Burning The Midnight Oil

Chapter 27

The Mock Exams

~Nino~

Hey, a teacher grabbed me when I was out. They want me to take the exams in the staff room away from other students. No idea why. Looks like I won't be around for the rest of the day. Good luck to all of you. I know you'll do well.

"You see this?" Nino asked Itsuki.

She nodded without taking her eyes off her phone, "You too, Yotsuba?"

"Yup," Yotsuba frowned, "This is weird, he said he'd be right back."

Itsuki re-read his text and wondered, "Something smelly fishy, though. Why take him out of class?"

Nino sighed, "That's what I'm wondering too. They didn't say anything ahead of time."

Yotsuba said, "Maybe they're afraid someone's gonna cheat off him?"

"On a mock exam?" Itsuki asked.

"People try cheating off him all the time, he's been shielding his tests since middle school," Yotsuba explained. Nino was a little miffed that Yotsuba knew that and she didn't.

Before they could speculate further, their teacher arrived. He said, "Miss Nakano, if you would."

Yotsuba rose, "Yes teacher! Everyone, take your seats and settle down! We're about to begin!"

Their teacher set a pile of folders on his desk, each filled with a different exam to test their futures. He patted the towering stack and said, "This is it, everyone. This is the day we've been preparing for. I know what some of you are thinking, this is a mock exam, the scores don't matter and so I shouldn't worry about taking this seriously. Wrong! This is your last chance to check your level before the real exams in the winter! You won't have any do-overs or second chances to gauge your progress, so this one really counts! I expect everyone to approach these tests with the gravity they deserve.

"The exams will run for the entire day. The real exams will take place over two, so if you have trouble enduring just this, it means you need to work on pacing yourselves for next time. Each section is half as long as what you'll find on the real exams, but these scores correlate closely with the real thing. Once you open your tests, there will be no leaving this room for any reason until you return it to me. So if you need the restroom, rise now or hold your...peace. Are there any questions before we begin?"

No one said a word. The teacher nodded and said, "Can I have a volunteer to assist Miss Nakano passing out the exams? Mister Uesugi is preoccupied and won't be testing with us today." He nodded when Takeda volunteered to help Yotsuba and handed them the first set of booklets.

Nino felt relieved, if the teachers knew about Futaro, she didn't need to worry. She took out her phone and sent him a text.

We're starting. Go show my papa what a real braniac can do!

She had her phone in her purse as Yotsuba handed her exam with a knowing wink. She took out her pencil and opened her booklet on the teacher's signal. History was first, both World and Japanese, then Ethics, Politics, and Geography. And that was all before the first break! Then they had Social Studies and Literature and English all before lunch! And it could only get worse after that when they delved into the Mathematics and Sciences, so many sciences; Phsyics, Chemistry, Biology, and, uh...crap. She couldn't even remember all the tests. She was screwed.

Her phone buzzed.

Do your best. I'm proud of how far you've come. I love you Nino.

"Nakano!" Mister Onizuka shouted, "Phone! Now!"

I love you too! Love love love!

She sent the text against her teacher's demeaning glare and surrendered her phone. She returned to her seat and opened her first test. When had a test ever made her quiver in her heels? She was more than a number between a letter grade, and everyone, especially Futaro, knew it. She'd poured her soul into her studies with her sisters, the time for preparation was done! There wasn't any point in hesitating, she'd dive straight into these questions without fear! Either she knew it or she didn't, and a world of worry wouldn't change that now! She'd show everyone what she was capable of!

Question 1: Which Chinese Dynasty did Zheng He serve? A: Yuan. B: Qin. C: Zhou. D: Ming. E: Han.

Huh. Not the best start. Eenie, meenie, minie, mo! Onto the next one!

She had better luck with questions two through four and was scratching her head on number five when the door opened. She blinked as Miku quietly entered the classroom and spoke quickly with the teacher, who nodded quickly and handed her the booklet. She took her seat and opened her first test.

Nino wondered what made her late. She'd been so caught up wondering about Futaro that she hadn't noticed her sister was missing. Nino shrugged it off, she must've lost track of time, she didn't seem very focused today. She wondered if she'd slept well. She knew she should be feeling fatigue herself, but the rush of the exams were better than any prescription drug for focus. She'd sleep well tonight after some well-earned celebration.

Glancing away from Miku, she caught Ichika in the corner of her eye. She found her eldest staring at the first page like a woman watching her child get run over in the street. She wasn't even holding her pencil, she must've given up hope already! Maybe she'd been so busy with all her scheming that she'd forgotten to actually study!

Ichika dared a glance to her right, to Futaro's empty seat, watching it like a ship leaving the harbor forever. Was she regretting letting him go now? That's what you get for downgrading! She must realize now where all her insidious scheming has left her, and how if she'd only tried to understand her sister instead of acting so childishly, she'd be in a much better place. Did she know that she was doomed to failure because of her jealous greed?

Ichika caught her staring, and Nino saw that something was missing, like a part of her soul abandoned her the same way she abandoned Nino. Was this regret? Or was this Nino's curse coming real? She was watching her sister crumble before her very eyes. Nino grinned, and knew that Ichika was finally suffering the consequences for everything she'd done. This was the start of her house of cards crumbling around her.

But there'd be time to gloat later when the scores were tallied. She'd savor the look on Ichika's face when she realized that for all her slander and schemes, it was Nino who ended up on top. She powered through question after question until the end, then waited for test number two to do it all over again. She imagined Futaro under the eyes of all the teachers with time to kill powering through his tests one after another. She realized she'd never actually seen him take one before, you couldn't exactly watch someone taking a test without looking like a cheater. Did he just mechanically fill in bubbles with the speed of an assembly line? She could imagine it. He was so smart he could put a super-computer to shame.

When their teacher dismissed them for lunch after collecting their tests, Nino stood up and stretched until her back popped like an air rifle. She shot a cocky smirk at Ichika who was still trapped in her desk like a barbie trapped in a dollhouse forgotten in the basement. She led Itsuki and Yotsuba to lunch in the cafeteria.

She asked Yotsuba, "Text Futaro, would you? Mister Onizuka won't give me my phone back until after class."

Yotsuba said, "I already did, he hasn't answered."

Nino said, "He better show up for lunch. I made my special marinade for the beef. This is better than anything he'd get from the cafeteria."

Itsuki said, "Maybe they have him taking all the tests at once, he wouldn't need as much time as we would."

Nino said, "You're right! He might even be done by now! Let's go check the staff room after lunch!"

But when they arrived after eating her lunches, a female teacher who had as many bobby pins in her hair as there were freckles on her face said that he wasn't here, and that he hadn't been here since she arrived thirty minutes ago.

Yotsuba hummed as she thought on this, then said, "Maybe they moved him? I'm sure the teachers wouldn't wanna eat with a student nearby."

Nino huffed, "He should've told me! He'll go hungry if we can't find him and it's almost time for the next test!"

Itsuki comforted her, "I'm sure they got him something from the cafeteria. They wouldn't let him starve, they want him to do as well as possible."

Yotsuba said, "I heard the teachers are placing bets on who places first, Futaro or Takeda."

Nino's eyes widened, "No way! You think the ones who bet on Futaro pulled him aside so that they could help him with anything he doesn't know? That's so underhanded, I can't believe they're responsible for teaching us!"

Itsuki said, "That's just a rumor, and I doubt they'd go that far."

Nino said, "But it makes sense, doesn't it? Not that he needs help, of course. Well, anyways, you're probably right, I'm sure they took care of him. We'll meet him after the exams are done. Come on, let's get back."

Mathematics and sciences were next. If she could drop two subjects down the toilet, it would be them. Why learn math beyond algebra when she had a device in her pocket, well, maybe not now, but normally, that could do everything these tests wanted and more? And science? Well, she already knew everything she needed. She knew how much yeast to use to make bread rise, she knew water didn't mix with oil, and she knew fire made food much tastier. Why did she have to learn the nitty-gritty details if she wasn't planning a career in a lab coat? But colleges cared, and so the tests cared, and so her school cared.

But halfway through math, she paused and wondered, what was she going to do with this? The entire point of these exams was to test her preparation for higher education. She never thought she'd get that far. None of them did. The only reason she cared was because of Futaro's bet with papa, and after that, well, what? Did she want to go to college? And if she did, what would she study? What did she even want to study? She knew everything she needed. She could cook with the best of them already, that was all she needed to get through life. What exactly was supposed to happen after high school?

But exams were horrible places for personal revelations. She quickly shelved that train of thought for another day and returned to her test. Math passed as well as it could for her, and then she slogged through the sciences and onto freedom!

Their teacher collected the last of their exams and told them all how proud he was of their efforts. He said a few more words that Nino quickly forgot, being too busy thinking about whether Futaro was done or not, and what his surprise date would be before work. When he finished, he concluded class early for the day and dismissed them to celebrate, or mourn, whichever was more appropriate. Nino ran up for her phone, which he gave her with a stern warning as always, before returning to her sisters. She was sad that Futaro still hadn't texted her.

Yotsuba, the bottomless well of vitality, looked moribund. "It's over. It's finally over."

