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416 Thank You for Choosing Me
🕑 Added 2025-07-31 15:00:17 +0000 UTC“After I turn them down, those boys who walk away with fake smiles, trying to save face, forget all about their supposed feelings in no time.
Within two days, rumors start spreading through the school that Yukinoshita Yukino is cold, arrogant, and impossible to deal with.”
Yukino’s voice was as cold as the Antarctic wind—sharp, biting—but everyone present could understand her feelings.
That’s why, even though she was the one being confessed to, it was always the girl who ended up bowing deeply, sometimes even at a perfect ninety degrees.
And Kyousuke knew: if those guys were trying to badmouth Yukino, they weren’t going to stop at just a few petty complaints.
They’d surely added all kinds of ugly, groundless insults to the mix.
“So that’s why you wrapped yourself up like a cabbage, to protect yourself?” Sakura asked with sympathy in her voice.
‘No, it’s more like a hedgehog, actually… a really sharp hedgehog..’ Kyousuke thought to himself.
“No. I don’t care about any of that,” Yukino shook her head and gently took Sakura’s hand.
Maybe the warmth from it reached her, because her voice softened, and even her expression mellowed.
“As long as the people I care about understand me, that’s all that matters.”
“Whoa! That line was perfect! Nice one, Yukino-chan!” Sakura exclaimed, surprised by how open and strong Yukino was being today.
“In the end, anyone who’d believe those kinds of baseless rumors clearly isn’t someone I need to care about.”
Yukino turned her head slightly, almost like she was shyly adding an explanation.
To Hojou, who had the eyes of a scanner, her pale cheeks had taken on the faintest blush.
She really was cat-like—two completely different faces depending on whether she was with friends or strangers.
Still, come to think of it, Yukino hadn’t ever directly admitted that Sakura or the others were her friends.
He couldn’t tell whether she was just cautious… or maybe just shy.
“Anyway, as long as we have a proper talk with Hatake-kun, he’ll probably come to realize that his feelings for the cross-dressing Kuroda aren’t real love and give up,” Yukino concluded.
“You make a good point, and that might be true for most people… but that guy is different.”
Kuroda Kaito looked thoroughly intimidated by Yukino, to the point where he had upgraded his speech to full honorifics.
“What makes him different?” Yukino asked, pressing further.
“Well, um… just… different. Think about it—he hasn’t changed his underwear for five months. Who with lustful intent could possibly hold out that long? Until he finds that ‘girl,’ he’s absolutely not going to change them!”
“Please don’t say the word ‘underwear’ anymore, Kuroda,” Kyousuke interjected. “From now on, just call it ‘XX.’”
Just thinking about how Kuroda and Misuhashi were always with Hatake Gorou made him feel like he could already smell something.
Of course, he knew that was just in his head—they were all in the same classroom, and even during kendo practice, there was never any noticeable odor.
“...Yes, boss” Kuroda’s face darkened. But “XX”? Doesn’t that just sound even more suspicious?
Even Yukino quietly let out a breath of relief.
This request was supposed to be simple.
But thanks to the whole “not changing XX for four months” thing, it had escalated to something absurd and hard to describe.
“As for that… maybe it’s a case of emotional self-deception. Hatake Gorou gets swept up in fake feelings.
Then uses his ‘sacrifice’ of not changing his XX as proof of his sincerity. It turns into a vicious cycle.
The sunk cost keeps piling up, and the more he sacrifices, the more he convinces himself it’s true love.”
Even Misuhashi and Kuroda almost started believing Yukino.
Her reasoning was so spot-on it could apply to almost anyone.
They still didn’t fully agree, but they were both now convinced that coming to the Service Club was the right move.
Originally, they were only here for the boss… but this Yukino girl was seriously sharp.
“That’s not it,” Kuroda objected again, but couldn’t give any better explanation.
Yukino’s expression turned stern. She was open to differing opinions, but not baseless ones.
“Let me explain,” Kyousuke sighed.
If this had happened to Kuroda or Misuhashi, it would’ve been simple.
Just like Yukino said, they could’ve snapped them out of it easily.
But because it was Hatake Gorou, it got complicated.
“Go ahead,” Yukino nodded.
“Hatake Gorou is an idiot. The kind of guy with one-track thinking. A total simpleton. He doesn’t know how to lie or say sweet words.
