Chapter 52 - Tension and Shrinking
(1)
Pi-pi-pi-pi-pi...
The alarm rings.
I sit up and stop the alarm.
The time is 7:00.
I hurry to start changing.
Once I'm finished changing, I go downstairs, quickly finish my preparations, and return to my room.
"Don't you want breakfast?"
"I'll eat later."
When I return to my room and open the door, I press myself against the part that stays in the shadows.
Exactly 7:30.
Is it about time?
"Good morning, Toya-kun~? ...Huh?"
Airi enters the room, but there is no one on the bed.
"Toya-kun~?"
Airi looks around.
Now!
"Good morning, Airi."
I hug her from behind.
"Kya! Toya-kun!?"
I take a good look at Airi's face as she turns around.
Yeah, she's wearing a little bit of makeup today, too.
It's something I've checked every day since her birthday.
"The makeup... it suits you."
"Haven't you been saying that every day lately?"
As she says this, Airi looks like she doesn't mind it at all.
"Do you hate it?"
I try asking mischievously.
"Of course I don't."
My arms had already released Airi.
However, Airi turns back toward me and clings to me.
"Somehow, Toya-kun has been getting kinder and kinder lately."
"Is that bad?"
"I'm happy. I wonder what we'll do after this today?"
"It's obvious we're eating breakfast."
When I look back, Kanna was standing there.
"Geez, you two have been flirting so much since the morning lately... Should we just not come?"
"No, it's not like that."
"That's right! If you aren't here, there's no telling how far Toya-kun will go."
For someone saying that, you're pretty lacking in caution, aren't you?
"I hope that's the case, but at this rate, you might actually do it on Eve."
"Toya-kun is a child, so it's impossible."
Airi smiles brightly.
That felt like a stab.
Since then, I've been studying various things...
What Makoto gave me on my birthday was a single DVD.
"I hurried to get it ready!"
"Can I watch it?"
"Ah, watch it slowly by yourself later."
For some reason, Makoto is flustered.
"Why not, let's all watch it together."
Kanna says cheerfully.
Did she hear about the contents from Makoto?
"Hmm, as long as it's not horror, I'm fine."
Airi knows absolutely nothing.
"N-no, it might be a bit too stimulating for Airi-san."
"?"
"?"
Airi and I look at each other.
...No way, Makoto, you.
I take back what I said.
"I'll watch it alone after all."
"Eh~ what happened? Let's all watch it together~?"
Airi says dissatisfiedly.
"No, Makoto said so."
"Eee~ that's not fair~"
Once Airi starts, she doesn't stop.
Just this once, it's no good.
Kanna is clutching her stomach and laughing.
"Maybe it's still too early for Tosaka-san... It's a present for Toya, so let's let him enjoy it alone, okay?"
At that moment, she finally grasped the contents and her face turned red.
She finally noticed.
Relieved, just as I placed the DVD on the desk...
With lightning speed, she grabbed the DVD and put it in the player.
Wai... hold on...
"Everyone treats me like a child! I'm fine with this too!"
I hurriedly tried to stop her, but it was too late.
It played.
A large image projected onto the 24-inch television.
Courteously, there was no blurring.
Airi and Kanna were glued to the screen.
Makoto and I were awkward.
"Wow, she's flexible. The actress."
"Amazing, I mean, so this is your taste, huh, Makoto?"
The viewing party exposing Makoto's sexual preferences ended in a few minutes.
"Gross. Scary. I've had enough."
"Why does Makoto have something like this?"
Airi and Kanna stated their respective impressions.
Makoto was troubled.
Actually, he had watched it alone after that.
Occasionally...
Secretly in the middle of the night.
So it's fine this time.
I looked up how to use condoms on the internet.
And the expiration date, while I was at it.
"Come downstairs already!"
Mother's voice echoed.
We went downstairs.
(2)
During the commute to school.
"By the way, thanks. Thanks to you, my grades went up a lot."
Makoto suddenly gave his thanks.
"It's the result of Makoto-kun's hard work~. You don't need to thank me."
Airi replied.
"You say that, but if it weren't for Tosaka-san and Toya's lucky guesses, it wouldn't have gone this way."
Makoto was talking about the results of the final exams.
In reality, the way Makoto's grades rose after starting to study from summer vacation was amazing.
It's strange, since we hardly study and just spend our time chatting.
"I feel like I have to thank Tosaka-san and Toya."
"I don't need any more DVDs."
"That's it!"
A "That's it!" at a time like this is bound to be something useless.
"Setting aside Eve, why don't the four of us spend Christmas together? Like exchanging presents and stuff."
"Ah, that sounds good."
Kanna jumped on Makoto's suggestion.
The presents from those two are bound to be useless things.
But a Christmas present, huh.
"I'm okay with that too~, I'll try asking Rie-chan."
Airi was also keen.
It seems it was decided that we would do it at Airi's house.
Christmas, huh...
What should I do this year?
(3)
December 24th
This year, I came to the station building early and looked for a present for the exchange together with Airi.
I bought a stole, and Airi bought an aroma candle.
After that, we came to see the illuminations again this year.
It doesn't change much every year.
It's just something to enjoy the atmosphere.
I properly praised her clothes.
Saying "You're cute."
We didn't fight this year.
There were no elements to fight over.
"A whole year has passed since then, hasn't it?"
Airi started talking while walking with her arms linked.
"Yeah."
"I don't need that kind of surprise this year, okay?"
"I-it's okay."
"That's true, you did it for my birthday."
"...I said I was sorry."
"It's okay, I'm not angry."
Thank goodness...
"Let's have someone take a photo of us at that bench again this year, okay?"
Saying so, Airi called out to a passerby.
And we had our photo taken.
After that, we wandered around aimlessly and went home.
Airi talked to me about various things on the bus, but I was absent-minded.
I'm nervous.
The expiration date of the condoms was not a problem.
On the day of the closing ceremony.
Mickey distributed condoms to everyone again.
"This is for two days, Eve and the Hime-hajime (T/N: a girl's first sexual experience)."
Is that the only thing in this guy's head?
Can Kanna and Makoto do it four times?
He was distributing them to the girls, too.
"Make sure you make them wear them!"
He said with a single word.
During the day, a message came from Makoto.
"Decide today, Toya! If you can't decide with this, you're truly a wimp."
We're still middle schoolers...
While I was thinking about that, Airi poked my side.
And whispered in my ear.
"If you're nervous now, you'll mess up the real thing," she said...
I walk Airi home.
Naturally, I don't go back.
"I'll just go grab my things!"
Saying so, Airi goes into her house.
After a while, she returns.
"Well, shall we go?"
We headed toward my house.
"Welcome, Airi-chan. The bath is ready, so please go ahead."
"Oka~y."
...I don't question anything anymore.
I didn't have the composure for that.
"Toya, what's wrong? You look pale."
Father told me.
"I-it's nothing in particular."
Father says in a low voice.
"It's a bit odd for a parent to say this... but excessive tension is the root of failure."
...I would come to realize the meaning of those words later.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~"
Airi, in her post-bath state, entered the room.
Her hair was let down.
She was in pajamas.
It's okay, today it's placed properly under the pillow.
Relax, relax...
"I'll go take a bath too."
Saying so, I enter the bath.
When I return, Airi was waiting in her usual position, sitting in seiza.
The time is 23:30.
"Airi."
"Yes!"
"This..."
"Eh?"
I handed a present to Airi.
"Thank you! Can I open it?"
"You can."
When she opened it, a heart necklace was inside.
Airi put it on immediately.
"Does it suit me?"
"Yeah, it suits you very well."
"Yay~"
It seems she was happy.
"Ah, I have one for you too! It's not handmade this year, though."
Saying so, she handed me a medium-sized package.
"Can I open it?"
"Please do."
When I opened it, leather gloves were inside.
"Sorry for being lazy."
"No, I'm happy. Thank you."
"Thank goodness~"
...
Only time passed quietly.
Around the time the date was about to change, I steeled my resolve and spoke.
"Shall we go to sleep soon?"
"...Yeah."
Saying so, I lead Airi to the bed.
When Airi gets into the bed, I get in with her.
Airi closes her eyes.
Eh? Is she falling asleep?
.........
...
...
"Aren't you turning off the light?"
"Should I turn it off?"
"Whichever Toya-kun prefers."
I'll probably fail if it's dark.
That said, if it's bright, Airi will probably be embarrassed.
...Is there even a reason to be embarrassed at this point?
After agonizing for a long time, I turned off the lighting and turned on the stand light.
This is more atmospheric, right?
Though it's a bit hard to see.
I learned the procedure.
First, kiss, then strip the clothes... I also learned how to remove the bra.
After that, I touched Airi's body just as I saw in the video.
Occasionally Airi let out a small voice, and her breathing became a bit rough.
Now, this is the part.
...Huh?
That's strange?
What's wrong with me?
You've got to be kidding me!
"What's wrong?"
Airi, sensing the anomaly, peered at me.
...
If you're a guy, you'll understand, right?
When you're extremely nervous... it's that thing.
The more I panicked and tried various things, the worse it became.
"...Sorry."
Let me state the conclusion.
I failed.
Pathetic.
This is the result after all that preparation?
I felt like crying.
(4)
"Shall we go to sleep soon?"
"...Yeah."
Toya-kun is somehow different tonight.
Even before we got here, I felt his determination.
Or rather than determination, a taut sense of tension.
If you're that nervous, you'll mess up the real thing, you know?
I gave back the words Toya-kun usually says to me exactly as they were.
Whether he heard them or not, he was absent-minded.
Toya-kun was different tonight.
His touch was unfamiliar, but he was doing it properly.
A pleasure unlike anything until now.
I tried to avoid making noise as much as possible, but there was nothing I could do about my breathing.
I wonder if Toya-kun can hear it.
Actually, I haven't been able to do anything for Toya-kun.
What should I do?
While I was thinking about that, is Toya-kun muttering something to himself?
I wonder what happened?
Was it bad that I didn't do anything?
Sorry, Toya-kun.
"What's wrong?"
I call out to Toya-kun.
He says nothing.
Is he angry after all?
I look at Toya-kun.
I understood the reason why he said nothing.
Eventually, Toya-kun opened his mouth heavily.
"Sorry..."
That's why I told you, if you're too nervous, you'll mess up.
I hug Toya-kun.
"It's okay! I told you there are chances as many times as you need, right? Why don't you stay at my place tomorrow?"
Because I've cooked up a secret plan just in case this happened.
"I'm pathetic, aren't I..."
"That's not true, compared to the time of your birthday, it's huge progress. I was surprised... You weren't practicing with someone else, were you?"
That's a mean question.
"Of course not."
I know.
You studied by watching that DVD, didn't you.
Actually, I peeked at your PC too.
You were searching for things like how to remove a bra.
I love you for being so hardworking.
"Let's just sleep for tonight, okay?"
Of course, it's okay to stay hugged, right?
"...Yeah."
I put the depressed Toya-kun to sleep and fell asleep while hugging him.
This time, I'll acknowledge Toya-kun's effort and praise him.
And next time, it's my turn to work hard.