I stepped into Miyagi’s room and took a deep breath.

         My heart was pounding like I’d just finished running, and I tried to calm it down.

         I’d been in her room plenty of times before, but she was acting a little different today. That alone was enough to make me nervous.

         「Now stand there and take off your clothes.」

         Miyagi said flatly as she pointed to the space in front of her bed.

         「You mean you want me to take this off?」

         I asked, tugging at my cardigan as I looked at Miyagi standing beside me.

         「Take your T-shirt and your skirt off too.」

         「The cardigan and the T-shirt aren’t enough?」

         I repeated it back without thinking.

         When she told me to take my clothes off, I’d assumed she meant the cardigan and the T-shirt underneath. I hadn’t thought she meant my skirt as well.

         「Yeah, I said the skirt too, didn’t I?」

         「So you’re telling me to strip down to just my underwear, then?」

         「What else could I have meant?」

         「… Nothing, I guess. Are you going to turn off the lights?」

         「No. Now hurry up and get over there and take off your clothes.」

         Miyagi said quietly.

         The curtains were closed, so no one outside could see me. The room wasn’t particularly cold or hot. Still, that wasn’t enough for me to just go, “Oh, okay, sure,” and strip without a second thought.

         I’d taken my top off in front of Miyagi before, but being told to take off my skirt too made me hesitate.

         She really had come up with a terrible punishment.

         I let out a small sigh and looked at her.

         She didn’t look like she was joking at all.

         「What about you, Miyagi? Aren’t you going to take your clothes off too?」

         「This is a punishment for you, so of course not.」

         「It feels pretty embarrassing if I’m the only one without any clothes on.」

         「It’s supposed to be embarrassing. That’s why it’s a punishment.」

         I hadn’t contacted her to tell her I’d be coming home late today. And I hadn’t given her more kisses when she looked like she wanted them. Those were the only reasons I could think of for why Miyagi was in such a bad mood, but neither of them felt serious enough to justify this.

         「Sendai-san.」

         She said my name with obvious irritation and looked straight at me.

         Her mood clearly wasn’t going to improve unless I accepted this punishment.

         At least she’s not telling me to take everything off, I thought, forcing myself to walk over to the bed.

         「Is here okay?」

         「Yeah.」

         「I feel like I should ask just in case, but what are you planning to do to me after I take my clothes off? Remember, we agreed the punishment has to stay within common sense.」

         「I’m not going to make you do anything that would require turning off the lights, so you’ll be fine.」

         Even after hearing that, I had no idea what she planned to do.

         There was something I often dreamed about, and when she told me to take my clothes off, I’d briefly hoped that was where this was going. But I knew that if Miyagi were to do something like that, she’d definitely turn the lights off, and I couldn’t picture her doing it right now, when she wouldn’t even let me kiss her.

         「What exactly is that “something” that needs the lights turned off for, anyway?」

         「It’s exactly what you’re thinking of, Sendai-san. But I’m not going to do that to you, so hurry up and take off your clothes already.」

         I figured as much.

         There was no way something like that would count as a punishment.

         I took off my cardigan, folded it neatly, and set it down on the floor.

         Miyagi was staring at me intently.

         She made no attempt to hold back her gaze, staring so hard it felt like daggers were being driven into me. She seemed completely unconcerned with how it made me feel. I could look away or lower my eyes, but it felt like Miyagi would keep staring regardless, as if she’d forgotten how to blink.

         I placed my hands at the hem of my T-shirt and sighed.

         「… What happens if I don’t take my clothes off?」

         What would happen if I refused?

         I felt like I had the right to ask that much, at least.

         「I’ll kick you out of my room and never let you in again.」

         I didn’t know if Miyagi knew how much being allowed into her room meant to me, but she’d said exactly what I didn’t want to hear.

         「Can’t you at least look away?」

         「I thought you didn’t have any sense of shame, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi said something blatantly rude.

         Even I had a sense of shame.

         At the same time, I knew that if taking off my clothes was the only way to improve Miyagi’s mood, then I was willing to do it. From the moment I stepped into her room, I hadn’t really had the option to refuse anyway. And what Miyagi had just said stripped away whatever choices I might have had left.

         All I could do was follow the answer she’d already decided on for me.

         Something was wrong with me.

         I knew all of this was strange, but I still found myself moving in the direction Miyagi wanted.

