I wasn’t really speaking much.
It wouldn’t have been this awkward if I were alone with Mutsuki or Yume, but today I was with Sorahashi-san. Perhaps the urge to break my normally comfortable silence was proof of the present distance between our hearts.
That being said…
「She’s adorable, isn’t she!?」
In the end, she did most of the talking, so there was hardly any silence at all.
Sorahashi-san was busy going here and there and everywhere. She’d enter a general store, leave as soon as she’d entered, and then go to gaze at the city lights. She seemed to be an endless wellspring of fun, bringing smiles wherever she went.
I was convinced that she had invited me out to do something weird, but aside from all that “Master” talk earlier, it felt like just a normal hangout.
Like tightly wound shoelaces coming undone, I felt my guard begin to lower.
Ever since my parents started to come home in the early evenings, I’d stopped knowing what to do with all my time. Maybe it wasn’t that hard of a question, though. Maybe just enjoying my life like any other normal high schooler and going out with my friends now and then was the right answer.
「Definitely. What sort of breed is she?」
「A Toy Poodle… No, a Maltese?」
Sorahashi-san was pointing at the display window of a pet shop. It was quite crowded, perhaps because we were in the middle of a commercial district.
Dogs, huh.
I didn’t think she had any underlying intentions with this. She hadn’t mentioned her strange desire to become a dog at all today. Looking closer into the pet shop, there were also kids in uniforms playing inside, so maybe she had just come here to normally have fun with some animals.
But where were those uniforms from? It must be rough to have classes on a Saturday.
No — maybe they were, like me, the type to go out in their uniforms on their days off.
「Sorahashi-san, do you like dogs?」
「Hm… They’re fine? My grandma had a cat, but never owned a dog.」
「…I see.」
The conversation stopped.
It might have been nice to keep it going, but I didn’t want to accidentally open a can of worms. If I were to say the wrong thing, this normal outing could very quickly turn into something beyond normal.
「Hey, Kurumi? Do you like puppies?」
「I haven’t really put any thought into that… I don’t hate them. They’re cute.」
Seeing them play around in that cramped space made me feel a little bad for them, but looking at each puppy, I also thought they were all cute. They were soft and fluffy. The older dogs that I sometimes saw out on walks were cute too.
「Hm… Which one’s your favorite?」
「Uh… Maybe that one?」
I pointed at a tan colored dog.
「That one’s probably a Shiba Inu. I see, I see.」
「…Sorahashi-san?」
She seemed lost in deep thought for some time and then pulled out her phone to look something up.
「It seems like Shiba Inus are a surprisingly independent breed. They may seem friendly, but they can be quite wary of others.」
「Is that so…」
「But apparently, they’re quite obedient to their owners. Hm… Maybe they’re a bit similar?」
「To what?」
She grinned at my question.
「…To me.」
She whispered into my ear.
I felt my body jump.
I shifted away from her and covered my ears. They were burning up.
「Master, I could be quite obedient to you, you know? As long as you properly train me, that is.」
I glanced around the store to check if anybody had heard her, but it seemed like nobody did.
She closed the distance between us again, once again stealing away my gaze.
「When you said that you desired to be owned by someone else, what did you mean?」
I quietly whispered.
Feeling like what I was saying was inappropriate, the voice that I managed to squeeze out was so thin that I surprised even myself. It’s not like I disliked conversing with Sorahashi-san, but to someone like me who passed their days normally, the thought of owning someone or being owned by someone was a topic from a faraway world. I wanted to at least understand her reasons for wanting such a thing.
Knowing why wouldn’t make me say I’d gladly be her owner, though.
「Hmm… Hey, Kurumi, what do you think about that Shiba Inu?」
「What I think…?」
The puppy playing around with the store employee was cute. It was rolling around with an air of freedom.
「It’s cute, I guess? Its like a baby.」
「Ahaha, I see. …Then.」
Sorahashi began to slowly walk off. I followed behind her.
「What if you actually owned one? No matter how cute it is, you’d still have to do things like scold it for being bad and potty train it, right?」
「Well, if you put it like that, a lack of discipline isn’t good for anyone. 」
「That’s right. No matter what sort of pet you owned, Kurumi, I’m sure you’d be able to get them properly trained.」
We passed through the dog corner, the cat corner coming into view. Seeing the kittens play around with each other somehow made me feel a pitter-patter in my heart. I’m sure actually taking care of one would be pretty difficult, though. In the first place, Mizuki wasn’t fond of animals, so I didn’t think it was a possibility.
I thought about this one time a long while ago, when I was playing with my friend’s dog at their house. Around that age, Mizuki would always welcome me home with a hug, but it wasn’t the case that day. She had said it was because she didn’t like the dog hair on me. I hadn’t even realized there was any, but I suppose she’s always been vigilant of that sort of thing.
「…It was a year ago, I think? I was just walking around, and I happened to see someone taking their puppy out on a walk. The puppy started playfully jumping at a child, so their owner scolded it.」
「…Uh, what?」
I wasn’t quite following.
