Ever since the day I pierced Miyagi’s ears, she had started coming to my room—though it had only happened twice so far.

         The first time was when she came to deliver the manga I’d asked for before. Miyagi had brought it over, handed it to me, and then immediately went back to her room. The second time was today. We were eating dinner together and I’d asked to borrow her dictionary, and she brought it over to my room again.

         I already had the same dictionary in my room, so I didn’t really need to borrow hers. I just wanted to see if Miyagi would come over to my room again. I was pretty sure she’d realized the dictionary was just an excuse, but she still came anyway, and now she was sitting beside me.

         It was probably because she was bored now that Golden Week had started.

         Or maybe it was because I’d asked her to keep part of her schedule open for me during the break.

         I wasn’t sure. But either way, she was here right now, reading the manga she’d lent me.

         I closed the manga I’d been reading and held the platypus’s hand.

         For a long time, my usual spot had been next to Miyagi, and hers had been next to mine. But ever since we moved here, we’d spent less time together, and it left me feeling a little unsettled.

         If only I could come up with something to talk about with Miyagi. Maybe that would help me keep my mind off things. But nothing came to me. Miyagi was reading her manga, and there was no reason to force a conversation. If I said something unnecessary, she might find me annoying. I knew it was better to stay quiet, but still—seeing her sitting right next to me, I couldn’t help wanting to talk to her.

         I let go of the platypus’s hand for a moment, then grabbed it again.

         There was no warmth in its small, fluffy and unreliable hands.

         Maybe the platypus, which had somehow ended up in my room, was Miyagi’s way of saying she planned to keep coming over. If that wasn’t it, then whether my tissue box had a cover shouldn’t have mattered. Either way, I still had no idea why she wanted to keep coming here.

         I continued to hold onto the platypus’s hand tightly.

         「Sendai-san, you must really like that, don’t you?」

         Miyagi, who had been completely silent until now, suddenly spoke. When I looked up at her from the platypus, she was watching me, even though just moments ago she’d seemed absorbed in her manga.

         「What are you referring to?」

         「The platypus. You’ve been playing with it for a while, so I figured you must’ve taken a liking to it or something.」

         「Well, not exactly…」

         I gave the platypus a few pats on the head as I answered. It wasn’t like I was embarrassed she’d caught me fiddling with a tissue cover, but I pulled my hands away from it anyway. I reopened the manga I’d been reading earlier and leaned back against the bed. I turned a page, then another, and another—until I’d flipped through five.

         Then Miyagi’s voice broke the silence again.

         「… When are you going to start working as a private tutor?」

         I closed the manga I’d just opened and looked over at her.

         After I’d heard more about the job from Mio’s upperclassman, I’d decided I would take the job on the spot.

         「I start after the break. What about you, Miyagi? Are you planning to find a part-time job, too?」

         「No.」

         「What about joining a club?」

         「I’m not interested in that sort of thing. What about you, Sendai-san?」

         「I probably won’t join one either. I want to spend my time on other things.」

         My new university friends wouldn’t stop talking about which clubs were worth joining. It felt like being in a club was just something you were supposed to do in university. A few people even asked me what I planned to join, but I didn’t really feel like broadening my social circle. I didn’t want to spend time with people just for the sake of it anymore. Working a part-time job felt like a better use of my time. And if Miyagi was home, I wanted to be with her—even if all we did was eat together.

         「I honestly thought you’d be the type to join a club and start going on group blind dates as soon as you got into university.」

         「Do I really look like someone who’d do that?」

         「Yeah, and you seem like someone who’d go out and have fun every day during Golden Week.」

         Miyagi said with a serious look on her face. She didn’t seem to be joking at all.

         「I’m not like that. I prefer to stay home.」

         「Why’s that?」

         「Why? … I wonder.」

         It’s because you’re here.

