I had been the one thinking about how much I wanted to touch Miyagi.

         But I never expected her to be the one to touch me first.

         I tensed at the feeling of her hand brushing against my collarbone.

         「It’s your fault for waking me up, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi murmured, as if making an excuse, while her fingers traced the outline of my collarbone. They drifted lower and lower until they reached the collar of my sweatshirt. Then, as though uncertain about what to do next, her hand stopped.

         I grabbed her wrist, intending to pull it away, but before I could, her fingertips pressed firmly against my skin.

         「Sendai-san, let go.」

         Her tone was the same one she used when giving me orders in her room.

         I knew what she was after.

         She wanted to check if I was wearing the pendant, though I couldn’t guess her exact reasons for wanting to do it herself.

         「What are you going to do once I let go?」

         I’d promised to show her the pendant whenever she asked. Even now, without her offering the usual five-thousand yen, it felt like I didn’t have a choice.

         「I don’t need to tell you anything.」

         She replied coldly.

         「Then I’m not letting go.」

         While I had no issue keeping my promise to show her the pendant, at least tonight, I didn’t want her to take it upon herself to check.

         「… Let go of me.」

         Her voice sounded almost like a plea, and instinctively, I loosened my grip.

         Miyagi had never requested anything from me before.

         But just now, her tone had come close to it.

         「Okay, fine.」

         Now that we were in winter break, I wasn’t obligated to follow her orders anymore.

         But honestly, there wasn’t a reason to hold my ground and stubbornly refuse either.

         I released her wrist, and her fingers slid behind my neck, brushing against the chain of the pendant. She didn’t stroke the chain or slip her hand into my shirt but instead pulled the pendant out from under it.

         「So you are keeping your promise.」

         Her voice softened slightly as she ran her fingertips along the chain, brushing the crescent moon-shaped charm.

         「Well, of course.」

         I gave a short reply as she tugged lightly at the charm.

         「… Even though you’re the type to break your promises.」

         「I mean, I do keep some of them. Isn’t that good enough?」

         「You should be keeping all of them.」

         「I’m not confident I can do that.」

         I knew I should’ve reassured her, told her I’d keep all of my promises from now on. But if I did, I wasn’t sure what kind of expectations I’d be agreeing to. Miyagi was always so unpredictable—if she pushed me into something unreasonable, I couldn’t guarantee I’d follow through.

         There were already some promises I couldn’t keep, so I didn’t want to make more lightly.

         「That’s one of the things I really don’t like about you, Sendai-san.」

         Her voice dropped as she let go of the pendant.

         「Yeah, I know.」

         「I don’t like how you say things like that either.」

         Her tone grew sharper, almost irritated, and without thinking, I grabbed her arm.

         The physical distance between us hadn’t changed.

         But somehow, Miyagi felt further away than ever.

         Something was different tonight.

         I wasn’t sure what exactly, but I knew I had made some kind of mistake.

         I should’ve said I’d keep all my promises, even if I wasn’t confident I could.

         I should’ve said it, even if I didn’t fully understand the weight of those words.

         「I’m going to sleep now.」

         Miyagi tried to stand, but my hand remained on her arm. I instinctively tightened my grip.

         「Ow.」

         「Stay up with me a bit longer.」

         If I let Miyagi go to sleep now, it felt like she’d only drift further away from me.

         「No.」

         She answered curtly, trying to forcefully peel my hand away.

         Her nails dug into the back of my hand so deeply it felt like they might break the skin. The sharp pain made me tug hard on Miyagi’s arm. I didn’t mean to be rough, but the sudden pull caused her to lose her balance, and she grabbed onto my shoulders to steady herself.

         「Hey, that was dangerous!」

         Miyagi snapped, though she remained tucked in my arms.

         Taking advantage of how close we were, I leaned toward her, bringing my lips near hers.

         We were so close our breaths seemed to mix, but Miyagi didn’t move.

         So, without further hesitation, I pressed my lips to hers.

         I’d lost track of how many times we’d kissed already, but my heart still skipped a beat. I felt like I could hear the sound of it pounding in my chest. As I pressed my lips firmly against hers, I could feel their softness so vividly that even with my eyes closed, I could trace their outline in my mind.

         But soon, I felt her hands on my shoulders, pushing me away. Her lips—which felt softer than the black cat plush—parted from mine.

         「Sendai-san, didn’t you say you wouldn’t do anything strange today?」

         Miyagi muttered as she slipped out of my arms.

         「I mean, I helped you study earlier, and we had an agreement, didn’t we? I was just exercising my rights.」

         Before winter break, I had asked for kissing to be included as part of our deal. I hadn’t planned on invoking that right tonight—I was determined to honor my promise not to do anything strange.

         But Miyagi hadn’t pulled away. She let me kiss her.

         That alone made me feel like I could get away with doing it again.

         I reached out, brushing my fingertips lightly against her lips.

         Before I could move in for another kiss, though, she grabbed my hand and pushed me down onto the futon.

         The fall didn’t hurt, but that didn’t make what she did feel any more acceptable.

         「The fact that you tried to do that just now must mean that this is okay too, right?」

         Miyagi said, her voice coming from above me.

         By “this,” there was only one thing she could possibly mean.

         But this was exactly the sort of “strange thing” she had made me promise not to do.

         As I wrestled with whether to accept the situation, Miyagi grabbed the hem of my sweatshirt.

         「Wait, Miyagi. I didn’t say it was okay.」

         「Then just tell me it is.」

         Her voice sounded so grumpy it was hard to believe she was about to do something “strange” to me. I wasn’t expecting sweet words from Miyagi, but her tone was sharper than usual, brimming with irritation.

