[Part 60] The Things That Miyagi Does Despite Us Not Being Friends (II)

          Despite being evening already, the sunlight pouring in through the window retained its brightness. I didn’t have to glance back to sense that the sun outside was just as intense as it was at midday.

           「Do you think it’ll be okay even if we leave the curtains open?」

          Whether the curtains were open or closed didn’t really matter, and I doubted anyone could see us even if they tried. Still, for some reason, I couldn’t help but be overly conscious of these trivial details today.

          「Shut up.」

          Miyagi said, sounding annoyed, as she knelt on one knee on the bed. After closing the curtains and brightening the room with a light, she stood in front of me while I continued to use her bed as a chair.

          I instinctively glanced up at Miyagi as she began to run her fingers through my hair. After combing my hair, which was neither braided nor tied up today, Miyagi, wearing a somewhat uncertain expression, slowly leaned in.

          I could never understand why she acted like this sometimes.

          Just the other day, she would casually press her lips against mine as if it were the most natural thing in the world. However, today, she seemed hesitant about it. Despite forcing a five-thousand-yen bill on me with the intention of kissing me, for some reason, she was acting like this was her first kiss or something.      

           「Close your eyes.」

          Miyagi, fidgeting like a stray cat in front of me, spoke firmly. When I refused to close my eyes, Miyagi eventually covered them with the palm of her hand. The bright room suddenly fell dark, and I felt a soft touch against my lips.

          It was the same as yesterday.

          Her slightly dry lips briefly touched mine before she pulled away along with the hand covering my eyes.

          Our lips only touched for a moment, and the only thing that lingered in my memory was the soft and fluffy sensation, reminiscent of a cream puff.

          Miyagi and I have kissed a few times, but they were always quick pecks. If I tried to go for anything more, she would resist. However, there were moments, like now, when she looked a bit unsatisfied, hinting at a desire for something more.

          「Miyagi. 」

          I reached my hand out to her as I called her name. However, before I could touch her, she gave me another order.

          「Stay seated.」

          Miyagi said as she sat down next to me. Even if she didn’t command me to stay seated, I had no intention of moving.

          「Okay, I won’t get up, but what are you planning to do?」

          Miyagi remained silent. Instead, she responded to my question by placing her hand on my thigh.

          It was a mistake wearing shorts today.

          Her fingers gently slid against my skin as I regretted my outfit choice.

          The hand on my leg didn’t seem to carry any deeper meaning. If anything, it felt like a doctor doing a check-up on a patient. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but be conscious of the hand resting on me.

          Miyagi’s hand left me with a slightly unpleasant yet ticklish sensation.

          That was how my mind registered the feeling I got from Miyagi’s hand on my leg.

          Her hand traveled from my thigh down to my knee.

          As she explored my leg without any reservation, I grabbed her hand to stop her.

          「I thought I told you not to move.」

          She said, her voice restrained, as she swatted my hand away.

          「It felt ticklish, so I couldn’t help it.」

          Miyagi frowned as she listened to my excuse for disobeying her orders.

          She frowned as she stroked my knee.

          Once again, I couldn’t figure out whether her touch was unpleasant or ticklish, so I seized Miyagi’s wrist. However, seemingly dissatisfied with that, she immediately pulled her hand away from my grip and closed the gap between us in an instant. As a result, I could feel the touch of her lips against mine without shutting my eyes.

          Her hand grasped my hipbone.

          Closing my eyes intensified the sensation of her lips on mine. The warmth between our connected bodies was so intense that it felt like I could melt, tempting me to surrender my reason.

          Regardless of whether these orders were considered bad or not, I didn’t have an issue with kissing. However, if I had to choose, I’d rather be the one initiating the kiss than being on the receiving end.

          When I was the one being kissed, the desire to touch Miyagi would surface, making me feel like I was doing something wrong. Whether it could be labeled as “pleasure” or not, it definitely stirred an uncomfortable feeling within me.

          I tightly gripped onto Miyagi’s arm, and shortly after, our lips separated. When I tried to go for another kiss, she blocked my mouth with her hand.

           「Who said you could do whatever you want?」

          She said as she peeled her hand away.

