Stealing Spree

“I see. For Nakanishi-senpai to come here and check on me, I guess I have to show you my proper appreciation.”

Saying that in a sarcastic tone, the person before me was visibly taken aback. The smile on her face froze for a moment before a look of realization came to their mind.

She stepped forward and reached for my wrist before saying, “Do you have to sound so sarcastic there? If you’re suspicious then you should just straight up say so.”

“Mhm… You’re right. Thanks for giving me an idea." I nodded. Having made no move to dodge her hand, the girl successfully grasped my wrist, which she gently held and pulled slightly.

Thinking back to our two interactions before this, it’s either she did this on impulse or she forgot the character she showed to me. The possibility that she already warmed up to me shouldn't even be mentioned.

In any case, I found this entirely unusual. Not counting the fact that she presented herself as Enomoto’s messenger, this girl’s actions had begun to be shrouded in mystery.

If she's telling the truth that she's here to check on me, then how can that explain Uchiyama and the others' lack of knowledge about Enomoto?

Is she actually just using that guy to cover up her real position?

If I remove the fact that she's a natural temptress whose mere figure was enough to send men salivating, then the reason no one dared to court her was her real standing before the delinquents.

Well, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and play along for now.

Copying what she did, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to me. If someone passed by and saw us, they'd probably mistake us for a couple who didn't want to let go of one another.

Anyway, watching her reaction when I did that, I noticed that she was undisturbed. It's as if she's expecting me to do the same and let it happen as well.

Without letting the slight surprise show on my face, I said, “From what I remembered, you’re not someone who would touch a guy carelessly and vice versa. I wonder if there’s a meaning to this, senpai?”

"Then you remembered wrong, Onoda-kun. I'm uncomfortable being the focus of guys' lecherous gazes on me but that doesn't mean I'm allergic to men." She answered as her lips stretched into a thin smile.

"Thanks for the clarification, senpai. Then, should I call this a privilege?" Pointing my eyes to our connection, I pulled her even closer to the point that it would be easy for me to reach her lips if ever I decided to catch them with mine.

Perhaps thinking that our situation was turning in a different direction than what she envisioned, Nakanishi-senpai hurriedly let go of my wrist and tried to pull her arm out of my grasp.

Unfortunately for her, I tightened my hold onto it and once again pulled her over.

This time, I dragged her to the alleyway I had just emerged from and pushed her back on the wall before pressing on her.

No. This wasn't me trying to be a pervert but it's a way to break into her mind and see if she's hiding something else from me.

Well, if she's mentally strong, she'd know what to do in this situation.

"What's the meaning of this, Onoda-kun?" Although she sounded a little distressed, her eyes remained clear. She's not that great at acting or I managed to successfully tear down one of her pretenses.

"Nothing. You didn't answer me, senpai so I took that as a yes. If this is a privilege for me, I will like to get the best of it. I mean, after what I went through, I deserve a reward, right?"

Knowing that she's uncomfortable with perverted gazes, I didn't match my expression to my words. I remained with my usual one while not letting our eye contact break.

Nonetheless, with her glasses on the way as well as the gradual darkening of our surroundings, it's a little hard to get a read on it.

"This... Do you want me to hate you?" She asked.

The girl tried to squirm her arm out of my grasp. However, she still failed to do so. I raised that arm and pressed it against the wall as well.

If earlier we looked like a couple, this time, I'd probably be mistaken for assaulting her. But that was if someone would see us.

I remained alert, making sure that no one's close to us. If I ever heard so much as a footstep, I'd immediately let go of her.

"No. Of course not. In fact, I kind of wanted to be liked by you. However, I wanted some clarification, senpai. Enomoto, is he really the one pulling your and those idiots' strings?"

"Who else do you think?"

"I don't know. It can be you or it can be someone else entirely. You already warned me earlier and I didn't listen to you. That's why I'm finding it hard to be convinced that you're here to check on me."

I paused for a moment to take in her every reaction. Through her pulse, I could clearly read how nervous she was. Her chest was pounding loudly. Her eyes were also narrowed as they focused entirely on my face.

As for the other parts of her body, this girl could knee me at any moment but she's not doing that at all. Either she's not confident enough to hit me or she didn't want to hit me at all.

"Alright. That can be true as well. You're going to check on me after I get beaten up. And that brought us back to the first question, are you trying to get me indebted to you?" I continued. And while waiting for her answer, I moved my hand from her wrist to open up her palm.

Overlapping my hand on hers, Nakanishi-senpai's focus instantly switched from answering my question to watching our fingers gradually entwine and lock.

"O-onoda-kun." For the first time, she stuttered as she called out my name. "S-stop this. I'm not your enemy. I only wanted to help."

"What kind of help?"

"Help if you ever got hurt."

"But senpai, your presence here made me suspicious of you. We're not that close, after all. I'm just a junior you're tasked to meet and convey someone else's message."

Yeah. This is the main reason why I became suspicious of her. If it's someone else like Izumi-senpai or even Kujou Marika, I won't be as suspicious. On the other hand, this girl is directly linked to the one who arranged all of this.

Well, that arrangement also became suspicious. It's possible that Uchiyama was the one who gathered them and led me here and no one was manipulating them from the shadows.

After taking a few seconds of alternately looking at me and our joined hands, Nakanishi-senpai replied while still stuttering.

"I-is it bad for me to favor a junior? A-am I not allowed for that? I neither have friends nor someone close to talk to. And for the first time since he took over my protection, he sent me to you. Is it wrong for me to hope to have someone I can be comfortable with?"

Upon hearing all that, I didn't respond to her right away. I tried digesting it to see if her words were sincere or bereft of any falsehoods.

Admittedly, she said all of that without any intention to mislead me. She's speaking from her heart or whatever.

"Alright. I will believe in senpai. I apologize for doing this." I relaxed my posture and took a step back, freeing her from being pinned by the wall. Nonetheless, I still kept an eye out in case I missed something.

Nakanishi-senpai took a sigh of relief before straightening her back. After doing so, she then looked at me and said, "I want to say 'It's fine, don't worry about it.'. But Onoda-kun, will you kindly let go of my hand?"

Ah, right. Even though I had already given her the space to fix herself back, our hands were still connected

Reason?

There's none. I just wanted to keep holding it.

"If I say I'm holding it to make sure that you're not lying to me, will senpai believe me?"

"Onoda-kun, there's a limit to being shameless. But if it will keep you from suspecting me then... I-it's a small sacrifice."

This girl... What should I do with her? Should I steal her from Enomoto? Not that she's his possession. But if I want to get to the bottom of all this... I certainly have to keep her close like this.