The cakes we were eating were delicious.

         Sendai-san seemed to be enjoying hers, too.

         Asakura-san and Komatsu-san had both been right about the taste. The shop lived up to its reputation, and the trip to buy the cakes had been well worth it.

         「Want a bite?」

         Sendai-san asked from across the table, cutting off a piece of her no-bake cheesecake with her fork.

         「No, I have my own.」

         「You kept sneaking glances over here, so I thought you wanted a bite of mine.」

         「I wasn’t sneaking glances at you. You’re just sitting right in front of me.」

         There wasn’t much else to look at in the shared living space besides the cake in front of me and the person sitting across from me. That was all.

         I took a bite of my no-bake cheesecake and sipped my tea.

         The tea Sendai-san made always tasted so good. The sweet cake went perfectly with the unsweetened tea, and even though I’d already eaten dinner, I found myself happily eating one bite after another. The tea’s clean, refreshing taste brought out the sweetness and tang of the cheesecake.

         When I stole a glance at Sendai-san, I noticed that two-thirds of her cheesecake was already gone.

         「This shop’s cakes are pretty good. We should get some again sometime. Oh, but if you already know what you’d want for next time, I can just go and pick them up for us.」

         Sendai-san said before stuffing a big bite of cheesecake into her mouth.

         「Did you like the no-bake cheesecake and shortcake I got you?」

         I answered her question with one of my own.

         「I like both of them, so yeah.」

         「What about Mont Blanc?」

         「Do you like Mont Blanc, Miyagi?」

         「Not particularly.」

         「I was going to get you one if you said you liked it, but since you don’t, I guess I’ll get you something else. So, do you have anything in mind?」

         「Anything but cheesecake or shortcake.」

         「Got it. I’ll get you whatever looks good.」

         Sendai-san said with a smile before finishing the rest of her cheesecake. After eating about half of her shortcake, she looked up at me.

         「Have you decided what order you’re going to give me yet?」

         「How do you know I haven’t already come up with one?」

         「Well, from the way you brought it up, it sounded like you’d said it spontaneously.」

         「It wasn’t spontaneous.」

         Sendai-san had hit the mark, but I denied it anyway.

         I took another bite of cheesecake before looking at her.

         “I’m going to give you an order.”

         That was what I’d said earlier, but I hadn’t actually decided on what to order her to do yet. I’d been saving the order for a chance to make her do something she’d hate or find troubling, but coming up with something like that wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.

         Sendai-san didn’t seem bothered even when I touched her chest out of the blue.

         That was something I’d learned from testing her reaction several times.

         I suspected she wouldn’t mind if I touched her elsewhere, either. It even seemed like she’d be fine I’d ordered her to let me leave a mark somewhere visible.

         Finding something she’d hate or feel bothered by was turning out to be a lot harder than I’d expected.

         That being said…

         There was exactly one thing that had crossed my mind before—something she would definitely hate. But it was a cruel order, and honestly, it was better left unsaid.

         I took another sip of tea and finished off my cheesecake. Then, after taking a bite of my shortcake, I asked Sendai-san a question.

         「What’s your favorite color?」

         「My favorite color?」

         「Yeah.」

         I hesitated, unsure whether or not I should actually say the order I’d been thinking of out loud.

         So instead, I decided to turn it into a little gamble.

         As long as Sendai-san gave me an answer I could be satisfied with, I’d change my order to something harmless and leave it at that.

         「Hmm, let me think…」

         Sendai-san murmured, looking at me. She took a sip of tea, then set her mug down and continued.

         「I’d say blue?」

         I couldn’t tell from her tone whether or not she’d given the question much thought, but considering the scarf she’d given me was blue, it wasn’t hard to imagine she’d simply bought me one in her favorite color.

         「Is blue really your favorite color?」

         「Yeah, it is. I’ve taken a liking to it ever since I started wearing these earrings.」

         Sendai-san said, reaching up to touch one of the blue earrings I’d given her, but the comment she added at the end made her answer lose all credibility.

         「Okay, then what was your favorite color before blue?」

         「Hmm, maybe red or yellow, I guess?」

         「Those are just the other colors on a traffic light¹.」

         After hearing her answer, I had no choice but to give up on the idea of letting her off with a harmless order. But it wasn’t my fault. Sendai-san was the one to blame for not giving me a proper answer.

         I ate the last of the cake on my plate, then drank the rest of my tea.

         「Sendai-san, leave the dishes for later. We’re going to your room right now.」

         Her plate and mug were also empty.

         「Is that the order you wanted to give me?」

         「No, I’ll give you the order once we’re in your room.」

         「Okay.」

         Leaving the dishes behind, we headed into Sendai-san’s room together, and as I walked in, she turned the air conditioner on.

         「Now sit on the bed.」

         I ordered Sendai-san, the owner of the room, and she obediently did as she was told.

         「Okay. Now what?」

         Sendai-san asked, looking up at me from where she sat on the edge of the bed.

         Standing in her room, which hadn’t fully warmed up yet, I bit my lip.

         I was about to give her an outrageously unreasonable order.

         I would definitely be going too far by demanding this of her, and I knew I should just keep my mouth shut and head back to my room, but there was no turning back now.

         And it was all Sendai-san’s fault.

         「… Show me how you do it by yourself.」

         「Do what by myself?」

         Sendai-san asked in a nonchalant tone.

         But I remembered what she’d told me before.

         “It feels better than when I do it myself.”

         That was what she’d said the first time I’d touched her. After that, I’d even asked her if she’d done it herself since then and what she’d thought about while doing it. There was no way she didn’t know what my order was referring to.

