Stealing Spree

It’s the start of another week so, a Mentor Program after the sixth period was in order.

As soon as the teacher vacated our classroom, almost everyone in our class excitedly prepared to meet their respective mentors. Naturally, I was in a similar state.

After not seeing Arisa and Izumi-senpai during the weekend, I’m feeling more than just excitement. I’m missing them.

Thanks to the Mentor Program, I could fully devote that time to either of them. Though it would be better if they both showed up in the abandoned clubroom, Arisa despite her playfulness, was someone who always acted fairly. There were exceptions, of course, but leaving Ogawa by his lonesome would probably make her feel bad.

At least, regarding the swap, the initial reason had already become irrelevant. Another reason replaced it; to be alone with me and rehabilitate Ogawa so that he could finally move on and leave us be.

Oh. Right. I haven't taken a jab at him today, have I? Am I feeling kinda generous today?

Obviously not. My girls and Hana’s return fully occupied my mind. I have no extra brain cells to commit to gloat at him.

But now that I think about it, should I walk up to him and ask him about Kazuha-nee? I couldn’t help but recall that interaction we had last Saturday. Did she continue tormenting her little brother? Or did she soften up and eventually spoil him when they arrived home?

Man… Considering what happened, Ogawa had possibly begun feeling threatened by me. That the same as the surrounding girls around him, her precious sister might be the next one to be stolen.

Ah! Could that be part of the reason why he's so quiet today even after seeing Nami kissing me in front of the whole class?

Possible.

He couldn’t afford to provoke me again and see me use that ‘Kazuha-nee’ ammunition to shoot him down.

In any case, they said he's already trying to change or move on but a cuck will always be a cuck.

Uh. I guess Ichihara Jun still hadn’t absorbed all my pettiness. Some were still directed to these cucks.

Right. I should stop wasting my valuable seconds thinking about him and start preparing for the Mentor Program.

Having decided that, I quickly packed my stationeries, notebooks and some of the books that contained our lesson today in my bag.

Following that, I looked around me, starting from Aya until I finished checking all of my girls. I could walk them all to their mentors but as always, having me see them off was enough for them.

Their reason was… ‘I’m still going to visit them later, anyway’. They’re just doing their part not to trouble me too much by going back and forth for each of them.

Next, my eyes naturally landed on the girl that’s slowly shaping up to be a chaos-incarnate.

She stood out once again. But this time, it’s not because of her looks, fast adaptation, or sudden rise in popularity.

Instead, it’s because she looked so lost.

From my seat, I glanced at her and easily spied her rather confused state as she looked wherever, trying to understand why our classmates had started to pack up their things.

Most likely, Shio probably forgot to tell her about the Mentor Program or there’s just no time to do so earlier.

As for our classmates that had begun to imitate bees attracted to honey in regard to her angelic demeanor, they had yet to inform her about it.

For sure, apart from me, someone would soon notice it and tell her. But should I wait until that point?

It’s not like I’m trying to portray that I hate her. It’s just me not wanting to play her obvious game of ‘stealing my attention’.

Switching that up, I would be the one approaching her this time. Although the two of us returning together before the third period gathered speculations, no one could conclude what exactly happened between us. And even when they asked the girl, she had a ready-made excuse, flinging them off our tail.

Yeah. She's totally prepared in deflecting personal questions.

It’s not only to protect herself but also my reputation.

Because of that, the only negative gazes that I was receiving came from those who easily became infatuated with her fake angelic halo. As for the girls, well, they’re just curious about what would happen next.

In fact, those who I pinpointed to have some sort of attraction to me also started making a move.

For example, Kanzaki openly joined us during lunch. Shimura, as someone seated a little close to me, tried to chat me up whenever there was a chance – Satsuki not being around boosted her chances for me to pay attention to her.

As for Misumi… well, she’s one of the curious types. The same as what I heard earlier – their musings about me – the girl asked me if there was progress with my confessions to the girls; not including herself.

Did I answer that? Not directly. I just showed her how I grabbed Aya’s hand and the adorable girl responded to it by fitting her fingers between the gaps of mine. It’s lewd enough for her to retreat back to her seat.

Well, that’s that. I soon found myself making my way to Hana.

Ignoring the attention that I instantly got when someone pointed at me, I stood before Hana’s desk and then called Chii over.

The fake gyaru came over quickly, a little excited. Well, while she’s shaken about Hana’s aggressive approach to me, she’s optimistic about the chances of their friendship being reinstated. Nonetheless, it’s not blind faith anymore.

Earlier, she declared that if Hana wanted a fair fight for my attention, then she wouldn’t back down at all.

That’s admirable… but look at her. I could somehow make out an imaginary tail behind her, wagging excitedly.

The urge to dote on her came on strong but there’s a reason I called her over.

Explaining my guess to her, not only Chii but everyone who heard it had a look of astonishment; including Hana herself.

“Excuse me, what’s the Mentor Program?” Same as admitting that I was right on the mark, Hana raised her hand.

Chii, having recovered from that shock, readily answered, “It’s like this, Hana…”

And she went on to explain the purpose of it as well as how she could get a Mentor.

“I see. So, there’s that interesting program here. I don’t want a new Mentor so… can I just join you, Ruki? To become a mentee to whoever is your mentor?” With her eyes blinking with a hint of fascination, Hana brought up that suggestion.

“Rather than that, why don’t you join Chii? She’ll be able to guide you better along with her mentor.”

“Is that… so?” Without hiding it at all, Hana’s reluctance was properly conveyed. As always, she wanted to go with me rather than someone else.

I quickly checked Chii's expression. It would be bad if she took it negatively, after all.

Luckily, my guess was so off.

She got more motivated instead as she grabbed Hana’s wrist, “Come on. We won’t bite, Hana. Besides, I have another intention… I’ll have you admit the reason why you suddenly left after that spring break.”

“… That’s. Didn’t I answer that already? Give me a break.”

A little out of character, Hana tried to escape from Chii’s gaze. The tone of her voice contained a little dishonesty on her part. She’s just trying to escape being cornered by Chii.

Yesterday, since the other girls were there at our house, Chii and Hifumi failed to make the girl open up to them. And because of how chaotic that meeting became, they lost that chance.

Surely, that’s not enough to make them give up. And now here we are.

With Hana remaining seated, there’s just no escape from Chii’s persistence.

“I don’t believe it. Come on. Pack your things. I’ll come for you in a bit.”

After saying that, Chii returned to her seat, humming cheerfully. But as though she forgot one thing, she glanced back and trained her eyes on me.

Slowly, her lips arced into a wide grin as she noiselessly muttered, “Thank you, Kii.”

Yep. She definitely understood why I called her over. It’s for me to become the bridge that would connect the two of them again.

When Chii removed her gaze from me and continued walking back to her seat, I heard the girl in front of me helplessly whisper, “She changed a lot but at the same time, she remained that clumsy girl who’s very bad at hiding her true thoughts.”

“Hey, she’s still clumsy, yes. But she has already changed a lot. You’ll be surprised.” Replying to that with the same wide grin as though I was trying to market my girl to her.

“A little advice. You cannot remain stuck in the past, Hana. Take a step out of it and face the present. I’m sure it will be beneficial to you.” I continued at the same time as I reached for her ear and gave it a little pinch.

As soon as I retracted my hand, I turned around to return to my seat.