Stealing Spree

Chapter 2374: Play Rehearsal

”Shall we start, Misaki?” Holding the girlʼs hand as we walked toward the middle of the floor, I checked on the girlʼs expression, making sure she was ready for our rehearsal.

She nodded firmly, her eyes already brimming with delight and anticipation for the rehearsal ahead. ”Yes, letʼs do it, Ruki.”

Misakiʼs delicate hand slowly slipped away from my hands as we took a step back from each other to get to our places. Without any audience and the clubhouse being located far from any activity hub, the quietness of the place was almost eerie. But this was perfect for us.

Unlike yesterday when I only memorized the first page of the short script sheʼd written, I dedicated a time earlier to memorize another page and then reviewed them on my way here. At the very least, I could go through with it completely even if I ended up forgetting some parts.

The story was simple. Itʼs just about two young lovers who accidentally met in a hidden garden. The young man, someone whose experiences were mired with things nobody would be proud of. And the young girl, a shy and innocent creature who hadnʼt even dipped her toes in the lake of affection much less worldly wisdom.

The young man, despite the temptation to corrupt her innocence, chose to protect her purity or so he thought until the young girl caught feelings for him.

Their meetings were limited within that hidden garden, a restricted place that was created to keep the young girl from the outside world. With the young manʼs appearance, her horizon gradually broadened until she became like a young bird learning how to spread her wings.

In a way, it drew a parallel to our story. Clearly, she wrote the script in line with our experience together minus the fact that Iʼm surrounded by other girls. In her story, there were only the two of us.

”Alright, Misaki. You start with your line and Iʼll follow.” I said, watching as she took a deep breath to compose herself.

Misaki began, her voice soft and gentle like the rustling of leaves in the wind, ”Hmm? Who might you be? How did you come here?”

Her eyes were wide with curiosity and fear, yet she managed to keep her composure, a stark contrast to the tremble in her voice. She truly was an excellent actress.

This was the first scene where the young man stumbled upon the hidden garden.

I walked towards her, matching the character of the confused young man as he looked around the place that he accidentally discovered.

”Huh? What is this place? And why are you here? Miss... are you living here?”

From here, it went from confusion to introduction as Misakiʼs character repeated her question, her eyes filled with curiosity and fear. Because she hadnʼt met anyone other than the ones who locked her up in the garden, she was wary of the young man.

I looked at her with interest as though finding a treasure in the jungle and approached her. When I reached for her hand, Misaki, who was still in character, hurriedly pulled away.

Without any props inside the clubroom, she went behind the sofa and crouched down to hide. I followed after her as the expression on my face gradually turned amused at how jumpy she

was.

The next lines were about how I introduced myself to her and we exchanged names.

And thatʼs the end of the first meeting. My character apparently ran and escaped from the same hole he exited from upon hearing the footsteps of someone coming into the garden. Then the scene changed to Misaki doing some monologue, waiting for my return.

It happened for three transitions, making it appear as though three days had quickly passed before my character reappeared in the garden.

And from there, the scene continued to flow naturally.

Misaki put a spin on how we gradually got closer. She started from the day she first approached me during that PE class wherein I asked Ryouko-san to allow the others to take a break. She switched that scene to her trying to accomplish the task of jumping ropes twenty times in a row.

She kept on failing so she eventually got exhausted. My character showed up there and told her to rest while I demonstrated to her how to do it properly.

When she completed it, she thanked me and the wariness in her eyes lessened.

After that, with every scene transition, the distance between us gradually grew closer.

Of course, my character was already tempted at that point but his restraint was clearly shown as he always ran away whenever Misaki would excitedly jump into his embrace.

It makes me wonder if thatʼs how I appeared in her eyes back then. No. Thereʼs no need to wonder. I truly kept her at armʼs length. Even if we already declared me as her close friend, I still made sure not to be overly close to her.

Alas, that didnʼt last long.

Anyway, the scene eventually reached the point where she started asking about the outside world and my character described it to her like a fantastical story.

From there, the distance between us gradually grew closer until we reached the climax of her short play.

The day she decided to come out with me to see the outside world and then return to the garden again but through the front door, implying that she talked to her family that put her in that garden. Despite already finding the freedom to leave, it became the place they considered their paradise.

There were some details that she added to not make it like a reenactment of our past so... all in all itʼs just a short, heartwarming story about an innocent girl and an experienced guy who opened her eyes to the world and accompanied her to see it.

Once Misaki said her last line, she dropped all the tension from her shoulder and immediately

ran up to me.

”Ruki! That was great!” She said energetically.

”Indeed. We nailed it but I guess we still have to nail it further. Next time we should get someone to watch.” I picked her up and moved us to the sofa where the girl immediately snuggled to my chest.

”Yes! Itʼll be perfect if we rehearse while having an audience. That way we can get feedback. Hehe.” Misaki giggled as she started drawing hearts on my chest.

Our conversation continued as we started to review our performance further. Dissecting it bit by bit which the innocent girl enjoyed a lot. And in between those, she would look up to me, her eyes and lips invitingly calling to me.

How can I resist my girl? And because of that, we eventually shared another intimate moment before returning.

She was lucky that no other girl showed up again. Most of them are busy with their clubs, after

all.

And that includes Chii whose club wasnʼt really doing anything. Itʼs just a front for the gyaru gatherings where theyʼre talking about gossip and new fashion trends.

From what I heard from Chii, An-rin and Kushii. They tend to get lost in those discussions because theyʼre not running out of topics at all.

In any case, I told her Iʼd be visiting her club soon to sneak her away. Maybe tomorrow?