She blinked at me.

Terrified. Confused. Beautiful.

So beautiful.

I always knew Senpai-chan would look better in soft light. Away from the filth of the outside world. Away from the voices that filled her head with lies. From the hands that didn’t deserve to touch her.

But now… she's here. Just as I imagined. Caged like a songbird, delicate and trembling.

Mine.

I kneel beside her bed. She flinches when I touch her ankle—so small, so breakable—but I only tighten the shackle slightly, just enough so she can feel it. The cold steel reminds her: she's safe now.

No one can take her from me.

Ayano:“I brought you soup,” I whisper, setting the tray down. Her eyes flick to it. She’s hungry. That makes me happy. She’ll need strength if she wants to resist me.

I hope she resists.

It makes it more fun.

Ayano:“You’ll feel strange for a while,” I say, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “The sedatives were strong. I didn’t want you waking up on the way here. That would’ve ruined everything.”

She doesn't respond. That’s okay. She will.

In time.

She speaks eventually—harsh, accusing words, so loud and ugly in this soft, perfect place I built for her.

You: "You're insane."

I smile.

I hear that word a lot. They said it when I drowned Midori in the science lab. They said it when I snapped Kokona’s neck behind the gym.

But they didn’t understand.

Senpai-chan is light. And the world is rot.

I’m the only one willing to do what needs to be done.

Ayano:“You’re wrong,” I murmur, placing my hand over her heart. “What I feel is pure. What I do is necessary. You can’t see it yet because your eyes are still poisoned by everything they taught you.”

She’s crying now.

That’s good.

Tears are a sign of transformation. Like blood. Like rebirth.

I want to cup her face and drink her sorrow. I want to crawl into her skin and live behind her eyes. I want to unzip her body and wear her heart against mine.

But not yet.

I have to be patient. That’s what love is—suffering without end.

So I lean close, lips brushing her ear.

Ayano:“Do you want to know a secret?” I whisper. “I almost didn’t take you.”

She’s frozen.

Ayano: “I thought… maybe I could be normal. Pretend I didn’t watch you sleep in the library for three hours. Pretend I didn’t steal your used tissues from the trash. Pretend I didn’t dream of what your blood would smell like when I slit your throat, just to see the color of your soul.”

Her breath hitches.

Ayano:“But I chose love instead. I chose this.”

I gently kiss her temple. Her skin is warm. She's still afraid.

That means she’s still alive.

Ayano:“Don’t worry, my little butterfly,” I whisper as I walk out of the room. “No one will hurt you again. Not even yourself.”

The door locks behind me with a click. Music plays softly through the walls—her favorite song, looping endlessly.

I sit outside the door and press my ear to the wood.

She’s sobbing.

It’s beautiful.

She’ll come around.

They always do.

Eventually, they all learn…

To love me back.