Living in the Heart of Tokyo

As the two once again began to apologize profusely, Kyousuke cut them off with a sharp tone.

"You two—I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

At his words, Jirou Moriyama and his companion performed a masterclass in the art of dogeza.

Without any noticeable movement, they pivoted smoothly to face Yukinoshita Yukino.

"We're truly sorry!"

"Your words were as crude as if you'd never even attended kindergarten," Yukino replied coldly, without the faintest hint of a smile. "But I can consider them simply doubts directed at me personally."

Her voice was icy and composed.

"If you're going to apologize, save it for after I become the team leader and lead us to victory at the Sports Festival. Say it at the celebration party."

'…This girl…' Kyousuke looked at Yukinoshita in surprise.

To others, her words might sound like she was trying to spare the boys' pride.

Indeed, Moriyama and his friend—still kneeling—looked genuinely grateful.

But that wasn't what she meant.

Yukino wasn't being forgiving; she was just acknowledging that their doubts were reasonable—for now.

Once she proved her abilities, these two might end up reading an 8,000-word public apology in front of the whole team…

If not forced to perform some archaic ritual like seppuku.

"Thanks for your help, Hojou-san," Yukino turned to Kyousuke, one hand pressed to the ground as she used her left foot to push herself up.

She walked slowly from the back of the crowd toward the front.

"Not that you needed it~" came a cheerful voice in Kyousuke's ear, warm breath brushing his earlobe.

"Great minds think alike. I also felt like something was missing without that line," Kyousuke said with a grin, reaching out and gently pinching Sakura's small cheek between his fingers.

"Yukino's just like that, you know," Sakura said as her gaze followed the black-haired girl walking ahead.

"You mean, uptight?" Kyousuke said offhandedly.

People like that always clashed with his personality.

"No, not at all. She just always does everything on her own. That's not called being uptight—that's called having principles," Sakura pouted slightly. "Don't you think Yukino is kind of cool?"

"Not really. I just think it must be exhausting to live like that."

Kyousuke didn't linger on the topic. Instead, he shifted the conversation.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be the team leader yourself? Now you've got some competition."

"Looks like it~ But I know Kyousuke will help me, right?" Sakura replied with the same breezy tone, showing no concern at all about the rival she had created.

"Oh? I thought you said Yukino was cool for doing everything on her own. Don't you want to learn from her?"

"There's a saying, you know—'a pillar in the shadows bears the weight of the roof.' It's thanks to humble people like me, who accept help from others, that unsung heroes even get to shine," Sakura said proudly.

"Shouko, jot that one down—'Yamauchi Sakura's Guide to Blatant Nonsense,' Rule #581: A bold reinterpretation of 'two heads are better than one,'" Kyousuke said theatrically, patting Shouko on the arm.

The proverb was meant to praise the unseen efforts of heroes behind the scenes, yet Sakura had twisted it into an outrageous justification for her own laziness.

Smiling, Shouko pulled out her ever-present notepad and earnestly scribbled it down.

Her notebook already contained a collection of Sakura's ridiculous quips.

"When I publish this book, I'll make sure to gift you the first two numbered copies!" Sakura laughed, completely unfazed.

Of course, these twisted sayings were things she only shared with those she was close to.

"All right, get up there. I'll help you get votes."

Kyousuke gave Sakura a pat on the back.

If more than two candidates ran, the entire school would have to vote.

But if it was just the two of them, only the red team needed to decide.

"Okay!"

Sakura gave Shouko—who was clenching her tiny fists in encouragement—a quick cheek pinch and moved to the front from the other side of the crowd.

"Hojou, get up there and emcee," Kisaki Tetta reminded him.

Normally, this job would fall to Hiratsuka-sensei, but she was nowhere to be found.

That worked just fine for Tetta, who saw this as a chance to bolster Kyousuke's leadership image.

Sure, why not? It'll help cheer Sakura on too.

Kyousuke nodded, stood up, and dusted himself off.

The students ahead of him instinctively stepped aside, forming a clear path.

Yukinoshita stood on his right, Sakura on his left.

"Anyone else want to run for team leader? If so, we'll need to hold a school-wide vote. If not, we'll do it here and now."

He wasn't trying to pressure anyone, but with Kyousuke's backing, Sakura's victory was all but guaranteed.

After waiting about thirty seconds and getting no response, Kyousuke turned to the two girls.

"Which of you wants to give your speech first?"

Yukino glanced at Sakura, sighed silently, and felt like she'd stepped into a farce.

