Orange

Before the dinner, Shishio decided to dip in the private hot spring pool in his room. He also used this time to talk with his girlfriends and ask them what they were doing.

Nana, Saki, and Rui were alright, considering they went out with their families during Golden Week. Their families had always been busy usually, but during Golden Week, their parents received a holiday, so their families decided to take them on a trip. It was rare for them to have a family trip, so they didn't want to miss it, though they missed him and wanted to meet him after their trip ended.

The one that was the most unfortunate was Mai since she was alone.

Mai's relationship with her family wasn't good, she had never thought of her father as her family, and her mother also thought of her as money.

Mai had cut her relationship with her family, and the only one that she could depend on and the only person she thought of as a family was Shishio alone.

"You should have agreed to when I invited you before," Shishio said speechlessly as Mai spent her days alone in her apartment. He was also quite worried about Mai and felt that he was the worst, considering he took Yukinoshita, who was just his senior and friend, on a trip while leaving his girlfriend alone in her apartment.

Mai also grumbled and felt regret about her decision to reject Shishio's offer to go on a trip with everyone from Sakurasou. However, there was no medicine for regret, and she could only wait patiently for him to return. "When are you going back?"

"I should come back tomorrow," Shishio said.

"Then, after you come back, can you come to my apartment?" Mai asked in a sad yet proud manner.

If Shishio had to give an example, then Mai was like a proud Turkish Angora cat. Even though she was lonely, she still showed that she was strong and didn't feel lonely, hiding her feelings.

"Okay, I'll come to your apartment as soon as I return." Shishio didn't hesitate and decided to come to Mai's apartment after he came back. He thought for a moment and smiled mischievously, asking, "Can I stay at your apartment tomorrow?"

"Huh? You want to stay?" Mai was startled, but it wasn't that she didn't have that kind of idea on her mind. Instead, she anticipated him staying at her house. However, she wouldn't say this matter outright and convey it in an indirect way. Still, she also knew how he had never lied to his desire. She didn't hate this part of him though since as a girl, there was no way for her to make such a request to him. After all, she didn't want to be seen as an easy girl.

"We-Well, you might be tired from your trip, so I don't mind for you to stay, but let me remind you that you can't do something perverted, alright?"

Girls are like that, their mouths might lie, but their bodies have always been honest.

"Yes, yes." Shishio gave a perfunctory manner since he knew that this girl was dishonest with her desire.

Mai snorted, but she heard the sound of water from the other side. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking a dip in the onsen," Shishio said as he walked out from the hot spring pool.

"Huh? You call me in the middle of bath?!" Mai was dumbfounded.

"Is that not okay?" Shishio asked.

"No, I mean, isn't it going to trouble the people around you?" Mai thought that there were many people around Shishio since he stayed in the onsen, and her face blushed when she thought that many people might hear their conversation.

"It's alright. There's a private onsen in my room." Shishio put down his phone and turned on the loudspeaker as he dried his body with a towel.

"There's a private onsen in your room?" Mai asked enviously and thought that if she accepted his invitation at that time, she might stay in the same hot spring together, but then her face became hot when she realized something. "Wait a moment... so does this means... you... you're naked now?"

"Yeah."

"Don't "yeah" me!" Mai retorted loudly when she thought that Shishio had been talking with her naked!

Mai then started to think about her time with her when she happened to see his body when they stayed in Ibaraki. With how awesome his body was, she understood why her mother often pestered her to ask him to enter a show-biz industry.

"Well, I have put on my clothes now." Shishio put on a bathrobe and sat on the sofa while facing the ocean. It was almost evening, and the sun stained everything orange.

However, unlike before, when their moods were mixed with various emotions, this time, their hearts were all sunny, and the cloud that had covered Mai in the past had disappeared.

"That's not the problem here..." Mai said with a sigh.

"Oh? So you think about something perverted now?" Shishio asked with a smile.

"...If you like to go naked all the time, then when we meet tomorrow, you should go naked in front of me," Mai said coldly, but her face was all red since she couldn't deny that she was thinking something perverted!

"..."

Shishio was speechless when he heard her request. Still, he threw that matter aside and asked, "So what are you doing?"

"Me?" Mai looked at the book in her right hand and said, "I'm reading a book."

"You're not going on a trip with your mother or anything?" Shishio asked.

Mai snorted and said in a tired sigh, "When I met my mother, all she talked about was you. She kept asking me to enter the show-biz from her agency." She rubbed her temple, feeling annoyed and helpless for her mother, but at the same time, there was this strange feeling that told her that she shouldn't let her mother meet Shishio.

"...I'm not sure what to say in this situation."

If Shishio met Mai's mother again, he was afraid that instead of asking him to become a talent under her agency, he might create a different kind of relationship with her. After all, he could easily tell what kind of person Mai's mother was, and if he decided to help her, he could see that she might use her body to repay him.

While Shishio didn't mind, he was sure that Mai would be conflicted since she never expected her mother to snatch her boyfriend. "By the way, what kind of book did you read?"

"Oh? I'm reading a classic." Mai looked at the title of the book and said, "The title is The Count of Monte Cristo."

