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NOTE: I recently extended the previous chapter by introducing Izumi's old teammates and friends. I advise you to go back and read it really quick before reading this because it'll be important later on. Other than that, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 23
Fuutarou's Decision
When Izumi Himuro left his place Fuutarou sat alone in the living room in silence, thinking about every single word she had said to him.
Had he really been living like that?
Had he always been that scared?
Was he that afraid of being love?
Was he always going to live in fear of losing someone important to him again?
What was he doing in his life?
What had he accomplished?
Did he really want to spend the rest of his life like this?
He then started to imagine what his life would be with the way things were now. A future where he was no longer associated with the quints.
He imagined them all moving on from him and going on their separate ways.
He imagined himself walking down the street one day after work and suddenly spotting the Quints at a family gathering with their husbands and kids, including Yotsuba, and suddenly realizing only too late that he could've been with them. Instead he was all alone.
He imagined receiving a phone call one day announcing that Nino was getting married and that he was invited if he wished to attend. However, he soon learns that the marriage is not a love match and that she's only marrying for financial stability.
He imagined himself arriving at the wedding and seeing just how sad she was behind the veil, having given up on ever finding true love and having to simply accept a marriage of convenience.
He imagined himself wishing that he could have changed things between them only to realize that it was now too late. Both of them would share this regret for the rest of their lives, him living the guilt of his actions and her being haunted by the memories of their past.
He then imagined how lonely his life would be without the Quints.
Wait... no.
He was already living a lonely life long before he even met the Quints. He wasn't even close to his dad or his sister. Not since... his mother died.
He sighed heavily and laid down on the floor.
He never fully realized until now how her death had affected him. He had virtually shut himself down, swearing to never become close to anyone ever again. It only got worse when he made that promise with Yotsuba. It had turned him into a cold, heartless individual. An emotionless robot, as Chihori had described it. All because he didn't want to go through that pain of loss ever again.
He really was a coward.
After that incident with Hatsuka he had made himself forget all about it, believing that it wouldn't matter and it would never happen again. Only for it to come back and haunt him once he learned of her ultimate fate. He knew wasn't responsible for her death, but he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty knowing that he had been the start of her downfall.
Now it seemed that Nino was in a similar situation, but surely nothing bad could happen to her, right? She had her sisters...
No... not anymore. Right now she didn't know who to trust. Yotsuba's betrayal had been bad enough, but Itsuki had also kept her secret without ever telling the other. Now that he thought about it, Itsuki had been the one who effectively pushed him into making a choice, hoping that he would choose Yotsuba. He could very well imagine her coming up with the idea of having him choose once the festival was over. It's just the kind of thing she would do.
Then there was Ichika and what she did in Kyoto, although he now knew that Yotsuba was the real culprit of that incident. He still couldn't believe she would do something like that. Then again he hadn't known about the resentfulness she had towards her sisters. Getting him all to herself would have been the perfect revenge and he wouldn't have known any better simply because he wouldn't care.
He groaned and placed a hand over his eyes.
How could things have become such a mess? How was he even going to get out of this mess? How could he ever forgive himself for screwing up so badly in his life?
Hold on... he lifted his hand from his eyes.
Forgiveness. That was it! That was the key here.
All he had to do was ask for their forgiveness. To tell them how sorry he was and how much he wanted to make up with them. None of them were blameless, as Ichika had told him, but... would it be enough? They had forgiven him before, but this was different. This time it was much more serious.
Then he realized something. The others could forgive him, even Yotsuba. But Nino... yes, it was Nino he really wanted to make up with. If what Ichika said was true, if Nino still loved him even after everything that happened, then perhaps he had a chance. It may be the only chance.
Before he knew what he was doing Fuutarou stood and went over to his desk. He opened a little drawer and pulled out... the bracelet.
Nino's bracelet.
Yes, Raiha might've made it for him as a good luck charm, but it held so much more significant meaning to Nino.
It was the object that had brought them closer together.
The very one that had saved his life.
The one that Nino kept close to her heart since that night.
The one she had given back to him when he had been posing as Kintarou.
The one she had taken back after she exposed his deception.
The one she had kept with her again until that night after the festival.
The one she had given back to him again when she accepted to her defeat.
The one that held the most memories. The most important ones.
Oh, God.
Then he realized something. If he were to describe Nino in a single word, it would be pride.
