Chapter 4

I've No Time To Play With

The room went dead silent.

"Murdered?"

"You're kidding..."

"Oh, my God."

Takeda slowly nodded, "It happened eight years ago, but I remember it like yesterday. My parents and I joined up with another family, friends of theirs from high school, for summer vacation down in Okinawa. We used to a have a summer house there. One night, Dad was upstairs in my room playing a game with me while Mom was outside enjoying the night air. When he came down after I went to sleep, he couldn't find her. He thought she was visiting their friends next door but they too hadn't seen her. They looked everywhere but she had completely vanished. Dad soon panicked and called the police."

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply again. Beside him, the head nurse sniffed.

"At dawn the next day, they found her dead body in an empty shack a few miles away," Takeda opened his eyes again wiped away a tear of his own, "It was obvious that... whoever kidnapped her... had their way with her before her was throat was slit."

The other teenagers were now horrified.

"Did they ever catch the guy who did it?" asked Fuutarou.

"Sadly, no," Takeda said angrily, "That's the been the most difficult part."

"I am so sorry," Miku whispered. She couldn't imagine the pain Takeda must have suffered when he was told the news.

"Dad was never the same after that," he went on, "You see, my family is descended from the Takeda-Clan, one of the famous warring clans from Japan's Feudal Age. One of our traditions is to always protect our women. Dad feels that he completely failed to do that. He blames himself for Mom's death, but I also believe that he blames me as well."

"Why?" asked Ichika.

"Because he believe that if he hadn't been in my room that night, he could prevented her death."

"That ridiculous!" exclaimed Nino, "Why should he blame you? Neither of you could have known that was going to happen! Neither of you were at fault!"

"I know. That's what I and my relatives have been trying say to him over the years, but he won't listen. He gets mad and even violent sometimes whenever we bring up my mother. He's even struck me a few times whenever I do."

"Oh, my God," Itsuki shook her head, "I don't believe it."

"But what does that have to with you getting married?" asked Yotsuba.

Takeda sighed again, "Originally I thought he just wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible since I'm the heir and it's my duty, but over time I've become convinced that he has a more sinister reason. I may be overthinking this but I really do believe that my dad is suicidal. Him being the head of the family is the only thing that's kept him going. Once I take over, he'll have nothing left to live for. And from there..."

"You believe he'll take his own life," Miku finished.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I really do."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Man, you really have it rough," said Fuutarou, "I honestly feel sorry for having treated you so poorly."

The others nodded in agreement. When they first met Takeda they were put off by his overbearing attitude. The boy they saw now was nothing like the guy they knew before. His story was a really sad one. Both Fuutarou and the quints had lost their mothers due to illness, but Takeda's had died a horrible death. One that not only destroyed his family but had left his and his father's relationship very strained.

"When we first met you," said Ichika, "was that self important attitude of yours just a front?"

Takeda chuckled, "Yeah, pretty much. I'm sorry if the way I behaved back then offended you. Like I told Miku-san yesterday, it is true that I wanted to beat Uesugi, but the whole tutoring thing was Dad's idea, not mine. He's developed this twisted mentality that the Takedas need to be number one in everything and that I needed to present a good image at all times because it is expected of me."

"Oh," Ichika nodded, "That's makes sense."

"It really got under his skin that Ueusgi was number one and not me," Takeda pointed to Fuutarou, "When I couldn't get the job as your new tutor Dad took matters into his own hands by giving me the answer sheets for then upcoming SAT tests."

"What?" all the quints were stunned.

"Yeah," Fuutarou nodded, "I can attest to that. Takeda pulled me aside one day and showed me those very sheets. He openly admitted that his Dad had given those to him. Then he threw them away."

The quints all looked at Takeda in surprise.

"I told Uesugi that I was going to beat him using my own strengths," he explained, "not by using a handicap."

"Wow," Miku was amazed by Takeda's honesty, "You really weren't going to use them?"

"Hell, no," he vehemently replied, "The Takeda-clan is famous for upholding in a strict code of honor. No way in hell I'm going to tarnish that by doing something as cheap and petty as cheating on a test."

"Well, you did beat me after all," Fuutarou gestured to the quints, "Only because I got distracted by them."

"Yeah," Takeda grinned, "I guess I got lucky."

All of them shared a soft laugh before Itsuki stood and bowed politely to Takeda.

"I am very sorry for your loss and for what you've been going through over the years," she said, "On behalf of all of us, than you for stepping in to help Miku. We also like to apologize for the way we treated you in the past. Obviously it was wrong and completely unfair."

"It's fine," he waved away the apology, "I don't hold it against you guys. I'm just glad that Miku-san wasn't seriously injured."

He gave Miku a warm smile and she blushed. She quickly turned her attention to the head nurse.

"Is it true? About Takeda-san's heritage?"

