Stealing Spree

Although a little miffed about not being able to get back at me even when she threw herself at me and used force, Hanabi easily slipped into a tranquil state when she began her story.

Ah no. One sip of the root beer she picked from the vending machine miraculously calmed her down. She seemed to like it so much that she even offered me to take a sip and join her in appreciating its minty and sweet taste. But even though I never took her up on that offer, Hanabi retracted her arms holding the drink and stuck her tongue out at me before laughing triumphantly.

What a sassy goofball.

In any case, before I could even react to that, the girl pulled all stops and as if nothing happened, slipped into that tranquil state as she started narrating their story, or their family's story; what happened and why they're living separately.

"You see, Ruki. As far as I remember in our childhood, our parents have been living separately ever since. They're not divorced or anything. Both of their jobs have always been the obstruction to why they cannot live together."

The girl then took another sip of her drink before leaning back a bit as she flapped her legs, relaxing the tension and trying to enjoy this kind of moment. Although there's no trace of the loneliness that I caught earlier, the girl was undoubtedly lamenting about their situation.

Matsuri never told me anything and even if she did, I doubt I'd give it much thought considering we'd only meet each other at school or my house.

As I waited for the next part of her story, I found myself edging closer to her and my hand dropping atop her head.

When my hand firmly settled and started petting it, the girl furtively glanced at me. Perhaps finding a little comfort from it, her expression relaxed a little before continuing with her story.

"Maybe it's fortunate that they managed to give birth to twins. They decided to take one of us to live with each of them. Right before we entered first grade, Matsuri and I stayed with either Mom or Dad. Initially, we're swapping every other week because even if we looked alike, our parents love us equally as well as our unique traits was something they didn't want to miss as we grow older."

"Unfortunately, the weekly swapping had to stop when we started attending school. They had no choice but to pick one who will stay with them resulting in us attending different schools. We gathered every weekend though or whenever they got some time off from their jobs."

Upon reaching this part, Hanabi laughed but even without trying to notice it, it sounded a little forced. I guess this was the source of her lamentations. She probably wanted their situation to improve but even until now, it didn't happen.

I thought of saying comforting words but decided against it in the end. Hanabi didn't need it. And perhaps, the reason she's telling me their story must be out of her yearning for her sister.

But thinking about it, she must've heard about it from Matsuri. Otherwise, she won't be this forward to me. I mean, who will approach their sister's 'ex' for no reason at all? Although I wouldn't be able to ascertain what Matsuri told her, it's probably all positive and without any trace of the negative things that I did to her.

As minutes passed, Hanabi's story went deeper and I listened attentively not to miss out on any details.

Apparently, a few years after that, her mother became pregnant again and gave birth to another set of twins. Twin brothers this time.

Hanabi thought that it might be the chance to complete their family again and to live in the same house. However, the same thing happened. The twins were separated from each other and they could only see each other during their family get-togethers on weekends.

Although I couldn't relate since I am an only child, Hanabi must be the type to value their family time a lot.

And not that surprisingly, the reason she became a slacker was the girl's way to rebel. It's not really working though since even with it, she's still getting good grades, allowing her to advance smoothly.

A while later, the girl took the final sip of her drink and raised her head to look at me.

"Uhm. That's it. That's the reason why Matsuri and I are not together. She's living with Dad and Mizuto. As for me, I'm with Mom and Kazuki."

"I see. Thank you for telling me, Hanabi." A grateful smile showed up on my lips as I switched to ruffling her hair.

Since it's not the gentle petting anymore, Hanabi swiped my hand away before pouting cutely again, "Psh. Why thank me when I decided to tell you even without your consent."

"I told you I won't say no, right? Besides, I want to hear about Matsuri."

"Do you still love her?"

"Love, huh? Did she not tell you that we're not really in that kind of relationship?"

I couldn't really say I loved her back then when my only reason to steal her was to satisfy my desire. But for the girl… she must be the same as the others. I made her fall in love with me for some reason…

"Impossible! You're always the one she talks about. She even stopped dressing like a yankee to change her image. She also joined a club in high school. It's a basketball club. She told me she saw you in their last practice game against another school."

Wait. Basketball club? Last practice game? Don't tell me… She's the one who called out my name but never showed herself?

I quickly whipped out my phone. I asked those five idiots from my boxing class to check on that school but because of how busy I am, I probably missed some messages from those idiots.

Hanabi, who noticed my sudden haste, tilted her head in puzzlement. Nonetheless, she didn't stop me and waited silently.

After a minute of scrolling down, I only found one message from them. Furthermore, it's a disappointing message which says, 'I'm sorry, Onoda-sensei, we're banned from approaching anywhere near that school. Someone reported us as creeps.'

… Yeah, what do I expect from them? It's not like I pined all my hopes on them.

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I shook my head and sighed.

"What's wrong, Ruki?" With a hint of worry in her tone, Hanabi asked.

"It's nothing. Let's go back to our topic. Is Matsuri studying at the Seven Stars Girls Academy?"

"Yeah. You're from Fourth High, right? That's the last team they went to for a practice game."

And there we have it. It's confirmed. However, she's in an all-girls school not in a co-ed one? No wonder she's not among the girls that Akane gathered.

She moved away. Or did she? It's just in a neighboring city.

But man… I didn't expect to find that out like this. Now, the question is… is she the one that supplied Hana with information about me?

"Hanabi." Instead of replying, I turned to the girl and grabbed both of her shoulders.

Because of how sudden it was, the goofball stuttered in response as her eyes widened a bit. "Y-yeah?"

Well, that was a little impulsive but there's no reason for backtracking now. Looking at her eyes intently, I expressed what sprang up in my mind, "Can you bring me to your twin sister."

"Eh? What has gotten into you? Earlier, you appeared uninterested. But now, you're like a man possessed. Are you that head over heels for my twin sister?"

"I have another reason but maybe that's also correct. So, can you?"

"I… I can. But not today." The girl thought for a while before gently nodding her head. "I'll tell her about meeting you today."

"Thank you. You're the best, Hanabi." Releasing her shoulders, I started patting her head again. Naturally, she's not as pleased as earlier with it.

"Geez. Praising me won't make me happy. And here I thought you're an indifferent guy."

Swiping my hand from her head, the girl expressed her displeasure. But with my emotion swelling up a little bit, I didn't stop at that. My hands found their way to her cheeks, doting on them even if Hanabi kept her frown.

"I am indifferent. Yeah. But only to those that don't concern me. You and Matsuri obviously are not among those."

"Why me too?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I like your goofiness?"

"Hey, how dare you call your senior goofy?!"

"Zip it and let me enjoy doting on you like this. I'll be leaving soon so… Give me your number."

"What a demanding guy… If Matsuri hears about this, she'll be disappointed."

And with that, even with the way she acted, Hanabi exchanged contacts with me.

A few minutes later, she ran away when we spotted Eguchi-sensei and Kanno-sensei approaching the parking lot from a distance. Yep, the goofball and smartass still planned to continue slacking off instead of returning to her class.