Burning the Midnight Oil

Chapter 18

The Man On The Receiver

~Nino~

"Fuu, look at this."

"Hang on, I almost got it-"

"No, look here, now."

"Do you want these soy sauces or not? Why do they have to be on the top shelf?"

"I do, after you look!"

"Fine! Fine, what is it?"

"What is this?"

"A can of beef stock."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, I got it a minute ago."

"Look closer. Read the label."

"It says it right there, can of...chicken stock. It was in the beef stock slot!"

"So you checked the slot, not the can?"

"It was right there! Why can't they stock things appropriately?"

"I'm sure they did, but there's no helping lazy customers putting things back where they don't belong. Use your eyes, Fuu. It's like you haven't gone grocery shopping before."

"Well I don't, not usually at least."

"Seriously? So who does?"

"Most of the time it's my sister, since dad's busy with work."

"Your sister? The sister who does all the cooking and most of the cleaning?"

"Yeah? And?"

"I had no idea your family was so old-fashioned."

"We're not, but thanks for the oversimplification. You'd understand if you met them."

"I call it like I see it, Fuu."

"Yeah yeah, I got it. So back to the soy sauce. Three bottles, right?"

"Right, and make sure you get the ones from the back."

"What's so special about those?"

"They stock the newer ones in the back, they have longer expiration dates."

"Those aren't even accurate-"

"And once you have some actual experience with groceries, maybe I'll listen to your opinion. For now, reach."

Futaro grumbled and reached over the row of yellow plastic caps and plucked the freshly stocked commodity a bottle at a time. Nino glanced down to his feet and noticed how they sat flat against the earth. Futaro didn't even have to try to reach the top shelf. She had to imitate a Russian ballerina just to score anything from the second to the top. And the top shelf was practically another continent separated by a great sea. And here Futaro effortlessly shifted bottles across that natural boundary with hardly a grumble, at least towards the effort itself, he had plenty to mumble about his picky girlfriend. He looked like a thin waterfall raining premium soy sauce from shelf to basket.

Futaro said, "There, that makes three. Are we set?"

Nino nodded, "Just need the meat, then we're finished and ready to cook."

"How do you normally get this stuff when I'm not here?"

"I find someone to help me."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh, you gotta say it now."

"Fine, but it sounds silly. This brand of soy sauce is popular, right? It's a, um, a premium brand?"

"Yeah."

"Well, at risk of being re-accused of sexism, I noticed most of the shoppers here are women. Why place something popular so high where over half their customers can't reach it?"

"Because then it wouldn't be top-shelf."

"That's a stupid reason. What does it matter where it's placed as long as it's good and everyone can actually get to it?"

"It gives me an excuse to bring you along."

"Or maybe it's so guys have girls asking for their help."

Nino laughed, "You're right, that is silly."

Futaro shrugged, "I warned you. It's a conspiracy."

Nino nudged him playfully, "Who knew grocery store clerks were such good pickup-artists?"

She noticed Futaro holding back an embarrassed smile, scratching his nose as he dared to continue with this nonsense. He was cute when he lightened up. He continued, "Ah, I think they'd be a lot better-looking if that were true."

"That'd be nice. Shopping around isles of good-looking guys."

Futaro deadpanned, "Maybe I should apply, I'm very good at reaching high places."

Nino took his arm, "No, you're taken."

"So are you."

Nino grinned and dug into his arm as he pushed their cart. He liked this side of him, playful with a hint of jealousy, like he was ready to trap her in his arms if another guy's eyes charted her body. Futaro didn't seem the type, but he'd surprised her time and time again. His heart wasn't a thing of gears and oil, it beat like anyone else's. There were pieces of a prince in that beating heart, too.

They reached the meat section and Nino selected a nicely marbled ribeye and asked the butcher to slice it for shabu-shabu. Futaro asked why they couldn't just cut it themselves, and Nino lamented his lack of cooking knowledge. She promised that he will learn.

