It didn’t matter whether winter break was close or still far off — after leaving Miyagi’s place, there was only ever one place I’d end up.

         Home.

         A place where “I’m home” never got a “welcome back.”

         I took my time on the walk back, then slipped off my shoes, stepped into the living room to announce my return, and headed upstairs.

         In my bedroom, I turned on the light, hung up my coat, and tucked the five-thousand-yen bill I’d gotten from Miyagi today into my piggy bank.

         Today, I’d learned two things I hadn’t known before.

         The first was that there’s a snack called “fudge,” and that it was ridiculously sweet.

         I didn’t even know it existed until I had some in Miyagi’s room today — or how sweet it could be. Frankly, I was surprised she’d brought out any snacks at all. She even brewed black tea to go with it. It was so out of the ordinary for her that I couldn’t help but feel suspicious, expecting something bad to happen.

         And then she went as far as to feed me the fudge herself. At that point, I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if something did happen.

         But instead, what happened was something good.

         I reached for the piggy bank and thought about lifting it up, but stopped.

         I’d long since stopped adding five-hundred-yen coins to it – a bank that could hold up to a million yen if filled entirely with them.

         Now, the only things inside were the few coins I’d put in before I met Miyagi, and every five-thousand-yen bill I’d ever gotten from her.

         No matter how many of them piled up, they never made the piggy bank feel any heavier in my hands, so there wasn’t much point in checking.

         And from now on, there would only be a limited number of bills I’d get from her to add to it.

         Knowing that, I doubted the weight would ever change.

         Still, I wished I could see Miyagi enough times for it to get heavier.

         It wasn’t about wanting more money. I just wanted to see her that often – enough to make the piggy bank feel heavier.

         And I wanted to keep seeing her, even after we graduated from high school.

         That was how I truly felt.

         「It’s almost winter break, huh.」

         It was something that would normally take away my chances to see Miyagi, but today I learned something else – that she wanted to study with me over winter break badly enough to offer me a trade. Because of that, we’d be able to see each other during the break. And since she wasn’t going to give me any five-thousand-yen bills during that time, it wouldn’t change the weight of my piggy bank at all.

         I thought back to what she’d said earlier today.

         『… Come tutor me over winter break.』

         She’d said the exact words I wanted to hear in a modest voice. I would’ve been happy even if she’d asked in her usual flat tone, but she’d even gone as far as to tempt me with a kiss in exchange.

         Honestly, if Miyagi hadn’t brought up winter break first, I would’ve had no choice but to bring it up myself – so I was glad she did it. It was a little annoying that she still wouldn’t tell me what school she was aiming for, yet was willing to use kissing as a bargaining chip just to get me to study with her.

         Still, I was genuinely happy with what she’d done today.

         I placed a small standing mirror on the table and sat beside it.

         In the reflection, I could see the pendant Miyagi gave me resting against my neck – and just below it, something else she’d left me with today.

         「I wonder if it’s noticeable.」

         I hadn’t had a chance to look at it in a mirror at her place, so I didn’t notice until now, but there was a faint mark left on my neck – one that would probably be gone by tomorrow.

         It was Miyagi who’d left it there, though technically, I was the one who caused her to do it.

         I’m just reaping what I sow, I thought to myself. I’d taken advantage of the fact that Miyagi hadn’t stopped me and ended up going too far. After that kiss—sweeter than the fudge itself—I’d unbuttoned her blouse and even unhooked her bra, so it only made sense that she bit me in return.

         Still, I wished she’d thought it through a little more before doing it.

         It was cruel of her to bite me somewhere that couldn’t be hidden, even if I buttoned my blouse all the way up. If I were just walking around at night like I did today, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but what was I supposed to do at school?

         Part of me wanted the mark to stay, like a reminder that today’s rare version of Miyagi had really existed. But if it didn’t disappear by tomorrow, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what people at school would say.

         「What was it again? Lemons were supposed to get rid of hickeys quickly?」

         I didn’t know how to get rid of an actual bite mark, but I had heard how to make a hickey fade. I wasn’t even sure if it was true, but Umina had once said the quickest way to get rid of one was to press a lemon slice against it.

         I remembered it clearly—from that time I saw a bruise on Miyagi’s leg.

         Back then, she’d said she wanted to test whether lemons really worked, and ended up leaving a hickey on my arm for the experiment. But in the end, she didn’t even have any lemons to use, so I never found out if it actually worked.

         And from that moment on, Miyagi and I had only gone on to do stranger, more unexpected things together.

         「What am I going to do about this?」

         I hadn’t checked the fridge yet, but just like how it was at Miyagi’s place, I doubted there were any lemons in it. I’d also heard that either heat or cold could make hickeys fade faster. Maybe that was worth trying.

         I pressed my palm over the mark Miyagi had left on me.

         Then I pushed down a little harder.

         I wanted the warmth from my hand to soak into the bite mark—but even then, it didn’t feel nearly as warm. It was so much hotter when I was touching Miyagi.

         I wish I could’ve touched her more.

         I should’ve touched her everywhere I could see.

         I should’ve felt the shape of her chest before she had the chance to hug me.

         If I had done that, though, the mark under my palm right now might’ve ended up being something worse—more than just a bite, maybe a real wound, something that bled.

         And I would’ve been okay with that.

         If it had turned into something that bad, I’d skip school and ask Miyagi to come visit me. Then, while she was there, I’d use that chance to kiss her─

         「… I should study.」

         I pulled my hand away from the bite.

         If I kept thinking about her like this, I was definitely going to end up dreaming about Miyagi.

         Just like when I had that dream of Miyagi touching me on the last day of summer break, I’d probably end up dreaming about what happened today and wake up in a bad mood. I hated the idea of going to my classes with that kind of dream still clinging to the back of my mind.

         I put away the small standing mirror and changed into my loungewear.

         I spread out my reference books and notebooks on the table.

         Miyagi hadn’t asked if I wanted to eat dinner with her today, so I hadn’t eaten anything at all, but I didn’t really feel like making anything either. I hadn’t even tried applying anything warm or cold to the bite mark she gave me. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about it right now.

         If it was still there tomorrow, I’d use that as an excuse to complain to her. I could call her into the music prep room and tell her off there. And if she didn’t show up, I’d just head to her place and complain to her face.

         Either way, it gave me a reason to see Miyagi.

         「… This is so stupid.」

         I doodled a crocodile with tissues sprouting from its back in my notebook, then crossed it out right away.

         Daydreaming about her leaving me with a wound instead of a mark, imagining reasons to go complain to her—it was all just so stupid.

         Too many unusual things had happened today, and it was making me feel uneasy.

         「I wonder how that plush is doing?」

         The black cat plush I gave Miyagi for Christmas was probably having an equally uneasy night too.

         I set down my pencil and dove into bed.

         Closing my eyes, I ran my fingertips over the spot where Miyagi had bitten me.

         I ended up waking before my alarm even went off.

         Thanks to Miyagi, I couldn’t focus on studying at all last night, and even worse, I barely slept.

         The dreams I had were her fault too—because in them, I was doing all the things I couldn’t bring myself to do in real life yesterday.

         I’m actually the worst, I thought to myself.

         I let out a long sigh, like I was trying to empty myself of air, and pulled the futon over my head.

         I didn’t want to get up.

         I pressed my hand against the place Miyagi had left her mark.

         I wasn’t sure if it was still there.

         I felt stuck.

         If I checked and the mark was still obvious, I’d want to skip school. But I didn’t want to stay home either. And I couldn’t just skip school and wander around aimlessly.

         If the mark was gone, that made me feel uneasy too—like everything good that happened yesterday had been a dream.

         Whether it was still there or not, I couldn’t make peace with it.

         I rolled around in bed, but time wasn’t going to wait for me.

         Eventually, my alarm started going off, and I had no choice but to get up.

         I took a deep breath, let it out, then placed the small mirror on the table and checked the spot where Miyagi had bitten me yesterday.

         「Hmm…」

         It had faded quite a bit.

         I already knew where it was, so I could still see it if I looked closely, but to anyone else, it probably wouldn’t be noticeable.

         Even if someone saw it, they wouldn’t think it was a bite mark.

         I could probably pass it off as a bug bite, or just say I didn’t know how I got it, and people would believe me.

         That left me feeling both relieved and disappointed.

         It was like the outcome had landed somewhere in the middle.

         Realistically, I should’ve been glad it wasn’t visible, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel happy about it.

         I ran my fingers over the faded mark one more time, then headed downstairs.

         I brushed my teeth, ate breakfast and changed into my uniform.

         Standing in front of the mirror, I buttoned my blouse all the way up.

         It didn’t completely cover the mark, but no one would notice it unless they looked really close.

         Just before leaving the house, I undid one button.

         I felt like if I did anything out of the ordinary, it’d draw attention to things that normally wouldn’t be noticed, so it was best to just act like usual.

         I walked to school at my usual pace, down the freezing winter streets, then through the noisy hallways like always.

         I didn’t see Miyagi anywhere.

         I walked up the stairs, headed toward my classroom, but never ran into her along the way.

         It wasn’t like my classroom was far—it wasn’t a ten- or twenty-minute walk or anything—so I got there in no time.

         Before going in, I touched the faded bite mark one more time.

         Today, it bothered me more than the pendant I was wearing.

         The mark was just a mark—it didn’t hurt. But at the same time, it did hurt, and the dull ache made me overly aware of it.

         Everything Miyagi ever gave me was difficult to deal with.

         The five-thousand-yen bills I couldn’t use. The pendant that felt more like a collar. And then there were other things lying around my house, too.

         And now, this “mark” she left behind wouldn’t leave me alone. It was like it was following me around, forcing me to think of nothing but Miyagi.

         I pressed on it with my fingertips before entering the classroom.

         I set my bag down on my seat, walked over to Umina and Mariko, and greeted them with a “good morning.”

         「Morning, Hazuki.」

         Mariko responded in her usual cheerful tone, and Umina followed with a quiet “good morning.”

         「You don’t seem very happy, Umina.」

         To be more specific, she looked like she was in a bad mood.

         Things are going to be difficult today right off the bat, huh, I thought to myself.

         「My parents found out I was planning to work a part-time job over winter break, and now they’re mad at me.」

         Umina said, sulking.

         Mariko let out an exasperated response.

         「Of course they’re mad. It’s right before our entrance exams! You get it too, right, Hazuki?」

         「Well, yeah. You can work as much as you want after the exams, so why not just wait until then?」

         「I guess you guys have a point…」

         Umina replied, not sounding very convinced.

         Both of them were looking right at me, but neither noticed the mark on my neck.

         I doubted Umina ever would, and Mariko wouldn’t either.

         Miyagi might, but I didn’t know if she had, since we hadn’t even crossed paths today.

         If she called me over, we’d definitely see each other then, but she wasn’t the type to call me over two days in a row.

         And after what happened yesterday, I doubted she’d want to see me at all.

         I lifted my hand to touch the mark, but ended up adjusting my necktie instead.

         Winter break was almost here.

         I wanted Miyagi to ask me to come over as soon as possible.

         I grabbed my arm, stopping it from drifting back toward the bite mark.

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