I hadn’t rushed to get here.

       Yet, somehow, I arrived earlier than I typically would.

       After taking a deep breath, I opened the door to find Miyagi waiting for me. Before I could close the door, she tried to hand me a five-thousand-yen bill.

       「I don’t want it. I was the one who made you call for me today.」

       Usually, I accepted the bill without question.

       That was the arrangement we had, and something I’d gotten used to.

       However, today I pushed the bill away and then took off my shoes. I tried to make my way towards Miyagi’s room, but the owner of the room blocked my path, preventing me from passing through.

       「I didn’t summon you because you told me to. I did it because I wanted to, so I’m still going to pay you.」

       Even though we were at her home now, Miyagi’s mood still seemed sour. The expression on her face looked bored, as it often did.

       「Are you going to order me to do something today?」

       「…… Yeah.」

       Miyagi mumbled quietly as she extended the five-thousand-yen bill out to me again.

       No matter how you looked at it, she clearly had no plan in mind.

       But it’d be a problem if we were to get into another argument and I got kicked out again.

       「Okay, fine.」

       After taking the five-thousand yen from her, I stuffed the bill into my wallet. Miyagi, who had been blocking the corridor earlier, said, “I’ll bring you some tea,” and headed towards the kitchen.

       Without waiting for Miyagi, I went to her room first and set my bag down. After loosening my necktie and unbuttoning my blouse, I sat on the floor, leaning my back against her bed.

       I’d been to Miyagi’s house many times before, but today was the first time I felt this restless.

       I didn’t feel like reading manga, and lying on her bed to wait for her didn’t seem appealing to me either.

       To be honest, Miyagi wasn’t the only one without a plan in mind.

       I came here with a resolute determination, dissatisfied with Miyagi’s efforts to erase not only our memories within this room but our entire connection, as if she were using an eraser to wipe everything away. Yet, I found myself struggling to find the right words. Although it had been less than a year since I began interacting with Miyagi, today felt like the day when I was most unsure about what to say.

       As I heaved a heavy sigh, Miyagi entered the room with a tray holding two cups and a small plate that I had never seen before.

       「Here, eat this.」

       She said curtly, placing the small plate on the table.

       「A castella cake?」

       That’s rare.

       It had been a while since I last saw castella cake, but the most unusual part was being served food in this room. Typically, Miyagi only ever brought tea and soda here.

       「You didn’t have lunch today, right? Honestly, I think you reap what you sow.」

       「Oh? Looks like someone’s being nice to me today.」

       「That’s just a leftover. I thought it’d be a waste to throw it away…… But if you’re not going to eat it, I’ll get rid of it.」

       Miyagi said as she sat down on the bed without taking a bite of the castella cake.

       「No, I’ll eat it.」

       I wasn’t sure if castella cakes were traditionally eaten with a fork, but since there was one placed beside the plate, I decided to use it to bring the exquisite egg-colored dessert to my mouth.

       It was extremely soft and sweet. The crunchy texture of the caramelized sugar at the bottom was also delicious, prompting me to take another bite.

       I swallowed a piece and took a sip of barley tea.

       It was just as Miyagi said – I had missed out on lunch today.

       I turned down Umina’s invitation to hang out after school and came here directly without making any detours, so I hadn’t had a chance to eat anything.

       But that should’ve been the same with Miyagi.

       「Aren’t you going to eat anything?」

       「I already ate.」

       Miyagi said, though I couldn’t discern the truth behind her words. She idly swung her legs, still wearing a bored expression on her face. She seemed like she had nothing to do and was merely trying to pass the time, yet there was also an air of restlessness to her.

       Although it was poor manners, I lightly poked her leg with the fork from a slight distance away.

       「Ouch.」

       She stopped swaying her legs and glared daggers at me.

       「Do you want me to lick it?」

       「You don’t have to. Also, I’m the one who decides what order to give you.」

       Miyagi, now wary of me, pulled her legs up onto her bed and hugged her knees.

       「Don’t talk to me at school anymore.」

       「Is that an order?」

       Miyagi didn’t reply.

       Instead, she stayed silent and looked away from me.

       I reached out and pinched the hem of Miyagi’s skirt as I approached her.

       However, my hand was quickly brushed away.

       「I had a rough time today because of you, Sendai-san.」

       Miyagi said in a slightly low voice without answering my earlier question. She continued with,

       「When you came by to my classroom, Maika and Ami kept asking me a bunch of questions. Even after I went back, they were extremely curious about what business you had with me, so it was kind of a hassle to deal with.」

       「What did you tell them?」

       「I told them you were asking me for money.」

       「…… Seriously?」

       「No. I told them you came to inform me that a teacher was looking for me, and that I went straight to the staff faculty room after. But they didn’t seem to believe me.」

       Well, of course they wouldn’t.

