I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Because that guy said she already has someone she likes."

Hikigaya recalled his somewhat sorrowful profile amidst the fireworks and snow that night, "And it was the same person he and his sister had fallen for."

Qinglai leaned against the streetlight, his hand holding the phone conveying an indescribable sorrow.

"You can tell from the way Yukinoshita and her sister get along that their relationship is probably not very good. Although I don't know what happened between you and her sister, to outsiders, you two seem to be very close. Yukinoshita must have noticed this, even if you haven't told her anything."

That was the only time Yukinoshita revealed her true feelings to Hikigaya.

"If I were in Yukinoshita's position, I would definitely have backed down, but this is Yukinoshita. It's already commendable that I didn't give up. But it's inevitable that there will be times when I lack confidence."

Facing a rival who is far more outstanding than herself, and who also has a past with the person she likes, no matter how you look at it, she doesn't seem to have much of a chance...

Right, Hachiman Hikigaya...

He kept wondering why Yukinoshita would tell him these things, someone he rarely interacted with. Later, he realized that it might have been out of a sense of shared suffering.

"Yukinoshita must really 'hate' her older sister. She wants to catch up but can't, and she can't completely get rid of her. But no matter what, she can't let go of that longing, whether it's for you or for her older sister."

Yukino Yukinoshita is surprisingly a simple person.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Kiyotaka's voice was a little dry. "That was clearly a conversation between you two."

It was clearly a secret between the two of them.

"Because this was her request to me, 'If that day ever comes, please come and save me.'"

"That's why I came to save her."

..................................................................

The next day, the four met at the aquarium as agreed. Yuihama was as lively as ever, and Yukinoshita seemed the same as usual, but the shy look in her eyes when she glanced at Kiyoyori had disappeared.

As usual, Yuihama walked ahead with Yukinoshita by her arm, while Hikigaya and Kiyoyori walked behind. It was like two contrasting worlds: the one in front chatted enthusiastically, while the one behind remained silent.

Aquariums are bustling during holidays, especially the more popular ones.

Yuihama, who loves crowds, took everyone to a quiet jellyfish aquarium that was not crowded. The lights were dim so that the jellyfish swaying in the tanks could be seen clearly.

Their attention was drawn to the jellyfish, and before they knew it, only Kiyoyori and Yukinoshita remained around them.

They stood at opposite ends of the largest water tank in the venue, as if they were strangers watching the same tank.

Kiyoshi could feel the gazes that fell on him from time to time, but they would only stay for a few seconds before moving away before he could look at them.

At that moment, she stared absently at Yukinoshita's profile.

The intense gaze made Yukino's heart flutter. She could only stare at the floating jellyfish, and the surrounding silence was so profound that she could even hear the sound of bubbles bursting.

"senior……"

Yukinoshita turned her head away, took a step back, and refused to look at Akira.

Kiyoshiro took a deep breath and stepped forward to close the distance between them. With each step Yukinoshita took back, Kiyoshiro took a step forward, until Yukinoshita's back pressed against the glass of the water tank.

Kiyotomi placed her hands on the glass, encircling Yukinoshita between herself and the wall. Looking down at the girl who was slightly shorter than her, she spoke to herself:

"Was Yukinoshita Haruno once Tachibana Kiyori's former fiancée? Yes."

"Did Tachibana Kiyori ever have any special expectations for Yukinoshita Haruno? Yes."

"Does the Spencer family want to form a marriage alliance with the Yukinoshita family? Yes."

"Does Tachibana Kiyori love Yukino Yukinoshita? Yes."

Her lips trembled, and even the words she uttered trembled, yet her tone was unusually firm and resolute.

"Just as you think, there are too many feelings between us that are not simply 'like'. The Yukinoshita family wants to use the Spencer family's power, and the Spencer family also wants the support of the Yukinoshita family. But the fact that Tachibana Kiyoyori likes Yukinoshita Yukino will not change. Our families will change as our relationship changes. This is the fate that Tachibana Spencer Kiyoyori and Yukinoshita Yukino cannot escape."

"This has nothing to do with whether Yukino Yukinoshita chooses Tachibana Spencer Kiyoyori. Regardless of whether Yukino Yukinoshita chooses to give up or accept Tachibana Spencer Kiyoyori, from this moment on, their fates will be intertwined. Her family will choose to arrange a marriage, and Yukino can only passively accept this result, while Kiyoyori can only tell himself that Yukino doesn't actually need him."

Kiyoshi's words were urgent and heavy. The two of them maintained an arm's length distance, yet it made it difficult for them to breathe.

"I, Tachibana Kiyoyori, choose to accept this fate because I love Yukino Yukinoshita."

And you, Yukinoshita-senpai?

"Will Yukino choose to follow her own feelings of 'love' and accept Kiyori? Or will she choose to accept him because she is pressured by her family and the heavy emotional burden of Tachibana Kiyori?"

Yukinoshita clenched her fists and pressed them against Kiyori's chest. She clutched Kiyori's clothes tightly, unsure how to respond. She heard the girl's heartbeat, which was like a drumbeat, gradually calming down. She felt cool water droplets dripping from her head onto the back of her hand.

Who was crying? Tears streamed down their faces.

"Does Yukinoshita-senpai want to become Haruno, or Yukino?"

