Detective Conan: I'm a Boy, But They Treat Me Like a Big Sister — Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Yukinoshita’s Confession Practice

Afternoon.

The school bell had barely finished echoing through the hallways when the door to the Service Club was shoved open with a loud clatter. Yuigahama Yui burst into the room.

“Yukino! Senior Yuekui! We have a request!”

Tōhō Getsukai sat gracefully on a chair by the window, bathed in the soft golden sunlight. A fluffy white cat lay curled in his lap, purring softly as his slender fingers stroked its fur.

“Sit down and catch your breath, Student Yuigahama,” Tōhō said, his voice a gentle, soothing melody.

“Senior, look! You’re being so gentle again!” Yuigahama practically swooned. She grabbed a cup, gulped down some water, and slapped a piece of paper onto the wooden table. “A girl in our class wants to write a thank-you note to a boy she has a crush on, but she has absolutely no idea how to write it! I’m asking the Service Club for help!”

Yukinoshita Yukino looked up from her paperback novel, her expression as cool and undisturbed as a frozen lake. “Conveying feelings on behalf of someone else is an irresponsible act. I refuse.”

“Huh?” Yuigahama deflated instantly.

“However,” Yukinoshita continued smoothly, “I can provide guidance on the writing process itself.”

‘Tsk… A perfect official response,’ Tōhō thought, amused by her rigid principles. He looked down, lightly scratching the white cat behind the ears, and added in a lazy, teasing drawl.

“Student Yukinoshita, this is what we call academic assistance, not ghostwriting. It certainly sounds much more respectable.”

“Student Tōhō, please do not twist my words,” Yukinoshita replied, her icy glare lacking its usual bite.

Yuigahama’s eyes suddenly lit up. She slapped the table again, vibrating with renewed energy. “I have an idea! Dry guidance isn’t enough, right? To make the advice more targeted, let’s simulate the scenario!”

Tōhō’s expression shifted into a subtle, knowing look. ‘Not bad. The pink-haired dumpling has finally caught on.’

“Yukino, you play the person making the confession!”

“No.”

“Why not!”

“No reason.”

“Hmm… please!”

“I refuse.”

“Yukino…” Yuigahama sprawled across the table, resting her chin heavily on Yukinoshita’s arm, instantly switching into her ultimate clingy mode. “Just once! Just this once!”

Tōhō watched the tug-of-war from the sidelines, thoroughly entertained. He noticed the delicate tips of Yukinoshita’s ears quietly turning a soft shade of pink under Yuigahama’s relentless spoiling assault. This flower on the high peak usually carried an impenetrable aura that kept everyone at a distance, yet she possessed absolutely zero resistance against the pure, idiotic enthusiasm of someone like Yuigahama.

It was a classic case of an unstoppable spear striking an unyielding shield.

“…Once.” Yukinoshita finally gave in, closing her eyes tightly as if holding her breath against a rising tide. “This one time only.”

“Yay!” After cheering her victory, Yuigahama turned to look at Tōhō, her round eyes filled with clear, unblemished innocence. “Then Senior Yuekui can play the person being confessed to!”

“…?” Tōhō blinked.

Yukinoshita turned a page of her book expressionlessly, her voice dropping a few degrees. “There is no need for that. Practicing with a chair is sufficient.”

“Yukino, that won’t work! A chair won’t respond to you!”

Tōhō slowly lifted the white cat from his lap and placed it gently onto the sunlit table. He stood up, the fabric of his skirt swishing softly, and walked to the spot directly opposite Yukinoshita. He pulled out a chair and sat down, leaving only the narrow width of the table separating the two of them.

“Practicing with a chair means you will never overcome the psychological barrier,” Tōhō said. He rested his chin on one hand, his long silver hair cascading smoothly over his shoulder. “It is only useful if you do it with a real person. Come on, Student Yukinoshita.”

Yukinoshita looked up. She stared into his eyes in complete silence for three long seconds, then lowered her head back to her book.

“…Student Yuigahama, you owe me a month’s worth of black tea.”

“Deal!”

Yukinoshita closed her book with a soft thud. She sat up perfectly straight, folding her hands neatly in her lap. In an instant, she cast aside all personal distractions and switched smoothly into her strict instructor mode, ready to demonstrate a standard case study.

