My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

70. From Childhood Friend to Girlfriend (1)

“…Aki, didn’t you say that?”

I gazed steadily at Aki.

And then I said,

“You said you wondered when I would be honest with you…”

“Ah, uh, a-ano, th-that’s…”

“…It’s now.”

“…?!”

Aki jumped away from me, startled.

“……No, a joke.”

“It’s no jest, nor do I mean to tease.”

I took Aki’s hand in mine, squeezing it tight.

Each word I imbued with strength, reiterating with care,

“I… I fancy you.”

“…….”

Aki’s breath hitched, stilled.

Truly, not a jest.

“Perhaps more than you imagine. This, even you…”

“……W-Wait, just a moment!”

Breath returned, and Aki pushed against my chest with her hand.

I wondered if her cheeks could redden further, a fiery bloom rising high.

“A-Air! Just, just a moment, air… I need to breathe…!”

“Ah, yes.”

“……Hoo, hoooh. …Hoo.”

Many breaths, deep and drawn.

Her hand rested on her chest, as if truly struggling for air, Aki fixed her gaze just below my neck, striving to calm her flushed face, inhaling and exhaling with dedication.

“T-There, I’m… I’m alright now….”

“……Truly?”

“Yes, I’m alright. …Hoooh.”

“…….”

Was she truly alright?

Her words insisted so, yet her face was ablaze, and her breaths came in ragged, wheezing gasps.

A sudden wave of concern washed over me, and cautiously, I touched Aki’s shoulder.

“Aki, if you’re unwell, we could speak of this later…”

“──N-No, it’s alright!”

Aki cried out, her voice near a shout.

The sudden volume startled me into a flinch, and Aki herself, surprised by her own outburst, gasped ‘Hah…’ and covered her mouth with both hands.

“A-Ah, s-sorry. Continue…!”

“Ah, yes.”

“Since you told me to keep talking, I guess it’s okay if I do. “

I cleared my throat, and continued what I had been saying.

“What I like, Aki, you knew that too, right? I didn’t say it, but I made it pretty obvious….”

“…U-uh, yeah.”

Aki’s face turned as red as a radish.

“I knew it too. That you liked me, Aki. …So, in this kind of situation where we both know, it’s a little embarrassing to say it out loud now.”

Still, the guy should confess first, right?

Aki seemed to be wanting that, too.

“I like you, Aki. Will you go out with me?”

“……”

Aki inhaled sharply.

Judging by her reaction, Aki seemed pretty nervous, so I didn’t rush her for an answer and waited patiently.

No, actually, I couldn’t rush her.

Even though I wasn’t showing it, I was just as nervous as Aki….

“G-g-go…goin’…with…?”

“…Aki?”

“Go, going, going out, o…?!”

“Ah, uh-huh…”

If I started stuttering too, the conversation wouldn’t progress, so I nodded, maintaining my composure.

Then, Aki, as if she couldn’t believe she had even asked the question.

“…Haa, haa… Haaah. …Hee, hee.”

She made a sound like air escaping from her lungs, then covered her mouth and started laughing quietly.

“Hee, hee… Hee… *snort*, hee!”

“……”

Wait, is she crying…?

“…Ahem.”

After laughing like that for a while, Aki suddenly straightened up, as if she hadn’t been laughing at all.

She seemed to want to pretend that nothing was wrong, but she couldn’t hide the smile that stretched her lips toward her ears, so it was pretty pointless.

“Alright. If Uju~chan *reaaallly*, *reaaallly* wants to go out with Atashi…. I-I’ll go out with you. …B-but!”

Aki glanced at me sideways.

She had the look of someone wanting to say something.

“I need to hear this… When did it start?”

“Huh? What started when?”

“When you started to, like, like me. Specifically…”

Ah, and here I thought it was something else.

I scratched my cheek and opened my mouth.

“I’ve liked you since elementary school… so, about six years, maybe?”

“…Wh-What?!”

“No, wait, five, probably. But even if it’s just five years… Uh, what’s wrong?”

“Why, why only five years…?!”

Why? Well, because that’s roughly when I became truly aware of my feelings.

Of course, I’d liked her before then too. It’s just that’s around the time I realized what I felt for Aki wasn’t ‘like,’ but ‘love.’

I was about to explain all that when, suddenly,

“N-No way! I, I’ve liked you since the day we first met…!”

*Thwack* –.

Aki grabbed the front of my school uniform shirt, right over my heart.

“Why is it only five years for you, Uju~chan…?!”

“No, well…”

“Uju~chan traitor, total traitor! Was I the only one who was serious about you from the start…?!”

Not content with just questioning me, Aki shook my clothes back and forth.

“H-Hold on a sec…”

“Enough, I don’t need excuses! Uju~chan dummy, sea cucumber, sea anemone!”

“No, just calm down, let me explain…”

Thanks to her, I was being tossed around like a sapling in a gale, feeling a little dizzy, until I finally managed to grab Aki’s hand.

“I said five years, but it’s basically like I’ve liked you for eleven years.”

“Liar. How can five years be eleven?”

“No, it’s not a lie… There were six years when I liked you without knowing I liked you, and five years when I liked you knowing I liked you. So I said five years, but I was still liking you even when I didn’t realize it, so it’s eleven years total.”

Aki’s lips pressed into a firm line.

