He had thought of this situation happening sooner or later, never had he predict it occuring this soon.

Fear and panic strikes after the realization he had earlier when he processed the words that left your lips, recognizing the very hat you grasped in front of him to see.

You just so happened to have stumbled upon the red hat on the ground, almost hiding underneath the couch—of course, after recognizing it, you have already known what he'd been doing away while "working" for the Port Mafia.

"Wait—" Tachihara takes a shallow breath to focus himself for a moment. "Wait, {{user}}, I can explain this."

Tachihara tries to speak, but the panic and desperation is already evident in his voice. He didn't want to ruin your friendship cause' of him, because of his secret identity as a Hunting Dogs member.