Stealing Spree

“Laugh? No. Rather than that… let me praise you. Isn’t it great to be honest once in a while?”

After shaking my head, and rejecting her pessimistic words, I enthusiastically patted Saionji’s head. While still having her forehead supported by my body, steam gradually rose from above her head.

Perhaps if I took a peek at her face right now, I’d find the girl blushing profusely. Not entirely because of me though. She’s just too embarrassed after her admission.

“Hmph. I don’t know. I’m always honest with myself.”

And there she goes, recovering her usual tone once again. Still, she kept her head low, savoring the pats I was giving on her head.

At this point, we’re already a curious sight for other people walking by. Some probably thought I made her cry as they glared at me. As for others, they just made a look of disgust, denouncing a public display of affection.

Of course, I ignored all those and focused solely on the girl.

“You’re right. You were definitely honest all the time before you unfortunately encountered me. However this time, you’ve just admitted that you’re uncomfortable. We can’t write that off, can we?”

Yep. She’s not wrong for saying that she’s always honest. Recalling that time she barged into that room, she immediately blurted out what was on her mind when she recognized me.

Saionji was the type of girl who was too absorbed with her self-recognized worth and never doubted herself… Until I toppled over every expectation she had for other people.

In hindsight, that kind of development seemed to be too detrimental from a wider perspective. But in my opinion, it’s more than just beneficial to her. If she continued with her ego-tripping wherein no one could refute her or stand up to correct her, she was bound to get a huge reality check that might turn her world upside down somewhere along the lines.

Wait. Upon thinking about it, her encounter with me was ‘that’ reality check. And from there, she remained inside a quagmire that I created, pulling her down little by little. If she failed to crawl out and leap over to dry land, she’d be completely swallowed by me.

And as things stand, while she’s not fighting the pull, Saionji was grasping at every corner to keep herself afloat.

Maybe she couldn’t fully decide yet on whether to struggle upwards or leave herself to my mercy. In any case, if the time comes she made up her mind, I’ll probably support her for it. Or at the very least, respect the decision she’d be making even if it’s more likely for her to step away and cut off ties with me.

“Only this time... I find them all overbearing. Did they think I’m the same as them? That’s why I…” Saionji grasped my uniform, conveying the feelings she couldn’t put into words.

I switched from patting her head to stroking her hair, letting my fingers sift through her silky hair.

“Alright. I understand why it’s uncomfortable for you. You don’t need to explain anymore. If you want to, I can escort you to the bus stop. Just give me a moment to pick up someone and bring them there.”

“... Stop acting so concerned. I can handle myself.”

“Sure, you do. But I feel responsible for Nao’s action of dragging you here.”

Saionji promptly replied, correcting me, “S-she didn’t do that. I decided to come by myself.”

After a brief pause, the girl then slowly raised her head, exposing her face to me. She still looked pretty, there’s no denying that. But at the moment, she truly looked so conflicted that all she could utter was her response to my words.

“I see. That’s my bad for assuming. So… what’s your plan? Will you return or…?”

Even without finishing my sentence, it’s already easy to understand what I meant there.

Saionji eventually shook her head without any indication of which choice was she doing that for.

“Alright. I have to run to the entrance for a bit. You can take your time here. Remember, no one’s going to stop you if you ever decide to leave or return inside.”

Going out to pick up Juri and Setsuna-nee was already cutting into my time watching the game. If my conversation with this girl got further prolonged because she couldn’t make up her mind, that’s even more so. And I couldn’t afford to lose more, no matter how heartless it may seem.

“I’ll return inside. I have to overcome this, right? In order to make you bow down to me, I cannot falter.”

“Girl… You’re being too hard on yourself. Sure. It’s your choice.”

“I told you. I can’t handle that frivolous smile of yours. I’ll be taking that down soon.”

“Heh. Alright. Shall I give you your reward then?”

“Wha–? Where did that come from?”

“Nowhere. I just know that it will throw you off.” Matching her gaze, I maintained the frivolous smile that she spoke of before letting my hand slide to her cheek and eventually, ran my thumb on her bright lips. “Anyway, it’s up to you. Tell me later if you still want it.”

Without waiting for her to answer, I walked away from her and towards the entrance.

I took at least twenty steps before glancing back at the girl. And sure enough, Saionji was still there, staring at my back with an incomprehensible expression on her face. If I had to describe it, it’s a mix of embarrassment, anger, and longing.

As soon as she noticed me glancing back at her, Saionji immediately turned around and ran back to the venue. I waited until she disappeared from my vision before staring back ahead and continuing on to my destination.

A while later, I returned to the venue amidst the loud distinct cheering from both sides alongside Juri and the grumpy Setsuna-nee. One side was chanting defense with all their might as though they didn’t about their voices getting hoarse by the second. Obviously, it’s the opposite on the other side.

“Whoa… What is that? Did they improve that much from the last time I watched them? Hey, Onoda-kun. Are they really this good?”

Setsuna-nee exclaimed upon seeing the current scoreboard. 65-48.

Looks like they expanded their lead by another two points when I left. That just showed that despite changing players, the strength of the team remained pretty much the same.

“Setsuna-nee-san, don’t tell me you forgot about it. The practice match that you watched before was against the number 1 team in the prefecture. Losing against them was expected.”

“Pfft. Stop acting so surprised, Setsu. Don’t you keep on bragging about how your little sister is great at the sport? Look, Satsuki-chan is doing her best there.”

Juri interjected with a giggle as she pointed at the court. At the moment, Satsuki was running back beneath their basket to block the incoming drive of the opposing team’s star player.

She properly positioned herself and held her ground, preventing anyone from breaking past her.

A few seconds later, the girl dribbling the ball chickened out and passed the ball to someone else, failing that drive. With the shot clock going down to its last five seconds, the teammate who got the ball had to throw the ball haphazardly and without proper timing.

Sensing how off it was to the basket, Satsuki immediately turned around to prepare for the rebound. She jumped at the same time as her opponent and wrested the ball away perfectly before passing it to Kawakami-senpai, completing a spectacular job.

“... I’m speechless. My Satsu-chan has grown so much. I’m proud of her.”

“Yeah. Me too. But you’re being overdramatic Setsuna-nee-san. Let’s go, we’re blocking the way.”

With tears in her eyes as though she was so glad to witness her sister’s glory, Setsuna-nee put her hands on her mouth and exclaimed.

Juri giggled again at the sight while I pushed Setsuna-nee’s back to continue on our way. It earned me a glare and a pout from her but that’s all. She couldn’t afford to get upset while still rejoicing at her little sister’s performance.

Shortly after that play, we reached our area. With the girls acknowledging my return, Juri who probably sensed their heated gazes on me mischievously whispered, “Sorry, Ruki. I believe I have to do this.”

Upon saying that, Juri affectionately clung to me to show it off to the girls.

Without fail, their initial reaction was as expected, narrowed eyes and raised eyebrows.

I don’t know if she’s declaring war on them or introducing herself as one of them. Whichever the case, Juri found their reactions amusing.