I picked up my mug and stared at what was left in it — a little less than half.

         Miyagi would never come into my room, let alone stay here, without a reason.

         Right now, the only reason she was sitting beside me was because we were having tea together. Once we finished, she’d go straight back to her own room.

         「You really like animals, huh, Miyagi?」

         I asked as I took another slow sip and set my mug back down on the table.

         I wasn’t sure how much tea Miyagi still had in her cup, but I knew she wouldn’t leave until I was done with mine.

         「It’s not like I like them or anything…」

         「Really? But you seem to know a lot of dog breeds. I’d never even heard of borzois until today. Plus, you bought a crocodile and a platypus tissue box cover.」

         I said as I pulled the platypus tissue box — which had originally been meant for the dining area — closer to me and stroked its head. A hand reached out beside me and pulled a tissue from it.

         「All of those things are just coincidences.」

         I couldn’t tell from her cold tone whether she truly thought knowing about borzois and buying animal-themed tissue boxes were coincidences, but there was no way she’d remember such details if she didn’t like animals at all. And I doubted she’d pick animal-themed designs if she had no fondness for them at all.

         「Well, do you at least have a favorite animal? Like, what do you think of dogs?」

         「I think they’re okay. What about you, Sendai-san?」

         I set my mug back down on the table and stared at the cat-like Miyagi as I answered:

         「I think I like cats more.」

         「Really? I thought you’d prefer dogs, considering you’re like one yourself.」

         Miyagi said as she pulled another tissue from the box and started rolling the two sheets together into a ball.

         「I don’t think I’m that doglike.」

         「I think you are.」

         She said firmly, tossing the ball of tissue toward the trash can.

         Plop.

         The ball bounced off the rim and landed on the floor.

         「Go get it, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi pointed at the ball as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

         「I’m not doing that.」

         「Fine. I just wanted to see if you would.」

         She said curtly, showing no intention of getting up. Naturally, the tissue ball wasn’t going to throw itself away.

         「Come on, Miyagi. Throw it away properly.」

         「If you want it gone that badly, then do it yourself.」

         She spoke without looking at me, clearly in a bad mood.

         She had no intention of picking it up herself. I didn’t want to indulge her by acting like a dog for her amusement, but I reluctantly stood and went to pick the ball up anyway.

         「Alright. Here you go. Are you satisfied now?」

         I asked as I handed the lump back to Miyagi.

         「No.」

         She said, placing the tissue ball back on the floor.

         「What, is there something else you want me to do?」

         「Here. Paw.」

         Miyagi extended her hand toward me, commanding me as if I were a dog.

         This is ridiculous.

         There’s no reason I have to play along with this.

         I thought that — and then reconsidered.

         I did as I was told and gave Miyagi my right hand, placing it on her palm. Then I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward me. Caught off guard, Miyagi stumbled forward and leaned into my body, and I held her close.

         「You can order me around even more if you want.」

         Feeling her warmth and body pressed against me made my heart race, but I pretended not to notice.

         「No. And that wasn’t meant to be an order, so let go of me.」

         Miyagi said, clearly annoyed, trying to push me away — but I had no intention of letting go.

         「You were basically ordering me around. Look, I’ll do anything you ask right now except let go of you. So just give me an order.」

         Miyagi fell silent, not saying a word.

         I was happy just being this close to her, so it didn’t matter to me whether she gave me an order or not. As long as she stayed hesitant, we’d remain pressed together like this.

         「Miyagi.」

         I whispered softly into her ear, and she quietly replied,

         「… Fine, then let me touch your stomach.」

         Before I could respond, Miyagi touched my stomach over my shirt. Startled by how unexpected it was, I instinctively pushed her away — even though I was the one who’d pulled her close — but her hands clung stubbornly to my clothes.

         「What kind of order is that?」

         「You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you? That you’d let me touch your stomach.」

         She tugged on my shirt with a dissatisfied look.

         She was right. Earlier, she’d said she’d consider letting me touch her stomach if I let her touch mine, and I’d agreed. I just hadn’t thought she was serious.

         I was surprised she’d meant it, but I didn’t mind her touching me a few times — as long as she was still willing to hold up her end of the deal.

         「If I’m allowed to touch your stomach afterwards too, then go ahead.」

         「No. Only I’m going to touch your stomach. I’m not letting you touch mine. You were the one who wanted me to order you around, so do as I say.」

         It was selfish and childish of her to expect me to obey without keeping the deal she’d proposed, so I had no reason to listen.

