“Can I borrow your scarf?”

 

“Uhh…” I raised an eyebrow.

 

Airi then put her fingers to her cheeks, slightly tilted her head, and smiled.

 

“Hey, Ibuki-kun. Can I borrow your scarf?” She asked once more.

 

That sort of expression and behaviour, along with her appearance, made her look ridiculously cute. So much so that my heart was beating fast.

 

“Don’t you dare repeat yourself while acting all cute and innocent… It’s creepy.”

 

It also made me feel uncomfortable and irritated. Knowing all about her cheeky nature, this entire thing seemed too unnatural.

 

“Hey, let me borrow it… don’t you see your precious childhood friend shivering from the cold? Don’t you feel bad?”

 

“The audacity… if you knew it was going to be cold, then you should have come properly dressed in the first place.”

 

Even though I knew it was her own fault and that my help wasn’t necessary, I still grabbed my scarf. It may not be freezing cold, but if I didn’t let her borrow it… I’d just end up feeling guilty.

 

“...You’d let Hina-chan borrow it but not me?” Airi said, sounding a little depressed and looking unhappy.

 

“Sigh… Okay, but only half.”

 

I unwrapped my scarf a little on one end, and handed it to Airi. She took it happily, before wrapping it around her neck.

 

“Even though you’d let Hina-chan take the whole scarf, you only let me take half, huh”

 

“The number of times I let you borrow my scarf is a lot more.”

 

Airi seemed to be giving our situation a little bit more thought. She chuckled.

“That’s also true!”

 

When she said that energetically, she had closed the distance between us with such force, it felt like she’d rammed into me.

 

Then she pressed her cheek(s) against my body.

 

Although I started to stumble, I somehow managed to stay up, maintaining my balance.

 

“H-Hey, Airi…give me a little bit more space.”

 

“If I do that, I won’t be able to wear your scarf.” Airi replied in a carefree manner.

 

Then she rubbed her pale hands together and looked up at my face.

 

“...I’d be happy if you’d let me borrow one of your gloves too.”

 

“You…”

 

I let out a huge sigh while taking off my left glove. I then handed it to Airi.

 

“Here.”

 

“Thanks!”  said Airi who smiled happily and began putting my glove onto her left hand. After that, she looked apologetic for only a little bit.

 

“Today’s colder than I thought it would be. So…thank you for listening to my selfish request, okay?”

 

…To suddenly act all modest, I thought was unfair. This way I couldn’t complain and give her a piece of my mind.

 

“...Don’t worry about it. It’s not really cold anyway.”

 

“But, earlier you said it was cold.”

 

“...No I didn’t.”

 

I replied while turning my face away. Of course it is, I’m just putting up with it. It’s really cold.

 

Being outside felt unbearable, so I put my left hand inside my pocket.

 

Although the inside of my pocket felt somewhat warmer…suddenly my left hand felt something cold.

 

Wondering what it was, I looked to my left, towards Airi.

 

Airi gave me a complacent smile while having her right hand inside my pocket.

 

“Hey, Airi. What are you doing?”

 

“I’m holding your hand.”

 

“That’s not the problem…”

 

To Airi, doing something like holding hands is probably just a prank or her acting all cozy. But putting her hand inside of my pocket is a little concerning.

 

If Airi’s hand were to go any lower, she’ll touch my private parts.

 

…Probably.

 

Just thinking about it is making me feel nervous and if I keep thinking about it, I’ll start acting all weird. At times like this, my body won’t listen to me.

 

“What? Ibuki-kun, could it be… you’re feeling nervous?”

 

“Huh, Oh, N-No I’m not…” I said acting all suspicious.

 

This felt like I was telling her the answer.

 

“Don’t worry. I just wanted to feel warm. …Or is this too much stimulation for a virgin like you?”

 

Th-This girl… was this her plan all along?

 

“Obviously. Now take out your hand.” Airi’s face turned gloomy as I said so in a stern voice. She then took her hand out from my pocket.

 

“...Did you really not want to touch my hand that much?” She said timidly as if trying to gauge my mood.

 

It looks like I’m the one bullying her, doesn’t it?…

 

“No, it’s not that.”

 

“Then did you not like my hand in your pocket? Or were you annoyed about it being so close.” Airi said with a truly innocent tone.

 

Maybe she really didn’t mean any harm? Did she just want to hold my hand?

 

But, calling me a virgin… Oh, that’s it. Airi has no experience either, so to her, holding hands is the highest level of doing something lewd…

 

Looks like it was my own misunderstanding.

 

“No, it’s not that I don’t like it. If you really want to, go ahead.” I said carelessly, feeling guilty for getting angry over a misunderstanding.