Pride was the only that had kept her going after all those previous failures in romance. Then she had met him and it was because of him that she'd been able to not only move and give love another chance, but to also put aside her pride, only for him to let her down.
And that wasn't all.
He remembered the night after he made his choice and it was just like she said, it just wasn't fair. All her previous attempts to find true love had all ended badly. She lost one to tragedy, had nearly turned against her family for another, and then lied to and tricked by a third. With him, it had gone from betrayal to him destroying all hope that she would ever find true love. She had bet it all on him, only to lose because one of her very own sisters got to him first.
Now he understood, Nino love for him was genuine. It wasn't born out of some kind of infatuation like it had with the others. Ichika had seen him as some kind of plaything in the beginning, Miku had wanted to impress him, and Yotsuba had created an illusion that he was her savior.
As for Itsuki he wasn't entirely sure, but if he had to guess it was probably because of his family and learning about how difficult his life was. She must have developed a deep sense of admiration for him that grew into love. Naturally she would've wanted to help him and his family in any way she could, and he knew how much she loved Raiha. She likely never meant to fall in love, but couldn't help it once she did. He also remembered that Itsuki was always the one who kept reminding him who he was and what he meant to the Quints.
He was their friend, and yet he never treated them as such. He never even saw them that way. He just treated as though they were just annoying students who happened to be his pupils.
On that thought he was deeply ashamed of himself. Ever since his mom died he never wanted to get close to anyone ever again. He didn't even want to become close to the Quints. He felt sorry for them all. They had placed him on such a high pedestal only for him to let them down completely, but it was Nino who had suffered the most.
And, he now realized, there was a reason for that. Of all the quints, Nino was the most human. She wasn't perfect, and she knew it, but her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it. That didn't make her a bad person, it was simply the way she was. But there was more to Nino than just that.
She was beautiful as she was flawed.
She was kind as she was temperamental.
She was caring as she was judgmental.
She was brave as she was vulnerable.
She was protective as she was straightforward.
She was assertive as she was sincere.
She was... just like him.
There was no way he could deny anymore. It was just like Ichika had said. The two of them so much alike that it had been was the real reason why he had kept his distance from her. Why he always felt so uncomfortable whenever he was around her. He just didn't realize it until now.
Nino was his equal, in more ways than one. She became drawn to him because she had seen so much of herself in him. He now realized that she was much like his old self. Cocky, stubborn, and reckless. He soon found himself remembering those days when he'd been a delinquent. Even though he might have been an idiot and a showoff, those had been fun times.
And he missed those times.
Damn, he thought, How I miss those times.
Fuutarou sighed deeply. His mother's death really had screwed him up. He just never wanted to admit it. He remembered what Raiha had said about him acting his mother had abandoned him. It was true. For him it had been far easier to believe than acknowledging that she was dead and moving on. He simply hadn't wanted to let her go. He kept foolishly believing that she would come back somehow.
He looked at his notes again. It was true that all his studies had improved his grades significantly over the years, but what had he really accomplished?
Nothing.
Despite all his perfect scores and perfect grades he had nothing he had to show for it. He didn't even know what he was studying for. He'd just been using it as a way to not think about the past. Chihori had been right, his studies hadn't benefited him at all. It had just made him a very lonely man.
And that wasn't all. He had hurt everyone in the process. By committing himself to his studies he shoved aside everything and everyone around him.
He then looked around his room and his gaze fell on his flash notes sitting on his desk. Picking it up with his other hand he looked back and forth between the two objects and the words of Himuro-san came back to him.
"You are living in a prison, Fuutarou. A prison you created. You need to come out of that prison before you become lost in it forever."
"But how?" he had asked her, "I can't simply walk out of it. I'm... I'm too afraid."
"Then let someone help you. Someone like Nino."
"Nino?"
"She was able to come out of her prison because of you. She can do the same for you. Let her, Fuutarou. Let Nino help you the same way you helped her."
He looked at the object again. These two simple things represented the paths of his life. One old and one new.
"But what about my studies?" he has asked Himuro-san.
"Does it really matter at this point, Fuutarou?"
"No, it doesn't" he said out loud.
All of a sudden he no longer cared about his studies. He was already guaranteed to graduate as one of the top students of his school anyway. Why did it matter where he placed when it was over?
"What's more important?" Himuro-san had asked him, "Your studies or finding happiness in your life?"
