My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU IF: Yukinoshita's Choice
In the spring of his second year of high school, Hachiman Hikigaya, a cynical loner, is forced into the Service Club by his teacher. There he meets the perfect beauty Yukino Yukinoshita and the cheerful Yui Yuigahama. As they spend time together, Hachiman slowly begins to open his heart. But he never reveals his true feelings.
One day during cultural festival preparations, Yukino says quietly, 'I have something I need to tell you both.' Hachiman and Yui look puzzled. Yukino takes a deep breath
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU IF: Yukinoshita's Choice - Yukinoshita Yukino's Tears, and Then Back to Daily Life
My arm was twisted behind my back as I, Hikigaya Hachiman, was being dragged off the gymnasium stage by two teachers.
The right hand that had been gripping the microphone just moments ago was still tingling with numbness.
The gazes of roughly nine hundred and sixty students pierced into me.
(*This hurts.*)
(*My arm's gonna break, isn't it.*)
But, well, fine.
I said everything I wanted to say.
Yukinoshita Yukino's withdrawal wasn't her own will.
Anyone who wants to read that novel, come find me.
Come find me, the coward.
That's everything.
The rest, I don't care.
"Hey, let go of me already. I'm not gonna run."
"Shut up! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
The overweight PE teacher twisted my arm even harder, grinding it.
The pain made the edges of my vision flicker white.
(*Yeah, I know.*)
(*I wrecked the school assembly.*)
(*I defied the school's decision.*)
(*I'm the worst.*)
(*But that was fine.*)
The air in the gymnasium was still churning and boiling.
The students' murmurs.
"Who is Hikigaya?"
"Is the withdrawal for real?"
"What novel?"
"Isn't this bad? He's getting caught by the teachers."
Voices surged and receded like waves.
Beyond those waves.
The October afternoon light fell through the gaps in the thick curtains, landing on the gymnasium floor in white bands.
And within that light.
She was standing there.
Glossy black hair reaching down to her waist.
Narrow, deep, blue eyes.
Yukinoshita Yukino stood frozen at the gymnasium entrance.
Large tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Her lips trembled, trying to say something, but no voice came out.
The moment I saw her.
A cold lump dropped into the center of my chest.
(*Yukinoshita.*)
(*Why are you here.*)
(*Why are you crying.*)
(*I didn't do this for you.*)
(*I did it for my own self-satisfaction.*)
So don't look at me with that face.
You have nothing to cry about.
"...That's wrong."
I barely heard it.
"That's wrong. Hikigaya-kun. You're not a coward."
Yukino's voice, trembling but clear, rang through the gymnasium.
The murmuring stopped instantly.
"He's not like that. He just believed in my novel. He took my boring little dream seriously. That's all he is."
Yukino stepped forward on trembling legs.
Then another step.
The hem of her cream-colored dress faintly brushed against the dusty floor.
"So please. Let him go. I'm the one at fault. It's all my fault."
The teachers hesitated for a moment.
Yukino didn't miss that opening.
She broke into a small run.
Light footsteps against the floor.
As if tearing through the gazes of the entire student body.
Yukinoshita Yukino ran up onto the stage.
"Y-Yukinoshita-san?! You were supposed to have withdrawn—"
"I have not withdrawn. I have never once said I wanted to leave this school of my own will."
Saying that, Yukino grabbed my collar with both hands, gripping with all her strength.
So tightly her fingers turned white.
"Why, why do you have to shoulder everything? Why do you have to say things that hurt yourself so much? Why didn't you tell me anything? Why do you always, always decide things on your own like that?"
Why, why, why...!
Yukino's tears fell onto the collar of my uniform.
Hot.
Hot like sparks of fire.
"Yukinoshita, you—"
"I want to stay at school! I want to be with everyone! I want to write novels and have someone read them! It's not about getting my mother's approval. I just want to say my words, properly, with my own mouth!"
Yukino screamed through her sobs.
The air in the gymnasium changed.
The murmurs of curiosity and confusion from before.
