Itâs pretty simple.
It didnât take much time because I just went there without stopping, bought only what I needed, and came back without stopping. But thatâs all it took to change my mood in its own way.
It was hot outside, and I ended up heating rather than cooling my head, but it didnât matter because I had achieved my goal of driving out the evil feelings.
ãI bought it.ã
I come back to her room and call out to Miyagi, who is reading manga.
ãI didnât ask for it.ã
Without looking up from her book, Miyagi returns a grim voice.
ãNot that Iâm asking you to, but letâs take a break.ã
ãIâm taking a break already.ã
She was right.
Miyagi was not only reading manga, she was lying on her bed and dressed appropriately for the word ârest.â
ãYouâll see, Iâm not talking about that kind of break, Iâm talking about a snack.ã
Even if I make a proposal that is easy to understand, Miyagi will not move.
Then I will have to use force.
I put the shopping bag on the floor and took up the book Miyagi was holding, which was a manga I had never seen before.
So this is what the shopping is all about.
Perhaps some of the various things she bought yesterday when she went shopping with Utsunomiya and her friends are manga.
ãIf Sendai-san eat only by herself.ã
After she said this, Miyagi raised herself up, took the manga from me, and laid down again. The sight of her lounging around and lacking any semblance of motivation is not a good sign that she is in a good mood.
ãAh, Miyagi. Perhaps you donât like French toast?ã
Suddenly I went shopping.
I ignored Miyagiâs words not to go.
That was probably the reason for my bad mood, but Iâll give a safe reason.
ãâ¦â¦ã
Miyagi doesnât even look at me.
ãWhy are you silent?ã
ãâ¦I donât know, Iâve never eaten it.ã
ãThere are people like that, you know?ã
Iâm not mocking you.
Itâs just my honest opinion.
But Miyagi apparently didnât hear it that way, and I hear a low voice.
ãI will never eat it.ã
ãYou donât have to sulk. Iâll teach you how to make it, help me.ã
ãSendai-san should make it herself.ã
ãItâs extracurricular, here.ã
ãYouâre so quick to make up such nonsense.ã
Miyagi gets up and gives a disgruntled look.
ãWell, Iâll bring it when itâs ready, so Miyagi stay here. Iâll borrow the kitchen.ã
I canât keep up with her.
I can make French toast without Miyagiâs help. On the contrary, she might make it faster if she werenât there.
I turn my back on her and start to leave the room, but she tugs at the hem of my T-shirt.
ãWhat?ã
ãLetâs go together.ã
I donât know what itâs like in front of other kids, but Miyagi in front of me is not always honest. Today, too, she was very spoiled and said she would follow me to the kitchen after all. Even French toast, which she says she wonât eat, must be eaten at the end.
Then why didnât she just shut up and follow me from the beginning?
Sheâs really troublesome.
But when we talk like this, itâs the usual Miyagi and the usual me. I feel like I can be more normal than when I was studying.
I walk down the short hallway to the kitchen. But Miyagi did not go into the kitchen, but sat down at the counter table in the living room.
ãOver there, Miyagi.ã
I call Miyagi, who has no intention of helping.
ãWhy?ã
ãI know youâre here to help me.ã
ãBecause itâs not. Sendai-san, you do everything yourself.ã
ãJust help me out. Even if youâre not a good cook, you can at least mix an egg. Perhaps you canât even do that?ã
I looked at Miyagi as I took the milk and eggs out of the shopping bag, and she looked mortified.
ãYou know Iâm going to do it.ã
Miyagi comes to the kitchen, saying in a sly tone.
.
ãCan I take out the dishes and stuff without permission?ã
ãUse whatever you like.ã
As I was told, I take out what I need as I see fit and crack one egg into the bowl.
ãHere, mix this in.ã
Handing Miyagi the chopsticks, I realize something important.
I had not bought butter to use for baking bread.
I open the fridge and look inside to see a case of badly colored, dying butter. When I asked Miyagi when she bought it, a vague reply flew back,ãI bought it a while ago,ãbut for a while ago, the butter was not looking healthy.
Still, I decided to trust Miyagiâs word and gives the next instruction.
ãAdd a tablespoon of sugar and mix it with the milk.ã
I hand Miyagi the container with the sugar and the milk measured in a measuring cup, then place the bread on the cutting board.
