Stealing Spree

Chapter 2012 Adorable Juniors

”Wow. Sheʼs going to record a new song? Iʼm excited! Donʼt forget to take a photo, senpai! Prove to us that youʼre there with her.”

”This girl... Do I still need to prove it to you when you have already talked to her?”

”Eh... Itʼs a lot better to have visual confirmation, no?”

”Uh... I also like to see it, Ruki-senpai.”

”You too, huh? Alright. Iʼll take a photo of us but you two have to hide it from everyone. Itʼll be bad for her career if they find out about us.”

With Umi also chiming in, can I still reject them?

Well, itʼs not like the request is difficult to accomplish. I just thought I could tease the little gremlin more.

Her reaction was just too adorable to pass up, after all.

”Yes! But senpai, youʼre being unfair... The moment Umi speaks up, you immediately caved in. Am I not your adorable junior too?”

Oh. So she picked up on it, huh?

”That... I donʼt think thatʼs the case, Sumire.”

With a flustered expression, Umi tried to refute her friendʼs claim. However, with the way sheʼs shooting glances at me, sheʼs clearly thinking of the same thing. And obviously, sheʼs happy about it, evident from her furtive smile.

I flicked Sumireʼs forehead again and squeezed Umiʼs hand at the same time.

”No. Sheʼs right, Umi. Iʼm being unfair. Intentionally at that.”

”See! I knew it. You like Umi more than me!”

”When did I say that?”

”Just now. Boo... This is why youʼre always mean to me, right? And here I thought I was your favorite junior.” Sumire put on a pitiful expression and turned her gaze away, acting like sheʼs being abandoned by me.

Concerned for her friend, Umi tugged at my sleeve. ”Senpai. I know youʼre not being mean to Sumire.”

Although sheʼs quite timid and soft-spoken, this girl knows when to open her mouth. And that too, for the sake of her friend.

”She likes Senpai a lot. And I think she wants to be comforted like me. You see...”

Her voice trailed there as she continued her words by whispering it directly to my ear. Most likely to not let anyone else hear it. Surprisingly, what she said also linked to their early departure from school.

Apparently, Sumire who thought she could practice her batting form more during lunch break was confronted by someone in the same club.

They got into a fight and it ends up with a teacher stopping them.

Although they both got sent to the Guidance Counseling Room where the counselor and other teachers investigated the root cause of the conflict, it remained undecided because the girl who started the fight lost against her and was sent to the infirmary.

Due to that, they just decided to send Sumire home first while they look after that girl.

There were witnesses so she couldnʼt really be faulted by what happened. Just that, sheʼs too strong for the girl that even a slight push was enough to knock her opponent out.

And since Umi didnʼt want to see her friend gloomy, she followed after her, ditching the afternoon classes.

Now that I think about it, Sumire was a little gloomy when they arrived. It just disappeared right away when I called out to them.

”Thank you for telling me, Umi. And you did great. Iʼm proud of you.”

”Uhm. Donʼt mention it, Ruki-senpai. Take care of Sumire for me. I canʼt comfort her by myself.”

”Sure thing. Iʼll walk you home too.”

I patted her head and put on an appreciative smile before turning to my other side.

At this point, Sumire was still sulking but she caught on that Umi told me what happened.

”What are you looking at, biased senpai?”

”Nothing. Just looking at my sulky yet adorable junior.”

”Your flowery words arenʼt helping. Hmph.”

Sumire crossed her arms and tried to slide away. However, since sheʼs already at the corner, thereʼs nowhere for her to go anymore unless she stands up and walks over to another seat.

I leaned to her side and grabbed her hand just like how Iʼm holding Umiʼs before continuing.

”You did well protecting yourself though. If that was me, Iʼd probably be suspended right away because of how severe I retaliated.”

Upon hearing that, Sumire rolled her eyes incredulously.

”I didnʼt start it. Sheʼs just jealous Iʼm replacing her to be the 4th batter. I only protected myself.”

”Mhm. Youʼre right. Thatʼs why you donʼt have to mind it. Wonʼt it end in your favor anyway? Just take this free time that they gave you to relax. I mean, isnʼt it such a great coincidence that Iʼm also leaving early? Now, I can comfort you.”

”Boo. Who says I need comforting? Just pamper Umi, senpai, since you like her more than me.”

Ah. This girl. From her words alone, I could sense that the incident wasnʼt really affecting her that much. Sheʼs more focused on the fact that I was pampering Umi more than her. Sheʼs quite a handful, isnʼt she? I never thought sheʼd easily get jealous like this.

Whereʼs my obedient Sumire?

Uh. Alright. I should stop with that. I have yet to spend a lot of time with her to figure her out completely.

At this stage, Iʼm still just her favored senior and likewise, sheʼs the junior I adore. Of course, Umi was probably different since sheʼs more expressive than this girl despite being the quiet girl.

”I never thought youʼd be this cute when youʼre jealous... Iʼm glad to be liked by my adorable junior.”

”Ugh... I donʼt like you, senpai. I just think youʼre cool. And handsome.”

”I see. Then so be it. However, Sumire. This cool and handsome senpai of yours likes you a lot.”

”... You donʼt have to say it like that. And why are you confessing inside a train?! Chii-chan-senpai will be mad at you.”

”You think so?”

”Y-yes?”

Of course she remembered the moment I called her my adorable junior in front of Chii. Itʼs not even a week since that day.

”Girl. You have a short-term memory. Wasnʼt your Chii-chan-

senpai thrilled about seeing you with me?”

”... That indeed happened. But thatʼs not the issue here!” With a panicked flailing, Sumire tried to push me away but to no avail. Iʼm kind of immovable at our current state.

”Alright. I get it. Youʼre just embarrassed. Well then, let me walk you home. I still have some spare time anyway.”

”Eh?” She widened her eyes as though she never expected me to say that.

”Umi will come with us, of course. Your houses are near each other anyway... Oh. Right. I said Iʼm going to treat you two to a meal. Letʼs go buy something on the way.”

”Wait. Wait. Idiot senpai. What are you saying? Youʼre going to walk us home?”

”Yes. I did not stutter, did I? Since you donʼt want to comfort you... Iʼll just stick with you until I see you home.”

”Unbelievable... You know you sound so pushy, senpai.”

”Am I? I donʼt care though. I mean... If I could hold your hand like this more... I can ignore all criticism from the other people.”

”Ah!”

Perhaps forgetting that Iʼm still holding her hand, Sumire seemingly got surprised at the realization that we have this connection.

She even looked around her to check if the other passengers were looking at us. Luckily for her, theyʼre all busy with their phones. Weʼre actually the only ones locked in a conversation.

Umi, who was listening from the side, started giggling. Probably amused at her friendʼs reaction. She then let go of my hand and switched to hugging my arm before interjecting, ”Sumire. You donʼt have to be shy with senpai. If he says he likes us both, heʼs being truthful about it.”

”Not you too, Umi... Ugh. Did we both get ensnared by a shameless senpai?”

”Maybe?”

Umi continued giggling while Sumire started scratching her head in frustration. She then looked at me with slanted eyebrows, rebuking me silently.

As always, I acted as shameless as she called me, stretching my lips into a grin with the whites of my teeth in full display.

A second later, her expression twisted before I felt her fingers trying to pinch a part of my arm.

And with this, the next minutes until we arrived at their station became a short teasing session for my adorable junior.

By the time we stepped out of the train and started walking down the platform, Sumire ran ahead in order to hide her embarrassment.𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As for Umi, she could only shake her head, stating she had never seen Sumire act this way before.