"Oh, yes!" she grinned and looked at Takeda proudly, "If fact, he's gonna history for the clan one day!"

"Ugh," Takeda rolled his eyes, "You don't need to bring that up."

"Why not?" she pouted, "It's a wonderful dream of yours! One you should be very proud of!"

"Your dream?" Miku asked. The other quints were now curious.

"Oh, yeah," said Fuutarou, "I remember you mentioning that you wanted to become an astronaut."

"An astronaut?" Yotsuba's eyes went wide, "That's really cool!"

Takeda glared at the head nurse before he sighed in frustration.

"Yes, it's true," he admitted, "My dream is to become a astronaut, but I'm going to join the Air Force first to become a pilot. There's speculation going on right now that Japan's Space Program may be developing it's own version of NASA's famous Space Shuttle. If so, I'm hoping to be among the first to pilot it."

"Wow," Ichika echoed the thoughts of the others, "That really is a wonderful dream. I hope you achieve it, Takeda-san."

"Thanks," he nodded, "I hope so too."

Fuutarou glanced at his watch, "We should probably get going. We still have a study session to do. How's your arm, Nino?"

"She'll be fine," said the head nurse, "Just rub some pain relief on it when you get home."

"I'll do that," nodded Nino, "Thank you."

"I'll keep your sister here for the day. You should get a ride home after school."

"We'll take care of that," said Itsuki,

"Take it easy, Miku!" Yotsuba waved, "We'll see you later."

"Don't the give the nurse a hard time," grinned Ichika.

"I won't," Miku rolled her eyes.

"I'll hand your sisters a test sheet for them to give you later," said Fuutarou.

The four quints and their tutor left the room. Takeda was the last to leave.

"Well, I'll see you later."

"Wait, Yusuke..."

"Hmm?" he turned to face her.

Miku felt her cheeks warm when she realized she had used his first name without thinking.

"Thank you again for... for the coming to my rescue," she blushed even further.

Takeda smiled at her again and said, "You're very welcome... Miku."

After he left the nurse came to her side to help her lie down.

"I've never seen him smile like that before," she said, "I wonder if he's smitten with you."

Miku ignored the comment and said, "You seem to know him rather well."

"I known since the day he was born. I went to school go with his mother. Ever since she died I've always kept an eye on him."

When Takeda left the room he walked some distance down the hall before he stopped and reached into his back pocket. Taking out his wallet, he pulled out a picture. Of him, when he five years-old, and his mother. He stood for several minutes staring at it as the memories came back to him. It had been a long time since he had talked about his mother, or even thought about her. His fingers shifted and from behind that picture was the other one that he secretly carried.


Friday was the next day was Yotsuba's big date with Fuutarou.

Having decided to go the theme park together, Fuutarou was to pick her up shortly after school. He had to return home first before coming over. Right after they separated Nino suddenly announced that she was going to go shopping at the mall. Not for any particular reason, but just because she wanted to. The sisters knew otherwise though.

The truth was that Nino didn't want to be at the apartment when Fuutarou arrived. Whether it was because she didn't want to face him or she was afraid she would do something foolish was uncertain. Either way, it was clear that she didn't want to ruin Yotsuba's special day so she decided to be somewhere else instead of hiding in her room. It only made Yotsuba feel more guilty than before, but she kept quiet by pretending not to take no notice.

Itsuki decided to accompany Nino, feeling that someone needed to watch over her. She also felt that she needed to have a talk with her.

"I noticed Fuutarou was at your side yesterday after the incident happened," she mentioned as they walked through the mall, "Did he say anything to you?"

"No," Nino bluntly replied, "He just asked the usual questions and then took me over to see the nurse."

Nino's arm had sustained some light bruises and her movement was somewhat limited, but it didn't appear to bother her in the slightest.

"He wasn't even upset?"

"No, he was, though maybe not as upset as Takeda."

Itsuki absently inclined her head. Fuutarou mentioned to them how horrified Takeda had been when he saw the fight happening down below. The fact that he had been so deeply concerned about Miku's well being had made them curious.

The pair spent the next few hours they going from shop to shop. Itsuki wasn't interested in buying anything, so she basically just tagged along while pretending to shop. In truth she paid close attention to Nino's behavior.

Nino didn't seem to be interested in anything either and was only passing the time for as long as possible. She took her time going over item after item, even the ones she virtually had no interest but acted otherwise. It was frustrating for Itsuki to watch her act like this. She wanted very much to have a personal talk with her, but after what Nino had said to Ichika there was really nothing else to talk about. All they could do now was to wait until Yotsuba confronted Fuutarou about his past.

An hour later Itsuki's phone beeped.

"Ichika just text me," she announced, "Fuutarou and Yotsuba just left together."

She saw Nino go still for a moment.

"I see," her sister nodded before moving on, keeping her back turned to Itsuki.

"Yeah," Itsuki quickly changed the subject, "She also asked if we could bring dinner home, save you the trouble of cooking something up."

"That's fine," Nino hesitated before saying, "Itsuki, can we sit down for a moment? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Brows rising, Itsuki followed her sister to a nearby bench. They sat still for a few minutes, Nino gazing unseeingly into the distance.

Then she took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to announce this to the rest later but I want you to be the first to know. After we graduate, I'm going to move. Far away from her."

Itsuki's jaw dropped, "Why?"

"Because I can't stay here anymore."

She opened her mouth to protest when Nino raised her hand.

"I know what you're going to say. That I'm acting very childish. Even so, I fear that if I stay here any longer I'll only end up causing trouble. Not just for them, but for all of you."

Itsuki gathered her thoughts before saying, "Why do you think that?"

Nino lowered her head and her fists clenched, "Because every time I look at Yotsuba I'll always have this deep resentment towards her for what she did to me, and every time I see them together I'll keep wishing that it was me being by his side instead of Yotsuba. I know I'm acting very selfish, but I can't help it. That's how I love him. That's why I need to move away, so I don't have to look at them. Who knows? Maybe I'll meet another guy, one that help me get through this pain I'm in."

Itsuki froze. Nino had that once before shortly before they entered high school following a tragic event. It later left a deep emotional scar in Nino. Could the same thing happen again? Inwardly she shook her head. If Nino did this, cut off all ties with Yotsuba, they would be breaking their promise they made with their mother. She couldn't allow that, but what could she possibly say to dissuade Nino? The truth was... there wasn't anything she could say. She had to respect her sister's decision even if she didn't agree with it.

Realizing this, she swallowed and said, "If that's how you really feel, Nino, then I won't stop you. However, Uesugi-kun is not going to be happy about it."

Nino only shrugged, "He won't be responsible for us anymore once we graduate. Whatever we do from there will be none of his business."

Silence passed between them.

"Well, at the very least, can you at least please reconsider?" Itsuki gently begged.

"I can try, but my mind is already made up."

"Alright," Itsuki checked the time, "We should be heading back soon."

Nino pointed ahead, "I just want to see that perfume shop and then we'll go."

The shop had a very exotic feel and look to it. Itsuki immediately felt uncomfortable, but Nino didn't seem to be bothered. She looked at all the different glass vials of perfume, considering all the different shapes, sizes, and colors. As she did, they were greeted by a tall, heavy set man wearing thick glasses and was bald as a bottle.

"Can I help you young ladies?" he politely asked, stepping our of the counter, "Anything you may interested in?"

He was looking at Nino when he greeted them, but when his gaze shifted over to Itsuki and she felt a chill go down her spine. Something about him disturbed her. It somehow felt familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. The owner's clean shaven features were fixed with a polite smile, but something inside her warned her of danger.

"I'm just looking," Nino replied, not paying attention to the man.

"I can introduce to some very special perfumes," he offered.

The man never moved his gaze from Itsuki, who was becoming more disturbed by the second.

"How about this?" he picked a bottle held it to Nino, still not removing his gaze, "This one is sure to make any man fall for you."

Itsuki was starting to feel sick. The man was looking at her with was almost a hungry gaze. Something was definitely not right with this man. Thankfully Nino took notice of her uneasiness and turned away without even looking at the bottle.

"Maybe later when I have the time," she said over her shoulder.

"Please come again," the owner called as Nino took Itsuki's arm.

As Nino led her away, Itsuki could still feel the man's gaze locked on her back and she shivered again.


Fuutarou arrived at the quints apartment right on time. After Ichika let him in through the intercom he found her waiting at their door.

"You still wearing the same clothes?" she frowned in disapproval, "Come on, man. This is a special day for you and Yotsuba. At least wear something else for a change."

Fuutarou only shrugged, "I don't see the point in dressing up for something like this."

Ichika let out an exasperated sigh, "You just don't get it, do you? A date is special event and you want to make a good impression," she then noticed that he was carrying a gift package in his arm, "What's that? A gift for Yotsuba?"

"Actually... no," Fuutarou explained where the package had actually come from and when he finished Ichika's eyes had gone wide, looking truly surprised for the first time since he'd known her.

"Really? That's unexpected," she gestured for him to follow her, "Come on in, Fuutarou-kun. Miku's just right here."

He followed her inside and found Miku lying on the couch reading a book with her injured ankle propped up on a pair of pillows. Yotsuba, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight. Neither, he noticed, were Itsuki and Nino.

"Nino and Itsuki went to the mall to bring back lunch," Ichika explained when he asked before pointing upstairs, "Yotsuba should be about ready. I'll go check on her."

"Tell her to take her time," he called after her, "I'm in no rush."

