Stealing Spree

Like I told Kanzaki, as soon as we finished our task, the two of us left the classroom together.

Miyoshi tried chasing after her but when he only got a stare down by Kanzaki, he bitterly gave up, clenching his fist in utter frustration.

Still, perhaps knowing what I was capable of, the guy couldn’t even raise his voice against me. Another spineless coward.

Well, that’s his true nature. In the first place, his cowardice to take the first step led Kanzaki to approach me. And even if she put in the effort to take the lead, that guy remained a coward. He even had the gall to break up with her.

Although I hadn’t heard his side yet, just the way he acted was enough to show that what I heard from Kanzaki was all true.

Anyway, enough about that guy.

Right before we exited the School Building, I heard hurried footsteps from behind us.

Even before I could glance back to check, a familiar fragrance registered on my nose. That’s why I only stopped in my steps and let myself be tackled from behind.

“Ruki!” The girl’s cheerful voice rang out at the same time as I felt her lean arms wrapping themselves from behind me.

Well, at this point, I didn’t need to check who it was… It’s none other than my innocent friend, Misaki.

Exuding her naïve yet very cheerful personality, the girl skipped greeting me and just went straight to entering my personal space.

I reached to my back, grabbed her arm, and pulled her from behind me. The girl didn’t resist it. In fact, she even happily stuck close to me as she slid from my back to my front.

“My. What a coincidence to meet you here before you disappear again, Ruki.” Although she was without her paper fan, her wide and smooth forehead was as blinding as ever. I glanced down and watched how the girl’s lips quickly formed an arc, donning a very lovable smile.

Somehow, even after everything I told her, she’s not toning down on how she wanted to get close to me. It’s even more pronounced this time. Hugging me right out in the public.

Well, luckily for us, most students already left for the club so the only witness at this was Kanzaki.

“Am I disappearing now?” I reflexively hooked my arm to Misaki’s back, supporting the girl. She’s trying to tip-toe and reach my cheek. It’s a no-brainer what she’s trying to do. A kiss on my cheek.

“Un. You are. I can’t catch you in your classroom. Every time, they’ll say you’re outside. If I don’t know any better, I’ll begin to think that you’re avoiding me.” Misaki answered with a little shake of her head.

“Right. That’s not gonna happen. It’ll be my loss if I avoided you.”

Upon feeling my arm on her back, she confidently stood on her toes, trusting me completely. A few seconds later, her pink lips pressed on my cheek followed by a satisfied giggle. “I’m glad to hear you feel the same, Ruki.”

When her feet returned to the ground, she glanced at Misaki and greeted the girl. Naturally, she’s once again speechless. No, it’s more like she’s surprised at Misaki’s boldness.

“Hello, Mio. You appeared distressed. Has anything untoward happened to you?” With the same air of innocence, she asked Kanzaki.

Yes, you appeared. I couldn’t help but answer her in my mind.

Anyway, Kanzaki also got out of her trance and recollected herself, “Misaki, you. How close are you to Onoda-kun?”

“We’re close friends. The same as you.”

“… Eh? Why did you kiss him?”

“Uhm. Because I miss him?”

“That’s… Hey, Onoda-kun, what did you teach her? No matter how I look at it, close friends won’t kiss each other for no reason.”

“Relax. She’s still learning. I won’t take advantage of her. Just that, I’m kind of vulnerable to that… I failed to stop her.”

“Yes! Ruki and Maaya-sama helped me understand things I’m ignorant about. But I have a goal!”

“Goal?”

“Un. Become more than a close friend to Ruki.”

“This…” Kanzaki’s mouth was left wide open as she stared at me, her eyes conveying how she wanted clarification about this situation.

On the other hand, Misaki giggled once more before returning to my side, hugging my arm tightly. She’s now planning to walk with me like this.

Alright, looks like teaching her stuff made it a little worse. Where’s Itou when we need her?

