I’ll be home late.

            True to my word, I got home pretty late after work.

            As expected, Miyagi was nowhere to be seen in the shared living space.

            I turned on the lights and the air conditioner before knocking twice on the same door I’d knocked on earlier today.

            ｢I’m home, Miyagi. I’m going to make dinner now, so just give me a minute.｣

            Of course, she didn’t come out.

            Without waiting for a reply, I went back to my room and set down my coat and bag. Then I headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, relieved to see the fried rice I’d made for lunch was gone. It wasn’t like she’d collapse from skipping a meal, but eating something was better than eating nothing.

            I opened the rice cooker and, as expected, found it empty.

            Planning to make pasta, I filled a pot with water and set it on the stove. Then I took some vegetables out of the fridge for a salad and started chopping up some cabbage and tomatoes. I decided to use a store-bought sauce for the pasta. Once the water came to a boil, I added some salt. After putting the pasta into the pot, I set a timer when I felt someone’s gaze from behind me. I instinctively turned around. I had no idea when she’d come out of her room, but I found myself making eye contact with Miyagi.

            ｢The food’s not ready yet, so you can go back to your room if you want. I’ll let you know when it’s done.｣

            I said to Miyagi, who was standing in front of her bedroom door. She averted her gaze.

            ｢It’s fine. I’ll wait out here.｣

            ｢Then you should take a seat.｣

            Miyagi didn’t answer, and I had no idea what was going through her mind. But whether she stood or sat down didn’t really matter to me. I’d much rather have her in the same room as me than not, so I simply turned back to the stove and started heating up the meat sauce.

            A few moments later, I heard a chair scrape across the floor behind me, and I couldn’t help thinking that Miyagi really was like a stray cat. She was the type to run away if I got too close, but every now and then she’d come over on her own.

            There was probably no such thing as the “right” distance between me and Miyagi.

            Everything felt right and wrong at the same time.

            Maybe that was why Miyagi, who’d been buried under a pile of blankets earlier, was now watching me so intently I could feel her gaze on the back of my head. She was so capricious. Then again, if she weren’t, she wouldn’t be Miyagi.

            I put the cabbage and tomatoes on a plate before turning around.

            ｢What are you doing, Miyagi?｣

            ｢Nothing.｣

            Miyagi answered curtly, lowering her gaze to the table.

            She really was so capricious.

            As I hesitated, wondering whether I should keep talking to her, the timer went off. I turned it off, drained the pasta, plated it, and poured the meat sauce over the top.

            ｢Sorry to keep you waiting.｣

            I said as I placed the pasta and salad on the table and handed her a fork.

            ｢Thanks for the food.｣

            Miyagi said flatly as she twirled the pasta around her fork. She ate in silence, one bite after another.

            Just a little while ago, she’d been nothing more than a bundle of blankets. Now she was sitting at the table, quietly eating the pasta I’d made. It felt as though I’d successfully lured in a stray cat with food.

            In the silence, the only sound that could be heard was the clinking of Miyagi’s fork against her plate.

            I’d made a generous portion, but it was disappearing quickly. Before long, half of it was gone.

            Meanwhile, I couldn’t help thinking Miyagi was terrible at eating pasta.

            Sometimes she wrapped far too much around her fork, and other times far too little. One moment she’d be munching through a huge clump, and the next she’d be twirling up so little that she looked almost dissatisfied. It was entertaining to watch.

            If I told Miyagi she looked cute like that, she’d probably get mad. Then again, she’d probably get just as mad if I bluntly told her she was terrible at eating pasta. If she was going to get mad either way, maybe I should just call her cute.

            But today wasn’t the day to push my luck. If I upset her now, she’d probably retreat to her room, so I kept my mouth shut. There would be plenty of chances to call her cute another time. For now, it was better not to say anything unnecessary.

            ｢Is it good?｣

            I decided to ask a harmless question, one I figured she’d actually answer.

            ｢It is.｣

            Miyagi replied without looking at me.

            ｢What were you going to do about dinner if I hadn’t come home?｣

            This time, I asked a question I wasn’t sure she’d answer.

            Miyagi’s hand, which had been twirling her pasta, suddenly stopped.

            Her fork stopped clinking against the plate, and the room fell silent. After a brief pause, Miyagi finally looked up at me, meeting the gaze she’d been avoiding.

