Volume 6 Episode 11

As expected, Miyagi really is a pervert.

It's bizarre how she can casually blindfold me as though it's the most natural thing in the world, and it doesn't stop there. She wasn't satisfied with merely asking whether it felt good. She kept pressing me to explain exactly how good it felt. And after it was over, the way she stared so intently at her fingers was unbelievable. No matter how I look at it, Miyagi is nothing but a pervert.

I let out a long sigh as I lay on the bed.

The hook of my bra and the button on my denim pants are still undone, leaving me in a terribly disheveled state. But since Miyagi has already gone back to her room and no one's watching, I don't feel like fixing my clothes.

"……I shouldn't have said that."

I ended up blurting it out because she kept asking me over and over again.

There was no reason to seriously answer such a ridiculous question as, "How good did it feel?"

It's undeniably true that it felt better than when I do it myself, but I was an idiot for deliberately telling Miyagi that. Even if I'd been overwhelmed in the moment, I definitely said far too much.

I'm curious about what Miyagi thought, but I can't bring myself to ask her. If I do, I'd have to repeat what I said earlier, and I don't want her latching onto the subject in that strange way of hers. She'd probably start asking what I was thinking while it was happening, or exactly how I do it.

Answering questions like that would be humiliating, and they're not the sort of things I could ever say to Miyagi.

And yet, I have a feeling that if she asked, I'd end up answering anyway.

I'm hopelessly weak when it comes to Miyagi.

I think she's already aware of that, but I'm probably even more indulgent toward her than she realizes. Even today, I would've let her do it even if she hadn't said something like, "If you refuse, I'll never let you do that to me again." I like her so much that if she told me she wanted to, I'd let her, and honestly, I was happy that she wanted to touch me.

"But……"

I still have no idea how things ended up with her saying, "I'll do it to Sendai-san."

I'd always been convinced that Miyagi would never be the one to say she wanted to touch me, so it genuinely makes no sense. At the time, she said it was simply because she "wanted to know what would happen to Sendai-san," but there's no way she would've suddenly started thinking something like that in that moment. There had to be some other reason behind it. If I'd tried to force an answer out of her, she probably would've gone straight back to her own room without touching me at all. Even if I ask tomorrow, I doubt she'll give me a straightforward answer.

Even so, I want to know why Miyagi acted that way. More than that, I want to know what lies beneath that reason, how Miyagi truly feels about me.

That’s why I decided to wake up early.

If Miyagi is planning to run away, I’ll catch her before she gets the chance.

I’ll make breakfast for her, and even if we don’t speak, I want her to stay right in front of me.

Even after making that decision, I still can’t stop myself from praying.

Please, let Miyagi be here tomorrow morning, just like always.

✧✧✧✧✧

Just as I’d decided yesterday, I woke up earlier than usual.

Or rather, I barely slept at all.

Stifling a yawn, I opened the refrigerator.

My eyes fell on the cheese, and I remembered there were cherry tomatoes in the vegetable drawer. I could’ve simply spread jam and butter on toast like I always did, but today I felt like having something different.

“Maybe I’ll make pizza toast.”

I took out two plates and laid a slice of bread on each one.

I was making breakfast for two, and today Miyagi really was home.

She apparently hadn’t run away. Her shoes were still by the entrance, and I could feel her presence beyond the door. I hadn’t said good morning to her yet, but if I waited, I’d get the chance.

“Good morning.”

It wasn’t exactly a rehearsal, but I murmured the words softly to myself. Then I spread ketchup over the bread, topped it with cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, and ham. After placing the prepared slices into the toaster, I shredded some cabbage and sliced a cucumber for a salad. While arranging the cabbage, cucumber, and the remaining cherry tomatoes from the pizza toast onto a deep plate, the toaster let out a loud ding.

Breakfast was almost ready, but Miyagi still hadn’t come out of her room.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should knock on her door and call out to her, then took the toast with its melted cheese out of the toaster and set it on the plates. I didn’t have any basil, so I couldn’t add that, but I drizzled olive oil over the pizza toast and finished it with a sprinkle of black pepper.

