Stealing Spree

Five minutes quickly passed inside the room after the girl who intruded into our private time exploded, denying the allegations and rumors about her. I asked her to turn around and face us but she only did it two minutes later. Reluctantly so.

That's acceptable. She's egocentric and someone who probably hates to portray herself as someone weak. It's entirely normal for her to reset her facial expressions into default and clear her head.

Then, the three of us helped our poor legs to rest by settling on the nearby chairs. Naturally, Nao and I sat next to each other while the girl sat in front of us. We also pulled some desks and joined them to make a table, setting it as a boundary or perhaps just a place to rest our arms on.

In any case, the rest of that five minutes were also spent in silence with no one starting a conversation.

Because of what happened, Nao also got a little interested in the girl given how well she handled that situation. She used that few minutes to check her out.

On the other hand, the girl, Saionji Azusa, just icily stared at me, waiting for me to open up the conversation myself. But even if her eyes were slanted like a sharp knife, she remained as smug as earlier.

Yeah. She's really one of a kind. I couldn't help but imagine what my girls, before they fell in love with me, would do in the same scenario.

Let's see.

If it was Miho, that girl would've already expressed dissatisfaction over the awkward silence.

If it's Mizuki, she'd just do her own thing like fiddling on her phone to check her important emails regarding whatever work she had on hand.

If it's Aoi, that girl would also remain silent without spending an effort to intimidate me like this. She'd simply act unconcerned or if not that, do whatever was on her mind at that particular moment.

As for the other girls who weren't as prideful, they would probably just find the situation awkward or start the conversation themselves.

Anyway, it became a staring contest for us here and whoever opened her mouth first will lose.

And guess what?

Saionji was the first to give in. Or rather, she finally noticed what was odd in me, resulting in her concentration breaking. She leaned forward and squinted her eyes to perhaps enhance her vision in this dimly lit room.

"Wait a minute! Senpai, why is your uniform different?"

"You finally noticed, huh? How long has it been?" I smirked then turned to Nao who provided an assist.

"Yeah. It took her close to fifteen minutes to notice. It's making me wonder if she's right in the head."

While looking dumbfounded, the girl alternated her gaze between us. She looked rather comical by doing that but her confusion was well placed, "Eh? What is it? What are you not telling me?"

"Alright. Calm down first, junior. No, senior. I'm not from this school. Your head must be in the clouds or something. Did you fail to notice the teacher when I passed by your classroom earlier?"

The girl's forehead creased as she put both of her hands on her head, looking like her brain was finding it difficult to digest the information. "W-what? Teacher? Aren't you—Ah! Are you the transfer student they're raving about?!"

Saionji's head must've experienced some tumultuous moment as she almost tipped over from her confusion. But then she pointed at me, bringing up the misconception of the students that saw me along with Eguchi-sensei and the others earlier.

She's really something else, I tell you.

"Transfer student? Do I look like one? No. I'm here for something else."

I turned my head to Nao, implying that she was my reason for being here.

The girl accepted that right away which was rather surprising. Not that I wasn't expecting it. With the direction of this conversation already at this point, it's only natural for her to clear up any misconception she has.

At least, her egocentrism wasn't getting in the way of that, or else, she'd really be a lost cause.

"You, you're a trespasser then! I'll report—"

"Stop there, junior. Did you say report? Do you think I will let you?" Nao immediately made her move, stopping the girl before she could finish those words.

Nonetheless, even if the girl said that, she never moved from her seat.

Saionji pointed at me. "B-but… he's breaking the rules! Senior or not, you're also breaking one! I should've understood when I saw you here… Guh!"

She then put her hands on her head, scratching her scalp and turning her hair into a bit of a mess. That showed a little irritation on her part.

"Yes, you should. But you did not. Anyway, senpai, let's move on from this and talk about you. I heard from your own mouth that you skipped the third period to search for some guy… No, not just some guy, you went out to search for me. Did I catch your interest?"

Well, if how she acted earlier could be considered her baring her real intention then my question was already answered. Just that, I needed that to steer the topic away from me.

I mean, her questions would just be endless if we kept on this or worse, she might run out on us. That would spell the end of this meeting with Nao.

Although I could simply return to Eguchi-sensei and put on an act again, the chance to roam freely would disappear.

Forget observing them or confirming their innocence, Nao and I have yet to spend some real quality time because of this girl's interruption, right? I won't accept cutting this meeting short so… this is necessary.

Before the girl could refute it again, Nao pitched in for another assist, "I heard that, junior. Your voice was kinda… loud, you know? You're here because you can't find the 'guy' you're searching for. And you even pointed at him as soon as you caught him in your eyes. Say, are you going to hit on my Ruki?"

Upon hearing that, Saionji appeared like she just choked on her spit. And with the two of us leaning bit by bit to stare her down, the girl started fumbling for a response.

However, the light in her eyes remained as strong as earlier. No doubt, she was not going to succumb easily and she'd keep holding her head high. Yep, she's also too stubborn to admit defeat.

A few seconds later, the girl closed her eyes as she exhaled a long breath through her nose. Most likely, to calm her nerves.

And sure enough, it was miraculously effective for her.

As soon as she opened her eyes again, the smug expression that broke earlier returned as she met my gaze head-on.

Ignoring Nao or perhaps just choosing me to deliver her counterattack, Saionji boldly placed her hand on my cheek, "So what of it? What's going to change if I admit that I skipped the third period to look for you? Will that change the fact that you shouldn't be in this school? Try as you will, I got the upper hand here. Junior~"

At the same time as the last word left her mouth, the girl blew her breath into my face. It's warm and fragrant like a juicy lemon scent.

But well, that's surely not what I focused on.

The girl surely knows how to handle pressure. If anything, I could only praise her for that.

Unfortunately, she's dealing with us. If someone's going to lose, it's certainly not us.

"Nao, should I?" Without breaking gazes with Saionji who was about to turn her smirk into a satisfied grin, I raised a vague question to my girl.

And sure enough, since she heard Saionji's words clearly, she understood what I meant.

"Yes, Ruki. There's no other choice." Nao answered before standing up and moving next to the girl.

Yeah. This feels like that time three years ago when I was dealing with a girl I targeted. Although not that similar in situation, I would always turn to Nao for the green light before changing tactics. And like a proper assistant, she'd position herself expertly to prevent any error.

Seeing Nao next to her and noticing the sudden shift in the mood, Saionji cautiously leaned back, retracting her hand back. "What? What will you do?"

Sensing the hint of unease in her voice, I chased for her hand and grabbed it on hold, "Nothing much, senpai. I just thought I should respond to the interest you've shown towards me. I mean, it's an utter waste of opportunity, right?"