"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 5 - Let's try it, shall we?
Just at that moment when High School Students were about to start heading home… It was that time of day.
A certain house, inside a private room.
In the girl’s room, adorned with lovely furniture, there was a boy and a girl.
The girl had beautiful golden hair and sapphire blue eyes, with a delicate appearance like a fairy.
And on the other hand the boy had a well-defined face, who was pressing the adorable girl against the wall.
The boy placed both hands on the wall, inserted his leg between the girl’s legs, and pressed his body tightly against hers, as if trying to crush her against the wall.
On the other hand, the girl blushed and turned her face to the side, feeling embarrassed.
“I love you, Airi.”
The boy whispered those words in the girl’s ear.
Upon hearing that, the girl blushed even more and trembled slightly.
After a few more exchanges…
The boy placed his hand on the girl’s chin, turned her face towards him, and said,
“Can I kiss you?”
☆☆☆☆☆☆
The time goes back… to early morning.
Ibuki and Airi were walking to school together, just like every day.
They were walking side by side.
However, there was no conversation happening between them.
Of course, they weren’t holding hands, and in fact, they seemed to maintain a certain distance between them.
And while the students watched them from a distance, they engaged in gossip once again.
“Hey, did you hear? Those two… they were kissing in the classroom after school.”
“Isn’t that a bit too much… doing it at school?”
“I heard it as a rumor, but apparently, it was Kamishiro-san who made the move!”
“Oh, really? That’s surprising.”
“Even if they’re childhood friends… isn’t he getting a bit carried away?”
“Kazami-kun must be having a hard time, huh?”
Those voices reached their ears while being carried by the wind.
Ibuki and Airi walked by, and the voices lowered, but the gossip itself didn’t stop.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence fell between Ibuki and Airi.
And it was Airi who broke that silence first.
“…I’m sorry.”
With her face lowered, Airi murmured those words quietly.
“It’s alright…”
Her ears peeking out from her golden hair were dyed bright red.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
After school…
Ibuki and Airi were currently in Airi’s room.
If they didn’t have any particular thing to do, it had become their routine to hang out together in one of their rooms until dinnertime.
Sometimes they played games together, and other times they simply spent time in each other’s company.
“…We should have chosen a better time and place.”
While reading a manga, Ibuki muttered those words.
The “time and place” referred to the moment and location for kissing.
Doing it at school, especially in the classroom, was a big problem in itself.
In fact, some people saw them, and it immediately became the subject of gossip for everyone.
“Yes, you’re right… Let’s be more careful from now on.”
While still playing with her smartphone, Airi replied.
“…Will there be another time as well?”
“Huh? Ah…”
Airi stumbled over her words in response to Ibuki’s casual question.
Her ears were slightly flushed.
Ibuki, on the other hand, felt a little awkward — although he didn’t have any deep intentions — and regretted his words.
“I… I just misspoke…”
“I-I see…”
Recalling what happened the other day, both of them became restless.
There was a strange awkwardness that they had never felt before.
“Anyway, it’s an exaggeration for everyone to make such a big deal out of simply touching lips to lips…”
Airi frowned and spoke.
The fact that Airi and Ibuki had kissed in the classroom had become a hot topic recently in their class… no, in the entire school.
“People seem to enjoy that kind of gossip… especially girls.”
Ibuki chuckled wryly.
Although it was called a hot topic, there seemed to be a slight difference in interest between boys and girls.
“Yeah… It shouldn’t concern ‘others’ wherever and whatever you and I do, right?”
Airi said with a small laugh, accompanied by a hint of frustration.
It seemed that she had accumulated various grievances.
Then Airi let out a small sigh and looked at Ibuki…
“Oh, that manga…”
“Hmm? Was it not good?”
The manga Ibuki was reading was a so-called “Shojo Manga” that was stored in Airi’s bookshelf, a work that focused on high school romance as its main theme.
“No… Is it interesting?”
“Isn’t it yours? Haven’t you read it?”
“It’s not mine. I borrowed it… or rather, it was forced upon me…”
“I see, that makes sense.”
Airi didn’t read many Shojo manga in the first place.
If anything, she actually preferred shonen manga.
“It was decently interesting.”
“Oh…”
Airi seemed slightly surprised and widened her eyes a bit.
“Although Ibuki-kun is a guy, what things did you find interesting in that manga? Do you find the female protagonist cute or want to date her? Or is it more like empathizing with the female protagonist and thinking the hero is cool?”
“Hmm, no… It’s not like that.”
Since it was a work targeting women, it was difficult for Ibuki, a guy, to empathize.
“I guess I enjoy the dynamics of human relationships and the nuances of emotions… Even if I can’t empathize, there are still ways to enjoy it.”
“I see.”
Airi responded with a satisfied voice.
“I’m the type who understands the characters.”
“If that’s the case, maybe you can enjoy it more than me?”
“I’ve never fallen in love or desired a lover, so I can’t sympathize.”
“That… Well, I’m the same way.”
Ibuki reads romance stories, but he never thinks, “I want a love like this,” or “I want a girl like this as my girlfriend.”
Neither Ibuki nor Airi had ever felt the desire to be in a romantic relationship or have a lover.
They couldn’t quite understand the feelings of those who yearned for a partner.
…However, according to their mutual friends, they said, “Well, it doesn’t make sense for someone who already has a lover to want another lover,” and “You are already lovers.”
“In the first place, I can’t empathize with people who make a big fuss about just holding hands or kissing.”
“Hmm…”
For someone who claims it’s just “holding hands or kissing,” they seemed quite embarrassed and bashful.
To Ibuki, Airi’s words sounded like she was putting up a front.
“Is it really possible to fall in love over something like this? It makes me question that. Personally, I don’t think my heart would be moved by something like this…”
“Well, how about we give it a try?”
“Huh…?”
Ibuki smiled while looking at Airi’s puzzled voice and pointed to a manga.
“I’m talking about this one here. Should we try it for real? Maybe we’ll be able to experience it firsthand?”
Ibuki said it in a half-joking way.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
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TL : Zenon#4120