「Didn’t I just say that tickles?」

         Sendai-san didn’t outright forbid me from touching her. However, her expression clearly conveyed that she didn’t want to be touched, and she pulled my hand from her ear.

         「And I thought I told you not to move.」

         That hadn’t been a request – it was an order.

         Sendai-san probably knew that as well.

         「Besides, all I did was touch your ear. Oh, don’t tell me, is this another one of your weak spots?」

         I tugged on her earlobe again.

         「Stop pulling so hard. That hurts.」

         Sendai-san didn’t deny that it was her weak spot, but she furrowed her brows. However, her expression was the only thing that changed; she didn’t move her body.

         I slid my fingers behind her ear once again, causing her to tremble slightly.

         The frown on her face didn’t disappear, but unlike earlier, she didn’t pull my hand away this time.

         「That’s good. Just keep on obeying my orders like this.」

         I felt a sense of relief seeing Sendai-san doing exactly as I say.

         This was my room. I shouldn’t have to feel restless as if I were in someone else’s room.

         I was the owner of this place. Not Sendai-san.

         My heart, which had been in turmoil up until now, started to calm down as our relationship gradually returned to how it used to be.

         I continued to trace the outline of Sendai-san’s ear with my finger.

         The displeased look on her face did not disappear, as if it were frozen in place.

         Wanting to wipe that expression away, I slipped my finger into her ear, prompting Sendai-san to flinch immediately.

         「Hey!」

         She exclaimed, but I kept poking around in her ear, as if trying to tickle her.

         Sendai-san lifted her hand for a moment, but soon lowered it.

         It seemed she was determined to follow the previous order I had issued her, so she stopped resisting. I took the opportunity to continue playing around with her ear.

         Sendai-san always appeared so calm at school, so it was amusing to see her bear with this in silence despite her annoyance.

         The things that I found amusing were probably uninteresting to Sendai-san, and I’m sure it was the same vice versa.

         Needless to say, it was clear that the two of us were polar opposites with nothing in common. It was only natural that I couldn’t understand someone as dazzling and outstanding as Sendai-san.

         I ran my fingers from the top of her ear down to the side of her neck.

         Sendai-san flinched.

         「Is this amusing to you?」

         She asked in a subdued voice as she grabbed onto my arm, as if unable to bear with it any longer.

         「Yep. Feel free to resist all you want.」

         Sendai-san threw a defiant glare at me.

         There – that face was what suited her best.

         Seeing the angry challenge in her eyes, I felt like I might not be able to hold back.

         「Can you just cut it out already?」

         「Nope.」

         I rejected Sendai-san’s request with a single word and shook her hand off. Then, I tugged on her ear to pull her body towards me.

         「Miyagi, that hurts!」

         Of course it does.

         Her reaction was fitting, considering I was intentionally pulling on her ear with enough force to cause discomfort and pain.

         Feeling content with what I did, I closed the distance between us a bit more.

         Sendai-san was now about as close as when we kissed.

         Thump.

         For some reason, my heart was misconstruing the emotions I held for Sendai-san as something positive.

         Pretending not to notice my rapidly increasing heart rate, I pressed my lips to her ear.

         A sweet, floral fragrance gently tickled my nose.

         It was the same scent that always lingered on my pillow after Sendai-san’s visits – a scent I didn’t particularly dislike.  

         What kind of shampoo does she use?

         While my mind was getting distracted by the question that I had contemplated several times before, I gently touched her ear with the tip of my tongue.

         「Hey, I told you that tickles!」

         Sendai-san exclaimed as she pushed me by the shoulders.

         That being said, it seemed she was still keeping the order I had issued earlier in mind, so she didn’t use too much strength.

         When I gently bit down on the cartilage of her ear, Sendai-san trembled, her reaction seeming overly dramatic.

         「Isn’t this enough already?」

         She didn’t sound angry, but she spoke in a lower tone than usual.

         「No.」

         「What do you mean “no”? I’m telling you to stop.」

         「Senda―」

         I whispered into her ear, but stopped myself partway.

         Then, I rephrased what I was about to say.

         「Shut up, Hazuki.」

         In this room, Sendai-san had once called me by my given name before, so I wanted to get my revenge.

         There was no deeper meaning to it.

         The only connection we had between us was the agreement we made. Our relationship consisted of nothing more and nothing less. That had been decided from the moment I first handed her a five-thousand-yen bill. Our time together was limited – the contract that linked us was born on a whim, so it was sure to end the same way.

         At most, we would only stay together until graduation.

         It wouldn’t extend beyond that.

         I was satisfied with what we had.

         I didn’t wish for anything more.

        So calling her by her first name didn’t feel all that special to me.

         I pressed my lips against the bottom of her ear.

        Sendai-san briefly touched my back with her hand before quickly pulling it away.

        As I stroked her smooth skin with my tongue, I heard a soft exhale. Her breath lightly tickled against my neck, prompting me to retaliate by running my tongue behind her ear.

         「That feels disgusting, Miyagi.」

         Her voice retained its usual tone, but her breathing was starting to sound a bit labored. I could feel my own heart racing a bit faster as well.

         I shouldn’t go any further than this.

         I attempted to rationalize with myself, but I couldn’t help getting swept away by the quickening rhythm of my heartbeat, a sound I was struggling to ignore.

         I shifted the weight of my body onto Sendai-san as I pushed her down.

         I was surprised by how easily her back touched the floor. I tried to bite on her ear once again, but this time, she forcefully shoved me away.

         「If you go any further than this, you’ll be breaking the rules.」

         「I don’t think I’m breaking any rules though.」

         I complained, backing away slightly.

         Sendai-san pushed me aside as she sat herself up.

          「What you were doing was practically a violation.」

          「Wait, are you trying to tell me you were actually feeling pleasured by all of that?」

          I asked mockingly.

          Wiping her ear, Sendai-san stood up with an annoyed expression on her face.

          「Don’t be stupid. I’m just telling you not to push me down like that.」

          She said as she kicked my thigh without holding back.

          「Hey, Miyagi.」

          Sendai-san said as she flopped onto my bed.

          「What?」

          「If you want, you can keep calling me by my first name.」

          「I’m not calling you that anymore.」

          I answered as I leaned my back against the bed.

         She hit me with a pillow in response. Although it didn’t actually hurt, I exaggerated my reaction and exclaimed, “Hey, that hurts!” But instead of receiving an apology, she hit me with the pillow once more.

         「You’re so boring, Miyagi.」

         The soft, murmuring voice truly did sound bored.

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TL Corner: Double release day, yaaay… If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the interlude chapter from the light novel! It was slotted between chapters 5 and 6, but can safely be read at any time, since it takes place in the past… Just in case anybody missed it because of this post.

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