When it was time for the training session, Nora woke me up from my sleep, and we headed back to class. When we left the safe room, I loosened my tie, undid the top button, and untucked my shirt, all with a tinge of guilt floating in my mind. During the training, me and Akihiro fought each other as usual. He was now at a stage where I felt confident he could beat Zyriot.

However, that confidence didn't extend to everyone else in the Takanori group. In particular, there were three students who had attended none of the training sessions that I needed to talk to: Tanaka, Kouji, and Rinbayashi. Tanaka and Kouji should be easy, since they both live in the dorms on the same floor as me.

Rinbayashi was a whole different matter. While she lived in the dorms, she was on the 4th floor, where the girls were. As a boy, it would be awkward to casually go to the 4th floor just to talk to her. If another girl saw me, they might get suspicious or start some weird rumour.

However, I did think of one solution to this problem. The key to that was Yukina, who I was heading home with for the day via train. She decided to tag along with me since she was still worried about the pain in my arm. It had subsided a little, but moving it still hurt.

"Yukina, could you do me a favour?"

"What is it?"

"Could you invite Rinbayashi-san to your room?"

"Rinbayashi-san? Why?"

"I need to talk to her. It's easier if I go to the 4th floor of the dorms with the excuse of visiting you."

"Aren't you acting a bit paranoid..."

"It's an unspoken rule that the guys won't enter the girl's floor and vice versa. If I were to go to the 4th floor, the natural conclusion most people would make is that I'm visiting you. In reality however, I'm going to your room to speak to Rinbayashi-san."

"Understandable. I'll try my best, but you know how she is..."

"She's a loner, I know. If you do manage to do it, send me a message. If you don't, that's fine."

"Alright."

We arrived at the station and walked to the dorms. After parting ways with Yukina at the elevator, I entered my room and put down my stuff. Afterwards, I left my room and headed to Tanaka's room, knocking on the door.

After a minute or two of waiting, Tanaka opened the door, peeking his head out. The bags under his eyes look even worse than usual.

"Oh, it's Takanori-dono de gozaru."

"Sorry to bother. I was just wondering how preparation for the war has been for you."

Tanaka started to sweat a little as I said that. His face turned a bit gloomy as he looked away.

"I haven't practiced at all... de gozaru."

Tanaka bluntly told me the truth. On one hand, he was honest. On the other, this was bad.

"Oh... uh, are you confident in your abilities?"

"O-of course, de gozaru! I play Pacifica, so if I get all four on board, I'll smash through the enemies, de gozaru!"

This was true. As long as Tanaka could gather all four copies of Pacifica by turn 4, he could gain all of her bonus effects and win the game very easily. The deck even got a bump in consistency in the latest Bermuda Triangle set.

"As long as you don't die in the war, that's fine with me."

"I'll stay alive longer than anyone else, de gozaru!"

I doubted that, but seeing get Tanaka fired up a little bit was a good sign he was going to take the war seriously. I was worried that he would have a slacker mentality, and that I'd have to coerce him into putting effort, but it seems like I had the wrong idea about him.

"I'd recommend coming to our training session during break tomorrow. Some last minute practice wouldn't hurt."

"I'll think about it, de gozaru."

Part of me wondered why Tanaka didn't come to our training sessions. His closest friend, Mitsuba, attended them regularly, yet he chose to stay out and play games on his phone during break.

"Please do."

Well, whatever his reasons, I wasn't one to judge. Maybe he didn't care about Vanguard that much. Maybe he just wanted to be left alone. Maybe he just wanted to get login bonuses. Or maybe, it was all of the above.

I left Tanaka and headed towards Kouji's room. I knocked on the door and waited. Five minutes passed, so I knocked again. Another five minutes passed, so I knocked again.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, and three knocks at the door, I almost gave up, as Kouji still hasn't answered. Before I left, I gave the door one hard knock again. This time, it opened.

Stepping out with a large yawn was Kouji. Completely naked, except for his baby blue boxers. He rubbed his bleary eyes and stared at me drowsily.

"Do you... want to put some clothes on?"

"...I can't be bothered. I'm going back to sleep after this."

Kouji yawned again, leaning against the door frame so he wouldn't topple over. So, that explains it... he was sleeping. I guess that's why he didn't answer the door immediately.

"I'll keep it quick then. How's preparation for the war been for you?"

"...I haven't done anything except sleep outside of school."

Is this... seriously Kouji's lifestyle? I know mine wasn't any better, but... spending all his spare time sleeping? It was like he was the embodiment of sloth.

"That's... well, how do you think you'll do in the war?"

"...I couldn't care less, to be honest."

Well, this was the same man who failed all his midterms on purpose, so I should've expected this answer from him.

"I see. Well, at the very least, just try and stay alive for us. Avoid fighting if possible."

"...that was the plan from the very beginning."

Kouji turned his back on me and closed the door. I guess he was going to camp in a hiding spot until the war was over. I was fine with letting him do this, mainly because the platoon he was in was controlled by Matsushita. It wouldn't negatively affect any of my platoons.

