#62 Sakura's room

On the evening of the same day, Yuichi went with the girls to the mall...

The group actually spent their entire day walking around the mall and in the evening when they returned to the dorms, he noticed that Sakura kept glancing towards him as if she wanted to discuss something with him alone.

"Well, it was a nice afternoon, see you tomorrow at the school." Yuichi said as both Mei and Kushida boarded the elevator but he didn't follow them which confused them.

"Huh? You aren't going?"

"I want to get myself something to drink from the vending machine and then I will take stairs instead of the elevator." Yuichi explained while pointing his thumb behind himself at the vending machine inside the reception.

"Oh, alright. Sakura-san?" Kushida nodded understandingly before she called out to Sakura who just stood a few steps next to Yuichi, keeping her head down, maybe trying her best to blend in within the reception, making the girls forget about her.

"Oh?! Y-Yeah, I actually also want to get something from vending machine before going back to my room, no need to wait for me. S-see you tomorrow" Sakura said with a bit startled expression before she calmed down.

"Hmm, all right, good night to you two" Mei suspiciously glanced back and forth between Yuichi and Sakura before she quickly pressed the button for closing the doors, not giving a chance to Kushida to walk out or question them anymore.

"Wha- Mii-chan? Good nig-" Kushida was a bit surprised by Mei's actions but she still tried to say her parting words, unfortunately, she was cut short by the elevator's doors closing.

"...So, is there anything you wanted to ask?" Yuichi asked while making his way towards the vending machine together with Sakura in tow.

"I- Would Iwamura-kun mind going with me to my room?" Sakura asked in a low voice.

If it was anyone else, they would perhaps think that Sakura was hitting on them or something similar, but Yuichi would never even consider it, knowing her personality.

"Hm? Why?" He asked with a slightly surprised expression while pushing the button on the vending machine and pressing his ID card to its monitor.

He grabbed the bottled iced tea, the vending machine just flushed out while Sakura was thinking about how to explain herself.

"...I want Iwamura-kun to look at something..." Sakura said while showing that memory card once again.

Yuichi nodded his head, contemplating if she perhaps wants to reveal her secret to him.

When they arrived at her room, she suddenly turned a bit nervous, well, at least more than before at the reception. At first, she started with the talk about how she lacks self-confidence and how she hates it but no matter how much she tries, she simply can't just be assertive during the conversations.

"I don't think you need to be always assertive in your talks, you don't have to act like someone you aren't. That's what friends are for...you talk to them how you deem it appropriate and comfortable for yourself and when you have to talk to someone in a formal manner, you can just remain neutral and just speak when it is needed. Today is a good example when we were waiting for Mei-san and Kushida-san, you were completely natural when we were speaking together. Although you had a problem keeping eye contact, you were slowly getting into it and you began also being more assertive when it came to discussing our hobbies..." Yuichi said his honest thoughts about this matter and genuinely praised her for her effort. He couldn't imagine how hard it is for her but he knew that it definitely can't be easy for her, living in the society without any social skills.

At first, Yuichi just wanted to get some evidence out of Sakura but after today, he genuinely came to respect her, he respects her effort and that she still hasn't given up. He respects her bravery for even letting him inside her room and talking about her problems with someone she hasn't known for that long time.

"I-Thank you...Iwamura-kun, how can I get along with so many people like you do? When I imagine it...it's simply impossible" Sakura thanked with a faint smile, still, that smile felt more sad than happy.

"...I will be honest with you because I think you deserve to know the truth, Sakura-san. For some people, it's simply impossible to get along with many people, some people will simply feel like they are forcing themselves to get along with everyone. Never do that! The worst thing you can do to yourself is forcing yourself into something you don't actually want. But what I can tell you...I believe that in this world...there doesn't exist a single person who simply can't get along with anyone and therefore just stays loner. There are always people meant to be your friends, it's like building something, you need supporting pillars...even if you have only a few of them...if they are strong enough, you can get by only by having a few of them, perhaps even only one of them is enough, however, in case that one pillar would suddenly break down, your entire persona would break down with it." Yuichi said with a never-changing calm expression.

"However, you still have to start somewhere, if you want to, let me become that first pillar for you." Yuichi added at the end with a calm expression while extending his right hand towards her with the palm facing up.

"I-..." She couldn't say anything as she stared at Yuichi's inviting hand before her eyes started getting wet, causing her to look down to hide her expression.

In the end, after a few minutes of silence, Sakura finally gave in and slowly put her small hand onto Yuichi's palm. They stayed like that for a minute before they both retracted their hands, Yuichi refrained from trying to gently close his hand around Sakura's hand because even though some girls might feel "safer" when held like that, he knew that it might have the opposite effect on Sakura.

"T-thank you, Iwamura-kun" Sakura said with a smile and tears in the corners of her closed eyes.

"There is really no need to thank me...I have just extended my hand, nothing noteworthy but I understand how much it might mean to you so I accept your gratitude with all my heart." Yuichi slightly tilted his head to the side and said with a faint smile.

"...May I ask why did you accept my proposal? I mean...you didn't seem too much comfortable around Kushida-san and I thought that you have a problem being near the boys" Yuichi asked with an interested expression since it was on his mind for a long time by now. Kushida being Kushida obviously asked Sakura if they can't call each other with the first name but Sakura refused by saying that she isn't comfortable with that.

"...I don't know how to describe it, however, when I look into your eyes, I don't feel like you are trying to use me or have an ulterior motive...Maybe the fact that I can see deep regret and sadness within your eyes is also a big factor why I am not afraid of you..." Sakura replied with a slightly sad smile while glancing to the side.

'?! As I thought...she has great insight into people's true selves. Now I understand why she behaves as she does...She probably can see a lot of corruption, mainly when it comes to men, that's probably why she is always so terrified around the men. Still, such an inborn ability is extremely valuable and it can be used anywhere in society, be it business or even in the police department. It has a lot of uses...Is that perhaps why she was admitted here? Or maybe I am assuming too much and the school is unaware of her special ability.' Yuichi was quite shocked by this discovery however on the outside, his eyes only widened a bit before he returned to his calm and composed expression.

"I see...I understand, simply said, it's something similar to intuition" Yuichi nodded his head with an understanding expression.

Sakura meekly nodded her head before heading towards the desk in her room when she turned on her laptop computer. After that, she brought the memory card towards the right slot, however as her hand came closer, more her hand began shaking.

"Eh?" Sakura was so absorbed into looking at her hand holding the memory card that she woke up only after she noticed that Yuichi gently caught her hand to prevent her hand from shaking anymore. Sakura glanced at him with a confused expression and flushed cheeks, her entire body became stiff.

"You don't have to do it...You can still stop. Do whatever you think is the best and what you think you won't regret afterward." Yuichi said with a calm tone and closed eyes before he let go of her hand.

'To do what I think is the best...what I want?' Sakura's hand stopped shaking so strongly as before and after a few seconds of silence, she closed her eyes and quickly slid the memory card into the right slot.