Chapter 11

"Nii-san." Dan nudged Hayata who was dozing on the bench. Hayata sat up straighter and took the newspaper beside him. He pretended to read while watching Taro furtively. Dan meanwhile pretended to be engrossed in a book but not actually reading it. He saw Taro strolled leisurely towards them. When he was near enough, they flared their powers a bit to watch Taro's reaction. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Taro faltered and stopped not too far from them. He wore a puzzled expression and continued walking past them warily.

"Did you see that?" Dan whispered under his breath.

"Shush. Don't do anything suspicious. Let him come to us."

Dan arranged his posture from stiff to relax and non-threatening. He almost laughed out loud when he saw Taro squirmed on his bench while looked at them with a confused expression.

'Come on, otouto. Take the bait.' He urged from his mind.

Raito bit his lower lips in indecision. When he passed the two strangers, there were a strange sensation from them. He frowned and watched their face carefully. He was pretty sure he never saw them before. He watched them surreptitiously while having internal battle within himself.

'Shall I go to them?' He thought, uncertain. He looked his surrounding but he didn't knew what he was searching for. He sat there for a while before he took a deep breath and made his way there.

'Yes! The bait had been taken.' Dan thought happily.

'At last.' Hayata sighed, satisfied.

"I'm sorry." Both of the ultra snapped their eyes upwards and watched him. They looked at him critically to make sure there was no long lasting injury from the fight. Meanwhile, Raito almost took a step back from the intense stare that had been directed to him from the strangers.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and saw the two elderly men shook their head as to clear their thought.

"Yes?" Both of them smiled at him albeit a bit forced. Raito shuffled his feet a bit. Hayata smiled in reminiscence.

'That's what Taro will do if he's nervous.'

'This is a bad idea. Very bad idea. I should not come to them.'

"Why don't you sit here." The one who wore a farmer's outfit said and interrupted his thought. The other one nodded and smiled softly. Raito sat down hurriedly between them.

"So, what's your name?" The other one asked him.

"Tohsaka Raito."

"My name is Shin Hayata." The one who asked his name said. This," he gestured towards his companion, "is my brother, Moroboshi Dan." The one who told him to sit down inclined his head in greeting.

"Brother? You don't look alike." Raito watched both of them in concentration. He didn't saw any family resemblance from their feature.

"Brother-in-arms actually. He's my older brother. Or do you think family are restricted by blood only?" Dan asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah. Family is the one you can trust with your life. You can trust them to save and protect you when the time comes." Raito answered automatically. He frowned.

'Why did I said that?'

Dan almost raised his hand to ruffle Taro's head before he stiffened. He put it down jerkily.

'No. It's not the right time.'

'I'm sorry. I failed you, otouto.'

Dan and Hayata thought simultaneously. Raito looked at them and saw sadness painted at their faces.

"You okay?" He asked hesitantly. Both of them quickly put their smile on their face.

"Just remembering our brother. You know, you look just like him." Hayata sighed.

"Oh? It must be a coincidence then. Where is your brother?" Raito asked, curious. Their slumped shoulders told him what he wanted to know.

"Oh. Sorry." He said meekly.

'Stupid, stupid. First question you ask and you have already hurt their feelings. Marvelous.'

Raito berated himself. The two ultra smiled fondly when they saw his guilty expression. They could guess what was playing in his mind.

"Don't worry. You didn't hurt our feelings." Hayata placated him. He looked at them with wide eyed expression.

'How did he know what I'm thinking about? Can he read my mind?'

"I can't read your mind. From your expression, I can guess what you're thinking about." Hayata spoke calmly. From his side, he heard Dan tried to muffle his laugh.

'Holy shit!'

"And stop cursing. It is not a proper manner for a gentleman." Hayata looked at him sternly although he was almost bursting with laughter. He saw Raito blinked with wide eyed expression.

'Adorable, as always. Show us that expression and we will move heaven and earth just for him.'

Unknowingly, Hayata and Dan thought the same thing. Raito looked at them back and forth. He sighed and slouched on his seat.

"I'm not going to ask." He decided finally. Dan burst out laughing when the ordeal was over. Even Hayata snickered. Raito looked at them indignantly for a while before he gave up.

"So, what brings you here?" Dan asked him innocently. Both of them knew why, but they wanted him to tell them first to build some rapport.

"Oh yes!" Raito straightened himself. "When I passed you just now, I felt something. I don't know what. But one thing for sure, the feeling originated from both of you. What is it?" He asked curiously. Dan glanced at Hayata. He's not going to interrupt whatever explanation his nii-san was going to make.

"So you feel it?" Hayata pretended to act surprised. He nodded and feigned to mull the discovery in his mind. Dan smirked inwardly. His nii-san always had the flair for the dramatic.

"So?" Raito asked, exasperated. He felt that they knew but for some reason, refused to tell him.

"Ah sorry, sorry." Hayata apologized. "But for me to tell you, you need to meet some other people too. Only then can we tell you." Hayata smiled innocently. If Raito still retained Taro's curious behavior, he would go.

"Who is it?" Raito rolled his eyes. They really had pulled his legs.

"Some of my brothers too. I wanted them to meet you and gave their opinion for you. Do you agree?"

"Fine. When?"

"Tomorrow. Same time as today?"

"Alright." Raito said grumpily. He sat up and turned to leave. "I'm leaving you two old coot here. Bye." Raito crossed his hands over his chest and walked away. Due to their ultra abilities, Hayata and Dan could still heard Raito grumbled along the way. They turned to each other and shook their head in fondness.

"This will be quite interesting, nii-san."

"I know, Seven. I know."