That Tanaka-senpai or whoever was behind her was devious. But very predictable. The girl actually easily gave away the underlying motive for asking me to come and check on Marika way earlier this morning.

We had this kind of agreement that I would only move if it was convenient and also, shed be providing me with the time and place where I could approach Marika. But the girl displayed that she could easily create that environment. This means staking out for an opportunity wasnt really needed.

And so, when I arrived here, I was already prepared for this occasion. I stealthily locked the door when I entered. Unless the guy had the key to open it, he could only knock and shout there in the meantime.

However, because Marika thought it was open, she immediately went frigid. Gazing at her shocked expression, the girls brain circuit had indubitably stopped.

I had to snap my fingers to jump-start it again and hold her chin to get her focus back on me.

Senpai, itll be fine. I locked the door. I put on a reassuring smile to try and calm her down. But of course, its not that effective.

Soon, the guy knocked for the second time, Open this door, Marika. Now!

If earlier his voice sounded frantic and accusatory, hes now commanding the girl to do so.

Perhaps still not in her right mind, Marika tried to stand up from my lap and walk to the door. To stop that, I once again wrapped my arms around her waist, keeping her in place.

"Senpai, can you listen to me first? I asked the girl to which she responded rather quickly.

What is it? Jun-kun is there. Hell be madder if I dont open the door.

Alright, lets say youre going to open the door. What do you think will happen if he sees me here with you?

That hell think youre the guy in the phoAh! As though an illusory light bulb lit up, the girl covered her mouth.

Looks like you get it. Not only will he get mad, but I will also be forced to confront him. Tell me, what do you think I will do?

A-apologize? Marika answered, clearly unsure of it. Thinking about it, she also had no idea how I am as a person. All she knew about me was what I showed her. But at the same time, this girl somehow held that guy in high regard. Perhaps hes her fianc or just because of her family. Normally, the logical path to take was what she presumed. Apologize and hope that he will not fault me.

But Im not normal. And I dont really care about the guys feelings. Otherwise, I wont be here with her. I predicted this kind of scenario, after all.

Why will I? I might be guilty of holding you like this but I wont lower my head to someone like him, senpai. I confidently said. And that made the girls expression turn from puzzlement to bewilderment. She couldnt wrap her head around my thought process.

I put my thumb on her lips again and put on a calm smile. Alright. Ill tell you what's going to happen if you open that door right now. I will either reinforce the idea that Im the guy you started fancying or act simply as your Junior-kun. Your choice.

I I have to choose? Still processing everything, Marika furrowed her brows. And looking at her forehead wrinkling from too much thinking, I could only internally shake my head.

This girl clearly hadnt been in this kind of situation before. This was a first for her. Well, having another guy close to her was also a first. So shes experiencing a lot of that now.

No. You dont have to if you dont open it yet. Ignore him for a moment.

As I said this, my head once again took in the whole room. While there were dressers and mirrors, there was also a door to an adjacent room. Surely, its the same as the one in the Drama Clubs clubroom.

Its a hiding spot. However, the fact that theres probably nothing inside there but an empty room for practicing or rehearsals, the chance to be caught was higher.

Then in one corner of this room, in the middle of two racks filled with costumes and dresses, theres some kind of a cubicle for changing. Its not just curtained but a properly lockable room.

Thats another hiding place but I wouldnt bet on that when the bottom part wasnt covered. Its easy to check if theres a person inside or not.

With that information, hiding was now out of the question.

Junior-kun This isnt the time to be calm.

As Marika said that, Ichihara Jun knocked for the third time and this time, his voice was now laced with anger, If you dont open this soon, Ill kick this door and break it open!

Upon hearing that, Marika looked at me again, concern filling her face.

I lifted my hand again and started caressing her cheek in another bid to calm her down. But its still ineffective. Nonetheless, that got her full attention.

Senpai, listen to me. No matter what, do not confess to him. You will open the door and if he questions me, I will act as your helpful Junior.

W-will that really work?

Of course, it wont. And thats why I will be hiding first.

Eh? Youre losing me, Junior-kun.

Im not going to hide somewhere. I will hide there. I pointed at the door, or specifically at the area on its side. It will be a blindside if the door is fully opened.

Marika followed my finger and understood what I was trying to convey.

Also, dont let him in. I continued. Keep him outside. Talk to him only at the door. Then send him away.

How can I do that?

Senpai, youre not a child, are you? And youre not afraid of him. Youre afraid of your family. You see, the Marika-senpai that I admired is not a weak girl who will be easily bossed around by someone Uh, I might be the exception but Im a bastard so that doesnt count. Anyway, youre on equal standing with him, senpai. Use that to your advantage.

Well, some of what I said was unconfirmed. But still, its enough to stir her mind. Because little by little, Marikas expression relaxed and eventually, she nodded as a courageous look occupied it.

If were successful and he waits outside, how can you leave later?

That I have a contingency plan for that. Senpai doesnt need to worry.

I could ask my girls or even Sakuma to distract the guy or whoevers watching. By then, I could leave safely.

What you have to do is to resolve this first by rejecting his demands. Also, do not slip that youre with someone here. With that, you have to As my voice trailed, I reached for the girls sleeve and tugged it, enough for her uniform to slide down, exposing her shoulder. Its so flawless that I got a little tempted to place my lips there.

Luckily, I stopped before I was successful.

Junior-kun? Marika quickly reacted, holding her sleeve to stop me from pulling it further.

Ah. I meant senpai has to act like youre in the middle of changing. Youre from this club. I assume that you have decent acting skills, right?

Understanding that, Marika nodded a few times. Furthermore, a rather amused smile unknowingly peeked from her lips.

A while later, Ichihara Jun knocked for the fourth time but at that moment, Marika and I had already straightened up our plan. I moved to that side of the door, while Marika, wearing one of the dresses at the rack just enough to make it look like she was still in the middle of putting it on went to the door and opened it.

Before completely doing so, she placed herself close to my side just so she could her body to cover me.

Its all set. Or it should be.

However, I noticed something. The girl was shaking in nervousness. Although this might not be her first time standing up against Ichihara Jun, this would be the first time for her to openly lie and act it out in front of him. Moreover, shes shielding me, someone she had an option to cut off and turn into a sacrificial lamb.

Well, I veered our conversation out of that option so I should scratch that last part out.

In any case, now that I noticed her shaking, my mind just decided for me to help her with it.

Just before the girl opened the door to face Ichihara Jun, I reached for her hand nearest to me and held it tightly.

Marikas shaking stopped right away, however, it got once again replaced by a hint of embarrassment as she looked at me.

Without exchanging any words, I made a gesture to convey to the girl that it was fine.

After staring at our joined hands for a few seconds, Marika did a quick breathing exercise, calming herself down.

A few seconds later, her act started right before Ichihara Jun knocked for the fifth time.

You finally opened theWait, why are you blocking my way? Let me in!

No! Cant you see, Jun-kun? Im in the middle of changing. Go away and stop knocking. Its not amusing to hear its loud bang.

Jun tried to barge in. However, as we planned, Marika stood her ground there, turning him down. Although I couldnt see her face from this angle, I relayed my praise through our joined hands, squeezing it gently.

Lets see how this will turn out. If he forces himself in then that will only mean one thing, Ill be his opponent.