I think Iâll take half.
I can cut it into four pieces for easier eating, but today I decided to cut it into two and picked up the knife. When I halved the first slice of bread and looked next to it, Miyagi was still adding sugar.
ãMiyagi, stop.ã
ãWhat?ã
ãThatâs too much sugar? How many cups did you put in?ã
ãSomething like three cups?ã
ãI said one cup, didnât I?ã
ãThe sweeter the better, right?ã
ãNot good. Keep the portions.ã
Two cups is still two cups, but three is a lot.
But since I canât remove the sugar Iâve put in, I decide to dilute the egg mixture by increasing the amount and I crack another egg into the bowl. I doubled the amount of milk and added it to the broken eggs, and Miyagi tried to add sugar again.
ãHold it, Miyagi.ã
I grab her wrist trying to put sugar in it to the point of heartburn.
ãYou can order me to do whatever you want later, just do what I say.ã
ãThereâs nothing left to command.ã
ãThere is something, isnât there?ã
ãOkay, drink that.ã
Miyagi says bluntly and points to a sugar-filled egg solution.
ãAre you stupid?ã
Even if the amount of sugar is decent, the egg mixture is meant to soak the bread, not drink it straight from the pan.
ãI told you, there is nothing to command. Why donât you give an order once in a while, Sendai-san? In return for making me French toast, Iâll give you the right to order me around.ã
ãThatâs the end of the order to follow the amount of sugar. Itâs pointless.ã
ãThen Iâll give you three orders. You can make French toast in peace.ã
I knew you were still going to interfere.
Iâd rather do it all by myself than let Miyagi, who wonât listen to me unless I give him orders, help me make French toast.
ãBy three you mean, are you trying to be the genie of the lamp?ã
I take the bowl away from Miyagi and mix the egg mixture.
ãA genie of a lamp doesnât listen to commands, but to requests, right? Sendai-san is the one who is stupid.ã
After all, it is Miyagi who is the fool.
The orders that Miyagi gives are orders, but I am sure that if I gave an order, it would not be an order. I donât think Miyagi obeys orders honestly, so any order I give is like a request.
Moreover, while the spirit of the lamp would grant my wishes, Miyagi does not always grant them even if I wish for them.
ãLook, if youâre going to help, donât give me orders or anything like that, just be honest and help. If you donât want to help, go sit over there.ã
Thinking it was bad manners, I pointed to the living room with the chopsticks.
But Miyagi did not go to the living room.
ãEven Sendai-san makes up her own rules, and thatâs fine.ã
ãThatâs right.ã
ãJust give me the order.ã
Miyagi turned to me and said, as if in command.
She was not convinced.
Why is Miyagi being so bossy?
For the most part, even if I can give three orders, the only thing I want Miyagi to do is to follow the amount of sugar, follow the amount of milk, and bake bread over low heat. And thatâs not what I want Miyagi to do by any means.
So what should I order her to do?
I look down at the yellow egg liquid.
What I want Miyagi to do.
What I want to do for Miyagi.
Not that there isnât, but I donât think itâs something that should be ordered here.
Then something else.
I put down my chopsticks and turn to Miyagi.
ãOrders, whatever?ã
ãOK.ã
ãThen, stay where you are.ã
ãEh?ã
ãI said donât move.ã
ãOkay, but now what?ã
Miyagi looked at me with a curious look on her face, as if she had expected to be ordered to help make French toast.
ãClose your eyes.ã
ãâ¦What are you going to do?ã
I would have ordered her not to move, but Miyagi takes a half step back.
ãShut up and do what I say.ã
ãTo shut up, is that an order?ã
ãYes, itâs an order. Youâll do three orders, right?ã
Miyagi raises her eyebrows and glares at me. She seems to have a complaint and calls me, âSendai-san.â But she quickly closed her mouth and slowly closed her eyes.
Miyagi never listens.
Thatâs what I thought, so Iâm out of sync. I would have expected her to bite back more because she would have anticipated what would happen next.
I touch Miyagiâs cheek, who is unusually quiet and obedient.
Miyagi does not move even though I slide my fingers across her cheek.
Irrational feelings that should have been burned by the midsummer sun are still burning and I canât stop myself.
