The lunch bell rang throughout the Kadic Academy campus. The main course on the menu today was fish sticks and while some of the students viewed it as a food more suited for children, it was still a food that was both good and comforting. Aelita grabbed her tray from the cafeteria line and joined the rest of her friends at the lunch table.

"So how did it go yesterday?" Ulrich asked.

"I hope you didn't teach him anything bad," Yumi threatened. "The last thing I need is my little brother coming home with a red handprint across his face."

Odd put out his hands to try and get her to calm down. "Relax, Hiroki will be just fine."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I don't," Odd answered, "but we're all about to find out right now." He pointed his fork in Hiroki's direction as he was about to pass by Milly's table.

Hiroki was holding his tray of food as he came to Milly's table. "Hey, Milly," he said as he stopped in his tracks.

Milly looked up and saw him standing there with a small smile on his face. "Hi, Hiroki," she said.

Hiroki bit his lip before speaking. "Um, I just wanted to tell you that you did a good job on the article you did yesterday. You know, the one about the Subdigitals and Aelita."

Milly's eyes widened in surprise. Though she always hoped that the whole campus would read the paper she and Tamiya published, she always reminded herself that it was really a small portion of the student population that actually read the periodical. "You really think so?" she asked.

Hiroki nodded. "Not too many of the music magazines out there cover the fact that Aelita still does shows with the Subdigitals whenever her schedule allows for it. In fact, I didn't even know she was still performing until I read your piece on it."

"Thanks, Hiroki," she said. "You have no idea how much that means to me." She paused for a bit as Hiroki simply stood there. "You want a seat?" she asked. He took her up on the offer.

"Well that seems to be going well," Ulrich said as he and the rest of the group were watching Hiroki from afar, conversing with Milly and smiling.

Odd smiled. "What did I tell you? When it comes to love, I'm the professor."

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Don't be so sure," she said as she noticed her little brother get up from the table and head their way.

"So, what happened?" Odd asked as Hiroki stopped by their table.

Hiroki turned to Odd and smiled. "I got a date with Milly tonight."

Odd hi-fived Hiroki. "Good job. Dinner and a movie?" Hiroki nodded. "Great. Just remember, don't force anything and let everything happen naturally."

"Thanks again for all the help, Odd. I really appreciate it." With that, he left the table to finish his lunch with his friend.

"Wow, Odd, I owe you an apology," Yumi said. "You really taught him the right things to do."

"Yeah, and now he has a date. You know, Ulrich, maybe you should learn from Hiroki. I mean, he got a date with Milly before you got a date with Yumi," Odd stated, grinning and leaving the table before he would become a victim of both angry glares and physical violence.

Hiroki took a deep breath and knocked on his sister's door.

"Who is it?" asked the voice on the other side.

"Can I use your mirror? I want to check something," Hiroki said. A few moments later, the door to Yumi's room opened.

Yumi tried to stifle a laugh as she looked at her brother. For the first time in his life, Hiroki took the time to groom his hair properly. Instead of just a beat up long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans to wear, he wore a pair of khaki pants and a dark button down shirt. His normally ratty sneakers were replaced with a pair of cleaner, more formal looking shoes.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Yumi shook her head as she continued to stifle her laughter. "No, nothing's wrong," she responded. "You just look… cute."

Hiroki groaned as he moved past his sister and stood in front of her full length mirror. He stood still in front of it then turned his body around. He hated to admit it, but his sister was right. He did look good.

"You have enough money?" she asked. Hiroki nodded. "Are you picking her up from her dorm room?"

"No," he responded. "We agreed to meet up at the café down the street from the school. Then we're going to the movies before I take her home."

Yumi nodded her head and smiled. "You really thought this through. Good job."

Hiroki nodded then looked at his watch. "Time for me to go," he said as he began to walk out of his sister's room. "I'll be back later."

"Good luck," she said as she watched him leave the house.