Stealing Spree

“Hey, I’m glad you accepted my invitation, Hitomi.”

As we walked out of the venue and reached the narrow path that I took yesterday, I opened up a conversation to dispel the somewhat strained silence between us.

Ah. Strained might be a wrong word choice. We’re not held back by anything. Just that, after taking my hand to accompany me, Hitomi never spoke a word and simply followed me.

She was wearing the usual butler suit which gave her the image of a cool and strong woman. Men and women alike turned their heads at her, either wondering who she was or admiring the aesthetic of her appearance.

In fact, when my classmates saw me arriving with the girls, rather than throwing me questioning looks, most paused what they were doing and got stuck staring at them.

I mean, they may all be attractive but at the same time, they’re all unique in their own way. And with Hitomi being the only one not wearing a school uniform, she got quite a lot of attention.

To stop them from staring at her, she eventually had to resort to intimidating them with her icy, killer glare. It worked just fine. However, some freaks found that even more charming of her.

Ultimately, I eventually stepped in, blocking their eyes from staring at her.

As for the events following our arrival, let’s just say Nami and Haruko helped bail us out from being interrogated.

Instead of having me guide the girls one by one which would definitely raise a lot of eyebrows, they took that responsibility for me.

Thanks to that, I managed to go off the radar to slip out again alongside Hitomi.

Was it a hassle? Maybe but that’s the only way they could be gathered in one place in this public setting without being barraged by questions. Even if it was possible to ignore whoever would inquire about the circumstances, it would just be too much of a hassle for all of us.

I brought them here to enjoy the game, not to be interrogated by strangers.

Later, I would definitely try to check on them one by one – and on that note, I’d probably act stealthily to not draw attention.

Back to the present, I noticed Hitomi’s lips curving upwards in response to my question. Following that, she uncharacteristically hooked her arm around mine.

“You must have been expecting me to insist on staying for the young lady, no?”

This… She’s not wrong. While my intention was to spend time with her, I also expected that she’d still be in her chauffeur mode for Otoha. I even prepared some backup to convince her to come along with me but with the woman accepting my invitation at the first instance, those aren't needed anymore.

“Mhm. I boast about understanding you and yet, I failed to anticipate this move from you.”

“Ruki, refrain from deeply analyzing this. I believe I have expressed this to you. The same as Otoha-ojou-sama, I’ve been meaning to spend more time with you. Or do you prefer me to be the same as before?”

Facing her inquiring gaze, I put on an embarrassed smile.

“No. Of course not. It’s just… what can I say? Refreshing. Yes. That’s it. I’m finding this refreshing. No one would have expected you to be this affectionate out in the open.”

Yeah. I’m ashamed. I thought I still needed to progress more to have her act like this… But then again, nothing is absolute when it comes to the future. No matter how much I try to predict it, things can change suddenly and so can people’s minds.

In this case, Hitomi most likely came to a decision to be more open to me. And it’s way earlier than my expectations.

Of course, I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m thrilled with this development. It’s more than what I wanted to accomplish by inviting her.

“Not even you?” Hitomi continued as an unusual hint of curiosity could be seen from the depths of her cool gaze.

“Honestly, yes. I’ve been thinking of ways to slowly melt the wall you put up when it comes to acting true to your desire. Looks like I don’t need to anymore.”

“Oh!” Hitomi exclaimed as her lips curved further to a somewhat silly smile. Then, as we took a few more steps forward, she tightened her embrace on my arm as her elation was conveyed to me. “It feels like I messed up. Won’t I be missing out on experiencing your method to make me fall for you harder than I already am?”

“Hitomi, slow down. Hearing you say that is bad for my heart. Did you just admit that you’ve already fallen for me?”

“Hmm? I do. Did I not express it to you last week?

“Not verbally, at least.” I promptly answered.

My head then went into overdrive to try to dig up my previous interactions with her and sure enough, while I could honestly claim that I’ve managed to claw my way into her heart, there’s no indication yet that I’ve successfully managed to take down the final fort that could truly make her admit that I’ve captured her heart.

Did I miss something? Thinking back, the only notable progress we had was when she tried to cut our relationship off because of her grandfather and I, fortunately, managed to change her mind.

“You’re right. I have yet to tell you…” Hitomi paused there for a moment. Then, the woman faced me with both of her hands gripping my shoulders.

As I sensed the gradual change in her body, she pushed me to a corner and backed me into a wall. With her body pressed against me, Hitomi placed a hand on my cheek as her usually icy expression changed into an affectionate one.

“You helped me sort out my thoughts last week, Ruki. I went to see the old man and gave him a piece of my mind. And this… This is the result of my newfound resolve regarding my situation…” Hitomi carefully let her slender fingers run across my face, sensually tracing every part of it. My forehead, eyebrows, eyelids, nose, and eventually lips. She spared nothing. Following that, she cupped my cheek with her palm, expressing her fondness for it.

This path wasn’t really deserted. There were people around. However, they were probably already filtered in her head.

At the moment, Hitomi only has me in her eyes. Anybody else was irrelevant.

Sensing how important this moment is for her, I let my lips draw an arc, showing her my genuine smile before matching her movements, doing the same thing as her before wrapping my arms around her waist.

As the two of us stared into each other’s eyes, reading each other’s thoughts, Hitomi continued, “My whole life revolved around protecting and serving the young lady. I have long accepted that kind of life. However, you…. You showed up and opened my eyes to this abstract concept of love. I’m inexperienced. Nevertheless, with you, I believe I will fully understand it eventually.”

“We’re the same, you know? I’m also inexperienced in this. I’ve only recently remembered this emotion. Nonetheless, if Hitomi is willing to believe in me then… I have to do a good job taking care of you, right?”

“Yes.” Hitomi succinctly answered before closing her eyes. As her arms slid from my shoulder and crossed behind me, I pushed my head forward, capturing her lips with mine.

Do I still need verbal confirmation from her? No… Every word and action she just made was enough to convey her feelings for me and her own situation. Hitomi coming here with me isn’t just because Otoha told her so… It’s her own choice to be with me.

Like she said, she’s still inexperienced and I doubt everything would be smooth sailing from here. But at the very least, the remaining distance between us finally closed. At this moment, our hearts started beating as one.

Was that cringe? Well, I don’t care. There are no other words to describe what we have here.

Let’s see… And even if what had transpired back then was just a ploy by the eccentric old man and Hitomi had already spoken her mind to her grandfather, I still have to get his approval in the future. That way, he won’t suddenly be torn to our side. Besides, I also want to prove to him that this woman didn’t make the wrong choice for being involved with me.

In any case, as I am right now, I am probably still considered a fangless pup who has nothing in my name yet…That has to change.