A/N:

Chapter 3 is finished! So here it is!

I'm surprised because there are lot of people who show interests on reading this story. I thought this story gonna be not popular compared to other because of Ichika low popularity compared to the other quintuplets, but I'm glad that there's a lot of Ichika team and supporters out there because she definitely deserve her love.

As for the review response:

-Rosalina:

Yeah I agree with you! Their moments are truly the best and glad that you love the story!

-Powder sauce:

Thanks a lot mate! I always double check the grammar and vocabulary for the best results before posting it. But I still didn't know if it's already correct since I'm still confused on some grammar and vocabulary lol

-Tsubaki Lover:

Yup. So far, Fuutaro x Ichika fanfic is rare to find in this website and thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it!

-Kraft:

I'm glad that you're excited! Now you will be excited again with this new chapter lol.

Anyway enough talks from me, Enjoy the story!

Chapter 3

"Hey Ichika, you have an idea where should we go next?"

"Hmm… I do have a place in mind…"

It's been long hours of playing in arcade for them. Right now, they about to leave the arcade after a fun and frustrating time of playing games. They're indeed having fun in the arcade, playing the air hockey and it ended in tie, and winning stuffed animal in a crane game. But the fun also came with some frustration because of them keep failing in crane game and spent all of their coin on the crane game, but luckily those frustration paid off in the end where they won the hippo plush.

As they reached the exit, Fuutaro then spotted an unexpected person outside of the arcade. He immediately stopped and pull Ichika back to the arcade. Ichika is surprised of the sudden action of him, while unconsciously blushed because of Fuutaro grabbing her arm. She saw Fuutaro getting nervous and there's a semi-serious expression accompanied by the visible anxiousness in his face.

"F-Fuutaro-kun… What's wrong?" Ichika confusingly asked Fuutaro.

"Ichika… Look at that person outside of the exit." Fuutaro said, pointing at that person.

Ichika then looked at the person who Fuutaro pointed to. There's a police officer patrolling outside the arcade and it looked like the police won't move for some time. Ichika understood what Fuutaro means, because if they just walked through the exit normally, both of them will get busted for skipping school and it will be a big trouble for them.

"This is bad Fuutaro-kun… If the police caught us, it will be a big trouble for us." Ichika said seriously, with a visible nervous tone in her voice. "We will get punished by the school and the other four will definitely scold us too."

"Yeah… I know that. Let me think of a way for us to not get caught."

Fuutaro then thought for a way to exit the arcade without getting spotted by the police. He then looked around the arcade for an alternative exit other than the main exit and there's two doors that caught his attention. He saw the back door and emergency exit in the arcade, Fuutaro then told Ichika about his finding.

"Ichika… There's another way getting out from arcade other than the main exit."

"Ahh… Tell me about it."

"There's a back door and emergency exit in this arcade. The back door is definitely out of question because it's employee only, so our only hope is the emergency exit." Fuutaro thoroughly explained his finding to Ichika, while also pointing at the emergency exit. "I want you to check the emergency exit if it's locked or unlocked. Give me a call if you're done checking it while I keep an eye on the police."

"Yeah, I understand. Then, I'm going." Ichika nodded and she run to check the emergency exit.

Fuutaro then keep an eye on the police and the police officer doesn't show any sign of moving from his spot. His phone then rings and it's a call from Ichika, he immediately answered it, hoping for a good news from her side.

"Ichika huh? How about the emergency exit? Is it good?" Fuutaro asked.

"No… It's not good, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika replied back, with a bit of disappointed tone in her voice. "The emergency exit is locked. I don't want to ask the employee about the emergency exit because it might raise a suspicion on me."

"Hmm… It's not looking good." Fuutaro sighed in disappointment. "Then, come back to me, I have a plan on getting out but I want you to hear it first."

"Yeah, got it."

Ichika then came back to where Fuutaro is. She looked at the police officer and he still in the same position when she left to check the emergency exit. Ichika then asked to Fuutaro about what plan he had in his mind.

"Fuutaro-kun, what plan do you have in mind?"

"I have a plan, but it's very risky, so I want you to hear me on this."

"Then, what's the plan?"

"I'm going to be the distraction for the police. When the police got distracted, I want you to run away from me and the police as far as possible." Fuutaro explained his plan to Ichika.

Ichika is very surprised hearing Fuutaro plan and a shocked expression is visible in her face. There's no way she's going to allow Fuutaro getting caught and taking the responsibility of it by himself. She then protested the plan to Fuutaro.

"Fuutaro-kun, you can't do this!" Ichika protested about the plan. "I won't allow you to get caught by the police. There must be other way than this risky plan of yours."

"No… There's no other way. Don't worry about me, Ichika."

"But…"

"If you get caught, the problem will be bigger than you think." Fuutaro said seriously to worried Ichika. "Remember, you're a rising actress right now and if there's a news about you getting busted by the police, your dream of becoming an actress will be over." He further explained to her.

"Well… You got a point… But I can't let you taking the blame alone." Ichika still worried about Fuutaro.

"Just as I said before, don't worry about me." Fuutaro smiling as he tries to calm her down. "I'm just a nobody compared to you, so this is not gonna be a big problem to me."

"…"

"No…"

"You're not a nobody…"

"You're a very important person to me, Fuutaro-kun."

"Please don't do this…"

"Then, hold my school bag. It will only slow me down when I become the bait." Fuutaro said, handing his school bag to Ichika. "Run as far away when the police starting to ch-"

Ichika then hold Fuutaro arm just before he can finish his sentence. He then looked back at her, her head is lowered with her eyes got covered by her hair, also Fuutaro can feels the trembles in her hand.

"I-Ichika…?"

"Promise me, Fuutaro-kun… That you won't get caught by the police." Ichika said quietly with still lowered head.

"Ahh… I promised." Fuutaro nodded with a confident smile. "Get ready, Ichika."

"Unnn…" Ichika nodded too.

Fuutaro then left the arcade while Ichika still stayed inside, waiting for the chance to escape. He then walked pass the police officer and as expected, the officer saw Fuutaro and stopped him immediately. Fuutaro became nervous after hearing the officer called him, and he immediately stopped in place as the officer approached him.

"Hey you boy, what are you doing outside of the school time?" The police officer asked Fuutaro.

"Ahh… Officer, I'm just spending my free time in the arcade. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Right… You must be that kind of school punk who skipped school to play in arcade, huh?"

"You must be mistaken, officer. I'm a university student and today is my day off from the campus."

"You can't fool me boy, you're wearing a school uniform and I recognized that uniform. If I'm not wrong, you're from Asahiyama High School, right?"

Fuutaro then became quiet after the police recognized his uniform and he starting to sweat because of his lie has been seen through. There's no way he can reason with the police officer anymore and he can't think of any other lie to reason with. The only last way for him to not get caught… is to run and hope for the best. He then took a deep breath and run away from the police officer.

"Hey you! Stop running!" The police officer shouted and blew his whistle.

"Damn it! Now the police is on me."

"Hope I don't get caught."

"Let's just run and hope I can get away."

Fuutaro then keeps on running and running while the police officer chased him from behind. Lots of people looked at him from the sideways and while he running, he almost hit some people in front of him, but he didn't care about those people and his mind only thinks to run and to lose the police. He ran as fast as he can while also taking lot of turns to shake off the police. But unfortunately, due to his untrained physical condition, he starting to become very exhausted from all the running.

"*pant* *pant* I'm so… Tired." Fuutaro started to panting from running out of stamina after running for some time.

"*pant* I'm done… *pant* I can't run anymore… I guess this is it for me…*pant*" He started to slowing down and accepting defeat.

Just when he about to stop, a hand appeared from an alleyway beside of him and pulled him into the alleyway. That person took Fuutaro deeper inside the alleyway, he didn't even saw who that person is because he's too tired and still breathing heavily from exhaustion. When he finally had a chance to catch a breath, he finally looked at the savior who saved him from the police and it makes him surprised.

"I-Ichika…? What are you doing here!?" Fuutaro surprised seeing Ichika.

"Be quiet, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said quietly to Fuutaro. "Or the police will hear us…" She continued saying as she keeps her eye on the sideways.

Both Ichika and Fuutaro took a peek at the sideways to see if the police is still there or not. Fuutaro then looked back at Ichika, there's a serious expression in her face and he saw her hand is holding his hand tightly. They spotted the police in sideways, confused, because he lost Fuutaro trail and after a few seconds, the police officer finally gave up and went the opposite direction from them.

Fuutaro finally felt a big relief in his heart, being able to evade the police. He then looked back at Ichika and he noticed that her head is now lowered and her eyes are covered by her hair just like in the arcade before. Fuutaro felt something is wrong with her because there's not a single voice from her and her hand still not letting his go.

"I-Ichika… Are you okay?"

"Idiot…"

"What…?"

"You truly are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Ehh…?"

Ichika then raised her head back and there's a weak smile in her lips and little bit of tears in her eyes. Fuutaro is stunned seeing that expression and he replied it back with a smile of his own to calm Ichika down.

"Yeah… Looks like I'm truly an idiot huh?" Fuutaro said calmly with his eyes closed.

"Hehe… You're definitely an idiot." Ichika giggled hearing him and wipes the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Ichika." Fuutaro said, thanking Ichika for saving him. "Hadn't you pulled me into this alleyway, I would've been caught by that police officer."

"Fuutaro-kun… Please don't do this reckless action again, okay?" Ichika said with a worried tone.

"Yeah… I won't do it again." Fuutaro replied back. "So don't be worry, okay?"

"Unnn…" Ichika nodded.

Fuutaro then looked back at his hand, which is still being held by Ichika. He unconsciously blushed and become embarrassed by it. His hand also sweating because of the embarrassment and the running from before. Fuutaro then said to Ichika about their current awkward state.

"Uhh… Ichika, talking about your hand?" Fuutaro said, pointing to their hand.

"Ehh-uhh… Sorry!" Ichika shouted in surprised as she let go of her hand from Fuutaro.

"*sigh* Just how long you gonna hold my hand? They're starting to get wet from all the sweating from running and you holding it too tight made it even worse." Fuutaro sighed as he pulls out his handkerchief to wipes his hand.

"But… Hehehe…" Ichika started to giggle.

"Hmm… What's wrong?"

"This situation kinda remind me of the last year firework festival where I dragged you into an alleyway too." Ichika said with a grin. "Did you remember that we hugged each other to hide from my manager?"

"Yeah, I definitely can't forget about that because it's such a sudden hug from you and I even barely know you at that time."

"Fufufu… But now, you know me very well right?" Ichika said with a smile. "How about we do another hug?"

"O-Oi… What are you saying!?"

"Hehehe… Just kidding!" Ichika teased the surprised Fuutaro with a cheeky smile.

"*sigh* I'm so tired…" Fuutaro sighed as he falls to the ground into the sitting position.

Fuutaro then rest for some minutes to catch his breath and to relieve his tired legs from all that running. Ichika just quietly watched resting Fuutaro with a smile and offered him a water bottle to drink. After drinking the water bottle from Ichika and recovered some of his stamina back, Fuutaro stood back up and tell Ichika about what currently in his mind.

"Ichika, we should change our school uniform into more casual clothing to avoid the police and other unwanted attention." Fuutaro said as he stood up from the ground.

"Yeah… You're right." Ichika nodded and agreed with him. "There's a department store nearby from here. Let's go."

"Yeah…"

Fuutaro and Ichika then left the alleyway and headed to the department store to change their clothes. Arriving at the department store, they went on their separate way, Ichika to the female clothing section and Fuutaro to the male clothing section. Fuutaro then browsed at the many clothing and he can't decide on what kind of clothes he should pick. He took a long time looking at each clothes and pants available and his eyes spotted a plain white T-Shirt and a short pants, he then takes a look at it and for him this should be good.

"This should be good for me."

"The price isn't that expensive too."

"I've been planning on buying some clothes too, so this is good timing."

"Even your taste of fashion is too bland, Fuutaro-kun."

Fuutaro then turned around and he saw Ichika is already behind him. It looked like she's already finished on buying her clothing and already wore the clothes that she choose. Fuutaro then looked at her new clothes which consists of a short sleeved cream colored sweater and a blue denim shorts. She also paired it with her glasses that she wore today. In his mind, she's looking pretty good with that clothes and her taste of fashion is very good, on par with Nino compared to other three siblings.

As Fuutaro keeps on staring at her, Ichika started to blushed and become flustered.

"Uhhh… Fuutaro-kun… W-what's wrong?" Ichika nervously asked to the staring boy.

"Ahh… No, it's nothing." Fuutaro said flatly, looking back at the clothes that he saw earlier. "Did you just said that my fashion taste is bland?"

"Hehe… You should choose more trendy clothes." Ichika chuckled at Fuutaro. "Here, let me help you choose much better clothes." She then looked at the other clothing choice available.

Ichika then found a more appropriate clothing for Fuutaro, she picked it up and showed it to him. Fuutaro then looked at the clothing that Ichika picked, it consists of a branded white T-Shirt, a navy blue jacket, and a grey jeans. Ichika then gave Fuutaro the clothes that she picked and asked him to try it now.

"Hey Fuutaro-kun, go try these clothes." Ichika said, giving the clothes to Fuutaro. "I want to see you in it. You might look good on these clothes." She eagerly wanted to see him in the new clothes

"*sigh* Yeah, yeah… I don't know if this looks good on me. I'm not a fan of these kind of clothing style." Fuutaro said unenthusiastically as he walked into the fitting room.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure it will look good on you." Ichika said optimistically.

Fuutaro then entered the fitting room and he changed into the clothes that Ichika picked. After a few minutes, Fuutaro came out from the fitting room and showed his new clothing to Ichika. Ichika eyes widened and she gasped seeing Fuutaro in the new clothes, he looked cooler and much more attractive than his school uniform and the usual clothing that he wore while tutoring her. A blush is formed in her cheeks as she keeps looking at the new-look Fuutaro.

"How is it Ichika? Am I look good in it?" Fuutaro said, asking her opinion for the clothes.

"Eh-uh…! Yes, you look very good in that new clothes." Ichika startled and nodded back to him. "In fact, you looked much better and cooler than before, Fuutaro-kun. Girls might starts falling for you, hehehe…" She complimented Fuutaro and starts teasing him as well

"Oi, oi… What's with that thing you just said." Fuutaro sighed. "I'm surprised that you know a thing or two about male fashion. Did you follow the male fashion too?"

"Well… I know some male fashion because I often saw some male actors clothing in my acting work." Ichika explained her knowledge of male fashion to him.

"Hmm… Is that so? Then, I say your male fashion taste isn't bad." Fuutaro said, looking at his new clothes. "Since you said this clothing looks good on me, I'm taking this."

"Hehe… I'm glad you liked the clothes." Ichika giggled and is happy because Fuutaro liked the clothes. "Then, let me pay for your clothes."

"Oi Ichika, you already paid my food this morning. You don't need to pay for this clothes… and this clothes are pretty expensive." Fuutaro protested Ichika decision to pay again.

"It's fine, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said happily with a grin as she pulled out her wallet.

"But, aren't you really tight on money considering that you paid the living expense of your other sister and the monthly rent?"

"It's fine… Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said with a genuine smile, repeating her words again. "My next paycheck is about to arrive, so don't worry about it. Consider this my appreciation for tutoring me and the other four."

"Ichika…"

"As long as it's for you… I'm fine with it."

"I just wanted to see you happy and smiling, Fuutaro-kun."

"I'll do anything… for you to look at me only."

Fuutaro then reluctantly accepted Ichika offer to pay for his clothing. He promised to himself that he will pay Ichika back someday because he's not comfortable with it considering she's the one who is responsible of paying the living expenses and the rent of the other four. He can relate to this because he's on the same situation like her, working hard to pay the living and debt of his family, but to the lesser extent because the duty is shared with his father compared to Ichika who single-handedly working by herself, taking responsibility of the rent, and taking care of her sisters need. This made Fuutaro respected Ichika even more after his deep thought about her situation and he smiles unconsciously as he looked into Ichika in the cashier paying for his clothes.

"I never deeply thought about it before…"

"Even in this kind of situation, you're still able to smile and there's no sign of you giving up."

"You're truly an amazing person, Ichika."

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