「Here.」

         As soon as I stepped inside, a five-thousand-yen bill was handed to me.

         「Thanks.」

         I took hold of the edge of the bill and tried to pull it toward me, but it didn’t budge. After giving it another tug, I finally managed to take it.

         It hadn’t come as easily as usual, which made me glance at Miyagi.

         「Miyagi?」

         「It’s nothing.」

         Her voice said otherwise.

         She was in a bad mood right off the bat.

         But I wasn’t in the best mood either.

         I hadn’t expected her to call me over right after winter break ended, but I also didn’t expect her to wait almost a week into the new semester before doing so.

         「Didn’t you wait a little too long to call me over?」

         「You told me I could ask you to come whenever, didn’t you?」

         「Yeah, but I didn’t think it’d be like this.」

         If she hadn’t called me today, we might’ve gone all the way until our entrance exams without seeing each other again.

         The exam day was fast approaching.

         This was the time we should be focusing on our own studies.

         I appreciated the extra time to study and didn’t mind not seeing her for a while, but still—I wasn’t amused.

         On top of that, she hadn’t contacted me once this whole time.

         I really didn’t find any of this amusing.

         「You should be grateful. I was being considerate by giving you time to study before the exam.」

         Miyagi said, acting like she’d done me a favor as we made our way to her room.

         「I didn’t ask you to be considerate.」

         I shut the door behind me, took off my blazer, and undid a button on my blouse before taking my usual seat. Miyagi sat down beside me. My gaze went straight to her neck, where I noticed her blouse was buttoned all the way up to the top. There were no visible marks left on her, though.

         Well, that was to be expected.

         It had been a while since then.

         If there had been a hickey on her, that would’ve meant it was from someone other than me, so if anything, I should be glad that there was nothing there anymore. Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed anyway.

         I reached out toward Miyagi’s neck.

         But before I could touch her, she stood up.

         「I’m going to get something to drink.」

         「I’m fine without one.」

         「Even if you don’t want anything, I do.」

         Her voice was flat as she left the room. Left alone, I spread my reference books and workbooks across the table before pressing my forehead against it.

         After entrance exams, graduation would be right around the corner.

         We didn’t have much time left.

         「Sendai-san, what are you doing?」

         Before I knew it, Miyagi had returned.

         「Studying in my sleep.」

         「Even though you’re still awake?」

         「Nope, I’m definitely asleep.」

         I answered, my face still planted against the table, but she rudely tried to push me aside and said, “You’re in the way.”

         When I looked up, I saw that beside the textbooks on the table were glasses of barley tea and soda. I grabbed the cup of barley tea, took a sip, and asked,

         「Do you think you’ll get into your university?」

         「What about you, Sendai-san?」

         「Yeah, I think I might be fine.」

         I never ended up going to the high school my parents wanted me to go to.

         I wasn’t going to get into the university they wanted me to attend either.

         The university I’d apathetically picked out wasn’t what my parents wanted from me, but it did still require a certain level of academic ability. The staff at the prep school told me I had a good chance of getting in, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried.

         There was no such thing as certainties in this world.

         But there was no point in making a fuss now, and I’d done everything I could. If things didn’t work out, I still had backups to fall back on. That was all I could do.

         「So, what about you, Miyagi?」

         「I’m sure I’ll get into at least one of them.」

         「Isn’t that a little too nonchalant after you’ve come all this way already?」

         「It’s not like I have that much faith in myself.」

         Miyagi said with uncertainty in her voice.

         This wasn’t going to do.

         Miyagi needed to get into the university of her choice.

         If she failed her entrance exam, that meant she would stay here.

         And even if Miyagi were to stay here, it wouldn’t change the fact that I would be leaving. And even if I were to fail my own entrance exams, I would attend another prep school somewhere else, so that would mean our futures would no longer have anything to do with each other anymore.

         「You’ve been putting a lot of effort into studying, so have a little more faith in yourself.」

         If she was the one saying she wasn’t confident in herself, she might end up failing even though she had a good chance of passing.

         I wasn’t entirely sure which university Miyagi would end up choosing, but I didn’t want the possibility of her going to the same university as Utsunomiya to vanish. I wanted her to take her entrance exams believing she could pass them all.

         「I just don’t like studying.」

         「If you keep saying things like that, you might actually fail. Try to be a little more positive.」

         「That’s impossible. But also, if you’re so afraid of failing, then we should start studying already.」

         「Hmm, how about you give me an order first? I’m not feeling very motivated right now.」

         It felt like it’d been a long time since the last time I used the word “order.”

         「No, let’s study first. It’s almost time for the exams.」

         Miyagi said, more serious than usual, as she picked up her pencil and looked down at her workbook. I, on the other hand, didn’t feel like doing the same.

         Too many thoughts were swirling in my head. I needed something to clear my mind.

         「Why not just give me an order first? I’ll have to do it anyway, so I’d rather get it over with so I can study in peace.」

         「Then tell me how to pass my entrance exams with absolute certainty.」

         「I wish I knew the answer to that too. Give me a more realistic order.」

         「If you’re so insistent on it, then why don’t you come up with an order instead, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi looked up from her workbook, sounding annoyed.

         「You want me to come up with something?」

         「Yeah, think of something I can order you to do.」

         「Isn’t it a little weird to have me decide my own order?」

         I was used to following orders, not coming up with them. Besides, thinking up orders for myself to follow required a special mindset, and I wasn’t sure I had it.

         「If you think it’s weird, then just study. Otherwise, I’ll come up with something later.」

         「… Fine. I’ll think of something right now.」

         Miyagi’s idea was way too broad, but it was still better than her giving me an order that went too far.

