Ichika:"I made it in time!"

Ichika made it to the auditorium where the sing and dance showcase would take place. In the same way this and the Drama Club's performance was a signal to begin the festival, they would also be used to bookend it. Parents and students came to see one of the final big shows first hand. It looked like the first performance done on the first day was quite popular. The audience loved the effort given out by the five girls on stage, one of which was Yotsuba. Ichika tried getting through the crowd before being pulled to safety. Upon opening her eyes, she saw Fuutarou, Itsuki and Miku.

Ichika:"H-Hey, Fuutarou-kun."

Fuutarou:"I'm glad you made it. Did you fall asleep again?"

Ichika:"Well, I had to...do something."

Fuutarou:"I see."

Miku:"He's trying to act cool, but he was getting all fidgety when you and Itsuki weren't here yet."

Ichika:"Ho? Is that so?"

Fuutarou:"Miku!"

Itsuki:"I certainly overslept."

Fuutarou:"You I can forgive. You needed it."

Miku:"Do you feel better?"

Itsuki:"Yeah. I'm too scared to check my phone but besides that, It's actually kind of refreshing."

Fuutarou:"Honestly, what's that teacher's problem? If she keeps bothering you, I'll have to complain to her directly."

Itsuki:"That's…"

Ichika:"Say, where's Yotsuba and Nino?"

Fuutarou:"Nino's here, just doing something backstage. As for Yotsuba...she's still doing some jobs."

Itsuki:"Eh? But I thought she was taking it easy."

Fuutarou:"Compared to yesterday, no doubt, but it's not like she was really just going to stop working. I already knew what Miku and I did yesterday was only a stopgap."

Ichika:"That girl is really a case."

Fuutarou:"Yeah…" [The only way to end this at this point…]

Fuutarou looks at Itsuki, who notices the stare and becomes more shocked at the fact that Miku followed suit.

Miku:[The only way to help Yotsuba now is…]

Itsuki:[They're staring a hole into me.]

Both Fuutarou and Miku get slapped on the back.

Ichika:"Are you sure you two don't need the rest? You just went off into another world for a second."

Fuutarou:"I'll probably pass out after this is over."

Miku:"Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

Fuutarou:"Kinda wish I had a nice bed to sleep on."

Ichika:"Like when you slept in Miku's?"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, that one was great."

Miku:"E-E-Eh!?"

Miku blushed hard.

Fuutarou:"It was really soft. Got some good sleep." [I just said something really embarrassing, didn't I?]

Fuutarou looked away from the quints in hopes of hiding his face.

Itsuki:[Is Uesugi-kun doing this on purpose now?]

Ichika:"..." [I'm still so awkward around him. What are you planning on doing, Fuutarou-kun?]

...

"Oh, it's about to start!"

Fuutarou:"Looks like they're ready."

Miku:"Sure, I guess."

Fuutarou:"A-Are you mad?"

Miku:"Why would I be?"

Miku pouted away.

Fuutarou:"Eh? It's not like-Oh, watch out."

Fuutarou grabbed Miku's hand as a new crowd of people passed by.

Miku:"Oh, thank you."

Miku looked down at her hand grabbing Fuutarou's before taking it away.

Miku:[So warm…]

Fuutarou:[She wasn't actually mad...She's…]

Ichika:"These two…" [I'm glad they're getting by without me.]

With that, the lights went out. The curtain opened accompanied by the roarious audience, ready to see the show. As the five shadows slowly came up, Ichika noticed a familiar silhouette. Before she could say the name of the person, the lights erupted into a rave of colorful lights, dancing alongside the girls, one of which was Nino, taking center stage.

"It's her!"

"Get ready for another great performance!"

Due to Nino not having her ribbons on, the audience couldn't tell the difference between her and Yotsuba, who had done the part 2 days prior. The girls danced their hearts out, captivating the audience.

Fuutarou:"She's doing a great job considering what limited time she had."

Miku:"Nino's always been great at trying new things."

Itsuki:"Hm? What are you doing, Uesugi-kun?"

