And you showed up in your military uniform, too!"

"That always scares the crap out of them," the brunette snickered, motioning to the looks of awe on the opposing team warming up, "Hey, brought a friend?"

Taking a pause, a few other members of the team looked over when they heard the commotion. They weren't all that surprised to see their part-time shortstop, many of them having begged for him to come back to play a game with them, after all. It was more so that he was with someone they'd never seen. Granted, the purple-haired male had more friends than anyone could count, being particularly popular with other extroverts. Still, his closer companions belonged to the Hatano Society, always too busy with their own projects to join a game. The only one that ever tagged along to a game was Kenko, but that could have just been because he was a fan of the sport.

"I'm (Y/n)," the girl smiled, holding her hand out to receive a firm shake of the hand, "I'm being kidnapped right now, so I hope I'm in for a good game."

"Mm, you can count on it!"

"This is the team's number 1 catcher," Hotaka hummed, initiating an overy complex handshake with the guy, "Kipriano. We like to say we imported him directly from Stoula."

"Yep, yep! Ah, but I blend in pretty good, right? I've mastered this accent already."

"No, still the worst I've ever heard," the orange-haired male guffawed, receiving a punch in the back from the offended catcher.

Just then, the three stragglers were yelled at by their coach, Hotaka immediately being thrown his uniform. It seems they kept onto it for him so he wouldn't have to carry more than his training outfit in his bag. Regardless, before he changed, he led the (h/c) haired girl to a spot reserved for the player's friends and family. And while he ensured she was comfortable, offering food or drink, Kenko soon popped up in the stands with Sitri behind him, completely stunned to see someone had taken a seat before him.

"Take care of her for me?"

The brunette paused but nodded all the same, watching as the would-be player stumbled up the stands to change. He recovered shortly thereafter when Sitri pushed on his back, the male giving a sob. Sitting down, he rubbed at the crook of his arm, staring at the gauze wrapping with the sadness of a kicked puppy. That being said, he made sure to soothe whatever pain he had with plenty of snacks and a large soda that had been bought for him.

"I'm being exploited," the male soon complained to the younger girl, "She took advantage of me as a loving friend and stole my lifeblood like a vampire! You should have seen it! She put it under microscopes and added chemicals and now she's following me around!"

"It seems like she compensated you, so what's the problem?"

"No amount of food could ever - "

Irritated at the childish noises the male was making, the ravenette saw to push her finger down on the male's bandaged area. He squeaked like a choking parrot and almost dropped his food, only for the (h/c) haired girl to kindly grab it for him. Regardless, he remained quiet after that, aside from the silent crying he made from the trauma of needles he was subjected to. There was also the crunching of popcorn or other snacks, but Sitri deemed it annoying enough to sit on the opposite side of the younger girl.

"Did the lab go well?"

"Ah - " Sitri paused, her eyes sparkling at the girl's interest in the subject, "Yes."

"Care to share?"

Though a bit caught off guard from the question, the ravenette was happy to provide details, even sharing data on her computer as if she would understand it. Still, the two were able to talk as much as they liked while the two teams warmed up and other spectators poured into the stadium. And while observing them, Kenko had a difficult decision to make. Fiddling with his phone, he was conflicted over whether to snag a picture of the two or even to report it to Shota. Of course, there was no real loyalty he had to the male, but the cash prize was always nice to have.

Still, in the end, he decided it best to hide it. Sure, he would likely come to regret it. There were definitely others keeping watch on her, but when he looked at Sitri's face, he only felt a debt he had to pay to (Y/n) for making her that happy. The same went for Hotaka. Though he was on the other side of the field at the time, grabbing some popflies, his eyes always trailed back up to the girl. And if he knew better, he would have came to the conclusion that the super focused, super friendly, love all of humanity freak of nature had a crush.