My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

56. Just the Two of Us at the Water Park in July! (5)*

My cute, beautiful childhood friend, clad in a bikini swimsuit, is telling me that if I’m just honest, she’ll grant me anything.

Aki, my childhood friend, is the type to joke around, but she never makes empty promises.

If I just said, ‘Yeah, I want to do something naughty with you,’ I really could do whatever I wanted. No matter what it was.

*…So this is what Aki’s dad was talking about.*

The reason he was so anxious, saying Aki and my mom might be scheming to cause some sort of trouble…it was for this very moment.

The thought settled in, and my Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

Aki really came prepared…

“……”

“……”

Glance.

My gaze drifted downwards before I could stop it.

The look in Aki’s eyes, as she looked up at me, was one hundred percent genuine. There wasn’t even a need to ask, ‘Are you being serious…?’

*…Ah.*

Thump-thump.

Suddenly, my heart pounded in my chest.

No, it had already been thumping wildly for a while now.

Just being close to Aki in her bikini was enough to make me nervous, but after hearing Aki’s direct and brazen invitation, my heart was beating so violently I was afraid it might burst.

“…Uju-chan.”

“…Huh?”

“You…don’t wanna do it with me?”

“……”

Could such a thing even be?

My silence stemmed from a sliver of male pride, or something akin to it.

Frankly, I was itching to get down and dirty, right then and there. k*ssing, if possible, and things far beyond that.

To say I wasn’t would be a blatant lie, wouldn’t it? Not that I’d throw a full-blown parade, but what man wouldn’t want to do the deed with a pretty girl, given the chance?

Especially since Aki was offering to turn all those dirty fantasies swirling in my head into a tangible reality.

To not be tempted was to be an idiot, a moron – no, something far worse. Perhaps someone who’d lost their masculine core, or something closely resembling it. And I was neither, just a perfectly normal guy.

…So. My ears burning at Aki’s seduction wasn’t my fault, that’s what it boiled down to.

‘Should I be honest, or just brush it off…?’

For a fleeting moment, I pondered it with genuine seriousness.

Aki seemed to sense my internal struggle.

She glanced around, then subtly snuggled closer… *squish*.

Her soft br*easts pressed intimately against my bare skin, a full-frontal assault.

“…You want to touch them, don’t you?”

“…….”

“Want to caress them, squeeze them. …Just do whatever you want, right?”

“…….”

I froze, standing there.

No, I died standing there.

“You want to do something naughty with me… just say ‘yes,’ one little word.”

“…….”

“Then, I…”

Aki trailed off, her voice a tantalizing whisper.

The sentence remained unfinished, but somehow, I knew exactly where it was heading.

“…Tonight, I’ll sneak into Ujuu~chan’s room…”

“…….”

My heart plummeted.

I wanted to scrap all the promises, everything.

I wanted to pull her into my arms and k*ss her senseless, whisper ‘I’ll be waiting…’

For a split second, that’s precisely what I wanted to do, and I almost instinctively blurted out “Yes.”

‘Ah, truly…’

The image of Aki’s father, his face earnest as he asked, ‘Can I truly trust you with the Space Force?’ swam before my eyes.

I truly, utterly didn’t want to say it.

Not as a joke, but truly, truly, truly, truly, truly didn’t want to.

With the feeling of almost coughing up blood, I let out a long sigh.

And said,

“In that case, I don’t think it’ll work out….”

Aki’s face stiffened, a *thunk* of dismay.

A look that said her heart had dropped with an impact different from mine. I hurriedly added,

“Ah, no. It’s not that I don’t want to with *you*. What I mean is, it feels like, not *yet*, not *now*. That’s the meaning I’m trying to get across….”

“Not yet…?”

“Yeah, not yet….”

“When will it *not* be ‘not yet’…?”

“Uh…. When we’re old enough to take responsibility…?”

“…When is *that*?”

“Hmm…. Well, I have to go to the army first, so twenty-two, no, maybe twenty-three, twenty-four…?”

It was the first time I’d been asked this sort of question, so the words tumbled out any which way.

Aki, upon hearing my words, seemed to be calculating something, furrowing her brow prettily.

“Twenty-four means…. …Seven years from now.”