With a full cart, they arrived at the checkout, and there she found pain. The clerk scanned item after item before sliding them to the bags. Nino had been here a hundred times, impatiently hoping she'd gotten one of the quick-handed helpers who realized time was a limited commodity. But each time she'd had power on her side, deep in her purse. Even as of last week, she had a sizable tool in her wallet thanks to their combined hard work. Meat was a luxury, but a luxury they could afford. Now their debit card was barely worth the postage it cost the bank to mail them. Nino counted the uncaring beeps, each one a razor across her arm. She panicked as the checker slid the meat over the reader and her total broke five digits. The dress she was wearing was worth more, and was bought at a more luxurious time. Now five digits seemed to stretch out of reach.

The clerk announced her total and Nino hastily paid before she could second-guess herself. Then she asked Futaro to bag the groceries, giving a halfhearted excuse he must have seen straight through, but didn't pursue.

Nino walked out the door into the glittering street light that couldn't decide whether it wanted to stay on. She checked their account balance on her phone and saw what she feared. Their funds were sufficient, barely, but there'd be nothing left for rent, or sewage, or electricity, or anything. Ichika had seen to that. And she remembered her mother pouring over a table of papers, bills almost screaming demands of payment, with her head in her hands and the weight of a world plus five growing girls on her shoulders. And Nino wondered, when would she become her mother?

Their account, all their hard work towards independence, was almost gone. Where else was she going to get some money? Ah, there was one thing: her dress. The dress Ichika bought for her. It was sitting in the bag in her closet with the receipt. If she returned it, all that money would be charged back to their debit card. It would let them float by a little longer. She wanted to reject the thought, the dress had been a flashback to an easier time, a hope of reclaiming what they'd given away on their own terms. But it was a foolish dream, a child's dream. This was the world she wanted, right? Freedom, and the responsibility it came with. Hadn't it been Ichika's success, after all? It wasn't really hers to share. But Ichika had left it behind, one last boost for her sisters to use. It wouldn't be enough, but it'd be a running start.

And suddenly her phone chimed its colorful melody. She saw her phone displaying a familiar number. A number who never called, not if he could help it. It was always through an intermediary, a secretary, or Mister Ebata. He was rarely this direct, and it was never a good thing when he was.

She picked up, "Hello? Papa?"

"Nino. It's good to hear from you."

"You too, papa." She waited for the reason, she knew it was coming fast. Her papa was like a cheetah lying in the bushes unseen, until he had a point, then he dashed to his prey.

"Mister Ebata has just finished helping your sisters return home."

"I know, Itsuki told me when she came back."

"I'm sure she did. I came home to see how you were settling in. I was disappointed when I saw not everyone had returned."

"We said we weren't coming home until we were ready. Some of us were quicker than the rest."

"Is that so."

"It must be," Nino began, "or did they say something different?"

"They told me enough. I have a pretty good idea of what's happened. I hope you were planning on telling me about Uesugi eventually, you know how I worry about you."

Nino wondered how much her father knew, and just how Ichika, because of course it would be Ichika, has explained things. She doubted it was flattering to her character. "Look, papa, whatever Ichika told you, it's, uh, complicated. You might have noticed, but we aren't on good terms anymore. That's why they're there, and I'm not."

"That's why I'm calling. You're to return home immediately and explain everything. I'll send Mister Ebata over to collect your things."

"I just said I'm not ready-"

"Nino, now is a time for family. The point you were trying to make isn't important anymore. It's time for all of us to be under one roof again."

One roof, one family. It didn't sound that bad. And for a moment Nino wondered if things could all go back to normal if she gave in, if she gave up that goal. But was that goal important anymore, if her sisters were no longer together? That was what mother taught them; whatever happens, what's most important is that they faced it together. And she imagined, there was there was no way they could stay mad at each other if they were trapped in the same house a room apart, they'd have to talk and scream and settle things like they used to.

But then Nino wondered, what was the cost of things going back to the way they were? What would she lose that she'd found?