         It really was just that, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how weird it would sound if I said it out loud. Miyagi and I weren’t close enough to go out together all the time, or to spend time with each other like it was normal. But I did want to hang out with her, even if I was the only one who felt that way. And every once in a while, Miyagi would let me have that.

         I kept a sigh from leaving my throat.

         「Didn’t you say you had plans during Golden Week, Miyagi?」

         All I knew was that she had a few days free.

         I didn’t know anything else about her plans beyond that, though.

         「Yeah, I have plans to hang out with Maika.」

         That was exactly what I’d expected. Yet, it still made me sigh—audibly, this time.

         「We should go out together sometime as well.」

         「I’m already going to different places with Maika, so no. Besides, we don’t even have the same interests, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi said as if it were obvious—just like she’d done the other day, completely shutting down the idea of going out together.

         She’d go out with Utsunomiya, but not with me.

         Just hearing that stung.

         I wasn’t happy about about that at all, and it made my stomach feel heavy.

         「Yeah, but still…」

         Even if we didn’t share the same interests, there were still places I wanted to go with her.

         Her ears were hidden beneath her hair, but right now, she was wearing a pair of earrings.

         Only, I hadn’t been the one to choose them.

         If possible, I wanted her to wear a pair that I picked out for her.

         If the whole reason she’d had her ears pierced was to make sure I’d never forget my promises with her, then I wanted the earrings she wore to be ones I chose.

         I wanted to go look for earrings together—ones that would suit her better.

         But I was well aware she’d never go and look for earrings together with me.

         「Miyagi, when’s your birthday?」

         I doubted she’d accept a birthday gift, but I asked anyway.

         「Where did that come from all of a sudden?」

         「I just realized you never told me.」

         「September.」

         「I remember you mentioned that, but what day exactly?」

         I’d found out about her birth month when she gave me the pendant, but she’d never said the exact date.

         「… I don’t want to tell you right now.」

         She frowned, probably sensing what I was thinking.

         「Then tell me eventually.」

         「Only if I feel like it.」

         Her voice was cold as she turned her eyes back to her manga.

         A bit too cold for someone who’d chosen to sit right next to me.

         「Did you choose those earrings yourself?」

         「Yeah, I went shopping for them with Maika.」

         All Miyagi had given me today was information I hadn’t wanted.

I’d started this conversation because I wanted to talk to her—but not about things I didn’t want to hear. I wanted it to be something more fun.

         「Put your hair behind your ears.」

         I said as I reached out and tugged lightly at her hair, but she didn’t look up from her manga.

         「Why should I?」

         「Because I can’t see your earrings.」

         「You don’t need to see them.」

         「Didn’t you get them pierced just so I could see them?」

         「Yeah, but we haven’t made any promises together yet.」

         「We promised to spend part of Golden Week together, didn’t we?」

         That probably wasn’t the kind of promise she meant when she made me pierce her ears.

         Even so, I still wanted to make sure the earrings were there.

         Of course, she shouldn’t have taken them out so soon—not while they were still healing. It should’ve gone without saying they were still in.

         But even knowing that, I wanted to see them.

         The earrings in her ears. The holes I’d made.

         Back in high school, Miyagi had wanted to look at the pendant I wore.

         Right now, I felt the same.

         「Show me your earrings.」

         I reached for her right ear. Miyagi looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t pull away. I gently tucked her black hair behind her ear.

         A silver earring came into view.

         The piercings I’d given Miyagi felt like a symbol—like she belonged to me. I knew that wasn’t true. But still, the fact that she’d asked me to do it, and that I’d done it with my own hands, made it feel special.

         I wanted to touch the earring, but stopped myself. It wasn’t a good idea to mess with it while it was still healing.

         「That’s enough, isn’t it?」

         As Miyagi tried to hide her ear with her hair again, I caught her hand.

         Then, just like the day I pierced her ears, I brought my lips to her ear.

         Miyagi had done something similar to me once.

         She’d kissed the pendant I used to wear and touched it many times.

         「Sendai-san!」

         I heard her voice close.

