Stealing Spree

After telling him to apologize to the girls I mentioned, I also apologized to the two girls in the room before I excused myself to leave.

I already said what needed to be said. If I stayed there, things would just continue spiraling out of control. And that’s because I wouldn’t be able to stand seeing that coward mumbling on his seat. He heard me. There’s no way he wouldn’t. Now, all I had to do was wait.

Arisa-senpai chased after me, she grabbed my arm with her shaky hands. The girl was biting her lips in a bid to restrain herself from saying hurtful words to me. And also showing up from behind her, Izumi-senpai’s gaze that was filled with extremely complicated emotions cast over me.

Nonetheless, none of the two opened their mouth to speak. What they heard and witnessed still needed to be processed. Or so that’s what I assumed.

Truthfully, I expected Izumi-senpai to fly into a rage for Ogawa but that didn’t happen. Whether it’s because she understood that there’s no point or there’s another reason, she’s the only one who would know the answer.

As for Arisa-senpai, her mind was also in a mess. She probably didn’t want to be mad at me but based on what transpired, that’s what she’s feeling.

In the end, I was successful in placing most of the blame on myself. I made it perfectly clear that I was the reason why Nami cheated. The girl fell into my clutches instead of willingly falling into it.

And the crucial part for that was how I told them that Nami already talked to Ogawa even before that confrontation that ended on the roof of this Club Building.

They should be able to understand that Nami didn’t want to escalate it further. But Ogawa still insisted in the end.

Anyway, even though Arisa-senpai stopped me, she didn’t drag me back to that room. She just watched as I gradually slid her shaky hands off my arm and resumed my steps.

I’d still see them later, anyway… Surely, they’re going to wait for me to show up in their clubroom.

And by then, their heads would already cool down and we’d have a productive conversation.

As for when I would also reveal it to the others in their group to fulfill what Shizu wanted me to do, that might also happen later, I wouldn’t care about Tadano or Taku’s reaction anyway. And Kikuchi would already have a good grasp of the events from Hina.

As much as I wanted to stay and savor the remaining time with Arisa-senpai, the atmosphere would just not be right.

Before completely leaving their sight, I showed them a smile which Arisa-senpai accepted with a weak nod while Izumi-senpai didn’t react to it.

I guess that’s how complicated it was for her… Among the two, she’s the one closest to the issue. Arisa-senpai could be said to be a bystander. She’s just concerned over all the parties involved.

–

–

Once I left the Club Building, I soon found myself back in our classroom. It’s not empty since some of our classmates conducted their Mentor Program there. There were some curious questions thrown at me about why I showed up and I simply told them that my time with my mentor was cut short.

I picked up my bag and left the room. I thought of going to Shio but that would be inappropriate at the current time so I just looked for somewhere to sit and wait for the chime of the bell.

I organized the gifts I hadn’t given to the girls yet before using my phone to contact those free again.

Well, but knowing that they should still be in class, I cut it short and urged them to focus on studying. There were complaints, especially from Elizabeth and the unruly Aoi but they eventually gave up after I sent them a photo of me.

Right… The number of times I have taken a selfie has increased ever since I took them all back… I always delete those photos though. Funnily enough, they would make their rounds among all of my girls.

Anyway, with that, I was left talking to Yue who’s currently babbling about how bored she was. Our chatbox was slowly being filled with her voice messages. It contained most of the stories she wanted to tell me as well as her singing practices. She’s lazy to type on her phone.

She did say that she was going to write another song and she already decided on the title; ‘Coincidence’. Obviously, it would be a retelling of what happened last night but she’s still on the part where she’s creating the soundtrack.

The girl has her guitar and she’s fairly knowledgeable with composing. That’s also why she easily got her fame. All her songs were written by her, be it the lyrics and the song composition. Of course, at this point, not everything was done by her. The Music Label that discovered and offered her the big break now had some obligation to her on polishing what she made, arranging it, enhancing it by also adding other instruments before recording.

Anyway, the music world she’s in now was still complicated by me but the girl enthusiastically kept filling my head with its intricacies. That’s why it wouldn’t be long before I understand how everything works.

“Hey, Ruki. I miss you.”

That’s another recording. Her voice was already filled with longing even though it was not even a day since we separated.

“Mhm… Me too.”

To satisfy her, instead of typing my reply, I also used the voice message function. However, I underestimated her enthusiasm.

As soon as she heard my reply, she videocalled me.

I looked around me, making sure that no one was around. Once I determined that it was clear, I accepted it.

I had the time, so why not?

“Really?”

And that’s her first question as soon as the call connected. Her lips were stretched wide into a satisfied grin as she sought confirmation of my response.

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No… Then, Ruki, am I one of your girlfriends now?”

Is she? Given that I was planning to meet her again and we confirmed our feelings for each other, that should be the case. But… we’re not quite there yet.

Although she stopped talking about throwing her career for me, the girl still very much likes to become mine again. Even if it would be hard for us to meet all the time.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm. Not yet… You still have to fulfill your promise to see me again.”

“See, you have the answer.”

Right. She needed to know what happened to me and at the same time, understand how complicated my relationships are. If she still wanted to be with me after hearing it, then I would gladly accept her.

I love her just as much as my other girls, after all.

“But Ruki… You love them. What about me?”

Uh. I was just thinking about that. This girl…

“Is it still not obvious?”

“I want to hear it directly from you…”

Do I still have the reason to not say it? I already admitted it to myself.

“You’re not this demanding before.”

“Blame yourself for rejecting me. I have to adapt and improvise on my approach. Hurry up. Manager is about to arrive to check on me.”

“Alright. If this will satisfy you… I love you, Yue.”

“Yes! I love you too, Ruki.” The girl squealed in happiness and after saying that, she stood up and danced triumphantly.

Well, as long as she’s happy.

A few seconds later, I heard the door of her unit opening and an unfamiliar female voice rang out, asking the girl if she needed a priest to exorcise the demon possessing her.

… Yue is not a great dancer.