177 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Chapter 177 Today, I might die. That's how cheerful Miyagi is. The final exhibit in the aquarium tour was flying penguins, yet she seems to have taken a liking to the rooftop area. Smilingly, she suggests we go around that section once more. Typically, an aquarium isn't a place where you loop around to see the same things again and again. But if it means Miyagi remains happy, I'd keep circling here forever. Even if I get sunburned, even with sweat trickling down my forehead, I don't care. We exchange greetings with the seals and the small-clawed otters before finding ourselves back in front of the penguins. "Miyagi, the sea lion show is about to start. Do you want to watch?" I call out to Miyagi, who won't tear her gaze away from the penguins. "No need. Is there anything you want to see again, Sendai-san?" "Not really." What I want to see is Miyagi. If she doesn't want to watch the sea lion show, neither do I. If she thinks there's nothing left in the aquarium worth seeing, then there isn’t for me either. "Then let's go home." Miyagi finally shifts her gaze from the penguins and says dismissively. "Already? You don't want to stop by anywhere?" I don't feel like going home just yet. It's not that there's something specific I want to see or somewhere I must visit, but I just want to keep watching Miyagi as she enjoys herself, hopefully through the night as well. However, she emotionlessly replies, "No need to stop anywhere." "Alright then, let's head home. Do you not want to buy a penguin plushie?" Given her apparent fondness for the penguins, I ask, but she looks at me quizzically. "Do you want a penguin plushie, Sendai-san?" "I don't need one, but it seems like you liked the penguins a lot." "I don't need it. I already have plushies." "Miyagi, you have a penguin plushie?" That's news to me. In her room back in high school, I never saw such a thing. Plushies aren’t items you hide away, so if she has one, she must have acquired it as a university student. It's not a problem to buy plushies. However, I dislike the idea that someone might have given it to her. Even more, having a plushie gifted by someone else displayed in her room would bother me. In the depths of my heart, a drop of dark ink falls and begins to spread. Not just internally, but even on the surface a dark stain starts to appear, and Miyagi's curt voice breaks through. "Not a penguin, a cat. Didn't you give that to me on Christmas, Sendai-san? Forgot, did you?" With her words, the dark stain spreading in my heart dissipates. A black cat plushie, subtly resembling Miyagi. It's impossible for me to forget something I gave her. I also clearly remember she didn't look particularly happy when she received it. "I remember. ...Did the plushie move with you too?" Back in high school, the black cat lived on Miyagi's bookshelf. But since I’ve never been in her new room, I have no idea what happened to the black cat. If it’s on her bookshelf just like back then, irrespective of the fact I gifted it, I’d be extremely pleased. "I brought it with me, so no need for another plushie." The cheerful Miyagi from moments ago now has a slight furrow on her brow. I restrain the urge to hug her, feeling buoyant, and respond with a simple "I see." It seems the black cat plushie I gifted is reasonably adored by Miyagi, who is cat-like herself. Actually, since she says she doesn’t need a penguin plushie because she has the cat, it might be quite cherished. Thinking of it surpassing even this penguin that captivated Miyagi makes me envious to the point I’d like to be that plushie. But if I turned into the black cat plushie, I'd miss out on coming to the aquarium with Miyagi or kissing her. So, not to the extent of wanting to stop being human. "Shall we head home then? But could we grab something to eat on the way back? I'm too lazy to cook dinner tonight. Unless you want to cook for me too, Miyagi?" I’m fine with respecting her wish not to stop by anywhere, but I still want to take it easy. "I don't feel like cooking today either." Since we’re in agreement, we start walking. "What do you feel like eating, Miyagi?" "We had bread earlier, so maybe a bento." "Alright." Though I wanted to stay here forever, hearing something delightful has me leaving the aquarium with a light step. The crease on Miyagi's forehead vanishes too. We leisurely head toward the station. Usually, there aren't many common topics that Miyagi and I could get excited about, but today is different. There's plenty to talk about. "What's the difference between a seal and a sea lion, I wonder." I ask Miyagi, imagining the two creatures whose differences I know exist but can't explain. "Shape, maybe?" "Well, they do look different, but there must be more distinct differences." "I