My Childhood Friend, a Cool, Beautiful Girl With a Pure Face, Is a Monopolising Yandere
Some time had passed since the cultural festival, and it was now October 31st.
The weather was bad—it was more than just bad, it was pouring rain, which had been beating against the windows since morning.
An autumn typhoon had arrived late and was crossing Honshu, and the news anchor kept repeating, “The Kanto region should remain on alert until evening.”
As for me, I was lying on my bed in my pajamas, playing with my tablet.
School had ended by midday today.
I had no energy to go out, and the TV was showing a crawl saying, “The Halloween event in Shibuya Center Street has been canceled for safety reasons.”
Well, I wasn’t planning on going to such a popular event anyway.
In the room, where only the sound of rain continued monotonously past 3 PM, I was tossing and turning.
──Ding-dong.
The intercom rang. In this storm, could it be a delivery?
I went to the front door and looked at the monitor, and there was a girl with long black hair.
“…Ran?”
I hurriedly opened the door, and there was Ran in a raincoat, folding her umbrella and looking up at me.
“Hello. Well, it’s been a while since this morning.”
“What’s wrong? In this rain?”
“Even if there’s a heavy rain warning, it’s no problem to move to the neighbor’s house. Besides…”
Ran rolled a small carry-on case and took off her shoes as if it were natural.
“Today is a day to deepen our understanding of different cultures, right?”
“…Huh?”
“It’s Halloween. Let’s cultivate our imagination toward others through the extraordinary experience of dressing up.”
Her logic was a huge leap.
“But I heard on the news that the event in Shibuya was canceled…”
“That’s why it’s worth learning individually. Even if group events are dangerous, the risk is minimal within the family.”
She opened the carry-on case, and inside were colorful fabrics neatly folded.
“Cosplay costumes?”
“Yes. They’re cheap factory-made items, but they should be durable enough for one try-on. Let’s take photos while trying them on. They’ll be useful for research.”
“Research?”
“It’s part of understanding different cultures.”
I wondered if cosplay from Don Quijote could really lead to understanding different cultures…
Unable to grasp the logic behind it, Ran shrugged her shoulders in exasperation and began to speak rapidly.
“Okay? Halloween itself is a foreign event, so enjoying it in Japan naturally becomes an experience of practicing accepting different cultures. Moreover, when choosing a cosplay outfit, you come into contact with characters from overseas legends and movies, such as witches and vampires. You can also gain knowledge like, ‘Zombies actually originate from Haitian or Caribbean culture!’ You’re learning without even trying to learn—isn’t that the best kind of cross-cultural understanding? Plus, by fully immersing yourself in an unrealistic existence, it trains your imagination to empathize with people from different cultures or perspectives.”
Wow, she’s talking so fast.
“I see… Well, if Ran says so, maybe she’s right…”
“That’s right. Come on, let me in.”
“What!? My room is a mess because I haven’t cleaned it up yet.”
“I don’t care. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Well, it would be weird to be embarrassed about it now.
Ran didn’t allow me to argue and barged into my room.
She took out one outfit after another from her suitcase.
A red hooded cape—Little Red Riding Hood.
A pointed hat and cape—a witch.
A black frilly dress—a vampire.
All of them still had price tags on them.
“Which one should I try on first?”
“Which one… you are not wearing it, right?”
“Of course I’m wearing it. I want you to evaluate and take pictures.”
With that, Ran took off her raincoat and quickly put on the Little Red Riding Hood set over her uniform.
Her movements were so smooth that even tying the cape’s strings looked effortless. Standing in front of the mirror, she looked surprisingly good in the costume, even though it was from Don Quijote.
“How does it look? Does the size fit?”
“…It suits you.”
“Photography.”
She thrust her smartphone at me, and I obediently launched the camera app.
Click. Click. Despite the lack of light due to the typhoon and the smartphone camera, the model was so good that it still looked decent.
Next, Ran put on a black cloak over her uniform dress and donned a pointed hat. Witch mode.
The sleeves fluttered gently, and the contrast between her black hair and the cloak was strikingly beautiful.
“Next.”
Finally, she became a vampire. She spread out a black cloak with a red lining and wrapped a pointed choker around her neck.
With a faint smile on her rosy lips, she looked so powerful that it was hard to believe she was wearing a cheap cosplay costume.
“…Ran, you look good in anything, don’t you?”
“Subjective evaluations are biased when there are few samples. Take more photos.”
I repositioned my smartphone and snapped photos in burst mode.
Ran changed angles, adjusted her poses, and flipped her cloak, proceeding smoothly like a studio shoot.
“Okay. I’ve taken enough, but… what do we do with these?”
“I’ll put them in my personal database. Cross-cultural…”
“Got it, cross-cultural understanding.”
After doing all that, I suddenly realized something.
“By the way, aren’t you supposed to say ‘Trick or treat’?”
“…Right.”
Ran flicked the hem of her cloak, took a step closer to me, and lifted my chin with her finger.
“Trick or treat.”
Whispered in a low voice, I couldn’t help but flinch.
But I took the bag of chocolate I had brought from the kitchen earlier out of my pocket and handed it to her.
“Here, candy.”
“…………”
“No tricks, right?”
Ran stared intently at the chocolate she had received.
“…It’s reasonable, but a little anticlimactic.”
“I’m sorry?”
Ran sighed, tucked the cookies into her cape, and stared at me intently.
“A trick would have been fine.”
Huh?
“Well, never mind. Anyway, I want you to wear a costume too. I bought a men’s vampire costume. Size M is okay, right?”
What emerged from the depths of the carry-on case was a pair set consisting of a jet-black shirt and a red-lined cloak. Men’s
Considering Ran’s stubborn personality, there was little room for refusal.
“…I’ll wear it, but can I take it off after the photos?”
“About 150 shots. A few minutes if it’s continuous shooting.”
“150!?”
Before I knew it, I was wearing a slim-fit black shirt, a red cape, and vampire props (plastic fangs and a rose). Ran, who seemed to be timing the costume change, held a stopwatch and gave precise instructions like, “Roll up your sleeves a bit more.”
She switched the camera app to timer mode and stepped into the frame herself.
She leaned her chin over my shoulder, lowered her eyes, and slightly raised the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were cool, but her lips were seductive.
Click. — My chest suddenly felt hot.
“How’s that?”
“Not bad.”
Ran checked the photo and nodded in satisfaction.
The photo session continued.
“One last two-shot. Ten-second timer, full body.”
“Got it…”
I placed my smartphone on the table and stood next to Ran. Our capes overlapped, making the distance between us uncomfortably close.
Ran naturally took my arm and pressed herself tightly against me.
My heart skipped a beat.
Click.
The smartphone’s shutter sounded.
The photo is saved to memory.
“Hmm. This should be good enough.”
“Uh, yeah…”
She seems satisfied. Ran takes off her cape and quickly starts cleaning up.
As usual, she’s so practical.
Sigh. I’m exhausted just from taking a photo.
I fold up my cape and look back at the photo we just took.
The last two-shot.
Me awkwardly making a peace sign and Ran smiling.
The Ran smiling in the photo looks so soft, like a different person from her usual cool self.
I was surprised when she suggested a mini Halloween party at home, but maybe it was worth doing.
Ran was saying all sorts of things, but I think I’ll keep this photo as a personal memory rather than as a cultural understanding reference.