Chapter 5

The Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine complex was located on a mountain in Kyoto. The complex was so vast that there was more than one shrine in this place. From the base of the mountain, where the main shrine was located, up to the top of the mountain, where smaller shrines were along the way. To reach the top of the mountain, where the last shrine located, there were two routes that the tourist had to take; a left path, where it was the shortest and fastest route to get to the peak, and a right path, where it was longer than the left path and intended for people who wanted to take it slow on sightseeing around.

With this finding, thanks to examining the map area, Ichika managed to form a plan where the quintuplets would split up into two groups and took a different route. The plan succeeded and it would not be successful if not for Yotsuba's help, where she used the "power" to order anything thanks to her winning a card game round back on the train, where the winner can order anyone and get whatever she wanted. And the result was, Ichika, Miku, and Yotsuba took the left path and for the right path, it was Nino and Itsuki.

Halfway on the left path, Ichika and Yotsuba were still grinning and laughing because their plan and execution to split up into two groups was a big success.

"See! It worked like a charm, right?"

"Yeah. Good thing that you barely managed to win that card round, Yotsuba," Ichika recalled that card round. At the end of the round, Itsuki managed to get a full house combination, which was three cards of 5, and two cards of Jack. Her, Nino, and Miku's cards were not that good, not even close to full house. But before the fifth sister can claim her victory, Yotsuba then showed her slightly superior card combination of full house, three cards of Queen, and two cards of 4, to stole the win from the almost self-proclaimed winner of the most intense card round of their life. "If I remember it right, Itsuki-chan had a full house at the end of the round and then somehow, you also had a full house, but better combination."

"Hehe… I couldn't believe it myself since I was on a losing streak that time," Yotsuba said, still grinning remembering her lucky win on that important round. "If I hadn't managed to win that round, I can't even think of a way to split us up."

"But the important thing is you won, right? Miku is going to need all the help she can get considering the situation between five of us," Ichika said and then she looked back to Miku, who slowly walked behind them because of the exhaustion from continuous steps climbing. The first sister then stopped walking to ask about her condition. "You seem very tired, Miku. Should we stop for a while to rest?"

"*pant* *pant* No… I'm fine…" Miku said with a stuttered voice because of the exhaustion from lack of sleep and the long climbing. Even with her stumbling voice, it was full of determination of wanting to get to the top of the mountain to meet with Fuutaro. "We're almost there *pant* So I can't stop here… *pant*." She bended down, holding her tired knees and then trying to climb again.

Hearing the determination from the third sister, a warm smile was forming on Ichika's lip and she took out a water bottle from her bag. "Yotsuba already told me that you've been working hard for the past few weeks, baking a perfect bread for him." She gave her water bottle to Miku, who accepted it. "You have changed, Miku. Compared to last year, you're now more confident and braver than before. So you definitely deserve that opportunity for some alone time with him after all of that work you've been putting in."

"Unn! Ichika is right! So hang in there, Miku!"

"Ichika… Yotsuba… Thank you…" Miku thanked them with a weak, tired smile and drank the water bottle the first sister gave it to her.

"Here, let me carry your backpack and that paper bag," Ichika offered a help to the exhausted Miku. "That bag contained the bread that you will give to him, right?"

"Yeah…" Miku nodded, handing her backpack and the paper bag to Ichika.

"Hey Miku, how about I carry you behind my back?" Yotsuba suggested another help to the third sister. "With our current pace, Nino and Itsuki will surely beat us to the top and we will get left far behind."

"Ehh… Is it really okay?"

"I'm fine with it!" Yotsuba did a thumbs up as another big grin appeared on her face. "Ichika, can you also carry my backpack too?" She then took off her backpack and gave it to the eldest sister.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem." Ichika took Yotsuba's backpack and carried it on her left shoulder.

"Now then, ready when you are!"

Miku firmly nodded. "Unn… I'm ready!" She then slowly climbed onto Yotsuba's back as the three sisters resumed their journey to the top of the mountain where their tutor will be waiting.

Many minutes later, the three sisters finally arrived at the top of the mountain, where the last shrine was located. The location seemed to be empty, where there were seemingly no visible people in vicinity and only sounds of a wind and moving tree branches were heard. The shrine looked to be smaller compared to the main shrine at the base of the mountain and there were also some mythical statues decorating the shrine alongside with miniature Toriis.

As they looked around the area, there were really no other people around, not even Fuutaro and his groupmates.

"Huh? There are no people in here. Uesugi-san and his groupmates aren't here either…" Yotsuba said, looking around the empty area and then Miku got off from her back. "Weren't they ahead of us? Or they didn't go up here at all?"