         「Like I said, even I get embarrassed by things like this, you know.」

         With her gaze still fixed on me, I took off my T-shirt and skirt and set them on the floor.

         The lights left the room bright, and Miyagi—still fully clothed—watched me.

         I felt uneasy standing here without any clothes on.

         Miyagi came over slowly and pushed the bedding aside.

         「Sit down.」

         Miyagi’s voice echoed in my ears, and I couldn’t help wondering where this punishment was headed.

         「Sendai-san.」

         She pressed her hand firmly against my neck.

         Her hand felt neither warm nor cold, yet I could clearly feel her body heat seeping into me. I’d felt her warmth plenty of times before, but my neck still stiffened, like it was the first time she’d ever touched me, and I couldn’t stop being conscious of her hand on me.

         Miyagi’s touch grew firmer, and I sat down on the bed.

         With nothing covering my body, I felt exposed.

         The hand at my neck slid down to my shoulder, and I looked up at Miyagi as she tugged on my bra strap.

         「You know what, you should take this off too.」

         Before I could even agree, she slid the straps aside, and they fell from my shoulders.

         「I’m out of clothes to take off, so shouldn’t the punishment be over already?」

         「No. This is where it begins. Taking off your clothes was just the preparation. Now let me take this off for you.」

         Miyagi said, her arms around my back as though she were hugging me. But instead of hugging me, she undid the hook of my bra.

         With nothing holding it in place anymore, it slipped off and stopped covering my chest, so I immediately covered myself up with my hands.

         「Hey, Miyagi. Wasn’t I only supposed to take my clothes off?」

         「Move your hands.」

         Her voice sounded irritated, and it was clear she had no intention of answering my question.

         I didn’t mind moving my hands aside, but I wanted at least a second to ready myself.

         「Give me a minute.」

         「No.」

         She shot me down without hesitation, and I let out a small sigh.

         「Then at least step back a little.」

         I said, gently nudging Miyagi’s foot with my toes, and she stepped back slightly.

         I slowly moved my hands away and took off my bra, placing it on top of my other clothes.

         Every time something stopped covering my body, it felt like Miyagi’s gaze sank deeper into me.

         And right now, I could clearly feel her eyes on my chest.

         「… Don’t you think you’re staring a little too much?」

         I said to Miyagi, who was looking at me without holding back. She quietly replied with,

         「I mean, you’re just so pretty, Sendai-san. Both your body and your face.」

         Those words caught me off guard.

         Miyagi rarely said anything that sounded like praise. For a moment, I even wondered if she’d hit her head somewhere—because if she were thinking straight, she wouldn’t take a punishment this far. Even so, hearing her say something she normally never would, especially in a situation like this, made it hard to meet her eyes.

         「Thank you, but it’s still pretty embarrassing being stared at that much.」

         My cheeks burned, and I was probably blushing like crazy.

         「It’s your fault for not contacting me and letting me know you’d be home late today. Though, if you tell me you’re not going to work tomorrow, I’ll let you off the hook right now.」

         「No, I still need to work tomorrow.」

         「Then let’s keep going. Lie down on the bed.」

         「I thought you said you weren’t going to do anything that required turning off the lights?」

         「I won’t. Now just do as I say.」

         Miyagi moved closer and touched my ear. Her fingertips brushed lightly against my earring before she pulled her hand away.

         I had no idea what she was thinking. Even so, I had no choice but to obey. I knew there was no point in resisting.

         I slowly lay down. Miyagi climbed onto the bed and straddled my stomach. Her fingers brushed my earring again as she lowered her face to my neck, then sank her teeth into my skin.

         The same Miyagi who wouldn’t let me kiss her anymore bit me without hesitation, and my heart pounded wildly.

         Her warmth against my skin felt pleasurable and painful at the same time.

         Miyagi was probably being considerate by not biting my ear, but it had been so long since she’d sunk her teeth into me. It hurt badly, my neck burned, and I almost forgot how to breathe. Her teeth were buried in my skin, and when I grabbed her shoulders, the pain finally eased up.

         「I thought you said you weren’t going to do anything to me.」

         What I wanted was a kiss, not for her to bite me. It only lasted a moment, so it probably wouldn’t leave a mark, but it still caught me completely off guard.