Itsuki stretched her fingers to fight her cramps and asked, "How do you think you did?"

She smiled weakly, "I think college might still be out of the question."

Nino said, "I dunno, I know it's not saying much, but that's the best I've felt about a test in years. I kinda lost my groove in math, but I didn't expect to shine there anyways. I definitely made my points in the morning."

Itsuki said, "Funny, I feel the opposite, afternoon was much better for me."

Nino wined, "We're quintuplets! We should be allowed to combine our brains for these kinda things!"

Yotsuba lit up, "Oh, that's not a bad idea! If we all got into the same college, we could sign up for the same five classes, and then attend one each five times for perfect grades! We'd be so good at it by the end of semester we'd have to ace them!"

Itsuki blinked, "That actually sounds super effective. And super unethical."

Nino sighed, "And there's no way I could attend the same boring lecture five times, I'd die!"

Itsuki asked, "So, any word from Futaro?"

"Nothing! What're they doing with him, he should've texted me as soon as he was done!"

"That's strange, I thought he'd have finished a while ago."

Yotsuba gasped, "You think he caught our stupid?"

Itsuki waved it off, "Of course not, but I wonder, what if he's taking a different test?"

Nino asked, "What do you mean?"

"Like, maybe they're giving him a whole new level of test, something they can't give to ordinary students."

Nino laughed, "That's not bad! Maybe! He'd probably enjoy it, too."

"Uh, hey."

Her voice was like someone yanking a fistful of hair. Ichika approached them like a new kid trying to make friends at school. Nino knew it was an act just like all the rest. She didn't care what she wanted, there was only one thing she was gonna get.

Yotsuba leaped to her feel as if stung by adrenaline, "Ichika! Hi!"

She waved conservatively, "Hey, got a sec?"

Nino threw her hair back and stood with her hands on her hips. She said, "Where's your goons, little starlet? Or are you finally gonna get your hands dirty yourself?"

Ichika hesitated, "No, not that. I just need to know, have you heard anything from Uesugi?"

Nino laughed, "What's it to you? You think he wants to see you after what you did? I know, Ichika, and I know he knows too. So what the hell do you think you're trying to do?"

Ichika tried to keep her face neutral. She was failing. Nino wondered if this was intentional, too. "Oh, you don't know?"

"Oh I think everyone knows. It's hard to miss when it's plastered all over the walls!"

Yotsuba quietly asked, "Huh, what's plastered all over what?"

Nino barely heard her as she stepped closer to Ichika until she could smell her lunch of spiced shrimp on her breath. She seethed like a hungry furnace lowly enough for only Ichika to hear, "Well here I am, and thanks to you I have all the pieces. I never thought we'd be that kind of family, we were supposed to be better than that! But if you wanna be that kind of bitch, guess what? I don't need it. And thanks to you, I now know exactly who in my life matters and who doesn't, so fuck everyone who bought into your slander, I don't need them! I have everyone I need with me! And whether or not that includes you, I don't care anymore. But I'm not gonna lower myself like you, I'm gonna be better. You hear me? I'm gonna be better than you in every way that counts!"

Nino poked Ichika in the chest. She took it like a limp doll, staring at the offending finger as if surprised it couldn't penetrate the skin. Had she expected something different? She said, "Nino, just stop-"

"No. You stop. Go the fuck home and re-think your life. And if you wanna come begging for forgiveness then, I'll be ready. But I won't be waiting for you."

"That's not what she's talking about."

Everyone turned as Miku approached them. Her eyes were heavy as waterfalls in a flood. Nino realized this was the first time they were all together since that day two weeks ago.

Itsuki said, "Miku? What's this about?"

"It's about Futaro," she said.

Nino glared, "What about him?"

Miku took a long breath, and told them everything.

~Futaro~

"Here, see if you can keep this down," his father said as he handed him the ladle.

Futaro tilted it into his mouth and struggled to swallow. It didn't burn right away, but when it reached bottom it was like tapping a thermal vent on the ocean floor. He handed the ladle back and waved it away, "No more. It's not gonna stay down."

His father sighed and set it back in the pot. "Alright, we'll try again later."

Raiha leaned over the pot full of soup and frowned, "Are you sure? There's barely anything in this one, it's mostly stock."

Futaro said, "It'll be fine, I'm just tender. I'll get better by dinnertime. I'll eat something then."

Father picked up the pot and set it on the dead burner. He patted Raiha's head, "I'm sure the soup will stay until then. How about you boil some cabbage to go with it? He could use something with a little substance."

Raiha nodded, "I'll get it! Big bro'd better get well soon! When you're all better I'm gonna make the best curry you've ever tasted!"

Futaro smiled as his sister rummaged through the fridge for the half head of cabbage left over from Tuesday night's sweet and sour Chinese dumplings. Whatever phase she was going through, her boundless caring and support was her staple. He almost felt bad for dad using it as a distraction.

His father scooted closer and leaned over him, setting his hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Futaro groaned, "No fever, dad. Just stomach pain."

"I know," he said gravely, but too quietly for Raiha to hear. "When did this start?"

"When a fist hit my gut."

"So there was nothing before that?"

"No," he started, then said, "Well, maybe. I've had this stomachache all week. It was just an annoyance, though, nothing serious."

"Until now," his father sighed, "Futaro, you know what I'm going to say."

"Again, not gonna happen."

"If this gets worse-"

"I'm not going, dad."

"If you keep being stubborn, I'll-"

Futaro glared, "You'll what? Force me?"

"Could you stop me? You're not an adult yet."

"I am in less than a day. Isn't it time I started deciding things for myself?"

"Even adults need to be told when they're in the wrong."

"Well I'm not." Futaro laid back and shook his head, "You know what it'd do to us."

His father sighed, "Money isn't an issue. We don't put a price cap on health."

"But your insurance does. We are finally getting somewhere stable, the debt collectors are backing off and we're making our payments. I won't put us back there. If it's my health or Raiha's college fund, I'm not going. Not unless I know it's serious. And if you make me, I won't forgive you."

Two stubborn men challenged the other to back down with their eyes, but persistence was a trait passed from father to son, and neither gave a bit of ground. His father asked him, "Would your mother forgive me if something happened to you, and I could've stopped it? Would Raiha?"

Futaro seethed, "Nothing is gonna happen."

"Well go on then, you're so smart you tell me what's wrong with you. Tell me your pain couldn't possibly be a sign of something serious and I'll back off. Can you do that, Futaro?"

He wanted to. He thought back to every snippet of health and wellness he'd read in a hundred books, and came up with twice as many possibilities. Some were harmless. Some weren't. So could he say anything was certain? No, not without more research. And he was angry because he knew he was at a dead end without a map to find his way out.

Instead he gripped his painful stomach and said, "It hasn't gotten worse since school. If it does, I'll tell you."

"And then you'll go without a fuss?"

"No."

His father wanted to argue more, he'd push until his son's stubbornness was as weary as his body. This was a man who'd watched the love of his life fade away before him behind hospital curtains. Watching your partner's life cut away a centimeter at a time was a wound that never fully healed. He wouldn't endure his child suffering the same.

"Futaro, you're just like your mother," he began, "she kept insisting she was fine no matter how much I pressed, it was months before she saw a doctor. Do you know how many times I've wondered that if I'd made her go sooner, she might still be with us? Can you even picture a number that large?"

Futaro sighed, "I'm not mom. I'm not gonna die from this."

"And if you're wrong?"

"How often am I wrong?"

"Don't ask me to take that chance." His father was like a train whose conductor kept shoveling coal into the fire, he was just getting started. But before he could press his point, there came a knock at the door.

"Mister Uesugi? Raiha? Is anyone home?"

His father looked up, "I was wondering when they'd show up. Maybe they can talk some sense into you." He left Futaro to ready himself as he greeted them at the door.

"Nino, Itsuki, Yotsuba," he said. Futaro sighed, he wasn't ready for all of them at once.

His girlfriend said, "Mister Uesugi! Is he here?"

"Over there. Come on in, he's awake."

Here was the moment he dreaded. He wasn't good with receiving attention, he was best operating quietly in the background like a freight train in open country, his mind pulling a wealth of intellectual cargo across the open plains. But he knew Nino was going to drown him in attention and worry, not that he could expect anything less from her. To Nino, family really was a tree. The rest of the forest could be burning, but as long as all her branches were intact, she stood standing proud. He was part of it now, wasn't he? So he wasn't surprised when she kicked off her shoes and almost slid beside him like a batter racing to beat the umpire's call, holding his face in her hands and checking him like a very clumsy nurse learning to triage.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling? Has it gotten any better? Have you eaten anything?" She peppered him with questions like a machine gun through a barn.

And all of that would have been fine if she was the only one doing it. But the power of the quintuplets lay in their numbers trampling over the unwary like a bystander trying to squeeze past them on a narrow sidewalk. Yotsuba took up duty on his other side, Futaro mused how they were going for the pincer move as she echoed her sister's concern in a more congenial manner. Still, there was lots of questioning and concern on the extreme, nothing Yotsuba did was ever light-handed. And good Itsuki the saint was the only one willing to let him just breathe. She settled in besides Yotsuba and kept her concern largely in her looks, which, while more than Futaro wanted, was a balm compared to her hounding siblings.