Ichika crossed her arms and closed her eyes from seeing this situation. "Hmm… We didn't run into them while we were on the left path…" she said. "Which mean that they took the right path or didn't even go up here…"

"But, we didn't see them in the rest area earlier, so they must be going up here, right?" Miku said with a worried voice, looking at Ichika.

"Yeah, you're right. So they must've took the right path and still on the way to here," Ichika nodded and opened her eyes. "Anyway, let's wait for them. But if Nino and Itsuki-chan are the first to arrive, then Fuutaro-kun and his group never even goes up here." She headed to a nearby stone bench and took a seat there.

"Unn… C'mon Miku, you can still walk, right?"

"Yeah… Thank you, Yotsuba."

The three sisters took a seat on a stone bench near the shrine. A big, relieving groan was coming out from their mouth as they felt a big relaxation after climbing the long steps from the rest area below. Even though it was a stone bench, the bench feels like a comfortable sofa for them because of how tired they were, especially for Yotsuba, who was carrying Miku all the way to here.

Yotsuba then used both of her hand to massage her exhausted, stiffed back. Ichika, she stretched both of her arm and also repeatedly massaged her tired shoulders from carrying her sisters' bag.

For Miku, she drank and emptied the water bottle Ichika gave to her earlier which really relieved her thirst. She then took the paper bag with her as she stood up from the bench, looking at the other path.

"Will Fuutaro ever really come up here…?"

"I wonder if he met Nino and Itsuki on the way to here…"

"Will they going to prevent him from coming to here…?"

"No… I must not think anything weird…"

"I have to wait and see it for myself…"

Ichika noticed the quiet Miku, who was walking to the other path and looking at it. She can only hope that Fuutaro really made his way to the top of the mountain and reached here without Nino and Itsuki. If somehow, he and his groupmates arrived with the other sisters, the chance for Miku to spend some alone time with Fuutaro will essentially become zero and her and Yotsuba's plan will be all messed up.

With her still thinking of the possible negative outcomes, the voice of the fourth sister brought her back to her senses.

"Hey Ichika, can you also massage my shoulders too? My hands are already tired and my shoulders feels like it will collapse at any moment…" Yotsuba complained from the exhaustion, setting a begging look to the eldest sister.

"Hehe… You're such a kid, Yotsuba," Ichika chuckled. She then placed her hands at Yotsuba's shoulders and starting to massage her shoulders. "Feels good, right?"

"Wahh…! It feels really good… I really wanted to lie down right now." She let out another big, relaxation groan as her body was tingling from the relieving massage.

"Sadly, you have to wait until we come back to the hotel," Ichika said with a gentle smile as she continued to massage the fourth sister's shoulders. "You want me to also massage your back?"

"Unn! Yes please!" Yotsuba eagerly nodded which made Ichika moved her hands from her shoulders to her back. "So Ichika, what's the next step? What should we do after Uesugi-san and his groupmates arrived? And also, what about Nino and Itsuki?"

"Hear me out because I already thought of a way to separate Fuutaro-kun and his groupmates." Ichika's face now turned into a more serious expression. "I will take care of Maeda-kun and Takeda-kun by taking them back down to the rest area through the left path."

"Umm… Are you sure you can persuade them to go with you? I heard that Maeda-san is a scary person and known as a delinquent around the school."

"Don't worry about them. I knew Takeda-kun pretty well since we were in the same class last year. As for Maeda-kun, Fuutaro-kun told me that he kinda fancy me, so I can easily persuade him with no trouble."

"Hmm… I see…" Yotsuba repeatedly nodded. "Then, what about Nino and Itsuki? What if they arrived here while Miku and Uesugi-san are alone together?"

"I will need your help for it," she said and continued to explain the plan, "So my plan for them is, you go back down through the right path. When you see them, delay them as long as you can. Or… you can tell them that Fuutaro-kun is not at the top of the mountain because he's resting in the rest area and only his groupmates are in here."

"Hmm… Yes… Interesting…"

"I'm pretty sure if you told them that, Nino and Itsuki-chan will go back down in heartbeat, knowing they're not really interested in his groupmates and this spot." Ichika's face was now more relaxed and back to her usual calm expression. "But be sure to tell them in a convincing way since you're a bad liar, okay?"

"Hehe… Don't worry about it! I'll be sure to lie as convincing as possible!"

"Good… So, are your shoulders and back good enough for another walk?"

"As good as it can be! Anyway, thanks a lot, Ichika! You're surely a big help and great planner!" Yotsuba said with a big grin.

Ichika let out a small chuckle, taking her hands off from the fourth sister's back. "Hehe… You can ask onee-chan for any help and she will find a way for it." She then looked at Miku once more, who were still standing near the right path, and then said to Yotsuba, "So prepare yourself, Yotsuba. Fuutaro-kun and his groupmates should arrive in any moment now."

"Yeah!"