I glanced toward the door to Miyagi’s room, but it remained closed.

I carried the salad and pizza toast to the table, then took some orange juice out of the refrigerator. After pouring the orange-colored liquid into two glasses, I let out a quiet sigh.

I hadn’t made this breakfast to eat by myself.

Both the pizza toast and the salad were meant to be shared with Miyagi. I stopped in front of her room.

I took three deep breaths.

I opened and closed my hands, then clenched them tightly into fists.

Even though it wasn’t the first time I’d knocked on Miyagi’s door, I still felt nervous.

I knocked once. *Ton.*

There was no response from inside.

This time, I knocked more firmly, ton, ton, twice, and a voice from inside called back, “What?”

“Miyagi, breakfast’s ready.”

I made sure to keep my voice as natural as ever.

Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds.

Maybe even longer. After making me wait for what felt like an eternity, Miyagi finally stepped out of her room. Even then, she kept her gaze lowered, refusing to meet my eyes. I greeted the girl who had finally emerged, despite her unwillingness to look up at me.

“…Good morning.”

A quiet reply came back, followed by the door shutting with a bang.

Miyagi kept her head bowed and, just as I'd expected, wouldn't look at me. She never said she felt awkward, but the way she stubbornly refused to lift her face told me everything I needed to know.

“Look at me.”

I called out to Miyagi, whose eyes remained fixed on the floor.

“I don't have to.”

“Look at me.”

“Why?”

“That’s what I should be asking. Why won't you look at me, Miyagi?”

I asked, not expecting an answer.

I already had a pretty good idea why Miyagi refused to meet my eyes, and in truth, it wasn't all that important.

Whatever the reason might've been, it sent a deep ache through my chest whenever she wouldn't look at me. And if there wasn't any reason at all, that hurt even more. Either way, it was painful, and there was nothing enjoyable about it. The ache throbbed like an infected wound, and simply thinking that it would continue weighed heavily on my heart.

“…I don't know.”

Without lifting her gaze, Miyagi murmured her reply.

She'd wished me good morning, and we were about to have breakfast together.

Everything I'd hoped for yesterday was unfolding just as I'd imagined.

And yet, somehow, even that wasn't enough to satisfy me.

“Miyagi.”

Softly calling her name, I reached out my hand.

I tucked her hair behind her ear and gently touched the plumeria earring I'd chosen and given her. After feeling the delicate flower beneath my thumb, I called her name once more, “Miyagi,” then pressed a kiss against the earring. Her fingers quietly caught the hem of my T-shirt.

When I drew my lips away and looked at her, our eyes finally met.

I kissed her gently on the cheek and whispered, “Good morning.” This time, she answered more clearly than before.

“Good morning.”

But almost immediately afterward, Miyagi lowered her gaze again.

“Did you dream about anything last night, Miyagi?”

I asked the girl who still seemed determined to avoid my eyes.

“I didn't.”

“I did. I dreamed you were hugging me.”

The moment I confessed to a dream I'd never actually had, Miyagi lifted her face and looked at me.

“That’s a lie, isn't it?”

“It is. I never actually dreamed that.”

To be more accurate, I'd only dozed off for a little while, never deeply enough to dream at all.

“Sendai-san, you really do lie so easily.”

Miyagi grumbled, sounding mildly annoyed as she tried to lower her gaze again. Before she had the chance, I stole a kiss from her.

I pressed my lips firmly against hers, enough to feel the hard edge of her teeth beneath their softness, before pulling away. But before she could even catch her breath, I kissed her again, gently sinking my teeth into her soft, gummy-like lower lip.

I wanted to pull Miyagi down right here.

Even if it wasn't on a bed, I wanted to touch her, to kiss far more than just her lips.

I knew I couldn't actually do that.

Even so, the thought still crossed my mind.

I bit into her soft lips and slowly licked them.