       From their perspective, I was someone who had never interacted with her before. To them, it must’ve seemed like I came out of nowhere and then whisked her away somewhere, so it was only natural for them to be curious. If anything, it would’ve been weirder if they weren’t interested.

       「It was a pain to deal with, so don’t come find me at school anymore.」

       Miyagi said as she got off the bed and took a seat a little distance away from me.

       「Aren’t you sitting kind of far away?」

       「That’s because I know if I don’t, you’re going to do something weird again, Sendai-san.」

       「No, I won’t. If anything, you’re the one that’s always doing something weird.」

       I said in an attempt to defend myself.

       Besides, strange things only ever happened if I was ordered to do them.

       As long as Miyagi didn’t issue any weird orders, there’d be no reason for them to happen, so it was wrong to pin the blame on me. That being said, she seemed to think differently.

       「I don’t want to hear that from you, Sendai-san. You were trying to lift my skirt just now too.」

       「All I did was tug on it a little. You always seem to have some kind of rebuttal ready, huh.」

       「That’s because you keep saying things that have to be refuted. Also, what’s with you today? Why are you talking so much?」

       It was true that I was talking a lot more than usual.

       Although her room was normally comfortable to be in, for some reason, today I found it difficult to settle in. I kept moving my mouth as if trying to distract myself from this discomfort. It felt as if I were back in the days when I couldn’t quite get used to being in this room, and I had the urge to keep talking to fill the silence.

       But I wasn’t the only one doing it.

       「That should be my line. You’re talking a lot more than usual too, Miyagi.」

       It was rare to hear Miyagi talk about what happened at school without being asked about it. She typically never served snacks in her room, and she hardly ever paid any attention to me.

       But today was different.

       There was no other word to describe it.

       「No, I’m not.」

       Miyagi mumbled as she pulled her schoolbag towards her. Then, she pulled something out of the bag and pushed it towards me.

       「You came to get this, didn’t you? I already said this when we were at school, but you can keep it.」

       Miyagi said, sounding irritated.

       I stared at the hand that had been extended towards me. She was holding the eraser I’d returned to her earlier.

       However, instead of taking the eraser, I grabbed her by the wrist.

       Miyagi looked surprised, but I brushed the fingers that were holding onto the eraser, bringing them to my lips, and I started licking them.

       Her fingers were a bit cold, and they didn’t taste like blood or the flavor of potato chips.

       As my tongue wrapped around her fingers, the eraser fell to the floor.

       Miyagi moved her hand and grazed it against my cheek to pull herself away.

       「Stop doing things like that.」

       She shook the hand that I was grabbing her with off and pushed me against the forehead.

       「Well, you’re not giving me any orders.」

       「If I order you to go home right now, would you do it?」

       「Yes, if that’s what you want.」

       The rules we came up with were absolute, and I intended to follow them.

       But I knew Miyagi would never issue that order.

       If she really wanted me to go home, she’d chase me out like last time instead of asking a hypothetical question.

       「…… That’s not fair.」

       Miyagi mumbled under her breath.

       「You call that unfair? I think you should just tell me what you really want me to do.」

       「I don’t want anything from you.」

       「Fine, then I’ll just give the money back to you.」

       「I don’t need it.」

       「Well, in that case, order me to do something. Isn’t that part of our arrangement?」

       The two of us were different in a lot of ways, but we also had a few similarities.

       I wasn’t a big fan of the term “school hierarchy”, but if I had to categorize things that way, I’d say I hovered around the top. More specifically, I probably belonged in the lower end among the upper ranks.

       Miyagi wasn’t exactly at the bottom, but she wasn’t near the top either.

       I was doing everything in my power to avoid falling from the top, while Miyagi was steadfastly holding her ground to prevent descending to the bottom. Our lack of full commitment made us alike.

       Plus, we both viewed each other as useful and convenient.

       Miyagi gave me a place to relax away from home, and I did whatever Miyagi wanted me to do.

       So it wasn’t all that strange for us to be interested in each other.

       ―― I squeezed my hands into fists.

       I knew I wasn’t being very honest with myself.

       I had already known the answer. I kept coming up with various explanations to justify my reasoning, but the truth was simple. I just wanted to kiss Miyagi and then see what would happen once I did. Right here, right now.

       「You already know what you want me to do, right?」

       I closed the distance between us.

       As I did so, she gave me an order that was clearer than last time.

       「Sendai-san, I want you to do it to me.」

       「Do what?」

       「…… Kiss me.」

       What should I do?

       I’d been entrusted with the final say. However, since I didn’t have the right to refuse an order, there was only one thing I could do.

       I leaned closer to Miyagi and combed her hair with my fingers.

       Her hair, extending just beyond her shoulders, was black and silky.