After a seemingly long wait for the three sisters as they kept looking at the right path, a sight of three familiar persons finally popped up. A very exhausted Fuutaro was the first person they saw as he immediately bending down, holding his knees while also panting heavily. Behind him was Takeda, who was carrying Maeda on his back as Maeda immediately hop off from Takeda's back and fell down on his back, seemingly all drained up. For Takeda, he was also looked tired and immediately took out a water bottle from his bag to relieve his exhaustion.

An excitement was filling Ichika and Yotsuba as they readied themselves to execute the final phase of their plan to help Miku. As for Miku herself, a nervousness was filling her heart and it was reflected on her face as she held the paper bag tightly.

The two sisters then nodded to each other, signing the start of the final phase of their plan.

Yotsuba immediately shouted and walked to the exhausted Fuutaro, who was still bending down. "Uesugi-san!"

Fuutaro slightly lifted his head and was surprised seeing the fourth quintuplet in this place. "H-Huh…? *pant* *pant* Y-Yotsuba… Why are you here? *pant* *pant*"

"Hehe… We decided to visit this place because we thought it would be a good material for the school trip report," she said with a grin. "It's very surprising to see you here too!"

"*pant* Then, the other must be…"

"We're here, Fuutaro-kun," Ichika answered, waving her hand to him. "Miku is right there." She turned her head to the third sister, who did not let a single voice out.

Fuutaro looked at where Ichika just said and he saw Miku, sitting on a bench, holding a paper bag with both of her hand. He then looked around the area and noticed that the other two sisters were missing. "Huh? Where is Nino and Itsuki? They didn't come with you to here?"

"Ahh… Those two are still on the way to here. We decided to split up back in the rest area," Ichika said. "We took the left path and those two took the right path instead."

"Is that so? It's weird that we didn't run into each other." Fuutaro took out a water bottle from his bag and immediately chugged it.

"Hehh… So the Nakano quintuplets are here too, huh?" Takeda smirked seeing the unexpected sight of three of the quintuplets in this place. "This will be interesting for you, right Uesugi-kun? Knowing that you always with them for almost every day and every time…"

"*pant* *pant* Wait, does that mean…." Maeda, who was still laying back down, immediately stood up and saw a person that he had in mind after hearing the quintuplets was here too. One of the quintuplets that he always fancied still to this day, was not far in front of him. A slightly excitement face, mixed with a tired expression was visible on his face from seeing this wonderful sight.

Ichika then walked closer to Fuutaro and quietly talked to him so her plan cannot be heard by his groupmates. "Hey Fuutaro-kun, Miku said that he wanted to talk to you about something." She then held his arm and pulled him towards Miku. "She said it was something important, so be sure to hear her, okay?"

"Huh? What is it? Can you tell me about it?"

"No, can't do. Besides, I don't know what she really wanted to talk about," she said. "I guess she only wants to talk about it with you."

"O-Okay then…"

After being dragged by Ichika, Fuutaro was now standing in front of Miku. Now that the boy she wanted to spend time with in front of her, Miku was now getting more nervous than ever and an embarrassed blush was also visible on her cheeks. She held the paper bag even tighter than before while also looking at the ground below to hide her nervousness.

Now that two of the main players were now in place, it was time to execute her part of the plan, where she will lure Takeda and Maeda away from this area so Miku and Fuutaro can have their alone time together. Ichika then made her way to where those two standing. "Hey Takeda-kun, Maeda-kun, can you two accompany me go back down to the rest area? I'm starting to get hungry and I would appreciate a company to have lunch together," she said with a calm expression and a smile was also visible on her lips.

"Nakano-san, we have just arrived here after climbing a very long steps from back down and we're exhausted," Takeda said with his trademark charming expression, mixed with some tiredness on it. "I think we should hang around here for a while, enjoying this beautiful shrine and resting for a minute."

"Hmm… I'm afraid that's not possible because I didn't have a breakfast this morning and my stomach is now screaming for a food." Ichika continued her act, letting out a weak chuckle while holding her stomach. "Besides, there is a certain circumstance that will happen and we should not be here when that happened." She then threw a look at where Fuutaro and Miku at.

Takeda looked at where Ichika directed and he saw Fuutaro, who was now sitting together with Miku on a stone bench. He then let out a small chuckle, followed with a smile, understanding the situation Ichika just explained to him. "Hehe… I understand what you meant, Nakano-san. And I agree with you."

"Glad you get what I meant, Takeda-kun."

"Then Maeda-kun, let's go back down to the rest area." Takeda started to walk to the left path. "I'm starting to get hungry, so a nice and warm meal would satisfy my empty stomach."

"Huh? We just got up here and we're going down already? Don't mess with me, Takeda!"

