As the morning sun shone over the Nakano household, the door to the third sister's room opened, showing a sleepy Miku with her pajamas barely holding on to her body out of sheer willpower. The scheduled time wasn't due for another few hours, but Miku wanted to look her best, today was the day of her date. She wasn't usually one to care for appearances too much, but this was her time. She went and took a hot bath, thinking about how she would stay cozy during the day with it being winter and all.

Miku:[We could always snuggle together...but that'd be odd doing it in public at all times. Have to pick and choose correctly.]

Upon getting out of the bathroom, not even one step could be taken before Ichika sprang up behind her and grabbed her stomach, causing her to drop her towel.

Miku:"Kya! I-Ichika!"

Ichika:"Just making sure this stomach is nice and ready for your date."

Miku put on her towel again as Nino walked up.

Nino:"Breakfast is ready."

Miku:"Thanks."

Nino:"Are you sure you want to eat before you go?"

Miku:"Yeah, Fuutarou will probably try to pay for everything, so I want to lower the costs as much as possible."

Nino:"You put too much faith in that guy. Bring some money, he'll probably say he 'forgot' his wallet."

Miku:"..."

Miku looked downstairs to see Yotsuba and Itsuki eating, with coats on the sofa.

Miku:"You're planning on following me around, aren't you?"

Ichika:"Of course!"

Miku:"...Great! I'm glad I have some extra eyes to check on my progress!"

Ichika:"I'm happy you're so understanding!"

Ichika went downstairs as Miku went back to her room.

Miku:[I know they mean well, but I can't let that happen. I want today to be just the two of us. But how do I throw them off convincingly? Ah.]

Miku took out her phone. After some time, she came down in her outfit, being a blue coat with white fur and a white scarf. She had a gray hat and a pair of blue gloves. She had gray boots and a black pair of pants.

Miku:[I hope this is good.]

As she was having breakfast, Itsuki received a call from Fuutarou on where the date would take place. Once that was over, Miku took many deep breaths as the time passed, coming closer to the desired time. Despite there being 2 hours left, she decided to go on ahead.

Miku:"I'll wait for Fuutarou. You girls can come later."

Yotsuba:"Got it!"

Miku:[I hope my misdirection worked.]

With that, Miku left for the meeting spot. Turning back time a little, now on the Uesugi house, Fuutarou was looking at his set of clothes for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He didn't have many options, but he rummaged through the closet all week in an attempt to find just the right combination of clothes.

Fuutarou:[Will it really be okay to wear the same coat they bought me? I don't usually care, but Miku comes from a wealthy family, no doubt she'll look stunning, even without trying. I have to make sure I don't embarrass her.]

Raiha:"Are you still hung up on that? You know she won't care how you look. I thought you weren't one to care about how others saw you."

Fuutarou:"It's not me I care about."

Raiha:"...Big brother is changing."

Fuutarou:"Hmmmm…"

Raiha:"Look, just go with what we talked about. I promise she'll think you look great! Who cares about some strangers? All that matters is that you two are having fun."

Fuutarou:"...Yeah, you're right. She's not one to judge on appearance. I'll make our date so memorable that even I'll forget what I'm wearing!"

At that moment, Fuutarou got a message.

Fuutarou:"It's from Miku. She wants me to...Got it."

A few moments later, Fuutarou called Itsuki.

Fuutarou:[Who thinks following someone on a date is a good idea?]

With that, he ate his breakfast.

Raiha:"Say, shouldn't you hold back? You'll be eating later anyway."

Fuutarou:"I want to lower my costs of eating so Miku can enjoy her meal. If she's anything like Yotsuba or Itsuki, she'll prefer a fancy restaurant."

Raiha:"I don't know if she'd be so picky."

Fuutarou:"She won't, she'll probably try to take us to a normal, far cheaper one. But, no doubt she'll think the quality of the food is lower even if she says nothing. It's my job as a man to make sure she has the best time possible."

Raiha:"Big brother...In that case, take my allowance! You probably don't have enough."

Fuutarou:"I have my saved up stash from my part time job. I'll be a big blow to it, but money isn't what matters right now."

Raiha:"Big brother is becoming mature!"

Fuutarou:"This is just a special occasion, I don't plan to go willy nilly with my savings every day."

Fuutarou put down his spoon.

Fuutarou:"Thank you for the meal."

Once he cleaned himself up, he put on his coat.

Raiha:"You're not wearing gloves?"

Fuutarou:"I gave those to you. It'll get really cold later on with no heater to our name. Make sure you snuggle up with pops."

Raiha:"Right."

Before Fuutarou could leave, the previously aforementioned father, who was thought to be dead asleep, suddenly showed himself with messy hair, clearly having just woken up.

Isanari:"Oi, Fuutarou! Catch!"

He threw an envelope. Once Fuutarou caught it, he looked inside.

Fuutarou:"What the!?"

Isanari gave him a thumbs up.

Isanari:"Show the miss a good time."

Fuutarou:"...Thanks, pops."

Fuutarou then left.

Raiha:"What was that?"

Isanari:"Your mother had the idea of giving our kids a big allowance should they go out. Unfortunately, she left us before we could actually save anything. But, seeing Fuutarou now, I've been setting aside half my paycheck for this moment. After all, this is the start of a new chapter in his life. As his dad, It's my job to see him off with a smile."

Raiha:"Dad…"

Isanari:"I'll start on yours as well, don't worry...as much as it pains me. You're still young, but seeing Fuutarou now, you'll eventually meet someone far more important than your dad and I have to support that choice. Of course, he better not mistreat you or I'll make sure his family receives a box of body parts!"

Suddenly, he closed his mouth.

Isanari:[Crap, I shouldn't say such things in front of Raiha!]

Raiha:"Dad!"

Raiha went to hug Isanari.

Raiha:"You, mom and big brother will always be the most important people to me!"

Isanari:"Thank you, Raiha!"

He returned the hug earnestly, causing Raiha to push him away.

Isanari:"But Raiha!"

Raiha:"Don't cry over me!"

Once they separated, Isanari looked to the door.

Isanari:[I can imagine how much you'd be crying at the sight of our son growing up, Kotoha.]

…

Once it was close to the allotted time, the four sisters took a taxi to the location Fuutarou told them. Once they got there, they looked around to find nothing.

Nino:"Where are they?"

Itsuki:"Uesugi-kun isn't that bad with directions, is he?"

Yotsuba:"Maybe they already went off."

Ichika:"Neither Miku nor Fuutarou-kun are picking up...Girls, have we been tricked?"

…

Nino:"We totally were."

Yotsuba:"Looks like they were in on it."

Itsuki:"I guess I can understand the feeling."

Nino:"But what if that guy puts his hands on her!?"

Ichika:"*sigh* And here I wanted to see my little sister go on her first date."

Yotsuba:"Well, you girls can follow me when I go on my first date!"

Itsuki:"Thinking about it, that's a really creepy thing to do, isn't it?"

Nino:"...I just want to protect her."

Ichika:"Well, they've made themselves very clear. Let's let them be alone."

…

Turning back time an hour, Fuutarou made it to the location.

Fuutarou:[I'm way too early. It's still 90 minutes before we even-]

Miku:"Fuutarou."

Fuutarou turned to see Miku already there.

Fuutarou:"Miku! You're already here?"

Miku:"Y-Yes, i just got here."

Fuutarou:"..."

The two were awkward for a little bit, but Fuutarou kept glancing at her outfit.

Fuutarou:"You look incredible in that."

Miku's head exploded in steam. She didn't expect the comment in the middle of her admiration of how manly Fuutarou looked.

Miku:"You look wonderful as well."

Fuutarou:[Looking at her like this...Yeah, she's way too good for me. But, I'm going to keep being selfish. I saw this in the movie Raiha was watching...]

Fuutarou put his arm around Miku much to her surprise.

Fuutarou:"S-Shall we go?"

Miku:"...Yes, let's."

Miku tried her best to hide her grin as the two started their date.

End of Chapter 136