Volume 6 Episode 04

I had been spending more time in the shared space than before.

More precisely, I had been consciously increasing the time I spent with Sendai-san.

That hadn’t changed even after June began.

“Miyagi, what are you going to do after you finish eating?”

Sendai-san asked while twirling the mentaiko pasta from dinner around her fork.

“I want something to drink.”

“Then I’ll make some tea.”

Ever since that time when something happened that couldn’t be called roommate behavior, it had become difficult for me to go to Sendai-san’s room.

Sendai-san didn’t invite me to her room either. She didn’t return to her room right away and stayed in the shared space, so whenever I tried to spend time together, the time we spent in the shared space naturally grew longer.

I twirled the pasta around my fork and ate the last bite.

I didn’t want to drastically change our life here.

I wanted to keep living with Sendai-san just like this, and I wanted us to remain roommates.

To make that wish come true, I couldn’t keep running away from her. Even if it felt a little awkward, spending time together should bring us closer to how we used to be. Besides, being next to Sendai-san made me restless, but being apart made me restless too, so I had no choice but to stay with her.

“I’ll do the dishes.”

Seeing Sendai-san’s plate empty, I stood up.

“Thanks. I’ll leave it to you.”

I took both our plates and turned on the water.

If only I could wash away what happened on Sunday like the water flowing past, but I knew I couldn’t easily wash it away or erase what had happened between Sendai-san and me. The more I tried to forget that day, the more strongly it lingered in my mind.

Where Sendai-san had touched me, the kind of voice she had whispered with.

The memories resurfaced.

The sensation of Sendai-san’s hands and lips was easy to recall too, because she had touched me and kissed me many times before.

Sendai-san was also aware of Sunday, though not as much as I was. If we kept dragging it out between us forever, we wouldn’t be able to live together as roommates for four years.

I hoped we would return to normal soon.

What had happened on Sunday was already over.

I cleaned the dishes one by one.

The plates became clean, and the pot too.

After washing everything we had used for dinner, I sat down in the chair.

“Sendai-san, I’m done.”

“Then I’ll make some tea.”

Saying that, Sendai-san stood up.

It wasn’t a fixed rule that we drank tea after meals. Sometimes the electric kettle we had bought together came in handy, and other times we had orange juice or barley tea. Yesterday, we had eaten ice cream. The menu changed depending on the moment.

What we drank or ate didn’t matter.

What mattered was sitting here.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I heard Sendai-san’s voice as she placed a mug in front of me.

“Thanks.”

After taking a sip of the tea, I looked at Sendai-san sitting across from me.

She wore the same expression as yesterday, the day before, and the day before that.

She was probably making an effort to keep things unchanged.

The only way to thin out the awkwardness between us was to act as if nothing had happened. So Sendai-san was probably interacting with me the same as usual, but sometimes I felt a distance that hadn’t been there before, and it bothered me.

She used to approach me without any hesitation, but now she didn’t come close.

I looked at her, wanting to know what she was thinking, but I never understood what was on her mind.

There was only so much I could figure out just by looking. If there was something I wanted to know, I should say it out loud.

I knew that, but it was hard to ask, so all I could do was look at her.

The reason why parts of her were clearly different even though she acted the same as before.

I wanted to know what that was.

But if I asked, it would probably touch on what had happened that day.

“Sendai-san, when’s your birthday? It’s in August, right?”

Instead of asking what I really wanted to know, I asked something I hadn’t known until now.

Even though I had been with Sendai-san for quite a long time, I didn’t even know the exact date in August when she was born. A birthday wasn’t that important, but I thought that by learning even something like this about her, I might be able to grasp at least a fragment of what I really wanted to know.

“Yes, it is. Why the sudden question?”

“It’s almost August, so I just wondered when it was.”

I knew she had been born in August because I had heard it when I gave her the necklace as something to tie her down. I ended up remembering it along with that extra piece of information.

“August 23rd. It’s toward the end of August, so it’s not exactly ‘soon,’ you know. What about you, Miyagi?”

“September 25th.”

