I wasn’t going to agree to this, no matter what.

          Even though Miyagi didn’t come right out and say it, her words made it clear she wasn’t backing down from trying to get me to pierce my ears. Still, no matter how much she insisted, my response stayed the same. While I obeyed most of her other orders, there were some things I simply couldn’t accept.

          「I’m never going to let you pierce my ears.」

          I said, making sure to emphasize every word.

          「Why do you consider me piercing your ears as breaking the rules?」

          「Anything that leaves a lasting mark is against the rules, and I see this as an act of violence. Wait, what kind of earrings were you trying to get me to wear anyway? Show me.」

          I had no intention of obeying Miyagi’s order, but I was curious about the sort of earrings she had in mind. But instead of showing me anything, she spoke in a quieter tone than before.

          「I don’t have any earrings for you right now, but I’ll go and buy some if you let me pierce your ears.」

          「No, you don’t have to do that. But why are you so eager to pierce my ears then?」

          「… I just wanted to run an experiment. I wanted to see if the teachers would notice and get angry. I think you could use a bit of scolding every now and then.」

          Miyagi gave an excuse that may or may not be true, but it wasn’t a very interesting reason. Either way, it was something I needed to complain about.

          「You shouldn’t use people for your experiments. Find a better reason.」    

          「If I come up with one, does that mean you’ll let me do it?」

          「No.」

          I wasn’t sure what Miyagi’s true intentions were, but letting her pierce my ears was a bit too extreme for an order.

          If we were to end up at different universities, never to see each other again, I didn’t want to have a lasting mark on my body. I didn’t want the time we spent together to be permanently engraved on me.

          「Fine, then don’t move for a second.」

          Miyagi said, but her words left me feeling uneasy.

          「What are you planning to do?」

          I asked, but there was no reply.

          She reached her arm out towards me.

          But instead of touching my ear, she placed her hand on my shoulder.

          Hold on, was her goal this whole time to leave a mark on me?

          Even though Miyagi was right in front of me, I still couldn’t figure out what was going on in her head. We’d managed to make more conversations compared to the first time I came over, but her thoughts were just as elusive as ever.

          With Miyagi not even having the earrings she wanted me to wear on hand, I couldn’t tell if she was being impulsive or if she’d been planning to give this order for a while, but only managed to bring it up now.

          It was hard for both of us to express our thoughts and feelings through words alone. But closing the physical distance between us always seemed effortless.

          With her lips inches from my ear, Miyagi’s black hair shifted slightly, releasing a gentle scent of shampoo that filled the air between us.

          The feel of her lips, having touched me so many times before, seemed almost natural to my body. It was starting to seem normal to have Miyagi this close, but a part of me still knew better than to fully accept it.

          「Wait, Miyagi.」

          I pushed Miyagi away by her shoulder.

          As the warmth of her touch dissipated, her voice whispered softly near my ear.

          「Since you won’t let me pierce your ears, I’ll just settle for this instead.」

          Her voice was so close that my hand on her trembled. Her breath gently tickled my ear.

          「All you need to do is keep quiet and stay still. I won’t leave any wounds on you, so this order should be easy to follow.」

          She said, her voice as clear and crisp as ever, and then a moist sensation grazed my ear. I could tell immediately that it was her tongue pressing firmly against my skin. The warmth of her tongue against my ear left me feeling restless, causing me to shiver. Even though she’d done this to me before, I was torn between listening to my sense of reason and convincing myself that this order wasn’t worth defying.

          Ultimately choosing to remain silent, I soon felt something hard pressing against my earlobe.

          It was probably her teeth, and whenever something like this happened, it never ended well.

          「Back off, Miyagi.」

          I tried to push Miyagi away, remembering how things had gone before, but she wouldn’t budge. Instead, she bit down hard on my earlobe.

          「Hey, that hurts!」

          I exclaimed, hitting her shoulder in protest, but she only bit down harder. It felt as if she was putting all her strength into it.

          I’d never experienced ear pain quite like this before; it was so intense, it felt like it would be seared into my memory forever.

          Yet, it wasn’t just the pain I’d remember, but also the overwhelming heat.

          Her breath and the fragrance of her shampoo blurred together, becoming almost indistinguishable.

          「I told you, that really hurts!」

          I smacked Miyagi’s body, causing her to flinch.

          The gap between us, which had been closed so easily, was just as easy to widen.

          「Miyagi, you bite way too hard. That hurt more than getting a piercing—it felt like you were trying to rip my whole ear off.」

          「I don’t think I bit you that hard.」

          I’d never had my ears pierced before, but I couldn’t imagine it hurting more than what I had just experienced. That’s how hard Miyagi was biting my ear. I had no idea where this urge of hers even came from.

          「I see you were lying about not leaving any wounds on me. You’re such an idiot, Miyagi.」

          It felt like she had caused a wound, so I touched my earlobe and examined my fingertips.

          But to my surprise, there was no blood.

          I could hardly believe it.

          Still, it felt like I was bleeding, so I tried to grab a tissue from under the table, only to find that the box with the crocodile cover had suddenly vanished.

          「Hey, don’t take that away from me.」

          I complained to Miyagi, who was holding the crocodile in her hands.

          「I didn’t leave any wounds on you.」

          Miyagi said, as if to justify herself, and placed the tissue box on the table.

          If I had to guess, she was probably unhappy with the way I disobeyed her order.

          Yet, at the same time, it felt like Miyagi had changed.

          In the past, it seemed like Miyagi only took pleasure in making me do things I didn’t want to do, but it felt different now. She didn’t seem to be enjoying herself at all; instead, she looked like she was riddled with anxiety.

          It felt incredibly selfish of her to start acting all meek after doing something so terrible to me.

          She was reaping what she had sown, so there was no need for me to give in.

          「Just because you’re making that face doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you.」

          I said as I grabbed a tissue from the crocodile on the table and wiped my ear.

          The thin paper stayed clean, showing no signs of blood.

          「I don’t think I look any different from usual.」

          Miyagi said – clearly wearing a different expression than usual – as she tried to take the crocodile away from me, prompting me to slap her hand away.

          「Why don’t you take a look in the mirror, then?」

          「I’ll pass.」

          Miyagi’s face clouded even further. She looked as sad as an abandoned puppy or kitten, and I felt a pang of guilt as if I had done something wrong.

          「―― Fine, just don’t make it hurt so much this time.」

          My words came out as if I was excusing Miyagi’s actions.

          We shouldn’t be acting like this with each other, but maybe a little indulgence wouldn’t hurt.

          To be clear, this wasn’t what I wanted—it was Miyagi’s fault for making me feel this way; she just looked so helpless.

          「Are you sure?」

          「I mean, it’s supposed to be an order, right?」

          I pulled on Miyagi’s blouse, as if signaling my intention to obey her orders.

          Right. I’m just following her orders. There’s nothing I can do about it.

          As long as it adhered to our rules, I had no right to refuse, so I had no choice but to comply.

          「Okay, then be quiet and stay still.」

          Repeating the same words she had said earlier, her body heat drew closer once more.

          A lukewarm sensation hesitantly brushed against my ear, as if trying to soothe the pain from her bite. Her tongue traced the spots where her teeth had been. No matter how many times her tongue pulled away and returned, I didn’t feel particularly disgusted.

          Her teeth grazed my ear once more.

          I felt the pain start to resurface, and I instinctively clutched Miyagi’s arm.

          This time, though, her bite was much gentler. She pinched my ear repeatedly, each bite slightly firmer than the last, as if to test my tolerance. Despite this, it was clear she wasn’t trying to hurt me—her touch remained soft and careful.

          The sensation wasn’t strong, but it consumed my thoughts, making me restless as I felt the nerves in my ear intensify.

          I could hear Miyagi’s breathing so closely that it was making my chest flutter.

          Despite that, I couldn’t help but feel at ease knowing Miyagi was close by.

          But this was becoming overwhelming for me.

          This kind of stimulation wasn’t appropriate for the sort of relationship we had.

          Miyagi was taking this too far.

          I hadn’t said she could do whatever she wanted as long as it wasn’t painful, so I pushed her forehead away from my body.

          「Hold on, Miyagi. That didn’t hurt, but this is just getting too risky.」

          「Are you―」

          It looked like Miyagi was about to say something, but then suddenly stopped. Instead, she gave me a rare, honest apology and said, “I’m sorry.”

          After taking a few shallow breaths, I positioned the crocodile between us. I pulled a tissue from its back and wiped my ear, as if to erase any traces of Miyagi.

          「How did that make you feel just now, Sendai-san?」

          Miyagi asked while caressing the crocodile’s head.

          Despite having shown she could hold back her words earlier, she still decided to ask such a thoughtless question, which made me want to sigh.

          「How about you experience it for yourself?」

          I extended my hand towards Miyagi – who was acting like she wasn’t responsible for any of this – to touch her ear, but she pulled her body away sharply before I could even reach her.

          「Come on, it was just a joke.」

          I said nonchalantly while attempting to brush it off with a laugh.

          If we were to go any further than this, it would only make things even more awkward between us.

          It was best to take back my unnecessary suggestion and pass it off as a joke.

          However, Miyagi responded in a very serious tone.

          「―― I’ll allow it, but only if you let me pierce your ears for you.」

          I couldn’t help but stare at her, surprised that she was letting me do to her what she had done to me – as long as I agreed to let her pierce my ears in return.

          Her offer was incredibly tempting, and for a moment, I hesitated. But then a wave of disgust washed over me for even entertaining the idea.

          「Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, did you know that Umina saw us together?」

          I chose to steer away from the risky situation by changing the topic. Miyagi’s attention immediately shifted the moment I mentioned Umina’s name.

          「When did she see us?」       

          「The day we went to the movies. Turns out, Umina was in the area too, so I told her it was just a coincidence we ran into each other.」

          「And she bought it?」

          「Probably. Not that it matters to me either way.」

          「You’re right. It doesn’t matter since we won’t be hanging out again anyway.」

          Miyagi said with a cold tone in her voice as she tapped the crocodile’s head.

          I leaned my back against the bed, noticing her sulky expression.

          「Admit it—you really want us to go somewhere together again, don’t you?」

          I said, a bit too confidently, to which I was immediately shot down with,

          「I’m never going anywhere with you again.」

          At times like these, Miyagi would always pull back as quickly as the receding tide. Her retreats were always so abrupt and decisive that it scared me. I couldn’t tell if she acted like this with everyone or just with me, so it felt like there was no room for me to say anything.

          It seemed cruel that she would try to get closer to me whenever she felt like it, only to push me away as soon as she was satisfied, without any regard for my feelings.

          「Yeah, there’s nowhere for us to go together anyway.」

          Those weren’t the words I wanted to say, but nothing better came to mind. I sighed as I picked up the crocodile and tossed it at Miyagi.

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