Futaro waved their concerns with as much poise as he could manage, saying, "Fine, fine, I'm alright," more times than he cared to count. He finally forced in, "So how were the tests?"

Nino blurted, "Tests? How can you be thinking about tests of all things!?"

Itsuki chuckled, "Sounds just like him to me."

Nino said, "No! We are not worrying about some stupid tests that don't even count for anything! Why didn't you answer your phone, Futaro? Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when you didn't respond? You haven't said a word since you told us that stupid lie that you were taking the mock exams with the teachers, which you're definitely gonna pay for later, injury or no! So why didn't you text me back!?"

Futaro blinked after her tirade, "Is it my turn?"

"Yes!"

"I didn't get any texts."

"I sent you over a dozen! I tried calling six times!"

Yotsuba nodded, "It's true! I counted," she added as if that were helpful.

Futaro rolled his eyes and reached for his phone, "Whatever you say, I didn't get it. Here, let me, oh." He opened his phone and found a black screen. "Huh, battery died."

"The battery died!? You're at home! How can you let your battery die!? There charger is right," her hair danced like a twirling summer dress as she searched for the cord, "there! Right there! How could you forget?"

Futaro said, "I haven't checked it. Sorry. Lost track of time."

Nino softened, Futaro thought she might be imagining him lying there, suffering whatever blow he'd taken, and she couldn't stay mad when he was in obvious pain. She sniffed and wiped her nose, then breathed deeply as she looked somewhere far away. She asked, "Did you eat?"

"Tried to."

She showed him his lunchbox, "Here, try this, I made it last-"

"No!" Raiha shouted, storming over from the kitchen and pushing it away, "He can't eat anything solid, it'll hurt him! He's gonna eat soup when he's ready, okay?"

Nino blinked, backing away as Raiha leaned over her, "Oh. Sure, Raiha."

Futaro sighed, he pitied Nino almost as much as she did him. How was she to navigate the impulsive desire to help with the tactical dance to appease the sister who's affection she struggled to win? He imagined she was tired enough from the exams, Raiha was a curveball they didn't need right now.

Futaro leaned up and said, "Raiha, cut it out. She didn't know."

"But still-"

"Raiha," Futaro said lowly, "Stop it." When did his little sister become so obstinate? Maybe it ran in the family. Raiha huffed and returned to the kitchenette.

Nino took his hand and slowly massaged it. She took each of his joints between her fingers one at a time, like each was worth special attention. He glanced at Yotsuba and Itsuki, they were watching him like a curious animal they found while hiking through the back country. He felt like a patient in the operating room about to go under. He didn't like falling beneath so many eyes, it made his stomach twist like licorice. Not at all pleasant when he was already in pain.

Yotsuba, bless her innocence, was too dense to pick up on his discomfort at so much attention. But Itsuki, for all her academic faults, was perceptive as a chronologist counting the careful ticks on a grandfather clock. She saw that Futaro was unwelcoming of so much attention at once, he'd have been most comfortable if their families continued their days as if he was simply on holiday instead of bedridden. And while she wasn't ready to leave, mere presence was a sign of support and love to her and everyone else, however illogical it might be to him, she had a compromise.

She smiled knowingly at him and tugged Yotsuba's sleeve, "Hey, let's see if Raiha needs help."

Yotsuba blinked, "Huh? With what?"

Itsuki sighed, "Just come on, she looks like she bit off more than she can chew with that huge pot. Futaro, feel better, okay?" Futaro nodded as they headed to the kitchenette.

His father was at the door making a call. His sister was stirring a giant pot wafting steam that Itsuki and Yotsuba eagerly inhaled, imagining the taste. Only Nino was with him, he could almost pretend they were a wall away from the others. It was nice, he mused. Her fingers worked over his and he felt his joints sigh in reprieve.

Nino's eyes ran down his chest to his stomach, stranding it like a prisoner in the spotlight. She asked, "How bad is it?"

"Not great, but I'm getting by."

Nino stared at his stomach as her fingers worked across his palm. She wanted to move and do so much more, if only she knew how. Her fingers kept moving, working down to his open palm, working with so much energy she didn't know how else to use.

He asked, "So, the exams?"

'This again? Seriously, now's not the time."

"I'm gonna keep asking until you tell me."

Nino scowled, "Stop being so persistent, it's not like it matters now. You didn't even take it."

"But you did, you need to tell me," he persisted, "It'd make me feel better to hear it."

Nino glared at him like a child who kept asking for candy after hearing no a dozen times. "Fine, have it your way. I'm not gonna guess how well I did, that's entirely up in the air. But I felt better about today that I did about the midterms or the finals, if that means anything."

Futaro shrugged, "Could be worse, I guess," he started, then he wanted to hit himself for sticking his foot in his mouth, "Crap. It was though, wasn't it?"

Nino nodded, "Of course it was! Do you have any idea how worried we were when you didn't come to class? We kept waiting for you to hop in the door, and that text you sent us was super weird. I was almost too busy wondering why they took you out of class to focus on the test!"

Futaro waved her down, "That's not what I mean, you know."

"The what? Oh, the picture."

"Yeah."

Nino bowed her head as if the memories in her head took on real weight. "Well, what about it? It happened already, didn't it?"

Futaro shook his head, "I guess so."

Something settled over them like a muzzle stifling their voices. There was so much each wanted to say to the other like an aquifer full to bursting after a season of storms. But each topic they wanted to bring up was taboo to the other, be it his health or her sister, those were the hornets nests neither was ready to kick.

He could see that she wanted to, oh how she wanted to force the talk. Very little could shut Nino up when she wanted to speak, but an ill boyfriend seemed to be part of that very small list. Nino rubbed her eye with her palm and returned to massaging his hand. Her hands were so much warmer than his, it felt like warm, tiny rocks squeezing his skin. It was strange considering he was the one under a blanket.

Then he saw the mark. She'd smudged the makeup on her cheek when she wiped the tiredness from her eye. It looked like someone slashed her with a marker.

Futaro freed his hand and pointed, "What's that?"

Nino blinked in confusion, following his hand, "My face?"

"Under your makeup. There's a mark."

Nino breathed sharply and stuttered, she actually stuttered, 'O-oh, this?"

"Is that a bruise?"

"It, well-"

"It is. What happened?"

Nino went quiet as she tried to think of her answer. It was just enough time for Futaro to follow the trail of breadcrumbs like a hound follows a scent to the scene of a crime.

"That's why you've been wearing so much makeup. Since Monday. When you saw Ichika." Futaro tasted the name like rotten fruit, "Ichika did that, didn't she?"

Nino bit her lip as if she could hide the truth from him so long as she kept her lively mouth quiet. But he wasn't asking for an answer, he was demanding it, and locking eyes she could see how he would get his answer no matter what she wanted. She gave the smallest, most hesitant nod she'd ever given in her life.

And suddenly the pain in his gut disappeared. All this worry over tests and feelings and relationships disappeared like ashes in the ocean. All that mattered was that Futaro would finish what he started in the hallway. There was a monster among them and Futaro had to kill it.

He rose on his elbows, fully intent to rise, dress if time permitted, and make sure that Ichika could never hurt the people he loved again. He had no idea how he'd do it, only that he'd get the job done when the time arrived. And he would have, if Nino hadn't held him back.

"Futaro, stop!" Nino said, pressing into his chest, "You need to rest!"

"Ichika," he muttered as if calling her name would summon the devil in his eyes. He pushed against his girlfriend's grip and continued to rise.

"Hey there, bud," his father said as he appeared at their side, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him down with surprising gentleness, like a mother holding down her curious child. "You'd better stay put, dont'cha think?"

Futaro glared demons at his father for holding him back and wasting his time. He had hunting to do. "Get off me."

Nino pleaded, "Futaro, it's okay. Really, really okay. Please don't get up again."

"Ichika-"

"Isn't here! Just calm down, please?"

He wanted to push, and as he was he might have broken through their restraint and their pleas and hunted Ichika as his instincts demanded. But he was broken from his trance when he saw that everyone, from Itsuki, Yotsuba, even his sister were surrounding him, watching him like visitors over an abductee. Futaro realized what he must have done and how crazed he must look.

He flushed with embarrassment and laid back willingly, covering his face. "Alright, fine. Sorry. I got a little, you know."

His father nodded, asking Nino, "Keep looking after him for a bit, will ya? We'll give you two some room."

The room was less suffocating when everyone's eyes were elsewhere, but not by much, because Nino's worry smothered him like resting underneath the busy end of a cement truck. She held his hand tighter than before, he felt her high energy ready to jump him again if he tried something stupid. Not that he needed a reminder, his gut was making him pay for ignoring it and daring to move.

He asked, "So, you know."

"About Ichika?"

"Yeah."

"So did you. That's what you wouldn't tell me," she paused, then asked, "Why didn't you? You knew it was her since yesterday, at least. Why'd you keep it a secret?"

