Takatsuki, Yoshino

高槻よしの

Yoshino, the other protagonist, is tall and masculine, and at the beginning of Hourou Musuko is a fifth grader in Shuuichi's class. Known to her classmates as Takatsuki-kun, she expresses a desire to be male and usually avoids wearing traditionally feminine clothes like skirts or dresses, despite her mother's insistence on buying them for her. Shortly after meeting and befriending Shuuichi, Yoshino cuts her hair into a very short, boyish style, giving her the appearance of a boy her age, especially when she wears a male school uniform. Like Shuuichi, Yoshino becomes increasingly concerned and resentful about her changing body due to puberty. She even goes so far as to buy a garment to flatten her chest so that she does not have to wear a bra.
While Yoshino would like to dress and act like a boy all the time, she usually abstains from doing anything overt which would draw attention to herself, such as going to school in a male uniform once she begins junior high. However, she does on occasion dress in a male school uniform and goes to neighboring cities presenting as male, and during one such time enjoys the fact that she is hit on by an older woman. Yoshino wants to look "cool" if she can, wearing clothes which make her look less like a girl. When teased by others, Yoshino is prone to getting emotional, and is also known to get violent on occasion. Yoshino takes up an interest in basketball after entering junior high school, and joins the girls' basketball club with Chizuru Sarashina. In junior high, Yoshino grows her hair out after a comment by Saori, but later cuts it back again to a short, boyish style. Her family consists of her father, mother, older brother, and older sister.

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