Stealing Spree

Chapter 2324: Youʼre welcome

Fuyu greeted us with her usual composed demeanor, offering a small smile as she slid into the seat next to me. Machida, on the other hand, seemed a bit hesitant at first when she saw me but quickly followed suit, sitting at Akaneʼs other side.

Of course, we expected Fuyu to join us but Machida was an entirely new addition that put Fuyu in a bit of a bind, considering she was still trying to keep our relationship a secret from others except Akane, her friends and strangers who had nothing to do with us.

The girl just sneakily grabbed my hand and hid it behind her bag as our fingers entwined. Her cheeks became twinged with a hint of red but she kept her expression straight. Sheʼs getting good at this.

”As always, you two cannot stop showing off,” She commented while looking at Akane who was pretty much snuggled at my side. My silly wifeʼs arms were wrapped around my waist while her head was comfortably resting on her shoulder.

With her quirk actively making her more clingy and possessive, Akane playfully stuck out her tongue at Fuyu, not knowing that the girl already captured my hand in hers, ”Fuyu, are you jealous?”

”Why will I be jealous?” Fuyu rolled her eyes and pretended not to be affected. Her grip on my hand tightened slightly as she glanced at Machida who looked a bit out of place.

Machida cleared her throat, finally speaking up. ”Is this how it always goes with you two? No wonder everyone kept on talking about Akane and Onoda-kun ruining their morning whenever they spotted you on this train,”

Her tone was neutral, but the way her gaze darted between Akane, Fuyu, and me betrayed her amusement. For the past few days, this girl had already gotten closer to Akaneʼs group. Although it was probably still a little strained when it came to Eri and Futaba because of the past incident, I doubt it would last that long.

But then again, Machida still has her own group. I donʼt care about them but if Machida eventually grows closer to Akane and the others, my possessiveness will surely get triggered if the boys in Machidaʼs group try to interact with them as well.𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Iʼm sure Akane can shut them down but wonʼt it be troublesome for her? Weʼll see.

”Machida-san, you can only get used to this scene. Akane and Ru- Onoda-kun never bothered with rumors about them. Akane even thrived in it,” Fuyu almost slipped by calling me intimately there but she quickly recovered.

Machida surely picked up on it but the girl only raised her brows as her eyes focused on me.

I winked at her, making the girl quickly avert her gaze.

”Y-yeah. I can see that. This is, like, normal for them now. Itʼs still surprising to see the silent Onoda-kun from last year turn into this... popular guy that everyone has talked about recently.

Akane giggled before proudly declaring, ”Thatʼs because you all overlook how handsome and cool husband is!”

Machida didnʼt respond immediately, her cheeks subtly reddening as she looked away again. ”Well, itʼs... I wonʼt deny that.”

Fuyu raised an eyebrow as she probed the girl, ”Whatʼs that Machida-san? Are you also getting curious about Onoda-kun, too? I noticed last time you couldnʼt look him in the eye.” ”I-itʼs not that! I just...” She almost stuttered but perhaps remembering what she witnessed at our house last time, she couldnʼt finish her words. She took a deep breath and tried to change the subject ”Anyhow! Itʼs quite rare to run into you here. This should be the first time... Onoda-kun is so dedicated, escorting Akane to school when his school is on the other side.”

Before things got more awkward for Machida, I helped her transition out of that topic, ”Well, isnʼt this normal for a boyfriend? Iʼm just doing my duty for my girl. In any case, Itʼs nice to have you with us, Machida. You know you can ignore me and talk to them.”

She glanced at me, her expression softening slightly. ”Thanks, Onoda. But itʼs impossible to ignore you. Not when you have that much presence.”

”Hehehe, I know right? No one can ignore husband anymore.” Akane was more pleased to hear that than me.

As for Fuyu, she pressed her thumb in the middle of my palm, conveying the same sentiment as Akane. But when I glanced at her, her cheeks were puffed up while staring at Machida.

Was she jealous that someone else was praising me? How adorable.

The train continued its steady pace, and the four of us settled into a more casual conversation. Of course, I forced them to stop talking about me and changed the topic to the happenings in their school.

Since my news came from multiple sources - my girls - I was pretty much updated on their school even though I wasnʼt attending there. However, given that theyʼre all different perspectives, sometimes the information is inconsistent. And now, with the addition of Machidaʼs point of view, it added to the jumbled mess.

At the very least, I was asking them to clarify things that I took an interest in. So far, apart from my girls, Iʼm more focused on dealing with the flies buzzing around them.

The seeds I planted had yet to fully grow so... I still have to wait before reaping them. But I still have a few seeds I hadnʼt planted. Itʼs hard to spot those other flies, after all. Before long, the train reached the station and we were joined by Eri and Futaba again. When they saw Machida, they all greeted each other with stiff smiles. It was so forced that Akane and Fuyu called them out for it. I also stepped in, telling them that itʼs fine to feel conflicted. After all, itʼs difficult to forget things especially if what happened has affected them a lot.

Machida tried to excuse herself, thinking that she was making things awkward but with the train car already crowded, it was impossible for her to do it. Left without a choice, she bit her lips and tried to act normal.

Likewise, Eri and Futaba focused their attention elsewhere - me.

”Oh. By the way Ruki, I heard from Akane. Youʼre having a swimming class today, right? Lucky the girls from your school. They will be able to see you in your swimming trunks. Not to mention, your chiseled body youʼre hiding beneath your shirt.” The tomboyish Eri impishly mentioned, making the ears of the other girls perked up.

Yep. Even the girls not involved in our group all looked at me or rather, their eyes homed into my chest where Akane was currently resting comfortably.

Noticing those gazes, my silly wife glared at the other students in the train car, making them avert their eyes right away, their faces crimson red from embarrassment.

... Wait. Shouldnʼt I be the one to be embarrassed? Yeah. Right. Thatʼs impossible. When I looked at Eri, she had this smug smile on her as though she had just done a good deed. When she noticed me staring at her, she winked and grinned before gesturing with a peace sign and mouthing silently, ”Youʼre welcome, boy bestfriend.”