“If you don’t like being home alone, why don’t you come hang out at the café tomorrow?”
That was what Sendai-san had said, so I went to visit her at her part-time job, but when I got back home, I was alone again. I waited an hour, then two, but Sendai-san still didn’t come back. And because I’d just been with Maika a while ago, being alone felt even lonelier.
「This is no different from just staying at home alone…」
I almost threw the black cat plush in my hand at the door, but stopped myself. The black cat was innocent. Sendai-san was the one at fault for not coming home yet. I wanted to take it out on the plush only because she had to work on a Sunday.
I lay down and set the black cat plush on my stomach.
I hadn’t eaten too much, and I wasn’t hungry either, but I still felt uneasy and irritated.
Sendai-san, who had been on this bed just yesterday, wasn’t here.
The only warmth and scent left were mine; not even a trace of her remained now.
Just that one, small thing made this Sunday feel awful.
I shouldn’t have gone to visit her at work after all.
And I was extremely curious about the upperclassman who had been chatting so comfortably and laughing with Sendai-san.
It made me curious about other things too—what they talked about, whether they ever met up outside the café—and those worries started piling up and grew bigger. I wondered what kinds of expressions Sendai-san made while she was working, whether there were ones I hadn’t seen today, and how she’d looked at me like I was just one of many customers.
I let out a sigh and tugged on the black cat plush’s tail.
Sendai-san irritated me whether she was here or not.
I pulled the covers over myself and closed my eyes.
But she wouldn’t leave my mind, so I curled up into a ball under the blankets. After five or ten minutes in the darkness I’d made for myself, a soft knock came at the door.
「I’m home.」
Sendai-san’s voice came from the other side.
I slowly sat up and got out of bed. I put the black cat plush back on the bookshelf and sighed again. Then I opened the door and quietly said, “Welcome back,” and Sendai-san smiled at me.
「I was about to get myself some orange juice. Do you want something to drink too, Miyagi?」
「Sure.」
「What would you like?」
「I’ll have the same thing as you.」
「Do you want to drink it out here? Or should I bring it to you?」
「Bring it to me.」
「Okay, give me a bit.」
Sendai-san said and turned her back to me, and I shut the door behind her . Less than five minutes later, there was another knock, and she came into my room holding two glasses of orange juice. She set them on the table and sat down beside me.
We leaned against the bed and drank our orange juice together.
「Did you take off your lip balm?」
Sendai-san asked in her usual lighthearted tone.
「Yeah.」
「But it looked so good on you.」
Her gentle voice made it impossible to tell what she was thinking. I set down my half-empty cup and looked over at her, but all she did was smile back, giving nothing away.
「I was really happy you came to see me today. If you don’t want to come by yourself, you can bring Utsunomiya, but you should visit again.」
「I only went because Maika was curious about how you are at work. We’re not going again. Besides, your school’s festival is coming up, right? You’re not going to be working there much longer anyway.」
「Yeah, I guess that’s true.」
Sendai-san said casually before drinking her orange juice.
Sendai-san’s lips touched the cup, and the orange liquid inside lowered with each gulp. I could watch the orange juice only up to that point—beyond that, it disappeared somewhere out of view.
When about a third of it was gone, she set the cup on the table. As if trying to chase the orange color that had vanished from view, I found my hand drifting toward her collarbone—but I stopped myself.
「Speaking of which, it was really unfair of you to bring up my school’s cultural festival too.」
I said, tugging lightly on Sendai-san’s skirt.
「Unfair how?」
「You only mentioned it because you knew Maika would invite you, didn’t you?」
「Yeah. I didn’t want you to tell me not to come.」
Sendai-san said as she reached for the hand I had on her skirt.
「… It’s gross hearing you be so honest.」
I pulled my hand away before she could touch it.
「Isn’t that kind of mean? Normally, people would be happy if someone was being honest with them, right?」
「Well, I’m not happy about it. Hearing you suddenly being honest feels weird, like you’re up to something. What are you planning?」
「What do you mean? It’s just… if I’m not honest, you won’t let me do anything. That’s all.」
Sendai-san said quietly as she turned toward me.
She stared so intently that I couldn’t hold her gaze anymore, and I looked away.
「What do you mean by that?」
I muttered, and Sendai-san touched my earring.
「If I’m not honest, you won’t let me kiss you or touch you. And I don’t want that.」
Her hand moved from my earring to my lips. I could feel her warmth getting closer, and she whispered in my ear.
「I want to kiss you, Miyagi.」
「That’s not where this conversation was going.」
I pushed Sendai-san away, letting her warmth leave my side.
「Even if it wasn’t, I feel like kissing you right now.」
「That doesn’t mean you can just say whatever you want.」
「If you’d say it instead, I wouldn’t have to. But I know you probably won’t.」
「There’s no need for me to say it.」
「I figured as much. That’s why I’m the one saying it. Miyagi, let me kiss you.」
Sendai-san was always able to say things like this without hesitation. I had no idea how she could voice her desires so directly. She had said everything in her usual soft voice, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and pulled me toward her by the arm. But she didn’t go any further than that. It felt like she was waiting for me to say something.
She almost never forced anything on me.
「Come on, Miyagi. Just say it’s okay.」
Her voice grew just a little strained, and the hand wrapped around my arm squeezed harder. I peeled her hand off and looked at her.
「What I want right now isn’t a kiss.」
「What is it then?」
「I want to check something.」
I said as I tugged at the knit sweater she was wearing.
「… What do you want to check?」
「The marks I left on you yesterday. I want to see if they’re still there.」
The red marks covering her upper body.
They were there even when Sendai-san turned into a version of herself I didn’t recognize. Those marks covered her body—something neither the upperclassman at her university nor the people at her part-time job would ever see.
And now that her shift was over, I wanted to make sure they were still there.
「Shouldn’t the punishment from yesterday be over by now?」
「This isn’t a punishment. If you don’t want me to look, then I won’t.」
I said, and Sendai-san replied with,
「… Do whatever you want.」
Ave Lilium Translations 