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nNatsuo was burning red when he faced the ground since he didn’t expect he would fall down like this.

nIt was so shameful!

nAll the thoughts in his heart disappeared, and they changed into shame.

nIt felt like being poured cold water, which made him want to hide somewhere at that moment.

nThis fall also somehow awoken him since he could tell what kind of stupid thing he was about to do.

n“You alright?” Shishio asked after he made Natsuo fall to the ground. He had a “Judo Mastery,” and judo had many techniques. One of them was foot sweeping, making one trip to the ground. It might seem strange for him to do this, but this guy tried to grab his collars, so he directly made him stumble.

nShishio also could see Natsuo’s eyes were clouded with something which was troublesome. If it was a different place, especially in a quiet place, it was okay. However, it was different if it was in public.

nShishio could see Natsuo was like a rabid dog. It was better to move away from him instead of getting closer.

n“I… I am alright.” Natsuo answered subconsciously.

n“It’s good that you’re alright.” Shishio then left without hesitation.

nWatching him leave, his girls also followed after they looked at Natsuo with a strange gaze before they forgot about him.

nBut Hina was still there to help Natsuo stand up. “Natsuo-kun, what are you doing?”

n“Ah, um…” Natsuo, who was about to stand up, was startled and wasn’t sure how to answer this question. Unlike his father, he was still in the dark about what had happened. He thought Rui was seduced by Shishio to leave the house. What was even worse, Hina wasn’t at home, going out somewhere he didn’t know, which made his emotion unstable.

nEven if Hina didn’t understand anything, she could see something was wrong with Natsuo. “What’s wrong?” The only thing she hated was causing trouble. It was only a moment, but she could tell Natsuo was about to cause trouble for Shishio, which made her unhappy, but after all, Natsuo was her step-brother. Even if she was unhappy, she needed to know what Natsuo was about to do and why he did this.

nStill, Hina also knew how Natsuo had a prejudice against Shishio. After all, she still remembered how bad he talked about Shishio after the Tanabata party. While she hoped for him not to have such prejudice, she knew it was hard to erase such a thing unless he saw a good point of Shishio.

nHina wanted to explain how good Shishio was to Natsuo, but she wasn’t sure how to explain.

n‘Also…’

nIt might be her imagination, but Hina felt Natsuo had become stranger and stranger. This cute and naive boy she had always seen in the past had changed somehow. It might seem weird of her to think of this, but she felt like he was grotesque.

nHina knew it might be too much to compare Natsuo to being grotesque, but she just couldn’t erase this feeling. It was like his face was covered in a layer of black gooey, which made it hard for her to see what he was thinking.

nIf they weren’t step-siblings and Natsuo wasn’t her student, Hina might leave him at this moment since she also wanted to follow Shishio.

nOn the other hand, Natsuo wasn’t sure how to explain what he was about to do to Shishio. He wanted to tell Shishio to stay away from his step-sibling, but he knew they kept their relationship a secret. If possible, he still wanted to keep this relationship a secret since he could tell how troublesome it was once his relationship with Hina and Rui as a step-sibling was known.

nHina looked at Natsuo for a while and said, “Let’s go to the teacher’s office.” She didn’t wait for his answer and walked away.

nNatsuo looked at Hina’s back, hesitating for a moment before he followed her.

nNeither of them talked to each other.

nStill, along the way, Hina was greeted by many students since her popularity was obvious to all. Still, if they knew what she was doing this morning, she wondered what would happen. Her face was slightly flushed, and fortunately, she walked in front of Natsuo, so he didn’t see her reaction.

nOn the other hand, Natsuo lowered his head, and no one knew what he was thinking.

nFrankly, Hina felt it might be better to bring Natsuo near the bench before they talked together about what was inside his mind. However, she might be affected by the thought that Shishio might misunderstand her, so it was better not to stay alone with Natsuo and bring her to the teacher’s office.

nIf it was before, Hina would think of Natsuo as her step-brother, but it was different now since she could feel he was like a stranger so suddenly.

nWhen they arrived at the teacher’s office, Hiratsuka was there, sipping a coffee lazily.

nHiratsuka noticed Hina and Natsuo, raising her eyebrow, and asked, “What’s wrong, Hina?”

n“Ah, no, I need to talk with my step-brother a bit,” Hina said.

n“Step-brother?” Hiratsuka looked at Natsuo, then nodded. She didn’t say much and looked at the documents in her hands since she still had a job. Still, she wanted to smoke or suck something.

nWhile the two teachers didn’t think too much, Natsuo was dumbfounded by their exchange and looked at Hina in surprise.

n“What’s wrong, Natsuo-kun?” Hina asked after she sat down.

n“Hina-nee, is it alright?” Natsuo gulped when he saw Hina sitting down on her chair. He wanted to ask whether it was alright for her to announce the relationship between them, but in the end, he felt there was a bigger problem.