He looked at the objects again, but this time his gaze focused more on the bracelet and he remembered what his boss had said to him.
Who was always on your mind, even when you didn't want to think about her?
And then, for the first time in a long time, a deep genuine smile came to his face.
"Nino," he answered, and he felt a strange warmth fill his chest.
That's right.
It had always been Nino.
No matter what was going on or what he was doing she was always on his mind. He was always thinking about her in some way or another, even what he was angry or annoyed. In the beginning he was always wondering how he could get her study, only to discover that she did care about it as much as he did. Then after she confessed to him he'd been left wondering why she felt that way about him when she resented him so much before. Now that he knew her whole story he finally understood her.
He also realized just how much of an impact she had made in his life. She reintroduced him to love, tried to persuad him to not take everything so seriously, and had kept him from getting fired during those early days. For all the bad things she had done she had made up for it any way she could.
But more importantly, she saved his life. And he never thanked her for it. He just kept trying to keep his distance when he should've been more grateful.
Both to her and for her. For coming into his life and turning it upside down.
Then he realized something. Nino wasn't just his equal. She was his second half.
The sudden thought made his heart beat faster. Pound harder.
He put a hand to his chest. Was this what love was like? Did it make one feel this way.
Fuutarou still didn't know what love was or what he was really feeling right now, but it felt... wonderful. He felt like a vice had finally loosened it's gripe and he was finally free. Free to learn and explore. He then remembered what Nino had said to him when she decided to change for the better.
You need to change too. It sucks, but it can't be that bad.
"Yeah. You're right," he chuckled, "What do I have to lose at this point?"
He looked around his room again and suddenly saw what it really was. It was his prison.
On that thought he looked at the objects in his hands again. His notes were the key that had kept locked inside this prison for so long. The bracelet was the key to being alive again, finding happiness, and rescuing Nino.
His gaze hardened and a new wave of determination took over. Then he made his choice.
"You know what? Screw it!"
He tossed the notes away and wrapped the bracelet around his wrist. Then he marched to straight to his bedroom door.
He pulled it open just in time to see his dad return with Raiha beside. When they saw him they stopped. It seemed that they had notice the sudden change in him and were surprised. They stood there for a while, not sure how to react.
"Dad?" Fuutarou approached, "I need your help with something."
Isanari raised an eyebrow, then bobbed his head.
"What do you need, son?" he asked
"I need you to do me a favor," Fuutarou ran a hand through his thick hair and stopped, "Two of them actually."
He then looked at his sister, looking up at him with wide eyes and a startled expression. Grinning he knelt down and took her by the shoulders, surprising her.
"Raiha..." he sighed and slowly said, "I just want to say that I'm sorry for being such a lousy brother. I promise, I'm gonna make it up to you. For all the time we've lost."
Raiha stared at him, speechless. Obviously that was the last thing she expected to hear.
Then he smiled, in his old cocky way, and said, "But first, I also like you to do me a little favor. If you do it, I'll take you out for ice cream. Then we'll spend as much time as you want at the arcade. Deal?"
He saw her eyes sparkle and she eagerly bobbed her head, "Deal! What do you need me to do?"
The next day he sat in the restaurant and waited for the Quints to arrive.
All except one though. He felt that he should speak with Nino alone. He had also asked for them to bring Yotsuba along. He knew it wouldn't be easy after her betrayal, but he knew as well as they did that this rift between couldn't go on forever.
It was time they had a talk.
His boss had been surprised, both by his arrival and the change in his appearance. Fuutarou had simply thanked him for the advice he had given him and promised to come back to work as soon as possible. His boss had simply smiled and told him to take a seat while offering a free drink.
If he'd noticed how different his young worker was after he'd last seen him Fuutarou was happy. He did look different and he felt different. He felt like a new man entering the big world for the first time.
The four finally arrived. They didn't see him right away and it wasn't until he stood and waved them over. They approached... and stopped in confusion.
"Hey," he greeted them.
"Hey," Ichika, along with the rest, stared at him, "You look... different. Did you get a haircut?"
Fuutarou hid a smirk, glad that they had noticed. While he still wore his trademark white shirt and blue jeans he now wore an old faded black leather that his dad had given him after he discovered that it no longer fit him. The sneakers that he usually wore had been replaced by brown leather boots. But the most notable change was his hair. The thick hair he always had was trimmed down to a military style buzz cut. It took a few minutes for the four quints to accept that this really was their former tutor.