*Whip.*

She lifted her head, shooting me a glare as if to say, *Are you kidding me?*

“Right now, you’re telling *atashi* to wait seven years…?”

“No, that. What I mean is….”

“Seven years, *seven years*……. You want me to wait even *more*?!”

Huh.

Is she seriously angry right now…?

I’ve seen her pout or sulk before, but this is the first time in eleven years I’ve seen Aki making such a truly face.

So, slightly dazed, I stared down at Aki with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, and Aki, as if trying to grab my collar, scratched at the area around my neck with her fingernails, then, realizing there was nothing to grab in her swimsuit, gripped my right wrist tightly.

“Uju~chan, are you messing with me…?”

“I’m not messing around….”

“…If it’s not a joke, that’s even more of a problem, ya know?!”

Aki’s voice, booming and resonant.

So loud was her voice that the surrounding customers began to glance over at us, two by two. Among them, some whispered, “What’s this, a fight?” while others watched silently, as if observing some sort of curious spectacle.

“Woo-joo *chan*, be honest. Really, truly honest, okay? You… you actually hate *atashi*, don’t you?”

“Huh? What’s with that…”

“Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense, does it? If Woo-joo *chan* doesn’t hate *atashi*, how could you tell someone to wait another seven years? Especially to someone who’s already waited eleven…?! ”

Where the eleven years came from, I wasn’t quite sure, but adding seven years to eleven… that made eighteen in total, didn’t it?

Oldboy only ate fried dumplings while locked up for fifteen years, but even longer than that… eighteen years of waiting *is* a pretty long time, huh…

“N-no. I don’t hate you…”

“Then, you like *atashi*?”

If it came down to liking or disliking, then naturally, it leaned towards the liking side.

I nodded without a moment’s hesitation, and Aki seemed to soften slightly at my response, exhaling a puff of excited breath.

“Then why did you say that?”

“Huh? Say what?”

“Why tell *atashi* to wait another seven years, is what I’m asking. …Woo-joo *chan*, you said you like *atashi*.”

“……”

It wasn’t *that* kind of “like,” the meaning of the word had been different.

Though, of course, I did like her in *that* way, too.

But separately from all that, just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can just randomly do *that* kind of thing, can you…?

Not all things you *want* to do are things you *can* do, and besides, every situation should rightfully have a certain order to things.

And here I was, not long ago, thinking I wanted to throw away the promise and everything else, wanting to hug her, k*ss her, and do something racy. But even *I* had to admit that wasn’t how it worked…

The day I do something racy with Aki… It should rightly be after some advancement in our relationship.

And, just like my father said, after we reach an age where we can be responsible for each other… That was the right way to go about it, wasn’t it?

Because only then would I have the face to meet both of our parents.

Because only then could we receive everyone’s congratulations.

My head cooled down slightly.

“…Well, that’s…”

My excitement now gone, I carefully told Aki what I had been thinking.

I want to do *that* kind of thing with you too, but I think it’s still too early. Let’s think about it again when we’re a little older… that was roughly what I had in mind.

“…Woo-joo *chan*.”

“Mm.”

“Say… by chance…”

Aki’s gaze drifted down towards my waist.

“…No, it shouldn’t be. I… I checked last time.”

“What shouldn’t be?”

“…”

Aki suddenly looked up at me, her eyes silent.

Judging by her lips, all puckered and hesitant, she seemed to have a lot she wanted to say.

But Aki just sighed, a look of resignation washing over her face, and released my wrist.

“Well, alright. Uju~chan has always had this stubborn streak in the strangest places… I get it.”

“Oh, so you’re forgiving me?”

“…What are you talking about? I’m not mad!”

*Stare.*

Aki’s eyes narrowed, turning sharp.

Anyone could see she was definitely angry, but I just shrugged and nodded with a smile.

*‘Phew, that’s a relief…’*

I’d been worried she’d keep being angry after I rejected her, but it seemed my sincerity had gotten through, and Aki had more or less accepted it.

Relieved, I noticed that people’s eyes were drawn to us, and, wanting to slip away, I gently took Aki’s hand.

“Aki, let’s…”

“…Ah, but Uju~chan.”

“Hm? …Mph.”

Then, our lips met.

Aki, without warning, at what I thought was the end of it all, pulled me close and gave me a surprise k*ss.

Our lips touched for only two seconds.