Now became like the surface of water that had fallen completely still.
Everyone held their breath.
Staring at the girl on stage, crying and screaming her true feelings.
"That's Yukinoshita-san, right?"
"The perfect superhuman Yukinoshita-san is crying..."
"So the withdrawal really wasn't her own will?"
"Does that mean her parents are trying to force her to quit?"
"Isn't that awful?"
"She said she wanted to write novels. What's wrong with supporting that?"
The students' voices gradually took on the color of sympathy and support for Yukino.
I could feel that shift on my skin.
But.
(*No.*)
(*That's not it.*)
(*Why do you have to cry in front of everyone.*)
(*I didn't want to protect you.*)
(*I just wanted to make things easier for myself.*)
Yukino's fingers still hadn't let go of my collar.
Her tears blurred my vision.
Damn it.
Why am I about to cry too.
"...Let go, Yukinoshita. You look pathetic."
"No. I won't let go. If you're going to try to go off alone again, I will absolutely not let go."
"Why does it turn out like this."
"Because you protected the thing most precious to me. So now it's my turn to protect you."
The moment I heard those words.
Something deep, deep inside my chest collapsed with a sound.
(*Protect.*)
(*With those slender arms.*)
(*Protect me.*)
(*Give me a break.*)
(*What a pain.*)
(*If you say something like that.*)
(*What am I supposed to do.*)
"Yukinon! Hachiman!"
This time, Yui came running from the gymnasium entrance.
Her bright brown medium-length hair disheveled.
Her large brown eyes swollen bright red.
"Yukinon! You came! I'm so glad! Really, so glad...!"
Yui ran up onto the stage and clung to Yukino's back.
Then, crying, she wrapped her arms around my arm too, hugging us both together.
"Hachiman, thank you too. Thanks to you, Yukinon came. I couldn't do anything. Hachiman did everything alone, and I couldn't do anything..."
"Yuigahama. You didn't do anything wrong. Stop crying. Don't get snot on me."
"I won't! I'm not! But I won't stop crying until Hachiman smiles!"
"That's unreasonable."
I gave a wry smile.
Then Yukino raised her face slightly.
"...Yui-san. You're crying too. Your face is a mess."
"Yukinon's the one! Your eyes are all red! Your tears haven't stopped!"
"...Yes, that's true. I wonder why. Every time I try to speak, tears just overflow. It's embarrassing, but I can't stop them."
"Me too! Me too, same!"
Crying and laughing at the same time, the two of them wouldn't let go of me.
The air in the gymnasium shifted again.
The tense silence from before.
Now, from all around, the sounds of sniffling, sighs, and small applause began to rise.
"Yukinoshita-san, hang in there!"
"Hikigaya, not bad!"
"The Service Club is amazing, huh."
"Let me read your novel!"
Voices of support spread like waves, enveloping the three of us on stage.
That was when.
From the gymnasium speakers came the sound of a microphone being lightly tapped with a finger.
Tap, tap.
"Okay, okay, that's enough. Mind if big sis takes the stage now?"
All eyes turned to the source of the voice.
Standing just below the stage, in the very front row, was Yukinoshita Haruno.
A black bob cut at shoulder length.
The same blue eyes as her sister, gleaming brightly and provocatively.
"Yukino. Your tear-swollen face is cute and all, but doing that in front of the whole school is a bit much, don't you think? Dragging Hikigaya-kun into it too—what are you doing?"
"Sister...? Why are you here?"
Yukino's eyes went wide.
"That's obvious. I came to see my little sister's big moment. Don't make me regret it."
Still smiling, Haruno held out her smartphone to Yukino.
"Mother. I've got her on the line. The rest, you say it yourself."
"Eh... to Mother?"
Yukino's shoulders flinched.
"It's fine. If it's you, you can say it. After all, you just said it in front of the whole school. There's no way you can't say it to Mother, right?"
Haruno gently pressed the phone into Yukino's hand.
