Sakura-kun and I walked together.
In the back of the park we passed, there was playground equipment similar to the one we had seen during the summer vacation. It was much smaller than that one and didn’t have a partition inside, but it was a playset where you could go inside a semicircle made of stone. The top was a slide.
It was four o’clock in the afternoon. The sun was going down.
“Hey, let’s go check that out.”
Sakura-kun looked at me dubiously, looked at the playground equipment again, and then looked at me.
“Eh?”
“It kind of looks like the one where we met in the summer vacation.”
“Eh? Eh? Is that the kind of playground equipment that makes you lean in closer?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded immediately and headed towards it.
“No, no, no. Let’s not do that”
I had asked him casually but was met with fierce rejection.
“Eh, why not?”
“It’s too small for me. So I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? It can hold two people… Even Sumo wrestlers can use it… If it’s one person.”
“I think it would be better if I didn’t.”
Sakura-kun, who was more assertive than ever, shook his head violently.
“Shut up. It’s already decided.”
I grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him towards it.
“Stop it! I can’t go into a small space like that with a girl I like!”
“It’s better than being with someone you don’t like.”
“No! I’m gross and I’m a misfire with the straw sticking out Lesh!” (TN: It’s not meant to make sense.. )
I ignored Sakura-kun, who had started to mix up the Japanese letters, and looked into the entrance of the playset.
When I entered the place, it was much smaller than I expected. There was a little extra space if we sat down, but we couldn’t stand up. The room was already full with just two people. It was refreshing to be next to someone who wasn’t behind a wall.
It was different from the summer when we entered the playground. It was cooler, a little damp, and quieter than when I had been there in the summer.
“Wow. The voice is echoing. Wah! Aaah!”
When I glanced to my side, Sakura-kun had buried his face in his lap. What a gloomy guy… gloomy even while on a date with his girlfriend.
“Sakura-kun.”
I pinched his side.
“Souji-kun.”
I changed the way I called him and he wavered for a moment but didn’t look up.
“Why did you leave so much space between us in the principal’s office?”
I closed the distance a little.
“…Because Saionji-san looked uncomfortable.”
“Hmm…”
I put my head on Sakura’s shoulder. He didn’t even twitch like a stone statue.
“What’s the matter? Why are you so depressed?”
“I’m not depressed. It’s a delicate matter, so leave me alone for a bit..”
“No way. In what world would someone want to be left alone while on a date…?”
I tugged on his arm, forcing him to look up.
As he did so, a beautiful face was suddenly bared in front of me, and I gulped.
It’s probably the closest distance we’ve ever been.
There was a pair of eyes in front of me, almost forehead to forehead. Sakura-kun’s eyes were very beautiful. The shape of his nose, the smoothness of his face, and the lips underneath.
My gaze stopped there, and I couldn’t move.
Just for a moment, only just for a moment.
The image of placing my lips on the shapely thing crossed my mind. Was it really just an image? As my cheeks and ears grew hotter and hotter, and an embarrassment akin to guilt spread in my chest, I began to suspect that it might have been a wish. I realized this and cringed.
Sakura-kun’s slitted eyes narrowed in exasperation.
“I warned you, Hiria-chan.”
“Eh? What?”
The tone of voice made me feel as if I was being shunned, and a small uneasiness spread in my chest.
The moment I blinked, a soft, fresh feeling covered my lips.
It was soft and just a little bit damp.
I don’t know how long he stayed like that. It could have been a moment. But it was enough time for me to realize that the touch was his lips.
When I gently opened my eyes, all I saw was Sakura-kun’s face buried in his lap in the same position as before.
I blinked my eyes.
I wondered if what I had just seen had been some kind of daydream.
What an embarrassing daydream. I writhed in my brain.
I glanced at the round window that served as the entrance to the playset and saw two small faces peeking in, but as soon as their eyes met mine, they snapped back.
Shortly thereafter, I heard a child’s scream from outside the playground.
“Ukyaaaahhhh! They were ki-ki-kissing!”
“Look at that! Ki-ki-ssss! Kyaaaah!”
The screaming voices scattered and moved away.
When it became completely inaudible, I heard a small, mosquito-like voice from the side, “Sorry…”.
“Why are you apologizing…?”
There are some headstrong guys in the world who will wallop someone they don’t know that well without consent. Sakura-kun apologized after kissing his girlfriend, who he was dating for once.
No, maybe we are not dating. We never checked to see if that part of the relationship was ongoing after we found out who each other were. We have had some sort of fight along the way, and there is a big possibility that the subject has been lost.