"There, there… There's no need to get all heated, Maeda-kun." Ichika went to where Maeda was standing and stood in front of him. "Can you go with me too? More the people, the merrier the atmosphere is, right?" She threw a cheerful expression along with a big smile to persuade the hot-headed boy.

As expected, Maeda immediately cooled down and he let out an embarrassed expression from seeing the cheerful face from Ichika, the girl he fancies, in which he thought that face expression of her was cute. "Ahh… Right… I guess a lunch won't hurt since it's already noon…" he said with a slightly stuttered voice because of the embarrassment. "I'll go with you…"

"Hehe… Thanks!"

Seeing two of his groupmates walked to the left path, Fuutaro immediately stood up, intending to go with them. "O-Oi! Where you two are going? Don't leave me alone in here. I'm coming with you."

"E-Ehh…?" Miku let out a small gasp.

"No, Fuutaro-kun… Don't you hear what I said earlier? Miku wanted to talk about something to you, so don't leave her hanging."

Takeda then walked up to him and quietly said to him, "Don't worry about it, Uesugi-kun. You can always catch up after you finished talking with Nakano Miku-san." He threw a look at the third quintuplet, who still sitting at the bench. "We will wait for you at that restaurant in the rest area, okay?"

"Come on, let's go back down to the rest area!" Maeda shouted and walked down the steps. "It's the only interesting place in this complex and I'm already sick of seeing hundreds of shrines and Toriis."

"Then, let's go, Takeda-kun." Ichika walked to the left path alongside with Takeda.

As he saw Ichika walking away from him, Fuutaro remembered about something that he wanted to tell to her when he had the chance to see her. He had been thinking about this for the past half an hour so this should be a good timing. "O-Oi! Wait a moment, Ichika. There's… something that I want to talk to you…"

"You can say it to me later, Fuutaro-kun. Just hear what Miku going to say to you first and we can talk about it later." Ichika shouted to him from far as she started to disappear from his sight. "See ya!"

"…" Fuutaro got all quiet from hearing her and let out a small sigh out of confusion.

Before she went down the steps, Ichika gave a quick wink to Miku, wishing her for a good luck. Miku noticed the wink and did a small nod. The nervousness inside her heart was easing, thanks to the encouragement from the eldest sister.

Seeing Ichika successfully executed her part of the plan, Yotsuba thought it was now her turn to do her part of the plan, to prevent Nino and Itsuki from going up here.

"Yosh! Ichika succeeded in luring Uesugi-san's groupmates away…"

"Now it's my turn to do my part…!"

"It's up to you Miku…"

"We already did what we can to help you…"

She then made an excuse to Fuutaro so she can also leave the area without raising a suspicion from him. "Ahh! I almost forgot, there's something important that I have to tell to Nino and Itsuki," she said in a loud voice so it can be heard by him.

"Huh?" Fuutaro let out a baffled, confused expression from hearing her, still processing on what happened earlier. "Oi, where are you going?"

"No time to chit-chat, Uesugi-san. It's a very important thing that I have to tell!"

"Can't you just contact them by phone? Call or message them?"

"No, can't do! There's no signal in this area so contacting them by phone is not possible." Yotsuba quickly ran to the right path. "Anyway, please accompany Miku while I'm going down to meet them!"

"O-Oi Yotsuba!"

"See ya, Uesugi-san!" she waved a goodbye to him. Yotsuba then did a quick thumbs up and big grin to Miku.

Miku noticed and responded with a weak smile.

"Ichika and Yotsuba did all of this for me…"

"I should thank them for it…"

"I will use this opportunity to give him this bread…"

"And as well to tell my feelings to him…"

Fuutaro, who just standing in place, let out a big sigh and shook her head, feeling dumbfounded of the first and fourth quintuplet sudden weird behavior. After a long and tiring climbing from the base of the mountain, his groupmates immediately left him right after they arrived at the top of the mountain. Ichika and Yotsuba also acted weird and immediately went down almost at the same time, leaving him and Miku alone just by themselves in this empty area, where the only sounds heard were a ringing from a small bell at the shrine and moving tree branches from the flow of the wind.

Because of this sudden weird and confusing situation, his exhaustion crawled back to his body. He can feel his legs starting to get stiff again and his back felt like it wanted to pop out from his body. He then went back to sit on the bench to rest his tired body and confused mind and let out another big sigh as he was too tired to comprehend this sudden and strange turn of situation.

There was a moment of silence going on between them as Miku was still too nervous to talk to Fuutaro. She turned her head slightly to him and she can saw that her tutor was looking at his phone, seemingly checking at something. Miku can feel the awkwardness as the silent kept on going and she thought that she needed to brace herself to talk to Fuutaro since Ichika and Yotsuba already helped her this far. She will not let her sisters' effort to help her went to waste and not letting this presented opportunity to slip away because of her cowardliness.

"I need to be brave…"

"I have to talk to him and give him this bread…"

"Ichika and Yotsuba already helped me this far…"

"I won't let their efforts just go away wasted because of my cowardness…"

"Fuutaro…"

"Hmm…? What is it, Miku?" Fuutaro turned his attention from his phone to the girl beside him.

"Why did you choose Fushimi shrine as your destination?" Miku asked to him, still staring at the ground below. She was still nervous but tried to gain as many courage as possible to kept the conversation going. "Were there any things in this place that caught your interest when you planned your destination?"

"Well… There was no specific reason for me and my groupmates to choose this place," he said, putting his phone back into his pocket. "It's just that I thought this place is going to be good for our trip report since it has a lot of historical background and stories behind it…"

"I-Is that so?" Miku got interested by his answer and then started to look at him. "Then, what kind of historical stories you expected from this place? Did you know some things about this place?"

"I don't really know much about this place, but I know that this place is very old, dating back to sometimes in the Nara period." He held his chin, trying to remember things that he knew about this place. "Those Toriis that are lining up from the base of the mountain until to this point, it was donated by peoples from centuries ago until now."

"You seemed to know a thing or two about this place, huh?" She let out a weak smile as her nervousness slowly fading away, finally able to make a more natural conversation with him. "What else you know about this shrine?"

"Umm… If I'm not wrong, the tradition to donate those Toriis was a popular custom back in Edo period because they say your wish can be granted if you donate a Torii to this place," Fuutaro continued telling his brief knowledge of the shrine. "That giant Torii back at the entrance, it was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi because his wish of asking his mother recovery from sickness was granted by God. So he built that Torii in gratitude…"

Miku was stunned by his knowledge of this place as she continued to look at him, now with amazement with a slightly opened mouth. She thought that it was expected from him since he always scored 100 on the Social Studies subject. An enthusiastic, but calming smile now appeared on her lips. "Yeah, You're right! Not many people know about this. I'm surprised you know about it."

Fuutaro noticed that the girl beside him got that amazed look on her face and he let out a small smirk as he continued to tell another story that he knew. A proud feeling popped up inside of him, just like when he taught and tutored the quintuplets and they were paying attention to him. "Also, this shrine was founded and got its name because of a legend back then." He now crossed his arm and closed his eyes. "Someone from an old clan that was called Hata clan shot an arrow at a mochi and that mochi turned into a swan and flew to this mountain. After that, rice—"

"Began to grow on this mountain and people started to build the Inari shrine at this spot," Miku continued the sentence instead as she cannot contained the eagerness of talking about historical topic.

What Fuutaro said was true. Miku knew most of the historical story behind this place thanks to her love of historical topic and what he said was pretty much accurate and true. Hearing him saying all of those history and legend stuffs made her all excited and eager to hear more and talk about it. Her eyes were as wide as ever, like a child who was staring at a candy store and her mouth was still hanging open as she did not expect that Fuutaro was this knowledgeable about this kind of topic.

She was always thrilled meeting and having a conversation with someone who has the same interest and wavelength as her, but unfortunately, she never found the right person to talk to. Last year, when Fuutaro became her tutor, he was the person who was able to talk within the same level as her about history subject. When he challenged her to a history trivia quiz last year, he managed to answer all of it correctly, which captured her attention.

As much as knowledgeable Fuutaro was at historical topic, what made Miku fell for him was his supportive, understanding, and his stubborn but determined attitude of him. How he often encouraged her from her cowardice and self-doubt, Fuutaro believed in her that she was capable in academic aspect and other things that she has interest in, like cooking. So every time she talked with him, spending time with him, Miku always loved every single second of it because he was the person who supported her, who believed in her, who she fell in love with…

"I was about to say that, but I guess I don't need to." Fuutaro let out a tiny smile after hearing Miku said his words instead.

"Hehe… I guess you really know things or two about history, huh, Fuutaro?"

"Well, yeah… I did read some history books in the library while I'm studying."

"This kinda reminded me when you challenged me to a history trivia quiz last year." Miku let out another small chuckle as she remembered about last year little tagging game between them. "Your knowledge of history hasn't gone dull, I see?"

"Heh! As long as it's related to the academic aspect, I won't stop studying even if I have to read the whole library."

"As expected from Fuutaro. Same as always," Miku chuckled again, feeling amused by his response.

As the conversation between them keep on going, a sudden, out of nowhere, growling sound popped out of nowhere and it interrupted the little talk between them. That growling sound was easily recognizable because it was that type of growling when a person got hungry.

The source of that sound seemingly originated from Fuutaro's stomach and he held that hungry stomach of him as it growling for the second time. "I guess I'm starting to get hungry…" He then pulled out his phone and looked at the current time. "Hmm… It's already this time, huh? Definitely way past the lunch time."

