Stealing Spree

The two best friends rescuing one another from their troubles was always an admirable sight.

Just look at that smile from Izumi-senpai. It’s like her favorite neighborhood superhero suddenly leaped down from a skyscraper, taking her away into the night sky and far from the danger she’s facing.

Ah. That sounds an exaggeration. Nonetheless, that accurately described what I was seeing before my eyes.

“Uchiyama, stop believing rumors. How long has it been since you start following this girl?” Bearing an all too clear protective aura towards her best friend, Arisa put her hands on her hips as she stared down at the guy.

Uchiyama, the stoutly-built senior, clicked his tongue in annoyance upon Arisa’s interjection.

He looked like he had just taken a drink from a carton of spoilt milk based on how sour his face became.

Arisa’s deterrent was that strong, huh? Now that I think about it, that guy was probably only approaching Izumi-senpai whenever she’s separated from Arisa.

“Guh. Kotobuki, stop meddling. Can’t you see I’m courting your friend? It’s been two years! I’m losing hairs here.”

“Courting? You sounded like a desperate fool who couldn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer. I say, go back and review the word no in your dictionary first before trying again. Otherwise, you’ll never rise from being her follower.”

With a hint of incredulity, Arisa scoffed at the guy. She then shook her head before offering him encouraging advice.

Well, it’s a bit of advice that he could definitely use. His persistence was different from mine, after all. There’s no thought put into it. He just wanted to be done with it regardless of what Izumi-senpai felt.

This is why having an observation skills is an advantage. Or if not that, just a proper eye to notice and read the other person’s expressions.

Don’t go bashing your head without a proper plan. Though there’s a possibility for it to work, the chances are always slim.

“Oi, Arisa, what are you saying? I will never go out with anybody.”

“Ssh. Be quiet.”

Ah. Izumi-senpai was also kind of slow in the uptake. She probably thought Arisa was trying to woo her to that guy by giving him advice.

Well then, I guess it’s time for me to also make a move. To turn that guy’s growing animosity for Arisa’s interference to me.

After straightening my back and fixing my posture to exude some kind of authoritative presence, I walked out of my hiding spot and approached them.

Ah… I also prepared something handy.

Before that guy could come up with a response to Arisa, I said in a loud voice, “What’s going on here?”

Eyeing the two girls first, Arisa had a slight smile on her lips while Izumi-senpai just curled her brows and tried averting her gaze.

If I had to guess, Arisa thought that it was so me to do this – ignore her words to stay back to help them – while Izumi-senpai was just surprised to see me here. She still had no idea that I was watching from somewhere.

Following that, I turned my gaze to Uchiyama. “Senpai, you look upset. Did someone bully you?”

Upon saying that, I stepped forward and looked at him from bottom to top before nodding.

Finding my actions baffling, the stout delinquent snarled, “What the hell are you? This is none of your business!”

“Oh. It is now, senpai. Look, what do you think this is?” Lifting my left arm to present my right, an armband bearing the name ‘Disciplinary Officer’ was wrapped and pinned to my sleeve.

Yep. It’s something only I possess. Eguchi-sensei handed me this armband earlier this morning. The official badge for my position.

Uh… To think that I would be able to use this already and for personal use at that, I’m partly ashamed.

Let me apologize to Eguchi-sensei in my mind…

In any case, what’s done is done. There were other methods to send him away but since this was a perfect chance to display my authority, this moment could become my real induction as this school’s Disciplinary Officer.

Furthermore, I timed it for when other students passed by so that they could also hear and look over.

“From what I’ve witnessed, senpai is trying to coax this beautiful senior to let you accompany her. Am I correct?”

Acting like we didn’t know each other, I pointed at Izumi-senpai.

Naturally, the rather slow girl reacted to it belatedly, looking like she was cringing from the way I called her ‘beautiful senior’. On the other hand, Arisa covered her mouth, preventing herself from snorting.

“Y-yeah…” Fortunately, Izumi-senpai gathered her wits soon and answered positively at my question.

“What the…! What Disciplinary Officer?! You’re just a junior! Stop flaunting something you didn’t earn!” Perhaps the embarrassment has started to get into his head, Uchiyama screamed defensively while dismissing my identity.

“I see. Looks like my authority is still low. Will you mind if I call a Guidance Counselor? She can be the witness whether I’m just flaunting my authority or not. Let’s see, the one in charge of second-years is Umemura-sensei…”

As my voice trailed, I noticed the murmurs from our surroundings growing abuzz. As for the guy in front of me, he’s started turning red from shame and anger.

“What the hell?! I’m out of this!” Tucking his tail between his legs, he turned around and swiftly retreated from the scene.

Looking at his shaking back and the way he occasionally glanced back at me with fury in his eyes, looks like I’m successful.

“That’s easy,” I muttered while clapping my hand once before scanning my gaze to our surroundings.

Well, as expected, some of them looked amazed at what hand while the majority frowned as they went on their way.

Surely, they also didn’t like the appearance of someone with this kind of authority. In my best guess, my explosive popularity these past few days would start dying down. Word of what happened would certainly make their rounds today and tomorrow, after all.

But that’s for the best.

As soon as the other students stopped paying attention, I removed the armband and faced the two girls. “Let’s go?”

“Alright, that’s cool. You’re spared from being scolded for not listening to me.” Arisa said as she jovially went to my side, linking her arms with mine.

“Stop being a showoff.” Contrary to Arisa, Izumi-senpai still had a look of annoyance but with a different reason entirely this time. After saying that, she turned around to face the Club Building.

The girl was about to walk away from the scene when her soft, sweet, and almost whispering voice traveled to my ears, “Thank you.”

Mhm… That sounds nice.

Upon hearing that, the girl at my side also reacted to it. While bearing her usual playful smile, she pulled me along to approach Izumi-senpai.

“Hey, why are you only thanking him? I’m the one who came to your rescue.” Arisa teasingly asked as we started walking alongside her. She nudged her best friend’s shoulder and laughed.

Looking annoyed again, Izumi-senpai clicked her tongue before retreating to my free side. And while acting as though she didn’t care about it, she replied, “That’s for you! Not for this shameless guy.”

“Oh, is that so? Too bad, Ruki…” Still showing a playful expression, Arisa then switched the direction of her tease to me.

I played along with it and said shamelessly, “It’s fine. You can thank me in her stead later. Or I can ask her for a hug.”

Upon hearing that, Izumi-senpai retched before tapping my back, “Stop being shameless and let’s go!”

And with this, we continued on our way to their clubroom while Arisa and I teamed up on teasing Izumi-senpai.

Yep. Arisa and I were certainly too compatible with each other.