Chapter 672: TRICKING HIM
The two people faced off.
Inei looked stern, and it did not look like he would let it go. Emi faced her brother stubbornly, but she felt guilty, even though she had done nothing wrong. Her guilt came from knowing she could not tell the whole truth. If she did, the conversation would not go her way.
“Brother, it is nothing. I was not fighting.” I was beating someone up.
“You dare lie to me?” Inei asked gravely. “You have a dried drop of blood at the bottom edge of your jeans.”
Emi looked at the bottom of the jeans, even though she suspected her brother was tricking her to see her reaction. She knew the usual psychological tricks for exposing inner thoughts, but these tricks were famous because they worked.
A basic verbal trigger could cause an involuntary response, like talking about blinking or breathing. Whether someone is aware of the trick or not, they will notice breathing or blinking becoming manual and uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, Inei was not using a trick. There was a dried drop of blood on the seam of her jeans. She was careful, but it seemed she missed that stray splutter in the confusion. It was exactly how murderers got caught.
.....
“I did not fight. Someone tried to grab me, and I became a little overzealous. That’s all.” She stepped away from Inei before he could investigate further.
“Is that so?” Inei asked with suspicion. “Where were you?”
“I am not a child. You cannot monitor my moves like in the past. We are a part of Martial Island anymore, and the people who might have harmed our family are dead. Anyway, no one knows I am connected with the island.” Emi said flippantly.
“If I was monitoring you, I would know where you are instead of questioning you.” Inei smiled. “Perhaps, I should go back to finding out things for myself. It will make Mom and Dad rest easier if they know how you are doing through detailed reports.”
“No!” She shouted before softening her voice. “You know they are already worried. You can just tell them I am doing great. Look at me.”
Emi turned around to show she was fine. She used to do it all the time as a child when her parents would ask her if she was ok. Of course, at the time, she used to be involved in a lot of fights, official and nonofficial.
“Acting cute won’t work.” Inei was not impressed. “If you tell me where you were, I will feel better. Maybe, I will stop our mother’s plan to buy another house in the neighbourhood and split time between the two cities.”
“What? She is planning to move to Tokyo?” Emi was horrified.
“You should call her more often.” Inei smiled. “Now, the truth.”
“Fine! It is nothing major. I took up a private tuition project with one of my students. The bodyguard at the door was a little obnoxious, so I took action to teach him a lesson. End of story. Are you happy now?” Emi was annoyed already.
Inei narrowed his eyes, trying to determine if she was lying. He could not tell for sure, but he felt like she was hiding something in between the words. More importantly, he could see the concealed sadness in her eyes.
“You are hiding something.” He said after a long moment.
“You are my brother, but you do not have to know every detail of my life.” Emi rolled her eyes.
“So, there is something to know,” Inei responded.
Emi could not be bothered by this nosy nag. She started walking to the kitchen to get some water to drink. Thinking of it, she had not eaten or drunk anything since she left the house. The Yagi people were very rude to their guests.
She snorted with annoyance as she thought of her terrible day.
“Did you bring food from wherever you came? I am hungry.” She said to her brother as she opened the fridge.
“No way. You would have smelt it and figured things out too quickly.” Inei answered.
“Childish!” Emi pouted.
“You know you enjoy my little scares,” Inei said.
Emi rolled her eyes. Inei was a horror and thriller fan, and he took it to the next level. He did not only watch the films, but he also purchased the merchandise. He had an entire room in his house dedicated to his nerd crap.
But it was true.
She enjoyed their time together, including his little scare games. She could not deny that she loved watching the films with him, even though she was more of a reality and chick flick girl. Their other two siblings were utterly disgusted by this interest.
“I had fun. Now, I am hungry.” Emi continued complaining.
“Fine, my great princess. I will cook something for you.” Inei capitulated to the light nagging.
“I knew big brother is the best.” Emi smiled happily. “I will take a shower first.”
Emi left the kitchen with a skip in her step. She was happy to trick her brother into cooking for her. He was quite the talented cook, but his skills were rarely showcased. She only discovered the talent when she stayed with him for a couple of months.
As soon as she disappeared, Inei’s gorgeous face lost the smile. He could not find it in himself to be alright with her explanation. He knew he should let it go and let her figure things out for herself. But he would not truly be comfortable without knowing.
He needed to understand if the personal matter concerned her safety. If she could handle it, he would not interfere. If not, he would find a way to manage the problem.
After all, he was a fixer.
Unfortunately, he could not use his usual channels for information. If he did, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the family got involved, and Emi would be extremely mad. She might forgive him because they were close.
But he did not want chaos.
For now, he could only check her GPS tracker and find where she was earlier. With a few taps on his phone, he discovered the address. Immediately, his face became grim.
This could be a problem.
