Chapter 254 - Exam Day

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING !

Suzuki Ara nearly fell off the bed as she rolled, startled by the alarm. She had been in a shallow, dreamless sleep – the one that someone could still hear everything around her the whole of the night. She didn't understand but she seemed restless. When she was finally basking in the warmth of her covers, ready to dive into a deeper kind of rest, the alarm started ringing, telling her to get up.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Urrgh…

Ara groaned again as she rolled on the other side, her hand fumbling for her phone so she could switch the alarm off. She was in the mind to just switch it off when she found the noisy thing and return to sleep, but then half of her remembered that today was her exam, and so she got up. Her body protested as she did, but her mind was already slowly becoming alert.

"No fun," she complained as soon as she stood up and marched towards the shower like a condemned person.

After her bath, she felt a little more active and moved a bit faster as she fixed her schoolbag. As she did, she saw the fox god mask on the floor where she had discarded it last night and picked it up. She looked at it for a while and remembered that her room was scheduled to be cleaned today since it's Monday, and decided to take the mask with her as well as the black ensemble on the floor.

She didn't want the servants to see those clothes as they had dried blood in them from last night's stroll. She'd have them cleaned somewhere else after school today, she thought as she went down the stairs.

"Good morning Miss," the servants greeted her with a smile. They were on their way to the dining room to set up the table, and Ara followed them there.

"Good morning. Where's my brother?" she asked unthinkingly, totally forgetting where he was until the servants answered that Aki didn't return home last night.

Oh. Yeah. I forgot.

"Ah, it's okay. I forgot that he told me that he wouldn't come home," she said sheepishly, pacifying the servants who looked worried, thinking that the older Suzuki disappeared.

"He's with his girlfriend," she added in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning close to them as she did so, making the servants giggle.

"Oh, the Master finally confessed to Miss Chiaki?" they asked, and Ara again wondered how amazing that everybody knew about her brother's love life.

But she didn't mind. They were rooting for him and were obviously happy for him, so Ara grinned at them as she wiggled her brows.

"You guys have to prepare! We will have a wedding here soon," she added, and the faces before her brightened up; all looked thrilled.

"We will Miss?" they asked and Ara nodded.

"Also, Chiaki adopted her nephew, and so today, could you prepare one room for a baby? Taka needs to have a room of his own."

"Oh! Miss, the Master already asked us to prepare one room for Young Master Taka," one of the servants said, surprising Ara.

Good job, bro!

"Then, is there any other thing that needs to be done there?" she inquired, and they happily answered.

"All the necessities for the baby are there already Miss. But the one for when he's a bit older is not yet finished. He doesn't have a lot of activity and other learning and development toys."

Oooh.

Ara's happy to finally have something she could gift Taka with. "Then take this," she said as she handed one servant with her card. "Go to the store and get everything you think that Taka will need for his room. It's a gift from auntie," she added, and the servants were more than happy to comply.

Ara felt happy as she ate her breakfast. It seemed Denenchofu would be a good place for Taka as the servants seemed to love babies. She could already imagine the boy being spoiled by everyone in the house, from his parents to the workers. Aki and Chiaki were all set to move in together.

Hmmmnnn…

Speaking of which, Ara took her phone out, intending to send her brother a message.

"Big brother, I hope Suzuki Raiden Group has a very nice and competitive number three guy," she typed and was grinning mischievously as she sent it.

Suzuki Aki was the number one guy, the big boss, while Asou Chiaki was the number two person in the company. Since the two had an amazing night together, Ara teased her brother about having a different person to handle the fort while they were gone.

She was actually not expecting a reply as she popped the last piece of her toast into her mouth and chugged down her orange juice. But as soon as she finished her breakfast, her phone rang, and laughter rang in the dining room as soon as she saw her brother's message.

Aki sent a photo of him looking pretty smart in a brand-new suit with a glowing Chiaki next to him. It appeared as the two were about to go to work.

"We don't need a third guy. We know our priorities," Aki wrote, but Ara could imagine that it was only so because of Chiaki.

If her brother had his way, the two of them would probably still be in bed doing God-knew-what until God-knew-when.

"If you say so," Ara replied as she too walked towards the door to the waiting car in front, and soon, she was at school.

"Ara!"

Suzuki Ara looked up as she got out of the car to the waiting line of students by the gate and grinned. The gang, Rin, Miharu, Midori, and Hiroaki were all there waiting for her, and she waved before walking towards them.

"Did you study well?" she teased as she knew full well that they hadn't.

"Suzuki, are have you become meaner today?" Sonoda asked with pretend distaste on his face as he rolled his eyes, making the others laugh.

"Hiroaki, I think you're the only one who can joke since you have a scholarship. If only I can be a muscle-head like you," Rin complained and they all laughed as they went inside the gates, ready to tackle the exam.