Seeing Fuutaro got hungry, it was now the perfect opportunity for Miku. She thought this was the best chance to give him the bread that she made without raising a suspicion or him refusing the bread because he was not hungry. Gathering all the courage inside her, Miku braced herself for this ideal opportunity.

"Fuutaro, if you're hungry, I have a piece of bread with me," Miku said with a confident tone, although there was still some trace of nervousness in it. She then offered the bread that she held since the start of the trip. "Here, I made it by myself this morning, so it should still be fresh."

"Are you sure? Don't you want to eat it?"

"No, I'm fine. Besides, I baked this bread just for you." She put the paper bag on the empty space of the bench between her and Fuutaro. "I've been practicing making bread for the past few weeks and I'm pretty sure this one is my best yet. So I want you to try it and tell me how it tastes."

A hesitant expression was visible on Fuutaro's face from hearing her. He always knew that Miku's cooking was not that good, if he wants to say without sugarcoating it, it was terrible. Sometimes it was mediocre, and sometimes it was so terrible that he almost vomited it right away. But lately, her cooking skill starting to improved, although it was still very far from Nino's remarkable cooking or Raiha's usual cooking.

Since the start of the year, he always tried whatever Miku was making, whether it was food, drink, or dessert. At first, her cooking was still terrible as always, but as the time goes on, she showed an improvement, where she managed to made an adequate cooking for a few times. Still, her consistency to maintain those good cooking was still an issue and she still ended up making a sub-par cooking.

"Hmm… Knowing her cooking skills, I really don't want to eat it now…" He thought of the possibility of her another failed cooking as he remembered the terrible taste that he always experienced. Since he was hungry now and it was already past lunch time, Fuutaro thought that he might as well eat this bread. "Well, I guess there is no harm eating it. Besides, her recent cooking was not that bad like that many times in the past where she cooked me those abominations…"

Fuutaro then took the paper bag and opened it. He pulled out the bread and turned out it was a croissant that Miku made. "A croissant, huh…?"

Fuutaro inspected the croissant for a moment. It looked like any ordinary croissant that usually sold in most bakery and there was nothing weird or unusual about it. He can also smell a sweet-smelling aroma from the croissant as he kept looking at the bread. Without any more thinking as his stomach kept growling, Fuutaro ate the whole croissant in one bite out of hungriness.

Seeing Fuutaro ate the whole bread instantly, Miku was surprised and it made her jaw dropped. She expected him to eat the bread slowly while continuing the talk earlier that they left before a sudden growl from his stomach.

Now, Miku can saw him still munching the croissant and she was wondering how will the bread taste because she did not have a chance to do a taste test this morning because of the limited time she had before going to the train station.

"Umm… I didn't have a chance to taste the bread this morning…"

"I even rushed the baking because of how limited the time I had…"

"I wonder…"

"Will Fuutaro going to dislike the bread…?"

Munching after munching, Fuutaro finally finished eating the whole croissant and wiped his mouth with a pocket tissue. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he gave his opinion about the bread that Miku made. "Hmm… It tasted good."

"Ehh…?" Miku let out a gasp as she got surprised again from hearing his apparently positive feedback.

"Yeah… It tasted pretty good. It was comparable to the croissant that they usually sold in most bakery."

"I-Is that so…?" Miku became nervous again, but now it was thanks to the sudden burst of happiness because of Fuutaro's praise. She then pulled out an insulated water bottle from her backpack and offered him a drink. "Then… if you don't mind, here's some hot chocolate that I also brought…" She poured the hot chocolate in the bottle lid.

"Ahh, thanks." Fuutaro took the bottle lid and smelled the hot chocolate. He blew the hot drink and slowly drank it. "This taste good too… Although I say it has more milky taste than the one you made last time."

"Y-Yeah… I did add more milk than usual to make it sweeter…"

"Is that so?" Fuutaro said and drank the rest of the hot chocolate in one gulp. "People always said that my tongue is very bad at tasting things. So I don't really know if the bread objectively taste really good and I might be the bad person to ask for a taste opinion.

"…"

"But what I can say is, I can taste the effort and work hard you have been putting into the bread and the hot chocolate." Fuutaro let out a gentle smile and then looked at her. "You have worked hard, haven't you?"

Miku's eyes were now wide and a blush was also forming fast on both of her cheeks. A thrilling sensation was all over her body and her heart was beating fast, really fast. It was all because of the praise that Fuutaro gave to her and it really touched her heart. Being praised by him and he recognized her hard work for the past few weeks, it was really the best feeling she ever feels.

A small tear unconsciously forming on both of her eyes because of the happiness that was overwhelming her entire feeling. "Unn… I worked really hard…" Miku nodded and wiped the tears on her eyes. A weak, but happy smile was also forming on her lip.

"I guess the reason why you skipped some tutoring sessions was because you've been practicing to make this bread, right?"

She let out a small chuckle, remembering those days where she skipped few tutoring sessions so she can bake the perfect bread that she will give to Fuutaro someday. It was truly a very tough days for her because she pushed herself very hard making the perfect bread.

"Sorry Fuutaro, I can't join today's tutoring session…"

"Huh…?"

"I have more important things to do… So I will make it up on the next tutoring session…"

Where she often came home late from the workplace and sometimes got scolded by her boss for wasting bakery ingredients for her own personal reason.

"Nakano-san, you've been using a lot of the store's ingredients lately…"

"If this keeps on going, we will run out of sufficient ingredients for the store operational…"

"You can use the leftover ingredients as you like… But if you use the main stock, then I have to cut your wage for it…"

"I understand… I'm really sorry for troubling you, boss…"

She even thought of giving up baking the bread because of countless of failed attempts. But thanks to Yotsuba and her boss' constant support, she continued to try baking the best possible bread she can make.

"*sigh* I guess I'm not cut out for baking… I think I'm done trying to bake a bread for him…"

"I have her follow the correct procedure to bake the bread, but somehow there's a mysterious force that always makes her fail…"

"No! Don't give up, Miku! Have a confidence in yourself…!"

"Yeah… Don't give up yet, Nakano-san. You already have the spirit, and skills can be learnt continuously. I will teach you what I can as long as you have the will to continue…!"

"Yotsuba… Boss… Thank you…"

"Hehe… Yeah. Sorry for keeping it quiet because I want to surprise you when I gave it to you."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I don't really need to worry about your grades right now."

"Hmm…? What do you mean?"

"Other than your cooking, you've also improved a lot and changed, Miku." Fuutaro looked at the sky above, reminiscing about the time he met her last year. "When I met you last year, you were timid and not confident of yourself."

"…"

"Almost a year after, your academic aspect greatly improved, where you managed to pass the last year final exam and scored an acceptable result in the mock exam. If that was not the proof of hardwork, then what else? I can also see that you also have more confidence in yourself than before as you took the challenge and faced obstacles that seems impossible for you."

"…"

"For the past few weeks, I occasionally saw you that you were staying in your workplace until nighttime. It was because you were practicing to make that bread for me, am I right?"

"Fuutaro…"

Fuutaro did a small approval nod, putting the lid back to the insulated bottle. "You've done a good job. Thank you for the bread and the hot chocolate, Miku."

"Hehe… You're welcome…"

"Although, I would say that there's one thing from you that didn't change at all." His smile now changed into a playful smirk to tease her. "It's your obsession on Sengoku era topic…"

"H-Huh…?"

"You did notice when I came to your penthouse, sometimes I saw you watching a historical documentary about Sengoku era. Also sometimes, when I entered your room to call you for tutoring session, you were playing a strategy video game about it too. No wonder you always got a pretty good score in history every time it's about Sengoku era," Fuutaro said with a teasing expression to her. "You really like a topic about those old man from hundred years ago, huh?"

"Ughh… It can't be helped, okay? I really like Sengoku era a lot since I was a kid." Miku got annoyed by Fuutaro's teasing and showed a pout to him. "It's really interesting to know about those battles, famous generals, and their war strategy that they used to expand their influence, you know?!"

Fuutaro let out a small laugh because he had not seen that pout of her in a while and it reminded him of last year when she pouted to him when he joked about her unusual interest. "Yeah, yeah… There's nothing wrong about it and you're free to like whatever you found interesting."

"Besides… Other than history topic and cooking, I have one more thing that I really like." Miku stood up from the bench, walking away not far from him, looking at the shrine.

"Hmm… Then, what is it? Is it another weird or strange thing?"

"Hehe… Not really a thing, but a person. You can say this person is kind of weird because other people always saw him as a weird person. But I really like that person…"

"Hehh… Then who is th—" Fuutaro's word got interrupted as a finger was pointing towards him in front of his face.

"It's you, Fuutaro…" Miku said with her casual, monotone voice but there was a trace of happiness in it. "I love you…" She then showed a smile to the boy that she loved.

Fuutaro got stunned and speechless from what it seemed to be a confession from other quintuplet and this time it was Miku. He already knew that the third sister seemed to harbor a feeling to him ever since the spring vacation where she hugged him after he guessed her identity in Itsuki disguise. Other than that, Miku also sent him a lot of chocolates bar at Valentine's Day, which indicate that she was interested in him according to Valentine's Day custom, after Fuutaro thought about it not long ago.

Now that Miku finally said it by herself to him, Fuutaro finally confirmed that his uncertain thought about her was true. "Yeah… I know," he said with another gentle smile.

