Stealing Spree

To say that I was thrilled with Nao’s surprise would be correct. I mean, where could you find someone so easily teased because she couldn’t bear to admit defeat? Nowhere, right? There was only Saionji who fit into that role. Considering our last exchange through that video call, she hadn’t changed at all. So, I could already imagine how the girl would react to me if I greeted her. Even if my words ended up not as shameless as she would expect, she would still try to refute it to put herself on top of me.

And that’s why as someone who knew how to handle her type, I made sure not to greet her first when Aika and I reached them. Despite meeting her gaze, I only maintained that eye contact for a second before moving on to greet my girls; the newcomers, and those who waited for me here.

It instantly irked her that I noticed her prided eyebrows curled in an irregular pattern. If it was slanted like a sharp knife earlier, it somehow managed to look wavy as though it was still water where I threw a stone to skip.

She then huffed and puffed her chest proudly, trying to appeal for my attention. Still, I opted to pass by her to check on my girls one by one.

I mean, I disappeared for more than half an hour. I wouldn’t skimp on informing them where I’ve been or what I’ve been up to.

“I think I already get it. Aika’s face says it all. Darling, you beast.” Aoi playfully remarked even when I mentioned about cheering up the girl.

Aika also confirmed right away as her blush that was about to fade away resurfaced. She cupped both of her cheeks as she heatedly stared at me.

“Hehe… Aoi, Ruki won’t hesitate to cheer you up too if you say you’re feeling down.”

“Is that so? I might try that later when I feel like hogging him all to myself.”

There you go. Even without explicitly saying what happened, my girls who had experience with me could easily draw a conjecture on what had transpired.

Ria even handed me the bottle of apple juice that she was drinking, saying I should rehydrate and recover my energy.

Elizabeth, who eventually joined Aika and Aoi’s conversation going ‘My Prince and his curse’ pulled out a snack and fed it to me directly. Perhaps if not for the venue, she’d use her mouth directly to feed it to me to satisfy her craving for my presence.

Then, Yua and Hiyori took turns massaging my shoulders by having me squat in front of them. They said I looked tired. In truth, the two just wanted an excuse to sniff my scent. Eventually, having gotten drunk by it, they used their cologne to freshen me up. Ririka and Yua even fixed my hair with a comb and their fingers.

From that alone, I already got some envious gazes from other boys sitting not far from us. But that’s all they could do. Be envious of their seats.

Lastly, the other girls like Eimi didn’t stand to miss that chance. In the end, I got passed around by them, earning me more attention from the other audience sitting not far from us.

We don’t know them so we cannot be bothered to care about their opinion.

Luckily, Futaba and Eri were so occupied with their boyfriends that they didn’t notice that. Or perhaps they did but chose to ignore it, who knows?

By the time I returned to Yae, Akane, and Nao, the door leading to the waiting room finally opened.

At long last, the match was about to start. The appearance of the two opposing clubs marching to their designated spots managed to draw everyone’s attention to the front.

Anyway, instead of pushing Saionji so she could move there and give me back my seat, Nao opted to take the seat on her right side.

With that, the egocentric girl ended up being sandwiched by us.

Was it intentional on Nao’s part? Maybe. But that’s irrelevant at this point. Whichever the case, Saionji’s fate was already sealed.

“Senpai, fancy meeting you here. Have you missed me so much that you came over to see me on this occasion? I’m impressed and flattered, to be honest.” I started as soon as I settled my butt down on the seat.

I put on a shameless smile and glanced at the girl.

She had been following me with her gaze ever since walked past her. If she pretended not to hear me, it would just end up another ammunition for me to tease her with.

Sure enough, the girl didn’t disappoint me.

She crossed her arms and legs and raised her chin, presenting herself to be as confident as she could be.

“Dream on, junior. Why will I be here for you? You’re not worth it.”

Noticeably, the volume of her voice was only enough to travel for a short distance.

Nao and I heard it and perhaps, Akane who started giggling at my side also picked up on it.

Like me, she’s definitely curious about how I would deal with this girl.

“Ah. I guess I’m not, huh? Too bad. And here I thought I could also confess how I missed you. Never mind then.” I shrugged and acted like I already lost interest in her.

A split second later, Saionji sneered, “See. You’re the one who missed me. Don’t ever try to flip that one. What? Did you miss seeing this beauty? Have you gone on sleepless nights ever since that encounter with me?”

Look at her and her confidence. No wonder I couldn’t help but be thrilled at how to pull her down her high imaginary throne.

If I pit her against Elizabeth, she might just be buried under that chuunibyou’s ice castle – whatever it was meant to be.

Taking a glance at her, I took in her current appearance.

Like Nao, Saoinji is in her school uniform. She even brought her bag with her but she put it down below the seat. As I ran a quick scan of her figure, I noticed that she looked a little different today.

Her high ponytail which was made to let her luscious hair sprawl like a small broom behind her had been combed neatly, or at least, it wasn’t as messy as before.

I couldn’t resist touching it and the girl just smirked at me as if she won something again.

Apart from that, her fringes were swept to one side, allowing more of her forehead to be shown. It’s still as flawless as before but I could already see beads of sweat threatening to form and drizzle down her face.

She’s not as calm as she looked. For sure, she’s a bit uncomfortable being in the company of strangers. In fact, my presence probably saved her mental capacity from going into defensive mode to shut herself away.

No matter how egocentric she portrays herself to be, she’s not invincible in the face of pressure. That was already proven back in our first encounter.

Continuing on, the strands of her hair partly covering her face had already been tucked behind her ear, giving me a clear view of that side of her.

Somehow, I noticed her left ear adorned by an earring. She wasn’t wearing any before. In any case, that’s a nice touch. It looked like a small diamond gemstone but possibly not an authentic one, Nonetheless, it’s enough to up her elegance a notch or two. Add to that, her pristine neck exuded a great temptation that would draw one’s eyes to it.

In the end, I also couldn’t help but brush my fingertips on that part of her, causing the girl to shiver from the sensation. She didn’t slap my hand away and instead endured that. If I wasn’t conscious about Eri and Futaba close to us, I’d probably keep caressing that exposed part of her.

Alas, I shouldn’t touch her carelessly. I was only going to tease her anyway, not make her surrender to my touch.

“Nope. Rather than you, I miss Nao more.” I eventually replied after putting on an act that I was stumped.

As always, Saionji couldn’t take being eclipsed by someone else or be set aside by me.

“Psh. You’re too obvious, junior. You don’t have to hide it. Who knows? I can be merciful enough to let you hear what you want to hear from me.”

“Oh really? But no thanks, I’m good. If you’re going to be like this… why don’t we change seats? Let me be with Nao.”

Upon hearing my answer, Saionji’s expression fell. No matter how much she tried to play it cool, she looked crestfallen.

Once again, she realized that it’s impossible to topple me when it comes to shamelessness.

After contemplating for a while, Saionji bit her lips and reached for my sleeve, pinching it between her fingers.

“N-no. I won’t move from here.”