「School starts tomorrow, so you should probably focus on your studies.」

          Sendai-san said as she pointed at my textbook with the tip of her pencil.

          「… Look, I’ll give you another five-thousand-yen later.」

          Words I hadn’t intended to say slipped out of my mouth.

          I knew I shouldn’t be trying to give her another five-thousand-yen, and I definitely shouldn’t be kissing her again. Going any further was also out of the question. Sendai-san should know this too, so it was likely she’d turn me down anyway. We both understood the consequences of going down this road, so it was crucial for us to get through the rest of the day without any incidents.

          I tried to convince myself by listing all the reasons why we shouldn’t, but I also knew there was a part of me that wanted to deny them all.

          「Do you think you can get away with it just because you’re promising to pay me later?」

          Sendai-san asked as she put her pencil down on the table.

         「I can give it to you right now if that’s what you want.」

          I said, standing up to do exactly as I mentioned.

         But as I did, I felt Sendai-san pulling on my arm.

         「We’re already way past the point where that matters.」

          ‘What do you mean?’

         The words I was about to say were cut off by the sensation of her soft lips on mine. My heart pounded at the unexpected kiss, the sound echoing in my head.

          ‘Why?’

          I thought to myself, but the question I wanted to ask disappeared as our lips parted.

          「I didn’t order you to do that.」

          I hadn’t meant to say it, but the words slipped out as I stared at Sendai-san.

          「I know.」

          「If you knew that already, then stop acting on your own accord.」

          「Is that an order?」

          「Yeah, it is.」

          「I see. But you haven’t paid me five-thousand-yen yet, so you don’t have any right to order me around right now, Miyagi.」

          「That’s why I said I’ll give――」

          「And didn’t I tell you that we’re way past the point where that matters?」

          Sendai-san interrupted me as she grabbed hold of my arm.

          Her fingers dug into my skin, causing pain in my upper arm. However, before I could protest, Sendai-san spoke up.

          「Miyagi, you should give more thought to your actions.」

          She didn’t give me any time to think about the meaning behind her words.

          Sendai-san closed the gap between us and kissed me again. Her lips pressed firmly against mine, causing my body to lean back. She didn’t push me down, and I hadn’t planned to lie down, yet I found myself on the floor with my back against it.

          「Don’t bite me.」

          Sendai-san said, her expression deadly serious as she stared at me.

          I immediately understood her intention when she brought her face closer to mine again.

          Her long hair brushed against my neck and cheeks.

          I reached out to sweep aside the strand of Sendai-san’s hair obscuring her face. Before I could get the chance to close my eyes, our lips met, followed by a sensation softer than her lips touching mine. I could tell immediately that it was the feeling of her tongue parting my lips and entering my mouth.

          Her tongue moved around in my mouth without reservation. It had just the right firmness to it, and when it touched mine, the sensation of its slipperiness vividly imprinted itself in my mind. I could distinctly feel a part of Sendai-san’s body inside me. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but it didn’t feel good either.

          Normally, I would have already sunk my teeth into her tongue as it freely explored my mouth, but Sendai-san’s earlier words held me back, and I didn’t dare to bite down.

          Feeling out of breath, I grabbed onto Sendai-san’s clothes, and our lips separated.

          「I don’t think we should be doing things like this.」

          I murmured as I pushed her away by the shoulders.

          「Yeah, you’re right.」

          Sendai-san agreed without protest. Despite this, she moved closer to me once more, contradicting what she had just said. In response, I raised my voice louder than before.

          「Sendai-san!」

          「You know, Shiori. You should call me “Hazuki” at times like this.」

          「I’m not going to do that, and don’t call me that either.」

          「You really are stingy, huh, Miyagi?」

          Sendai-san sighed. Then, she inched closer to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

          「… Are you planning to keep going?」

          Instead of shutting her down, I posed a vague question to her.

          「This is all because of what you tried to do earlier, Miyagi.」

          「What do you mean?」

          I asked, despite knowing exactly what she was referring to.

          「You wanted to kiss me, didn’t you?」

          Sendai-san’s brushed her fingertip against my lips.

          There had always been a boundary between us, something we both knew not to cross. But ever since the beginning of summer break, that boundary had started to blur, and now it felt like we were about to cross into forbidden territory.

          If I had to pinpoint when this all started, it was probably on that day I touched Sendai-san more than I should have.

          「Miyagi.」  

          She called out to me in a tone that was unusually serious, which I’d normally find laughable.

          She didn’t tell me what she was going to do, but I knew what was going to happen next.

          Sendai-san leaned in closer to me and kissed me deeply once more.

          Our gazes locked as our tongues intertwined. I could feel Sendai-san more intensely, making this kiss feel even better than the last.

          Ten seconds might have passed, or perhaps it was twenty. It could have even been a whole minute.

          Our lips parted before I could figure it out, but I quickly followed up with another kiss.

          Kissing her without paying her five-thousand-yen felt completely natural. I expected it to be strange, but it was surprisingly comfortable, as if our lips were meant to meet.

          When I pulled away, Sendai-san’s breathing was ragged.

         But so was mine.

          No matter how hard I tried to steady my breathing, nothing seemed to work. It was probably the same for Sendai-san as well.

          「My back hurts.」

          I said, attempting to conceal my shallow breaths.

