Stealing Spree

Upon arriving at the place where Juri and Setsuna-nee were supposed to meet us, the first thing we noticed was the picturesque scene of the two women, looking beyond the hill from the middle of the bridge.

Although it was only past noon and the sun should still be up above our heads, timely clouds blocked it just enough for them to tolerate the heat.

Add the windy location, blowing their hair in one direction, I would probably snap a photo of them if I had my phone with me.

Anyway, the bridge they're standing on isn't that long. It's probably only around thirty steps to cross to the other side. It was supposedly only put there to easily access the upper part of that hill when there was already an easier access path right in the middle.

And obviously, the structure wasn't some sort of hanging bridge often depicted in movies.

There was a metal foundation beneath it and the wood they used for the bridge was sturdy enough to handle a lot of weight. There's no hazard even if it becomes crowded.

Nonetheless, it would be stupid to test its limits.

At the moment, the two weren't actually alone there. There were other guests also doing the same thing as them. Just looking over at the open space between the two hills.

And to remind them that they're not supposed to stay on the bridge for too long, a staff of the Akimitsu Hills was present, hollering at them to move.

I heard Satsuki clicking her tongue but whether she was annoyed at what she was seeing or not, I had no idea. Maybe she also likes to sightsee just like what they're doing?

Tightening her hold on my hand, Satsuki and I closed our distance to them.

Perhaps sensing our arrival or she just anticipated that we should be arriving soon, Juri's head turned to our direction once we stepped onto the bridge.

As always, her cool, pleasant smile bloomed from her lips as she raised her hand, waving at both of us.

Noticing that, Setsuna-nee followed her gaze. The moment she saw her little sister, she instantly dropped ruminating while staring at the horizon to run to her little sister.

"Satsu-chan!"

I could sense Satsuki sighing in resignation from how her older sister acted. Nonetheless, it's also undeniable that she liked what she was seeing.

After years of having a strained relationship with her, it's only natural for Satsuki to feel this excited now that they managed to restore the previous state of their relationship.

"Nee-san, don't run. I'm not going away." Satsuki said after catching her sister who didn't miss her jump.

The bystanders seeing that scene felt weirded out as they couldn't properly guess which one was older or younger. Because of the difference in their height, Satsuki would always be mistaken to be the older one. Not to mention, with their faces looking like a carbon copy of each other, it's also possible that they could be mistaken as twins.

"Yeah, you won't. But this guy you brought over can take you away. Tsk."

Look at this woman, I haven't said anything yet and she's already dragging me down. Where's her promise not to be annoying?

Wait. Is she still mad at me for that time in the restaurant? It can't be, right?

"Setsuna-nee-san, I'll really take her away from you if you keep glaring at me like that. Didn't you ask her to bring me over too?"

"Hmph. That's not me. It's Juri's suggestion."

Ah. Right. This is Setsuna-nee. There's no way she would tell Satsuki to bring me when I’m her rival for her sister’s attention. At most, she'd just bring up my name to take a jab at me. Just like how she's doing it whenever she's bringing me up with her conversation with Sakuma.

"Oh. Either way, I'm still Satsuki's boyfriend. It's my privilege to take her away."

"Idiot. Who's taking me away? It's the other way around. If I want to, I'll bring you with me."

"Sure. If you say so, then so be it." I shrugged before acting like an overly attached boyfriend by moving behind her and hugging her from behind.

I even pushed Setsuna-nee so I could wrap my arms completely around my girl.

Due to that, I earned another hateful glare from the long-haired Satsuki lookalike.

As this was happening, Juri, who was left behind in the middle, had just arrived and walked over to my side.

Looking at her amused expression, she's finding this situation funny. Or at least, interesting.

With a wink, she moved closer and put a hand on my shoulder before addressing all of us, acting like she was concerned about our current public perception.

"You three... Have you forgotten you're in a public place? Stop bantering like kids. And Setsu, are you the older one or not?"

Like I said, they're not the only ones in this area and so, we easily attracted enough eyes who started gawking at our group.

Well, there were three beauties. It's a natural thing to happen. But then, with one of the three acting this clingy and another one looking fed up at what's happening, getting more attention was the result.

Nevertheless, if there were people who could ignore the weirded gazes thrown in their direction, it should be this pair of sisters.

Uh. I guess the same could be said for Juri and I. Just that, we're not the focus this time.

"Ehh... Don't stop me, Juri. Look at him, isn't he hateful? Satsu-

chan, he pushed me!"

Sounding like she wouldn't budge at what she wanted to do, Setsuna-nee tried putting the blame on me.

Then when our gazes coincided, she stuck her tongue out childishly.

What an older sister... No wonder Sakuma cannot handle her at all. He has to tame this wild vixen.

Juri giggled at her words while Satsuki fell silent.

I couldn't see her face clearly but being this close to me, I could sense the quivering of her body. Not because she's annoyed or anything. She's just feeling as amused as Juri.

Before long, she turned around and pinched my cheeks as hard as she could while having a huge grin on her lips. She's transferring that amusement to me.

I guess she couldn't act the same way with Setsuna-nee. That’s why, I became the drain for her amusement before facing her sister again.

And sure enough, her voice was devoid of that amusement when she addressed her again.

"Nee-san, didn't you say you already accepted this idiot for me? Why are you annoying each other again?"

"Huh? No. We're not... Didn't he start it?"

"Maybe he did. Look at his face. I scolded him. Should I also do it to you, Nee-san?"

"... N-no. I... I'm good."

Yeah. Satsuki sounded threatening right there. She'd surely do it if Setsuna-nee answered yes.

Thinking about it, that would be the first time Satsuki would proactively turn to her sister. All this time, she was giving her a pass no matter how annoying she came to be.

Ah. Regrettably, we won't be able to witness it.

Perhaps thinking that it was her moment to interject again, Juri stepped in between them, pulling Setsuna-nee away from her sister.

"Okay. That's enough. Let's switch locations. All of you are sticking like sore thumbs. Especially you, Ruki. Stop hugging Satsuki in public." Upon saying that, Juri winked at me, wordlessly conveying that I should stop playing around too.

Yep. I should follow her if I don't want this to get any bigger. We're becoming a walking public attraction.

"Sorry," I answered, putting on a guilty smile before moving back to my previous position, "Lead the way, Juri. I'm still curious why we're here."

"Oh. You're right. We got sidetracked, huh?" Sticking her tongue out cutely, Juri also acted like she messed up. In truth, she could've stopped the scene way earlier. She's just as amused at what was happening. "We needed your assistance. Ain't that right, Setsu?"

"... I told you only Satsu-chan is enough. Why did you call for him too?" Setsuna-nee answered with a pout before glaring at me.

"I don't know. Maybe I want to mess with you?"

"Wha! You...!"

In response, Juri put on a wicked smile. And sure enough, it got Setsuna-nee riled up that she started clawing like a cat. She's not hitting anyone though.

And like this, we moved our feet and crossed the bridge, dragging Setsuna-nee with us.

Satsuki became like her babysitter while Juri and I walked alongside them.

Wait. They have yet to elaborate on what kind of assistance they need. Ugh. I guess I'll hear about that when we arrive at our destination.