Chapter 2012: Adorable Juniors

"Wow. She's going to record a new song? I'm excited! Don't forget to take a photo, senpai! Prove to us that you're there with her."

"This girl... Do I still need to prove it to you when you have already talked to her?"

"Eh... It's a lot better to have visual confirmation, no?"

"Uh... I also like to see it, Ruki-senpai."

"You too, huh? Alright. I'll take a photo of us but you two have to hide it from everyone. It'll be bad for her career if they find out about us."

With Umi also chiming in, can I still reject them?

Well, it's not like the request is difficult to accomplish. I just thought I could tease the little gremlin more.

Her reaction was just too adorable to pass up, after all.

"Yes! But senpai, you're being unfair... The moment Umi speaks up, you immediately caved in. Am I not your adorable junior too?"

Oh. So she picked up on it, huh?

"That... I don't think that's the case, Sumire."

With a flustered expression, Umi tried to refute her friend's claim. However, with the way she's shooting glances at me, she's clearly thinking of the same thing. And obviously, she's happy about it, evident from her furtive smile.

I flicked Sumire's forehead again and squeezed Umi's hand at the same time.

"No. She's right, Umi. I'm being unfair. Intentionally at that."

"See! I knew it. You like Umi more than me!"

"When did I say that?"

"Just now. Boo... This is why you're always mean to me, right? And here I thought I was your favorite junior." Sumire put on a pitiful expression and turned her gaze away, acting like she's being abandoned by me.

Concerned for her friend, Umi tugged at my sleeve. "Senpai. I know you're not being mean to Sumire."

Although she's quite timid and soft-spoken, this girl knows when to open her mouth. And that too, for the sake of her friend.

"She likes Senpai a lot. And I think she wants to be comforted like me. You see..."

Her voice trailed there as she continued her words by whispering it directly to my ear. Most likely to not let anyone else hear it. Surprisingly, what she said also linked to their early departure from school.

Apparently, Sumire who thought she could practice her batting form more during lunch break was confronted by someone in the same club.

They got into a fight and it ends up with a teacher stopping them.

Although they both got sent to the Guidance Counseling Room where the counselor and other teachers investigated the root cause of the conflict, it remained undecided because the girl who started the fight lost against her and was sent to the infirmary.

Due to that, they just decided to send Sumire home first while they look after that girl.

There were witnesses so she couldn't really be faulted by what happened. Just that, she's too strong for the girl that even a slight push was enough to knock her opponent out.

And since Umi didn't want to see her friend gloomy, she followed after her, ditching the afternoon classes.

Now that I think about it, Sumire was a little gloomy when they arrived. It just disappeared right away when I called out to them.

"Thank you for telling me, Umi. And you did great. I'm proud of you."

"Uhm. Don't mention it, Ruki-senpai. Take care of Sumire for me. I can't comfort her by myself."

"Sure thing. I'll walk you home too."

I patted her head and put on an appreciative smile before turning to my other side.

At this point, Sumire was still sulking but she caught on that Umi told me what happened.

"What are you looking at, biased senpai?"

"Nothing. Just looking at my sulky yet adorable junior."

"Your flowery words aren't helping. Hmph."

Sumire crossed her arms and tried to slide away. However, since she's already at the corner, there's nowhere for her to go anymore unless she stands up and walks over to another seat.

I leaned to her side and grabbed her hand just like how I'm holding Umi's before continuing.

"You did well protecting yourself though. If that was me, I'd probably be suspended right away because of how severe I retaliated."

Upon hearing that, Sumire rolled her eyes incredulously.

"I didn't start it. She's just jealous I'm replacing her to be the 4th batter. I only protected myself."

"Mhm. You're right. That's why you don't have to mind it. Won't it end in your favor anyway? Just take this free time that they gave you to relax. I mean, isn't it such a great coincidence that I'm also leaving early? Now, I can comfort you."

"Boo. Who says I need comforting? Just pamper Umi, senpai, since you like her more than me."

Ah. This girl. From her words alone, I could sense that the incident wasn't really affecting her that much. She's more focused on the fact that I was pampering Umi more than her. She's quite a handful, isn't she? I never thought she'd easily get jealous like this.

Where's my obedient Sumire?

Uh. Alright. I should stop with that. I have yet to spend a lot of time with her to figure her out completely.

At this stage, I'm still just her favored senior and likewise, she's the junior I adore. Of course, Umi was probably different since she's more expressive than this girl despite being the quiet girl.

"I never thought you'd be this cute when you're jealous... I'm glad to be liked by my adorable junior."

"Ugh... I don't like you, senpai. I just think you're cool. And handsome."

"I see. Then so be it. However, Sumire. This cool and handsome senpai of yours likes you a lot."

"... You don't have to say it like that. And why are you confessing inside a train?! Chii-chan-senpai will be mad at you."

"You think so?"

"Y-yes?"

Of course she remembered the moment I called her my adorable junior in front of Chii. It's not even a week since that day.

"Girl. You have a short-term memory. Wasn't your Chii-chan-

senpai thrilled about seeing you with me?"

"... That indeed happened. But that's not the issue here!" With a panicked flailing, Sumire tried to push me away but to no avail. I'm kind of immovable at our current state.

"Alright. I get it. You're just embarrassed. Well then, let me walk you home. I still have some spare time anyway."

"Eh?" She widened her eyes as though she never expected me to say that.

"Umi will come with us, of course. Your houses are near each other anyway... Oh. Right. I said I'm going to treat you two to a meal. Let's go buy something on the way."

"Wait. Wait. Idiot senpai. What are you saying? You're going to walk us home?"

"Yes. I did not stutter, did I? Since you don't want to comfort you... I'll just stick with you until I see you home."

"Unbelievable... You know you sound so pushy, senpai."

"Am I? I don't care though. I mean... If I could hold your hand like this more... I can ignore all criticism from the other people."

"Ah!"

Perhaps forgetting that I'm still holding her hand, Sumire seemingly got surprised at the realization that we have this connection.

She even looked around her to check if the other passengers were looking at us. Luckily for her, they're all busy with their phones. We're actually the only ones locked in a conversation.

Umi, who was listening from the side, started giggling. Probably amused at her friend's reaction. She then let go of my hand and switched to hugging my arm before interjecting, "Sumire. You don't have to be shy with senpai. If he says he likes us both, he's being truthful about it."

"Not you too, Umi... Ugh. Did we both get ensnared by a shameless senpai?"

"Maybe?"

Umi continued giggling while Sumire started scratching her head in frustration. She then looked at me with slanted eyebrows, rebuking me silently.

As always, I acted as shameless as she called me, stretching my lips into a grin with the whites of my teeth in full display.

A second later, her expression twisted before I felt her fingers trying to pinch a part of my arm.

And with this, the next minutes until we arrived at their station became a short teasing session for my adorable junior.

By the time we stepped out of the train and started walking down the platform, Sumire ran ahead in order to hide her embarrassment.

As for Umi, she could only shake her head, stating she had never seen Sumire act this way before.