Stealing Spree

Miyoshi quietly left the place after that. That's all he was in the end. A spineless guy who couldn't even muster the slightest hint of courage to defend himself.

He accepted everything Kanzaki said with not a word of denial or rejection.

Again, he might just be holding it in because of my presence but even so, you cannot be that pathetic in front of the one you're supposed to love, right?

I had no idea what Kanzaki saw in him before. Apart from his decent appearance, his behavior screams 'pushover' in max volume. Maybe he's not originally like that? Did I unknowingly make him terrified of opposing me?

Anyway, if he continues like that, he probably won't even be a regular in his club even if he becomes a senior next year. Or if he ever reaches college, he may just drop out or become a lackey of someone else.

If his life can be written as a , it will be titled, My Pushover Life.

"Class Prez, I've been thinking of praising you for the job well done. However, I find it conceited of me if I do so, let alone think about it. In the end, you never needed my help at all."

Once I heard the sound of the door sliding close at the exit of the cowardly guy, I guided Kanzaki back to her seat.

Obviously, with the girl refusing to let go of me, I ended up squatting in front of her with my hands comforting her head and back respectively.

She still had her face buried in my chest but the overflowing courage she had shown earlier had long been drained out of her body.

She's now running on an empty battery and all she wanted to do was to recharge her energy in the comfort of my arms.

"Even if I'm not around, I believe you can accomplish the same thing, albeit he probably won't easily accept everything. In any case, in my eyes, you delivered it flawlessly that I have been put in awe." I continued when Kanzaki looked up at me again.

As always, my consideration kicked in that leaving her alone here was out of the question.

Besides, having taken that step, I cannot simply dismiss her anymore. Like I said, she did her part in sorting out her feelings. It's now my turn to do mine.

What do I feel about her? If I have to be honest, I'm conflicted.

While I can confidently say that my interest in her has never waned and even grown stronger as days go by, it's not like or love yet.

Our kisses and my lack of aversion to that act can either be my decision to play along and see to it that she'll be successful today or just my desire for her that has yet to fully mature.

And for her sake, I'll be very honest about that when we get to it.

"I was out of my mind there, Onoda-kun... I only planned on telling him that we were over. The kiss is..."

Perhaps not used to receiving praises, Kanzaki's eyes seemingly spun as steam rose above her head. She started spouting her thoughts out in the open.

"Unplanned?"

I tried completing her sentence but she returned a shake of her head.

"No, I planned to do it... Your active participation was not."

Ah. I get it. What happened previously still haunts her mind. If I have to guess, even if she's confident that I wouldn't reject her - given that I also let it almost happen earlier - Kanzaki was expecting me to simply stay put or do the bare minimum. Hence, this reaction she's currently displaying.

I put on a comforting smile before pinching her cheek lightly, "If that's the case, you don't have to worry about it. It's my decision to be as helpful to you as possible."

"... Only helpful?"

Of course, that's what she's going to pick up from that.

"Let's see. There's more but can I keep it as suspense for now?"

Well, I didn't want to shoot her down with my honest thoughts right away. I could concede this moment to her temporarily.

Unfortunately, that was a mistake on my part.

Upon hearing that, Kanzaki seemingly got a surge of energy as she dragged her face close to me before saying in a dissatisfied tone, "Onoda-kun, isn't that unfair?"

"You think so?"

"Yes. I thought you value honesty. You can also be straightforward to me... If it doesn't have any meaning beyond helping me, I can understand... I believe I haven't gotten off on a bad start."

Ugh. That felt like I shot myself in the foot. What she's saying makes sense... I've unleashed her straightforward personality, I can't simply back down now in consideration of her... That will definitely feel unfair.

After slapping my forehead, enough for it to echo in the room and send me the stinging sensation of pain, I shook my head furiously, resetting my mind palace.

Then once that was done, I looked her directly in her eyes.

"Thanks for slapping some sense into me, Kanzaki. You're right, I should uphold my own value for honesty... Then, if you'll excuse me..."

As soon as my voice trailed that last word, I moved my hand from her cheek to intimately hold Kanzaki by her chin.

I wasn't going to kiss her. It's only to demonstrate what I genuinely feel.

"It's not just me being helpful... In my head, I was also dissing him for what he was displaying. And so, a part of me decided to bury him further in his pit by taking up the position that you've asked me to take."

I started with that.

Kanzaki showed great interest in listening to it. Her mouth closed and her hands gripping my clothes moved to my shoulder before guiding me back to my seat.

Upon settling my ass down, Kanzaki lifted my arm to intimately squeeze at my side. It even resulted in her glasses almost getting nudged off of her.

I helped her fix it back which I quickly followed up with a gentle caress on her cheek and still-moist lips.

Somehow, I was aware that my actions also screams of thoroughly caring for her but what could I do when my body was moving on its own?

Anyway, Kanzaki's blush mounted its return to her unblemished face as her joy visibly cracked open.

Because of that, I got tempted to kiss her again. And this time, I consciously did it without any driving force other than my desire to do so.

Kanzaki received it well and unlike earlier when she got so lost with the sensation, she's conscious enough to read the meaning behind it.

And obviously, it brought her another bout of joy that made that kiss be prolonged enough for us to completely savor it.

When we were done, I licked my lips clean and continued with what I was saying.

This time, I bared my naked thoughts to her without leaving anything behind.

Ten minutes later, Kanzaki and I exited the storage room and started making our way back to the School Building.

With people already littering every part of the school, the duration of her sneaky clinging to my arm lessened considerably.

Nonetheless, a pleased smile remained on her lips. Obviously influenced by the result of our 'talk' inside that cramped room.

"Class Prez, you haven't eaten yet, right? Come and eat with us again." To not make the air stale around us, I opened up a conversation that was far from what we were just discussing. It's a steer back to reality that Kanzaki also appreciated.

"That's a weird invitation, Onoda-kun. Aren't they upset at how I often barge into your circle?"

Even if she was not expecting that, Kanzaki still managed to understand my intention.

Looking at her somewhat awkward smile, she's probably expecting me to answer yes.

I thought about it for a moment and I immediately found my answer.

"Hmm. I think upset is not the right word. Let's see... Maybe irritated? They know you were there for me and yet you were acting like you're not."

That's how it was before. But with Kanzaki already reverting to her original straightforward self, it would definitely change if she accepted that invitation.

"I see. I haven't been that straightforward with my intention."

See. She didn't deny it. From the way she shook her head, she was pretty much confirming what I said.

I could already read her like a book back then. And hearing her honest thoughts this time was extremely pleasant to my ears.

I chuckled a bit to lighten up the mood.

"That and... because I have yet to express my clear interest in you to them. It's different now. It's been almost a week since I brought you to Haruko. They're aware of my reason for that."

"To be honest, even if I already heard their reason and I'm hoping to be the same, I'm still baffled as to how they can accept your situation."

"Mio, shouldn't you also ask that to yourself? In any case, I can only say that everyone has their own unique take of our situation but it all boils down to..."

"Not wanting to lose you? What a great playboy, Onoda-kun"

I meant to say 'loving me' but the girl finished my sentence with her own interpretation. Then with a teasing tone, she chuckled just the same.

With that light mood prevailing throughout our walk back to the classroom, the thought of her cowardly ex had been completely forgotten.

And just at the right moment, the girls had finished preparing our table.

With Mio's addition, the girls who could easily pick out the difference between then and now immediately surrounded her.