Stealing Spree

Due to her gaze shifting to him and the words she uttered, the Captain of the Baseball Club’s scowl seemingly deepened. With his eyelids turning into a slit as if he’s trying to intimidate Shizu, he stepped forward while taking off his baseball cap which revealed his shaven head.

I don’t know if showing his shaved head is that intimidating but that’s how he sees it I guess.

Being next to her, when I noticed that he’s going to stand extremely close to her to possibly intensify the effect of his intimidation, I stepped forward to bar his way from doing that exactly.

Shifting his gaze to me, he frowned and asked. “What’s this? Who are you?”

Instead of answering him, I maintained my silence while not having any change in my expression.

I’d dealt with his kind before and nothing is frightening about him. He could flaunt his status as the captain or president of the baseball club but that’s not something I would back away from.

Besides, this was just to keep him from approaching Shizu. Although she didn’t tell me what I had to do, there were other reasons why she asked me to come with her.

Spending time with me was one thing but this girl probably wanted to show me… Show me the intricacies of her position as the Student Council President.

While there’s no reason for me to bar this guy’s way, it’s a lot better than letting him do what he planned to do. This was perhaps considered his territory but Shizu’s territory was the whole student body. He could throw his weight around but not when in front of me.

Besides, Shizu also didn’t say anything. I could feel her gaze behind me, watching the things unfold before her eyes.

Upon seeing me barring their Captain’s way, the other regulars acted as if they were about to provide backup for him. However, their coach, who’s still fuming from how they acted with this incident, just sent them a glare and they all folded back to where they were.

As seconds passed without me saying anything and without being intimidated by his ‘frightening’ eyes, the Captain of the Baseball Club clicked his tongue. “Is this guy deaf or mute? Hey President. Are you hiring disabled in the Student Council?”

“Yes. Do you want to join? Anyway, what’s the reason for stepping forward? Are you guilty that you did something for these two to keep quiet?”

Answering his question and slapping back with words at him, it was easy to notice how a vein appeared on his temple. “Shut up! This is our Baseball Club’s affairs!” He shouted, clearly triggered by my question. He then stepped to the side to see Shizu and direct his answer to her.

However, I blocked him again. He tried pushing me but I only took a step back making the force he used to be useless and it’s him who almost tumbled down.

Upon seeing what’s happening, various reactions appeared on the club members’ faces. Even the club managers who looked frightened at the side also reacted upon seeing their confident shaved head Captain looking clumsy in front of everyone.

“That’s enough, Onoda-kun.”

Before he could flare up and throw a punch at me to recover from the embarrassing moment he just had, Shizu put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.

Naturally, I was expecting her to make a move.

This… What I did was just a show to agitate him or them to destroy their established narrative. The other club members were afraid to talk while this Captain and these regulars already agreed on what they would use as an excuse.

I knew that this was me making enemies with them but I was currently under the Student Council umbrella. No matter what, they’re the ones in the wrong here.

Shizu only came because it concerns his office that a donated item was deliberately destroyed and the reason was probably going to be buried if we went with whatever reason this shaved head Captain would spout.

Since Shizu already spoke, I nodded and took a step back, taking my place to her side again.

With her arms crossed, she only gave the aggrieved Captain a passing glance before directing her gaze behind him.

“Sensei, I think we’re on the same page about something, am I right?”

“Yes… I’m a failure as a coach and adviser. They already went out of my control long before.”

Surprisingly the middle-aged baseball club adviser agreed to her words. He was angry but he could really not do anything about them when… perhaps the wheel was already handled by the Captain.

Looking at him, he’s not really the sporty type. Hell, his arms were even skinny. Perhaps he’s a baseball enthusiast but his status as a teacher seemed to be useless with this club. They’re just ignoring him despite the anger that he showed.

“Un. That’s fine. But you should’ve reported it. Don’t you know what they wanted the most?”

“What is it?”

“Their eligibility to join the upcoming Summer Tournament, of course.”

As soon as she mentioned that point, the shaved head Captain immediately interjected. “President, what are you on about? Why are you going off-topic?”

Shizu sighed before answering him. “Don’t you get it yet? I can use this incident as a ground to make a report to the Administration about possible club bullying and destruction of school properties. What do you think, will your club still be eligible to join? We’re not even a specialized school for baseball. However, you guys here are already exercising some sort of tyranny to your juniors.”

After saying that, she then shifted her gaze to the two culprits kneeling down. “Kusakabe and Tanaka, right? There’s no doubt you’re the culprit for destroying the machine. But what’s the reason? Frustration or is it an order from someone? Either way, keeping your mouths shut will not solve anything. In all honesty, it will even be worse for you two.”

Upon hearing her last sentence, the two she directed those words to who had their heads hung low ever since earlier looked up with panic in their eyes.

They alternately looked at one another and after a while, they both raised their fingers and pointed at the shaved head Captain that was already about to burst in rage.

“He… Captain ordered us to do it.”

As expected. Being the one who reacted strongly and someone whose standing was even above their coach, only he could pull this off.

The real question here is why?

“Y-you! Don’t you dare slander me!”

Ignoring that shout from the Captain, Shizu showed a disappointed expression towards the two “Are you two idiots or what? If there is a catch why you followed his order faithfully and even kneel there like convicted felons, spit it out now. Tell us the truth. The whole truth.” Pausing for a while, she then directed her next words to other members of the club. “You too, I don’t care about the hierarchy of your club. This isn’t a simple incident that you can brush off by saying you’ll be expelling these two.”

That’s most likely their plan if Shizu didn’t show up. As for how the two culprits would be compensated by following his order, that’s something they would settle privately. And with that, the real reason for the destruction of the machine would be buried, never to be known again.