Chapter 185: Sendai-san is unlike anyone else — 185
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「It’s weird to be on sumr break in September.」
Maika, whom I haven’t seen in a long ti, says sincerely.
After spending about a month at her parents’ house, she looks just a little tanned and healthy.
「College students have long sumr vacations, don’t they?」
「I was at ho for a long ti, but I couldn’t do anything college-like because I was mostly at ho. I couldn’t use this room at all even though I was living alone.」
Maika falls exaggeratedly to the floor, but it’s not tragic because she’s lying down like a seal basking on the beach. If anything, she look like she was having fun.
I shift my gaze from Maika to the table.
There are two glasses of barley tea and a bag of potato chips.
I take a glass with a drop of water and moisten my throat.
Her room, where she ca to visit because she had a souvenir for , is neither hot nor cold. It is kept at the right temperature for .
「It’s still sumr vacation, so why don’t you start acting like a college student now?」
「What’s college-ish about it?」
Maika asks without a mont’s pause.
「Well, I wonder.」
It has been almost half a year since I beca a university student, but I don’t want to be asked about myself, who isn’t so different from when I was a high school student. I want her to ask Sendai-san about this kind of thing, not . But I know that if Maika starts to say that she will contact Sendai-san, I won’t feel very good, so I won’t tell her that.
We repeatedly list what we both think are “college student-like things” and then deny them, which is unproductive.
「Shiori, how’s the trip?」
After several voices answered,「It’s too much hassle,」Maika got up from the seal back to a human being.
「Oh yeah, Ami told us to co ho for winter break.」
「Last ti I told Ami I wouldn’t be back for winter break.」
At the end of August, Ami asked about my winter vacation plans and I told her I would not be returning. It was still a long way off, but my plans wouldn’t change.
「She told to persuade you. Are you not coming ho for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s?」
「I’m not.」
「Are your parents, annoying?」
「We’re a laissez-faire family.」
My father’s first priority is his work and he doesn’t care about enough to interfere.
He never ca ho enough to interfere with in the first place, so I didn’t co ho for sumr vacation.
「I’m jealous. I wish I could stay here for the whole winter break, but I guess I’ll have to go ho. I have New Year’s money, too.」
「How nice to have New Year’s money.」
「Why don’t you go ho, too? Ami will be happy.」
「I’d like to see Ami, but…」
The words I uttered contained no lie, but I don’t think I want to go ho to an empty house.
「Everyone will be going ho for the New Year’s holidays, and wouldn’t it be boring to be alone?」
“Let’s return there together,” Maika says in a voice that doesn’t say, but I know she wants to.
「I don’t think Sendai-san will be leaving, and I don’t think I’ll be alone.」
I haven’t heard about Sendai-san’s plans, but I’m sure she won’t go ho just because it’s the New Year’s holiday. So I would rather stay here than go all the way back to my parents’ house where no one is coming ho.
「Sendai-san isn’t returning ho either. Co to think of it, Sendai-san didn’t go ho for sumr vacation either, did she?」
「She was at ho, but…」
「Did you two go out and have fun together?」
「We went out for what we went out for.」
I know she’s going to want to hear it.
If I were in Maika’s shoes, I would ask the sa thing.
But it’s hard to answer.
I feel guilty even though I have nothing to be guilty about.
「Where did you two go?」
Maika asks in a light tone.
I know she doesn’t an anything deep, and there is nothing unnatural about the fact that if I say we’ve gone out, she will say where.
「Aquarium.」
I answer shortly and drink barley tea.
「Surprising. Sendai-san seems to go to different places. I an, an aquarium is like a place for dates!」
「It’s not a date.」
Nothing crazy about going out with roommates.
It doesn’t matter if the place is an aquarium.
It’s a good place to go with friends or with roommates.
It’s just strange that Maika says it’s like a date.
It’s strange that I’m too conscious when I talk to people about what happened with Sendai-san, but I think I’m just overly concerned about it because I do things with her that I wouldn’t call roommates.
「Well, I was joking about calling it a date. How nice. I wish I could have been there to play.」
「So, do you two want to go hang out?」
「That’s nice. Where would we go? ——wait, Shiori, your birthday is this month, right? Why don’t I go out with you on your birthday?」
「Ahh, my birthday…」
Suddenly the word birthday cos up and I am at a loss for words.
Until last year, it was Maika and Ami who celebrated my birthday.
But that won’t be the case this year.
「Nhn? Do you have any plans by any chance?」
Maika makes a curious face.
It’s hard to say, but I have to.
「…I had a promise.」
「Ahh, there’s a promise.」
「Yeah. With Sendai-san.」
「The two of you?」
「…Sort of like that.」
「Ehh, I was planning to go out with Shiori this year.」
Maika exaggerates.
Then she smirked and continued her words.
「…Is what I would say, but we didn’t do much last year either. I guess I’ll give your birthday to Sendai-san.」
「Sorry.」
I feel bad because I can tell that Maika is concerned about .