         「I never said I wouldn’t do anything to you. And even if I did, considering everything we’ve done so far, this barely counts as anything at all.」

         「Isn’t that logic a little too flimsy?」

         「I learned it from you, Sendai-san.」

         Miyagi said casually, then leaned in again.

         She pressed her lips firmly beneath my collarbone, sucking hard.

         She pulled away, shifted slightly, and pressed down again—sucking just as hard as before.

         From below my collarbone, her lips moved lower, to the top of my chest.

         She sucked once more, then pulled back.

         She never touched the same spot twice.

         Pulling away, pressing against me again, then moving somewhere new—over and over, again and again.

         Miyagi’s lips sent small, sharp bursts of pain through me—like the corners of sugar cubes pressing into my skin. Her body heat seeped into me, melting into my blood and spreading through my veins. The places she touched still carried the sensation of her lips—sweet, painful, and making me want more. Little by little, my awareness of what we were doing began to blur.

         Her lips trailed down from my chest and pressed against the top of my ribs. She sucked hard, then sank her teeth in, and my body jerked on its own. Her bite reached down to the bone, and I grabbed hold of the bedsheets. The sweetness that had lingered on her lips disappeared, replaced by pain that shot straight through my head. She shifted again, alternating between sucking and biting, layering different sensations one over another.

         The heat from her body burned against my skin and my nerves. My breathing grew shallow, and I forced myself to exhale slowly to stay grounded. I steadied myself so I wouldn’t pull her closer, strip her clothes away, or steal her warmth.

         I couldn’t sense any intention in Miyagi’s actions beyond leaving marks on me.

         She carried out what she’d decided on calmly and methodically, as if following a routine, continuing to mark my body.

         The red marks kept increasing, eating away at me, coloring in my body with traces of Miyagi.

         「Miyagi.」

         I called her name while she was leaving a mark on my stomach, but she didn’t answer. She kept pressing her lips against my skin, moving from one spot to another, repeating the same motion over and over, like it was her duty.

         I didn’t mind her leaving marks on me, but it would be a problem if they lasted too long.

         「What are you trying to get out of this?」

         I asked, gently tugging on her hair. Miyagi looked up at me.

         「I’m just leaving marks on you.」

         「You know, no matter how many marks you make, they’ll all fade pretty quickly.」

         「I know that, but I still want to do it anyway.」

         「Why’s that?」

         Miyagi frowned.

         She stared at me intently as her fingers caressed her plumeria earring.

         「… I don’t want you to forget your promise about letting me know when you’ll be home late. If I leave this many marks, you won’t forget anymore, right?」

         Then she took her hand away from her earring and stroked the faint mark just beneath my collarbone.

         「Then shouldn’t I be swearing that on your earrings? Isn’t that why you had them pierced in the first place?」

         「Even if you swear it on my earrings, I know you won’t keep that promise. You care too much about your work. I don’t want you to make a promise on my earrings that you have no intention of keeping.」

         Miyagi said, her tone sounding more annoyed than it had been all day.

         「Then what about swearing it on my earrings instead? I said I’d given my ears to you, didn’t I? We can make other promises besides the one about having a round birthday cake together every year.」

         「That’s not enough. It’s not just your ears, Sendai-san. All of you belongs to me, so I get to leave marks anywhere I want, as reminders of our promises.」

          “All of you belongs to me.”

         Hearing those words, my heart thudded violently, and for a moment I wondered if I’d misheard her. I tried to sit up, wanting to get a clear look at Miyagi’s face, but she sank her teeth deep into my collarbone, stopping me.

         「If you break another promise again, I’ll mark you the same way I did today.」

         Miyagi said as she stroked my collarbone, slowly tracing it with her finger. Even without being told, I knew what she was doing—she was examining the marks she’d left on me. She caressed one red mark, then moved on to the next, repeating the motion over and over, and I didn’t sense any impure intent in it.

         She wasn’t trying to provoke anything in me, yet as her fingertips moved from one spot to the next, I couldn’t help feeling stirred anyway. What Miyagi had said earlier—that all of me belonged to her—lingered in my head, leaving me more aroused than when her lips had been marking my body.

         「Miyagi.」

         I called her name again while she examined the marks on my chest.

         She didn’t answer.

         But my emotions swelled quietly, building like a rising tide.

         「Hey, Miyagi. Quit it.」

         My breathing started to turn shallow again.