"Yukino should go first. I have no clue how to give a speech anyway," Sakura said, her cheerful tone only making Yukino more annoyed.

'Does she even understand the weight of what she's doing?'

"…Fine." Exhaling deeply, Yukino shoved aside her distractions and organized her swirling thoughts.

"I'm Yukinoshita Yukino from Class 1-J, and I'd like to be the Red Team Leader for this year's Sports Festival."

Her mind was crystal clear.

She knew she had no popularity or support base.

To gain their trust, she needed a speech that was airtight—impossible to refute.

She wasn't good at rousing emotions, so the only thing she could rely on was—

"Let's start with the performance."

"Last year's teams performed 'Yuu-mai' from the Oose Festival in Shizuka Prefecture, the 'Morioka Sansa Odori' from Iwate, and a Western-style dance."

"I reviewed videos from the last five years and saw no team performing the 'Yorai Dance.'

"While it's a fairly traditional dance, it hasn't been featured in our school's Sports Festival in recent years."

"That gives it a certain uniqueness. If I'm chosen as team leader, our team will perform a modern interpretation of the Yorai Dance.

"I've been studying dance since elementary school, under Professor Nishijima from the Japan Arts University."

"I've even won top honors at the Tokyo elementary-level competitions. Choreographing and teaching this dance won't be a challenge for me—I'm confident I can guide everyone."

She spoke at length without pause.

By the end, Yukino was slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed.

Judging by her stamina, she didn't quite look like someone with years of dance experience.

"Wow, that was amazing, Yukino!" Sakura clapped first.

"Show some seriousness, we're rivals right now," Yukino said, clearly irritated.

The crowd below exchanged glances before joining in the applause.

Some began murmuring, trying to recall last year's performance details.

Truthfully, most of them hadn't even paid attention—just followed instructions.

They didn't know much about this so-called Arts University, but seeing Yukino's proud expression and hearing her composed delivery, everyone began to believe in her ability.

Although it was unclear why she was talking about the duties of a stage director while running for team leader...

"Next is the gate structure. Honestly, I don't think there's anything particularly technically challenging about it."

"But just to show everyone how well I understand the details, I'll briefly explain."

"The main frame of the gate will be made of cedar."

"For the entrance and exit, I'll use logs with a 15cm diameter, reinforced in the back with 10cm logs forming a triangular support structure to increase stability. The top will be reinforced with wooden planks, then decorated with cardboard."

"Since the dance I chose is the 'Yorunomai' (Dance of the Night), I plan to use bright red ukiyo-e patterns here, and then…"

By this point, Kyousuke had already figured out what Yukinoshita was trying to do.

Just like she said earlier—if she were the team leader, she could single-handedly carry the entire sports festival. And right now, she was demonstrating that very capability to everyone.

It was just a calm, matter-of-fact presentation, but with how detailed and precise her explanation was, no one could doubt that following her plan would lead to success.

However…

Letting out a barely audible sigh, Kyousuke looked at the students below the stage.

Take Moriyama Jirou, for example—the guy who almost ran for team leader earlier.

His face had cycled through "surprise," "disbelief," and finally "frustration."

Most of the others wore similar expressions.

They were amazed by Yukinoshita Yukino's exceptional ability—but also quietly bitter at their own uselessness.

Sure, you're absolutely right.

If we just follow your instructions, everything will go smoothly.

But if that's the case, why don't you just do everything yourself?

Go ahead and form your own "Black Team." This sports festival is supposed to be for all of us—not just your personal showcase.

Kyousuke wasn't the only one who had noticed the shift.

Yamauchi Sakura turned her head slightly to look at Yukinoshita Yukino, who was still going on enthusiastically, now talking about how to make the backdrop.

Seriously, for someone who claims to be studying the "art of understanding people," you don't seem to understand them at all.

Watching Yukinoshita's confident, almost prideful profile, Sakura smiled wryly.

What was she really thinking when she orchestrated this whole farce?

Well, not much, to be honest.

Sakura had just thought that if she and Kyousuke worked together to craft this kind of sports festival, it would make for a fun entry in A Day in Ruyi Dormitory.

But after hearing Yukinoshita speak—listening to her spew out detail after detail like a walking database—Sakura realized something: Yukinoshita actually wanted to be team leader.

Until then, she hadn't understood why someone with such strong ambition hadn't taken any initiative.

But Yukinoshita's words had revealed the reason.

"No reason." How strange.

Sakura herself only wanted to do this because it sounded fun.

