Stealing Spree

Chapter 1333 Appreciation

I approached Eguchi-sensei like she asked me. Having the idea of what was on her mind, I obediently sat down next to her, close enough for our shoulders to touch.

Compared to before when she would reflexively back away at the slightest touch, Eguchi-sensei welcomed that contact.

Nonetheless, because of her thick tracksuit, there was not much in terms of real physical contact. The best I could sense was the softness of her arm as well as her somewhat milky scent that I admit I kinda missed.

Perhaps we’re both waiting as to what the other would do, silence found its way into the room. We could hear nothing except the sound of our breathing and tick-tock from this room’s wall clock.

After that instance last Friday, although I still stood by the notion of letting whatever’s between us develop as slowly as possible, it also pushed me past the point of simply acting passively around her.

That’s why I soon made the first move by dropping my hand on top of Eguchi-sensei’s hand. Coincidentally, her hand sat atop her supple thighs.

As my fingers slipped through the gaps in her hand, Eguchi-sensei’s first reaction was to turn her head to me. While wearing a complicated expression, she asked, “Onoda-kun, what is this about?”

“I feel like something’s holding you back, sensei. Take this as encouragement, I guess?”

Last time, I noticed that she wouldn’t really do anything without a proper reason. But with this, I had just given her one.

“Encouragement, huh? I like it.” As expected, accepting my words easily, Eguchi-sensei thoughtfully smiled while looking down at our hands.

A few seconds later, I could feel her joints moving subtly. Looks like she wanted to do something else but found it hard to act on it.

Catching up on that, I could feel my lips stretching to the side as I leaned close to her ears, “Will sensei like this too?”

Upon saying that, I used my other hand to hold her wrist. Following that, I lifted my hand for a moment to turn her hand around. And with palms opened up, I simply slipped back my hand in and grasped them tightly.

With my eyes closely watching her reactions, Eguchi-sensei had started turning red from embarrassment. But as though she was trying to maintain her composure, the woman curled her fingers as well, copying what I did.

“Onoda-kun, you can’t tease your teacher like this.”

“I’m not teasing you, sensei.”

“Yes, you are. Wait.” Not wanting to back down, she once tightened her grip on my hand. But a second later, she loosened it up and pulled her hand away from my grasp.

I thought she would stop this dangerous situation, however, her attention actually went to the door. And after deliberating for a good few seconds, she stood up and approached it.

She then glanced back at me to check my reaction. Upon seeing me the same as earlier, she bit her lips before turning the lock on her door.

And with a soft voice, she muttered, “Uhm, Onoda-kun, don’t misunderstand. This is a precaution. If Sanae sees us holding hands, she’ll get the wrong idea.”

Or so she said, but knowing that friend of hers who’s already aware of her infatuation towards me, it’s already not a matter of whether she would get a wrong idea or not but what her reaction would be if she saw us being all over each other.

In any case, without waiting for my response, she returned to my side and the same as last Friday, she climbed up the sofa and laid down.

This time, even without her prompting, I boldly did the same after removing my shoes. But instead of laying down by her side, I dropped a hand on her side close to the backrest before climbing up.

Naturally, I didn’t put her weight on her, instead, I used my arms to prop me up while looking down from above.

Eguchi-sensei’s body seemingly froze at this unexpected move from me. Her legs straightened completely and her hands went to her face, covering the furious blush.

At this point, I chuckled as I playfully said, “Alright, I’m sorry for scaring you, sensei. I’ll obediently lay next to you.”

I already got the reaction I wanted to see, after all. She’s adorably beautiful and utterly vulnerable. Perhaps, if I lost my reason there, I would already be ravaging her at this very moment.

In any case, I understood that I shouldn’t push her to the point of forcing her to abandon the rule she made for herself. The consequence of that could be the woman coming to hate herself for succumbing to her urges.

Although locking the door was already close to that, she probably only did that to prevent any intervention by Orimura-sensei.

Leaving my hand pressed on the other side, I slowly laid down on her side. As a result, I still ended up hugging her.

Seconds passed by quickly and perhaps after recovering from what I did, Eguchi-sensei pouted her lips when she eventually turned to face me.

That’s rare but at the same time, it fits her beautiful face. I could snap a picture of it if I could.