Regardless, I knew that I wasn’t daydreaming. That was definitely a kiss. There were witnesses, and he admitted my suspicions and apologized.
Sakura-kun remained an object of “Drooping Daydreams” as before.
“Souji-kun.”
“…What is it?”
“…Shall we do it once more?”
When I asked him, he suddenly looked up, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Idiottt~!”.
“Eh? You don’t like it? Then why did you do it earlier?”
“It’s not a matter of dislike or anything like that! I…like it!”
“Then isn’t it fine…?”
“I’m getting out. I can’t stay here one second longer!”
“Eh, eh, why are you talking like the second person to die in a mystery novel…?”
“You don’t understand. You don’t understand, Hiria-chan.”
After kissing someone, he started to get upset.
I chased after him as he fluttered outside. I struggled to get out, but he didn’t even turn around and quickly walked away.
I felt like he was unusually angry.
I don’t really know what to think about him kissing me and then leaving in anger.
I wonder if I was too forward with him. Sakura-kun has a tendency to be prudish, so perhaps it was not a good idea to suggest another kiss.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d dislike it that much…”
I called out to his back, but he kept looking forward and didn’t turn around.
“Since we got to meet after all this time… I wanted to get along with you…”
I sat down on a bench at the end of the park, vaguely watching his back as he walked toward the exit.
I don’t really understand boys. Is it because he’s a boy, or because he’s Sakura-kun? I don’t even know that.
I crunched the sand under my feet with my shoes, and when I looked toward the exit, I saw him still there.
Sakura-kun was at the water tap just before the exit.
As I watched, he let out a vigorous stream of water, stuck his head out into it, and began to shake his head.
I wonder what he’s doing.
…His head was still covered in water.
I wonder how long he’s going to keep doing that…
I think he did that for about a minute. Even his clothes were starting to get wet.
Then he finally turned off the water and shook his head like a dog. He was drenched and then walked towards me.
Slosh~, Slosh!
The water was seeping into the ground where Sakura-kun walked.
He looked like a zombie in a horror movie or a hero on his way to his death. Even when wet, a good-looking person is still a good-looking person. The hero was coming towards me, exuding a mysterious sexiness.
I will never forget what he said to me when he came back.
“Saionji-san, let’s calm down a bit.”
TN: Here I was, thinking Hiria-chan will have to initiate everything…
Sakura-kun and I walked together.
In the back of the park we passed, there was playground equipment similar to the one we had seen during the summer vacation. It was much smaller than that one and didn’t have a partition inside, but it was a playset where you could go inside a semicircle made of stone. The top was a slide.
It was four o’clock in the afternoon. The sun was going down.
“Hey, let’s go check that out.”
Sakura-kun looked at me dubiously, looked at the playground equipment again, and then looked at me.
“Eh?”
“It kind of looks like the one where we met in the summer vacation.”
“Eh? Eh? Is that the kind of playground equipment that makes you lean in closer?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded immediately and headed towards it.
“No, no, no. Let’s not do that”
I had asked him casually but was met with fierce rejection.
“Eh, why not?”
“It’s too small for me. So I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? It can hold two people… Even Sumo wrestlers can use it… If it’s one person.”
“I think it would be better if I didn’t.”
Sakura-kun, who was more assertive than ever, shook his head violently.
“Shut up. It’s already decided.”
I grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him towards it.
“Stop it! I can’t go into a small space like that with a girl I like!”
“It’s better than being with someone you don’t like.”
“No! I’m gross and I’m a misfire with the straw sticking out Lesh!” (TN: It’s not meant to make sense.. )
I ignored Sakura-kun, who had started to mix up the Japanese letters, and looked into the entrance of the playset.
When I entered the place, it was much smaller than I expected. There was a little extra space if we sat down, but we couldn’t stand up. The room was already full with just two people. It was refreshing to be next to someone who wasn’t behind a wall.
It was different from the summer when we entered the playground. It was cooler, a little damp, and quieter than when I had been there in the summer.
“Wow. The voice is echoing. Wah! Aaah!”
When I glanced to my side, Sakura-kun had buried his face in his lap. What a gloomy guy… gloomy even while on a date with his girlfriend.
“Sakura-kun.”
I pinched his side.
“Souji-kun.”
I changed the way I called him and he wavered for a moment but didn’t look up.
“Why did you leave so much space between us in the principal’s office?”
I closed the distance a little.
“…Because Saionji-san looked uncomfortable.”
“Hmm…”
I put my head on Sakura’s shoulder. He didn’t even twitch like a stone statue.
“What’s the matter? Why are you so depressed?”
