Natsuo felt slightly awkward, but he entered the living room.
"Oh, Natsuo, have you woken up?" Akihito greeted his son with a smile.
"Yeah." Natsuo nodded and wasn't sure what to say since Hina was sleeping on the table. As for Tsukiko, even if she had become his stepmother, she wasn't his real mother. Even if they had talked to each other normally, there was a time he felt awkward.
As for Rui, there was no need to say anything, right?
In the end, they were just step-siblings.
Natsuo didn't have any expectations toward Rui again, especially since their relationship wasn't good and she had always given him a bad look. While he was helpless, he also felt annoyed since why should he be treated like this?
It was also the reason why Natsuo didn't take the initiative to say anything to Rui.
"Breakfast is almost ready. You should wait for a bit, Natsuo-kun," Tsukiko said with a smile.
"Ah, yes." Natsuo nodded and sat on his seat naturally. Still, he must admit even if his relationship with Rui was bad, she prepared everyone food, and even if their relationship was bad, they still showed that their relationship was good in front of their parents.
However, they underestimated their parents much since they could see how awkward Natsuo was with Rui.
Still, they felt it was normal after all, they were just strangers, and suddenly they were told they had become siblings. It was obvious they would feel uncomfortable, and they thought it was better to leave everything to the two of them.
It might sound irresponsible, but even parents also weren't sure what they should do.
After all, they didn't want to be seen as annoying and thought a time might solve everything.
Natsuo and Rui might not be close now, but what about the future?
Hopefully, they can become good friends.
As for siblings, it was quite hard.
The term "sibling" was quite strange after all.
Siblings were the closest strangers that were bonded by blood.
However, they weren't bound by blood, and they were just strangers if their parents didn't marry each other.
It was hard for them to get closer, especially when Rui didn't have a good impression of Natsuo.
Natsuo also didn't have any expectations again toward Rui since it was good as long as he could become closer to Hina.
"By the way, when he's going to arrive?" Tsukiko suddenly asked.
"Probably around ten? He'll text me when he has arrived," Rui said and put all the food on the table before she glared at Hina. "Hina-nee, help me!"
"..."
Hina lifted her body slowly before she helped her little sister to set up the table.
Natsuo didn't say anything and just watched Hina and Rui place the breakfast on the table. While their relationship wasn't good, he must admit the food was good. Still, his mood wasn't good, especially when he heard the conversation between Rui and Tsukiko.
"Tell him to come here first. I have something to talk about with him," Tsukiko said sternly.
"But..." Rui hesitated for a moment before she said, "We promised to meet at the station. It'll take a long walk for him to arrive here."
"He won't ride a motorcycle?" Tsukiko asked with doubt.
"Well..."
"Don't lie to me. Just tell him to come, so I can talk with him," Tsukiko said.
"..." Rui let out a long sigh, but she knew she couldn't fight against her mother, so she could only reluctantly agree and told Shishio what was happening. She wondered what her mother wanted to say, but one thing was for sure, she knew it wasn't something fun.
Rui then called Shishio and told him what was happening.
"Okay, I'll go there."
"Then, I'll wait for you." Rui was full of smiles when she talked with him.
Hina glanced from the side and could see how Rui blushed from time to time. Somehow, she could imagine how Shishio would do it when they went out on a date later.
"....."
Hina was silent and didn't know why, but she felt quite uncomfortable. However, she could only let out a sigh since she knew she didn't have a right to say anything in this matter.
Also, Hina's face flushed somehow when she thought Rui might be messed up by Shishio later.
Luckily, Hina was in the kitchen, facing backward, so no one could see her expression. She squeezed her legs together and let out a long sigh, wondering how to calm the fire on her body.
'But...'
Hina looked at Rui and knew it was impossible now.
'It's been a week, huh?'
Hina thought it had been a week since her trip with Shishio before.
"..."
Hina was in the middle of thinking for a moment before she felt it might be good to discuss this with Shishio later.
Natsuo also felt uncomfortable since he wasn't sure why, but he felt something had been lost from him. It might seem strange. After all, his relationship with Rui was practically stranger before, and while they might have accepted the fact they had become stepsiblings after they visited his blood mother's graveyard.
However, everything became bad when Natsuo mentioned Rui's relationship with Shishio. He felt Shishio was dangerous and a bastard, and she shouldn't date him.
