What they were doing wasn’t anything special.

            It was something they would’ve done even if I weren’t here, and probably something they’d keep doing the year after this, and the year after that too. Telling myself that, I forced myself to keep smiling as I watched them finish exchanging their Christmas presents.

            My eyes drifted toward the gifts they’d exchanged.

            One of them was supposed to be an apron, but I had no idea what was inside the other wrapped gift. The apron was something Miyagi had bought for Utsunomiya after hearing she wanted one, which meant the gift I didn’t recognize probably contained something Miyagi had mentioned wanting too.

            I wanted to know what it was.

            More than anything, I wanted to know what Miyagi had asked for that I knew nothing about.

            Hurry up and open it already, I thought to myself.

            But instead, Miyagi set the medium-sized gift she’d received aside and called my name.

            「Sendai-san. I’m not sure if this is something you’ll like, but here.」

            She said in a friendly tone as she held out something slender toward me.

            「Thanks.」

            I replied with a bright smile before setting it down on the floor. Then I handed over the gift I’d prepared for her as well.

            「Here’s yours.」

            「Thank you.」

            Miyagi didn’t smile back, but her voice sounded cheerful.

            「And here’s yours too, Utsunomiya.」

            「Aw, thanks!」

            Utsunomiya replied brightly before adding, “I’m not sure if this is something you’ll like either, but here you go, Sendai-san!” as she handed me a present.

            「Thanks.」

            「You’re welcome!」

            「Should we open them now?」

            「Sounds good to me.」

            Utsunomiya replied as she started peeling away the wrapping paper from the gift Miyagi had given her. When I glanced over at Miyagi, she was already unwrapping the gift Utsunomiya had handed her too.

            Following their lead, I turned my attention to the gift I’d received from Utsunomiya. As I slowly peeled away the wrapping paper, a small glass bottle filled with colorful dried flowers came into view.

            「Is this flower-infused cuticle oil?」

            「Yep! Your nails always look so nice, so I thought you might like something like that.」

            「I was just about to run out of cuticle oil, so this is perfect. And it looks really cute with all the flowers inside.」

            「I’m glad you like it.」

            Utsunomiya said with relief before continuing.

            「And thanks for the apron, Shiori! It’s exactly what I wanted.」

            「You spent forever deciding between a café-style apron and a full apron though. Are you sure this one’s okay?」

            「Yep. I figured if I’m mostly using it at home, a full apron that covers everything would just be more practical.」

            Utsunomiya replied as she held the apron against herself.

            The apron itself was a little cute, and looked like something that could pass as part of a café uniform. It suited Utsunomiya well too. But seeing it made me realize that this was how Miyagi gave gifts to her friends. She knew them well enough to choose something that suited them perfectly, and even though I knew those feelings shouldn’t be directed at anyone, I still felt something dark well up inside me.

            It wasn’t like I wanted an apron for myself or anything, but right now, it felt like someone had squeezed a single drop of ink onto my heart, the darkness slowly spreading through me until it swallowed everything inside me.

            I hated how petty and narrow-minded I became whenever Miyagi was involved.

            「Are you okay with what I got you, Shiori?」

            At the sound of Utsunomiya’s voice, I turned toward Miyagi.

            「They’re exactly what I wanted, so I’m really happy with them. Thanks, Maika.」

            「You wanted a pair of mittens, Miyagi?」

            In front of me, Miyagi’s hands were wrapped in a pair of mittens.

            Cute.

            Both the mittens and Miyagi were cute.

            The soft, fluffy mittens covering her hands, along with the smile on her face, looked unbearably adorable.

            I’m glad Utsunomiya got her mittens, I thought to myself.

            「Yeah. It’s so cold outside.」

            「I see.」

            I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel any jealousy toward Utsunomiya for being able to make Miyagi smile like that. Even so, it genuinely warmed my heart to see Miyagi looking so happy.

            「Do they feel warm, Shiori?」

            「Yeah.」

            「That’s good. Can I open your gift now, Sendai-san?」

            Utsunomiya asked excitedly.

            「Sure. You two can open your gifts at the same time if you want.」

            「You want me and Shiori to open ours together?」

            「Yeah.」

            I said with a smile toward Miyagi and Utsunomiya.

            Miyagi slipped off her mittens, and the two of them began unwrapping the gifts I’d gotten them.

            「Hand lotion?」

            The two of them said at the same time.

            「Yep. You two are such good friends that I figured matching gifts would suit you. The scents are different, though.」

            I’d picked out hand lotion for both of them from a brand that was known for having pleasant fragrances.