"Huh?" Shishio was dumbfounded and asked, "Do you like such a book?"

"Well, I had joined the literature club after all, and this book just caught my eye. I think this book is good, especially Edmon's revenge on those who have wronged him. I like it," Mai said with a laugh.

"....."

Shishio couldn't say anything since if this was the case, if he dared to betray Mai, would she also give him revenge?

However, Shishio was confident that he wouldn't cause something that might cause Mai to give him revenge.

'Wait a moment!'

Shishio thought about how he was a scumbag, and he had a lot of girls. That number also kept increasing instead of decreasing, which made him realize that there was a chance that women might stab him in the future.

Shishio racked his mind and suddenly said, "By the way, Mai."

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to hear a song?" Shishio asked.

"Song?" Mai put down her book without hesitation and asked with interest, "You're going to sing me a song?"

"Yeah, I made this song based on you." Shishio took the guitar that he kept in his room. He planned to sing in the car, but Shiina slept, and he didn't want to wake her up, so he didn't play it.

"Really? Let me hear it then." Mai smiled and said, "If it isn't good, then you need to eat an entire packet of pocky with your nose."

"I'll die if I do that," Shishio said speechlessly.

Mai laughed and said, "Hurry up! I want to listen!" She knew that Shishio was so good at singing, especially when she saw his performance on karaoke before, so she had quite high expectations of him, especially when he made this song for her.

"Okay, listen well."

Shishio also didn't waste his time, strumming his guitar, and started to sing.

<BGM: 7!! - Orange>

"We walked with our shoulders in line

Laughing about things that didn't matter as we looked onward toward the same dream.

If I listen carefully, I can still hear it:

Your voice, staining this city orange."

The soothing voice and the calm melody caused Mai to smile, especially when the words "orange" came out, making her remember when they stayed in Odaiba.

It was tough when her mother and everyone else didn't remember her.

Mai just wanted to give up, but Shishio didn't give up, staying by her side while telling her that everything was alright and he would make sure that she would be okay.

Their meeting might be short, but all of them were unforgettable for her.

"When you're not around, I'm so bored,

But when I say I'm lonely, you just laugh at me."

Mai chuckled and thought that this guy was quite cute, telling her that he missed her in such an indirect way. However, he wasn't the only one who felt lonely since she also felt the same.

"Like the sky after the rain lets up… like clearing up one's heart…

I remember your smile.

It floats up in my mind, and I can't help but smile."

Mai thought about when her problem was solved, and they played together in Ibaraki. Even now, those memories were still vivid, and she remembered how fun it was.

Mai felt that the world was as beautiful as the sky after the rain, especially when he was right beside her.

'So I'm not the only one?'

Mai had always been worried whether she was the one who had this special feeling. After all, Shishio had many girls, and unlike the rest, she came late, and she also wasn't blind and he could tell how he treasured those girls.

While Mai had prepared for this situation and it was okay as long as Shishio treated her dearly, she also wanted him to fall for her and told her that he wouldn't be okay without her.

"This single love was born among a million rays of light.

Even if you never change… even if you happen to change… you're you, so I'm not worried.

Someday we'll both become adults and meet wonderful people.

At that time, I hope we can bring along our irreplaceable families and meet here again…"

Mai blushed and felt shy, especially when the lyrics told her that Shishio wanted to bring his family to meet her family in the future.

'That means...'

The smile on Mai bloomed, and her heart fluttered with the thought of his indirect marriage proposal.

"This single love was born among a million rays of light…

We run through the passing seasons, seeing each of our many tomorrows.

Choosing from each of our many dreams."

Shishio ended his song, and Mai was touched by his song.

"What do you think, Mai?" Shishio asked.

"...It's amazing." This time Mai didn't lie, and she felt that this song was really amazing. "What's the title of this song?"

"It's Orange."

"Orange?" Mai thought for a moment and asked, "So you were inspired when we saw that orange light on Odaiba and Oarai?"

When they were in Odaiba, the sunset stained everything with orange.

When they were in Oarai, the sun rose stained everything with orange.

While some people's scenery wasn't something important and just something ordinary, for Mai, it was something unforgettable.

The orange color covered her when her mother forgot her and when everyone remembered about her again.

This song described all the feelings that Mai felt during that moment.

"Yeah," Shishio said, lying without changing his face.

Hearing his answer, Mai showed a warm smile, and at the same time, she would reject her mother no matter how many times her mother asked her to let him join her mother's agency since she only wanted him to sing for her. While it was selfish, she felt she had the right since she was his girlfriend. Also, she might be shy to say it before, but she could confidently say about her feelings this time.

"Shishio."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Shishio smiled when he heard Mai's voice. "I love you too, Mai."

Orange might remind Mai of the despair she felt when she was in trouble, but an orange also reminded her of her wonderful time with the man she loved, and right now, she could say that it was her favorite color.

With the orange sun as their witness again, they continued to talk to each other with a smile, feeling so close even if they were far apart.

While Mai fell in love once again, Shishio sighed in relief and knew that he was alright for now, but he couldn't let down his guard since when girls or women fell in love, they could do anything.