Stealing Spree

Left alone with a woman that’s close to a stranger, I naturally didn’t carelessly approach her.

I dropped the bag on a free space on the computer table and only uttered one word ‘Here’ before sitting down at the side of the bed, to wait for Satsuki or the return of Setsuna.

Likewise, Juri didn’t even bother to look at me as she whispered a silent ‘Thank you’ before the keyboard began clacking once more.

Well, at least she’s not panicking that she’s alone with a stranger. That crossed out the possibility that she’s afraid of me. It’s probably only the case of not being acquainted with each other.

We hadn’t even introduced ourselves to each other. Furthermore, she’s busy with whatever project they’re doing. It’s best not to disturb her.

Time continued to pass with only the sound of the keyboard filling the room. Well, there’s also the sound of Juri opening a pouch of potato chips to munch on it.

Despite doing so, the girl’s focus remained on the screen.

Naturally, without anything to do aside from waiting, I curiously sneaked a peek at the computer screen.

With her hands tapping nonstop, I saw letters quickly filling up pages after pages on the word processor software without even a bit of formatting.

Perhaps she’d do that later but for someone to write that quickly without any reference or something to copy with, she’s definitely pulling all of that from her mind.

I was amazed. But that’s it. I returned to waiting quietly without a shred of thought to disturb her.

And so, time passed once more. Around five minutes later, however, neither Satsuki nor Setsuna showed up.

I already pulled out my phone to ask Satsuki where she was but the girl only replied ‘Can’t escape. Return quickly.’.

Most likely, it’s Kanzaki who’s holding her stuck in that room. By telling me to return quickly, it probably concerned why I hadn’t returned yet when I was just supposed to go to the bathroom.

Thinking about the possibility that Kanzaki would be more suspicious the more time I spent not returning, I eventually decided to return.

Setsuna probably caught up to Sakuma and they’re now in a serious discussion. If she’s still curious why Satsuki quickly fell for me despite only interacting with me for less than two months, I’d just inform Satsuki to give her my contact. I’d answer her question through messenger or just an email. As long as her message didn’t get buried by my girls’ messages, of course.

I glanced at the busy woman and still thought of not disturbing her. I stood up and went for the door, deciding to leave as quietly as possible and without informing her at all.

However, it was at that moment that I heard a different sound in the computer table’s direction. The clacking of the keyboard stopped and Juri’s subdued but frustrated voice reached my ears. “T-this hateful can! Why do they make it this hard to open!”

Upon taking a quick look, the swivel chair she’s sitting on was turned to the side, on her hand, a can of apple juice. She’s pulling the tab using her thumb or forefinger in difficulty. However, it just kept on popping back and she’s only hurting her fingernails.

Really, instead of the green tea that’s in a PET bottle among the contents of what Sakuma bought, the girl picked a canned drink. If the juice was her preference, why didn’t she specifically instruct Sakuma to buy those in the same PET bottle?

Ah. Perhaps there’s none in the convenience store or she just didn’t instruct him to do so. Either way, it still went down whether I would help her or not.

I was about to leave anyway. Let’s just do one good deed. It could be a payment for the treat she unconsciously showed me earlier.

Having decided that, I let go of the knob and walked in her direction.

“Uhm. Do you need help? I can open that for you.”

“Really?! Thank you!”

I thought it would be difficult to talk to her but she instantly flashed a relieved smile as she handed the can to me.

Alright, looking closely at her, she’s definitely a looker. And because she’s a fashionista, her make-up and accessories like necklace and earrings enriched her natural appearance.

Perhaps if Shizu or Nami did the same, the two would be more beautiful considering their lush black hair and natural beauty.

Well, anyway, I opened the can in one try and returned it to her with a smile.

Perhaps she found it amazing, there’s a hint of amazement in her eyes as she received the can back before saying words of gratitude for the second time. “One try… Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Well then, I’ll be leaving. Please tell onee-san when she returns.”

At first, she seemed surprised that I would be leaving the room but she recovered immediately and nodded her head.

That’s a normal reaction. I only helped her with a small thing like opening a can. There’s neither a reason for her to stop me nor a topic we could talk about.

Nonetheless, before I left, Juri asked for my name, perhaps to bridge the stranger level. And as a common courtesy, I did the same even if that might become our first and last interaction.

“I’m Koizumi Juri. Onoda-kun, you have a sense of propriety. I appreciate that you didn’t needlessly disturb me despite being left alone with me…”

Surprisingly, the simple introduction that should’ve ended when she gave her name turned into some kind of little ‘getting to know each other’ moment.

The girl continued talking before I could even repeat that I was going to leave the girl.

Well, since she looked enthusiastic, I gave it a few minutes, or until she finished her drink and returned to what she’s originally doing.

As she took a sip of her apple juice from time to time, Koizumi-san, that’s better rather than calling her directly using her first name, shed some light about her lack of reaction when I entered the room. Like I thought, it’s just her way not to be too nosy on things she’s not involved in.

She did apologize for hearing everything but I waved it off since there’s no harm done.

Her sudden pause earlier when Setsuna rushed out of the room was partly because of what happened and the fact that she was left alone with me. Something I also guessed.

Well, how many times have I repeated this? We’re strangers before introducing ourselves to each other. That’s why it’s kind of weird that she’s trying to explain her behavior to me. Perhaps that’s just her personality so I left it at that. I listened and after she’s done, I did the same. A little summarized than what she did though.

From that little talk, I understood her character better. Not including her great fashion sense, she’s a stickler to propriety.

She truly appreciated that I didn’t disturb her unnecessarily and only politely approached her when she’s in that dire spot of failing to open the can.

In my own judgement, she’s kind of weird. But that’s just an assumption from me through that short interaction.

After that, she didn’t hold me back anymore as she sent me off with a kind smile on her lips before returning to what she’s doing.

Ah. Apparently, that’s their group project due on Monday. Koizumi-san and Satsuki’s older sister was from the same department in college. Obviously.

Anyway, when I returned to Satsuki’s room, Setsuna or Sakuma still hadn’t returned. Furthermore, Kanzaki stared at me suspiciously but didn’t say or ask anything.

Soon after that, we prepared to leave for home.