Stealing Spree

After saying that and ending it with a threat, I brought Hina away from that place. I heard Ogawa muttering something as he called out to me but it's still his fantasy so I ignored it completely.

How many times did I hit him with truths? But as always, he had gone back to that safe zone of his.

Honestly, I was already itching to deal with him but in consideration of Nami, I couldn't yet.

There's the risk that he would lose it now and tell everyone what's going on.

Surely, if he did that, he was going to ask the others in their circle for support.

In any case, it's something that would still happen sooner or later. What I had to prepare for was the aftermath.

"Onoda. I will stop you from what you're doing! I will take her back! She's mine!"

Before we left that place, Ogawa's voice reached my ears for the last time. Surprisingly, his words were now bereft of his fantasy.

Ah. The last sentence was still his fantasy.

"Really? Do your best then." Without looking back at him, I flatly responded.

If he wants to challenge me then he's free to do so. No matter what he will do from now on, Nami will still be my girl.

Naturally, I will not be so confident. Being overly confident is fatal. Underestimating someone has never been included in my dictionary.

I can speculate and predict what he will do but there's always a window for accidents.

And that's what I need to prevent or rather, to dampen whatever it might bring.

After messaging Nami and the others that I might come later than I told them and updating them of what happened, I brought Hina to the abandoned clubroom where we're doing the Mentor Program with Izumi and Arisa-senpai.

She's not that shaken and I only showed up to stop her from defending me.

The reason she stopped talking was also because of me. Holding her like that, I prevented her from saying anything more.

"I'm sorry for butting in. I couldn't help it. I felt bad when you defended me while I really did what he said."

After settling her on the chair Izumi-senpai was using, I pulled my chair and sat in front of her.

It's in line with what happened before. Because she thought Ogawa was smearing my name in front of her, that trait of hers which showed before when Izumi-senpai was badmouthing me in front of her resurfaced.

"I thought he had already changed. Ruki. In one corner of my mind, I hoped to be accepted by him… In the end, it will not really happen."

"At the moment that's impossible for him. You heard him, right? He's holding onto the fact that he confessed to Nami and she accepted. Perhaps there's a chance for him to change in the future. The question is… Are you willing to wait for it?"

Am I raising her hopes up? No. I'm just echoing what she heard earlier. In the end, she would also end up with that realization.

Before she could open her mouth to answer me, I continued. "No. You don't need to answer that question in front of me. You know what I feel for you. I'd rather not hear about that and just wait for your decision. In any case, I ought to thank you for what you did. I appreciate it a lot."

After saying that, I cupped her right cheek in my palm and caressed it.

Hina closed her eyes, trying to feel the warmth from it as she held my hand in place.

After a while, Hina raised her head and put me in her eyes. With how close we were, I could clearly see my reflection in it.

"I like you, Ruki…"

"But?" With how she trailed her voice, I beat her to say it first.

And I was right. Upon hearing it, she lowered her head again, afraid or perhaps ashamed to meet my gaze.

"But, I also like Kazuo. You see. Ever since we're young. I am with him for the longest time and at the same time, he's with me for the longest time. We even often took baths together when we're unaware of the things between a man and a woman. That's how close we were before… I thought there would be a time one day where we would naturally become a couple. Not just thought. I hoped for it… And I was still hoping for it to happen..."

At this point, I felt the warm tear running down from her eyes through my hand holding her cheek. Her voice also slowly cracked the more words she spoke.

Perhaps I was wrong with my earlier assessment towards the extent of her like for that Ogawa.

This girl, she's the one closest to how Akane is towards me.

However, my appearance in her life slowly changed her. She's still hoping for Ogawa but now, she doesn't know what to do with her feelings towards me.

She thought of giving me her first kiss because Ogawa wouldn't take it from her. She thought of drawing close to me because Ogawa wouldn't do it for her.

In truth, this girl probably thought of only using me to become her outlet to vent her frustrations. Furthermore, by being close to me, it was also her way to get back at Nami for taking Ogawa's attention and affection from her.

That's the scheme she created to make her become the final winner.

However, something went wrong.

What she's thinking in her head and what actually happened to us was different. She ended up liking me or perhaps loving me for real. And now she's in a deep pit she dug herself.

At this moment, she's at a real crossroad. Unlike me, she could only choose one.

Obviously, it's impossible for her to be like me. There's something wrong in my head while she's just a maiden in love with her childhood friend and now with another guy who appeared before her, that's more forward than that childhood friend of hers.

I was the exact opposite of Ogawa, that's why she ended up liking me as well. However, between the two of us, it's still Ogawa for her.

"I understand. Follow what your heart is telling you, Hina." I answered as I wiped her tears with my fingers, trying to stop them from staining her beautiful face.

It's ironic of me to mention heart when just a few months ago, I was heartless enough to remove everyone from my life regardless of whether they want it or not.

But that's how it is. With this short conversation of ours, it's too clear that for Hina… It's that coward who's winning.

I can scold her for that scheme of hers but as I said, the end doesn't justify the means. She still ended up liking me which is part of my goal of stealing her. Just not enough to completely lean onto me. Besides, it's still based on my speculation about the things that happened and the words that she said. Moreover, I also had no plans to confront her about it whether it was true or not.

Will I accept this as a loss? Honestly, I don't know. I still want her but I also don't want to force her. The decision is all on hers.