Miku then lowered her finger, went back to the bench and took the insulated bottle. "You know, you're always an interesting person, Fuutaro." She then put the bottle back into her backpack. "But sometimes, you're hard-headed as a rock and your ego is very big. I think Tokugawa Ieyasu would have easier time conquering the country than your ego."

"Huh? What do you mean by that? Am I really that stubborn like you think?" His smile immediately gone as its replaced with a dumbfounded, slightly offended expression.

"Based on Nino and Itsuki's first impression of you last year, what am I saying was not really wrong, right?" Her smile then turned into more of a teasing smile that was similar to her eldest sister. "Besides, you were the one who insisted to challenge me again on that trivia quiz when I'm not really interested in it and we ended up running around the school. So you're one hell of a stubborn guy, you know that?"

"O-Oi! That's not really a nice thing to say." Fuutaro got displeased hearing the apparent insult and teasing by the girl who just confessed to him. "The way you said it remind me of a certain someone that always tease me whenever the chances arise…" He slightly shuddered as a certain girl's face popping up in his mind.

"Hehe… Sorry." Miku said as her teasing expression turned back to her usual calming, normal expression.

Fuutaro let out a small sigh and shook his head. "Well anyway, it's already way past the lunch time. So let's go back down and catch up to everyone." He stood up and starting to walk to the left path. "Let's go, Miku."

"Unn… You're right. Let's go."

As Miku followed Fuutaro from behind, a big relieving feeling showed up, swiping all of the nervousness and awkwardness that she felt not long ago where her tutor finally showed up in this place after a long time of waiting and uncertainty. As much as she wanted to tell him more of her feelings, Miku was not sure if her heart can take all the pressure of it and afraid it can make the atmosphere became awkward if she kept the romantic feeling inside her all out. So she thought of making a joke and teasing him to get any unwanted awkwardness between them disappear and she was glad Fuutaro took it easy without any offense. Still behind him, Miku looked at him, with a weak, but happy smile, feeling glad that she was able to confess to him without her backing down or letting her cowardness took over her.

"I finally said it…"

"I don't really know how, but I did it…"

"I guess it's just like Ichika and Fuutaro said…"

"That I've changed…"

Miku was also glad that Fuutaro ate the bread that she made after countless failed attempt to make a perfect bread for him. His positive feedback of the bread and him praising her hard work, really touched her heart and this moment was one of the moments that she will never forget for the rest of her life.

"I'm glad that you like it…"

"Thank you…"

"For eating my bread…"

"And for always supporting me…"

"And believing in me…"

For Fuutaro, he can only smile as he recalled about Miku's confession, where it finally confirmed his thought for months of Miku might have a feeling for him. He did not expect the third quintuplet finally confessed to him because he knew that Miku always had a problem with self-confidence and always shy away when doing something that she found uncomfortable. Even with this unexpected behavior from her, Fuutaro was not upset with it, in fact, he was glad that Miku finally able to find self-confidence that she needed and became a hard-worker in the field that she wanted to improve.

"Heh… I didn't expect she said that…"

"Still, I'm glad that I get to hear it…"

"Good for you, Miku…"

"You've really changed…"

A/N:

So here's chapter 5 and yes, it's a very long chapter. Originally, I wanted to split this chapter into two-part, but in the end, I decided not to because it can potentially ruin the reading experience knowing this is "That" kind of important chapter that you have to read without interruption.

When I re-read the Miku's confession chapter in the main series, I felt like it was missing something and it felt kinda awkward before Fuutaro ate the bread. Then I noticed that missing something was Miku's confidence and bravery to talk about something casual to him. But that pretty much understandable because of what happened between her and Ichika. So in this story where that kind of things did not happen, I imagined that Miku will be much braver and confident to make a starting talk to Fuutaro and then finally confess to him.

Also, I forgot to say this in the previous two chapters, so other than what was in the summary, this story is also my rendition of Kyoto school trip/Sister's war arc on what if the school trip went smoothly, what if each of the quintuplets get to spend their alone time with Fuutaro, and most importantly, what if there are no conflict between them or the conflict managed to be solved without a loss. It was such a painful experience for me (and probably for other Miku and Ichika fans too) to read or watch the Sister's war arc. Seeing Miku got hurt because of Ichika's shenanigan and Ichika received the consequences of Fuutaro didn't believe her words and her crying witnessing Fuutaro with Miku instead, it was really one of the saddest and hurtful arcs for me in the series. This situation is what inspired me to write this story and continued what I'm started from the prequel.

Anyway, enough rambling from me, so the timetable for the next chapter will be on the first week of March (between 6th-12th March) so keep an eye on that week. If you're wondering who will be the next quintuplet that will get her moment with Fuutaro, the next chapter has the answer for you.

And as always, thank you for taking your time to read the story and I will see you in the next chapter!

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