「Hey, Miyagi! That hurts.」

         My body stiffened from the pain.

         She was biting me so hard it felt like she was trying to crush the bone, and a sharp throb shot all the way to my head.

         「I said that hurts!」

         I slapped her shoulder, hoping she’d let go and return the finger she was holding hostage, but she refused to budge. What started off as just me wanting to see her smile had somehow turned into this.

         Miyagi had never been the type to hold back, but she was hurting me more than usual today. I didn’t know what her problem was, but her bite was relentless.

         It hurt. It burned. My head felt light.

         「Miyagi!」

         I hit her shoulder hard enough that the sound echoed. But even that didn’t stop her. In desperation, I reached out and touched her earring. She was hurting me so much that I felt like I could tear her ear off—but instead, I only gave it a small tug. Her soft earlobe stretched, and finally, the teeth around my finger loosened. I yanked it free.

         「Stop trying to eat my finger. Was the Hamburg steak not filling enough for you?」

         The finger she bit had deep, clear marks.

         It hurt so much that if she’d said she was saving me for dessert, I might’ve believed her.

         It still hurt, even now.

         「If I wanted to eat something, I’d pick something that actually tastes good.」

         Miyagi replied flatly, grabbing a few tissues and roughly wiping my finger down. A sharp sting shot through it.

         「If you want me to smile, then do something funny, Sendai-san.」

         She picked the dictionary up from the floor and set it back on the desk before looking at me.

         「I already know you’re never going to smile in front of me no matter what I do, so I’ll just give up.」

         I rubbed my aching finger. Even though I was used to Miyagi hurting me like this, I still furrowed my brows.

         「If you were fine with not seeing me smile, then you shouldn’t have gone and done something like that to begin with.」

         「Yeah, you’re right. I was an idiot for trying to make someone smile when they clearly didn’t want to.」

         「That’s right. How about you smile for me instead, Sendai-san?」

         Miyagi placed her fingers at the corners of my lips and tried to lift them the same way I had done to her earlier.

She yanked them up so hard that I shook her hands off.

         「Hey, what are you trying to do? You’re seriously starting to get on my nerves.」

         「What am I trying to do―?」

         Miyagi trailed off, her gaze falling on my finger—the one she’d just bitten.

         A bad feeling crept in, and I tried to pull my hand back, but it was too late.

         She grabbed it.

         「Hey, that hurts. Let go.」

         I tried to pull it back toward me, but instead, she pulled with so much force that I thought she might actually rip it off.

         Overwhelmed by the pain, I leaned in toward her.

         「Seriously, what are you trying to do?」

         I asked again, still leaning in close, but she didn’t respond.

         「If there’s something you want, then just say it already.」

         I said firmly—and she finally let go of my finger.

         But then, she reached for the collar of my blouse.

         Miyagi pulled me closer, her face stopping just short of mine—close enough for our breaths to mix.

         She didn’t say a word.

         Our eyes met briefly, and then she looked away.

         She let go of my collar, and I grabbed her arm.

         「What, you’re not going to continue?」

         「There is no continuation.」

         Miyagi said as she shook my hand off, moving back just far enough to put space between us again.

         「Then let’s make one up right now.」

         「Sendai-san, do you…」

         Miyagi started to say something, but her words trailed off again.

         「Why don’t you finish that sentence?」

         「― Sendai-san, do you want there to be a continuation?」

         「If I said yes, what would you do?」

         「If there’s something you want me to do, just ask. I’ll do it.」

         The pain that had been throbbing in my finger all this time finally started to fade.

         I reached out and held Miyagi’s hand.

         She didn’t pull away, but she still wouldn’t look at me.

         Right now, I could probably get Miyagi to do what she’d been about to do.

         The thought alone made the finger she’d bitten earlier feel strangely warm.

         I exhaled.

         「Okay, then kiss me.」

         I said to Miyagi, who continued to avoid my gaze.

         「That’s not how you ask for something.」

         「Please kiss me. Is that better?」

         「Okay.」

         Miyagi said, and then slowly leaned in toward me.

         But before our lips could touch, Miyagi stopped. She looked like she was about to let go of my hand, too.

         At times like this, Miyagi always lost her nerve. She had no problem going all out with unnecessary things, but when it came to moments that actually mattered, she would falter.

