Stealing Spree

Sometime later, when Reira and Nikka-senpai became more comfortable with the club, I hovered over Rumi and whispered, "I'm going to the clubhouse. Can I leave them in your care?"

"You're running away again, aren't you?" Rumi narrowed her eyes, pretending to be upset.

"Why will I run away when I promised to take our club seriously? I'm just going there to make sure everything is in order. And maybe... rehearse something with Misaki."

Taking the chance that the two girls from the Alchemy Research Club were busily reviewing our written scenarios, I hugged Rumi from behind as I whispered honestly.

"Yeah. Yeah. You're doing that already. Everyone is looking forward to this."

"Mhm. Me too." I tightened my embrace and then kissed her cheek.

Rumi tilted her head slightly so she could turn her head and catch my lips. After a swift kiss, she started squirming out of my embrace, "Go before I change my mind."

"I will. But I also have to tell the others the same thing."

"You and your due diligence." Rumi rolled her eyes unhappily. Not because of what I wanted to do next but because I kept stretching myself thin.

I thoughtfully nodded before moving to Kana, Rae, Hana, Otsuka-senpai and of course, Reira-senpai.

But just like Rumi, they all gave them a piece of their mind from my recent actions. Or maybe they'd already discussed this kind of topic among themselves since they were all experiencing the same thing with me.

"You don't have to treat everything as if you cannot miss out on things, Ruki. We're fine to miss you for a bit."

That was Kana as shyly slipped a piece of paper into my hand which had her writing that read, 'Good luck!'

"Just because we're closer to you, distance-wise, doesn't mean you have to devote every second to us. You can also say no sometimes. Don't be a fool."

That was Hana. She also mentioned what happened in the pool earlier. I put myself in a situation where I now had to answer to Umeda and those girls who heard what we did in the shower stall.

"You know, Ruki. I've been thinking how lucky we are here. The girls from the other schools are all helplessly enduring the fact that they cannot see you for more than a day or more. From my knowledge, aren't we being unfair to them?"

And that's Rae, raising a valid point.

Otsuka-senpai and Reira-senpai also had something to say but they were tamer since they didn't really know everything that was happening to me.

Anyway, I get their point. I clearly do. But I can say that it's really just me being so stubborn. I don't want to miss out on the opportunities. It's like my head is hardwired to just focus on them as soon as I catch a glimpse. That's why... I'm always reluctant to step out of a clubroom or any room where they're staying. That includes every clubroom, classroom, and office. ɽÃ𐌽ÔβΕS̩

I'm losing more time because of that reluctance.

Unfortunately, I have no remedy for that kind of behavior from me. In a way, it was like what Kaoru-san was experiencing. I just couldn't stop even if I knew I should.

Alright. Enough mulling over that problem. I know I have to fix that in the future. And I will make an effort on that... But not today, I guess?

Upon arriving at the clubhouse, I did the same routine as yesterday, checking if someone was already there and then inspecting both the interior and exterior before going to the backyard to finish weeding out the garden plots.

Right on time as I finished, Misaki arrived, jovially hopping upon entering from the front door.

Upon seeing I still had dirty gloves on, she hurriedly ran to my front, pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. Her innocent smile atop her concerned expression was unwavering, "Ruki, you shouldn't let your sweat dry. My mother said it can lead to a cold. Let me wipe your back too."

Misaki being this tenderly caring was something I found so precious. Somehow, all the reprimanding I was doing to myself for corrupting her innocence dissipated all at once. I failed to hold myself back from leaning in to kiss her, "Mhm. Wait a second. I'll remove these gloves. Wait for me there, alright?"

"Okay!" Misaki giggled, her cheeks flushing pink as she skipped away. I took a moment to appreciate the sight of her, then slipped off the gloves and stashed them aside.

When I turned back, she was holding a pitcher filled with cold water taken from the clubhouse's fridge as she filled a glass for me.

"Here, Ruki. Drink first. My mother also said to replace the water that you sweated out." Misaki offered the glass with both hands, her eyes gleaming with affectionate concern.

I took the glass from her and took a refreshing sip. The coolness spread down my throat, soothing the heat of the day. I couldn't help but chuckle at her diligence, "Thanks, Misaki. I feel like a husband getting taken care of by his wife."

"W-wife?" she squeaked out, blushing even deeper as she cupped her own cheeks. "I'm Ruki's wife? Ehehe."

Look at her. How can I resist this adorable creature?

As I put the glass down, I pulled her into an embrace and kissed her deeply, conveying my overflowing affection for her. When we parted, she was breathless but her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"Mhm. I'll marry you someday. And then we'll live together. Do you like that?" I whispered into her ear, making her body quiver from the excitement.

"I do! I will marry you. Make... babies with you. And then... we will watch them grow up." Although she's already outlining our future, the way she said it was still full of innocence. Or so I thought until I heard her next words, "Then, they will play with your babies with Maaya- sama and the other girls."

Yep. She was already too corrupted to turn back to her pure innocence.

"Alright. We'll make that happen in the future. For now... shall we start our rehearsal?"

"Heh. Yes! I memorized my script, Ruki. What about you?"

"Oh... I... memorized the first page. I'll improvise if we pass that."

"Pfft. I knew it. With how busy you are, it must be hard on you. It's fine Ruki. I'll join you in improvising. Our play will also be more natural that way." Misaki giggled, taking my hand as we moved towards the middle of the floor.

Just like this, we started our first rehearsal for our little play, the Secret Garden of Love.

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