"And what about Futaro?"

"What about him?"

Nino tried to speak, but what demand did she want to make? What was she trying to ask from her father? Permission? She didn't need that. Acceptance? That sounded about right. "Papa, I want you to know I really like him, and I'm not breaking up with him."

"I've already decided that boy will not be allowed anywhere near our home. You will respect that."

"Things have changed, if you'll let me explain-"

"Not now, Nino. I'll listen to whatever you have to say after you come home."

Nino wanted to laugh, why was her father choosing now to intervene in their lives? "Have you talked with Yotsuba, and Itsuki?"

"I have."

"What'd they say?"

"They're being stubborn. But I know you and Uesugi are at the center of this. If you come home, they'll follow."

"Papa, just what did Miku and Ichika tell you?"

"Their sides. It's time I heard yours."

"So you know everything about their end?"

"I know enough."

"Did you know they've loved Futaro for months? Longer than me, even?"

The line was silent for several moments. Love, her father definitely wasn't ready for that word. Not even with them. Nino wished she could see her father's placid face, and she imagined that just this once, she'd find a crack. "As I said, we can talk about this at home."

Nino laughed lowly, "What's the point, papa? You can't even get the full story there."

"That's irrelevant. What matters is that you return home, where you belong. Uesugi has no part in our affairs."

"Oh he does, more than even you, papa."

"Excuse me?"

Nino felt her voice straining as something came rushing from inside her, "Did you know I cleaned your room for you? Before we moved out? I dusted everything twice a week. So I know exactly how often you were home. I got excited when the covers were out of place, or when there was trash in your bin. But usually there wasn't, because you practically live in your office. I know that couch in your office folds out into a bed, I know, papa, and I know that's where you are every night."

"My work is very demanding, you know that."

"Yeah, I get it. You're busy saving lives and leading medical advancements and changing the world. It'd just be nice if we saw you half as much as your assistant-"

"Nino, you're over the line."

Nino breathed and checked her tone, "The point is, what I'm trying to say is, I'm actually glad you called. I'm glad you care enough to bring us back together. But you're going to leave as soon as it's done. But you still don't know what's actually happening with us, and I don't think you really care. You're the one that brought Futaro into our lives, and it's not fair that you're making him leave. He's my boyfriend now, Papa. And he's Yotsuba's best friend and Itsuki's mentor and you can't change that. And if you can't accept that, if you can't accept him, or them, or me, for what we are, then we aren't ready to come home, because you're not ready for us."

She waited for her father's words. Had they hurt him at all? If he cared, like she thought he did, then she cut him deep like an arrow through the arm. But if he didn't, if he was as distant as he seemed, then he'd be unfazed. Was he just a man wanting to gather his collection of daughters in his grand glass showcase so he could get back to important things? She didn't think so, he wasn't so cold.

He said, "I suspected you were acting strangely on our vacation. Now I understand."

She breathed, "I hope so, papa."

"I'm out of time, I need to get back to work."

"Oh. I see." She deflated, feeling more disappointed than she thought was right.

"I'm mailing you new key cards."

"We don't need-"

"I expect you won't be able to keep up with expenses on your own. This is for when you either come to your senses, or face eviction."

"It won't come to that."

"We'll see. I expect you to work this out among yourselves, and to return home shortly. When you do, we'll talk about everything. Uesugi too."

"Papa, we can talk about all of that now. Just come to our place. I sent you the address months ago."

He said, "I'll consider it. Goodnight Nino," he finished as he hung up. She dropped her phone and knew he already had. He'd never step foot in the proof of his daughters' rebellion.

And it infuriated her that her father wouldn't believe they could survive on their own. They'd practically been doing it for five years already, all they had to add were a few streams of income, and he doubted they could manage even that. Well they had, and they'd keep doing it, dammit! And now she felt a burning desire to make it seen, more than ever. Not just to him, but to Ichika and Miku and everyone who dared to doubt her capabilities.

