ARC 1 - "TO EACH, THEIR WAR"
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RED STRING OF GUILT
"No, this is wrong, Yotsuba! Try it again! This time, move the X to the right side and ... "
"Itsuki, please ... Can we stop this for a while? I'm tired of continuing to study and- "
"You can't! These activities have to be returned tomorrow. If you don't keep doing them, you won't be able to deliver them in a timely manner. Come on, after that, you only have four more to deal with. "
"Only four more, " she said. In her chair, Yotsuba did her utmost best with the little energy she had, putting every ounce of strength, will and motivation into solving the math problems that continued to plague her life.
She hadn't made any progress since that meeting that should never have happened with that guy from class 2-C. Even after a week, the quintuplet with a green ribbon in her hair would never forgive herself for letting those words escape.
As much as they were true, it did not concern anyone but herself and those who naturally surround her.
She bit the end of her pencil, that already was a little worn out from suffering from this gesture. With her free hand, she stroked her head somewhat aggressively.
Itsuki unfortunately did not have the talent to teach. Even if she had been able to learn and keep learning through his method, it did not change the fact that her impulses always spoke a little too loud, as well as the newest obsession she acquired.
Yotsuba looked at Itsuki. Sitting in her place at the dining table in the house, she tried, in an always very confusing way, to force the studied contents into her sister's head, which almost never generated positive results.
Yotsuba's grades have dropped considerably in the past few months. In fact, this reality was seen in the school reports of all of them. Without him around, learning anything had become literally impossible.
Itsuki was still trying ... In a rather pathological way. She followed his teachingsand tipsabout studying nonstop and always remembering the maximum possible amount of content. Itsuki was the only one of the five who really had the potential to pass the year.
But, by choice, she decided to stay behind. The most studious of the quintuplets was given a mission to continue what he started, and get the whole family to move on.
Regardless of the circumstances, rain or shine, she is always there, creating more and more lists of exercises, putting pressure on others in all possible ways to continue their student lives.
In the rare moments when Ichika appears at home, quickly a pile of sheets with calculations to be made and questions to be answered appear in front of her, not giving the oldest much chance to rest.
And if that weren't enough, every day she slides some sheets into Miku's room, just adding to the mess that was being done there ...
It was as if Itsuki had taken on an unhealthy and compulsory responsibility to get them to study and move on to the next year. After a few weeks, after that day, the whole house saw her behavior of mourning and suffering, gradually becoming this strange obsession for teaching and learning.
It was as if she sought to immortalize Uesugi Fuutarou's work, continuing it as she could.
Yotsuba has always been minimally cooperative, even if she didn't like Itsuki's method as a tutor. The truth is that she only submitted to prolonged study sessions, which sometimes reached dawn, just because the girl enjoyed the company of her younger twin sister.
This was the main moment when she and Itsuki could interact in some way. Other than that, they could only meet at lunchtime, which represented insufficient time.
She appreciated her sister's effort and concern, but there was no denying that Itsuki was destroying herself ...
The quintuplets, previously literally indistinguishable from one another, now saw in Itsuki some notable differences. In the first instance, sleeping late and working so hard made her lose a considerable amount of weight and the habit of eating in large quantities that was so present, had literally literally died.
Second, the dark circles and expression marks given to her by this process. In combination, these factors made her somewhat more different, allowing her not to be able to imitate her sisters with such precision.
People started to recognize Itsuki for who she is, a dedicated, hard-working student, even if in a way that is harmful to the extreme.
Although her grades were still not perfect, the girl's exponential academic evolution was and is the target of enormous prestige by teachers and members of the school's administrative staff. Itsuki Nakano became the representative of Class 2-E, in addition to coordinating a study project, which uses the method created by Uesugi Fuutarou to improve learning.
"Mutual-Specific Teaching" - was the way she called it. Using the idea proposed by him to make a student experienced in a certain subject help another who is not - and vice versa, she managed to achieve good results with the students of her project, which she pursued since the beginning of all this great change.
A good student in Mathematics teaches another who is bad, but who, in turn, is great in Social Studies, so the favor is exchanged. This is how the system coined by him and put into practice by Itsuki Nakano - the most brilliant of the Nakano Quintuplets - [1] works.
... But, without a doubt, this way of behaving and teaching was not suitable for everyone.
"Yotsuba. Tell Itsuki that dinner is ready. "
"Yotsuba, tell Nino that she has two overdue activities and that she shouldn't waste time to start doing them."