Seeing me tilt my head, she laughed.
「The puppy looked sad as it was being scolded. …But, after it stopped jumping at the child, its owner started to shower it with praise.」
She left the pet store and began to walk through the crowd.
As I walked a little behind, I clearly noticed the gazes of others on her. Whether inside or outside of school, she was always the center of attention, drawing glances from nearly everyone who passed by. I thought that being stared at like this would be a bit nerve-wracking. Sorahashi-san, however, seemed used to it. She strode with perfect posture, her eyes looking straight ahead.
We got on an escalator.
There, she finally turned to me.
「This is how I thought things would turn out.」
Her golden hair softly danced in the air. In this room where the heating was turned up so high that it almost gave me a headache, an unfittingly pleasant and refreshing scent tickled my nose.
I felt like I was going to forget it was winter.
I covered my face with my muffler.
「You know, ever since childhood, I’ve never been scolded by anyone. They would all fawn over me.」
She said something that one could interpret to be bragging.
But perhaps it was simply the truth.
「But that’s so boring. It’s like my life is being painted over by one single color, right? That’s why I felt like I wanted to be just like that puppy.」
「Like a puppy…」
「That’s right. In other words…」
She laughed.
「I want to be properly scolded when I do something bad, and when it’s the right time for me to receive praise, I want to be wholeheartedly praised and spoiled. I want to be owned by a master that will do that for me.」
I don’t understand.
Her way of thinking was way too far off from normal. I didn’t really want to become a dog, and there’s plenty of people that would tell me off if I needed it.
…No.
Sorahashi-san was the sort of person that the world revolved around. She was always surrounded by others, someone that nobody would ever speak ill of. She was like a princess. I’m certain that there didn’t exist anyone that would ever scold her.
Even if my attitude towards Mutsuki matched the sort of master she wanted, I’m sure there were plenty of people like me out there. So why did she choose me?
「I think you’re overestimating me.」
「Do you really believe that?」
She stared intently at me. Not knowing how to respond, I returned her gaze. For a while we looked into each others’ eyes, and eventually, she giggled.
「It’s fine if you think so, Kurumi, but…」
Her gold hair was dazzlingly brilliant.
It was the most beautiful color of hair I’d ever seen in my life. As I was captivated by that radiance, she spoke.
「It’ll be troublesome if you don’t properly train me, okay? Right, Mas—」
I rushed to cover her mouth with my hand.
Unlike last time, there were people right in front of and behind us. If she called me Master in a situation like this, we would receive some disapproving gazes. I’m sure she knew that.
As I gave her a look of protest, she subtly smiled.
Just a moment later, a slight pain ran through my finger. I felt a wet sensation and realized she was biting me. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but rather, more like a puppy gently play biting my finger.
My eyes widened in surprise. The story she had just told flashed through my mind.
She giggled as if she understood what I was thinking. It felt like her bewitching smile was piercing into the depths of my heart.
The thought that I was suited to be her master was just a misunderstanding on her part. I was an unremarkable person who wouldn’t be able to do anything to Sorahashi-san, whose standing was as unreachable as the skies.
「…Ngh.」
A faint sigh escaped her.
With her seductive gaze on me and the mature air about her, I couldn’t believe she was a girl my age. As she slowly bit down on me harder and harder, my heart began to race faster and faster.
If I didn’t go along with her wishes, it was possible that she would tell me she’d find someone else to be her master again. That was dangerous, and I’d have to stop her.
I softly spoke.
「If you keep pulling these sorts of pranks—」
The moment I tried to scold her, she swiftly let go and moved away.
It seemed that the escalator had arrived at the second floor. Flustered, I got off.
「It looks like nibbling on your finger has made me hungry. To celebrate our first date today, I’ll treat you. What do you want?」
She talked as if nothing had happened.
The moment she stepped away, the scent of the ocean during spring immediately disappeared and made way for winter. In contrast with the coldness of the outside, I felt a warmth so strong that it clung to me and smelled the scent of dry air. I felt like I had just left a fantasy and returned to reality.
Even so, my heart was still racing.
Just my heart had been left behind in the daydream.
「…Hamburg steak.」
「Wonderful. Let’s head off.」
「…Right.」
It wasn’t often that I thought that someone was beyond understanding. But right now, I certainly felt like I couldn’t understand her.
More than just the fact that she wanted to be a dog, her capriciousness was overwhelming.
What exactly was she thinking, and what exactly did she want from me? I had no clue, and it was troubling. Even during the times when Mizuki had suddenly burst into tears, I had never been this troubled before.
I couldn’t help but sigh. As I did, she got on another escalator and headed to the third floor.
Did Sorahashi-san act like this with her friends, too?
It’s no wonder people called her a princess.
I slowly followed behind her.
Both the sight of her back and the faint pain left on my finger felt surreal.
Ave Lilium Translations 