            ｢… But you said you’d come back.｣

            Miyagi replied, sounding annoyed.

            ｢I just didn’t want you starving to death. Anyway, is that enough pasta?｣

            ｢It is.｣

            Miyagi answered, and her hand started moving again. She took a bite of the pasta she’d already twirled around her fork, but she’d wrapped up such a large mouthful that it took her a while to chew through it.

            ｢You should come by the café again sometime.｣

            As Miyagi swallowed her pasta, I said something I’d never really meant to tell her.

            ｢It’s no fun if I go by myself.｣

            ｢My friend said she wants to meet you.｣

            ｢…Your friend?｣

            She asked, her voice dropping slightly.

            ｢Yeah. She’s a friend from university. She was the one who introduced me to this job, and we’re working together now.｣

            Ever since I’d shown Mio a picture of Miyagi and told her she was my roommate, she’d become strangely interested in her. She’d spent all day pestering me to bring Miyagi to the café. Actually, it wasn’t just today—she’d been asking me for a while now.

            I’d intended to keep it from Miyagi because I figured introducing the two of them would just be a hassle. But I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see Miyagi even while I was at work, and whenever I saw her at home, all I wanted to do was invite her to the café.

            ｢I see.｣

            Miyagi replied in a tone that gave away nothing.

            ｢Come by whenever you want—whenever you feel like it, okay? Oh, but I’m not working on New Year’s Day. Speaking of which, do you want to visit a shrine together that day?｣

            I casually asked the question I’d wanted to ask all along as I watched the pasta gradually disappear from her plate.

            ｢I thought I already told you during Christmas. I don’t want to visit a shrine.｣

            I remembered her saying she didn’t want to visit a shrine with me.

            Though, to be more precise, she hadn’t said it on Christmas Day itself. She’d said it while we were celebrating Christmas Eve at Utsunomiya’s place.

            ｢Oh, come on. Let’s go together.｣

            ｢What do you even do when you go for the New Year’s shrine visit? Isn’t it just a lot of standing around in the cold?｣

            ｢What do you mean? You go to offer a prayer¹, and if you feel like it, you can draw a fortune slip too.｣

            ｢Offer a prayer, huh. Is there something you want to pray for, Sendai-san?｣

            Miyagi asked, and I found myself thinking back to the wishes I’d made during previous New Year’s shrine visits.

            I’d made childish wishes before, like wanting to be more like my older sister. I’d also prayed to pass my tests and exams and to get along with my friends.

            I’d prayed to the gods for so many things, but it felt like none of the wishes that really mattered had come true. But if they had, I wouldn’t be here, living together with Miyagi as her roommate, so maybe it was a good thing they hadn’t.

            ｢What about you, Miyagi? Is there anything you want to pray for?｣

            ｢Not really. Besides, going to the shrine on New Year’s has never really been a tradition for me.｣

            ｢In that case, let’s just spend the day together at home.｣

            ｢Why don’t you just go by yourself, Sendai-san?｣

            ｢Nah, there’s no point in going alone.｣

            It wasn’t like I was particularly attached to the tradition of visiting a shrine on New Year’s Day, and there was no point in going if Miyagi wasn’t going with me. As long as Miyagi was with me, I didn’t really care how we spent January 1st.

            ｢Alright. Do whatever you want.｣

            Miyagi said curtly as she twirled the last of her pasta around her fork.

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1. So, first of all, I didn’t write the word hatsumōde directly in this part and instead, translated it as “a shrine visit on New Year’s Day,” which is pretty much what it is. I’ve already put a footnote in for hatsumōde a whopping three times already throughout the series, but I figured I’d elaborate briefly on what Sendai is saying here. Basically, it’s tradition to visit a shrine during hatsumōde and use this chance to pray for things like good health, happiness and fortune for the year. Many shrines also let you pull an omikuji (fortune slip) for about a 100-200 yen fee (about 6.10 to 12.20 Norwegian Krone at the time of writing this) that predicts your fortune. They range from great blessing (daikichi/大吉) to misfortune (kyou/凶). If you draw a good fortune, you usually just keep it with you, but if you draw a bad fortune, you would tie it up on a tree (or some other dedicated spot) on the shrine grounds and hope to leave the bad luck behind. ↩︎

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Chapter debt: 91

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