"My Dad cut it for me this time instead of my sister," he told them, "How does it look?"
"It looks..." Ichika shrugged in exasperation, "Great! I'm just really surprised. We're so used to you wearing the same outfit all the time."
"Yeah, well... I figured it was time for a change," Fuutarou took a breath, "Anyway, thank you for coming. Let's take a seat."
He led them to one of the window seats. Ichika joined him on one side while the other three took the other. Yotsuba moved all the way to the window, Miku sat in the center, and Itsuki slid in at the end. His boss came by after they'd settled in and asked what they like to drink.
As that happened Fuutarou noticed that Itsuki and Miku were trying to keep as much of a gap between them and Yotsuba. Inwardly he sighed. He had hoped that would It seemed that her betrayal had really left its mark. The others weren't willing to fully trust Yotsuba again so soon.
Once everyone had settled down and received their drinks he decided to get straight to the point.
"First things first," he began, "I want you to know how sorry I am for the way I treated all of you. What I did was unfair, disrespectful, and inexcusable. I deserved every bit of flack for it. It was wrong and totally selfish. The truth is, when my mom died-"
Itsuki held up a hand, "You don't need to tell us. Chihori-san already did."
"Oh, I see," he nodded, "But yes, that was the whole reason why I became such a messed up person. Deep down I knew it. I just didn't want to accept it. But... now that I do I want to make it up with you guys. I didn't realize it until now but... you're the first real friends I ever had, something I never fully appreciated or even acknowledge. I don't want to leave high school with this rift between, and I know you don't want to either. We all promised that we would graduate together and I want to keep that promise. All that I ask is that you give me another chance."
For a while there was only silence. Then Yotsuba spoke.
"I want to say something too," she took a breath and looked at her sisters, "I'm sorry for what I've done. I never should've kept secrets from you. I had no good reason to. I was driven by fear and jealousy towards all of you. I've been a very selfish person and I hurt all of you because of it, Nino most of all. I should've been straight with you guys from the start, but I didn't have any faith in you. Instead I took advantage of the fact that we were sisters and I broke both our bond and our promise to Mama. But like Fuutarou, I don't want things to remain like. I meant what I said in my letter. I want to be with your guys again. I want us to be sisters again. That's all I ask for."
Silence came again before Ichika spoke.
"I think we owe you an apology too, Yotsuba."
Yotsuba looked at her in surprise, as did Fuutarou.
"We didn't realize until now that we've been treating you rather poorly," she explained, "However, that goes for all of us. While we did keep our promise to Mama of staying together we haven't taken good care of each other like we should have. Somewhere along the way we got so focused on ourselves we weren't paying attention to what was going on around us. In your case, we kept treating like a child who couldn't take care of herself, and before that we did nothing but ignore you. I share much of the blame for that."
Yotsuba was stunned as Ichika turned her to Fuutarou.
"We also want to apologize for the way we treated you, Fuutarou," she gestured to the others, "You unintentionally made things worse for us. We got so focused on you that we started hurting each other before we actually did. More importantly we kept treating you like you were some kind of prize instead of a human being. We didn't respect your feelings. We just dragged you into one thing after another and forced you to make decisions you weren't ready for. For all we've done and what it led to, we offer our apologies."
Fuutarou glanced at the others and they nodded, including Yotsuba. After a moment he smiled.
"Well, I think it's fair to say we all got selfish and did things we shouldn't have done. I should've been a lot more responsible as your tutor. I think we all learned a hard lesson from this. Let's just forget about it and move on. Let's start over by making things right."
To his relief they all nodded and smiled. He smiled back in appreciation before turning grim.
"Now... about Nino," he saw their smiles fade when he mentioned her, "Ichika told me about Nino's previous romances and how they went, and you all now know about Hatsuka and what happened to her. I really am afraid that something could happen to Nino. If that were to happen," he suddenly clenched his fists, "I could never forgive myself."
"Fuutarou," Ichika reached over and touched his arm, "What happened to that girl wasn't your fault. You did something awful, yes, but you had no way of knowing that was going to happen. From the way I see it, she created her own destruction."
"I know," he reached over and patted her hand, "I know that I didn't directly cause her downfall, but I can't help but feel somewhat responsible. You also told me that I was the reason why Nino was able to give love another chance. Maybe I can do it again, and maybe she can help me in the process. But I can't do this alone. I need your help. What can I do to help Nino?"
