Stealing Spree

Guiding Setsuna was easy. It was the waiting phase that felt like forever. Well, it hadn’t been long and there were still other formalities to be done. However, both Setsuna and I were restless.

Even though they looked like they enjoyed the game despite losing, it would still make them feel a little bitter. Nonetheless, because of Eguchi-sensei’s choice to tell them what to expect, this game would surely become fuel for their determination to beat the number 1 high school in our prefecture if they ever met them in the inter-high tournament. Well, they had to pass the district-level first before becoming qualified for the prefecture-level.

But with the passion and skill they showed today, even if I wasn’t a sports analyst, I could definitely say that they’re skilled enough to do well in the upcoming tournament.

Most of the 3rd years were already veterans while the 2nd years and Satsuki were decent enough to play well in a competitive atmosphere.

Surely, they might even hold a training camp. I gotta ask Eguchi-sensei’s plans for that.

Around five minutes of waiting, the basketball club members emerged from the door, their expressions a mix of smiles and an apparent gloom.

I greeted and commended them and they simply returned a bitter smile while saying thank you. They were clearly not in the mood to joke with me so I didn’t say anything more.

When Satsuki showed up along with the seniors of their club, the ones who played on the court, they all grinned at me before pushing the girl to my side.

I was about to catch her and hold her in my embrace but Setsuna pushed me out of the way, catching Satsuki herself. I could’ve braced myself but Setsuna would surely tumble down, creating more commotion.

In any case, since she’s practically hiding in my shadow earlier, the other seniors were confused at Setsuna’s sudden appearance. It passed quickly though. The resemblance was uncanny. Even without confirmation, they already knew that the two were sisters. Perhaps the only question lingering in their minds was ‘who’s the little sister between the two?’.

Well, they didn’t stay too long to confirm it as they went away, leaving the three of us there.

“Eh? Nee-san, why are you here?” Satsuki was surprised. She pushed her older sister away from her before taking a step back. The girl then looked at me with a questioning glare but all I could answer was a shrug of my shoulder.

Looking at the two girls, because of their height, Satsuki looked like the older one while Setsuna was the attached little sister.

But if I blurted that out, I might be smacked by the two. That’s why I silently observed at the side, waiting for my turn.

“What else? To cheer up my cute little Satsuki!”

“Ugh. Can you stop calling me that?”

Setsuna tried to lunge at her little sister but with her quick reflex, Satsuki dodged it easily.

Setsuna wasn’t giving up though.

“Why? Isn’t it better? Or do you want me to keep calling you Satsu-chan?”

“That’s also not good! It’s embarrassing!”

“Really? But you’re smiling earlier.”

“Yes, I am. But not at you.” Satsuki answered with a smirk before her eyes slowly captured me.

Upon following the direction where she was looking, although she was confused at first, Setsuna quickly understood what exactly happened.

“Huh?! Wait… Onoda-kuuuuuun!”

She murderously screamed at me, raised her fist and was about to throw me a barrage of punches.

However, with only her first two swings, I caught her hand, stopping that assault.

“I don’t want to spoil your fun, Setsuna-nee-san. In any case, you can’t blame us. You’re the one who failed to notice.”

“It's a shame to have a delusional older sister.” Satsuki laughed at the side and added fuel to the fire.

“Ugh! You little—” Forcefully withdrawing her fist, Setsuna huffed and blew air through her nose as she furiously charged at me again, her hands aiming for my neck.

Ah… This looked like the last message she sent me earlier. Strangling me in front of Satsuki, huh? This girl lost it.

Instead of catching her hands, I adeptly dodged them and hid behind Satsuki.

Obviously, that also earned me a glare from Satsuki. However, before she could shake me off to leave me at her sister’s mercy, my arms wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“What are you being angry for? Aren’t you here to cheer your little sister up?”

“I’m gonna strangle you first for embarrassing me! Also, stop hugging her! I haven’t hugged my cute little Satsuki yet!”

“Don’t wanna. This is my girlfriend, Setsuna-nee-san. I call dibs on her now.” I played like a spoiled kid and stuck my tongue out toward Setsuna.

And that successfully enraged the girl more. However, before she could even explode with rage, Satsuki pinched my tongue and sighed.

“Nee-san… Go home. And you idiot, shut your mouth or I’m going to pull this tongue of yours. I’m not gloomy and I don’t need any cheers from the two of you, alright.”

After saying that, Satsuki released a sigh and let go of my tongue. She also squirmed out of my embrace as she walked off, leaving us standing.

I guess it’s too much for her, huh? But really, she’s not angry. She’s escaping from embarrassment. Or rather, she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her sister.

No matter what, she still admired her. And although she frowned at Setsuna’s cheers earlier, deep inside, Satsuki was happy for her attendance.

“Eh? W-wait Satsu-chan…” Stuck at where she’s standing, Setsuna could only reach out her hand toward Satsuki.

On the other hand, I first looked at Setsuna before chasing after the girl and blocking her way.

“What are you doing? Move.”

“Alright. I apologize if we embarrass you. But, Satsuki, are you sure you want to walk out now? She went all the way here to watch you play.”

“Huh? What is this? You switched sides? Aren’t you arguing with her just now?” With furrowed brows, Satsuki met my gaze and clicked her tongue.

She’s deliberating whether to step to the side and go or wait here and hear me out.

Obviously, I wouldn’t let her pick the 1st choice.

“Not really. But isn’t this a chance? You wanted to get along with your sister again, right? To let go of the past…”

“Ugh. I don’t think now’s the time for that…”

For sure, it’s not the right moment to talk about what happened in their past but at least, this was a chance to once again deepen their bond as sisters.

And for sure, Setsuna came here for that – gonna turn a blind eye on how annoying she became.

“Perhaps, but will you just ignore her?”

“… Ugh. You’re always like this. Fine. I’ll talk to her.”

“Great… But first…” I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me, away from Setsuna’s gaze.

“Eh?” Confused, Satsuki tried looking back at her sister who was still stuck from where she was standing.

“Ssh…” After making sure that there was no one to see us, I tightened my arms around her and pushed her back against the wall.

Understanding what I was going to do, Satsuki helplessly sighed and muttered lovingly, “You idiot. Is this your way of cheering me up?”

“I can’t think of another way. But, didn’t you just say that you don’t need to be cheered up?”

“Do you think I’ll pass up this chance? No matter how annoyed I became, I knew you were going to run after me.”

“Ah… Good point. Well then…” Upon reaching an understanding, our lips naturally met.

However, while we were in the middle of making out, Setsuna appeared from the corner. Her eyes widened and shook as she focused on us.