So, for someone like him, falling in love at first sight is already a miracle. What might seem like a shallow impulse to others… to someone like him, it’s genuine love. Do you get what I’m saying?”
Right now, Kyousuke missed Onizuka and Danma.
Sure, those two were always chasing girls, but at least they understood what romance meant. Whether they got dumped or played, they could laugh it off.
But Hatake Gorou? His whole life had revolved around swinging a sword, nothing more.
That strange feeling in his chest—like getting electrocuted—was the first and only time he’d ever experienced something like that.
And that’s what made this so hard for Kuroda and Misuhashi.
This was their bro’s first love. The awakening of his clueless heart.
Both of them nodded in solemn agreement. Dammit.
What even is this situation? They were emotionally wrecked.
If it had been any other girl, and Hatake Gorou wanted to fall in love, they’d give it their all—burn their savings, sacrifice sleep, even call in Onizuka to stage a fake delinquent attack so their buddy could swoop in as a hero.
Whatever it took.
But this situation? It was just too damn weird.
If they told Gorou the truth, not only would it ruin their friendship, but he might lose all faith in love.
After listening, Yukino fell silent again, lost in thought.
Watching her, Kyousuke knew she probably still didn’t fully understand.
She was like a perfectly calibrated machine—meticulous and methodical about everything.
Ask her how many squirrels lived on campus, and she’d spend 24 hours under a tree and give you an accurate count.
And because of her own emotional scars, she understood the darker side of human nature.
You could tell from her earlier reasoning—she tried to analyze it from a psychological perspective.
But if understanding the human heart were really that simple, everyone could just use a color chart to identify their feelings or plug them into an equation to find love.
“I think I get what you mean now,” she said at last, voice still cold, brows slightly furrowed. “But I still don’t understand how someone can fall in love without knowing anything about the other person.”
Of course.
When someone confessed to her, her first instinct wasn’t to consider whether to accept—it was to analyze the motive behind it.
She was the type to try solving love like a math problem.
“Yukino… you still don’t know what love is,” Yamauchi Sakura said softly.
“Love is something deeply personal,” she continued. “It only concerns the one feeling it. It doesn’t require anyone else's understanding or approval.
Just like Hatake Gorou—whether he’s just fooling himself like you said, or clinging to his ‘sunk cost,’ it doesn’t change the fact that he’s blissfully lost in the beauty of what he believes is love.”
“Love at first sight, curiosity, dependency, even hatred—love wears countless masks. Until we find ourselves completely entangled in it, we can never truly be certain of what our heart is feeling.”
As Sakura’s gentle, melodic voice flowed through the classroom, Yukino felt like she was staring into the eyes of a sleek black cat perched on a wall—those soft, golden-yellow eyes seemed to peer straight into her soul.
The room was so quiet you could hear the soft rustle of cards from the rugby club playing mahjong downstairs.
The white curtains by the windows danced in the breeze, rising and falling like Yukino’s pale blue eyes flickering with emotion.
In that moment, Sakura’s usually bubbly voice transformed into a stream of ones and zeroes—lines of code, slipping directly into everyone’s minds.
“Love often blends with other emotions. The line between them is so blurred that we frequently misread our own hearts, say the wrong words, and take the wrong actions.
But once love does appear, we don’t really have a choice. Even an idiot will do their best to express the joy they feel.”
“Then have you figured it out?” Yukino seemed overwhelmed by Sakura’s words.
She straightened her posture, tilted her chin slightly, and asked:
“Is it really love? Or is it just habit? Are you addicted to the routine of having him around, or simply too comfortable to leave your safe zone?”
Her gaze was sharp and unwavering.
“Neither,” Sakura replied with a soft smile.
Her voice was no longer playful—it was like a lullaby, soothing and warm.
“It’s my choice. I chose to make him a part of my everyday life. I chose to become his habit. Just like how cherry blossoms choose to bloom in spring—I chose him.”
That day, when she stepped out in her tracksuit and picked up the warm lunch thermos, she had already made her decision.
She chose to spend her time running with him.
She chose to become his childhood friend.
She chose Hojou.
Sunlight bathed Sakura’s face in a golden glow.
Her expression, radiant and sincere, made Yukino’s heart waver.
Even though the word "love" hadn’t been spoken outright, Yukino understood.
