Hello.
Since the series remained unclear about it, I consider that the Hanzô girls have a dormitory at their academy.
Hanzô Academy, Yagyû's room, evening
Yagyû is lying on her bed, trying to fall asleep after a hard day.
But she can't, even if she's tired. Something concerns her too much to allow her to take a rest.
In fact, it's already been several days that Yagyû couldn't help thinking, or rather, be afraid, by something.
"Hibari…" Yagyû thinks, but not inappropriately this time.
Indeed, after Ikaruga and Katsuragi's graduation, she realizes it's been one year she's been wanting for Hibari to be more than her friend.
But during this year, she did absolutely nothing toward that goal. The reason is simple...
She has no idea what to do.
Does she have to wait a little more? Does she have to ask her for dating directly? Anything else?
She has no experience and, even though she still has two years to tell Hibari about her true feelings for her, Yagyû is aware that it doesn't really matter if she doesn't do anything.
And so, she has to do something, but she fears Hibari rejects her...
Sure, she did a lot for Hibari, but she also did things she didn't appreciate.
And as if that wasn't enough, she's also got a serious rival, Haruka, who's way less hesitating than Yagyû is.
"What should I do... WHAT SHOULD I DO DAMMIT?!" Yagyû thinks, holding her head as if she just had a sudden headache.
The more Yagyû thinks about it, the less she feels able to find a solution.
Then, she calms down...
Not because she suddenly had a revelation, but because she just gave up.
She understood she can't figure what to do by herself, which means she needs help.
Yagyû isn't really the kind of girl who asks for help, she's more the one who help usually.
But she needs it, as much as it embarrasses her. She has no choice.
"Um..." Yagyû takes a look at her clock.
11 pm
Pretty late, but Yagyû doesn't care.
The white-haired girl stands up, and leaves her bedroom.
Five minutes later
Yagyû is now facing the door of another bedroom.
She was hesitating for a few tens of seconds, but she finally decides to knock.
Knock Knock
Yagyû knows she can't give up, now.
She can already hear footsteps coming closer to the door.
Then, she hears the rattling of the door handle.
And now, the door is open...
"Yagyû? What's the matter?" Asuka asks, curious and a little sleepy looking.
"I..." Yagyû starts, but is stopped by her own embarrassment, which makes her blush.
Asuka keeps staring at her friend, with a more and more confused look on her face.
"I... I'd like to ask you about... Something very important... I... I know it's late but... Can we talk for a bit, please?" Yagyû finally finds the courage to ask.
Asuka, even if she's still a little confused, smiles at her friend and moves to let her enter her bedroom.
"Sure, come here..." Asuka says in a cheerful voice.
The leader's smile makes Yagyû relax a little, and even makes her shyly smile in return.
"Thank you..." Yagyû says before going into the room.
The two girls then sit down next to each other on Asuka's bed.
"So, what's wrong?" Asuka asks, still smiling.
Yagyû, after a last moment of hesitation, starts to speak.
"Well... I... I guess you know how I... actually feel toward... Hibari..." Yagyû starts, blushing.
Asuka just nods without saying a single word, she is even more waiting for Yagyû's next words now.
"I... You see... I decided it's time... For me to tell her about it... But..." Yagyû continues, but the embarrassment makes it very hard for her.
However...
"But you don't know how to tell her, am I wrong?" Asuka asks, still cheerfully smiling at Yagyû.
Yagyû wasn't expecting Asuka to figure out what she wanted to say, so Asuka's words disturb her a little.
"I... Well... No, you're not..." Yagyû admits, looking down.
Asuka giggles a little, she can't help finding her white-haired friend very cute.
But she also knows how important the issue is for her, so she decides to keep a serious attitude.
"You know, I'm not very into that kind of thing... I actually don't even know why you're asking me for advice at first..." Asuka says, not really sure about what to do.
"Because you've always been good when it comes to interacting with people... That's why..." Yagyû manages to explain.
Asuka is a little astonished, but refuses to disappoint her friend...
"Well, you know... I think you should tell her as soon as possible." Asuka says.
"Uh?" Yagyû reacts, confused.
"Hibari likes you a lot, you may be the most important person to her. But if what you feel for her isn't friendship, your relationship isn't... Balanced I guess..." Asuka tries to explain, but even she isn't convinced by her own opinion.
However, Yagyû does have an interest in Asuka's explanation, so she doesn't stop her.
"I think not having the same feelings in any kind of relationship isn't good... If you tell her, you either win a girlfriend or a best friend. Which means, it can only result in something good... I'm not sure if I'm clear..." Asuka continues, still lost in her own words.
But Yagyû does get what her friend is trying to tell her, and it's enough.
"You are, thank you, Asuka." Yagyû says, smiling.
"Really?" Asuka asks.
"Yes, I won't bother you more, all I need now is a good night's sleep." Yagyû says before standing up.
"Glad I could have been useful!" Asuka joyfully says.
"Thank you again!" Yagyû says before leaving the room.
Tomorrow, morning, before the class at Hanzô Academy
Yagyû got her good night's sleep, she was finally able to sleep now that she's sure about the right thing to do.
And Hibari is there...
"Hibari, I have something to tell you, can you... Listen to me?" Yagyû asks, blushing.
"Eh? Sure! What's wrong?" Hibari asks, curious and smiling.
A mere second is all it actually took.
But in Yagyû's point of view, the time freezes when Hibari says it. The white-haired girl felt like several minutes passed before she could react.
But she thought about it all night...
"No way... I won't give up!" Yagyû tells herself, which in a way breaks the frozen time and brings her back to reality.
Yagyû takes a deep breath, and finally does it:
"I'm in love with you." Yagyû says in a monotone voice, as if she said it without even realizing it.
However, even if her sudden confession surprised Hibari, the pink-haired girl doesn't look shocked by all that.
Indeed, Hibari already guessed how Yagyû felt about her for a long time, and feared this moment for about as long...
Because she can't say the same thing to her...
"I'm sorry, Yagyû, but..." Hibari begins, about to sob.
But...
"It's fine, I knew that." Yagyû says, smiling despite her sorrowful look.
"Eh?" Hibari reacts, confused.
"I just wanted to make this clear, sure, I'd like you to accept my confession..." Yagyû starts, stopping for a moment before cheerfully smiling at Hibari.
Sorrow has completely left the white-haired shinobi's face, only remaining peace.
"But no matter if you're a friend or a lover, you'll forever be the most important person to me. That's all I care, Hibari." Yagyû adds.
Hibari can't help but cry, happy for her best friend forever.
"Yagyû, you're also important to me, I'm so lucky to have you as my friend!" Hibari says before jumping to Yagyû and hugging her.
The sudden hug does surprise Yagyû, but without a word, she hugs Hibari in return.
"Same for me, Hibari... Same for me..." Yagyû says, with a tear on her eye.
Then...
Ringing noise
"Ah! The class is about to begin! We must go!" Hibari screams, letting go of Yagyû.
"Yes, let's go!" Yagyû says before running alongside Hibari, both of them smiling.
Special thanks to NeoDingleBat for his proofreading