I knocked on Miyagi’s door a couple of times, and when she peeked out, I held up a skirt.
「Here. Wear this today.」
「… I don’t remember agreeing to let you choose my clothes.」
She said exactly what I’d expected, and I smiled.
I knew that no matter how many times I asked Miyagi to wear a skirt to the school festival, the answer would always be no. But I figured that if I asked her right before we left, there was a chance she might give in. That was why I’d waited until the morning of the festival to bring it up.
「You didn’t, but this is a skirt I bought just for you, Miyagi.」
「I never asked you to buy me a skirt, and I don’t want it.」
She hadn’t asked for it, and I knew she never would. I also knew she’d say she didn’t want it, and honestly, I didn’t really mind what she wore.
But when it came to skirts, I couldn’t help feeling a little sentimental.
I liked seeing Miyagi’s legs when she wore one, and seeing her in a skirt brought back memories of our high school days. She didn’t need to wear one all the time, but seeing her in one every now and then was enough to make me happy.
「It’s not like it was anything expensive, so just take it.」
That part was true. The skirt I was trying to give her was cheap. I didn’t want her to turn it down because it was expensive, so I’d made a point of buying something from a fast-fashion brand.
「Just keep it and wear it for yourself.」
「I bought it with our shared money, and it’s your size, so it’d be kind of a problem if you didn’t wear it.」
The money I’d used was from the piggy bank I’d kept back in high school. It technically belonged to both of us now, but since Miyagi was the one who’d given me those five-thousand-yen bills back then, it didn’t feel strange to spend it on something only she could use.
「That’s your money, Sendai-san.」
She said exactly what I’d expected, so I gave the answer I’d already prepared.
「We decided it was our money, didn’t we?」
「Then why do you get to decide how to spend our money and go shopping for it by yourself?」
「Well, if you’d cooperate with me, it’d basically be like we spent it together.」
「Cooperate?」
「Yeah. You know—one person buys it, the other wears it. That counts as cooperation, right?」
I knew it wasn’t a very convincing excuse to get her to wear the skirt I’d bought with our shared money, but I felt like I could get away with it if I pushed a little more. If she really didn’t want to, she would’ve closed the door already.
「That doesn’t sound like cooperation at all.」
Miyagi frowned at the skirt in my hands, her voice openly displeased.
「If you don’t wear it, I’m not letting you leave. You’re not planning to keep Utsunomiya waiting, are you?」
I didn’t think those words sounded much like a threat, and even if they did, I couldn’t really bring myself to make Utsunomiya wait either. Still, Miyagi muttered something that didn’t quite sound like a complaint.
「… What about the top?」
「The top?」
「What should I wear for the top?」
She asked as she furrowed her brow and kicked my leg. The skirt swayed slightly in my hands, and Miyagi kicked my leg again.
「I think one of your hoodies would work just fine. Or I can lend you something from my wardrobe instead. Which do you prefer?」
「I’ll wear my own clothes.」
「Okay. Then come to my room after you’ve changed. I want to put a little makeup on you too.」
I said as I handed her the skirt. Miyagi looked thoroughly displeased and answered in a low voice,
「You don’t have to put makeup on me.」
「If you’re really that against it, I won’t. But at least come by my room and let me know when you’re ready.」
「Okay.」
Miyagi shut the door, looking as displeased as ever, leaving me alone in the shared living space.
On Saturday, she had left countless marks on my body. On Sunday, she had added a few more.
Since then, the marks had slowly begun to fade, blending into me, and our lives had returned to normal.
— At least on the surface.
I let out a small sigh and went back to my room.
Sitting on the bed, I looked down at the leg Miyagi had kicked.
Miyagi had added a single new rule to our ordinary life.
It wasn’t something we had discussed, and it wasn’t something I had agreed to.
I rubbed just below my collarbone through my clothes.
There was a new mark there—one Miyagi had left.
A new rule. Or rather, something that felt closer to a ritual.
As the old marks faded away, she continued to leave new ones behind.
The rule only applied on days when I worked at the café. It didn’t apply on days when I had my private tutoring job. That meant I received one new mark on café days, and none on tutoring days.
I hadn’t asked why one job came with marks and the other didn’t, but I assumed it was because Miyagi disliked the café job since I’d started it afterward.
I glanced at my door.
Even though all I’d asked her to do was put on a skirt, Miyagi still hadn’t come by.
I pressed hard against the spot just below my collarbone.