There was a long pause as all of them thought.
"You know, Fuuraou," Miku said suddenly, "She may not forgive you for what you've done."
"Yeah," said Yotsuba and she looked at him directly, "She's not the type who can forgive very easily."
"I'm aware of that, and that's fine," he replied, "All I really want is for her to not give up. If she doesn't want to associate with me anymore I can live with that. I just want to prove to her that I've changed and that I really do care about her."
At this Yotsuba grinned, "I believe you do. In that case, I have an idea."
All eyes turned to her.
"Uesugi-chan, why don't you take Nino out on a date? Just the two of you."
The idea took everyone by surprise.
"You really think that would work?" asked Fuutarou.
"I do. I mean, all Nino wanted was a chance to be your girlfriend, even if it was for just a short time."
"Yeah," Ichika nodded, "She did mentioned that."
"Same here," Itsuki looked at Fuutarou, "And seeing that there's history between you two it might be a good idea that the two of you spend some time together. Alone... without us interfering."
Fuutarou noted a sense of guilt as she said that.
"I agree," said Miku, "I think you should take the opportunity to have a talk with Nino. To discover what your feelings really are."
"Then you can figure out where to go from there," added Yotsuba, "Let her have what she wants for just one day. Let her have a date with you."
"Yeah," said Ichika, "I think that's a good idea. However, this can't be just any date."
"I agree," said Itsuki, "It needs to be something special. Something solely meant for Nino."
"Does she like cherry blossoms?"
All of them looked up to the new voice and saw the boss standing there.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I would like to help too."
"No, it's fine," Ichika waved, "We appreciate it. What do you mean by cherry blossoms?"
"There's a cherry blossom festival happening outside of town this Friday," Wakamura said, "Music, picnics, shops, Food stalls, everything there is to have fun and let loose."
"Oh, yeah. I heard about that," said Itsuki, "Some of our classmates are going. That would work. Nino loves cherry blossoms."
Then Yotsuba suddenly asked Fuutarou, "Sorry to get off topic, but what's with the outfit? Are you trying to go for the bad boy look or something?"
Fuutarou laughed, "Yeah, something like that. I'm trying to do something different. It does need some improvement though."
"Well, that is a start," said Miku.
Itsuki looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"Didn't Nino say that she likes bad boy type?"
"Oh, yeah, she did. I forgot about that," Yotsuba pointed to Fuutarou, "You're right. That is a start."
"Yeah, but like he said..." Ichika looked over Fuutarou's outfit, "It does need some improvement, especially if he's going to try to impress Nino. We could add a hat, but that wouldn't be enough. It needs... more spice to it. Something that Nino would really like. Something that would take her by surprise. Something..."
From the corner of her eye Ichika spotted something sticking out of Wakamura's pocket and a certain image caught her attention.
"Hey, is that some kind of magazine?"
"Oh, this?" he pulled it out, "Yeah. It's a biker's mag. For motorcycles."
"Motorcycles?" a light bulb seemed to go off above her head, "Let me see that!"
She snatched it from his hand and scrolled through a few pages. Then a huge grin spread over her face.
"Guys! I've got it! In fact, it's perfect! Fuutarou, you a have a motorcycle license, right?"
"Yeah."
She turned back to the Wakamura, "And you have a bike out back that you let him use for deliveries, right?"
"That's right."
She motioned everyone closer, "Let me tell you a little secret Nino shared with me."
When she finished everyone had a silly grin on their face.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun!" Yotsuba giggled in delight, "I can't wait to see the look on Nino's face when Uesugi-san shows up like that."
"It will definitely take her by surprise," Miku agreed.
"What do you think, Fuutarou-kun?" Ichika grinned at him, "Will you do it?"
He was already imagining the scenario and soon grinned. He liked the image he saw.
"Yeah," he said, "I'll definitely do it."
"Great!" Ichika clapped her hands cheerfully, "We'll take care of Nino and the rest your boss provides the bike-"
"Actually, no," Wakamura cut in, "I need that bike for deliveries. Plus, it's not suited for what you have in mind."
"Oh," everyone's faces fell.
Then he grinned, "However, I do have something that's perfectly suited for the job."
For the last two days Nino had noticed her sisters' sudden enthusiasm had paid little attention to it. Her mind was occupied with other things.
First there was grandpa. His sudden heart attack had come as a huge shock and at the worst time too. The death of their mother had been hard enough for all of them. Losing their grandfather was the last thing they needed. They knew he was getting old, but he was the last of their family. They didn't didn't want him to die just yet.
Then there was Yotsuba. Nino had overheard her entire confession downstairs from her room. She had just been shocked as everyone else. Even after Ichika had filled her in on the rest of the details she still couldn't believe that Yotsuba would go that far. She always suspected that Yotsuba bore some resentment towards them, but she never imagined that it ran that deep. While she didn't agree with the idea of kicking her there was no way they could've let her stay. Not after what she had done. Yotsuba had brought it all on herself.
Thankfully their stepdad had offered to let her stay at his. She wondered how she was and what she was doing. After seeing that letter she had left behind and what she said about her she was glad to see that Yotsuba wasn't completely. She deeply regretted what she did and she promised to make up for all her mistakes. Deep down Nino hoped she would succeed.
Then, of course, there was Fuutarou.
Nino sighed deeply.
She just couldn't get him out of her mind. She'd been able to with the others, so why couldn't she do it now?
Because... despite all the pain he had caused... she still loved him. It was true, and she hated herself for it but it was true.
It was all because of one thing. Unlike the others she had felt a connection with Fuutarou. That connection just wouldn't go away no matter how she tried. Every day she thought of him and every night she kept that same stupid dream of him.
What had happened to her? Had she become like Yotsuba? Unable to let a guy like Fuutarou go despite what he had done?
It was Friday morning when she came downstairs two hours after her sister left for school. Their stepdad's chauffeur Ebata had been staying over to watch over her since she had her breakdown. He made her a simple breakfast and she ate in silence. As she did she noticed that Ebata was cooking before she spotted the picnic basket on the counter.
She frowned. Were her sisters planning to go on a picnic together? Is that what they were excited about? As she pondered she realized that it would be a nice change of pace. Maybe it was time for her to get out of the apartment.
The thing was, she was afraid to. She was afraid of encountering Fuutarou.
With a sigh she finished her breakfast and went back to her room to prepare for a bath, but as she came back down the front door opened she saw Miku and Itsuki enter the room. Along with... Yotsuba?
"Ah, good," The fourth quint exclaimed when she saw her, "You're about to take a bath. That saves us some trouble."
"What are you doing here?" Nino asked in astonishment before looking at the others, "And how come you're back so soon? Did school end early?"
"Nope," smiled Itsuki, "We left early. Don't worry, we got permission from Papa."
Nino blinked several times, not even she had done something like that before.
"Why do you mean you left early? And where's Ichika?"
"She had to do something first," replied Miku, "She'll be back soon."
Nino looked at them all, utterly confused, "I don't get it. What's going on?"
Yotsuba led the trio to the foot of the stairs. She placed her fists on her hips and looked up her, the other two grinning broadly.
"Nino," her voice took a commanding tone, "It is time for you to get out of the penthouse. It's also time that you and Uesugi-san spoke face to face."
At the mention of his name she became uneasy.
"I don't want see him right now," she said automatically.
"Well, Nino, you don't have much choice this time," said Itsuki, "We met up with Uesugi-kun the other day."
She blinked in surprsie "Y-You have?"
"Hm-mmm," Miku grinned, "And he wants to talk to you. Just the two of you. Alone."
It took a moment for her to acknowledge those words. Fuu-kun wanted to speak with her? Alone?
"What if I say no?"
Yotsuba stepped closer and crossed her arms, her expression going from excited to downright serious.
"Nino," her voice was just as serious, "I've spent this whole time feeling sorry for myself for really dumb reasons. I'm not about to let you do the same. Uesugi-san may have been an idiot but so was I. We all were. We all screwed up in this and we all paid for it. If he's willing to go out of his way to make up for his mistakes, then you can at least give him another chance. We're not going to let you remain gloomy for the rest of your life. We've all forgiven Uesugi-san, it's time for you to do the same. If nothing else, do this for us. Because we've all been worried sick about you."
Nino stared while the other two grinned proudly at Yotsuba. She had never spoken like that before.
"She's right, Nino," said Itsuki, "You can't go on like this forever. Please do it for us."
"Please," begged Miku.
She looked from one sister to another and realized that nothing she said or did would change their minds. This was what sisters did. And they were right. This couldn't continue. It was time that she and Fuu-kun had a talk.