         「No, I won’t.」

         To begin with, this was exactly the sort of thing I had promised I wouldn’t do today.

         I slapped away her hand, which was still gripping the hem of my sweatshirt, and told her to let go. Instead, her hand slipped under my clothes and brushed against my side.

         「Miyagi, wait.」

         「This is your fault for breaking your promise, Sendai-san. You said you wouldn’t do anything weird.」

         「But kissing was part of our agreement, wasn’t it?」

         All I had done was invoke the right to something we had agreed upon before the start of winter break. Yet, Miyagi didn’t stop her hand.

         Her fingertips slowly trailed upward from my side.

         「But that wasn’t the right time for a kiss. If all you wanted was to collect your end of the bargain, you should’ve done it right after we finished studying.」

         「We never specified anything about when I could kiss you.」

         Miyagi’s hand came to a halt, and her gaze locked onto mine, sharp enough to pierce through the dimly lit room.

         「―― I really can’t trust you after all.」

         She murmured softly, rolling up my sweatshirt to just below my chest.

         Showing my stomach wasn’t a big deal.

         It was dark enough that it probably wasn’t very visible, and Miyagi had seen it several times before. Yet, with nothing shielding it now, I felt oddly defenseless.

         Miyagi placed her hand next to my belly button.

         The warmth of her entire palm pressed firmly against my skin, spreading upward toward my ribs. Her hand moved hesitantly, tickling more than it felt good, but not enough for me to push her away, so I decided it was fine to stay under Miyagi a little longer. Still, I hesitated about letting her hand move any further.

         I knew where her hand was heading, and it was probably best to stop her now.

         After all, we had promised not to do anything like this today.

         「Miyagi.」

         But instead of grabbing her hand, I called out her name.

         The heat of her touch disappeared from my skin, only to return moments later, this time just below my chest.

         「That’s still on, huh.」

         Miyagi muttered to herself.

         Though she hadn’t said what was still on, I knew immediately she meant my undergarments.

         「Well, of course. I’m at someone else’s house, after all.」

         「… Can I take it off?」

         Miyagi asked, like she was testing me, as she placed her hand over my chest. Her movements were subtle, as if tracing its shape through the fabric.

         Even with a layer of clothing between us, I could still feel the warmth of her hand, every touch registering on my skin.

         I couldn’t tell if the sensation was pleasant or not, but a soft breath escaped my lips.

         Her fingertips brushed against the strap of my bra, pausing there.

         It seemed like she wouldn’t go any further without my consent, and my body tensed in response.

         I hadn’t expected that the very person who made me promise not to do anything strange would now be the one pushing those boundaries herself.

         The choice was now mine, as Miyagi silently awaited my response.

         I reached out and let my hand graze her cheek, my fingers gently stroking her chin before pinching her earlobe.

         A small breath escaped Miyagi, as if she was being tickled by my touch.

         「Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi’s voice called out to me, urging for an answer.

         I wanted her touch, just as much as I wanted to touch her in return.

         The choice between “yes” and “no” became a tangled mess in my mind.

         「―― If you’re prepared to face what comes next, then go ahead and do as you please.」

         Even though I wasn’t the one crossing the line with Miyagi, somehow it felt like I was about to break my promise to her.

         It felt as if some invisible counter kept track of every promise I broke, and once I hit its limit, Miyagi would drift away to somewhere I couldn’t reach. But I didn’t know how far that limit stretched or how many more promises I could afford to break.

         So, I left the final decision in Miyagi’s hands.

         「”Prepared”? For what?」

         「You know I’m not exactly rational about these things, right?」

         Mimicking her earlier actions, I slipped my hand beneath her sweatshirt, brushing against her side.

         「… And what’s that supposed to mean?」

         「You already know what I mean, don’t you?」

         Miyagi remained silent.

         「If you really don’t understand, I don’t mind showing you, but are you sure you’re okay with that, Miyagi?」

         I knew my question was unfair, the way it cornered her.

         My hand traveled upward, tracing the curve of her spine.

         Miyagi flinched, withdrawing her hand from my chest before quickly standing up.

         Miyagi was a lot more rational than I was. Instead of letting herself drown in her desires, she was always able to swim to shore and then pull me out with her.

         「That’s enough.」

         Miyagi said, taking a seat next to me as she straightened out her rumpled clothes.

         「Yeah, this is probably for the best.」

         I replied, sitting up and adjusting my own disheveled clothes.

         If things had continued like that, I might’ve been kicked out of her house in the middle of the night. It felt exactly like something Miyagi would do, so stopping when we did seemed like the right choice.

         Even so, I wasn’t ready to let Miyagi return to her bed just yet.

         I reached out and grabbed the hand beside me.

         「Miyagi.」

         I called her name softly, and she turned to face me.

         Leaning in, I pressed my lips to hers.

         This time, she didn’t push me away by the shoulders or dig her nails into my hand.

         That told me she wasn’t opposed to this.

         Slowly, I pulled back.

         「Look, that kiss just now was part of our agreement, okay? You’re not going to say I did something strange to you again, are you?」

         Miyagi didn’t respond. Instead, she slipped her hand away and brushed her fingers against the pendant still visible on my chest.

         「I’m going to collect on my end of the bargain a little more, so don’t get mad at me, okay?」

         I said, just to be sure.

         It was better safe than sorry, after all.

         After giving her a heads-up, I leaned in and kissed her again.

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