“Misa, what did I tell you? You shouldn’t openly approach him like this. You don’t want him to become hated by everyone, am I right?”

Speaking of the devil, Itou emerged from the same hallway we came from. While airing out a small sigh, she walked toward us and plucked the girl from my arm.

“Maaya-sama…”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Itou. It’s also my fault for not dodging her approach.”

“You and your overflowing consideration.” Itou put a hand on her forehead, lamenting at that trait of mine.

With her appearance, our group grew to four and we finally started moving again.

Even though I could explain everything to Kanzaki, I wasn’t really compelled to do so. Nonetheless, Itou filled her in, giving her sufficient understanding of what was actually happening.

Well, coincidence it may be but running into them saved me the time of looking for them later. It’s fortunate that they’re also on Cleaning Duty today.

Anyway, while sandwiched by the three girls, we first walked Misaki to her club before circling back to the Club Building and bringing both Kanzaki and Itou to the Book Club.

Since I told her I would bring her somewhere, Kanzaki was taken aback when she saw the girls greeting me right after entering it.

As for Itou, she just tagged along instead of going to her club. Either she wanted to check on her beloved sister or… an extension of her time with me.

“Girls, this is Kanzaki, our Class President. And Kanzaki, as you can guess, they’re all my girls. Haruko, Edel, Himeko and… Mina. There’s also Aya but she’s probably busy reading and you already know her so…”

I introduced Kanzaki to everyone and although partly amused, they all welcomed her with a smile.

I felt a pinch on my sides though. Probably from Mina or Himeko. I also haven’t told them that I’ll bring a new girl here. Nonetheless, Haruko simply gave a meaningful smile as she scanned the glasses girl who was starting to get flustered.

As for Edel, the silver koala already took her position on my back, hugging me in the same way as Misaki hugged her earlier. As soon as I finished introducing Kanzaki, the girl pulled me to the back and away from their eyes to have me pamper her.

After close to a minute of processing the situation, Kanzaki searched for my figure and asked “… Wait, why did you bring me here, Onoda-kun?”

Pausing the pampering session, I turned around to face the girl and answered her question.

“Let’s see… You said you can’t help but be drawn to me. Do you still feel the same after knowing that I have more? Also, this is to let you see a part of why it's a bad idea to associate yourself with me.”

“There he goes again. Yet he’s adding more and more.” From the side and next to Himeko, I heard Itou murmuring that while clicking her tongue.

Upon hearing that, Himeko gently laughed and pinched her little sister’s cheek, “Yet you also got ensnared by him Ya-chan.”

“Nee-sama!”

Hearing that exchange, I couldn’t help but walk toward them while Kanzaki was once again frozen, not knowing how to react.

I kissed Himeko right in front of her sister and at the same time, I reached for Itou’s chin and let my thumb trace her soft kissable lips.

Itou snarled at me and almost bit my thumb. She stopped at that though and simply turned her head to the side before muttering silently, “I’m not going to ask you for a kiss, idiot.”

Surely, she meant the opposite. But let’s save that for later.

I put my focus back on Kanzaki. For sure, her head’s spinning right at this moment.

Luckily for her, an expert was here to save her.

“Now, now, hubby. Don’t scare her like that. Mio-chan, right? I’ve heard about you. You’re a diligent and straightforward girl. Why don’t we sit there first?”

Haruko’s smile widened as she eyed me with a mischievous expression. She then guided Kanzaki down to one of the seats in front of her table.

Following that, everyone returned to their places, leaving Itou and me standing behind Kanzaki.

Although I failed to factor in Itou’s appearance here, this was still satisfactory.

My goal for bringing Kanzaki here was only to show her that I was more than a scum. Haruko, on the other hand, would be doing her own thing. To let Kanzaki bare what’s inside her chest.

Uh. That sounds wrong. I didn’t mean her twin peaks but what’s truly going on in her mind. Everything she’s bottling up. Not just about me but about everything that concerns her.