"Well, there you have it. I'm gonna become a model."

"A model? Now naturally that explains why this guy is taking pictures of you but why can't you do that at another time?"

"This is the perfect opportunity. The festival site and the fireworks can be used perfectly as a background and this fancy kimono really looks good on me, don't you think?"

"Well, that may be true but when I first saw you, the two of you were going off to grab some Botchan Dango. That seems kinda off..."

"Oh, we just took pictures of me eating those. Show him, Oda-san." The man takes out his camera and shows Fuutarou the pictures he took of Ichika. Between the pictures of her walking around the festival with a big smile on her face and some of her showing off her kimono was one picture of her eating sweets. She seemed to enjoy it.

"Well, it was nice talking to you but I think Ichika and I should probably start working again. After all, we don't have much time left before the fireworks start." Oda explains as he turns around and walks in the direction they were heading beforehand.

"Now go and spend some time with Itsuki, alright?" Ichika says as she turns around to follow Oda, a solemn expression forming on her face as she does so. Realizing that she was about to leave to continue with her job, Fuutarou quickly jumped up in order to grab her by the sleeve.

"Is this really what you wanna do right now? Don't you wanna spend time with your sisters, with your family?" Ichika turns around again, and that flicker of sadness from earlier was replaced with a wide smile on her face. To others, it might have seemed beautiful, genuine. But the moment Fuutarou saw this smile, he could immediately tell that it was fake. Plastic.

"I would love to be with my sisters right now but this photo shooting is also pretty important to me."

"What's more important to you? Your modeling career or your family?" The forced smile on Ichika slowly fades away and morphs into an annoyed expression.

"Why do you even care? You are only our tutor. Just make sure that we pass our exams and everything will be alright." Ichika turns around once more, shrugging off his hand and venturing off into the distance with Oda, leaving the disappointed teenager behind.

Fuutarou clenches his hands, gritting his teeth as he does so, and looks in the direction of their retreating backs. With fast and aggressive steps, he walks towards Ichika. He grabs her by the shoulder and spins her around, pinning her with a stare.

"Do you even know how Itsuki feels? She has told me everything about how important those fireworks are to the five of you. Right now her biggest wish is to be able to watch the fireworks with all her sisters. She wants to share this moment with every single one of you. But if you think your modeling job is more important, then that would be impossible.

But do you know what's the worst thing? Only the thought of this happening brought her to tears. I don't wanna know how sad she will be once this thought becomes reality. I don't want to even think about it.

So if you would really care about Itsuki...no, if you do really care about your family, then you would come back with me and watch the fireworks with them."

Ichika's cheeks turn red as she slowly lowers her head to the ground, not saying a single word. A couple beats of silence pass before her employer notices that his model has yet to catch up, and marches back to check out the situation. Oda grabs Fuutarou's arm and removes it from Ichika's shoulder. The two males trade angry glares, but while Oda's is one of disdain, Fuutarou's is one of mild irritation. Considering he was just a teenager staring down an adult, it was an interesting sight to behold.

"I think you should go now."

Despite the man's tight grip and his own weak constitution, Fuutarou somehow manages to wrench his arm from Oda's grasp in a single try. "I see how this is gonna go..." he whispers as he begins to walk away from them. He would feel bad about the way Ichika flinched from the barely concealed contempt in his voice, but all he could think about was how he would have to watch Itsuki cry once more. "At least apologize to them..."

Fuutarou leaves the scene, leaving the depressed-looking Ichika and the annoyed Oda behind.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"No, I don't think so. Not anymore..." She raises her head slightly, only to immediately lower her gaze upon catching a glimpse of Fuutarou leaving without a sound. A series of emotions cycle across her face, which Oda manages to catch a glimpse of. Perhaps sensing her internal dilemma, he sighs, stopping in his attempt to burn holes into Fuutarou's back. He runs a hand through his hair.

"Listen up, I have an idea."

"What idea?"

10 Minutes remain before the fireworks start.

Fuutarou slowly walks back to the old man's store, where he promised Itsuki to bring back her sister. But now, he would come to her empty-handed. What would he say to her? He had no time to think about that because as soon as he arrived a few minutes later, Itsuki was already running towards him with a sad expression on her face. She definitely noticed that he had come back alone. Fuutarou winces even as she approaches, not sure what to say.

"So you...didn't find her?" She asks with a sad voice as she slowly lowers her head to the ground. He grimaces at her despondent voice but considering she already knows what her sister is up to, he decides to tell her the truth.

"I'm sorry, Itsuki. I found her but I couldn't get her to come back with me. She wants to focus on her modeling career. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep my promise." Fuutarou bows deeply in front of the red-haired Nakano which brings her to raise her head in reaction to his gesture of apology.

"It's not your fault. If she really wants to focus on her job, probably no one could have brought her back...still, it's pretty sad. We won't be able to watch the fireworks with her after all." The devastated expression on her face didn't vanish upon his admission, but he just felt worse about his own lack of ability when it darkened even further. Fuutarou didn't know what to do so he carefully rested his hand on her shoulder and sighed, wishing that he knew what to do.

"Let's go to the other three. They are probably waiting for us."

"Dear Visitors, the fireworks show will begin in two minutes."

The two of them walk up the stairs to the rooftop where Yotsuba, Miku, and Nino were still waiting for them.

"Ah, Uesugi-san. You are back!" Yotsuba exclaims with a wide smile on her face which leads to the other two sisters looking in the direction of the stairs as well.

Nino turns away quickly as she crosses her arms. She didn't look very happy about Fuutarou coming back alone. "Just like I thought, you couldn't find her!"

Miku turns back to her original position after some silent staring and leans over the railing of the rooftop, looking into the distance. "So we will have to watch the fireworks without Ichika, huh?"

Fuutarou shakes his head as he walks towards the girls with Itsuki on his right. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to bring her back."

The expressions on all of the girls' faces quickly changed. Nino and Miku seemed very sad, just like how Itsuki had looked when he had encountered her after returning, while Yotsuba looked more worried than depressed. Nevertheless, the mood wasn't very festive anymore.

When the orange-haired Nakano finally notices the tense atmosphere, she quickly puts up a bright smile and laughs. "Now, let's not think about it. Let's just enjoy the fireworks for now, alright?"

"Dear Visitors, the fireworks show will begin shortly."

"Yeah, let's not think about it." Nino sighs as she stands up and walks up to Miku who was still leaning over the railing. Yotsuba and Itsuki quickly gather around the other two and begin to look into the sky, where the fireworks would soon start. Fuutarou was still standing near the stairs, not knowing how to act in this situation. He wasn't a part of their family, even if it was missing one person. And it would be plain rude to insert himself into a space meant for another. Rather than do anything to further ruin the mood, he simply leaned back against the wall of the stairwell, gazing at the sky full of stars.

Eventually, the loud festival quickly became quiet. Not a single person could be heard as all the visitors currently wandering around anticipated the start of the fireworks.

Out of the blue, Fuutarou hears steps coming from the stairs next to him. He turned his head to the side in surprise, watching a pink-haired girl wearing a kimono made up of countless triangles of blue, yellow, or orange rush past him and towards the four sisters currently resting against the railing. He blinked, calling out despite her ignoring his presence.

"Ichika?"

The four sisters quickly turned around after hearing the name of the missing quintuplet. They look at their oldest sister, who had a nervous smile on her face. "Sorry, I'm late."

Behind the sisters, the fireworks rockets begin to shoot into the air. They explode into many colorful stars spreading across the night sky. Ichika quickly closes the remaining distance between her and her sisters, pointing into the sky. "Look there, the fireworks!"

The other four quickly turn around and look upwards to gaze at the bright flashes of light. The sadness on their faces had quickly dissipated, now replaced by happiness and enthusiasm over the beautiful fireworks that they could all watch together as a family.

"Wow..." Miku mumbles as she tilts her head to the side, admiring the vast diversity of colors she could see in the now illuminated sky.

"I could watch these for hours..." Nino murmurs as her thoughts slowly drift off, remembering how they used to watch displays like this with their mother.

"It's so beautiful..." Yotsuba exclaims happily, reaching into the distance with her hand as if she could catch one of those fireworks if she tried to.

Ichika and Itsuki turn their heads to each other simultaneously, leading to both of them blushing at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Itsuki. I did so many things wrong these past few days, I don't know how I can make up for them." Ichika whispers to her little sister quietly, so only the two of them could hear the words being spoken.

"In the end, I forced you to invite Fuutarou and attempt to get closer to him even though I knew you only think of him as a friend. I should have just listened to you and not made you do this.

And I'm sorry that I left the four of you to focus on my career even though I knew how important watching the fireworks is to us. I was egoistic, foolish, and didn't think about how all of you would feel about it."

A single small tear flew down Ichika's face as she was apologizing to her sister with all of her heart. A cute smile forms on Itsuki's face as she listens to the heartfelt words of apology, knowing their sincerity. She slowly moves closer to her sister and wraps her arms around her.

"You don't have to apologize. I knew you were only trying your best to be a good big sister while fulfilling your dream at the same time." The youngest Nakano whispers into Ichika's ear. Ichika returns the hug and wipes the tear lingering at the corner of her eye. "I'm so happy you were able to join us, after all."

"Thank you...Itsuki-chan..." The two of them release each other from their hug and return to the fireworks traveling across the sky.

After countless fireworks finished exploding into bright colorful stars, after what seemed like countless hours to Fuutarou, the fireworks show finally ended.

"Aww, why did it have to end this early?" Yotsuba mumbles as she turns to face her other sisters.

"It's always so much fun watching the fireworks. I can't wait for next year." Nino exclaims happily as she walks towards a mini-fridge that was situated near a small table with some chairs. "Does anybody wanna drink something? The owner was so kind and brought us some drinks!"

"I'll take a Matcha Soda," Miku answers as she walks towards the second oldest sister. "I really don't get why you drink this stuff. You are lucky that the owner even has some of these for some reason." Nino opens the fridge and takes out a Matcha Soda, handing it to her sister even as she complained halfheartedly.

Itsuki and Ichika were still standing near the railing, looking into the sky quietly. Both of their faces showed how happy they were but Ichika's was tinged with a hint of nervousness.

"What's the matter, Ichika?" Itsuki asks her sister, immediately causing her to be snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"I asked if everything is alright with you."

"Oh yeah…everything is fine, I am just a little bit nervous." Ichika stretches out her arms as she suddenly turns around to the face other three quintuplets that were standing near the fridge.

"Nervous? Why's that?" Itsuki turns around to look at her sister walking towards the others.

"Girls, listen up. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Yotsuba asks as she opens up a can of ice tea for Nino.

"The reason I was so hard to find is that I had a photoshoot session. I'm gonna be a model." Ichika smiles at her sisters and sheepishly rubs the back of her head as the three sisters turn to stare at her, mouths gaping with surprise.

"You are going to be a model? That's impossible!" Nino yells while trying to comprehend what she had just heard.

"Oh my god, Ichika! I'm so happy for you! That was always your dream and now it can finally come true!" Yotsuba exclaims happily whilst jumping towards her sister and giving her a big hug.

"A photoshoot during a festival? You have a lot of explaining to do." Miku smiles at her sister while walking towards her with her opened Matcha Soda in her hands.

"Now, calm down…"

Fuutarou looks at the situation with a satisfied smile on his face. He didn't know how but in the end, he had kept his promise. Everything had somehow managed to work out. But even if the quintuplets had been reunited in time, he didn't belong here with them. And since it was already pretty late, it probably was time for him to go home anyways. He grinned at their happiness, turning to leave before he was noticed.

As soon as he began to walk down the stairs, his sleeve was grabbed by the youngest of the five sisters. "Don't you wanna stay a little bit longer?"

"I would like to stay but I think I would only be in the way."

"Don't say something like that. Maybe Nino and Miku haven't accepted you yet and would rather not have you around now but I don't care about that. You are my guest, I am responsible for showing you a good time. And if you don't have fun, then I can't accept that." Itsuki says with a determined look on her face. Fuutarou could only laugh at her misplaced determination, appreciating it nonetheless.

"Are you kidding me? I had fun today."

"Huh?"

"It may have been stressful to search all of you and it also was quite uncomfortable being alone with Nino and Miku but in the end, I had fun. I had fun spending time with you, Ichika, Yotsuba, and maybe even the other two. So yeah, I had a good time today." Itsuki chuckles and lets go of his sleeve.

"I'm grateful to hear that. I also had a lot of fun today, Uesugi-kun." Itsuki explains happily while she slightly tilts her head to the side.

Suddenly, Ichika walks up to the two of them with a bright smile on her face. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, nothing special."

"Ichika, I'm still a bit confused. Shouldn't you be taking photos with this Oda-guy somewhere?" Fuutarou asks while remembering the sudden appearance of the oldest sister although she didn't want to come with him.

"Oh, yeah. The reason I am here is because of Oda-san."

"Listen up, I have an idea."

"What idea?"

"It seems like there is a bit of a crisis going on between you and your sisters right now and I don't want that to escalate. If you want to, you can leave and spend the rest of the festival with your family."

"But what about the rest of the photoshoot? We wanted to take some pictures with the fireworks in the background!"

"Well, now that I stopped to consider it, wouldn't the fireworks just take the focus off of you? That's not our goal here. Also, we have taken a lot of good pictures today. We still have to create some with you in other outfits on another day of course. If you want, we can leave it like that. Everything will be alright and you can spend time with your family."

"And after that, I chased after you, following the direction you had been coming from. And when I finally found you, I just followed you to this store." Ichika explains with a smile on her face.

"I see, that explains a lot."

"Also, Fuutarou-kun…" Ichika whispers which leads to him looking in her direction. She abruptly leans forward, stretching on the tip of her toes to press a gentle kiss to his left cheek.

"What was that for?" Fuutarou asks as he touches his cheek with his hand, already beginning to blush.

"For opening my eyes!" Ichika exclaims happily as she turns to her younger sister, who was currently looking at her like she had done something outrageous…which she just did. "Ichika!"

Ichika chuckles and turns around to go back to her other sisters again. Itsuki turns to Fuutarou, then to Ichika, and then back to Fuutarou, still unable to comprehend what just happened. Her cheeks turn bright pink as she looks at the spot which her sister had just kissed earlier.

"Is everything alright, Itsuki?" Fuutarou asks once he realized the coloring of her face. Itsuki nods and smiles at him.

"I'm fine, thank you. Now, don't you wanna stay a little bit long-" Itsuki was suddenly interrupted by Nino who walked to the stairs with the other three sisters. "Let's go home, Itsuki."

Itsuki turns around to her sister with a confused look. "What? Already? Don't you wanna stay a little bit longer?"

"I rented this rooftop only to watch the fireworks. The owner will get angry at us when we stay too long. I don't want him to yell at us, so I called Ebata-san to pick us up." Nino explains as she walks down with Ichika, Miku, and Yotsuba behind her.

Itsuki and Fuutarou look at each other, sharing a smile, and follow the other four down.

Finally together as a group of six again, they walk away from the festival site to a nearby road where their butler would come pick them up. Once they arrived, the black car from a few hours ago was already standing there, ready to drive the Nakano's home.

Nino, as the first of the sisters, opens the passengers' door and jumps into the car as she greets Ebata-san.

Ichika follows her but before going in, she winks into Fuutarou's direction with a big grin on her face. "Bye Bye, Fuutarou-kun."

The next one was Yotsuba who quickly turns to her tutor. "I had lots of fun today, Uesugi-san. I can't wait for your next tutoring session." As fast as she had appeared in front of his eyes, she had already disappeared into the car.

Itsuki, who was still standing right next to Fuutarou, looks up to him as she walks towards the car. "Thank you for everything you have done today. I can't wait for our next festival together."

Fuutarou thought it would be over with the farewells of the sisters but out of a sudden, Miku appears from behind him and whispers "Thank you…for bringing back all of them…"

"…What..?" Fuutarou couldn't get an answer as the last sister had already hopped into the car that then proceeded to drive away from the young student, leaving him to blink in confusion. "Did she just…thank me?"

He was very confused about Miku thanking him out of nowhere but for now, he needed to go home or else, Raiha was going to worry about him. So rather than thinking about it any longer, he just walked home.

"What a long day..."

Author's Note:
And with this chapter, the first arc officially ends! Did you like it? I hope so because I put very a good amount of work into it. But I can tell you that: The next arc will be even bigger!

Also, if you want, you can join this discord where I and some other QQ-Writers often talk with each other: discord. gg / 2wNakxvfbw

Lastly, I wish you guys a good day and see you soon!