       I put my hand on her cheek and slowly brought her face closer to mine.

       However, for some reason, Miyagi never broke eye contact with me.

       「Close your eyes.」

       「Shut up, Sendai-san. I’ll close them when I want to.」

       You could argue that since we weren’t friends or lovers, there was no need for any sort of atmosphere between us, but the mood felt kind of off. Though, you could also argue that this was just Miyagi being Miyagi.

       With no way to change the situation, I entrusted her with the decision of when to close her eyes and leaned in. As I closed the distance between us, just as the awkwardness began to sink in, Miyagi closed her eyes, as if intentionally avoiding mine.

       I found that part of her cute.

       I wanted to stare at her a bit longer, but I soon closed my eyes as well.

       Then, my lips touched hers.

       My heart didn’t seem to race.

       But I was definitely nervous.

       I was extremely conscious of the vivid sensation of her lips.

       It felt soft and warm.

       I couldn’t tell if I was holding my breath or not, but right now, I felt incredibly close to Miyagi.

       Our lips parted.

       It didn’t taste like anything.

       Though, it would’ve been a whole different issue if our kiss was intense enough to leave behind a lingering taste.

       I stared at Miyagi, but she wouldn’t look me in the eye.

       I want to do it again.

       I thought to myself as I tried to close the distance between us once more.

       When I placed my hands on her shoulders and tried to bring her face closer to mine, she pushed me away.

       「Are you trying to do it again or something?」

       She said, sounding displeased.

       「You told me to do it, didn’t you?」

       「I didn’t say you could do it twice.」

       「You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」

       I complained as I stroked my hand against Miyagi’s neck.

       Her body temperature felt higher than usual.

       「Hey, order me to do it again.」

       Miyagi wore a blatant frown on her face.

       But after a short pause, she said something in a quiet voice.

       「Do it again.」

       I leaned in towards the source of the voice, closing the gap once more.

       The space that existed between us vanished in the blink of an eye, and we shared our second kiss.

       I hadn’t noticed it the first time, but this felt really good.

       A surge of warmth spread from where we touched. As if a switch had been triggered within me, I guided my tongue towards her lips. Our body heat blended more intensely than when we were just touching each other with our fingers, blurring the lines that separated us.

       Miyagi’s lips parted slightly as she let a breath escape.

       Hearing her faint labored breathing made my ears tingle.

       Miyagi was grasping onto my sweater vest.

       More. I wanted more.

       I wanted to explore the inside of Miyagi’s mouth.

       I parted my lips slightly and tried to sneak my tongue into her mouth, but I was rejected. She bit my lip out of protest and then shoved me away.

       「I didn’t say you could go that far.」

       「A kiss is a kiss, isn’t it?」

       「Anyway, that’s enough.」

       Miyagi said with a sharp tone as she pulled back slightly from me.

       「So, what now?」

       Miyagi asked, tossing a tissue box with a crocodile cover on it at me, while avoiding making eye contact.

       「What do you mean?」

       「Doesn’t this make things awkward between us?」

       Well, I guess she had a point.

       We weren’t friends, let alone lovers. It wouldn’t be weird to feel awkward over kissing someone who was neither of those things.

       Personally, I didn’t think it mattered.

       A couple of kisses weren’t going to soften Miyagi’s attitude towards me or anything.

       She’ll probably continue shooting complaints at me, one after another, with those sharp and prickly words of hers. In fact, I think it’d be even more unsettling if she were to suddenly start acting friendlier towards me. While some things might eventually change, for now, I just wanted to leave things as they were.

       「How can you be so smart, yet so dumb at the same time, Sendai-san?」

       Miyagi said as she heaved a sigh.

       「I’ll admit I can be kind of dumb sometimes, but I’m definitely not smart.」

       If I were smart, I would be able to meet my parents’ expectations.

       I would have gone to a different high school, where I wouldn’t have crossed paths with Miyagi.

       「It’s only going to feel awkward for the first little while anyway.」

       I said, casually brushing her worries off, as I flopped onto her bed.

       It was fine if Miyagi stayed the same as she was now. It was also better if things between us remained unchanged.

       「Hey, keep calling for me from now on, okay?」

       「I was going to do it even without you telling me to. Stop trying to order me around.」

       Miyagi looked annoyed as she stood up and picked out a few manga books to read. When she sat back down, she took a sip from her soda.

       What I learned from kissing Miyagi was that I liked her enough to go as far as barging into her house, summoning her at school, and even trying to order her around.

       Surprisingly, I found myself quite taken by her.

       Not that I had any intention of telling her that, though.

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To anyone who was like, “what the heck is a castella cake?!?”, it’s actually just a type of sponge cake. You can read about it here!

Also, my god, this part was so long.

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