         All of a sudden, the word “lust” surfaced in my mind. It was probably the closest thing to what I was feeling—hot, murky, restless, like something was swelling up from deep inside me.

         This wasn’t good.

         It melted my sense of reason like hard candy, leaving me wanting to reach out and touch Miyagi.

         Right now, my feelings were impure and insincere, completely out of step with hers. I knew I should be hiding them today. At the same time, I couldn’t stop myself from hoping she felt the same.

         「I told you to stop.」

         I said as I grabbed Miyagi’s hand.

         If she kept going, I knew I’d start wanting her to touch me more—where she’d left marks, and even where she hadn’t.

         「I don’t like it when you tell me no, Sendai-san. You’ve always done what I said before, so you should let me do what I want today too.」

         Miyagi bit into my shoulder. Her teeth sank into my skin, and the sharp pain made my grip on her hand loosen. Her fingers moved to the marks on my chest, checking them one by one. She traced one red mark, sliding her finger slowly before moving on to the next. She was only touching me the way a doctor might during an examination, but my body still reacted to it.

         This is bad.

         My breathing grew more uneven.

         Even if Miyagi didn’t have any ulterior motives, I was reaching my limit. As she traced the marks she’d left behind, my body—unable to suppress the impure thoughts welling up in me—wanted more.

         As her fingertips moved toward the center of my breast, I could feel her gaze fixed on me.

         But Miyagi didn’t touch the place I wanted her to touch most.

         Even though I didn’t want to notice it, I could feel my nerves gathering at the tip of my breasts—a change Miyagi could see for herself.

         I wished she’d turned off the lights.

         Miyagi should’ve been able to tell by now what my body was asking for.

         I didn’t want her to see it.

         If we’d wanted the same things, it would’ve been fine, but there was a gap between us, and it was unfair that only my feelings were laid bare.

         I grabbed Miyagi’s hand again.

         「Stop moving.」

         Miyagi said in a dissatisfied voice.

         「If you keep doing this, things aren’t going to end well. This is enough already, isn’t it?」

         「No. Let go of me.」

         She said firmly, and I let go.

         My sense of reason was gradually melting away, and her fingers on my skin felt too good.

         If she was only going to touch the places she’d marked, then I wanted her to leave even more of them.

         No.

         I shouldn’t be thinking like that.

         But even as I told myself that, my body kept moving ahead of my thoughts.

         I couldn’t stop it, and I found myself waiting for her fingers—the ones that refused to touch anything except the places she’d already marked.

         「Miyagi.」

         I called her name, my voice a little hoarse, and she looked up at me.

         Her fingertips passed over the place I wanted her to touch the most, only for her lips to leave a new mark on my chest instead. That small mark took root, drawing in her warmth, her breath—everything about Miyagi—and sinking it deep inside me.

         It was only a bruise, no different from a minor injury. And yet, it stained a part of me that had never been touched before, leaving me unable to think of anything but her.

         It wasn’t like having my ears pierced, something that stayed behind permanently.

         Knowing these marks would fade only made me want Miyagi more—made me want something that wouldn’t disappear.

         「Mi…yagi…」

         I hugged her head.

         This is too much. I can’t take it anymore.

         I wanted her to touch me more, the way I wanted.

         「Let go of me, Sendai-san.」

         「Why?」

         「Because I’m done now.」

         Miyagi said as she pulled herself out of my arms and lifted her face.

         「That’s not fair.」

         I grabbed at her clothes, tugging her back toward me, and pressed my lips to her neck, my tongue brushing her skin.

         I knew she hadn’t meant to touch me that way, but it felt unbearably cruel for her to touch me however she liked and then stop whenever it suited her.

         「Stop it, Sendai-san.」

         She said my name as she bumped her forehead against mine. Hearing the firmness in her voice, I pulled away, and Miyagi sat up.

         「Sorry.」

         I didn’t think I had anything to apologize for, but I said it anyway, hoping she’d let me touch her again.

         I tugged at her clothes and sat up too. When I leaned in to kiss her, she spoke in an irritated tone.

         「If you want to kiss me, then don’t just apologize. Say it properly.」

         Miyagi said without hiding her displeasure as she pushed me away by the shoulder.