I hadn’t told her all this time, but today I answered honestly.

If I didn’t have to answer her question, I would have preferred to ask about her family rather than her birthday.

I had no intention of meddling in her family situation, but I was curious about it.

Even so, I didn’t ask her about her family because I clearly remembered how asking about her home during last summer vacation had soured her mood. And if she asked me the same in return, I wouldn’t be able to avoid answering. I could answer about my birthday, but I didn’t really want to talk about family matters.

“Is the 25th Virgo? Or Libra?”

“Libra.”

When I answered briefly, Sendai-san looked at me with a meaningful gaze.

“I see. They say Libras are sociable, but…”

[T/N- Lies. I myself is Libra ⚖️ and I can be as unsocial as it possible.]

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about what sociable means.”

Sendai-san let out a soft chuckle.

From her expression, it seemed she didn’t think of me as sociable.

Fortune-telling was arbitrary anyway.

If everyone matched their zodiac sign, there would only be twelve personality types. Blood types were only four kinds, so there would only be four types of people.

“Sendai-san, do you believe in fortune-telling?”

“I don’t… but maybe it’s fine to believe just the good parts.”

With a smile, Sendai-san drank her tea.

After that, we talked about things that may or may not have had any substance, and the mug emptied. After she made me a second cup and some time passed, I stood up.

“I’ll head back to my room soon.”

After clearing the mug and saying that, Sendai-san came over to me.

“Miyagi.”

She called my name softly and took my hand.

Then she pressed her lips to my fingertip.

Because I’d allowed it once, ever since then, whenever I tried to return to my room after dinner, she would kiss my hand. Sometimes it was just a light brush of her lips, and other times she would lick my fingers or the back of my hand. No matter how she touched me, I’d never said she could keep doing it forever. But I had no reason to refuse her, so I let her do as she pleased.

This much was fine.

It was something we’d done many times before, and now Sendai-san was doing it on her own without me having to tell her to.

A damp sensation pressed against the first joint of my finger.

It didn’t seem like she intended to stop at just a kiss today.

Her tongue, clearly warmer than her lips, clung to my finger and moved toward the second joint. The feeling of my finger growing wet, along with the sensation of her tongue, stirred memories from Sunday.

It’s fine.

It’s okay.

Between the first and second joints, she pressed another kiss, making a small sound.

The tip of her tongue touched my finger again.

My hand felt like it was about to become hotter than Sendai-san’s body temperature, so I tugged on her bangs.

“That’s enough.”

When I said that, Sendai-san kissed the back of my hand before lifting her face.

At times like this, I felt a distance between us.

I was the one who had run away and created that distance in the first place.

Before I could close it myself, Sendai-san had come to me. This time, I thought I’d try closing that distance from my side as well, so I spent more time with her. But I didn’t know if what I was doing was right. It even felt like I was doing things that only made that distance more noticeable.

If it were the old Sendai-san, she wouldn’t have stopped after just kissing my hand. Lately, she stopped at strange moments, and that difference from before bothered me. If I wanted things to return to how they used to be, then she should’ve acted the same way at times like this.

It seemed like Sendai-san had been acting indirectly ever since she came back from Maika’s house.

I turned my back to her and returned to my room.

Standing in front of the black cat on the bookshelf, I stared intently at my own hand.

Just because Sendai-san had touched it didn’t mean anything had changed.

It was still just my hand.

I pressed my lips to my finger.

The sensation was different from when Sendai-san had touched it.

I took a tissue from the crocodile’s back, wiped my finger, and lay down on the bed.

✧✧✧✧✧

“Shiori. Are you free on Sunday? There’s a movie I want to see.”

Across the table, Maika, who had finished her chicken nanban, looked at me.

Of all days, Sunday.

I sighed inwardly.

I didn’t want to say it, but I couldn’t stay silent either.

“…Sorry. I’ve got plans with Sendai-san. Is next week okay?”

In the family restaurant, fairly crowded with people who had come for dinner, I answered in a voice that blended into the surrounding chatter.