 

Airi then tilted her head curiously.

 

“...You’re so weird, Ibuki-kun. I mean… you’re okay with me having my hand inside?”

 

“Well… I guess, yeah, it’s okay” I nodded, and Airi looked relieved.

 

“Alright. Thank god!”

 

She then forcefully shoved her hand into my pocket.

 

“H-Hey…!”

 

It was too late.

 

“Ah…”’

 

Airi’s body froze for a moment. 

 

I pulled her hand out of my pocket, before placing it back inside and holding it tightly.

 

“...What’s wrong? Ibuki-kun?” Airi said in a casual manner, with a slightly red face.

 

Based on her reaction, Airi must have noticed what she had touched, but she was pretending like it didn’t happen. 

 

She probably thought that I’d get hurt if she were to suddenly pull out her hand while holding onto something indecent.

 

Even I wasn't so dumb to not notice what she was worried about.

 

“...N-Nothing’s wrong.” I decided to do the same and pretend like nothing happened.

 

Despite the awkwardness between us, we proceeded to head towards the shopping mall. Once we arrived, Airi finally took her hand out of my pocket.

 

“F-Finally, we’re inside!”

 

“Y-Yeah!” I nodded rapidly to Airi’s remark.

 

Still feeling awkward, we headed to the floor where the cinema was located. The floor was filled with trailers, promoting the films that were currently on display or in production.

 

“Is that the one you wanted to see?”

 

“Yeah, that one. According to the internet, it’s fairly popular”

 

That movie seemed to be one of those “Wild West movies.” The genre labelled it as a splatter film with blood all over the place. Right next to the fear-inducing warning, was “R15” written in a corner.

 

“Do you want to get any popcorn, or juice?”

 

“Hmm… It’s expensive here so no, and I don’t want to get full before lunch.”

 

“Same here.”

 

We were about to buy our tickets as we talked using our student discount, but before we could, Airi let out a small gasp.

 

“Look, Ibuki-kun. They have a couple’s discount today. It’ll probably be cheaper if we use that instead… what do you think?”

 

Ugh… “...Alright, let’s use that instead.”

 

I’d prefer spending less. Despite feeling a little embarrassed, I managed to purchase two tickets using the couple’s discount, and so, we entered the cinema.

​

​

​

※

​

​

​

“...The movie ended. Let’s go.”

 

“...Right.”

 

After the credits started rolling, Airi and I got up to leave. On our way from a dark area to a brightly illuminated place, I got to see an expression on Airi that I’d never seen before.

 

Her face, too, was slightly red.

 

…It made me feel a little uneasy.

 

“Sooo, about lunch…”

 

“It was all very amazing wasn’t it…?!” Airi said, interrupting me right as I was trying to change the subject. She then began to rant without even waiting for my reply.

 

“I heard it was going to include those kinds of scenes but I didn’t think it would go that far. That’s why, I… didn’t know. I mean, like… you get what I’m trying to say, right?”

 

What she meant by ‘those kinds of scenes’ was that of the erotic and sexual kind.

 

A gory R15 rated film was what I was expecting to see. What greeted me in a shocking manner, however, was how the sexual depictions had become the main focus rather than the actual plot.

 

Throughout the movie, there were scenes so extreme that it should’ve been considered R18.

 

Airi probably wanted to say that maybe it wasn’t intentional, but she clearly didn’t like it. I knew that even without being told.

 

“...Are you turning into some kind of closet pervert?” I said, teasing Airi.

 

I wanted to get rid of the tension by engaging in banter.

 

“I already told you that I didn’t know! …Speaking of which— You, on the other hand, looked like you were into it, weren’t you? You closet pervert.” Airi said that, nudging me with her elbow.

 

Airi seemingly understood that the mood would lighten if we made each other laugh as well.

 

…And that was fine, but there was one thing I couldn’t let slip.

 

“Look into a mirror. You were the one staring.”

 

“N-No I wasn’t! I was watching it normally! Don’t lump me in with the likes of you!” Airi said that while averting her eyes.

 

So it was true.

 

“...The first one to be killed was a blonde woman, wasn’t it?” Airi said, clearing her throat as she tried to change the subject.

 

“What’s wrong with that?”

 

“She looked a little bit like me… how should I put it, I have mixed feelings about 

it…”

 

“Ahh… well, I get what you mean.”

 

Not only do they have the same blond hair, they have the same blue eyes, facial features and large breasts.

 

Seeing an actor who looks like you in lewd poses and doing indecent things would certainly make you feel uncomfortable. It was even worse because she was brutally killed afterwards.

 

“But, you’re prettier.”

 

“W-What are you saying so suddenly… Stop teasing me. Isn’t she a pro actor?” Airi, confused and blushing, tried to cover her embarrassed face.

 

“But I’m not trying to…”

 

Both of them might have been blonde, but Airi’s hair was prettier. Her facial features were also, without a doubt, objectively better. 

 

As for their figures… if I were to compare an older woman with a much younger one, the movie actress would win due to her hourglass-shaped body.

 

But if you were to think about the proportions of their limbs and slender body, Airi would look prettier. 

 

“Does comparing me to her even have anything to do with our conversation in the first place?”

 

“...Well, it doesn’t.” My ears were heating up.

 

I regretted saying something so out of line.

 

And so, the air turned awkward once again…

 

“...In other words, is that how you’ve been looking at me? You closet pervert!”

Airi nudged me hard with her elbow as a way to show that she didn’t really care.

 

…I’m saved!

 

I did the same to her in response.

 

“There’s no way. You’re just overly self-conscious.”

 

The two of us nudged each other with our elbows for a while.

​

​

​

※

​

​

​

“You’re too much of a scaredy-cat.”

 

“...This has nothing to do with being a scaredy-cat or anything like that.” I said to Airi, who was grinning as she nudged me with her elbow.

 

Dangling from both of my hands were shopping bags. Inside were all the clothes Airi had bought. Including her underwear.

 

“Even if you’re okay with it, other customers might feel uncomfortable.”

 

After we had finished watching the movie, I tagged along with Airi on her shopping spree around women’s fashion stores. Our last stop was at a lingerie store.

 

Airi asked me to enter with her, but I refused, and that just made her tease me to oblivion. However, it’d probably be worse if I did go in with her.

 

“Hmm… Then, if it was just you and me here, would you help me choose?”

 

“I wouldn’t.”

 

“Aren’t you curious? About my underwear.” Airi asked me this, and I instantly gripped the handle of the shopping bag which had her underwear inside.

 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what kind of underwear she buys or wears.

 

What colour? What design? That wild fantasy flashed through my mind for a moment.

 

“...Whatever. So where do you wanna go next? Wanna get lunch?”

 

Continuing to talk about any more of this would expose my weakness so I changed the subject.

 

“Hmm… right. So then, how about we go do Karaoke? We can also eat lunch there.” Airi too didn’t wasn’t keen to continue talking about women’s underwear, so she went along with it.

 

That’s a relief.

 

“Alright. Let’s go.”

 

After our quick consensus, we headed to the Karaoke store. Even though it’s Sunday, it didn’t seem to be very busy.

 

The room we were shown to was fairly spacious despite the visitors being just the two of us. After we ordered our food and drinks, we chose a song.

 

Airi and I came here as two close childhood friends normally would and then happily sing duets together.

 

…

 

Or at least, we were supposed to.

 

“Alright, let’s have a contest.”

 

“Bring it on.”

 

When the contest began, we decided to use the scoring system to determine who was “the better singer.”

 

Both Airi and I have learned piano, so our sense of pitch wasn’t bad and we were both confident in our singing abilities.

 

…Of course if you were to ask who’s better, without a doubt it’s Airi. But even if it’s true… I wouldn’t admit it.

 

But when it comes to karaoke, one’s high score doesn't necessarily correlate with one’s ability to sing. Based on this, I can fight Airi on “equal footing.”

 

And thus two hours passed since the start of our contest….

 

“...Is this machine broken? The scoring system is weird.” Airi, who had lost for the first time, said that while frowning.

 

Airi must have thought that she was “the better singer” so when she saw that we were evenly matched, it made her feel discontent.

 

“It’s not the machine. We’re using the same one, so the rules are the same, right?” I, on the other hand, was feeling good because I managed to beat Airi for the first time.

 

After I drank my juice and cleared my throat, I grabbed the mic.

 

This here is the game-changer. What separates me from Airi.

 

“…It’s because you mostly chose the easiest songs.”

 

“You chose songs you’re good at too.”

 

Choosing an easy song is also one tactic.

 

…Well, if I didn’t come up with this idea, I wouldn’t be able to beat Airi at singing. I began to sing while holding in my laughter. While doing so, I glanced at Airi.

 

“...”

 

Airi looked at the screen unamused. She then turned her attention to me. When our eyes met, the corners of Airi’s mouth turned slightly up. As I looked away, I had a bad feeling.

 

Despite the weird feeling and gaze I felt, not to mention her smile from earlier, I decided to take another look back.

