I didnât ask her to put it on.
I didnât ask, but when the knock came on the door, I opened it to find Miyagi wearing the blue skirt I had chosen.
ãSendai-san, about Mio-sanââã
The words I hear are cut off in mid-sentence.
I looked at Miyagiâs face to see what was wrong, but her brow was wrinkled.
ãWhat?ã
I donât mean to look at her seriously enough to get a grim look, but I hear a low voice.
ãEh, ah, itâs nothing. Whatâs wrong with Mio?ã
The skirt looks good on you.
Itâs cute.
Let me do your makeup.
I canât come up with such simple words.
After hearing the word âjealousyâ from Miyagi, I donât know how to treat her anymore. I want to be myself as usual, but I keep acting unnatural.
I wonder if Miyagi is thinking about me more than I imagined, or if she is trying to have a relationship with me that isnât roommate.
These thoughts are running around in my head, and words that usually come out easily are not coming out, or I am unable to laugh naturally.
ãWhat time are you going to pick up Mio-san?ã
The word âMio-sanâ that Miyagi said hit me on the head. I know that if I donât act normally, I will only alarm Miyagi, but that is not a good word for me now that I canât act normally.
I swallow the sigh that is about to come out.
I donât call her out on it, so itâs not a big deal.
I should allow her to call her âMio-sanâ in the same way that she have allowed to call her with â-sanâ up until now, even though I donât feel good about it. I canât be the unusual me forever.
ãMio, Iâm not going to pick her up because sheâs coming here by herself.ã
ãShe will come all the way here alone?ã
ãYes, but⦠No one is coming today except Mio, and Iâd be surprised if she wasnât alone.ã
I look at Miyagi.
She is wearing the blue skirt I chose for her today.
That alone is enough to satisfy me.
ãThatâs not what I meant. Wouldnât it be better if you went to pick her up?ã
ãItâs alright, you know?ã
I have sent Mio a map with the route to this house.
Sheâs not a directionless person, and even if she gets lost, sheâs the type to grab people around her and ask them for directions, so there is no need to worry.
ãYou never know, she might not show up on time.ã
ãShe said itâs not a place to get lost and that sheâll be fine.ã
ãIâm not worried about her being lost.ã
ãThen, what are you worried about?ã
ãMio-san, sheâs likely to come at one oâclock or three oâclock on her own, even though she said she would be here at two oâclock. Sheâs going to say sheâs off by an hour or so.ã
Our appointment with Mio is at two oâclock.
I would like to say, âLetâs wait leisurely because there is still more than an hour to go,â but Miyagiâs words are not wrong.
ãSheâs certainly that type, and in case youâre wondering, Iâll tell her itâs not too early or too late. At any rate, if she goes insideâ¦ã
I invite Miyagi into my room and pick up my phone.
I have already finished lunch early, so there is no problem if he comes earlier than scheduled. I am used to Noto-senpai being loose with time, even though she is not coming today. But Miyagi will be concerned about it, so I will send a message to Mio.
ãWhy donât you sit down?ã
After calling out to Miyagi, who was wandering around the room, perhaps restless, I sat down with my back against the bed.
ãSendai-san. I, I donât have anything to say to Mio-san. What am I supposed to do?ã
Miyagi blurts out and sits down next to me.
ãMio will speak on her own, so you just have to listen to her.ã
ãAre you sure I can just listen to her?ã
ãI really donât want you to just listen, so if she asks you a question, at least answer it.ã
ãI know that much.ã
Miyagi pulled the platypus with a tissue growing on its back and placed it between us. Then she patted the head with a plop. Instead of holding Miyagiâs hand, I hold the platypusâ hand.
ãHow late does Mio-san will stay?ã
Miyagi says in a gruff voice.
ãI donât know, we can guess.ã
ãDid Mio-san get a stomach ache or headache today?ã
ãShe seemed fine in the morning.ã
ãIs there ever a time when sheâs not well?ã
ãNot much, I guess.ã
I hear a small sigh from next to me.
I know how she feels.
The very fact that she is meeting with Mio, whoâs probably not the type of person that Miyagi is surrounded by, must be stressful for her. I canât help but want to think that she would have been sick, because if that were true, she wouldâve wanted to run away.
Well, Iâm not in the mood either.
I couldnât be honestly happy about Utsunomiya coming to this house, and I donât want Mio in our house either. Even if we are friends, I donât want to see Mio in this house, who is called âMio-sanâ by Miyagi and who calls Miyagi âShiori-chanâ.