"Alright," she said, "If that's the way you feel, I'll do it."
She flinched as they let out a cheer.
"Right!" Yotsuba clapped her hands and came to her side, "Now, let Itsuki and I give you bath!"
Nino stared at her, "Wait, we're doing this now?"
"Yep," Itsuki took her other arm, "Uesugi-kun is taking you out on a date today. He'll be here at eleven."
Her jaw dropped, "A date? Today?!"
"That's what she said," Yotsuba laughed as she led her to the bathroom, "Now quit being over dramatic and get in the tub."
"We want you looking you're very best when he arrives," Itsuki winked at Miku before she slid the bathroom door closed.
Chuckling, Miku spun around and joined Ebata in the kitchen.
"Well, so far so good."
Nino soon found herself being treated like a princess.
Yotsuba and Itsuki were giggling like madwomen as they gave her a bath. They weren't even concerned that their uniforms were getting wet. Together they washed and scrubbed and washed and scrubbed until her skin glowed and her hair shined.
While that was happening one thing kept repeating itself in her mind
She was going on a real date. With Fuu-kun.
She recalled the picnic basket she called and wondered if that was what it was really for. One part of her was nervous while the other was excited. However, she didn't want to get her hopes up too much, for she was uncertain what would happen when he arrived.
Finally satisfied with their work, he sisters dried her with a towel and slipped on her bathrobe.
"Ichika's on her way back," Miku told them as they came out of the bathroom, "She'll be here any minute."
Nino glanced over to see that Miku was making sandwiches while Ebata was wrapping hot food and then placing them into the basket before her sisters took her upstairs to her room. From there they had her sit down and went to her closet.
"Okay," Itsuki opened it up, "Let's see what you're going to wear today."
As they started taking out her clothes and laying them on the bed Nino watched the two of them in bewilderment. Hadn't Itsuki been extremely upset at Yotsuba for using her? Why Yotsuba suddenly so cheerful? Surely they couldn't have made it that quickly? Nino then began to wonder what had happened in their meeting with Fuu-kun.
"Um... Yotsuba?" she reluctantly asked "What's going on with you and Fuu-kun? I mean, have you-"
Yotsuba waved her hand behind her, cutting her off, "He and I will talk later. You're more important right now."
Her voice took that authoritative tone again and Nino decided to refrain from saying anything else.
"Knock! Knock!" came a familiar voice, "Anybody home?"
Ichika came in, holding a pair of tall boots in one hand and a wide brimmed hat with black ribbon in the other. A leather jacket draped was als drapped over one arm.
"Hey, Ichika!" Yotsuba grinned, "You're just in time!"
Itsuki pointed to the bed, "I picked out some of her clothes but... you're the real expert on this."
"Not a problem," Ichika put the boots on the floor and left the jacket and the hat hanging on the bedpost, "Hey, Yotsuba? Can you go to my room and get my two make up kits? One's square and the other's round. They're both sitting on my dresser."
"You want me to wade through that jungle?"
"I cleaned my room recently. You'll be fine."
"You cleaned your room?"
"Will you just go get it?" Ichika turned Yotsuba around and slapped her bum out of the room, the fourth quint laughing as she went, and turned to Nino, "All right, let's get you all dressed up. We got less than an hour before Fuutarou-kun gets here."
"What's up with those?" Nino pointed to the the things Ichika brought as her sister started sorting through her outfits.
"Those are for you to match with Fuutarou-kun's new style. The boots will also protect your legs so they don't get burned on the way there."
"Burned?" Nino's frowned, "Fuu-kun's new style? On the way there? Just what is going on?"
"Just be patient, girl," Ichika grinned at her, "Trust me, you're gonna love it. Fuutarou-kun's got a real surprise for you. Now, let's see what we got here."
One by one she looked over Nino's clothes.
"Nope... not this either... too childish... too formal... hmm, maybe... nope... nope... none of these are right," Ichika went to the closet, "Where is that one... Aha! Here we are!"
Protected in its plastic cover she pulled out one of Nino's favorite dresses, a thick white skirt with black pinstripes and a black top had crisscrosses across the upper chest.
"Perfect!" Ichika took the cover off, "Okay, Nino. Go ahead and put this on. Oh! Itsuki, bring her perfume bottles over, will you please?"
Yotsuba came back with the makeup kits. Ichika took the them from her hands and opened them up.
