Stealing Spree

In the following minutes until we reached her station, Sumire tried everything she could think of to convince me to send her another voice clip. However, it was mostly her, highlighting her appeal, thinking I would be moved by it.

In the end, the girl unhappily pouted as she reluctantly stood up and left.

Well, it’s not like I didn’t get entertained by her attempts so... while watching her seemingly forlorn back as she gradually disappeared off the platform, I sent a short clip prepared by Yue to her avid fan.

While it didn’t contain a song, its content was her sincere message for the girl. Partly grateful but also confident that she’d bring her fan more songs that would touch their heart.

And because of that, before the train started moving again, I watched as Sumire reappeared from below the stairs. She instantly locked me in her sight as she cheerfully hopped like a rabbit while energetically waving her hand.

Most of the passengers who witnessed the girl’s attempts earlier chuckled at that before looking at me with other meanings in their gazes.

Yep. They misunderstood my relationship with the girl.

Although I could ignore them, their misunderstanding deepened when I suddenly received a message from the girl and the one sitting next to me got a glimpse of it.

“Onoda-senpai, I love you! You’re the best!”

That and followed by heart emojis and stickers.

Obviously, that’s just her buttering me up because of how happy she was hearing Yue giving her a heartfelt message from an idol to her self-proclaimed number-one fan.

But he read it out loud, causing everyone who was already paying attention to me to applaud at the turn of events.

Some said I’m lucky to have that adorable girl while others scolded me for not walking the girl home.

Damn busybodies.

-

-

With Akane’s period already over, I thought Fuyu would refrain from coming again. However, when I arrived home, the same as the last four days, the girl was in the kitchen, cooking our dinner.

At first, I thought it was Akane getting busy in there because the girl wasn’t waiting at the front. But when I was about to surprise her – sneaking to the kitchen to hug her from behind, Akane emerged from the hallway leading to our bathroom.

Yeah. That made my legs stop from moving. Good thing I’ve only taken the first step or else, I would surprise myself by finding Fuyu there instead of Akane.

Anyway, the two of us soon helped that girl in preparing and ate together. Naturally, I didn’t bring up questioning the girl why she still came. That would be like telling her that she’s not welcome anymore, after all.

Besides, they told me the reason right after cleaning up and moving back to the living room to rest for a while.

Apparently, they wanted to finish their homework right away. It also saved them the time they could relax in the following two days of the weekend.

I joined them on it, pulling some of my homework as well. We helped each other with the difficult parts and that’s it. That’s how we spent the few hours before Fuyu decided to call it a day.

While there’s nothing truly noteworthy in it, it felt like Akane and I returned to being normal students, with our homework as our only worry.

Well, Fuyu was fairly silent too but never uncomfortable. She’s probably used to seeing me by now.

And like a few days ago, Akane asked me to escort her friend. This time, however, the silly girl acted normally. She didn’t put out a hint that I should close my distance from her best friend. Either she thought it was unnecessary or she was just truly influenced by her quirk back then.

“Onoda-kun. Since you’re now living with her Apart from being fulfilled, have you ever thought of being tired of Akane? Not in a bad way, of course. What I mean is... have the two of you never felt a dull moment. I mean, you can’t be talking all the time, right?”

Minutes later, after leaving the station and we started walking towards her house, Fuyu suddenly raised that question, breaking the silence between us.

How should I interpret her question? Is she trying to gauge how it feels to live together as a couple? What for?

Taking a few seconds before answering, I took a glance at a girl whose eyes remained in front. Seeing how she’s acting normally, it’s probably just a curiosity.

“Let’s see. Yes, we don’t always fill our time together by only talking all the time. In fact, we’re actually spending more time in silence than in a conversation. You see... just the thought that she’s around and I can easily reach her is enough to bring peace to my mind.”

Though I wish I could do and say the same for the other girls. I miss them a lot. Especially those who are far away from me.

Fuyu paused for a moment as she digested that answer. I then caught her looking at me with a meaningful expression on her face.

