Stealing Spree

On the last stretch of our walk around the venue, Orimura-sensei didn’t field any more questions. She remained silent as she accompanied me while occasionally glancing at my side or behind us.

Whenever I would catch her looking at me, she would narrow her eyes into a slit, trying to be as intimidating as possible in an attempt to not lose out on a staring contest with me. As for the reason why she's glancing behind us, she's checking out those girls whose attention was drawn to me.

Even if those could be ignored, Orimura-sensei must've been trying to take notes as her way to properly gauge my attractiveness since she could not believe it herself.

That was another flattering detail but since it's done by her, I could feel like she's also stabbing me with ice-cold daggers at my side.

Anyway, she understood what I meant with my suggestion. It wouldn’t be an immediate demonstration but something that I would be showing her little by little if she continued to stick by my side.

When we returned to the waiting room, the small meeting was already over. Satsuki once again took the initiative to lock me close to her in order to prevent the other girls from crowding around me.

Although they understood the implications, some of them were probably doing that to see Satsuki act like this. I'm simply an instrument to bring out her adorable side.

Among them, only the two most prominent seniors dared to intrude on the invisible territory that Satsuki marked.

First, Kawakami-senpai sat on the open space of the long bench we were sitting on. She placed a hand on my shoulder while looking at the girl curled up inside my embrace.

“It's still amazing to see her act this way when you're around, Onoda-kun. It's like she’s a wild beast that you domesticated. I can imagine you carrying her like this all the time.”

“Senpai, are you sure you should be saying this? She can hear you.”

“I know. Don't worry. She won't bite me for it. And I don't mean it negatively. When I first saw her, I thought we'd have a troublesome junior. But in just two months, she's now our most dependable junior. If we add you to the mix, you two are simply heaven-sent for this club.”

This… I guess this is her way to convey her gratitude, huh? To praise both of us. Compared to when I first saw her, Kawakami-senpai’s confidence in herself has seemingly experienced a boost. Back when she told me about their dream to bring honor to the club before graduating, there was a part of her that sounded pessimistic at the chance. Today, she's brimming with confidence that it actually improved her attractiveness.

Although Satsuki gathered more cheers due to our class always being there to support her, Kawakami-senpai has also started getting her own set of admirers from the audience.

“You're exaggerating it, senpai. It's more on Satsuki and everyone from this club. Even without me here, I believe you're still going to reach this stage.”

“And there's your humbleness again. Hey, Satsuki. Can I get your permission to correct this guy?”

“Go ahead. He's an idiot so you better be thorough about it.”

“Got it. You heard her, Onoda-kun. Prepare yourself.”

“Huh? Wait. Senpai. What are you–”

I could've overturned this situation and not let anything happen. But if I do so, it'll just kill the mood, right? And so, I decided to just play along.

However, I didn't expect to receive this kind of treatment from her. Before I knew it, Kawakami-senpai had already dragged my head inside her embrace. And if that wasn't enough, she pushed my face on her mound, giving me a first-hand experience of her bouncy softness. Her scent which has yet to be mixed with her sweat smells like sweet milk. It's relaxing.

Nonetheless, this felt more like an embrace by a doting sister when she started combing my hair as she did what she just mentioned; correcting my humbleness.

“Take this as a privilege, Onoda-kun. I say this as a representative of everyone in this room. You're a key figure in why we reached this stage. Without you, we wouldn't be able to play in our 100% during the last two games. If you don't believe me, you can ask everyone as well. Do be careful though. You'll make Satsuki jealous if everyone gets to hug you like this.” Kawakami-senpai giggled as she prolonged that embrace for a few more seconds before letting me go.

“Ah! Captain, that’s not fair!” Another starter player in their club sprang up to her feet as she pointed at Kawakami-senpai, carrying the sentiment of the others who saw that instance.

When I caught them in my vision, they all looked like they would jump at me if given the chance. Or if I followed Kawakami-senpai’s words to ask them as well…

I guess that already confirmed it.

Kawakami-senpai simply waved her hand at them though before turning to me again, “Alright, Onoda-kun. Take care of Satsuki. Keep her fully charged at all times.”

She then walked away with those who were complaining following behind her.

And this was when Kanno-senpai stepped in. She took the seat that Kawakami-senpai vacated before slapping my back. There’s a bit of force in it but it’s something I could withstand.

“Now, that’s some interesting move by Chiho. And it's hilarious to see Satsuki being this territorial. You’re one hell of a guy, Onoda.” Kanno-senpai’s laughter echoed inside the room.

Satsuki who’s curled up in my embrace couldn’t help but climb up and set herself on one of my thighs to face her senior.

“Senpai, do you also want to hug this idiot? I don’t mind. You can crush his head too.” Satsuki spoke before I could. She poked my cheeks as though she was not pleased with the expression written on my face.

Uh. I couldn’t check but it’s probably beet red from that surreal experience.

“No. I’m good… Unless Onoda wishes for it. What do you think?” Kanno-senpai smirked at me. For sure, she’s testing the waters for her own amusement.

“Don’t jest, senpai. You’ll probably see me later with bite marks on my neck.” I played along with the flow of conversation which earned me another poke from Satsuki.

Then before I knew it, her fangs had already lodged themselves on my neck.

“Later, you say?”

“I stand corrected.” I raised my arms in surrender as Satsuki’s second bite arrived.

On the side, Kanno-senpai continued laughing and as she was louder than anyone, the focus of the room returned to us.

I could see Eguchi-sensei covering her mouth from the corner… most likely giggling as well. As for Orimura-sensei… well, you can already imagine her reaction to this.

“Oh. Right. We kept hearing rumors about you. Is it true that you’re close to a lot of girls? Shouldn’t Satsuki be worried?”

“Ah… Even if those are true. There’s no reason for her to worry, senpai. You also can be rest assured.”

“Yeah. He’s an idiot who won’t let those rumors drag us down. I know all of them and there are no problems.” Satsuki added. To those unaware, it definitely sounds like Satsuki is confident that I won’t be swayed by those girls. But the reality is far from it.

Kanno-senpai stared at us for a while, possibly discerning if there was any falsehood to our statement. Obviously, she retracted it soon enough as there was no hole that she could see. And well, it’s not that offensive. She’s just worried that we might be affected by those rumors.

After talking for a few more minutes, she also left us alone. With this, I got some time to spend with Satsuki.

We took a walk outside and picked an empty room where we could finish what we started on the bus.

And when we returned, they were once again gearing up to warm up on the court while it’s still possible.

On our way out, I took that chance to separate from them again and this time, without Orimura-sensei following me.

Where will I go?

I’m just going to confirm something.

Earlier, before Orimura-sensei and I returned to this place, I caught sight of a certain goofball strutting carefreely to the entrance.

I don’t know what she’s here for but knowing her laziness to study, it might not be wrong to assume that instead of wandering around in their school grounds, she went here to cut classes.