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Chapter 183
Miyagi's summer vacation — 183
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「I’ll bring you some cake and tea.」
After finishing the pizza and chicken nuggets, Miyagi stands up and I am left alone in the room.
I look around the room and see that the bed across from mine is a pipe bed, different from the one I had in high school. The bedding is also different. Other things are mixed in that were not there back then, but there are also many things that moved in with Miyagi, like the alligator on the tissue cover, making it seem like this is Miyagi’s room even though it’s the first time I’ve been in here, and it feels comfortable.
I would be happy to continue to room with her like this, but Miyagi always does things that I don’t think about, so I can’t predict what will happen next.
Even today, I never thought she would celebrate my birthday.
I attract a black cat friend, and an alligator.
As I pet their heads and play with my soft hands, I hear a voice from outside the room say,『Sendai-san, open the door,』and I do as I’m told. Soon Miyagi came inside with a tray and placed the cake and tea on the table.
「Is this cheesecake?」
On the plate is a beautifully cut cake. The tight isosceles triangles indicate that Miyagi didn’t cut the whole cake.
「Yes. Sendai-san, did you like it?」
Miyagi, sitting across from me, says anxiously, and without a pause, I answer,「Yes.」
Miyagi probably remembered that I had bought her a rare cheese cake as a celebration of the end of the exams.
It’s a small thing, but it makes me happy.
Truth be told, I bought a rare cheesecake the day I finished my exams because I thought Miyagi would like it, and I’m not obsessed with cheesecake. If I had to choose between shortcake and strawberry tart, I would prefer shortcake, but I didn’t care whether the cheesecake was rare or baked.
But since Miyagi bought me rare cheesecake as the one I think I like, I prefer rare cheesecake at this moment.
「Can I eat it?」
I ask Miyagi, holding my fork.
「You don’t have to ask, just eat.」
I reply「Itadakimasu」to the curt voice and take a bite of the rare cheese cake.
The cream spreads in my mouth, mixing the acidity of lemon with the mildness of cream cheese. The crispy cookie dough goes well with the not-too-sweet cream.
「It’s delicious. Thank you.」
Miyagi raised her eyebrows as if slightly troubled and said nothing.
After eating half of the cake, I looked at Miyagi and finally said in a small voice,「Itadakimasu,」and began to bring the rare cheese cake to her mouth.
Considering the cake was chosen by Miyagi, it was a shame to eat it up. I want to keep this little chunk forever, a proof that she went out of her way to buy it, memorizing what she thought I would like.
Little by little, I want to pile myself up in Miyagi and take away the capacity of her memory.
I want her to think only of me.
I want her to know more about me and I want to know more about Miyagi than anyone else.
「Didn’t you eat a whole cake on your birthday, Miyagi? The round one.」
I say something that she may not be surprised to hear now.
「I don’t like round cakes very much.」
「Why? Birthdays are like round cakes, you know?」
「I don’t have any good memories of it.」
Miyagi said in a muffled little voice and took a bite of the cake.
Miyagi wasn’t in a good mood, but she didn’t seem to be in a bad mood either.
She doesn’t talk much about herself and often doesn’t answer clearly when asked. I don’t know if she will talk, but I would like to know why Miyagi doesn’t like whole cakes very much.
「Can I ask you about that?」
I asked slowly and in as soft a voice as possible, and Miyagi looked at me and then dropped her gaze to the cake. Then, she stops to poke at the cake with a fork.
I can see that she is not sure whether to talk about memories that are not good ones.
If she doesn’t want to talk about it, fine.
I was about to open my mouth to say so when Miyagi quietly speaks up.
「
When I was a kid, my dad used to buy me a round cake for my birthday, but he always came home from work and I had to eat it by myself.」
Miyagi punctuates her words there, takes a bite of cake and a cup of tea. Then, without lifting her gaze, she let out a small breath and blurted out the rest of the words as if to push them out of her throat.
「I can’t eat a whole round cake by myself. So I had to leave more than half of it in the fridge, and when I did, it was still in the fridge the day after it wasn’t my birthday
 I don’t like to see that kind of thing because it makes me kind of sad.」
After the talk, which she has probably never told anyone, Miyagi drinks her tea.
Memories of when I was in high school come flooding back.
I never saw my family at Miyagi’s house after school, during summer vacation, or during winter vacation. Miyagi, who felt lonely just because the rest of the whole cake was in the fridge, was always alone.
But now it is different.
「I’ll prepare a whole cake for Miyagi’s birthday.」
「
What’s that? Harassment?」
Miyagi, who had been slumped over, looks up and grimaces.
「No. Let’s eat the whole round cake together. Even if it’s a whole cake, if it’s a small cake, if we eat it together, it’ll be gone soon.」
「
Are you at home on my birthday, Sendai-san?」
Miyagi asks me with a look of disbelief, and I assure her that it is obvious.
「I am. Of course I am.」
「What if something comes up? What if you can’t finish your part-time job, or your friend suddenly calls you?」
「Kikyƍ-chan is in middle school, you know? Her parents would get mad at me if I taught her to study until midnight. Besides, even if a friend suddenly calls me, I will give priority to Miyagi’s birthday. So on Miyagi’s birthday, let’s eat a round cake together.」
I smiled and looked at Miyagi.