I hadn’t wanted to mention Sendai-san’s name since it might bring up the topic of visiting her house, but I didn’t want to lie to Maika any more than I already had.

“Okay, but are you going somewhere with Sendai-san?”

“Shopping.”

I paused while eating my fried chicken and answered honestly.

“Heh. So you do go shopping together.”

I couldn’t tell if it was a grin or a smirk, but Maika wore an unusually pleased expression.

“Well, yeah.”

“Your hobbies don’t seem to match, so what are you going to buy?”

“Piercings. I’ve got Sendai-san picking them out for me.”

Sunday was when I was supposed to fulfill the promise I’d made with Sendai-san. It was a promise she had forced on me as a penalty game on the way back from Maika’s house, and I hadn’t been able to keep it for quite some time. I couldn’t keep putting it off forever, so we’d decided to go out this Sunday.

“I see. It’s been over a month since you got your piercings. Still, it’s kind of strange that you and Sendai-san are close enough for her to choose them for you.”

Maika said this while looking at the area around my ear, hidden beneath my hair. Then, as if remembering something, she added,

“By the way, what happened with the plan to come over?”

As expected, there was no avoiding this topic.

I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape, but it wasn’t enough, so I took a sip of oolong tea before answering.

“Ah, yeah. Sendai-san said it’s fine.”

Taking advantage of the fact that Maika didn’t press further, I finally gave the answer I’d been keeping vague.

“I’ve always wanted to see your room, Shiori, so that’s good. Can I come anytime?”

“Is next month okay?”

“Isn’t that kind of far?”

“Would sooner be better?”

I felt like I wanted a bit more time before Maika came over.

Sendai-san and I were living our daily lives as usual, but things hadn’t fully returned to how they used to be. It wasn’t like everything would be back to normal by next month, but I felt we’d be closer to acting like proper roommates than we were now.

“Okay, next month then.”

It didn’t seem like she was in a rush to come over, and Maika accepted my suggestion.

“Then next month. I’ll ask Sendai-san about her schedule too.”

“Got it. I’m fine anytime.”

Relieved by her easygoing reply, I bit into the last piece of fried chicken.

Sendai-san’s fried chicken tasted better.

Thinking that, I swallowed the slightly strong-flavored chicken.

“Shiori, what were you drinking again?”

After finishing my plate and rice bowl and setting down my chopsticks, Maika pointed at the glass in front of me.

“Oolong tea.”

“Can I have a sip?”

“…Sure.”

“Actually, never mind.”

Even though she’d just asked for oolong tea, Maika immediately took it back, picked up her glass, and stood up. She went to the drink bar, filled it with ginger ale, and returned.

“You said you wanted it, but that’s not oolong tea.”

“It’s not that I wanted to drink oolong tea.”

“Then what was that ‘can I have a sip’ about earlier?”

“You know, Shiori, you’re bad at sharing drinks, right?”

Maika smiled.

“It’s not that I’m bad at it.”

“Really? Ever since high school, you’ve never really gone along with things like ‘can I have a sip’ or offering some yourself, have you?”

What Maika said was true.

I wasn’t good at sharing drinks.

But after realizing that constantly refusing made things a bit awkward, I’d started not refusing every time.

“I don’t mind, and if you’re not good with it, that’s fine.”

Maika said this cheerfully and took a sip of her ginger ale.

“…I’m not very good at it. But it’s not like I absolutely hate it.”

"Sendai-san?"

"Huh?" 

"No, I was just thinking you two seemed completely comfortable with each other. The last time Sendai-san came to my house, she drank Shiori's juice like it was the most natural thing in the world, and then Shiori drank the rest too."

Now that I thought about it, at Maika's house, Sendai-san had drunk my half-finished orange juice, and I’d finished what was left before heading home.

It wasn’t such a big incident that I needed to erase Maika’s memory, but I still felt it wasn’t something that needed to be shown so openly. It probably gave Maika the impression that Sendai-san was somehow different from other people to me. But Sendai-san wasn’t special or anything.

The reason sharing drinks with her didn’t bother me was because of the command that existed between us. Since we touched each other so often, something like sharing a drink stopped feeling like a big deal.

"At that time, Sendai-san showed up so suddenly that I got confused and didn’t know what was going on."

I didn’t know if that really counted as a proper reason for casually sharing a drink, but I gave her a plausible excuse anyway. I didn’t want to lie, but I couldn’t tell her the truth either.

"I see."

Maika said it in a tone that didn’t sound convinced at all.

"By the way, Maika. Have you been in touch with Sendai-san since then?"

It was abrupt, but anything was better than continuing this conversation, so I changed the subject.

"We’ve texted a few times. She thanked me about Shiori and stuff. Sendai-san is pretty conscientious, huh."

Sendai-san had never mentioned contacting Maika.

There was no need for her to tell me, but it didn’t feel good. I would’ve preferred to hear it from Sendai-san first instead of from Maika.

But thinking like that wasn’t really a good thing.

Right now, I wanted to know what Sendai-san was doing in places I couldn’t see, and I even found myself wanting to restrict her actions if possible. I knew I’d been like this since high school, but lately it had become especially obvious.

I took a sip of oolong tea.

I listened to Maika’s stories.

Whether she was concerned or not, Maika didn’t bring up the shared drink again. The topic shifted from Sendai-san to university talk.

After some aimless conversation that lasted for several tens of minutes, I parted ways with Maika.

Thinking about Sendai-san the whole time, I swayed on the train and walked from the station toward home.

Sendai-san was at her part-time job, so she’d be back late.

I’d thought spending time with Maika would stop me from thinking about Sendai-san, but all I could think about was Sendai-san. What kind of conversations she was having with her students, what kind of expression she made when she laughed, things like that kept bothering me.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

I climbed the stairs to the third floor, opened the door, and took off my shoes.

Sendai-san hadn’t come back yet.

I went to my room and took three manga volumes from the bookshelf.

I sat on the bed and flipped through the pages of the manga I’d brought.

Since I’d already read all of them, I reached the last page quickly, so I grabbed new ones. While reading the sixth book, I heard a knock at the door. I set the manga down, opened it, and found Sendai-san standing there.

"Welcome back."

"I’m home. I’m making tea. Want some?"

"I do, but what about dinner, Sendai-san?"

"I ate a little before my shift, so I’m not planning to eat."

After saying that, Sendai-san went to make the tea. I left my room and sat in my usual spot in the shared space. After a while, a mug was placed in front of me, and Sendai-san sat across from me.

"Thanks."

After thanking her, I told her what Maika and I had decided today.

"Sendai-san. Maika is coming over to play next month."

"Next month, huh. That’s kind of far."

Hearing almost the same words Maika had said at the family restaurant, I unintentionally let out a low voice.

"It’s not far. Next month will come soon enough. When works for you?"

"Anytime except my work days. You can decide, Miyagi."

Without even checking her schedule, Sendai-san said it lightly and drank her tea.

Because Maika had said something strange, Sendai-san’s mug suddenly caught my attention.

Her lips touched it, her throat moved, and then her lips pulled away.

Then the mug was placed back on the table.

If it were something someone else had drunk from, I wouldn’t want to put my mouth on it. But because it was Sendai-san, it didn’t bother me and never had. I didn’t even know what I was trying to confirm by staring at it like this now, but watching the mug placed in front of Sendai-san made something restless stir deep in my chest.

I shouldn’t think too deeply about it.

Sendai-san had originally been someone with no connection to me. If I hadn’t seen her at the bookstore, if she hadn’t forgotten her wallet, none of this would’ve happened. It had started in a one-of-a-kind way, so she felt different from other people. That was all.

"What? Is there something interesting written in there?"

Sendai-san held the handle of the mug and spun it around on the table.

"I was just thinking the tea tastes good."

I gulped down the still-hot tea in one go and stood up.

"Miyagi?"

"I’m tired today, so I’m going back to my room."

"Wait."

Sendai-san stood up and grabbed my hand as I tried to head back to my room.

