Being within touching distance of someone all the time wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

         If Sendai-san knew how to behave herself, I wouldn’t have minded our bodies touching so much. But it was different when she clearly had no intention of doing so, and after she kept trying to pull those strange things on me, I decided to leave her behind in her room for a moment.

         I took out some soda and orange juice from the refrigerator and poured them into two cups.

         After taking a quiet breath, I went back to Sendai-san’s room and found her sitting with her back against the bed.

         「Well, since you’re up, let’s keep watching the show.」

         I said, setting the two cups on the table before sitting down next to her.

         「Okay.」

         I’d half expected her to complain that she wasn’t done resting yet, or ask for a kiss, but instead she agreed without hesitation. She picked up the cup of orange juice, took a sip, and then reached for my hand.

         Her hand, holding mine with just the right amount of pressure, felt a little too warm for summer—but somehow, it was comforting.

         I reached for the tablet to press play and start the next episode, but before I could, my phone rang.

         When I checked the screen, I saw a text from Ami.

         『Is Sendai-san there right now?』

         I had a bad feeling about this.

         Like Maika, Ami was one of my friends from high school.

         After telling Maika that I was living with Sendai-san, there was no way I could keep Ami in the dark, so I’d explained things to her too as best I could. I hadn’t been thrilled about it, but I would’ve felt guilty if she’d heard it from Maika instead, so keeping quiet hadn’t really been an option.

         As I mulled over what to reply with, I glanced at Sendai-san.

         Ever since I’d told Ami about our living situation, she’d been wanting to talk to Sendai-san, so it wasn’t hard to guess what she’d ask next if I answered with, “Yes.”

         What should I do?

         I typed out, “No, she’s not,” but quickly deleted it.

         Lying to her didn’t feel right.

         Even if I avoided it this time, the same thing would just happen again sooner or later.

         After finally mustering up the courage, I sent a reply.

         『Yeah, she’s here.』

         A response came almost immediately.

         After a few messages back and forth, I learned that Ami was actually with Maika right now, and that the two of them had been talking about Sendai-san.

         Reading that last message made me sigh.

         「Did something happen?」

         Sendai-san asked, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

         「… One of my friends wants to talk to you. Is it okay if we video call her right now?」

         Ami was hanging out with Maika, and I knew Sendai-san wouldn’t say more than necessary about our relationship, so things shouldn’t turn weird.

         I knew that.

         I knew that, and yet, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling uneasy.

         Ideally, I wanted Sendai-san to say, “I don’t really want to talk right now,” but she rarely ever turned down my requests.

         「I’m fine with it. I’m guessing this friend isn’t Utsunomiya, then?」

         Sendai-san asked as she let go of my hand.

         I gave the answer she was probably expecting.

         「Yeah, it’s someone else.」

         Then I sent a message to Ami. Almost immediately, my phone rang, and when I picked it up, a cheerful voice came from the other end of the line.

         「Is Sendai-san actually there?」

         「Yeah, she is. Here, look.」

         I said, turning my phone toward Sendai-san.

         「Whoa, it’s the real Sendai-san.」

         「You say that like there’s some impostor of me out there somewhere.」

Sendai-san replied with a small laugh.

         「Oh, sorry for asking to talk so suddenly. I heard about you from Shiori, and I really wanted to try talking to you sometime, but I ended up forcing you into it, didn’t I? Ah—right, I should introduce myself first.」

         When Ami said that, I realized I’d completely forgotten to introduce her to Sendai-san. But before I could say anything, Sendai-san responded naturally with,

         「Don’t worry about it, I know who you are. You’re Shirakawa, right? Shirakawa Ami.」

         「Huh? Did Shiori tell you about me?」

         「Yep. Plus, I saw you and Miyagi together all the time back in high school.」

         She said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even though I’d never told her any of that before. Then she took my phone from me and started answering all of Ami’s questions one after another.

         How can one person be so effortlessly good at everything?

         She and Maika had become friends in no time, and now she was chatting with Ami—someone she’d never even been in the same class with—as if they’d been close since high school.

         I could hardly even believe we were the same species.

         I could occasionally hear Maika’s cheerful voice coming through from the other side of the line. Sendai-san spoke so eloquently, it was hard to believe she’d been trying to touch me all over just moments ago.

         Right now, I felt like nothing more than a doll, mechanically responding whenever my name was mentioned.

         I wasn’t sure how long the four of us talked.

         It might’ve been a few minutes, or maybe several tens of minutes.

         Before I even realized it, the video call had ended, and Sendai-san handed my phone back to me.

