Miyagi had been sticking close to me a lot more lately.

         Today was no different.

         But she was still in a bad mood.

         「Sendai-san, are these really the only options?」

         「I do have others, but I’m only bringing out skirts.」

         Miyagi frowned.

         It was the day of our promised Sunday outing.

         Laid out on my bed were three skirts that had survived Miyagi’s wave of complaints—some were too short, others too long, or she didn’t like the colors.

         I never thought she’d actually let me dress her up like this.

         We were going out for dinner in the evening, and since I had time to kill until then, I figured it’d be better to spend it with someone than alone. So I invited Miyagi to hang out, and when she asked what I wanted to do, I told her I wanted to either do her makeup or dress her up.

         I hadn’t forced her to choose or anything, and I was ready to drop it if she said no—but she agreed to let me dress her up, and now she was sulking for no reason.

         「How about the one in the middle?」

         I pointed to the flared midi skirt, feeling just a little sorry for it under Miyagi’s gloomy stare.

         「No.」

         「Then do you just want to go out without wearing anything?」

         「That’d just make me a pervert.」

         「If you don’t like that idea, then just pick one already. I can bring out a few more if you want to compare.」

         It wasn’t like I absolutely had to see Miyagi in a skirt or anything, but it had been a while, and I wanted to see her in one again.

         And if there was even the slightest chance she might actually wear one, then I wanted to take it.

         「… I’ll just go with the one in the middle. I’ll change into it now, so get out.」

         She muttered and gave me a push, like she was shooing me away.

         I knew that if I said something dumb like, “What if I stay and watch?” the whole dinner plan would probably get canceled on the spot, so I obediently stepped out of the room.

         She’d been a lot more straightforward lately.

         If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t think much of it—but this was Miyagi.

         Considering everything that had happened up until now, her honesty was almost unnerving.

         The weather had been unusually hot for May, so maybe the heat was starting to mess with her head.

         I leaned against the door.

         My skirt, longer than the one Miyagi had chosen, fluttered lightly.

         June was just around the corner, and July wasn’t far behind.

         As the temperatures continued to rise, maybe Miyagi would start acting even stranger.

         Or maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

         I liked her rebellious side, but I also wanted her to be more honest and open, too.

         「Okay, I’m done.」

         Just as I was thinking something Miyagi would probably kick me for if she found out, I heard her voice and opened the door.

         She was wearing the flared skirt and an irritated expression to match.

         Standing in front of the bed, she looked even more displeased than she had before changing.

         I was honestly surprised someone could look more annoyed just from wearing someone else’s clothes than someone who’d just been splashed by a passing car on a rainy day—but there she was, wearing the skirt I picked out.

         「That really suits you. You look cute.」

         「You don’t have to say stuff like that.」

         「Isn’t it normal to say what I think? While we’re at it, should I pick out a top for you too?」

         The thin sweatshirt she was already wearing matched the skirt just fine, but I wanted to enjoy the chance to dress her up a little more.

         「No, I’m good like this. Let’s just go already.」

         Her voice was rough.

         「Where do you want to eat?」

         I wanted to dress her up from head to toe, do her makeup, and doll her up as much as I could—but the only goal today was to have dinner together.

         Trying to do anything more would only end with her getting annoyed and making things more of a hassle.

         「Let’s go to the family restaurant nearby. I don’t want to go anywhere far.」

         Perhaps feeling self-conscious about the skirt, Miyagi kept glancing at her legs.

         「Sure, let’s go there then.」

         We left the room and headed toward the front door.

         After putting on my shoes and opening the door, I felt a tug on my clothes.

         「What shoes should I wear?」

         Miyagi asked with a troubled look.

         「Sneakers should be fine.」

         「Okay.」

         She took a pair from the shoebox and slipped them on.

         I looked her over again, head to toe, and told her she looked cute.

         She pushed me out the door.

         We headed down the stairs together and started walking toward the nearby family restaurant.

         As we walked together in our skirts, I thought back to our high school days.

         We hadn’t really walked around together much in our uniforms, but having Miyagi by my side now, both of us in skirts, reminded me of the time we’d spent together after school.

         Miyagi didn’t say a word.

         We walked in silence.

         There were all kinds of sounds around us—cars passing, kids shouting—and with all that noise, the silence between us didn’t bother me.

