The misunderstanding had happened, and Shishio had explained, so there was no need to worry about it anymore since the more important thing was to understand why Rui suddenly fell into him.
His sense of smell instantly caught something, and he pressed her forehead subconsciously.
"It's hot!" Shishio was surprised and said, "You have a fever!"
Rui's breathing was rough as she tried to stand up.
"Fever?"
Listening to his voice, the girls realized there was something unusual about Rui.
While her reddened face and gasp seemed erotic, they became worried since the cause of this was an illness.
"Should I take you to the hospital?" Shishio asked.
"No... I want to go home..." While Rui was weak, she could still listen to his voice. She didn't want to make her family panic and just wanted to go home, resting, but her body was too heavy, and she was so dizzy.
Shishio looked at the girls, and they also understood him.
"Just send her back if she's sick," Miu said worriedly.
The others were also the same since no one would expect Rui to have an illness, and they also looked at her worriedly.
"Sorry, I'll make this up later."
Shishio helped Rui change her shoes and, along with others, walked out of the school before he entered the taxi with Rui after saying goodbye.
Still, the girls were curious at how he was going to make things up for them.
Also, they had a feeling the number of girls around him would increase after this, especially when they saw how he took care of the girl who was sick, and somehow, they wanted to fall sick too, so he would take care of them.
Inside the taxi, Shishio told the driver to send them to Rui's house and moved carefully so as not to make Rui feel dizzy.
The driver nodded, following his words since he could tell Rui was sick from her complexion. Still, he must admit it was quite weird to see someone whose head was wrapped in gauze taking care of the sick. However, this wasn't his problem since he was just a driver and he just needed to send them to their destination.
Shishio didn't care about the driver and took care of Rui by letting her sleep on his lap, taking care of her bag, and wrapping his blazer around her body to warm her up.
However, Rui frowned, showing an uncomfortable expression.
"Rui-nee, did you feel sick? Is it motion sickness? Because you were lying down? Come here."
Rui was moved, and she slept peacefully on his chest.
'It smells nice...'
Rui opened her eyes lightly and looked into his profile for a moment before she snuggled further as she let him pat her back gently, reassuring her that everything was alright.
Before long, they arrived at her house, and Shishio entered after he got the key from Rui. He carried her all the way to her room and put her on her bed gently.
"Rui-nee..."
Rui was sleeping soundly and didn't seem to wake up soon, but she didn't let go of his hand and held it tightly.
Shishio looked at Rui for a moment and gave up to wake her up. He took a novel he brought to read in the school and read it quietly on the side as he held her hand, but he thought for a moment and decided to text Hina.
As for how he could get Hina's contact information, there was no need to say, right?
Shishio: "Rui-nee is sick. I am accompanying her at the house now."
Shishio thought it would take a while to receive his reply, but he didn't expect Hina would reply to him so soon.
Hina: "What? Really? What should I do? I am going to be late to go back."
Shishio was speechless and replied, "Don't worry, I'll take care of her until one of you returns."
Hina: "Is that okay? Your girlfriends won't be mad at you?"
Shishio: "She suddenly fell in front of me when I was with my girlfriends. They understood the situation, so it should be alright. But can you tell me where you put..."
Shishio asked where their family kept a basin, glass, towel, medicine, and other necessary things to take care of the sick.
Hina also answered one by one and told him everything she needed to know before she told him she would try to go back as soon as possible.
As for Natsuo Fujii, neither Hina nor Shishio talked about him at all since they didn't think Natsuo would be able to help at all.
They ended their conversation shortly after Hina repeatedly told him she would return as soon as possible.
Shishio put his phone in his pocket before looking at Rui's sleeping face. He had taken off her blazer, leaving her with only her white shirt and short skirt. He thought for a moment and decided to prepare a compress for her.
Letting go of her hand, Shishio walked out and prepared everything that was needed when one was cold.
Still, Shishio wondered whether this was alright and where was Natsuo Fujii right now?
While Shishio and Rui were at home together, Natsuo, who didn't know anything, decided to visit his friend at the L'Amant cafe where his friend was working. Unlike in the original, his relationship with Rui wasn't particularly close, and their relationship was just greeted by each other shortly after, and it had slowly become better, especially after they had visited his mother's grave together.
However, everything changed after Natsuo decided to talk about how close Rui with Shishio was.
Natsuo, as a step-brother, tried to take care of his step-sister since he knew Shishio was a scumbag and being with him wasn't good, but the result?
