As soon as Sendai-san and I walked into the convenience store, we found ourselves debating if we should buy bento boxes.
I figured it would be too much trouble to cook once we got home, but Sendai-san insisted that since we already had some ingredients at home, we should make a proper meal—especially since it was New Year’s Eve.
Neither of us was willing to back down, so we settled it with a game of rock-paper-scissors. In the end, Sendai-san won, and we ended up going with her idea.
「Cooking is such a pain. I still think it’d be easier if we just bought something to eat and went home to relax.」
I complained as Sendai-san dropped two cream puffs into the shopping basket.
「Come on. It’s the last day of the year. I want us to have a proper meal.」
She said, as though trying to make the day feel like it was supposed to be special.
「It’s not like this is the last December 31st we’ll ever have.」
I tossed two cups of pudding into the basket.
「Are you saying you’ll spend New Year’s Eve with me again next year?」
「Well, it’s not like I’d have anything else to do anyway, right?」
「Are you hung up on what I said earlier?」
「Not really.」
I wasn’t really bothered by Sendai-san pointing out that I didn’t have anything else to do after I’d admitted I’d probably get sleepy halfway through our all-nighter. She wasn’t wrong. I didn’t have any plans, and Maika wasn’t around anyway.
But even if I did have plans next New Year’s Eve, I’d probably still want to spend it with her.
If I filled my calendar with plans with her, I’d have less painfully boring time to spend by myself, so I wasn’t exactly against the idea.
「Let’s get this too, Sendai-san.」
I said, dropping some chocolate into our basket.
「Sure. Anything else?」
「I also want ramune. What about you?」
「I’ll grab some chips.」
We added a few more snacks to the basket, paid, and then left the convenience store. We chatted on the way home and decided to make mizutaki1 for dinner.
「Miyagi, can you get the donabe2 for me?」
The moment Sendai-san said that, my stomach—despite having eaten a slice of cheesecake not that long ago—growled.
She laughed.
I kicked her in the leg as she looked through the refrigerator for the ingredients, then took out the donabe like she’d asked.
Sendai-san chopped the ingredients into small pieces, started the soup in the pot, and then added the chicken. As the chicken cooked, she occasionally skimmed the foam from the surface of the soup before adding the vegetables, mushrooms, and finally the tofu. Once everything had finished simmering and the rice was done cooking, we carried it all to Sendai-san’s room.
「Why aren’t we eating in the shared living space? It’ll just be more of a hassle to clean up in here.」
I asked as Sendai-san set our chopsticks on the calico and black cat chopstick rests.
「It’s New Year’s Eve. I thought it’d feel more special if we did something different for a change.」
「I’m fine with the way we usually do things.」
「Sure, but there’s nothing wrong with doing something different every once in a while, is there? Come on, let’s start eating.」
Sendai-san said as she sat down with her back against the bed. I took a seat across from her, and together we picked up our chopsticks and said, “Let’s eat.”
I picked up some cabbage and chicken, dipped them into my bowl of ponzu sauce, and found myself staring off into space.
When was the last time I had hot pot?
No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t.
「Would you have preferred something other than mizutaki?」
I looked up at the sound of Sendai-san’s voice.
Before we started living together, I mostly lived off ready-made meals and frozen food, and I hardly ever cooked for myself, so it wasn’t surprising that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had hot pot.
「I hardly ever eat hot pot, so this is fine. Besides, I’m okay with anything.」
I quietly shared the conclusion I’d come to, then took a bite of the chicken, chewing it thoroughly before swallowing.
There wasn’t much fun in eating hot pot by myself, so even if I’d cooked back then, I probably wouldn’t have made it anyway.
「I see. So, is it good?」
Without asking why I hardly ever ate hot pot, Sendai-san simply smiled after I answered, “Yeah, it is.”
She was as kind as ever.
But when I couldn’t do anything for her in return, her unconditional kindness only made it harder to look her in the eye. I felt a little awkward.
I lowered my gaze to the black cat chopstick rest as I continued eating my cabbage and chicken.
I dipped some mizuna3 and tofu into my bowl, then glanced over at the penguin plush lying on the bed.
It was the one I’d won from the crane game on Christmas Day, and every time I came into her room, it seemed to be in a different spot.
Sometimes it was on the floor, and other times it was sitting on the bed.
Today, it seemed to have taken Sendai-san’s place on the bed, sleeping beneath her comforter.
I couldn’t tell whether she really cherished it or not.
「Sendai-san, you said you wanted a penguin plush, right? Do you like the one you got?」
My thoughts drifted back to Sendai-san’s birthday.
She’d said she wanted us to be able to have the kind of ordinary conversations anyone else could have. She’d also mentioned that she’d grown to like penguins and that she’d regretted not buying a plush when we’d gone to the aquarium.
But I wasn’t sure how she felt about one won from a crane machine.
「I do. I even use it as a body pillow.」
「You like penguins that much?」
「I mean, you like penguins, don’t you, Miyagi?」
Instead of answering my question, Sendai-san answered with one of her own. She took a bite of tofu, then muttered, “Hot.”
