Stealing Spree

Before meeting up with Arisa at the abandoned clubroom, I looked for my girls and told them what happened and how Sachi transformed from a known threat to an energetic friend.

At least, that’s how I started seeing her when we established that relationship after taking the hand that she offered.

I mean, there’s no reason to decline. However, I have no idea what’s going to happen next since Sachi promptly fled from the scene while still sporting her flustered expression.

She dashed away as though she was a sprinter from the track and field club. In just a little over ten seconds, she’s already a hundred meters away from me.

I did successfully get to the bottom of the issue so… all’s well that ends well, I guess?

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“Ruki, let me tell you something…” With a dark expression that tethered between laughing out loud and getting annoyed at me, Arisa gestured for me to come closer after hearing the same thing that I relayed to my girls concerning Sachi.

Yep… She’s reacting the same as Nami and the other girls… This would be my 5th time being reprimanded.

For the record, Aya, Rae and Saki let me off lightly.

Aya was even happy that I got a new friend.

Rae was speechless and fell into thinking about whether she should approach Sachi soon or not.

Saki just didn’t care too much about me getting a new friend. For the opportunist girl, she used that moment for her to take the presented chance in front of her to be intimate with me.

Without thinking twice, I picked up a chair, placed it next to Arisa, and sat down before hugging her from the side.

Although she expected that, Arisa incredulously pouted and flicked my forehead. And as though unsatisfied with it, she also focused on my cheeks, pinching them until they turned red. “Listen, you cheeky boyfriend, I admit that it’s an adorable trait of yours. However, I’m just wondering, how come you can be this naïve when you’re too mature at a lot of things?”

Having experienced the same treatment from the four girls earlier, I simply acted the same and stretched my lips into the same naïve smile that I showed them, “I’m not perfect, Arisa. When it comes to friendship and the likes, I’m a total newb or ignorant.”

Or so I claimed… But after weighing my choice earlier, keeping Sachi close by as a friend will allow me to monitor her. Even if she said that she’s not going to use that anymore, I better make sure.

It might not be detrimental to me if it was leaked but as the person who helped me get out of that situation, I have no intention to drag Orimura-sensei’s name down.

“It’s not about being ignorant, you cheeky junior. Didn’t you say that she became fixated on you because she wants to get your attention? Moreover, you did all that to her… You’re so quick to be touchy-feely to any girl! Isn’t that what happened to us? In this very room… you hugged me right away!”

Looking at this girl being this exasperated… Apart from being concerned, she’s also feeling a little jealous.

I get where she’s coming from. Nami, Satsuki, Chii, and Hina already pointed that out earlier. As usual, this was just me having the desire to tease her. And sure enough, I’m not disappointed at all.

“Oh, now that you mentioned it, I love recalling your face at that time, Arisa. Should we reenact it?”

Catching up to what was happening, Arisa released a sigh and facepalmed. “You cheeky bastard. I’m being serious here…”

Dropping my playful act, I raised my body, leveling my head to hers. I grabbed the hand covering her face and kissed the back of her hand before caressing her cheek, “Alright. I’m just teasing you, Arisa. I understand what you’re trying to say. And know that I’m thankful for it…”

Following that, I dropped more kisses on her hand before slowly climbing to her arm until I reached her neck.

Before taking her lips, I continued, “Katayama’s case is… inevitable. I considered her a threat. Being given the chance to flip it, I did so without hesitation.”

“Even so…”

“Is my Arisa being jealous?”

Obviously, not. This girl understood our situation. Furthermore, she even got a good grasp of what was going on around me.

“Not jealous, you cheeky bastard. I’m concerned about you. You don’t have that much resistance to the girls that you found interesting.”

“I see. That’s true… It’s a flaw that I admit I cannot easily change.”

Thinking about it, although a little different, it’s also a trait present to everyone. When it comes to the boy or girl, man or woman that they’re interested in, most people would just succumb to it, in the hopes that they’d be seen in a positive light.

“How so? Can’t you just… put some distance?”

“Mhm… That’s what I’m going to do. Even if she’s my friend now, it’s not necessary for me to look for her. You know, the same as Misaki.” I nodded. Sachi is just a friend in the end. And I doubt it will change anytime soon.

After digesting what I said, a complicated look appeared on her face. And while wryly smiling, she said, “Uh, I feel like I’m turning into a clingy girlfriend.”

“That’s fine. You also have a clingy boyfriend here.” Kissing her once again, I aimed to calm down whatever negative emotion accumulated in her mind. Once that was done, I flashed another bright smile to her, “Anyway, I have one more thing to report.”

And so, I told her everything about Hana’s reemergence in my life. Although she’s already informed by Nami. She’s not present at that meeting.

Compared to how she reacted to Sachi, Arisa was instantly provoked by Hana’s declaration that I relayed. “Ruki this… Hana. You stole her, right? Did you also… love her?”

That’s a question that no one asked yet but I’m sure that they already assumed my answer to that.

“I believe so. I wouldn’t steal her if I didn’t feel attracted or drawn in by her.” I answered honestly.

Although there were instances where I let go of girls that I stole because I lost interest, that’s probably a case of my feelings not being reciprocated by them. Or I was hurt by their choices… Just like that one girl that I forced to choose between staying with me or tending to her boyfriend that challenged me.

“I see… If you say it like that, there’s a high chance that you’re going to take her back… Regardless of what she does in the future.”

“About that… I’m still unsure. At least not until she really shows up and messes up the peace that we created between all of us… But one thing I’m certain of is that no matter what happens, my bottom line is… if any of you girls get hurt in the process, I’ll be her worst nightmare.”

I had no idea what kind of expression I wore but Arisa hurriedly pulled me in her embrace, transferring her warmth to me.

A while later, she gently whispered, “I never thought I would be able to see your scary face, Ruki.”

“Is that how it looks? Uh… I’m sorry. That’s just how important all of you are to me. I won’t show mercy to those who will hurt you. You’re all my reverse scale.” I declared and that made Arisa hug me even tighter.

Once she noticed that I already calmed down, the girl switched our topic to other things that can be relevant to us. Eventually, when we ran out of topics we took a walk outside and spent the rest of the Mentor Program exploring the whole school grounds while also being all over each other whenever we fell into that kind of mood.