Sendai-san will be no different this year — 239
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「Wake up.」
On the bed, I kick the legs of Sendai-san, who is sleeping comfortably in front of me.
But she doesn’t wake up.
Thanks to this, I can’t even turn my body around, and it’s too hot.
By all accounts, this situation is strange.
If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have slept with her.
The bed belongs to Sendai-san, but the place where I am is my camp, not hers to come in.
「Sendai-san.」
I call out to her strongly and press hard on the area of the collarbone.
「Mhmm.」
I hear a short voice but that’s it.
Sendai-san continues to sleep with me in her arms.
I don’t know how I got into this situation, but it was hot from the futon and body heat, and the arm on top of my body was heavy and frustrating.
「Go over there.」
The cuddle pillows are the penguin’s responsibility, not mine.
I don’t want to be in her arms forever, so I think she should wake up for good.
「I told you to wake up.」
Even if I shouted louder than before, it just mumbles and doesn’t wake up.
「This is my camp.」
I pushed Sendai-san’s body with all my strength.
The arms that were entangled in my body are untangled, and she rolls over and lies on her back. I sit up and stop, wondering if I should wake her up from her blissful slumber.
「What time is it?」
It’s long past dawn, and light is streaming in through the cracks in the curtains. I know it is too late to see the first sunrise, but I don’t have my phone, so I don’t know the exact time.
In the dim light, I pick up the penguin, which is being driven to the edge of the bed, and place it on Sendai-san’s chest. The penguin is immediately held up and Sendai-san curls up facing me.
I don’t think I see her like that very often.
It’s interesting to see her sleeping with a stuffed animal in her arms, a figure more suitable for the word “beautiful” than “cute.” Maika would be surprised to see it, and Sendai-san’s friends and her Senpai whom I met yesterday would be surprised to see it.
But those girls will never see Sendai-san like this.
This is the kind of Sendai-san that only I, her roommate, can see.
I would never tell anyone that Sendai-san is like this.
I reach out and stroke the blue earring.
This new year is no different than last year.
Sendai-san is my roommate and my own.
I pull the flap of the futon over Sendai-san and get out of bed. I turned on the air conditioner, pick up the phone on the table, and look at the screen.
It is 9:07 A.M.
It’s not an early time to get up, but it’s also not a late time to get up. Then I sit up in bed, not even time to go back to sleep twice.
I could go back to my room, but since the interesting Sendai-san is there, I would like to watch her a little longer.
On the bed, I point my phone at Sendai-san, who is holding the penguin as a pillow. After a little hesitation, I activated the camera and took a picture of her sleeping, and the flash, which was set to auto, lit up. This time I move closer to Sendai-san and take a picture. The flash flashes again and I hear her sleepy voice.
「…What? It’s bright.」
Sendai-san rubs her eyes.
「I was taking a picture.」
Then I take a crisp shot of her with her eyes half open.
「Picture?」
The voice I hear becomes clearer than before.
「Sendai-san didn’t wake up, so I had time to take pictures of your sleeping face.」
「Eh, why are you taking pictures of my sleeping face without my permission? Delete it.」
Sendai-san jumped up and turned on the light. The penguin in her arms rolled over onto the bed, and the room became brighter.
「I don’t want to. Even Sendai-san took pictures without permission. It’s New Year’s, so you said, “It’s okay. Generally, it’s worse to stay awake.” You sleep too soundly.」
I push Sendai-san’s shoulder as she tries to take my phone away from me and hand her the penguin.
「I haven’t slept soundly.」
「You were sleeping well.」
「I couldn’t sleep well, and when I finally did, you woke me up.」
Sendai-san complained, and then she laid down on the bed with the penguin in her arms. Her hand stroked the penguin’s head and ruffled its feathers. Then she called me, “Miyagi.”
「Did you dream about something?」
Sendai-san blurts out and looks at me.
If it was a dream, I saw it.