The girl in front of him shuddered.

Kiyoshi took a deep breath.

“I used to have thoughts like ‘wanting to chase after someone’s shadow’ and ‘wanting to become like her,’ but later I realized that it’s impossible for one person to become another. It’s precisely because of the existence of all kinds of innate and acquired differences that one can never become the same as someone else. It is because of these differences that we can be ourselves, becoming beings completely different from others. Everyone is a special being. So I choose to stop chasing after her shadow, let go of that obsession, and then surpass her, continuing to move forward in different fields.”

Kiyoshi recalled that heart-to-heart conversation with Asuka. Her childhood goddess had always looked up to her, and it was then that she realized that she and Asuka would eventually go down different paths. She would leave Asuka behind and move forward alone, searching for a future that belonged only to her.

"Even so, will you continue to follow in Hino's footsteps? Even if you can never become her."

Kiyoshi always thought that she and her senior were two completely different types of people. Although they were both unwilling to admit defeat, they were fundamentally different.

It turns out they did have some similarities, but Kiyoyori had already discarded that.

“Hachiman-senpai told me everything. The conversation you had with him at the amusement park that day, you asked him to come and save you, so he came. You said you wanted to get rid of Haruno, but you always subconsciously compared yourself to her. You said you didn’t want to become Haruno, but you always unconsciously put yourself in Haruno’s position.”

“Deep down, you can’t escape the presence of Haruno! So you can’t change the situation, neither Hikigaya-senpai nor I can save you, because you simply don’t believe you can be saved…”

"If you're still willing to give me this chance, please save yourself first."

Yukino buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

She has also discovered her own stubbornness. Even though she wants to get rid of Haruno's shadow, she finds that she can never truly get away. She is always going in circles, unable to leave completely, and unable to accept being assimilated. Kiyoyori is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Until she discovers the unusual relationship between Haruno and Kiyoyori, she finds herself falling in love with the same person as her sister.

The worry that she might be seen as a replacement for her older sister always lingered in her mind.

It turns out that she was the one who had created her own trap, and it turns out that the one who refused to let her go was herself.

Kiyoyori sighed, lowered the hands that were restraining Yukinoshita to his sides, took a step back, and said in a hoarse voice, "I will wait for your answer."

But please give it to me before the deadline...

Perhaps we don't have much time left to wait...

Kiyoshi did not say these words aloud.

Yukino stepped forward, buried her face in Kiyori's chest, and grabbed the hem of Kiyori's clothes that had not yet left her.

"Please, give me a little more time."

She answered, her voice trembling with suppressed tears.

"it is good."

Kiyoshi gently embraced her body with both hands and pressed his face against the top of her head.

"I'll wait however long it takes."

Chapter 68 Future

Almost a month has passed since the last confession, and Kiyoyori still hasn't received a reply from Yukinoshita.

During this time, a farewell party was held by all the first and second-year students of the brass band for their seniors who were about to leave the school.

Although the performance was filled with the theme of farewell, everyone tried their best to be happy, and they were indeed happy. Those beautiful memories, accompanied by sweat and tears, were a vivid and memorable part of their brief encounter.

The music played again is the seniors' expectations for the juniors, and the juniors' farewell to the seniors.

Even though they are about to be separated by vast distances.

After the farewell party, Asuka pulled Kiyori aside and took a letter out of her bag.

"I wanted to open it with Kiyora, so I brought it with me."

Kiyoshi took the envelope with a puzzled look, but his hand trembled slightly when he saw the somewhat familiar school badge on the envelope.

Just recently, Asuka was admitted to the University of Tokyo.

"Could it be..."

"Why don't you just open it and see?"

Asuka looked at Kiyoyori with a smile.

The moment Kiyoyori saw the acceptance letter, he excitedly hugged Asuka, as if she were the one who had been accepted.

"That was really close. If I had answered that essay question wrong, I wouldn't have had a chance."

"Nonsense, I knew Asuka could definitely do it!"

"So," Asuka pulled Kiyori's face out of her arms, "Kiyori, don't you have any good news to tell me?"

"You mean...?"

Asuka said with a mischievous grin, "Of course it's about whether the special chocolate I gave you for Valentine's Day was accepted! It's almost time to give a return gift~"

Kiyoyori suddenly froze, "There won't be any return gift..."

Because it was never actually delivered.

Whenever he thinks of this, Kiyoyori always sighs helplessly.

"Are you an idiot?! They told you to wait, and you just went to wait?"

Asuka looked at Kiyori with a "you're hopeless" expression, saying, "Kiyori is really slow-witted in places like this."

Kiyoyori had no excuse, but it seemed she had nothing else to do but wait.

And so, she waited until White Valentine's Day.

As expected, he received the chocolates he had received as a return gift, and as expected, he had almost no chance to "bump into" Yukinoshita all day. Just when Kiyoyori thought that this day would pass like any other day before, he was about to give up.

She was stopped by Yukinoshita.

"Tachibana... classmate."

When Kiyori saw Yukinoshita again, he felt that she seemed a little different.

Was it in her eyes? Why did it convey a sense of relief at a long-awaited reunion, and a complexity she couldn't decipher?

“Senior,” Kiyoyori paused, “Good afternoon.”