         I gently ran my tongue over the earring, careful not to touch the hole itself.

         It felt a little cold and a little hard.

         I pressed my tongue against it, as if to warm it up.

         Miyagi’s shoulders trembled.

         At some point, her hand had started to grip my arm tightly.

         I kissed her ear again—once, then twice.

         The third time, my lips landed just above the piercing.

         「That hurts.」

         Miyagi said as she pushed me away.

         I pulled back and looked at her face, but she didn’t look like she was in real pain.

         「Then I guess I’ll just have to do it where it doesn’t hurt.」

         I brushed the top of her ear with my lips.

         Miyagi pushed me again.

         「Back off, Sendai-san.」

         As if to say no, I pressed my lips even harder against her ear. She brought her hand to my chin and started pushing me away, so I backed away. I reached for her hand, wanting to protest—but she pulled me in instead.

         Then, my earlobe burned.

         It hurt—a lot.

         Something hard was pinching it.

         It was Miyagi’s teeth.

         She was biting me.

         Miyagi never held back in moments like this. Her teeth clamped down on my ear with full force. It hurt so much it felt hot. It honestly felt like she was going too far just to retaliate. At this rate, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she bit it off entirely.

         The pain started to go numb.

         I should push her away, I thought.

         But instead, I wrapped my arms around her back.

         I knew I was acting weird.

         Still, I pulled her in close and held her tight.

         Then the pain in my ear faded. Miyagi had let go.

         She was in my arms now. She felt so, so close. Her warmth seeped into me everywhere we touched. I wanted even more of it, but there was no way to get closer than this.

         She pulled away first.

         「What, you want me to bite you again or something?」

         Miyagi said angrily.

         「What would you do if I said yes?」

         「You really are a pervert, Sendai-san.」

         Even though there was no need to push me any further, she shoved me again to put more distance between us. Then she took a tissue from the platypus tissue box and wiped her ear.

         「Sendai-san, wipe your ear too.」

         She shoved the platypus toward me.

         I appreciated the concern, but if she really cared, she shouldn’t have bitten me in the first place.

         I touched my half-numb ear and pulled out a tissue. She probably wouldn’t listen even if I did complain, so I wiped my ear without saying anything.

         「So, you said you wanted to do something together during the break. What was it?」

         Miyagi asked softly.

         I thought she’d get up and leave right after, but she stayed next to me. Though she still didn’t look my way.

         「Is there anything you want to do, Miyagi?」

         「I want to use that.」

         She pointed toward the table.

         「The tablet?」

         This room no longer had the things my old room used to, but there were new additions. One of them was the tablet sitting on the table, which now served as a TV.

         「Yeah. I want to use it to watch something, like a movie.」

         That didn’t sound like a bad idea.

         Actually, it was probably the only thing I could think of that didn’t involve going outside.

         「Can we watch it here?」

         「Fine. As long as you don’t try anything weird.」

         「I won’t.」

         「You literally just did, though.」

         「I promise I won’t do anything weird.」

         I said, and Miyagi finally turned to face me.

         I tucked her hair behind her ear again and looked at her earring.

         Those earrings felt like proof that I’d changed something about her.

         It wasn’t a big deal to most people—just a tiny accessory, barely noticeable—but to me, it was unforgettable.

         My existence had left a mark on Miyagi’s body.

         In a way that wouldn’t go away anytime soon.

         Whatever promise I made with her, I wasn’t going to forget it now.

         「You better not break that promise.」

         「Don’t worry, I won’t.」

         I lightly touched her earring, then let her hair fall back over it.

         If all she wanted was to make me remember the promises we made, she could’ve just written it down on paper or stuck a note on my door or something.

         But instead, she chose to tie it to a piercing.

         That’s why I wasn’t going to break my promises with her.

         But at the same time, I wanted to break the rules, just so she’d have a reason to give me orders again.

         Not that I’d ever tell Miyagi that, though.

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