Nothing about Sendai-san had changed at all.

         Even after kissing me—she spoke to me yesterday, this morning, and after lunch in the same voice, with the same expression, like nothing had happened.

         Of course, nothing about me had changed either.

         All we did was something we’d already done plenty of times before. It had just been a while since the last time.

         I’d never truly hated anything Sendai-san had done to me, and that included this time too. Besides, I hadn’t stopped her, so it wasn’t like I had any reason to punish her.

         But what did bother me was how she could break a promise and still act like nothing had changed.

         Even though she was the one who asked me to be her roommate.

         We’d promised to watch another movie together, but I couldn’t help worrying she’d go back on her word about “not doing anything weird” again.

         I brushed a hand against my ear.

         My fingers lightly touched my earring.

         I could make her swear on these earrings not to break her promise again—but I didn’t really want to show her my ears.

         I set a mirror on the table and pushed my hair behind one ear.

         My earrings reflected clearly in the small, standing mirror.

         I’d heard it would take about a month for a piercing to heal.

         Until then, I wasn’t supposed to take them out.

         It wasn’t like I wanted to run out and buy new ones, but ever since Sendai-san started saying things like “they suit you” and “they look cute on you,” I’d been way more conscious of them.

         So much that it made me want to hide them from her.

         She was always saying things she didn’t need to say.

         I moved my hair back to where it had been and glanced at the clock.

         The time we’d agreed on was getting close.

         As I was about to put the mirror away, my eyes drifted to my lips.

         I remembered the warmth of her hand on my cheek the day before yesterday—the way her eyes had stayed open, how serious they looked, and how soft her lips were when they touched mine.

         I traced my lips lightly with my fingertips.

         I’d touched them like this not too long ago.

         That day when she wanted to put makeup on my lips, I ended up wiping hers instead. Then I found myself in front of a mirror—just like I was now.

         My eyes landed on my reflection.

         Before I knew it, my fingers were on my lips again, and I instinctively covered the mirror with my palm.

         「Ah.」

         The glass was cold against my skin, and I immediately regretted touching it.

         When I pulled my hand away, my fingerprints were left smudged across the surface.

         「Ugh… This is all your fault, Sendai-san.」

         I stood up and left the room.

         Outside her door, I took a breath to steady myself, then knocked twice.

         From inside, I heard her voice say, “Come in.”

         I exhaled again and opened the door.

         「Oh, you’re actually here.」

         Sendai-san said, sounding a little surprised as she leaned back against her bed.

         「If you don’t want me here, I’ll just go back to my room.」

         I knew she didn’t mean it like that, but still, I turned my back to her.

         Before I could close the door, she called out to me.

         「Hey, come inside.」

         Her voice was oddly gentle.

         When I turned around, she was standing now. Her soft, light-colored skirt fluttered a little.

         She’d been wearing skirts a lot lately.

         It wasn’t the same as our high school uniform, but it still reminded me of how she used to look.

         I always wore jeans, out of habit. After we moved in together, she’d asked me to wear a skirt once—but never brought it up again. She was always saying things on a whim that were hard for me to deal with.

         「I just didn’t think you’d really come to my room… Even after I did something like that, you didn’t leave. You still came to see me, huh?」

         She grabbed my arm as she rambled on about things I didn’t understand, and pulled me into her room.

         「Leave? What are you talking about?」

         「It’s fine if you don’t get it.」

         She smiled, saying something vague.

         When I tried to ask what she meant, she dodged it and changed the subject.

         “I’m okay with watching anything you like, Miyagi,” she said, handing me her tablet.

         I didn’t have much of a choice, so I sat next to her.

         One side of my body started tingling.

         I couldn’t calm down.

         It felt like electricity was crawling through my shoulder and arm just from being next to her.

         I could practically feel my blood moving under my skin, so I scooted away a little.

         「I’ll punish you if you touch me.」

         I said as I placed the platypus-shaped tissue box between us.

         As I stared down at the tablet, trying to pick a movie, I heard her oddly cheerful voice right beside me.

         「You know that whatever punishment you come up with might not actually feel like a punishment to me, right?」

         「What do you mean by that?」

I looked up from the tablet and turned my attention to Sendai-san.

         「Just giving you a little heads-up. Depending on what it is, I might end up enjoying it.」

         「I have no intention of making your punishment fun for you, Sendai-san.」

         「So that means you’re planning to come up with something that isn’t fun for me on purpose?」

         「Exactly.」

         I said flatly, and Sendai-san started tapping the platypus tissue box on its head.

         「But what if the thing you think isn’t fun actually is fun for me?」

         Was she just trying to talk me out of punishing her?

         Or was she hinting at something else?

         Either way, if what I thought was unpleasant ended up being enjoyable for Sendai-san, that would be a problem.

         She’d gone along with things that most people would have flat-out refused. She hadn’t disobeyed me when I blindfolded her, and she hadn’t refused when I told her to lick my feet. If she was being serious about finding these kinds of punishments fun, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised.

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

         「Hey, I haven’t said or done anything that makes me sound like a pervert.」

         「But you’re definitely thinking about something perverted, aren’t you?」

         She was the kind of person who could suddenly say something like she wanted to kiss me, and even if I said no, she’d go ahead and do it anyway—just like she did that night. So if she was thinking about something more than that, it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest.

         「I’m not thinking about anything perverted.」

         Sendai-san replied, wearing a confident smile.

         If only I could actually see what was going on inside her head.

         I found it hard to believe her when she said that with a face like that.

         「That’s definitely a lie. You’re an erotic demon, Sendai-san.」

         「Come on, don’t make it sound like that’s all I ever think about. Besides, if you’re convinced I’m having perverted thoughts, doesn’t that say something about you too? You must be thinking about that stuff if that’s where your mind goes.」

         「Nope. I don’t think about stuff like that. You’re the only pervert here, Sendai-san. A complete lecher.」

         I set the tablet down on the floor and grabbed the platypus tissue box, then smacked Sendai-san’s arm with it—twice, and not gently either.

         Sendai-san laughed.

         「Okay, okay. I’m sorry. It was just a joke. Come on, pick a movie already.」

         She said as she handed the tablet back to me.

         I glared at her, then started scrolling through the list of movie titles.

         Last time, I picked one that Sendai-san got bored of halfway through, which had been a pain to deal with. So this time, I wanted to pick something that would keep her attention until the end. But I also didn’t want to go with horror, even though she seemed way too eager for it.

         A few ideas came to mind.

         I mentioned the title of an anime film that had been aired on TV many times before, one that was popular with both kids and adults.

         「Have you seen it before?」

         I asked.

         「Nope, but you have, right, Miyagi?」

         「Yeah, I have. But it’s a movie I really like.」

         I searched for it and pressed play.

         I was incredibly conscious of Sendai-san sitting next to me.

         The same tingling sensation from before ran through my shoulder and arm.

         Just like last time, Sendai-san moved the platypus from between us onto her bed.

         「Pay attention to the movie.」

         I said, shifting slightly away from her, but for some reason, she moved closer anyway.

         I smacked her arm and told her, “Watch the movie,” but instead, she reached out and grabbed my hand.

         Her grip was gentle—it didn’t hurt—but my arm still reacted like it had been shocked.

         I reflexively tried to pull away, but she held on tight.

         「Don’t worry, I am watching.」

         Her voice made it hard to tell if she was serious or not.

         「But if you don’t like it, I’ll let go.」

         She added, softly.

         Well… if she’s just holding my hand…

         I guess I could let that much slide.

         I didn’t squeeze back, but I let her hand stay where it was, and turned my attention back to the tablet.

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