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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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“Mom was asking if it was true that you used to be a delinquent, Matsuda-kun…”
Said Miyuki, who was sitting on the bed.
“What do you mean?”
“She said you were very polite today at the table, and that you’ve dressed up so nicely… She even said that you could come over anytime…”
I nodded and got up from the chair to sit next to her.
Miyuki seemed very flustered by this.
She started fidgeting with her clothes hurriedly.
It was funny to see her wiggling her pretty toes.
Looking at her, I smirked and asked,
“Is that so? Well, what do you think?”
“I, well… I think the same…”
“That’s a relief.”
Taken aback by having heard me speak as if comforted by her good evaluation, Miyuki stared at me.
“A relief…?”
“Yeah.”
Had she been caught off guard by my unusual demeanor?
Miyuki’s throat bobbed.
I could faintly hear the sound of saliva going down her throat.
I wondered what was going through her mind.
“…Right, I guess it must be a relief. And if my family acknowledges your efforts, Matsuda-kun, then you’ll be more motivated to continue to work hard in the future… right?”
Her effort to deliberately act lively and try to lift the heavy atmosphere was admirable.
But what to do? I didn’t want to play along.
Letting out a scoff, I lightly shrugged my shoulders.
“I guess so.”
“…”
Miyuki became a silent doll again.
At a first glance, she looked uncomfortable, but judging by the fact that she wasn’t moving away from me, it seemed she was just nervous.
Looking at Miyuki, I spoke,
“Hey.”
“…Yeah?”
“What’s that stuck on the ceiling?”
“Ah… That… Um… Tetsuya-kun and I stuck those together when we were young…”
“You stuck these when you were young? Then this house must be quite old, huh? The inside and outside look so clean that I thought it had been built recently…”
“It’s because it’s well-maintained… That’s why… You should also pay attention to your house… Take care of the plants too… Matsuda-kun.”
A flinch.
Miyuki visibly jolted.
The reason for that was that I, pretending to adjust my sitting position, casually placed my hand over hers.
If this situation occurred in a typical romantic comedy, the protagonist and heroine would be so surprised that they would nearly faint, and they would both blush and apologize to each other.
But I’m not like that.
I have no intention of playing the role of a dense protagonist.
“…”
Miyuki was only startled by the touch of skin on the back of her hand, but she showed no sign of wanting to pull away.
However, she couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Well, it was only natural since I had suddenly sat next to her and engaged in skinship without much conversation.
I kept my hand on the back of Miyuki’s hand and stayed still.
Then, when Miyuki couldn’t stand the awkwardness and was about to say something, I started poking her slender fingers with my fingernails.
“Matsu… Ahem…”
She tried to call out to me but changed her mind along the way, breaking into a small cough as if trying to clear her throat.
Miyuki put strength into her hand, and I could see the bedsheet pressed down around the palm she was resting on.
It seemed like I could go further.
As I made my decision to begin to spread Miyuki’s fingers apart to slide mine in between,
*knock knock*
There was a knock on Miyuki’s door.
“Eek…!”
Miyuki’s surprise seemed to have run all over her body as she abruptly jumped up from her seat.
”Miyuki! Matsuda-kun! We’ve still got plenty of fruit left, what are you doing just going upstairs? I’ll leave this here.”
It was Midori’s voice.
She must have brought the plate that was left in the living room.
“Oh…! I’m coming…!”
Miyuki staggered a few times as she walked to the door, grabbed the doorknob, and greeted Midori.
“Ah… the fruit…?”
“Yes. It’s really hot in here, isn’t it?”
Midori asked as if unable to read the room.
Miyuki smiled awkwardly and said,
“I opened the window. It’s fine…”
“Is that so…? You brought Matsuda-kun here to study?”
At those words, Miyuki spun around.
She then found that I had gone to the desk at some point, and stared at me with a dumbfounded expression before turning around back towards Midori.
“Yeah… The midterm exam is coming up soon, so of course he has to…”
“Midterm exam…? Isn’t it still far away?”
“From Matsuda-kun’s perspective, it’s right around the corner.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that it feels that way from my perspective because I’m not good at studying…”
“This girl has no filter, does she?”
“A-Anyway, thanks for the fruit. We’ll enjoy it…!”
“Okay, come down if you get bored. Matsuda-kun, study hard… Keep up the good work.”
At Midori’s gentle words, I smiled brightly and replied,
“Yes, ma’am.”
I had expected Midori to come.
Why? Because Doki Doki Academy is a love comedy.
One of the characteristics of a love comedy is unexpected interruptions.
The protagonist and heroine would get a chance to engage in intimate skinship at some point around the beginning or middle of the story.
However, at the moment of skinship or when the mood is set, they would get interrupted by friends, teachers, or family members, completely ruining the subtle atmosphere.
Afterward, they would either try to act naturally and make excuses to get through the situation,
or get caught and teased.
It’s one of the typical cliches for minor characters to innocently ask, ‘What were you doing?’ or notice the protagonist and heroine’s blushing faces and say, ‘Ooh…! What’s going on with you two?’
That’s why I deliberately engaged in light skinship.
Knowing this cliche would happen to me, I quickly tried to get past it so I can advance to the real deal as soon as possible.
If I had attempted a kiss right away, Miyuki wouldn’t have been able to keep her cool at all.
*click*
After Midori left, Miyuki carefully closed the door and placed the plate on the desk.
Then she lightly hit my shoulder with a weak force.
“When did you go over there…?”
“When you got up and went to the door.”
“You really are something… Anyway, want some fruit…?”
There shouldn’t be any more interruptions now.
I picked up a strawberry that was cut nicely with a fork and held it out to Miyuki, who was munching on a melon.
“Here, your favorite.”
