Stealing Spree

"I gotta ask you something. What's the deal with Juri holding your hand earlier, Onoda-kun? You two look like you're in your own world back there."

That's the first question Setsuna-nee threw at me upon pulling me away from Juri. Well, not exactly pulled away like I got snatched by her but… the woman asked Juri if she could talk to me in private.

Yeah. She asked Juri instead of me. But well, there's no point nitpicking on it anymore. I'd still say yes if she asked me anyway. Rather than give her a reason to doubt me or us, it's a lot better to just be upfront with her and satisfy whatever curiosity she picked up.

At the moment, we had already left the fast-food establishment and were on our way to the bus station that would send us to the Hinatsu Lake Camp.

Given that it's in the same direction as their dorm.

Ah. Right. I had to mention that the place we met up was close to their college and the place they're staying at. It's in the northwestern part of the city, maybe a little close to the airport where I picked up my parents along with Miwa-nee. Still, it's another area altogether. There was still close to half an hour of distance between the two landmarks; on foot and by vehicle because of the usual traffic.

Setsuna-nee decided to walk with us there, not just to annoy us but also to give her reminders regarding our task. I mean, the two of them were the ones in charge of it. And apparently, the only reason Juri asked me to accompany her was that Setsuna-nee was unavailable today or tomorrow. She has a busy schedule this weekend and her only respite was during the mornings – which explained why she tagged along today.

Anyway, with that oddly specific question, there's no doubt that she saw us. She didn't bring it up in front of Juri for the simple reason of 'Juri was blameless'.

Yeah. If she had to pick between the two of us on who's the most trustworthy, she'd pick her best friend at any moment.

There's also the possibility that she didn't want to be seen as a paranoid older sister by Juri.

Uh. I could think more of other possible excuses but they're irrelevant now.

The most important thing was… she was demanding an answer from me.

"Is that how it looked? Koizumi-san was only expressing her gratitude to me. For accepting this task today and also about some other thing."

"Some other thing?"

"Yeah. Did she not tell you about last week?"

"Last week… No. What happened?"

Setsuna-nee tilted her head in confusion as she tried to dig into her memory on whether Juri told her or not. In the end, she failed to remember anything which led her to look at me with fierce eyes as though she was going to extort me of the information.

That's hardly intimidating though. I shrugged and answered vaguely.

"Well, if she didn't tell you, I don't think I have a right to divulge it to you, Setsuna-nee-san. But let's just say, she somehow ended up owing me."

"… That's suspicious."

"It's up to you how to interpret it. But Setsuna-nee, aren't you too nosy? I get it. You don't trust me but isn't this too much?"

Perhaps I hit the nail on her head, guilt flashed upon her face. To recover from it, Setsuna-nee almost raised her voice. But thanks to the public setting, she held herself from screaming.

"I'm not! I'm only looking out for my best friend and my little Satsuki… You… How should I say it… you strike me as someone very sly. I can't seem to afford to be careless around you."

Hmm? Now, that's new. I guess this was the most reasonable that I witnessed of her. I mean, she's always the unreasonable brat, doing everything on her whim.

"I see… I'm triggering your distrust, huh? If I have to guess… do my actions resemble that bastard who tried to…"

"W-what… How did you…?"

As though I once again hit another nail, the confident Setsuna-nee faltered. She blinked her eyes and almost took a step back.

In any case, I didn't call her out on it and simply responded to her with honesty.

"How did I know? Didn't we tell you about it already? Or not… Uh. I couldn't remember… But Setsuna-nee, Satsuki told me about the past incident… That's why…"

"… She told you? T-that makes sense. No wonder she's head-over-heels for you. She trusts you enough to tell you about that incident."

At this point, Setsuna-nee took a deep breath as though she was trying to calm her emotions down.

Once that was done, she stared at me straight. From how intense it was, I could feel her gaze stabbing to my face. Most likely, she's also finally going to be honest with me.

Why she wanted to keep teasing me or why she couldn't seem to trust me.

Whichever the case, I just waited for that while also checking on Juri from the distance who was looking at us worriedly. Well, she probably thought that I was getting scolded by Setsuna-nee so… she couldn't help but feel like that.

I'll cheer her up later. That way, we'll have a great time on this scouting trip.

"No. You don't remind me of that hateful bastard, Onoda-kun. This is just me being too defensive and protective. My trust in the opposite gender disappeared after what happened. Except for Ryou, our father, and my little brother, I cannot trust anyone anymore. Not even you… I know, I'm being annoying to you but I can't help it."

By the end of Setsuna-nee's response, her shoulders drooped, and her energy drained from her body. It's like she got hit by a weakness spell, lowering all her stats.

Is she feeling bad? Perhaps. But knowing her, she'd probably not be going to apologize since in her mind, all she was doing was justified.

I also couldn't find a reason to force her to apologize to me. It's not a big deal anyway. As long as Satsuki's trust in me remained intact, nothing else matters.

"Alright. That's so not you, Setsuna-nee. Don't worry about it. I understand where you're coming from. I do find you annoying like you said but I have no plans in antagonizing you every time. Let's just say, in one corner of my mind, I also want to get along with you. That way, Satsuki will be happy."

"You're all about Satsu-chan… Heh. Here I am worrying that you're trying to sway Juri to be in your favor…"

Well, she's not entirely wrong on that. But let's just be quiet and not tell her how the distance between Juri and I had already shortened to the point that we were now both interested in each other.

"If you're worried about that, I can still back down on this and call Sakuma to be the escort. I know that she came to me for this favor but if this is going to make you uncomfortable, I don't mind giving you a peace of mind."

Since she listed Sakuma as one of only three males she trusted, there's no doubt that she'd be fine with that guy going.

However, what I said was just for lip service. I mean, it's Juri who came to me for this favor, and having known how close they are as friends, there's no doubt that there's also a hint of her influence on that decision.

"No. You don't need to do that. Take care of Juri, Onoda-kun. I can see that she trusts you a lot – first time I've seen her like that."

"Now that's flattering. I'll take care of her. I'll even take a snake bite for her."

"You! Stop exaggerating, idiot. Anyhow, let's end this here. I'll try to contact you two later, to check on you. Keep your phone open."

Setsuna-nee chuckled at first before turning serious again. Then after saying all that, she walked back to Juri to say the same thing.

Somehow, the talk with Setsuna-nee could be said to be very productive. I heard her thoughts about me and why she was being obnoxious. I just had no idea if she'd continue to be like this on different occasions.

But hey, let's look at the bright side. She'd stop messing with us today or probe about things she found suspicious. That's a plus, right?

With everything out of the way, the three of us continued to the bus station.

Sticking to the plan, only Juri and I climbed up inside as soon as it arrived.

As for Setsuna-nee, she waited until the bus left before she started walking back to their dormitory.

As we watched her figure from the window, Juri silently muttered, "I'm glad you two reached an agreement, Ruki. I think Setsu will start accepting you for Satsuki-chan…"