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Chapter 185: Sendai-san is unlike anyone else — 185

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「It’s weird to be on summer break in September.」

Maika, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, says sincerely.

After spending about a month at her parents’ house, she looks just a little tanned and healthy.

「College students have long summer vacations, don’t they?」

「I was at home for a long time, but I couldn’t do anything college-like because I was mostly at home. 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 came to visit me because she had a souvenir for me, is neither hot nor cold. It is kept at the right temperature for me.

「It’s still summer vacation, so why don’t you start acting like a college student now?」

「What’s college-ish about it?」

Maika asks without a moment’s pause.

「Well, I wonder.」

It has been almost half a year since I became 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 me. 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 come home for winter break.」

「Last time I told Ami I wouldn’t be back for winter break.」

At the end of August, Ami asked me 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 me to persuade you. Are you not coming home 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 me enough to interfere.

He never came home enough to interfere with me in the first place, so I didn’t come home for summer vacation.

「I’m jealous. I wish I could stay here for the whole winter break, but I guess I’ll have to go home. I have New Year’s money, too.」

「How nice to have New Year’s money.」

「Why don’t you go home, 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 home to an empty house.

「Everyone will be going home 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 home 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 home.

「Sendai-san isn’t returning home either. Come to think of it, Sendai-san didn’t go home for summer vacation either, did she?」

「She was at home, 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 same 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 mean 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 mean, 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 comes 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 me.

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 something, but I think I did something 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 meant 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 some small way, but I don’t think it went well.

「Shiori, it’s not fair that you seemed to be enjoying your summer 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 become a seal on the beach.

I recall the difference between seals and sea lions that Sendai-san taught me, and Maika and I discuss the summer vacation that is still going on in September. Then we decide to meet again and go somewhere for fun before college starts, and after we both have dinner, we take the train home.

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 home.

When I went to the common space, Sendai-san came out of her room and said,「Welcome back」to which I replied,「I’m home.」

「Utsunomiya, how have you been?」

Sendai-san, who has often been in a good mood since the start of summer 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 me, she asks,「Do you want some now?」Having just eaten a meal, 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 home for winter vacation?」

「I’m not going home. 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-time work?」

I see Sendai-san, who is working even more part-time 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 me, I don’t feel better when she’s working part-time. It also takes up Sendai-san’s time, and I still wish she would quit.

I once thought that I could forgive her if it were another part-time job, but I don’t think I could accept not only Sendai-san who tutors, but also Sendai-san who does other part-time jobs.

「I intend to. Is Miyagi going home?」

Sendai-san looks at me.

「I won’t go back.」

「Then, do you want to go somewhere together for winter break?」

「If you want to add a part-time job, you don’t have that kind of time.」

「I don’t intend to add so much that I can’t go anywhere.」

Sendai-san smiles at me, 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 me want to do something 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 mean 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 me 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.