「This isn’t what you promised me, Sendai-san.」

            Miyagi suddenly stopped walking when we were about five minutes away from Utsunomiya’s apartment.

            「What are you talking about?」

            「You said you wouldn’t wear your hair in a ponytail.」

            「I don’t remember promising that.」

            「You did. I even told you to take your hair down before we left the apartment.」

            Miyagi tugged on my arm with a deep frown on her face, her voice low and sullen ever since we’d left home in the evening.

            The way she glared at my ponytail, it was hard to believe it was Christmas Eve. Rather than someone on her way to celebrate at a friend’s house, she looked more like someone heading out to ruin the holiday for anyone enjoying it.

            Whether it was Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or birthdays, Miyagi had never been the type to get excited over special occasions. Sometimes, I thought the calendar in her head was completely blank. From January to December, every day probably passed by the same way for her. That was why even Christmas, when everyone else got swept up in the holiday mood, was nothing more than an ordinary day to her.

            「All I said was that I’d think about not wearing one. I never said I wouldn’t.」

            I corrected her as my breath turned white in the cold air.

            It wasn’t a white Christmas this year, but it was still cold enough to make me regret wearing a skirt.

            「That’s not fair.」

            Miyagi muttered, her voice dropping even lower.

            「It’s fine, isn’t it? Even if she asks about the earrings, I’m not going to tell her you gave them to me.」

            It wasn’t that I was unhappy about spending Christmas Eve with Utsunomiya, but I couldn’t say I had no reservations about it either. Wearing my hair up was my way of hiding this part of myself away in a drawer deep inside my heart.

            Granting Miyagi’s request would’ve been easy, but I still wanted to leave these blue stones—something that kept me connected to her—where anyone could see them.

            「If Maika asks, are you really going to tell her you bought them yourself?」

            「Yeah. That’s the plan, so stop worrying so much.」

            I lightly tapped the hand clutching my arm, and the frown on Miyagi’s face only deepened.

            She clearly didn’t believe me at all.

            「Seriously, I’m not going to do anything that’ll cause trouble for you, Miyagi, so cheer up a little.」

            As I said that, I brushed my fingers lightly against one of the plumeria earrings Miyagi was wearing.

            「… I’m still not happy about this, but I guess I’ll let it go this time.」

            The words came out reluctantly, like she’d forced them up from the back of her throat, before she finally started walking again.

            Part of me wanted to tell Utsunomiya that Miyagi had given me these earrings. But when I thought about what would happen afterward, I decided against it. If I broke our promise here, Miyagi would definitely say something childish like, “We’re through,” or “I’m never talking to you again,” and actually mean it.

            I walked beside her, careful not to fall behind.

            About five minutes later, we arrived at a long, narrow apartment building. We took the elevator up to the second floor, and once we reached the door, I pressed the doorbell. The entrance unlocked almost immediately.

            「Come on in, you two!」

            “Excuse us,” we said to Utsunomiya as she welcomed us at the door. After taking off our coats and shoes, we stepped into her warmly heated apartment and gathered around the table, with Miyagi taking the seat between us.

            「Looks like you’re not wearing one of Sendai-san’s recommended outfits today, Shiori. No skirt this time, huh?」

            Utsunomiya, sitting diagonally across from Miyagi, said cheerfully.

            Utsunomiya, who had been waiting for us in her warm apartment, was wearing a skirt and a knit top with colors that suited the Christmas atmosphere perfectly. Her hair, only slightly longer than Miyagi’s, had been neatly styled too, with the ends softly curled. Just one look at her was enough to tell she’d been looking forward to today, so I consciously mustered a smile.

            「Whether I wear a skirt or not has nothing to do with Sendai-san’s outfit recommendations. Besides, it’s way too cold for a skirt today anyway.」

            Miyagi repeated the same thing she’d told me earlier this morning, and I glanced down at the corduroy pants she was wearing.

            I had wanted her to wear a skirt today, but it couldn’t be helped.

            I didn’t want to force someone who got cold easily into wearing one, and I definitely didn’t want her catching a cold either.

            「Speaking of which… your hair’s tied up today, huh, Sendai-san? That’s rare. It gives you a pretty different impression.」

            Utsunomiya said from across the table, and I lifted my gaze from Miyagi.

            「Well, it is Christmas. I thought I’d change things up a little.」

            「It suits you, though. You look cute.」

            「Thanks.」

            「Are those new earrings too? I remember you saying before that your old pair had sentimental value to you.」

            Utsunomiya’s gaze felt strangely sharp, as though her eyes could pierce another set of holes through my ears.

            Well, there’s no way she wouldn’t notice.

            Keeping my expression as gentle as possible, I gave the answer I’d prepared beforehand.

            「I was attached to them, but I wanted to try wearing something different for a change, so I bought a new pair for myself.」

            「Oh, really? What kind of stone are they?」

            「They’re sapphires. I thought maybe they’d help me live with a little more integrity.」

I doubted Utsunomiya would be able to guess that these sapphires were really meant to symbolize that I belonged to Miyagi, but I still wanted a believable excuse ready to keep her from getting suspicious.

            「Integrity?」

            「Yeah. Sapphires are supposed to symbolize integrity and sincerity.」

            That part wasn’t a lie.

            Sapphires were Miyagi’s birthstone, but they were also associated with integrity, so it didn’t sound that strange to use that as my reason for choosing sapphire earrings.

            「Huh. I didn’t know that.」

            「Yeah. I figured I should start taking my life as a university student more seriously.」

            I didn’t think I’d given Utsunomiya any reason to doubt me, but I made sure to answer without looking at Miyagi.