            I’d been hesitant about getting them matching gifts, but I also didn’t want to hand Utsunomiya something in front of Miyagi that she could keep forever in her apartment, so I settled on hand lotion instead.

            Hand lotion was something that would eventually get used up, so it felt like a safe and practical choice.

            Choosing something generic and inoffensive like this probably made me seem a little lame, but I couldn’t change who I was overnight.

            「My hands get really dry during winter, so I’m really happy about this. Thank you! I’ll start using it tomorrow.」

            Utsunomiya said, sounding genuinely pleased.

            「I’m glad. I hope you get good use out of it.」

            I replied before glancing over at Miyagi and noticing the slight frown on her face.

            「Should I have gotten you something other than hand lotion?」

            The moment I asked, her frown disappeared.

            「No. I like having something matching with Maika. Thank you.」

            Her voice sounded unusually gentle, enough to make me wonder if I’d done something wrong.

            I should’ve gotten her something else.

            Regret suddenly washed over me, but this was the only thing I could give her right now.

            Her soft voice lingered in my ears, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask any further questions, so instead, I reached for the slender gift Miyagi had given me.

            「Okay, I’m opening your gift now, Miyagi.」

            I had no idea what could be inside.

            The last time Miyagi had given me a slender gift, it had turned out to be a pendant. But there was no way that would happen again today.

            Careful not to tear the wrapping paper, I slowly peeled it away until the gift inside was fully revealed.

            「A pencil case?」

            Under the wrapping paper was a long, simple pencil case with a small black cat resting in one corner. When I unzipped it and looked inside, it seemed much roomier than I’d expected.

            「I wanted to get one with a calico cat on it, but I could only find a black cat.」

            「That’s fine. Black cats are cute too, and I like them, so I’m really happy with it.」

            If anything, I liked black cats more than calico cats anyway.

            But honestly, it didn’t matter what it was. Even if it had been a dog, a cow, or even a frog, as long as it was something Miyagi gave me, I would’ve been happy with it.

            I smiled at Miyagi.

            「Thanks. I’ll treasure it.」

            「You do that.」

            Hearing her sound more like her usual self made me feel a little relieved.

            「Now that we’re done exchanging gifts, should I bring out the cake?」

            Utsunomiya asked, and Miyagi answered with, “Sure.”

            「You bought a whole cake, right, Utsunomiya?」

            「Yeah.」

            「Alright, leave the cutting to me.」

            I said before following after Utsunomiya. While she prepared the plates and forks, I warmed up a knife. Together, we carried the cake and tableware back to the table. Since we weren’t lighting candles or singing anything, I immediately started slicing the white strawberry cake into three equal pieces.

            「You’re really good at cutting cakes, Sendai-san, but… aren’t these slices a little too big? I think it might’ve been better to cut it into six pieces instead.」

            Utsunomiya stared at the cake with complete seriousness as she spoke.

            「Maika, Sendai-san’s never been the type to care about details like that, so don’t mind her.」

            「This is fine, isn’t it? Whether the slices are big or small, it all tastes the same in the end.」

            After toasting for a second time, we dug our forks into our slices of cake.

            「You’re going back home during winter break, right, Utsunomiya?」

            「Yeah. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. You two said you weren’t going back, right?」

            「Yep. I’m going to be working at the café you visited the other day.」

            「Aw, that sounds nice. I wish I could come visit again.」

            「If you come back anytime soon, you and Miyagi should stop by again.」

            「I’d love to, but I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance. What about you, Shiori? Are you not planning on getting a part-time job?」

            「No. I’m planning to focus on studying instead.」

            Miyagi answered plainly before taking another bite of cake.

「You’re going to spend all your time studying, huh…? But surely you’re not going to be studying all the time, right? Don’t you have any plans to go anywhere?」

            「No, I don’t.」

            「Whaat? What about hatsumode¹?」

            「I don’t want to go. It’ll be freezing outside.」

            「I wouldn’t mind going to a shrine with you, though, Miyagi.」

            I said as I glanced at Miyagi and took a sip of my orange juice.

            「I said I’m not going. I already know I’ll catch a cold.」

            「You two really don’t agree on much, huh? Are you planning to stop living together after you graduate from university?」

            Amused by Miyagi’s blunt attitude, Utsunomiya laughed as she asked.

            「We only promised to live together for four years.」

            Miyagi answered while poking at a strawberry with her fork.

            Four years.

            She wasn’t wrong. We really had only promised each other four years. Still, I didn’t like hearing her say it so plainly.