“Ahem. Student Tōhō. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to you. Thank you for your care…”

Tōhō raised his hand in a swift stop gesture. “Rejected. Correct format, zero points for emotion.”

Yukinoshita fell silent, her lips pressing into a thin line.

“You are reciting a guest speech for a graduation ceremony, not confessing your feelings.”

“Student Tōhō, this is just a demonstration.”

“A demonstration still needs to look like a demonstration.” Tōhō smiled, his expression the picture of gentle maidenly grace, but his words carried a merciless edge. “Student Yukinoshita, with your current level of guidance, that client will only go back and write an even stiffer official letter. And the moment that poor boy receives it, he will think he has been hired by a robot.”

Yuigahama could not hold back a sudden snort of laughter. She quickly slapped both hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

Yukinoshita’s long eyelashes trembled. Her immense pride had been struck with pinpoint accuracy.

“…Start over.”

She took a slow breath, reorganizing the words in her mind. This time, she abandoned the flowery, formal vocabulary. She let her gaze drop, fixing her eyes on an insignificant scratch on the wooden table rather than looking at him.

“Thank you for everything up until now.”

“Mm,” Tōhō hummed softly, encouraging her.

“Because you are here…”

Her voice paused. Tōhō did not rush her, allowing the silence to stretch out comfortably in the sunlit room.

“Because you are here, I…” Yukinoshita’s voice grew quieter, losing its usual confident edge. “I don’t hate being in this room anymore.”

The last few words carried a faint, fragile tremor that she had not even realized herself.

The air in the entire Service Club went completely still.

Yukinoshita was the first to panic. Her slender fingers curled unconsciously into tight fists. She quickly backpedaled at a speed that bordered on frantic. “…The above is a sample sentence, for reference only.”

Yuigahama sat with her mouth slightly open, completely unable to form a word. Her eyes were inexplicably turning red, welling up with sudden moisture. She was not quite sure what she had just witnessed, but her instincts told her it was something incredibly important.

Tōhō did not expose the fragile moment. Instead, he simply reached across the narrow table and gently patted Yukinoshita’s head.

“That sentence was very good.”

[Ding! Triggered Yukinoshita Yukino’s deep emotional exposure event. Trust Value increased significantly! Reward granted: Passive Skill – Micro-expression Insight. Effect: Can perceive the true emotional state of all characters within a certain radius.]

The white cat, acting as if it had planned the entire sequence, meowed at the perfect moment. It stretched out a furry little paw and pressed it down firmly over Yukinoshita’s curled fingers.

Yukinoshita immediately lowered her head, hiding her flushed face behind the frantic action of petting the cat. After a long moment, she spoke in a tone she was trying desperately to keep steady. “…Demonstration over. Student Yuigahama, next we will analyze the client’s draft sentence by sentence.”

Yuigahama finally snapped out of her daze. She grabbed her notebook and began scribbling furiously, muttering under her breath. “Because you are here, I don’t hate… don’t hate being in this room anymore… note, note…”

“Student Yuigahama.”

“Yes!”

“You do not need to write down what I just said.”

“Why?! It was clearly the best sentence!”

Tōhō nodded in complete agreement. He looked at the girl sitting opposite him, her head still bowed as she aggressively petted the cat, and a mischievous smile touched his lips.

“Come to think of it, Student Yukinoshita has been in a much better mood lately since she started keeping a cat.”

“That is not true.”

“It is.” Tōhō shifted his gaze to Yuigahama. “Look, she even loses her temper with me now. Before, she couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge my existence.”

Although Yuigahama did not understand at all why being ‘lost her temper at’ would be considered some kind of grand achievement, she nodded repeatedly in vigorous agreement. “Mm-hmm! I’ve always heard that Yukino used to be way too cold, but now… now she feels like she’s become very cute!”

“Student Yuigahama.” Yukinoshita finally looked up. The icy mask of the high-peak flower was already firmly back in place, though a faint trace of redness had yet to fade from her cheeks. “Please do not use the word ‘cute’ on me so casually.”

“Why can’t I use it, when you’re clearly so…”

“Student Tōhō.” Yukinoshita interrupted her, turning her sharp gaze straight at him. “Please do not touch my head so casually anymore.”

Tōhō raised both hands in a graceful gesture of surrender. “Alright, alright. I will apply in advance next time.”

“You are not allowed to apply either.”

“You really are strict.”