Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
Sendai-sanâs choice of a blue skirt was not available.
It may be because Iâve been slacking off at home, but I havenât had to go out since I bought the skirt, so itâs been sitting in my closet.
I sigh one sigh and then close the closet.
The skirt I got at the school festival, hanging next to the blue skirt, had a few outings. I think it was useful, although I only used it because Sendai-san was so condescending as to say she bought it for me.
The blue skirt was her choice, as was the skirt she gave me, but I was the one who bought it. So, I donât have to make use of it, but Iâm angry that Sendai-san doesnât want to take her turn.
I donât intend to go out even if she asks me to go somewhere, but itâs not interesting that she doesnât say anything.
ãYou told me to keep it normal.ã
Even though a good number of days have passed since then, Sendai-san just kisses me on her own accord, and I donât think she has become normal. Normally, she would ask me to go out with her, or to go out to a convenience store, or this and that, but she just stays at home quietly.
Itâs not refreshing to see her smiling like sheâs being normal when sheâs not.
I lay back down on the bed.
Iâm dying of boredom.
I type an overly exaggerated message on my phone and send it to Maika. Usually I get a reply right away, but not today. I have no choice but to grab a manga from the bookshelf. Halfway through reading it, I hear a ring on my phone and I put the comic down on my pillow and answer the call.
ãI was eating lunch.ã
I hear Maikaâs cheerful voice.
ãIsnât that late?ã
Itâs now long past noon and close to snack time.
ãI ate late in the morning. I couldnât get up early enough to think I didnât have plans.ã
ãI know how you feel. I want to slack off on my days off too.ã
ãI woke up at noon yesterday.ã
ãIâm up in time to eat breakfast, for one thing.ã
ãI thought you said you were being woken up by Sendai-san?ã
ãIâm awake on my own.ã
Sendai-san doesnât skip meals even after spring break.
We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together because we eat as usual.
ãOh, yeah. Youâve got someone to pass the time with, right?ã
Maika suddenly remembered and continued,ãThere.ã
ãWhat do you mean by âthereâ?ã
ãSheâs at home, isnât she, Sendai-san. Is she going out today?ã
ãSheâs in her room, butâ¦ã
ãAh, maybe you had another fight with her?ã
ãWe didnât, and itâs not my fault.ã
I donât know what Maika was thinking, but I donât want to be told to apologize again, so I deny the fight and what I am about to say. Generally speaking, Sendai-san and I donât fight.
ãI havenât said anything yet.ã
ãI told you first because you might tell me.ã
ãPreempting is something someone with a guilty conscience would do.ã
I hear a voice behind the phone that seems to be smirking at me.
ãYouâre quick to make me the bad person, but there are times when Sendai-san is at fault, Maika.ã
ãMaybe so, but you seemed to do a lot worse, Shiori.ã
I donât know when and where it was created, but the image of Sendai-san in Maikaâs mind seems too good to be true.
She is certainly not a bad person.
But I donât think she is as good as I think I should be if we fight.
She kisses me without refusal and tries to make strange promises. Although she creates an innocent atmosphere, she is also an erotic devil.
If I tell Maika about such Sendai-san, I can change her image, but there is no way I can tell her. If I tell Maika, she will change her image of me as well as of Sendai-san.
However, by telling everything, I can let Maika know that Sendai-san is mine.
Even when we are out together, I can let her know that it is my Sendai-san who is choosing Maikaâs clothes, and even when I am walking next to Maika, I can let her know that Sendai-san belongs to me.
If only I could say it, right here, right nowââ
ãHeây, Shiori?ã
I hear Maikaâs voice interrupting my impossible imagination, and I panic.
ãEh, what?ã
ãBecause you suddenly went quiet.ã
ãSorry. By the way, you said the concert you went to with Asakura-san had the best set-up.ã
I swallow those words I shouldnât have said and try to shake the events of a few days ago.
ãYeah-yeah. I liked many of the songs. Shiori should have come too.ã
ãAnd I donât play that game.ã
Asakura-san sometimes invites me to anime and game events. Sometimes I go to those, but sometimes I donât. This time it was an event related to a game, and Maika went with me because her favorite voice actor would be there, and I did not.
I went to the live concert in an outfit chosen by Sendai-san and received a message from Asakura-san, who complimented him on how cute she looked.
Even now, Maika is on the other end of her phone again, talking about the clothes Sendai-san chose.
Words that should have been swallowed come up to my throat.
I consciously choose different words, lest words I shouldnât have said slip out of my mouth.
I lost track of how long I had been listening to Maika, when I heard a knock on the door, followed by Sendai-sanâs voice,ãMiyagi, can I have a word with you?ã
ãSorry. Sendai-san wants to see me.ã
I tell her over the phone and get out of bed.
ãOkay, Iâm hanging up now, so donât fight with Sendai-san.ã
ãI wonât, see you.ã
I hear Maikaâs voice saying, âSee you later,â before hanging up the phone. Then I opened the door to find Sendai-san standing there with her phone.