nHina was wearing a woman’s suit, with a white blouse and a skirt, which emphasized her body. Her light make-up enhanced her beauty along with Shishio’s milk. As a result, she was even more beautiful.

nNatsuo was in a daze when he saw her beauty.

nUnfortunately, that body couldn’t be his, no matter how long it was.

nHina frowned slightly, but she just asked, “Sit down. Also, what do you mean?”

n“Is it alright for Rui to stay with that guy?” Natsuo gnashed his teeth when he thought how happy Shishio was with Rui and…

nNatsuo looked at Hina and couldn’t help but imagine Hina might be “done” by Shishio. He dreaded it and quickly shook his head. ‘No way! No way!’

nHina let out a sigh and said, “Natsuo-kun, you misunderstood something. Rui doesn’t stay with Shishio-kun. Instead, she stays with Sunohara-san.”

n“Sunohara-san?” Natsuo thought about Shishio’s girlfriend with the biggest boobs, but then he asked, “But why does Rui have to stay out? Can she stay at home?”

n“Mom might not have told you since it only happened yesterday, but she has Rui some disagreement. You shouldn’t worry too much since the matter will be solved sooner or later.” After all, Hina believed Shishio would be able to solve it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Natsuo, but this matter related to Rui, and she wasn’t sure whether Rui wanted Natsuo to learn about it.

nAfter all, this matter was relatively sensitive.

nWhile Hina was sure her mother had told Akihito about this problem, it was better not to tell Natsuo since he was still a child.

nNatsuo opened his mouth before he closed it again. He could tell he was being treated like a child by Hina. However, what could he do?

nNatsuo knew he was acting like a child. However, even if his relationship with Rui was bad, he still wanted to know what had happened since they were step-siblings! They had become a family!

nIt hurts to be kept in the dark like this!

nSubconsciously, Natsuo clenched his fists.

nHowever, Hina didn’t realize this and asked, “So what were you planning to do before?”

nWhen Natsuo was asked this question, his entire body jolted.

nHina looked at Natsuo for a while and knew it was impossible for Natsuo to talk in this situation. “Natsuo-kun, I am not sure why, but maybe, you should calm down. Don’t be tense all the time. Also, the result of your mid-term exam isn’t good, right? I have heard it from your teacher. You should know how to do a remedial first.”

n“I…” Natsuo opened his mouth again before he closed it. “Then, Hina-nee, are you going back tonight?” Truthfully, he wanted to ask where Hina was last night, but those words couldn’t come out of his mouth.

n“Well, I’ll go home tonight.” Hina nodded since she knew Shishio would stay with his other girlfriends, Sakurasou, or…

nHina glanced at Hiratsuka, who smoked with a smile.

n“……..”

nNatsuo looked at Hina, who smiled, and after hearing her answer, he felt all of the anger in his heart disappear.

n“Okay, you should go back to your class now,” Hina said.

n“O-Okay.” Natsuo felt reluctant, but he knew he had to go back.

nWhen Natsuo left, Hina sighed and thought this was the trouble of having a new family.

n“You okay, Hina?” Hiratsuka asked.

n“I am alright. Thank you for asking, Shizuka-nee,” Hina said with a helpless smile.

nAnyway, after the Tanabata, the relationship between the two had become closer, and even though no one confirmed each other, they knew their relationship with Shishio was quite subtle.

n“But it is my first time to know you have a step-sibling.” Hiratsuka looked at Hina and asked, “Who has remarried? Your father or your mother?”

n“It’s my mother.” Hina showed a helpless sigh.

n“I see…” Hiratsuka nodded, and she thought for a while, then said, “Was it hard to have a new family?”

n“Well, not really. It’s just merrier, and I am happy that my mother is happy, but…” Hina didn’t mind Akihito since Akihito was nice, and he treated his mother well. However, she was quite worried about Natsuo since Natsuo started to act weird, and she felt Natsuo was a stranger.

nHiratsuka seemed to be able to read Hina’s mind. “You know, even though you’re a step-sibling, you only know each other for a while, and you’re not a real sibling, so he might fall for you.”

nHowever, Hina laughed and said, “That’s no way, right?”

nStill, Hiratsuka shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I might think too much, but anything can happen, right?”

nHina frowned and thought about Natsuo’s weird behavior. ‘There’s no way.’ After all, she only treated Natsuo as a step-sibling, and it was better that way. No one changed, so the relationship between her mother and her step-father could be well preserved without anything weird. As for a deeper relationship, she could only apologize since it was impossible for her to think of Natsuo that way.

nHowever, Natsuo didn’t know, and he just felt happy that Hina would go back tonight.

nAs for Shishio, he just didn’t think too much since he had never seen Natsuo as a competitor.

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