Volume 3 - CH 1

I confessed my feelings to Kanade and we finally became lovers.

However, we were both students preparing for the upcoming university entrance exam.

So we promised to wait until after we passed the university entrance exam.

We were together daily, but we didn’t do anything except study.

Thanks to that, Kanade’s grade was about a C before the summer vacation, but she got an A on the most recent mock exam. By the way, Tanuki-san and I had received A’s before, and we didn’t lose any grades this time either. On the other hand, Satoru was just one step away from a B on his most recent exam. But he has Tanuki-san, so as long as he doesn’t skip school, he should be fine.

And we continued to study hard without playing until the entrance exam.

———

“I’m so nervous. I’m going to have a hard time with the college entrance exam…”

“What’s wrong, Kanade? This is not the time to break down! We are going to the university together, right? We’re going to spend our blossoming campus life together, aren’t we?”

“That’s right! If I don’t get my act together, I won’t be able to enjoy the blossoming campus life with Yuu-kun! I’m sorry, Yuu-kun. I won’t be feeling down anymore!”

“Yes! All right, let’s get into it!”

“Oh~!”

The reason we are having this silly exchange on the day of the exam is that both of us were so nervous that we got into a strange tension.

“I’m still nervous, but I’m glad Yuu-kun is here next to me. If I had been alone, I would have been crushed by the pressure.”

“That’s my line, too. I’m glad Kanade is here. Let’s do our best today.”

I held Kanade’s hand and we headed to the university’s examination hall, still holding hands.

———

When we got to the entrance of the test hall, Satoru and Tanuki-san were waiting for us.

“Hey! Did you sleep okay last night?”

“I managed to get some sleep, but I couldn’t help wondering if I’d left anything undone, so I called Kozue and she said, “It’s not good to go on a bad night’s sleep now, it’s dangerous if you don’t get any more sleep. So please go to bed!” She got angry with me.”

“I have to thank Tanuki-san for that.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

Then the four of us formed a circle and said, “Let’s all pass the exam and have a fun campus life!” “O~o!” We did something adolescent and headed for our respective examination rooms.

———

“It’s over…”

As soon as the exam was over and we met up in front of the campus gate, Satoru was overflowing with despair in a small voice with a loud sigh.

“Huh? Satoru, did you by any chance not get a response?”

It was Tanuki-san, Satoru’s girlfriend, who called out to him worriedly. It was understandable that he was worried. I and Kanade understand how much he is looking forward to spending campus life with his girlfriend.

“I think I probably solved the problem to a certain extent.”

“Is that so? Then why are you so depressed?”

“Because, you know, I feel “adequate”, you know? I think other people could have solved it better. The percentage of participants with glasses was quite high.”

Hearing this, Tanuki-san let out a loud sigh, then took Satoru’s cheeks between her hands and held them in front of her face.

“Satoru will be fine. Satoru will definitely pass the exam. I taught him everything I know. There is no way he would fail. I know Satoru’s effort and ability better than anyone else.”

Hearing Tanuki-san’s words, Satoru’s eyes were all watery and he hugged her, murmuring, “Kozue, you’re too cool, thanks…” I was watching him and I felt very happy. Watching this made me smile and I really wanted to attend this university with the four of us.

Then I looked at Kanade next to me.

“So how did it go for Kanade?”

“I think I’m pretty confident. I was not nervous at all by the time the test started.”

I was relieved to see that she seemed to be feeling good about her performance. I am feeling the same way as Kanade, and I am sure Tanuki-san will be fine as well.

Relieved that everyone seemed to be responding well, we decided to go to karaoke to blow off the stress of the exam.

We were all in a mysterious high-tension state, so we sang and laughed, tambourine banging and laughing, it became chaotic, and finally, everyone was exhausted, so we decided to break up as it was.

———

The day of the acceptance announcement came.

Nowadays, you can find out about the announcement of acceptance from home via the Internet, but we decided to go to the university to see the announcement in person because we felt it would be too tasteless. We didn’t say it out loud, but we were afraid of what would happen if something happened to us.

As we entered the campus, we saw many uniformed men and women. Their destination must be the same as ours.

When we arrived at the bulletin board, there were some who were bursting with joy and others who were in tears of disappointment. When I saw people shedding tears, I began to feel very uneasy.

It seemed that Kanade, who was walking next to me, was feeling the same way, and she grabbed my pinky finger with her slightly trembling hand.

We silently walked toward the bulletin board.

After separating into two groups, Kanade and I and Satoru and Tanuki-san, we decided to look for my exam number first. My examination number was “409.”

403, 406, 408…………409

There it is!

Upon finding my number, Kanade said, “Congratulations!” and hugged me. I was not yet ready to give my all, so I just said “Thank you” and went to look for Kanade’s exam number without giving her a hug.

When we arrived at the bulletin board with Kanade’s number, she was holding the hem of my dress with her eyes tightly closed. I hugged her and told her “Hang in there,” then she opened her eyes and looked at the board as if she had made up her mind.

Kanade’s number was “1036.”

1031, 1032 ………1036

When she found the number, Kanade’s wide-open eyes overflowed with large tears.

“Yuu-kun. There it is. My number is there.”

“Yes, there it is. Congratulations.”

“Now we can go to college together. I was scared. I was really scared.”

I gently hugged Kanade, who buried her face in my chest and cried, and moved away from in front of the bulletin board so as not to disturb the others. I looked around while patting Kanade’s head and saw Tanuki-san patting Satoru’s head, who was also sobbing.

Tanuki-san and I both chuckled and understood from the atmosphere that everyone had passed the exam.

After Kanade and Satoru settled down, we reported to our parents and the school respectively. Our parents, as well as our teachers, were delighted. Then, I received a message from Yoshi-chan, who must have heard it from Hanaka, who said, “Congratulations! I’m also aiming for a university there, so please be good friends with me when I’m your junior again!” and I smiled as I looked at my phone.

Kanade, who was watching this next to me, said, “Hmmm? What is the meaning of this when your girlfriend is standing right next to you?” I poked her cheeks with my fingertips as she puffed her cheeks out.

———

When we left the university we went straight to a family restaurant and exchanged many words, losing track of time as we reflected on the many memories of our high school life so far. There was a time when I was in despair, but looking at my friends in front of me and my girlfriend sitting next to me, I felt like it was the happiest high school life I had ever had.

I grabbed Kanade’s hand from under the table as she sat next to me, and she squeezed it back.

I am a very lucky man, I thought.

I don’t know what would have happened to me if Kanade had not been by my side when I was betrayed by Hazuki and Kouki. I might have become hopeless and stopped going to school, or I might not have been able to trust people anymore. The only reason I didn’t end up like that is that I had Kanade by my side supporting me all the time.

I promised myself that I would never betray Kanade and that I would cherish her for the rest of my life.