"Here. Want me to say it for you? 'Mother, Yukinon's crying, so please don't make her quit school.' But that wouldn't mean anything, would it? Your true feelings—only you can say them, right?"
"...Sister, that's unfair. Saying it like that is unfair."
With trembling hands, Yukino brought the phone to her ear.
"...Hello, Mother."
I couldn't hear the voice on the other end.
But I could see Yukino's hand trembling in fine shivers.
"Mother, there's something I need to tell you."
Yukino took one deep breath in, then out.
Then she faced forward with her tear-swollen eyes, straight ahead.
"I don't want to leave school."
"I want to be with everyone. I want to study at this school, with my current friends. So please, retract the withdrawal."
Silence.
The air in the entire gymnasium tensed.
The silence on the other end of the phone seemed to descend directly into the gymnasium.
"...And also, I want to become a novelist."
Yukino's voice pitched slightly higher.
"Even if you don't approve, Mother, I will keep writing. I believe in the words that Grandmother praised. So please. Don't take away my dream."
A long, long silence.
Even standing next to her, I could feel the heavy silence from the other end of the line.
Yukino's hand wouldn't stop trembling.
I slowly reached out my right hand and touched her trembling left hand.
Her fingertips were cold as ice.
But Yukino squeezed my hand back tightly.
That small strength was, strangely, warm.
"...Yes. ...Yes. ...I understand. Thank you, Mother."
Yukino slowly lowered the phone from her ear.
"The withdrawal has been retracted. Mother said we'll discuss it as a family later."
Yukino said it quietly.
Then she collapsed to the floor, crouching down.
"Yukinon!"
Yui caught Yukino.
"You did it, Yukinon! I'm so glad! Really, so glad!"
Yui patted Yukino's back enthusiastically.
Yukino, still crouched, cried out loud.
They weren't tears of sadness.
It was the crying of a child whose strength had drained away in relief.
Applause broke out from all around the gymnasium.
The small applause gradually grew louder, until it became thunderous.
"Yukinoshita, welcome back!"
"We're rooting for your novelist dream!"
"Hikigaya, not bad either!"
The students' voices rained down like a shower.
Through the applause and cheers, the teachers approached me with apologetic expressions.
"Hikigaya. Come to the staff room for now. We'll talk after that."
"Hey, no fair! Don't take Hachiman away by himself!"
Yui clung to my arm.
"Yuigahama, let go. You look ridiculous."
"No! Hachiman didn't do anything wrong! I'll prove it! Hachiman just helped Yukinon!"
"Look. The moment I interfered with an official school decision, I did plenty wrong."
"Then I'm equally guilty."
Yukino stood up, supported by Yui.
"What he did was to help me. He may have gone too far emotionally, but he wasn't wrong. I believe in him. I will take responsibility and explain his actions to the school. So don't take him away alone."
Yukino's blue eyes stared straight at the teacher.
"Fine. Then all three of you, come. But we will be hearing the full story."
The teacher sighed.
Pulled along by Yui's grip on my arm, I stepped down from the stage.
As we passed each other, Haruno whispered in my ear.
"Hikigaya-kun. You really are interesting. Getting my little sister this serious. ...You'll take responsibility, won't you?"
Haruno wore her usual bright smile.
But behind that smile.
For just an instant, a cold light flashed.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
(*I really can't tell what this woman is thinking.*)
◆◆◆
In the staff room, Hiratsuka Shizuka thoroughly chewed me out.
"You really are an idiot. Turning the school assembly into your personal stage, getting grabbed by teachers—what were you doing? Is that something a normal high schooler does? A stunt like that could easily get you expelled."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"Don't think 'sorry' is enough. Your methods, every single time, hurt the people around you and then hurt yourself. I'm not telling you to do things more skillfully. But at least have the resolve to accept that you're dragging others into it."
Hiratsuka-sensei took a cigarette box out of her uniform pocket and placed it on the desk.
"...As for this incident, the school hasn't decided what to do with you yet. But Yukinoshita defended you that strongly, and the entire student body rea
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