            I cut off a large piece of white cake and brought it to my mouth. Without paying attention to the softness of the sponge or the sweetness of the cream, I chewed mechanically and swallowed before voicing what I was hoping for.

            「Well, that’s only what we’ve decided for now. Once we start working full-time, paying rent alone sounds like a pain, so I think we could keep living together after graduation too. Assuming we both end up finding jobs here, anyway.」

            「Sendai-san, are you still planning on taking care of Shiori even after you start working full-time?」

            「Why am I the one being taken care of here?」

            「Because it doesn’t really look like you’re the one taking care of Sendai-san, Shiori.」

            「I can cook, and I clean sometimes, and I even take out the trash too.」

            Miyagi listed off her chores like a child proudly showing off her skills, then added in a dissatisfied tone, “So I’m not being ‘taken care of.’”

            「Is that true, Sendai-san?」

            「Well, sort of. But if she lived alone, I bet she’d get lazy and stop doing all of that.」

            「Sendai-san, you’re always so quick to say things like that about me.」

            Miyagi complained as though she completely disagreed, then stole a strawberry straight off my cake.

            「Hey!」

            I protested, and Utsunomiya burst out laughing.

            The light conversation lifted the mood, and time slipped by as we kept talking. Eventually we finished our cake, cleaned everything up, and got ready to leave Utsunomiya’s apartment to catch the train home.

            「Take care on your way back!」

            Utsunomiya called out, and I waved back at her.

            After saying goodbye and promising to see each other again next year, Miyagi and I stepped out into the dark streets together.

            We’d walked side by side like this once before, only a few months ago.

            Back then, Miyagi had run away from home. After I picked her up from Utsunomiya’s apartment, we walked down this same road together.

            As we made our way slowly toward the station, I looked up at the night sky.

            A cold breeze brushed against my cheek, and I let out a quiet sigh.

            There were only a few stars visible above me.

            That day—when I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Miyagi and walked with my eyes fixed on the ground—felt farther away now than those distant stars overhead.

            It was colder tonight than it had been back then, and Miyagi was walking closer beside me than she had that day.

            But even so, I still wanted to be closer. Closer than she would ever allow.

            I wanted to be close enough that her warmth would make me forget just how cold this night really was.

            「Sendai-san.」

            Miyagi mumbled my name as her feet came to a stop.

            「What is it?」

            「I didn’t want to say this earlier, but… make sure you use that pencil case at school and at work.」

            She said, seemingly instructing me on when to use the gift that was in my bag.

            「When I’m at work… you mean during tutoring?」

            「Yeah. Make sure you use it.」

            「I will. I’ll take good care of it too.」

            I said, stepping closer to where Miyagi stood still. Then I opened my bag and pulled out the gift I’d actually wanted to give her today, wrapping it around her neck.

            「It’ll be bad if you catch a cold, so here. This is for you.」

            It was a saxe-blue colored scarf.

            It wasn’t the exact shade of the stones in my ears, but it was still blue.

            I hadn’t planned to give it to her at all if Utsunomiya had given her a scarf too.

            Seeing Miyagi wrapped in it made her look so cute that I was glad I’d given it to her after all.

            「Why are you giving this to me? If one of us is going to catch a cold, it’ll probably be you, Sendai-san.」

            Miyagi said bluntly, staring at me.

            「It’s Christmas today, isn’t it?」

            「But you already gave me a gift.」

            「I did, but I wanted to give you another one.」

            「Why?」

            「Because you always get cold so easily.」

            I said, pressing my hands—cold from the winter night air—against her cheeks, and Miyagi let out a small protest.

            「So cold!」

            She sounded annoyed as she pushed me away, then called my name again, her voice carrying a hint of displeasure.

            「Sendai-san…」

            She pulled the scarf up to hide her face, then started walking ahead quickly. One step, then two, and I followed right after so I wouldn’t be left behind.

            「… Thank you for this.」

            I caught her faint mumble, like a whisper, and then even more softly, I heard her say, “This makes me really happy.”

            「What was that?」

            「If you didn’t hear it, then forget it.」

            「No, I heard it. In fact, I heard it perfectly.」

            「Then don’t ask me to repeat it.」

            Miyagi said, giving my arm a firm smack.

---

1. This has been footnoted twice in the series now, but since the last mention was all the way back in part 105, I figured providing a refresher wouldn’t hurt.
   Hatsumode (first shrine visit of the New Year) is a Japanese tradition where you visit a Buddhist or Shinto shrine sometime during the first three days of the New Year. Typically, it is a way to welcome in the New Year, and you can make prayers for success for the year to come. ↩︎

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >