The Examination Preparation Week began shortly after the trip as there was no class left for the third-year students, giving them time to study for the final examination. Renge made use of the time to prepare for the play further as she had finally gotten the script of the stage play from the publisher. The script contained the instructions for the theme songs and background as well, so she met with the new Presidents of the Drama Club and the Music Club to adjust the stage settings accordingly. All that’s left is the stage practice itself, although thanks to the visual of the original stage play, they could already imagine how the play would turn out to be.

 

Renge still had to work on her examination first, however, as it was still her main priority as a student. The stage play would still be held only after the examination, after all. At least her mind was eased as the preparation was going in the right direction. As she prepared her study, Renge wondered,

Where’s the best place to study?

Her house would provide a ton of distraction with her PC and consoles laying around the house. The public library would not be the best choice as well since she would be distracted if she studied alone as it was located in the shopping malls, and Suzuyuki would not be there to look after her. Even when it had a lot of research materials, final examinations were pretty tough. It was meant to be a compilation of the high school study, and so it had materials for the first and second years as well.

 

Renge eventually concluded that the school library would be the best place for her to study. It had the first and second-year books in depth, followed by the past examination questions. Not only that, going to school would put her in a study mood more than any other place. Planning to go back home only when the bell rang, she went to the school library right after the meeting to study. It turned out to be pretty effective as she managed to concentrate studying on her first subject, revising every part that was important from the three years' worth of materials. Even as the bell rang, she seemed to be still absorbed in her revision that she lost track of the time. It was only when Suzuyuki checked on her that she noticed that it was already close to evening. The first-year student needed to wait for a little bit, however, as Renge was still finishing her exam sheet. After she was done, the two of them walked back home together. 

 

    At home, Renge spent her time clearing her mind by reading the script to understand the story better. She found it interesting that it added a different layer from the anime, even if the dialogues were similar. She also watched the recording they provided of the stage play and paid attention to how they voiced the words out. Renge had yet to do any memorising, but she managed to envision the stage play better. At night before bedtime, she revised the entire material for one last time before she rested and get ready for the next day. Her study-relaxation balance proved to be effective as she was able to revise a subject for each day. As there would be five subjects to be tested, Renge finished her entire study on Friday.

 

In order to prevent burnout, the purple-haired girl was advised to take Saturday off to rest and fully relax. She could still study for Mathematics, the subject for Monday’s examination, on Sunday itself after all. However, she had been in the study mood for so long that she could not decide on where she should go on that Saturday. 

“Why don’t we go to my house? It’s been a while ever since your last visit. My parents are asking for you, as well.” Suzuyuki suggested as they were casually talking on the phone oh that Saturday morning. 

That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. The last time she is in the Yanagi household. It is to study. This time, relaxing in that comfortable house won’t be a bad idea. 

“Sure, I’ll go to your house. Anything you want me to bring? I haven’t prepared any gifts for your parents, though.” Renge said, as Suzuyuki immediately replied.

“It’s fine, onee-sama. You don’t have to bring anything. I’ll send you a car at 12, before lunchtime.” Suzuyuki beamed as Renge agreed to her suggestions. 

The purple-haired girl did find the car waiting in front of her house on time as she smiled at the driver while entering. As she reached the house, it was as amazing as she remembered. The maids opened the door and welcomed her, as they redirected her to the lunch room immediately where everyone had already waited for her.

 

Renge was seated beside Suzuyuki as the Yanagi family ate their lunch together. Even the Dad was present during the family meal as they ate the food quietly. They ended up not talking much given how it was impolite to talk while eating their meal. Yet, Renge could see that the Yanagi parents were happy that her daughter’s upperclassman had come to visit them. Suzuyuki herself was beaming as if she was proud of her onee-sama, which made Renge blush for a bit.

After the meal, Suzuyuki’s parents excused themselves as they needed to go somewhere else.

“Ah, I forget to tell you that my parents will be away for the day.” The silver-haired girl grinned as she said that to her onee-sama. Speaking of, this is the first time Renge was in the household without the presence of both Suzuyuki’s parents… At least the butlers and maids were still around or else it would be pretty awkward. Especially when Suzuyuki asked Renge to go to her room, excitedly.

 

Suzuyuki’s room was still the same as before. Still comfortable and in the cold winter, it’s well-heated. Suzuyuki had prepared two sets of chairs for them to watch the weekly anime together on her room’s television, as she knew that her onee-sama had yet to watch any since she studied on the whole weekdays. She even had the streaming tab of each show opened as they started to watch them one by one, starting from the one on Monday. The two had the whole day for themselves after all so they could relax like this without feeling guilty. 

Two hours passed pretty fast from just watching them as Suzuyuki climbed up to the bed. “It’s more comfortable reading manga like this,” she said, as she already had the weekly magazines on the table beside Renge blushed as she joined Suzuyuki on top of the bed, it was as comfortable as the five-star hotel in Odaiba. She managed to read the new chapters as Suzuyuki smiled while admiring her onee-sama, the sight of Renge in her room all happy and excited from relaxing was such bliss. 

They were supposed to watch the stage play recording after reading the manga chapters. As Renge was done with it, however, the combination of the filling lunch, tired eyes and the comfortable bed made her all sleepy… And ended up falling asleep once more.

 

By the time Renge woke up, Suzuyuki was beside her this time, looking at and admiring her face during the nap. It was pretty embarrassing as she blushed and apologised for sleeping in once more.

“It’s fine, onee-sama. I love seeing your sleeping face.” Suzuyuki giggled as she get down from the bed and added, “Speaking of, it’s already dinner time, so shall we head down there?”
Renge could feel her stomach growling for a bit as the sky beyond the window darkened. She definitely slept for at least an hour… 

As Renge headed to the restroom to wash her face for a bit as Suzuyuki called the maid to guide her onee-sama to the dining room first. The house’s lady apparently had something to do in another room, She waited in the living room for around 15 minutes as Renge was getting more curious about it but she did not ask further to the maids. 

 

The door opened not long after as Suzuyuki arrived with a tray of appetizers. Walking towards Renge, she blushed for a bit, “I am learning how to cook better so please enjoy tonight’s food, onee-sama.” Apparently, as Renge was asleep, she went to the kitchen for a bit to prepare the meal and continued to do so a while ago when she excused herself. After putting the plate on top of Renge’s table, Suzuyuki joined to sit down across from Renge, excited to see her onee-sama eating her cooking. At the same time, she was nervous about whether the older girl will like it or not, so she could not help but stare a bit too intense…

On the other hand, being stared at that much made Renge nervous as well. But, Suzuyuki’s homemade cooking… She was certainly flattered and happy to be able to try it. 

Renge tried her first bite excitedly, as she pick one of the three burger sliders that served as an appetizer. The one she took was a small cheeseburger, with egg and bacon as the other flavours. The creamy cheese and the juicy meat compliment the soft buns a lot as Renge certainly loved the taste. “This is so delicious! You should make a big portion next time.” The purple-haired girl said as she finished the other two almost immediately. 

“Thank you for your compliment, onee-sama. These burgers are the first dish that I’ve learned so I really want you to try them.” Suzuyuki said with a smile as she finished eating one of them. She was really glad to see that her onee-sama was enjoying her food. 

“I really want you to try the main course, though, so I made it as an appetizer.” As Suzuyuki finished her last piece, she asked the maid to bring the main course immediately. As she had already prepared it beforehand, it did not take long for the main course to be delivered to their table.

 

Renge was truly excited as she wondered what kind of the main dish did Suzuyuki want her to try. The maid placed the plate in front of her as it was apparently shrimp pasta. As she tried the first bite, the angel feather spaghetti had Japanese sauce as its base. It tasted like the shrimp rice bowl from the restaurant she was a regular near her house. Suzuyuki smiled as she noticed Renge’s surprised expression.

“It’s the first food we had together. I’ll never forget the day, so I ask for the sauce recipe in order to recreate it.” Suzuyuki blushed while saying that. Renge could not help but blush as well as silence filled the air while they finished their food. 

 

The dessert was delivered not long after as the maid observed that they had emptied the plate. A cup of homemade ice cream on a fancy glass plate as Renge took a spoonful. It’s coffee flavoured, tasting similar to the cafe near the school. 

“I bought the beans from the cafe for the dessert since it was our first drink together,” Suzuyuki said, her cheeks reddened further. Renge enjoyed each of the food as they were, but the story of the origin of each dish certainly added to the pleasant experience of the dining altogether. That, and certainly the two of them blushed a lot during that romantic dinner… 

 

As they finished the meal, Suzuyuki stood up from her chair and approached Renge, sitting down side by side. She was staring at her onee-sama for a while as her heart beat faster.

 

“Renge-oneesama… I mean, Ichinose Renge… I’ve always loved the moments I spent with you, and I want to spend more and more of them with you. Would you… go out with me?”

 

Renge immediately got flustered at the sudden confession by the purple-haired girl. She certainly did not expect it and wondered if it was possible that she misunderstood it. But the fact that it was Suzuyuki who asked her to go to her house, making sure that her parents were away for the day, and even specifically prepare the set meal like this… Not to mention, she noticed that the maid was apparently not around ever since they cleared off the dinner plate. 

The silver-haired girl certainly meant it. 

Renge’s heart beat faster as she looked at the younger girl, silence filled the air as only their heartbeat could be heard. 

 

“Thank you for your heartfelt feelings. Even right now I am so happy to be with you. The feeling’s mutual, I love every part of you.”

 

Suzuyuki immediately beamed at the answer as she did not say anything, staring at Renge as she closed her eyes. Renge noticed the cue as she leaned in for the kiss. Felt their soft lips touch against each other as both of them had their first ever kiss. Renge also took Suzuyuki’s hands to hold them as the kiss lasted for a good few minutes until the two pulled back. Their cheeks were all flustered as they gazed at each other longer.

 

    The two girls went out to the garden after their meal, sitting side by side as they stared at the night sky. Kagamioka’s sky might not be as full of stars as the trips they had but that night, the view was so beautiful for them. Renge let Suzuyuki lean on her as she asked in curiosity, 

“Since when do you start to like me?” 

“I can say it’s from the first sight in the clubroom. And the more time we spend together, I can feel the feeling grow.” Suzuyuki smiled, leaning for a good while. Renge did not expect that it was that early, although it made sense with how the younger girl always wanted to know her better.

“I think it’s a perfect day to confess now as I had already planned it for the whole week. We can also build on our chemistry for the upcoming play, as a real couple.” Suzuyuki closed her eyes as she added.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best for my exam, and we’ll show them our performance together.” It was indeed a perfect day to confess as Renge was about to have her examination. The two stayed in the garden for a while until Suzuyuki’s parents returned. Saying goodbye to her generous hosts, Renge returned home to prepare for the next day.

 

Well prepared, Ichinose Renge walked inside the examination hall with her extra motivation from her new girlfriend. As she was eventually done with her examination on Friday,  the third-year student was relieved to have done her best; not the bare minimum like she had done the past two years.

And it was none other than Yanagi Suzuyuki, her kouhai and girlfriend, to thank.