          「Can I ask you something?」

          「No.」

          「Why do you want to kiss me?」

          I asked, ignoring Miyagi said.

          「I thought I said “no.”」

          She replied in a low voice, as if she had no intention of answering the question. However, after a short pause, she quietly followed up with,

          「Well, if you don’t like it, then you can always leave.」

          「I can’t just run away from an order, you know.」

          「What, are you saying you’d run away if you could?」

          「Is that what you think?」

          「Aren’t you the one who always tells me not to answer a question with another question, Sendai-san?」

          「Alright, fine. How about you try and kiss me without making an order out of it?」

          「Are you telling me the only way I’ll get an answer is if I do that?」

          「That’s exactly what I’m saying.」

          I knew what Miyagi’s next move was going to be.

          In situations like this, she was definitely going to run away.

          So, she wasn’t going to kiss me.

          「Make me something for dinner.」

          Just as I predicted, Miyagi suddenly changed the topic.

          You’re so spineless even though you know full well what the answer is.

          She should have realized that I didn’t mind kissing her, considering I didn’t pull away when she kissed me that day I made her French toast.

          「You don’t want to kiss me anymore?」

          「I’m hungry now.」

          「It’s a little early for dinner, though.」

          I responded, aiming to press Miyagi on the topic she was avoiding, but she evaded by standing up and saying,

          「It’s fine even if it’s a bit early, right?」

          Right after that, Miyagi exited the room, leaving me with no option but to trail after her. Upon reaching the kitchen, the first place I checked was the fridge.

          「All you have are eggs in here.」

          I called out to Miyagi, who was already seated by the bar counter.

          「Well, at least it’s not empty this time.」

          「Wait, Miyagi, what do you even eat every day anyway? How do you survive?」

          「Don’t you remember the kinds of meals I’ve served you?」

          「… Right.」

          I had peeked inside Miyagi’s fridge many times before, and it was always low on food. I came to realize that this wasn’t a coincidence. Whenever I ate at her place, she would always serve meals that were easy to prepare, like ready-made frozen foods. Moreover, Miyagi wasn’t great at cooking, and she didn’t seem interested in getting better either.

          Miyagi’s eating habits weren’t the healthiest, but I’d never seen her appear unwell before. While her future health wasn’t any of my concern, it would be nice if she asked me to cook for her every once in a while. However, unlike today, Miyagi was usually against that idea.

          Considering the contents of her fridge and the fact that I had previously prepared tamagoyaki for her, I opted to make omelette rice, drawing from my somewhat limited knowledge of recipes.

          I heated up a frying pan and poured oil into it.

          ‘If only there were more ingredients I could use…’ I thought to myself briefly, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I continued frying some rice along with a bottle of ketchup I took from the fridge.

          For the omelette, I used eggs and a bit of nearly expired butter left over from making French toast last time. However, it seemed I overcooked the omelette a bit, and when I cut it open with a knife, the egg didn’t ooze out as it should have.      

          Well, whatever. It’s not going to matter once it’s in our stomachs anyway.

          「Food’s ready.」

          I called out to Miyagi, who was staring at me from the counter table, as I pulled out some tableware and spoons for us to use.

          Although it felt a bit early for dinner, I decided to sit beside her. Like always, we exchanged the familiar “Let’s eat,” and the clinking of spoons against plates filled the room. I savored the first bite, then the second, and finally, the third before turning my gaze towards her seated next to me.

          「I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else here before. When do your parents usually come home?」

          Without delving too much into the details, I brought up the one thing I’d always been curious about.

          「They’re not home yet.」

          She answered quietly, though it was a bit different from what I was asking about.

          The fact that she hadn’t mentioned anything about it before probably meant she didn’t want to be asked, so I simply replied with, “I see,” and ended the conversation there.

          If she didn’t want to tell me, then I wasn’t going to pry.

          But I was a bit curious about when, on those nights when she was afraid of being at home alone, her fears could be eased by someone coming home.

          I scooped up the remaining bits of my omelette rice with my spoon.

          I doubted my curiosity would ever be satisfied.

          After watching Miyagi silently take a bite of her omelette rice, I brought my own spoon to my mouth.

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