The ozoni was delicious.
The pasta for lunch was also delicious.
However, I cannot forgive the fact that broccoli was in the lunch salad.
ãItâs no wonder I didnât know that you donât like broccoli, Miyagi. If you donât like broccoli, just say you donât like broccoli first.ã
Sendai-san says dismissively and lets out a small breath.
ãItâs your fault for not telling me you were going to put broccoli in, Sendai-san. If I had known youâre going to put it in, I would have told you I didnât like it.ã
ãYou said anything for lunch, Miyagi, right? Besides, I served tomatoes instead of salad, so forgive me.ã
An uninteresting answer came back from next to me, and I tapped Sendai-sanâs leg with the platypus.
If it had been a piece or two, I wouldâve been willing to put up with it and allow myself to eat it, but there was a lot of broccoli in the salad. I complained about that and itâs true that she served tomatoes for me.
But I think itâs terrible because I had to eat half of the broccoli because she told me that I should eat it because itâs nutritious, because Iâm not a child, and so on. I didnât want to eat something I didnât like from New Yearâs Day.
ãTell me what you donât like, Sendai-san. Iâll put a lot of it in next time.ã
I take a glass of cider from the table and take a sip.
I was so angry that I really didnât want to gather in Sendai-sanâs room, but she forced me into this room. Thanks to her, I canât complain enough about how much I complain to her. Itâs not enough at all. She gave me half of the cream puffs we bought yesterday, but I donât want to forgive her.
One of the things that annoyed me was that she made me go to the trouble of changing my clothes because it was New Yearâs, and I would have preferred to just lounge around in my sweatshirt if I could.
ãThereâs nothing I donât like.ã
Sendai-san lies with a cool face.
But it doesnât matter if what she just said is right or not for her. Sendai-san will eat what I tell her to eat even if she doesnât like it, and she wonât eat what I tell her not to eat even if she likes it.
Normally I donât dislike her like that, but not today.
Itâs irritating and infuriating.
ãDrink this.ã
I hand the glass I was holding to Sendai-san.
It is half full of carbonated soda, which she had said in the past that she didnât like.
ãDrinking that, how much I will drink?ã
ãAll of it.ã
I answered shortly, and without hesitation, Sendai-san drank all of the clear liquid before placing the glass on the table.
ãMiyagi, itâs time for you to get in a better mood.ã
Her hand reaches out with a soft voice and I slap it back.
ãYou have to keep your promise to do whatever I tell you to do. If you do, youâll put me back in a better mood.ã
ãWhat is it then?ã
ãYou said that in the morning. Even if Sendai-san doesnât remember, that right, I will use it when I want to.ã
This morning, as I was about to go back to my room, Sendai-san offered me an exchange:ãIf you stay here, Iâll do what you say, Miyagi.ãIt was about listening to orders, and I remember it well.
ãIâm all for keeping promises, but isnât it time to give orders?ã
Sendai-san readily accepts what she is ordered to do.
ãI donât want to give orders right now.ã
If Iâm going to give an order anyway, Iâd rather exercise my right when I find an order that she doesnât want to give than force her to create something here and there.
I am sure that Sendai-san will do whatever I say with a nonchalant expression on her face, but I would like to annoy her even a little.
ãWell, you can do it whenever you want, Miyagi. If you donât give the order now, give me your hand.ã
ãMy hand?ã
ãIâll cut your nails for you.ã
ãMine?ã
ãYes. Your nails.ã
Itâs usual for Sendai-san to suddenly say something strange, but cutting my nails is too unconnected.
I felt that there might be something behind it, and I wasnât inclined to touch it.
ãâ¦Why did you suddenly want to cut my nails?ã
ãWhen I saw your hands in the morning, your nails were a little long, Miyagi.ã
When she said this, I got up, even though I didnât tell her she could clip my nails, and brought the case and put it on the table.
ãWhatâs that?ã
ãYou mean this, itâs nail clippers, emery boards, buffers, andââã
Sendai-san opens the lid of the case and begins to explain what is inside. Some of the items have unfamiliar names, but I know that they are for shaping and polishing fingernails.
ãAre you going to use all of those?ã
Whatâs in the case is not the big issue.
The problem is that there are too many different kinds of things in it. I thought it was just a little nail clipping, but apparently thatâs not the case.
ãI donât think Iâll use all of them, but just in case. Miyagi. Give me your hand.ã
ãWhat a hassle.ã
I donât want to do anything, but I donât intend to become Sendai-sanâs toy.
ãIâm the one whoâs going to cut it off.ã
ãItâs going to take a long time.ã
ãIt doesnât matter if it takes a long time. Weâre not going anywhere.ã
ãWhy donât you just go out?ã
ãI want to go out, but Iâm not going without you, Miyagi.ã
ãIâm not going anywhere.ã
ãThen, give me your hand. If you donât like it, suggest something else to pass the time.ã
Movies and games.
Mangas and novels.
There are only so many things Sendai-san and I can do in this house to pass the time, and none of them are what I want to do on New Yearâs Day. I donât want to have my nails clipped, but since I am keeping Sendai-san, who wants to go out, at home, I feel that I should at least give her a little of what she wants.
ãIf you donât spend much time on itâ¦ã
I blurted out and put out my hand, and Sendai-san grabbed my wrist.
Her fingertips slide down the back of my hand and continue to loosely caress my fingers. Then she stopped and stared at my fingertips.
She was supposed to be cutting my nails, but she kept looking at my hand.
ãWhat?ã
When I called out to her, Sendai-san said,ãItâs nothing,ãand picked up the nail clipper.
ãIâll start with your thumb.ã
Snap, snap.
