Stealing Spree Chapter 2676: A Call from the Past

As I was on my way to pick up Marika after escorting my girls to their school and eting up with both Mizuki and Miho who lectured on my lessons with them, I got a call from an unknown number.

At first, I ignored it just like how I ignored most unknown numbers calling my number. But after three attempts, I decided to check out who was calling .

The mont I picked up the call, the voice that ca from the other end was familiar. Familiar but not one I had heard in the past year or so...

"Ruki..." The voice crackled through the line, low and clearly hesitant as if they were still deliberating whether to press on in this call or not.

But a certain mory flashed in my head. More than a week ago, soone rang our house’s doorbell. And the only image the door cara caught was a hooded figure of a short young woman. At that ti, I didn’t think much of it, considering it couldn’t stimulate a mory of soone I knew. But now... that voice.

"... S-say sothing. Can you hear ?" The voice continued, uncertainty thickening each syllable. My grip tightened on the phone as a face and na superimposed with the blurry hooded figure from the security footage. Tsuba. The elusive girl who disappeared on .

Right. She’s one of the girls who transferred out of school a month after I stole her from her boyfriend. I had no idea if she did that to run away from but the story that I heard from her classmates was that her father was relocated sowhere else. Hence, she transferred away. She didn’t leave any contact information either. She just... disappeared.

It happened after the winter vacation of my 2nd year in middle school. It was actually seen as weird that she transferred out when there were only a few months left for the school year to end. But she did. And I never heard from her again. Until now.

"I can hear you." That’s all I managed to say as I decided to figure her out. My voice ca out flat and cold. Just like how she rembered .

"Great! D-do you... do you still rember ?" A short burst of excitent pierced her hesitant tone before it vanished, replaced by a shaky breath. "I know. Chances are... you’ve already forgotten but... I... I don’t know what to do anymore. This number... You never changed it."

"There’s no reason to change. And I rember." The silence stretched, thick with unspoken questions. I heard her gasping slightly. A tiny, vulnerable sound that made my mories of her continue to flash.

I did steal her. She hated how I did that but throughout the month that I had her, she eventually beca addicted to . She started to seek out. She started to call . She started to ask to et her. She started to crave my attention. And then, she disappeared without a trace.

The reason I couldn’t rember her right away was that I considered her to be like those girls who truly hated my guts and ran away from . Those I ought to ask for forgiveness for everything I did to them.

But this girl... Like Hana, why did she return? And why did she choose to co into contact with again? I could understand my slight anticipation of eting Matsuri again through Hanabi. For this girl... I had no idea what to feel. But the mont she called , I felt that familiar pull. That need to possess her again. To make her mine. To make her crave again. To make her addicted to again.

But I knew I shouldn’t. Or rather, I shouldn’t think that she contacted to return to my life like most of my girls have. I had to consider the possibility that she was in trouble and needed help. After all, she called . She called despite what I did to her. She called despite the fact that I stole her from her boyfriend and made her addicted to . She called despite the fact that she disappeared without a trace. She called . And that ant sothing.

"A-are you free this weekend? Can we et?" The words tumbled out in a rush, followed by a sharp inhale. "I know I shouldn’t ask. Not after vanishing without even telling you. But... I tried to knock on your door recently. I chickened out... I don’t know what to say. If you agree, maybe I can stay rooted on the spot and wait for you to arrive."

"Alright. Why do you want to et ? Did you not disappear to get away from ? And if there’s soone you should contact, it should be ’him’." My voice remained low, probing. The bus I was in shook as it turned a corner, making the phone press harder against my ear. I could almost hear her flinch at the ntion of her ex-boyfriend.

Of course, a month shouldn’t be enough to corrupt her completely. In fact, I never even got to bed her, although we did everything else. Like most of the girls I stole before, her boyfriend remained oblivious that I already had her. He was also shocked at the ti of her sudden transfer. But why call ? Why not him? Unless... it was the sa thing with the girls who returned to even after every hateful thing I did.

The silence stretched again, broken only by the static hum of the line and the distant rumble of the bus engine. Then, a shaky sigh.

"Him, huh? I... Do I deserve to call him? After what I let you do? After how I felt?" Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. "He must’ve already moved on. And... I... you’re right. I did disappear on you. I could’ve ssaged you before I left. I could’ve told you why I had to go. But I was scared. Scared of what you made feel. Scared of what I was becoming. That’s why I ran. That’s why I thought I could forget you."

"I see... Save your words then. I’d rather hear that story in person." I kept my tone leveled, making sure my voice wouldn’t deliver any ripple in my emotion. "This weekend. I’ll find the ti for you. But... I can’t promise I’ll be on ti."

I might be free tomorrow, Saturday. However, for all I know, Nao and the other two might show up later for their sleepover. Not to ntion, there are simply a lot of things I need to accomplish. For the cultural festival and also for my girls. As for Sunday, there’s Satsuki’s Basketball Club practice match. I promised to co and watch.

Am I thrilled to see her again? Honestly, I don’t know what to feel yet. That one ti she ran away from our doorstep could’ve been a sign that she’s still scared of . But now she called. That’s a step forward. Or is it? I need to know why she’s reaching out. Is it to apologize? To curse ? Or... sothing else entirely? Did she know the change in or did she still have the impression of from years past?

"I’ll wait for you in the pet shop where you first approached . It’s still open." Her voice steadied, the trembling replaced by quiet resolve. "I’ll be there at 3 PM tomorrow. Even if you’re late, I’ll wait until closing. I owe you that much."

The pet shop. Right. Because she’s quite the animal lover. That’s how I got her to open up to . The opening I used to steal her.

I rembered her bright eyes lighting up as she talked about the puppies and kittens. But now, her voice held none of that warmth. Only a slight tremble of both excitent and trepidation.

"I’ll wait," She repeated almost to herself. "Even if you’re late."

The line went dead before I could respond. She probably reached her limit. Wherever she was at the mont, she was probably not coming to school, huh? Is she like Hana who returned alone? Honestly, I can only find that out after eting her.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived at the stop outside Marika’s subdivision. I got off and walked the familiar path to her house, the phone call replaying in my mind. Tsuba. Her na felt like a ghost brushing against my consciousness, a specter from a past I thought was buried.

How laughable. My past can’t really be buried completely, can it?

"Ruki-kun, you’re here!" The sweet voice of the golden-ringlet girl pierced through my thoughts as Marika bounded down from the elevated steps to her ho. Standing right behind her was her Aunt Kagura with her arms crossed and narrowed eyes.