Stealing Spree

Chapter 2689: Final Round (2)

Compared to the first two pairs, Satsuki, who claimed to be fully charged from that kiss she stole from me, sped through the obstacles, dragging along her partner with surprising coordination. They dove beneath the net barrier in sync, barely avoiding penalties. At Platform Alpha, Satsuki snatched the flag without breaking stride. In the buoy corridor, she shouted sharp directions, ‘Left! Duck! Hard kick!’, as if she was issuing commands at the basketball court while she’s holding the ball.

Her partner was also not just there to be dragged around. The tall girl from Class 3, whose surname I think is Sato, actually managed to keep up with Satsuki’s pace. She even managed to grab the second flag at Platform Bravo without slowing down. They moved through the floating rings like experts, barely clipping one ring at the end.

When they climbed out, Ryouko-san announced their time. 2 minutes 45 seconds, with penalties adding only 2 seconds. The flags reduced it to 2 minutes 32 seconds.

That was truly impressive. Umeda’s enthusiasm visibly deflated next to me. I had to pat her head and say, "That’s Satsuki for you. But don’t worry. Let’s just go with what we’ve planned."

"You say that as if you’re truly confident to beat their time."

"Well, you know what they say, it’s not over until the winner’s announced," I grinned before reaching for her hand and squeezing it lightly. "Didn’t I win the last activity?"

Umeda managed a small smile but not long after that, she got too conscious about me holding her hand. She pulled it away and covered her face with her palms. "Onoda-kun, you’re really dangerous."

"Oh, sorry. It’s a force of habit." I scratched my head and then took a step away to give her some space. However, Umeda immediately grabbed my wrist as soon as I moved.

"W-wait! I didn’t say stop!" she blurted, cheeks flushing crimson as she realized how that sounded. "I mean... just... be mindful. Please?"

"Sure. Are you worried the guy you like will see us and think you’ve already fallen into my grasp?" I teasingly whispered as Sakuma and his partner moved to the starting position while Orimura-sensei fixed the obstacles.

"Y-you... Who told you I have someone I like?"

"It’s a guess. So there is one, huh?"

"No... I mean... it’s complicated," Umeda stammered, releasing my wrist as if burned. Her gaze darted toward the Class 3 students.

That act of pulling me back only to stammer nervously confirmed it. Umeda Nanaka definitely had someone on her mind. Whoever that is, he better act quickly if he also feels the same before my charm catches this girl.

"Alright, it’s your privacy. I wish you good luck. If you need advice, you can talk to me or the girls around me."

"Pfft. Stop it, Onoda-kun. It’s one-sided and I... I’m not hoping to be noticed," Umeda muttered, fiddling with her fingers.

"Why not? Are you not confident?"

"It’s not that. I just thought... It’s better like this than to be rejected, no?"

"I never thought you were quite the pessimist."

"S-shut up," Umeda mumbled, pulling her swimsuit strap nervously as Sakuma’s pair dove into the pool. We watched them navigate the net barrier with minimal errors.

It looked like the guy was also determined to beat Satsuki’s time. Or maybe he didn’t want to lose to me. Either way, he’s quite athletic as a member of the Soccer Club, so I won’t be surprised if he can also achieve a good time. It all depends on his partner, I guess?

I wonder... In case they win, will he proudly tell Setsuna-nee about it?

Nah... The guy was too passive. Even after all my help to make him more proactive in pursuing her, Setsuna-nee still ended up gravitating towards me and he remained being the ’little brother’.

Soon, they reached the other end of the pool with a time of 2 minutes and 50 seconds before penalties. They collected all three flags, reducing their time to 2 minutes and 35 seconds. While they’re quick, the penalties they accumulated were actually more than 10 seconds or 13 seconds to be exact. Therefore, their final time was 2 minutes and 48 seconds.

They almost used up the bonus 15 seconds from the flags. Still, Sakuma’s pair finished with a respectable time, though Satsuki’s remained unbeaten. Umeda sighed beside me. "See? Maemura-san’s time is tough to beat."