So Nino isn't here, he thought after Ichika went up the stairs, I thought she would at least thank me for helping her out yesterday.

Even after that incident Nino had spoken very little to him during their study session. It was really frustrating that he couldn't seem to get through to her. It was as if they had gone back to where they'd started when they first met. Putting Nino aside from his thoughts, he turned to Miku.

"How's your ankle doing?"

"Better," she smiled, "I'm able to walk around a bit today but I still need help going up and down the stairs."

"That's good," as he stepped closer he noticed the title of the book she was reading, "A History of the Takeda-clan?"

"Oh, yeah," Miku laughed though her blush, "I... I got this at the bookstore the other day. It's a really fascinating read."

"Hmm. Well, speaking of Takeda," Fuutarou handed her the package, "This is for you. From Takeda."

She stared in surprise at the package, "From... Takeda-san?"

"Yeah," Fuutarou gestured downstairs, "I found him standing at the entrance when I arrived. He was pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself. When I asked what he doing here he said that he wanted to give this to you but felt that it would be rude to show up unannounced. He asked me to deliver it to you instead and ran off before I could say anything."

"Oh," Miku blinked several times, "I-I see."

"Hey, Uesugi-san!" The green ribbon quint came barreling down the stairs, dressed in her usual overalls and sneakers, "You ready to go?"

"Yep."

"Okay, Fuutarou-kun," Ichika ordered, "Be sure to have Yotsuba home by ten. If she ain't back by ten-o-one we'll be coming after you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Fuutarou rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, I'll have her home in time. Take care, Miku."

"Have fun you guys," she waved.

Ichika watched them go with a smile on her face, but when door clicked shut she turned to Miku with a serious expression.

"You think she'll be able to do what she said?" she asked.

"If what she told us the other night is true, she'll have to," Miku suppressed a shiver, "I just hope it isn't. I don't want to believe that Fuutarou coul be that cold."

"Yeah," Ichika agreed, then she changed the subject by sitting down on the couch next to Miku's feet, "So, did he tell where that package came from?"

"Oh, yeah. He did," Miku hesitated.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Ichika insisted, "Open it."

Knowing that her sister wouldn't let her be until she did Miku slid off the ribbon and lifted the lid.

"There's a card here," she lifted it up from the bubble wrap protecting the gift inside.

"Well? What does it say?"

With nervous fingers she opened it.

"To Miku-san," she read aloud, "I'm sorry if this seems forward and out of the blue, but I feel responsible for what happened yesterday so I wanted to give you this. You can keep it if you like or you can give it back later. Hope you're doing well. Yusuke."

Now openly curious she removed the bubble wrap... and her breath caught. Inside the package was a pair of headphones exactly like the one she once owned but were bright red in color. With trembling fingers she lifted it right out of the box.

"Wow," Ichika was impressed, "That was very nice of him."

"Y-Yeah," she moved the headphones around and when she saw the symbol decorating the housing of the earmuff she almost burst out laughing. A quick look showed that it was the same on the other side.

"Hey," Ichika observed, "It even has the same symbol as the wallpaper on your phone."

"Yeah, it does," Miku grinned.

What Ichika didn't know was that the symbol was actually the four black diamond crest of the Takeda-clan. It was such an unexpected surprise that Miku couldn't stop grinning. Takeda-san must of had these headphones specially made for him to show his pride as a descendant of such a famous clan and was now letting her have them as a gift for the ones she'd lost.

"You know, Miku," Ichika interrupted her thoughts, "If I didn't know any better, I think Takeda-san might actually like you."

Her heart skip a beat. Deep down she had suspected the possibility due to how he had been behaving around her the last two days, but she hadn't wanted to pursue the idea since she was still in love with Fuutarou.

"Did you... really think so?" she asked innocently.

"I would say I know so. Fuutarou-kun did tell us after all how upset he was when you got hurt, and the fact that he went out of his way to carry you to the infirmary only proves it."

Miku blushed furiously at the memory, "Please don't remind me of that. It was so embarrassing!"

"Aw, come on," Ichika teased, "You should be happy! It isn't everyday a girl gets to be carried like a princess."

"Oh, stop it, will you?!" Miku turned away, trying to hide a smile that was bubbling on her lips.

"Well, in either case," Ichika stood, "You might want to ask Takeda sometime about why he keeps doing this for you. First the book and now the headphones."

Miku frowned and gestured at the book, "What makes you think Takeda-san bought this for me?"

"Come on, Miku. I saw the price tag on it. There's no way you could have bought that by yourself."

"Alright, fine. He did buy it. He's just being very generous, that's all."

"I wouldn't so sure."

"Ichika..." Miku sighed, "Let's be serious for a moment. Don't you think it's too soon for me to show interest in another guy when there's still Fuutarou to deal with?"

"But Fuutarou has already rejected you, Miku," Ichika gently reminded her, "And you can't keep holding onto him forever, hoping that he'll suddenly change his mind. You'll have to move on at some point. Once we graduate and we may never see most of our classmates ever again. That includes Takeda-san too. So if I were you I would talk to him ASAP, otherwise you may end up regretting it later."

It was true, Takeda-san had been unusually kind to her. There had to be a reason for it. She should at least give him a chance to explain himself. However, she wanted to wait until this whole thing with Fuutarou was over before she made any decision regarding Takeda. She looked at the headphones again and was suddenly visited by the urge to hug them tight. Instead she restrained herself and simply smiled once more. She would have to thank Takeda in the future.


"So, Uesugi-san! What do you want to do first when we get there?"

His response was a nonchalant shrug, "Whatever you want, Yotsuba. This is your date after all."

She nearly stopped in her tracks. This was her date? Shouldn't it be their date? Why did he make it sound like she was only dragging him along because she asked him to?

The bus arrived a short time later. The moment they'd settled down in their seats, Fuutarou suddenly asked, "Have you done your study sheet for today?"

"Uh... no. Not yet. I didn't have time to since I had to get ready for the date."

His gaze turned hard, "That's unacceptable, Yotsuba. The finals are coming up and I can't have any of you slacking."

"I know, I know," she waved innocently and smiled, "Relax, Uesugi-san. For once let's just forget about studying and have some fun today."

"You really think I can do that when the exam less than a month away?" he let out what sounded like a growl, "I told you this should have waited until school was over. We shouldn't be wasting our time like this."

"It's just one day, Uesugi-san," Yotsuba couldn't believe how irritated she was getting, "You can afford to take a little break."

"If this was just a mock exam, I would agree. But this is the final, the last test we'll ever have in high school. I want to make sure I pass it."

There was a glint in his eye. Yotsuba had to admire his determination. However...

"Is it really that important, Uesugi-san?" she quietly asked.

"Of course it is!" he sounded offended by her question, "If I fail this exam, I'll have nothing! I'll be nothing. Everything that I've accomplished so far will be all nothing if I don't pass this final exam without a perfect score! Anything less is unacceptable. It's that important to me, Yotsuba. I have to succeed. I have to be number one."

She gaped at him, suddenly recalling a certain memory from her past.

"Do you know what you want to do after high school?" she asked.

"Not yet," he snapped, "but I'll figure something out."

She got the impression that someone had already asked him that before and he didn't want to talk about it.

"Right now I just want to get this over with."

At those words she froze. So this whole thing really was just a waste of time for him? A nuisance? Nothing but an distraction from his precious studies?

She didn't know what to think, but then she'd reminded herself that this was a new thing for him and that she shouldn't judge him too harshly and so soon. It was also the first time she was alone with him without the interference of her sisters.

The rest of the bus went by without further conversation. The silence was awkward.

The most disturbing moment came when they finally arrived at the amusement park entrance. As expected on a Friday the line was long. As they waited Yotsuba glanced over at her boyfriend and found, what must have the hundredth time, that he was glancing at his flash notes again.

That was really starting to frustrate her. Ever since they got on the bus trip Fuutarou had kept glancing at those notes as if his life depended on them. He spent more time with those damn notes than he had with her. By the time they reached the front gate Yotsuba finally had enough.

"Uesugi-san, please put those away," she asked as politely as she could, "We're about to enter the park and I want to spend time with you."

"I need these for my studies, Yotsuba."

Losing her patience, she snatched them from his hand.

"Your studying can wait," she said firmly while trying to be playful, "Let's enjoy ourselves until it's over."

"Yotsuba," Fuutarou's voice took a serious tone, "Give those back."

Ignoring him, she turned away and made to slip the notes into one of her chest pockets, "I'll keep them safe until-"

He suddenly snatched her arm and spun her around sharply.

"Now, Yotsuba. Give me back my notes!"

Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. Fuutarou had a scary look on his face, something she had never seen before. She could see the anger in his eyes from having his notes suddenly taken away. Then she yelped when she felt his hand squeeze too tightly.

"Uesugi-san!" she gasped, "You're hurting me!"

Her cry seemed to reached him for he suddenly flinched.

"Sorry," he loosened his grip, but didn't let her go, "I want my notes, Yotsuba. Give them back right now."

Seeing how startled she was, he gently added, "Please."

Swallowing, Yotsuba silently handed them back and watched as he snatched them away, holding them closely like they were the most precious thing in his life. When he looked at her again there was no warmth in his eyes, only a warning.

"I didn't mean to yell at you," he apologized, and then declared, "but please. Don't ever do that again. You don't know how important these notes are to me."

More important than me? she wanted to ask, but decided against it and turned away.

She felt her eyes burn but she forced herself to keep her composure. Fuutarou's never done this before, she reminded herself again, Just be patient with him. But when she glanced behind her again Fuutarou had gone back to reading his notes again without even looking at her, as if the incident had never happened.

She looked away in disgust. This was suppose to her special day with Fuutarou, the guy she loved for so long, yet in just the first hour she found herself wishing she was somewhere else and not here, with him. She was supposed to be happy, instead she just felt miserable.

Throughout the rest of the day the they went to every ride and attraction the theme park had to offer. During all that time she would watch Fuutarou's behavior very closely. She wanted to see if he was enjoying spending his time with her and what his reactions were.

He was having a bad time, he just didn't seem interested at all. Rarely did he say a word. He just gave a casual answer whenever she asked what he thought. It wasn't as if the rides or the attractions were boring or tedious, at least by her standards, it was just Fuutarou was indifferent with pretty much... well, everything.

On one hand she shouldn't have been surprised, seeing how secluded he his life was before he had met the quints, but even Yotsuba thought he would open up a little for just one day. The fact that he was acting no different than he usually did during study session was really starting to get on her nerves.

The main focus of her frustration, however, were those flash notes. Those damn notes! Every single time they were waiting in line Fuutarou was always reading them. He even read them when they sat down to have lunch. She would sometimes try to strike up a conversation, hoping to divert his attention enough that he would put them away for good, but to no avail. She just couldn't seem to get through to Fuutarou. His body was here, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.

She couldn't decide what upset her more, Fuutarou's indifference or that her date hadn't gone the way she'd imagined so far. She'd never been this upset before, and it was a real shock to her. The most she had ever gotten was being annoyed at things she didn't understand or caused her to become confused, but this was something else. All she wanted to do was to spend some time with Fuutarou. Why did it feel like he was so far away when he was right next to her?

In an last minute ditch effort she looped her arm around his. Still she got no reaction. He wasn't even embarrassed like most guys would be. He would just look at her with an unfazed expression and would just shrugged like it was no big deal. He had been all flustered and such when he came to her that night at the festival. What had caused him to change so much in just over a week? Was it because of what happened between him and Nino?

On that thought she asked him, "Hey, Uesugi-san? Nino wanted me to mention that she's very grateful for your help yesterday.

"Did she?" she saw him think for a moment, "Do you know what's going on with her?"

He still didn't know? Wasn't it obvious? Or course he wouldn't, because he didn't know anything about romance or a girl's feelings, just like Takebayashi had said.

"She's going through a lot," she replied, "This hasn't been easy for her."

Fuutarou rolled his eyes in annoyance, "That girl, I swear. If she wants a boyfriend that badly why doesn't she just go out and get one?"

She froze, and to her astonishment she was visited with the strong urge to slap him. How could he say something like that?! She had never been the violent type, had never wanted to hit anyone before, but for him to say something so rude and inconsiderate was enough to make her blood boil. Forcing herself to calm down and remain patient she let go of his arm. Fuutarou paid her no mind and the date continued.

She tried to think of something else but the activity around her made it impossible. Throughout the day she saw numerous other couples roaming around. Unlike her, all of them were having good time. Both the boy and the girl were smiling, blushing, and even laughing. Their interactions were so adorable and romantic she couldn't help being envious. Eventually she had to look away, but every time she did she was greeted by another couple doing the same.

One time she saw a guy who was totally devoted to his girlfriend. He was constantly teasing her and making her laugh. He even went as far as stealing a kiss from her which made her squeal in delight before she berated him that they were in public. It only made him tease her more, not caring who was watching them as he showed how much he loved his girlfriend.

Yotsuba looked at the ground as tears pricked her eyes. Why couldn't Fuutarou be more like that? She wasn't even asking for much and she wasn't trying to be selfish. How could everyone else be so happy when she herself was so miserable?

Where is the boy I met six years ago?

She sniffed and turned her head away so she could wipe her eyes, but even that was enough to get Fuutarou's attention.

"You say something, Yotsuba?"

She quickly put on a cheerful smile and said, "Oh, no! Something just flew in my eye!"


The sun had already set by the time they left the amusement park. Walking a little bit behind Fuutarou, Yotsuba went over how the day had gone.

Simply put, the date had been awful. She didn't have a good time at all. Nothing had gone the way she hoped it would. It honestly felt the exactly the way Fuutarou had perceived it, a complete waste of time. It was just for one day and yet she couldn't get him to put aside his notes or his studies for a single moment.

Fuutarou on the other hand seemed to be the exact opposite. He looked relieved, almost happy to finally be away from that place. Not once had he noticed how depressed she was. The fact that he could study while being in such a crowded area was remarkable. To anyone who didn't know him it was truly an incredible skill, but to Yotsuba it only showed how obsessed he was to the point that he outright ignored her.