ãMio wants to talk to you, Miyagi.ã
ãKomatsu-san isââã
What does she want?
I was about to say to Sendai-san, when I heard a loudãYahohâãfrom her phone. It was the kind of voice that made me want to regret hanging up the phone with Maika, and I glared at Sendai-san, who turned her phone toward me.
I hadnât heard that the phone was connected.
ãShiori-chan, I told you to call me by my given name, not my family name.ã
I hear a bright voice in vain.
When I met her at the café, she said that to me and I was going to do so, but when I was with Sendai-san, I didnât have to call her âMio-sanâ so I forgot all about it.
ãâ¦Hello, Mio-san.ã
I donât actively want to get to know her, but I feel that it would be troublesome if I call her âKomatsu-san,â so I call her by her given name.
ãThatâs so stiff. Letâs go with a softer touch. Yahohâ, Shiori-chan.ã
ãâ¦Yahoh.ã
ãYeah, thatâs nice. So, to get to the point, can I go visit your house tomorrow?ã
ãEh, tomorrow!?ã
When I looked at Sendai-sanâs face at the shocking words that blew away the fact that I was forced to do that âYahohâ thing, she made me worship her with one hand. I can tell that Sendai-san didnât bring this up because she looks like she has âsorryâ written on her forehead, but Iâm not happy to find out.
ãI was promised to do it March, so I was wondering if tomorrow would be a good day.ã
ãErrmâ¦ã
There is no doubt that I said March would be good, and it is already March, but it is too soon to tell. It has only been a few days since March.
ãOh, I knew it was too soon? What about the day after tomorrow?ã
ãThe day after tomorrow.ã
It was early.
Too abrupt.
ãHow about tomorrow, when we have more time to spare?ã
ãSendai-sanâs scheduleââã
ãOh, Hazuki said whenever is fine. Right?ã
Mio-san says as if to take away my words.
ãYeah, Iâll go along with both of you.ã
ãShiori-chan, thatâs fine, right?ã
When asked the question of choosing another day, which is not an option, I reply,ãThen, the day after tomorrow.ã
ãAlright! The day after tomorrow then.ã
ãMio, what about the time?ã
ãAh, letâs see. Can I come afternoon?ã
ãOkay, but what time?ã
ãIâll call you later. Well, then, thatâs that.ã
Mioâs voice disappears and the phone hangs up.
ãâ¦What was that, just now.ã
Kicking Sendai-sanâs leg, a light voice responds.
ãIsnât it fine? Itâs day after tomorrow.ã
ãItâs not fine.ã
ãWhether itâs later or earlier, it wonât change the fact that Mio is coming to visit us, so it would be easier for her to come early, wouldnât it?ã
ãYes, but⦠If this was the case, I should have never hung up the phone with Maika.ã
A phone call with Maika and a phone call with Mio-san.
Although the phone call with Maika, who was swallowing down words she shouldnât have said, was not a pleasant experience, it was better than talking to Mio-san and having her agree to visit the day after tomorrow.
ãYou were talking to Utsunomiya?ã
ãShe was calling me, but I hung up.ã
ãSorry⦠what did you talk about?ã
I have an apology in my head, but Sendai-sanâs voice is lower than usual. Sheâs not grumpy, but her voice is not cheerful.
ãIt was about going to a live concert with Asakura-san.ã
ãI havenât heard that. Miyagi, did you go to the concert with Asakura-san?ã
ãMaika went, not me. I was invited, but I didnât go.ã
ãDid she ask you to come?ã
ãWhat is it about every single one of these?ã
ãIâm sorry I didnât know that story.ã
Thatâs true.
I have not told Sendai-san.
I told him that if I was supposed to go to the concert, I would go out and include Asakura-san. But if I donât go, itâs not something I should bother to tell Sendai-san.
ãThereâs no need to tell you, Sendai-san.ã
ãThereâs a need. Tell me who you talked to and what you talked about, Miyagi.ã
ãWhy not? You donât care who I talk to or what I talk about.ã
Even I donât know everything about who Sendai-san is talking to and what she is talking about. I am curious, but I donât know.
Once we became roommates, we set some rules.
But thereâs no rule in that rule to tell her who I talked to and what kind of conversation I had. Even if we were to re-create the rule now, we wouldnât make such a rule.
I am sure that if I know all the things that are bothering me, I will become even more curious about Sendai-san and want to know more about her. I am afraid that the objects of my jealousy will keep increasing and I will lose control of her.
ãNot good. I want to know everything youâre talking about, Miyagi.ã
ãItâs strange that I tell you everything I talk about with my friends.ã
ãEven if itâs strange, I want to know.ã
ãWhy?ã
ãâ¦If I told you Iâd be jealous if I didnât know, would you believe me?ã
Sendai-san is different from me.
Even though she knows everything I care about, she doesnât get jealous.
I think thatâs why she asks me to tell her who I talked to and what kind of conversation I had with whom when sheâs not around.
ãâ¦I donât believe you.ã
After a short answer, Sendai-san said nothing further.