But she had doubt, enough to understand theirs. Futaro had run the numbers, they'd have to give up a lot to keep living in that broken home. So much that Nino questioned their continued independence's worth. But if her sisters were committed, she couldn't let their sacrifice go unappreciated, and she wanted to show her father and her sisters that she could manage things even when they were apart. So she took her phone and made another call.

She expected the wait. She imagined him grudgingly washing his hands of flour and icing to pick up his phone, before answering, "What is it, Nakano?"

"Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting-"

"-You are, be quick."

"Oh! Okay, I can call back-"

"I'm already here, so go."

"Well, I was wondering if you needed any more help."

"What, you got someone who needs work?"

"No, I mean, if you need anyone to pick up some shifts, I can-"

"Wait, you serious!?"

"Whoa, uh, I mean, yeah. So, are there any-"

"Which days?"

"I was thinking Saturday? And maybe next week Tuesday, too."

"Trying to match Uesugi's schedule?"

"Kind of, but that's not the reason."

"I'm not complaining, you want them, they're yours."

"Great! And, one more thing."

"You're spoiling me. Go on."

"Last week you offered overtime if I trained the other bakers. I was wondering if that was still open."

The line was silent for a long moment, and Nino wondered if she'd pushed too far. Then the manager said, "I thought you were too busy."

"I was, but something came up."

"A lot, it sounds like."

"Yeah."

More silence, then, "I can offer you an extra one-fifty and hour if you'll train as needed on shift. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good, you'll start Thursday. Watch out for Uesugi by the way, he burned the batter last night."

"I'll keep him on a short leash."

"I'm sure you will. Bye."

Nino hung up the line with hope, a slight bump in pay would go a long way. A little closer to getting into the black, a little closer to proving her doubters wrong, a little closer to freedom. Or at least, the loosening of the leash. It was strange, six months ago she'd wanted nothing more than to stay trapped in their little play pen with the gate welded shut. If she had a pair of magic glasses that let her see herself through eyes six months younger, what would she think of herself? She'd see herself as a deadbeat sister throwing a fit, betraying her sisters for a stupid boy. Even now she marveled at what she'd said to her father, how she'd rejected his offer.

But among all of Futaro's lessons in the past half year, there was one thing she learned on her own, and it was that lesson that changed the part of herself that pushed her back to that tiny apartment: her sisters were drifting away. Her family was changing irreversibly. She had to change with them. Even as she'd struggled to keep her family together, she'd tiptoed into those uncharted waters and tasted possibility. Now, she'd dived in head first, all that was left was to swim. And even though she was afraid how different they would become, she hoped that, as she lost sight of them, their paths would bring them back together before they beyond a point of no return.

She rejoined Futaro as he idled outside the shop. He offered her one of the three shopping bags and said, "What was that about?"

"Picking up a shift or two. See you Saturday."

"Huh, I had a feeling you'd try that."

"Since when?"

"Since I wrote your budget and you got this serious look in your eye."

"You'd do the same thing, I'm not used to being destitute like you."

"Clearly. Why are you getting all this again?" Futaro raised one of the bags, she noticed the juicy meat behind the opaque plastic.

"Yotsuba and Itsuki are sticking with us, they deserve some thanks. I'd say that warrants a good meal."

"It's gonna bite into-"

"I can handle it, that's what the shifts are for," she paused, "And the promotion."

"Promotion?"

"Yup! I'm the executive trainer now."

"Did you just throw the word 'executive' in to fluff it up?"

"Not important. Point is, I'm in charge of training, meaning I'm a step up in the kitchen."

"Got it, boss."

"Boss. I like it."

"I knew you would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

They passed rows of shopettes and food stands. Nino checked inside a mini-mart and had an idea, "Hey Fuu, you got a lunch box?"

"No, why?"

"Go buy one."

"Why should I-"

"Just do it."

"I buy my lunch."

"Not anymore. Go get it."