She supposed it might have a case of bad timing after all, choosing to go on a date with the final exam coming up, but was there really any harm in taking the day off? It wasn't as if Fuutarou was struggling with his grades either. He was already guaranteed to be the number one student. Wasn't that enough? Could he not just sit back and relax a little?

She wondered if Fuutarou would be just like this when they went to college, if she herself went to college. Then again it probably wouldn't make a difference. He would remain exactly the same, obsessed with being number one, just as she felt nearly three years ago. Suppressing a huge sigh of disappointment she stepped up until she right beside and flashed him a huge smile, no longer caring how fake it looked.

"Um... Uesugi-san? Thank you for taking the time to go out with me today!"

"Yeah, you're welcome," he grunted, "although I still think it could have waited until after the final."

She kept the smile on her face while deep down she was hurt, but Fuutarou still didn't take any notice.

"Anyway," he stopped and looked around for moment, "Now that that's over with, there's something I want to ask you about before we head back. There's a little park over there, perfect for us to speak privately without interruption. Would you mind if we spoke alone for just a few minutes?"

She looked at him, wondering what could possibly be on his mind after paying so little attention towards her throughout the day.

"Okay," she nodded, "Sure."

Fuutarou took her arm and led her across the street. She quietly complied with him and he led to a bench. It too damp for them to sit down so instead they just stood before it. He looked around again to make sure they were really alone. Once he was satisfied he turned his attention to her, a serious expression on his face.

"This may seem sudden," he sounded nervous but determined, "but I may as well get this over."

He took a deep breath and, gazing intently into her eyes he said, "Will you marry me, Yotsuba?"

Everything around her went quiet. For a long time her mind had trouble registering his words. Then she blinked, blinked again, then blinked several more times.

"W-What?" came her reply.

"I'm asking you to marry me, Yotsuba. Is it a yes or no?"

She could only gap at him. When she finally realized he was being totally serious she burst out laughing.

"Uesugi-san!" she gasped, "What are talking about? That's not very funny!"

"I'm being serious, Yotsuba," he grounded out.

"Can you stop for a moment and think about what you're saying?" she couldn't stop giggling, "Don't you think you're rushing things?"

"No, I'm not," he answered directly.

She shook her head, "You're doing things backwards, Uesugi-san. You don't just throw out a marriage proposal after just one date. I may not be an expert on these things but even I know that much at least. It just simply isn't done."

He made no reply.

"Besides", she carried on, "even though I do want to be with you it's too soon for us to get married. We haven't even figured yet what we'll do after we graduate. We should wait a little longer, until we're older, maybe go on a few more dates before-"

"No."

Yotsuba looked at him, startled to see that scary expression from earlier again.

"But Uesugi-san-"

"No," he said more sharply, "I don't want to wait that long. We don't have to get married right away, but I still want you to be my wife. I just want an answer from you right now."

A long moment of silence passed before she spoke again.

"Why do want to marry me?" she innocently asked.

His eyes suddenly flashed, "You're seriously asking me that? Shouldn't it already be obvious?"

"Uesugi-san," she kept herself from stepping back in fear, "We don't really know a great deal about each other right now."

"I know enough to know what I want," he snapped back, "Do I really need to remind you why I chose you?"

There was another pause.

"Maybe you should, Uesugi-san," she calmly replied, "Why don't you tell me again?"

"Ugh," Fuutarou facepalmed, "Look, I told you that you helped out a great deal back then, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I want to support you, but I need you to support me."

"That's it?"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Fuutarou finally lost his cool and started prancing around, "What more do you freaking want?! I swear to God! Ever since that night all of you have been acting weird! You guys wanted me to make a choice! Well, I've made my choice! Why are you still going on about it? Don't you guys realize that the finals are coming up? We should be focusing on that instead or wasting our time with this damn romance business! I promised that I would have you girls graduate together and I'm not about to let this stupid thing interfere with that! I did you guys asked! Let that be the end of it! Now, for the last time Yotsuba, will you marry me?"

If Fuutarou thought that his little tirade would intimidate her, he was dead wrong. In those few sentences Yotsuba finally saw him a new side of him. She should have been frightened, but she wasn't. She wasn't ever sad or even angry. She was just disappointed. Not just with him, but also at herself. Finally accepting reality she took a deep breath. It was time to ask that very question.

"Before I answer that, Uesugi, there's one more question I have to ask you. And I need you to be perfectly honest with me."

She saw him rolling his eyes and she wondered if he even noticed she was no longer using the honorific she'd always called him by.

"Fine," he growled, "What is it?"

Taking another deep breath, she locked her gaze on him.

"Why couldn't you have dated any of my sisters?"

His expression went blank. The question had completely caught him off guard. He looked utterly confused and off balance. Yotsuba, feeling braver than she ever felt before, patiently waited. She wasn't sure what would happen next, but now that she had taken the plunge there was no going back. Fuutarou's answer would be the deciding factor of how she would view him from now on.