Once she was ready Ichika began to work her magic. First she applied a rouge to bring out a blush on Nino's cheeks, then mascara to her eyelashes. Next she took out several lipstick tubes. She tested each one by opening them and placing the tip next to Nino's lips to see how they looked before deciding to go with a natural pink color. Finally she turned to Nino's perfume bottles. She sniffed each one before going with the lavender scent, which was Nino's personal favorite. Dabbing her fingers, she applied the perfume to Nino's neck, throat, shoulders, and behind the ears. Last but not least, she put Nino's ribbons on for her.
"There," a proud smile came to her face as she stood and looked down at her creation, "Why do you guys think?"
Both Itsuki and Yotsuba gave big nods of approval.
"Gorgeous," said Yotsuba.
"I think Uesugi-kun will be stunned when he sees her," said Itsuki.
Nino turned around to look at the mirror. She did look beautiful. Even she was surprised. She looked back at her sisters she noticed that Yotsuba was looking at her with a somewhat sad expression.
"Is something wrong, Yotsuba?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," Yotsuba smiled, "I was just remembering the time when your hair used to be long. I kind of miss those days."
"I know what you mean," Itsuki agreed, "Looking back I think you had the prettiest hair when it was long."
"Really?" Nino was surprised to hear that, "I always thought you did, since it's so wavy."
There was a knock on the door and they turned to see Miku standing there.
"Fuutarou's boss just called. He's on his way over."
"Good, just in time," Ichika pointed to Nino, "What do you think?"
"Very nice," Miku nodded and quickly gestured for them, "We should go downstairs. The picnic basket's all ready."
"Right," Ichika picked up the boots and handed them to Nino, "Go ahead and put these on. You can change into your shoes after you get there."
Ichika placed a pair of heels into Nino's handbag while Nino put on the boots. Once she stood Ichika took the hat and placed it on her head. Making a quick final inspection, she nodded in approval. At her instruction Nino put the jacket and then the five quints left the room together. Nino led the way downstairs, her heart pounding like crazy. She felt more like a bride heading to her own wedding rather than a girl going on a date.
Ebata-san stood there with the picnic basket and he smiled fondly as Nino approached, "You look very beautiful, Nino-chan."
"Thank you," she smiled at him.
He handed her the basket and she placed over one arm while tucking the sweater in the other. The next thing she knew she was standing on the sidewalk in front of their apartment waiting for Fuutarou to arrive. It was a beautiful day, perfect for a date. She couldn't decide whether she be excited or scared.
Ichika noticed her uneasiness and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Nervous?"
"Should I not be?" she set down the basket, "I still don't know what's happening."
"Don't think about it, okay? We're doing this for you. Today is your day. No matter what happens afterwards, this will be the best day of your life. For now just go and enjoy yourself. Forget about everything and have a good time with Fuutarou-kun? Okay?"
"Okay."
"That's my girl," Ichika's head turned when she heard something and grinned, "Here he comes."
Nino listened and she heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching. It wasn't the high pitch squeal like the boss's bike, but a deep low rumble.
Wait, her breath caught, It couldn't be.
A moment later a blue and silver Suzuki Boulevard C50, with a custom installed back seat and windshield, came around the corner and rolled up to where they stood. The rider wore a black leather jacket, sunglasses, gloves, and boots. After cutting off the engine he removed his helmet, revealing a light blue cap underneath.
Nino's jaw dropped. It was as if Marlon Brando from The Wild One had rode right out of the silver screen and into the real world. When the rider removed his sunglasses she found herself looking at a familiar pair of eyes.
"Fuu... Fuu-kun?"
It was indeed Fuu-kun, but he looked completely different. Instead of the always serious expression he wore the face of someone who was born with an attitude and there was a cocky smile on his lips. What surprised her even more is that it didn't look fake at all.
Fuu-kun then placed his arms on the handlebars he leaned on his bike and grinned at her. It took several moments for Nino to fully realize that it really was him. She never expected him to look so... badass.
"Hey there, pretty girl," he said in a matching voice and pointed to the backseat with his thumb, "Would you like to go for a ride?"
Nino gaped at him while the rest held their breath. This was the critical moment. They didn't know what would happen next.
Then it did.
Nino made a noise, then another. At first it sounded like she was coughing. Then she raised her hands to her lips and it turned into giggles.
Then her body doubled over, with fits of laughter.