Stealing Spree

With the appearance of Sumire, things took a turn to an awkward path. Well, not really that awkward, the prospect of hearing Hana's response went down or would be delayed until later.

Besides, forgetting that she was afraid of Chii, the newcomer quickly passed through the other passengers, arriving in front of us. And with a rather mischievous expression on her face, she leered at the downcast girl next to me, her round eyes overflowing with interest.

Without withdrawing her gaze from Hana, Sumire shrewdly raised a question to me, "Senpai, is it just me or this girl is too close to you?"

The respectful tone she had for me was nonexistent when she addressed Hana simply as 'this girl'. But I couldn't fault her for that. She's a stranger to her, after all. And as a clever girl who could pick up the subtle hint presented in front of her, she would always take the side of her feared yet respected senior, Chii.

"Hmm? Is she?" Instead of answering straight, I uttered an ambiguous reply that made the girl's cute eyebrows curl.

True, I could've answered that with a swift denial but somehow, my mind got distracted by the girl's soapy fragrance and more…

Her lush dark gray hair still looked a little wet which meant she had just taken a shower. Furthermore, her current attire of a navy-blue shirt that's a little loose on the side was paired with her track pants. It looked great on her and there was a high chance that she had just finished her club practice.

But that's not the main problem.

At our distance and with the way she was leaning slightly, Sumire unknowingly opened up a window where it was possible to peek inside her slightly loose shirt. That's probably a careless mistake or she's just that uncomfortable in front of me allowing her to remain unguarded. Either way, we're in public transport crowded with other male passengers.

Did I look? Yeah. I honestly did but I would argue that it was inevitable. Thankfully, with Sumire's body still in its development phase like Ria – or Akane considering Ria's development was on the slow side – the best I could see was her sports bra and the small peach-sized bulge it was covering. And maybe her surprisingly chiseled athlete's body as well as her smooth navel.

Alright. There was a lot to see inside that shirt that would make a boy go crazy.

Nevertheless, I quickly pulled my gaze up before I put myself in a situation where she could catch me staring heatedly like the pervert that I am.

It's one thing to be self-aware of it and it's also another to be kind enough to those favored. Besides, it's not appropriate with the current situation, right?

Using my total brain capacity for a few seconds, I swiftly made a decision on what to do.

To not let the other men around us also take a glimpse of the girl's carelessness, I first reached for her duffel bag and pulled it to her front.

And using that as a cover, I pushed it to her chest with a little bit of force.

Sumire was naturally taken aback at what I did. Yet, I put my belief in her and she did not disappoint.

Hugging that bag and also catching my hand to use as her base support, the girl proved that she was not just a simple fanatic but a certified athlete. Within that split second, she successfully managed to stable her footing before shooting her gaze at me.

Her adorable face then curled up in a frown as her small lips compressed into a pout.

"Guh. Senpai, I only asked a question. Do you really need to push me? I demand an explanation."

Sure enough, she interpreted what I did as my way to fully deflect her question about Hana's identity.

"Sumimin, instead of frowning at Kii, you should thank him for what he did."

Rising up for my support, Chii, whose attention refocused on the girl, expressed.

Well, if I was a character from those romantic comedy shows that always make the main character like a panicky idiot who cannot even make a poker face, Sumire would be able to understand my intention due to my reddened face and awkward acting of not looking at her.

But no, I kept up my normal expression and didn't even flinch at her glaring eyes.

"No. It's fine, Chii. It's my fault for pushing her." I tamed the girl at my left who would probably try to scare her junior again.

Obviously, Sumire caught that and a bewildered expression soon replaced her frown.

"Huh? What am I missing, Chii-chan-senpai, Ruki-senpai?"

"Nothing much. Come on, here you can take my seat." Working with the same common sense that I learned from Chii about giving up my seat instead of asking someone else, I already stood up even before any of the three girls could react.

And of course, it resulted in my arms slipping away from both Chii and Hana's grasp.

"T-that—"

Sumire was about to say something but she failed to finish it when I already stood behind her and urged her to sit down.

And with that, the girl reluctantly sat down before cautiously looking at the two girls beside her.

Chii playfully grinned and put her arm around the girl right away. On the other hand, Hana, whose wandering thoughts probably returned after I pulled my hand from her, tilted her head at the unfamiliar girl.

Well, ignoring the attention we got from this small scuffle, I made the introduction before Sumire broke down in fright. "Alright, Sumire, she's Hana. Our classmate. And Hana, that's Sumire, you can say she's our junior."

"Eh? H-hana-senpai? Y-you're beautiful!" Sumire exclaimed upon fully gazing at Hana's face. Yeah. That reaction was the same as most people's.

As for Hana, given that there are a lot of things going on in her mind, she mindlessly nodded at Sumire before staring back at me.

This time, however, she openly reached for my hand and said, "I… I'll look at things from a different perspective like you advised me to do…"

Haa… Alright, I appreciate that she successfully reached for an answer but shouldn't she time that properly? Not when there was someone unrelated to our complicated situation right next to her?

Oh!

No. Wait… It's my blunder once again.

Hana probably thought that Sumire was just the same as everyone. My girl. Hence, she didn't really care if the girl heard or saw what she was doing.

As the urge to facepalm said hello in my mind, Sumire's quirky head started moving quickly, alternating between the three of us.

First to Chii, then to Hana, and lastly, to me. "W-what is the meaning of this, senpai?"

Although she stuttered a bit, the confusion on her face said everything she wanted to express.

In any case, Chii moved quicker than me. She covered the girl's mouth and started whispering to her. For the span of a few seconds, Sumire's confused face switched from enlightenment to shock and eventually horror.

By the time Chii let go of her, Sumire pouted at me again and reached for my hand before pulling me down to squeeze between Chii and her.

Hana, who failed to follow what exactly was happening, raised her brows and let go of my hand after considering the situation.

And there, after what felt like a struggle to squeeze in my butt on that narrow space, Chii eventually placed herself on my lap as if it were the very natural thing to do.

At this point, our little group truly became the center of attention by now. Along with the gasps and murmurs from around us, Sumire pinched my ear before whispering in my ear.

"Senpai, should I be disappointed in you or not? I know it's not my place to raise questions but what exactly is happening? I'm really confused… Chii-chan-senpai isn't mad that Hana-senpai held your hand… What are you?"

This… I have the same question. What is happening? How did it come to this? It's becoming too complicated.

But then again, isn't this the consequence of my actions? I could shut out Sumire from prying about our situation but that didn't feel like the correct move here.

Glancing at Chii who calmed down our confused junior, I was met with a rather playful yet guilty grin as she also pressed her lips to my ear and whispered, "It's like this, Kii. Let me handle Sumimin at the next station. You two can go ahead to meet Hifumi. I'll catch up. However, I don't think she'll forget what she saw here. You either have to explain it to her on the next occasion or just ask her to stop prying…"

Uh. That's a good plan, alright. But that means, Hana and I will be alone until we meet up with Hifumi… Is this also Chii's way of setting things straight with Hana? I think my head will hurt if I continue speculating like this.

I guess I should just let nature take its course and at the same time, make use of every situation presented to us.

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