Chapter 8.2
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Here's the second world
The sisters come, bit by bit
Until they are one
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"Why did we end up here?" Miku exclaimed.
Yotsuba and Miku were outside of Miku's bakery, which itself was across the street from Nino's patisserie.
"Don't you wanna watch Nino baking a cake?" Yotsuba asked.
"I used to be able to watch that any time I wanted."
"Not since you wished it all awayyyy."
"Are you teasing me?!"
Yotsuba laughed. "You should go check out what Nino is up to. I'll stay out here."
"If Fuutarou walks by, you better not jump on him."
Yotsuba saluted. "No promises!"
"Wrong response."
Miku sighed and walked through the door of the patisserie. Nino, clad in a chef's hat and apron, spotted her right away. No other customers were in sight.
"Miku? What are you- Were you supposed to be working today? You should've told me and we could've walked together."
"No, no, not exactly. I just wanted to come in and see you at work, is all."
Nino tilted her head and shrugged. "That's a little odd, but I guess it's okay, since business is pretty slow right now. Come over here then."
She made her way over to Nino's baking station, which was filled to the brim with an assortment of utensils, bowls, funnels, and scattered fondant.
"I'm baking a cake for our date with Uesugi tomorrow."
Ah so this takes place one day before the mall date. Noted.
"What flavor is it?" Miku asked.
"Strawberry of course. Can't you see the package of strawberries right next to you?"
"Oh, I guess I didn't notice."
"Oh, Miku. You should pay attention to your surroundings more."
Miku rolled her eyes. "Is there anything I can help wit-
"No I'm good. Thank you."
Nino continued to mix the bowl full of cake dough. Gliding her spatula through the silky smooth surface of the batter, all the while applying just the right amount of delicate force needed to knead it- she did it all so effortlessly. Miku was a little jealous.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted a green ribbon on the counter, very similar to the one that Yotsuba usually wore.
Miku quickly made her way to the counter and picked up the ribbon. Nino turned to her. "Oh you know whose that is? Would you mind giving it back to her?"
The stoic girl scratched her head. "You don't happen to know a Yotsuba, do you?"
"Yotsuba? What kind of silly name is that?"
Your sister's name, you idiot.
"Well, whoever this Yotsuba person is, tell her that that ribbon is really cute."
Miku frowned. "So you really don't remember any of your sisters huh..."
"Sisters? What are you saying?"
Oh shoot I said that out loud!
"You're my only sister, you goof! It's just us two."
I figured she'd say that.
"You're acting kinda weird today, Miku. You nervous for tomorrow?"
"It's not that. Just got other things on my mind."
"More importantly, what are you wearing for tomorrow?"
"Uh, probably what I'm wearing now."
Nino coughed. "Um, no. We're gonna have to dress you up super cute. I'll lend you some clothes- we're the same size after all!"
"...any reason why you're being so nice to me?"
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, we're usually arguing. And you never lend me your clothes, but you always steal mine."
"Well it's okay if I get your clothes dirty. No one will miss them."
"I take back what I said about you being nice."
Nino laughed. "Lighten up! I will admit, it's gotten a lot easier to talk to you ever since the three of us became lovers. You, me, Uesugi..."
Nino paused and started blushing profusely. "I...really admire you Miku."
"Really..?" Miku asked.
"Like, I've always looked up to you. I don't know if you ever knew that."
"But you're the older one.."
"Only by a few minutes! I never really viewed you as being younger than me. I see you as an equal."
"Equals... I never thought that. You were always one step ahead of me."
Nino stared at Miku as she spoke.
"Nino, you're outgoing, you speak your mind, you're fashionable, good at cooking- you're everything that I've always wanted to be. I had to try really hard to even come close...and I'm still not there whatsoever."
Nino clutched her hand to her chest. "Can I show you something?"
"I really hope it's not a wig and headphones."
"Huh? What are you going on about?"
Nino reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it over to Miku and prompted her to open it.
"Is this..?"
"It's the hire ad from when we both applied to this patisserie. We wanted to apply here cause Uesugi was here- or at least that's what I thought."
Nino grabbed the piece of paper back from her sister and slipped it into her pocket. "Anyway, I won the bake-off between us and got the job, but you never gave up. You applied across the street and explained that he wasn't the reason you applied here. You just really wanted to become a better you."
"Nino..." Miku felt herself choke up a little.
"I've held onto this newspaper clipping since then, as a reminder that I should also try a bit harder. I want to be just like you. I still care too much about what others think of me- what Uesugi thinks of me. When you're born with a twin sister and you have a mindset like that, you'll lose track of your identity pretty easily."
I'm guessing Nino felt this fives times as hard when we were quintuplets...
"Then, just when I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore, you asked him out for both of us. He accepted and I was shocked. Happy, but shocked. Truthfully, I'm glad it's the two of us and not just me."
She walked over to her station and picked up the bowl, much to Miku's curiosity. Nino continued talking:
"I might be in love with Uesugi Fuu-kun, but if he left...I'd be okay as long as you were with me."
Nino swiped a little bit of the cake batter from the bowl and wiped it on Miku's nose, laughing as she did so.
"You may be a stubborn one, but you're my sister and I'll always love you! I won't let even him get in the way of that!"
Miku blushed. Nino blushed harder as she realized what she said. She turned around, "D-D-Don't get the wrong idea though!"
"You don't have to pull the tsundere act on me..."
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Nakano Nino is not your average female.
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Fashionable and excelling at home economics, she was certainly prideful. Nino had a lot to be cocky about- she had worked hard to be housewife material, even if she was not necessarily looking for a partner-in-love.
She may have come off as cold and condescending to others around her, but inside of her was a warmth that would only expose itself after chipping away at her tough surface.
She would never openly admit it but she cared deeply for Miku- maybe even more than she cared for her own self. She believed the love she had for her sister would never lose to any other type of love- they grew up together, after all. For as long as she had known, Miku was the only one that had mattered to her.
Fuutarou threw a bit of a wrench into that train of thought.
She may not have accepted Fuutarou at first when he became the tutor, but she warmed up to him in the hardest sense.
She fell in love and didn't want to be the sister that lost, so she confessed. Nothing was hidden anymore. Full feelings in motion, she refused to lose.
Yet, Nino was starting to realize that she was risking what was actually just as important to her: family. The family that was always there, with a sister that she looked up to and vice versa.
If Nino wasn't so full of pride, she would admit:
If Fuutarou had only chosen the other sister, he would probably be better off.
Yet, Miku looked up to her anyway. How could she let her down now?
The two looked at each other and giggled, which gradually developed into a full laugh.
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Nakano Nino may be the most confused, but she's also the most protective sister.
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"Nino, I guess I was wrong about you. I hope you and I can continue being happy, whether Fuutarou's there or not."
Nino smiled nervously. "W-well anyway! I need to grab some more stuff from the kitchen. Watch the batter okay? And call out to me if any customers come in!"
Once she disappeared from sight, Yotsuba popped up behind Miku. "OOOH that cake batter looks yummy!"
"You better not eat it raw. You'll risk salmonella."
"There's fish in the batter?"
"...Ceres, can you please erase my idiot sister?"
Yotsuba chuckled. "You and Nino may have gotten along pretty badly, but she looked at you the same way you looked at her: someone to admire."
"It's hard to believe she could be jealous of someone like me..."
"To be fair, she was probably jealous of all of your sisters. Though, in a world where she was born a twin, she only has you to compare herself to."
"I'll have to stop comparing myself to her, I think. We're each special because we're different."
Yotsuba cackled. "This whole journey kinda gives you a Charles Dickens vibe, doesn't it?"
Miku laughed and agreed.
"But I suppose that means there's one more ghost to visit. You think you're ready, Miku?"
Miku shook her head. "Just one more thing."
"What the hell?! Who spilled all my powdered sugar?"
Nino came back out to her station covered in intense scatters of white powder. "Am I being pranked...? I swear, if I catch someone next time..."
She grabbed a wet rag to wipe off the counter, but quickly noticed something in the sugar.
It was a Haiku, seemingly written in the sugar with one's fingers:
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A sister you are
A sister you'll always be
Not just me, but us
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Next to the Haiku was the ribbon that had been left on the counter (except this time it looked more worn, for some odd reason), as well as a drawing. Nino looked closer and tried to make sense of it.
"A...clover? Could it...nah it couldn't be."
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Three new voices, and one familiar one, filled Nakano Nino's head.
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What the hell? Those voices sounded...annoying.
Even still, Nino could not help but smile.
The door to the patisserie opened. "Nino? You're still here."
"Uesugi?! What are you doing here?"
"The manager asked me to take a look at something. You can leave now if you want and I can take over...even though there's no customers... at 2:30 in the afternoon..."
"Are you sure you're not just here to make fun of the business?!"
"I'm kidding! You know that the "CLOSED: OUT TO LUNCH" sign is on the door right?" He tapped on the glass of the entrance, indicating that the sign was indeed flipped in the wrong direction.
"Y-Y-Yeah! Of course I knew that, y-y-you idiot!"
"Ah, so you didn't."
"Shut up!"
"You should make sure to flip that when you're done with your breaks. Guess you can kinda be absent-minded sometimes, huh? That's cute." Fuutarou grinned.
Nino's cheeks felt incredibly warm as she blushed. "S-Shut up..."
Fuutarou walked towards Nino's baking station, stopping once he was beside her. "Geez, what's with all this sugar? It's a mess."
Oh my GOD he's so close... and so pretty. Screw it!
The girl couldn't help herself. She pulled Fuutarou closer for a kiss and pinned him down onto the counter. The boy was confused, but also a bit excited.
Nino licked her lips.
"You want some sugar, Fuu-kun?"
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Sisters feeling low
Comparing one another
Both are different
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End of Chapter 8.2