Stealing Spree

Despite taking a bit of time to appease my upset junior, we still managed to arrive on time at the venue just before the match started. Nonetheless, only two steps in, and the referee already did his first whistle, calling for the players from both teams for the tipoff.

There was a loud clamor within the audience as excitement flooded in, hyping the upcoming match.

Even though there was quite a distance to see them clearly down below, my eyes instantly locked into Satsuki. And that’s even when they’re all hunched down in a circle, doing their usual battlecry to further boost their morale.

When they finished with that and the girl straightened her back, Satsuki’s eyes also locked onto me as though I sent her a signal about where I was.

Our connection was amazing.

I opened up a smile before doing a cheering gesture, making the girl laugh. Full in spirit, she returned to the bench along with the second-year seniors and Eguchi-sensei while Kawakami-senpai and the others ran inside the court and into their positions.

On my side, I got a weird look from Sumire. She didn’t see what exactly happened and so, it added to her list of my weirdness. If I could read her mind, she's probably saying something along the lines of 'What's wrong with him this time?'.

Anyway, some of the audience picked that up. I noticed that they tried following Satsuki's gaze to search for the one she was communicating with.

They failed, of course. The place was already more crowded than earlier. Pinpointing me who already resumed my steps with Sumire was impossible. Moreover, the next whistle from the referee brought their attention back down.

The match was finally starting.

In any case, while those unrelated to us failed to see me, my girls who were waiting for my return definitely knew who to look for. Even before the clamor died down, all of them already glanced in our direction and some maintained it just to check out the girl next to me.

Because of that, Sumire flinched at the sudden collective gazes landing on her. Although puzzled at what happened, she once again attributed it to me when she noticed that the direction we were taking was towards them.

"Senpai, will I be okay?" The girl cautiously whispered to me. Her intuition was probably telling her to run.

"Don't worry. Your senpai here will protect you. Also, they won't bite."

"That doesn't sound reassuring, shameless senpai."

"I know," I smirked and grabbed her wrist then we hastened our steps until we reached their location.

Sumire could only frown while keeping her guard up.

Thankfully, Umi was there.

As soon as she saw her best friend arriving with me, a hint of delight flashed in her eyes.

Most likely, she's also feeling the pressure of getting left behind with her seniors.

Furthermore, there's another reason for her to be a little restless.

On her right, the fake gyaru was waving her hand at us. Looking at An-rin and Kushii nearby, they came here after they finished window shopping.

"Umi… Chii-chan-senpai." Sumire sounded like her throat was dry when she muttered their names.

If I had to guess, the girl's head was still filled with what happened earlier. It's preventing her from thinking straight.

And so, I gave her back a push, sending her to Chii's care.

"It's good to see you Chii. I'll leave them to you."

Well, since it's impossible to sit next to all of them on this occasion, I could only resort to that.

And surely, Chii understood it. She gladly took the role of caring for her two juniors.

"Yes! Now, Sumimin, come here. The two of you have gotten close to Kii. I want to hear it."

"Eh? Aren't we going to watch the game?"

"T-that's right."

Sumire and Umi tried to weasel out but that only made Chii more interested. There was no way she wouldn't notice how the two had started acting awkwardly.

Uh. Well, Sumire was always awkward when it came to Chii and Umi was just acting like herself. So maybe I was reading too much into it.

In any case, Chii wouldn't back down with just that. While holding the two girls' wrists, her playful smile showed up.

"We can talk while we watch, no?"

"S-senpai."

Umi and Sumire called out to me with pitiful expressions, hoping for me to bail them out.

Of course, they're definitely a little apprehensive to interact with Chii because of me. However, with Chii here, this should be the opportune moment for them to slightly understand our situation.

And that's why, I only replied with a smile before I continued to my seat next to Izumi and Maaya.

It's right in front of them so… it's not like I left them behind.

For now, I trust in Chii's ability to handle our two adorable juniors.

A while later, as the match ahead already started heating up with the first basket going in, the whole venue became filled with loud cheering both from our side and the other.

Right.

Compared to earlier before I left to see Satsuki, the audience had tripled. Or to be more precise, the number of empty seats dwindled to the point that it was like the reverse of what we saw when we arrived earlier.

Furthermore, more people continued to file in to watch the match.

For sure, this amount of spectators wasn’t the effect of our team but their opponent.

The second seed for this competition.

With their skill and previous result, they managed to draw this much interest compared to when two other lower-ranked teams were playing. It should probably be more exaggerated when it comes to the first seed.

Looking around, the majority of the audience sitting on the right side were students wearing light brown uniforms. They’re students from Kitarai High who came to cheer for their team. They even prepared some banners and other kinds of stuff to amp up their cheering squad.

And if I'm not wrong, among the other civilian audience or those unaffiliated to either of the schools, a college scout or two should be present. They're the ones headhunting for promising students they could bring to their campus by means of scholarships. Most students playing in this kind of competition always had that bit of hope to be scouted, making their next stage to be smooth sailing. For sure, the third-year seniors were also hoping for that.

Anyway, as I mentioned, on the left side where our seats were located, more than half of the empty seats were now occupied by the students from our school.

It’s not as overwhelming as the other school but it’s more than enough to show our support to them. It’s probably working as another boost for the seniors. They’re the ones who scored first.

With a part of my mind locked onto the match and the other kept wandering around, I managed to determine that the students from our school were mostly third-years and second-years. Most of the first years couldn’t really be bothered aside from the few. And surely, our class had more people present. They’re also seated close to us but I don’t think I need to greet them.

I was already occupied by my girls and the juniors so… I had nothing to spare for them.

In any case, when my eyes wandered to the side of the third-years again, I instantly locked onto someone I was searching for.

A golden ringlet hair that stands out no matter where she is…

Yep. There’s Marika alongside her followers.

However, three seats away from her, Ichihara Jun was also present and he looked like he was already mad enough not to be able to sit next to his fiancee.

Knowing Marika and the changes that were happening to her, she definitely made that happen.

Alright. Should I take her away and bring her with us?

No. That shouldn’t be a question. I’ll be taking her away.

But before that, Chii soon leaned over to whisper something to me.

“Kii. They're both acting weird. What did you do?.”