         「You said you’d do it if I asked, so do it properly.」

         I said, trying to hold her to her word before she could run away again, then closed my eyes.

         I felt her draw closer.

         She gripped my hand tightly, and then our lips met.

         The kiss was so soft that I barely felt her warmth at first.

         After a brief moment, Miyagi pulled away.

         When I opened my eyes, I saw that she’d only moved back slightly, like she was still being cautious. That kind of attitude didn’t sit well with me—it didn’t feel right to count that as her holding up her end of the deal.

         「That’s it?」

         「Yeah, that’s it.」

         「Do it again.」

         「No. You’re thinking weird stuff again, Sendai-san.」

         She shook off my hand.

         But even then, she didn’t move away.

         Even when I shifted a little closer, she stayed where she was, still sitting beside me.

         Miyagi felt different today—like her mind was somewhere else.

         Normally, she’d get irritated like a stray cat and keep me at a distance.

         「… How’s Utsunomiya been lately?」

         I spoke up, afraid that if I stayed quiet, Miyagi would head straight back to her room. But I didn’t know what to talk to her about today, so I reached for something we could at least both comment on.

         「She’s fine.」

         「Why don’t you invite her over sometime?」

         「Why would I invite Maika over?」

         「You two are friends, right? I think it’d be fine.」

         「I’m not doing that.」

         She gave the exact response I’d expected, cutting off the conversation I’d just barely managed to start.

         Well, it would’ve been a pain if she actually had invited her, though.

         Still, I did want to hear what Utsunomiya knew about Miyagi at school. She definitely knew a lot more about Miyagi than I did. But at the same time, there was also a side of Miyagi that Utsunomiya didn’t know—something only I got to see. I just wasn’t sure how much of that was really unknown to her.

         「Miyagi.」

         I said her name, trying to open up another conversation, as I looked over at her.

         「Have you ever kissed Utsunomiya before?」

         Miyagi gave me a look full of disbelief.

         But I wanted to know.

         I wondered if Utsunomiya had ever felt just how soft Miyagi’s lips were.

         「What, are you the type who kisses your friends, Sendai-san?」

         「No.」

         「Neither am I.」

         Even though Miyagi wasn’t the type to kiss her friends, she had just kissed me. I knew that was because, even though we lived together, we weren’t friends. We’d never actually been friends—and somehow, that made me feel a little glad.

         I brushed my hand against Miyagi’s cheek.

         She didn’t seem to mind me leaning in.

         But she wouldn’t close her eyes, so I closed mine instead.

         I kissed her over and over again—light kisses where I barely felt the softness of her lips before pulling away.

         Then, I parted her lips and slipped my tongue into her mouth, going deeper.

         I kept kissing Miyagi.

         Her body temperature felt close to mine, and since she quietly let me do it, I figured she didn’t mind. Being able to touch someone like this—someone who wasn’t a friend—made me want to keep touching her. I could feel her warmth through her tongue, just like I had earlier when she bit me. That hadn’t just hurt—it had felt good, too. And right now, it felt so good, I didn’t want to stop kissing her.

         I leaned more of my weight against her.

         But just as I tried to push her down, she shoved me away by the shoulder, and the space between us returned.

         「Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi said, her voice neither cold nor warm.

         「What is it?」

         「… Quit your job.」

         She said—words I couldn’t believe were coming out of her mouth right after we’d kissed. She grabbed the finger she’d bitten earlier. The sharp pain brought my rising body temperature back down.

         「Why?」

         There was no reason Miyagi should be telling me to quit my job.

         It was my job. It wasn’t like I was bothering her by doing it. And I didn’t plan on ever making it her problem, either.

         I stared at her.

         But she stayed quiet, her face unreadable.

         「It’d be a hassle for the student if I quit now, and besides, I actually like tutoring, so I’m not going to.」

         I liked it a lot more than working at a convenience store or a restaurant, and the hourly pay was better, too. The faster I finished my part-time work, the more time I’d have to spend at home.

         「I know.」

         Miyagi said, letting go of my finger.

         「Then why’d you say that?」

         「I just felt like saying it.」

         She muttered, and held my hand again.

         Something was off.

         She wasn’t acting like herself.

         I wanted to ask her why she’d told me to quit, but I had the feeling that if I did, she’d get up and head back to her room. Her hand in mine felt too nice—I didn’t want to let go of it.

         So I held her hand back, without saying anything.

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