wouldn't know. Look it up, Sendai-san." "Maybe I will when we get home." It may not be a particularly meaningful conversation, but Miyagi is talkative, making it enjoyable. As we continue with this trivial yet significant chat for me, for some reason, we slow our walking pace a bit. Conversation halts, and we can clearly hear the bustling city around us. "...Sendai-san, do you often visit aquariums?" Miyagi asks, not looking at me. "I went a few times with my family as a kid, but not really after I grew up. What about you, Miyagi?" "Same. I think I went once when I was little. ...We didn’t have many family outings." "Is that so?" "My father's always busy and hardly at home." Miyagi uncharacteristically talks about her family. Her gaze remains away from me, fixed ahead. I'm uncertain whether to voice the thought that comes to mind. Usually, she wouldn’t answer. But today, I think she might. "...What about your mother?" After Miyagi decided to room with me, her father came to greet my family at our home. However, her mother did not come, and Miyagi rarely speaks of her mother, even if she mentions her father. "She's not around." Predictably, this was her reply. Perhaps it was something I shouldn’t have asked, but part of me wants to delve deeper. Still, Miyagi doesn’t look my way. It’s as if there’s a rule forbidding her from looking anywhere but forward. I don’t want today to leave a bad memory for Miyagi. I want her to return home with only happy recollections. Both Miyagi and I should end this day on a happy note. "I see." I reply briefly and search for the next words. They don’t come easily, words I should say to Miyagi, who has shared something she’s never shared before. On the way to the station, there’s a decent number of people walking about, making it not the sort of place for in-depth discussions. The overlapping voices of people speaking nearby and afar form a nonsensical hum in my ears. I slowly inhale and exhale. "You probably already know this, Miyagi, but my family doesn’t get along very well... However, when I was a kid, we were on good terms, so they would take me to places like aquariums and zoos." After I shared this bit to reciprocate Miyagi's openness, she finally turned to look at me. To be precise, I should say, "It's just me that doesn’t get along with my family, while the rest of them seem to get along just fine." But to explain all that properly would require too many additional explanations. "You have an older sister, right?" she asked. "Yeah, I do." "...Do you not get along?" "Not really," I replied. My sister, who is two years older, and I keep our distance. We don’t have sharp, obvious disagreements, but it's been years since we had a proper conversation. Despite living close enough that we could meet easily, we haven’t even bothered to stay in touch. "Sendai-san." We passed through the ticket gates, and Miyagi softly called out to me. "What is it?" "...Thank you for today. I had fun at the aquarium." I heard her words clearly, but my mind was slow to process them. As a result, I couldn’t find any words to say in response. "Sendai-san?" "Oh, sorry. I just didn’t expect you to say you had fun." I had seen her enjoying herself at the aquarium. She’d been laughing, even getting a bit carried away. But I didn’t expect her to go out of her way to tell me she had a good time. For Miyagi to tell me she had fun felt as unlikely as winter following immediately after summer. "What do you think I am, Sendai-san? There are times when I do say I’m having fun." "Then, from now on, let me know if you have fun like you did today." "Why would you want to know that?" "Because I want to understand what makes you happy." If I could learn what makes Miyagi happy, even in small ways, maybe I could bring a smile to her face again, like today. "...If something fun happens and I remember, I'll tell you." "That's good enough for me." Miyagi’s answer was noncommittal, but for now, it was sufficient. The fact that she didn’t outright reject the idea was progress. "Do you want to hold hands?" I said something I knew Miyagi would never agree to, nudging her arm playfully with my elbow. "No." As expected, she didn’t break her usual pattern. She’d probably have kicked my leg if we were at home. Still, I think, that's very like Miyagi. Wanting her to at least glance my way, I nudged her with my elbow again, and she spoke softly. "...When are we going to the zoo?" I almost let out a surprised "Eh," but swallowed it back. Saying something unnecessary and making her retract the suggestion would have been problematic. "Winter's too cold, maybe in the fall?" "I’ll remember that." Miyagi gave a concise reply. Summer vacation wasn’t over yet. Although I wanted to do more fun things with Miyagi, I couldn't help but hope for autumn to arrive sooner.