Everything, it's Sendai-san's fault — 201
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
A lipstick given to me by Sendai-san.
I think about it as I look at it standing there on the table.
If she was working as a tutor, she would have been home by now, but Sendai-san said she would be home later than usual, so she shouldn’t be home yet.
Still, I think I should go back to my room.
If I stay in the shared space, people will think I was waiting for her when Sendai-san came back.
But I don’t want to be alone in my room today.
If I were alone near the bed where I dreamed, I would keep thinking about things I don’t need to think about.
I put the lipstick up on the table and knock it down with my fingertips.
I plop down on the table and call out, “Sendai-san.”
The name『Hazuki』she wants me to call her.
If I start calling Sendai-san by this name, Maika will do the same. That has always stuck with me.
On the table, I roll the lipstick around with my fingertips.
I’m not trying to get rid of Maika.
Maika is an important friend that I need.
There is a part of me that is obsessed with trivial matters and tries to exclude anything and everything from Sendai-san, and I cannot convince her of this.
It is troublesome.
I exhale and listen closely for a sound at the front door. I hear footsteps, and my spine stiffens. The lipstick hit my fingertips and rolled off, and when I stood up unexpectedly, my body hit the table.
「Aww!」
My pain was of no concern to lipstick. Cylindrical in shape, it rolled well and moved toward the door that separated the corridor from the common space, and hit the tip of Sendai-san’s slipper, which had returned at an inopportune moment.
「I’m home. Here you go, drop-offs.」
Sendai-san’s voice sounded like she wanted to say something else as she picked up her lipstick, but she didn’t say anything and just kept smiling.
「…Thanks. How come you’re home so early?」
The lipstick is picked up by the person who least wants it picked up and returned to me.
「I’m punished for being late, right?」
Sendai-san says in a soft voice and puts her bag on the table.
「That’s right, but…」
「So, no punishment game today, right?」
「Why?」
「Why? You just said it yourself, I must be early.」
I did say that, but only a little earlier than I expected. If you ask me if it was early or late, it was late. But if I force her to take the punishment here, she’s going to ask me why the lipstick was lying on the floor as compensation for that.
「You’re faster than I thought you’d be today, so no punishment game for you.」
「Good. So, what were you doing, Miyagi? Perhaps you were waiting for me?」
She laugh softly, and Sendai-san looks at my hand holding the lipstick.
「I’m not waiting for you.」
I kick Sendai-san in the leg.
「Ouch.」
「I’m not hurting you.」
When I said it plainly, Sendai-san tried to grab the hand holding the lipstick, so I took a half step back before she could grab it and continued my words in a deceptive manner.
「Was your part-time job, interesting?」
「Well, sort of. The manager asked me if I want to continue after the festival. I know it’s a social call, but I wonder if it would make them happy. Maybe I could get a part-time job over winter break. That is, if they don’t have enough people.」
「You want to work there over winter break?」
「Do you also want to do it, Miyagi?」
「I’ve said before that I won’t work part-time.」
「I remembered. But if you change your mind, just tell me. And if Miyagi does, I can look for another part-time job.」
「I’m not.」
I glared at Sendai-san.
But she stares at me as if she doesn’t care.
Our gazes meet and cannot be unraveled.
「What is it, Sendai-san?」
When I question the gaze that isn’t deflected, she smiles at me.
「What do you mean, by what?」
「I only asked because you were looking at me, Sendai-san.」
「You’re looking at me, too, Miyagi.」
「I’m not looking at you… I just wanted to ask a question.」
「What do you want to ask?」
I ask, sitting in the chair I had been sitting in earlier to escape Sendai-san’s gaze.
「Sendai-san, have you seen that dream?」
I don’t want to talk about her part-time job or my lipstick, but I don’t want Sendai-san to go back to her room, so I manage to create a topic of conversation.
「A dream? That’s the future, not the one you dream about at night, right?」
「Yes.」
The dream is definitely one of the things I wanted to hear, but since I started talking about it without thinking, I don’t think I’ll hear what I really want to hear. And I am not prepared to hear it.
「I don’t see it every day. I dream of eating a bowl of salmon roe with penguins.」
「Eh?」
I look up at Sendai-san as she tells me about her dream, which I don’t know whether to call cute or surreal.
「A dream of eating a bowl of rice topped with salmon roe in a kamakura with penguins as big as me.」
I didn’t expect her to give me the answer I wanted, but I was surprised that the answer was so far above my expectations. I had expected Sendai-san to be more of a realistic dreamer.
「…How much do the penguins eat?」
「I don’t know. But we eat fish, so I guess it doesn’t matter how much they eat, right? Salmon roe is a member of the fish family, right?」
This kind of randomness is the usual Sendai-san. I am interested in her dreams because she seems to be saying random things even in her dreams, but this isn’t the kind of dream I want to hear about.
My question to her is, have you ever had a dream similar to the one I had today?
But if I ask her, she will ask me the same thing back.
「——what about others?」
「Others?」
「Besides the penguin dream.」
I can’t hear it clearly.
I don’t think it was something I would have said without thinking.
「Mhn, let’s see. A dream about petting a cat.」
「What kind of cat is that?」
「I forgot. What kind of dreams have you dreamed of, Miyagi?」
The story goes from bad to worse.
Then, I think.
「…When Sendai-san came.」
「Heh?」
Sendai-san’s voice comes out in a pause.
「On that dream, I called you Hazuki.」
I mention one of the dreams I had today.
Even though I can’t tell her the whole story, I can tell her a part of it, and I want to know how Sendai-san will react if I do.
「…Did I call you?」
「I forgot.」
「Call me like that now—— Shiori.」
Sendai-san’s quiet voice jumps into my body and presses on the soft places of my heart.
It’s not fair to call me Shiori at a time like this.
It’s not fair.
「No.」
I answered shortly and stood up, and Sendai-san grabbed my arm and pulled me lightly. My body leans toward Sendai-san and she comes closer to my face as if it were natural. Our lips almost touch, and I reflexively press her shoulder.
Sendai-san’s hand, which had been holding my arm, leaves my arm.
Her hand caresses my neck, and her lips attach to mine as if in pursuit.
My body shivers at the warmth crawling on my neck.
As if in response, her lips leave mine, and Sendai-san strokes my cheek with her fingertips and caresses my lips. The soft touch was so comfortable that I pulled on Sendai-san’s clothes and he kissed me on the cheek. But that was all it took for her to quickly pull away from me.
「I think I’ll take a bath and go to sleep now.」
Sendai-san smiles as she says this.
「Are you going to sleep?」
「Yeah. I’ve been busy with my part-time job, and I’m tired.」
As I tugged on her clothes, which, unlike usual, were refreshingly resigned, Sendai-san said without cracking a smile.
「What is it? Does it mean you want me to kiss you more?」
「No. I’m not thinking about that. I’ll take the bath first.」
I want her to kiss me but I don’t want to ask her to do it from me.
But I don’t want to be cold.
Everything is going wrong today and I hate it.
「Okay. Tell me if you’re done.」
Sendai-san says gently.
「Alright.」
I grabbed Sendai-san’s clothes and squeezed them tightly, then slowly released them.
