"You can't kiss me can you?" When I accepted my childhood friends challenge, she unexpectedly softened and is acting like a love-struck girl [Dropped] - Chapter 12 - Fight and Incident

Midnight…

A girl was walking alone on the street at night time.

Her school uniform, which consisted of a sailor outfit from a prestigious public high school in the local area, clearly indicated that she was a high school student.

Considering that it was already past the usual time for students to head home, she must have been returning from cram school.

Her hair, illuminated by the city lights, gleamed with a golden hue.

Now, as the girl continued on her way home… she suddenly noticed something.

Someone was following her for quite a while now.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Or maybe they were heading in the same direction.

If she turned at the next corner, everything would surely be fine.

And so… as she reached the next turn, the girl turned there as she usually planned.

But… the presence behind her didn’t waver.

If anything, it felt like the presence of the suspicious person was gradually closing in.

Her heart throbbed loudly as she thought of various possibilities.

Could it be a ghost?

Or maybe a stalker…?

Walking alone on a night street could be seen as an opportunity for those with ill intentions.

Either way, she wasn’t in a good situation.

The girl felt a sudden urge to run away from here to somewhere safe.

But if she started running, and the person behind her followed…

They might genuinely turn out to be a ghost or a suspicious person.

She wasn’t sure if she could escape.

Scared, wanting to run away, but lacking the courage to do so.

‘I should have apologized… and waited for him to walk me home…’

The reason the girl was alone was that she had gotten into a trivial fight with her childhood friend, who usually walked home with her.

Until today, they had been walking together for nearly everyday.

However, her childhood friend had realized that he had forgotten something and went back to the cram school…

The girl, still upset from their argument, didn’t go back with her childhood friend, and instead decided to head home alone.

It was her way of making her childhood friend worry.

And this was the result of that decision.

‘It’s my fault… Ibuki-kun, please help me…’

Amidst fear and regret, she continued walking the night street.

But the presence behind her was slowly closing in every passing second…

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The time goes back a little.

In the break room of a certain prep school, four high school students were gathered.

Two boys and two girls…

They seemed to be enjoying playing cards in a different way.

One of the boys, Ibuki Kazami, spoke up.

“I’m out.”

Soon after, a blonde girl named Airi Kamishiro also said, “I’m out too!”

Then, the two of them high-fived each other in excitement.

Looking a bit bitter, the other boy muttered, “Both of you are out, huh?”

He was a brown-haired boy who gave off a somewhat flashy vibe.

His name was Sota Kuzuhara, and it’s worth noting that his brown hair was natural.

“Still as close as ever, aren’t you two?”

A girl with a bright personality and chestnut-colored hair, Hina Hazuki, who gave a slightly flashy impression as well, commented.

It’s worth noting that her brown hair was dyed.

Although these four were in different classes, they all came from the same middle school and ended up in the same high school. As they still attended the same preparatory school, so they remained good friends till now.

“Can you two stop with the ‘couple’ thing?”

“We’re not lovers… Recently, we’ve had absolutely no such feelings, that’s for sure.”

Kazami and Kamishiro both responded matter-of-factly, causing Kuzuhara and Hazuki to exchange surprised glances.

“Did you break up?”

“Despite that, you still look the same as before.”

The two of them tilted their heads in contemplation.

“We never were in a romantic relationship in the first place… We have already said that multiple times by now.”

“Well, various things happened, and we had to reevaluate our relationship. As a result, we confirmed that there were absolutely no such feelings.”

Kazami and Kamishiro stated calmly as if it was a matter of fact.

Meanwhile, Kuzuhara and Hazuki thought to themselves:

‘Oh, it’s the same old story.’

“Well, despite that, you two seem really close.”

“Don’t you think you’re too close for just friends?”

Kuzuhara and Hazuki pointed out with wry smiles.

However, Kazami and Kamishiro both said in unison, “Well, we’re childhood friends.”

“Well, if being close between a boy and a girl means they’re lovers, then I guess that works for me…”

“In that case, I would be welcoming you as my boyfriend.”

“Oh… Sorry, that, I mean…”

“Wait a minute. Don’t reject it that seriously.”

“Hahahaha!”

“You’re laughing way too hard!”

Kazami and Hazuki burst into laughter while clapping their hands.

While Kuzuhara, who meant it as a joke, made a displeased expression, as if saying, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“But, we understand that just being close doesn’t make you lovers. After all, the important thing is whether there’s any sexual excitement involved… By the way, is there none of that between you two?”

At Hazuki’s question, Kazami and Kamishiro exchanged glances and they both tilted their heads.

“Even if I look at Kazami’s face… I do think he’s somewhat cool, you know…?”

“We look at each other’s faces daily for a long time…Though, now that you pointed it out, I only feel a sense of comfort like being back at my parents’ home.”

“You should go back to your parents’ home more often.”

“I spend more time with you than at my parents’ home, you know…”

“…I also spend more time with Ibuki-kun than with my parents.”

Generally, Ibuki and Airi respect each other as the opposite s*x, but they don’t often pay attention to it.

…Though occasionally they do, it seems to be an exceptional case for them.

“Is it because they are too close?”

“If they really don’t get excited, it doesn’t seem like they are truly lovers. Or so it seems.”

Kazuhara and Hazuki seem somewhat skeptical.

As close friends, they had convinced themselves that Ibuki and Airi were probably lovers, so it’s difficult for them to change that perception so easily.

“But well, come to think of it, I don’t think whether they kissed or not matters that much.”

“Just because they kissed doesn’t mean they are lovers, right?”

Ibuki and Airi reacted with a little unease to that response.

And Hazuki didn’t miss their uneasiness after the question.

“Huh? Is it true then? You both have already kissed?”

Ibuki and Airi both nodded in response to Hazuki’s question.

“Only once, right?”

“…It was just to try it out. Out of curiosity, you know… I mean, if you get excited, it means something, right? Well, at least for me, nothing happened.”

“I don’t know, you were totally blushing.”

Unexpectedly, Ibuki’s comment made Airi’s face slightly red.

“W-What? I wasn’t blushing! Could you stop telling lies like that?”

“You couldn’t even look me in the eye properly. When I joked about kissing before, you were all flustered…”

“The one who was flustered was you, right? …Ah, I get it! You actually wanted to kiss! You’re just pretending not to be affected …You got it wrong before too!”

“Hey! You!! That thing from before was…”

“Well, I am cute and charming, after all. It’s not your fault that a virgin like you would react like that. You’re already at that age, you know?”

“Well, yeah… blushing all the way to your neck… So, you actually wanted to kiss someone. And not just anyone, but me?”

“Ugh, this guy is such a narcissistic and delusional one .”

“But you, on top of being a narcissistic girl, you act all cute and pouty and act like you are innocent. Ugh, you’re a landmine of a woman. Maybe I should stop being involved with you.”

“Ohh, so that’s the kind of thing you say. Fine, got it. Then, I won’t talk to you anymore, so don’t talk to me either. We’re done being friends!”

Ibuki and Airi started a silly argument over nothing.

Seeing the two of them, Kazuhara and Hazuki exchanged glances…

“Once we opened it up, it turned out to be a petty quarrel between a couple in a rut.”

“In other words, the usual. We worried for nothing.”

They shrugged their shoulders as the scene unfolding before them was something usual.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : Zenon#4120