Stealing Spree

Catching the visible lamentation written on my face, Marika tilted her head in wonder. She stared at me with narrowed eyes as though she was trying to pinpoint an answer somewhere on my face.

“What do you mean, Ruki-kun?”

I shook my head and put on a smile to assure her. And since it wasn’t going to be a secret to them if I truly walked that path, I told her what was in my head.

.

“I was thinking of resolving our conflict with him through negotiation. You know. I thought of talking him down until he gives up on you so as not to trouble a lot of people if ever he drags his or your family in our conflict. I realized how foolish of an idea it is to begin with. We’ve already hurt his pride. He won’t simply surrender to me.”

“Ruki-kun, must I remind you what you told me? We’re in this together. Never hesitate to talk to me about it.” Marika cupped my face, appearing a little dismayed.

Faced with her imploring eyes, I couldn’t help but wryly smile.

Upon Seeing that, Marika pouted as she used her thumbs to stretch my lips and erase that expression from my face.

The girls who were watching from the side laughed and encouraged Marika to scold me more. They also didn’t like my thoughts.

They’re right, anyway. I keep forgetting that I shouldn’t always decide on something by myself. I’m not learning my lesson.

“Alright. You guys win. I’ll tell you all about my plan on how to deal with him after probing him further. I believe I will be running into him before the school gate.”

“You believe?” It’s Shizu who raised the question. And since she’s sitting on Marika’s side, she’s also technically next to me at the moment. The girl pulled on my sleeve to have me explain it further.

“Yeah. Enomoto informed me of his movements.”

Right. That guy left behind that small information when he stopped me earlier.

Apparently, he couldn’t take what happened yesterday lying down. He got embarrassed when his followers found him unconscious.

Well, he did lie down comfortably on the floor so I guess that fits.

But really, he’s also one to not take lessons to heart. And I doubt he’ll have the manpower to take me down – not to mention, right on the school grounds.

“Your knuckle hasn’t healed yet, right? Are you going to use that again?”

“Not necessarily. I can avoid him if I put my mind to it.”

“But you won’t. You’re also itching to take him down again.”

“… Don’t read my mind, Shizu.”

“Numbskull, you’re so easy to read. You’re someone who will take care of any immediate threat around us. I’m surprised you haven’t punched Inugaki yet. But thinking about it, he’s not considered a threat.”

“Alright. You win. What will you all suggest then?”

“Leave that issue to us. He won’t be able to block your way nor touch Marika at all.”

“I second that! Ruu, we can make a wall with our bodies, no? They won’t even get a glimpse of Marika-senpai.”

Backing up her older cousin, Nami jumped in as well. I glanced in her direction and the others also nodded in agreement.

That’s a great idea but…

“Nami… You know what I’m trying to prevent, right? I don’t want to set a target on your backs. Call me overprotective but as much as possible, exposing any of you to people hostile to me is something I want to prevent. They can keep guessing on who’s close to me or not but if they begin targeting you when I’m not looking, I’ll just endlessly worry about your safety.”

It's not that I don’t trust they can protect themselves… I mean, it’s just a general rule that if they try to use force, girls are often at a disadvantage except for a few who are skilled. I taught them a simple self-defense of going for the balls but it’s hard to execute it in tense situations. Akane, Sena, and Otoha will surely be able to protect themselves but none of these girls have any experience in fighting.

I can hold more self-defense lessons for them but it still won’t calm my worry for them if they ever get targeted.

“Ruki-kun…”

As I was lost in that train of thought, Marika looked up to me, her concerned voice pulling me back to the present.

“… I’m with you in preventing others from being targeted. However, you’re overthinking a lot. If we run away, they can’t do anything to us. And I have my guards watching over most of the time. They won’t allow any harm to befall me.”

“Don’t bother, Marika-senpai. He’s known to us for his constant overthinking.”

“Yes. That’s one of his traits.”

With Marika pointing that out again, the other girls dunked on me. I couldn’t help but scratch my head because they’re all of the same opinion.

I know. We already have this kind of talk before but with Ichihara Jun being a bigger threat because of his authority I just can’t help it.

Of course, I’m also aware of my own limitations. I can’t always be there to watch over them so… restricting them on what they want to do is just as idiotic as my overprotectiveness…

Furthermore, there is no way to ensure that nothing will happen. But in the same sense, the opposite is true.

In the end, it all comes down to whether I will lay down my worries and rely on my trust in them and their skills or not.

Haa… Well, to move forward, I have to tone down my stubbornness, right?

“I’ll raise my white flag here.” I hung my head low and eventually leaned down on Marika’s shoulder.

A moment later, I heard the girls snickering as well as Marika’s hand landing on top of my head, caressing it as though she was trying to comfort me.

“There, there. We understand your good intentions, Ruki-kun. You can’t stop loving us this much.”

“Marika-senpai gets it. That’s his prominent weakness.” Hina commented as the girl leaned from across the table to poke my cheek, “You’ll think he’s that invincible guy whenever he stands in front of us, protecting us against any storm. But here, we see him for how he truly is. An adorable idiot.”

“That’s why he’s an idiot.” As always, Satsuki jabbed at me.

After the two, Nami, Aya, Saki, and even Rae followed up.

And lastly, Shizu pushed her chair closer to reach my cheek. She didn’t say anything but her action alone was enough to convey it.

This went on for a few minutes and we kept on circling back on the same topic where they continuously attempted to convince me to leave Ichihara Jun to them.

Unfortunately, even if I raised that white flag, I still held onto the belief that I should be the one confronting him and his pathetic plans to deal with me.

Due to that, Shizu eventually settled on employing Marika to the Student Council and attaching her to my Disciplinary Office as a temporary secretary.

That way, she could always have a reason to get away from Ichihara Jun and their followers.

And that’s where we reached an agreement.

Marika was definitely stirred about it. She immediately went into imagining various scenarios where we spent our time together in that room.

Unfortunately for her, her enthusiasm took a hit when she heard that I only come to the office twice a week.

“It’s fine. You can ask them if I never visited them even if I said I couldn’t.” I said before turning to the other girls.

And one by one, they told Marika how I kept on walking them to their clubs, staying for a while in them, and picking them up when the club hours ended.

Shizu also pitched in. And thanks to that, her enthusiasm returned.

Following this, I brought up my plan to escort Marika to Hayashi-sensei after I told them the summary of my meeting with her.

Like yesterday, Marika readily.

“Okay, Ruki-kun. I trust you. When are we going?”

“Later, I have to make up for my blunder first, right?”

I scratched my head and put on a silly smile. Being pampered by them wasn’t enough to make up for it.

Marika sweetly giggled at my reaction. And then, the other girls booed me, especially Satsuki who had already moved to my other side just so she could poke me.

“You sure do, Ruki-kun” Marika gracefully smirked, hinting how she liked that. Then her eyes scanned the other girls, gathering their reaction, “Un. I must admit. I love seeing this side of you, Ruki-kun. The others love it too, I presume?”

And with that question, the girls, starting from Satsuki, Shizu, and Nami, answered in chorus, “Certainly. Dig at him, Marika.”

Following that, their joyful laughter echoed in the room as they banded together to start teasing me.

But like I said, this time, it won’t be just them doing all the work. I’m the core of our complex relationship. Taking care of all of them was within my skillset.