I didn’t remember agreeing to anything, and yet things had turned out this way anyway. Marks were added to my body in time with my shifts, then faded away. But now, there probably wouldn’t be any more.
The reason was simple.
Just as we’d agreed, I’d stopped working at the café once the school festival arrived. That meant there were no more days for the new rule to apply.
And that left me feeling a little disappointed.
The marks left on my body made Miyagi’s presence feel vivid, and that felt good—like they were proving that all of me belonged to her. I wanted her to leave more, but at the same time, it felt right that she hadn’t left too many, and that the new rule ended before I could completely lose my sense of reason.
Five minutes passed, then ten, and then there was a knock on my door.
Still sitting on the bed, I said, “Come in,” and Miyagi stepped inside, wearing the skirt I’d given her.
「I put it on like you told me to. Happy now?」
She said with clear displeasure in front of the door, so I stood up and moved closer to her.
「It suits you.」
「You don’t have to say things like that.」
「I think you look cute.」
「Sendai-san, be quiet. You’re so annoying.」
I reached out to Miyagi as she kept complaining and tucked her hair behind her ear.
After brushing my fingers over her earring, I leaned in and pressed my lips to her ear. The scent of her shampoo drifted past my nose.
「You smell nice.」
「I’m using your shampoo, you know.」
「Well, it’s yours too now.」
「… I guess that’s true.」
Even after her own shampoo ran out, Miyagi didn’t buy a new one and kept using mine instead, so there was only one bottle in the bathroom now. That was a promise we’d made the day I picked up the lip balm Miyagi had dropped in the shared living space, and lately, she smelled the same as I did.
Little things like that made me happy, and I reached out to stroke her hair.
I took a lock of it in my hand and leaned closer, but before my lips could touch it, Miyagi pushed against my body. The distance between us widened slightly as her hand undid two buttons of my blouse. Her fingers traced my collarbone, and my heart skipped a beat.
I could have stopped Miyagi if I wanted to.
But I didn’t want to.
Her fingers brushed over the mark beneath my collarbone, and she leaned in. Instead of her lips, her teeth sank into my neck. After a brief sting, something soft clung to my skin. Even though it wasn’t a place my clothes would hide, she continued to press her lips firmly there.
「Hey.」
I tried to push Miyagi away by the shoulders, but she didn’t let up. Our body heat mingled at my neck, and the closeness sent a sharp ache through my chest, like a needle.
I’d thought the new ritual she’d come up with would end once I stopped working at the café, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Even though this whole thing had started out as a punishment, I found it hard to resist. Even knowing she was leaving a mark in a place that would be visible, I found myself wanting to wrap my arms around her.
The hands I’d used to try to push her away slipped behind her back instead.
I pulled her closer, gripping her hoodie tightly, and only then did she lift her lips from my neck.
「Did you leave a mark?」
I knew what was on my neck without even needing to ask, and yet I asked anyway.
「Yeah. I left one right here.」
Miyagi answered without a trace of remorse, her fingertips brushing over a spot on my neck.
「You left it somewhere visible, didn’t you? Don’t tell me you did it just so I wouldn’t be able to go to your school festival.」
I was partly at fault for not stopping her, but having a mark somewhere visible right before meeting Utsunomiya was a problem. She probably wouldn’t suspect Miyagi had done it, but it would still be troublesome.
I had no choice but to change out of my clothes.
I didn’t really want to, since I’d already done my makeup, but it was better than leaving the mark visible.
「Sendai-san, I want you to swear something on my earrings.」
Miyagi spoke quietly as I swallowed back a sigh.
「What, that I won’t go to your school festival?」
A mark like this wasn’t enough to stop me from going, but it did feel like it might have been the reason she’d left it.
「No. I just want you to make sure Maika doesn’t see it.」
「Even if she does, I won’t tell her you’re the one who did it.」
「That’s not what I’m worried about. I don’t want her to see it at all.」
「Then why’d you leave it somewhere so obvious?」
「Because you belong to me, Sendai-san. I can mark you wherever I want.」
Miyagi’s voice, heavy with irritation, rang in my ears.
It sounded unmistakably angry, and yet it was sweet like caramel, leaving me unable to say anything. All I could do was accept it. I touched her plumeria earring with my fingertips and spoke the promise she wanted.
「… I’ll make sure Utsunomiya doesn’t find out.」
Leaving a mark somewhere anyone could see and then telling me to hide it was extremely unreasonable of her.
Miyagi really was cruel sometimes.
Even so, I pressed my lips to her earring.
Ave Lilium Translations 