         The streets were hot for May, with no breeze at all. I felt uncomfortably warm, but Miyagi looked completely fine.

         She walked quickly, even though we weren’t in a rush.

         I felt like reaching out and grabbing her hand to slow her down.

         But I stopped myself before I did.

         Instead, I just matched my pace to hers.

         Things were going smoothly as they were, and there was no point in grabbing her hand only for her to shake me off.

         Before I knew it, we’d arrived at the restaurant.

         Even if we finished eating quickly, there would still be plenty of time left to do other things.

         That was, of course, only if Miyagi was up for it.

         「What are your plans after we eat dinner?」

         I asked Miyagi, who was still walking quickly.

         「I’ll think about it after I eat.」

         She gave me an unsatisfying answer as she walked into the family restaurant.

         We glanced over the menu for a while and then placed our orders.

         We talked a little about our lives at university, and a little about my job.

         Miyagi mostly listened, but whenever I asked her about herself, she’d tell me about her classes or what kinds of books she’d bought recently. It wasn’t exactly a lively conversation, but considering she hadn’t talked this much since high school, I didn’t mind. Once the conversation died down, we finished eating quickly and ended up back home about an hour after we’d left.

         「So, have you decided what you want to do now?」

         I asked as I took off my shoes at the entrance.

         「Can we go back to your room? I want to give you back your skirt.」

         「Sure.」

         As I thought, Miyagi really had been acting strange lately.

         She’d started coming into my room more often, sitting down right next to me. She was almost always in a bad mood, but no matter what she said, she always seemed to want to stay close.

         And even now, she wanted to come to my room.

         I had no idea what was going through her head.

         But either way, I was happy about it.

         「Should I bring us some drinks?」

         I asked, pausing in the shared living space to look at her.

         「I’m fine.」

         She gave a curt reply, and we headed to my room.

         I turned on the lights and considered switching on the air conditioner. It was hot enough to justify it, but it was still only May.

         Even if the temperature said it was fine, running the AC this time of year somehow felt wrong, so I left it off.

         「Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi called out to me from where she was sitting on my bed.

         When I sat down beside her, she kicked my leg, so I had no choice but to sit on the floor and look up at her.

         「What is it?」

         「Lick my foot.」

         「It’s been a while since you’ve asked me to do that. But no, you’re not allowed to order me around anymore.」

         There were no more five-thousand-yen bills between us.

         Now, we were just roommates.

         「It’s a punishment, Sendai-san. If I hadn’t reminded you, you would’ve completely forgotten our promise to go out for dinner.」

         「I was just a little late in keeping it. That’s all. I would’ve remembered even if you hadn’t reminded me.」

         「Okay, fine. Then consider it an exchange for me wearing this skirt.」

         Miyagi said in a low voice.

         She was clearly in a worse mood than before we’d gone out.

         「For putting on a skirt?」

         「Yeah. I did exactly what you wanted and let you turn me into your dress-up doll, so now it’s your turn to do what I say.」

         I see.

         So that’s why she’d agreed to wear the skirt so easily.

         Only now did I realize why Miyagi had agreed to my request, despite all her complaints.

         She probably hadn’t intended for me to lick her foot from the very start, but she was definitely trying to get me to do something in exchange.

         「Fine, you can give me orders. But I’m not following any weird ones.」

         「You’re saying that now? But you’ve done it so many times before, Sendai-san. Didn’t you say you liked my legs, too?」

         Miyagi said something completely uncute while wearing such a cute outfit.

         She kicked my shoulder, then crossed her legs.

         The hem of her skirt fluttered slightly, drawing my eyes to her legs.

         I thought back to our high school days—what it was like being in her room.

         My hand instinctively moved to reach out, wanting to touch her, but I stopped myself and clenched my hand into a fist.

         Now wasn’t the time for that.

         But Miyagi’s attitude told me she had no plans of backing down.

         「It’s weird that you’re not listening to me, even after I did something for you, Sendai-san.」

         I let out a quiet sigh, low enough that she wouldn’t notice.

         「… Can I take off your socks?」

         「Yeah.」

         「Okay.」

         I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, then opened them.

         After removing Miyagi’s socks, I placed my hand on her heel and leaned in.

