Stealing Spree

No matter how I squeezed what little sense of familiarity I got from seeing this ribbon girl, nothing clicked. And from that alone, I became certain that she was not someone I stole before.

Even with a disguise, Hifumi only took a short time to discern my identity back then. And today, although I may have changed a lot in terms of my external image, I’m still the same guy. It’s impossible for the girls who became a part of my past not to recognize me.

Ah well, if I made them traumatized and they vowed to forget about me then that’s possible.

However, this girl in front of me was genuinely puzzled about whether we have met before or not. She probably even waited somewhere to ambush me like this.

Really strange. It’s not some kind of pick-up line, is it?

“Uhm. What do you mean by that?” I eventually replied which made the girl back away for a moment to contemplate how to answer my question.

Also taking this moment to properly observe her, the girl felt like your template prim and proper girl with kindness and gentleness as her main traits. If I have to make a comparison, imagine those ignorant about Hana’s mask. But whether or not this girl was also wearing the same mask, I had no idea.

Look, this girl has been skipping classes. Even if Hana or Shizu admitted how tiring it was to put on an act in front of everyone, they both maintained their reputations.

So, in essence, this girl is a problem child. Whatever reason she has for skipping classes is irrelevant.

A few seconds later, the girl finished her contemplation and pointed at me, “I think I’ve seen you somewhere before. Are you from...”

Although her voice trailed for a while, her expression gradually became a little clearer as though she remembered an important detail. And by the end of it, she brought up the name of the middle school where I or we graduated from.

For her to pinpoint that, we might really have met before. Just that, our connection wasn’t really that deep. And knowing myself from those days, I probably disregard her existence if ever.

Maybe one of the senior students I approached to find out more about my target? She’s a 2nd year according to Kanno-sensei.

“Yes? If that’s the case, then we might’ve run into each other before. I don’t think it’s that important though.” I answered a bit dismissively which immediately halted the girl’s visible enthusiasm.

Now that I've become certain that she’s not someone I hurt before, there’s no point prolonging this conversation. Right?

However, it looks like I found another girl who wouldn’t back down easily.

“But it is! I’m not from that school so... I finally remembered where I saw you!”

Alright. That successfully grabbed my attention. If she’s not from the same middle school then where did I see her? It couldn’t be from one of my scouting trips outside the school, right? While I found some targets from those, everyone I chose to steal still attended the same middle school as me. Like Yae.

“You... You’re the boy in Matsuri's pictures!” The girl continued.

As soon as I heard that name, the clicking sound that I was waiting for earlier finally rang in my head.

I involuntarily blinked twice and put all my focus on the girl’s face, trying to ascertain where the sense of familiarity that I picked up from this girl came from.

And funnily enough, that and the name she just mentioned, fitted perfectly, unlocking the memory I shoved to the back of my head. As if like an old film rolling and getting projected onto a cinema screen, the girl’s voice and appearance played inside my mind.

‘Hey, I can’t be with you. You’re aware that I can’t really leave him even if you say I only need to act. I don’t want that kind of relationship. I’ll just give up. But if you fix that twisted desire of yours, I’ll introduce you to my twin sister. She basically looks like me except that girl hasn’t been in any bad company so... you can say she’s the pure version of me.’

Right. That girl said that the day she decided to stop seeing me behind anyone’s back.

Uh. Who am I talking about?

It’s her. The girl that I still considered my ‘first time’. The one who taught me that I can do more than just kissing her in order to steal her completely from her boyfriend.

Higashina Matsuri.

In a way, I might’ve convinced myself that I cut her off when in fact, she was the one who decided to end what was happening between us. And from those words she just said, I finally understood.

She also didn’t want to simply become a girl I have stolen. And because I couldn’t give it to her, she decided to just stop it...

Or maybe that’s also why I didn’t pursue her after that.

Anyway, going back to the present. The girl in front of me... The reason why she looked familiar...

It’s obvious by now, right?

“You’re her twin sister.” I unconsciously murmured after rearranging my thoughts.

“Yes, I am. That’s a surprise. One mention of her name and you looked like you just remembered a lot of things.” The girl giggled before taking a step forward to peek closely at my face that’s still not in order.

In any case, there’s something that piqued my interest from what she said earlier. That I’m the boy in the pictures of Matsuri.

Did that girl keep a memento of our time together? Or... why did she keep a photo of me?

“I apologize. It’s been years since the last time I've seen her.”

“It’s fine. It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. I understand your circumstances.”

Really, now? What kind of circumstances is she talking about?

“Anyway, let me introduce myself. I’m Higashina Hanabi. It’s nice finally meeting you.” Without missing a beat, the girl politely bowed after introducing herself. Her ribbon cutely bounced from that small gesture.

“Likewise, senpai. I’m Onoda Ruki.” As a response, I naturally followed suit and introduced myself. Still... I’m pressed with time so, despite the sudden urge to find out about how that girl is nowadays, I remained bowing as I excused myself, “I apologize, senpai. Can we... catch up later? I still have something to do.”

Kanno-sensei could come out at any moment, after all. While there’s a choice of skipping out on confirming things with Kazehito and letting Hayashi-sensei determine what to do based on what little information I gathered, I found myself conflicted.

It’s not like I’m starving to reconnect with Matsuri. There’s the option to just get this girl’s number and ask her through messages. And because I’m trying to be responsible and improve myself for our future, I couldn’t half-ass this job.

Besides, this girl is just her twin sister. It’s a different story if Matsuri herself was the one in front of me. I would be willing to set aside that task to talk to her...

“Eh? Where are you going? I take that you’re not someone going to transfer here. I can be your guide, Ruki.” The girl declared with a grin. She proudly raised her chin as enthusiasm oozed out of her body.

No doubt. This truant girl has nothing better to do or she’s just that curious about her twin sister’s past flame.

Should I take her with me? I don’t know. But one thing is for sure, I cannot be stalled any longer.

“Then, senpai. Can you guide me to the infirmary?”