The nails that were about to grow out are cut and shortened.
Thumb, index, and middle finger.
Part of me is cut off and becomes a good length.
I donât remember ever having my nails clipped by someone like this, so Iâm somewhat uncomfortable, and I open my mouth to fill the space between the sound of nail clipping.
ãWhy arenât the nail clippers the conscious ones?ã
ãWhatâs a conscious nail clipper?ã
ãThe kind you might use to cut the cord for a bomb in a movie or drama.ã
ãBomb code? â¦Ah, I get it. Nipper-type nail clippers, right? Iâve never used those things because Iâm afraid Iâll nail them too deep.ã
Sendai-san said quietly as she clipped my nails and grabbed my left hand, ãNext, your other hand.ã
Snap, snap.
The nail that is about to grow out from the thumb is cut again, and the nails of all fingers, right and left, are cut.
ãIâll get your nails in shape.ã
Sendai-san takes an emery board, which looks like a giant popsicle stick, holds it up to my freshly cut nails, and starts shaving them. One by one, the corners of the nails are shaved and shaped.
ãSendai-san. Do you find it interesting to cut and sharpen peopleâs nails?ã
ãRather. Shall I grow my nails out again for you?ã
ãItâs alright.ã
ãDoes that alright mean I can do it again?ã
ãYou know itâs not going to happen.ã
ãUnfortunate.ã
A voice that doesnât sound so disappointed is heard, adding,ãLetâs leave the sweetbreads as they are.ã
ãWeâre done.ã
ãThereâs still more.ã
.
Sendai-san takes out what she said earlier was a buffer and polishes the surface of my nails.
ãItâs taking too long.ã
ãThatâs alright. Thereâs nothing else to do.ã
It wasnât good, but it wasnât enough for me to strongly refuse, so I let it go, and my nails were so shiny that I couldnât believe they were my own, and Sendai-san picked up a bottle of nail oil, the contents of which were awfully low.
If it had been a gift from Maika, I could have said no and refused. But since I had never seen it before, I lost my timing to stop and she put nail oil on me.
My nails are carefully and slowly rubbed with oil so that the oil is absorbed into the skin as well as the nails, further reducing the contents of the jar, which were small to begin with.
Occasionally her hand would crawl to the base of a finger that didnât need to be oiled, and her lips would press against the joint.
Itâs like being enchanted, and I canât stop it.
After applying the oil for so long that I probably didnât need to spend so much time on it, Sendai-san looked up.
ãAll cleaned up.ã
She says sheâs satisfied and kisses the tips of my nails as if sheâs putting the finishing touches on them.
ãIâm tired.ã
ãItâs not over yet. Iâll cut your toenails, too, so sit there.ã
Naturally, Sendai-san points to the bed.
ãItâs already good.ã
ãItâs not good. Toenails are fingernails, too, so be a grown-up and let me get them cut.ã
ãEven if youâre going to cut it off, I donât have to sit down.ã
ãItâs easier for me to cut if you sit down.ã
Sendai-sanâs smiling face is the same as usual.
She clips my nails.
There is no other reason to use the bed as a chair, I think.
Even though I think so, the act of sitting on the bed and licking my feet are tied together in my mind. Normal people do not lick peopleâs feet without being ordered to do so. No, they donât lick peopleâs feet even if they are ordered to.
ãMiyagi.ã
Sendai-san looks at the bed as if urging me to do so.
I sit down on the bed quietly, as if I am thinking of something bad.
Inevitably, I look down at Sendai-san.
I have seen this scene many times.
Itâs rare these days, but it used to happen reasonably often, and itâs not the kind of thing that makes my heart thump, yet it thumps.
Somehow Sendai-san stroked my heel without a nail clipper and slid her fingertips down to the soles of my feet. It was something she had done before when I let her lick my feet, and my heart thumped again.
ãDonât do anything weird, just cut my nails quick.ã
Kicking Sendai-sanâs knee to escape the hand clinging to my leg, she placed the nail clipper on my thumbnail without replying. She then proceeded to cut the toenails in the same way she had cut my hand nails.
Snap, snap.
The sound I heard earlier echoed in the room over and over again, and when she finished clipping all the nails on my right and left sides, Sendai-san kissed my toes without my asking. I canât see her face very well, so I donât know what she was thinking when she did this.
ãYou donât have to do that.ã
Sendai-sanâs tongue crawls over the back of my leg, even though she must hear my words. Her hands roll up the hem of my denim and caress my ankles. A warm, moist tongue licks my ankle.
She licks up softly, and my heart races and my legs tense up. My lips press against it, and my ankle heats up.
Weird.
This is strange.
ãSendai-san!ã
When I called harder, her lips left my ankle and a kiss was dropped on the tip of my foot.
ãWhat was that all about earlier? I didnât tell you to do this.ã
ãHey, Miyagi. Letâs make a new promise.ã
Sendai-san says to ignore my words.
ãA promise?ã
ãYes, a promise.ã
ãâ¦â¦Iâm not going to.ã
ãArenât you going to ask what kind of promise it was?ã
ãItâs absolutely a weird promise and I donât want to hear it.ã
She is strange today.
Sheâs going too far to be explained by the fact that itâs New Yearâs, so even her promises must not be good ones.
ãStingy.ã
ãIâm not stingy.ã
I kick Sendai-san in the shoulder.
ãWell, letâs make a normal appointment. Can we go to the zoo on the 4th? I donât have a part-time job on that day.ã
ãOkay, but that promise you made earlier is still a weird promise, isnât it?ã
ãWell, thatâs fine. The zoo is set for the 4th. Thatâs a promise, okay?ã
Sendai-san said cheerfully and kissed the back of my leg again.