Stealing Spree

"I apologize first for interfering, Sara-san... You can tell me if I did something unnecessary."

After gaining some distance from where I found her, I broke the silence between us with that apology.

No matter how certain I was that she didn't like to be confronted by him there, it wouldn't erase the fact that I somehow overstepped in that situation.

If anything, the ideal move there would be just to observe first and interfere if ever the situation starts to get out of hand. That way, it will be even easier to extricate her and have more justification to do so. Contrary to that, we fabricated a lie that may or may not be revealed to that guy.

But well, it's already done so there's no going back to it anymore.

"No. You saved me there, Onoda-kun. Honestly, I don't think I can face him properly right now." Sara hurriedly shook her head before lowering her head in shame. The tone she used sounded a little gloomy with a hint of guilt.

I mean, in everyone’s eyes, she’s still in a relationship with that guy. Conflict ate away at her heart as she had no idea how to tread from here.

“Hmm? Is there a reason?”

“There is.”

Her answer was swift. Looking at her side frame, Sara was currently fidgeting a lot. Her figure was covered with uncertainty but at the same time, she was also trying to walk forward without looking back.

Most likely, she already came to a decision regarding her relationship with that guy. It’s just she’s afraid to go through with it for reasons unknown.

“I see. I won’t pry for it then but if you want someone to talk to, I can lend an ear while we’re here.”

“Thank you, Onoda-kun”

I put on a smile to help her relax as we continued on our walk away from our camp area.

I had no set destination in mind but the path we’re traversing leads to the peak. Before long, we started seeing more people who went on their way, exploring the place and taking in the scenery up here.

I shortened our distance to ensure that we wouldn’t get separated. Meanwhile, rather than grab my arm, Sara reached for the hem of my shirt.

Like this, we soon arrived at the slope leading to the peak. Since it’s already Saturday, the crowd was denser than yesterday. In any case, that worked in our favor, we could just blend with the crowd and not be bothered about unnecessary attention.

After reaching the roofed structure up there, I carefully guided her inside, making sure to avoid bumping into other guests on this hill.

I found us an open space on the left-side corner, overlooking the urban landscape of our city.

Since I said I wasn’t going to pry, I tried opening up a conversation on a different topic. For example, her college studies, Shiina, and her plans for the future.

Sara said she’s not a resident of our city. She’s from the neighboring prefecture. She’s living in a dormitory with Shiina as her roommate and she has a part-time job in a cafe to support herself outside of the allowance she’s receiving from her parents.

Once she graduates a few years from now, she’s hoping to make a break in the industry of fashion design. She’s quite confident of making gowns but she never looked at herself as someone who could wear them.

She’s more comfortable with just a mish-mash of casual outfits which kind of reflected from what she’s wearing back at that mountain.

I listened to her talk about her aspirations, experience, and such. And obviously, it became inevitable for us to talk about her current relationship and how it was failing.

“You see... I met him two years ago when I was still in high school. It’s a mixer so we initially just got paired with one another. He was cool and impressive.”

“Was? Why is it in the past tense?”

“Uhm. He’s not like that anymore. What you saw in the mountain... that’s not the first time he dropped the ball on me. He was okay in our first year but after, it’s like he got too comfortable around me that he started showing his true colors. I’ve tolerated his behavior because I loved him and he still has his cool moments sometimes.”

“I see. That’s how it is. If you love someone, you can sometimes tolerate even the most horrible thing about them. I can be one such example. I may look like I’m too considerate in front of everyone’s eyes but that’s just a part of me.”

Since she’s opening up like this to me, I decided to also do the same. She’s probably disillusioned because of how I act around her but like with Shiina, she should be someone who’s still widely unaware of how I truly am as a person.

“Just a part of you?”

“Mhm. Haven’t you seen it already? I’m not bound to a single girl. And I can say for sure that I love all of them.”

“That... It does sound bad but they...”

“They look happy?”

“Yes. They all look at you dearly. Isn’t it because of your own effort?”

“That’s true. However, Sara-san, they’re sacrificing a lot for me. Well, if they heard me saying this, I would be in for a scolding but it’s the truth. Everyone who is entangled with me accepts and is living with it. And obviously, I’m also aiming to continue like this with them. To build a future for us.”

I paused for a moment to turn my head to her. Having felt her gaze, our eyes naturally got drawn to each other when I did that. Thinking back to our first encounter where she’s almost delirious from the pain in her feet, this is just the second time that I’ve seen her closely. In my opinion, while Shiina is a shrewd woman who can be bold at times, Sara is different. She’s someone who lacks a bit of self-confidence. She mostly relies on Shiina or that guy to make her feel secure. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she returned to him despite his behavior.

“I know my perception about relationships may be skewed but Sara-san, I also know for a fact that it’s difficult to come to a decision that will change your entire world. If you’re having trouble with him, you should really talk it out. Only then will you be able to see the path ahead of you?”

Upon saying that, I put on a genuine smile before patting her head. Even if she’s a few years older than me, I couldn’t help it... She looked like she needed this kind of encouragement, after all.

She was surprised at first but her eyes never left me. In fact, she looked like she became more entranced because of my smile.

Sara then took a step closer, her hands reaching for my shirt again. Maybe to hide the changes in her expression, she eventually pressed her forehead against my chest.

Shortly after that, I heard her soft muttering, praising me.

“Really... You’re amazing, Onoda-kun.”

I couldn’t help but think of Juri. That girl who would endlessly praise me. In any case, there’s a genuine hint of admiration from Sara’s voice.

Besides, she’s not done talking yet.

“I have no reason to hide it. After meeting you yesterday, I have started avoiding him... Maybe I’m not right in the head or just guilty. I thought I could sweep away the feeling of being abandoned by him back then. That’s why I didn’t break up with him. He also put in an effort to get back my trust. But upon seeing you again and spending time with you yesterday, I started hating myself for starting to compare him to you.” Sara sighed and her grip on my shirt tightened, I could feel how heavy it was for her. And voicing these thoughts out, the load on her shoulder had started to lighten.

A few seconds later, Sara raised her head, a relieved smile present on her face.

“I’ll follow your advice, Onoda-kun. I’m going to talk to him. Thank you.”

“Well, I didn’t do anything.”

“Don’t fool yourself. You did so much. And hearing you say things about yourself also brought me courage. I’m glad you ran into us and brought me here.”

Sara reprimanded me while giggling in satisfaction. Following that, she removed her hands from my shirt and turned to face the landscape before us again, inhaling the air blowing into this hill and calming herself down.

I didn’t say anything else after that and just joined her to look at the scenery.

A few minutes later, we walked down the peak and returned to our camp.