“I see. I take that as the feeling of being in love, am I correct?”

“Yes, it is. I can’t imagine my life without her, actually.”

“Really? Then how can you explain the past? Where you continue ignoring her.”

“That... Let’s just say, I am misguided by my own desire. Well, not really misguided but I probably closed the eyes I have for Akane. Now I got it open again. As I’m now aware of it, I will not close them again for a second time.” I scratched my cheek as I explained it in a rather complicated way.

Thankfully, Fuyu gets it.

I saw her relaxing her expression and nodding slightly. But then, she asked another question.

“... Does that mean you’re going to marry her in the future?”

“I believe she already mentioned that to you. Yes, I will. I mean we’re already living together and acting like a married couple. The only thing left is the paper to make it official to our society.”

“Y-yeah... But Onoda-kun, you’re still awfully close to other girls. Like your teacher. And also, there’s me.”

This girl... Is she about to suspect me again?

Taking another glance at the girl, she’s now slightly frowning. It’s as though the girl was having difficulty asking me that. Perhaps, she felt it was too intruding but then, her desire to hear my answer won in her mind.

“Do you think I’m bound to cheat on her?”

“Un. I don’t know if Akane already told you but I’m aware of the girls that became involved with you back in our middle school. You’re quite a player.” Fuyu swiftly answered positively but at the same time, she also looked like she felt bad for being that frank.

While her questions were definitely too personal, I didn’t see anything wrong in answering them. Of course, my answer was within the scope of my relationship with Akane. I set aside my complex relationship to give her truthful answers.

I mean, in a way, each of my relationships with different girls is separate and connected at the same time. I have the ability to focus on one or everyone. Neglecting none of them.

“I’m glad to hear your honest thought, Yuuki-san. Then, is that also why you kept on suspecting me?” I put on a smile first before raising my own question.

Perhaps I could interpret that the girl talking with me about this is a sign that she is about to let go of her prejudice against me. Who knows?

In any case, I could honestly say that I didn’t feel uncomfortable with our topic, otherwise, I would shut her down right at the start.

Seeing that we’re about to enter their street. Fuyu paused in her steps and turned to me, looking at my expression in this dark night directly, “Maybe it’s tied to that. I hated you for her because of it. But when I saw the two of you together for the first time on that train and she’s like a helpless maiden that’s totally in love with you, I felt complicated. On one hand, I want to be happy for her but on the other, I hate it that you also added her to your list of girls. I don’t have any right to say that though.” Fuyu bitterly smiled as she looked a little apologetic.

“Does Yuuki-san actually love Akane?”

“Eh? No. Well, yes. I love her as my best friend. I feel that our bond is as strong, if not stronger, than blood-related sisters. That’s why I'm concerned for her.” Although she got flustered at first, Fuyu instantly recovered before answering sincerely.

It’s her genuine feelings for their friendship.

“I see. And that is why I also admire your friendship. And I admire Yuuki-san for standing up for Akane.”

“Thank you...” Not knowing how to respond to that, Fuyu could only mutter that quietly.

And with that, we continued on the last few steps to their house. The same as last time, I didn’t approach their gate and just watched her until she entered.

However, when I was about to turn around, I heard the sound of their gates opening again followed by a voice of a very young girl, “Ah! Onee-chan was escorted by a boy! I knew it! Mama was right!”

Turning around, I saw a short kid that’s probably still in kindergarten while holding a white teddy bear standing there. She’s almost identical to Fuyu but instead of a ponytail, she’s sporting twin tails making her very cute.

However, at this moment, she’s grinning widely while pointing at me, “Ne, Nii-chan, are you dating my onee-chan?”

“Eh? Fubuki, no! What are you saying?” Fuyu grabbed the little girl and covered her mouth. And as she pulled her sister inside, the girl’s eyes focused on me as a hint of embarrassment swiftly occupied her face, “O-onoda-kun, forget this! And don’t answer that! Ah. No! Answer it and help me clear this up!”