Stealing Spree

Before Marika and I left the room, I brought up how I accidentally hinted the photo to Ichihara Jun that it would come in the form of a gift. Despite his shameful retreat after getting hit by me twice and slapped by Marika's words and her act of defending me, he's still going to expect that or question the girl about it.

Since we're already together, I didn't need to wait and message her later about it.

Wording it to her as my fault, the girl expectedly didn't scold me for it. Furthermore, contrary to how she feels responsible for having that guy come to trouble me, Marika confirmed that she will still send that photo to him later this day.

It's our plan to make him more miserable, after all. She's always the one at the other end of the stick in the two years that they're together. He already had his fun, now it's her time to have one... Or so that's what we planned initially. It's already changed.

In any case, what I didn't expect was the girl's suggestion to take a new photo. One where it looks genuine. In other words, a photo where our genuine intimacy will be captured.

My answer? I agreed in a heartbeat.

And this time, I was the one who took the photo.

The result: the photo showed Marika and me in a very intimate position. My lovely ringlet girl straddled my lap as she almost pressed me down on the chair. Perhaps if even the lower half was shown, we could see the chair tilted backward. To top it all off, we had our eyes closed while our lips locked in a deep, passionate kiss.

Obviously, after we finished taking that photo, we continued and enjoyed it to its fullest.

Although that was technically her third kiss – we did it twice back then – she's already skilled enough to follow my lead. And that just allowed us to fully savor that moment.

Due to that, I escorted her upstairs while covering her madly flushed face and slightly swollen lips.

And before I could ask her, Marika told me not to worry about Jun. She assured me that he was not going to do something yet.

Well, even if she said that, my worrywart trait worked again. For my peace of mind, the girl promised to message me right away in case that guy does something or if he used his influence again to make this day hard for her.

On my way down the stairs, my mind was still occupied by Marika.

Somehow, I couldn't help but try to get a proper read on what was really going on inside her head.

If I'm not wrong, the reason why she's that stubborn about taking responsibility while still following the plans we made is a case of Marika feeling conflicted about the uncertainty of her future.

She lived all her life following her family. Defying them with their decision to engage her with Ichihara Jun was still a huge hurdle to overcome.

It will take time for sure but now that I'm already this involved with her, I'll stand by her side to support her.

By the time I returned to the first floor of the School Building, I already removed the armband that I stuck on my arm. However, regardless of having it put on or not, some students could already recognize me at a glance.

And those who heard or witnessed the commotion from earlier either pointed at me while murmuring amongst themselves or approached me in curiosity, admiration, or respect.

Yep. Just by not being terrified when Ichihara Jun confronted me along with his followers and not getting taught a lesson by him, I earned more fame and acknowledgment from the higher-level students. Some of them even asked me not to call them 'senpai' because of the prestige I earned.

That's pretty much a good thing overall. However, I couldn't really put too much importance on it. Whether it be the fame or notoriety I gathered from my actions or rumors surrounding me, they're all irrelevant.

There's always a negative side when it comes to being famous and I have no spare energy for that.

For example, there's Yue. Because of her fame, she couldn't simply be too honest in public otherwise, she would invite the ire of her so-called 'fans' – or those who only liked her for her image. Moreover, even if she's just being herself and hasn't done anything wrong, there would still be people who hate her for absurd reasons.

I could accept being high key for my girls to pave the way for our relationship to be accepted in the public's eyes. But apart from that, I had no intention to cater to becoming so popular that I would lose my time with them.

Maintaining the image that I built for myself was enough.

And following that mindset, I managed to slip away from the cage-like attention I gathered today.

Upon arriving at Eguchi-sensei's office, I was greeted by the sight of her looking like she was already bored of waiting. There's a frown on her face lined with a hint of disappointment and drained-out anticipation.

"Onoda-kun, you're here." Eguchi-sensei started as she watched me walk toward her.

Actually, this was within my expectation. I mean, I'm late. Instead of coming here ten minutes early, I arrived ten minutes late.

Not counting the small and short scuffle with Ichihara Jun, I unexpectedly spent a long time staying inside that room with Marika. Yeah, I probably lost my sense of time and solely focused on her. Additionally, the few minutes I spent escorting her to the third floor.

Hence, not only did I arrive late at this meeting, but I also lost my chance to come to visit our classroom in order to greet my girls and thank them for their assistance.

And considering her reminder to come here before the 1st period, Eguchi-sensei most likely returned here earlier than usual.

I mean, she's surely looking forward to manifesting 'Ryouko-san' again and spending some intimate moments with me. But with me being late and losing the chance to do so, having her emotions written on her face like this was understandable.

I could start with an apology but knowing that she might not be aware that she was doing that, I opened up with my usual smile to her and greeted her with a respectful bow, "Yes, sensei. Have I made you wait?"

Upon saying that, my eyes quickly scanned her and her surroundings. On her table, I noticed a folder. That's probably the written report that she prepared for our meeting with Hayashi-sensei.

And sure enough, almost like it's magic, her frown disappeared as she also returned to her usual demeanor around me.

She shook her head and replied, "No. I'm not waiting that long. You must have been busy."

Although she's still looking at me with favorable eyes, it's not as intimate as when she's 'Ryouko-san'.

"Not busy. But how should I say this? I somehow got into the bad side of a senior and he made a scene by confronting me." I honestly answered.

Rather than lie about where I was which made me lose the few minutes that we could've spent together, telling her about what I experienced was the better choice. Besides, she'd possibly hear about it as the students' hot topic of discussion at some point.

Of course, I would have no choice but to omit the details about Marika and me being alone in that room for close to twenty minutes. It would just make things complicated, after all.

Eguchi-sensei processed my words for a moment before her eyes instantly widened in a flash of panic. As though she'd been blessed by the wind, the woman somehow appeared to have disappeared from her seat before immediately arriving in front of me.

Holding me by my shoulders, her eyes quickly scanned me for any injury. When she found nothing, Eguchi-sensei raised the obvious question, "Are you hurt, Onoda-kun?"

This woman... should I take that as overreacting or just another lovable gesture from her? Maybe both.

"No, sensei. I'm completely fine. Besides, you know I'm the Disciplinary Officer. I just donned my armband and bam! I already resolved the situation."

Unconvinced by that, Eguchi-sensei disbelievingly stared at me, "Be serious, Onoda-kun. There are unruly students out there that won't be scared because of your armband. Let's say I believe that you resolve it. Are you positive that he won't target you again?"

"Maybe he still will. But no worries, if it comes down to fist fight, I will still be unscathed while he will kiss the ground."

"Pfft. What a haughty student. But you know violence is not always the answer, right?"

Ah. I apologize, sensei but I already threw my fist in his stomach. Twice. I murmured inwardly.

"Uh. Yes. But I remember a certain teacher advising me to use my fist when it comes to dealing with problem students."

While donning a guilty smile, Eguchi-sensei cleared her throat as she brushed that away. "That is that, this is this. But on a serious note, did you do something to be on his bad side?"

"Uh. I befriended and stole the attention of his fiancé?"

"Huh, come again?!"

Bewildered at my answer, Eguchi-sensei could only react like that as she stared at me in utter disbelief.

Well, that's intentional or should I say, an honest answer? I mean, will it be better to lie about Ichihara Jun's gripe against me? No, right?