Futaro wetted his lip before answering, "I thought, if I told you then, you'd never get past it. I didn't want you to lose each other forever."

Nino smiled sadly, "Well, it might be too late for that now."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Nino squeezed his hand sharply, "Don't apologize! What did you do wrong?"

Enough to end up here, but that was nothing. He looked at his girlfriend stroking his fingers in a never-ending loop. Her fingers were so strong and agile, working through each muscle one at a time. She had so much energy she wanted to spend, and her only outlet was his meager hand. How heartbreaking must it be to watch someone you love suffering knowing there is nothing you can do to help?

Well, he knew that feeling well enough.

And because he knew, he didn't want her feeling that restlessness and shame if he could help it. There was one thing he needed help with, maybe doing it would make her feel better.

"Nino, I need you to do something for me."

She perked up, "What is it?"

"Can you go to the library and pick up a few books?"

She frowned, "Just go to the hospital! We'll take you-"

"I don't need it-"

"You do!"

"I can figure it out myself! Please." She had to understand. He all but begged her to. And as she looked into his eyes, she saw his need. She nodded and got ready to go.

~Nino~

Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of her prince. Hers was a noble knight mounted on his mighty steed with strength enough to carry their world. Theirs was a romance written in the stars, a destined happily ever after that would last until the end of time. And every time they locked eyes, every time his hands found hers, every time their lips met, all would be right on the Earth.

Her prince was so powerfully defined in her mind she could paint a picture if she was any good with a brush. But his face remained a well of mystery, like it had been covered in shadow by a curse marring her memory. So she searched for the face to fit the form like a glass slipper searching for the perfect fit. There had been times she'd thought she caught a glimpse, as if the light reflecting on his armor illuminated his eyes for the briefest of instances, but they all disappeared in the sea of stupid boys she passed every day of her young life. But she knew that he was out there somewhere, and that when she found his face, she'd have the fairy tale ending she longed for.

And when she did, it wasn't at all like she'd expected. He was tall, yes, but lanky, as if stretched from childhood like gum pulled into a long, wobbly line. Those beautiful words he would whisper into her ear were there, but often sharp and curt like a drum instead of a harp. And he looked like he could barely lift a heavy bag, let alone her world.

Yet despite all his flaws, and she counted them often, he was beautiful. Here was the face of her prince. Sometimes you won't know what fits just right until you hold it in the palm of your hand and feel its comfortable weight. And although it was never like she imagined, whenever his princess was in danger, he would appear to save her. He would step in front of the rushing bull to shield her from danger, and take aim at anyone who would do her harm.

Only, sometimes the hero doesn't come out unscathed. Sometimes he doesn't even win. Sometimes the bull drives through his guard and a prince gets the horns.

She'd thought violence was a language Futaro would never speak. He was the type of man who thought violence was the arena of the incompetent. The closest he came to forming a fist was when he gripped his pencil too tightly trying to draw a perfect curve. He was not a man built for a fight.

But he had tried. He balled his fists and rode into battle for her, and came back on a stretcher. As she reflected, she thought she should feel flattered that her boyfriend cared enough to do something so psychotic as to pick a fight in the middle of a crowd to protect her. If this was her faceless prince, she would be cheering on the sidelines wearing pom poms and brightly colored spandex. But he had a face, and now it was in pain. And she only wished he'd shrugged this off and walked away, back to her.

When their mother's illness got worse and she had to be admitted to the hospital, she and her sisters used to line up by her bedside like a wall keeping her in the world. Unable to make new memories, they reminisced about the past and their life from the rags to riches it was. But what had it done to make her better? Nothing. She withered away like an ugly grape on the vine. She'd felt powerless as their mother lost life in front of their eyes.

She felt that way again with him. She felt like a doll sitting by his bedside, unable to do anything more helpful than stroke his hand and shower him with worry. He must be so annoyed with her.

But this wasn't the same. She wouldn't let it be. She wasn't some powerless girl watching her mother die, she was grown, almost a woman ready to make it on her own, watching her chosen partner suffer. And she wouldn't let herself be useless again. There was still one thing she could try, and it didn't involve playing fetch with a library. It would go against everything she left home setting out to do, and undermine everything she was trying to prove. But her prince risked himself to save her. And she realized, if she wanted her prince back with her, she had to be ready to do the same. Princes needed saving too.

"You two go on ahead."

Yotsuba and Itsuki paused, looking back at her. Itsuki asked, "What's up, Nino?"

"I'm gonna talk with dad."

Yotsuba reliably failed to connect the dots. She asked, "Why would you wanna see him?"

"Because maybe he'll help."

