Firework Festival Arc
The Quintetessential Quintuplets © Negi Haruba
Hello, everyone! Happy (belated) New Year to you all and I'm sorry if I'm late 1 or 2 days even though I've promised this chapter supposed to be uploaded yesterday. I also want to say I'm sorry because I might go into a temporary hiatus. It's not because I have some problems or what. In fact, this month is more or less 'the holiday month' for my college. The reason I might go temporary hiatus because I want to write some more chapters and store them. In case you didn't know, I preferred writing as many chapters as I can, save them, and then upload it one by one, rather than writing one chapter and then after some fixes, immediately upload it. I also need to sort out what kind of power that I'll add to this story and I also need to write the plot of the future arcs of this story. Lastly, I also have the 1st semester final exam so before I can do everything I wrote before, I need to focus on this one. All in all, I'm sorry that you all getting temporary hiatus after you guys got double chapters update. I hope you can understand about it and I hope that you all still enjoy my fanfic…I mean one of my fanfics or both of it. Well, without further ado, here we go!
"He is…" = Speaking
[He is….] = Thinking
{He is…} = Flashback
("He is…") = Author's quip
Chapter 8: Our Day Off – Part 3
Fuutarou walked among the crowd before he saw Ichika who looked like talking with someone through her phone.
"Ichika" Fuutarou called making Ichika startled.
"I'll call you later." Ichika said to whoever it is on her phone.
"Come on Ichika, let's go back to the store." Fuutarou said as he approached Ichika.
"I'm sorry, Fuutarou-kun but I can't."
"Haah? The hell do you mean by that?" Fuutarou asked as he tried to grab Ichika's hand though before Fuutarou could grab Ichika's hand, the tutor sensed that there is someone who wants to prevent him by grabbing his hand or something. Knowing that, Fuutarou quickly retracted his arm, earning a surprise looks from Ichika and that someone.
"W…who are you?" That someone who is in fact a middle-aged man asked. He was still surprised at how the boy retracted his arm even before he grabs it.
"I could ask the same thing to you." Fuutarou deadpanned.
"What's your relationship with Ichika-chan here?" The man asked.
Fuutarou closed his eyes to think [Ichika-chan? Chan? Never mind that, just who the hell is this man? Relationship huh? Fine I'll tell you.]
"I'm her best friend." Fuutarou replied as he opened his eyes though Ichika and that man had gone from that spot. Fuutarou twitched in annoyance at that [I'm gonna beat them up for this!]
Fuutarou shook his head to calm himself and he decided to find the other Quints first [Alright, I can see Miku and Itsuki over there and their location is the closest so I'll go to them.]
Fuutarou made his way toward Miku and Itsuki's location. Then he found that Miku and Itsuki were eating taiyaki and yakisoba respectively. Itsuki also had a pile of plates beside her.
"Miku! Itsuki!" Fuutarou called.
"Fuutarou/Uesugi-kun." Miku and Itsuki responded as they looked at their tutor.
"What're you doing here, Fuutarou." Miku asked.
[I swear, why did many people asked the very same thing that I want to ask to that person?] "I'm looking for you girls you know." Fuutarou replied.
"Eeh? What did you mean by that, Uesugi-kun?" Itsuki asked; voicing her sister's confusion. Miku and Itsuki's faces blushed slightly at Fuutarou's question.
"You girls see that high building over there?" Miku and Itsuki nodded at that "Alright, after you done eating here, you girls go to that building and tried to walk around while holding hand in case one of you might get lost."
"Why are you in such a rush, Fuutarou?" Miku asked.
"That's because Nino tried to call you through her phone desperately but it looks like she couldn't do it on her location now." Fuutarou replied.
"Even so, this is my last serving for today and we'll go to the store after that. Can't you just wait with us?" Itsuki said.
Fuutarou grumbled at this but Itsuki interrupted his grumbling "Besides, someone has stepped on Miku's foot earlier so I don't think we can walk to that store even while holding hand."
"What? Why didn't you say so?" Fuutarou asked incredulously as he ran off again.