I pressed our lips together so firmly that breathing became difficult and slipped my arms around Miyagi's waist. The moment I drew her body closer, she forcefully pulled away, breaking the kiss.

“Why did you kiss me just now?”

Her flat voice reached me as she pushed me away.

“Because I wanted to.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

I kept my eyes on her, but seeing the dissatisfied look on Miyagi’s face, I added, “If you need a reason, I can always make one up.”

“What do you mean by ‘make one up’?”

“How about ‘because Miyagi was cute’?”

The instant I smiled at her, she drove her foot into my leg with surprising force.

“Seriously, quit kicking me like that.”

I was glad I hadn't told Miyagi I liked her yesterday.

If I had, I wasn't sure she would've stayed here. And even if she had, things would've been far more awkward than they were now, and I probably wouldn't have been able to kiss her or even smile naturally.

“It’s your fault for saying weird things, Sendai-san.”

“Telling you you're cute isn't weird.”

“Then it’s your fault for saying things you don’t actually mean.”

“I do think you're cute, Miyagi. I really do.”

As I said that and reached out to brush my fingers through her hair, she kicked my leg again. If I kept calling her cute like this, I was probably going to end up covered in bruises from the knees down, so I took Miyagi's hand and guided her over to the table.

“I made pizza toast, so let’s eat. It’s getting cold.”

At my words, Miyagi settled into her usual seat.

I sat down as well, and after we both said, “Itadakimasu,” together, we each took a bite of the pizza toast.

“It got cold because Sendai-san started doing weird stuff.”

“I only kissed you.”

I took a sip of orange juice before biting into the pizza toast again. Just as Miyagi had said, it had already lost the heat that made it best, but since it was something that had never appeared on our table before, it still tasted delicious. After taking another generous bite and swallowing it, Miyagi spoke in a quiet, restrained voice.

“Sendai-san, why are you so calm?”

“Calm about what?”

“…Aren’t you embarrassed?”

The words that slipped from Miyagi’s lips lacked any real context, but I knew she was talking about yesterday.

“Didn't you run away last time because you were embarrassed, Miyagi?”

“I’m the one asking the questions here.”

Hearing her voice drop just a little, I decided to answer honestly.

“I do think it’s embarrassing, but I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

She'd touched my body, made me let out sounds I normally never would, and even cornered me into answering questions I didn't want to answer. Miyagi's voice had sounded different than usual too, but when I weighed everything that had happened, I felt I had far more reason to be embarrassed than she did. Thinking back on everything she'd done to me, I could genuinely understand why Miyagi had wanted to run away from me last time.

But no matter how embarrassed I felt, I still wanted to stay with Miyagi.

“You've got friends who'd let you stay over, don't you?”

“I do, but it’s more comfortable here. Did you want me gone, Miyagi?”

“I never said that.”

“Then try looking at least a little happier.”

I wasn't telling her to smile or act friendlier. I just wanted her to peel away that permanently grumpy expression clinging to her face.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of face I make.”

“Maybe not, but I think we'd enjoy breakfast more if you looked even a little happier.”

Keeping my eyes on the perpetually grumpy-looking Miyagi, I took another bite of the pizza toast.

Miyagi didn't smile.

Instead, she lowered her gaze.

I was about to complain about how impossibly uncooperative she was and opened my mouth, but before I could speak, a small voice drifted across the table.

“…I think eating with two people is better than eating alone.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the answer to your question. You asked whether it would be better if you weren’t here, didn’t you?”

With that, Miyagi lifted her orange juice and took a sip.

“Ah, yeah. I did ask.”

It felt strangely out of place hearing Miyagi speak so honestly all of a sudden.

But since it seemed I might finally get the answer I'd been hoping for, I asked her the same question I'd asked yesterday once again.

“Hey, Miyagi. During summer break, let's go somewhere together. Just the two of us.”

Across the table, Miyagi raised her head and met my eyes.

After a brief silence, her quiet voice reached me.

“You can decide where we go, Sendai-san.”

“Got it.”

I gave a short reply, and Miyagi took another bite of her now-cold pizza toast.