However, there was someone from my group who was in a platoon controlled by Matsushita, Rinbayashi. I needed to talk to her about that, and how she's been doing so far preparation wise. Checking my phone, Yukina had sent me a message ten minutes ago saying she had convinced Rinbayashi to enter her room.

With that, I entered the elevator and made my way up to the 4th floor. Once there, I headed to Yukina's room and knocked on it. Immediately, Yukina opened the door for me and let me in.

It wasn't the first time I've been in her room before, so I didn't feel nervous when stepping inside anymore. I looked around, and saw Rinbayashi sitting on the sofa, watching TV. Playing on the screen was some comedy skit, yet she wasn't laughing.

"Rinbayashi-san, thanks for agreeing to come."

"Your welcome."

Rinbayashi's pleasant voice sent chills down my spine.

"Would either of you like a drink?"

Yukina asked to try and ease the stiff atmosphere, but Rinbayashi shook her head no. The laughs of people from the TV filled the background noise.

"It's fine, I don't plan on staying long. Is it okay if I take a seat?"

Rinbayashi nodded yes, so I sat down next to her on the sofa. Yukina awkwardly shuffled to the side, popping into her bedroom to give us time to talk alone.

"I think this is the first time we've spoken alone..."

"We talked to each other in the war."

Rinbayashi coldly corrected me. Her whispery, robotic voice should've been grating, but honestly, it sort of put me at ease. It was a bit like listening to really good ASMR.

"Right, I forgot that happened..."

I decided to stop beating around the bush and asked Rinbayashi outright.

"So, for the war... how has preparations gone?"

"Without issue."

"That's good to hear... especially because you're the only person who said they prepared when I asked."

"Tanaka-san and Kouji-san shrugged it off?"

"How did you know it was those two?"

"Intuition."

I guess a woman's intuition really does exist.

"Well, out of you three, I'm least worried about you."

Rinbayashi did manage to beat two 3-A students in the last war, after all.

"What I am worried about is the platoon you're in."

As if to dissipate my concerns, Rinbayashi answered immediately.

"I'm part of the Takanori group. I'll ignore Matsushita-san's orders and follow yours."

"...I was about to ask for the opposite, actually."

"I'd prefer to take orders from you."

Just as I was about to expand upon my request, Rinbayashi shut me down straightforwardly.

"I mean, if you don't mind... that would be a big help. But Matsushita-san might react poorly, so..."

"Hang on."

Rinbayashi held up a finger, telling me to stay silent. She took out her phone and opened the school app. Using the call feature on it, she called Matsushita on speaker.

What was she planning to do now...?

"Moshi moshi? Rinbayashi-san?"

Matsushita picked up the call in seconds. Rinbayashi opened her glossy lips.

"For the war, I'm leaving your platoon and going solo."

"Huh?! Rinbayashi-san, what do you mean—"

She ended the call abruptly before Matsushita could even respond. I was both surprised and scared at how ice cold Rinbayashi was to others.

Of course, Matsushita tried calling her again, but she declined him multiple times. He finally gave up after the third attempt at calling her. At which point, Rinbayashi put her phone back into her inner blazer pocket and turned her attention back to me.

"There should be no problems now. You can feed me instructions through the private group channel."

"Y-you didn't have to go so far..."

"I did it to prevent Matsushita-san using you as a scapegoat for my rebellious behaviour. You should be thankful."

"I am. What I meant is... you're going really far for a guy like me. We've barely talked, yet you seem to have unwavering trust and confidence in me."

"Intuition."

Again...? This time, I'm pretty sure she was wrong.

"In that case... sorry if I let you down in the future."

Rinbayashi looked at me from the corner of her eyes and shook her head cryptically. I know she was aloof, but some words would be nice to respond to...

"Uh... guess I'll take my leave."

I stood up to leave, but Rinbayashi stood up at the same time. Without any words, she left Yukina's room before I could.

"...huh?"

Yukina opened the door of her bedroom and poked her head out.

"You guys are done talking?"

"...I guess we are. Did you catch all that?"

"I-I was meant to?"

"I mean, I'm sure you were curious too. What kind of person Rinbayashi-san is, I mean."

"Well... I did eavesdrop a little..."

"That's fine. You can eavesdrop more next time if you'd like."

"Yuu... what are you suggesting?"

"Well, if we're together, and a third party starts talking, you can listen in as much as you want. I don't really care."

"I didn't expect you of all people to be so laissez faire with this kind of stuff."

"It's because your the one who's doing it. Your memory's better than mine anyways. Having another person also involved makes it easier on my hippocampus."

Yukina's confused expression broke out into a laugh.

"I think I get it now... is this your roundabout way saying you trust me?"

"...sorta."

"You really aren't any good with words, Yuu."

Yukina sat down next to me and changed the channel. It was now a talk show featuring two prolific voice actors.

"I should get out of your hair now. Later."