"Excuse me?" he seemed to be having trouble understanding the question.

"Why couldn't you have dated any of my sisters?" she casually repeated.

This time he was clearly annoyed, "What brought this about? What kind of question is that?"

"It's a very simple question, Uesugi," she calmly replied, "Except for Itsuki you knew as well as I did that my sisters were in love with you. You haven't really spoken with any of them since that night. You tried to with Nino, but you haven't spoken a word with her since then."

"So? Why does it matter?"

"It matters because they were the ones who pursued you the most while I mostly stood in the background. They all tried to win your affection and you haven't given them any thought since then. I want to know why."

"Oh, my God," Fuutarou groaned, "I thought we were passed this already."

"Uesugi, if you expected things to go right back to normal after that night, then you haven't been paying attention."

"God damn it! I don't have time for this!"

"Then answer my question and then I will give you my answer," when he didn't reply right away she immediately challenged, "Is it that difficult for you?"

"Arrgh!" Fuutarou nearly yanked out his hair and she saw him grit his teeth, "Alright, fine! I couldn't date your sisters because it would have been too hard. There! Does that answer your question?"

There was a long moment of silence as she went over his words, then she slowly said, "Too... hard? What do you mean by that?"

"Look," Fuutarou heaved a huge sigh, "I told you before that I love your sisters. I truly do, but any relationship with any one of them would never have worked."

Yotsuba's eyes suddenly narrowed, "What do mean it wouldn't have worked?"

"Based on what I've read about relationships and what I know about them individually, a good relationship with them would have been impossible."

"That's not an answer, Uesugi," she was growing impatient, "Explain yourself."

"You're really not going to let this up, are you?" incredulous, Fuutarou threw his arms up, "A relationship is built around trust and who you're most comfortable with. For me, I want someone who I can trust and depend on, someone who won't argue with me all the time and create a bunch of drama. I can't stand problems, they're nothing but an distraction and your sisters would only end up causing one problem after another. Take Ichika for example. After what she pulled back in Kyoto, how can I trust someone who plays dirty tricks on her sisters? Miku's okay but she's simply trying too hard be someone she just isn't. Itsuki's also fine but her and I would just get into one dumb argument after another."

Yotsuba could not believe what she was hearing. How could he say those things and not feel like a jerk?! While he wasn't exactly wrong about he was treating them so unfairly! All of them have come such a long way since they had met him. Then she realized he had left out one last quint.

"What about Nino?"

There was a slight pause, "What about her?"

Her eyes flashed, "What about Nino, Uesugi? She was the one who pursued you the most! Have you nothing to say about her?"

Fuutarou snorted, "Nino is nothing but trouble. Nothing about her makes any sense. Every time I think I finally understand her she surprises me yet again. I still can't figure her out even now! First she hates me, tried to get rid of me, then she says that she loves me, and then from there on she constantly throws herself at me. I don't understand her at all. How can I be with someone I don't fully understand and doesn't want to cooperate with me?"

Her hands were forming into fists, "So you coming to her defense didn't mean anything to you?"

He blinked, "Pardon?"

"Nino and I overheard you talking with those girls during the festival, the ones who were asking you about who she liked."

"Oh, that," he just shrugged carelessly, "I only said that to get them off my back. It was no big deal."

"To her it was! Do you have any idea of what she's going through right now? She truly believed that you really cared about her!"

"I do care about her. I care about all of you! How many times do I need to repeat that?!"

"Then how come you haven't tried speaking with her again? How come you keep avoiding her?"

"Because I don't know what she so upset about! But guess what? I no longer care! If she can't accept my decision than that's her problem, not mine. If she wants to be that way then the hell with her! I'm not going to waste my time explaining every single thing I do."

It had gotten to be too much. Her fists were now fully clenched and she was seething with rage. She had never been so angry, so furious, before in her whole life! And he still hadn't noticed. He just stood there quietly like everything was perfectly normal!

"So..." she grounded out, "you chose me only because I was the only one who never gave you any trouble like my sisters did. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Well, in a word, yes. You're easy to get along with, easy to talk to, and you never disagreed with me about anything. You're perfect for me."

Her anger was now reaching the breaking point.

"Like I said, you guys wanted me to choose one of you and I've done that. I don't know why you still want to argue about it. Now that I've answered your question will you please... ugh, you know what? Let's just wait until tomorrow. I'll give you some time to think about it. It's already getting late so let's get back. We got a lot of studying to do tomorrow and-"

A loud crack shattered the silence of the night, followed by a big crash as a trash bin was knocked down by someone trying to catch himself from falling. Anyone who might been close by might have mistaken the sound for a gunshot, but in that little park a significant turn of events had just occurred.

Yotsuba had finally snapped, and in her anger she had given Fuutarou what he rightfully deserved.