The sun was setting slowly over the mall plaza, tinting the shop windows and food stalls gold. Among the crowd of couples, families, and students, one scene stood out: a boy with dark hair, of average height and a still-youthful face, walked beside a young woman who, at first glance, seemed older than him.
She was laughing. Not in an obnoxious or annoying way, but as if everything around her was adorable, wonderful… even magical. She held a strawberry ice cream and clung tightly to the boy's arm, unconcerned by the stares of others. Her hair was long and straight, her skirt danced in the breeze, and her expression bordered on smitten.
Meanwhile, Yuu Namae felt his heart beating faster than usual.
"Airi-san…" he murmured to himself, barely glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
She stopped when she heard his voice and slowly turned her head to look at him. Her eyes — honey-colored, huge and bright — met his. And then… she suddenly dropped her gaze, blushing all the way to her ears.
"D-don't look at me like that, Yuu-kun!" she stammered.
Yuu sighed, nervous but slightly amused. This… was already routine. Airi could be adorably shy at moments like this. The curious thing wasn't her attitude now, but what he thought every time he saw her so close.
"How the hell did I end up dating a girl like her?"
A girl three years older. Beautiful. Popular among her acquaintances. Intelligent. Mysterious. And, above all… obsessive.
"And, more importantly… why is she so obsessed with me?"
He sighed, lowering his gaze. It wasn't the kind of thing one could easily explain. In fact, it had all started long before he even knew her name…
A few weeks earlier…
It all began with that strange feeling.
First, it was at school. Then, on the street. Later, at his own house, when the curtains trembled without any wind.
"Is someone watching me?"
But every time he turned around, there was no one. Only the echo of his footsteps, the murmur of leaves, or the sound of the recess bell.
Then came the details.
The locker cleaned. The pencils perfectly aligned.
And a note.
It only had a heart drawn on it. No name. Nothing else.
Yuu kept it without saying a word.
But what ended up unsettling him wasn't the notes or the artificial order of his things. It was what happened with Rika, a nice girl from his class who had asked him out.
He accepted, a bit nervous. The date was set for a Saturday in the city center.
Yuu arrived on time. He waited… half an hour. An hour. Two.
Rika never showed up.
On Monday, when he went to talk to her, she avoided him as if he were a criminal.
"D-don't talk to me… please. I don't want anyone to hurt me…"
Those words froze him.
"Hurt her? Who…?"
After that, other things began to happen. The girls who greeted him would stop doing so the next day. Some even looked at him with fear, as if something invisible was controlling them. Yuu wasn't paranoid… but he couldn't ignore the signs anymore.
Until one afternoon, it happened.
He was walking home along his usual route. The sun was setting behind the buildings, and the park halfway was almost empty. Yuu, tired of living with that tension, paused for a moment.
That was when he saw her.
A female figure was on the other side of the park. Black cap. Mask. Dark glasses. But she wasn't hiding her presence. Her eyes — even behind the sunglasses — were fixed on him.
When she noticed he had seen her, she froze.
Yuu narrowed his eyes.
"Is she…?"
"I saw you!" he shouted, taking a firm step forward.
The figure turned and started to walk away… but stumbled. She fell to her knees. Yuu took the chance to close the distance.
"Wait!"
She didn't get up. She just trembled slightly.
Yuu stopped in front of her. Slowly, very slowly, the girl took off her glasses, the mask… and turned towards him.
Her cheeks were burning red.
"Y-Yuu Namae…" she whispered.
He frowned, confused.
"Who are you?"
The young woman took a deep breath, as if she was about to say something important. Her trembling expression changed… it became calm. Almost relaxed. And then, she smiled.
It wasn't a kind smile. Nor a happy one. It was a smile… twisted.
As if she had dropped a mask.
"My name is Airi Tsukino."
And before Yuu could ask anything else, she continued, in a soft, slow voice… but one that left him chilled.
"And if you don't go out with me… I'll make everyone around you disappear."
Silence.
Yuu didn't move. He didn't say anything for several seconds. He just looked at her, intently.
Anyone else would have run away. Or called the police.
But Yuu wasn't like the others.
"Is that… a threat?" he asked, his voice dry.
Airi nodded.
"It's a promise."
He sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he opened them… and said something she didn't expect to hear.
"Alright. I'll go out with you."
"Eh…?"
"But on one condition."
She blinked, still surprised.
"W-what condition?"
"Stop being a Yandere."
Airi fell silent. For the first time, her smile faltered.
The trembling returned to her voice, to her shoulders, to her hands.
"B-but… then… will you accept me?"
"If you try," Yuu replied, turning his back on her and starting to walk away. "But I warn you… if you hurt someone I care about, then… I'll break up with you.
Not because you scare me… but because I'd be disappointed in you."
She didn't respond. She just watched him walk away.
Then, she stood up, her face flushed.
And she murmured, almost inaudibly:
"Yuu-kun… you're perfect."
From that day on… our strange relationship began.
With a beautiful girl, older than me…
And more dangerous than I ever imagined.