Futaro grumbled and stepped inside, emerging minutes later with blue lunchbox with a zipper running along the rim that looked like a jaw. "I guess you'll be preparing my lunch now?"

"Why not? You sound ungrateful."

"I like my barbecue-less barbecue combo."

"I can make something better for half that price. Use that money for something else, like date nights, or, something." Yes, because she wouldn't have anything to spend on them, not for a while. Look at her, budgeting like a champ!

As she returned home, Yotsuba announced, "You're back! Finally!"

Itsuki moaned from the table where she was watching a cooking show with a dangerous look in her eyes, like a predator. "Nino, please hurry."

"It's six-thirty."

"I didn't finish lunch!"

"Who's fault is that?"

"Let's not go into today, not yet."

She gave Futaro a taste of her role to come at the cake shop as they prepared the hot pot. Or rather, she tried, but their low-end kitchenette was a far cry from the industrial behemoth that was their workplace. After bumping into each other for the fifth time, she told him to just stand back and hand her things as she demanded them. Then she got tired of explaining what a garlic press looked like and did everything herself. One day she would have a proper kitchen, with an island and a dozen cupboards and brand-name appliances. Hell, working appliances alone would be a boon right about now.

With the ingredients prepared, it was time for the main event. The electric skillet she'd snagged at an estate sale after moving out was slow to heat, like waiting for a stubborn sister to finish moving their stuff from the table so she could vacuum around it. But heat it did, and once the sauce was bubbling and the food was cooking the room was filled with a pungent aroma of flavor so powerful it was painful to wait.

"Eat up!" Nino announced as she loaded their plates. The air was filled with aromic smells and sounds of mastication, filling all five senses with food and flavor. Over dinner, Nino told Yotsuba and Itsuki the details of their relationship, Itsuki all but demanded to be caught up and Nino was happy to share after keeping it to herself for so long.

Yotsuba finished her first plate and said, "This is great, we haven't had hot pot since Christmas."

Itsuki said, "I know. I wish all of us could enjoy it together."

Nino said, "I'll have another next time, won't that be the perfect way to celebrate?"

"I like the optimism, really I do, but it's time we got back on track," Futaro said.

Itsuki asked, "With what?"

"This," Futaro took out his notebook and set it on the table, "We're overdue for tutoring."

Nino stared at the notebook as if it called her a dirty word, "Are you serious? After all this, we still have to study."

"Of course, what were you expecting?"

"A little reprieve!?"

"Not happening, especially not with you."

"Why am I being singled out?"

"I won't have a dumb girlfriend," He said casually. Yotsuba snorted laughter.

Nino sneered, "You won't have a girlfriend at all if you call her that again."

"That's fine, I have a wide vocabulary."

Itsuki said, "Joking aside, I don't know what you're so surprised about. I was hoping we'd continue."

Nino asked, "What? I thought we were on the same side!"

"We are, the mock exams are just weeks away. I want to see how well I can do. I need to know if I can continue past high school."

Nino asked, "And you, Yotsuba?"

She leaned on her hand and said causally, "I'm fine, too. Futaro, six A.M."

He blinked, "What about it?"

"Morning run time. Six A.M."

Futaro visibly melted like a candle in a time lapse, "Oh, right."

Yotsuba beamed and opened her book, "Alright, let's do this!" Her joy was, while not contagious, certainly a primer and everyone followed suit for an hour lesson. There was one benefit to their family break, they finally had one side of a table to themselves. No more bumping elbows reaching for the mushrooms, no more tabletop so crowded it resembled a jungle. And now at study, they had all the room they could want for their notebooks and study guides. Yotsuba practically expanded, slouching over her notes as if peering into paper pores for answers.

They never could share something evenly five ways. Not walls, not closets, not even shoe racks. But with four, such a reliably accepting number, they all seemed to fit. But Nino missed that crowded space.