I would like to complain a hundred times about her coming to our house, but if I complain too much about her just coming to play, Mio might attack the parts of me that I donât want to be attacked, so I have to allow her to come here.
ãâ¦Miyagi. Why donât you call me Hazuki just for today?ã
ãI wonât call you.ã
Miyagi answers without looking at me.
ãRight⦠Then, what about me calling you Shiori?ã
At least if one of them comes true.
I think that, but I know it will never come true.
ãYou donât have to do that.ã
As I expected.
If sheâs going to tell me that she was jealous, how dare she say that to me, she should call me names and I should call her names, but really, Miyagi is not what I want it to be.
ãIâll stay in my room until Mio-san arrives.ã
Miyagi blurts out and tries to stand up.
I let go of the Platypusâ hand and grab Miyagiâs arm.
ãWait for her here.ã
Miyagiâs feelings were more inclined toward me than I had expected.
What a terrible thing to say to make me think, and yet to treat me so appropriately. If she doesnât want to call me names or let me call her names, she should at least allow me to be by her side.
ãWhy?ã
ãWhy, because itâs the same no matter where you wait.ã
ãItâs different.ã
Miyagi says in an unusually sulky tone.
ãâ¦Is your mood bad?ã
Miyagiâs voice came out low as she put strength into the hand that gripped her arm.
ãItâs bad. So let go of my hand.ã
ãSorry.ã
I apologize, not knowing what Iâm apologizing for, and let go of her arm, which is still in my grasp. Still wanting to touch her, I reach out to touch her, and she presses the platypus against me. I accept the fluffy tissue cover and place it next to Pen-chan on the bed.
I let out a small breath and look at Miyagi.
Iâm not sure if I should reach out to her again.
Not knowing what to do, I called out toãMiyagi,ãand she grabbed my blouse.
ãâ¦Iâll mark you.ã
Miyagi says in a small voice and moves a little closer to me.
ãItâs fine, but I donât want Mio to see it.ã
ãYour button, unbutton it.ã
My words, which shouldâve been heard, werenât answered. Repeating the same words at a time like this will not reach Miyagi, so I ask,ãHow many?ã
ãEverything.ã
ãMiyagi, you naughty.ã
ãShut up. Be quiet and do what I say.ã
ãOkay, okay.ã
I answer as if I have no choice, though I donât intend to disobey and will obey when she asks me to take off my skirt as well. Then, without hesitation, I unbutton all the buttons from the top, one, two, three, and so on.
Miyagiâs hand reaches out and opens the front of my blouse wide, as it should.
Above the camisole, an unreserved glance pierces my chest.
Without saying anything, she places her hands on my breasts, which need not be touched if only to mark them. Then, as if to see if I would resist, she slowly moved her hand to trace the shape of my breast.
They are not directly touched.
There is a camisole and bra between her hands and my breasts.
Her hand is far away.
Still, my heart thumps.
I wish Mio didnât come today.
If she get lost, my phone is out of charge, there is no one to ask for directions, and Mio doesnât reach this house forever, I can lose the thing that separates me and Miyagi and have her touch me. If Miyagi doesnât like that, I can push her over.
I grab Miyagiâs hand crawling on my chest.
She looks up.
Her hand doesnât run away from me.
Miyagiâs face comes closer, her lips pressed a little below the collarbone. Her body heat warms my skin and melts into my blood, sucking hard. I run my fingers through her hair, which smells just like mine, and comb it. Her lips part and then stick together again, sucking.
Even if I canât see it, I know it.
There is a clear mark on my skin indicating that I belong to Miyagi.
She grabs me by the side over my camisole.
She squeezed me tightly, and as I hugged Miyagi in response, I heard a voice from within my arms.
ãWhat time is it now?ã
ãIt doesnât matter what time it is.ã
ãItâs not fine.ã
Miyagi pushes me and says again,ãWhat time?ã
I let go of the body I just hugged and take my phone from the table to look at the screen.
ã1:17 PM.ã
As I mouthed what I saw in my eyes, my phone rang a ringtone and displayed a message from Mio.
ãMio, she said she was close by.ã
ãI knew she would come at a reasonable time.ã
ãSorry. Can we continue after Mio left?ã
I ask as I button up my blouse.
ãThereâs no continuation.ã
Miyagi said in a grumpier voice than before.