The floor of the dorms were separated by gender. Floors 1 to 3 were occupied by the boys, while floors 4 to 6 were occupied by the girls. As last year's 3rd Years lived on floors 1 and 4, us 1st Years got their old rooms. I boarded off the elevator and headed to Yukina's room, which was room 401, and knocked on the door.

Yukina opened the door, smiling. She was wearing her pyjamas, which made her look strangely mature. Her long lavender hair was a bit frizzled, which made it seem like she was in bed moments earlier. Admittedly, she was cute. However, seeing her like this felt wrong, so I adverted my eyes.

"Yuu-kun, it's good to see you, come inside. I was wondering when you'd arrive."

"Sorry, I was eating out for dinner tonight."

"Oh? You finally left the house for once."

"Twice today, actually."

"Then in that case, you should've invited me out to play as well." Yukina pouted.

"Asking to go to your room at night is good enough... right?"

"Then next time, invite me with you. I'm curious on what you need to talk to me about."

"Let's do that inside. Excuse the intrusion."

I stepped inside.

The weight of my actions finally hit me - I was now a foot deep inside a girl's room. Reality began caving in around me, and panic rose from my chest.

Since when did me and Yukina become so close? How did I manage to get access to a girl's room? What will happen if I get caught in this situation? Will weird rumours start spreading around school? Am I going to ruin Yukina's worth even more?

"Yuu-kun, are you okay? You stopped moving suddenly."

I couldn't let those materialistic thoughts take control of me so suddenly. I discarded the unnecessary feelings that held me back, and walked bravely into her rose-scented room.

It was intoxicating. I felt like I was walking into a room of a succubus. Well, Yukina was wearing a seductive pink gown embroidered with white lace. Maybe that had to do with my strange thoughts.

I looked around her tidy room. Surprisingly, she had made her room quite pretty, having a pastel orange and pink colour scheme. It was more impressive than mine for sure, as I didn't add anything new to my room or decorate it with a new look. I sat down on a free chair and looked at Yukina.

"Would you like any tea?" She asked.

"Green tea is fine." I said.

Yukina nodded, going to the kitchen in her dorm room. I looked at the desk adjacent to me, and there were a scatter of letters marked with flowers on the table. She receives a lot of letters... I wondered how many of them letters were love confessions from other boys, and how many of them were from after the school revelation.

I didn't want to intrude on her privacy, since I was already super close to crossing some lines by just being in her room, so I ignored the strange worry in my heart. It's not like I care, really. I guess I'm slightly concerned.

I rested my arm on the table, shaking while doing so. I was extremely nervous. I haven't been in a girl's room before, so this is unbelievably nerve-wracking. As someone who prides themselves on being ordinary, in this situation, I felt unordinary.

Calm down, Yuuto. Yukina let you in because she trust you, and she's your friend. There's nothing to worry about whatsoever. Just talk to her about what's been on your mind recently, and ask her the question. Don't get distracted by how gorgeous she looks or how lucky you feel to be in this situation. Don't get distracted by her intoxicating scent or your own stupid nerves.

My inner battle continued to rage on, but abruptly ended when Yukina returned and placed a cup of green tea in front of me. It smelled expensive, like it was a high-class roasted variant - just how much did Yukina spend over the past month?

"Ah... sorry about the mess." Yukina said, clearing up the letters on the table and placing them in the drawer of her desk.

"You're keeping them?" I asked, picking up the hot tea and drinking it. Yeah, this was the expensive stuff. Yukina never fails to impress. What a lovely host.

"I don't throw away important letters, since that feels wrong."

"Oh... I suppose so." I couldn't say I had the same ideas, since I threw away Kaido's letter very quickly after our meeting. "Are those letters are important to you?"

"Well... kind of. Never mind that."

That strange feeling welled up inside of me again. Yukina was smiling, yet the air felt off. I scratched my cheek and put down my tea.

"This is really nice. What brand is it?"

"It's the Kurokaze Brand. Want me to give you some to take home?"

The Kurokaze Brand of green tea was well known for its premium quality. That stuff wasn't cheap at all... it's very popular among tea ceremony enthusiasts for it's distinct taste.

"Nah, I'm fine with the regular stuff."

"To be honest, I always wanted to try this brand, but I never got the chance because it was too expensive. But at GEN, we had so many points I was able to buy it for myself."

"I miss those days of luxury."

"Me too. What did you spend your points on?"

"My most expensive item was a laptop."

"Really? Mine was probably that TV over there."

Yukina pointed at the plasma screen TV opposite to the sofa. Neither of these items were cheap, so to see them in a high school student's dorm room was a bit jarring.

"Also, isn't that seat uncomfortable? The sofa's much more comfy." Yukina said.

"Uh..."

To be honest, I ignored the sofa since it felt like a violation of Yukina's personal space. I would feel awkward sitting there alone, with her by my side. The lonesome chair seemed like the least harmful thing to sit on, so I chose it without second thought.

"Good question..." I said. I couldn't muster up a better response. Yukina giggled.

"C'mon, let's move there. We can watch something while we talk."

I nodded and stood up, carrying my green tea with me. I was going to drink every last drop, and make sure her points were spent well, even if it was going to end up in my lowly stomach.

I let Yukina sit down on the sofa first because I was still feeling nervous. I raised an eyebrow and sat next to her, sinking into the comfy leather seat. My heart rate must have increased, since I could hear the doki doki in my chest. I really need to calm down...

"Hmm, what do you want to watch?" Yukina turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels.

"A Vanguard match, I guess."

My interests were few and far between.

"Sounds good."

The channel changed to a live show between two pro-Vanguard fighters. One of them used Murakumo, the other used Narukami. It felt like the world was laughing at me, showing me the exact same match-up that lead me into this situation.

Admittedly, sitting next to Yukina was really comfy. I felt relaxed and at ease because of her presence. Just by sitting next to me, she was unknowingly healing my heart, putting me into a peaceful bliss in this tranquil silence.

In the end, my only friend was Yukina. That's why I felt this way around her.

"You look sad." Yukina said.

"Huh...? Sorry." I shook my head and looked at her.

"What's the matter? You haven't been yourself recently."

I haven't been myself in more ways than one. Even though this entire time I thought I was stagnating, the reality was I was subtly changing alongside my surroundings.

I didn't know how to answer Yukina. I just stared at her and took in the fleeting moment we shared. The questions about my self-worth and how much she saw me as a friend bubbled up again.

I came to one conclusion.

Being average isn't going to cut it anymore. I decided that I would change, not for anyone else, but for me.

"Yuu-kun?"

I grabbed Yukina's hand. She squeaked, her face going bright pink.

"E-eh? What's the matter, Yuu-kun?"

I looked into her eyes. She looked back into mine. For an instant, we could see everything about each other through the window of our souls.

This was my first step. No one else's.

"Yukina-san. Will you to help me rise E Class to A Class?"

Yukina looked surprised. Slowly, a wide smile formed on her face, and she nodded.

"Yes. I will."

I let go of her hand, and looked at the TV screen. The Narukami player won the match against the Murakumo player.

"Though, at the very least... I want to see Yuu-kun smile for the first time."

I looked at Yukina. Maybe... we weren't as distant as I first thought. Maybe... it was all in my head all along.

I realise now... that I cared for Yukina more than anyone else.

"Tomorrow, we'll start anew. E Class won't be the association of failures anymore. I'm going to take control of the class and make us graduate as A Class."

"How are we going to do that?"

"We'll defeat all the classes that stand in our way."

"Then let's do it, together, Yuu-kun."

"I am for you. You are for me. Yukina-san."

The battle of rising this class from the bottom to the top was just about to get started.