"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 3 - The Memorable First Kiss

“Wh-What are you saying all of a sudden?!” Ibuki exclaimed in surprise as his eyes were wide-open. 

On the other hand, Airi had a triumphant expression as she smiled.

“I said… Let’s kiss… If you don’t feel any s****l attraction towards me, then it’s just an act of pressing lips together. It shouldn’t be anything to be embarrassed about, nor should it make you shy or excited… It’s something that can be done mechanically.”

“I-It’s not that I don’t agree with that, but… a kiss is not something that should be taken lightly.”

“I don’t mind. After all, didn’t your parents do it to you when you were a baby?… Or is Ibuki-kun someone who wants to treasure his first kiss for your first love?” Airi teased.

‘He’s unexpectedly a romantic, huh?’ Airi thought. 

Ibuki was slightly annoyed when he heard her belittling words.

“Welp, I’m kidding. There’s no way Ibuki-kun can kiss me, right? You’re too shy, inexperienced, and a virgin after all.”

“….”

‘Does she really think I can’t kiss her?’ Ibuki muttered to himself.

There was no way that Ibuki was going to let her have her way. He suppressed his competitive nature and showed a small smile.

“Then why don’t we find out who is the coward here. Okay, let’s kiss and find it out,” Ibuki said.

“Huh?” Airi looked confused and widened her eyes at his words.

Apparently, Ibuki agreeing to this situation was totally unexpected for her.

“What’s wrong, Airi? You look surprised.” 

“N-No, well…,” Airi hesitated.

“Ah… Maybe it was just a joke? If it was a joke, it’s fine. I don’t really mind either way.”

If there’s no s****l attraction towards each other, then just a kiss should be okay, right? That’s what Airi said at the beginning. But there’s no way Ibuki could kiss her.

When he saw her troubled and dejected expression, Ibuki was convinced that he had won in this situation.

However…

“I didn’t say it as a joke. Shall we do it?” Airi said while staring intently at Ibuki.

At Airi’s unexpected words, Ibuki was slightly taken aback.

“…You don’t have to push yourself, you know?”

“I’m not pushing myself. Or… were you pretending to say those words earlier?”

Airi gave a defiant smile.

Ibuki knew that it was just Airi’s bravado, but…

He couldn’t back down now.

“Well, if you’re okay with it, then let’s do it. Shall we start right away?”

Saying that, Ibuki stood up and turned towards Airi.

When he calmly thought about it, he couldn’t help but realize how attractive Airi was as a girl.

Her beautiful blonde hair, blue eyes, and fairy-like appearance.

Smooth, white skin, slender limbs, and feminine curves.

“Hey, don’t stare at me like that.”

Airi frowned and said while looking embarrassed, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Ibuki didn’t want Airi to suspect that he was conscious of her as a woman, so he replied calmly.

“You’re just being self-conscious. I’m just acting normally… So, what should we do? Who will take the lead?”

“Well, it’s more reasonable for me, who suggested it, to go first.”

Airi said while looking a little awkward, then looked down slightly away from Ibuki as her cheeks turned red due to embarrasment.

Then she slowly approached him step by step and placed her hands on his shoulders in an intimate manner.

“Well, I’m going to do it now. Close your eyes.”

“Sure…”

Ibuki closed his eyes and waited for Airi to kiss him.

His heart was beating fiercely and it was increasing every passing second.

The time strangely felt like it was flowing slower and slower.

“…Airi.”

“W-What!?”

“Well, it’s been quite a while…”

Ibuki opened his eyes and said those words as he waited for quite a while but… Airi did nothing and stood there ideally.

His childhood friend blushed deeply and held onto Ibuki’s shoulders tightly, as she was frozen and made no moves.

It was clear that her legs were shaking from standing on her tiptoes for a long time.

“I-It was about to happen just now!”

It was like a child’s excuse when they get scolded by their mother.

In other words, she was trying to get away from this situation.

Ibuki realized that Airi was embarrassed and he inwardly felt a little relieved.

Then he began to calm down and tried taking hold of this situation.

“…If you don’t mind, shall I take the lead? Or would you like to stop for now?”

“Huh… Um, well…”

Airi’s eyes darted here and there when she heard his suggestion.

After giving it a little thought…

“Then, um… I’ll leave it to you. So, what should I do?”

“Well, let’s see… Lift your chin a little bit.”

“Li-like this…?”

