I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Ying usually gets a lot of help from the two of you taking care of her."

“It’s nothing, just cooking for one more person, and besides…” Yukino didn’t finish her sentence, but gave Nozomi a meaningful look.

"and?"

Telling her that Mizore's recent cooking lessons were too unexciting.

"nothing."

I have to admit that living with my partner for a long time makes my personality seem to lean more towards hers.

Yukino glanced at her watch and frowned slightly; it was long past the time when their band would finish practicing.

"Today is so slow."

Nozomi couldn't help but shuffle along, wanting to see deeper into the school. She hadn't seen Mizore for quite some time, and her longing for her was like a kite with wings, rising higher and higher with the wind.

"Speaking of which, why hasn't Kumiko arrived yet?"

Kumiko Oumae failed to get into Tokyo University of Music because her grades didn't meet the cutoff, but she still pursued her passion for music and went to Kansai. This incident caused a crisis in her relationship with Reina. Reina gave up going abroad to be with Kumiko, but Kumiko still failed to get into their target school. Meanwhile, Kumiko's hard work in her senior year of high school was evident to everyone. She didn't have Reina's good grades to begin with. On one hand, she had to manage the club as the club president and even won the gold medal in the national competition. On the other hand, she also had to study hard. What Reina couldn't see was her and Kiyoyori's extra tutoring sessions and even her breakdowns and crying uncontrollably.

But Kumiko never told Reina any of this, and asked Kiyoyori not to tell Reina either.

All the pent-up emotions finally erupted at graduation, and the relationship between the two plummeted to its lowest point. Caught between his childhood friend and his best friend, Kiyotaka was unusually at a loss.

It wasn't until a recent brass band gathering that their relationship gradually recovered.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

Yukino caught a glimpse of Kumiko, wearing a thin yellow shirt and a jacket tied around her waist, running out of the subway entrance not far away. Kumiko had an euphonium slung over her back and was panting as she ran toward the entrance of the music university. Despite the slightly chilly weather, her collar was still soaked with sweat.

"Ha, ha, Nozomi, senpai!" she called out as she ran. "Yukino-senpai... Whew, Whew, it's been so long..."

Seeing that Kumiko looked like she might die at any moment, Nozomi took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag. "Have a little something to drink. Why are you breathing so heavily?"

"Just now, please sit down, please sit down, thank you..." Kumiko took a sip of water into her dry throat, "I took the wrong subway..."

Kumiko's mournful expression evoked deep sympathy and empathy from Nozomi. "You've had a hard time."

"Wipe it off, it won't look good if someone sees it like this later."

Yukino took out a tissue and handed it to Kumiko.

"Thank you, senior."

Kumiko wasn't too polite either. She used to think that this senior was very difficult to get along with, but it wasn't until her senior year of high school, when she gradually became really familiar with Kiyoshi, that she also got to know this senior with whom she had hardly communicated in high school. She also discovered that he was actually a very gentle person, just not good at expressing himself. However, in recent years, after being with Kiyoshi, he was no longer always so aloof.

"Hasn't Reina and the others finished class yet?"

Kumiko looked around in slight panic, quickly wiping the sweat from her forehead and neck.

"It'll probably be late today."

The messages sent on the phone are not showing as read, probably because the person is still training and doesn't have time to check their phone.

"Is time okay?"

“Hmm…” Yukino opened the planned itinerary and time in her phone’s notes app. “The original plan was to go camping tonight, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. If we’re really running out of time, we can just have Kiyori drive faster.”

The group had planned to travel together sometime, ostensibly as "Operation Kumiko and Reina's Reconciliation," but in reality, they just wanted to go out and have fun with their lovers.

Our destination this time was Onsen Valley in Nagano Prefecture. It takes about fourteen hours to drive there from Tokyo. Because the three of us who were studying at the University of Music had training until noon on the day of departure, we had to leave at noon and even had to eat lunch in the car.

"Ah, they're out!"

A group of music students appeared from around the corner of the school, most of them holding musical instruments. Among them, three particularly eye-catching individuals stood in the center of the crowd, surrounded by other orchestra members: Mizore Yoroizuka, the principal oboist; Reina Kousaka, who had become the principal trumpeter upon entering the school with her absolute talent; and Kiyoyori Tachibana, the second-ranked oboist whose talent was on par with the principal.

The three girls walked briskly towards the school gate, while most of the people walking around them were just there to watch the spectacle. This was because all three, who also had many suitors, had partners who were all equally outstanding girls, and—

"I'm so envious! They're waiting at the door again!"

"I want a girlfriend like that too!"

"Why are all the beautiful girls dating other beautiful girls? What are we single guys supposed to do?"

"What's wrong with beautiful women? That's what makes them pleasing to the eye! Ah, I want to be a beautiful woman too!"

"Dream on, you're just a rough guy."

The three, used to this, quickened their pace and walked towards their lovers. Once Mizore saw Nozomi, she couldn't see anyone else.

“Senior Mizore,” Kiyori’s words drew some of Mizore’s attention back, “I won’t be giving you the solo performance this time.”

Miyazaki blinked, not surprised. "Hmm."

"I won't give up either."

“Well, but,” Kiyoyori shrugged relaxedly, “let’s put this heavy topic aside for now.”

Let's enjoy our trip these next few days.

"sleet!"

"Ching Lai."

"Rina!"

Smile at each other.

"Awaited!"

P.S.: The story takes place after university, and Kiyotaka's personality will be different from the main story; he'll be more cheerful, as it's after the main plot. This side story has 18 chapters, and every single one is full of sweet moments—I'm giving you all a feast! Okay, you can start giving rewards and votes now. Also, updates will still be at 7:30 PM every day.

