My Ex-Girlfriend’s Sister Ran Away to My Room, and We Can’t Stop Making Mistakes. - Chapter 20: I’ll Comfort You.

I’ll Comfort You.

Apollinaire, the cosplay café, opened at 11:00 AM for the day shift. After a short break, it reopened for the night shift at 6:00 PM.

“The night shift is a den for heavy drinkers,” Vanilla said, sorting through the paperwork required for the employment contract. “I don’t think I can have a high school girl working under those conditions, so for a while, I’ll just have you help out with the day shift.”

“It’s mostly salarymen, and the menu isn’t that large, so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult. By the way, Mii-chan, can you cook?”

“A little,” Mii replied.

“How about curry?”

“If it’s the standard kind.” Mii gave a small nod. “My family home was a diner, after all.”

“That’s right. In that case, maybe I’ll have you help with the prep work, too. How does starting at 9:00 AM and staying until cleanup at 4:00 PM sound?”

“I’d love to. I’ll give it my best.”

“Plenty of motivation. I like it. And while we’re at it, on the days Saki-kun is off duty from his place, I think I’ll have him help out here as well.”

“Wait, me?”

“Obviously. I’ll clear it with your manager over there myself.”

“I don’t really need to be here…”

“It’s better if she’s within your sight, isn’t it? This is Shinjuku, after all. You never know what might happen.”

When she put it that way, I looked at Mii, who was sitting primly in the office chair. At a glance, she looked young and fragile. She could easily be mistaken for a middle schooler. Even if it was daytime, we were in the middle of a red-light district. I couldn’t help but worry.

“You have a point.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Does that mean Saki-nii will be working with me?”

“As a busboy. You can handle taking orders and making drinks, can’t you? Honestly, I’d love to have you drip some coffee for us.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’d like that,” Mii said with a happy giggle. Watching her laugh so freely, it seemed her tension had finally melted away. I had worried about what I’d do if she didn’t fit in, but it seemed that concern was unnecessary.

Good. Asking Vanilla was the right choice.

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

After finishing the interview, we walked back toward the station. Mii grabbed my hand, her mood clearly elevated.

“Vanilla-san is a good person, isn’t she?”

“Well, she’s a bit eccentric. She’s always slacking off to go smoke.”

“Maybe. But she’s lovely. She’s so cool.”

Mii smiled as she gazed at the city streets deepening into night.

“Somehow, I’m looking forward to everything from now on.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I didn’t know a world this free existed.” She turned her eyes to the narrow strip of night sky visible between the buildings. “Until just the other day, it felt like I was in a cage. Like someone was watching me no matter where I was… I spent all my time talking to a cat.”

“A cat?”

“A calico stray.”

“Wait, was it Mya-suke?”

“Yeah.”

“That brings back memories. That guy used to come to my place for food all the time.”

Mya-suke was a stray that used to wander around our neighborhood. If he was in a good mood, he’d let you pet him. We had given him that name ourselves and the three of us had doted on him.

“He was still doing okay, then?”

“Actually… he was hit by a car and died the other day,” Mii said in a flat, detached tone. “Hit by a tourist’s rental car. Instant death.”

“I see…”

“The car’s bumper was dented, and they were clicking their tongues in annoyance. A college-aged couple. I wish they were the ones who had died instead.”

“It really pisses me off,” she said, her irritation surfacing. “Mya-suke was just crossing the road like he always did.”

I imagined the small body lying on the asphalt. He was warm, and when you touched him, he would let out a faint meow. Whenever he caught a mouse, he liked to hide it under the floorboards. He was a strong, hardy cat.

There were times when he’d disappear, and the three of us would go out searching for him. In the end, it would turn out he’d just been fighting with some tomcat; he’d show up with a scratch above his eye, nonchalantly munching on his food.

The one who had named him Mya-suke was my childhood friend.

“Saki-nii, do you still love Onee-chan?”

She spoke softly inside the subway car. Looking out the window, Mii seemed somewhat lost in thought.

“Why ask that?”

“Because you won’t talk about her.”

“It’s not like there’s anything to talk about.”

“You’re intentionally avoiding it. You’re avoiding remembering.”

The car rattled and shook. Everyone around us, holding onto the straps, had earphones in and eyes glued to their smartphones.

“I bet you remembered her just now, when we talked about Mya-suke.”

“I did.”

“What are you thinking, Saki-nii?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still love her?”

I closed my eyes, and the low, heavy roar of the wheels against the subterranean tracks vibrated in my chest.

“I don’t know.”

I felt as though I had spoken my true feelings for once.

“I don’t know how I feel about her. We aren’t even in contact anymore.”

“Onee-chan talks about you a lot, Saki-nii.”

“Hmph.”

I hated how those words made my emotions waver. Mii was watching my expression as if trying to peer into my soul.

“Are you curious about what she said?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Not even a little. I don’t want to hear it.”

Mii gave a small, noncommittal hum. She turned her gaze to an advertisement on the wall and didn’t say another word until we reached home. It didn’t feel like she was in a bad mood; rather, it felt like she was deep in thought.

“Want something to eat?”

I opened the fridge after we got back. The contents had become much more substantial since Mii arrived. Vegetables, raw meat… there were many things that felt like ‘living’ food.

“Instant noodles. I have some my parents sent from home, so maybe I’ll make miso ramen with some pork.”

Mii didn’t answer. Instead, she suddenly hugged me from behind.

“Poor Saki-nii.”

Her voice was tiny as she pressed herself against me. I could feel her breath and her words right against my ear.

“There was no reason for you to be hurt, Saki-nii.”

The warmth of her body through my back reminded me of Mya-suke’s fur. He loved sunny spots and always smelled of sunshine and grass.

“There was no reason for you to get hurt even a little bit for the sake of our family.”

Fleeting and fragile. Something that wouldn’t necessarily be by my side forever.

“I’ll comfort you.”

Her hand brushed my cheek. When I turned around, her face was right there. Pressing my body against the refrigerator, Mii brought her lips to mine.

“…Mm.”

Her lips moved. As if driven by an urgent need, she kissed me firmly, over and over.

The refrigerator rattled under the weight of the two of us. Mii’s hand slipped inside my clothes.

“Mii.”

“What?”

“The reason you let me have your body…” I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth. “Is it what you really want?”

At my words, Mii’s hand stopped.

“It is.”

“Why?”

“For the sake of wounds that won’t heal.”

“To heal them?”

“No, that’s not it.” Mii shook her head and began moving her hand again. “To confirm each other’s wounds.”

Hearing that brought me a strange sense of relief. I can’t heal Mii’s wounds, and she can’t heal mine. The wounds are deep and spreading. Even now, in the present tense, they continue to ache.

“…Saki-nii…”

Perhaps our sex was one of the few realistic ways to forget those wounds.

I pushed her down, slid her underwear aside, and pressed my teeth against her swollen nipple.

Mii probably understood as well as I did that this was a pathetic, foolish way to cope.