Stealing Spree

Luckily, the cafe was pretty deserted today. Aside from a few regulars who are probably from this neighborhood, we became the only students inside.

Of course, they eyed us like we were about to skip classes. Even the owner, who I had a fairly good impression of before, wasn't smiling at our presence. But thinking about it, it's definitely not because of that reason but rather, it's because she recognized me and found that I was meeting a different girl.

Her original positive reception toward me became more full of doubt.

Ah. No. It's not just a doubt, she probably already crossed me in her ‘good customer’ list. If we got some freebies in the house back then, now, even an additional sugar for my coffee wasn't provided.

Thankfully, she's still generous with the portion of the cake. I ordered a slice for both Ririka and Ohori-senpai.

In conclusion, she's only mad at me and not at the girls, no?

Uh. I guess I deserved that.

Anyway, even though Ririka’s initial reception to seeing Ohori-senpai was quite tense, my girl did not openly act hostile towards her.

Instead, she took her chance to snatch me away from her upperclassman when arrived at the table.

Ohori-senpai whose attention was more on figuring out her identity posed no chance to fight over it. She just stared blankly at us when my girl already pulled me down next to her.

Nonetheless, that’s not enough to make Ohori-senpai back off.

She eventually sat opposite us and she got into a staring contest with Ririka wherein they sized each other up.

That didn't evolve into an actual conflict since I quickly played host, introducing the two girls to each other.

Although it's not perfect, Ririka, who already heard about Ohori-senpai from Aoi and me, significantly pulled back her hostility and showed her cheerful smile to greet her unruly senior.

Taken aback by that quick change in tune, Ohori-senpai furrowed her brows which she directed at me as though rebuking me for meddling.

I know she’s still in a state of disbelief regarding my involvement with another girl. I mean, it’s a wild thing to believe unless she saw it directly.

But as seconds passed, watching us displaying our affection for each other became like a pill of realization for Ohori-senpai.

She leaned forward on the table and intently interrogated Ririka, perhaps thinking that I was simply fooling the girl. But Ririka’s swift, unbending answers cut any more doubt from her.

Eventually, they both cracked a smile, smoothing out the tension on our table.

With Ririka having an originally kind and cheerful personality, Ohori-senpai who probably wanted to nitpick for Aoi’s sake was eventually defeated by the positive energy my girl was radiating.

A few minutes after that, Ririka started a conversation with the curious Ohori-senpai. Their topic was naturally our relationship since the latter wanted a thorough understanding of our situation.

She knew Aoi wouldn’t just accept our situation without a proper reason, but the more she heard about my history with Ririka, the more her sense of disbelief hung above her.

Ririka painted me like every woman’s ideal boyfriend who was always there for her – omitting the fact that I stole her from someone else.

“... Ririka-chan, is Onoda-kun really that much of a gentleman? I doubt it” Ohori-senpai asked

before staring at me and rolling her eyes incredulously.

“Yes! He is more than a gentleman. You see… there’s this one time where…”

Ignoring that, Ririka answered as cheerfully as ever after taking the piece of cake from the fork I lifted in front of her. She then started another story from our past.

Yep. Even with the unfriendly gaze of the owner and Ohori-senpai, I diligently doted on my girl, feeding her the cake.

Just like that, Ohori-senpai ended up running out of questions for my girl. And perhaps to mount a comeback, her focus switched back to me.

“Oi, Onoda-kun. Are you sure you’re not just fooling this sweet junior? All those stories about you sounded so unbelievably amazing. Did those actually happen?”

I wasn’t 100% certain since some of those were scenes I could vaguely recall but with Ririka retelling them like it just happened yesterday, it’s probably all true, just that it’s all within her perspective. She probably glazed it positively and removed every negative aspect of it.

“It did happen. Ohori-senpai, I’ll tell you this now. Your understanding of me is still shallow.”

“Shallow, huh? What, don’t tell me there’s more girls involved with you?”

“I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

“You!”

Before Ohori-senpai could raise her voice completely, Ririka giggled and interjected, “Hehe, don’t let him get to you, senpai. He’s intentionally provoking you. But if you really want to know… Tell Aoi to bring you around later at lunch.”

“Eh? What does that mean?”

By now, Ohori-senpai’s head was probably in a state of confusion. She started taking mouthfuls of her cake in order to keep a straight mind.

“You’ll find out later. You better be prepared though. And I’m certain, Aoi will give you a hint.”

“... Why don’t you tell me right here and now?”

“Because… you might get stuck in that seat. We still have school, senpai.”

Ririka completely took over the conversation. With a meaningful smile blooming from her lips, she looked at me and winked.

Yep. That’s her telling me to leave the matter of Ohori-senpai to them.

These girls… It’s not like I brought Ohori-senpai here to induct her into our complex relationship. But then again, Ririka most likely accurately read my intention.

I don’t mind Ohori-senpai finding out about us. In the first place, she’s not going to be a threat to us. And in this way, she’d get more help from the girls in her unresolved conflict with that cuck bastard.

Of course, I also wanted to see it through to the end. Even if it means acting as her new boyfriend to further bury that cuck’s fantasy that Ohori-senpai still loves him after the reveal of his fetish.

A while later, the three of us left the cafe. Since I still have time, I decided to escort them both to that narrow street. Also, I couldn’t just miss the opportunity to be with my girl more. It’s been a while since we’ve been together so we’re taking all those chances.

Halfway through that walk, Ririka stopped in her steps as though she remembered something else.

She then rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small paper bag, handing it to me.

“I almost forgot, Ruki. Here, you and Yue can use this later.”

Somehow, this caught me in a pleasant surprise. I peeked into the bag and saw a pair of knitted caps inside. Understanding what she meant by her words, I felt a warm surge of emotion in my chest.

This girl… She must’ve prepared this specifically for this occasion. It’s something we could use to prevent people from recognizing Yue when we walk outside the streets of Tokyo later.

It’s only recently that I learned she’s also a fan of Asahi – Yue’s alter ego – and listened to her songs numerous times before I reunited with the girl. Although they had yet to interact with each other in person, they had probably already gotten closer through their group.

“Thank you, Ririka. I’m sure Yue will also be surprised with this.” I patted her head but I eventually found that not enough to express my gratitude.

Since Ohori-senpai continued on her steps, I took that chance to pull my girl in my arms, conveying that gratitude through a long, intimate kiss.

I know this still isn’t enough but unfortunately, I have to wait for the next opportunity as we’re running out of time.

Before Ohori-senpai noticed what we did, we returned to walk alongside her. And then, I sent them off with a wave when we reached that main street leading to their school gates.

For security’s sake, I once again carefully inspected our surroundings before returning to the train station.

Our trip to Tokyo will be later in the afternoon. We may have to stay the night there and skip school tomorrow so… the girls and I planned to ask for a leave of absence from the school today.