Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 55: "Why?"

“Why?”

Just wiping the sweat-drenched skin of my childhood friend with a towel.

I’ve learned to a nauseating extent that what might seem like a simple act can become incredibly challenging once you actually try it. Well, not nauseating, but… there just aren’t other words to express it. Japanese is truly a difficult language to express one’s self.

“S-Sorry…”

“N-No, it’s… it’s fine. I-I just got a bit startled…”

Sagiri, her upper body bare, or rather in a state of partial undress, shook her head with a delicate voice and then looked down, facing forward.

Her slender back curved, simply standing there in front of me. There were no more words, and I understood that she was waiting for me to wipe her body more.

“Alright, I’ll wipe it now…”

There was no response on her side, just a small nod. Her reaction made my heart pound even more nervously. I worried that it might be audible in this silent room. As if to hide that anxiety, I pressed the towel against her delicate shoulder without thinking about it.

“Eek!?”

Just that made Her slender body shudder, and pardon the phrasing, she let out a cute little scream. But this time, I kept the towel against her shoulder, tracing her skin as smooth and fine as silk.

“Mm…”

Her shoulder.

She squirmed.

“Ee…!”

Her nape.

Her spine straightened.

“Eek…! Uh…”

Her back.

She stifled her voice, enduring.

“Mm… Ah…!”

Her side.

Unable to endure, a high-pitched voice escaped.

“Ha… Ha…”

Breathless.

And then, Her waist.

Even though I’m wiping away her sweat, I’m just sweating more than she is. It’s like a contradiction, sweating in this chilly room.

Sagiri’s breathing is fast and rough. Well, probably mine is the same too.

“…You’re really ticklish, huh?”

“…It’s because of you… Renji…”

So what I thought immediately slipped out. In response, there was a faint reply amidst Her ragged breaths.

“…Never been tickled before…”

“…Sorry.”

Feeling a hint of resentment in her voice despite my efforts to calm her down, I apologized.

Tickling— I haven’t done that since elementary school. Well, this wasn’t exactly tickling, but behaviors akin to it are usually associated with childhood.

However, during Sagiri’s childhood, she were often too ill to even go outside. Even after she got better, there was an unspoken understanding that she couldn’t overexert herself or be forced to, which created a distance with those around her. Tickling was simply out of the question.

And the same went for me, her childhood friend.

“Th-Thanks…”

“Huh?”

“For… wiping me down…”

“O-Oh…”

I secretly panicked, thinking she was thanking me for tickling them.

Discovering a new aspect of my childhood friend at this point was beyond my emotional capacity.

We were already having a conversation while half-dressed. I can assert that if it weren’t for the relationship between me and Sagiri, my sanity would have reached its limit long ago.

“…………”

“…………”

Lately, it feels like there’s been more silence.

Because I don’t know what to say in such a situation. I can’t come up with any clever words when facing my half-dressed childhood friend.

“…Hey, best friend.”

“Sw-wha-… What is it!?”

And the moment I recognized that voice, heated as usual, my mind sounded the alarm bells.

No way. No way, no way, no way, no way, no way in this situation would Sagiri dare to ask for a kiss or to wipe them down again, right!?

“Why?”

“…Huh?”

But Sagiri didn’t turn around or ask for a kiss; she just muttered softly.

“Why are you… so kind… Renji?”

“Sagiri?”

The voice, which should have been filled with warmth, trembled.

Sagiri seemed off. Even without seeing her face, it was obvious.

“Renji, you always… listen to all my requests, right?”

“It’s because they’re your requests.”

It’s too late for that now. Since childhood, I’ve wanted to be there for Sagiri. Though the form may have changed slightly, the essence remains the same.

“But… I… couldn’t fulfill Renji’s request…”

My request. It must be about what happened yesterday. When I tried to deepen our relationship by kissing, and got rejected.

That was my mistake… Sagiri said she couldn’t remain just friends if we crossed that line.

A relationship where we kiss, hold each other in bed, and wipe each other’s sweaty bodies— a relationship of cherished friendship that we didn’t want to ruin.

And yet, she fret over it… What a troublesome friend, the epitome of selfishness.

“…Were you thinking about that and couldn’t sleep?”

“…Yeah.”

Honestly, this girl…

Even though I came to terms with it, she’s binding herself with her own words, suffering over something she said herself. Oh, really, just really…

“You’re so kind, you know.”

“…Huh?”

Sagiri is hopelessly selfish, hopelessly stubborn, and hopelessly endearing.

I gently embraced my friend from behind, with Her body in such a state.