Before her lips could touch my fingertip, I spoke.

"Sendai-san."

"What?"

I stared straight back at Sendai-san, who was looking intently at me.

Her long hair was styled the same way as in high school, half-up with braids on both sides tied at the back. The hair color, which had felt out of place at school back then and leaned more brown than black, now suited her perfectly as a university student. The skirt that had once been a bit short for the uniform had been replaced by longer ones she often wore now in casual clothes. The blouse was the same as in high school, with the top button almost never fastened, but unlike before, she often wore things that weren’t blouses.

In some ways, Sendai-san was the same as before, and in other ways, she was different.

"Lend me your hand."

When I looked down at the hand gripping mine and said that, Sendai-san replied in a dissatisfied tone.

"You mean let go?"

"Let go of my hand, and lend me yours."

"...Okay."

Sendai-san released my hand. Then she placed her own hand onto the palm I held out. This part hadn’t changed since high school.

She followed even words that weren’t commands.

I brought my lips close to the back of Sendai-san’s hand.

When I touched it gently, her hand trembled so much that it surprised me. I didn’t think she disliked it, but it felt like I was being rejected, so I pulled my hand away without thinking.

It wasn’t that I absolutely wanted to touch her from my side.

I just wanted to get a little closer.

"Sorry, I was just startled."

Sendai-san said it in a flustered voice and held her hand out in front of me. But when I still couldn’t bring myself to touch it, she added, "It’s okay."

I took her hand and pressed my teeth against her fingertip.

Sendai-san didn’t move.

When I bit down harder, strength entered Sendai-san’s hand as well. I sank my teeth into the stiffened fingertip hard enough to feel the bone, then let go.

"It hurts, you know."

When she muttered that and I looked at her finger, there were tooth marks left in the shape of my teeth. As I traced the bite mark with my finger, Sendai-san grabbed my hand tightly.

"Miyagi. You haven’t forgotten about Sunday, right?"

"I haven’t forgotten. Just don’t pick anything weird."

"I’ll choose something cute."

Saying that, Sendai-san let out a small laugh.

✧✧✧✧✧

For me, June was neither spring nor summer.

It was a half-hearted season where wearing spring clothes felt a little too late and wearing summer clothes felt too early. I always struggled with what to wear, but one thing was certain. The spring-colored skirt I bought after graduation didn’t suit the season at all, so in the end I ended up in my usual outfit of a cut-and-sew top and denim pants.

There was no need to deliberately choose something like a skirt on Sunday that would remind me of that day, so this was probably just right.

"Miyagi, did you find anything you like?"

In front of the rows of piercings, Sendai-san said it carelessly.

The place she brought me to seemed to be a shop that handled imported miscellaneous goods, so there were more non-accessory items than accessories. Still, there were a decent number of piercings. Sendai-san had told me, "If there’s something Miyagi likes, we’ll go with that, so just look for now," and I looked, but nothing caught my eye right away. Besides, she was the one who said she’d choose, so I thought she should decide.

"Anything is fine, so just pick for me, Sendai-san."

"Really, anything goes?"

"Yeah."

I’d thought that if she took me to a store full of expensive items, I could just leave, but most of the piercings lined up in front of me looked like ones I could accept being bought without feeling guilty.

"Then how about this?"

Sendai-san said it as if she’d already decided from the beginning and handed me a silver piercing.

"...Something else."

A frown was probably forming between my eyebrows.

The price wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t that expensive either.

But that wasn’t the problem.

It was the design.

"You don’t like this kind?"

"It’s not that I dislike it, but I think it’s too cute."

In my hand was a small flower piercing. When I looked at where it had been displayed, the tiny paper with the product description said "Plumeria," so I realized that was the name of the flower used as the motif.

I thought it would look cute, like a single flower blooming on my ear, but it didn’t suit me.

"Really? It’s simple, and I don’t think it’s overly cute."

"I want something different."

"I see. Then how about this one?"

Sendai-san pointed at a gold piercing.

It was ridiculously large, and I didn’t like either the design or the price.

"I don’t like flashy ones like this. You deliberately picked something you thought I’d hate, didn’t you?"

"You were the one who said ‘pick whatever, anything is fine,’ Miyagi. I chose properly, so pick whichever of these two you like."

Sendai-san said it cheerfully and looked at me.

It was true that I said "pick for me" and answered "yeah" when she asked "anything goes?" If I threw a tantrum and absolutely refused, she might choose something else, but at my age it was embarrassing to make a fuss inside a store.

"...This one."

I handed Sendai-san the small flower piercing.

"I’ll go buy it, so stay around here."

Sendai-san said it lightly and headed to the register.

I watched her back as she walked away, then touched my ear.

The piercing touching my fingertip was different from the one chosen here. This was the first piercing Sendai-san had ever put in my ear, so thinking that a new one was coming made me feel a little lonely.

I gazed vaguely at the piercings lined up.

I wasn’t that interested in piercings themselves, so there wasn’t anything I particularly wanted. Since I couldn’t find something I wanted on my own, I thought it was fine that Sendai-san chose one.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

While I was staring absentmindedly at the piercings, Sendai-san tapped my shoulder.

"Where are the piercings?"

She looked like she was in a good mood, but she wasn’t holding the ones she was supposed to buy. They were probably in her bag, but I had assumed she’d hand them over right away.

"I’ll give them to you after we get home. More importantly, want to stop somewhere on the way?"

"No need to stop."

"What about food? Wait, it’s still too early for dinner."

Normally, Sendai-san would list all sorts of possible places to stop by and decide on a new destination, but today she simply said, "Then let’s head back," and started walking. We went straight back the way we came without any detours and arrived home in the evening.

I opened the refrigerator and poured barley tea and cider into glasses.

"I’ll take them to the room."

Sendai-san said it as if it were the most natural thing and placed the glasses I was about to set on the shared space table onto a tray.

"Is the room Sendai-san's room?"

"Yes. Because I’m giving you the piercings."

"Can’t we do it here?"

"Do you hate coming to my room?"

It wasn’t that I disliked it, but I hadn’t entered Sendai-san’s room since that Sunday. Her room was connected to what had happened that day, and my heartbeat quickened a little.

It wasn’t that I wanted to erase the memory, and I’d accepted what happened that day, but the embarrassment didn’t fade. Even so, if I kept avoiding Sendai-san’s room, I wouldn’t be able to enter it for the rest of my life, and more than that, it would make it obvious that I was still hung up on Sunday.

"...Okay."

When I answered quietly, Sendai-san smiled softly and picked up the tray.

Instead of her, whose hands were full, I opened the door and entered the room.

The bed came into view, and my feet stopped in an awkward place.

I thought Sendai-san was unfair.

She was the one who had touched me one-sidedly, so she probably didn’t feel the same embarrassment as I did.

I should’ve just received them in the shared space after all.

"Sit down."

Sendai-san, who had set the glasses on the table, tapped my shoulder, but I didn’t want to sit.

"Where are the piercings?"

"I’ll put them on for you."

Sendai-san pulled me to the front of the table and made me sit. Then she sat down next to me.

"I’ll do it myself."

"At least give me the right to put the piercings on as the person who bought them. Is there a reason you don’t want me to do it?"

"It just feels weird."

Because it might remind me of Sunday, I didn’t want my ear to be touched.

That was the only reason.

But if I said that, it would seem like I was really bothered by Sunday, so I didn’t want to say it.

"If that’s the only reason, then let me put the piercings on."

Sendai-san said exactly what I expected and reached out her hand, so I brushed it away.

"Then I’ll take the piercing out myself."

Before Sendai-san could reach out again, I removed the piercing and placed it on the table. When I touched my earlobe, the spot where the decoration was gone felt a little unreliable.

"Can I put it on?"

Sendai-san took out a small bag from her bag and looked at me.

"Yeah."

"Will you take the piercing out of the bag yourself?"

"Do everything for me, Sendai-san."

"Got it."