Yukinoshita had clearly done tons of research, yet she held herself back over such a vague, illogical excuse.

This girl, who Sakura had thought was a paragon of discipline—someone who could calmly read a book even if the world were ending—was actually so indecisive?!

Yes. Indecisive. That was the word Yamauchi Sakura settled on.

She had been surprised before—how easily Yukinoshita agreed to help after a comment that wasn't even a proper provocation.

Now, it made sense.

To some extent, that comment had simply given Yukinoshita the permission to accept the role.

Yukinoshita herself probably hadn't realized it.

Even now, the reason she stood at the podium was probably just as arbitrary—was she doing all this just to prove her doubters wrong?

Or was that simply the excuse she needed—to finally take a step forward toward her original goal?

How absurdly roundabout.

Yamauchi Sakura felt it was time to take a closer look—to reevaluate Yukinoshita.

Which led to today's events.

She hadn't expected just one speech to expose such a major issue.

This girl had an almost pathological attachment to "doing things on her own."

As if—as if she had never had anyone to rely on.

Alone.

Always assuming she had only herself to count on, no matter the situation.

But then, how could someone like that be so indecisive?

From the moment they met, it had always been Kyousuke who felt like the caretaker between him and Aunt Mikiko.

He had grown up being someone others could lean on.

When he made up his mind about something, not even ten oxen could drag him away from it. Sure, he was lazy on the surface, but he was definitely someone with strong opinions.

You could tell just from the way he kept flirting with other girls, even though he clearly had feelings for Sakura.

So really, if someone truly had no one to rely on, they should be more decisive.

'Yukinoshita Yukino… This Detective Sakura, will uncover your secrets. This time, I'm taking the position of team leader without holding back!'

Originally, she had planned to pull a cheap trick—something like telling everyone outright that if she became team leader, she'd make Kyousuke the assistant leader, giving everyone a chance to benefit from his help.

Yep.

A simple but clever way to meet everyone's expectations. Truly genius, if she did say so herself.

But now, thanks to Yukino's "generous assistance," even if Yuigahama were the one giving the speech, she'd still probably win easily.

Yukinoshita Yukino finished her speech.

The applause was much more subdued compared to the beginning.

She clearly didn't understand why and frowned in thought as she stepped back.

'Why?' she wondered.

'I should've perfectly demonstrated my abilities. Just like Hiratsuka-sensei said—share the abundance of the wealthy with the poor.'

'I've done that. Now, all they need to do is follow my plan, and they'll enjoy a flawless sports festival. They can keep celebrating their youth like fools.'

Yukinoshita Yukino tried hard to understand people's hearts—but still couldn't figure it out.

"Next up is Yamauchi Sakura," said Kyousuke, the temporary host.

The moment he finished, the gym erupted in thunderous applause.

It was like the crowd had been freed from a long winter—"The people have suffered under Yukinoshita Yukino for too long!"

The sudden burst of support made Yukino's frown deepen.

An inexplicable weight pressed on her chest, suffocating her.

"What's wrong? Can't figure it out?"

A voice came from behind her, over her right shoulder.

She turned—there stood Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei, the last to take the stage, like a true hero.

With her hands in her pockets and a deliberately world-weary expression, she looked like the kind of mentor who appears after the side character loses to the protagonist—to deliver a life lesson straight out of a shounen manga.

"I'm just reviewing whether I said anything inappropriate," Yukinoshita replied quickly, eyes shifting forward to watch Sakura walk to the stage.

"Oh really? That's too bad. I thought you were struggling to understand why your speech didn't have the impact you expected."

Hiratsuka walked up and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the proud girl. She looked like an upgraded version of Yukinoshita Yukino in every way.

Yukinoshita glanced sideways and saw… well, certain "prominent features" towering beside her.

Expressionlessly, she turned away again.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Yamauchi Sakura from Class 1-F, and I'm running for team leader."

Sakura's cheerful voice rang out clearly through the gym.

Acting as host, Kyousuke raised both hands and led the applause.

Shouko clapped enthusiastically from below, and everyone else joined in with bright smiles—like fans greeting their favorite idol.

Yamauchi Sakura raised both hands, gently motioning for everyone to quiet down. She hadn't even started her speech yet.

"I've never had any experience as a team leader. I just really want to make this sports festival fun for everyone."

"So I hope you'll all help me, and give it your all. Of course, I'll work twice as hard myself. That's all."

Another round of warm applause followed.

No need for a vote—Yukinoshita already knew she had lost.

Lost to this speech, bursting with youthful naivety.

"Kisaki, go to the office and grab some paper," Kyousuke instructed.

Although he had already seen Hiratsuka Shizuka in the background, she clearly had no intention of stepping in, so he decided to see things through himself.

No pens were needed.

For voting, a triangle could represent one person, a square another.

Honestly, if it wasn't supposed to be anonymous, they could've just voiced their choices out loud.

"That won't be necessary. I concede." Yukinoshita stepped forward calmly, her voice steady.

She had a fierce competitive spirit, but she wasn't the type to shy away from defeat.

In fact, experiences like this were valuable additions to her study of human behavior.

As long as she could figure out why things happened, she would grow immensely.

Of course, she had to find the answer on her own.

This kind of moment was always the most awkward.

Even Kyousuke felt a bit overwhelmed.

But Yamauchi Sakura walked over with a smile and gently took Yukinoshita's hand.

Looking into those calm, pale blue eyes, she said:

"Yukino, will you be my vice leader?"

Her voice was sincere—completely devoid of arrogance or gloating.

"Sounds perfect to me." Yukinoshita's interest in Yamauchi Sakura had deepened again.

This girl was definitely worth observing—someone who could turn anything she did into a fascinating case study.

Slipping effortlessly into her role, Yukinoshita turned to Kyousuke and asked:

"What about you, Hojou? Aren't you her biggest asset?"

"Hojou? Oh, he's the vice-captain~" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Vice-captain? That's not even a real position," Yukinoshita pointed out.

"It is now! It's a special role, just for Yamauchi Sakura's team."

…

The thoughtful look on Yukinoshita's face vanished immediately.

Now officially team leader, Yamauchi Sakura quickly directed her two deputies to start appointing the rest of the leadership.

Unsurprisingly, the picks were mostly people who had tried hard to get on Kyousuke's good side earlier.

And just like that, the Red Team's structure was complete.

Most of Class F got slotted into sub-groups under Yukinoshita's wing.

Of course, they were still expected to participate in the performance group as well.

The leader of the performance group was a third-year student named Tamaki Seiko, head of the cheerleading club.

She had long wavy hair, a stunning figure, and a very friendly personality.

Right from the start, she admitted that she had already chosen the song for this year's performance back when she was a sophomore—but she also liked Yukinoshita's idea and wanted to find a way to blend them.

"But Hojou-kun, you absolutely have to join the performance group. If the others don't get to see you dance, they'll be super disappointed."

Tamaki's voice had a playful, almost flirty tone—but those who'd spoken to her before knew that was just her way of speaking.

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better for me to join the cheer squad instead?" Kyousuke chuckled, turning her down politely.

Honestly, he'd rather stand off to the side shooting imaginary lasers from his head like Ultraman than embarrass himself dancing.

"Wow~ So Hojou-kun's joining the cheer squad and the performance group? That's amazing! It'll really motivate the competitors!" Seiko clapped her hands delightedly.

"Actually, I'm already vice-captain… I might not have time to prepare everything."

"That's great too! Now I'll get to hear you cheering for me during my match," she said cheerfully.

Kyousuke sighed and turned his head—only to meet the hopeful, starry-eyed gazes of Yamauchi Sakura and Shouko.

Seriously… how was he supposed to say no to them?

Lunch break passed quickly, and since they had classes to return to, the group exchanged contact info and disbanded.

They wouldn't be meeting like this again for a while.

From here on, the section heads would receive instructions from the team leader and manage their respective teams.

As for Moriyama Jirou and the other boy—Kyousuke had decided to take them into the Kendo Club.

After what happened today, they were likely to become targets of bullying.

While their previous behavior had been out of line, they didn't deserve that level of punishment.

Bringing them into the Kendo Club would protect them—and maybe reform them too.

They needed to learn what it meant to act like real men.

First-years were divided based on their interests.

Those who liked drawing joined the props team, those into woodworking joined the stage crew, and anyone good with crafts went to the costume team.

Yes, all the costumes were handmade.

If someone wasn't skilled enough, they'd buy ready-made pieces and modify them.

Shouko joined the costume team.

After spending so much time with Naoka, she'd picked up a few sewing tricks.

Of course, her main goal was to make costumes for Kyousuke and Yamauchi Sakura.

Just imagining Kyousuke-kun wearing something she made onstage at the sports festival made her giddy with joy… and a little nervous.

She wasn't sure if she should tell Naoka yet.

"Yukino, let's exchange contact info!" Sakura said, pulling out her phone and giving it a little wave.

"Sorry, I don't have a digital contact card prepared. Would an email address be okay?"

Yukinoshita pulled out a sleek white smartphone.

It looked brand-new.

"Huh? Can't we just use LINE? Aren't we friends now?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"No, I…" Yukinoshita frowned slightly.

"Yukino-chan! Didn't we agree to be lifelong friends? Or are you saying my life's too short for that to be worth it?" Sakura said, mock-offended.

"…" Yukinoshita looked up silently and glanced around.

As expected, no one was within earshot of their conversation.

This girl… does she really not feel even a little sad talking about that?

'Even I would feel shaken hearing something like that.'

Yukinoshita didn't know how to respond, so she chose to ignore it.

"Putting aside whether we're friends or not, it's not that I'm unwilling to share what you mentioned—it's that I don't have it."

"You don't have LINE!?" Sakura was truly shocked now.

She stared at Yukinoshita up and down, as if inspecting an alien species.

Pretty much every young person used that app.

Sure, most people didn't exchange LINE IDs with someone they just met—but to not have it at all?

"This really isn't something worth making a fuss about," Yukinoshita said with a frown. "Email is more than enough for my needs. I don't need anything extra to distract me."

She had heard of LINE, of course.

But she simply didn't have people she messaged often.

Communication with her family was done through formal emails—less chance of misunderstandings that way.

But she immediately realized that her explanation had backfired.

The proof was in the look of pure pity on Sakura's face… right before she lunged at her with a hug.

"Yukinooooo~!"

Sakura hadn't expected Yukinoshita Yukino to be so much like her name—snow buried beneath even more snow.

Aloof, solitary, all by herself.

"Let me teach you! I'll be your very first friend!"

Yukinoshita stared blankly at the overly enthusiastic girl in front of her, unsure what she was even talking about. She was about to flatly reject the offer.

"There's no need. Email is sufficient. It won't interfere with any tasks."

"But LINE isn't just a messaging app, you know? You can share fun little moments with your friends too!" Sakura said brightly.

Waving her phone like a salesperson flaunting a new product.

"Ohhh, that's right—Yukino, you don't have any friends, huh? My bad, totally forgot!"

"...While I'm not particularly bothered by that, I get the feeling you said that on purpose."

"Of course not! Even if you're not into sharing much, you can still send cute stickers when you chat!" Sakura grinned.

"Stickers? Email can handle that just fine."

"Not like these! It's way more convenient—look!"

Sakura opened her chat with Kyousuke and spammed a dozen custom stickers made from her own photos.

Over on the other side of the room, Kyousuke—busy adding people to his contact list—glanced up at Sakura, sent her a wooden mallet sticker, and messaged: "Focus, my dear team captain!"

"Hmm... interesting," Yukinoshita mused, lightly touching her fist to her lips. "So, as long as it's an image, it can be used as a sticker?"

"Exactly! Even cute animals. Look—this one's Momotarou, and this chubby one's General Bubble..." Sakura eagerly pulled up her sticker gallery like she was showing off prized trading cards.

"Then…" Yukinoshita hesitated. "Do you have… cats?"

"Cats?"

Sakura blinked, surprised.

Their noses nearly bumped from how close they were leaning in.

'Wait a minute… Miss Ice Queen likes kittens?'

But thinking back to Kyousuke's "cat theory," it made sense.

There were cats like Shouko—gentle and affectionate.

Then there were stubborn, aloof ones who would literally kick food away with a paw… Just like Yukinoshita.

Probably a black cat, he'd say.

"Mhm." Yukinoshita nodded.

"Of course! Tons of people share pics of their cats!" Sakura said excitedly and quickly started scrolling through her collection.

The first one she pulled up was a disdainful-looking black cat with the caption "Oh?"

Then came a belly-up, sprawled-out tabby; a masked black-and-white Zorro-cat; and a chubby white cat with heterochromatic eyes whose face looked perpetually swollen.

"C-Can you... send me these?" Yukinoshita's voice actually trembled with excitement.

"Ehehe~ Of course! But first, you have to download LINE and add me as a friend!"

Sakura's grin was downright predatory—like some shady uncle luring in a naive schoolgirl.

Moments later, Yukinoshita was hunched over her phone, staring at the variety of adorable cat stickers with uncharacteristic wonder.

Slowly, she extended her index finger and gently stroked the screen.

"Meow... meow... meow~" she murmured, barely audible, but unmistakably enchanted.