 

Airi’s blue eyes were right in front of me. We were only a few centimetres apart. My stunned look was reflected in Airi’s eyes.

 

That’s flat out cheating.

 

“~～♫”

 

I looked away again so I wouldn’t stare at Airi and could focus on singing.

 

“...How boring.” Airi said with a dissatisfied voice. It felt like she was trying to gain my attention by saying “Keep me company!” but I ignored her because I was in the middle of singing.

 

A few seconds later, the song reached its climax.

 

“....Take this!” Airi said as I felt a strong jolt go throughout my body.

 

“...♫”

 

The sudden ticklish sensation had startled me. The music became slightly hazy. A little later, I realised that Airi had poked my sides with her finger.

 

I glared at Airi as a way of saying that it was unfair.

 

However, Airi seemed to find my reactions amusing. She began poking me again, disrupting my singing.

 

This girl!

 

“...♫♫, Hey, Airi! That’s not fair!!” I said, raising my voice during the interlude.

Airi, on the other hand, didn’t even hesitate to reply.

 

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t mind… if you did the same, y’know?”

 

“...Not even if I were to do it during your next song?”

 

“I don’t mind. In fact, I’d prefer if you did.”

 

“...You better not regret saying those words, alright? ♫”

 

After that war declaration, I began singing once again, trying to avoid her constant poking as much as I could. However, it gradually became more and more intense.

 

I can’t admit that, however, no matter what.

​

There were countless times where I was both laughing and singing, and as a result, I received my lowest score ever.

 

“Oh my, Ibuki-kun… What's wrong? Your singing, did it wear out?” Airi said provokingly while grinning.

 

I glared at her.

 

“...Airi.”

 

“W-What…” Airi flinched after hearing my deep voice. 

 

If she didn’t want me to get mad, then she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.

 

“...Are you ready?”

 

“O-Of course I am.” Airi said that while holding the mic in her right hand.

 

She then placed her left hand under her right armpit, brought both of her arms to her sides as much as possible, and arched her back. 

 

Not the best pose for singing. But it’s the best counter against tickling.

 

“...There, want to give it a shot?”

 

“How do you expect to sing with that kind of posture…”

 

“T-This isn’t because I’m scared of you… ♫” After Airi said that, she began to sing.

 

Giving me small glances every now and then while looking frightened. Airi was more sensitive than I was, so she was not gonna like what’s to come.

 

“Now then, shall I get started?” I said in a sinister voice while planning my next move.

 

Shehad totally curled in like a coward. This positioning of hers made it difficult to tickle her sides since she’d be able to resist it.

 

Of course, if I used my strength, I could simply force open her armpits, but…

 

To me, causing any harm to Airi wasn’t an option. Though, letting things continue on like this wasn’t an option either.

 

“...Alright, I got it.” As I muttered to myself, Airi shook her body.

 

I then crouched in front of Airi who looked at me in fear as she sang, before I grabbed her ankle.

 

“...♫”

 

She didn’t bother fighting back, instead going limp on her legs. She then turned her face towards the screen that was displaying the Karaoke music.

 

I took off Airi’s boots, revealing a pair of legs in black tights.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“♫”

 

*

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“mm-hm…”

 

Around the same time I heard Ibuki-kun’s voice, I felt a tingling feeling at the bottom of my feet. I let out a small sound.

 

My legs bounced up. With just one stroke, no less…

 

“You’re sensitive as always.”

 

“♫~~♫”

 

I concentrated on singing while ignoring his provoking remarks. Focusing instead on the screen, the lyrics being displayed, and singing along to them.

 

Desperately trying to hide my nervousness.

 

Even though I was still confident, my heart started beating louder.

 

“Think you’ll be able to handle this?”

 

“mm-hm…”

 

One of his fingers was rubbing vigorously against the bottom of my foot. Thoroughly, moving in a circular motion, before going towards the centre.

 

Not only that, but there was variety in the intensity as well.

​

W-Well, it’s still only one finger…

 

“~~♫~♫~♫~~”

 

Ibuki-kun tickled me where I gave the most reactions, searching for my most sensitive spots.

 

Because of which, the sensation began getting stronger.

 

“♫~~♫~~”

 

“You’re doing surprisingly well.”

 

I tried putting on a poker face so that my weak side wouldn’t show.

 

On the other hand, he was suppressing his laughter, knowing that his childhood friend wouldn’t give in without a fight.

 

“This is where the real show starts.” He then increased the pace by threefold out of nowhere.

 

“Ah……mmph, ♪”

 

I let out a strange sound with the amount of fingers having been increased. What’s more, he focused on attacking my weak spots with just the right amount of pressure.

​

I-If this goes on any longer, I won’t be able to endure it…

 

“Hey, your singing has been off tune for a while now. You okay?”

 

“Sh-Shut up…!” I said to Ibuki-kun as the song reached its interlude.

 

I was glaring at him, trying to catch my breath,

 

“We can talk later… w-wait… r-right now I’m…”

 

Ibuki-kun’s fingers began to move again even with my mouth. Unable to endure it any longer, my legs began to thrash around.

 

“Who said you’re allowed to take a break during the interlude? See, the singing’s already resumed.”

 

I haven’t even taken a break yet…

 

“Ah… ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪~ ♩, nnh…”

 

I then noticed that Ibuki-kun had started using five fingers to tickle my feet. Even though I tried to move my legs, he was holding my ankles so firmly in place that I couldn’t run away.

 

No, no more… ti-tickling!

 

“I-I can’t do this… I… give uuup…”

 

My mind had been completely broken. I was begging Ibuki-kun to stop without a shred of dignity or shame, but he only shook his head.

 

“Nope. Let’s continue.”

​

N-No way…

 

“F-Forgive me… Ah…. I can’t… go on… like this… anymore… mmph…”

 

No matter how much I begged, Ibuki-kun didn’t budge. Not only could I not sing anymore, but being tickled so much made me desperate for the song to quickly end.

 

It felt like an eternity…

 

Until finally, the song had ended. Around the same time Ibuki-kun let go of my ankles, I brought them towards me.

 

“Damn you…!!”

 

Maybe it was because I had been tickled for over a minute straight, but although the tickling had stopped, it still felt like there were insects crawling around inside my feet.

 

You continued even though I told you to stop… I’ll never forgive you!

 

“Looks like it’s my win.” Ibuki-kun said while looking at the score on the screen.

 

I glared unconsciously at him, causing his expression to turn frightened.

 

“W-What… You were the one who started it, h- hey!!”

 

“How could you!!”

 

I jumped on top of Ibuki-kun and pushed him down. Without a moment’s hesitation, I jammed both of my hands under his armpits.

 

“H-Hey wait… Th-That’s not fair… damn you… AAHHAHAHAHAHA—”

 

“See, how do you like it? Where’s that aggressive attitude you had earlier, huh?”

 

I tickled him hard while I was still on top of him.

 

Ibuki-kun’s arms and legs were flailing around, his body was arched, and he was laughing in pain. Seeing him struggle like that made want more.

 

H-Hey… cut it out! I-I really won’t forgive you if you c-continue…”

 

“Forgive me? Heh, what do you even plan on doing otherwise?” I said provokingly to him, who was glaring back at me.

 

Just then, Ibuki-kun’s eyes became intense.

 

W-What… you motivated?

 

“...You better not regret this, got it?”

 

“Huh, ah, wait…”

 

He tightly gripped both of my arms. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t move either one at all.

 

I then felt a cold sweat run down my back.

 

“Eh, ah, p-please…let’s stop for today…”

 

“I’ll pay you back a hundredfold.”

 

The next moment, I felt a strong pull on my body. I leaned forward to the point where my face was buried in Ibuki-kun’s chest, and then with my arms tightly secured, he held me down in place.

 

“W-Wait, w-what are you going to do!?”

 

“Getting revenge.”

 

Ibuki-kon rotated his body, effectively swapping our positions. Before I knew it, he was holding me down.

 

“W-Wait…”

 

Despite my relentless struggle, my body wouldn’t move.

 

“You ready?”

 

His hands slowly made their way underneath my armpits.

 

“Eek…”

 

This is bad… was what I thought during that moment.

 

And then, it felt like my armpits had exploded.

 

“A-AHAHAHHAHAHAH!! S-Stop it, N-No more, no more!!”

 

“Didn’t I say that I wouldn’t forgive you?”

 

“I-I’m gonna die, I’m gonna diee!! Ahahahahaha!!”

 

“I won’t forgive you even if you die.”

 

“I-It really h-hurts… s-stop it, p-please, ahahahahaha!!”

 

He tickled me so much that I didn’t really know what to do. I twisted my body, frantically moved my arms and legs, trying to escape away from the ticklings.

 

But I couldn’t escape him at all. He wouldn’t let me.

 

“S-Stop it! I-It really hurts…Ah”

 

These were no longer tickles.They were harsh, painful and numbing sensations. I gasped for air.

 

“Ah…”

 

Ibuki-kun, also letting out a sound, stopped moving his hands. His hands, that were on my chest.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

I noticed that Ibuki-kun’s face and ears had gone completely red. So was mine, even.