Hey guys. Here's a new Quintessential Quintuplets story I wrote which reflects on the aftermath of drama that went on between Ichika and Miku over Futaro in Kyoto. I sure hope you like it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own The Quintessential Quintuplets.
The full moon loomed high in the starry sky, shining its silver light down towards the apartment where the Nakano Quintuplets lived.
It crept through the window of the lounge, bringing some illumination into the dark room. It showed their luggage was still left by the door after they had returned home from their class trip that day. The moon's glow also showed how late the time it was as it slunk over the clock, which was ticking quietly as it hung on the wall.
Regardless of how late in the night it was, there was one quintuplet in the apartment who was not in her bed. She was instead was sitting on the couch, lost in dismayed thoughts and deep regret.
Normally, Ichika would have had no trouble sleeping at such a late hour. The eldest of the sisters would nearly always slip into a deep slumber seconds after resting her head onto her pillow. Getting her to wake up in the morning and pulling her out of her bed was always a challenge for her sisters - as well as their tutor.
Yet sleep was far away from the oldest girl's mind that night. She couldn't rest on what she had recently done to one of her own siblings - as well as the teacher they shared.
"Miku... Futaro... I'm so sorry..."
A tear escaped from Ichika's eye to run down her cheek. It was something she had tried to keep under control, as she didn't believe she had any right to feel upset after what she had done back in Kyoto.
"What right do I have to cry? I'm the one who posed as Miku and tried to divert Futaro's affections off of her and onto me!" Ichika shook her head, disgusted with herself. "I was so stupid and selfish! I failed in my duty as the big sister! Mom would be so ashamed of me if she were here to see what I did!"
Ichika put her hands to her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to stop the tears that were pouring out. As her face was covered, she did not see someone else had entered the lounge to walk through the darkness. They stopped before where the eldest sister sat on the couch, standing before her in the moonlight.
"I'm sorry, Miku!" Ichika sobbed, her voice filled with guilt and hatred towards herself over what she did. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, Ichika... I forgive you..."
Ichika froze. She had just heard the soft voice of her sibling who she had been masquerading as. She was extremely stunned to hear her speak to her - as well as the words she had delivered to her. The eldest of the siblings pulled her hands away from her widened teary eyes to see the quintuplet she had hurt stood in front of her.
The moonlight lit up the shy girl's features as she looked down at her older sibling. It allowed Ichika to see to her great surprise - that Miku was smiling at her.
"I forgive you..." the middle quintuplet repeated softly.
The tears in Ichika's eyes flowed faster. She didn't believe she was deserving of Miku's forgiveness after what she did/ Never would she forget the look on her quiet sister's face when she had spotted her meeting with Futaro - while disguised as herself. It had hit Ichika like a large ton of heavy bricks. The rest of her siblings had been shocked and angry at her. They had really laid into Ichika how furious they were with her - and she didn't blame them one bit.
"I don't know why you forgive me after what I did, Miku." Ichika closed her eyes that were filled with shame. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. Because I never will."
"I understand why you did it."
Sitting next to her sister on the couch, Miku took Ichika's hands in her own. The pink-haired girl opened her eyes with surprise to gave through the darkness at the most tender and meek at her sisters.
Miku was still smiling as she rubbed Ichika's hands. "You've always tried to be the big sister. You've always been looking out for the rest of us and put our happiness before your own."
"A fine job I did there," Ichika said sarcastically.
"That's a job you've been doing since Mom died," Miku went on. "We've always tried to help one another with our problems - but you've been single-handedly been looking out for everyone else in the family. That's a huge burden to bare - especially at the cost of your own happiness."
Ichika's eyes twinkled with her tears in the moonlight. She gazed at her sweet sibling with all the love she had for her. Miku and the others were incredibly precious to her. How could she have thought for one minute of trying to steal a chance of happiness for herself from her own sister?
"I should've stuck to that," she insisted. "I should've been thinking of you and the rest of the girls instead of myself!"
"But like I said, I understand why you did it..."
Confusion filled Ichika's gaze as she stared at Miku. As far as she was concerned, she had betrayed her sister's trust and tried to take the man she loved from him. Why was she not tearing into her like Nino and Ichika had done when they had all caught her.
Miku continued to smile. "We've both fallen for Futaro, yet you were willing to stand back and urge me to go after him. Even when I didn't have the confidence that he would like me, you tried to convince me to do what made me happy instead of thinking for yourself. You tried to keep your own feelings locked away for my sake - and that made you lose control."
Ichika's eyes widened. She was astonished by the understanding Miku was showing about her recent immoral actions.
"What you did what out-of-character for you, Ichika. You've always tried to put our happiness first before your own. It's no wonder your love for Futaro made you do what you did. It took its toll on you and made you do something wrong..."
Miku paused, the smile on her face softening assuringly as she directed it at her sister.
"But that doesn't make you a bad person..."
A soft gasp escaped Ichika. She was deeply moved by how in spite of what she did to her soft-hearted sibling, Miku did not hold it against her.
"Miku..."
"We're sisters. More than that, we're quintuplets. You, me, Itsuki, Nino and Yotsuba. We're gonna have moments like what happened in Kyoto. We're gonna hurt each other, we're gonna make each other angry, we're gonna make each other cry. Nothing can stop that. We're family."
Miku gently squeezed Ichika's hands, stroking them gently with her thumbs as she beamed at her. "But it's because we're family that we can never be broken apart. Nothing like that will split us apart. Even the fact you and me have both fallen for Futaro.
"Miku..." Ichika began, only to be silenced as her sister held up a hand, wanting to finish what she had to tell her.
"No matter what comes our way, you will always be my sister." Miku wrapped her arms around Ichika, pulling her closely into a tight embrace. "And I will always love you."
Fresh new tears began to fall from Ichika's eyes. These ones were overwhelmed with the relief that her sister did not hate her for what she did - or for falling for the same person as her. She still felt terrible for posing as her in Kyoto, but was relieved that Miku did not hold it against her. More than ever, she wanted her sibling to be happy. With a heart as sweet and compassionate as hers, the middle quintuplet deserved all the happiness in the world.
Leaning over on the couch, Ichika embraced Miku back. She held her sibling tightly, not wanting to ever let her go. The moonlight continued to fill the dark apartment of the Nakano Quintuplets, revealing the two that were hugging one another, having put the recent drama between the pair of them behind them.
"Thank you, Miku..." Ichika smiled softly. "I love you too."
Miku smiled as well. She was glad that the needless tension between her and Ichika was over at last. The middle quintuplet knew only too well that no matter what came their way, her big sister would always be there for her. The love they had for each other, as well as Nino, Yotsuba and Itsuki, would never die.
And that was why Miku had willing forgiven Ichika.
So that's the story. The point of it was to emphasis how Ichika has been forgiven by Miku at the end of this arc - which so many people seem to overlook, constantly giving her intense backlash. Speaking as someone who is in Team Miku, I find this hatred towards Ichika to be awful and unnecessary. While posing as Miku to try to foil her chances of winning Futaro was a bad thing to do, it doesn't really make Ichika a bad person. What she made was a mistake, and it was one she didn't take long to regret and feel remorseful for.
And despite being the wronged party and hurt victim in this drama, Miku found it in heart to forgive Ichika, as seen in both the manga and drama. So if Miku herself can forgive Ichika's past mistake, surely her fans can do the same. :)
Thanks for reading! I hope you like it and managed to take away its message! Cheerio!
