「Wake up.」

         I said as I kicked Sendai-san, who was sleeping peacefully right in front of me, in the leg.

         But she didn’t wake up.

         Because of that, I couldn’t even change positions, and it was hot.

         Everything about this situation was strange.

         If I’d known this was how things would turn out, I never would’ve agreed to sleep with her in the first place.

         The bed might have belonged to Sendai-san, but my half of it was my territory. It wasn’t a place for her to be.

         「Sendai-san.」

         I called her name firmly and pushed against her collarbone.

         「Mm…」

         She let out a short groan, but that was all.

         Sendai-san continued sleeping peacefully, using me as a body pillow.

         I wasn’t sure how things had ended up like this, but the combined warmth of the covers and her body was making it too hot, and having to feel the weight of her arm on top of me was annoying.

         「Move over already.」

         The penguin plush was supposed to be her body pillow, not me.

         I don’t want to stay in her arms like this forever. Seriously, hurry up and wake up already, I thought.

         「Hey, I said wake up!」

         Even though I raised my voice, she just mumbled in her sleep instead of waking up.

         「This is my territory.」

         I said as I tried to shove Sendai-san away with all my strength.

         The arms wrapped around me loosened, and Sendai-san rolled onto her back. I sat up, wondering if I should keep trying to wake her, but she looked so peaceful while sleeping that I decided against it.

         「I wonder what time it is right now.」

         Daybreak had come a while ago, and sunlight was streaming in through the gap between the curtains. I knew it was already too late to watch the first sunrise of the year, but since I didn’t have my phone with me, I had no idea what time it was.

         In the dim room, I picked up the penguin plush that had been pushed to the edge of the bed and set it on top of Sendai-san’s chest. Still asleep, she immediately wrapped her arms around it and curled up facing me.

         Now this isn’t something you see every day, I thought to myself.

         It was oddly amusing seeing Sendai-san—someone who was more beautiful than cute—sleeping so soundly with a stuffed animal in her arms. If Maika, or even the upperclassman and friend of hers I’d met yesterday, saw her like this, they’d probably be surprised.

         But they’d never get the chance to see her like this.

         This was a side of Sendai-san that only I, as her roommate, would ever get to see.

         And I would never tell anyone else about it.

         I reached out and stroked the blue earring in her ear.

         This year was no different from the last.

         Sendai-san was still my roommate, and she still belonged only to me.

         I pulled the blanket up over her, got out of bed, turned on the air conditioner, picked up my phone from the table, and checked the time.

         It was 9:07 AM.

         It wasn’t particularly early in the morning, but it wasn’t particularly late, either. But it was too late to go back to sleep, so I sat down on the bed.

         I could’ve gone back to my own room, but it wasn’t every day I got to see this side of Sendai-san, so I wanted to watch her just a little longer.

         I pointed my phone at Sendai-san, who was still asleep with the penguin plush hugged against her like a body pillow.

         After a brief moment of hesitation, I opened the camera on my phone and took a picture of her sleeping. The flash had been set to auto, and it went off. I moved a little closer to Sendai-san and took another picture. As the flash went off a second time, a sleepy voice suddenly spoke up.

         「… What is that? Why’s it so bright?」

         Sendai-san asked, rubbing her eyes.

         「I was just taking some pictures of you.」

         I said, then snapped another photo while she was still half asleep.

         「Pictures?」

         She repeated, sounding more awake than she did a second ago.

         「I was getting bored because you wouldn’t wake up, so I decided to take some pictures while you were asleep.」

         「Wha— Why are you taking pictures of me while I’m asleep without my permission? Delete them right now.」

         Sendai-san quickly sat up and turned on the light. The penguin she’d been hugging rolled onto the bed, and the room was suddenly bright.

         「No way. You’ve taken pictures of me without my permission before too, remember? Besides, you said it yourself—it’s New Year’s, so a few pictures should be fine, right? Anyway, it’s your fault for sleeping so peacefully instead of waking up.」

         As Sendai-san reached for my phone, I pushed her back and shoved the penguin plush into her arms instead.

         「I actually didn’t really sleep that well.」

         「But you looked like you were sleeping so soundly.」

         「Well, I had trouble falling asleep last night, and you woke me up right when I finally managed to doze off.」

         Sendai-san said, sounding a little disgruntled, as she flopped back onto the bed with the penguin still in her arms. She stroked the penguin’s head, then flapped its wings a few times before calling my name.

         「Hey, Miyagi. Did you have any dreams last night?」

         Sendai-san murmured as she stared at me.

         I did have a dream last night.

         But it wasn’t the kind of dream I wanted to tell her about.

         「I didn’t.」

         「Really?」

         「Yes, really.」

         There was no way I could tell Sendai-san that I’d dreamt of her touching me.

         「Darn, I thought maybe you’d have a weird dream with me in it.」

         Sendai-san said, sounding somewhat disinterested, as she tugged on my sweatshirt. I slapped her hand away, but instead of letting go, she slipped her hand underneath it and caressed my side.

