I took off my necktie and placed it down on the table.

          「I thought I was supposed to be the one taking my necktie off.」

          Sendai-san said with a confused look on her face.

          「We’re exchanging them.」

          「… Why do you want to trade neckties?」

          「I don’t need a reason for it, do I? Isn’t it normal to just want to do something like this sometimes?」

          「Not usually, no.」

          「Sendai-san, if you can touch me without needing a reason, why can’t I swap neckties with you “just because I feel like it?”」

          It was odd that Sendai-san was making a big deal out of it when I was just using her own logic against her. Nevertheless, she didn’t make any effort to remove her necktie and continued to press me for an answer.

          「So, are you saying you don’t have a reason?」

          「You talk too much, Sendai-san. Just shut up and take off your necktie already.」

          She was beginning to get on my nerves, so I pulled harder on her necktie, and she responded with,

          「Sure, sure.」

          Even though she didn’t seem entirely convinced, she still took her necktie off and placed it around my neck.

          Neckties were a standard part of our uniform, something everyone had to wear. It was just a simple piece of cloth, but the one around my neck right now somehow felt a bit heavier than my own.

          「Are you satisfied now?」

          Sendai-san murmured as she reached for the necktie I had left on the table, but I quickly grabbed it before she could take it.

          It didn’t feel like enough to satisfy me; after all, our uniform included more than just the necktie.

          「I thought we were supposed to be exchanging them. Don’t just swipe it from me.」

          Sendai-san said, pointing out what should have been the logical outcome, as she tried to snatch the tie back from me.

          「Let’s swap blouses too.」

          Neckties and blouses were essentially the same—just basic parts of our uniform, both made of fabric. Since we were already swapping one piece of our uniforms, why not exchange another? So, there was nothing weird about trading blouses.

          Truthfully, I knew I was being irrational, and there was a chance Sendai-san might get angry at me.

          I knew I should avoid giving these kinds of orders at all costs.

          Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to hear the answer I already knew I would get from her.

          「You want me to take it off?」

          Sendai-san asked, pausing in her tracks.

          「If you can swap our blouses without taking them off, then go ahead.」

          「What, like some kind of magic trick?」

          「Well, if you can’t manage that, then you’ll have to take it off.」

          I said as I handed her my tie.

          Sendai-san took it, rolled it up, and set it back on the table. I expected her to snap back with, “Are you crazy?” but instead, she remained silent.

          Technically, I wasn’t ordering her to undress—we were just swapping parts of our uniform—but I wasn’t sure if this broke any of our rules.

          I was depending on Sendai-san to decide whether it was acceptable or not.

          My orders, which had to follow the rules we set, sometimes crossed the line, but we always managed to overlook it by forcing ourselves to turn a blind eye. But after summer vacation, there were certain orders I just couldn’t bring myself to give anymore, even if they stayed well within the rules.

          The line between what was and wasn’t acceptable had blurred, making it hard to tell where the boundary was. Still, Sendai-san usually refused the orders she strongly disagreed with, so the orders I gave her always ended up being halfway in between.

          「Just to be clear, we’re going to be exchanging these, right?」

          Sendai-san said, after giving it some thought.

          「Yep.」

          「Okay, fine. I’ll do it as long as we’re actually exchanging them.」

          Sendai-san was quick to betray the faith I placed in her as she unfastened the buttons on her blouse, one by one.

          Even though the order I’d given her was technically acceptable, it was something she should’ve refused.

          Sendai-san should have been aware of that too, but for some reason, she chose to go along with it. I needed her to be the one to put a stop to it, or else things would just continue as they were, and I wouldn’t intervene. All I could do was watch as the buttons kept coming off.

          Sendai-san took off her blouse with less hesitation than she did during summer break.

          Unlike last time, there were no words being exchanged between us.

          With Sendai-san remaining silent, all I could do was stare at her.

          Her undergarments were white, similar to what she wore on that rainy day, though I wasn’t sure if they were the exact same ones.

          Her breasts, concealed by the undergarments, were nicely shaped.

          Come to think of it, during summer vacation, Sendai-san had touched my chest over my undergarments, but I never got to do the same to her, so somehow, I feel like I missed out.

          If I stretched my hand out right now, I could touch her anywhere I wanted to. I would be able to feel the softness of her breasts and the smoothness of her sides.

          「Hurry up and take yours off too, Miyagi.」

          As if to interrupt my impure thoughts, Sendai-san handed me her blouse. When I hesitated, she tapped my arm with her fingertips, so I took her hand.

          I’d never felt this way about anyone before, but I really wanted to touch Sendai-san’s body.

          I slowly ran my hand down her upper arm. Her skin was softer than gummy candy and felt more elastic than a marshmallow under my fingertips. But I couldn’t bring myself to touch her chest or sides. Before I could get the chance to touch her anywhere else, Sendai-san pulled her arm back and handed me the blouse again.

           「We’re supposed to be trading blouses, right? Hurry up and take yours off already.」

          Sendai-san said in a grumpy tone.

          I took her blouse from her hands and set it, along with the tie around my neck, on the bed. Then, I stood up, walked to my closet, and opened it.

          「Hey, Miyagi.」

          I heard her complain about me not giving her a replacement blouse to wear, but I ignored it. Instead, I took out a piece of clothing from my closet and gave it to Sendai-san.

          「Here you go.」

          「Wait, who said you could just give me a different one? That’s not fair.」

          The piece of clothing I handed to Sendai-san was a white blouse, the same one that belonged to our school uniform. Being in my room, I was able to grab a fresh blouse from the closet without needing to take the one I was currently wearing off.

          「There’s nothing unfair about this at all. You should hurry up and get dressed.」

          「No, this is definitely unfair. Take your blouse off, Miyagi.」

          「I never said I was going to give you the one I was wearing right now.」

          「… You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」

          Sendai-san’s displeasure was clear as she frowned, but she soon relented and unfolded the blouse I had given her. She glared at it with a bitter expression before shooting me the same look.

          At first, she seemed like she was about to complain, but ultimately chose to remain silent instead. She put on the blouse and necktie, making sure to leave the first two buttons unfastened.

          Sendai-san tugged at the blouse’s sleeves, as if the clothes were uncomfortable on her, and once again muttered, “You really are stingy.”

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