Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 51: "...Do it on my forehead?"

“…Do it on my forehead?”

“I seem fine, but your face is red. Do you maybe have a fever?”

“Or maybe it’s because of Renji!?”

“Don’t blame your condition on someone else.”

“It’s Renji’s fault! It’s Renji’s fault!”

“Why did you say it twice?”

“That’s irrelevant now!”

We engage in a mysterious verbal battle, resembling a cat pouncing on the corner of the bed after bouncing around.

Despite me going all the way here to visit her and worrying about her, it seems we still ended up having a playful banter.

“But it’s because of you that I couldn’t sleep, Renji!”

“…What?”

“…………Ah.”

The school’s number one beauty makes a face like, ‘Uh-oh…’ This is the face I occasionally see after she messes up. And right now, she’s definitely messed up since she panicked when I asked her about what she just said.

In other words, Sagiri’s condition deteriorated due to lack of sleep.

“You know…”

“Huh, Re…Renji…?”

As I let out a sigh of relief and sat on the carpet under the bed, releasing the tension from my body, a perplexed voice came from above.

My worry that she might be feeling unwell again dissipates, and I feel more relieved.

“It’s good that you’re feeling better.”

“Ahh, thanks…”

Though I feel like just lying down on this soft floor, I resist the temptation because even if she’s my childhood friend, lying down in a sweaty school uniform in the middle of summer would be inappropriate. Plus, I can’t see Sagiri’s face if I’m sitting.

And that would be a big problem.

“Yuzuru and the others were worried too. Today, even Yuzuru said, There wouldn’t be an event without you,’ and saw me off. Remember to message them later.”

“Yuzurun said that?”

“It’s because they were worried. After all, someone who was saying stuff like ‘I might catch a cold’ yesterday ended up skipping school today. They’d be worried if they thought they pushed you too hard.”

“Uwaa…”

What’s with that ‘uwaaa’?

Hey, Sagiri, what was that  just now?

I’ve never heard that tone of voice from you before.

“You’re so unfair…”

“What did you say?”

Sagiri muttered something softly, but there was a slight distance between us, and I was too engrossed in the ‘uwaa’ to catch it.

“…I said thank you!!!”

“O-Oh… y-yeah”

It’s not like we’re in a relationship where she’d be shy and angry about saying thank you so belatedly.

But even though she seems lively, her face is still red. While it might be because she’s angry, the fact remains that she skipped school remains.

“…Stop yelling and rest for now. I’ll stay here with you.”

“…Is it okay?”

With a bewildered look, it took a strangely long time.

“Of course it is. How many years do you think I’ve been nursing you? Plus, your mom asked me to make sure you eat dinner properly.”

“…I might not need that last one.”

“It’s inevitable… Come on, just go to sleep.”

Encouraging my childhood friend, I gently guided her back to her original position from the corner of the bed. As I stand up and cover her with a towel blanket, her distinct scent floats in the air.

…That sounded weird just now, I chastised myself inwardly.

“….Let it be as it may.”

“That’s not something you say after all I’ve done.”

Sagiri, peeking out from under the towel blanket with her red face, muttered softly again, but this time, given the context and her position, I didn’t miss it. Still, it seemed like she was asking ‘So what?’ in a way.

“Just curious, but you don’t have a fever, right?”

“…I don’t recall having one.”

“If you haven’t checked, just say so. Your face has been red since earlier, or was it because of me?”

“That’s because of you, Renji… uwaa.”

Another uwaa.’

What’s with this? Are we stuck in a loop?

“…Why are you so concerned?”

“It’s you, Sagiri, of course I’d be concerned.”

“… … …”

“Why are you staying silent there?”

I answered when asked, only to have the towel blanket pulled over my head. Then, it was lowered until I could see the faint color of her eyes.

“…Well, okay then?”

“What did you say?”

She said something, but this time, I couldn’t hear it because she was mumbling even inside the blanket.

“…Renji, you are an idiot.”

“That’s because of you.”

I sighed and reluctantly crouched down, settling on the edge of the bed. Sagiri’s face, now closer, was still flushed.

“If you insist so much… Please measure my temperature…”

“Me?”

“Yeah…”

Even though it was just taking a temperature, her sudden meekness made my heart skip a beat. Since I couldn’t find a thermometer nearby, and Sagiri didn’t seem to want to come out from under the blanket for some reason, I reached out to her forehead.

“…No.”

She swatted my hand away.

Hey, hold on. Weren’t you the one who wanted it measured?

“…Do with your forehead?”

At first, I didn’t understand what she meant. She refused when I tried to touch her forehead directly, but now she’s asking for it to be done on her forehead.

It wasn’t until I noticed her change that I realized the true meaning of her request.

“…”

She lay on the bed, the blanket pulled down to her neck, revealing her face to the open air. My childhood friend, with her neatly arranged features, closed her eyes, looking as if she were waiting for me. Moreover, she politely parted her bangs to expose her forehead.

It was a situation that seemed common among close friends, regardless of time or place, when they measure each other’s temperature.

With her forehead against mine to take her temperature, this demanding sleeping beauty had suddenly entrusted her entire being to me.