July 7th, Tanabata (Star Festival).

Having passed through the June rainy season, the air was beginning to carry the scent of summer in earnest, and from the morning I’d been wrapped in a strange tension.

…No, I knew the reason. Today was Aoi’s seventh birthday.

"Shizuku, are you ready? Today is a family-only party at the Hoshikawa house. Make sure you behave properly."

"I know, Mom. But hey, isn't this a bit heavy?"

I looked down at the slightly oversized cake box and present I was holding in my hands. Back in my salesman days, the iron rule for entertaining important clients was to prepare a "limited item available only on that day." For this occasion, I had begged my mom to help and had special-ordered a blue jelly cake inspired by Tanabata from a famous patisserie in the city.

And then there was the present I’d poured all my allowance into preparing.

'…Well, it's my childhood friend's birthday. Putting in this much effort is just a "man's" courtesy.'

For me, a thirty-something guy on the inside, making a cute childhood friend happy was practically a survival instinct by now.

* * *

The Hoshikawa family’s apartment.

The living room was lined with an obscenely lavish spread of food, and the ceiling was decorated with glittering ornaments meant to evoke the Milky Way. While my mom, acting as chaperone, and Aoi’s mom were getting merry in the kitchen, popping open a bottle of wine, Aoi and I were facing each other at a table near the balcony.

"Aoi, happy birthday. Seven years old now, huh. You’ve taken another step closer to being a grown-up."

I whispered in my finest husky voice and smoothly held out the present I’d prepared.

"Here. You gave me a ring for my birthday, right? This isn't exactly a return gift for that, but…"

With trembling hands, Aoi opened the box. Inside lay earrings (clip-on type for children) inlaid with a small gemstone, the same shade of violet as Shizuku’s eyes.

"At Christmas it was a star barrette, on White Day a bracelet. So, today it's this. You have blonde hair, so I was sure purple would really suit you. With this, your head, wrist, and ears—all of them are things I picked out for you."

I narrowed my eyes and let slip the "unconscious ownership-claiming smile" that had won over countless women in my past life.

"…Ah… ♡"

Her face bright red, Aoi clutched the present to her chest. Without pausing, I gently reached out to her ear and clipped the earring on with a soft snap.

"There, perfect. As I thought, the things I choose for you, Aoi, suit you best. Keep smiling by my side from now on too, won't you? My Orihime-sama?"

Tracing back to the lip service I’d given in chapter 30, I whispered sweetly close to her ear. By past-life standards, it was just a flowery congratulatory line. However—

* * *

[Hoshikawa Aoi’s Perspective]

—Ah.

—Aaaaaaaaaah, Shizuku-chaaaaaaaaan!!

The cold heat of Shizuku’s fingertips lingered on my earlobe. I don’t even need to look in a mirror. Right now, I must be the girl in the world most thoroughly dyed in Shizuku’s colors.

Shizuku said:

"Your head, wrist, ears—all of them are things I picked out for you.

Keep smiling by my side, my Orihime-sama."

'…Yes. I knew you would understand, Shizuku-chan. This isn’t a mere celebration. It’s a ceremony to make me something that belongs exclusively to Shizuku-chan…'

Inside Aoi’s mind, Shizuku’s words were translated with terrifying precision.

My head is fixed in place (the barrette), my wrist is bound (the bracelet), and upon my ear (the earring) has been engraved a "mark" of the same color as Shizuku’s eyes. This is a declaration of "complete ownership" from which there is no escape.

'…Orihime and Hikoboshi (japanese folktale) can only meet once a year. But we are different. Because I’ve already been remade so that I can’t even breathe without Shizuku-chan…'

Under the table, Aoi hugged her knees tightly. Concealed beneath her clothes, just as she had planned back in chapter 30, was the "big red ribbon" meant to turn her own body into a present for Shizuku.

'…Hey, Shizuku-chan. Once we’ve finished the cake, once our moms are sound asleep… you’ll unwrap the packaging and devour all of me, won't you?'

The light vanished from Aoi’s eyes. Her emerald-green orbs, filled with an abyssal, dark ecstasy, were fixed on Shizuku’s profile as he happily munched on the cake, as if licking him all over with her gaze.

'Fufu… Anju-chan, even Lise-chan. I hope they’re both at home, crying all alone right about now. Because tonight, the only one who gets to be special to Shizuku-chan is me… Ahah, ahahahahaha♡'

On this Tanabata night, the dangerous drug known as "full-body coordination" that the oblivious flirt had gifted had transformed the yandere childhood friend’s obsession into a black hole massive enough to swallow the Milky Way itself.

* * *

"H-Hey, Aoi? Why are you grinning like that? Was the cake really that good?"

When I asked casually, Aoi answered with the brightest, most radiant smile ever: "Yeah! It kind of tastes like Shizuku-chan!"

'…Tastes like Shizuku-chan? Well, I did pick the shop. Glad she’s so happy.'

Satisfied, I took a sip of my black tea. Completely unaware that tonight, every lock in this house would be turned from the inside by Aoi’s own hand, and that I would face the "limit-break yandere Aoi" in her bed until morning.