Misaki: "What should I do?"

"Senpai, wake up."

Misaki closed her eyes, sleeping so soundly, hugging his pillow with drool on the corner of her mouth. She was sleeping like a baby, and her smell was even like one.

Unlike his other girlfriends, who had a floral-like scent, Misaki's smell was like milk and innocent.

Yet unlike a baby, who was clean from anything like a white canvas.

Misaki was far from a white canvas.

The canvas of her life was already scattered with many colors, representing how she had been living her 18 years of life.

Yet Shishio didn't care much and shook her body gently.

Misaki, whose body was shaken, opened her eyes sluggishly and was still half-asleep. "Fuweeh?" She looked around and saw Shishio. "Is this morning, Shishio?"

"No, but do you want to sleep in my room tonight?"

"What? Can't you control your lust for me anymore? Ah, are you going to attack me?"

Shishio wasn't sure whether this girl was still dreaming or fully woke up, but one thing was for sure, he couldn't accept such slander!

"Yes, I will attack you if you don't wake up."

"Eh?"

Misaki was dumbfounded, but suddenly her waist tickled by him.

"Hahahaha...!"

Misaki laughed, feeling ticklish, and wanted to escape from him.

However, how could he let her go?

Misaki was annoyed and also started to give him revenge by tickling his side.

While he could dodge, he didn't dodge and let her tickle his waist.

The two fought intensely on the bed, and neither of them gave up, so his bed was a mess since they were rolling around from right to left, side to side, without showing any intention to show weakness until their position changed.

Misaki pushed him onto the bed, and he was at the bottom, watching her face on top of him.

"......."

This sudden change stunned them, and somehow they stared into each other's profiles in an ambiguous atmosphere.

While she acted childish and often did something stupid, Shishio must admit Misaki was an attractive woman. Her face was cute and had an unexpected childishness, which could bring a smile to the people around her, yet her body was an adult. She was an attractive woman without a doubt, and it was understandable why Mitaka fell for her.

Yet the difference in their abilities made him jealous of her, and it made him hurt to stay with her.

However, he didn't want to part from her, desperately staying by her side.

Still, the hard work of a mediocre person wasn't enough against the hard work of talented people who worked harder.

Frankly, if Mitaka was serious about Misaki, Shishio felt that Mitaka shouldn't use his time to date many girls and become a fuckboy, fully spending his time training his script writing ability, so he could stand by her side proudly.

Yet Mitaka didn't do that. He felt helpless by Misaki's side and wanted her to feel the same pain he felt, so he dated various girls, knowing it would hurt her.

However, Shishio came, and everything changed.

Misaki was no longer entangled with Mitaka and could already move on. In her heart, Mitaka was no longer the only one.

However, Mitaka couldn't do that since no matter how many girls he had been with, his only obsession was only Misaki.

Only Misaki.

It might be unreasonable, but this was how a feeling was.

It was outside the realm of logic and impossible for one to control.

Suddenly Shishio felt his situation was similar to Aki's, yet also different.

If Aki was living in Sunoharasou, Shishio would live in Sakurasou.

Mitaka left Sakurasou, leaving Misaki alone, causing her to move on from him and move her heart to someone else.

Yet, in Aki's case, even if he was living together with his crush, the person who got his crush was someone who was living from the outside.

The case was quite similar, but the result was different.

Aki's case aside, Shishio didn't need to think about this little boy anymore since somehow he had a feeling about what would happen after the summer vacation. Instead, he had to handle the big girl in front of him.

Shishio didn't push or take her lips as Chihiro did to him. Instead, he gently hugged her in his arms.

Misaki also didn't fight back and hugged him back while trying to find the most comfortable position and rubbed her cheek against his.

"Was it hard?"

"Un."

Shishio didn't say anything afterward and caressed her hair gently.

"You're not going to ask anything?"

"You're going to tell me?"

Misaki hesitated since, while she had parted ways from Mitaka, she didn't want to make his image ugly.

"He has changed."

This was the only sentence that came out of Misakai's mouth.

