CH 36

「I told you it’s ticklish.」

Sendai-san did not tell me not to touch it. However, she forcefully removes my hand from her ear without hiding the expression that she does not want me to touch it.

「I’m trying to tell you not to move either.」

It’s not a request, it’s an order.

I think Sendai-san understands that.

「You’re overreacting just because I touched your ears. Could it be that this place is weak?」

Once again, I tug on the earlobe.

「You’re pulling too much. Ouch.」

The word that Sendai-san is weak is not denied, but eyebrows are raised. But she only moved er facial expression, not her body.

When I crawl my fingers behind her ears, her shoulders sway slightly.

The disgruntled look on her face didn’t change. But she didn’t grab my hand like she did earlier.

「That’s the way you should listen to me.」

It is a relief to see Sendai-san silently doing as I say.

Even though it is my room, I do not feel fidgety as if I am in someone else’s room.

I am the owner of this place, not Sendai-san.

The relationship has returned to the way it should be, and my surging heart calms down.

I slide my fingers down to trace the contours of the ear.

She continues to maintain a grim face, as if plastered on.

I slipped a finger into her ear to break the expression on her face, and Sendai-san pulled herself away as if to escape from me.

「Wait—」

I hear low voices but keep touching them as if tickling them in the ear.

Sendai-san almost raises her hand and then lowers it.

The order not to move continues to be obeyed and I play with her ear.

It was interesting to see Sendai-san, who is so calm and collected at school, miffed, yet silently enduring the situation.

I am sure that what is not interesting to Sendai-san is interesting to me, and what is not interesting to me is interesting to Sendai-san.

Needless to say, she and I are opposites and have no intersection. It’s no wonder that Sendai-san, who is always in a bright place, as if illuminated by the light of day, doesn’t know what I am thinking.

I run my fingers from the base of her ear to her neck.

Sendai-san shudders and lets out a suppressed voice.

「You must really think that it’s interesting.」

As if unable to bear it, she grabs my arm.

「It was interesting. You can resist.」

Sendai-san looks blatantly defiant.

That’s about as good as it gets.

I don’t know what to do when she act like she is testing me.

「That’s enough.」

「No.」

With one word, I reject Sendai-san’s words and shakes off her hand. Then I pull her by the ear and leans in closer.

「Miyagi, it hurts.」

I think it would.

She is reacting correctly because I went out of her way to pull it so that it would hurt.

I’m happy with that and close the distance a little more.

Sendai-san is in a place as close as when we kissed.

A thump.

My heart falsely assumes that Sendai-san is doing me a favor.

I put my lips to her ear, pretending not to notice the heartbeat that was getting faster.

The sweet scent of flowers tickles my nose.

That’s the smell that comes from the pillow the day Sendai-san occupies the bed, and it’s not a smell I dislike.

Shampoo, what is she using?

I touch her ears with the tip of my tongue, lost in part of my thoughts to a question that has occurred to me several times in the past.

「That tickles!」

Sendai-san pushes my shoulder.

But it was not so forceful, as if she had not forgotten the order not to move. When I lightly set my teeth on the cartilage against acceptable resistance, Sendai-san shook himself exaggeratedly.

「The order should be over and done with, right?」

She doesn’t sound angry, but her voice sounds lower than usual.

「It’s not allowed.」

「No, you can’t. Stop.」

「Senda—」

She whispers in my ear and stops me.

And then restate.

「Hazuki, shut up.」

I have been called by name by Sendai-san in this room.

This is payback for that, a call that has no deep meaning.

What connects me and Sendai-san is one contract, no more and no less. It has been that way since the day I first gave him five thousand yen. She has a limited amount of time to be here, and a deal that started on a whim should end on a bit of a whim.

At the most, until graduation.

It won’t last longer than that.

That makes sense to me.

I don’t want more than that.

So, name calling is nothing special.

I press my lips against the bottom of her ear.

Sendai-san’s hand touches my back for a moment, then quickly moves away.

As I touched the smooth skin with the tip of my tongue, I heard a quiet exhale. Its breath blows on my neck and tickles me, and I crawl my tongue behind her ear as if in protest.

「Miyagi, it feels disgusting.」

Her voice is the same as usual. However, I feel that her breathing is a little irregular. My heart was also beating faster than fast.

I don’t think it should go any further.

But I am swept away by the speed of my heartbeat, which should have been deafening.

I puts my weight on Sendai-san and pushes her down as she is.

With a stupefying ease, Sendai-san’s back touches the floor. I tried to bite her ear, but she pushed me as hard as she could around my collarbone.

「Anything more is against the rules.」

「I didn’t violate anything.

When I took my face away and complained, Sendai-san pushed me away and raised herself up.

「That’s a similar act, isn’t it? This kind of thing.」

「Did it feel good, by any chance?」

I said teasingly, and Sendai-san touched her ear as if to wipe it, then stood up in a tedious manner.

「Don’t be stupid. I said don’t push me over.」

An unreserved foot kicks my thigh.

「Hey, Miyagi.」

While lying on the bed, Sendai-san calls me.

「What?」

「You can call me by my name from now.」

「I won’t call you like that anymore.」

When I answer while leaning back on the bed, she hits me on the head with a pillow. I exaggeratedly told her「it hurts」even though it doesn’t hurt much. But no apology is heard. Instead, the pillow hits me on the head once more.

「Miyagi is so boring, isn’t she?」

Her voice sounded really boring as she mumbled softly.