But it wasn’t the kind of dream I would tell her.
「I didn’t dream.」
「Really?」
「Really.」
How could I say that Sendai-san was touching my body in my dream?
「I thought you might be having weird dreams, Miyagi.」
Sendai-san says boringly and tugs at my sweatshirt. I slap her hand that grabs the hem of my flats, and instead of leaving, her hand goes inside through the hem and strokes up my side.
「…Sendai-san, did you do anything strange while I was sleeping?」
I peel off the hand that is snugly attached to my skin and sew it to the bed. The fixed hand wriggles and returns「I didn’t」with a made-up smile.
Lies.
It’s absolutely a lie.
I can only assume that this hand is the cause of my strange dreams.
This hand must have done something strange to cause me to dream that I was retracing my past when she touched my body.
「I want to touch you, Miyagi.」
It’s New Year’s Day, just nine hours and a bit after this year began, and Sendai-san pulls out the hand that secures her to the bed, saying something stupid that makes it seem like it’s the first day of January. Then, when I raised myself up, she grabbed my hand and kissed my fingertips.
「It’s not touching, it’s kissing, and I didn’t say you could kiss me.」
When I complain, Sendai-san’s fingertips crawl up my hand and grab my wrist. Her lips stick to the inside of my arm, between the elbow and the wrist, and then leave. Many times her lips come together and separate, and the tip of her tongue traces the veins from my wrist.
「I didn’t even say you could lick me.」
When she tickled me and I pressed her forehead, Sendai-san looked up.
「Are you saying it’s okay to touch you?」
Her fingertips crawl over the veins traced by the tip of her tongue as if to check them.
「That’s not what I’m saying.」
「Then, what do you mean?」
Her lips attach to my neck and she bites me softly.
Pressing on her shoulder, the tip of her tongue is pressed against it and licked up to the bottom of my ear.
When she does this kind of thing on the bed, it reminds me of a dream.
Before I woke up, in the dream, Sendai-san’s hand stroked my side and touched my chest. Her hands didn’t stop there, stroking my hips and crawling under them, the dream blurred and mixed somewhere in my memory.
「I mean don’t do anything weird. Get away from me.」
I push Sendai-san’s body and stand up.
I don’t want to make my dream a reality.
I don’t intend to repeat what happened at Christmas, and I don’t want anything more than what we have now. Sendai-san’s body warmth is comforting, but when we repeat such things, our relationship of roommates becomes blurred, hazy, and fuzzy.
「Now that’s like a New Year’s gift from Miyagi to me.」
I hear no remorse at all.
「Why do I have to give Sendai-san a New Year’s gift? I’m going back to my room now.」
I pull a tissue from the platypus’ back and wipe my neck and wipe my arms.
「Sorry. Stay here.」
「I don’t want to. I’m afraid you’re going to do something weird again.」
「So, here’s the deal. If you stay here, I’ll do what you say, Miyagi.」
「I don’t have anything I want Sendai-san to do, and I don’t want any exchange terms.」
「Even though I will obey any order?」
「Do you really want to be ordered around so much?」
「I want to be made. Just say something.」
Sendai-san says simply and without hesitation.
I throw the tissue into the trash and look at Sendai-san sitting on the bed.
「That, that’s just perverted.」
She’s the same as last year.
I think she’s really stupid and it’s no fun to give orders to someone who wants to be ordered around.
「Miyagi. Don’t you want to eat ozoni?」
Sendai-san, who has been dragging out her troubles for the last year, suddenly comes up with a new proposal.
「I don’t want to eat.」
「I’m going to make it now and we’ll eat it together. And after we eat, we’ll meet in this room.」
I have no reason to refuse, although my future plans have been decided without my permission. I ate a lot last night, but I am still hungry.
「…I can meet up for lunch if you can cook it for us, Sendai-san.」
「Okay, well then.」
Sendai-san chuckled and got off the bed.
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