In a light tone, she took the piercing out of the bag.

Sendai-san’s hand touched me and tucked my hair behind my ear.

My heart jumped a little, and I clenched my hands tightly.

Her gaze focused on my ear without the piercing, and it felt a bit suffocating.

I’d looked at my ear without the piercing many times myself, but maybe because it was the first time showing it to Sendai-san, I felt unsettled. Showing a small hole shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it felt like something special.

The hand that had touched my hair stroked my ear.

The back of my earlobe, where the catch had held the piercing, was touched as if she were checking it, and I grabbed Sendai-san’s arm.

"Aren’t you putting the piercing on?"

"I am, but it caught my attention."

"What?"

"Your ear without the piercing, Miyagi. So the hole I made that time looks like this."

She said it thoughtfully and removed her hand from my ear.

"Sendai-san, it’s not like you’ve never seen a piercing hole before."

Back in high school, Ibaraki-san and the others had piercings too, so piercing holes shouldn’t have been rare for Sendai-san.

"That’s true, but it’s the first time I’ve seen Miyagi’s."

"You don’t need to look, just put it on quickly."

"Okay, okay."

Sendai-san picked up the piercing and slowly, carefully put it on my ear. The hand that lightly touched my cheek and the fingertips brushing the back of my ear tickled, making my body want to move. After enduring it for a while, there were two clicking sounds as the piercing was secured, and Sendai-san’s hand moved away.

"I put it on."

When she handed me a hand mirror with a "here," and I looked at myself, a small flower was blooming on my ear. The silver one was less noticeable than I’d expected once I put it on, and I felt a little relieved. I still thought it was too cute for me, but it was a kind of cuteness I could accept.

"It suits you."

Sendai-san stroked the piercing and said it quietly.

Without responding to that, I said what I hadn’t said earlier.

"...Thanks for the piercing."

"You’re welcome."

"Why don’t you get piercings, Sendai-san?"

I pushed away Sendai-san’s arm, which was trying to keep touching my ear, and asked something I’d wanted to know.

Back when we were in high school, she hadn’t let me get piercings because it violated the rules, but that rule no longer existed.

"It’s not like there’s a particular reason. Well, maybe if there’s something memorable, I might do it."

Saying something different from before, Sendai-san stared at me intently.

"Can I come a little closer?"

When I stayed silent, Sendai-san moved a little closer to me.

"Let me see the piercing more clearly."

Without waiting for a reply, her hand touched my ear again, her fingertips traced the piercing, and she tugged on my earlobe.

The part being touched felt hot.

My spine straightened, and from my neck to my shoulders, everything tensed.

When I leaned back slightly, Sendai-san moved even closer than the distance I’d created and pressed her lips to my ear.

"Miyagi," she called softly.

When I didn’t respond, she called my name again near my ear.

Hearing my name spoken so softly and gently made it ticklish.

My ear was kissed again, and it felt like the memories were about to connect back to Sunday.

My left hand was taken, and our fingers intertwined.

Teeth touched my earlobe and bit lightly. Sendai-san’s body pressed against me more than necessary, and mixed with the breath brushing against me, she called my name again.

"Sendai-san, wait a second."

I pushed against her shoulder.

But Sendai-san didn’t pull away.

Her fingers traced along my neck, and her lips followed as if chasing them. The body heat moving slowly across my skin felt overwhelmingly pleasant, and my breathing threatened to grow unsteady. The area around where my neck met my shoulder was licked, and this time I pushed Sendai-san’s shoulder more firmly.

"Did you hate it?"

Sendai-san spoke quietly.

"You got carried away."

I untangled our still-intertwined fingers and pressed my palm against my neck.

"Miyagi."

"What?"

"The piercing suits you, so keep wearing it forever."

Her fingers reached out as if reluctant to stop, and I instinctively pulled my body back. This time, the distance remained, and the tension that had been building in my body slowly faded away.

"I don’t have any other piercings I want, and I plan to keep wearing it even without you telling me."

I touched my ear and took a sip of the cider.