Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 25: "I-I'm also curious, you know...?"

“I-I’m also curious, you know…?”

Sagiri came to school wearing a mask.

As her name suggests, her personality is like mist, and it’s hard to figure out what she’s thinking. However, in clear moments, it seemed that she wasn’t hiding anything, and her true self was vividly expressed in her appearance.

Trying to grasp a cloud is like trying to reach it, but its reality is a mass of chilled water vapor, and water is abundantly present in the surroundings. It was there from the beginning, and there was no need to reach out.

It’s become a bit poetic, but if I were to say what I mean, it’s this:

“In the sixth year of Kaei… in 1853, Perry arrived on a black ship—”

“…”

“…”

Even during class, my childhood friend sitting next to me was so distracting. Whether I had the textbook open, a thick teacher-made handout in front of me, or even if I possessed fast note-taking skills, add the rapid writing on the blackboard, which was quickly erased, making it impossible to keep up with the lecture, yet I still couldn’t take my eyes off Sagiri.

“…”

Gazing absentmindedly at her profile as she stared at the blackboard. Her skin, already pale, was further whitened by a large white mask covering her face. Nonetheless, her long, white hair stood out even more prominently within that whiteness. It looked beautiful.

White has two hundred shades, or none at all. I realized this during class, thanks to the profile of my best friend.

“…”

“!?”

I inadvertently almost let out a sound. In the classroom, with the sound of chalk and pencil scribbling echoing, I, the one who was paying attention to Sagiri, didn’t miss the exhaled breath leaking from inside her mask.

Even if it was extremely faint, considering her actions, the sound automatically accompanied her. It was as if in a silent movie, where you could still perceive the sound. Well, in reality, her voice was leaking.

Whether it was intentional or unconscious, I couldn’t tell. Sagiri played with her own lips from behind the mask with her fingers.

She gently touched them, applied a bit more pressure, rhythmically touched and then released. She traced them with her fingers… Each time, the silhouette of her lips against the mask made my heart race.

I’m aware, I’ve been conscious since the day she kissed me, but this is different.

It felt good.

It might be an extremely simplistic and silly reason, but it’s dominating my mind. The process and result leading up to it have become factors that trouble me.

Kissing Sagiri, thinking about her, felt very pleasant.

That’s all there is to it.

Even the kisses until now were pleasant. Soft, moist, with a nice fragrance that made my head feel like it was melting. But all of those were from Sagiri’s sudden attacks or when I got completely absorbed.

It might be pitiful, but I’ve always just gone along with it.

That’s an undeniable fact. Therefore, when I became aware of the feelings I developed for Sagiri, the kiss I had on that day… I couldn’t forget it.

“…”

“Hmm?”

With emotions resembling lust, feelings that could never be uttered, I had been gazing at her profile for a long time. Suddenly, Sagiri gripped a pencil, began writing something, and took advantage of the teacher’s distraction to reach over to my desk and slap a sticky note onto it.

It was a green sticky note.

‘You’re staring too much.’

It said.

“!?”

In a burst, an uncomfortable sweat broke out, and I quickly averted my gaze from the sticky note, turning my face to the side.

At that moment, I noticed from her movements that Sagiri had nonchalantly turned away.

The ears, with the mask’s strings visible through the gaps in her white hair, were very red.

***

Until the end of school hours, the number of times I talked with Sagiri was a threatening single digit. Moreover, they were more like formal exchanges—awkward on my part and barely audible whispers from Sagiri due to her mask, simply occurring naturally as we were in the same classroom with adjacent desks.

I fumbled with my attitude, and Sagiri struggled with her appearance, her voice barely audible from behind the mask. The uneasy atmosphere lingered until the afternoon homeroom ended, and it was time for club activities. We were in the clubroom of the “Selfhood Research Club,” also known as the Jibuken, located at the far end of the special classroom building on the first floor.

“…”

“…”

Just the two of us.

On a day like this, at this timing, alone together. President Yuzuru had the actual makeup test today, and Hasegawa was absent, cheering for her. While Yuzuru was somewhat understandable, it would have been better if Hasegawa were here.

“Hey.”

The one to break this awkward silence was Sagiri, sitting next to me. Sitting side by side, the two of us. Today, as well, the distance between us was close. Despite being unable to talk and the awkwardness, Sagiri leaned close to me, on her initiative.

In this small room that used to be a warehouse, the space felt even more cramped today.

“Ar-are you concerned…?”

She sent only her gaze through the mask, a shy figure of my childhood friend. Although I was reminded of the past, I held back my emotions.

“Wh-what about you…?”

However, I managed to hold back but only returned an off-topic question without giving an answer. Someone please punch me. Hasegawa, come back. I would gladly take a hit right now.

“I-I’m also curious, you know…?”

“What the!?”

A hidden body blow exploded from the still-bowed Sagiri. It was a blow that would be fatal with a single hit, but even though I wasn’t wearing a mask, what’s there to be curious about…?

“Hey, best friend.”

Just hearing those words made me want to jump up.

“About a best friend’s lips…”

Still wearing the mask, my best friend turned her face toward me.

“Can I touch them…?”

Gently, she reached out her hand.

It turned out I wasn’t the only one curious about the other’s lips.