While a huge fight didn't happen, Rui just stared at him coldly and said, "It's my own problem. You don't need to take care of me."
"What?! How could you say---"
However, Rui ignored him directly, and neither of them talked until now.
Still, Natsuo felt bad and thought to discuss it with his friend about this matter.
His friend, who heard Natsuo's story, also agreed with Natsuo's action since being with a scumbag wasn't good, and it was better for his step-sister to move on early.
"Let me take care of your step-sister then."
"The hell?!" Natsuo looked at his friend, unhappy, thinking that this guy also wasn't good!
Also, Natsuo wasn't sure why, but he just felt uncomfortable when he saw Shishio and Rui were so close to each other. They were just step-siblings, and he knew he shouldn't be involved with her trouble so much, but he was also worried about her since they had become a "family."
While the two were talking to each other, Masaki Kobayashi, or Marie, had been listening to their conversation and couldn't help but interrupt. "Natsuo-chan, I don't think it is good for you to reject the relationship between your stepsister and this scumbag so one-sidedly."
"Master!!" 2x
Natsuo and his friend, Fumiya Kurimoto, were surprised.
However, Natsuo frowned and asked, "So you mean, I have to agree?"
Shaking his head gently, Masaki said, "You should know that when one is in love, they'll become blind. Look at me, for example."
"You?" 2x
"Yes." Masaki nodded and said, "When my father found out that I was a homo and loved a man, even decided to embrace my inner self as a woman, he decided to sever our relationship. Unfortunately, by then, he had died, and it was too late..." He let out a depressed sigh as he put his hand on his cheek.
Fumiya and Natsuo were dumbfounded but also understood Masaki's sadness.
However...
"...But how can I allow that? I know that man is a scumbag, yet I just let her be fooled by him just like this?" Natsuo asked. He was still stubborn since it was his first time encountering this type of problem, so he was confident he wouldn't mess up like Masaki.
Masaki stared at Natsuo for a moment and asked, "Do you like your step-sister?"
"What?!" Natsuo was dumbfounded with a slight blush on his face since he was new in the matter of the opposite gender, and he also didn't have experience on it, so this question startled him, and it made him blush.
"Oh? I see..." Masaki nodded in a thoughtful manner. "Now, I understand why you want them to part with each other."
"You misunderstood!"
"Natsuo... you...!" Even Fumiya stared at Natsuo in disbelief.
"It's alright, isn't it? After all, there isn't any law that forbids one to marry a step-sibling."
"Master!"
Masaki shook his head and stopped to tease Natsuo. "Natsuo, you should understand, when someone is in love, it is like there's a flame inside their heart. If someone forbids them, that flame will become so intense that they won't be able to stop, so instead of trying to stop them, isn't it better to talk to your step-sibling first? Ask her what she likes about this scumbag? Why has she fallen for this scumbag?"
"...."
Natsuo was in silence since not only his step-sibling but most of the girls in his school had fallen for this scumbag!
However, Natsuo must admit there were many reasons for girls to fall for Shishio.
Not only was Shishio the most handsome, athletic, popular, good personality, smartest, but there was also even a rumor that he was quite wealthy, and his thing was huge.
With all of those points, it would be strange if a woman wouldn't fall for him.
However, as for a guy, Natsuo could only bite his lips in jealousy, and it was also hard to understand Masaki's advice since what he wanted to do was just to part with Shishio and Rui as soon as possible.
Masaki could also see how Natsuo was going to perceive his advice, so he didn't say anything else since it was useless.
His stay made him not feel good, so he decided to return home after he emptied his coffee.
Fumiya told Natsuo that it was better to give his step-sister to him.
However, Natsuo could only walk out faster since even though he knew Fumiya was a great guy, he didn't want to give Rui to him. He knew that it might be selfish of him, and he just wanted to maintain their relationship like this as a normal sibling without an interruption from the outside.
Still, Natsuo thought it was also necessary to talk with Rui since he knew it would be awkward if their relationship kept like this even though their parents had decided to marry each other. He didn't want to bring a problem to his father, so he returned back and thought to talk with Rui.
"I am back."
Natsuo was surprised when he smelled a delicate aroma from the kitchen and wondered whether Rui was cooking. He knew Rui had a hobby to cook, and her food was delicious, so with excitement, he entered the house, thinking the food was made from him, but then his heart stopped when he saw unfamiliar shoes placed in front of the entrance of his house.