There was a chance Miyagi would come, but there was also a chance she wouldn’t.

         She had shown up the last time I called her here after the cultural festival, but after what happened that day, there was a good chance she wouldn’t want to today.

         Still, if she did come, I wanted to ask her about what Utsunomiya had told me earlier.

         ―― I was feeling pretty awful right now.

         The pain in my stomach had faded, but an uneasy feeling lingered in my chest.

         My head was full of negative thoughts, and it was putting me in a bad mood. It was the same feeling I got whenever I saw my parents doting on my older sister.

         I fixated on one thing, and it let the pessimism creep in.

         This wasn’t good for me.

         I’d always been pretty good at using my head—getting by in life, having fun and doing well at school, and maintaining my status. But now, it felt like everything was falling apart.

         I inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

         I paced around the small classroom.

         Even if I had nothing to do with Miyagi choosing a school outside the prefecture, she still picked one close to the school I wanted to attend.

         It didn’t matter why she chose it. What mattered most was that she’d be nearby, and that was better than nothing.

         That’s how I needed to think about it.

         As much as I hated to admit it, I didn’t want to be apart from Miyagi. The thought that she might have chosen the school because of Utsunomiya unsettled me, making me feel like I was wandering alone in a bleak, colorless world. But instead of dwelling on that, I reminded myself that the most important thing was that we’d still be near each other.

         As long as Miyagi stayed close by, our relationship wouldn’t have to end so quickly. Thinking about it like that made it feel easier to let go of some of my emotions.

         It was impossible to get all my feelings in order, so it was better to just be more mindful and approach them differently, instead of letting myself spiral into despair.

         Even though I couldn’t fully come to terms with my feelings yet, as long as I guided them in a more positive direction, it didn’t seem like such a bad approach.

         But there was just one problem.

         Miyagi wasn’t the type to be honest.

         Even if I asked her again about which university she was aiming for, I doubted she’d give me a straight answer. And I didn’t want to bring up Utsunomiya, either. If I did, Miyagi would probably deny it and say she only asked her for advice—not because she actually intended to apply.

         So, confirming whether what I’d heard earlier was true without mentioning Utsunomiya seemed difficult.

         Still, a part of me didn’t want to let this go so easily.

         If Utsunomiya had told Miyagi about what happened during lunch—how she’d mentioned Miyagi’s plans to apply to the same university…

         If Miyagi knew I was aware of her plans, things could get messy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up telling Utsunomiya she’d changed her mind and was applying to a local university instead.

         I stopped pacing around and glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes had passed since I’d arrived.

         「I guess she’s not coming.」

         I’ll give it another five minutes.

         Perhaps because December was just around the corner, it felt a little chilly in the music preparation room. This wasn’t exactly the best place to hang around waiting for someone.

         And even though Miyagi could be cold, she didn’t seem like the kind of person who would keep me waiting for thirty or forty minutes—or at least, I hoped she wasn’t.

         I leaned against a shelf filled with instruments and glanced at the door.

         I slowly closed my eyes, and just as I opened them again, I heard the door open quietly.

         Standing there was someone wearing a skirt that wasn’t too long or too short.

         Her brows were furrowed, and she looked clearly displeased.

         She didn’t offer me a single word of concern like, “Sorry I’m late” or “Did I keep you waiting?”

         She simply walked up to me silently.

         Her hair, which reached slightly past her shoulders, swayed lightly as she moved before stopping in front of me. Then, with an irritated tone, she asked,

         「What happened to our rule of not interacting at school?」

         She smacked her bag against my leg.

         「If you care that much about the rules, you didn’t have to come. But since you’re here, I guess they don’t matter that much, huh?」

         「I’m going home.」

         Miyagi’s tone was even colder than the room itself, and she turned to leave, but I called out to stop her.

         「Wait. I called you here because I needed to talk to you about something.」

         「I bet it’s just going to be about something pointless anyway, right? We could’ve just talked at my place.」

         She grumbled as she dropped her bag on the floor and stared at me.

         「I just wanted to make sure you couldn’t give me any orders.」

         I said with a smile, and she shot me a look of clear annoyance in return.

          「Fine, if you have something to say, then say it quickly.」

         I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to say or how to say it. My thoughts were still jumbled, and even if she gave me another five minutes, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to get them sorted out. When it came to Miyagi, I was surprisingly slow at organizing my thoughts, so I decided to just ask her directly, like usual.

         「… What schools are you applying to?」

         「This is what you wanted to talk about?」

         「Yeah.」

         「You’ve already asked me this multiple times, you know.」

         「I just thought, since you don’t have to apply to just one school, maybe you were considering others.」

         「I’m not applying to any others.」

         Her answer was exactly what I expected.

         I gently strummed one of the polished instruments.

         Miyagi never liked talking about university.

         I wanted to press her further, but I knew she wouldn’t give me a straight answer. She always kept me in the dark about things I wanted to know. I had no way of confirming whether what Utsunomiya said earlier was true or not.

