Mai had never thought that sleeping could be so exhilarating. She was just sleeping beside him, but all vexatious, awful never-ending cycle, this flood of outrageous thoughts, and all other disappeared directly as she was beside him. Even though it might be bold, he also took advantage of her, she didn't hate it, and somehow she learned what happiness meant.
However...
Mai somehow felt something was missing, and as she opened her eyes, she saw that the scumbag had disappeared.
"..."
Her heart stopped, and her eyes were in shock. "SHISHIO!!!" Ignoring the fact that the wall insulation in this place wasn't good, she screamed loudly and searched for him, panicked. She didn't want to be forgotten. She wanted to be remembered. "Shishio, where are you?!" She kept screaming and felt frightened at the thought that he had left her until she heard his voice from the outside.
"Mai, I'm outside! Open the window!"
Without hesitation, Mai opened the window and looked at Shishio, who waved his hand, smiling toward her direction.
Still, Shishio, who saw Mai's expression, knew that he had done something wrong to Mai.
---
"I'm sorry, alright?"
Mai didn't listen to his apology and kept hugging Shishio on the beach outside of the inn.
Shishio also knew that it was wrong to leave Mai so suddenly in the morning, but there was something that he needed to check, and he couldn't get a signal inside the inn, so he needed to go to the outside.
"Did you go out because you want to use this chance to make me fall for you by using a suspension bridge effect? If so, then congratulations, you have made me hate you," Mai said as she stared at Shishio grieffully since she was so frightened before when she thought that he had left her.
"Of course not. If I don't have something to do, I won't leave you. Also, you have fallen for me, right? So what's the use of using this cheap trick?" Shishio said as he hugged Mai.
"Who is falling for you?!" Mai retorted with a blush on her face, but then she asked, "I hope that you have a good reason for leaving me." She curled her lips and grumbled, showing how annoyed she was.
"Well, how about we sit down while we talk?" Shishio said.
Mai stared at Shishio for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
Shishio then sat down on the beach, and Mai sat next to him.
"You're not sitting on my lap?" Shishio asked.
"...." Mai looked at Shishio for a moment and nodded. "Don't take advantage of me, alright?"
"We have kissed each other. What are you embarrassed for?" Shisho said speechlessly.
Mai blushed instantly as she slapped Shishio's thigh before she sat on Shishio's lap as she stared at the sea, watching the sunrise and the Tori Gate that was hit by the waves several times.
The Torii Gate might have been built for centuries, but it was still standing firm on the single rock, being hit by the rough waves millions of times.
Mai had never thought the scenery in front of her was so divine, and it made her realize how beautiful the world was.
"Beautiful..."
Mai blushed and looked at Shishio as she rested her head on his chest. It might be because it was early in the morning, so the temperature was still quite chilly, which caused her to shudder, but then she felt him hugging her body gently, sharing his body warm on her. She looked at him with a pout, but she didn't say much and asked, "I hope that you have a good reason for leaving me so suddenly."
"Well, before that, you smell good, Mai." Shishio could smell the scent of flowers from Mai's hair that invaded his nasal cavity and caused him to sniff her hair several times.
"Enough of a joke!" Mai's face was red as she twisted Shishio's waist.
"Ouch! Ouch! Stop, Mai!" Shishio showed a painful expression even though it wasn't.
Mai snorted and said, "So can you tell me what are you doing here, leaving me alone inside the room?" Even though the scenery in this place was breathtaking, she didn't think that it was better than sleeping while hugging her, right? After all, compared to the beauty of nature, she believed in her beauty more.
"Of course." Shishio nodded and said, "I have good news for you, Mai."
"Good news?"
"Yeah." Shishio smiled and said, "You're alright now."
"....." Mai.
Shishio might not be able to forget Mai's expression right now since it was so funny that it made him ignore the beauty of the Pacific Ocean in front of him.
"How?" There is only one question on Mai's head right now.
"Do you know about this forum?" Shishio said and showed the forum that he had made before.
"Well, I know this forum since I have heard that everyone in the class lately. It is quite popular, right?" Mai nodded with a confused expression and asked, "So what's wrong with this forum?"
"I made this forum," Shishio said.
"..." Mai was dumbfounded, but then she asked unsurely, "...Did you make this forum for me?"
The truth, even if Shishio didn't meet Mai, he had planned to make this forum, but since Mai asked him this question, he nodded without hesitation and said, "Yeah, I made this forum to help to solve your situation." He looked at Mai, who showed an expression that told him to continue talking, so he explained why he made this forum and how he had helped Mai solve her situation.
On Sunday night, Shishio had started his plan by triggering the memory of everyone with a flood of discussions about Mai Sakurajima. Everyone forgot Mai, so all he needed to do was remind everyone about Mai.