          「Just deal with it.」

          Sendai-san’s words sounded a bit cruel, but she had a point.

          If we were to move to the bed instead, there was no telling what would happen next. That was how far gone our relationship had become.

          ‘If I were to turn back, now would be the time,’ I thought to myself.

          I could push Sendai-san away by her shoulders, sit back up, return to my textbook and pretend as though nothing had happened.

          August 31st, the last day of summer break. It bothered me that such a memorable date would forever be associated with what we did together.

          It’ll linger in my mind, like an anniversary. I just know it.

          But since our relationship started because of a series of coincidences and whims, it felt justified for us to do what we just did, given it also happened spontaneously… Surely. Probably.

          Sendai-san pressed her lips against my neck, her teeth gently sinking into my skin.

          She had kissed me in the exact same spot before, but this time, it felt strangely different.

          I straightened my back as I felt a chill run down my spine.

          The sensation of her tongue on my skin was all I could focus on, and the dampness on my neck made me uneasy. Her lips traveled down my neck toward my collarbone. Occasionally, she would gently sink her teeth in, as if checking for something, and then suck on my skin.

          Hearing Sendai-san’s ragged breathing and feeling her continuous kisses made me release a sound I’d never made before, prompting me to bite down on my own lip.

          Then, Sendai-san suddenly stopped for a moment.

          She lifted her head and locked eyes with me.

          I expected her to say something, but she didn’t. Instead, she remained silent and slowly began rolling up my T-shirt.

          I could feel Sendai-san’s body heat directly against my waist.

          I had no intention of calling her “Hazuki,”¹ yet I didn’t want to stop her from going further either.

          ‘So this is what having the right atmosphere feels like.’

          My thoughts had wandered when I was kissing Sendai-san earlier.

          I noticed her voice was unusually firm.

          I couldn’t help but be aware of her breathing pattern.

          Above all, I couldn’t help but notice how different it felt to kiss without me needing to give orders.

          All those little things added up, leading me to believe that what we were doing right now was special.

          Her hand sliding under my T-shirt felt increasingly natural against my skin, as though it belonged there. I no longer resisted surrendering my rationality, reciprocating by slipping my hand under her blouse and touching her back directly.

          「Miyagi, that tickles.」

          Sendai-san said as she looked at me with a rare, uncomposed expression on her face.

          「You’re tickling me too.」

          However, we both knew that beyond this unsettling ticklish feeling, there was something undeniably pleasurable about it.

          I traced her spine with my fingertips. When I reached about halfway up her back, she spoke in a hoarse voice, making my heart skip a beat.

          「Hey, I just said that tickles.」

          Sendai-san said, as if trying to maintain her composure, as she placed her hand on top of my chest.

          Even with my undergarments still on, it felt as if she were touching my bare skin, making my face flush.    

          I had never been concerned about it before, but a part of me was curious about Sendai-san’s thoughts on the size of my chest. However, when I glanced at her face, all I could discern was a faint blush.

          I felt her hand slowly inching towards my back.

         My shoulders tensed as Sendai-san’s fingers neared the center of my back. But before she could undo the hook, the intercom rang.

         My breathing and movements came to a sudden halt.

          Then, after a short pause, the intercom rang once again.

          「Aren’t you going to go take a look?」

          Sendai-san asked.

          「No. It’s probably just a solicitor anyway.」

          「I’m okay with whatever you decide.」

          I immediately understood what she was trying to say.

          She was making me choose between continuing or answering the intercom.

          The intercom, which rarely ever rang in this household, continued to persistently sound.

          Sendai-san would often accuse me of being quick to run away, yet she was the same way. She was always forcing me to make the final decisions.

          It went without saying that if I got up now to answer the intercom, it would bring an end to what we were doing. There would be no way to continue afterward.

          「Miyagi.」

          Sendai-san said softly.

          「You’re such a coward, Sendai-san.」

          I pushed her away by the shoulders.

          Truthfully, I was no different from Sendai-san. I was just as much of a coward as she was.

          Returning to my senses, I stood up to answer the intercom.

          I picked up the receiver from the wall to silence the incessantly ringing doorbell. I listened to what the person on the other side of the apartment entrance had to say, but just as I had suspected, it was someone there to deliver a pointless sales pitch, so I hung up on them.

          I took a few deep breaths.

          When I turned around, I found Sendai-san leaning against my bed with a manga volume in her hands.

          「It was just a solicitor.」

          「I see.」

          She replied curtly.

          I wanted to see her face, even though she didn’t seem interested in looking my way.

          「Sendai-san.」

          「What is it?」

          She replied, but her gaze remained downward.

          「Never mind.」

          I wished I could have touched Sendai-san a bit more, and that she would have touched me a little more. Thinking about how I missed my chance and how an afternoon like this would never happen again, I couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.

---

1. This one is a bit of a weird footnote, but in Japanese culture, most people call each other by their last names unless they are close. Of course, there are many, many exceptions, but the gist is that it isn’t “normal” to call people by their first names unless they are familiar with each other in some way. The reason why I’ve included this footnote is because Miyagi is implying she doesn’t want this type of familiarity with Sendai-san, but she wants her to continue touching her. The original text is already able to convey this implication without needing a footnote because it assumes the reader already knows about this part of the culture. I wasn’t sure how to rephrase this without rewriting it myself, so I opted for a footnote instead. ↩︎

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >