Stealing Spree

Leaving behind her little brother and dragging me by my wrist, Kazuha-nee surely did things outside my expectations. I thought she would put me to question right there and then.

In any case, instead of getting warm treatment from the woman, it would probably turn into something close to an interrogation. Since I stoked the fire to provoke more reaction from Ogawa, my ideal result wasn’t that far from this.

Watching Kazuha-nee from behind, her gorgeousness was amplified by the gentle sway of her hips. Her every step would also make her hair wave a little and it’s really great to look at. However, her hand wrapped around my wrist felt a little rough. She’s probably someone who had no qualms about doing heavy work. Her strength was also nothing to be scoffed at. Even though I partly let myself go along with her, she would be capable of dragging me off even if I resisted.

Well, at least she’s not really the brutish type and there’s surely a reason why she wanted to talk to me alone. If I had to put it in words, she’s the kind of person who’s very objective. Before judging me, she’s going to hear my side first.

Most likely, she’s also going to talk to her little brother later after this. To get a clear understanding of what he was trying to say.

Back to the present.

As we gained distance from Ogawa, I gradually matched her steps and walked alongside her.

Upon noticing that, Kazuha-nee snickered as she let go of my wrist.

“Ruki-kun, from what I gathered, you’re quite a confident guy.” She said without even looking at me.

Obviously, this was just small talk. Something that would fill the blank spaces in her mind.

“If that’s how I appear to you then I guess my efforts are paying off.”

“What does that mean? You can’t be someone without self-confidence before. You’re definitely a natural at this.”

“Will you believe me if I say that I used to self-deprecate? I used to reprimand myself for everything I did. So much that the people around me kept on pointing that out.”

“Hmm? From how I see it. Bearing a confident tact is clearly different than being a self-deprecating punk. You can criticize yourself but if every decision you make is done with full confidence, then that makes you a very confident person.”

Ah. Makes sense. It’s just me always overthinking my decisions right after doing them. I should’ve realized that by now but I guess, I stopped paying attention to it anymore after putting down my tendency to self-deprecate.

“Kazuha-nee is wise. Thank you for enlightening me.”

“Look at you, are you trying to make me laugh?” Kazuha-nee’s smirk turned into a grin as though she was about to burst into laughter. She held it in though and soon enough, stopped walking.

We finally arrived somewhere without any people apart from us.

Where is this? Well, it’s the Emergency Staircase close to the back of the building. With the mall operating as it was, no one was using this place. Maybe the security would patrol here at set times but at the moment, it’s the most deserted place of this establishment.

Kazuha-nee unhesitatingly went inside and climbed up the set of stairs to the buffer area leading to the next level. She sat down on the steps and hollered me over to follow her.

Well, although not as private as a private room, we’d surely not get disturbed here. And if the door below or upstairs opened, we’d be able to sense it right away.

Just that, the reason why she wanted to talk to me in private still evaded me.

Is she going to transform into someone else and it has to be kept secret? I don’t know. I’m just playing along right now while I wait for Ayu.

As I approached Kazuha-nee, the woman once again grabbed my wrist and pulled me right next to her. And the same as earlier, she hooked her arms around mine. However, there was a difference this time, the woman pressed my arm as close to her as possible.

Because of that, there’s no escaping the soft, squishy sensation of her chest.

It’s clearly intentional yet I couldn’t really focus on that.

Ogawa’s older sister wasn’t finished yet.

Before everything clicked in my head, Kazuha-nee’s smooth, long hair landed on my shoulder, brushing against it as she tilted her head to the side, lowering down as gently as possible.

At the same time as that, the woman tugged our interlocked arms which resulted in my hand being lifted. Without missing a beat, Kazuha-nee grasped my hand with hers, locking our fingers together.

At this point, her head settled perfectly on my wide shoulder.

Because of the suddenness of this situation that even my reflex failed to anticipate, I failed to react accordingly. Or rather, I was one step too late to grasp her intention.

She didn’t keep me waiting though. Kazuha-nee soon whispered in a rather seductive tone, enough to make my body quiver from an electrifying sensation, “Hey, Ruki-kun~ Do you mind if we talk like this?”

This… I know I’m the type who doesn’t really mind being close to women in general. But this should be the first time that I got fully outclassed at being bold.

Somehow, it felt like I had just experienced what my other targets experienced from my old self. Shameless and unbothered to the other party’s reaction.

And even if Kazuha-nee whispered those as though she was asking for permission, the way she locked herself this close to me was a giveaway that she was not going to take no for an answer.

A few seconds quickly passed. Instead of answering her, my mind automatically went into overdrive, trying to understand her intention.

After taking in everything that happened before this, there’s nothing that hinted at this girl to act like this. At least, apart from her incomprehensible decision to bring me somewhere we could be alone, nothing pointed to this.

She might be testing me. But if that’s the case, she could accomplish that without acting like this…

“Kazuha-nee, isn’t this a little too close? Are you trying to test me?”

Without being able to form a convincing guess in my head, I had no choice but to do this. Probe her as we go along with this.

“Am I testing you? Of course…” Her voice trailed there followed by another giggle, “… that’s the first conclusion you’ll arrive at. Believe it or not, I’m not trying to test you.”

“Then please enlighten me on what you mean by this. You brought me here saying you wanted to talk. We did talk on the way but now… you suddenly acted like this. Even if it’s not me, I’m sure anyone will be confused.”

“I’m aware. Everyone will react the same. However, Ruki-kun, I’m not an easy girl to do this to anyone. I’m doing this because it’s you… Get it?”

Upon hearing that, I couldn't help but stare at her in bewilderment.

Do I know her before all this? It can’t be. I can’t remember someone like her. I’m quite certain our first meeting was that night, in front of Hina’s house.

“Please elaborate.” Giving up trying to fit her face on anyone in my memory, I turned to the woman who was still giggling while making herself really comfortable on my shoulder.

“Let’s see. Will you understand if I say it like this? I don’t mind being stolen by you.”

This woman… What’s wrong with her head? It’s understandable, true. But there’s that one question.

Why?

“Ogawa is going to cry if he hears you saying that, Kazuha-nee,” With my mind still unconvinced by everything she just did and said, I could only come up with that answer.