"A-ah, no!"

Yukina grabbed onto my arm and yoinked me back onto the sofa.

"Ow... my right arm still hurts, you know?"

"S-sorry..."

Yukina looked away shyly, her cheeks turning pink. A boy and a girl alone together in a dorm room was pretty frisky, so I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but it seemed like Yukina wanted the opposite.

"Um... Yuu... can you... um... c-can you... s-stay? A little while longer..."

She couldn't ask with her eyes open. Her eyes were squeezed shut, unable to face me.

"...sure thing."

I gently replied and tilted her lowered head up. I had some time to kill before meeting Ichinose anyways. Spending some time with Yukina should do the trick.

"T-thank you..."

Yukina slowly opened her eyes with a smile as I lifted my fingers off her chin. She sunk into the sofa with a "oh god what I have done" face, but I didn't point it out to her. I took the remote and switched off the TV.

"I'm starving. How about we make dinner together?"

"Yuu, you can cook...?"

"I assume you have cup noodles here."

"I don't..."

"...do you want to order takeout instead then?"

"Wouldn't we be revealing to the deliveryman that we're in this dorm together if we do that, though?"

"Okay, scratch that. Any other ideas on grub?"

"How about we actually cook instead?"

"Please tell me your fridge is empty... I really don't want to be responsible for burning down your room."

"I actually went out grocery shopping on Wednesday."

Yukina got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Who actually does midweek shopping?"

I followed her into the kitchen.

"My mother, she's the one who taught me this trick. The supermarkets are least busy during the middle of the week, so it makes weekly shopping a breeze. Hmm... how does ravioli sound?"

"I'm not making pasta from scratch..."

"Do I look Italian to you?"

"Perhaps."

"I'm pure Japanese, thank you very much."

Could've fooled me with that bright pink hair...

"I bought these pre-made ones from the shop. All we have to do is boil them."

"Ah, it's just like cooking ramen, huh? Easy enough. I'll get the stove going then."

"Then I'll work on the sauce. Hmm... tomato and mushroom sounds good."

Yukina grabbed a jar of pasta sauce from her cupboard and tried to open it. Meanwhile, I started boiling some water in a pot.

"You stubborn thing... just open already...!"

Yukina groaned as she tried to twist open the tight cap on the jar. I looked over her shoulder and extended my hand.

"Do you want me to do it?"

"Um... if you can..."

I took the jar and twisted the lid open with a snap.

"Here."

"Thank you!"

"I wonder, how do you eat this stuff if you can't even open it?"

"I-I can open it by myself! This one was especially tight, for some reason..."

"Do you have any other jars that need opening?"

I said that as a joke, but Yukina started to sweat a little.

"Um... hypothetically, if I answered yes... could you open them...?"

"...give me the jars."

Yukina opened her fridge and reached into the back, grabbing a huge jar of pickles with both of her hands. According to the packaging, it weighed a kilogram. Lovely.

My face contorted into shock and disgust as she slammed the giant jar on the table, wiping the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand afterwards. "Family size", it said on the label... what the hell kind of family eats that many pickles?! And what the hell was Yukina doing, buying this?!

"Y-you're planning to eat all of that...?"

"Huh? Of course I am!"

Yukina smiled blankly, innocent to the fact this was completely abnormal for a regular person.

"I like pickles... but I don't like them that much..."

"It's the only way I'll eat cucumbers. I think cucumbers taste horrible unless you pickle them. I think in English, they call these gherkins? It's a really funny name, right?"

I don't know what offended me more. The fact that Yukina didn't like cucumbers or the fact she told that fact to someone fluent in English.

"...I'll shove a cucumber down your throat until you like it, Yukina."

Yukina squeaked, backing away at my half-joke, half-threat.

"The only thing cucumbers are good for is sticking it onto your face!"

"You're meant to eat vegetables, not use them in your beauty routine!"

"Well sorry that I don't like long, hard, moist things!"

Yukina's face turned beet red as she realised how her words could be taken out of context. We all make mistakes in the heat of the moment, Yukina.

"Mark my words, I'll do whatever it takes to convert you into a cucumber lover!"

"Nooooo! Yuu, you're terrible!"

One day, I'll force Yukina to eat one of Tadokoro's garden grown cucumbers. That will change her mind.

"It's for your own good!"

"No it isn't! Just let me eat my pickles in peace!"

Oh yeah, I was meant to open the jar for her. How long did she have that in her fridge anyways...?

I reluctantly reached towards the jar and wrapped my hand around the cap. Slowly twisting this monster, the moment it popped off, the pungent smell of acidic vinegar filled the room. Yukina coughed slightly, opening the window to let it diffuse.

I peered inside the jar and felt my eye twitch.

"That's... that's a lot of pickles."

"You want one?"

Yukina happily reached into the jar and took out a pickle, munching on it like it was a snack.

"...I'm good, thanks."

We spent the rest of that afternoon eating our ravioli, talking about miscellaneous things, and fighting over cucumbers.