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Chapter 6:
Not wanting to run into that short-haired girl again or the sister he had met yesterday, Fuutarou sought shelter in his homeroom. Thankfully his homeroom teacher always arrived fairly early so the room was unlocked and uninhabited as it seems they had gone to get something from the faculty office or maybe they were using the bathroom. It didn't matter to him. He just wanted his own fortress of solitude, and since home wasn't that place due to his dad being there, this would have to suffice.
He cracked open his mathematics textbook and not a second later he got a text. The boy told himself that if it was his dad that he'd just ignore it, but he wasn't about to purposely ignore a text from his sister, especially after he left her at home with the burden of answering all of their father's questions. He checked his phone and gave a sigh of relief upon discovering it was from Raiha. Apparently she wanted him to pass her contact info to Itsuki since she enjoyed talking with her. Fuutarou texted back that he would do so, leaving out the part that he still hadn't gotten her contact information himself, but it wasn't that big of a deal as he would just kill two birds with one stone.
After putting his phone away, he started to review the formulas that would be on the test but didn't get far before his attention was distracted by the sound of footsteps entering the classroom. He was a little curious as to who it was, but decided it didn't matter unless the owner of those footsteps came over to speak to him. Which of course they did. Thankfully it was Itsuki, or at least he hoped it was her, but one look at the twin star hair clips made him feel confident it was his friend.
Itsuki sat down next to Fuutarou after greeting him and then immediately pulled out her phone. It was such a swift and confident action that really contrasted with her current state of mind. The way she held her phone in her hands made it look like she was about to do something but instead she remained utterly frozen in place.
Having returned to burying his head in his textbook, he didn't have any clue as to what she was trying to do. Instead, he decided to ask her the question he's been wanting to know since yesterday afternoon.
"So what score do I need to beat to win our wager?" Fuutarou said before realizing his words came out much more detached than he had intended. It was probably a side effect of him trying to distance himself from others during these last couple hours. He looked up and was about to rephrase his question but he was put at ease by his friend's now calming smile.
"Don't worry, you definitely won the wager. However, I have to say that I feel like the real winner." Blush painted her entire face as she continued. "After all, I got an 78 and an amazing tutor."
How long had it been since Fuutarou felt genuine happiness for another person's accomplishments? Well, for someone other than Raiha. It had to have been years at this point. Yet this feeling welling up inside was not the pride he felt before when he saw her slowly begin to comprehend what he taught. Instead he felt joy that she had not only passed but had gotten a "C" on her test. Though it wasn't long until pride also engulfed him, after all he had experienced many loops where she had no chance without his help. Yet that feeling of pride remained secondary.
"Congratulations, well done," Fuutarou said with a smile that only darkened the shade of red on Itsuki's face. She nearly lost grip of the phone she was still holding in her hands. However this close call did bring her attention back towards her initial goal.
"I can't thank you enough, and I look forward to many more study sessions with you… do you… would... would you... be okay with uhh... you know…."
It was no use, she was way too flustered, and it didn't help that her sisters had made her extremely self-conscious of her budding crush on Fuutarou. Sure they were simply rumors and nowhere near the truth, but she couldn't help thinking that she liked the idea of a potential relationship.
"I see you used up all of your brain power on that test yesterday huh?" he teased her, with the secondary purpose of breaking the nervous tension that was beginning to suffocate both of them. "You'll need to recover quickly over this weekend, we have a math test on Monday and even I'm not completely confident that I'll ace it so we're going to be busy. We should probably exchange contact info, and as extra motivation, I'll give you Raiha's as well."
Itsuki was in awe of how easily he accomplished what she desperately tried and failed to do. She recovered after a few seconds and nodded as they traded phone numbers and emails. However they weren't quick enough as other students had begun to arrive while they were in the middle of the exchange. Now another bucket of gasoline was added to this fiery rumour.
The results of their wager were now official. While Itsuki surpassed all expectations and scored a 78, it was ultimately no match for Fuutarou who, as expected, got a perfect 100. Now officially his student, Fuutarou was planning on having the two get started on studying for the math test during lunch so that she didn't have to spend the whole weekend locked indoors trying to solve difficult equations. However, he never got to ask her as Itsuki immediately dragged him to the cafeteria so he could meet someone. To say he was scared of meeting this unknown person would be an understatement; he had already assumed the worst-case scenario that she was going to introduce him to her history-loving sister and braced himself for the incoming verbal abuse.
