Chapter 9 — “The Birthday Gift”

It was Himari’s birthday.

Or at least, Mizuki said it was.

Himari had never told her the date — but Mizuki had “found” it somehow.

> “The library keeps student forms in a drawer,” she said, smiling innocently.

“You shouldn’t go through that,” Himari replied, but her voice lacked conviction.

Because part of her liked it —

the idea that someone had looked that hard just to learn when she was born.

---

After classes, Mizuki led her by the hand to the dormitory roof.

It was forbidden territory — quiet, a place where wind howled without echo.

The sunset spilled across the ocean in ribbons of gold and red,

and a small box sat on the bench.

“Happy birthday, Himari,” Mizuki said, her tone fragile, hopeful.

Inside the box lay a black velvet choker — simple, elegant,

but tight-looking, almost like something that wanted to cut the skin it touched.

Himari lifted it carefully. “It’s beautiful.”

“I made it myself.” Mizuki’s fingers trembled. “I measured your neck while you were asleep.”

Himari froze. “…When?”

“That night you stayed over. You said I could braid your hair.”

There was a pause.

The air between them thickened.

Then Himari smiled — that same soft, dangerous smile she always wore when she didn’t know what to feel.

“Help me put it on,” she said.

---

Mizuki stepped close.

Her fingers brushed Himari’s nape — a touch that felt both reverent and possessive.

The leather slid against her skin; the clasp clicked shut.

“Too tight?” Mizuki whispered.

Himari inhaled — the collar pressed slightly into her throat.

“It’s fine.”

Mizuki’s eyes glimmered. “It looks best when you can’t breathe too easily.”

Himari met her gaze — searching for a joke that wasn’t there.

Mizuki wasn’t smiling now. Her face was calm, serious, devoted.

And for a second, Himari felt dizzy.

Not from the choker — but from that gaze.

> “You’re strange,” she whispered.

> “You made me this way,” Mizuki answered.

---

The wind picked up. The choker fluttered slightly against Himari’s neck.

Mizuki reached up again — tugged the ribbon just enough that Himari gasped.

Her eyes widened, half panic, half fascination.

Mizuki leaned closer, her lips near Himari’s ear.

> “When you can’t breathe, you think only of me.”

The words slid into Himari’s mind like a knife through silk.

And the frightening part was that she didn’t want to pull away.

Instead, she tilted her head slightly and whispered back:

> “Maybe I do.”

---

They stayed there as the sun bled into the horizon.

The seagulls cried like ghosts over the waves,

and the choker caught the last light — a black ribbon around a porcelain neck.

Himari traced a finger over the velvet. “Do you want me to wear it always?”

“Yes,” Mizuki said without hesitation.

“Even when we fight?”

“Especially then.”

“Even when I’m asleep?”

Mizuki’s lips curved faintly. “That’s when you’re most beautiful.”

---

Later, back in the dorm room, Himari stood before the mirror.

Her reflection looked older somehow — more like someone she didn’t recognize.

The choker framed her throat like a promise.

She touched it — and thought of Mizuki’s trembling hands.

A warmth, dark and intoxicating, spread in her chest.

Maybe this was what love was —

not joy, not peace, but possession.

> “If it hurts, it means it’s real,” she murmured to herself.

From behind her, Mizuki’s reflection appeared in the mirror.

She wrapped her arms around Himari’s waist, pressing her cheek against her shoulder.

“You’re beautiful,” Mizuki whispered.

Himari smiled faintly. “Even when I’m cruel?”

“Especially then.”

---

They stood like that for a long time.

Two silhouettes framed by the dying light,

two hearts beating out of rhythm but somehow together.

And in the mirror’s reflection,

the choker gleamed faintly —

like a thin line separating love from ownership.

---

That night, Himari couldn’t sleep.

The velvet felt heavier now, pressing gently against her pulse.

She thought about taking it off — but her hands refused to move.

She turned her head toward the window and whispered,

as if Mizuki could hear her through the dark:

> “You wanted me to wear it so I’d think of you.”

A pause.

> “But now, Mizuki… even when I’m choking, I think of no one else.”