Hearing Natsuo's words, Rui fought back and told him everything was her responsibility, and she knew the best for her, not him.
This answer annoyed Natsuo, and he wanted to say something, but Rui just ignored him.
Then, they reached today, and they were at the cold war.
If it wasn't necessary, neither of them would talk. However, to begin with, neither of them talked much, especially when Rui wasn't much of a talker either, so no one really noticed how massive the conflict between the two was.
After eating, Natsuo wanted to return to his room and thought about writing something since he had always wanted to become a writer. However, he was stopped by his father.
"Natsuo, don't forget to wash your dishes."
"...." Natsuo stopped and let out a long sigh. He knew Shishio would come today, but frankly, he didn't really want to meet him.
---
Shishio parked his motorcycle while looking at the house in front of him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt slightly nervous. However, he just shook his head before he rang the bell.
"Yes, yes, wait for a moment. Who is it?"
The door of the house was opened, and a beautiful mature woman greeted him.
Shishio was familiar with this mature woman, and he knew she was the mother of Rui and Hina. It might be his imagination, but she might look at him with a strange gaze. However, he thought it might be just his imagination, and he gave a polite bow. "Hello, auntie. Is Rui there?"
"You want to bring her on a date, right?" Tsukiko asked.
"Yes, is that okay?"
"Sure, but come in first. She's still getting ready, and there's something that I want to talk about with you about," Tsukiko said.
"..." Shishio.
---
Sitting in the living room, Shishio just had a hard time calming down, and he just wasn't sure what Tsukiko wanted to do.
"What do you want to drink, Shishio-kun?"
"Is there juice?"
"There's. Wait a moment." Tsukiko opened the fridge and leaned her body forward to check where the juice was. Still, her position caused her white and slender neck to be shown. In addition, the silhouette of her butts was shown through the fit-fitting skirt.
However, Shishio just looked away since while he had often said he might have an interest in housewives or anything, he didn't really plan to do anything to them. He just appreciated them, but for the next action, he wouldn't do it since he knew what kind of deviant thing he was doing if he really did a housewife.
Also, Tsukiko had just married, so her love for her new husband was strong.
There shouldn't be a place for him to interrupt, right?
Right?
"Um." Shishio interrupted Tsukiko's humming and asked, "Auntie, where's uncle?"
"My husband has some matters at his work suddenly. He should go back in the afternoon," Tsukiko said while bringing the cup of juice before serving it to Shishio. "Here you go."
"Thank you." Shishio accepted the juice and sipped it slowly, trying to calm his mind since he just felt weird by this sudden development. He also heard something outrageous too, wondering why her husband wasn't here right after he came.
'Rui, come here!'
Shishio wasn't sure whether Rui would hear his prayer, but he hoped she would appear soon since he felt weird just staying alone with her mother.
While watching him from the side, Tsukiko also sat on the sofa right on the side where Shishio sat. She observed him quietly, and she must admit he was handsome. She could understand why her daughter was crazy for him, but this wasn't the reason why they should do it in this house.
Still, Tsukiko also felt it was quite hard to mention this problem to Shishio, so after she sat, she didn't say anything, feeling confused about how to talk.
"Um... auntie, are you not working?" Shishio asked.
"No, it's Sunday, so I don't need to go to work." Tsukiko looked at Shishio with a smile and asked, "What? Are you disappointed?"
"Of course not." Shishio shook his head and said, "I am happy that I can meet you." He just subconsciously said this, but when he realized what had happened, he wasn't sure whether these words should be said to Rui's mother or not.
"Fufufu... you're happy to see a middle-aged woman like me?" Tsukiko asked with a chuckle.
"Middle-aged woman? Of course not. You're still young, auntie," Shishio quickly said. He felt his heart skip a beat when he said this since he felt everything was just wrong. He wasn't sure what this woman wanted to do, but he hoped for Rui to come since he was afraid to make a mistake that he shouldn't make.
However, Shishio quickly calmed himself since he knew everything happened because of his dirty mind, and as long as he cleared his mind, everything would be alright, so he did that and calmly looked at Tsukiko.
Still, the next words came from Tsukiko, making it impossible for him to calm down.
"Even if you're trying to be polite, I am happy to hear it." Tsukiko smiled happily before she said, "But even so, can I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
"Have you done it with my daughter?" Tsukiko asked calmly.
"..." Shishio.