Stealing Spree

To have time to check on Izumi-senpai, Arisa and I left the abandoned clubroom ten minutes early. Upon arriving there, we found the two sitting on opposite ends of the long table they always used.

At the far end, Ogawa had his head lowered as though all his spirits drained out of him. Whether Izumi-senpai made him like that or he just got depressed on his own, I had no idea. My head quickly filtered him out, after all.

Instead of that, I quickly moved behind my girl even before she could turn her head to the door.

“Did you shoot him down when he finally confessed?” I jokingly asked at the same as my arms slipped from her shoulder, hugging her from behind.

Izumi shuddered a bit from the suddenness of my appearance. If not for recognizing my voice, she might’ve given me a handprint on my face.

“You! Do you think I’m that cruel? Besides, if he’s never going to confess to me.”

“Is that so? Then let me confess to you… I missed you.” Hearing the slight hint of bitterness in her voice, I unknowingly smirked as I gave the guy a swift glance. Somehow, I felt a little annoyed but understanding that I brought that upon myself, I simply waved it off, not pursuing it any further. I then pressed my lips close to her ears, whispering those last three words.

Izumi reacted rather coldly but the way her hand grabbed mine fully conveyed her elation. And on the side, Arisa who watched what I did, lightly hit my head, telling me to behave.

“Come on. I told you not to disturb her, cheeky junior.” She said, pulling me away from Izumi. But as though worked up by what I said, the fake delinquent held my hand, preventing me from being pulled away.

She then stared at her best friend, gesturing with her facial expression to let me go.

As playful as she was, Arisa didn’t comply right away. Instead, she slipped from under my arm to cling to me. That successfully made Izumi agitated.

Ignoring the guy from the other end of the table, the two started making faces and I soon got entangled with the two of them.

Arisa snuggled from my right and Izumi stood too close in front of me.

“Girl, you have the gall to scold me when not even a minute later, you’re going to do this. Tell me, who’s the one disturbing them?”

“Don’t mind the details, cheeky junior.” As she whistled guiltily, Arisa averted her gaze from both Izumi and me.

Upon hearing that, I met Izumi’s gaze as she helplessly shrugged at her best friend’s behavior.

Instead of continuing to pull me to her, she stepped forward and pinched Arisa’s cheek, prying her off of me.

“Eh? Izumi?” Arisa questioningly muttered as she voluntarily let go of me. For sure, everything was an act for her. To set up the stage where her friend would stop holding back at expressing what she truly feels about my appearance.

“He’s here for me.”

And sure enough, with that kind of response, Arisa’s lips stretched into a playful grin as she started teasing her friend. “Look at this girl, Ruki. She can boldly say that now.”

“Yeah. I heard. She’s not wrong though. Sorry Arisa, your time is up.” Riding onto her act, I thoroughly made use not only of Arisa’s setup but also of Izumi’s words.

And while I was at it, I squeezed in between them, gently pushing Arisa behind me.

Seeing how fast things happened, Izumi failed to react in time. Before everything fully registered in her mind, the girl found herself enclosed in my embrace, her forehead touching the base of my neck.

“T-this…”

“Ssh.”

I shushed her before she could continue, pressing my index finger before her lips.

At this angle, she had her back turned to Ogawa. Nonetheless, with the idiot still in a depressing state, he still failed to notice what was happening. That’s why… to not jeopardize whatever progress she made in enlightening the guy, I made use of these few seconds to express what I’m feeling to the girl.

“You see, I’m trying my best not to lose control at this moment. But let me say this while I have the chance… You look beautiful today, Izumi.”

“… There’s nothing different from—” ｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖

“No. I can’t be wrong. There’s something different in you…” I started. “Let’s see… Izumi, you somehow look cleaner today. Not in the sense that you’re dirty. I meant a change in the way you dressed. Unlike before, you refrained from folding your skirt at the waist to put its hem a few centimeters higher than your knees. You also buttoned your uniform properly. It’s now hard to see a patch of flawless skin beneath your collar. And last but not the least, your makeup. It highlighted your sharp and cool beauty… If not for me always thinking of you, I might have mistaken you for someone else. That’s how much change it brought you. Did I miss anything else?”

Cutting her off as I listed everything I noticed from her external appearance, the girl instantly froze in shock. She lifted her head and stared at me in disbelief. But upon noticing my gentle smile as if I was waiting for her to do that, Izumi clicked her tongue, expressing her frustration amidst the joy welling up in her chest.

“Also, you shouldn’t label yourself as unreasonable anymore. I’ll be here to try and understand your reason for everything you do.” I continued, bringing up what we talked about last week.

She got troubled because her group mates blamed her for being unreasonable in their last group activity. I failed to resolve that for her back then and advised her to search for an answer by reviewing her actions.

Not knowing whether she resolved it already or not, I naturally wouldn’t miss this chance for it.

“At least, let me talk first, you shameless Ruki. You went off like a broken washing machine.”

“Broken washing machine… My words are coherent, right?”

“It is. But how can I process it all if you never give me the chance to do so? Really an idiot. Hmph!” Izumi complained and refused to look up again.

However, feeling the softness of her body pressed firmly to my chest and the fact that her arms already made their way to my back, I understood that she was just once again trying not to be outplayed by me.

“Alright. That’s my bad… Should I say it word for word again?”

“Too late, shameless idiot. Just… kiss me before you go.”

“What an honest demand. No worries, there’s no way I will reject my Izumi’s wish.”

Halfway through my words, Izumi’s hands were already enclosed to the back of my head, facing me to her. And a split second after the last word left my mouth, Izumi herself initiated the kiss, her lips and tongue hungrily sought after mine.

However, it was at this point that the guy at the other end of the room raised his head.

With his eyes instantly zoning onto us, he fully captured the Izumi taking the initiative to kiss me.

As if the sky fell down on his face, it warped in an ugly manner before the guy bit on his lower lip until it bled. “… How did this happen?”

I thought he’d go into a rage but that expectation was dashed. Those words were full of lamentations as though he was experiencing the last two months happen before his eyes once again.

“If only I…”

With Izumi’s kiss deepening by the second, I failed to catch the guy’s next words.

Well, it’s probably along the lines of ‘if only I did better’. But it’s all too late for him now…

And to mercilessly add another insult to his injury, I carried Izumi in my arms and put her down on their table to continue what we were doing.

I could spy Arisa shaking her head at the side as a look of pity was thrown at the poor cuck. However, I couldn’t simply stop now.

Then, as if fate wanted to bury the guy deeper into his grave, Nami, Hina and Saki arrived one by one. And seeing what was happening, the three of them crowded around me, awaiting their turn.

Naturally, I didn’t let them wait for too long. When Izumi paused for a while to catch her breath, I pulled a girl closer to my side, greeting them one by one using my lips.