“Matsuda-kun, I’m already eating…”
“I’ll eat it if you eat it.”
Miyuki hesitantly reached out her hand to take the fork.
Taking that opportunity, I quickly grabbed her wrist with my free hand.
“Hic!”
Miyuki hiccuped immediately.
She must have been startled by my sudden action.
Letting out a light laugh, I gazed at her intently.
“…Hic! Hic…!”
It was cute how she covered her mouth with her hand.
It would be best to wait until the hiccups stopped, but I felt like it would be okay to do it now.
But… I was anxious.
Even though we were close enough to hold hands, she might not allow a kiss.
I had made up my mind to at least get a peck today, but now that I think about it, it seems like I’m being too hasty…
Maybe I should let go for now and wait until the upcoming cultural festival event…
‘Ah, screw it.’
I cursed at myself for struggling with these negative thoughts like this.
We had seen each other almost every day for about 3 months, properly collected events to raise favorability, and frequently went on dates with just the two of us.
Moreover, in the garden before entering the room, Miyuki was anticipating that something would happen today.
Yet, what am I afraid of to be acting like this?
If I keep trying to find the right timing like this, I’ll become timid like Tetsuya.
I had resolved to be true to myself.
There’s nothing hasty about trying to go for a kiss after 3 months; if anything, it’s overdue.
So let’s just go for it.
I got up from the chair, slowly moved my feet while holding Miyuki’s wrist.
Every time I slowly approached, she took steps back at the same pace as me.
“Hic…! Hic…!”
The increased frequency of hiccups clearly showed how nervous she was right now.
But do you know what?
If you keep stepping back like that, you’ll find yourself cornered.
*thud*
“Hic!”
Miyuki, whose knees got caught on the edge of the bed and plopped down, let out a somewhat high-pitched… almost moan-like voice.
Her eyes, which couldn’t open any wider, were glistening, and her pupils were rolling in all directions.
*thud*
I felt Miyuki’s knees touch my leg.
I slowly, very slowly lowered my upper body and brought my face close to Miyuki’s.
This time, Miyuki’s body started to shift backwards.
Her back, which was at an angle, plopped onto the bed.
Now there’s nowhere to run. What will you do?
I released Miyuki’s wrist and placed both hands on either side of her ribcage.
“… Hic…!”
Miyuki made a strange sound, and there were two emotions in her trembling eyes as if an earthquake had hit.
Anticipation and fear.
And it seemed like the latter was the stronger one.
If I continued like this, this kiss could come across as somewhat forced.
But I wanted Miyuki to fully feel the sweetness of her first kiss.
This couldn’t be all just about me… so I resolved to dispel that fear..
Staring straight into Miyuki’s eyes,
“I’m sorry, Miyuki.”
I apologized to her sincerely in a gentle tone completely different from my usual one.
Then, a significant portion of the fear disappeared from Miyuki’s eyes.
That’s enough. This will do for now.
It would have been better if I had said I liked her, but I’ll save that for the next opportunity.
I closely examined Miyuki’s face.
“Hic!”
The tensed muscles were relaxing.
The frequency of hiccups had decreased compared to before, and her trembling body had calmed down.
I slowly reached out and removed Miyuki’s hand that was now covering her mouth.
Her arm fell limply to the side.
There was no strength left in it at all.
“…”
“…”
Miyuki couldn’t keep her eyes still, perhaps out of embarrassment.
Her tightly pursed lips looked very tempting.
I wanted to pounce right away, but I decided it would be better to give her a moment to prepare herself.
As I stared only at Miyuki while suppressing my burning insides, her body stopped shaking, and I brought my face close, slightly tilting my head.
Then Miyuki’s eyes slowly closed.
A perfect, unspoken consent to do it.
Cheering inwardly, I managed to calm my wildly beating heart and finally pressed my lips onto her plump ones.
“Hic!”
At the same time, Miyuki’s hiccup caused her head to jolt upwards ever so slightly.
This caused our lips to press more firmly together, and the soft sensation turned firm.
I found Miyuki’s unintentional action amusing and exhaled a short chuckle through my nose.
With that, all the strength drained from her body.
I could feel the lips that had collided with mine parting.
Should I put my tongue in? Or should I hold back?
Let’s do it. I had worked hard to get to this point. Ending things like this would only make me regret it later.
But I couldn’t just think about myself, so I would only go a little further while keeping the feelings that would flood into Miyuki in mind.
Having finished my brief contemplation, I slightly stuck out my tongue while our lips were still pressed together, gently sliding it into Miyuki’s mouth.
Then I softly grazed her teeth as if painting them.
“… Mmph!”
Miyuki’s body jolted in surprise, and her parted teeth snapped shut.
If I had given fully to my desires and put my tongue in there, it would’ve spelled disaster.
Good thing that I held back.
By now, she must have widened her eyes in surprise.
Even though she was so surprised that she could collapse, the fact that she wasn’t pushing me away must mean that she didn’t think we should stop.
Was it because she had experienced it through media like dramas or movies?
Or was it because she had heard about the feeling of a kiss from her female friends who had boyfriends?
If it was neither, has she been watching porn all by herself?
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything but a blessing for me.
As I gently rolled Miyuki’s teeth with my tongue while she meekly kept her eyelids closed, a long breath escaped from her nose, tickling my nostrils and philtrum, and I cheered inwardly.
That exhaled breath was proof that the tension had completely dissipated.
Feeling relieved, I chose to not go any further, and only lightly grazed the outer edge of Miyuki’s front teeth, as if announcing that I would like to go for an even more passionate kiss next time.
Then I used the tip of my tongue to slowly erase the lingering scent of the melon she had just eaten from my mouth…
And ended my first kiss with Miyuki by ever-so-slightly biting and pulling at her lower lip with my teeth.
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