“I’m not depressed. It’s a delicate matter, so leave me alone for a bit..”
“No way. In what world would someone want to be left alone while on a date…?”
I tugged on his arm, forcing him to look up.
As he did so, a beautiful face was suddenly bared in front of me, and I gulped.
It’s probably the closest distance we’ve ever been.
There was a pair of eyes in front of me, almost forehead to forehead. Sakura-kun’s eyes were very beautiful. The shape of his nose, the smoothness of his face, and the lips underneath.
My gaze stopped there, and I couldn’t move.
Just for a moment, only just for a moment.
The image of placing my lips on the shapely thing crossed my mind. Was it really just an image? As my cheeks and ears grew hotter and hotter, and an embarrassment akin to guilt spread in my chest, I began to suspect that it might have been a wish. I realized this and cringed.
Sakura-kun’s slitted eyes narrowed in exasperation.
“I warned you, Hiria-chan.”
“Eh? What?”
The tone of voice made me feel as if I was being shunned, and a small uneasiness spread in my chest.
The moment I blinked, a soft, fresh feeling covered my lips.
It was soft and just a little bit damp.
I don’t know how long he stayed like that. It could have been a moment. But it was enough time for me to realize that the touch was his lips.
When I gently opened my eyes, all I saw was Sakura-kun’s face buried in his lap in the same position as before.
I blinked my eyes.
I wondered if what I had just seen had been some kind of daydream.
What an embarrassing daydream. I writhed in my brain.
I glanced at the round window that served as the entrance to the playset and saw two small faces peeking in, but as soon as their eyes met mine, they snapped back.
Shortly thereafter, I heard a child’s scream from outside the playground.
“Ukyaaaahhhh! They were ki-ki-kissing!”
“Look at that! Ki-ki-ssss! Kyaaaah!”
The screaming voices scattered and moved away.
When it became completely inaudible, I heard a small, mosquito-like voice from the side, “Sorry…”.
“Why are you apologizing…?”
There are some headstrong guys in the world who will wallop someone they don’t know that well without consent. Sakura-kun apologized after kissing his girlfriend, who he was dating for once.
No, maybe we are not dating. We never checked to see if that part of the relationship was ongoing after we found out who each other were. We have had some sort of fight along the way, and there is a big possibility that the subject has been lost.
Regardless, I knew that I wasn’t daydreaming. That was definitely a kiss. There were witnesses, and he admitted my suspicions and apologized.
Sakura-kun remained an object of “Drooping Daydreams” as before.
“Souji-kun.”
“…What is it?”
“…Shall we do it once more?”
When I asked him, he suddenly looked up, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Idiottt~!”.
“Eh? You don’t like it? Then why did you do it earlier?”
“It’s not a matter of dislike or anything like that! I…like it!”
“Then isn’t it fine…?”
“I’m getting out. I can’t stay here one second longer!”
“Eh, eh, why are you talking like the second person to die in a mystery novel…?”
“You don’t understand. You don’t understand, Hiria-chan.”
After kissing someone, he started to get upset.
I chased after him as he fluttered outside. I struggled to get out, but he didn’t even turn around and quickly walked away.
I felt like he was unusually angry.
I don’t really know what to think about him kissing me and then leaving in anger.
I wonder if I was too forward with him. Sakura-kun has a tendency to be prudish, so perhaps it was not a good idea to suggest another kiss.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d dislike it that much…”
I called out to his back, but he kept looking forward and didn’t turn around.
“Since we got to meet after all this time… I wanted to get along with you…”
I sat down on a bench at the end of the park, vaguely watching his back as he walked toward the exit.
I don’t really understand boys. Is it because he’s a boy, or because he’s Sakura-kun? I don’t even know that.
I crunched the sand under my feet with my shoes, and when I looked toward the exit, I saw him still there.
Sakura-kun was at the water tap just before the exit.
As I watched, he let out a vigorous stream of water, stuck his head out into it, and began to shake his head.
I wonder what he’s doing.
…His head was still covered in water.
I wonder how long he’s going to keep doing that…
I think he did that for about a minute. Even his clothes were starting to get wet.
Then he finally turned off the water and shook his head like a dog. He was drenched and then walked towards me.
Slosh~, Slosh!
The water was seeping into the ground where Sakura-kun walked.
He looked like a zombie in a horror movie or a hero on his way to his death. Even when wet, a good-looking person is still a good-looking person. The hero was coming towards me, exuding a mysterious sexiness.
I will never forget what he said to me when he came back.
“Saionji-san, let’s calm down a bit.”
TN: Here I was, thinking Hiria-chan will have to initiate everything…