"Ah! Uesugi-kun." Itsuki tried to stop Fuutarou; to no avail though.
"…He did know that we're basically stuck here, right?" Miku asked calmly.
"Yeah." Itsuki said as she calmly put her last plate (She has been eating this whole time and she swallowed and chewed her foods when she didn't talk, in case you didn't know) "Even after I told Uesugi-kun to-"
"To what?"
Miku and Itsuki looked to their left and much to their surprise; they saw Fuutarou brought some cloths with him. Itsuki then asked "Where were you, Uesugi-kun?"
Fuutarou simply showed them the cloth and he asked Miku to raise her food that was stepped by. Miku complied and she raised her ache foot. Fuutarou then giving some first-aid by bandaging Miku's ache foot with the cloth.
Fuutaroou then carried Miku piggyback style; much to Miku's surprise. Itsuki was also surprised at that but she also felt…some jealousy? She wasn't so sure about it.
"F…Fuutarou?" Miku asked with blush on her face.
"Even if I had bandaged your foot, it doesn't mean you should walk carelessly now. I can allow you to walk on your own when we already reach the store. You still need Itsuki's help for that, though." Fuutarou explained. Miku and Itsuki nodded.
As Fuutarou (with Miku on his back) and Itsuki walked, there were two girls approaching them.
"Excuse us; we're currently doing some survey about this festival." A brown-haired lady asked.
"I'm sorry but we're in a hurry now." Fuutarou dismissed them as polite as he could.
"But we'll give ¥ 100 coupon for people who participate." Another brown-haired lady; this one wearing glasses informed.
"I'm sorry for being impolite. Is there any-" Fuutarou said quickly, before Miku and Itsuki lightly bopped and elbowed him respectively.
"Fuutarou/Uesugi-kun." Miku and Itsuki said in a menacing voice.
"Eh? Could it be…you're-" The ladies began to squeal but luckily Fuutarou, Miku, and Itsuki managed to shush them.
"I'm sorry about that. Here you go…Uesugi-san, your free coupon." The brown haired with glasses lady gave the coupon to Fuutarou.
"Eh? But…" Fuutarou perplexed.
"It's okay, Uesugi-san. We were about to ask you what your relationship with these girls." The brown-haired lady said. "And we coincidentally heard it from afar when you said that you're with your best friends and your sister so we figured out that these two must be your best friends."
"…I see. Then I accept this coupon and thanks for the coupon." Fuutarou said as he put the coupon inside his pant pocket.
"Ah before that…can we ask for your autograph?" The ladies asked at the same time.
"I don't mind." The ladies squealed silently at that before they gave Fuutarou some papers which Fuutarou wrote his autograph on those papers.
After he was done, Fuutarou returned the papers to the ladies. "Ohhhh, this is Uesugi-san's autograph. Thank you for your time." The ladies squealed as they bowed a little before they left.
After those ladies out of earshot, Fuutarou said "Alright, now that has been taken care off, let's continue walking."
The three continued walking in silence before Itsuki broke the silence "I never thought that you of all people would have an autograph, Uesugi-kun."
"I have to agree with Itsuki." Miku quipped.
"Did you two realize that you were so mean?" Fuutarou asked though Miku and Itsuki could only giggle.
"Oh yeah, Miku." Miku looked at her tutor curiously "Do you mind if you lean back a little?"
Itsuki also surprised at this and Miku asked "Why, Fuutarou?"
Fuutarou tried his hardest to maintain his grumpy face though it didn't stop a very light blush on his face "…I can feel something…soft on my…back."
Now its Miku and Itsuki's turn to have blushes on their faces "Hey!" Itsuki purposely didn't call Fuutarou by his name to avoid drawing some attention.
"Don't put the blame on me. I'm innocent on this one." Fuutarou retorted "Anyway, we need to find Raiha, Ichika, and Yotsuba and bring them to that store."
"Now that you mention it, I didn't find Ichika anywhere. Do you know where she is?" Miku asked as she proceeded to lean back a little.
"I'm not sure where she is now…but Ichika is the main reason why I'm in such a rush." Fuutarou explained.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Itsuki asked.
"Actually, I found Ichika before I found you two, but she somehow gone with a man that I didn't know."
"A man?" Itsuki asked.
"Is it a middle-aged man with black slicked hair and a moustache?" Miku guessed.
"…How did you know that, Miku?" Fuutarou inquired.
"Because I saw Ichika get out of than man's car at night before." Miku replied.
"At night? Don't you think it's a suspicious thing?" Itsuki piped in.
"That's what I thought when I met that guy. Putting that aside, we must hurry up so you two can meet Nino and tell her what happened here while I can track down Ichika and more importantly find Raiha and Yotsuba." Fuutarou explained.
Miku and Itsuki nodded at Fuutarou and they proceeded to walk faster.
After few minutes of walking through the crowd; Fuutarou, Miku, and Itsuki finally arrived at that store and Nino quickly came down to greet these three. As Nino met Miku and Itsuki, she found out that Fuutarou has run off again to find Raiha, Ichika, and Yotsuba. Nino felt annoyed at that as she wanted to say some thanks even though the tutor didn't bring all of Nino's sisters yet but Nino decided she'll take care of it later as she and Itsuki helped Miku to the rooftop.
As Fuutarou once again walked among the crowd, he pondered to himself "Just where the hell is Ichi-"
Fuutarou quickly turned behind and true enough; he saw surprised Ichika trying to look like poked his cheek as her index finer was raised.
"Ara. It looks like something like surprise poke is useless against you huh, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said with smile.
"Ichika, you-"
"Not here, follow me." Ichika said as she grabbed Fuutarou's hand and dragged the tutor to alley.
As they arrived at the alley, Ichika let go of Fuutarou's hand and she looked at the tutor with complete serious eyes while Fuutarou was unaffected by it.
"Ne…can you keep this a secret…from my sisters?" Ichika began.
"And tell them, I can't watch the fireworks with them." Ichika finished with a smile that's so unlike her usual smile.
Meanwhile
At Yotsuba and Raiha's location, Yotsuba and Raiha were sitting on a bench with so many goldfishes and some sparkler fireworks beside them which definitely earned from all of the games that they've played.
"Raiha-chan." Yotsuba called the Uesugi girl with her usual smile "Are you happy?"
Raiha nodded happily at that "I felt very happy today. Today I could spend some time with big bro and big sis Haru even though both of them aren't here now. And I also played many games in this festival. Thank you, Yotsuba-san."
"Shishishi, don't mention it, Raiha-" Yotsuba replied.
*Grrrr~!
Raiha had a blush on her face as she rubbed the back of her head as she laughed sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, Yotsuba-san."
Yotsuba immediately stood up from her place before she frantically asked "Raiha-chan what do you want to eat today? Do you want takoyaki? Okonomiyaki? Or even-"
"Yotsuba-san, please calm down. What about if we walk around the food stalls first before we decide what we want to eat?" Raiha suggested.
Yotsuba perked up at that as she said "Ah, it's a good idea. Yosh, let's go, Raiha-chan."
Raiha responded in enthusiasm before they made their way to the food stalls. Yotsuba stopped as she saw Nino, Miku, and Itsuki were on a rooftop while she can't find Fuutarou and Ichika on that rooftop. Nino, Miku, and Itsuki in Yotsuba's vision were quite blurry as even Yotsuba can't look that far clearly. ("In case you forgot, Yotsuba's eyesight is the best among the Quints.")
"Yotsuba-san?" Yotsuba's focus was snapped off as she looked at Raiha who looked back at her curiously.
"Raiha-chan, how about we go to that building first?" Yotsuba asked.
"I don't mind but why?"
"I saw some of my sisters there."
"Eh? Really?" Raiha asked as she tried to see the Quints but to no avail "Wow Yotsuba-san's so great, to be able to see from this far."
Yotsuba rubbed her neck sheepishly as she said "Shishishi, even I couldn't see them clearly from here though."
Raiha then remembered something and she asked "Oh yeah, did you see big bro, Yotsuba-san?"
Yotsuba could only shake her head as a 'no' answer. Raiha felt worried about where her big bro is but she knew that he could take care of himself before Raiha said.
"Yotsuba-san, let's go to that building so we can meet your sisters and maybe we can ask one of them to hold these prizes so that we won't lose them." Yotsuba nodded happily as she adores how smart and composed Raiha was.
Yotsuba and Raiha then made their way to the rooftop where Yotsuba's sisters were.
"Care to repeat what you just said now?" Fuutarou asked sternly.
"I said I can't watch the fireworks with them." Ichika repeated before she smiled.
"Besides, we're quintuplets so it's not like it'll affect anything if one of us is missing." Ichika said nonchalantly.
"Wait, wait. I don't understand with your logic just now." Fuutarou deadpanned.
"Alright, I need to go because someone has been waiting for me." Ichika said as she wanted to go.
"Hey, come back here! Explain it to me what happened with you." Fuutarou demanded.
Ichika turned around to face Fuutarou as she asked "Why?" Fuutarou confused at Ichika's question.
"Why would I tell you my business and why would you want to know about it? Is it because you're my tutor?" Ichika asked with smile that masked her annoyance while Fuutarou still calm.
"It's not because I'm your tutor that I want to know but it's because I really consider you girls precious and I care about you girls." Fuutarou answered.
"So? It doesn't make me obliged to tell you about it." Ichika retorted haughtily "And what? Are you gonna force me to tell you what my business is?"
Fuutarou could only stay silent before he replied "…Alright, I'll keep quiet about it."
Ichika then smiled as she left while smiling "Good for you to realize it."
A moment later, Fuutarou heard Ichika said "Ah, shoot."
Fuutarou looked at Ichika who awkwardly came back to him. Fuutarou then guessed with a deadpan face "Let me guess…did the guy you were with still looking for you?"
Ichika could only nod before she sheepishly asked "Can you help me to hide?"
Fuutarou nodded before he left the alley while Ichika confused at why the tutor left like that.
And much to Ichika's surprise, Fuutarou shouted "HEY, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A GIRL-"
Though, Ichika interrupted Fuutarou's shout before he could mention her name by closing his mouth with her hand and dragged the tutor back into the alley.
"Why did you stop me, Ichika?" Fuutarou asked grumpily.
"I asked you to hide me from my photographer…but why did you suddenly start shouting my whereabouts like that?" Ichika complained.
"'Photographer'?" Fuutarou asked; completely changing the subject.
"I worked at his place."
"So, you're a photographer assistant huh?"
"…Kinda."
[What's with the pause? Besides…I actually thought Ichika's job is much more suspicious than this.] Fuutarou thought "I see."
"Hey! Don't change the subject!" Ichika cried "Why did you start suddenly shouting about me earlier?"
"That's because you're being annoying and indecisive." Fuutarou replied.
"…Pardon?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah, one second you're being stubborn and prideful and all. In the next second you asked help to me. Just make up your mind already! Whether you want to take care of this on your own or you want to ask people's help for this!" Ichika stunned at that.
"So? What're you gonna do, Miss why-would-I-tell-you my-business?" Fuutarou teased which made Ichika blushed lightly.
Before Ichika could retort, they heard that man shouted "I found Ichika-chan."
Obviously, both of them startled at that and were expecting him to drag Ichika away. Rather than dragging Ichika away, he dragged a girl with a face that similar with Ichika as Fuutarou and Ichika recognized that girl.
"YOTSUBA?"
"Wait Mister, just where do you think you're gonna drag her?" Raiha asked bravely.
"Raiha-chan?" Ichika asked as Fuutarou immediately went to Raiha while Ichika followed him slowly.
"I'm sorry, Young Miss, but I really need Ichika-chan to come with me now." The man said as he proceeded to drag Yotsuba again.
"B…but I'm not Ichika." Yotsuba cried before she felt a hand grab hers and pull her back. Yotsuba was surprised to see Fuutarou holding her, making her slightly blushed at her tutor/crush's gesture.
"Onii-chan!" Raiha said happily for finally seeing her brother again.
"What the heck? You again?! What are you to her?" The man asked, irritated about seeing the same guy once more.
"I'm her best friend and I want this girl back!" Fuutarou shouted, making Yotsuba's face even redder.
"What are you spouting on about?!" The man furiously yelled.
"Look, can't you tell, this isn't Ichika!" Fuutarou yelled back.
"Poppycock, I know her face anywhere. Now give us back our new actress!" The man shouted out, getting a surprised look from Fuutarou, Yotsuba and Raiha.
"Eh?"
"Ichika's an actress?" Fuutarou asked while Ichika tried to cover her flustered face.
"Let's go, Ichika-chan." The man said as he and Ichika walked away.
"A…wait!" Fuutarou demanded.
"Please stay back, boy. Ichika-chan has an extremely important audition to go to. I'm sorry for getting the wrong girl, but I'm serious as this could be her big break!" Ichika's manager pleaded, understanding now that there was a mix up in communication.
"Something this important came up and you didn't tell anyone?" Fuutarou asked Ichika who could only stay silent. "Ichika, are you sure you didn't want to watch the fireworks?" Fuutarou called out, to which the eldest sister looked back and gave a smile he knew all too well.
"Give everyone my regards…" Ichika said, waving her hand.
Ichika and the man finally walked away. Fuutarou wanted to chase them but he turned to Yotsuba and Raiha instead.
"What're you girls doing here before that man came to you?" Fuutarou asked.
"We were walking around the food stalls to find out what we're going to eat, Onii-chan." Raiha said. Fuutarou nodded at that.
"And did that man do something to you girls? Aside from dragging Yotsuba, that is." Fuutarou asked.
"Don't worry, Fuutarou. He didn't do anything." Yotsuba reassured.
Fuutarou sighed in relief hearing that. Fuutarou then asked "Did you two meet up with the others?" When Fuutarou said 'the others', he was referring to Nino, Miku, and Itsuki.
Yotsuba and Raiha nodded before Fuutarou said "Alright, you two. After you done buying your foods, go meet the others again and tell them what happened here."
"While you'll go to either convincing Ichika-san to go back." Raiha continued.
"Or you'll go with her." Yotsuba finished.
Fuutarou nodded before he remembered "Oh yeah, we need something about fireworks since you Quintuplets can't watch the fireworks together this year." Fuutarou then brought some money from his pocket and handed it to Raiha "Use this money to buy those fireworks."
"Wuaah, Onii-chan, how did you…wait, could it be-" Raiha asked before she remembered something.
"Ah, it's the money from earlier." Fuutarou confirmed "Actually I didn't know what to buy with that money but it looks like it's fortunate that I still didn't spend it."
"Are you really sure you want to use your money for this, Fuutarou?" Yotsuba asked softly.
Fuutarou nodded before "Pretty sure, just use it to buy those fireworks."
Yotsuba and Raiha were a little bit hesitant at this before Raiha said "Alright, Onii-chan, we'll buy the firework with your money…"
Yotsuba continued "In exchange, can you take care of Ichika for us?" Yotsuba asked.
Fuutarou paused for a moment before he said "Leave it to me!" Fuutarou then turned around as he said "I'll see you later!"
Yotsuba could only sigh before she looked at Raiha which they then shared a laugh. Yotsuba and Raiha then turned around to figure out again what kind food and firework they were gonna buy.
At the parking lot
"Ichika!" She heard a voice call her name, turning her head, not at all surprised to see the boy who had been making a huge change in her and her sister's lives.
"Ah? Fuutarou-kun? What are you here for?" Ichika asked as he stood in front of her.
"Where's that man?"
"Taking his car." Ichika narrowed her eyes before she asked "Are you still trying to bring me back?"
"No. In fact I decided to support you" Fuutarou bluntly said, getting a look of mild surprise from Ichika.
"Fuutarou-kun, I don't understand…why do you care about me so much?" Ichika asked.
"I thought I already told you, because I do care about you and your sisters, Ichika! If I didn't care about you and your sisters, why the hell would you think I involve myself in this problem? And I wouldn't make that promise if I didn't care about you five." Fuutarou said.
"Ah, you mean when you carelessly blurted out you won't make us feel unhappy right, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika teased though she felt happy that Fuutarou's concern to her and her sisters was genuine, not just some sweet talk.
Fuutarou could only grit his teeth in embarrassment while Ichika laughed softly at that [This is why I don't want to say that promise out loud, because those girls will tease me with it.]
Fuutarou sighed to recompose himself before he said "Well, regardless of what happens, it's clear that you really want this, otherwise you wouldn't be abandoning your sisters for this audition!" Fuutarou reasoned quickly.
"'Abandoning'? Fuutarou-kun meany, you made me sound like a heartless monster." Ichika pouted at her tutor before she recomposed herself.
Ichika then pulled out a tablet, showing him a script. "That's what I've been doing. I have an audition, and this might be my ticket for a major role." Fuutarou looked at the script. Ichika's lines were obvious, since she had them highlighted. "Speaking of which, I can still get some practice in. Be my teacher, would you?"
"I'm already your teacher, aren't I?" Fuutarou said with sweatdropped.
"Not that, silly. The one in the script I mean." Ichika giggled.
"Alright but I could only read it, okay?"
"It's fine."
The scene in the script is usually can be seen in school themed-movie. A classic emotional scene in the graduation.
"C…congratulations on graduating." Fuutarou began.
"Sensei, thank you for everything. I…I'm really glad for you to become my teacher." Ichika said.
Fuutarou stunned at this before he rubbed his temple "What's wrong, Fuutarou-kun? Don't tell me my acting is so great that you become emotional?" Ichika asked jokingly.
"Nah, somehow I got mixed feelings when you said 'I'm really glad for you to become my teacher.' and rather than getting emotional, I was getting pissed off." Fuutarou said while rubbed his temple.
"Eh? Why did you feel angry?" Ichika asked.
Fuutarou then approached Ichika and she held her cheeks while Ichika couldn't help but blush at that. "Fuutarou-kun?"
"Sure, you memorized the lines perfectly but you need to stop using those fake smiles." Fuutarou grumbled as he then let go of Ichika's cheeks.
"W…what're you talking about?"
"Not only in your acting but in daily life too, you always hide behind that damned fake smile and that really pissed me off." Fuutarou still grumbled "Maybe you'd think that as an eldest sister you must always look strong right? Bullshit! It's okay for an eldest sister to lean on the younger sister, you know?"
Ichika wanted to retort but after she thought again, she chose to keep her mouth shut.
"Besides, I still don't understand why you chose to keep all of this a secret from your sisters. I guess it must be something big if your shoulders were shaky when you said you can't watch the fireworks."
Ichika smiled sadly at this before she replied "…It's because I want to tell my sisters about this when I finally become independent. I left my sisters and the festival but if I fail this audition despite what I had done then I can't face my sisters anymore."
Ichika looked at the fireworks solemnly before she said "The festival has almost come to an end, right?" Ichika then turned to look at Fuutarou.
"I'm impressed that you could see through me earlier, Fuutarou-kun."
Fuutarou could only smile before he said with a twinkling light near his eye "How is it? I'm sure I'm a sensitive person in your eye now."
"Yes, yes, whatever you said, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said flatly before she asked "But how did you know?"
"And if you're that curious, it's because your smile was different than your sisters'." Fuutarou replied
Ichika stunned about this before she said "Wow, I always thought that Fuutarou-kun is a dense person but it turns out you're more sensitive than I thought. I feel like I lost my confidence."
"I didn't see any problem in your acting so don't go lose your confidence now, Ichika." Fuutarou chided "It's just that you're very suck at lying."
"Wow, you never mince your words huh, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika said flatly with smile before she and Fuutarou shared a laugh. Fuutarou and Ichika then heard before the 2 heard beeping.
"Hey! We're in a hurry now! So, hurry up!" Ichika's manager yelled. Ichika nodded before Ichika hurriedly moved to the car as Fuutarou watched.
"I'll be there with you to apologize to your sisters, since I should've brought you back. We'll take the blame together." Fuutarou called out, getting the girl to pause before regaining her smile.
Fuutarou watched as the car disappeared, before he suddenly tensed as he sensed someone with malicious intent there.
Fuutarou quickly span around but he didn't see anything.
[W…what's that?] Fuutarou thought before he decided to shrug off that worry. The tutor then made his way to the place where Ichika had her audition at
A few hours later
Ichika and her manager were surprised to see Fuutarou (without mask this time) sitting on a bench waiting for them, as it had been hours since they left. Their surprise was increased even further when they saw Fuutarou sleeping yet with his eyes open wide.
Sensing that Ichika finally done, Fuutarou snapped himself out of his sleep before he asked "How did it go?"
"I'm not too sure really…" Ichika said quietly.
"What? You were perfect! You're guaranteed a role!" The man stated, his arms crossed as he recalled the audition.
"R…really? That's great!" Ichika asked, surprised.
"Of course! I didn't even know you could smile like that! Melted my age-old heart. I was peeking and I even saw the scores! You did perfect!" He said with excitement and pride.
"The one who brought such a smile, was probably you, boy." The man said, looking at Fuutarou "And now I've taken a look at your face, it feels like I have seen you somewhere…or maybe not."
"L…look, if you're done with her, I'll be taking her now, okay?" Fuutarou hastily said before the man could identify the tutor's identity.
"Huh?" Ichika asked confused as she was pulled along.
"Oh! Right! You can have fun as much as you want but don't forget to use protection, okay?" The man called out to them.
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT, YOU OLD COOT!" Fuutaoru roared back as he took the eldest sister with them while Ichika could only blush.
The two made their way through the streets, the sidewalks barely lit by the street lamps, before Ichika asked.
"Where are we going?"
"To the others, they're waiting at the park." Fuutarou replied.
"Ah… They're waiting for me? I bet they're mad at me." Ichika sighed, her heart feeling like lead as her feet became heavier.
"They probably are, but there's nothing to worry about. Look." Fuutarou said as they have arrived at the park and they could see Ichika's sisters and Raiha gathered around.
"Onii-chan!" Raiha exclaimed, waving her hand towards the two, showing off the sparkler she had set up. "We're all set here!"
"We managed to get some fireworks the moment you left so you five wouldn't have to experience it without each other." The tutor explained.
"What surprised me the most is the fact that Uesugi-kun would be willing to give his own money to buy all of this!" Itsuki pointed out.
"You buy all of this with Fuutarou-kun's money?" Ichika asked confused.
"Yotsuba and Raiha-chan came to us before they asked us to accompany them buying the fireworks with the money that you had left behind. Thanks to that, we managed to buy one of the big fireworks before they used it and the smaller ones." Nino explained as she crossed her arms before she remembered something.
"Speaking of which. You!" Nino stomped over to Fuutarou and began poking her finger hard into his chest before she ranted "You have some nerve leaving Miku while she was hurt with Itsuki! Not to mention, I heard from Itsuki that you could easily piggy back Miku. You should've carried Miku all the way to my place before you run off so you won't need to trouble Itsuki!"
"A-ah, please calm down, Nino." Itsuki tried to calm Nino.
"N…Nino! It was okay…! I told him he could…" Miku explained again.
"No! I won't feel better unless I tell him straight up." The second sister pulled the boy down by his shirt to stare him face to face.
"Thank you, Fuutarou." She said as quietly as possible before letting him go and stomping off.
Fuutarou could only rub where she pulled as he thought [How the heck should I respond to that?]
After that, Ichika bowed as she apologized to everyone about leaving them without saying anything along with not telling them about her job. Fuutarou defended Ichika which no one seemed to mind as all the sisters supported her fully. Nino apologized for not telling everyone the meet up point and before long. Miku apologized for being clumsy. Itsuki apologized for having poor sense of direction. Yotsuba apologized despite she didn't really do anything wrong.
It wasn't long before the 5 sisters got together and begun using the fireworks, reminiscing about what their mother used to say.
{"If one of you makes a mistake, then overcome it together. If one of you is happy, share it with the others. Joy, sorrow, anger, love... are shared among the five of us... in five equal parts!"}
The Quints then started using the sparklers to enjoy their mini-firework festival. As the Quints enjoyed themselves, Raiha approached her brother before she said "Oh yeah, Onii-chan! Big sis messaged me earlier that she and big bro Ken won't be able to come home tonight. She said they're having fun in a hotel right now."
Fuutarou's eyes twitched in annoyance as he thought [Why didn't you just message me directly, Big sis?]
Fuutarou then replied — as innocent as he can — "Well…I think we should leave them alone tonight, after all, those two will be happy this way."
Raiha nodded as her face beamed brightly "Alright, Onii-chan!" Fuutaou silently heaved a sigh of relief at that.
It wasn't long before the 5 went through all the sparklers that they were ready for the finale.
"Hey! Are we going to do this one or not? It was a lot of trouble trying to find a place that we could legally set this off you know?" Nino called out to them as Yotsuba and Itsuki prepared the large firework.
"Fuutarou, you should set it off since…ah, he has fallen asleep." Miku said but she trailed off at the last part.
"Raiha-chan also fallen asleep beside him." Ichika piped in
At the bench, the Quints could see that Fuutarou and Raiha have fallen asleep on different benches. They have fallen asleep after Raiha told her brother the situation about their brother and his wife.
Having no other choice, the Quints reluctantly decided to fire the large firework without their tutor despite they initially want to do so.
The Quins light the fuse which the rocket then flew into the air, before fizzling away as if to disappear, before it blasted apart, giving a breathtaking view of a beautiful explosion with a myriad of colors.
All who were present stared at it until it fizzled out completely.
"Ah! It's so much cooler when we do it ourselves!" Yotsuba excitedly cheered.
"It was really pretty… It's much nicer when you're this close to it…" Miku critiqued.
"Hey, let's clean up and go now. We have school tomorrow." Itsuki reminded everyone softly, to which Nino groaned but still agreed while the others gave silent agreement so that they wouldn't disturb Fuutarou and Raiha.
They all managed to gather all the wrappers that they could find in the dark, before they threw it in the nearby trash bin.
After that, Ichika told her sisters to go on ahead as she will stay behind for a bit to wake up Fuutarou, they agreed with that and they went ahead first.
After Ichika was sure that her sisters no longer in nearby area, she gave Fuutarou a treat for his troubles. She allowed his head to lean on her breasts as she ran her fingers through his hair to make him sleep more comfortably for a moment.
"Sleep well…and I'm sorry for troubling you, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said with a pure and honest sweetness.
Ichika looked at Fuutarou with soft smile and soft blush on her face. A few moment later, Fuutarou's eyes suddenly opened. "Huh? Wha?"
"Enjoying yourself?" Ichika smiled from beyond her breasts.
"What happened? Crap it's so late, I have to get Raiha home." Fuutarou stood up and picked up Raiha.
"Be careful on your way home, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika said as she stood up to follow her sisters who has went ahead.
"What about you, Ichika?" Fuutarou voiced his concern over Ichika. Ichika smiled at that before she replied.
"Don't worry, they aren't far from here so I can follow them easily."
Fuutarou paused for a moment before he heaved a sigh. Fuutarou then said "Just be careful, Ichika."
Ichika smiled sweetly at him before she nodded
Fuutarou then went home while carrying Raiha. Along the way, Fuutarou felt some Déjà vu when he saw Ichika's smile. Though he can't help but remembered about what happened after Ichika and her manager left for the audition
[Still…what the heck was that? I had some bad feelings over what will happen.]
To Be Continued In Second Year Midterm Exam Arc
Next: Addresses, Basketball Club and Announcement
Thanks for Reading This. And sorry for the cliffhanger
Review Onegai shimasu (Please)
Till' We Meet Again, Guys.