         「I think you should apply to more schools, though. Since your grades have improved, you could probably aim for better universities. You’ve worked so hard, so you might as well try.」

         Even though I knew it might not work, I tried another approach to get an answer out of her.

         「You’re so stubborn, Sendai-san. I’m done talking about this.」

         「You can’t order me around while we’re here.」

         「I’m not ordering you around. If you want to keep talking to yourself, then go ahead, but I have nothing more to say. I’m going home. Make sure you come over to my place when you’re done, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi said, attempting to end the conversation on her own.

         I knew that’s just how she was, but her cold and blunt attitude still hurt. If I kept pushing, I knew she’d only pull away further, yet I couldn’t bring myself to give up. I didn’t want her to leave like this.

         「Wouldn’t it be nice to go to the same university as your friends?」

         I wanted to use Utsunomiya as an example, but I held myself back from saying her name.

         「… Why are you saying that all of a sudden?」

         「It’s pretty common, right? Lots of people try to go to the same university as their friends.」

         「Speaking of which, Maika mentioned she ran into you at lunch.」

         A faint crease appeared between Miyagi’s brows as she spoke, sidestepping my question. Her words revealed that Utsunomiya had already filled her in on our lunchtime conversation, and now there was no avoiding the mention of her name.

         「I ran into Utsunomiya on my way to the school store.」

         「What did you and Maika talk about?」

         「She just asked why I was looking for you that day.」

         「That’s it?」

         「Yeah. Did Utsunomiya say anything?」

         「She told me the same thing you did.」

         「I see.」

         It seemed Utsunomiya hadn’t shared everything she told me with Miyagi.

         If that was the case, it was better not to push things any further.

         Ending the conversation here would keep things simple. I knew it was the sensible thing to do, but a part of me still wanted to keep talking.

         As Miyagi bent down to pick up her bag, I instinctively grabbed her hand.

         「What do you want?」

         「Wait, let’s chat a bit more.」

         「I don’t want to. If you have more to say, we can talk about it later at my place.」

         「I guess that’s true.」

         She was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her hand.

         Instead, I gripped it tighter, closing any gap between our fingers.

         Her hand was colder than when I’d held it the day I was sick.

         Even with both of us in the room, our hands were still freezing, probably because of how chilly it was. Either way, I wasn’t holding her hand to warm us up.

         「I’m trying to go home, so let go of me.」

         「Just stay with me like this a little longer.」

         I knew if I let go now, I wouldn’t get another chance to hold her hand like this anytime soon, so I wasn’t ready to release her.

         I wanted to keep holding on, to touch her more.

         I struggled to process these emotions, probably because Miyagi was always the one touching me.

         And I was likely only feeling this way because Miyagi was refusing to tell me anything.

         「Miyagi.」

         I called her name and stepped closer, but she tried to shake me off.

         「I’m not going to let you kiss me, so just let me go home already.」

         「I haven’t even said anything yet.」

         Miyagi’s voice was cold, like she had recalled what happened the last time we were here. But all I wanted was to touch her a little more, not kiss her.

         「I felt like that’s what you were going to say, so I wanted to make it clear first.」

         「That’s not it. I just wanted to touch you a little. You’re always trying to touch me too, aren’t you, Miyagi?」

         「What do you mean “too”? I haven’t touched you at all, Sendai-san.」

         I undid the second button on my blouse, something I would never normally do at school, and revealed the pendant hanging around my neck.

         「You’re always trying to touch this, aren’t you?」

         Every time I went to Miyagi’s place, she’d ask to touch the pendant under my blouse. But whenever I tried to touch her in the same place, she’d always order me to stop.

         「I’m just touching the necklace, not you, Sendai-san.」

         「But when you do that, you’re touching me too. I think it’s only fair you let me do the same. It’s not right that you’re the only one who gets to touch me all the time, Miyagi.」

         I moved closer and gently brushed my hand against her cheek.

         When I pressed my palm to her skin, Miyagi shivered—probably because it was cold. I let my hand slide down to her neck and began to loosen her necktie, but just as I reached for a button on her blouse, she grabbed my arm to stop me.

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

         Miyagi stated firmly as she released my arm.

         「I don’t have to follow your orders when we’re here.」

         「That’s true. I only pay for your time in my room, not here at school.」

         「Exactly, so you should just stay still and let me touch you.」

         「But that doesn’t mean you have the right to do whatever you want to me at school, either, Sendai-san.」

         「But you let me kiss you last time, didn’t you?」

         Miyagi tightened her necktie, her expression complicated as I reminded her of what happened here before. Then, in a flat, emotionless voice, she said,

         「… Fine, if you want to touch me, you’ll have to offer me something in return. After all, you love making trades, don’t you, Sendai-san?」

         「I wouldn’t say I “love” making trades, but what do you want in return?」

         I had a feeling that whatever she wanted wouldn’t be anything good.

         Yet, I couldn’t help but ask her anyway.

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