Stealing Spree

Around half an hour later, Orimura-sensei drove the bus into our school grounds. Ryouko-san let out a quiet sigh, perhaps thinking that our time was too short. Still, she responsibly stood up to wake up the other girls, who were exhausted from the game as Orimura-sensei parked the bus safely.

I helped Ryouko-san in giving the girls a light tap on their shoulders but when I reached Ria and Satsuki’s row, the two girls kept me in place. Both puffed their cheeks as if I did them wrong for not sitting with them during the ride.

When Ryouko-san saw that, she walked over to us and teased the two by clinging to my arm. But it’s only for a second as she quickly walked away before the other girls saw us.

Anyway, the moment the engine died down with a low rumble, the quiet hum inside the bus gave way to sleepy murmurs and the rustle of uniforms.

Some of the girls stretched with soft groans, others blinked blearily while clutching their bags.

Kawakami-senpai was the first to stand properly. Her hair was slightly disheveled but her posture was already snapping back into place. She shot me a quick, almost shy glance before turning to help the second-years gather their things.

Outside, the evening air had cooled considerably. Streetlights flickered across the school grounds as the girls filed off the bus one by one. Satsuki and Ria dragged me down with them.

Orimura-sensei stayed behind the wheel. Most likely, she’s gonna inspect the bus again before locking it and bringing the key back safely in the faculty room.

When our eyes met through the windshield, she narrowed her eyes into a glare that seemed to promise something. That she’s not done correcting me yet.

Well, ain’t that normal? If she ended our lessons, it’d be difficult for her to find another excuse for us to be alone together.

Meanwhile, Ryouko-san lingered near the door, giving quiet instructions about tomorrow’s practice.

Since it’ll be a Cultural Festival Week, the weekdays will be dedicated to preparation. The actual festival will happen on the weekend. The Girls Basketball Club doesn’t have anything prepared for it as they’re going to dedicate the time to more practice.

If I’m not wrong, they’ll just put up a tent at the festival where they’ll be wearing their jerseys to gather support, not just from the school but also from the visitors, and maybe even attract some new members for next year.

After that, I helped unload the bags and equipment I put in the compartment while Satsuki and Ria waited.

Kawakami-senpai and Kanno-senpai approached me again.

“Onoda-kun… thank you again. And… about that reward. It wasn’t too much, right?” Kawakami-senpai asked with embarrassment clearly written on her face.

“Mhm. It isn’t. I enjoyed it. Don’t worry too much about it, senpai. I should be the one thanking you for it.” I replied with my usual smile.

At this point, I should just ease her mind about it. There’s no point teasing her anymore. If I let her stew with those thoughts, she might become too distracted in the coming days.

“Yeah. Don’t overthink it. We meant it as thanks. See you tomorrow, Coach.” Kanno-senpai smirked beside her but she wasn’t doing any better. Her expression looked a little forced. She’s doing her best to appear composed when she’s probably just as embarrassed as Kawakami-senpai from that experience.

“No problem, senpai. You both played great. Rest up. We’ll build on today for the prefecturals.” I waved at them and watched them walk off together.

After that, the other members also approached me one by one, thanking me and bidding me farewell while hiding their embarrassment underneath.

Satsuki watched them go with narrowed eyes before huffing and pulling me once I was done.

When I checked on her, she was clearly looking a bit guilty. After all, she’s the one who suggested going that far for me.

I patted her head and pinched her cheeks while Ria giggled beside her.

“Alright, at least you understand that all of that happened because of you. But then again, you wouldn’t be suggesting it to them in the first place if I didn’t go and visit Setsuna-nee yesterday.”

“Idiot. Don’t remind me of that…” She huffed and clicked her tongue but then her voice softened, “Nee-san, she…”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t make me say it, idiot. You know how it started, how she became curious about you. I shouldn’t have let you accompany her back on the camping trip.”

Ah… Well, there’s no denying that. Furthermore, her interest in me started way before the camping trip. It was when she joined us in scouting that place. I got her to open up to me, which was like the first domino I unknowingly or perhaps, naively, set in motion.

From there, the pieces tumbled down until it reached the endpoint, which translated to what happened between us yesterday.

Of course, that didn’t mean I already had her but it’s also not that far from it. Maybe after that promised date, it would truly materialize into something more than an interest.

Satsuki’s eyes narrowed at my silence as her fingers dug a little harder into my arm. It was as if she could physically squeeze the thoughts out of me.

“Idiot… you’re thinking about Nee-san again, aren’t you?” She muttered with a sigh. She looked annoyed and helpless at the same time.

I knew I shouldn’t let her feel this conflicted. It already happened. All I could do right now was to assure her that if things truly develop in a way we’re both thinking in the future, I’ll take care of her sister the same way I take care of her.

Ria giggled softly on my other side, her small hand slipping into mine. “Sister Satsuki, it’s fine to feel jealous and scold Dumb-senpai.”

Satsuki shook her head and turned to Ria, “Birthday girl, help me scold him. That shameless guy deserved to be scolded.”

“Are you sure, Sister Satsuki? You know that if we scold him, we’ll still end up rewarding him for it.”

“Ugh… You’re right. But I can’t think of anything else. Do you have a suggestion?”

“What about asking Sister Akane and the others, too? We have to be united in scolding him.” Ria’s bright eyes sparkled at the suggestion.

She’s not wrong in that approach though. If they truly want to ‘punish’ me over something that I do, and not just their usual punishment that would always end up as a reward instead, they had to coordinate it properly.

Of course, their choices would also be limited because they couldn’t just decide to ignore me or try to make me jealous. One, it’d be a matter of who would give in first. And two, they knew that if they made me jealous by approaching another guy, even if they’re not being serious about it, they knew I would be petty enough to deal with that guy.

That truly shows how much of a scumbag I am, right? I mean, I have all of them, and I even keep getting drawn to other girls. And yet, if they do the same, I’ll immediately act.

Well, I trust them all anyway, so I know they won’t do that.

But since this was truly my fault, I want to do something to make up for it.

“Good. Let’s go home then. Shameless idiot, you better be prepared.” Satsuki agreed after thinking for a bit.

And with that, the two of them dragged me to Orimura-sensei and Ryouko-san. They also consulted them on what kind of punishment they should give me.

Orimura-sensei suggested tying me up on the bed and leaving me alone for the night. Ria countered that someone might not be able to resist crawling into the bed with me when everyone was already asleep.

Ryouko-san, on the other hand, suggested military punishment exercises, or in other words, corrective training. She even started creating a list.

She was known for that before meeting me. Of course, it’s not as intense as what real military men would give their cadets, but that’s the reason why many students were still terrified of her.

In the end, Satsuki and Ria took note of their suggestions before bidding them farewell. They let me personally say goodbye to the two, giving us a moment before they dragged me out of the school gates.

After that, our train ride home was quiet. But the two of them had already started consulting the other girls in their group chat.

Upon arriving home, Akane was, as always, standing there to welcome me back. However, this time, she was dressed weirdly as though she was ready to demonstrate what she thought as a punishment for me.

“Welcome home, husband.” Akane greeted with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

She was holding a rolling pin in one hand, the other planted on her hip in a dramatic pose. She was wearing one of my shirts and nothing else below, except, possibly, a tiny pair of panties that barely qualified as clothing.

Her apron was untied, and she even put a bandana on her head, holding her golden fringes. She seemed to be trying to play the part of a strict housewife punishing her wayward husband, but the way the fabric clung to her curves made the whole thing far more tempting than intimidating.

When Ria and Satsuki saw that, they both almost burst into laughter.

Yep. That’s my silly wife, alright.