The Scarlet Duality- Ichinose's twin

Chapter 3- Stalker!

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Naito quickly decided the teams.
The first group would be Shiki, Byobugara, and Jin—they would go in first.
The second team consisted of Ikari Yorushi and Jyubi Yusurabe.
Team three was Rukuro Kiriyama and Kuina Sazanami.
Silence followed.
“…What about me?”
Shinzhi asked, pointing at herself.
“You won’t do anything unless I tell you to, Shinzhi,” Naito replied.
“Why not…?” she asked, clearly wanting to join the fight—or at least anything that looked fun.
She stopped when she noticed it.
Naito’s usual stern expression softened as his gaze fell on her. He had a hunch—no, a certainty—that she had been born through an experiment… or had gone through something painful that no one should ever experience.
Being an Oni was difficult.
Being half-Oni was cruel.
Shinzhi was the first case for Half- Oni.

And Naito simply couldn’t bring himself to leave her alone where he can't keep tabs on her.

“Senseiii?”
Shinzhi called out.
Naito waved a hand dismissively.
“No. You won’t be participating.”
“But can I at least watch? Please?”
“You are watching—”
He was cut off when Byobugara suddenly bowed deeply toward Jin and Shiki, who were already bickering.
“What’s going on…?”
Shinzhi asked, placing a hand on Byobugara’s shoulder.
Byobugara flinched instantly, as if the touch burned.
“S-Sorry! I’m sorry!”
The pink-haired girl bowed repeatedly.
“It’s fine, Shiki—”
“Big brother… go on, say Oni-channn~”
Shiki grabbed Shinzhi by the shoulders, grinning mischievously.

“Yeah, yeah, Oni-chan, whatever,” Shinzhi muttered.
“Shiki never had any girls hitting on him, so he does stuff like this.”
Shinzhi said to Byobugara who was bowing again.

“Hey! Don’t insult me now, Zhi!”
She stuck her tongue out.
“Besides, I don’t understand why I should be paired with him!”
Shiki pointed accusingly at Jin.
“Alright. You’re expelled.”
Naito’s voice was completely monotone.
Shinzhi burst out laughing hitting Shiki's shoulder who pinched her cheek to make her stop.

“A question, Sensei!”
She raised her hand enthusiastically.
“…Yeah?” Naito replied.
“I won’t be expelled, right? Shiki will be, right?!”

“It’s Oni-chan for you!” Shiki snapped.
“And why are you so happy that I’m getting expelled? I thought you wanted to be with me Zhi!”

“That depends,” Naito said calmly.
“If one of you gets into trouble, all of you will be punished.”
“So you mean…”
Shinzhi leaned forward, eyes sparkling.
“If I steal food to eat, all of them get blamed and no one knows it was me—”
“You’re serious right now?!”
Everyone yelled at once.
Shinzhi yelped and jumped behind Naito for protection.
Naito sighed deeply.
“You won’t starve here.”
“She’s high-maintenance,” Shiki muttered.
“Be careful, Mudano-sensei—”

“Are you done showing off that you had a normal life?”
Jin’s voice cut sharply through the noise.
Shiki froze.
Shinzhi blinked.
Everyone went quiet.
Silently, they all knew—Shinzhi did seem like the one who had lived the most normal life among them. Even Shiki had.
“I wasn’t showing off anything,” Shinzhi said defensively.
Back at her old school, she had been a problem child—top scorer, constant troublemaker—but she had friends. Juniors, seniors, classmates. She belonged somewhere.
Here… she wasn’t sure what she was yet.
“Then what do you call it?” Jin continued.
“You and your brother keep—”
“I didn’t ask to be like this,”
Shinzhi cut him off, her voice suddenly sharp.

“I wasn’t showing off anything, Jin. Why are you being so mean?”
Shinzhi said, stepping forward with a sharp glare.
“Hey!”
Shiki snapped instantly.
“Whatever enmity you’ve got, don’t take it out on my sister.”
“There you go,” Kuina Sazanami said coolly, arms crossed.