The second term flew by in an instant as it was almost ending, as the students were involved in various activities before the winter holiday arrived. The latest was the sports festival that was held before the cold weather arrived. However, since Yanagi Suzuyuki was not good at sports, she did not participate much in the event. She cheered up for her class from the sides, as long as it was not against class 3-A, Ichinose Renge’s class. When they inevitably met, however, Suzuyuki seemed to support her onee-sama more than her classmates. The third-year could not help but chuckle at her kouhai, as it motivated her further so that she would not let Suzuyuki down. Chisato chuckled seeing how Renge was unusually in a high spirit,  it certainly contributed to their eventual victory. 

The Sports Festival was followed by the second term examination not long after. It was held early to accommodate the school trip that will come afterwards. As it was a joint trip with the seniors as well, Suzuyuki was so excited to have another trip with Renge. Just like before, the two of them studied together before the examination. Ye this time Renge seemed to be extremely motivated to score well.  A failure would risk a remedial and thus missing the trip, after all, so Renge knew that she should pass no matter what. Not to mention as she was in her third year, the examination would definitely affect her final grade as well as her graduation… 

The school trip’s destination was a small village not far from the city of Kagamioka. It was an area known for its small castle, as well as the rice fields surrounding the area. All of the classes had the same destinations, only separated by the different buses. Several of the students took their naps since the trip to the Aoko Castle would take two hours. Renge, who barely managed to make it to the trip with passing her exams, just stared out of the window to observe the change of scenery, and occasionally checked her phone for new messages. The AMC chat group was pretty quiet, after all, as Renge assumed the others to be either asleep or busy. She could spot both Kimura and Jun to sleep while leaning against each other, after all.

On the other side, the first years were pretty excited for their first-ever high school trip, after all. The teachers acted as tour guides as they took turns describing the history of the castle and so forth, as well as held various games in order to make the trip livelier. 

The three buses reached the Castle’s entrance at the same time. As their schedule was rather relaxed, the students had their free time in roaming around the tourist area, as long as they got to their respective buses by the designated time. Most of the students either gathered with their classmates or the club members. Suzuyuki certainly chose the latter, especially when she had spent the last two hours with her friends on the bus. She immediately went to the third year’s bus while waiting for Renge to alight, as she was greeted by Chisato and Konomi-sensei first before her onee-sama.

The boys of the AMC members chose to hang out with their classmates as they were left with just the two of them. Konomi, while observing the two, grinned as she said, “Can I join the two of you? I’m the club advisor, so…”

“Rejected. I don’t want to be the one going with a teacher.” Renge immediately declined as she recalled the last time they went together; Suzu-chan was fawning all over the teacher… She also glared at Chisato before she tried the same thing…

“I’m just kidding, anyway. You two, enjoy your date.” Konomi chuckled, the pouting face of Renge was so cute, after all (to Chisato’s agreement, as well). The two of them ended up going with the rest of the class to keep them off the pair so that they could have their private time together. 

Renge and Suzuyuki were so thankful for that. It might not be the whole day but the little time exploring the castle together was still precious. They entered the castle together as they explored every available room as it was turned into a museum while preserving as much authenticity as they could. In a photograph-allowed area, the two also took pictures of each other, while sending the images to each other’s phones afterwards. 

The castle was designed so that the exit was also the main gate. When they reached the area again, they realised that the tour was over. As they had yet to take a picture together, Renge figured that the best place out of them all would certainly be in front of the castle gate. Although, as most of the students were still inside the castle, she was unable to find someone to help her take the picture; a selfie would not be able to capture the entire castle after all. As Renge pandered about whether she should wait for her friends, Suzuyuki already approached the nearby tourists. Suzuyuki talked in English to the couple of foreigners that had visited the village for the castle, as well. Renge could not hear what they were saying given how it was so fast, and she was quite far from the two.

Suzuyuki beckoned her onee-sama to get closer as the foreigners help them in taking the photographs. As they returned the phone, one of the foreign girls said in English, “You two look so nice together.”

“Thank you. Both of you make a nice couple, as well.” Suzuyuki said with a smile.

Renge could understand that much, at least, especially when she was closer this time. They really looked like a couple from others’ standpoint.

The rest of the students start to walk out of the castle one by one, as the time to depart got closer. Renge waved to Suzuyuki as they part ways, knowing full well that they will see each other again real soon.

The next stop for the bus was a restaurant for lunch, that had been booked by the school. The students were excited that they got to eat yakiniku (grilled meat) as they were grouped together at tables of eight. The food was nice and mouth-watering as the meat was of high quality and decently priced, and the students were excited to be enjoying the good food on the trip. Renge did feel something was missing though, as she was looking at where the first-year’s tables were. It was apparently on the opposite edge of her table, so she sighed a bit as she was unable to see Suzuyuki’s eating face.

Renge then had an idea. She arranged the meat in her place nicely, and she eventually took a selfie of herself eating. 

‘Why the selfie?’ Her classmates who shared the same table were curious since Renge usually took pictures of the food and not herself. Instead of uploading it to social media, she sent it to Suzuyuki’s phone.

On the other side of the table, the first-year heard her phone’s notification tone as she checked on it. A message from her onee-sama, with a selfie of her… eating? Suzuyuki was confused for a bit but saved the image since it was pretty cute. She ended up following the same pose and sending it back to her onee-sama, which was replied with a thumbs-up stamp immediately. She knew that the first-year would get what she meant. The third year was beaming as she ate her meal with increased appetite, as she kept staring at the cute photo on her phone. Her classmates were still left confused about Renge’s action, save for Chisato who just chuckled as she knew what was happening.