But she doesn’t reply.
「I promise.」
There is no way I’m not in the house on Miyagi’s birthday.
The future is uncertain, but I will not lie about this promise.
So, in order to make good on my promise, I reached out to touch Miyagi’s earring, but she shook her shoulders and ran away from my hand.
「
I don’t like it when people break their promises, so you don’t have to.」
The earring is to make me keep my promise, so I will not break the promise I swore to her earring.
Miyagi made me that way.
I am sure Miyagi knows that, and we have made promises to each other many times. I thought I had gained some credibility by continuing to swear, but now Miyagi is afraid to make a promise to me.
I stare at Miyagi.
If I let her get away with this now, I will regret it.
「It’s alright. I will not break my promise, whether I swear on your earring or not. On Miyagi’s birthday, we’ll eat cake together.」
Surely this is a promise that must be made even if Miyagi does not like it, and must be kept no matter what.
「
Are you sure?」
Her little voice sounds like she wants to believe me.
「I’m sure. I’ll pick out a delicious cake for you and we can eat it together.」
I don’t know how to make her believe me, but in the kindest voice I can muster, I answer Miyagi,「Can I go next to you?」
「You don’t ask me that all the time.」
Miyagi blurts out and drops her gaze.
「I thought I should ask you today.」
「Don’t say anything out of the ordinary.」
Her slightly low voice doesn’t reject me, and I sits next to Miyagi and kisses her on the cheek.
When I try to touch her, her shoulders still shake.
I stroke her lips, not her ear.
「Thanks for today. It was a pleasure. Can I kiss you here?」
「Why do you ask?」
「Because it sounds better to ask.」
「If you ask me, I’ll say no.」
Finally, the usual Miyagi returns, and I silently place my lips on hers.
It’s not softer than the cream in a rare cheesecake, but it feels that soft.
Miyagi’s hand grabs my clothes.
I let go of her lips and touch them lightly again.
After a short kiss, I stroke her cheek and try to kiss her again, but Miyagi starts talking before our lips touch.
「The birthday present. I didn’t know what Sendai-san wanted, so instead of a gift, I was going to do something for you if you wanted me to do something for you.」
「Eh, wait a minute. I’m not okay with that.」
She suddenly said something I hadn’t expected so quickly, and when I looked at Miyagi, her cheeks were a little red. I think she may be embarrassed.
「Then what would you like?」
Miyagi tugs at my clothes, as if she doesn’t intend to make me think slowly.
But I can’t think straight even if I’m rushed.
I groaned「Hmmm」and grabbed Miyagi’s hand pulling on my clothes
「That means that Miyagi listens to me, right?」
「As long as it’s not something weird.」
「What’s weird in Miyagi’s standard?」
「If it were up to Sendai-san’s standards, weird things wouldn’t be weird.」
Miyagi is rude and puts all her energy into our joined hands. I applied the same force in return, and soon the connected hands became pliant and soft.
As I held hands, I gathered my coherent thoughts and told Miyagi.
「Then you should celebrate next year’s birthday, too.」
「Is that what you want?」
「I’ll say the same thing next year and the year after and for the rest of my life, so keep making it happen.」
If I can get a birthday present, I want the same future as today.
One day of the year.
I want to reserve time for Miyagi.
「Even though we’re only roommates while we’re in college?」
「We don’t have to be roommates to celebrate a birthday.」
「Yes, but there are so many people celebrating Sendai-san’s birthday. I don’t think I have to.」
「I would like to congratulate Miyagi for me.」
I am happy to hear the word “congratulations” from anyone.
But I am happiest when it’s said by Miyagi.
「
If that’s okay with Sendai-san, then fine.」
Miyagi blurted out and squeezed my hand as if to let me know that what she had just said was a “promise.”
When one’s wish is fulfilled, one becomes extravagant.
I add a new hope.
「Also, tell me about yourself, Miyagi. I want to know more about you.」
「You’ve already heard one thing I said, Sendai-san.」
「Miyagi, you didn’t say earlier that there was only one alternative to the gift, so I’ll ask for the second one.」
「Unfair.」
「It’s fine. It’s not difficult.」
「It may not be difficult, but what’ll I tell you?」
Miyagi says, as if she has given up.
「It doesn’t matter what it was, I think. Like your favorite color or your favorite food. That kind of normal story that anyone would tell. For example, you know, we went to the aquarium and you fell in love with the penguins.」
「Is that what you’re talking about, Sendai-san?」
「Yes. I had fun at the aquarium, I liked the penguins, and I think I should have bought a stuffed animal. I want to talk more about this kind of nonsense with you, Miyagi. A little bit from now on. It’s easy, isn’t it?」
We have spent so much time together, but words are too short.
We should talk more about silly things that everyone does.
The aquarium was a great memory and I wish I had bought a stuffed animal as a reminder of it.
I haven’t even told her that she can speak up that quickly.
One of the things I want to know is the dusky memories that lie deep in her heart, but there are many other things I need to talk about.
「Is that something I can talk about, Sendai-san?」
「Of course.」
「Then, I’ll talk.」
Miyagi said in a soft voice.