"What should I do?"
The moment those came out, Misaki sounded pained. She was like a child who didn't know what to do with her problem.
Shishio only realized that she was badly hurt, yet he still hadn't heard the details which happened back then, which made him unsure what kind of advice he should give. The only thing he knew was that this girl was troubled by Mitaka.
'Mitaka...'
Shishio thought about this senior, who he hadn't met for so long.
Frankly, he didn't bother with Mitaka's life and even put him to the side since, unlike Sorata, who stayed on the Sakurasou for a while, Mitaka left directly, running away. Yet, Mitaka probably regretted his choice since Misaki wasn't as hurt as he had imagined.
In the past, Misaki was like a caged bird, only singing happily in front of Mitaka.
However, now, Misaki escaped from her cage and soared through the sky freely without any bondage to her body.
Yet Mitaka wouldn't let her go easily.
If before Mitaka was the only one for Misaki, it wasn't the same now.
Yet Misaki was the only one for Mitaka, and it was impossible for him to let her go so easily.
When he thought about it clearly, Shishio felt that Misaki and Shiina were quite similar.
In the original story, they were brimming with talent, and many were jealous of them, so they were mostly alone.
Yet Misaki was in luck since she had someone, who accompanied her, and this person was Mitaka.
On the other hand, Shiina also had stronger mental strength. She was like a firm reef in the middle of a rough sea. Yet Sorata entered her world and hurt her more and more because of his inability to stand by her side, making him feel inferior whenever he saw her, so he tore everything apart so she could stand by his side even if she lost everything.
Yet Sorata didn't know that Shiina worked hard for anyone, and in the place where he couldn't see, she was pouring her soul, energy, and everything into the white canvas.
However, Sorata didn't care about that and forcibly pulled her down from heaven, cutting her wings and turning her into a mortal, so she could stay by his side.
On the other hand, Mitaka's situation wasn't much better. Fortunately, his situation was better since he was handsome, so there was no lack of women who were attracted to him.
Still, similar to Sorata, Mitaka was crushed by Misaki's talent and hurt by her. Yet, unlike Sorata, who cut Shiina's wings, Mitaka trapped Misaki with an invisible cage, watching her from a distance, appreciating it, and pushing all the men who tried to approach her.
Sorata and Mitaka were the same. They were crazy about one woman and would do anything to get them.
Were they wrong?
No.
Falling in love with someone was their choice, and it was their free will to do so, but their method was wrong.
Frankly, Shishio couldn't be in a position where he could judge whether they were wrong or right, but he knew that Misaki was hurt, and Mitaka felt happy about that pain.
He might often hear that the happiness of someone was built from another's misfortune.
However, whether it was Sorata or Mitaka, they had taken the meaning of that sentence to another level.
While in a relationship, it was normal for a couple to fight. What Mitaka and Sorata did was downright torture.
Yet many relationships were quite strange.
Even if they knew their partner was using them, manipulating them, or even hurting them, they stayed with them desperately, like their partner was the only one for them.
Their friends and many others might have told them that their relationship was toxic, but they were stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone, treating their crush, loved one, or that person as the only one like a fanatical believer.
Believing someday that person would smile at them and give their feelings.
Unfortunately, that day didn't come.
If one treated someone as convenient and something they could trample upon, they would keep trampling them without showing their appreciation.
Mitaka and Sorata were like that, so Shishio thought it might be better for him to take Misaki.
"Hey, can you hug me?"
Misaki asked while looking at Shishio.
"Sure."
Shishio changed his position, sitting on his bed, and leaned on the window.
On the other hand, Misaki sat between his legs and leaned on his chest. She smiled and made him hug her tighter since his arms made her feel relieved.
"It's warm."
"Really?"
"Un." Misaki rubbed her face against his and said, "It's been a while since I felt like this."
"If you want, you can ask me anytime, though."
Misaki then pouted and said, "What a scumbag."
"Oh? You don't want to?"
"I have never said that!"
Misaki smiled like a child, then asked, "So can I ask you to hug me like this again?"
"Yes."
"When I am lonely?"
"Yes."
"When am I hurt?"
"Yes."
"When do I need someone by my side?"
"Yes."
Shishio rubbed Misaki's head gently and said, "Even if no one is by your side, I will always be by your side, Senpai."