After staring me down like that, she exhaled and bashfully muttered, “Onoda-kun, you could’ve asked me if that’s what you want. If it’s how I can show my appreciation to you then… it’s fine to have you on top of me.”

This woman and her choice of words… Couldn’t she choose another phrase for it? But then again, it’s Eguchi-sensei we’re talking about. As someone not used to this kind of thing or just being close to the opposite gender, it’s like a natural response to her.

“I don’t think that’s how this works… Correct me if I’m wrong but I shouldn’t be the one to decide, right?”

Upon mentioning that, Eguchi-sensei seemingly got tickled awake as her body jolted a bit.

While wearing a shameful expression, she stuttered an answer, “T-that’s true…”

“Ah. One more thing, sensei. Since I’m the one going to be spoiled here, I’ll leave everything to you. Holding your hand earlier doesn’t count though.” Before her shame prevented her from doing anything, I pushed myself closer to her, enough for her bountiful front to press against my chest. My arm behind her also tightened a bit and slid down just above her plump behind.

Eguchi-sensei squirmed a bit from what I did. Nonetheless, it’s successful to bring her back to normal.

“Is it just me or you’re getting bolder, Onoda-kun?” She doubtfully asked as she tried to read my face.

I put on a smile and shamelessly nodded,

“Yes, sensei. You see, I think we’re going to run out of time before you can show your appreciation to me… That’s why I’m sorry if I take matters into my own hands. Yep, like holding your hand earlier.”

“Onoda-kun…” With a pained look on her face, Eguchi-sensei wryly smiled, “You’re right, I’m dilly-dallying on how I should approach the subject to you… Does this mean you’re also looking forward to this?”

“Guiltily so.”

“I thought you were the perfect student but you can also be shameless, huh?”

“Ah. That’s a trait of mine, sensei.”

Right. This woman had no idea how shameless I could be. Although it was probably hinted at when she heard about that ‘shower room incident’ with Orimura-sensei, she didn’t actually place a ‘shameless’ mark on my name. If I’m not wrong, she just considered it as my youthful whim to spend time with Satsuki.

“Is it now? That’s surprising.”

“Actually, it’s not. You can see it in how I am treated by Orimura-sensei. In her eyes, I’m this shameless student who might bring harm to you.”

“Harm to me… Isn’t it the other way around?”

“Hmm. I don’t think so. Don’t I have the choice to reject this? Look at me, I’m enjoying this moment with you, sensei.”

“Now that you mentioned it…” Eguchi-sensei muttered silently as her voice trailed there. Looking at her clear eyes suddenly getting muddled – perhaps, because she realized that I could’ve rejected everything from the start – I waited for her next words.

However, after another minute, Eguchi-sensei closed her mouth, not daring to open it again.

“Sensei?” I called out to her but the woman’s response was slightly unexpected.

She lifted her arm and quickly turned around as though she was trying to escape. Nonetheless, because of our current situation, that was hardly an escape.

In fact, she actually put us in another daring situation. With my arms still stretched around her, our situation switched from cuddling to spooning.

Sure, that wasn’t her intention at all but the woman realized it too late. Before she could turn around again, I already adjusted myself to this position. My arm tightened around her navel, pulling her lower body closer. Furthermore, my upper body slid upward, enough for my chin to latch on her shoulder.

At this point, I called out to her again, this time, whispering directly to her ear, “Sensei, if you tell me to stop, I will. But I like being this close to you. That’s the only reason why I never rejected.”

I naturally didn’t bring up Satsuki. The same as last Friday, this should only be counted as her show of appreciation to me. If the girl was brought up, the illusion she created using that excuse would shatter.

And I could already imagine how this woman would react if that happened. Rather than becoming mad at me, she would feel guilty for seducing me or something close to that.

By only keeping our conversation around the bubble of ‘appreciation’, I could prevent Eguchi-sensei from breaking down.

Of course, as our bond continues to push us closer to each other, it will soon reach the point that we have to address it. When that time comes, I will naturally do my best not to lose her.

A few seconds later, Eguchi-sensei finally reacted. The woman faced me with a bashful smile on her lips, “Me too, I like being this close to you, Onoda-kun.”