363 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 363 I truly think Sendai-san is hopelessly foolish. "Shall we take a bath together?" She said it with such freshness. That suggestion came up when we decided to take a bath before going to bed and were about to choose who would go first with a game of rock-paper-scissors. The discussion wasn't about going in together or not, it was about who would go first. Her remark was out of place. Despite having a beautiful face, Sendai-san constantly says the most unsuitable things for that appearance. I watch the girl who continues fighting on TV. I started watching this anime to kill time while Sendai-san was in the bath, but it turned out to be quite entertaining. I exhale, thinking that it might have been nice to watch it together with Sendai-san. Up until now, the person I shared hobbies with was Maika, but now Sendai-san seems to have encroached on that territory. I press the stop button to pause the girl's movement and turn off the TV. I won the game of rock-paper-scissors and took a bath first. Sendai-san was supposed to go after, and she’s in the bathroom now. I tug at my hair. I took the time to properly dry it, yet Sendai-san hasn’t come back. Simply put, she's taking too long. Not that a lot of time has passed, but it feels that way because Sendai-san isn’t returning quickly. Wanting to complain about her delay makes it evident that I’m waiting for her. "…I don’t really need to stay up, do I." I somehow ended up sharing a bed with Sendai-san, but I didn’t promise to wait awake for her to come back from the bath. I lie on the bed. I turn off the light and close my eyes. Today has been exhausting for a number of reasons. I wasn’t particularly sleepy, but the darkness brings drowsiness, and I drift away from reality. The events at the café faintly emerge and fade in my mind. Dreams and reality mingling, Sendai-san’s voice telling an annoying story about a necklace she doesn’t have to mention reverberates in my head. "Miyagi." Someone calls me from afar. "Miyagi." I hear the sound of something being tapped. "Miyagi, just. I'm coming in, okay?" All I hear is the voice, without any warmth nearby. "Miyagi." I open my eyes and sit up. Sure enough, Sendai-san isn’t here. "Miyagi, are you okay?" I open my eyes and turn on the light, trying to think through my groggy state. I’m on the bed, without Sendai-san. She was supposed to be in the bath, but hearing her voice from outside the room means she's finished bathing. "Miyagi, I'm coming in." Her voice sounds like she could enter at any moment, yet Sendai-san, being polite, doesn't come in on her own. I get out of bed and open the door. "Sendai-san, you’re noisy." I complain to Sendai-san, dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, and she returns a soft voice. "I'm back." Even without approaching, I can tell. Sendai-san smells the same as I do. Her hair is dry and smooth. Freshly out of the bath, she smells good and looks beautiful. "...Welcome back." I add, "Come in," as I sit at the table. Sendai-san sits next to me as if it’s the natural thing to do and asks, "Were you sleeping?" "I was awake." "That's a lie. You sound like you were sleeping." "I wasn't." I hand the air conditioner remote to Sendai-san. "What?" "Set the temperature as you like." The room temperature is just right for me, but it must feel a bit warm for her, just out of the bath. Sendai-san tends to feel warm and prefers a different ideal temperature than I do. "It's fine. I wouldn't want you catching a cold, Miyagi." As she tries to return the remote control, I push her hand back without taking it. "If it gets cold, I’ll raise the temperature myself." "Then I’ll lower it myself if it gets warm." "How about now?" "It's fine as it is." Sendai-san smiles softly, places the remote on the table, and adds, "Shall we sleep?" "Weren't we going to chat?" "We already talked a bit, and I’m sleepy too." Sendai-san stands up and asks, "Miyagi, which side do you want to sleep on?" "The wall side." I answer briefly and lie down on the bed before she does. She comes over to my side, trying to claim more space, mumbling about moving over. I push her shoulder aside, telling her the space is cramped. "Miyagi, stingy. I’m turning off the light." "Yeah." As I respond, the room lights switch to a night light. The world is enveloped in a faint glow. I face towards Sendai-san. She still smells nice. I reach out and touch her hair. It’s lighter in color than mine, pleasant to touch, and feels good just having my fingers in it. "Miyagi, your bed is comfortable." "It’s an ordinary bed." "I think it’s a bed that makes you want to sleep in it every day." Sendai-san’s hand reaches out, touching my side. I can see her face. In the dim room, our eyes meet. Her hand tries to slip inside my T-shirt, so I kick her leg. "Ow. Stop doing that without saying anything." "I'll kick you." "Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s okay." "You were the one who said not to do things silently, Sendai-san. If you want to touch, touch your own stomach." I grab Sendai-san’s hand and push it against her own stomach. "It’s no fun touching my stomach when you’re right next to me, Miyagi." She says this seriously and rolls over onto her back. After gazing at her profile in the faint light, I slowly close my eyes. "Miyagi, are you asleep?" "Of course, I'm not sleeping." I closed my eyes, but it hasn’t even been ten seconds. No way I could sleep that quickly. "I see. What kind of drink do you want for your birthday?" The person who suggested going to sleep is now interrupting the process. The same person who previously claimed to be sleepy doesn’t seem to fit this description anymore. "Sendai-san, you said the chat was over." I complain and open my eyes, only to find Sendai-san, previously in profile, now facing me. "I never said ‘over,’ and answering one question isn’t much." Judging from her voice, she’s not likely to fall asleep soon. Not answering isn’t an option; if I don’t, she’ll just keep asking the same thing. "...As long as Sendai-san doesn’t lose her composure, anything is fine." "Don’t add unnecessary comments." "That’s an important comment." "I won’t drink so much as to lose my senses; don’t worry." "I can’t trust that." Typically, the ones who assure others not to worry are often the least reliable. "Don’t worry." Once again, Sendai-san utters words I find hard to trust and continues speaking. "I hate the thought of losing my memories if I drink too much." "Is that something you don't want?" "No one willingly wants to lose their memory, right?" Sendai-san states this as if it’s common sense. "Even if you don't want to, aren't there times when you do forget?" "Well, it seems like Mio has had a few incidents." She brings up a familiar example, adding the detail, "She tends to be hungover sometimes." "I bet Mio-san gets noisy when she drinks." "True. Out of our group, Utsunomiya seems like she wouldn't change much. She'd probably smile and drink a lot." Hearing "Utsunomiya" unexpectedly from Sendai-san makes my ears perk up. What she said about Mio is factual, while her guess about Maika is speculative. Reflecting on past events is inevitable, I suppose. But discussing what it would be like to drink with Maika when there aren't even any plans to do so doesn't sit well with me. My hand instinctively reaches towards Sendai-san's chest. I trace her collarbone and follow the chain of the necklace. I almost touch the four-leaf clover but stop. "Aren't you going to touch it?" Sendai-san whispers softly. "I'm not touching it." "You almost did." "I didn’t almost touch it." If I touch it now, it might seem as though I'm jealous. "…Maika won’t be able to drink until next year." I turn my back to Sendai-san and close my eyes. Maika won't turn twenty for a while, so talk of alcohol is premature. "I know." With a flat voice, she tugs at my T-shirt. When I don't turn around, Sendai-san's voice reaches me again. "…Miyagi, kiss me." "No." "Miyagi." "If you want to kiss, just do it. Why are you asking me for permission?" "Because we promised just to sleep and talk." "Then stick to that." I curl up my back, and Sendai-san places her hand there. "I'll keep the promise and sleep, just turn this way." "No." "…Shiori." Her hand presses against me more firmly. She didn’t have permission to call me Shiori. I turn towards Sendai-san, ready to voice my complaint.