Stealing Spree

“We met on the train and I fought for her seat.” I turned around, stared at him for a few seconds before answering in a relaxed manner. Moreover, adding the last phrase was to elicit a reaction from the girl who looked as if she ate something bad.

“Oh. So that’s ho—”

“OI, Onoda-chi? What fought? Didn’t you squeeze the poor passenger to the right? It’s one-sided. Totally no fighting happened!”

Like I intended, Fukuda failed to finish because the girl walking next to me instantly flared up by the way I worded that phrase. She also quickly shifted back to her gyaru persona. Because in Fukuda’s and the other students’ eyes, she’s a known gyaru. If she suddenly acted like a sweet girl around me, they’d all be confused.

“But it’s true that I got you a seat, right?”

“That’s… totally correct… But I apologized for you, Mr. No Common Sense. You’re totally gonna get karma from being like that.”

“I’ll be relying on Ms. Common Sense then.”

“Don’t give me that crappy title. Ugh.”

“Just getting back at you.”

With those exchanges, Fukuda had no way to intervene anymore. Even though Chii mindfully used her way of talking as a gyaru, our conversation was nothing short of lively. Moreover, if seen by the onlookers, there should be a comfortable atmosphere surrounding us.

At times, Chii would even inch closer to either nudge my shoulder or poke my cheeks. Those little gestures were her way to convey what she couldn’t do with words. Obviously, it’s mostly because of how grating my words were.

Soon enough we reached our school gates and Fukuda lost the chance to even put in a word. At least, Chii was sensible enough to greet him ‘Good Morning’ halfway through our walk but her focus instantly returned to our lively conversation, leaving him out completely.

It’s not that he didn’t try at all, he was just getting shot down whenever he would do so.

Only when we reached our classroom did Fukuda get a chance to approach her without my interference. We had no choice but to separate, after all. But the way he looked at me was now laced with a hint of hostility.

He’s probably starting to feel that his chance of wooing Chii was close to nonexistent. In the first place, Chii never considered him…

Well, if I didn’t enroll here, Chii as well as the other girls starting from Kana wouldn’t be involved with me. Only Haruko had the chance to reconnect with me considering she’s part of that chat group.

But that’s not how it unfolded. I was already a menace that broke a lot of relationships and potential relationships. And that’s something I wouldn’t regret at all. These guys could only blame themselves for being too slow on the uptake.

Anyway, Chii was welcomed by her gyaru friends, cutting him off once more. On the other hand, Aya, who’s already at her desk, flashed her adorable smile as soon as she spotted me approaching my seat.

Satsuki was most likely at her club while Nami, Hina and Saki hadn’t arrived yet.

It’s kind of a miracle that I still arrived this early even though Shio and I took our precious time.

“Mhm… As always, you look the prettiest whenever you smile.”

Once I sat down next to Aya, I greeted the girl and leaned slightly to add more, for her satisfaction and my desire to see her blooming beautifully.

Aya instantly blushed but she quickly composed herself to also compliment me, “Y-you too, Ruki. I always look cool and refreshing…”

Upon saying that, she bit her lips and lowered her head. Most likely embarrassed at the way she constructed her words.

I gave her headpats before stroking her hair gently. Doting at her this early in the morning and seeing her get comfortable was something I would never get tired of.

Nonetheless, there’s really no escape from the reactions from our surroundings.

From behind us, I heard someone whistling. It’s not from Fukuda or Chii’s group but somewhere closer.

Turning around to check, I found Wakaba, her lips stretched into a proud grin. Next to her, the other girl from last Tuesday was also smiling proudly.

Looks like they really started taking care of Aya and helping her appeal to me.

Those proud smiles were all directed to her, after all.

Although what Aya did was just what we normally do, the two probably thought that it was a result of their coaching.

I nodded at the two and greeted them ‘good morning’ before returning my focus back on Aya.

Well, whatever coaching they’re trying to do, everything would be effective to me. I already love the girl, after all. I just had to do some acting to satisfy them. That would certainly result in them becoming more eager to talk and help Aya. That way, friendship could slowly build between them.

However, I wouldn’t just command Aya to go all out befriending them… It would be her decision whether she likes to or not. All I did was create a situation where she could interact with other people apart from me and the other girls that’s in the same relationship with me.

Looking at how she reacted to their proud smiles, she’s just returning a courtesy by nodding and smiling back at them. Most likely she’s still in the stage of getting to know them.

“Mhm… How are those two? I didn’t put you in a tough spot, or did I?” I asked.

“No… They’re easy to talk to; Wakaba and Kashiwagi. They said I should be aggressive in approaching you and stop you from treating me like some kind of a little sister figure. If they find out that I’m already more than that, I think they’ll be frozen in shock.” Aya giggled at the end of her sentence and even looked towards the two.

Not knowing that Aya was just amused by their assumption and advice, the two silently clapped their hands. Most likely, they interpreted her giggling as great progress in Aya’s fight to be my special one.

Well, hearing Aya being able to talk that much and in longer sentences even if it’s not about the book she’s reading or have read, it’s an indication that the girl successfully made a connection to them.

I guess it’s a good decision to choose the two as her practice partners on socializing with other people.

Nonetheless, I understood that opening up to someone won’t miraculously cure anyone’s introversion and it’s not something that needed to be cured as it wouldn’t just be flipped easily.

Introversion doesn’t equate to shyness, after all. It’s actually a type of personality.

Aya is clearly an introvert that was layered with too much gloom and shyness to open up to others. I crawled myself in her space but this time, she’s trying to open up a path for the others to tread.

And I guess the same goes for those girls from the Poem Appreciation Club. Mina isn’t an introvert at all. She’s just someone who lost her trust in others. As for Himeko and Edel, the former was someone weak to pressure while the latter was hindered by her childhood experience.

I had no idea about the other two though.

Anyway, that’s that. Aya slowly getting to know the two was great progress for her social awkwardness.

I mean. I’m probably an introvert myself because I wasn’t always open with what was on my mind. Except in front of my girls though.

“Yes, they will be more than shocked especially when they found out how bold you are… in bed”

Upon hearing that, Aya overheated.

A few minutes of ‘flirting’ with Aya later, the room quickly filled up and our homeroom started.