         「You can cut that out now.」

         「Cut what out?」

         「Quit playing dumb with me.」

         「… You know, Miyagi, you’re always so quick to call me an erotic demon, but from my perspective, you’re the one who fits that description better.」

         Sendai-san said with a resigned sigh and gave me a kick in the leg.

         「Okay, so what? Just hurry up and do it.」

         I said firmly, as if reminding her that giving orders was my right, and obeying them was hers. That was the promise she’d made to me.

         「Miyagi.」

         Sendai-san said my name softly before standing up. She gently tugged on my earlobe, then pressed a kiss to my earring.

         「I’ll keep the promise I made to you, but only if you take responsibility and guide me through it. Tell me exactly where you want me to be and what you want me to do.」

         It was always like this.

         Sendai-san always left things up to me, making me decide everything. Even though I was supposed to be the one giving orders, it almost felt like she was the one calling the shots.

         「… Okay, get back on the bed.」

         I was annoyed, but I had no intention of backing down now. So I gave her the instructions she’d asked for.

         「Am I just supposed to sit on the bed? And what should I do with my clothes? Should I take them off, or can I leave them on?」

         As she fired one question after another at me, I clenched my hands into fists.

         「Just do it the way you usually do.」

         「I’ve forgotten how I usually do it, so you’ll have to walk me through it.」

         「That’s obviously a lie. There’s no way you forgot.」

         「Well, even if you say that, I really don’t remember, so you’ll have to guide me, okay? So, where do you want me on the bed?」

         「… Are you seriously going to make me tell you what to do every step of the way?」

         「That’s what I said, right? You have to take responsibility and guide me through it. I’ll do whatever you order me to, so fire away.」

         I sighed quietly, then pulled back the comforter and blanket on her bed.

         「Lie down right here. And you don’t need to take your clothes off.」

         「What about the lights?」

         「I’m leaving them on.」

         「You really are a pervert, Miyagi.」

         「Well, you’re the one who’s leaving it all to me.」

         「I know, but I didn’t think you wanted to see me doing it that badly.」

         Sendai-san said casually before sitting back down on the edge of the bed. Looking up at me, she asked, “… You really want me to do this with the lights on?”

         「If it bothers you that much, then just cover yourself up with a blanket.」

         「But then you won’t be able to see much. Are you okay with that?」

         「Sendai-san, I can’t tell if you want me to see everything or if you don’t want me to. Which is it?」

         「I mean, to begin with, this isn’t really something you’re supposed to let other people see, you know… It’s embarrassing, and honestly, if I had a choice, I’d rather not do it at all.」

         「Then why are you doing it?」

         「Well… because you ordered me to.」

         Sendai-san never refused my orders.

         And I’d given her this one knowing full well she wouldn’t.

         She was always willing to do things that anyone else would have flat-out refused. Even when it was something she wanted to say no to, or something that made her uncomfortable, she’d still go along with it anyway. And unlike back in high school, she no longer looked unhappy while doing these things, either.

         Not that I wanted things to go back to how they were in high school.

         I liked having a Sendai-san who always obeyed me, but at the same time, I also wanted to see the real Sendai-san—someone who didn’t always do everything I told her to.

         Whenever Sendai-san was involved, everything became a mess. I was always caught between conflicting feelings, and I could never seem to stop myself from saying or doing stupid things.

         「Hey, Miyagi. I don’t mind taking care of my own business, but won’t you kiss me?」

         The moment I heard her words, I felt my body temperature rise.

         The room, which hadn’t fully warmed up yet, suddenly felt suffocatingly hot. I let out a shallow breath as Sendai-san took my hand and gently tugged me toward her, inviting me closer.

         And this was yet another stupid thing I had a hard time stopping myself from doing.

         I leaned in toward Sendai-san, who was still sitting on the bed. After giving her a gentle peck, I tried to pull away, but she still had a firm hold on my hand and pulled me back. Her lips, which had been pressed against mine just a moment ago, were now resting softly against my fingertips.

         「Or, you know, since we’re here anyway, I bet it’d be a lot more fun if you did it for me than if I did it myself.」

         Sendai-san said softly before pressing another kiss to my fingertips. Then, the tip of her tongue brushed against my fingers, slowly moving past my knuckles and toward the back of my hand.

         The warmth of her lips and tongue sent a shiver down my spine.

         「… I want you to touch me with this hand, Miyagi. Or how about you let me touch you as well?」

         She said softly, kissing my fingertips once more. When I gave Sendai-san’s hair a gentle tug, she pulled back for a moment, only to bite down on my finger with about as much force as I’d used to tug her hair.

         「That’s enough.」

         I pulled my finger out of her mouth, grabbed the penguin plush lying on her bed, and shoved it at her.

         「But I haven’t even done anything yet.」

         Sendai-san said with a straight face, clutching the penguin plush.

         「I know, but still, that’s enough.」

         「Are you really okay with that? What about the order you gave me?」

         「Just forget about it.」

         「And you don’t want to do it together?」

         Sendai-san asked, tugging on my hand again.

         「… No.」

         I pushed Sendai-san away as she leaned in to kiss my fingertips again, then went to sit on the floor. Then, I pulled a tissue from the platypus tissue box and wiped my wet hand.

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1. In Japanese, the word 青 (ao) can be used to refer to both blue and green. Now, this explanation is greatly simplified for the sake of this footnote, but because of this, the “green” light (青信号/aoshingō) on a traffic light can linguistically be interpreted as a “blue” light. In some places in Japan, green traffic lights even have a bluish hue to them, appearing somewhere between green and blue. If you’re curious about the etymology of the word “ao” and the history behind Japan’s traffic lights, you can read more about it here.
   But anyway, this is why Miyagi says that red and yellow are just the “other” colors on a traffic light. ↩︎

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Chapter debt: 72

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