         「I want to kiss you, Miyagi. Please.」

         I’d wanted her to be the one to ask, but in the end, it was me who had to say it. I wondered how things had ended up this way, though there wasn’t much I could do about it now.

         I brushed my finger against her lips and called her name.

         「Shiori.」

         Our eyes met.

         「Can I?」

         Miyagi closed her eyes.

         I moved closer carefully, slow enough that she wouldn’t pull away, and our lips met. They were soft and warm, and it felt good. Just like when she’d been leaving marks on my body, I pulled back only to press against her again, kissing her over and over as if to make up for all the times we hadn’t kissed lately.

         When I bit gently into her lower lip, like biting into a peach, Miyagi pushed me away.

         「That wasn’t enough. Kiss me, Shiori.」

         I tugged at her clothes, the same way she had before, and she caressed my cheek.

         I closed my eyes, and our lips met again.

         But it was only a single kiss. She pulled away almost immediately. Then, in a quiet voice, she said,

         「… Hazuki.」

         Hearing my name made my grip on Miyagi’s clothes loosen.

         「Wait, did you just…?」

         Was I just imagining things?

         No. I don’t think I was.

         The moment our lips parted, she’d said something so quiet I’d almost missed it. But I had heard it. I was sure of that.

         The heat that had been burning deep inside me flared all at once—then went out.

         I wanted to hear her say it again, just one more time.

         「Shio—」

         The rest of her name never left my mouth.

         「Hey—wait!」

         Miyagi pulled the covers over my head, and my world went dark. I tried to push them away, but she seemed to be wrapping me up with them.

         「Sendai-san.」

         She’d gone back to the way she usually addressed me.

         「Even I know just how selfish I’m being.」

         Her voice was low as she held me down with the blankets. Then, she continued.

         「But ever since you started that new part-time job…」

         Her voice came from the other side of the covers. The thin layer of fabric between us felt like it might swallow her words if I wasn’t careful, so I focused my ears, careful not to miss a single word.

         「You started showing up in my dreams without permission. Calling me by my name, doing weird things to me. And that day, you knew exactly what I wanted from you, but you ignored it anyway. It just feels like nothing’s been going right lately.」

         Doing weird things to her?

         Her voice was muffled by the blankets between us, but I knew I hadn’t misheard her. Miyagi had definitely said we’d done weird things together in her dreams.

         She’d mentioned having dreams about me before, but she’d never said what I was doing in them.

         Which meant…

         「… I just feel so annoyed. Sendai-san, you should take responsibility and do something about it.」

         Before I could even process what she’d said, something hit me through the blankets.

         「Shiori—」

         I called out her name, but she cut me off.

         「Miyagi.」

         She said, as if correcting me.

         「— Miyagi. What do you want me to do?」

         「I don’t know.」

         「Just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can.」

         「I don’t really know what you’re supposed to do either… I just don’t like being alone at home.」

         She muttered quietly as her grip on the blankets loosened.

         I peeked my head out and looked at her.

         「I might be late sometimes, but I’ll always come back. No matter what. You won’t be alone, Miyagi.」

         I said, the way you would to console a child, then leaned in and kissed her.

         But she didn’t call me “Hazuki” again.

         Miyagi stared at me for a moment, then got off the bed. She gathered up my clothes, placed them beside me, and turned away.

         「Get dressed.」

         She said, her voice low.

         I didn’t want to stay naked forever, so I put on the clothes she handed me. When I’d taken them off, Miyagi had watched me without looking away. Now she didn’t even spare a glance in my direction.

         That bothered me too.

         Now that she wasn’t watching me, I wanted her to.

         I knew how unreasonable that made me sound, though.

         「I’m done getting dressed.」

         I said.

         「Go back to your room now.」

         She replied coldly.

         「What about the punishment?」

         「We’re done.」

         Miyagi grabbed my hand and led me out of her room. As she escorted me into the shared living space, I spoke up just before she closed the door.

         「Miyagi, if you don’t like being home alone, why don’t you come hang out at the café tomorrow? You can bring Utsunomiya too, if you want.」

         No matter how many times I invited her, I doubted she would come.

         Even so, I still wanted to ask.

         「… I’ll think about it.」

         Just before she closed the door, I tugged on her clothes.

         「Can I kiss you one more time?」

         She didn’t say no.

         I leaned in, and Miyagi closed her eyes.

         So I gently pressed my lips against hers.

---

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