Regardless of outside events, the preparations for the final festival were still underway with the class representatives all doing their best. The substitute teacher Irigaku came to see how Class 3-1 was doing.
Irigaku:"I want to help too!"
Yotsuba:"Thank you, but I can handle this."
Fuutarou:"Is it even allowed for teachers to help specific classes?"
Irigaku:"No, the punishment for something like that is severe. A teacher playing favorites marks them as failures."
Yotsuba:"R-Really?"
Irigaku:"Maybe, I never read the rules."
Fuutarou:"How are you even a teacher?"
Irigaku:"Sibling of mine was a teacher himself and I sorta just absorbed his teachings."
Yotsuba:"You can do that!? Uesugi-san, let me feel your head!"
Fuutarou:"He didn't mean it literally...You didn't mean it literally, right?"
Irigaku:"This class sure is something. A set of quintuplets, a brainiac, a sports demon, a guy that looks like he's constantly collecting debt, a flamboyant guy whose sparkles I still can't seem to figure out how I see them and many more. My classes were never that interesting. I simply graduated with reasonable grades and began to go to law school. Something happened and I had to be kept under watch a bunch. Eventually, my name was cleared and I was able to work as a lawyer and teacher and are you guys still listening?"
Irigaku would see that Yotsuba had been dragged somewhere else with Fuutarou looking over the checklist.
Fuutarou:"Yeah, something about good grades."
Irigaku:"Party pooper."
Fuutarou:[Parts of that story sound familiar, oh well.]
Yotsuba left to go get something, leaving Fuutarou alone with the checklist. As Fuutarou looked up, Irigaku got really close to his face.
Irigaku:"...Sorry, you just look like someone I think i met once."
Fuutarou:"That's oddly specific."
Irigaku:"Yes, I suppose it is. Say, now that the Nakano sister isn't here, I have something I want to ask you."
Fuutarou:"What is it?"
Irigaku:"You see...Are you dating one of the-"
Fuutarou:"No."
Irigaku:"Wow, what a fast answer!"
Fuutarou, visibly annoyed, tried to go somewhere else.
Irigaku:"I-I'm sorry, I was joking! I do have a real question."
Fuutarou:"...And that is?"
Irigaku:"Well, I asked this to the youngest sibling, Nakano Itsuki, but I thought getting your side would be beneficial as well since you're their tutor."
Fuutarou was listening more intently now.
Irigaku:"Even with my short time as their teacher, I can see that they're very supportive and clearly love each other. However, I wonder about that in the long run. Once they're adults, will it be truly alright to have so many others sharing their face? Even if they drift apart from each other, will they still feel that same love as before. Do you believe that they'll see them as threats to their individuality and own freedom?"
…
Irigaku:[...Why is there no answer?]
Irigaku turns to see a dumbfounded Fuutarou.
Fuutarou:"Why don't you act like this more often?"
Irigaku:"Just answer the question before she comes back."
Fuutarou:"It doesn't really matter. It goes without saying that they have a great bond, and that being together is what completes them...at least, that's the half of it. But as I've been with them and seen everything they can do. They're far more than just one part to a whole. Each of them has the strength to go past that. Even if they have a moment of doubt, the others won't hesitate to jump in to help them. Not because they feel pity on someone else that wears their face, but for the sister and friend they've been together with. Even now, where it feels like we're all having problems, I find myself surprised at how much they're willing to do to better themselves, and I intend to stick around just a little longer to see them bloom."
Irigaku starts blushing.
Irigaku:"Man, you have a way with words, don't you? I wish I could have been like you."
Fuutarou blushed a little.
Fuutarou:[Man, it's embarrassing talking about them to someone else...hm?]
Fuutarou noticed something outside the classroom, but his thoughts were interrupted by Irigaku.
Fuutarou:[Wonder who that was.]
…
"Yotsuba, there you are!"
Yotsuba:"Sorry, got caught up in something else. Where's Rito-san? I was told to hand him these papers."
"He said he was going to meet up with some friends and left."
Yotsuba:"Ehhh? Now how will I pass these around?"
Yotsuba, Fuutarou and their teacher would continue working for most of the day. Finally Fuutarou and Yotsuba began to walk home.
Fuutarou:"That last part was a mess. Why'd we have to go and print so many flyers?"
Yotsuba:"School protocol, I guess?"
Fuutarou:"Thankfully, it's a Friday. One good night's rest should do the trick."
Yotsuba:"Your terrible stamina's gotten a lot better! Those trips to the gym really did wonders."
Fuutarou:"Yeah, although I haven't gone in a while."
Yotsuba:"Why's that?"
Fuutarou:"Uh...I'm not sure, really, I guess I just haven't got the time."
Yotsuba:"...I see. Well, when you do, make sure to invite Miku. She'll appreciate the company."
Fuutarou:"Yeah…"
Yotsuba:"Let's make this the best festival ever!"
Fuutarou:"Just remember to hold back on the work. It feels like you have to keep track of everything."
Yotsuba:"It's fine, I enjoy doing it!"
Fuutarou:"Is that so? Or maybe you just haven't been given a chance to do anything else?"
Yotsuba:"Ahaha, that's not true…"
…
Yotsuba:[This is awkward...I really shouldn't have listened to that conversation…]
{"Do you believe that they'll see them as threats to their individuality and own freedom?"}
{"I intend to stick around just a little longer to see them bloom."}
Yotsuba:[Saying such things…]
Fuutarou:"See? Now your face is red. You better get home before you get a fever."
Yotsuba:"Ah, it's fine, it's fine…"[You've changed, haven't you? I...]
…
...
Yotsuba:[That trip when I met you was one of the most eye opening times of my life. I had gotten a friend that none of my sisters were a part of. A part of me was not ready for that...not ready for me to have something they didn't and I spilled the beans, which led to Ichika taking you away. At that moment, I realized my mistake...People outside our family simply couldn't tell the difference, they hadn't gotten to know us. People could easily mistake us and cause a rift...I wanted to be free. I wanted to be myself...even if it meant being away from my sisters...I began to wear this ribbon, the first thing I could find laying around. I didn't really care what it was, as long as I could be distinguished from my sisters in some way. Itsuki had the same idea...we really are similar.]
…
{"What's important isn't where you are, but that the five of you are together."}
Yotsuba:[I wish I could have believed your words at the time. But after...you left, that was the first time I began to doubt you, and seeing Itsuki's obsession with keeping your legacy, my fears were only reinforced. I was afraid to be with my sisters...and with time, we all began to drift apart.]
End of Chapter 35