After studies Nino washed the dishes as Futaro readied to leave. He asked Nino to see him out, Yotsuba mused why they could possibly want to be alone at this time of night, and Nino couldn't tell if she was being facetious. She cheerily killed Futaro's struggling happiness by shouting "Six A.M!" as they walked out the door.

The night was teasing spring that would drive away the cold, but the cold fought back with a bitter breeze that bit through her jacket. She followed Futaro down the steps and he asked, "Hey, you didn't take a shift for tuesdays, by chance?"

"Not this week, but I will after this."

"So you're free tomorrow."

"For?"

"Dinner."

"Oh definitely! Where are we going? It doesn't have to be anywhere too expensive, I get it, but it'd be nice to go out."

"Right, go out."

"Fuu, what are you getting at?"

"It's not that kind of dinner."

"What kind is it?"

"The kind at my place, where I introduce you to my sister and dad."

Now here was a terror Nino was not prepared for. Her own family was distraction enough, she hadn't even entertained Futaro's household. After all, after studies, work, romance and rejection, who had time to worry about meeting your boyfriend's family? Where had he even had time to set this up!?

"So you just arranged it without even asking me first? I'm nowhere near ready for that!"

"Ready for what? You've already met everyone at least once."

"This is different, like, Mercury and Neptune different! This is so different I don't even have something to compare it to!"

"Positives and negatives-"

"I wasn't being literal!"

"It's just dinner at my house. Simple as that. Besides, it'd be nice to have at least one of our families on our side."

Nino mulled the thought and decided, yes, maybe it would. "Alright, I'll go."

"Good, because I already said you would." Futaro said as he turned left.

Nino grabbed his hand, "Wait, why're you going that way? You always go right, isn't that the way home?"

"Yes, it is, but why do you know that? Have you been watching me leave?"

"That's not important. Tell me where you're going."

Futaro scratched his hair and said, "I was going to tell you, you know. I'm going to see your sisters."

Nino grinned, "I thought so."

"Huh, I thought I'd surprise you."

"You're too predictable, Fuu."

"I wish you'd pay this much attention in class." Futaro said, taking her hand and squeezing it like a heartbeat.

"What're you gonna say?"

"Dunno, I haven't come up with anything good yet. But I figure they're still my students and I'm still their tutor, and since they skipped today's lesson it's my job to scold them."

"I don't think they consider you their tutor anymore."

"Then they can fire me in person, I'll still get to see them. And then, maybe I'll wing it, who knows?"

"Shooting from the hip isn't your strong suit, Fuu."

"Served me fine last night."

Nino pulled his hand closer and rubbed his arm, smiling, "Yeah, it did." She paused, then said, "I'll be okay here. We will."

"I know."

"Call me after?"

"I will."

"I love you."

"I love you too." And then she kissed him, or he kissed her, either way someone was getting kissed and she loved it. For a moment all of today's troubles could melt away like thawing snow in the trees and she could smell the first spring air. Oh, yes!

~Futaro~

Five is a prime number. It is indivisible, incapable of being less. But six can be destroyed, divided into threes or even twos. You can choose how to destroy it. But you can always put them back together.

This wasn't going to work, he was sure of that. There was nothing he could say that would suddenly make this okay and heal all wounds like rewinding time. No, the damage was done and he lived in the debris. But tonight could still make a difference for their futures. He wondered what exactly was broken, and was it beyond repair? He didn't think so. Their friendships were not so fragile. They were living, born from half a year's long struggle towards academic excellence, through trials of family and self-worth and they came out together stronger. Not just him, Nino, Yotsuba, Itsuki, but everyone, even the two who insisted they no longer belonged. But they were his students. His partners. And they were his friends. The first friends he'd had in years, since he closed off his heart.

And though it was Nino who awoke that well of emotions inside him, each of the quintuplets had stirred it, unsettling it for his eventual eruption, by showing him there was more. There was life to be had outside of the library and classroom and their endless lines of text. There was value in the words of his peers, as much and more as he'd find from the Doctors and philosophers and technocrats he held so highly. Theirs were knowledge of a different order, one he'd discarded as superfluous and irrational. But he was delighted to realize that, yes, they were valuable. They brought a new dimension to life, like stepping from two dimensions into three. And they were his teachers, his guides, all of them. And now it was his turn to put what they taught him into practice.