         「The three of you sure get along well.」

         Sendai-san’s voice was quieter than usual.

         「Well, yeah. They’re my friends, after all.」

         「… What about me?」

         She asked in her usual tone, but with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

         The answer, though, was obvious from the start.

         「You’re my roommate, aren’t you?」

         That was the word Sendai-san had given me on the day of our high school graduation.

         It was the word that would define our relationship for the next four years we lived together, until we graduated from university. I couldn’t think of any other word that fit us better.

         「Anything else?」

         「My former classmate.」

         「And what else?」

         「A former schoolmate?」

         「And?」

         「… Is there something you want me to say specifically?」

         「No, I was just asking.」

         Sendai-san said in the same cheerful tone she’d used while talking to Ami, and then tightened her grip on my hand.

         「That hurts, Sendai-san.」

         She was squeezing so hard it felt like my bones might break, so I tried to pull away. Sendai-san loosened her grip, but didn’t let go. As if it were only natural, she leaned in close and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Her fingertips traced my lips—and just then, my phone buzzed with a notification. Ignoring it, Sendai-san tried to kiss me again, so I pushed her away.

         「Wait, my phone.」

         「Just check it later.」

         She sounded a little annoyed as she silenced me with a kiss.

         It only lasted for a moment before her lips pulled away, but when I reached for my phone again, she kissed me once more.

         I wasn’t even in a hurry to check it—but she was making me want to, with the way she was constantly trying to stop me.

         「I told you to wait.」

         I said as I firmly pushed Sendai-san away by the shoulders and picked up my phone. On the screen was a message from Ami that read: “Thanks for earlier. Let Sendai-san know I said thank you as well.”

         I sent her a quick reply, then looked back at Sendai-san.

         「Ami wanted to thank you for earlier.」

         「Tell her I said I had fun talking to her too.」

         「I will, but why were you so insistent on stopping me from checking my phone?」

         「Because I just wanted to kiss you.」

         Sendai-san answered without hesitation and traced my lips with her fingertip. As soon as she pulled her hand away, she pressed her lips against mine.

         This time, the kiss lasted longer than before. Then, she kissed the hand she’d been holding earlier, too.

         At times like this, it was hard to believe she was the same person who’d been chatting with Ami just moments ago. This was a side of Sendai-san only I ever got to see, and I didn’t want anyone else seeing her like this.

         「You could’ve just kissed me after, you know.」

         I said, letting go of her hand and lightly smacking her arm.

         「Well, we didn’t get to kiss earlier, so it’s fine, isn’t it?」

         「Earlier? You mean when we were talking to Ami?」

         「Yep.」

         「Are you an idiot, Sendai-san? If you did that in front of her, they’d be asking me stuff like, “What is Sendai-san to you, Shiori?” for the rest of my life.」

         「You can just tell them we’re roommates, can’t you?」

         Sendai-san said with a smile on her face.

         How annoying.

         There was something snarky about the way she said that.

         So, in protest, I bit down hard on the back of her neck.

         Sendai-san didn’t say it hurt, nor did she tell me to stop.

         My teeth sank into her soft skin, and she wrapped her arms tightly around my back. Her hold was so strong I couldn’t pull away. I tried to free myself, but Sendai-san wouldn’t let go.

         「Sendai-san!」

         I called her name sharply, and the pressure around my back finally eased.

         「You could’ve bit me even harder, you know?」

         「No, I’m done.」

         I said, putting a bit of distance between us and leaning against the bed.

         「If you were going to bite me anyway, you could’ve at least left a mark that lasts through all of summer break.」

         Rather than getting angry about me biting her, Sendai-san said something stupid instead.

         No matter how hard I bit her, or even when I tied her up, blindfolded her with a towel, or touched her wherever I wanted, she never really got angry with me.

         Sometimes she’d hesitate, but in the end, she always let me get away with everything I wanted.

         She was capable of doing everything perfectly, and she didn’t need someone like me.

         And yet, for some reason, she always stayed by my side.

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

         Even if she wasn’t exactly a pervert, she was still a very strange person.

         No matter what I did to her, she was always kind to me.

         And I kept taking advantage of that kindness, unable to do a single thing for her in return.

         「I’m starting to think so too.」

         Sendai-san said with a sigh.

         「Miyagi.」

         「What?」

         「Make sure I’m the only person you consider your roommate, okay?」

         「That goes without saying. It’s not like I could just go live with someone else anyway.」

         「Promise me.」

         Sendai-san said, hooking her pinky around mine.

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >