Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 44: "Hmm?"

“Hmm?”

Explaining my current “actual” relationship with Sagiri to someone else… felt very embarrassing.

But the situation where only the information about us kissing is known could lead to even more awkward misunderstandings anyway.

So perhaps that’s why I was able to convey the truth as it is to her.

“Thank you.”

“Huh!? W-Why are you thanking me!?”

After finishing my story, for some reason, I found myself bowing naturally.

The uneasiness in my chest hadn’t completely disappeared, but it felt somewhat lighter.

“D-Do you perhaps… have a habit of indulging in embarrassing lovey-dovey talk with innocent girls?”

“T-That’s not it! It’s just… talking to you made me feel calm? And after I said my side I also felt relieved…”

“I-I see… I felt the same way when I talked to everyone earlier!”

“…Opening up to someone can relieve you of your burden.”

“Y-Yes, it is… Opening up… is important…”

There was a brief pause.

“…What kind of moral lesson conversation is this?”

“…I-I don’t know?”

We both tilted our heads.

Perhaps this is the sympathy that only those who have let out what they’ve been holding onto can feel.

“S-So… um…”

Kusakabe timidly raised her hand.

“Is it… right to say that… you and Sagiri-san are childhood friends who started kissing but aren’t lovers, and yet you’ve become aware of your feelings and have been worrying about it…?”

“…Yeah. It’s amazing how you grasped that in such a short time, Kusakabe, even though I, as a party involved, can’t fully understand it yet.”

“Hehe… Thanks…”

She awkwardly chuckled, her hand reaching back to scratch her head.

It was the first time I saw her laugh like that.

“I-It’s… like… um… it’s nice… to help a comrade with their problems, isn’t it…?”

Her voice was quite strained.

Although her eyes were hidden by her long bangs, I could tell she was probably smiling.

“I thought I was consulting with a friend, but…”

“Eek!? N-No, that’s not it! W-We’re just comrades, after all! Calling us friends would be presumptuous and presumptuous of me…”

Having been philosophically denied the title of “friend,” I wondered if I was the only one who felt a closer bond as comrades rather than friends.

Today was the first time we had a proper conversation, so there are still many mysteries about her standards and values.

“Th-This is… If I meddle too much, it might create a rift between comrade and Yakumo-san, and I might end up getting stabbed by someone…!”

“No, no. It’s not like it’s going to turn into some suspenseful situation, right?”

“I-I don’t want to get stabbed before being strangled!!”

It was the first time I had seen someone weighing strangling against being stabbed on a scale.

“Anyway, I’ll just quietly support your romantic journey from the shadows! Oh, this… It feels like something you would say, doesn’t it? How wonderful!”

Despite being generally timid and nervous, her cheerful manner of speaking made her seem like an ordinary girl. I hadn’t expected there to be another lively girl in our class besides Sagiri and Yuzuru.

Perhaps that’s why it was easy to talk to her.

***

The clandestine conversation in the computer room was over, and in a hurry, we returned to the club room after buying drinks from the vending machine set up near the entrance.

We wanted to split the task between the two of us, but when I offered to carry all the drinks, Kusakabe insisted on carrying them all herself. As a result, she ended up carrying five drinks in both hands.

Feeling guilty about letting the girl carry everything, I opened the door to the club room instead of Kusakabe, whose hands were full.

“G-Gou… Is this really okay?”

“I-it’s okay to squeeze harder, Yuzuru-chan!!”

“So, this is what love between two people looks like…!”

In the cramped club room, an indescribable scene unfolded, with a small girl trying to grab the thick neck of a large man lying on the desk.

Needless to say, it was Hasegawa and Yuzuru. Meanwhile, Sagiri was gripping her hands tightly, staring intently at the scene.

“W-Wha…”

“Why are you guys doing something so amazing while we’re not here!?”

While we were still speechless, Kusakabe shouted from behind.

“Oh, Hina-chan, welcome back! You were late, so I tried it out first!”

“N-No, that’s not right! That kind of choking is dangerous because it presses against the Adam’s apple!”

“Huh, i-is that so!?”

“Hasegawa-kun too! You shouldn’t squeeze harder without knowing the proper technique!”

“S-Sorry…”

She actually started lecturing Yuzuru and Hasegawa about strangling.

And then she handed me the drinks she had been carrying so discreetly.

It was an unbelievable sight before leaving the club room.

I wonder if she has become comfortable and trusting, or if there are special feelings for choking.

“Renji?”

“Whoa?! S-Sagiri…”

As I was taken aback by the scene, Sagiri suddenly called me.

We had just talked about my kiss and feelings with Kusakabe, so I feel oddly self-conscious of Sagiri right now.

“You were late, huh? Were you having fun with Hina-chan? You, hehh!”

“S-Stop it! The drinks are going to spill!”

Without any sarcasm, my childhood friend nudged my side with her elbow.

It tickled so much that I almost spilled the juice, and Sagiri quickly grabbed one of the grape juice cans before it fell.

The atmosphere was anything but suspenseful or worrisome, despite Kusakabe seeming unconcerned.

“It’s cold, huh?”

“Huh? Well, yeah, because we just bought them, right?”

Thanks to our hasty return, the drinks were still ice-cold.

“Hmm?”

“S-Sagiri?”

For some reason, Sagiri took a step closer, closing the distance until our arms were almost touching. Even when I moved to put down the juice, she stayed close.

“Is it okay?! Strangling someone can be very dangerous, so you shouldn’t do it just for fun!”

Until Kusakabe’s impromptu lecture on strangulation was over, Sagiri didn’t leave my side.