Itsuki gave her a small smile, "I thought you might say that. Come on, let's go."

Nino shook her head, "No, I'm gonna do this alone."

"Why?"

Nino said, "Futaro's your friend, but he's not your responsibility." She didn't think they would understand. Maybe they couldn't. Some things can only be learned through experience, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She left alone towards the hospital. They used to come here often when they were younger, just after their mother married their father. He hadn't even been the head of surgery at the time, but everyone in the building recognized that he was on his way. It was amazing being the new daughters of someone held in such high regard there. The hospital felt like a massive maze full of adventure to lose themselves in. She could still trace a map through the halls, even remembering most of the room numbers. She had no trouble finding his office.

She was surprised to have trouble finding him, though.

"I'm sorry, Miss Nakano, your father isn't in today," said his secretary, a middle-aged woman with a smile so wide it nearly bisected her entire head.

"Is he in the operating room?"

"Oh no, he's not here at all. He's taking a personal day."

"A personal day? My papa hasn't taken a personal day in, well, you have his schedule! He just doesn't do that! He's saved up so many he could take an extra sabbatical if he wanted!"

"I'm well aware, dear. But he called it in today, he had me re-book all his appointments and everything. I assure you he isn't here."

"Did he say he was sick?"

"No, he sounded perfectly normal."

"Then where is he?"

"I'm sorry, he didn't say."

Then there was only one place he could be. Her father kept his life in his office calendar, and this woman would know about every out-of-office meeting with every benefactor or supplier he would meet. If he was meeting anyone in the open world, it would be on his schedule and this woman would be aware. But it wasn't. And his only thing off the schedule was home.

Why would he be home? Did he know what today was? And even if he did, he wasn't the type to make a day of it. He'd never even contacted them about their exams, just Futaro to make sure he was doing their job. But there was no other reason, was there? Not unless some other disaster was trying to ruin an already horrid day. But it was too much of a coincidence. Papa was making time to be at home, with whoever was still there, all over the mock exams. Why?

But that didn't really matter. If he was home, that's where she'd have to go. She still didn't want to set foot in that place. She knew she'd encounter Ichika, and Miku, and everything she'd left behind. She didn't want them watching her as she pleaded with papa for help.

But there was no other way, not unless she dragged Futaro to the hospital herself, and she thought he might hate her for that. So if this is what it took, if this is how she returned, so be it. There was little Nino wouldn't do for the people she loved.

She took out her phone and texted papa.

I'm coming home to talk. See you soon.

A/N

I think that, regardless of gender, we grow up with this archetype of an ideal partner in our minds. A man should be this, that, and more, and a woman should be trait A, B, and C. But what's so perfect in our minds is as thin as paper mache, in truth we can't articulate exactly what we want, and it's through exploring relationships that we learn what we value in other people. And when it comes to a partner, particularly a long-term or even life-long partner, it's so impossible to know what we are actually looking for, or what kind of person we can spend a life with. A real person will always fall short of our imaginations, not just because perfection is unattainable, but because perfection is simple and we are so ineffably complex. I don't think that necessary means that we all have to just settle, more that we need to learn that love is not flawless, and that it's the endless details that make it so worthwhile.

That's one of the lessons Nino has to learn, and growing beyond childish dreams and embracing the real people in her life more fully is essential to her growth, and everyone's, really.

There is some criticism I would like to address, and I think it is well founded. Some have commented that the story pacing has begun to drag in certain sections with unnecessary interactions that could be cut with little impact to the overall story. I agree that in some places I may have included too much, and that cutting some of the sections would better the flow of the overall narrative. The act of where to cut is always subjective and hard to decide, and it's an art I'm still learning. Still, in my defense I do think that all scenes add something important, even those little moments that show each character in their role. Life is made from little moments and I think we get some good character moments out of them that will help us understand them later. But this story is getting quite long, over 180K words already, and I have no doubt it'll top 350K by the time it's done. So it is something I want to focus on, and I want the next arc to flow more smoothly than this one has.

On that note, this arc has an estimated 4 chapters left, meaning chapter 32 will be the start of the third arc. This is based on what I've storyboarded already and is always subject to more change, but I'm quite confident that is what you can expect. These next few chapters are ones I've been looking forward to writing for months, and include a lot of events that'll be very meaningful to all the characters, as well as setting them up for the next part of the story.

I'm having great fun writing this and finding my groove. I'll keep posting as regularly as I can for as long as I'm able. Thank you to reviewers who wrote some lovely feedback, I had a fantastic time reading your thoughts. I hope you'll continue to review and share your thoughts on the story going forward.

Chapter published: August 13th, 2020.