There was no hesitation in Sakura’s heart.
She had chosen Hojou Kyousuke. She had chosen love.
It was a beautiful, unshakable resolve.
No wonder she was able to be friends with Yukino’s sister. Sakura was strong in her own right.
“I chose the one I love. Why wouldn’t I love the choice I made? I fell for him… and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“It’s that…so …” Yukino nodded slowly, somewhat stiffly. Her expression was unusually awkward.
She wasn’t used to this kind of emotional decision-making.
She couldn’t act without a clear reason. She just couldn’t…
“Hatake Gorou is the same,” Sakura declared. “He just made the wrong choice. That’s why we need to help him set things right!”
“Huh? But didn’t you just say once a choice is made, there’s no turning back?” Yukino blinked, confused.
“Geez, Yukino-chan, you’re really thick sometimes.”
Sakura’s face changed a hundred expressions in an instant, finally settling on a look of exasperation—as if dealing with a problem child.
“A choice is never one-sided. Isn’t that right, Kyousuke?” she said, turning toward him.
“…Yeah,” he replied softly, his thoughts drifting back to that day he stood in front of the Yamauchi house.
He’d taken deep breaths over and over, hand hovering near the doorbell for the fifth time, heart pounding.
He didn’t know if he was going to look like a weirdo, if Sakura would like the dessert he made, if she’d accept his request—or worse, if she’d come to hate him.
But he chose to learn how to make sweets.
He chose to go to her house.
He chose to act on his feelings.
“I made a choice too… to meet Sakura.”
His usually clear and cheerful voice now sounded light and gentle, like the flutter of a girl’s eyelashes.
“And she chose my choice,” he said, answering Yukino’s earlier question.
Kyousuke felt his eyes sting.
He still remembered the moment little Sakura appeared in the living room in her pink tracksuit—like a beacon of hope. He felt… saved.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Sakura had accepted his clumsy, sudden feelings.
She had chosen to be his friend.
And through her choice, she had helped him become a better version of himself.
The raven-haired girl swallowed hard, as if something was stuck in her throat.
She turned awkwardly to look at Nishimiya Shouko at the far end of the room, hoping to catch her reaction.
And there Shouko was, soft and gentle like cotton candy, smiling with the same tender expression.
When she noticed Yukino’s gaze, she replied in her clear, bell-like voice:
“I’m thankful too—for the choices I’ve made… and for the people who chose me.”
Yamauchi Sakura turned to Shouko and grinned, then looked back at Yukino.
“Cherry blossoms bloom in spring because they’ve spent a long time gathering the strength to do so. Spring is the season that suits them best. Don’t assume people make their choices blindly.”
Yukino reached out and picked up the paperback novel from the table, gripping it tightly in both hands.
She took a deep breath, repeating in her heart over and over:
‘Don’t listen to Sakura. Don’t listen to Sakura.’
“…Then let’s help Hatake Gorou fix his wrong decision,” she said, as if trying to escape the moment.
Sakura smiled knowingly at Yukino’s blatant retreat and said nothing more.
“We could just tell him that girl… is dead,” Kyousuke suggested bluntly—quick and effective.
“Rejected,” Yukino shot it down immediately. “Even putting aside the morality of lying, your method is too cruel—even I think so.”
She gave Hojou a look like he was the worst kind of scum.
This guy had just claimed Hatake Gorou found ‘true love,’ and now he wanted to kill off the girl?
“Yeah, that’s way too harsh. What if Hatake Gorou wants to go pay his respects?” Kuroda Kaito added.
“You’re not broke, are you? Just treat it as a tribute to your dead cross-dressing persona. Buy a plot of land. I know someone at the Zōshigaya Cemetery near my place,” Hojou replied casually.
He ignored Yukino’s glare.
She was the one who hid and made him talk earlier, and now she didn’t want to hear what he had to say?
No way was he letting her have it both ways.
“No, no, that’s way too creepy,” Kuroda shook his head furiously.
If they really did that, he’d be the one dragging Gorou to the grave, and if Hatake Gorou knelt there sobbing and confessing to a gravestone, he’d want to dig a hole and bury himself from secondhand embarrassment.
“Also,” Yukino added, “even putting aside the ethical concerns, from a psychological perspective, telling Hatake-kun the girl is dead might actually strengthen his belief that his feelings are real love.”
