360 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

### Chapter 360 I find it regretful. But I also think it can't be helped. After all, it was I who caused us to return home earlier than planned. "Is your foot okay?" I glance at Miyagi, who is sitting next to me using the bed as a backrest, and when she replies, "I'm fine," her foot—still red after the band-aids were removed—looks painfully sore. After buying yakisoba, we left the festival at the shrine by taxi. Once home, I promptly changed and washed Miyagi's foot in the bathroom, attempting to apply a band-aid, but she resisted. Even as we sip on orange juice in my room after eating the yakisoba, Miyagi stubbornly refuses to let me apply the band-aid. Honestly, Miyagi can be quite stubborn. "Wouldn't it be better to put on a band-aid?" I repeat the question I've asked many times since we returned, and she responds with the world's most exasperated voice. "It’s fine. The band-aid bothers me, so I'd rather leave it as it is." Miyagi hugs her knees, wiggling her toes. Without socks, her toes are clearly visible, as is the redness, which pains my heart to see. However, she seems utterly unconcerned about the redness and pain from where the strap of her sandal rubbed against her foot. She wears the same expression she always does—a mix of slight displeasure and boredom. Yet, having changed from her yukata into denim pants, she seems considerably more relaxed, making me think returning home early was a good decision. "Then, how about going to the hospital tomorrow?" I gaze at her reddened foot. "Sendai-san, you're overreacting. Tomorrow, I'm just going to laze around at home. I'm tired." The word "tired" from Miyagi hits my head with a soft thud and tumbles down to the floor. I pick it up, telling her "Sorry" as if to collect it. "I don’t like being apologized to in situations like this." "Sorry." I apologize again, and she pushes my arm, saying, “I said I don’t like it.” "If it starts hurting, you have to tell me." "I will, so let's stop talking about this." Miyagi, still hugging her knees, covers her reddened foot with her hands. Then silence descends upon the room, banishing all words. Looking at Miyagi's foot makes me want to apologize again, and I press on my throat to suppress the urge. I glance at the platypus lounging under the table. Its goofy expression, sprouting a tissue from its back, lightens the ache in my heart just a bit. "Hey, Sendai-san." Miyagi calls me softly. "Does your foot hurt after all?" "It's not that. —Are other people's feet made of steel or something?" "…Huh?" "I mean, no one seems to have foot pain even when they wear geta." "Ah, in that sense. Maybe it's a matter of getting used to them?" "Are you used to them, Sendai-san?" "I might be more used to them than you, Miyagi." Whether she's trying to lighten the mood or asking sincerely, I can’t tell. In any case, Miyagi's unexpected comment about "steel" catches me off guard. Coupled with the platypus' stress-relieving effect, my guilt decreases by about half, bringing a smile to my face. "Miyagi, you say silly things sometimes." "Not as much as you do, Sendai-san." She playfully smacks my knee. Our usual banter feels comforting. Lately, she's been helping me out a lot. I place my hand gently on her denim-covered knee. "...Pervert." She utters quietly, to which I respond, "I haven't done anything yet." "That means you plan to." "Do you mind?" "I do." "Why?" "Today was the day we were supposed to go to the festival together, so nothing else." "You're stingy. It's not like we can't do other things on the same day." "It's not okay." "Then, can I kiss your foot? The red part." "Sendai-san, you're such an idiot." She echoes a line similar to what I said earlier, which is unfair. It was Miyagi who taught me these silly things, and I only copied them, so she should take some responsibility. "Sendai-san, you're thinking something weird again, aren't you?" "I am." I admit it quietly, and Miyagi moves a bit away from me. I press my hand more firmly on her knee, calling out, "Miyagi." She peels off my hand rigorously and shifts further away. "I'm joking." I say it more lightly than the tissue sprouting from the platypus and smile. "When you say it, Sendai-san, it doesn't sound like a joke." "Would you have preferred it if it wasn't a joke?" I ask quietly, as Miyagi averts her eyes from me. "...Why do you always want to do weird things on days like this, Sendai-san?" Miyagi, not looking at me, hugs her knees again, wiggling her red foot. "Days like what?" "If you don't know, then never mind." "Tell me. I'm curious." "...Memorable days. Like Christmas or something." Her small voice mumbles. Miyagi still won't look at me, so I can't see her expression clearly, but those words make me happy. "Because I want you to remember me." Of course, it's not that I only choose memorable days intentionally. I want the things on days that don't seem memorable to be remembered too. "...But I want to use my memory for other things." "What other things?" "There's no need to explain them all to you, Sendai-san." "Stingy. Tell me. For example, what would you use your memory for today?" I tug on Miyagi's T-shirt, asking, and she pushes my shoulder with all her might. "Ouch." "I did that on purpose." "Even if it hurts, tell me, Miyagi." Saying so, Miyagi frowns at me, glaring. Then, she draws the platypus tissue cover closer, placing it between us. "It’s irritating to say things like that after making someone wear a yukata and taking them to a festival." This is it probably, albeit indirectly. The "other thing" she wants to use her memory for is "the festival." That makes me very happy, yet it also pricks my heart, and I lower my gaze to her foot. "...Today's memory isn't that great, is it? You can overwrite it." "That's for me to decide, not for you, Sendai-san." Her dissatisfied voice reaches from beside me, thumping in my chest. We wore yukatas together, matching geta, went to the festival, and ate delicious food. I thought it would have been a good memory, but reflecting back, there were so many things that could've been better. But. Miyagi didn’t see it that way. I give Miyagi the platypus lying on the floor. Then, I embrace her with the tissue cover still in her arms. “Sendai-san, it's so hot.” “Bear with it.” I know I've been over-regretting. I knew I had to detach my feelings from her reddened foot for Miyagi's sake, to not burden her. Yet, Miyagi has pulled me out from the mire of my regret, despite my inability to do so. Today, Miyagi is once again kind, painting over my regretful heart with pure white. "...Why are you doing this?" "Because you're cute, Miyagi." "I'm not cute." A low voice reaches me as I pull away to look at Miyagi, her face showing a sulky expression. Undeterred, I kiss her cheek. "You don't need to do that, just let go." "I'll let go in five more minutes." "That's too long." "It's short, really. By the way, if you don't go to the hospital tomorrow, what will you do instead?" "Gaming. I'll completely crush you, Sendai-san." "...Can't it be something else?" "It can't." Miyagi firmly states as she wriggles out of my embrace and shoves the platypus at me.