"Thank you for your help, Shishio-kun." Tsukiko Fujii (Rui's mother) smiled and said, "It's great that you're there when she is sick."
"It's okay. You don't need to thank me, Auntie. I am also quite worried about leaving her alone. Also, let me apologize for using your kitchen and moving around your house without your permission. Even if I have Tachibana-sensei's permission, I haven't received yours..." Shishio apologized again since what he was doing was quite rude.
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize. After all, it is a sudden situation. Who would have thought Rui-chan would get sick." Akihito Fujii (Natsuo's father) waved his hand with a smile, showing his understanding.
"Yes, you don't need to apologize. If you're not there, I am not sure what will happen to Rui," Tsukiko said with a gentle smile.
Tsukiko, Akihito, and Hina had returned after work and gathered in the living room after they checked Rui's condition.
Shishio was also brought to the living room too.
"Still, I wonder where Natsuo is." Akihito seemed angry and said, "His stepsibling is sick, yet he isn't found anywhere."
"...."
Shishio was silent and didn't say anything. However, his expression was slightly unnatural and naturally changed the conversation's topic. "If you don't mind, I'll excuse myself. I have stayed quite late here after all."
"Ah? Are you going back early? Don't you want to have dinner with us?" Tsukiko asked since she was fond of her son-in-law candidate. Even though he came to their house so suddenly, he came to take care of Rui thoroughly until she got better. She had heard how bad her daughter's situation was before, but now, she was just slightly warm, and she should get better tomorrow.
Tsukiko was even surprised when she heard Shishio prepared dinner for Rui.
As for the wet towel, a uniform full of sweat, and bras placed on the basket in the bathroom, Tsukiko decided to pretend she didn't see anything since she was afraid Shishio might get embarrassed.
Still...
'Has their relationship reached that stage?'
Tsukiko was curious, but as a parent, it was also quite awkward for her to ask this question. However, she thought to ask this question to Rui later when she got better since she didn't want Rui to become a mother in her teens.
"By the way, Shishio, were you the one who cooked porridge in the kitchen?" Akihito asked curiously since he had smelled a delicate smell from the kitchen for a while. The smell aroused his appetite, and he wanted to try it.
"Ah, yes. I made it for Rui-nee before. I subconsciously made a lot since I was usually in charge of cooking. I am sorry." Shishio apologized.
"No, it's okay. It's okay. We didn't prepare a dinner either since we were coming in a hurry when we heard Rui-chan was sick, and we had thought to take it out in a nearby shop or something." Akihito quickly stopped Shishio, who apologized, and asked, "By the way, can I eat them?"
"Please." Shishio didn't stop Akihito since it would be wasteful to leave the porridge at it was. "Should I help you to prepare it?"
"No, no. How can we let you do that?" Tsukiko quickly stopped Shishio and said, "Just treat this place as your home."
"....."
Shishio looked at Tsukiko and wondered how he was going to interpret those words. However, it was better to keep his mouth shut since he was afraid the situation would become more complicated if he said something.
Tsukiko and Akihito went to the kitchen and tasted the porridge together, but then they couldn't help but shout out loud, "Delicious!!!"
"Wh-What?! What's wrong, Mom, Fujii-san?" Hina was startled when she heard the exclaim of Tsukiko and Akihito.
"Hina, try this. This is delicious!" Akihito said excitedly and didn't stop his hand from eating the porridge.
"Really? Shishio made this one, right?" Hina was looking at Shishishio in doubt.
"..." Shishio.
"Just shut your mouth and eat this." Tsukiko fed the porridge to Hina's mouth.
"DELICIOUS!!"
Hina was dumbfounded and just continued to munch the porridge on her mother's bowl.
"Hey, take your own bowl!" Tsukiko scolded her daughter and robbed her bowl back.
Hina pouted, but she didn't complain since she also decided to eat.
While the three ate the porridge, Shishio decided to excuse himself. "I have stayed too long. I'll go back now."
"Ah, I see. I am sorry that we can't send you back, Shishio-kun."
Unlike Shishio, who had his own motorcycle, the Fujii family didn't have a vehicle.
However, it was something normal in this country, especially when it was hard to maintain a vehicle, considering there wasn't even a carport in their house.
"I'll send you back," Hina said and stood up, ready to send Shishio back.
Akihito and Tsukiko nodded and felt relief to let Hina send Shishio back while Akihito tried to call Natsuo since his son hadn't come back.
Shishio looked at Akihito naturally, but he didn't say anything.
When they walked out of the living room, Shishio said, "You don't need to send me back, Tachibana-sensei?"
"Tachibana-sensei?" Hina looked at Shishio with a pout.
