Stealing Spree

Even before I could raise my arm to knock on the door of the clubroom, I already heard a set of excited footsteps drawing closer and hopping towards it. Most likely, she also strained her ears to hear my incoming footsteps which halted right before the door.

A moment later, the clinking sound of the knob being turned echoed followed by the somewhat hollow hum of the door being pulled open. I watched in bated breath and a hint of excitement as the person who called me here appeared before my eyes.

Perhaps carrying the same expectation as me, as soon as the girl behind the door saw my figure, her eyes widened in delight as her thin pair of lips stretched from both sides.

Upon noticing my eyes fixated on admiring her beauty, Mutsumi-senpai playfully remarked, "Heh. I'm flattered. You've come running to see me, Ruki. Is it safe for me to assume that you missed me?"

This girl… I could've thrown those words back to her. But well, I'll let this slide. I like her confidence to act as though she's not feeling the same or her delight at seeming me was unnoticeable.

Thinking back. It's only been a week since the day I met her in this room. While that could be said as our first and only real meeting, our connection didn't stagnate. In fact, it even improved a lot to the point that the strangeness of our first meeting was already water under the bridge.

Not counting her updates on the progress of the favor we asked her to do as well as our attempts to get to know each other better, Mutsumi-senpai also sometimes rants or simply shares how her day went through our messages. And likewise, I returned the same gesture despite how less frequent I replied to her compared to my girls.

I know. That was indubitably not enough effort on my part. However, in one way or another, Mutsumi-senpai often expressed her satisfaction with it. She said that as long as her name or her face remained resurfacing in my mind, no matter how fleeting, it's already a win for her.

LIke what we both realized last week, her interest in me really peaked with that one meeting. Furthermore, within the duration that we hadn't seen each other in person, it never faltered nor diminished at all. Add to that, being aware of my complex relationship also didn't become a detriment.

You don't believe in love at first sight? Here's Mutsumi-senpai as the living example. She admittedly became attracted to me at first sight. She also added that smelling my scent was enough for her to get wet.

Uh. That last bit wasn't proven yet. But even if it's an exaggeration on her part, it also carried a part of the truth.

Maybe if people heard about this, they'll think that I fed her something to instantly max out my intimacy points with her.

But that's not our problem anymore... What's important is this moment… We're both enlivened to have this chance to see each other again.

"Mhm. I won't deny that. I missed you, Mutsumi-senpai. In fact, I've constantly been thinking about you. I consider your message as something that fell in perfect timing." I eventually replied after arranging my thoughts and refocusing all of my attention to her.

Upon saying that, I crossed the boundary between the hallway and the clubroom, joining her inside and closing the door behind me.

With the thought that we're now alone in this room settling in my mind, I beat her to the punch by taking the last few steps to close our distance.

By the time I finished speaking, I already put her in my embrace. As someone with a short stature closely similar to Eimi's cousin, Anzu-nee, wrapping her completely in my arms was easily accomplished.

Naturally, I carefully gauged her comfortability to make sure that I wasn't overdoing it. But I guess that's not really needed.

"There's that honesty you always flaunted. I like it though. And this…" Allowing herself to be held by me, Mutsumi-senpai only took a moment to match my boldness.

A second later, her arms hooked around my shoulder and tightened her grip on it which instantly reminded me that one of her traits was her absurd physical strength that didn't match her figure.

Although her grip couldn't make me groan in pain, it made me consider regulating how excited I should make her. It also makes me wonder where she's pulling her strength from. She's not at all muscular like Coach Ayu yet… she could probably deliver the same weight in punches as her.

Remind me not to take a playful punch from her or I might get knocked out accidentally.

"So, does this mean Mutsumi-senpai also missed me?"

"Sure I do. I told you, Ruki… I'll make you fall for me. This time, however, I'll go with the right process. Not jumping on you out of nowhere. Though if you prefer that… I can be as aggressive as last time. I'm certain that I'll be spoiled by you anyway."

"I love that confidence, Mutsumi-senpai." As much as I wanted to surprise her by following through her words. I held myself back for a moment. That can wait for later.

After this, we moved to the same table and chair that we used before. However, she already skipped the process of sitting on that table first. Instead she went straight on my lap, enjoying the comfort of my embrace.

Our conversation started not at the main point of my why she called me here. Instead, we simply tried to catch up on what happened within this past week. And that included venting her frustration in her new college life.

Unlike with Juri or Anzu-nee, who I had yet to hear about a detailed experience in their college life, Mutsumi-senpai didn't hold back on telling me that she still prefers the freedom of being a high school girl than a college girl. In her own words, it's always meeting, or study sessions and last but not the least, drinking.

Yeah. There seems to be a lot of freshman welcoming parties that she's already tired of attending. And considering she's also, at one point, the same as Edel, Himeko or Hina, it was really taking a toll on her.

If I had to pick out something from her experience, it's that only thing she boasted about. Apparently, she's very popular with women rather than men. She's seen more as a cool and handsome woman rather than an ice beauty.

And that probably stemmed from her extremely short hair.

Obviously, there were also those who mocked her because of her short stature. They were all taught a lesson not to mess with her by her own fist.

"Unfortunately, those incidents earned me a hateful title. I'm now known as the Fierce Fairy. Don't ever call me that!"

That's supposed to be a warning but… I found her more adorable than fierce. I didn't voice that out though and simply agreed with her.

I'm reserving my teasing power for later.

Anyway, after listening to her, I also told her about almost everything that's happening around me. When she heard about Ichihara and the result of our confrontation yesterday, Mutsumi-senpai's eyes glittered as though a newfound respect for me rose in her mind.

Of course, she knew about that guy's shenanigans. In fact, she's among those who hate his guts. Not that she got involved with him, She simply couldn't stand how that guy kept throwing his weight around.

And so, hearing my exploits against him plus the fact that Marika started leaning on me, Mutsumi-senpai praised me for my work.

But right after that, Mutsumi-senpai pouted as though jealous from what she heard, "That girl is lucky to get your attention, Ruki… What about me? When are you going to steal me?"

This girl… Does she even need stealing? But I guess she's still hung up with what she told me last week. That had she not graduated, I would also accord her the same treatment as the other girls in this club.

"I won't be stealing you, senpai. I'll make you fall for me instead. Tell me how."

In the first sentence, Mutsumi-senpai looked like a lost puppy. But as soon as I finished speaking, she burst into a jovial laughter. "Tell you how, huh? Figure that out yourself? No, you're halfway there already."