         I stared at my cup, watching the droplets slide down its surface, as I thought it over.

         I needed to come up with something safe—something Miyagi would actually agree to.

         As I racked my brain for an idea like that, my gaze drifted away from the cup of barley tea.

         I looked over at our workbooks.

         Then an eraser, then a pencil case, then the hand gripping a pencil.

         My eyes stopped there.

         「I just thought of something.」

         「What is it?」

         「Order me to cast a charm on you.」

         I said with a smile, but Miyagi only frowned in response.

         She was probably trying to figure out what kind of “charm” I meant.

         But no matter how much she thought about it, she wouldn’t be able to find the answer—just like a question that had none.

         「… Fine, cast a charm then.」

         After thinking for a solid ten seconds, Miyagi finally gave the order, like she’d given up on trying to figure it out.

         「Okay, then let me borrow this for a bit.」

         I said as I took the pencil from her hand.

         But I didn’t actually need the pencil, so I simply set it down on the table. Instead, I took Miyagi’s wrist in my hand. She was clearly wary, but I ignored that as I brought her fingertips to my lips. When I brushed them lightly against the tips of her nails, her hand tensed.

         「It’s a charm to help you get the right answers. You did say you wanted a surefire way to pass, didn’t you?」

         I gave her a simple explanation, hoping it would keep her from pulling away.

         「I’ve never heard of a charm like that before.」

         「Maybe you just didn’t know about it?」

         Tightening my grip on her wrist, I pulled her hand toward me and pressed my lips against it.

         The back of her hand, the base of her fingers, the middle of her middle finger—I kissed each spot over and over, feeling the warmth of her skin against my lips as the strength slowly drained from her hand. Unlike just touching her, kissing her let me feel her temperature more directly.

         I pressed my lips firmly against the back of her hand, enough to feel the shape of her bones beneath the skin. When I tried to suck lightly, she attempted to pull away, so I kissed the tip of her finger before finally releasing her wrist.

         「… You just made that charm up on the spot, didn’t you, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi asked as she stared at her hand, sounding unimpressed.

         「Even if I did, it doesn’t matter as long as it works, right?」

         In truth, what I really wanted to do was kiss her neck and leave a mark somewhere visible. But if I did that, she’d probably throw me out of her room on the spot. Maybe even refuse to speak to me ever again.

         「I don’t think it’s going to work.」

         Hearing the cold tone in Miyagi’s voice, I grabbed her hand again.

         「It will.」

         After saying those empty words, I kissed the tip of her finger.

         Taking her index finger between my lips, I pressed my teeth lightly against the second joint and ran my tongue slowly over the pad of her fingertip.

         Miyagi angrily pulled her hand away.

         「Stop that.」

         「Why? You like this kind of thing, don’t you, Miyagi?」

         Her voice was sharp, but she didn’t resist when I took her hand again.

         She’d ordered me to lick her fingers countless times before. There was no way I was letting her brush it off so easily now.

         I stared at Miyagi.

         She avoided my gaze, but she didn’t look particularly upset either. When I pressed my lips to her palm, her arm twitched slightly, and I slid my tongue between her fingers.

         「Sendai-san!」

         Miyagi, who rarely raised her voice, exclaimed loudly as she smacked my arm. Then, she dug her fingernails into my uniform.

         The dull pain made me let go of her hand, and she immediately pulled out a tissue from the crocodile-covered box, wiping her fingers.

         I had seen her do this many times before, and it had never bothered me.

         But for some reason, seeing her do it today made it feel like she was trying to wipe my entire existence away.

         It irritated me.

         No, more than that—it infuriated me.

         I reached out, brushing my fingers against her neck. Miyagi flinched back slightly, and even that small reaction was enough to set me off.

         I grabbed her and pulled her close, pressing my lips to her cheek.

         She’s definitely going to resist.

         Or at least, that’s what I thought.

         Instead, Miyagi wrapped her arms around my back, pulling me in even closer than necessary.

         「… Miyagi?」

         But instead of replying, she blew air into my ear before pressing something hard against it. I immediately recognized it as her teeth and could already tell what was coming next. Before I could pull away, Miyagi bit down.

         「Ow!」

         I exclaimed, but she didn’t let go. Instead, her teeth sank in deeper, sharp pain shooting through my ear as if she was about to tear it clean off. I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away.

         「What’s wrong with you, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi asked in a displeased tone.

         「That’s my line. Quit biting me whenever you don’t like something. It seriously hurts.」

         「You’re the one who keeps trying weird things.」

         I wasn’t sure whether she was referring to me licking her hand or pulling her into an embrace, but it was clear she wasn’t happy with either.

         「Maybe so, but you didn’t have to bite that hard.」

         「You weren’t casting a real charm either.」

         「I was. And besides, you were the one who told me to come up with an order in the first place.」

         Tracing it back to the start, it was technically Miyagi’s fault for not thinking of one herself. Maybe she thought the same thing, because she stayed silent, sulking instead of arguing back.

         「Anything else you want to say?」

         I asked as she picked up the pencil lying on the table.

         「If I don’t pass, I’m holding a grudge against you. I don’t want to spend another year studying.」

         「Should I cast another charm on you, then?」

         「No.」

         She refused without even looking at me, her attention fixed on her notebook. But there wasn’t a single word written on the blank page.

         「Miyagi.」

         「What?」

         「Make sure you actually study.」

         「I was going to, even without you telling me.」

         She replied, still not looking up.

         I couldn’t bring myself to say something as heavy as telling her she had to pass in exchange for that half-baked charm I cast on her. But even so, I wished for her to succeed.

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