         In front of me was her pale, healthy foot.

         I pressed my lips against the top of it.

         I kissed it, then kissed the base of her toes, repeating the motion a few times until I heard her voice, firm and clear.

         「Lick it properly.」

         This was exactly the kind of situation I’d wanted to avoid.

         The act of licking her foot felt more vivid today than ever.

         But Miyagi had insisted for me to do it, and I didn’t have any choice.

         I brought my tongue to her second toe and licked up to the base.

         Her warmth passed through to me, and it felt like my own body temperature was rising too.

         I should’ve turned on the air conditioner, but there was no way I could do that now.

         When I rolled the skirt up to her knees, my heart pounded at the sight—something I hadn’t seen in a long time.

         I slid my hand from her heel to the arch of her foot.

         Then, slowly, I traced upward to the base of her toes.

         「Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi’s voice sounded displeased, clearly telling me to stop.

         So instead, I kissed the top of her foot again, pressed my tongue to it, and traced it up to her ankle.

         Then, I left a kiss on her shin.

         My heartbeat pounded so loudly, it felt like there was a speaker attached to it.

         I took a short breath.

         I brought my tongue beneath her knee, tracing along the bone with slow, deliberate movements.

         My fingers slid up her calf, stroking the back of her knee, and her leg jerked in response.

         She started to pull away, as if trying to escape, but I gripped her calf tighter and ran my tongue up along the bone.

         When I reached her stiff knee, I gave it one last kiss before pulling my face away.

         「Keep going.」

         She kicked my shoulder.

         「I can’t.」

         「Why not?」

         「I just can’t. I’m done.」

         「You can’t just decide that on your own.」

         「I’ll keep going if you let me lick other parts of your body.」

         「That’s not what I told you to do. Keep licking my foot.」

         Miyagi said in a sulky tone, uncrossing her legs and setting her foot down on my thigh like she was urging me to continue.

         I was trying to hold it together.

         But I couldn’t anymore.

         It wasn’t simply a matter of the screws holding my rationality coming loose anymore.

         It felt like my entire sense of reason was starting to break apart.

         Those screws, already loose to begin with, had fallen out and rolled somewhere into the room—hiding, waiting to be found.

         But I had no intention of looking for them.

         My sense of restraint was melting like ice, and in this sweltering room, it didn’t feel like it was going to solidify again.

         I pushed Miyagi’s legs aside and stood up.

         「What are you doing?」

         I heard her voice.

         After a moment of hesitation, I placed my right knee on the bed. I put my hand on her shoulder and gently pushed.

         As expected, Miyagi resisted. She refused to let her back sink into the bed.

         「Miyagi. Let me push you down.」

         「Absolutely not. You’re thinking weird things again, Sendai-san.」

         Ever since we started living together, we’d sometimes talk or eat meals together, all while keeping things strictly at the level of roommates.

         I kept trying to convince myself that I was okay with that.

         「You’re right. I’m not denying it.」

         I’d always had impure thoughts. Sometimes, I even dreamed about them.

         That was why I told her I didn’t want to follow her order.

         Lately, Miyagi had been acting strange.

         And now that she’d given me an order like this, this was where it had led us.

         This twisted desire was something Miyagi herself had nurtured in me.

         She couldn’t pretend it had nothing to do with her, not after letting things go this far.

         I had tried to turn her down.

         She was the one who ignored it.

         So in the end, this was her fault.

         「Get off me.」

         Miyagi said firmly.

         「And if I do? What then?」

         「I’m going back to my room.」

         「Hmm. Then I’m not moving.」

         「Get off me already.」

         She spoke in a low voice, glaring at me.

         But she didn’t push me away or try to escape.

         Maybe it was because she trusted that I wouldn’t do anything she truly didn’t want.

         And I did want to respect that trust—at least, that’s what I thought.

         「― Miyagi.」

         My voice came out hoarse.

         I wanted to take things slow.

         I wanted to wait until Miyagi felt comfortable enough to invite me into her room.

         But I wasn’t sure I could wait that long—not for a day that might never even come.

         I wanted to rush toward Miyagi—fast enough to cut through anything in my path.

         「Please, I’m begging you. Let me get away with what I’m about to do.」

         Our eyes met for a moment.

         Then, I tried to push her down again.

---

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