Sendai-san sometimes says things that I cannot decide whether they are true or false.
So I donât know if what she said when she saw my earrings and saidãIt suits you,ãwas true. Her smile seem to only hide her true intentions, thus cannot be trusted.
I canât find the words to reply to Sendai-san, so I touch my earrings and look at my fingertips.
ãAbout the blood, I thought there would be at least a little bit.ã
When I touch my newly pierced ear, there is no blood on my finger. I donât know what the logic is, but it seems that piercing an ear produces very little blood.
ãCould it be that this platypus was for when there was blood?ã
Sendai-san takes a tissue-grown platypus from the table and pats it on the head.
ãJust in case.ã
When I was researching how to pierce, I read that there was very little blood, and Maika said there was very little. Still, I brought a tissue in case something happened, but it didnât seem to make a difference.
ãMiyagi is pretty scared and worried.ã
Sendai-san says while twitching the platypus with her hand.
ãIâm not scared, nor that Iâm worried.ã
ãYou were scared when I drilled the hole.ã
ãSendai-san looked more worried than me.ã
ãWell, yeah. And they say itâs not good if you donât open it straight.ã
Sendai-sanâs gaze shifts from the platypus to my ear. Then she falls silent.
ãWhy did you get silent all of a sudden?ã
ãCan I touch your ear?ã
I didnât say it was alright, but her hand reaches out and I slap it.
ãYou canât. They say itâs not good to touch it right after itâs pierced.ã
ãMiyagi, you touched it earlier.ã
ãItâs okay, Iâll disinfect it later.ã
ãIf youâre going to disinfect it anyway, I can touch it.ã
ãIâm not okay with that. More importantly, why should I let Sendai-san touch me?ã
ãI want to take a good look at the piercing to make sure itâs in place, and if I donât touch the piercing, I can at least touch your ear a little bit.ã
ãYou donât have to check, itâs a straight hole and itâs done right, so Sendai-san doesnât need to see it.ã
She doesnât need to touch it to confirm it.
She can tell just by looking in the mirror that it is straight up pierced.
She can only think that wanting to make sure is just an excuse to do something bad. Sendai-san always does strange things if Iâm not careful.
ãMiyagi, did you know?ã
Sendai-san, perhaps having given up on touching the ear, makes a rather gentle sound.
ãWhat is it?ã
ãI heard that piercing is more painful after being pierced than when piercing a hole.ã
ãIâve looked it up, so I know.ã
ãI seeâ¦ã
Sendai-san puts the platypus on the floor and grabs my right hand. I pulled my right arm back and it was pulled back with quite a bit of force and touched something warm above my earlobe.
Sendai-sanâs fingers dug into my wrist.
It hurts a little.
But Iâm more concerned about my ears. It was Sendai-sanâs lips that are touching me, and for the first time in a long time, the sensation is a little ticklish and pleasant. My heart beats faster than before.
Itâs Sendai-sanâs fault.
Her lips separate, and this time they press hard against each other.
My ears are hot.
I press Sendai-sanâs shoulder with my left hand as hard as I can.
ãDonât do anything strange all of a sudden. Iâll get germs on it.ã
ãI did it where you donât have a piercing, so it should be fine. And itâs not weird, itâs just a spell to make it stop hurting.ã
Sendai-san utters a phrase that I have heard several times in the past. That, which she made up on her own, is nothing more than a cop-out. Itâs not enough pain to make a fuss, but my ears still hurt even now that she did the spell.
ãAnd that doesnât make it hurt any less.ã
ãItâs not a quick-fix spell.ã
ãSendai-san, stop saying random things.ã
ãMy spells, you know they work.ã
I can write the correct answer.
Sendai-san said so and did a âspell.â
However, I donât know if the spell helped me get into college. No, it was not thanks to the spell in the usual sense. Because I studied. And because Sendai-san taught me to study, and I donât think the kiss that I called a spell had anything to do with it.
ãThat spell is just doing what Sendai-san wants to do, isnât it?ã
ãSo what does Miyagi want to do?ã
ãWhat Sendai-san does not want to doã
ãI donât want to do the spellââ is what would I say, does that mean Miyagi will spell it out for me?ã
ãThatâs not what Iâm saying.ã
ãThen you should let me do the spell.ã
Sendai-san pulls my hand from her grasp. My body leans in and I force her hand, which is stuck to my wrist, to peel it off.
