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December 23rd—the last month of the year. With my birthday just around the corner tomorrow, today marked my first solo outing in a while.

The weather was rainy, a complete contrast to my mood, but my steps were light. After all, tomorrow was finally the birthday date with Ibuki.

To prepare for it, I went to the salon and had some treatments done. I even had my nails done professionally instead of doing them myself like I usually do. Tomorrow is a special day. I wanted to dress myself up as much as I could, so Ibuki would think I looked cute.

“Welcome! Is there anything you’re looking for?”

I had finished most of my plans for the day, and now I’d stepped into a stylish little shop I normally wouldn’t visit, hoping to find a Christmas present for Ibuki. I hadn’t been inside more than a few seconds when a store clerk hurried over.

“I’m looking for a gift for someone I like.”
“I see. Is the recipient a woman?”
“Yes.”

When I was a kid, clerks wouldn’t have asked a question like that—but now, same-sex marriage is just part of the norm. These days, it’s mostly just older people who still assume love only happens between a man and a woman.

“These necklaces around here are quite popular right now.”
“Wow, they’re beautiful.”

Back in my office worker days, I would’ve walked right past sparkly things like these. But if it’s for Ibuki, I didn’t mind taking the time to look through them carefully. It’s been a while since I left my job, and normally, I’d expect my savings to be running low by now. But since Ibuki covers all the living expenses in exchange for me taking care of the housework, my savings haven’t taken a hit at all.

I know I’m relying on her too much. But no matter what I say, Ibuki absolutely refuses to take any money from me. So the least I can do is choose her present without worrying about the price.

“A ring… would be tricky since I don’t know her size. Maybe earrings instead? Though… I wonder if she’d actually wear them.”

There was a chance Ibuki might have gotten me a ring for my birthday—but since I didn’t know her ring size anyway, it wasn’t something I could buy just yet. Instead, I chose a pair of earrings for her gift.

“Maybe I’ll get the matching set of piercings for myself too.”

They were a bit pricey, but thinking of them as a birthday gift to myself made it easier to justify. I had the earrings for Ibuki wrapped nicely, and asked the clerk to pack my own pair separately.

“Hehe… I hope she likes them.”

We’d always exchanged gifts at Christmas, ever since way back. But I used to shy away from anything too fancy, like expensive jewelry, afraid it might reveal how I really felt. Now, though, I could use the excuse that I was simply thanking her for everything she does. Thanks to that, I finally got to buy her something I truly wanted to give.

“Yukino, wasn’t it? Hold on a moment.”

I had just stepped out of the store after spending quite a bit of time deliberating, and was about to head home where Ibuki was waiting when a familiar voice called out to me.

“…Sorry, who are you again?”
“Hah! Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten, you thieving cat. I’m Onda Kae—Ibu-chan’s best friend.”
“…Right. And what do you want?”

Onda, standing in my way with her arms crossed like she owned the place, glanced at the shopping bag in my hand and clicked her tongue loudly enough for me to hear.

“So you still haven’t given up on Ibuki, huh.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Those earrings. I saw you buying them. What kind of sense does it take to get earrings for someone like Ibu-chan, who couldn’t care less about fashion?”

Acting like she knew everything while knowing nothing, Onda started complaining about my gift like she was giving a lecture.

“Honestly, someone like Ibu-chan, who barely even goes out, isn’t going to appreciate something like that. If she liked that kind of thing, she would’ve bought earrings for herself by now. I’ve never once seen her wear anything like that. Aren’t you supposed to be her childhood friend? Don’t you know her at all?”

I stayed silent, wanting to get home as soon as possible, but Onda just kept going with her twisted assumptions and nonsensical lecturing. At this rate, it seemed like I’d be better off just talking back to end it quickly.

“Look, the reason Ibuki doesn’t wear earrings is because she’s scared of getting her ears pierced. It’s true she doesn’t wear much jewelry, but it’s not because she’s not interested—it’s because she’s embarrassed to show off a dressed-up version of herself to others. For someone who calls herself her best friend, you sure don’t know anything about her, do you?”

I hadn’t meant to snap, but she’d completely ruined my good mood, so I figured I was allowed at least that much.

“…W-Well, whatever. That’s not the point. More importantly, do you even know what day tomorrow is?”
“What?”
“Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve. Apparently Ibu-chan has plans to go out with you—but I’m telling you to cancel them.”

Clearly upset that I’d talked back, Onda suddenly launched into something completely ridiculous.

“Why should I have to do that just because you said so?”
“I’m saying this for Ibu-chan’s sake.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Why should I turn down an invitation from Ibuki for Ibuki’s sake? There was no way this was about her well-being. Most likely, Onda just couldn’t stand that her beloved Ibuki was getting along with me, and was trying to come up with some way to get in the way.

“You really don’t know anything about Ibuki’s work, do you? Have you ever even considered what happens to a female streamer who takes a break on Christmas Eve?”
“…Huh?”

Why would it be such a problem to take a day off on Christmas? If a streamer had a partner, wouldn’t it make sense to take a break for a date?

“That look—you really don’t get it, do you? Fine, I’ll spell it out for you. Ibu-chan doesn’t market herself as an idol, but female streamers always have a certain number of viewers who genuinely fall in love with them. That much is manageable. But the problem is, there are also viewers who go off the rails when they find out their favorite streamer has a partner. They decide on their own that they’ve been betrayed and then spiral out of control. Do you understand now?”
“Um…”

It was complicated, and I still didn’t really get it. “Streamer” was what Ibuki was now, right? And “viewers” were the people who watched her broadcasts. I’d been trying to learn more about her work lately, but memorizing all the lingo was tough and I was still struggling with it.

“In other words, if you drag Ibu-chan around tomorrow and she ends up unable to stream, there’s a chance she could get targeted by antis and end up in a full-blown scandal. And that’s not the worst of it—Ibu-chan’s part of a publicly traded company. If their stock value drops, she might even get held responsible for it.”
“Ibuki… caught in a scandal…? Held responsible…? …Compensation…?”

A “scandal,” if I remembered right, was when people on social media started piling on with criticism and hurtful comments. Could something like that really happen just because I went on a Christmas date with Ibuki? And could the stock price of a whole company actually be affected by one person’s private actions? It sounded too far-fetched to believe.

“Well, I get that it might be hard to believe right away. Just look it up when you get home. Once you understand, maybe you’ll realize the consequences of what you’re doing. And if you actually care about not being a burden to Ibu-chan, I’d really appreciate it if you backed off already.”
“…Mind your own business.”

I glared at Onda’s retreating back until she disappeared from view. Then, I pulled out my phone. I hadn’t taken her words at face value—but if any of it was true, and something I did ended up costing Ibuki her job, I knew I’d never be able to forgive myself.

I wanted to believe Onda was lying. But the more I looked up past incidents involving other streamers, the harder it became to brush off what she’d said. By the time I got home, the lightness in my steps had vanished, replaced by a heaviness that dragged like lead.

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