"....." Shishio looked at Hina speechlessly and said, "Hina-chan-sensei."
"Good." Hina smiled and said, "By the way, thank you for taking care of Rui."
"It's okay. You don't need to worry."
"Still, has she become your harem member?" Hina asked, but the smile on her face had disappeared.
"........"
Shishio looked at Hina for a moment and said, "Rui-nee is just a friend." They might be friends, but they were more than mere friends. However, he wasn't going to say it.
"Is that so?" Hina didn't want to continue this conversation and said, "By the way, thank you for your advice."
"Advice? When did I give you that?" Shishio was confused.
"Don't you remember it? You gave me advice when you announced that you were a scumbag in the school right after Golden Week." Hina stared at Shishio with contemptuous eyes.
"........" Shishio.
"However, I have to thank you for keeping my relationship with Shuu-san a secret." Hina was grateful for Shishio since he had never said anything about her relationship with a married man to her family.
"It's okay. You don't need to worry."
"Don't you want to ask me?"
They were right outside the house, and even if they talked to each other, neither Akihito nor Tsukiko would hear their conversation, so Hina was bold enough to say those words to him.
"About what?" Shishio wanted to go to Hiratsuka's apartment, but he stopped and looked at Hina, waiting for what she was going to say.
"About my relationship with Shuu-san. Don't you want to ask what has happened between us?" Hina asked with a faint smile on her face.
Shishio looked at Hina and wondered whether she wanted him to care about her. While he didn't really care, she was still Rui's older sister, and she also seemed to want him to ask her a question, so he asked, "What are you planning to do with him?"
"We have decided to take a break from our relationship. I think we need time for each other to see whether our relationship is right or not," Hina said those words surprisingly calmly as if she had planned to break up with her boyfriend from the beginning, but she just hesitated, so when someone pushed her back, she could do it without hesitation.
"Oh."
"You don't seem surprised." Hina pouted.
"It isn't surprising. After all, you want his responsibility, but he can't give you that, so next time, get a better man, alright?"
"Do you think it is easy to get a good man?" Hina asked annoyedly.
"Just do it slowly, don't be in a hurry. You're still young after all."
Hina was still young, compared to Hiratsuka or Chihiro. There were still many years in front of her, and there was no need for her to be in a hurry, especially when she was beautiful and had a stable job.
Still, Shishio also knew that Hina needed to be in a hurry, too, since a woman's youth was limited.
If not, Hina might become like Chihiro, who was still single even though they were in her 30.
As for Hiratsuka, she was alright since she had him now.
However, Shishio wouldn't tell this matter and shut his mouth.
"...It feels weird to hear something like that from someone younger than me." Hina looked at Shishio with a weird expression.
"So, is that all?" Shishio asked since he wanted to go back now.
Hina hesitated for a moment, but then she said, "By the way, are you free this weekend?"
"Weekend?" Shishio planned to bring everyone to a theme park but looked at Hina for a moment. Finally, he shook his head and said, "No, I am free. What's wrong?"
"Shishio-kun, I have troubled you so much, so why don't the two of us go somewhere this Sunday?" Hina asked with an awkward smile and strange blush.
"...Are you serious?" Shishio asked and was dumbfounded by her invitation.
"If you don't want to, it's alright, though, but... I might get depressed, and there are also many things that I want to talk about..." Hina started to murmur depressedly, thinking she had been rejected.
"...I have never said that I don't want to. Okay. I don't mind going." Shishio wasn't sure what this woman wanted to say, but one thing for sure, he was quite curious.
"That's great..." Hina let out a sigh of relief.
"......."
Shishio's nose twitched slightly before he asked, "Is it just the two of us?"
"...Yeah."
"Oh."
"........"
"See you next Sunday then." Shishio felt that it was quite awkward, so he decided to go back.
"Okay, see you next Sunday." Hina waved her hand gently and said, "By the way, don't tell anyone, alright?"
"...Sure. I won't tell Rui-nee or your family."
"That's great."
'What's great about it?' Shishio didn't question Hina's remark and just went to Hiratsuka's apartment, hoping everything was just his imagination.
Also, Shishio knew there was obvious trouble that waited for him in the Fujii family, especially when he knew someone stood in front of Rui's room when he did it with her.
While Shishio wanted to stop, he couldn't stop Rui, who had gotten wild since it had been a while for the two to be together.
Also, Shishio thought about Momo, who was waiting for his response.
Shishio looked at Momo's phone number for a while before he put his phone back since right now, he decided to focus on Hiratsuka first.
As he stepped forward, Shishio felt it was light, as if there was no burden or anything, making him realize he really had become a scumbag.