ãWait, Sendai-sanâ!!ã
The hand that should have peeled off grabs my shoulder.
Sendai-san moves closer, her lips pressed against the top of my ear.
Itâs the closest sheâd gotten since weâve been here.
I had never had Sendai-sanâs lips attached to a part of my body like this since we started living together, and I tried not to. More to the point, I made an effort to find a roommate-like position. But now, Sendai-san is so close to me and touching me that such efforts are rendered meaningless.
ãMiyagiâ¦ã
She calls my name in my ear.
Her breath blows on it and tickles it.
Her lips are pressed against it again, and itâs warm there.
Sheâs too close.
It would be better to move away.
But I canât push Sendai-san away like I did before.
Something different than lips touch. It is the tip of her tongue, and my ears are moistened. As what she said, she didnât touch the earrings. I think she is being considerate.
When her tongue moves, it creeps.
It tickles and is uncomfortable.
Her licks caress the surface of my skin and my breath stops in my throat. Feeling better than sick, I let out my breath in one gulp and pushed her shoulders.
ãHold it, Sendai-san! Get away from me.ã
If I put strength in both hands, the more I put, the more Sendai-san leaves. It still seems a little close to call her roommate, but not close enough to kiss my ears. I took a piece of tissue from the platypus she had placed near me and wiped my ear. Then I tapped Sendai-sanâs thigh with the platypus.
ãOuch!ã
Sendai-san is in exaggerated pain.
ãI told you not to do anything weird. Generally, roommates donât do these things.ã
.
ãEven roommates would at least do a spell.ã
ãI donât do these spells. Sendai-san, you need to be a proper roommate.ã
ãBut, Miyagi didââã
Sendai-san stops as sheâs about to say it.
ãWhat did I do?ã
ãâ¦You said to have your ears pierced.ã
ãI said it, but I didnât ask you to do more than that.ã
I hit Sendai-san one more time with my platypus.
ãIt hurts.ã
ãIâm in more pain. Give me another dose of disinfectant.ã
I gave Sendai-san a cotton ball and disinfectant.
She silently accepts them and soaks the cotton in the disinfectant. She then pressed a piece of cotton over the piercing.
Soon both ears were wiped and the cotton left.
My wet ears are chilly.
It is different from both Sendai-sanâs lips and tongue.
They were much hotter when she touched themââ
I almost touch my freshly disinfected ear and squeeze my hand.
ãI should go back to my room already.ã
The piercer, the disinfectant, and the cotton.
I put everything in a paper bag and stood up with it. Then Sendai-san pulled my clothes.
ãMiyagi.ã
ãWhat?ã
ãLike I said, the earrings look good on you. I think it looks cute.ã
ãYou donât have to flatter me. This is the kind of thing that has nothing to do with design.ã
The piercing attached to the piercer was to stabilize the drilled hole and was chosen for its material rather than its design. It was made of medical-grade stainless steel, I donât think it is as well designed as Sendai-san says it is pretty.
ãI think itâs really cute.ã
ãYou donât have to do that.ã
I turns my back on Sendai-san.
After a step or two, I hear the voice again.
ãHold on. About this?ã
I turned around to see Sendai-san holding a tissue with a platypus cover.
ãSendai-san can leave that in her room.ã
ãI do have tissues here, thoughâ¦ã
I walk back to her. I receive the platypus from Sendai-san, remove the cover from the tissue and offer the cover to her.
ãHere.ã
ãYou want me to put it on the tissues in my room?ã
ãItâs better to have something on. If not, Iâll put it back on.ã
ãIâll put it on, so give it to me.ã
Sendai-san accepts the tissue cover from me and adds,ãOne more thing.ã
ãWhat?ã
ãAbout Golden Week, do you have any free days?ã
She ask me questions that I didnât expect to be asked at all. But I can answer without having to flip through the calendar in my head.
ãI do, but I definitely donât want to.ã
ãI havenât said anything yet.ã
ãWeâll just go out or something, no?ã
ãWell, yesâ¦ã
ãJust think about something else.ã
Sendai-san and I do not share the same hobbies. I donât really know what her hobbies are, but we have very little overlap in terms of friends and universities. Even the movies we wanted to watch were different. I think it is better to stay home together than to go out.
ãThen leave something open. Iâll think of something.ã
Sendai-san says, patting the platypus on the head, which has been deprived of its foundation of tissues.
ãOkay.ã
I turn my back to her again.
As I opened the door, she said good night to me, and I said good night back.