            「That makes it sound like you haven’t been taking things seriously at all until now.」

            「No, no, I have. I just feel like I could put in even more effort, you know? Besides, I like the color blue.」

            I’d never really cared much about the color blue before, but after wearing these earrings, I’d gradually started to like it. So saying that wasn’t really a lie either.

            「Even simple styles really seem to suit you, Sendai-san.」

            「Thanks.」

            「Oh, right. Now that I think about it, did you end up buying new earrings too, Shiori? I remember we went looking around for some after the movie the other day.」

            「Miyagi… You and Utsunomiya went shopping for earrings together?」

            The words slipped out before I could stop them.

            I glanced at Miyagi, who was sitting diagonally in front of me. She frowned at me for a moment, then quickly looked away.

            My fingers drifted up to the blue stone resting against my earlobe, brushing it lightly.

            It seemed Utsunomiya didn’t know anything about these earrings.

            Miyagi hadn’t given them to me on the day she came back from the movies, and from what Utsunomiya had just said, it didn’t seem like Miyagi had picked them out then either. Still, considering how long it took her to choose earrings these for me, it wouldn’t have been strange if she’d consulted Utsunomiya—without mentioning who they were for—and asked for her opinion on a design.

            Miyagi had said she didn’t want Utsunomiya to know who had given me these sapphire earrings, so she probably hadn’t been involved in picking them out. But just the mere idea that Utsunomiya knew Miyagi had been looking for earrings bothered me.

            These earrings were supposed to be a way for Miyagi to keep me under her control. I didn’t want anyone else involved at all.

            I liked Utsunomiya enough as a friend, but I belonged only to Miyagi.

            「I wasn’t actually trying to buy a new pair of earrings. I was just browsing. Anyway, shouldn’t we get the table ready? The pizza’s about to arrive soon, isn’t it?」

            Miyagi asked in a tone that sounded almost too cheerful.

            Is it possible that Miyagi was actually thinking of getting a new pair of earrings for herself?

            … To replace the plumeria earrings I gave her?

            I asked myself, clenching my hands into tight fists.

            No, there’s no way.

            I thought to myself, but I couldn’t be completely sure. I couldn’t say with absolute confidence that Miyagi would never replace the plumeria earrings.

            「Come on, Shiori, there’s no need to rush.」

            Utsunomiya said, but as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

            「Oh, that must be them. I’ll get it.」

            She stood up and headed for the entrance.

            My fingers were still brushing the blue stone when I looked at Miyagi again.

            「Were you thinking of getting new earrings for yourself?」

            I asked quietly, making sure Utsunomiya couldn’t hear.

            「No, I have no intention of replacing them. I was just looking at other earrings. That’s all.」

            She answered curtly, and I slowly loosened my clenched hands.

            「I see.」

            As I tugged on my earlobe, I looked toward the front door. Seeing Utsunomiya holding what looked like a pizza box, I stood up.

            「Need help with anything?」

            Even though there were still things that lingered in the back of my mind, I wanted to reset my mood somehow.

            「Sure. Can you grab the drinks from the fridge for me?」

            Utsunomiya said, her voice echoing faintly in her studio apartment.

            「Okay.」

            As I reached into the fridge for the the drinks, Miyagi came over to help. A few moments later, our meal for the night was set out on the table.

            「Let’s take a picture before we eat.」

            I said, and Utsunomiya replied, “Sounds like a good idea,” before moving closer to Miyagi. Before Miyagi could start making excuses—saying we could take pictures later or that she didn’t want to take any—I said, “Miyagi, stay in the middle,” and reached for my phone.

            Click.

            A picture of the three of us smiling was captured and saved to my phone in an instant.

            Instead of dwelling on the earrings, I’d much rather focus on taking pictures of Miyagi today.

            「Cheers!」

            I said to the two of them, and we clinked our cups of soda and juice together.

            「Alright, should we eat now?」

            Utsunomiya asked as she reached for the pizza. Miyagi and I followed her lead, placing slices onto our own plates, and the three of us said, “Let’s eat,” at the same time.

            We ate pizza and chicken while taking more pictures.

            Between bites, I kept snapping pictures of Miyagi and Utsunomiya. Miyagi shot me the occasional glare, but I ignored them. Utsunomiya was taking pictures too, so I knew Miyagi couldn’t really complain, even when I aimed my phone straight at her.

            Originally, I’d wanted to spend Christmas Eve alone with Miyagi, but spending it like this with Utsunomiya wasn’t bad either. I was happy to add more pictures of Miyagi to my phone, seeing sides of her that were different from what I’d captured at the school festival.

            「So, when should we exchange presents? Do you guys want to do it before the cake or after?」

            After we’d taken countless pictures and most of the food on the table was gone, Utsunomiya asked, as if she’d just remembered something.

            「Now’s fine, isn’t it? Here, this is for you, Maika.」

            Miyagi said as she handed Utsunomiya the gift she’d prepared.

            「Thanks!」

            Utsunomiya replied brightly.

            I lowered my gaze.

            What the two of them were doing was completely normal for Christmas. Exchanging presents was such a common thing that not doing it would’ve felt stranger. I’d exchanged gifts with friends before too, so I knew these presents didn’t really carry any deep meaning behind them.

            Even so, I still didn’t want to watch Miyagi give Utsunomiya a gift.

            But still…

            I was grateful to Utsunomiya.

            If she hadn’t organized this get-together, Miyagi probably wouldn’t have prepared a Christmas present for me at all.

            I let out a small sigh and lightly touched one of the earrings in my ear.

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