Airi raised her chin a little and looked up at Ibuki with upturned eyes, her blue eyes glistening.

“Should I close my eyes?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

“Okay… I’ll keep them open.”

Airi blinked rapidly while eagerly waiting for his next move.

Ibuki puts his hand on her shoulder and slowly leaned in closer.

Then Airi averted her gaze and finally closed her eyes tightly.

In the end, she decided that it would be less embarrassing if she closed her eyes.

Seeing her cutesy reactions, Ibuki smiled gently and made his move.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Airi’s lips.

The sensation which both of them felt was like there was no sense of reality.

For Ibuki, it felt like he was controlling a player in a game. It was that unusual for him.

“Huh…”

“O-Oh…”

But their kiss was rather short and they soon separated as both of their faces were flushed beet red due to embarrassment.

Suddenly, Airi lost her balance and stumbled on her legs.

But before she could fall down on the floor, Ibuki came to the rescue and caught her in his arms as he brought her face closer to his chest.

She snuggled closer to his chest when she felt protected in his gentle embrace.

“Are you okay, Airi…?”

“Eh… well…”

Airi panicked as she was breathing in a rugged manner. Her face was bright red and she looked embarrassed.

“…It’s nothing. I guess I can’t get excited about doing these things with Ibuki-kun after all.”

She said while snorting softly.

She seemed to want to say that it didn’t work but the reality was the exa ct opposite of her words.

“…And what about you, Ibuki-kun?”

“…I guess I’m pretty normal too. I mean, I can’t get excited about my childhood friend.”

Ibuki said as if reminding himself.

He doesn’t have any romantic feelings for Airi. So even if they kiss, he shouldn’t feel anything.

“Hmm…”

On the other hand, Airi seemed a little dissatisfied with Ibuki’s reply.

She looked at him with a suspicious look.

“Really, you didn’t feel anything?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“…Then, shall we try it again?”

“It might be useless to do it again, but… sure, let’s try it. You go first this time.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Can’t you do it? Well, you couldn’t do it before so that’s not a surprise.”

“O-Okay, I will do it this time!”

Airi shouted and placed both hands on Ibuki’s shoulders with a determined expression on her face.

Then she leaned closer to him, standing on tiptoe, placing her weight on him.

“…Let’s do it.”

“Hurry up.”

“……”

Airi closed her eyes tightly, slowly approaching him… and lightly pressed her lips against his.

The feeling was euphoric and soft…

When Ibuki thought that this was the sensation of his childhood friend’s lips, he felt a little fluttery, uneasy feeling.

For the second time, he finally realized that he was now kissing his childhood friend.

His heart pounded violently with nervousness.

His body temperature rose rapidly, and something seemed to overflow from deep inside his body.

But it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

“….Haa.”

“Puhaa…”

When he came to his senses, their lips had already separated.

Their breathing was as erratic as if they had just finished running a marathon.

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Ibuki said those, slightly looking away from Airi.

Meanwhile, Airi smiled a little when she saw that he was definitely lying as his expressions and a faint smile on his lips told some other story.

“Really? Although your face seems to be red.”

“Isn’t yours the same?”

Both of their faces were bright red.

It wasn’t just because of the setting sun; that fact was clear.

“Well, it was just a little embarrassing for me.”

“That’s the same for me.”

It was the first experience for both of them.

So they just got nervous and embarrassed for no reason…

They didn’t feel any attraction as opposite s***s, let alone love.

“Well, it was our first time, so we were a little nervous, that’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We were both feeling fluttery…”

Both of them decided to forget it and move on.

“Well, even if we didn’t feel anything, kissing isn’t something to take lightly.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not good for our reputation, and it was indeed a reckless move.”

Both of them ended the conversation a little forcibly.

And after a while of awkward silence…

“Well, let’s go home soon.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They soon left the classroom and started walking on their way home.

When they reached their neighborhood, both of them said their goodbyes to each other…

“Well then, see you tomorrow, Ibuki-kun.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

After parting ways with Ibuki at the entrance, Airi muttered to herself while touching her own lips as she smiled affectionately.

“…It was just my imagination, right?”

Airi’s face was flushed beet red when she thought about the kiss.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment your opinions below! 

Also, if you enjoyed my translation, support me by donating a cup of Coffee through Ko-Fi.
The button is available on the top of the page.

Found any errors or typos? Feel free to contact me on Discord. 

TL : Zenon#4120