Itsuki noticed Fuutarou taking out his phone.

Itsuki:"How rude! You're supposed to pay attention!"

Fuutarou:"I am paying attention."

Itsuki:"I don't see how pulling out your phone counts as that."

Miku:"And here I thought Fuutarou was more caring."

Fuutarou:"Miku, you know what I'm doing. I'm taking a video of this."

Itsuki:"Uesugi-kun loves idols?"

Fuutarou:"No. I'm going to send it to your father."

Itsuki:"Really?"

Fuutarou:"That guy is cutting it close, but I'll still send him this. Make him see how much effort his daughter is putting in."

On the side, Ichika was confused.

Ichika:"I didn't think Nino was the type to do this. Why is she-"

At that moment, the music began to shift slowly. Ichika knew the melody. It was the full version of the song Ichika sang during her commercial.

Ichika:"This is…!"

Fuutarou:"You've sung this before, haven't you? I hear it was your first singing venture but it still managed to top charts. We could tell, you singing that song is some of the happiest we'd ever seen you, even after what happened."

Ichika:"H-Huh?"

Ichika began to blush, she wanted to move away but the crowd kept her right in front of Fuutarou.

Itsuki:[Did Uesugi-kun choose this spot knowing Ichika would be trapped?]

Fuutarou:"I was kind of scared of what would happen when Nino mentioned to the group that she wanted to do this song. But everyone up there is a fan of you, so they picked up on it real quick. Nino has a strong sense of leadership. She said she needed to do this, no matter what. All for her big sister."

Ichika:"..."

Ichika turned to Nino, who had been trying her hardest to replicate the song. Ichika remembered how much fun she had doing that, letting her thoughts escape her guilt. Whenever she acted, she would constantly see Miku, who had felt betrayed. Nino, who was beyond angry at what happened. And Fuutarou, who left her in the rain, disappointment portrayed in his face. But when she sang, there was a newfound passion.

…

{Producer Oda:"You sure looked happy during that, Ichika-chan!"}

{Ichika:"Really?"}

{Producer Oda:[So you're not aware of it...If I can't get through to you, then maybe someone else can…]}

...

{Fuutarou:"I'm here to see Ichika."}

…

{Ichika:"I'm going to go to the festival…"}

…

{Producer Oda:[Someone else can help her see...]}

…

Ichika couldn't stop her tears as she saw Nino. Miku and Fuutarou smile at the sight.

Itsuki:"Ichika…"

As the song was reaching its conclusion, Nino gave one last push. Right before the final chorus, she began to speak.

Nino:"This is to everyone that's having trouble finding their dreams!"

"Eh, she's going off script?"

"Was this part of the song?"

Nino:"I've been scared most of my life about going after my dream! I've been told to give up on it, so simply go with what I was good at! I was ready to push my feelings down. I was ready to give up, at least content that I could have my sisters be proud of my cooking...But then, one of my sisters decided to start cooking. And it was horrible, those evil concoctions could be used as weapons of war!"

The crowd laughed a little. This caused Miku to force a pout through her blush.

Miku:"N-Nino…"

Nino:"She was horrible, everything she made was horrible...Normally, she would have just given up...but she was given a small ray of hope."

…

{Fuutarou:"Yeah. They're both pretty good."}

…

Nino:"Even though it was someone with no knowledge of food, even though it was clearly a wrong statement from some idiot that didn't pick the correct girl!"

Fuutarou:"That idiot…"

Ichika:[He didn't pick…?]

Nino:"She still took that to heart and continued her hardest. Even after hundreds of failed attempts, she didn't let that drag her down! Even with all of her obstacles in her life, she pushed forward...Eventually, her cooking rivaled mine, with far more passion and love into every bite!"

Fuutarou:[Passion and love…]

Nino:"She was even mature enough to decide her own future...I became jealous of her. I thought she was going to leave me in the dust...But I refused to lose! I'm not letting my little sister outdo me!...She became my ray of hope…"

Miku couldn't hold back her tears. Ichika almost couldn't see as her own tears flowed out. But she knew she had to give Nino her undivided attention.

Nino:"Yesterday, I made one of the boldest moves in my life, something that, even though I had a brave face on, I was scared to hell! But let me tell you, I feel damn good right now!"

Fuutarou looked down.

Ichika:[So that happened...Nino's grown even more, huh?]

Nino:"But because of that, I realized what an idiot I'd been, ignoring the grief my other sisters were going through...But no more. I know who's listening to this! So listen up, you jerk! I'm going to become a doctor and you can't tell me otherwise!"

With that scream, Fuutarou smiled.

Fuutarou:"That girl, she really went and did it."

Ichika:"Never thought I'd hear her say that…"

…

{Nino:"When I grow up, I want to open a restaurant. But, I also want to be a doctor! What about you, Ichika?"}

{Ichika:"I really like acting. I'm so good at it."}

{Nino:"Your voice is really pretty! Are you going to be a singer too?"}

{Ichika:"Ahaha, that's my other dream, but I don't know if I'm good enough for both…"}

…

Nino:"One more thing! From my younger sister to me, to my older sister! I have just one thing to say."

Nino tilted back as much as she could and screamed right into the microphone.

Nino:"FOLLOW YOUR DAMN DREAMS!"

Almost as if a wave hit her, Ichika stepped back. She began to tense up, she couldn't quite explain it, but deep inside, the feeling had reached to the very depths of her heart. With this, the concert was over and everyone cheered the girls on.

Fuutarou:"Hm? What's that noise?"

Fuutarou turned to see a waterfall coming out of Itsuki's eyes.

Itsuki:"I'm so prooooooud!"

Fuutarou:"You're gonna flood the room if you keep that up."

Itsuki:"S-Sorry, I just couldn't help it...If only Yotsuba was here…"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, she missed out on a great speech."

Fuutarou stopped recording and began to send the video to Maruo.

Itsuki:"...Say, Uesugi-kun. Could you send me that video as well?"

Fuutarou:"Sure."

Miku went over to Ichika.

Miku:"Ichika, Nino was really cool today, huh?"

Ichika:"Miku...I think I'm starting to get where you were coming from."

Miku:"Don't sell yourself short, you always knew."

Ichika:"..."

Miku:"Even if you feel down, we'll do everything we can to support you. Because we love you, big sister."

Ichika's heart jumped a bit.

Ichika:"D-Don't go pulling that now…"

On the stage, Nino was recollecting herself.

"You really went all out, Nino-chan."

Nino:"Thanks. Sorry I crashed your last performance. The advisor is gonna be mad at us."

"It's fine! You did it for a great cause."

Nino:"..."

Nino looked towards the group of four that had been watching her performance.

Nino:"That guy really has no taste. Well, can't hurt to give that idiot a little more."

Nino then prepared a cutesy voice and spoke into the mic once again.

Nino:"I love you, Uesugi Fuutarou!"

Fuutarou:"Huh!?"

Almost every student in that auditorium then turned to Fuutarou, causing his face to blush intensely.

Fuutarou:"Y-You idiot!"

Nino simply looked at him with an overly smug smile.

Itsuki:"I guess it's a good thing you didn't record that part, haha."

Miku:"Pupu, Fuutarou looks great when embarrassed. He should be like that more often."

Fuutarou just tried to cover his face from all the students. With that, Ichika came up close and whispered in his ear as she hid both her and Fuutarou's faces under her hat.

Ichika:"Can you meet me outside?"

Fuutarou:"Huh? Sure."

Ichika then did her best to make her way through the crowd.

Fuutarou:[I guess it's time to face her as well.]

Suddenly, Miku tapped his shoulder.

Miku:"Fuutarou, you do know people are still staring."

Fuutarou:"Huh!?"

"Another girl came up to him."

"Did she kiss him under the hat?"

"Are they fighting for him?"

"What a playboy."

Ichika turned around and stuck her tongue out to Fuutarou.

Fuutarou:"W-Why you…!"

Itsuki:"What a combo."

End of Chapter 86