They arrived at a rather spacious table where a lone girl was seated, isolating herself from the outside world with the help of a pair of giant purple headphones that she was using to block out the rowdy background noise of the cafeteria. Fuutarou felt like he had seen this person before in a previous loop, but that had no standing right now as to everyone else, that never happened. Whoever she was, she looked very much like Itsuki.
"Fuutarou, I'd like you to meet my sister Miku. Miku, this is my friend Fuutarou," Itsuki introduced the two. The young man immediately froze up when he heard who he was being introduced to. She looked a little different from yesterday and her entire demeanor was radically different as she seemed way less outgoing and abrasive than the first time they met. Maybe she just had a bad day yesterday and took it out on him? Whatever the case, he had no reason to doubt Itsuki's word that this was Miku so he did his best to immediately get on her good side before she blew up.
"Hello Miku, it's nice to be formally introduced to you. Your sister has told me a bit about you and how you enjoy history."
Miku was an absolute nervous wreck. It's not that she had trouble meeting new people, it's just that meeting the "wizard" that helped Itsuki get a "C" on a social studies test was too overwhelming and she was afraid of doing anything that would make him not want to help her too.
"Nice to meet you," she whispered so softly that Fuutarou thought he imagined those words instead of actually hearing them. The young man tried desperately to figure out how this was the same girl that yesterday didn't mind getting right up in his face. Maybe she was depressed that her sister had gotten a better grade? He needed to do something fast or else the situation would just continue to be awkward.
"Sorry if it feels like I tried to upstage you, Itsuki had told me you had tried tutoring her in the past. I meant no harm whatsoever. I'm sure you are an excellent tutor, some people just respond better to different teaching methods, that's all."
This drew a small, thankful smile from Miku's face as she finally looked him in the eye. Seeing how flattery seemed to be working, he decided to give her a few compliments, hoping it would be enough so that she would never threaten him again.
"By the way, I like what you did with your hair today, you look a lot cuter without those gaudy butterfly ribbons."
Miku stopped listening after he said "cuter" as her heart started beating out of her chest and she quickly hid her face to mask her blushing cheeks and giddy smile. However, someone else did listen until the end of his statement.
"Excuse me, what did you say about my butterfly ribbons?!" came a voice he desperately never wanted to hear again. He turned around and saw the girl he previously thought was Miku giving him a murderous glare. Itsuki saw the look in her sister's eyes and immediately jumped in to defuse the situation.
"Relax Nino, that's just his opinion okay. Everyone else thinks you look adorable in those ribbons," Itsuki tried desperately to calm Nino down but to no avail. She brushed aside her younger sister and stood right in front of Fuutarou.
"Listen jerk, I was actually coming over to apologize for yesterday and even thank you for helping Itsuki do well on her test. Yet what do I find when I do so? I see you flirting with Miku right in front of Itsuki while also insulting my fashion sense. Looks like I was right after all, you are an absolute scumbag!"
Fuutarou just stood there and took the verbal assault. It's not like he didn't have anything to say, in fact he had a ton of things he could say. However none of them ended with him still staying friends with Itsuki so he held his tongue.
"Nino, I think he thought I was you," interjected Miku, who through context had finally processed the entirety of Fuutarou's earlier compliment. "I think he was trying to apologize to you as well, so stop jumping to conclusions and acting like a bully."
Fuutarou, Nino, and Itsuki just stood there silently, completely shocked by Miku's comments. Nino looked down in shame before taking her seat at the table. While Fuutarou was still hoping to hear an apology, he'd take this as an overall victory.
He gave Itsuki a look that basically indicated that it would be best if he sat elsewhere for the remainder of lunch so that the awkward atmosphere could dissipate. Though it bummed her out, she agreed and Fuutarou started walking off towards his usual table.
That is until his path was blocked by the short-haired girl he ran into this morning.
"Aww, leaving so soon? But I just finally got here," the girl said with a big grin on her face that suggested she was up to no good.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you," Fuutarou said with a hint of sarcasm as he gently moved her out of the way by grabbing the top of her shoulder. He didn't make it far before his wrist was cuffed by another hand that wouldn't let go.
"Woah, hold on there slugger, you should buy me dinner first before you touch my chest," the short-haired girl continued in a playful tone. However, her words were anything but playful to him.
"What are you talking about, I clearly touched your shoulder and you know that," he tried convincing her.
"Clearly? Can you show me irrefutable proof? Otherwise it's your word versus mine and you're more than smart enough to know which side people will believe."
He had to admit, even though she was a pain in the ass, the young lady was extremely cunning and clever. Though one look at her playful face gave away that she would never follow through on her threat, Fuutarou still wasn't willing to even take the chance.
"Fine, first of all who are you and what do you want with me?" he huffed to display his reluctant annoyance.
"Oh don't act that way, your future Onee-san in-law just wanted to get to know you better."
He found himself in a bind at this statement. Anyone with half a brain could tell she was referring to Itsuki so that meant she was her older sister. However, acknowledging her statement would just make the rumor about them dating gain legs. He decided the best thing to do was to feign ignorance for damage control.
"I have no idea what you're insinuating, but if I had to guess, I'd say you're related to Itsuki since you two look very similar. If that's the case, did you want to see me because I helped her study a couple days ago?"
"Wow, nice job side-stepping my comment. You really are as impressive as advertised," she said with a grin before finally relenting. "Yes I am. My name is Nakano Ichika, but as I said before you are free to call me your Onee-san."
"No," the boy shot back rather bluntly.
"Okay fine, you can call me Ichika," she said dejectedly. "Now please, come sit with us, we want to know more about the boy who helped Itsuki get a 'C' in history."
"Listen, maybe some other time. I've had enough excitement for right now, and I need to study for my math test."
Ichika didn't want to give up, but at this point they were at an impasse. At least she was able to get him to say he would visit with them later, so she finally withdrew.
"Alright, suit yourself, but make sure to keep your promise. We'll be looking forward to meeting you later Fuutarou-kun."
Fuutarou was about to ask how she knew his name, but was able to narrowly avoid her final trap. Obviously she had learned it from Itsuki. With that out of the way, he excused himself and went to eat outside in the courtyard again.
Ichika took her seat at the table her sisters were sitting, still a little disappointed she let him get away. However, she knew he'd be back, it was only a matter of time. After all, when HE called to check up on the girls later tonight and found out about Itsuki's test score, there would be zero chance the guy capable of unlocking Itsuki's potential would escape.
Near the far wall of the cafeteria, Yotsuba finally saw that the boy who had been talking with her sisters had finally left. Taking in a deep breath, she composed herself and started walking towards their table. Her expression gave off the vibe of someone carefree, but nothing but turmoil resided in her mind.
"I can't believe it, it's actually him. I always dreamed I'd see Fuutarou Uesugi once again. If only I had kept my promise, I'd feel less guilty and have the courage to face him. I wonder how much he has suffered?"
Fuutarou never thought in a million years he would have ever become a serial note passer during lectures, yet here he was, communicating with Itsuki during science class through written word. They had decided to get started on math test preparation as soon as school let out. Fuutarou had obviously suggested the library for their study location, but Itsuki counter-offered with them studying at a cafe, perhaps being inspired by Fuutarou's lie yesterday. Ultimately he couldn't say no once she offered to pay for anything he ate or drank there as thanks for the last session. After all, being the financially-strapped boy he was, he could never refuse a free meal; his stomach would literally kill him.
Fuutarou arrived at the cafe she had picked and quickly grabbed a booth for the sake of comfort since they would be there awhile. He had a clear view of the front entrance so he'd know right away when Itsuki would arrive. She was going to be a few minutes late because she had to let her sisters know she'd be late coming home. Fuutarou just hoped that by "sisters" she meant Miku, and not Ichika and Nino. He got nervous at the idea of them crashing or interfering with their studying session and hoped Itsuki felt the same way too.
The young man got his answer for which sister Itsuki asked, as his friend glided through the front door with her backpack clinging to her back and tagging right behind her was Miku, clutching a math textbook in her arms.