Stealing Spree

Perhaps prepared to be rejected, Kanzaki closed her eyes soon after. She began shaking a little as uneasiness slowly but surely settled in her head because of my continued silence.

Eventually, the girl reached her breaking point leading her to open her eyes once more, peeking at my reaction.

Upon finding me intently staring at her, Kanzaki squinted. She quickly jumped into the boundary between being embarrassed and anxious. The color of her face took on a different shade of red.

“Hey, say something… Don’t just stare at me." She said, tugging my arm.

Well, I wasn't planning to make her anxious. There's only one reason why I kept my mouth shut while staring at her.

“How else can I admire your bravery if I don’t stare at you?" I put on a smile that miraculously swept away the anxiety building up in her head. Following that, I stretched my other arm, reaching for her head and eventually sliding down to her cheek. "Don’t worry too much. I’ve acknowledged your efforts and unyielding resolve. I appreciate it, even.”

“That… Is that true?”

Kanzaki doubted what she heard. And it's not because she didn't want to believe me but because she wasn't expecting me to be this agreeable.

She gambled on this opportunity and given how I pretty much rejected her advances before, hearing me say those words came off unbelievable for her.

But that's fine. It's fine to have doubts. Sweeping that away was something I could also do.

“I told you before, right? I admire your straightforwardness, Class Prez. I've seen it dampening a little because of what happened to you as well as your subsequent desperation. But today, I can see it is on its way to recovery… I can’t say I’m not glad about that.”

I shrugged, partly recalling our interactions before I brought her to Haruko. That girl must've taught Kanzaki to be patient and true to herself.

While I could've done that myself, with her state of mind already in a mess before, I doubt it would be that helpful.

And that's why… I should at least acknowledge the effort this girl put in.

While she was still digesting my words and the warmth of my hand, I caressed her cheek and moved my thumb on her lips.

She unconsciously opened it for me, giving me more freedom to trace them.

She asked me to teach her about kissing before. And until now, she had yet to experience how it feels.

Yeah, I don't count that accidental touching of our lips as one.

Soon enough, Kanzaki's wits returned and she realized what I was doing.

Her face immediately heated up.

“Onoda-kun, that’s cheating… How should I respond to that… and this?”

By the end of her sentence, she held onto my wrist, her attempt to slow down my hand from the liberty it took on her face.

“Simple, just be yourself. Get straight to the point. Tell me, Class Prez, what’s in your head right now?”

“Uhm. In my head… I'm thinking about how I can use this opportunity more. To make you notice me."

Now, she's being more honest. It's not just being straightforward though. She's basically baring her naked thoughts to me.

Not that I don't mind it. However, it got me thinking if this was all.

"I see. I can see that. And you're doing pretty good. I'll give you points for taking this initiative."

"That… you're not against it?"

"That's obvious, Class Prez. Did I pull my arm out of your hold? No, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

Kanzaki lowered her head, staring at our current connection. And then, I heard her almost inaudible giggle.

She's pleased with herself for taking this route and not chickening out.

A while later, she lifted her gaze again but this time, her complexion was already miles better than earlier. She picked her confidence back up.

"Thank you, Onoda-kun." She said before pushing herself closer to me.

This time, my arm pressed further into her fairly bountiful front. The soft sensation instantly transferred to my head.

I did say before that she's on the bigger side compared to the others in our class so… I expected this. And yet, for her to consciously do this, it must be her another attempt at taking another shot with this opportunity.

I kept a straight face but given that I was expressive when it comes to things like this around my girls, it must've slipped out again.

Because of that, Kanzaki's mood was lifted higher.

Understanding that I might not win against her if she decided to do more than this, I attempted to change the subject.

"Alright. I guess we should continue on our way. They might look for us if we delay any longer."

"Un. I agree. But can we go like this?"

"We can. However…"

"I understand. Only when no one's around, am I correct?"

Heh. Look at this girl finishing my sentence for me. But then again, she's not wrong on that. I wasn't against her advances and even encouraged her to be more like her previous self. Just that, it would be more troublesome for us to explain what we're doing if a teacher caught us outside like this.

Soon, my head moved, giving her a nod.

And just like that, a warm, pleasant smile bloomed on Kanzaki's face. She then started taking the lead as we traversed the remaining distance to the school store.

When we returned to the classroom with the supplies we bought, my perceptive girls immediately caught the change in Kanzaki's mood. If earlier she appeared rather desperate at volunteering herself to come with me, they picked out how our Class President became blooming.

Even the boys like Sakuma and Yamada caught onto that change but instead of attributing it to me, they treated it as them being blind before.

On the other hand, Miyoshi, who surprisingly joined us in what we were doing, looked very regretful.

His eyes immediately focused on Kanzaki as if he was looking at something he let slip away.

If I'm not wrong, he's going to attempt to ask her out again. He's the one looking desperate this time.

Well, Kanzaki had the choice to entertain him again.

However, if he had already failed back then, I doubt Kanzaki, whose interest had already shifted to me, would change her mind this time around.

And sure enough, with her straightforward nature returning, the girl openly approached me again before whispering something, "Onoda-kun, can you come with me later?"

"What's the matter?"

"The one who dumped me is trying to get me back. I want to tell him that it's impossible."

"I see. But Class Prez, how will my presence help with that? You know you can straight up tell him that."

"... As a moral support?"

"You're not being honest again, are you?"

"Uhh… I'll tell you later so… Can you?"

Well, her real reason was pretty obvious. Either she's going to tell him that I am her new love interest or make me a witness so that he can finally stop bugging her.

I don't care either way but given Kanzaki was also attempting to change herself while maintaining her prominent trait, I'm expecting her to do the latter.

Yep. Knowing her, she won't let that guy antagonize me much like how she protected his identity before when she asked me for lessons.

Although that sounded like a different matter altogether, they're of the same essence. It's Kanzaki shouldering the responsibility.

"I certainly can… As your moral support."

Eventually, I gave that playful answer earning me the girl's pleasant laughter.

Nothing much happened apart from her sticking close to me but all in all, I'm glad at the progress Kanzaki showed.

Soon enough, everyone finished with their banners and other cheering materials they prepared for later. Shio then concluded the first period and as always, I went to escort her to her next class. As her Student Assistant.