Shishio put a photo of one actress to one actress after another, asking the students on the forum whether the actress in the photo was Sakurajima Mai, but they denied him. However, he was persistent and kept telling them that the actress in the photo was Sakurajima Mai. Still, they were also persistent, but at the same time, they also forgot how the face of the Sakurajima Mai looked. However, as he kept repeating the process several times, finally, someone remembered and posted the photo of Mai Sakurajima on the discussion.
By then, it had become a snowball effect, and everyone remembered Mai Sakurajima.
Mai was dumbfounded when she heard Shishio's explanation since she didn't expect that he had planned everything to solve her problem. She was happy that her problem was solved, and from the reaction of everyone on the forum, she knew that she was remembered again, but then again, she felt annoyed with Shishio. "Why didn't you tell me?" If he had made such a plan, then she wouldn't be this scared, right?
"I'm not sure whether this method is working or not. If this method fails, then you'll be disappointed, right? So I keep this matter a secret until it is working. Luckily, it is working," Shishio said with a sigh since the method he had planned was working. Still, he also needed to thank Ryuunosuke since he had helped him.
Mai stared at Shishio, then asked, "So from the beginning, you have never thought to confess to me?"
"..........."
Shishio felt that his heart stopped at that moment, and he saw Mai kept staring at him, waiting for him to answer her question. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, I plan to. If this plan fails, then I'll confess to you in front of everyone, even though I might hurt my girlfriends during the process." He grabbed Mai's hands, rubbing them gently while thinking that her hands were so cold that he felt that he was holding an ice cube. Luckily, as he rubbed her hands and shared his warm body, her hands became warm.
Shishio knew that his decision to confess Mai in front of the public might lead to a disastrous effect on his girlfriends since he would hurt them. After all, no girls wanted to see their boyfriends confess to another girl right in public since it was similar to public humiliation. Not that he could say that he was right either since he was a scumbag.
"So, do you love me?" Mai asked, kept staring at Shishio to see whether he was lying or not, but frankly, his words touched her since it was told with a genuine feeling. Shishio might be a scumbag, but when he faced a woman, he faced them with a genuine feeling, with some white lies in between so they wouldn't notice.
If it was before, Shishio might give a choice to the girls whether they wanted to play around or had a serious relationship with him, but for this girl, it was different. He looked at Mai, looking straight into her eyes, and said, "Mai, I want you. Will you be mine?"
Mai curled her lips and said, "What a scumbag."
"......."
"But I don't hate it." Mai showed a beautiful smile and asked, "Still, I won't agree to your confession."
"......."
Mai looked at Shishio's reaction and felt a bit annoyed. "Can you at least show some frustration?"
Shishio sighed and said, "I mean, isn't it normal for you to reject me? I'm a scumbag anyway."
Mai snorted and said, "If so, then you give up so easily?"
"Of course not." Shishio then took Mai's lips again, which caused her to open her eyes in surprise.
Mai was dumbfounded and wanted to push him, but this indescribable feeling filled her chest. She felt that she might not feel it if she did it with someone other than him.
They kept kissing as the sound of waves hitting the Torii Gate was heard several times, showing the jealousy of the Pacific Ocean toward Shishio, wondering why this bastard could kiss such a beautiful girl.
As they parted their lips, Shishio asked again, "Mai, I love you." He kissed her forehead while hugging her in his arms.
"Um." Mai's face was red, and she nodded, but she was still dissatisfied with the fact that this guy was a scumbag. "Let me talk with your girlfriends first."
"Okay." Shishio nodded and didn't overthink since he had caught this girl, so whether Mai would answer him right now or sooner, it was all the same. While Mai's problem was solved, he thought about Shiina, Saki, Nana, and Miu and knew that he needed to coax them so they could become a sister willingly. "After this, do you want to go around Ibaraki? It's wasteful if we don't use this chance to tour around."
"Okay." Mai agreed without hesitation and didn't care whether they had skipped school twice. "I have heard that there's a beautiful flower garden here. I want to see that."
"Sure."
They talked to each other until the sun rose and their stomachs rumbled. They decided to return to the hotel, but they were surprised to see the inn owner who was about to enter their room when they opened the door.
"Oh? Have you woken up? I thought I'd wake you up? Also, who is this? Your girlfriend?" The inn owner asked one after another with a disappointed tone, thinking that all the good men had been taken.
"Yes, she's my girlfriend." Shishio didn't shy away, introducing Mai as his girlfriend, and Mai also didn't say anything, only blushing while looking away.
"How about we have breakfast now? I have prepared it. Come on." The inn owner directly hugged Shishio's arm and pressed it into her two soft mountains, making him giddy, but he quickly escaped from the inn owner since Mai stepped on his feet.
"Thank you," Shishio said with a smile which caused the inn owner to daze, but then Mai pulled his ear. "Ouch! Ouch! Mai, stop! It hurts!"
"Next time, don't stay in this inn again."
Mai was afraid that if Shishio stayed in this inn again, there might be an affair happening.