         I knew that.

         Yet I couldn’t bring myself to refuse Miyagi.

         「… Okay, fine. If you want to, then go ahead and touch me.」

         It was a habit I’d picked up back in high school — no matter what Miyagi wanted, good or bad, I always ended up listening to her.

         In any case, I knew Miyagi was cowardly. She’d probably just touch me a little before backing off.

         「So? What are you going to do?」

         I asked. Miyagi let go of my clothes, then slowly slid her hand under them and began patting my stomach like a child playing with a stuffed animal.

         I felt like I was being treated like a dog, but at the same time, I was happy she was showing any kind of interest in me.

         「Having fun?」

         I asked, and she replied quietly without lifting her gaze.

         「It’s alright.」

         Despite her indifferent tone, she kept touching my stomach. Her hand brushing my side tickled, but her warmth against my skin felt pleasant.

         I’d expected her to back away immediately, but she didn’t. Her touch continued, shifting from playful to delicate — no longer like she was handling a toy, but more like she was caressing a sheet of fine fabric. Her fingertips slid up my side, slowly working their way higher. The soft brushing started to elicit sensations that went beyond mere ticklishness.

         The distance between us didn’t change.

         There was still space between our bodies — with only Miyagi’s hand pressed close against me.

         It slid up beneath my chest, then began to drift lower.

         「… Don’t you think the way you’re touching me is kind of erotic?」

         Her touch was loosening the screws holding my rationality together, making me want to do things to her that she probably wouldn’t want. I didn’t mind her continuing, but if things kept going this way, it wouldn’t end well for her.

         「It’s not erotic.」

         She said firmly, moving her hand, which had just been above my hipbone. I caught it before it could go further.

         「Hey, it’s kind of uncomfortable when you press down on my stomach like that right after I’ve eaten.」

         She hadn’t pressed hard enough to make the food come back up, but I still didn’t want her touching me like that.

         「Fine, then let go of me.」

         I did as I was told, and she resumed touching me just as before.

         I wanted to know if she felt good touching me — the same way I did when I touched her — and whether she wanted to touch me even more. And I wanted to know why she wanted to touch me at all.

         But I didn’t have the chance to ask.

         Miyagi’s hand reached just below my chest, brushing the edge of my undergarments. It stopped there, unmoving. It didn’t seem like she intended to go any further, but it was probably best to stop her before I lost the last of my self-control.

         「That’s not my stomach anymore, Miyagi.」

         I said, grabbing her hand tightly over my clothes.

         「You’re the one who said I could touch you, so what are you complaining about now?」

         She grumbled.

         「If you want to keep touching me, fine. Go ahead. But I won’t care about what happens next.」

         「What happens next?」

         「What I’m saying is, I won’t care about what happens to you next, Miyagi.」

         I said, gently tugging on her hair as she kept her head down.

         She hadn’t looked at me once this whole time, but now she finally lifted her head, and our eyes met.

         I leaned in and ran my tongue across her cheek like a dog.

         「If you keep this up, I’m going to lose control of myself.」

         I whispered into her ear. As soon as I let go of her hand, she yanked it out from under my clothes in a panic.

         「You pervert. I’m going back to my room.」

         Miyagi — who had been acting far more perverted than I was — said, hitting me with the platypus tissue box on the floor.

         「Wait, I’m not done with my tea yet.」

         I said, slowly sipping the cooled tea.

         Miyagi wiped her cheek with a tissue. She didn’t leave the room, nor did she ask me to make any promises on her earrings. But she was staring down at the floor again, and I couldn’t make out the expression on her face.

         「Sendai-san.」

         「What is it?」

         「… What kind of animal do you think I would be?」

         She asked quietly.

         「Hmm, a cat, I guess?」

         I decided to leave the “stray” part out.

         「Why a cat?」

         「You get cold pretty easily. I bet if we got a kotatsu¹, you’d stay under it all day.」

         I said, trying to give a safe explanation, then added,

         「Do you want to buy a kotatsu when winter comes?」

         「Absolutely not.」

         Miyagi answered immediately with exactly what I’d expected, and I finished the rest of my tea.

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1. A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, formerly a charcoal brazier but now electric, often built into the table itself. ↩︎

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