"Well, she’s not the only one who got charged up from that kiss. Trust me?" I put on a confident smile which made Umeda stare at me with little doubt in her eyes.

Still, she nodded, her expression shifting to determination as Ryouko-san called us forward. "Team Onoda-Umeda, you’re next. Prepare to start. Time to beat is two minutes thirty-two seconds."

"Understood, sensei. Can I ask for a good luck charm from you?" I called out, turning toward Ryouko-san with a playful grin. The students nearby gasped, while Orimura-sensei’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

I took a step forward, acting like I was going to kiss Ryouko-san. But before Orimura-sensei could intervene, I pivoted and planted a quick kiss on Umeda’s cheek instead. "There. Now we’re both charged up."

Umeda froze, her face turning crimson as the students erupted in whistles and giggles. "W-why did you do that, Onoda-kun?"

Ryouko-san shook her head with an amused smirk while Orimura-sensei sighed in exasperation.

"You cheeky brat. Stop causing trouble for your partner!" Orimura-sensei scolded me. If she were any closer, I would’ve been hit on the head with her clipboard.

"Sorry, Umeda-san. We gotta liven up the atmosphere, right? Don’t worry. I’m ready to face the girls’ wrath later," I whispered as I did one last check on the bright orange tether around our waists.

Umeda remained frozen, fingertips brushing the spot on her cheek where my lips had touched. Her gaze darted toward the spectator area, where Satsuki stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot, while Maaya mimed strangling me.

Of course, the boys were all looking at me like I was their archnemesis for being too showy again. But well, I’m already unaffected. They could gloat all they want. It’s not like I’m stealing someone from them, right?

"... You’re the worst, Onoda-kun. Now, we’d better win this or else..." Umeda whispered with her voice trembling slightly as she finally snapped out of her daze. Her fingers curled into determined fists as the blush burned across her face. She momentarily looked at me before her eyes locked onto the pool with fierce concentration. "I won’t forgive you if I get teased endlessly for nothing."

"That’s a nice fire in your eyes, Umeda-san. You got it. Let’s win this." I grinned as we both got into position.

Yup. I intentionally did that to provoke her fighting spirit. I never expected that it would be this effective though. I was even expecting a slap.

Across the pool, Satsuki and the other girls’ glare could melt steel. I could even see Nami making signs about ’payback later’.

At the same time as Ryouko-san’s whistle, Umeda and I dove into the water. The tether pulled taut immediately, forcing us into perfect synchronization. Her earlier hesitation vanished. It was replaced by powerful, precise strokes that matched mine stroke-for-stroke.

We sped past the net barrier without brushing the mesh at all and surfaced side-by-side at Platform Alpha. The first flag was already in my hand. I swiped it as we passed by.

Following the strategy of not minding even if we hit an obstacle, the buoy corridor became a straight dash. Umeda stayed glued to my side and I matched her speed, putting coordination higher than speed in our priority list.

Atop the Platform Bravo, we waited for a second until the wave we caused from surfacing subsided. Then, we dove again.

The cheers and jeers from the spectators filled the pool area. I filtered them out and only focused on my girls’ voices. Satsuki’s sharp ’Don’t lose, idiot!’ cut through the noise, while Maaya’s ’I’ll bite your head off if you lose after all that!’ followed.

Yeah. Even the one holding the record right now is cheering for me. That’s really adorable of her, isn’t it?

Crossing the last zone, Umeda positioned herself behind me and I dragged us both through the floating rings. We clipped one ring each, adding two seconds to our time, but we moved so fast that the penalties felt negligible.

This was our final strategy, I guess? Just letting me take the lead while she focused on following my movements. It worked surprisingly well. We emerged at the far end of the pool with the third flag in her hand.

As we surfaced, Orimura-sensei, who was standing there with the stopwatch in her hand, glanced down at us with wide eyes. "... What in the world was that?"

Then, Ryouko-san also announced our time with a bit of stuttering. "Team Onoda-Umeda... 2 minutes and 30 seconds." She paused, checking the stopwatch again. "Penalties: 12 seconds. Flags: 15-second reduction. Final time: 2 minutes and 27 seconds."