Stealing Spree

Upon arriving at the sports complex, Aika met up with us near the entrance.

The place was already teeming with people walking to and from different venues. The cheers and the echoes coming from the microphone-enhanced announcements made the atmosphere a little frantic.

Futaba and Eimi, who weren’t fond of too much noise, both frowned at how grating it was to their ears.

Akane came to the rescue of her friend while I paid special attention to my girl.

Thankfully, Hiyori and Ririka were already immune to it. They’re both veterans when it comes to enduring the noises from crowded and chaotic places, after all. The hustle and bustle in this crowd was no match to an idol concert or cosplay convention.

As for the others, they’re not uncomfortable with this. They kept close to us, avoiding bumping into other people.

After Aika introduced herself to the two, she then started guiding us to the venue of the boxing competition.

On the way there, the girl also couldn’t help but seek her chances to draw near me.

Eri raised an eyebrow to that but Aika was quick to dispel whatever suspicion that might arise from it.

Given her cat-like tendency, she constantly moved around, happily chatting away not just with the two but also with the other girls.

It actually became livelier with her addition to our group. She’s so cheerfully jumpy that it actually helped Eimi and Futaba to relax a little.

Additionally, when she accidentally slipped out an adorable ‘nyaa~’ at the end of her sentence, Eri was immediately enlivened. The girl jumped ship right away to her new favorite senior.

Even if it was supposed to be their first time talking to each other, they hit it off pretty well.

With that, we once again got away with our closeness. Nonetheless, in the end, it was only a temporary solution. Sooner or later, the spell they went under would gradually be dispelled each time they met a girl who would claim to be my ‘close friend’.

They are Akane's best friends. Eventually, we will still tell them about our complex relationship. And the question of whether they’ll accept it or not is irrelevant. They can make their own judgment by then.

A while later, with Aika continuing to guide us, we soon reached the venue. Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was obviously the lone ring in the middle. While it didn’t appear too high quality, it’s decent enough for a high school competition.

Unlike the basketball court which was inside a dome and surrounded by elevated seats, the venue could just be considered a huge conference hall. The seats were scattered on every side. The audience would have to look up from below the ring much like every boxing stadium.

Closer to the ring was the long table that would probably be hosting the panel of judges for the upcoming match.

Because boxing wasn’t that popular when it came to high schoolers like us, most of the seats weren’t occupied yet. Obviously, most of them were friends or schoolmates of the athletes of the competing teams.

I scanned the place for any idiots that might ruin the experience for us. Luckily, there’s none.

It’s also not popular with brawny idiots. Maybe they had no interest in watching what they might consider frail girls trading blows up in that ring.

That’s the common reception for women’s boxing, after all. There’s the preconceived notion that when it comes to the sport where strength is the most prominent aspect, watching women throwing punches at each other wouldn’t be as impactful as when men do it.

Well, it’s their loss. Little did they know, there are already a lot of competent women in this field. And even outside of it, there’s already a lot of strong women that could match a grown man.

For example, Akane could knock down a common thug by herself. And with her sophisticated beauty that could stun anyone, she’d likely always land a first strike. I know because I already experienced that quite a few times.

Then there’s also Otoha who would be fearsome with her shinai. If she went serious with it, I might not even be able to beat or unarm her like I did before. Not to mention, Hitomi and my mother who could be considered an expert.

Ah. Let’s leave it at that.

After scanning for an ideal spot where we could properly see the match later, I led the girls there and secured it for our occupancy. Naturally, I also considered the angle that would make it easy for Sena to spot us.

Once that’s done, I spent a few minutes with them there before excusing myself.

Before the match begins, there’s no way I will miss the chance to visit and cheer her up in person.

Aika followed me and once again took up the job of being my guide to their school’s waiting room.

Ah. Of course, that’s not her only intention.

No matter how short a distance it would be, it was also her chance to have me for herself.

And so, as soon as we stepped out of the venue, Aika didn’t waste any second to throw herself at me.

The girl immediately buried her head in my chest and her arms wrapped tightly around me.

“Hmm? Is my Aika still feeling down?” I asked her at the same time as I started caressing her head.

Yep. She’s exuding the gloom of someone who still couldn’t get over a loss.

I guess, no matter how cheerful she acted with us, her real feelings couldn’t be contained now that we were alone.

“Un... Cheer me up, Ruki. I still can’t get over the fact that there was no loud idiot to cheer for me when I ran earlier.”

After sniffing my scent and rubbing her face for a few seconds on my chest, Aika raised her head, looking a little pitiful. Her round eyes were shaking and her lips drew an arc opposite of a smile.

Yeah. Seeing her like this, I was immediately moved by her expression. Without saying anything else, I moved us from our present location to a more obscure spot.

There’s still time anyway. Cheering this girl up would have to come first.

Starting with a kiss to dispel the gloom on her expression, I then matched her frown but more playfully, “I feel the same, you know? I was looking forward to watching my Nyaika win the competition. Too bad, I won’t be able to recite the line I rehearsed while cheering for you.”

“Eh? What line? Let me hear it!”

“Will that be able to cheer you up?”

“Absolutely! You said it yourself, that’s the purpose of it. To cheer me up. Come on, Ruki. Aren’t you becoming rusty at your shamelessness?”

As I expected, the girl’s eyes immediately glowed from what she heard. And like an excited cat waiting for her catnip, her imaginary tail started wriggling. Her excitement was further expressed when the girl started pulling on my collar, bringing my lips and cheeks for her to steal kisses from.

Really, just from this, it’s already considered a success. But hey, it’s not that bad to prolong this, right? It was a waste of a chance when I could not only cheer her up but also spoil her. Something I couldn’t often do for her.

And so, while answering her kisses, I continued zeroing our distance. If someone walked to this corner, they’d surely see us being intimate with each other. However, I doubt someone would bother to stop us. As long as we exercise some restraint, we can prolong this moment.

“I’m not being shameless though. But let’s see. Since my Nyaika wanted to hear it. Prepare your ears.” As I said that, I blew air into her right ear before delivering the line I prepared for her.

At each word, Aika would shiver from the tickling sensation but at the same time, she would tighten her grip on my arm, conveying how she wanted me to continue. And to make it more worthwhile, I added another remark at the end.

“No matter what, my Aika will always be the winner in my eyes. Next time, I will go all out cheering for you to make up for not being able to today.”

By the time I delivered the last word, the girl started breathing raggedly. Obviously, by prolonging it, it not only tickled her senses, it also delivered more. And couple that with how I kept caressing her head and back, and it stacked up, making her shiver from the sensation.

A second later, Aika raised her head. With her face as red as an apple, she breathlessly muttered, “I-idiot Ruki... More. Cheer me up more...”

I nodded before taking her lips one more time. Taking advantage of the moment that no one was around, I thoroughly spoiled the girl. Unfortunately, we’re not in a suitable place to take it up to another level. That can wait for next time.

With Aika regaining her cheerfulness, we then continued to the back of the venue where we’d find the waiting room for their school’s boxing club.