Stealing Spree

After a short break, the gymnasium bustled with activity again as everyone prepared for the Mixed Match.

As soon as I moved over to my girls, Satsuki locked me in, not allowing me to wander back to Ryouko-san and Orimura-sensei.

"We don't need any other boys. This idiot is enough," Satsuki said, poking my chest, acting slightly annoyed. But with her hand clasped tightly around mine, it was clear she was taking this opportunity.

"Of course, why would we need them? But Satsuki, are we going to break records, or just have fun?" Nami chimed in, her eyes flicking to our joined hands, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.

"Ask him."

"Me? Well, I don't care much about winning, but I sure don't want to disappoint any of you." I shrugged, letting my gaze sweep over all of them, making sure I conveyed my sincerity properly.

Chii giggled, "Pfft. There goes Kii's glib tongue."

Her giggle was contagious which lightened the mood around us even further.

The boys who had been watching from the sidelines, casting envious glances, could only turn away. They clearly didn't want to keep witnessing me being surrounded by the girls again.

Nami amusedly smiled at me and so were Hina and Saki. Satsuki, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, clearly not fooled by my attempt at nonchalance.

The way her fingers tightened around mine, though, told me she was enjoying this moment more than she was letting on. She's pretty clever, isn't she?

"Well, we'll see if that smooth talk translates into performance," Satsuki said, a challenging glint in her eyes.

"Right," Nami nodded, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "Just don't drag us down, Ruu."

"Who's dragging who down?" I retorted, shooting them all a playful wink. "You've all got me. That's more than enough."

That act made everyone laugh, telling me it was kinda out of character for my usual cold, unfeeling exterior when in public.

Aya, who had been quietly observing from the side, finally spoke up, her soft voice cutting through the teasing. "No matter what happens, it's going to be fun. Winning or losing isn't everything, right?"

Aya's gentle optimism had its usual effect on the group, and I appreciated her for it. Unable to resist, I patted her head lightly before pulling her closer to my other side.

Soon, Satsuki's tension eased, Nami's teasing grin softened, and even Chii stopped giggling, instead giving a nod of agreement.

"Right. Fun first, winning second. But..." I echoed Aya's sentiment as I trailed my voice there, glancing at all of them, "...if we happen to break a record along the way, I won't complain."

That earned me another sweet giggle from them. The girls seemed to relax, the pressure of the upcoming match replaced with excitement.

Once we were set, we quickly formed our group.

In the original lineup, I was inserted to be the 5th runner. The Saki and Mio pair relented the position and they both volunteered to be my partner. The one who would guide me to the goal.

Then, Maaya and Misaki who managed to extricate themselves from their class also joined us, making Kushii and Shimura give up their positions to them.

When I asked what they were going to do, they pointed to the side where the other girls and boys who also wanted to try the activity gathered to form another team.

They were being led by Wakaba.

The boys included Hino, Yamada, Tadano, and Sakuma. Looks like they're going to be runners while the girls will be helpers except one.

In the end, their roster ended up with a pair of boys and girls except for Station 3 where they had to balance the ball. Kushii and An-rin took that position while Shimura ended up becoming Tadano's helper at Station 4.

Sakuma would be their initial runner with Kashiwagi as the one who would answer the riddle. He'd be in direct competition with Satsuki.

The girl wanted to try a different challenge, after all. She let Maaya and Misaki take Station 1 and she'd be the initial runner. Aya also liked it since she also likes to solve a riddle.

Hino would be on the Station 1 obstacle course with Misumi going to help him move some of the cones.

And lastly, Yamada the loudmouth on the color memorization with Wakaba as his helper. Of course, Ogawa, Fukuda and the rest formed another group but I couldn't care less about them anymore. They even pulled someone from Class 3 too.

And obviously, Class 3 could also form more groups.

So instead of the earlier two teams per gender, there would now be at least four teams competing in the Mixed Match.

Well, the purpose of this was to let everyone join the activity anyway. And looking at Ryouko- san who was pleased at this development, I would have no complaints.

Soon, as we gathered near the starting line, the energy in the gymnasium picked up again.

The mixed teams were finalized.

Compared to the other teams, our team was the only one who had one boy. Most of them were evenly mixed.

Due to that, the envious glare continued as they all vowed to humble me.

Yep. Most of them weren't focusing on breaking records any more.

Someone even voiced out his bafflement at why the girls were giving me the time of the day when my reputation as a playboy through the rumors was spread wide.

Unfortunately for him, that only earned him sharp and cold glares. And those didn't just come from my girls but the other girls too.

It's not that they're coming to my defense but they simply disdained his disparaging remarks. "So, what's the strategy?" Chii asked, adjusting her sleeves as if she was about to dive into some serious athletic planning. Hana, on her side, shook her head but I could see the same fighting spirit from her. She probably wanted to redeem herself from her earlier performance.

I smirked. "I thought we were just having fun?"

"Fun with a plan," Nami interjected, her eyes gleaming a chilling light. "We're not going to let them walk all over us, right? Someone was cursing you. We have to teach them a lesson."

Satsuki huffed, equally bothered. "As if we would."

"Alright, alright,” I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. I shouldn't let them focus too much on the idiots. This shouldn't be about me, after all. "I get it. Fun with a dash of competitiveness. Let's show them how it's done."

Soon after that, we went to our positions.

In the end, the one who would guide me to the goal ended up being Mio again.

Saki, the chance-taker, relented the spot for our Class President because she had already gotten a share of the fun.

The chance-taker girl pulled me to the side earlier where she took her share of me through sneaky kisses when no one was looking. She's incredible at finding those angles.

A minute later, the whistle blew, signaling the start of the match preparations. Ryouko-san's voice echoed through the gymnasium as she explained the rules one last time.

My girls and I lined up, ready to take on the challenge together. Each of them was determined, focused but also enjoying the thrill of it.

As I stood among them, I couldn't help but think about how far we'd come. The relay was just a game, sure, but being with them like this, sharing these moments, it felt like something more.

Mhm. It wasn't just about winning or breaking records for us as well. This was just another way for us to bond together. Our complex relationship solidified further.

The whistle blew again, marking the official start of the mixed match. And with that, we were off. Maaya who'd taken the riddle card raced through the starting line with the energy of a team that knew exactly how to have fun, her stress disappearing from her face.

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