         「… Sendai-san, did you do anything strange while I was asleep?」

         I grabbed the hand that was still pressed against my skin and pulled it away, pinning it down against the mattress. She squirmed beneath my grip, then with a forced smile on her face, she replied, “No.”

         She’s lying.

         She’s definitely lying.

         I couldn’t think of any other reason I’d had such a strange dream. The hand I was holding down now had to have done something to me. Otherwise, there was no reason I would’ve dreamed of reliving the experience of her touching me.

         「I want to touch you, Miyagi.」

         It had only been nine hours since the new year began, yet Sendai-san was already saying something so ridiculous it didn’t suit New Year’s Day at all. She pulled her hand free from where I’d pinned it to the bed, then sat up, grabbed my hand, and kissed my fingertips.

         「That’s not “touching” me. You’re just kissing my hand. And I didn’t say you could kiss me.」

         I complained, but Sendai-san’s fingertips traced the palm of my hand down to my wrist before wrapping around it. She pressed her lips against the inside of my forearm, between my wrist and elbow, then pulled away. Her lips returned to my skin again and again, before she used the tip of her tongue to follow the vein from my wrist upward.

         「I didn’t say you could lick me, either.」

         The sensation of her tongue tickled, so I pushed against her forehead, and Sendai-san lifted her head.

         「So does that mean I can touch you?」

         She asked, her fingertips tracing the same path her tongue had followed.

         「That’s not what I mean, either.」

         「Then what do you mean?」

         Her lips pressed against the side of my neck, giving it a gentle bite.

         When I tried to push her away, she pressed the tip of her tongue against my skin and traced it upward to the spot right beneath my ear.

         Having her do something like this while we were together on the bed only made me remember the dream I’d had last night.

         Before I woke up this morning, Sendai-san’s hand had caressed my side in my dream before moving upward to touch my chest. But seemingly unsatisfied with that alone, her hand had then made its way down toward my waist before exploring further below. That was around when the dream started to blur together with my memories, until I could no longer tell the two apart.

         「Nothing. I don’t want you to do anything weird. Now back off.」

         I pushed Sendai-san away and stood up.

         I didn’t want to make the dream a reality.

         I had no intention of repeating what we’d done on Christmas, nor did I want anything more than what we already had. I liked the warmth of Sendai-san’s body, but if we kept doing things like that, our relationship as roommates would start to blur, becoming something vague and uncertain.

         「I’ll count what we just did as my New Year’s gift¹ from you.」

         She said in a tone that seemed to show zero remorse.

         「Why do I have to give you a New Year’s gift? I’m going back to my room.」

         I pulled a tissue from the back of the platypus tissue box and wiped my neck, then my arm.

         「Wait, I’m sorry. Stay here with me.」

         「No. I feel like you’re going to try something with me again.」

         「Okay, then how about we make a trade? If you stay here with me, I’ll do anything you ask of me.」

         「There’s nothing I want from you, Sendai-san, so there’s no reason for me to make a trade with you.」

         「Even if I said I’d listen to any order you gave me?」

         「You really want to be ordered around by me that badly?」

         「Yep, I do. Just say the word, and I’ll do it.」

         Sendai-san replied without hesitation.

         I threw the tissue in the trash and stared at Sendai-san, who had sat up on the bed.

         「That just makes you a pervert.」

         She hadn’t changed since last year.

         She was still just as much of an idiot as before, and it wasn’t really any fun giving an order to someone who wanted to be ordered around.

         「Come on, Miyagi. Don’t you want to eat ozōni² together?」

         Sendai-san, whose worldly desires from last year seemed to have followed her into the new year, suddenly brought up another suggestion.

         「I mean, I do, but…」

         「Then I’ll start making it right now, so let’s eat it together, okay? And after we eat, let’s hang out in my room again.」

         She decided my plans for the rest of the day for me without even asking, but I didn’t see any reason to refuse. I may have eaten a lot last night, but I was pretty hungry right now.

         「… If you make lunch for us too, then fine. I’ll hang out with you.」

         「Alright, then it’s settled.」

         Sendai-san said with a smile as she got up from the bed.

---

1. I translated otoshidama (お年玉) as “New Year’s gift” here. Otoshidama is a New Year’s tradition where adult relatives give children money in small envelopes/little pockets to serve as blessings in the year to come. It’s pretty similar in concept to red pocket money in Chinese culture for Chinese New Year, except that happens on the day of the Lunar New Year as opposed to the New Year on the Gregorian calendar. ↩︎
2. Ozōni (お雑煮) is a traditional Japanese dish that is served during New Year’s. It’s a soup that always includes mochi (Japanese rice cake), but the rest of the recipe depends on the cook. Different regions or families may have their own recipes. ↩︎

---

If you wish to continue supporting me just for the hell of it, feel free to throw a few dollars my way by clicking here (this takes you to my Ko-Fi). I will also continue to be open to commissions.

Chapter debt: 83

Thank you all for your support! Every little bit helps with uniting me and my wife & I seriously appreciate each and all of you.

Genshin nerds, Snezhnaya drops tomorrow as of this post! Who or what are you most excited for?

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >