After hearing Chabashira's story, Yukio had wanted to say more, but she waved him off, telling him to take care of Sakura first. She'd already texted Hoshinomiya and arranged to go drinking with her.
So Yukio could only take Sakura back to his dorm first.
After all, Sakura had been following him step for step, and it was obvious she didn't want to go back to her own room.
Yukio understood it too. Sakura still had some lingering fear in her heart. If he hadn't been outside D-Class watching earlier, she really might have been expelled.
If staying by his side could help her feel safer, then he might as well let her do as she pleased.
He first poured her a glass of water. Scientific studies showed that, no matter what it was, when someone's emotions were in a mess, drinking something usually helped them calm down a little.
But when Yukio approached with the glass, a sweet scent brushed over him, and Sakura did something far bolder than he'd expected.
She threw herself straight into him and held on tight.
Yukio could even feel something soft and wonderfully springy press against his chest, enough to make even his heart jump.
"S-Sakura?"
He was still holding the cup, but fortunately young men tended to have steadier hands, so none of the water spilled.
Sakura didn't answer at all. Her cheeks were burning red, and she just kept burrowing into his chest.
Yukio found it both helpless and endearing.
His right hand was occupied with the cup, so he could only wrap his left arm gently around her and softly pat her back, trying to soothe her emotions.
After patting her for a while, Sakura gradually quieted down.
Yukio smiled lightly. "What's wrong? Isn't it all over now? From today on, you're one of our class."
"Y-Yukio-kun..." Sakura's voice trembled slightly. It was hard to tell whether she was still scared from nearly being expelled, or if it was just shyness and nerves.
Joy and fear were tangled together in her voice so tightly that Yukio's arm around her unconsciously tightened a little.
"Yeah. I'm here."
"I... I was really scared."
Maybe because they were inside Yukio's dorm now, Sakura finally managed to speak, piece by piece.
"Scared that... from now on... I'd never... never get to see you again."
"You silly girl." Yukio raised his left hand a little, gently patting the back of her head, then slowly smoothing down her pink hair. "Didn't we already agree on this from the beginning?"
"You'd help me get information from D-Class, and I'd protect you. Whether it was that camera shop clerk we ran into the first time, or this time, when you nearly got expelled."
"N-No... that's not it..."
Her voice dropped several notches, but as if something inside her was forcing her onward, she still kept talking, even with her face burning so hot it was practically steaming.
"I... I wasn't scared of... of those dangers."
"What I was scared of... was never getting to see you again."
"I... I've liked you... liked you for a long, long, long time. And I was scared... scared that if I didn't say it now, then if I ever ran into expulsion again... I... I'd never get another chance to tell you."
At last, Sakura poured out the love that had first sprouted quietly in her heart, that had slowly grown strong and lush, and that she'd hidden until today.
Was it embarrassing? Obviously.
Was she shy? Of course.
But just like she herself feared, this time she'd been lucky. Yukio had come and saved her. But what about next time? Who could say?
If another expulsion crisis came, and Yukio couldn't get there in time, then wouldn't she lose the chance forever?
Just imagining that was enough to leave Sakura so full of regret she could barely breathe.
So no matter how embarrassed she was, she had to tell him.
Maybe it wasn't graceful. Maybe it wasn't smooth. But the sheer sincerity in it, that desperate fear not of expulsion, but of losing her chance to tell him how she felt, was heartbreaking in the best way.
Yukio's heart felt like it was being plucked with every stop-start word Sakura forced out. Each line stirred the strings a little more, sending ripples spreading across the lake inside him.
"Sakura."
Yukio lowered his head and looked at her seriously.
Just like with the others, his first instinct was to explain his emotional situation clearly. But after hearing this, even if Sakura wanted to leave, he wasn't going to let her.
"The truth is, I do have girlfriends. It's just... mmph?"
Sakura suddenly lifted her head and directly blocked the rest of his words with her lips.
It was obvious, though, that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She was like a total beginner fresh out of the starter village, all instinct and no technique.
She just pressed there and kissed him, dumbly, with no follow-up at all.
Yukio, blocked like that, actually ended up laughing.
It was just... too adorably clumsy.
Sakura clearly heard the laugh and finally pulled back a little, her face blazing like sunset clouds.
"I... I don't really know how... Th-this... this was my first kiss. D-Did I... do something wrong?"
"No."
He couldn't call it wrong. A first kiss was precious no matter how clumsy it was, so "wrong" wasn't the right word at all.
Yukio shook his head. "I just hadn't finished what I was trying to say before you shut me up."
"I-I know."
Sakura looked impossibly flustered, her little brain seeming ready to overheat, but she still managed to explain herself.
"I just... wanted to tell you how I feel."
"I-I'm not greedy enough to ask you to like me back... and I definitely don't dare ask to be your girlfriend. Hiyori... she's a really, really good girl. I-I can't compare to her. She suits you better, and she can make you happier."
"But... but... I might not compare to Hiyori, but... my body's pretty good, right? I saw a saying from your hometown once: 'A wife isn't as good as a mistress, and a mistress isn't as thrilling as a secret one.' I... I can be the secret one you keep."
Yukio's eyes widened.
The "secret one"? Put nicely, that meant lover. Put bluntly... that was being the side girl.
There was really no need for that.
Yukio let out a long sigh. "You don't have to love this humbly, you know. It's okay. I'm even greedier than you think. You don't know this yet, but besides Hiyori, I also have..."
After that, still holding Sakura in his arms, Yukio slowly explained just how many return gifts he'd handed out on White Day.
By the end of it, Sakura was completely dazed.
"So," Yukio asked after finishing, finally thirsty enough to take a sip from the water that had originally been meant for Sakura, "you still think you're okay with that, Airi?"
"I-I am! I'm really okay with it!"
Sakura shook her head frantically, as if the sheer speed of it could prove she truly didn't mind.
"I-I only need a little bit of your affection. I-I won't ask for too much!"
"No."
After thinking it over, Yukio decided actions would work better than words, though the lecture part was still necessary too.
"How many times have I told you, Airi? You don't need to put yourself this low. I just explained all that to you, and somehow you still don't get it. Looks like you need a little discipline."
"!"
Sakura trembled.
It was almost like a reflex, the way someone's leg kicked when you tapped their knee. She didn't kick, of course, but her body gave a tiny involuntary shiver.
Even that surprised Yukio a little.
Sakura seemed... way too sensitive. Every time things started, she'd shake like that.
If he had to describe it, it was like the car had barely been on the road ten minutes and the gas tank was already bone dry before they'd even reached the destination.
All he could do was hope Sakura would slowly get used to it in the future.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.