Shishio sighed softly and said, "He is desperate."

"Desperate? Why?"

"Because if he didn't, you would leave him to the far place that it would be impossible for him to reach you."

"Leave him? But I am not going anywhere." Misaki pouted, "Even our houses are next to each other, you know?"

Misaki and Mitaka were childhood friends, and their houses were next.

She wouldn't move far away, and they could meet if they wanted to.

Why should he think that she would move far away?

Even the center of the anime industry was in this country. Even if she moved to Kyoto, Toyama, or even Sendai, they were still in the same country!

Shishio chuckled and flicked her nose gently. "You understand that's not what I mean, right?"

"..."

Misaki blushed before she let out a helpless sigh.

While neither of them said anything, they must agree that Mitaka was not suitable to enter the creative industry. His writing was bland and couldn't evoke the reader's emotion. Yet even worse, his last script couldn't be called a script at all.

If they had to be cruel, his work last time was like a puzzle, which wasn't suitable, but he was forced to stay stuck together, so it would finish.

As for the result, there was no need to explain the result since it was horrible.

Fortunately, Misaki was Mitaka's childhood friend, so her words were rather gentle, but if it was someone else, he might go crazy since no one would dote him like Misaki.

Still, what confused Shishio was why Mitaka wanted to enter the creative industry.

While Mitaka didn't have a talent for creative work, he was relatively smart, and he should be able to enter a good university and get a good job instead of becoming Misaki's tail.

Being in love with someone didn't mean one had to follow that person.

Even if their career, aspirations, and everything were different, if they loved each other, that difference was nothing.

There was no need to be obsessive to become a writer who could match Misaki, and it was normal for him not to be able to chase after her since she had started to work early in her childhood.

He only started in high school, and his work wasn't as hard as Misaki's. His starting line was late, and wasn't it obvious that his result wouldn't be as good as hers?

Yet he was angry at everything and put that anger on Misaki by hanging her feelings, playing with her feelings, giving him superiority toward her.

After all, no matter how genius Misaki was, she still fell for him.

However, Misaki was no longer there. She was no longer obsessed with him, leaving him and gaining even better popularity, money, and reputation with someone, but that person wasn't Mitaka.

Right when Shishio went to Izu for a trip and to visit Mai, Misaki met Mitaka to show her anime, which she created with Shishio.

Frankly, it had been a while since they met, and they were rather awkward, but Mitaka was a scumbag, so he was quite good at talking, and their relationship warmed up.

Their relationship was also quite deep since they were childhood friends.

Even if they were separated for a while, it was impossible to erase the memories they had spent together, yet in the end, the time for her to show the anime she had created with Shishio came.

Mitaka watched that anime silently.

The new anime she created without him, without his help, and his script, but someone else.

Misaki thought that Mitaka would praise him and thought that her work was amazing.

Her feeling was pure after all, and she didn't have much thought on many things. It was also the reason why she didn't have many friends.

Yet it was normal since when god gave her a talent as an animator, a god also took something from her, which was her emotional intelligence.

While Misaki was in her own thought, the anime ended, and while she waited for his praise, she didn't expect the words which came out of Mitaka's mouth.

"Misaki, don't show this anime."

Misaki was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Why?"

"I don't like it. Just don't show it to anyone."

Mitaka's words were simple, and that was all. He was like a child who clamored for a toy selfishly.

Misaki didn't answer him, and they separated in a complicated mood. However, she didn't follow his words and published her work with Shishio's help, giving her money, reputation, and popularity. After all, she didn't own this work herself, and half of it was owned by Shishio.

In other words, it was the child between the two.

Misaki also didn't really want to follow Mitaka's words, so she let Shishio make the decision for her. The response from the audience made her chest warm. He was also on her side, even if he couldn't stay by her side all the time.

Yet her problem with Mitaka hadn't ended, but she felt it was a problem, and she felt she should solve it herself until she was out of options and sought his help.

"What should I do?"

Like a helpless child, Misaki asked that question to Shishio.