Miyagi had come to check on me the other day.

          Her visit was like a bolt from the blue, but nothing more. No storm or disaster followed, and I continued going to Miyagi’s place whenever she called me over.

          Not much had changed since before I got the cold.

          It was already November, and Miyagi was still by my side.

          Within those days, a few unexpected things had happened.

          Even though our midterms were behind us, Miyagi kept studying diligently.

          The last time she showed me her exam results, they weren’t quite good enough to aim for the same university as me, but they weren’t bad either. She’d have no trouble getting into the school she said she wanted to attend.

          But, for someone who once said she wouldn’t put in extra effort, she sure was studying a lot.

          It wasn’t strange for a student in their entrance exam year to study hard, but Miyagi always avoided unnecessary work. It felt strange seeing her study harder than she needed to.

          I munched on some chips I’d bought from the convenience store.

          “Did you change your first-choice university?”

          I had asked her earlier, but she coldly replied with, “No.”

          I grabbed another chip from the bag on the table.

          「Here, Miyagi. Open wide.」

          Though I didn’t know why she was studying so much, I held a chip out to Miyagi as she focused seriously on her textbook.

          「Eat it yourself.」

          She had said the same thing back when I last brought chips to her room. As if reenacting that scene, I took another chip and popped it into my mouth.

          「Here, have this one.」

          「I’m okay.」

          Miyagi replied, her expression clearly irritated.

          If I tried to shove the chip into her mouth, she’d definitely get angry at me.

          She was being colder to me now that I wasn’t sick anymore.

          I bet she’d be a little nicer to me if I had a cold or fever today, too. I was well aware of how selfish I’d acted when Miyagi came by to check on me the other day, but she never got mad at me for it.

          It was nice to know that Miyagi, of all people, could be kind to me, even if it was just because I was sick. Now, I found myself wishing for that same kindness even when I wasn’t sick.

          「Come on, I’ll even feed it to you, so open your mouth.」

          I held the chip to her lips, but she kept her mouth shut.

          Miyagi was like a stray cat, never doing what I wanted and always running away when I got too close. If I stuck my hand out, she’d bite it. That part of her hurt sometimes.

          And yet, even Miyagi, unpredictable as she was, went out of her way to do something for me while I was sick. Seeing that gave me high hopes.

          「Miyagi.」

          When I kept pressing the chip to her mouth, she finally opened it, wearing a sour expression on her face.

          It was rare for her to give in like this, so I pushed the chip into her mouth, and she grimaced like I’d just fed her something awful.

          Still, it felt like buying these chips had been worth the trouble. I would’ve liked it if she enjoyed the taste more, but the fact that she ate it at all eased my disappointment.

          I wasn’t trying to feed her like a wild animal, but I wanted to keep giving her things. I hoped that maybe, just maybe, if I kept giving her these chips, it might make her want to find me for treats even after we graduated.

          I picked up another chip and held it near Miyagi’s lips.

          「Here.」

          Miyagi didn’t say anything, but her glare clearly asked, “Are we seriously still doing this?” Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me if her frustration was plastered all over the walls too.

          Even so, she still reluctantly opened her mouth, frowning the whole time.

          When I brought the chip closer, it quickly vanished with a satisfying crunch.

          I lightly brushed my fingers against her lips, and she furrowed her brow in annoyance.

          She didn’t seem to appreciate it, but I ran my fingertip along her lips anyway. In response, Miyagi bit down on my finger just like she had with the chip earlier.

          I had expected this from her, but it still hurt.

          Lately, whenever I traced her lips like this, she would bite me. I had even gone out of my way to buy a bag of chips today just so I could do it.

          The reason why I did it was simple: we hadn’t kissed since the time I was sick. But every time I tried to do something that could lead to a kiss, Miyagi would refuse, just like she did now.

          「Miyagi, that hurts.」

          My attempt to get her to stop didn’t seem to register with her, and instead, she bit down even harder.

          「Well, if you’re going to keep doing that, you might as well lick it too.」

          I said as I brushed the tip of her tongue with the finger she’d been biting, causing her to let it go.

          「So you’re not going to lick it?」

          「No.」

          Miyagi looked down at her notebook, finishing up the half-solved problem before flipping the page of her textbook.

          She never licked my finger on her own, and if I asked her to lick it, she’d immediately stop biting it.

          I was beginning to understand her reactions, but I still had no idea why she was so against kissing.

          It wasn’t like I had to kiss Miyagi, but it wasn’t like I didn’t want to either. If I had the chance, of course I’d want to, but Miyagi didn’t seem to feel the same. After all the times we’d kissed, it seemed too late for her to refuse, yet she still did.

          I couldn’t understand why Miyagi was so determined to avoid kissing me, and even if I asked, she probably wouldn’t tell me. If I tried to push her for an explanation, she’d just order me to stop, and that would be the end of it.