Misaki bit her lower lips and stubbornly tried to do something from her eyes.
"What a cheeky junior!"
"You're also a troublesome senior."
The two looked at each other before they laughed.
Frankly, it had been a while since Misaki felt so free like this. She didn't need to worry about anything and could express whatever she wanted without feeling afraid of rejection, hate, or any other.
Misaki might have realized what kind of feeling she felt toward Mitaka.
During her childhood, she quickly realized that she was different from others. While many talked about romance, their favorite tv show, or mundane things, she had always wanted to create something. She wanted to create a work that could move anyone's heart.
Yet when someone was different in this country, they would be alienated.
Everyone isolated her, and they moved away from her, avoiding her like she was a plague. They felt inferior toward her, feeling satisfied with their mediocrity, and could only feel happy by looking down on someone when the truth, they had nothing.
However, they forgot that Misaki was only a girl and she was alone. She didn't have anyone to support her and numbed her mind by doing whatever she loved, ignoring their rambling or isolation.
Fortunately, she felt she was a blessing since she had a teacher who often told her that she was an alien, and in the small town where she lived, she was the only one, yet in a big city like Tokyo, she wouldn't be the only one.
Back then, Misaki didn't know what her teacher meant by those words, but when she realized everyone around him started to move away, making her alone, without anyone by her side, including Mitaka, who also decided to date her sister, she realized how empty she was.
Besides the anime, she had nothing.
She was crushed by gravity and couldn't breathe like she was in outer space.
Only coldness and loneliness were left inside her.
Yet even if Mitaka dated Misaki's sister, he couldn't forget about Misaki and tried to desperately chase her, so she wouldn't be alone in outer space. However, when he started to date her sister, the relationship between them changed.
Misaki, who didn't know anything and had zero emotional intelligence, thought by making Mitaka fall for her, she wouldn't be alone and wouldn't feel that feeling anymore.
Mitaka had fun and felt superior when Misaki, who had always been in her own world, would start to try everything to make him fall. Yet he was afraid his mediocrity would make her bored and leave him.
Unfortunately, the one that made her leave him wasn't his mediocrity. Instead, it was his cowardness toward his real feeling. Even if his intention was good at the beginning since he didn't want her to be alone, that feeling slowly turned hideous and entangled with various vile emotions, making them miserable.
However, Misaki was no longer alone.
Even if the process was tough and she needed quite a while, she realized she wasn't the only alien in this world. She wasn't the only special one and no longer alone.
Someone had accompanied her in space, making her smile and soaring freely from one star to another.
This was something Mitaka couldn't accept since he wanted to be by Misaki's side, sharing that success together.
However, from the "very" beginning, Misaki had never asked for something luxurious. She only wanted someone by her side when she was lonely, sad, and almost crushed by everything. She only wanted that, yet the one who understood was "him."
Unfortunately, that person wasn't Mitaka but someone else.
While his talent was amazing, Misaki would never glance at him if it was only his talent. The reason why she chose him was that he understood her and stayed by her side.
Misaki hugged him tightly and didn't let him go, but somehow, her feeling struggled for a moment and made her joke. "You're so kind today. Do you want to rub my boobs?"
"Can I?"
"You wish!"
Misaki laughed and pulled him to bed. "Let's sleep."
"Together?"
"Un." Misaki nodded and asked, "Can you? Or do you want to sleep together with Nanami?"
"Er..."
Shishio glanced from the corner of his eyes, and he could see Nanami peeking at them through the small gap between his door. He felt that Misaki should have realized Nanami was there too.
"Nanami, let's sleep together. The three of us. Come in!"
"....." Shishio and Nanami.
"Misaki-senpai..." Nanami opened the door, entering his room before showing a helpless expression.
"But if we're not together, I am afraid he might attack me..." Misaki pretended like she wanted to cry.
"No way! He won't do something like that!" Nanami fervently denied it, but then she thought for a moment and said, "But if you seduce him, he might do something to you."
"...." Shishio.
"....." Misaki couldn't say anything since she was the one who seduced Shishio.
"Okay. Okay. Let's sleep together."
Shishio pulled Nanami to the bed and slept in the middle with two girls between him. He patted their butts gently and said, "Let's sleep. I am a bit sleepy after catching that pervert before."
"......."
Nanami and Misaki looked at each other, but they must admit that this bastard was a scumbag!