It was Nino, who had just arrived at the dinner table. Without much ceremony, she placed some pots and bowls with things that really looked appetizing ... French-style omelet, combined with a saffron-dyed risotto.
It was undeniable. The second sister's cooking was unparalleled.
... What really bothered about that whole scene, though, was the fact that the two, Nino and Itsuki, were less than two meters apart, and still used Yotsuba as a means of communication, as if they were really far away.
Neither looked at the other's face ... Itsuki's invasive method, associated with the severe change in Nino's personality, only contributed to the installation of a terrible atmosphere between the two.
Itsuki tried to force her to study, but Nino was not cooperative and preferred to do everything on her own. In the beginning, this generated many heated discussions ... That poor Yotsuba had to mediate, in the absence of Ichika. As much as it is wrong to say, she had taken the place of "head of the family" in the absence of the eldest.
... The point is that, unfortunately, it did not usually work, and sometimes the very existence of Yotsuba was used as a tool to ignite the confusion ...
And the situation has evolved to the visible point. Neither communicated directly with the other, always using Yotsuba as the portal to say anything, as a kind of correspondent.
Even so, they listened to each other very well, and not refering directly in dialogue did not stop the two from continuing to fight.
"Yotsuba, tell Itsuki that she doesn't have to worry about me. I can study very well on my own. " Said Nino, placing plates and cutlery on the table.
"Uhm ..." Yostuba was clearly uncomfortable, but the discussion was still far from stopping ...
"Yotsuba." Said Itsuki, closing a book. "Tell Nino that this is not what you see in her grades."
"You two ...!" Yotsuba tried to get their attention without success.
"Yotsuba, tell Itsuki that my grades are my problem, and that I don't need her help."
"Yotsuba, tell Nino that she will not get anywhere with this objectionable attitude of refusing to study in the right way."
In the middle of the indirect fire, Yotsuba found herself acting as a kind of pivot. She couldn't do much more than look from side to side and see as the arguing just heated up.
"Tell Itsuki that I don't care about any teaching strategy she has, and that she should stop being so convinced of herself."
"Yotsuba, tell Nino that she should stop being so rebellious and recognize that studying more is a better strategy."
"Yotsuba, tell-"
... ... ...
The creak of Yotsuba's chair ran across the space, followed by the great impact caused by the collision of her closed fist against the wood of the table. She couldn't bear to live in that situation anymore...
It was the same thing that had happened on that occasion more than a year ago ... The same two sisters, fighting in a very similar way. At that time, each went to a different place, trying to live life according to their own terms.
But, now it was different ...
In the first place, this new cold war was like a test of endurance. Each sought to see how long the other could endure to continue in that space. One wanted to make the other give up, get out of there.
And secondly ... He was no longer there to solve all of this, unlike the last time.
... And, she was already tired of living like that...
Expressing all of anger without even having to say a single word, Yotsuba got up from the chair, grabbed her materials and homework, and left with immense speed, in heavy steps.
She couldn't stand living like that anymore ... Seeing her sisters fighting, so disunited ... That was something the girl never imagined seeing in her entire life.
In the mind of Nakano number 4, the five would always be together, in a circle holding hands, five identical girls in white dresses ... And in the center of that circle, a certain boy with blond hair appeared, to join the first and the last hands, a red string tying them all together.
That should be the plan ... But the reality is really disappointing, isn't it?
That link was removed from them, and so, the circle shattered and broke, spreading into several pieces that could no longer hold on to each other or connect as before.
As hard as she tried, she hadn't been able to tie any of those knots ...
"Yotsuba ...!" Nino tried to call for her.
"Yotsuba, I ...!" The same was repeated with Itsuki, who was unsuccessful in preventing her sister from leaving the table, walking heavily towards her room, holding her head with both hands while looking at the floor.
A light, shiny, nearly invisible droplet trail now marked the way to her room, which, with the door closed and locked, left the other two outside.
They faced each other ... But the rules of that war did not allow them to exchange a single word. Moving away, each one to her place in the house, the sisters separated paths once again.
/
A few minutes later - Yotsuba's room
The tears wouldn't cease. The sobs did not stop. Those thoughts did not escape her head ... The way she let herself explode like that on the dinner table ... It is something that Nakano Yotsuba should not have done.
Maybe if she had tried it differently? Approach the two with a smile and mediate the discussion as Ichika would? Or maybe to say in a cold and direct way everything that was wrong with that situation and the reason why it couldn't continue like this, like Miku?
But that ...? She could have done anything but displayed her deepest feelings in such an open way.
She wanted to help, and not make things worse than they already were ... Right now, the two of them must be trying to blame each other for that behavior on her part, even if only mentally ...
Her feelings didn't matter. What really mattered was seeing the others happy. They shouldn't be worried about her. Never.
... Damn Yotsuba... Attracting attention to herself when she should be trying to repair the bonds of that broken family with all her energy.
She had to do her best, and for that, she needed to be well, smiling and with a lot of brightness.
She could help Nino in the kitchen ... Or study with Itsuki ... Massage Ichika's back or lend Miku clean clothes...
But she should not allow herself to be the center of attention. Never.
She didn't need any help. The others did, but not her.
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... Right?
... ... ...
"Yotsuba? ... Can I come in? "
A characteristic voice spoke from your door. The girl quickly drowned her sobs in the deepest pits of her consciousness, hastily wiping tears and nasal mucus from her cheeks. She had to look minimally presentable.
Other than that... The mirror, of course. She looked at her own reflection, training a perfect smile. For what took about five seconds, she experienced a huge myriad of wide and beautiful smiles, until finding one that would fit the situation perfectly.
"It will be this one." She thought, analyzing the smile she molded with her index fingers.
She had acquired experience with that, after all, Nakano Yotsuba should always be smiling.
A comforting smile that would take away any worries.
If someone had to suffer, that person would not be Ichika, Nino, Miku or Itsuki. Only Yotsuba had to feel any pain.
And she couldn't cause her sisters any more pain by letting them see her with a face that isn't the most perfect smile.
... ... ...
"What is it, Nino? Needing anything? "
Yotsuba opened the door, showing her usual radiant features. A little surprised by that huge change in mood, Nino had to take herself to say.
"Uhm ... Listen, Yotsuba ... About earlier-"
"You don't need to apologize for anything, Nino! I'm fine! " She showed her teeth in a way that denoted happiness.
The true meaning of that smile was Don't worry about me, don't worry about me, don't worry about me, don't worry-
"But Yotsuba, the way you ran ... It made me concerned ..." Nino insisted on apologizing.
"Oh, about that ...! I had a tummy ache - that was all! I'm fine now, as it was a one time thing. You don't have to worry. "
To assure her sister, Yotsuba changed the smile to something more "forgiving" and touched Nino's right shoulder with an outstretched arm.
"But ... Where are your ribbons, Nino? It's rare to see you without them. " Desperately trying to change the subject, Yotsuba shifted the focus from the conversation to Nino's hair, who was missing her butterfly ribbons.
Realizing that, Nino touched the sides of her head, being shaken by the reality that she was without her determining characteristic.
"Oh. Where are my ribbons?! " She concluded, feeling her hair completely down. "I must have left them somewhere ... I will look for them."
Turning around, Nino started to make her way to the bedroom, in search of the hair ornaments, but before doing that ...
"Yotsuba, if you're really feeling better, dinner is on the table and it's getting cold! Or do you want me to order something at a pharmacy for you? " Nino, retaking a little of her kind attitude, asked.
Yotsuba is the only person that Nino did not treat with intense bitterness, and in fact, she even enjoyed being with her younger sister. The girl with the green ribbon was the only person who seemed to minimally understand her pain in such a difficult time.
"Do not worry! I'm fine already, Nino! I'm going down to dinner soon! " Yotsuba confirmed, nodding a little.
"All right, so go eat it soon, will you?" Nino opened her door.
"Yeah! I'm looking forward for your cooking!"
Quickly, Yotsuba disappeared into the room. Everything is fine. It was okay. Nino hadn't seen the way her perfect smile trembled a little when she turned around. Everything was fine now.
In the closed, slightly disorganized space, with exercise papers, a backpack and a few other things scattered about, she saw how she allowed herself to become sloppy with cleaning.
But...
"Don't ever let that happen again, Yotsuba." She looked at her reflection, with a now neutral expression.
Dinner time was coming. It was time to practice another, better smile.
AUTHOR NOTES
Arc 1 - "To Each, Their War"... This is where the story really starts. Arc 0 just introduced the OCs, now we are going to see them do their thing, and how their lives will intertwine with the quintuplets.
Chapters will be quite shorter - as so many words are not really necessary - the idea is conveying the situation.
This is Arc is going to feature a "big bad" - try to guess who it is!