Chapter 145 Extra - We're 02

"Let me first introduce the key items for this road trip!"

Let's rewind to when we first left school. We rushed to Yukino and Kiyori's shared house to get the six-person bento that Yukino had prepared before going to class that morning. Then we took the perishable food from the refrigerator and carried all our bags and luggage to the nearby public parking lot.

Despite the cool weather, everyone was sweating a lot, and Kumiko, who was already exhausted, wished she could lie down and sleep right now.

Clang!

Kiyoshi pointed to the huge white RV.

"Wow!"

Nozomi and Kumiko exclaimed in surprise, while the other three applauded politely.

Their indifferent reaction made Kumiko unable to stand it any longer, and she exclaimed, "These damn rich girls!"

"This is a car I borrowed from my uncle. Anyway, it would just get moldy if it stayed at their house."

Qinglai gave a brief introduction to the RV's exterior accessories and then invited everyone to move their belongings inside.

Upon entering, there is a circular booth with a height-adjustable table in the middle. If the table is lowered, it can be combined with the booth to form a relatively spacious single bed. In front of the booth are the driver's seat and the passenger seat. Above the driver's seat is a single bed similar to that in a school dormitory. Although the space is a bit cramped, it is more than enough for a girl to sleep in.

Opposite the booth is a washbasin, covered by a partition. Next to it is a row of tables with a gas stove and a countertop, below which are storage cabinets. Further in, there is a small refrigerator and a microwave oven, all embedded in the wall.

Behind the booth is a standing wardrobe, which can also be used to temporarily store suitcases.

At the end of the RV is a bathroom where you can shower and use the toilet, and next to it is a master bedroom with a bed that can sleep two people.

The upper sides of the RV are mostly covered with horizontal cabinets for storing items. If you open one at random, you can see snacks and notebooks stored inside.

The interior of the car was basically furnished, like a cozy little home.

“Although it’s a campervan, it’s still not spacious enough for six people. This vehicle was originally customized by my uncle for his family of three to travel, so it’s not very spacious for us either,” Kiyotaka walked into the driver’s area and flipped out an LCD screen on the top, which could be hung directly in front of the dinette. “Mori-senpai, your PS4 is already working. If you want to use the Switch, there are two in the drawer under the dinette.”

"Qinglai, let's eat first. You'll be driving for a long time later."

While the others were touring the RV, Yukino placed all the ingredients in their places, heated up the bento boxes, and put them on the table. The moment she opened the boxes, the aroma quickly filled the entire RV.

"Goo~"

Then, someone's stomach growled, and everyone burst out laughing.

"Yukino-senpai, your cooking is really good."

Kumiko, who hadn't had breakfast all morning and was practically burying her face in her lunchbox, was starving when Reina, sitting next to her, put a croquette from her lunchbox into Kumiko's bowl.

"Of course."

"I wasn't praising you."

Yukino sighed and stuffed the hamburger patty into Kiyori's mouth. "Even eating can't shut you up."

Kiyoshi glanced at the couple sharing food ahead, and the two of them acting as if no one else was on the bus, making sure the other four weren't paying attention to them (edited), then raised her lunchbox to cover her smiling eyes.

Unsurprisingly, Yukino stomped hard on her foot under the table. Disgusted, she wiped the oil off her face with a wet tissue and then kicked Kiyora, who was laughing happily, in a fit of anger.

After wolfing down their lunch, the group finally managed to drive to their destination before the scheduled latest time.

Yukino was in charge of planning the trip. After everyone voted, they unanimously chose Onsen Valley in Nagano Prefecture, which not only has hot springs but also quaint hot spring inns. Kiyori suggested a road trip, which would be more tiring but also more fun. So Yukino decided on a campsite they would pass by along the way as their first night's accommodation. Outdoor camping was a first for the group, and it was quite a novel experience.

Yukino lifted the curtain and sat in the passenger seat. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of a game coming from the television, with rather frightening sound effects, as if they were playing some kind of horror game.

"I didn't realize Mizore could play those kinds of games."

She fastened her seatbelt and struck up a conversation with Qinglai, who was driving.

"Yeah, last time you weren't home, Mizore-senpai invited me to her place to play games. I never expected her to bring out a first-person horror game, it scared me to death," Kiyorai said. Not only was he bad at games, but he also kept his distance from those terrifying female ghosts. "It kept me up all night..."

Yukino chuckled softly to herself. She had never imagined that her lover would be afraid of such things until one time when they went to a haunted house at an amusement park and she heard Kiyoshi scream for the first time. Thanks to Kiyoshi, her hands were almost numb when they left the haunted house.

Surprisingly, it's kind of cute.

"Speaking of which, Asuka actually stood us up."

Kiyori gets all angry when Asuka is mentioned.

Because Yukino and Asuka are both students at Tokyo University, although they major in different subjects, they often meet in the same elective class, and they gradually become familiar with each other because of Kiyoyori.

The idea of ​​traveling together was originally proposed by Asuka. When the plan was being made, Yukino even asked Asuka if she and Kaori would be going together. Asuka agreed readily at the time, but unexpectedly, she stood Kiyori and Yukino up a month ago, saying that she wanted to enjoy some time alone and had booked a tourist resort elsewhere in advance to go with Kaori.

Helpless, Kiyoshi had no choice but to find other companions. Just then, Reina and Kumiko's relationship began to warm up, so he invited them to go on a trip together, ostensibly to "enhance their relationship."

Whether it's true or not, we shouldn't tell them.

After all, the ship of friendship can capsize at any moment.

Yukino poked Kiyori's cheek with her finger. "Isn't this fine too?"