「We’re not talking about me. I was asking if you like them, Sendai-san.」
「I do. That’s why I sleep with the plush.」
The penguin sleeping on her bed wasn’t small enough to fit in the palm of someone’s hand, but it wasn’t really big enough to cuddle while sleeping either. If she wanted a body pillow, she should be hugging something bigger.
「Isn’t that penguin a little too small to use as a body pillow?」
「In that case, do you want to be my body pillow instead?」
「Absolutely not.」
I shot Sendai-san a glare for saying something so ridiculous before helping myself to some more chicken from the pot. She did the same, dipping a piece into her own bowl of ponzu sauce.
We kept chatting about trivial things as we ate. Our pace was much slower than usual, and it took us a while to finish everything.
I wasn’t sure our conversation could really be called lively, but the hot pot was delicious, and I was glad we hadn’t bought bento boxes at the convenience store instead.
「Miyagi, should we eat the pudding or the cream puffs first?」
Now that there was little left in the pot besides the broth, Sendai-san asked in a cheerful voice.
「You can choose, Sendai-san.」
「Which one do you like more?」
「Pudding.」
At times like these, Sendai-san rarely made the choice herself. She always left it up to me. While that made me happy, it also made me feel like she was hiding her true feelings from me.
It wasn’t a big deal which one we ate first. But if she wanted us to have the kind of ordinary conversations anyone else could have, she should share her own opinions more often too. The decision itself was trivial, but it frustrated me that she wouldn’t even tell me what she wanted.
「Alright, wait here. I’ll go get them.」
Still without telling me which one she wanted to eat first, Sendai-san stood up. She left the room and returned a moment later with the pudding cups and a pair of spoons.
「Did you want to eat the pudding first too, Sendai-san?」
「Yeah.」
Even though she’d been the one to put the cream puffs in our shopping basket, Sendai-san answered with a smile as she peeled back the lid of her pudding cup.
Giving up on trying to get anything more out of her, I peeled back the lid of my own pudding and took a bite.
It was soft, cold, and delicious.
After another bite, Sendai-san patted the spot beside her.
「Come here.」
「Why?」
「The pudding will taste better if we sit next to each other.」
「I think it’ll taste the same no matter where I sit.」
「Really? I swear it tastes better. Why don’t you come over here and see for yourself?」
Smiling, Sendai-san took another bite of her pudding.
There was no reason to listen to her.
I’d never heard anyone say pudding tasted different depending on where they sat, so I knew she was making it up. She was probably planning to do something weird if I sat next to her—or maybe she was plotting to steal some of my pudding.
Even so, she’d made us such a good meal today. As thanks, I figured I could at least play along.
「I suppose I could give it a try.」
I said as I sat down beside her and took a bite of my pudding.
Of course, it tasted exactly the same as it did a moment ago.
「So? Does it taste good?」
「It does, but it doesn’t taste any different than before.」
「I see. Want a bite of mine, then?」
Sendai-san asked as she scooped up another spoonful, so I shoved her arm away and firmly said, “No.”
「But it really does taste better…」
Sendai-san mumbled beside me, but we were eating the exact same pudding, so there was no point in taking a bite or two from hers. The taste wasn’t going to change no matter how many bites I took.
「Anyway, can I take one last picture of you this year, Miyagi?」
Setting her pudding down on the table, Sendai-san picked up her phone and pointed the camera at me.
「Absolutely not.」
「You’re so stingy, Miyagi.」
「I don’t care if I am.」
「Then at least let me have a bite of your pudding.」
「We’re eating the same kind of pudding, so just eat your own.」
「Fine, I will.」
Sendai-san gave up surprisingly easily. Picking up the pudding cup she’d just set down, she took another spoonful.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
She murmured quietly, her eyes fixed on the pudding cup, now two-thirds empty.
「What is it?」
「Don’t let Mio or senpai call you ‘Shiori.’」
「I wasn’t planning to.」
「Because if they do, I’m going to start calling you ‘Shiori’ too.」
She whispered into my ear, and I instinctively shoved her away.
「Whoa, careful, Miyagi. You almost dropped your pudding.」
Hearing her voice that close to my ear felt too good.
It made me remember things I shouldn’t have been thinking about.
「You’re the one that got way too close all of a sudden, Sendai-san. It’s hard to eat when you’re that close, so stay back.」
I said, trying to play it off, then scooped up another bite of pudding and brought it to my mouth.
- Mizutaki (水炊き) is a Japanese hot pot dish that usually contains chicken, mushrooms, tofu and other assorted vegetables as its main ingredients. It is usually stewed in a kelp broth and served with ponzu sauce (a tart, citrus-based Japanese sauce) to use for you to dip the food in. ↩︎
- A donabe (土鍋) is a type of earthenware pot made out of a special clay to use over an open flame for Japanese cuisine. You would usually use it for things like making hot pot, soup, stew or steaming fish, vegetables, rice, etc. ↩︎
- Mizuna (水菜), also known as Japanese mustard greens, is a type of leafy green vegetable usually used in hot pot, salads or soups. ↩︎
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