379 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

**Chapter 379** Slowly tracing the outline of her earring, I delicately caressed Miyagi's cheek. "Swap, Sendai-san." Miyagi muttered softly and pulled away from my touch, picking up the key case she had dropped and offering it to me. I picked up my discarded bag from the floor and retrieved my own key case. "Thank you for the dog." I handed over the key case, making the exchange. The cat I received from her was greeted with a gentle "I'm home" before I tucked it into my bag. "Miyagi, you said you were just sleeping earlier, but why were you sleeping here?" As I voiced my question, Miyagi glowered at the blanket on the floor rather than at me. No answer came back. Silence descended, enveloping us in an almost tangible hush where you could almost hear the air itself. Miyagi appeared to have collapsed right there on the floor. The blanket that had covered her. The cat key case that had slipped from her hand. All of it lay before my room. Piecing together the clues scattered in the shared space, I realized that Miyagi's earlier claim of "just sleeping" was not a lie. Though relieved that she hadn't collapsed, the puzzle pieces gathered from the scene still didn't explain why she slept on the floor in front of my room, rather than a bed. "Miyagi." I called her name, hoping to solve this mystery, but received no reply. Miyagi remained silent, not even attempting to stand up. She usually would have returned to her room by now, and her silence was unexpected too. Questions piled up. I retraced my steps, trying to recall the sequence of events. Leaving Miyagi at home, I had gone to see my sister. Before that, we had watched a movie together. It was a horror movie, which Miyagi wasn't fond of— "Could it be that... you slept here because you were scared?" "It's not like that." Miyagi muttered in a low tone, pulling the blanket closer and distancing herself from me. I knew from experience that Miyagi wouldn't answer in moments like these. Still, fanciful thoughts persisted in wanting an explanation. Scared after watching the horror movie, Miyagi sought comfort near my room. She preferred being near me to staying in her own room. Yet, without entering my room uninvited, she remained at the door. It was nothing more than a hopeful delusion, but I wished it were true. "If it’s not that, then why did you sleep here?" I moved closer the same distance Miyagi had retreated, lightly tugging on the blanket. She tugged back, responding in a curt voice, "Doesn't matter why." "Tell me." "There is no reason." Her decisive tone forced me to abandon further questioning. "Fine, but even without a reason, don’t sleep here. You'll catch a cold." "I wasn’t sleeping. I was awake." "Pretty sure you were asleep when I saw you." Giving the blanket a stronger tug, Miyagi responded with a voice expressing utmost displeasure. "I was awake at first." "Well, yeah. Everyone is awake before they fall asleep." As I said that, Miyagi suddenly released the blanket, pushing it towards me. It crumpled in my grasp, rather than returning to Miyagi. "If you're going to sleep here, you might as well come into my room and sleep comfortably as much as you like. I'd rather not have you catching a cold sleeping outside my door." If Miyagi had been sleeping outside my room because the horror movie had scared her, it was rather adorable. However, it pained me to think that I had terrified her so much that she would sleep on the floor outside my room. I should have returned sooner. Even if the reason she slept outside my room wasn't fear, I had left Miyagi, who dislikes horror movies, alone after making her watch one, which must have been unsettling. I may not have meant to prioritize my sister, but I left Miyagi waiting too long. "When did you come back, Sendai-san?" Ignoring my invitation to enter my room at will, Miyagi changed the subject. Given my late return, I had an obligation to answer. "Just now. My sister's condition was worse than I thought." "Is she okay?" "Probably, yeah. I fed her and made sure she took her medicine." "That’s not what I meant. What about you, Sendai-san?" Surprised by her serious tone, neither quiet nor low, I looked at Miyagi. There were no wrinkles on her brow. Our eyes met, and she didn't seem displeased. It was unexpected. Instead of being worried about my sister, Miyagi was concerned about me. Placing the blanket aside, I carefully tried to reassure the important person within my world that they wouldn’t need to worry anymore. "I'm fine. Because you’re here, Miyagi." Without Miyagi, I'm not sure I could have remained composed with my sister. The feelings of always comparing myself and speaking unthinkable thoughts might have overtaken me. No, I probably wouldn’t have gone to my sister at all. And if anything had happened to her, I might have regretted it deeply, wanting to abandon everything. But because of Miyagi, none of those things happened. I no longer need to compare myself to anyone or aspire to be like my sister. I should be the "me" that belongs to Miyagi. "Thank you, Miyagi." Brushing my lips against her cheek, I ran my fingers through her dark hair. "I'm not involved in this." "You are." For me, "Shiori Miyagi" is the place I wish to return to. That’s why I could go to my sister. I wasn't an outstanding person, but I did what needed to be done for my sister and returned home unentangled by shadows. "...Hazuki." Her soft voice reached my ears, and her hand touched the necklace around my neck. Her fingers traced the chain, caressing the four-leaf clover pendant and pulling on it. The necklace dug into my neck, causing me to lean towards Miyagi. As her face drew closer, our lips met. Shocked, I looked at Miyagi, whose gaze had shifted away as her forehead pressed against my shoulder. "If it's now, then it's fine." Miyagi mumbled incomprehensible words, prompting me to respond. "Huh?" "The promise from before." "Promise?" Repeating her words dumbly, Miyagi whispered so quietly I almost missed it. "...We made another promise, remember? If now is okay, then maybe..." On the day Miyagi had asked me to handle the birthday party that Mio had planned, we made a promise. It was a promise that I could embrace something precious within something important, a promise I eagerly anticipated. "Miya—" My voice was suddenly interrupted by a sound coming from somewhere. "Huh?" Instead of the "gi" sound of Miyagi's name, a hapless noise escaped my lips. The sound that cut me off was a low "growl" that resonated with enough force there wasn't time to call out her name, causing my hand to move toward its source. Miyagi's stomach. Though it no longer made noise, I gently touched it. "Are you hungry, by any chance?" I rubbed the area around her stomach that had emitted the sound akin to hunger pangs signaling for attention. Miyagi lifted her head from my shoulder. "It wasn’t mine. It was your stomach, Sendai-san." Saying this, Miyagi peeled my hand away from her stomach and firmly pressed it against mine. "It was definitely your stomach, Miyagi." "It wasn’t. I’m not hungry." "Did you eat?" "I did." "What did you have?" "…Something." Miyagi offered a non-answer and then proceeded to press against my stomach. Her words and actions were so childlike that I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Indeed, this is where I belong, and I need Miyagi. "I haven’t eaten either, so how about we eat together now?" I had ensured my sister ate, but I'd returned home without doing the same for myself. I hadn't even noticed my own hunger while away, but now that things had settled, I realized just how hungry I was. "…If we're going to eat, then I'll take back what I said earlier." Truthfully, I'd feel it was a shame. Even on an empty stomach, I wanted to hold Miyagi close. However, if Miyagi was also hungry, priorities shifted. "That's fine. I'll prepare something. Let's eat together." "And the promise?" "It's okay if we wait until you're ready to agree again." "I'm tired of saying it myself." "Then, let's make it happen tomorrow." "Why do you get to decide that?" "If that's how you feel, make your own decision." I smiled at her while holding her hand, and although she replied with an irked "you're annoying," she didn't pull away. "…I’ll put it on hold for now." Miyagi muttered, then added, "Let’s eat." "Hey, Miyagi. Let's aim for tomorrow." "I’ll think about it tomorrow." "I trust that you won’t say no, Miyagi." As I stood up to prepare our much-delayed dinner, a low voice encouraged me to hurry, saying, "Make it quick."