She stopped talking and just stared at me, her lips pursed.

She seemed to be scrutinizing my eyes to figure out if what I was saying was true or a lie.

I, with a heart one hundred percent earnest, met Aki’s gaze with confidence.

“……”

“……”

Then, slowly, Aki opened her mouth.

“…Truthful, yeah?”

“Yeah, truthful.”

“…Understood.”

Aki released my clothes with a soft *shrr*.

“But…”

Then, she gripped my clothes again, just a little lower than where she held them before.

“Even so, *atashi* don’t like it.”

“What don’t you like?”

“*Atashi* knew *atashi’s* heart from the start, but in the end, Uchu~chan didn’t even properly know their own heart… right?”

“……”

“Why, is that wrong? You got something else to say?”

“…Nope.”

A fact, unadulterated; what could I say?

Desperate for an excuse, I shifted my gaze slightly, and Aki, with lips slightly pouting, gazed up at me, all wide-eyed and attentive.

She released my clothes just a little and widened the space between us.

“Do it one more time.”

“Do what?”

“Confess.”

“……”

Wasn’t it over after we agreed to date?

I was a little embarrassed, and not knowing why I had to do it, I questioned her with my eyes alone, and Aki, with a slightly sly attitude, flashed her signature cute smile.

“Just… *atashi* wanted to hear it one more time, maybe?”

“……”

“You don’t want to? If you don’t want to, forget it… Betrayer.”

“Ah, alright. I’ll do it.”

If I don’t do it now, I feel like I’ll be branded a betrayer forever.

And well, having confessed once, what’s to stop me from doing it twice?

Clumsy, but with a touch of audacity, I spoke.

“I like you. Aki, let’s go out.”

“Hah, just one more time. This time, a little different…”

“Let’s date, I like you. Aki.”

“…J-Just one last time.”

“…?”

“Q-Quickly…!”

“……”

Is words alone not enough, then?

There seemed to be a reason she kept making me repeat it, so I slowly reached out my arm.

Reaching out, I brought my arm around behind Aki’s waist and gave a light embrace.

And then, bringing my lips to her ear.

“I love you.”

A soft whisper, followed by a light k*ss.

*Tch.*

On her cheek, and then, deepening my voice, I added a word.

“I’ll treat you well, so let’s go out.”

“……”

*Hwaaak.*

Aki’s cheeks, ears, even her neck, turned crimson.

An undeniably lovely reaction, as though thoroughly embarrassed by my confession.

I had always thought she was cute, but somehow, she was even cuter today. My heart stirring, I gave Aki a k*ss on her earlobe, too.

“W-Wait…!”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll keep k*ssing you…?”

“O-Okay, I got it. I’ll go out with you, I’ll go out with you…!”

“…Hmph, okay.”

Hearing the answer, I smiled, satisfied.

Aki, thinking I was just teasing her, pouted her lips and gave my shoulder a light nudge.

“…Idiot.”

“Heh…”

“Why, why are you laughing…?”

Calling me an idiot with a face that red, it’s kind of cute, isn’t it?

“What, why are you laughing at me…!”

“Hmm, it’s nothing. Really…”

I thought about telling her, but it’s probably even cuter if she doesn’t know.

I played completely ignorant whether Aki looked displeased or not, and to that, Aki, with a cute little ‘Tch…,’ pinched my cheek lightly with her right hand.

“Ah, ow.”

“…Hmph.”

Aki let go of my hand.

Truthfully, it didn’t hurt at all, but it seems she let go thinking I was really in pain since I pretended I was.

My childhood friend.

No, my girlfriend now.

As expected, my girlfriend has a heart of gold, you see…

“…Woo-joo~-chan.”

“Yeah.”

I almost said, “Why?” but I couldn’t.

Because Aki k*ssed me.

It was such a sudden k*ss I didn’t even have time to react.

“…Hngh.”

And before I could even process the situation, Aki took her lips away.

The k*ss lasted less than five seconds, but I was momentarily dazed, and just blankly stared down at Aki.

A surprise attack that came completely out of the blue at a timing I never anticipated.

“Back then, I couldn’t even imagine it would be like this…”

“…What?”

“…Like this.”

*Chu.*

Aki’s lips met mine once more.

“I didn’t know we’d be k*ssing. …Hehehe.”

“…Ah.”

“Did you know, Uju-chan?”

“No, I didn’t…”

“……Mmm, come here.”

Aki’s arms, so soft, encircled my neck.

I couldn’t quite grasp when Aki was referring to.

But I think I understood the meaning behind this gesture.

I met Aki’s lips with my own.

A bit longer than usual.

“……”

“……*Chuup*.”

“……”

“……Mmm. …Mmm-hmm.”

“……”

“*Chuup*….”

“……Haa.”

“Haa, mmm….”

As if her strength was giving out, Aki, who had been holding my neck, drew back.

Just moments ago, that soft body had been nestled against me, and as it left, I felt a pang of longing, and without realizing it, I let out a sigh.

“Still not enough, Uju-chan…?”

Aki looked at me, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Mmm.”

I answered, pouring my sincerity into the word, and Aki gently took my hand.

“I’m not quite satisfied either….”

“……”

“……Want to go?”

“Go where?”

“To my place. ……Mama and Papa aren’t home today.”

“……”

I blankly nodded my head.