After the late lunch, it took a couple more hours for them to eventually reach the inn where they would stay for the night. The students were free to do whatever they like in the village as long as they returned before dinner time, as Renge saw the AMC boys go out of the inn immediately after unpacking. The purple-haired girl kind of regretted that she did not nap on the bus so she could not join them. Then again, Suzuyuki already messaged her that they could not meet up given how her class had already planned something together; the excitement of the first years was really enviable… Thus, Renge figured that she should take a nap to rest up. Chisato could not even tease her at this rate as she just let her close friend be.

Renge was woken up by Konomi-sensei’s phone call, informing her that it was time for dinner. She quickly washed her face and changed to the yukata provided by the inn,  walking slowly to the dining hall where most of the people had gathered. She wondered where the third-year table was as she saw Chisato waving at her; she seemed to have secured a spot for Renge. She wondered why Chisato had to secure a specific seat given how the table was quite long this time, but when she took her seat, she could see Suzuyuki sitting at the table across from her. Both of them peek a glance at each other at times during the meal, smiling whenever their eyes met. 

They did not manage to meet, however, as the students went to their respective rooms immediately after dinner. Renge wanted to message Suzuyuki about meeting up but she figured that the first year would be occupied, like before. Her other friends were already all rested as they had spent the hour before dinner roaming around the inn. Renge figured that she might as well explore it on her own before going back the next day. Before she left her room, Chisato informed her that the onsen would be closed at 10 pm, so Renge took her towel with her just in case. She walked around exploring every floor and see the students entering the room one by one; the exciting school trip was nearing its end as they will depart back to Kagamioka the next day right after breakfast.

    The purple-haired girl wandered aimlessly for almost 30 minutes when she eventually passed by the onsen. As she checked her phone, it showed the time being 21:30; 30 more minutes before the closing time. Just nice to take a soak before it was closed. Renge walked to the receptionist to ask for the locker key as she spotted the pile of unused keys on top of the table; at this time the students had certainly been done with the hot springs. If she was lucky, it might be only her in the bath. The overly excited Renge hummed as she walked into the locker room, only to notice that someone was already changing. She wanted to apologise for the random singing when the other girl said, “Onee-sama?”

Apparently, Suzuyuki also thought of the same thing. She was still a bit reserved to be seen inside the onsen by her classmates but she wanted to take a dip to refresh herself as well. The first years all understood as they let her bathe last without disturbing her. Suzuyuki was a bit worried when she heard the footsteps coming into the changing room, but when she heard the singing voice, it was none other than Renge’s. 

Even without messaging each other, they still ended up meeting as they have the same thoughts.

Suzuyuki was already covering her body with the towel as Renge tried her best not to stare too much, especially when they were so close thanks to the first-year’s excitement when she approached her onee-sama. 

“I still need to get changed, you can enter the bath first,” The older said while she was still blushing. Suzuyuki nodded in understanding and excitedly skipped to the bath area to wait for her onee-sama there.

Renge entered the bath area with her towel still covering her body. She then took a seat while removing her towel, to tie her hair up so that it would not get wet during the bath. Renge had assumed Suzuyuki to be inside the bath already as she let a soft sigh of relief when the shower water cleansed her body. 

“May I wash your back, onee-sama?” Suzuyuki apparently had just finished her light shower and had yet to enter the bath. She (suddenly, to Renge’s surprise) offered to wash Renge’s back as she was older, as a sign of respect. Renge did not think it was necessary given how she was just slightly older, but she could not refuse the girl’s goodwill.

“Ah,  I’m thankful for your help.” Renge blushed as she said that. Her heartbeat got faster as she prepared for Suzuyuki’s touches. Especially when she was practically naked in front of the first-year. The sound of her heartbeat echoed around the bathhouse as Renge was all flustered…

It’s just back rubbing, calm down, Ichinose Renge!

Renge felt the cold water and soap mixture rubbing her back first before Suzuyuki’s soft hands. She could not prepare herself completely as the sudden touch made her let out a surprised eep.

“Onee-sama’s ticklish voice is so cute.” Suzuyuki could not help to chuckle hearing the sound Renge had just made, all while she kept rubbing and washing her senior’s back.

Renge could not say anything as she only blushed, holding on in order not to make any further noises. The back massage was gentle and felt so good, after all.

The two of them eventually entered the hot springs as they sat side by side, feeling the warm and comfortable water covering their body. The onsen was pretty big because it was outdoor, truly different from the indoor baths in the larger cities. The calming sound of nature and the night created a pleasant experience as the two relaxed in the corner. Not saying anything, just staring at each other as their bodies submerged underneath the warm bath. They had wanted to meet each other so much the whole day but when the time arrived, the two ended up focusing on enjoying the bath.

The twenty minutes arrived faster than they expected even when it was filled with constant silence. They only realized it from the arrival of the bathhouse keeper who was cleaning the washing area. As they were indirectly reminded of the time, and not to avoid dozing off inside the bath from how comfortable it was, the two girls walked out of the bath. Not forgetting to wipe their body dry before entering the locker room again, in which they changed back to their bedtime yukata.

It was finally the time to part ways, as the words the two of them said at the same time after the quiet 30 minutes were,

“See you tomorrow!”

Both of them sure were excited for the trip back home, as they had more chance to be together.