Futaro was the number six, the outsider, the foreign agent injected into a happy home that unknowingly set it tumbling down like a jenga tower leaning and ready to fall. But after it all came tumbling down, he was the perfect person to build it back up. Where a family was immobilized amid the devastation, he could maneuver through the cracks and web things back together, or at least he could try.

He didn't know how things stood between him and the other sisters. They refused to speak with him since the revelation, casting him out like a dog who knocked over Grandma's ashes while chasing a laser. But he wondered, were they avoiding him from rage, or embarrassment over their feelings? If he spoke to them gently, if he didn't embarrass them for their feelings for him, if he invited them to stay his friend and his students, would they accept? Maybe not right away, but maybe, after tempers had time to settle.

And so Futaro found himself staring down the call box. One button, like a kiss, could set everything in motion. He hoped this would be the catalyst to setting things right.

He waited several moments, wondering if they were looking at him through the monitor. Were they debating whether they should pick up? He called again, and once more until he got an answer.

A voice, a male voice, picked up, "Hello?"

Futaro paused, "Um, hello?"

"This is the Nakano residence, can I help you?"

"Are you, a, servant or something?"

"Kind of, who's this?"

"Futaro Uesugi, here for tu-"

"Uesugi!"

"Yes?"

"It's Takeda!"

"Oh," was how his resolution died. It was as if it stumbled into a sink hole, and upon tumbling down to the depths it lashed out to drag his hope for reconciliation with it.

"Stay right there, we just finished. Don't move, okay? I'm heading down!"

He didn't intend to stay, he just forgot to leave, so great was his shock. He'd been replaced. It took a measly six hours and a kiss to replace him. They'd not only turned their backs on him, they'd packed him in an overnight crate for immediate shipment out of their lives. They didn't even bother firing him in person. He wanted to be angry about it, but the shock was too raw to feel.

He didn't want to face Takeda. He would have left before he arrived, but he was flabbergasted by his dismissal and forgot to move. So he was there when the elevator opened and a young man walked out.

Only, he wasn't a young man. He was a soldier returned from the trenches with a stare ranging a thousand yards. And he wasn't walking, he was running, away from the horrors of the battlefield. He was running to safety, and safety was Futaro.

Takeda grabbed Uesugi by the shoulder and gazed at, through him, unable to forget the horror he'd left behind. "Uesugi..."

"Takeda?"

Takeda begged, "How do you teach these morons!?"

A/N

There we go, back on track.

If one kiss can cause an avalanche, what can three, soon to be five kisses cause? I assume we'll find out soon enough with the way the manga's going. I'm glad it's recovered some momentum, it's felt stale since the school trip ended and I've been hoping there's be some character development. Now we have it in easily digestible chunks, but here I get the feeling this might be the last hurrah for blatant romance.

But I wonder, on a slightly related topic, if this manga will stand the test of time once it has ended. A good story is worth reading again even after you know the ending. But the mystery of her identity is so closely tied to the popularity that I wonder what impact it will have. I suppose it's a matter of time to see.

I've wanted to reach this chapter for a while, specifically to answer one question that begged to be answered since I started this story, which began right after chapter 73: what would happen if Takeda actually had to tutor the sisters? The answer: instant, terrific regret. I like the idea of him as a foil for Futaro, but I think his conflict was resolved far too simply and too quickly, so that's an area I want to expand on. He'll play his own part in the story moving forward.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this story, and particularly through these delays. Here's hoping I've gotten over that block and the things holding me back are in the past, at least for a time. Until then, best wishes and I'll get to work on chapter 19. Until then, please review, comment, and continue to enjoy.

Chapter published: October 17th, 2019.