It was so brief, but I, who had never imagined she would k*ss me in front of everyone, could only widen my eyes in shock and freeze in place.

“…I said I understood, not that I wouldn’t do anything, see?”

“Huh…?”

“If Uju~chan wants to wait, wait as much as you want. …But, I won’t wait.”

“……”

What does that even mean.

What meaning…

I blinked, slow to grasp. Aki placed a slender finger on my lips, pressing firmly.

“Like this, doing everything you want to, just like today.”

“……”

“And on top of that, tormenting Spacey-chan to your heart’s content while seducing you… See if you can resist jumping me. If you can’t take it and pounce, I’ll laugh. ‘See? I knew you couldn’t resist~?’ and all that.”

“……”

“……Hmph.”

Aki spun around, a complete revolution.

And just like that, she sliced through the water, gracefully striding towards the edge of the pool.

I watched her smooth back, her straight, departing figure, laid bare, and thought to myself.

She *is* definitely angry.

“……”

Yeah.

Definitely angry.

“……Heeh.”

“…….”

Why does she seem even more delighted than usual…?

* * *

That evening.

After spending the whole day at the water park with Aki and finally dragging myself back to my room, I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

My body was exhausted, but my mind, strangely enough, was as sharp as a tack.

The reason for this was probably Aki’s words to me just a few hours ago.

That bold declaration to seduce me so much that I couldn’t bear *not* to jump her.

“……Ummm.”

Spin.

I rolled over to my left.

Like I said before, Aki never makes empty promises, even if she jokes around.

If she says she’ll do something, she definitely will. She’s the kind of girl who has to get her way, no matter what.

So, Aki really won’t stop seducing me until I can’t resist jumping her.

No matter what.

“Hmm….”

A slow turn.

My body shifted rightward.

That’s what worries me.

That Aki might be up to something… strange.

‘…Up until this afternoon, everything was fine, though.’

But there’s no guarantee she’ll stay well-behaved from tomorrow onward, so I’m on edge.

Why so anxious? Because I’m afraid I might actually give in.

Truth be told, even before Aki declared she’d seduce me, I was already walking a tightrope, teetering on the brink.

My patience is already as thin as paper, half-gone as it is. If I’m subjected to Aki’s direct and audacious seduction in this state…

If that were to happen…

A scandal so great, I wouldn’t be able to face our parents… that kind of accident might occur…?

“….”

That can’t happen.

At least, not before I’ve done my military service.

No, at the very least, it needs to wait until I’m past twenty…

–Knock knock.

Just when I was lost deep in my own thoughts, someone knocked on the suite door.

I jumped up reflexively.

“Who is it?”

–Room service, sir.

A polite voice drifted from beyond the door.

It seemed to be a hotel employee, but I hadn’t ordered any room service.

“What is this, a mistake….”

It seems they brought something meant for another room to mine by mistake.

That thought reached me, and I approached the door to send the hotel employee back.

Creak-.

“……?”

What is this.

Why is nobody here?

“…Woo-joo~chan!”

The instant I felt that flicker of bewilderment, Aki practically sprung from the side.

The sudden intrusion of pink hair into the corner of my vision genuinely startled me, making me flinch and stumble back a step.

“Ah, jeez, you scared me….”

“Hehe, did I?”

“Well, yeah, of course you did….”

My heart hammered, a feeling distinct from the flutter I usually experienced around Aki.

My reaction seemed to satisfy her, for she curled one side of her lips into a mischievous grin, like a kid who’d just pulled off a prank.

“Woo-joo~chan, can I come in?”

“…Come in.”

I muttered the grudging reply, but shifted aside nonetheless.

Leaving a girl standing in the hotel hallway like that might invite strange misunderstandings.

-Thump.

“Excuse me~”

She chirped the phrase with anything *but* an apologetic tone, smoothly swapping her shoes for the provided slippers.

Slippers shuffling, Aki ventured further into the room, gazing out at the view from the living room window – the curtains still undrawn – before finally speaking.

“I think Woo-joo~chan’s room has a better view than mine.”

“Hmm, really…?”

“Yep, definitely. It’s so open and clear from this side. …So.”

Spin.

Aki turned back to face me.

“I think I’ll sleep here tonight.”

“…Eh?”

“…Hehe.”