In fact, it would be better if I could invite Maika and the three of us could spend the birthday together, but I can’t say so.
「You said you didn’t make any promises and there’s nothing to apologize for. Oh yeah, when is Sendai-san’s birthday?」
「In August.」
「It’s over now. What did you two do?」
「Just in case.」
It’s not so much that I did sothing, but I think I did sothing birthday-like.
However, I don’t know if the birthday present I gave her was the right one, as I wasn’t sure whether I should give it to her or not. Sendai-san was pleased, but it remains a mystery whether she ant what she said when she said she was happy because she’s not the kind of person who pushes back what she receives.
I tried to celebrate her birthday, hoping to reciprocate her kindness in so small way, but I don’t think it went well.
「Shiori, it’s not fair that you seed to be enjoying your sumr vacation.」
「Maika has been playing with Ami, so why not?」
「Yes, but you know what? I wanted to fully enjoy it here too.」
Maika says in a rare spoiled child-like manner and falls to the floor again to beco a seal on the beach.
I recall the difference between seals and sea lions that Sendai-san taught , and Maika and I discuss the sumr vacation that is still going on in September. Then we decide to et again and go sowhere for fun before college starts, and after we both have dinner, we take the train ho.
Up the stairs to the third floor, I open the front door to find Sendai-san’s shoes, which she said she wouldn’t go anywhere today. I don’t know if she really didn’t go out, but she seems to be ho.
When I went to the common space, Sendai-san ca out of her room and said,「Welco back」to which I replied,「I’m ho.」
「Utsunomiya, how have you been?」
Sendai-san, who has often been in a good mood since the start of sumr vacation, says with a downcast look on her face.
「I was fine. I was tanned and healthy.」
「Then that’s good.」
「Here, a souvenir. You two can eat it together.」
When I give Sendai-san the souvenir Maika gave , she asks,「Do you want so now?」Having just eaten a al, I was not hungry and replied,「Tomortoe is fine,」Sendai-san sat down in her chair, perhaps intending to talk slowly.
「Did you have fun today?」
「Well, I haven’t seen her in a while. I plan to visit again during the vacations.」
「And when is that?」
「I haven’t decided yet.」
「I see.」
Sendai-san blurted out and tried to get up from the chair she had just sat down in. I opened my mouth, not wanting her to go back to her room, although there was nothing I really wanted to talk about.
「Sendai-san, are you going ho for winter vacation?」
「I’m not going ho. I’m thinking of doing a short term job that I can only do during winter break.」
I squeezed my hand as I got the answer I expected and the one I didn’t expect.
「What about your tutor job?」
「Apart from that.」
「…More part-ti work?」
I see Sendai-san, who is working even more part-ti in addition to her tutoring job, which is still unacceptable.
As a tutor, her student overlap too much with my past self.
Even though I know she would never do to her student what she did to , I don’t feel better when she’s working part-ti. It also takes up Sendai-san’s ti, and I still wish she would quit.
I once thought that I could forgive her if it were another part-ti job, but I don’t think I could accept not only Sendai-san who tutors, but also Sendai-san who does other part-ti jobs.
「I intend to. Is Miyagi going ho?」
Sendai-san looks at .
「I won’t go back.」
「Then, do you want to go sowhere together for winter break?」
「If you want to add a part-ti job, you don’t have that kind of ti.」
「I don’t intend to add so much that I can’t go anywhere.」
Sendai-san smiles at , and I feel like kissing her for no reason.
Why?
Why is Sendai-san different from everyone else?
I don’t want her to be special, but no one else can take her place. Even though I don’t want her presence to grow in my life, it definitely does, and being with her makes want to do sothing I wouldn’t do with anyone else for no reason.
I reach out and touch Sendai-san’s lips.
I press my fingertips hard against them, and Sendai-san closes her eyes as if it were a matter of course.
When I bring my lips together, I can feel her heat even before I touch her.
I close my eyes and bite down on her lip, trying not to look at my feelings.
Sendai-san pulls herself up and grabs my arm.
The harder I set my teeth, the stronger her hand grabs my arm.
I don’t an to put a scar on her lips, but I will want to put a mark on it so that I can easily see where Sendai-san is and what she is doing. She is not mine, but I want to make a mark that anyone but can see.
I bite her soft, soon-to-be-bloodied lips heavy, hard, and release her.
「…It hurt like crazy, you know.」
Sendai-san complained and stroked her lips with her finger. Then, after checking that there was no blood on her fingertips, she let out a small breath.
「If you get angry…」
I am unfair.
I say this knowing that Sendai-san will not get really angry.
「I’m used to Miyagi doing things that don’t make sense.」
She said dismissively, and Sendai-san stood up.
.
But she didn’t return to her room.
「Are you in bad mood?」
Then she tugs lightly on my bangs.
「I’m not.」
There is no lie in the words I spoke.
So to prove it, I kissed her lips.
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