Like eyes slowly closed, I slowly approaching Miyagi. When I closed my eyes and put my lips on hers, putting her out of my sight, I felt as if I could see Miyagi better than I should have, and I pressed my lips hard against hers.
My heart beat faster than usual.
I am not used to kissing Miyagi so much as I can kiss her with impunity. Still, a second kissââ The third kiss, if I counted the exact number of times our lips touched, was still pleasant. The mere touch of her soft lips is enough to melt my reason like butter.
I donât mind kissing her.
I would like to touch her more.
This is about as much as I want to have on summer vacation.
I fool myself into thinking that a kiss is no big deal.
I touch Miyagiâs lips with the tip of my tongue. As I reached out with my tongue to split open the closed lips, Miyagiâs hands gingerly pushed my shoulders.
She pushes me harder than I thought she would, and once our lips part, I kiss her again.
I touch her softly and licks her lips with the tip of her tongue.
I have not done more than that. However, Miyagi bit my lip without giving it a second thought, and now I had to push Miyagiâs shoulder.
It hurts.
When I touch my lips with my fingertips, they feel wet. When I looked at my fingers, I saw something red on them.
ãItâs not the first time. You donât have to go this far.ã
ãFirst time or not, it doesnât matter. You had three orders. Donât do anything on your own.ã
Miyagi says grimly.
Iâm not sure if the selfishness refers to the attempt to put my tongue in or the licking of her lips. She did not resist when I merely touched her lips, so the kiss itself should not be included in the selfishness.
ãYou need to cut back a little bit.ã
I say only what I really want to tell her. There are a number of things I want to say, but if I say those to Miyagi, she will just complain back.
ãYou got a mirror?ã
Curious about how deep the wound is, I ask Miyagi, a difficult person who doesnât know what a land mine is.
There didnât seem to be much blood, but my lips was sore. Miyagi is out of her mind to bite such a place with all her might.
ãIf itâs a scratch, Iâll take care of it.ã
ãIâll watch it myself.ã
ãThe mirror, I donât have it here.ã
Then Miyagi brings her face close to mine.
Very, very close.
It was close enough for me to see the wound,ãWhat?ãbut Miyagi licked my lips like a dog or a cat.
Suddenly, I forget to speak up and presses Miyagi.
ãI just disinfected it.ã
Miyagi says, as if in excuse, and moves away from me.
ãThe blood, it wasnât delicious.ã
ãThatâs right. And like I said before, licking is not disinfecting.ã
I licked Miyagiâs blood here, so I know what blood tastes like.
Equally as good as my own blood, Miyagiâs blood did not taste good. Even Miyagi must have known that before she licked it. Itâs not sanitary, and itâs not something I like to do. So she approaches me again, even though I donât understand why Miyagi would lick my blood or anything.
ãMiyagi, wait.ã
She pulls herself closer and stops Miyagi, who tries to bring her lips to mine.
Why did I stop her?
I didnât know myself, but I held on to Miyagiâs shoulders.
ãYou invited me, Sendai-san.ã
If I invited her, she invited me.
Miyagiâs words could be taken to mean that, which amazes me.
It is true that I have been trying to lead Miyagi on so far, but I never thought Miyagi would say such a thing.
ãâ¦Are you saying you want to kiss me again?ã
I asked and got no response.
When I closed the distance between us, Miyagi said in a small voice,ãI do,ãbut I pressed my lips together as it was.
With a slight pain, the feeling of Miyagiâs lips is vividly felt.
They are soft, warm, and pleasant.
Miyagi is very mature when it comes to touch, and I kissed her just a little bit longer than I did before, then pulls her lips away.
ãâ¦Sendai-san is so erotic, isnât she?ã
Miyagi blurts out and looks at me with resentful eyes.
ãMiyagi wanted to kiss e, too, so itâs the same thing.ã
ãItâs not the same.ã
Miyagi reached out to me, saying that she wanted to kiss me, which I didnât deny but resisted.
Her fingertips touched the wound and stroked it loosely.
ãThat spot hurts.ã
As if in response to my words, Miyagi presses hard on the wound with her fingertips.
I frown at the tingling pain.
In terms of physical distance alone, Miyagi and I are now closer than before. But there is a distance between me and Miyagi that cannot be filled.
I wonder if Miyagi still wants to see my disgusted face.
Her hand continues to touch my lips.
I thought about that for the pain that kept on giving.