          Miyagi was always unfair like that.

          Even though she wouldn’t let me kiss her, she’d still ask me to show her the pendant. She’d order me to unbutton the third button of my blouse, touch my chest, and do whatever she pleased, and I wouldn’t be able to say no. But if I wanted to touch her, there was no way she’d allow it. She wasn’t interested in making any more trades, either.

          Miyagi shouldn’t have been so nice to me when I was sick. She shouldn’t have let me kiss her, and now, because she hadn’t pushed me away that day, I couldn’t help but get my hopes up.

          「Miyagi.」

          I poked her shoulder, trying to get her attention.

          「What do you want? I’m studying.」

          Miyagi’s voice sounded like I was bothering her. I slipped my finger into her moving mouth.

          「Lick it.」

          I said, but instead of licking, Miyagi bit my finger.

          It hurt.

          Her teeth clamped down on my finger even harder than before.

          With my free hand, I stroked her cheek, then her ear.

          When I tugged on her earlobe, her bite eased, and I pressed my fingertip against her tongue.

          「Don’t bite it. I told you to lick it.」

          I wasn’t giving her an order.

          I had no right to make Miyagi obey me, so it was just a simple request. If she wanted, she could’ve bitten me again or pulled my finger out herself, but she didn’t—instead, she listened to my request.

          Something lukewarm clung to my fingertip.

          Her tongue pressed against it, slowly gliding along.

          The sensation of her mouth’s raw warmth made it feel like every nerve in my body was focused on that wet finger.

          It wasn’t supposed to be this warm, but my fingertip felt like it was on fire. Drawn to her body heat, I felt my own temperature rising with it.

          I slowly pulled my finger away, brushing her lips as I did, and she continued licking up to my second joint.

          I couldn’t say it out loud, but this felt incredibly erotic.

          She’d licked my finger like this before.

          But back then, it didn’t feel this way, and I knew it was because my view of Miyagi had changed.

          I pressed my fingertip against her lips again. When I tried pushing my finger back into her mouth, Miyagi firmly gripped my arm and pulled it away.

          「That’s enough, isn’t it?」

          Miyagi said as I felt her nails dig into my skin through my blazer.

          「If I said no, would you lick it again?」

          「Sendai-san, you don’t have the right to give me orders, you know that, right?」

          「Yeah, I know.」

          I acknowledged her words, and Miyagi loosened her grip on my arm. She grabbed the crocodile-covered tissue box and pulled out two tissues.

          「Here, dry yourself off with this.」

          Following her instructions, I wiped my finger clean, crumpled the tissues into balls, and tossed them in the trash. After landing a clean shot, Miyagi, as though she had been waiting, said,

          「This time, you lick my finger. That’s your order today.」

          She pressed her fingertip against my lips, and instead of replying, I touched it with my tongue.

          Just like she’d done earlier, I ran my tongue up to the second joint of her index finger.

          When I pressed harder, I could feel the firmness of her bone beneath her skin.

          I lightly bit down, and Miyagi attempted to pull away, but I held on, then kissed the back of her hand.

          I wonder what Miyagi sees when she looks at me.

          What was going through her mind? What sort of things was she feeling?

          I wish I could see inside her thoughts.

          「That’s enough, Sendai-san.」

          Her voice was cold as she tried to pull her hand back, but I held onto her and bit down on her fingertip.

          As I tried to slip her finger into my mouth, I felt the crocodile-shaped box being pressed against my collarbone.

          「I said, that’s enough.」

          She pushed harder with the crocodile, and I let go.

          「I can keep going.」

          I grabbed the crocodile-shaped tissue box from Miyagi and took hold of her hand. I leaned in, trying to bring her finger to my lips again, but she quickly pulled it out of my grasp.

          「Stop it. I don’t want you to continue.」

          「Why not?」

          「”Why not?” Because it’s kind of–」

          「Kind of what?」

          「… Never mind.」

          She cut herself off before finishing her thought.

          「Give me back the crocodile.」

          I handed the tissue box back to her, just like she’d requested. Miyagi wiped her finger clean with a tissue, and instead of returning the box to me, she handed me the crumpled tissue.

          「So, what were you going to say?」

          I tossed the tissue towards the trash can, but unlike my previous attempt, I missed, so I got up and threw it away properly.

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

          「That is definitely not what you were about to say earlier.」

          I sat back down beside her and patted the crocodile’s head in her hands.

          「Hey, Miyagi, did it feel good at least?」

          「Shut up, Sendai-san. I’m going back to studying, so don’t bother me anymore.」

          I knew Miyagi wouldn’t tell me if it felt good.

          But still, it would be nice if she felt that way.

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